SRI LANKA CONFIRMS HIGHEST WHEN PEOPLE LOSE DAILY COVID-19 DEATHS AS CONFIDENCE IN THE LOCKDOWN CALLS GROW LOUDER AUGUST GOVERNMENT 20 - 22, 2021 HUNTED BY THE TALIBAN, VOL: 4- ISSUE 261 US-ALLIED AFGHAN FORCES . ARE IN HIDING COLLAPSE AND CONQUEST 30 GLOCAL PAGE 03 HOT TOPICS PAGE 04 COMMENTARY PAGE 07 INSIGHT PAGE 08

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UNICEF warns A billion children at ‘extreme risk’ from climate impacts LONDON - Almost half the berg’s first school strike, which world’s 2.2 billion children are sparked a global movement. After already at “extremely high risk” a pause in public demonstrations from the impacts of the climate during the coronavirus pandemic, crisis and pollution, according to a global climate strike is planned a report from UNICEF. The UN for September 24.. agency’s head called the situation Henrietta Fore, UNICEF execu- “unimaginably dire”. tive director, said: “For the first Nearly every child around the time, [this report gives] a com- world was at risk from at least one plete picture of where and how of these impacts today, including children are vulnerable to climate heat waves, floods, cyclones, dis- change, and that picture is almost ease, drought, and air pollution, unimaginably dire. Virtually no the report said. But one billion child’s life will be unaffected.” children live in 33 countries fac- ”Children are uniquely vulner- ing three or four impacts simulta- able to climate hazards,” she said. neously. The countries include In- “Compared to adults, children dia, Nigeria and the Philippines, require more food and water per and much of sub-Saharan Africa. unit of body weight and are less The report is the first to com- able to survive extreme weather bine high-resolution maps of cli- events.” mate and environmental impacts The report calls for the inclu- with maps of child vulnerabil- sion of young people in all climate ity, such as poverty and access to negotiations and decisions, in- clean water, healthcare and edu- cluding at the UN Cop26 summit cation. “It essentially [shows] the in Glasgow in November. “The likelihood of a child’s ability to decisions will define their future,” survive climate change,” said Nick said Fore. “Children and young Rees, one of the report’s authors. people need to be recognized as - Mohammad Javadzadeh / IRANIAN RED CRESCENT / AFP The report was launched with the rightful heirs of this planet youth climate activists on the that we all share.” An Iranian soldier distributes and Baluchestan province of people have tried to flee decade insurgency. Iran shares third anniversary of Greta Thun- -The Guardian boxes of juice to Afghan on Thursday (19), as they try Afghanistan since the hardline a 900-kilometre (560-mile) refugees gathered at the to enter the Islamic republic Islamist militants swept into border with Afghanistan, and Iran-Afghanistan border following the takeover of their the capital on Sunday (15), already hosts nearly 3.5 million between Afghanistan and the country by the Taliban earlier completing a stunning rout of Afghans, according to the UN’s WHO’s Africa director says southeastern Iranian Sistan this week. Tens of thousands government forces after a two refugee agency Booster shots ‘make a mockery of vaccine equity’ Taliban revenge fears grow in Afghanistan NAIROBI — The Africa direc- Thursday (19). “As some richer tor at the World Health Organi- countries hoard vaccines, they Report says militants carrying out door-to-door manhunt zation (WHO), Dr. Matshidiso make a mockery of vaccine eq- KABUL - The Taliban are going house- confirmed the fears of many. The Taliban bers to be exposed to torture and execu- Moeti, criticized the decisions by uity.” to-house searching for opponents and have been conducting "targeted door-to- tions." some wealthy nations to start ad- The WHO has called for a mora- their families, according to an intelligence door visits" of people who worked with The Taliban have denied such accusa- ministering coronavirus booster torium on booster shots until the document for the UN that deepened fears US and NATO forces, according to a con- tions in the past and have several times shots, saying the decisions “make end of September to free up vac- Friday (20) Afghanistan's new rulers were fidential document by the UN's threat as- issued statements saying fighters were a mockery of vaccine equity” when cine supplies for low-income na- reneging on pledges of tolerance. sessment consultants seen by AFP. barred from entering private homes. the African continent is still strug- tions. But several wealthy nations After routing government forces and The report, written by the Norwegian They also insist women and journalists gling to get vaccine supplies. have said they would not wait that taking over Kabul on Sunday (15) to end Centre for Global Analyses, said militants have nothing to fear under their new rule, African countries continue to long. two decades of war, the hard-line Islam- were also screening people on the way to although several media workers have lag far behind other continents in In the United States, the Biden ist movement's leaders have repeatedly Kabul airport. reported being thrashed with sticks or inoculations, with only 2% of the administration said Wednesday vowed a complete amnesty as part of a "They are targeting the families of those whips when trying to record some of the continent’s 1.3 billion people fully (18) that it would provide booster well-crafted PR blitz. who refuse to give themselves up, and chaos seen in Kabul in recent days. vaccinated against COVID-19. Al- shots to most Americans begin- Women have also been assured their prosecuting and punishing their families Tens of thousands of people have tried though vaccine shipments have ning as soon as Sept. 20. France rights will be respected, and that the 'according to Sharia law'," Christian Nel- to flee Afghanistan since the Taliban accelerated in recent weeks, Af- and Germany also said they plan Taliban will be "positively different" from lemann, the group's executive director, swept into the capital. rican nations are still not get- to offer shots to vulnerable popu- their brutal 1996-2001 rule. told AFP. The United States said Thursday (19) ting nearly enough to meet their lations, and Israel has already But with thousands of people still try- "We expect both individuals previously it had airlifted about 7,000 people out of needs, Moeti said. given third shots to more than 1 ing to flee the capital aboard evacuation working with NATO/US forces and their Kabul over the past five days. Instead of offering additional million residents. flights, the report for the United Nations allies, alongside with their family mem- -AFP doses to their already fully vac- President Joe Biden defended cinated citizens, she said, rich offering Americans an additional countries should give priority to shot when many countries were poor nations, some of which are struggling to deliver initial doses being ravaged by the coronavirus to their populations. “We’re pro- Taliban kill relative of DW journalist in Afghanistan pandemic. viding more to the rest of the BERLIN - Taliban fighters in Afghani- ist, who now works in Germany, DW which he said showed the danger to “Moves by some countries glob- world than all the rest of the world stan have shot and killed a relative of a said Thursday (19). media workers and their families in Af- ally to introduce booster shots combined,” Biden said in an inter- Deutsche Welle (DW) journalist while A second relative was seriously ghanistan. threaten the promise of a brighter view on ABC. “We’re keeping our hunting for him, the German public wounded but others were able to es- The Taliban had raided the homes of tomorrow for Africa,” Moeti said part of the bargain.” broadcaster said. cape, it said, without giving details of at least three other DW journalists, the in an online news conference -NYT The militants were conducting a the incident. DW director general Pe- broadcaster said. @Copyrightshouse-to-house search for the journal- ter Limbourg condemned the killing, -AFP Man surrenders after ‘bomb threat’ Trending News Sri Lanka: President Gotabaya Raja- stan set to be the final twist in their long Quote for Today near US Library of Congress paksa’s office says he will make a spe- and thorny relationship. The ability to delude yourself may be an WASHINGTON — A man who had a bomb, and one of the offic- cial statement, as the COVID Task Force Burkina Faso: The impoverished Sahel important survival tool. claimed to have a bomb in a pick- ers observed what appeared to be meets to decide on the next step to be state is plunged once more into mourn- -Jane Wagner up truck outside the Library of a detonator in his hand, Manger taken to contain the spread of the coro- ing, as the toll of people killed by suspect- Congress surrendered to police said. The police spent hours ne- navirus. ed jihadists the day before climbs from 49 Word for Today Thursday (19) after hours of nego- gotiating with Roseberry, he said. Japan: The Paralympic flame arrives to 80, including 65 civilians. Minatory [min-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] tiations and evacuations of several Manger told reporters that of- in Tokyo, as virus cases hit fresh records government buildings in the area. ficers had observed items on Bangladesh: Hundreds of sex workers -adjective -menacing; threatening nationwide just four days before the at the country’s largest brothel are vac- The man surrendered peace- Roseberry’s truck that concerned Games begin. fully, Chief J. Thomas Manger of them, including a propane gas cinated against COVID-19 in a one-day Today in History the Capitol Police said at a news container. The police said lat- New Zealand: The country extends a inoculation drive the participants hope 1993 - After rounds of secret negotia- conference. er Thursday that no bomb was national COVID-19 lockdown, as case will revive an industry devastated by the tions in Norway, the Government of Isra- “As far as we can tell, it was found, but “possible bomb-mak- numbers continued to rise and a Delta pandemic. el and the Palestine Liberation Organiza- just his decision to surrender,” he ing materials were collected from variant outbreak spread from Auckland Global: Oil prices tank and global stocks said. Manger identified the man the truck.” to the capital Wellington. tion sign the Oslo Accord in Washington mostly sink on worries the latest wave of DC marking the start of the Oslo process as Floyd Ray Roseberry and said “We don’t know what his mo- Australia: Sydney extends its two- COVID-19 infections will crimp global it appeared that he acted alone. tives are at this time,” Manger said month-old lockdown for another month growth. Today is... Roseberry, 49, drove a black earlier Thursday. He confirmed and introduces a partial curfew, as the pickup onto the sidewalk of the that some of the man’s remarks Social Media: Facebook releases new World Mosquito Day Library of Congress about 9:15 had been streamed live on social country’s largest city struggles to contain security measures to protect users in Af- Thursday morning, and officers media. He said charges against a fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak. ghanistan after the lightning takeover The day that aims to raise awareness then responded to a disturbance Roseberry would be determined Germany: Chancellor Angela Merkel of the country by the Taliban, who are about mosquito borne diseases and how call, Manger said. When the po- with the US attorney’s office. visits Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Moscow already barred from the social media gi- they can be prevented the causes of ma- lice arrived, Roseberry said he -NYT in the twilight of her reign, with Afghani- ant’s platforms. laria and how it can be prevented 2 AUGUST 20 - 22, 2021 WEEKEND EXPRESS BUSINESS Sri Lanka raises rates as rupee falls to record low COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's central bank against the dollar "and to pre-empt the rivals collapsed and with it foreign cur- chinery since March last year. With was reduced. Last month, the Moody's raised interest rates for the first time build-up of any excessive inflationary rency receipts. supermarkets rationing staples such ratings agency placed Sri Lanka under in nearly three years Thursday (19) as pressures". Sri Lanka's foreign reserves fell to as sugar and milk powder, importers watch for a downgrade on persistent the rupee hit a record low amid a crip- The rupee fell to 216.55 to the dol- $2.8 billion at the end of July, from say they cannot get dollars at official fears that the island could default on pling foreign exchange shortage. lar - its lowest ever level - despite the $7.5 billion in November 2019 when exchange rates and have to pay black its foreign debt. With the country of 21 million al- central bank urging currency traders the government took office. market prices. Sri Lanka's annual foreign debt ser- ready facing shortages of imported not to allow the local currency to fall The rupee has lost nearly 20% of Energy minister Udaya Gamman- vicing is estimated at $4 billion to $5 cooking gas and sugar because of the below 202. its value against the US dollar in that pila appealed to motorists this week to billion over the next four to five years, lack of dollars, the Central Bank of Sri The government had reduced rates time, according to data from private use fuel sparingly so that the country Moody's said. Lanka increased its deposit and lend- after the coronavirus pandemic hit last banks. can use its foreign exchange to buy es- The country has arranged a $250 ing rates by 50 basis points to 5.0% year in hope of bolstering the econo- Faced with currency shortages, the sential medicines and vaccines. million loan from Bangladesh, and and 6.0% respectively. my. But Sri Lanka still recorded its government banned a wide range of Another top official warned that fuel similar cash injections from India, The bank said the move was to worst recession in decades, with the imports, including vehicles as well rationing may be introduced by the China and South Korea. counter "imbalances" as the rupee falls economy shrinking 3.6% as tourist ar- as industrial raw materials and ma- end of the year unless consumption -AFP US and IMF apply a financial squeeze on the Taliban Govt. expects US$200mn Bangladesh swap in WASHINGTON - The United “We can say the accessible financed by grants, are power- States has control over billions of funds to the Taliban are perhaps ful leverage for Washington as tranches from this week dollars belonging to the Afghan 0.1% to 0.2% of Afghanistan’s world leaders consider whether COLOMBO– Sri Lanka is fell to US$ 3.8 billion in July, separate deal, the Treasury central bank, money that Wash- total international reserves,” he to recognize the Taliban takeo- expecting a US$ 250 million from over US$ 8 billion two is due to get a Renminbi 2.0 ington is making sure remains wrote on Twitter. “Not much.” ver. swap from Bangladesh Bank years earlier, after an extraor- billion loan, which is worth out of the reach of the Taliban. The International Monetary Ahmady, who fled Afghanistan to be executed through sever- dinary bout of money print- about US$ 308 million that About $7 billion of the cen- Fund (IMF) said Wednesday on Sunday (15), said he believed al tranches starting this week, ing through direct purchases will go to fiscal reserves. tral bank’s $9 billion in foreign that it would block Afghanistan’s the Taliban could get access to Deputy Central Bank Gov- of government securities, a Bangladesh Bank which reserves are held by the Federal access to about $460 million in the central bank reserves only by ernor Mahinda Siriwardene Zimbabwe style re-finance does not have activist mon- Reserve Bank of New York, the emergency reserves. negotiating with the US govern- said. scheme and failed Treasur- etary policy has kept its ex- former acting governor of the Af- Money from an agreement ment. “We will be getting the first ies auctions due to a ceiling change stable for around a ghan central bank said Wednes- reached in November among Afghanistan has about $700 tranche of 50 million US dol- price. decade and mopped up large day (18), and the Biden admin- more than 60 countries to send million at the Bank for Inter- lars from Bangladesh bank Sri Lanka this week hiked volumes of reserves. istration has moved to block Afghanistan $12 billion over the national Settlements, Ahmady this week, and another 100 its main overnight policy rate Pegged central banks are access to that money. next four years is also in doubt. said. The bank said Wednesday million after five working by 50 basis points to 6.00% , note issuing lenders, which The Taliban’s access to the Last week, Germany said it that it “does not acknowledge or days and other 50 million af- but over the past few months can collect dollar reserves other money could also be re- would not provide grants to Af- discuss banking relationships.” ter a similar period of time,” money to create balance of as ‘deposits’ free of charge stricted. The central bank has ghanistan if the Taliban took On Wednesday, Ahmady he said. payments troubles had been against its own notes. $1.3 billion in international ac- over and introduced Islamic law, wrote on Twitter that Afghani- Bangladesh’s Daily Star injected to maintain one year They can also retain more counts, some of it euros and and on Tuesday (17), the Euro- stan had relied on shipments of newspaper said the swap Treasury bill rates in the re- dollars than the note issue, by British pounds in European pean Union said no payments US dollars every few weeks be- would carry a rate of LIBOR gion to 5.20%. sterilizing domestic currency banks, the former official, Ajmal would go to Afghanistan until of- cause it had a large current ac- + 2.0% for the first three This month the central reserves in commercial banks Ahmady, said in an interview ficials “clarify the situation.” count deficit, a reflection of the months. bank is also expecting US$ (borrowing domestic money Wednesday. Remaining reserves The central bank money and fact that the value of its imports If Sri Lanka wants to keep 780 million equivalent by selling down securities are held by the Swiss-based Bank international aid, essential to are about five times greater than it for six months, the premi- tranche of Special Drawing owned by the agency or cre- for International Settlements, he a poor country where three- its exports. um would go up to 2.5%. Sri Rights from the International ated by it). added. quarters of public spending is -NYT Lanka’s gross official reserves Monetary Fund (IMF). In a -economynext.com

@Copyrights WEEKEND EXPRESS AUGUST 20 - 22, 2021 3 GLOCAL

Express Newspapers (Cey) Pvt. Ltd., 185, Grandpass Road, Colombo 14, Sri Lanka Rights groups Telephone: 0117 322 705 (Editorial) 0117 322 736 (Advertising) 0117 322 789 (Circulation) urge Scotland to Email – [email protected]/[email protected] Epaper - http://epaper.newsexpress.lk suspend SL police Facebook –News Express Sri Lanka training program Sri Lanka confirms highest daily COVID-19 deaths as LONDON – The Scottish government should provide details of a review of Police Scotland training for Sri Lankan police, Human Rights Watch, Freedom lockdown calls grow louder from Torture, the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice, and Pax Christi COLOMBO – Sri Lanka on Thursday numbers each day. According to one ex- watha and Asgiri Sects, Thibbatuwawe Sri choosing instead to impose curfew from Scotland demanded in a letter to the (19) recorded 186 COVID-related deaths pert who has been calling for increased Siddhartha Sumangala Thera and Warak- 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. and introduce Scottish Justice Secretary Keith Brown, and 3806 new cases, confirming its high- testing, the actual number may be any- agoda Sri Gnanarathana Thera, respec- limited restrictions such as banning in- urging Scottish ministers exercise their est daily coronavirus figures yet, as calls where between 10,000 to 20,000 daily tively, who urged President Rajapaksa door events and public gatherings. authority to suspend the training pro- for a lockdown grew ever louder from cases. Ten constituent parties of the rul- to shut down the country for at least one Regardless, a number of trade unions gram, which risks appearing to endorse both within and outside the establish- ing coalition wrote to President Gotabaya week, re-emphasizing the warning issued have threatened a 10-day self-imposed the actions of Sri Lanka’s abusive police ment. Rajapaksa on Thursday requesting a lock- by the health sectors about the severity of lockdown starting next Monday (23) if force. COVID-19 has taken a dramatic turn down of three weeks minimum to contain the virus variants, and the difficulties in the government doesn’t announce a lock- The Sri Lankan police in recent for the worse in Sri Lanka, with the fast- the hyper-spread of the virus. controlling the rapid spread. down by Friday (20), even as businesses months have allegedly been responsible spreading Delta variant blamed for the “The only way to bring down daily Hospitals in Sri Lanka have been over- in at least 31 towns across the island have for torture and extrajudicial killings. spike in deaths and cases in a devastating cases to a number the health sector can flowing with COVID-19 patients, and already suspended operations in the face They have been implicated in a pattern third wave that officially began mid-April handle is by imposing a lockdown of at medical experts have warned of a com- of rising daily deaths and cases. of such abuses over many years, despite 2021. least three weeks,” articulated the letter plete collapse of the system if the situa- Insisting that a lockdown can help receiving Police Scotland training “on Active cases have surged past 48,000, signed by the 10 party leaders, including tion is not contained. “break the cycle”, the 10 government an almost continuous basis” since 2013. overwhelming and exhausting the coun- key players in the government, Ministers Most recently, a group of experts con- members said even in the absence of total “Police Scotland should halt its Sri try’s health sector, prompting experts Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila vened by World Health Organization curfew, the economy has become largely Lanka training program until the Sri and on-the-ground Public Health Inspec- and Vasudewa Nanayakkara. The leaders (WHO) Sri Lanka called for swift and stagnant anyway because a large number Lankan government and police dem- tors (PHIs) to warn of a complete collapse also called for a multi-party mechanism stringent mobility restrictions to save of people are either in quarantine or are onstrate willingness to reform,” said of the system if the situation is not con- and a committee comprising health and some 18,000 lives by January 2022. confined to their homes in fear of the dis- Yasmine Ahmed, UK director at Hu- tained. economics experts to tackle what they Despite repeated calls from various ease. “Once the disease is contained, peo- man Rights Watch. “Scottish ministers Though vaccination has progressed at said has become a national crisis. quarters for tighter restrictions, the gov- ple will engage in economy activity with have the authority to end this program, a remarkable pace, the virus continues Adding to the chorus of calls for a lock- ernment has been resolute in its position confidence,” the letter said. which does not live up to their govern- to spread far and wide, infecting record down were the Chief Prelates of the Mal- that a lockdown proper is not the answer, -ENCL/economynext.com ment’s support for human rights.” The Scottish government has an- nounced that an important objective Shakthi and Shakti set sail to SL with of the training program is to address gender-based violence. However, the Sri Lankan police spokesman recently medical grade oxygen said on a television talk show that it is COLOMBO - Sri Lanka Naval Ship (SLNS) The Sri Lanka Navy said SLNS Shakthi not police policy to detain or prosecute Shakthi has set sail from the Port of Chen- and INS Shakti are scheduled to arrive in men who are alleged to threaten or as- nai in India with 40 tonnes of Liquid Medical Colombo on Sunday (22) and Monday (23), sault their wives. “We try to reconcile Oxygen, the much-needed shipment, for the transporting oxygen ordered from the Indian the matter,” he said. “If we remand the treatment of COVID-patients at home. Government through the Navy. The Indian person, the husband and wife will be The Sri Lanka Navy said the vessel de- Navy has generously dispatched its naval separated, then what will happen to the parted the Trincomalee harbour on Tuesday ship ‘Shakti’ with freight of oxygen, signify- children?” (17), arriving at the Port of Chennai, India on ing the longstanding cooperation between The human rights groups said that Wednesday (18) evening, and set sail to Sri the navies of both countries, it added. under the administration of President Lanka Friday (20) morning. Earlier, the Indian High Commission in Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who took office in Meanwhile, the Indian Naval Ship (INS) Colombo announced that India has com- November 2019, the Sri Lankan police Shakti, a Fleet Tanker, also left the Vi- menced the process to dispatch much-re- have also targeted ethnic and religious sakhapatnam Port in India for Sri Lanka with quired stocks of Oxygen for the treatment of minorities for abuse, suppressed dis- a consignment of medical grade oxygen on COVID patients in Sri Lanka. sent, and narrowed the space for civil Thursday (19) evening. -NewsWire society organizations. -ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP -HRW People stand in a queue to buy kerosene oil used in cooking stoves in Colombo, on Thursday (20). With the country of 21 million already facing Sri Lanka College of Psychiatrists says shortages of imported cooking gas and sugar because of the lack of dollars, Embassy staff the Central Bank of Sri Lanka increased its deposit and lending rates by 50 homosexuality no illness, basis points to 5.0% and 6.0% respectively calls for decriminalization performs last COLOMBO – Weeks after a video surfaced the statement said. Sections 365 and 365A of Govt. urged to give visas to of a person identifying herself as a counsellor the Penal Code prohibit “carnal intercourse rites of COVID-19 openly making homophobic remarks at a po- against the order of nature” and “gross inde- fleeing Afghans lice training session in Kandy, the Sri Lanka cency between persons”, which rights groups College of Psychiatrists (SLCP) said it does including Human Rights Watch have said is victim in UAE COLOMBO - Rights groups have in another country with support not consider homosexuality a mental illness “commonly understood in Sri Lanka to crimi- ABU DHABI - The Sri Lankan em- urged the Sri Lankan government to from civic and religious groups." Sri and called for its decriminalization. nalize same-sex relations between consenting bassy staff in Abu Dhabi performed the provide emergency visas for human Lanka's government signed a 2005 “The Sri Lanka College of Psychiatrists adults, including in private spaces.” last rites of a COVID-19 victim after the rights defenders, journalists and memorandum of understanding and would like to categorically state that we do Human Rights Watch has documented rest of his family members were found others at risk from the Taliban in Af- 2006 terms of reference with the not endorse the view homosexuality is due that other laws, including a vaguely worded to be afflicted with SARS-CoV-2, which ghanistan. United Nations High Commissioner to a disease of the mind or body,” the group Vagrancy Law and a penal code provision causes the viral disease. The National Peace Council (NPC), for Refugees (UNHCR) during Mahi- said, adding that modern day psychiatrists do banning “cheating by personation,” are also Initially, Jay, the Sri Lankan expatri- an independent organization work- nda Rajapaksa's tenure as president. not identify or diagnose homosexuality as a used to target transgender and gender non- ate, who was in his early 60s, had com- ing towards a negotiated political so- The UNHCR mandate is to aid and mental illness or treat it as such. The SLCP conforming people for arrest. plained of a mild headache and breath- lution to ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, protect refugees, forcibly displaced said the myth that homosexuality is a mental “Police have carried out many such arrests ing problems. called on the government to be part communities and stateless people, illness was not in keeping with the evidence- with violence. Among the 61 Lesbian, Gay, Later, his wife called on the emer- of the international effort to provide and to assist in their voluntary repa- based science practiced by its membership. Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people gency number 999 after his health sud- refuge to those who wish to leave Af- triation, local integration and reset- The offending video, which was shared on interviewed for a 2016 Human Rights Watch denly worsened. ghanistan. tlement to a third country. Twitter on August 2, showed the counsellor report, 16 had experienced physical or sexu- However, unfortunately, he passed "We urge the government to pro- During the Taliban’s previous rule posing the question “Would you like your al assault, including rape, by the police,” an away while the emergency medical vide emergency visas for human in Afghanistan, there were large- child to be a victim of a homosexual?” to an HRW report published in October 2020 said. team rushed to his place, an embassy rights defenders, journalists and oth- scale violations of human rights and audience of police officers who all replied When the police training video came up at official said. ers who have well-founded fears of cultural vandalism as witnessed in no in unison. She is then heard advising the a cabinet press briefing earlier this month, The deceased was found to be COV- persecution and to instruct the de- the destruction of the Bamiyan Bud- policemen and women against the union of then co-cabinet spokesman Minster Keheli- ID-19 positive after a PCR test was con- partment of immigration not to de- dha statues. The Taliban confined same sex couples, stating that the members of ya Rambukwella said the matter of LGBTQI ducted. Later, his wife and two daugh- port any asylum seekers arriving in women to their homes, banned tel- the audience would not have been born had rights have come up “over and over again” ters were found to have contracted the the country," the NPC said in a press evision and music and held public their parents been gay. and has been taken up for discussion. virus as well. They were placed under statement. executions. She also claimed governments in Sri Lanka “Right now, it’s not legalized – I don’t re- isolation and could not attend his last "By collaborating with civil society The NPC said, however, the initial have been toppled over their stance on homo- ally know if law enforcement have been tak- rites. and religious groups in supporting indications are more positive. Tali- sexuality. ing any action [against LGBTQ people] – but “We’re devastated and helpless. We the temporary stay of Afghan refu- ban leaders have promised to honour The SLCP said in its statement that, accord- it’s a matter that’s under discussion,” he said. reached out to the embassy officials, gees in Sri Lanka, in line with health women’s rights within the norms of ing to modern medical knowledge and social According to Rambukewlla, recognizing who offered immediate assistance,” guidelines and international law, Sri Islamic law. It is reported that the values, the lifestyle choices of the Lesbian, LGBTQ rights has not been completely ruled Jay’s wife said. Lanka will be setting an example of Taliban have encouraged women to Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and out. The consular division of the embassy solidarity that can mobilize more in-@Copyrightsreturn to work and have allowed girls Queer (LGBTIQ) community are to be re- “Nor has it been accepted. Right now, with assigned a public relations officer (PRO) ternational support for this humani- to return to school, handing out Is- spected and not discriminated against. the constitution, it is not. But it’s at a stage of to take care of the paperwork and later tarian cause. lamic headscarves at the door. “We would like to strongly urge the au- discussion, with some kind of reasoning out,” coordinated with the local authorities to "There are about 140 Afghans in "Despite these reassurances, there thorities to change article 365 of the penal he said. “There are a few people and organisa- carry out his last rites in Baniyas. Sri Lanka who have sought asylum continue to remain doubts based on code which states homosexuality is a criminal tions that have made representations, so we’ll The PRO, who went beyond his call of and are staying here temporarily past experiences," said the NPC. act. This archaic law should be abolished and be looking seriously at it,” he added. duty, is still pained by Jay’s death. until they are permanently resettle - ucanews.com homosexuality decriminalized in Sri Lanka,” -economynext.com “The hapless wife couldn’t see her husband one last time. The daughters couldn’t bid final goodbye to their fa- In brief ther. It was a heart-breaking moment. I was on the phone with the family mem- Sinopharm jabbed Lankans Over 100 health workers at bers, as the last rites were performed Price of bread, according to the Hindu tradition,” he said. buns and cake to face visa uncertainty Colombo National Hospital Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the UAE, The government has said it has no solution to Malraj de Silva, underlined that the be increased offer Sri Lankans vaccinated with China-made contract COVID-19 mission “remains committed” to offer The All-Ceylon Bakery Own- Sinopharm who have concerns about visa ap- assistance at any given time to any Lan- ers’ Association on Thursday provals from countries that have requested At least 105 health workers at the Colom- bo National Hospital have contracted the kan expatriate in distress. (19) announced that there will Western manufactured vaccines for travel. Jay’s family members are grateful for be an increase in the price of a Though health authorities are offering a choice novel coronavirus, Health Union Leader H. Medawatte said, adding “We are in a situa- the timely intervention by the embassy loaf of bread by Rs 5, buns and of vaccines for students or migrant workers and the PRO’s humanitarian act. other baked goods by Rs 10 and travelling abroad for higher studies or work, tion where we cannot operate wards or any other services. The remaining staff is work- “We’ve received an unforgettable as- cakes by Rs 100 per 1kg, effective Co-cabinet Spokesman Ramesh Pathirana said sistance from our embassy officials. Monday (23). The Association there was no alternative on the table yet for ing continuously to carry out the necessary health services.” Pointing out that the staff They regularly updated over the phone attributed their decision to the those who have received two doses of the China- while our father’s last rites were per- increase in the price of raw ma- made vaccine, as the World Health Organization was holding together the system with great difficulty; he warned it will crumble in a few formed,” the daughters added. terials and government failure to (WHO) has not given any recommendation in -Khaleej Times provide them any concessions. such cases. days. 4 AUGUST 20 - 22, 2021 WEEKEND EXPRESS HOT TOPICS

By Shah Meer Baloch By Idrees Ali, Patricia Zengerle, Hundreds of men in Jonathan Landay Pakistan investigated Planes, guns, night-vision over mass sexual goggles assault on woman The Taliban’s new US-made ISLAMABAD - Police in Pakistan have war chest opened cases against hundreds of unidenti- fied men after a young woman was sexually WASHINGTON - About a month ago, Afghanistan’s assaulted and groped by a crowd of more ministry of defence posted on social media photographs than 400 men in a park in Lahore as she of seven brand new helicopters arriving in Kabul deliv- made a TikTok video. ered by the United States. The shocking assault was captured on “They’ll continue to see a steady drumbeat of that several videos, which went viral and showed kind of support, going forward,” US Defence Secretary a mob descend on the woman as she was Lloyd Austin told reporters a few days later at the Pen- in Lahore’s Greater Iqbal park making a tagon. In a matter of weeks, however, the Taliban had TikTok video with friends. In broad day- seized most of the country, as well as any weapons and light, the men picked up the young woman - Jim Huylebroek/The New York Times equipment left behind by fleeing Afghan forces. and tossed her between them, tearing her Afghan soldiers who laid down their weapons and changed into civilian clothes were Video showed the advancing insurgents inspecting clothes and assaulting and groping her. among those fleeing Kabul, Afghanistan on Sunday (15), as the Taliban made their way long lines of vehicles and opening crates of new fire- The woman registered a case against 300 arms, communications gear and even military drones. into the city. The Afghan forces disintegrated ahead of the Taliban’s rapid advance. Now, “Everything that hasn’t been destroyed is the Tali- to 400 unidentified persons with Lahore the militants are searching for thousands of Afghan soldiers and security officials police, according to the case report seen by ban’s now,” said one US official, speaking on the condi- the Guardian. tion of anonymity. “The crowd pulled me from all sides to Current and former US officials say there is concern such an extent that my clothes were torn. By Matthew Rosenberg those weapons could be used to kill civilians, be seized I was hurled in the air. They assaulted me by other militant groups such as Islamic State to attack brutally,” the woman said in a statement to US-interests in the region, or even potentially be hand- the police. She said the crowd also stole her ed over to adversaries including China and Russia. money, earrings and a phone. Hunted by the Taliban, President Joe Biden’s administration is so concerned The footage prompted a wave of disgust about the weapons that it is considering a number of and anger in Pakistan. The country’s infor- options to pursue. mation minister, Fawad Chaudhry, said ar- US-allied Afghan forces are in hiding The officials said launching airstrikes against the rests were being made. Some perpetrators larger equipment, such as helicopters, has not been have been identified through CCTV footage KABUL - Columns of Afghan and interior and the headquar- that the Afghans will be among ruled out, but there is concern that would antagonize and eyewitness accounts. Chaudhry said: soldiers in armoured vehicles and ters of Afghanistan’s spy service, the last to leave, serving as a rear the Taliban at a time the United States’ main goal is “We are working on it full throttle. Prime pickup trucks sped through the drawing up lists of operatives to guard before they are airlifted to evacuating people. minister has taken notice also.” desert to reach Iran. Military pi- search for. And there are more freedom. Another official said that while there are no defini- Activists, politicians, celebrities, Amnes- lots flew low and fast to the safety and more reports that the mili- “They are performing heroical- tive numbers yet, the current intelligence assessment ty International and people across Pakistan of Uzbekistan’s mountains. tants are exacting swift and fatal ly,” said one US official. was that the Taliban are believed to control more than expressed their anger over the assault. The Thousands of Afghan security- revenge when they are found. “That is an understatement,” 2,000 armoured vehicles, including US Humvees, and chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party, force members managed to make On paper, the Afghan security another responded. up to 40 aircraft potentially including UH-60 Black Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, said the incident it to other countries over the past forces number around 300,000. The NDS commandos have Hawks, scout attack helicopters, and ScanEagle mili- should “shame every Pakistani” and that it few weeks as the Taliban rapidly But because of corruption, deser- good reason to be fearful. The tary drones. “speaks to a rot in our society”. seized the country. Others man- tion and casualties, only a sixth of units killed numerous Taliban “We have already seen Taliban fighters armed with The Pakistani singer Farhan Saeed said aged to negotiate surrenders and that number were actually in the fighters and commanders — US-made weapons they seized from the Afghan forces. he was “disgusted, furious, heartbroken went back to their homes — and fight against the Taliban this year, deaths that the militants appear This poses a significant threat to the United States and and ashamed that the men of this country some kept their weapons and US officials say. eager to avenge. our allies,” Representative Michael McCaul, the top Re- keep doing these horrible acts every other joined the winning side. Thousands surrendered as the The Taliban began showing up publican on the US House of Representatives Foreign day”. They were all part of the sudden Taliban rolled through the coun- at the houses of senior intelligence Affairs Committee, told Reuters in an email. The Pakistani senator Sherry Rehman atomization of the national secu- try, laying down their weapons af- officials soon after moving into The speed with which the Taliban swept across Af- said a recent implosion of violence against rity forces that the United States ter being promised they would not Kabul on Sunday. At the home of ghanistan is reminiscent of Islamic State militants tak- women suggested the problem was worsen- and its allies spent tens of billions be harmed. Rahmatullah Nabil, a former NDS ing weapons from US-supplied Iraqi forces who offered ing in Pakistan. “Most cases are mostly ei- of dollars to arm, train and stand The Taliban so far appears to chief who left the country in re- little resistance in 2014. ther ignored, buried or brushed aside in the against the Taliban, a two-decade have stuck with those deals — his- cent days, the Taliban came with Between 2002 and 2017, the United States gave the patriarchal culture of silencing the victim,” effort at institution-building that torically a common feature of Af- electronic equipment to sweep the Afghan military an estimated $28 billion in weaponry, she said. vanished in just a few days. ghan warfare — and the militants house, according to a former Af- including guns, rockets, night-vision goggles and even Pakistan is the sixth most dangerous But tens of thousands of other seemed far more focused on the ghan official. small drones for intelligence gathering. country in the world for women, according Afghan grunts, commandos and 18,000 Army commandos, many At the apartment of another But, aircraft like the Blackhawk helicopters have been to the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The spies who fought to the end, de- of whom did not surrender, and counterterrorism official, the Tali- the most visible sign of US military assistance, and were Karachi-based organization War Against spite the talk in Washington that officers from the country’s spy ban left a letter earlier this week supposed to be the Afghan military’ biggest advantage Rape estimated that less than 3% of rape the Afghan forces simply gave up, service, the National Directorate instructing the man to report to over the Taliban. cases lead to convictions. have been left behind. They are of Security, or NDS. the militants’ Military and Intel- Between 2003 and 2016 the United States provided The prime minister, Imran Khan, has now on the run, hiding and hunt- Some of those men have taken ligence Commission in Kabul. The Afghan forces with 208 aircraft, according to the US come under scrutiny for suggesting the rise ed by the Taliban. refuge in the Panjshir Valley, a letter was reproduced in the confi- Government Accountability Office (GAO). in rape and assault cases was to be blamed “There’s no way out,” said Far- strategic sliver north of Kabul dential report for the United Na- In the last week, many of those aircraft were most on how women dressed and behaved. “If a id, an Afghan commando, in a text where a handful of Afghan lead- tions, although the official’s name useful for Afghan pilots to escape the Taliban. woman is wearing very few clothes it will message to an American soldier ers are trying to organize a force and title were redacted. One of the US officials said that between 40 and 50 have an impact on the men unless they are who fought with him. Farid, who to resist the Taliban. They are said Counterterrorism officials were aircraft had been flown to Uzbekistan by Afghan pilots robots,” said Khan in an interview in June. agreed to be identified by his first to have 2,000-2,500 men, but responsible for overseeing the seeking refuge. Even before taking power in Kabul over “If you raise temptation in society to a point name only, said he was hiding in independent confirmation isn’t commandos who hunted down the weekend, the Taliban had started a campaign of as- – and all these young guys have nowhere to the mountains of eastern Afghani- available. Taliban leaders, and the letter sassinating pilots. go – it has a consequence in the society.” stan, trapped after the regular Two decades ago, Panjshiri said, ‘The Islamic Emirate of Af- Some planes were in the United States for mainte- Rehman said Khan’s comments were army units surrendered around mujahedeen leader Ahmed Shah ghanistan considers you an im- nance and will stay. Those en route to Afghan forces “a reflection of our culture of sexism and him. “I am praying to be saved.” Massoud held the valley against portant person’. will instead be used by the US military to help in the misogyny. By saying women should dress Accounts of the Taliban search- the Taliban for years. The region If the official did not report to evacuation from Kabul. a certain way, he is giving oppressors and ing for people they believe worked then provided US spies and Spe- the Taliban as ordered, it warned, Current and former officials say that while they are criminals against women a new narrative to with and fought alongside US and cial Operations forces a launch- their family would be detained concerned about the Taliban having access to the heli- justify their behaviour.” NATO forces are beginning to pad for the invasion that drove the and punished. copters, the aircraft require frequent maintenance and Women who have been fighting against trickle out, offering a bloody coun- Taliban from power in the months The document was provided to many are complicated to fly without extensive training. violence and Pakistan’s patriarchal system terpoint to the kinder, gentler face after 9/11. the United Nations by the Norwe- “Ironically, the fact that our equipment breaks down have faced attacks and abuse and been that the militants have been trying But this time, the Panjshiris gian Centre for Global Analyses, a so often is a life-saver here,” a third official said. slapped with false blasphemy and vulgarity to present to the world. lack heavy weapons, a supply line group that provides intelligence Retired US Army General Joseph Votel, who over- charges. The organisers of Aurat March, the The militants are threatening to through Afghanistan’s northern information to agencies of the saw US military operations in Afghanistan as head of annual women’s march to fight for women’s arrest or punish family members borders, significant international global organization. It was shared US Central Command from 2016 to 2019, said most of rights, have faced harassment by religious if they cannot find the people they support, or a unifying leader like internally at the United Nations the high-end hardware captured by the Taliban, includ- groups and the police. are seeking, according to former Massoud. Even Afghans who are and seen by The New York Times. ing the aircraft, was not equipped with sensitive U.S. An organizer of the march, who had eight Afghan officials, a confidential re- supportive of their effort give There were multiple reports technology. different police cases filed against her, port prepared for the United Na- them very long odds of succeed- that the Taliban had a list of peo- “In some cases, some of these will be more like tro- which were later dismissed by the court, tions, and American veterans who ing. ple they wanted to question and phies,” Votel said. There is a more immediate concern and requested to remain anonymous, said: have been contacted by desperate At Kabul’s airport, several hun- punish — and their locations, the about some of the easier- to-use weapons and equip- “The government must consider this a na- Afghans who served alongside dred commandos from the NDS document said. And it added that ment, such as night-vision goggles. tional crisis. I really hope the government, them. Most spoke on condition of are helping the thousands of the Taliban had been going door Since 2003 the United States has provided Afghan after all these incidents, will stop blaming anonymity to protect friends and American soldiers and Marines to door and “arresting and/or forces with at least 600,000 infantry weapons including victims and terming them isolated inci- loved ones still hiding in Afghani- who are overseeing the evacua- threatening to kill or arrest family M16 assault rifles, 162,000 pieces of communication dents. It should engage with the women’s stan. tion of foreigners and Afghans, members of target individuals un- equipment, and 16,000 night-vision goggle devices. movement on the rising violence against The officials said the Taliban according to American officials less they surrender themselves to “The ability to operate at night is a real game-chang- women in the country.” @Copyrightshad been combing through re- and former Afghan officials. The the Taliban.” er,” said one congressional aide. -The Guardian cords at the ministry of defence deal struck with the Americans is -New York Times Votel and others said smalls arms seized by the insur- gents such as machine guns, mortars, as well as artillery pieces including howitzers, could give the Taliban an advantage against any resistance that could surface in historic anti-Taliban strongholds such as the Panjshir China passes tough new online privacy law Valley northeast of Kabul. US officials said the expectation was that most of the BEIJING - China passed a sweep- Xinjiang province and elsewhere. history, a common practice among cannot be transferred to countries weapons would be used by the Taliban themselves, but ing privacy law aimed at preventing The new rules are also expected to Chinese online businesses. with lower standards of data secu- it was far too early to tell what they planned to do - in- businesses from collecting sensi- further rattle China's tech sector, The law is modelled after one of rity than China -- rules which may cluding possibly sharing the equipment with rival states tive personal data Friday (20), as with companies like ride hailing the world's strictest online privacy present problems for foreign busi- such as China. the country faces an uptick in in- giant Didi and gaming behemoth protection laws - the European nesses. Andrew Small, a Chinese foreign policy expert at the ternet scams, leaks and concerns Tencent in regulators' crosshairs in Union's General Data Protection "The thing we're all on tenter- German Marshall Fund of the United States, said the about tech giants abusing clients' recent months over misuse of per- Regulation. hooks over is the issue of data Taliban was likely to grant Beijing access to any US personal information. sonal data. "China's new privacy regime is transfer," Schaefer said. weapons they may now have control over. Under the new rules passed by The law aims to protect those one of the toughest in the world," "It poses a very interesting geo- One of the US officials said it was not likely China China's top legislative body, state- who "feel strongly about personal said Kendra Schaefer, a partner political conundrum, which is the would gain much, because Beijing likely already has ac- run and private companies han- data being used for user profil- at Beijing-based consulting firm US does not have a national privacy cess to the weapons and equipment. dling personal information will be ing and by recommendation algo- Trivium China. "China is not really law." The situation, experts say, shows the United States required to reduce data collection rithms or the use of big data in set- looking at the short term with this Companies that fail to comply needs a better way to monitor equipment it gives to and obtain user consent. ting [unfair] prices," a spokesman law." can face fines of up to 50 million allies. It could have done much more to ensure those The Chinese state security ap- for the National People's Congress Instead, she said, it aims "to es- yuan ($7.6 million) or 5% of a com- supplies to Afghan forces were closely monitored and paratus will maintain access to told state news agency Xinhua ear- tablish the foundations for the digi- pany's annual turnover. inventoried, said Justine Fleischner of UK-based Con- swathes of personal data, however, lier this week. tal economy over the next 40 or 50 Serious violators run the risk of flict Armament Research. and Beijing has long been accused It will prevent companies from years." losing their business licenses and “But the time has passed for these efforts to have any of harnessing big tech to acceler- setting different prices for the same The law also stipulates that the being forced to shut down. impact in Afghanistan,” Fleischner said. ate repression in the north-western service based on clients' shopping personal data of Chinese nationals -Agence France-Presse -Reuters WEEKEND EXPRESS AUGUST 20 - 22, 2021 5 REALITY CHECK

By Sangmi Cha and Minwoo Park By Anatoly Kurmanaev and Andre Paultre Animals are beings too ‘We’re on our own’ S. Korea to grant legal Many earthquake survivors expect status to pets to no help from Haitian officials tackle abuse, abandonment TOIRAC — The destruction was everywhere. The help nowhere. SEOUL - Jin-hui, a cream-coloured Po- Days after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake devastated meranian, was buried alive and left for part of Haiti’s southern peninsula, the hillside village of dead -in 2018 in the South Korean port Toirac had yet to be visited by any emergency authorities city of Busan. or aid groups. No charges were filed against its owner At least 20 Toirac villagers who had been attending a at the time, but animal abusers and those funeral when the quake struck Saturday (14) were killed who abandon pets will soon face harsher as the church collapsed, survivors said. punishment as South Korea plans to amend With some help from Boy Scouts, the Toirac villag- its civil code to grant animals legal status, -Ulet Ifansasti/The New York Times ers dug out their dead loved ones, buried them in mass said Choung Jae-min, the justice ministry's Paiman, left, and Martinah at the grave of their daughter, Raesa Maharani, who graves and built makeshift shelters as Tropical Storm director-general of legal counsel. died of COVID-19 at 17-years-old, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, July 29, 2021. The Grace pelted the area with heavy rain that caused floods The amendment, which must still be ap- disease kills far more children in developing countries than in rich ones, and and mudslides. The villagers used salvaged pieces of proved by Parliament, likely during its next some factors make them especially vulnerable in Indonesia their collapsed houses. “I don’t expect any help; we’re on our own,” said regular session in September, would make By Dera Menra Sijabat, Richard C. Paddock and Muktita Suhartono Michel Milord, a 66-year-old farmer in Toirac, who lost South Korea one of a handful of countries his wife and his house in the earthquake. “No one trusts to recognize animals as beings, with a right this government here.” to protection, enhanced welfare and re- At least 2,189 people were killed and more than 12,000 spect for life. Poverty, disease, customs injured in the quake, which caused tremendous damage The push for the amendment comes in an area that is home to about 1.5 million people. It as the number of animal abuse cases in- is about 80 miles west of the capital, Port-au-Prince, creased to 914 in 2019 from 69 in 2010, Why so many Indonesian children are dying of COVID-19 which remains scarred by a quake along the same fault data published by a lawmaker's office BULUS WETAN — When Debi- only one-fifth of the population cause of the widespread misper- line that struck more than 11 years ago, killing roughly showed, and the pet-owning population yantoro, a hotel repairman, first is even partly vaccinated. Delta is ception that children cannot get 250,000 people. grew to more than 10 million people in the lost his sense of taste, he wondered much more contagious than ear- COVID-19. By the time it is clear The United Nations, United States and an array of country of 52 million. briefly if it might be COVID-19, lier forms of the virus, although that the symptoms have a more international aid groups have mobilized to send help, South Korea's animal protection law but he quickly dismissed the idea. there is no proof so far that it is serious cause, it is often too late. but the effort has remained patchy and limited, mostly states that anyone who abuses or is cruel to Having the disease would mean deadlier. In densely populated countries confined to providing urgent medical assistance and animals may be sentenced to a maximum not being able to make a living. Child COVID-19 deaths have like Indonesia — the fourth-most basic supplies to the main population centres close to of three years in prison or fined 30 million Now he blames his reluctance exceeded 2,000 in Brazil and populous in the world, with 270 airstrips. won ($25,494), but the standards to decide to get tested for the death of his 1,500 in India — more than in million people — with limited The only road linking Port-au-Prince to the affected penalties have been low as the animals are 22-month-old daughter, Alesha Indonesia — but those countries access to vaccines, hospitals are area — normally a four-hour drive — remains plagued treated as objects under the current legal Kimi Pramudita. All 10 members have had several times as many overcrowded and understaffed, by gang violence, derailing some aid deliveries. Airlifts were delayed by Tropical Storm Grace, which passed system, Choung said. of their crowded household suf- deaths overall. and many do not have paediatric fered COVID-19-like symptoms, Detailed analyses have pointed intensive care units or specialists over Haiti on Monday (16). According to local residents, Once the Civil Act declares animals are some relief supplies that had been intended for more re- no longer simply things, judges and pros- but none were tested until Kimi to a slew of contributors to child in treating children. went for an unrelated check-up. deaths: Underlying health prob- A lack of information about mote mountain communities never reached their desti- ecutors will have more options when deter- nation, having been commandeered on the way. mining sentences, he said. Hospitalized immediately, she lems that can worsen COVID-19, COVID-19 also contributes to the died a day later. severe air pollution, multigenera- high number of deaths. And the Haitian government, which has promised The proposal has met with scepticism “Although I thought it might tional families living in cramped “Most of the spread is within to centralize and coordinate the relief effort, has been from the Korea Pet Industry Retail Associ- have been COVID, I was afraid quarters, poor nutrition, cultural families now,” and nearly all of it largely absent from the affected communities. ation, which pointed out there are already I wouldn’t be allowed to work, factors and lack of access to infor- is avoidable with proper precau- Haiti was plunged into disarray by the assassination laws in place to protect animals. which means I couldn’t have sup- mation, diagnosis and treatment. tions, said Aman. of President Jovenel Moïse last month. The country is "The revision will only call for means to ported my family,” Debiyantoro, Children living in poverty tend In Jakarta, the teeming Indone- now facing the earthquake's aftermath without a presi- regulate the industry by making it difficult who like many Indonesians uses to have more underlying condi- sian capital, Beverly Alezha Mar- dent, a functioning Parliament or a head of the Supreme to adopt pets, which will impact greatly one name, said as he tried to hold tions like obesity, diabetes, heart lein was born in early June into Court. The caretaker government that took power after not only the industry, but the society as a back tears. “But now I am filled disease and malnutrition that can an extended family of 16 residing Moïse’s death lacks political experience, money and le- whole," said the association's director gen- with remorse that I lost my daugh- multiply the risks of COVID-19. in three nearby houses. Relatives gitimacy in the eyes of most Haitians. eral, Kim Kyoung-seo. ter.” Respiratory ailments like tuber- came over frequently to admire The new Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, toured the af- Choung said the amended civil code will Across Indonesia, children culosis and asthma that are more and hold the newborn, just as fected area the day after the earthquake, but he had little also pave the way for follow-up efforts such have fallen victim to COVID-19 in prevalent in poorer regions, and family members would want to to offer the desperate residents apart from words of re- as life insurance packages for animals and alarming numbers, with a striking the corrosive effect of air pollution anywhere in the world, but the assurance. Underlining Haiti’s limited resources, Henry the obligation to rescue and report road- increase since June, when the Del- can make it more difficult for chil- message to maintain social dis- had to travel on an airplane lent by the air force of neigh- boring Dominican Republic. kill. ta variant began taking hold. The dren to survive COVID-19, which tance, so ingrained in some coun- pandemic has killed at least 1,245 can attack the lungs. tries, has not taken root as deeply The small airport of Les Cayes, the main source of It is likely the amendment will be passed, supplies for the earthquake zone, bustled this week with said lawmaker Park Hong-keun, who Indonesian children and the big- In Indonesia, nearly 6% of re- in Indonesia. gest recent jump has been among ported child deaths from COV- “When Bev was born, it was aid groups and foreign emergency workers. There was heads the animal welfare parliamentary no sign of any government officials or airplanes. forum, as there is widespread social con- those younger than 1, said Dr. ID-19 have been of children suffer- natural that everybody was hap- Aman Bhakti Pulungan, head of ing from tuberculosis. Southeast py and wanted to see and visit Asked where to find state officials in the area, a local sensus that animals should be protected the Indonesian Paediatric Society. Asia, including Indonesia, has the baby,” said her mother, Tirsa political leader and former senator, Hervé Fourcand — and respected as living beings that coexist Researchers point to many rea- the world’s heaviest TB burden, Manitik, 32. who had used his own prop plane to fly injured quake in harmony with people. sons children would be more likely accounting for 44% of new cases Sometimes, the relatives wore victims to safety — briskly walked away from a New York Animal rights groups welcomed the jus- to die in developing countries, but globally in 2019, according to the masks or kept their distance, she Times reporter in silence. tice ministry's plan, while calling for strict- many of those factors boil down to World Health Organization. said. But that was not always the The government has said that it would centralize all er penalties for those who abandon or tor- a single one: poverty. Southeast Asia also has some case. Some family members got aid delivery in Port-au-Prince under new orders given ture animals, as well as a ban on dog meat. Wealthy countries have gotten of the world’s highest rates of COVID-19 soon after Beverly was to a government agency, the National Centre for Emer- "Abuse, abandonment, and neglect for used to the idea that children are thalassemia, a genetic disorder born, including her father and gency Operations, to avoid the mistakes made in the pets have not improved in our society," extremely rare pandemic victims. that hampers the blood’s ability aunt, the first two to test positive. 2010 quake. A lack of coordination in the early weeks of said Cheon Chin-kyung, head of Korea In the United States and Europe, to transport oxygen, and has con- Before long, all 17 family mem- that disaster left loads of urgently needed aid sitting in Animal Rights Advocates. people younger than 18 have ac- tributed to some child deaths. bers were infected, including the Port-au-Prince. Despite a slight drop last year, animal counted for about 1 of every 1,500 Raesa Maharani, 17, fought 11 children. Beverly’s grandfather By Wednesday (18), however, it was unclear if the new abandonment has risen to 130,401 in 2020 reported COVID-19 deaths. thalassemia for much of her life, died at home July 1. agency was receiving or coordinating any deliveries. The prime minister’s office directed questions about the re- from 89,732 cases in 2016, the Animal and But the toll in less developed receiving blood transfusions to When Beverly had trouble countries tells a different story. treat it, but after she was hospital- breathing, her doctor ordered her lief effort to the interior minister, who was not reachable Plant Quarantine Agency said. South Ko- for comment. Haiti's communication minister, Jean rea has an estimated 6 million pet dogs and The paediatric society’s figures ized last month with COVID-19, hospitalized but finding space was suggest that in Indonesia, about she seemed to give up. difficult. Tirsa drove her to 10 hos- Emmanuel Jacquet, said late Wednesday that the emer- 2.6 million cats. gency agency had delivered 12 truckloads of aid from Solemn with large, sad eyes, Jin-hui, 1 of every 88 officially counted “Enough, it’s been enough,” she pitals and all were full, with lines deaths has been that of a child. told her parents. of patients waiting outside, before international and local donors. which means "true light" in Korean, now The true rate is impossible to She pulled the oxygen mask the 11th accepted her. Beverly, Some aid groups and donor governments say they enjoys spending time with other dogs at an discern, because testing is limited from her face and needles from who was born healthy, survived have just started delivering the aid themselves after hav- animal shelter south of Seoul. and many COVID-19 deaths in In- her arm, prompting nurses to tie for eight days in the hospital, dy- ing advised authorities of their plans. "Its owner lost his temper and told his donesia have gone uncounted, but her in bed so she could continue ing July 7. She was 29 days old. “Everything is very slow,” said Fiammetta Cappellini, kids to bury it alive. We barely managed it is clearly much higher than in receiving treatment. Even so, she “I am not blaming anybody, but the Haiti representative of the AVSI Foundation, an in- to save it after a call, but the owner wasn't the West. died July 19. I want to alert people,” Tirsa said. ternational aid group. “The current political crisis has a punished as the dog was recognised as The undercounting may have Even when children are visibly “Let’s take more care to protect terrible impact on the emergency response. Everything an object owned by him," said Kim Gea- worsened in the past two months, ill, parents and doctors may mis- our babies. There is no need for a is taking longer than usual, including critical decisions yeung, 55, manager of the shelter. as the Delta variant of the corona- take the symptoms — body aches, physical visit. Let’s just do video on how to help people. There are many promises to help, "Animals are certainly not objects." virus drove a huge wave of cases fever, diarrhoea or coughing — for calls.” but in reality, very little is happening.” -Reuters and deaths in Indonesia, where other conditions, particularly be- -New York Times The quake also threatened to derail the COVID-19 re- sponse in Haiti, the last country in the Western Hemi- @Copyrightssphere to start vaccinating, because of the urgent need By Mark Brown to divert medical resources to quake victims. Only around 21,000 Haitians in the population of 11 million have received vaccines, said officials of the Pan American Health Organization, a specialized interna- Slave to their bowels tional health agency for the Americas. Dr. Carissa Etienne, the agency’s director, told a vir- Meat-rich diet of 14th-century monks caused digestive issues, research finds tual briefing Wednesday that scores of hospitals in three regions of southern Haiti hit by the quake had been LONDON - It may have seemed a lem, said the English Heritage histo- viving latrines. “I remember being a pese of soepe, make hit smale and damaged or destroyed, and she appealed urgently for good day for medieval monks when rian Michael Carter. fascinated by the idea of it being a putt it yn youre fundamewnt and more international help. a papal decree allowed them to start “Basically monks were slaves to 900-year-old monastic toilet block,” then rest upon your bed”. “The needs are immense in Haiti right now,” Etienne eating meat including mutton, beef, their bowels. They often had serious he said. Carter said he had no intention said. “The earthquake aftermath combined with the pork and venison. It was not so good health problems because of their Was he an odd child? “There of trying out the recipes, “but I COVID-19 pandemic presents a very challenging situa- for their bowels. diet and digestion.” wasn’t an awful lot to do on Sunday wouldn’t be surprised if they were tion for the people of Haiti.” Research by English Heritage The change in diet came with afternoons in the 1970s.” highly effective”. International aid officials also expressed alarm over sheds light on the day-to-day lives rules that the meat should not be The visits clearly sowed seeds and His research has led to new in- the immense destruction to schools, which were set to and digestive troubles of monks at eaten in the refectory and Carter has decades later Carter is fascinated by terpretation at the abbey which is reopen Sept. 7. In one of the three afflicted regions alone, Muchelney Abbey in Somerset – discovered structural changes made the daily lives of the people in the interesting on a wider level. 94 of 255 schools were destroyed or damaged, UNICEF’s in particular the consequence of a to the abbey to allow this. monasteries. “I do think there is something representative in Haiti, Bruno Maes, said Wednesday. change in papal law, in 1336, which He has also come across what The guide to better digestive about monastic latrines,” he said. “It will be extremely difficult for parents, teachers and permitted the twice-weekly con- amounts to a guide to monastic health shines light on the prevalence “People have this idea of people in the government to get children safely back to school just sumption of meat from four-legged healthy eating from annotations in of stomach complaints in the abbey. the middle ages being filthy and three weeks from now,” Maes said. animals. the abbey’s 14th-century breviary, a A balanced meal might be “white, not caring about human waste, but For many residents, the quake was just the latest The monks already had, by mod- holy service book. well-leavened” or sourdough bread, when you look in to it you discover hardship they have endured on their own in a country ern standards, an unbalanced and Carter has been interested in ale flavoured with herbs, and eels. that is far from the case. They devel- afflicted by endemic poverty and corruption. calorie-rich diet. Adding meat as a monks and their digestion since There is a laxative recipe featur- oped sophisticated architecture and Many have simply tried carrying on, amid the rubble. luxury meant constipation and di- visiting Kirkstall Abbey on the out- ing various fruit extracts. Or a monk plumbing. It is fascinating stuff.” -New York Times arrhoea soon became a major prob- skirts of Leeds and seeing the sur- can perhaps feel better if they “take -The Guardian 6 AUGUST 20 - 22, 2021 WEEKEND EXPRESS RETHINKING AMERICA

By Maria Cramer By Clay Risen In search for graves Afghanistan, Vietnam Tulsa massacre survivors ask and the limits of Justice Dept. to intervene A group of survivors and descendants of victims of American power the race massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, have asked ‘Saigon’. Even those who weren’t alive to watch the Justice Department to take over the search for America’s ignominious exit from South Vietnam in mass graves of Black residents who were killed 1975 can conjure the image: a helicopter perched atop during the rampage in 1921. an apartment building, loaded with evacuees, a photo- The group, Justice for Greenwood, said it did not graphic memorial for the country’s defeat and a sign trust city officials to lead the search for the graves of the wrenching political and cultural reckoning that or to handle any remains that may be found. was to come. “To ensure the deaths of the massacre victims That scene is already being compared to the images whose remains are found are properly and thor- of desperate Afghans running alongside a transport -Stefani Reynolds/The New York Times oughly investigated, we are calling on the Depart- plane at Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, ment of Justice to act as a neutral, third-party in- President Joe Biden speaks on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan at the White on Monday (16). Several clung to the plane, only to fall vestigator and to take over the search,” the group House on Monday (16). Biden’s decision not to begin a mass evacuation of Af- to their deaths once it took off. said in a letter that was signed by the three surviv- ghans months ago has left tens of thousands of people in a desperate limbo As with the photographs from Saigon, it is hard not ing victims of the massacre, as well as state legisla- to see the airport scene as a portrait of American fail- tors and community and city leaders. By Eric Schmitt, Helene Cooper and Michael D. Shear ure. The comparison also raises a question: Will the The Justice Department should investigate and country’s two-decade debacle in Afghanistan come “provide answers and findings that the massacre anywhere close to resembling Vietnam’s long-reach- survivors and their descendants, and the rest of ing effect on US politics and culture? the public, can trust,” they said in the letter, which Biden says troops may stay in To explore that question, I reached out to several was dated last Friday (13). historians who write about the 1970s and the end of A spokeswoman said the Justice Department the Vietnam War. While drawing historical parallels had received the letter but declined to comment. can be a fool’s errand, they agreed there are still les- The city has been working with archaeologists Kabul longer to assist evacuations sons to be learned. and forensic anthropologists to search for and WASHINGTON — President that the military would work sonal to me,” Austin said. “This Jefferson Cowie, a historian at Vanderbilt Univer- identify the remains. Joe Biden said Wednesday with the Taliban to allow Af- is a war that I fought in and led. sity and the author of ‘Stayin’ Alive: The 1970s and the As many as 300 people died during the ram- (18) that the United States was ghans with proper paperwork to I know the country, I know the Last Days of the Working Class’, said that one conse- page, which was led by white looters who set fire committed to evacuating every pass through. “I don’t have the people, and I know those who quence of the Vietnam War was a recognition of the to the businesses and homes of Black residents American out of Afghanistan, capability to go out and extend fought alongside me.” limits of American power, a theme that ran like a red in the Greenwood neighbourhood in June 1921. even if that might mean extend- operations currently into Kabul.” Milley sought to address thread through the country’s politics and culture in Greenwood, then a booming business district, ing the military mission beyond Milley said the State Depart- American service members who the 1970s. comprised some 40 blocks of restaurants, hotels his Aug. 31 deadline for a total ment was in communication took part in the endeavour di- “There was a debate over limits of all kinds in the and theatres owned and run by Black entrepre- withdrawal. with the Taliban to ensure that rectly: “For more than 20 years, United States in the 1970s — to foreign policy, energy, neurs. The mob destroyed it in less than 24 hours. “If there’s American citizens passengers could make their way we have prevented an attack on growth and our standing in the world,” Cowie said. But A spokeswoman for the city of Tulsa declined to left, we’re going to stay to get to the airport. But there have the U.S. homeland,” he said, add- that debate had its own political consequences, giving comment on the letter because members of Justice them all out,” Biden said during been numerous reports of Tali- ing that 2,448 troops lost their rise, by the end of the decade, to a renewed belief in for Greenwood have a pending lawsuit against the an interview on ABC News. ban fighters beating and harass- lives and 20,722 were wounded American power, driven by the Republican Party. city demanding compensation for the losses that When asked whether Ameri- ing Afghans trying to get there, in action, “and many others suf- “The national debate ended with Ronald Reagan de- descendants of the victims and survivors endured. cans should understand that to despite the Pentagon’s warnings fered the unseen wounds of war.” claring ‘we are too great a nation to limit ourselves to In 2018, Mayor G.T. Bynum announced that the mean that the troops might stay not to interfere with the evacua- Marine Corps leaders, in a let- small dreams,’ ” Cowie said. city would conduct a search for bodies, focusing beyond the end of the month, tion. ter Wednesday, also tried to re- He left open the question of whether America would on four sites, including Oaklawn Cemetery, that Biden replied, “No. Americans In the interview, ABC’s George assure the corps, which has car- see a similar rightward tilt in the coming years, though had been identified as potential locations of mass should understand that we’re Stephanopoulos asked Biden if ried much of the Afghan fight, it’s not hard to imagine a Ron DeSantis or a Josh Haw- graves of the victims. going to try to get it done before in making the decision to with- saying they “believe — without ley running a presidential campaign on a promise to “The only way to move forward in our work to Aug. 31.” draw forces from America’s 20- question — that your service was yet again restore American greatness. bring about reconciliation in Tulsa is by seeking But he then said, “If we don’t, year war in Afghanistan he had meaningful, powerful and im- Mary L. Dudziak, a law professor at Emory Univer- the truth honestly,” Bynum said in a statement we’ll determine at the time who’s “priced in” the risk US citizens portant.” sity and the author of ‘War Time: An Idea, Its History, posted on the city’s website. “We are committed to left.” and Afghan allies would strug- Milley said 5,000 Marines and Its Consequences’, agreed that any attempt at reckon- exploring what happened in 1921 through a collec- The Taliban, which took over gle to evacuate, putting them in soldiers were to be on the ground ing would be short-lived, and that in the long term tive and transparent process.” the capital, Kabul, this week, danger from Taliban forces who by late Wednesday to secure the America could become even less constrained in its as- The authors of the letter to the Justice Depart- have set up checkpoints in the might try to exact revenge. airport, as military and commer- sertion of power. ment contended that some of those involved in the city, preventing thousands of The president initially an- cial flights carrying people out “I expect that one similarity,” she said, “will be a search effort, whom they did not name, were the people from reaching Hamid swered “yes”, and then added, of the Afghan capital continued failure to grapple with the way US political culture un- descendants of people who “both encouraged and Karzai International Airport. “Now exactly what happened, apace. dermines a more robust politics of military restraint, actively participated in the violence that destroyed Tens of thousands of other Af- I’ve not priced in.” In the previous 24 hours, 18 and this hampers powerful political opposition within Greenwood in 1921 in the first place.” ghans who worked with the Unit- Biden, as he did earlier in the Air Force C-17 transport planes Congress, which might put a brake on the entry into “The city has an obvious conflict of interest,” ed States during the war remain week, offered a strong defence of departed Kabul, with 2,000 and persistence of war.” said Damario Solomon-Simmons, executive direc- stranded across the country. his administration’s handling of passengers, including 325 US What might have been a sustained, nuanced conver- tor of Justice for Greenwood. “We do not believe Earlier in the day, the Penta- the military withdrawal, which citizens, John Kirby, the chief sation about limiting the president’s war powers, she the city has the moral authority or the desire to do gon’s top two leaders said the has plunged Afghanistan into Pentagon spokesperson, told re- added, has been short-circuited by the frenzy to decide the right thing in this situation.” US government was committed chaos. porters Wednesday. The others “who lost Afghanistan.” Solomon-Simmons, a lawyer, is representing to evacuating Afghans cleared “The idea that somehow, were Afghan civilians and NATO “In our toxic political environment,” Dudziak said, the three survivors and descendants of the victims to enter the United States, but there’s a way to have gotten out personnel, he said. “Republicans are likely to use this moment to under- in the lawsuit. would not commit to extending without chaos ensuing — I don’t That total is well short of the mine President Biden, and partisanship may foreclose The massacre followed a chance encounter be- the operation beyond the Aug. know how that happens,” he 5,000 to 9,000 passengers a day the deeper re-examination of American war politics tween two teenagers — Dick Rowland, 19, a Black 31 deadline, which Biden had set said, according to a transcript the military is aiming to fly out of that is sorely needed now, and was also after the war shoe shiner, and Sarah Page, 17, a white elevator earlier this year for ending the provided by the network. the country once the evacuation in Vietnam.” What about the broader cultural im- operator. Rowland entered the elevator on May military’s mission in the country. About 5,000 people have been process is “at full throttle,” Kirby plications? Philip Jenkins, a scholar of religious his- 31, 1921. A scream was heard from inside, and “We intend to evacuate those evacuated since the operation said. tory at Baylor University and the author of ‘Decade of Rowland fled. who have been supporting us for started over the weekend. “The goal is to get as many Nightmares: The End of the Sixties and the Making Accused of sexually assaulting Page, he was ar- years, and we are not going to The news conference was the people out as quickly as we can,” of Eighties America’, said he saw a similarity between rested that morning and jailed in the Tulsa County leave them behind,” Gen. Mark first by the Pentagon’s senior he said. then and now in the confluence of anti-establishment Courthouse. A large group of armed Black people, Milley, chairman of the Joint leadership since the extraordi- About the same numbers of conspiracy-mongering and a sudden political disaster fearful that Rowland would be lynched, rushed to Chiefs of Staff, told reporters. nary fall of Kabul over the week- military flights were expected to for the American government. the courthouse to ensure his safety. “And we will get out as many as end. The disintegration of the leave Kabul in the next 24 hours, The collapse of faith in public institutions in the The charges against Rowland were later possible.” Afghan military has been deeply but Kirby said he could not pre- 1970s wasn’t just about Vietnam — Watergate, envi- dropped, and the authorities eventually conclud- Speaking at a Pentagon news painful for the Pentagon, which dict how many passengers those ronmental crises and the general scepticism that the ed that he had most likely tripped and stepped on conference, Milley and Defence spent 20 years and $83 billion planes would carry. boomer generation held for its elders were all con- Page’s foot, according to a 2001 report from the Secretary Lloyd Austin stopped building up Afghanistan’s secu- The Pentagon said 1,000 per- tributing factors. But Vietnam towered above them, Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race short of assuring safe passage to rity forces. But beyond that, the sonnel have been sent to Qatar to not only because it touched so many people, but also Riot of 1921. But by June 1, the day after the ar- the tens of thousands of Afghan collapse of the Afghan govern- help State Department officials because it brought into sharp focus the failure of the rest, a large mob of white Tulsans had begun set- allies who have been blocked by ment has left the Pentagon fac- speed the processing of visa ap- American government to do the thing it was suppos- ting fire to businesses in Greenwood. People were the Taliban from reaching the ing questions from veterans of plications for the Afghans who edly best at: winning wars. killed on the street or simply vanished. airport. So far, US Marines and the war and active-duty service worked for the US war effort. Today, of course, we are much more jaded, a fact No one was ever charged. In the years and dec- other troops have not been sent members, who have wondered Evacuation flights from Kabul that Jenkins said might soften the impact of defeat. ades after the massacre, the city and the Chamber into Kabul to extract evacuees, what the point of the sacrifice are mostly flying to Qatar, where “Vietnam was different, partly because it was a of Commerce tried to cover it up, distorting the the men said. was. Afghan visa applicants are be- novel US defeat, not something that people were used narrative to present Black residents as the violent “The forces that we have are Both Pentagon leaders tried to ing screened before they board to back then,” he said. “American observers this time instigators. focused on security of the air- put some of those feelings into flights to the United States. have almost come to expect that something like this -New York Times field,” said Austin, who added words. “All of this is very per- -New York Times will happen.” Of course, the Biden administration is hoping that Jenkins is right, at least in a narrow sense. “This is manifestly not Saigon,” Secretary of State An- By Apoorva Mandavilli tony Blinken said over the weekend. Several historians @Copyrightsagreed. CDC studies suggest “Seeing Afghanis hoping to get out of their country with the US troops leaving in the night is obviously reminiscent of those trying to escape the fall of Sai- Vaccines’ protection against virus infection is waning gon,” Cowie said, “except it’s not. Vietnam structured WASHINGTON - The Centres for or the rise of the highly contagious Gounder, an infectious disease spe- Together, the new studies indicate everything from politics, dissent, popular culture, Disease Control (CDC) and Preven- Delta variant — or a combination of cialist at Bellevue Hospital Centre overall that vaccines have an effec- elections, etc. In contrast, few cared or knew what was tion released three studies Wednes- all three. and a former adviser on the pandemic tiveness of roughly 55% against in- happening in Afghanistan or, for that matter, Iraq.” day (18) that federal officials said “We are concerned that this pattern to the administration. fections, 80% against symptomatic Amanda C. Demmer of Virginia Tech, the author provided evidence that booster shots of decline we are seeing will continue Boosters would only be warranted infection and 90% or higher against of ‘After Saigon’s Fall: Refugees and US -Vietnamese of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna in the months ahead, which could if the vaccines were failing to prevent hospitalization, noted Ellie Murray, Relations, 1975-2000,” said such invisibility stemmed coronavirus vaccines would be need- lead to reduced protection against people from ending up hospitalized a public health researcher at Boston from two factors. ed by all Americans in the coming severe disease, hospitalization and with COVID-19, she said adding, and University. The first is obvious: While the United States fought months. death,” Dr. Vivek Murthy, the sur- “We’ll be better protected by vac- “Those numbers are actually very the Vietnam War with millions of conscripts, the war But some experts said the new re- geon general, said at a White House cinating the unvaccinated here and good,” Murray said. “The only group in Afghanistan was fought by volunteers, and in much search did not support the decision news briefing Wednesday. around the world.” that these data would suggest boost- smaller numbers. That meant not only that fewer civil- to recommend booster shots for all Citing the data, federal health of- It is unclear whether a third dose ers for, to me, is the immune-compro- ians knew anyone directly affected by the fighting, but Americans. ficials outlined a plan for Americans would help people who did not pro- mised.” also that the Afghanistan War had a much different Taken together, the studies show who received the two vaccines to get duce a robust response to the first The drop in protection against moral valence — no one was being forced to fight. that although the vaccines remain booster shots eight months after re- two doses, said Bill Hanage, a public infection could be the result of in- Demmer added a second point: What we know highly effective against hospitali- ceiving their second doses, starting health researcher at the Harvard T.H. creased exposure to a highly conta- about Afghanistan, and how we know it, is vastly dif- zations, the bulwark they provide Sept. 20. Some scientists were deeply Chan School of Public Health. gious variant during a period of unfet- ferent from the experience with Vietnam. against infection with the virus has sceptical of the new plan. The recommendation for boost- tered social interactions, she added. In other words, the uniformity of the news media weakened in the past few months. “These data support giving ad- ers may also end up undermining “This seems to me like a real possibil- 50 years ago forced a national reckoning; the lack of It is unclear whether the decline ditional doses of vaccine to highly confidence in vaccines, he warned: ity, since many early vaccinated were a coherent narrative, let alone a coherent set of facts, in protection against infection is the immune-compromised persons “A third shot will add to scepticism motivated by a desire to see friends around Afghanistan makes such a reckoning much result of waning immunity, a drop and nursing home residents, not to among people yet to receive one dose and family and get back to normal.” less likely. in precautions like wearing masks, the general public,” said Dr. Celine that the vaccines help them.” -New York Times -New York Times WEEKEND EXPRESS AUGUST 20 - 22, 2021 7 COMMENTARY

By Kassapa Rambukwella The best choice to echo His Masters Voice After one year in office and in the midst of the country’s greatest health crisis since independence, President Go- tabaya Rajapaksa this week reshuffled the Cabinet- and what an anti-climax it was. He who proclaimed that his Cabinet would be selected in a ‘scientific’ manner merely decided to swap the port- folios of six ministers, shuffling the subjects they held. No one was dropped from the Cabinet, nor was any one added to the Cabinet, not even ex-president and Sri Lan- ka Freedom Party (SLFP) leader Maithripala Sirisena. The so-called ‘highlight’ of the reshuffle was the re- moval of Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi. The decision made international headlines because Wannia- rachchi was already well known as the Minister of Health – J. Sujeewakumar/ENCL who promoted a magic potion as a cure for COVID-19. One of the most peaceful sections of the society, teachers, have come out in protest in massive numbers during So, when she was removed, global media lapped up the the last few weeks story eagerly and revealed her plight to the rest of the world. By Basil Fernando Wanniarachchi told the media after her removal as Health Minister that it came as a surprise to her. She only learnt of the change in her portfolio when she was called by the Presidential Secretariat, she said. This is an When people lose confidence in the government indication of President Rajapaksa’s style of managing his ministers and how distant they are to him, despite the The significance of judicial independence when the public demonstrate its power of resilience public show of unity and camaraderie. The surprise however was not Wanniarachchi being The people of Sri Lanka, like those in several Such movements, in political science, are called the independence of the Judiciary, established in replaced. After the blunders she committed- kissing the other countries, are learning that their past could spontaneous movements. Sri Lanka for over 150 years. The tale of the initial Chinese tourist who contracted Covid-19, throwing pots cost them their lives and the lives of their loved The government’s response was to arrest, ab- reaction to President Jayewardene by his friend, of ‘holy’ water into a river to mitigate the threat of the ones and those of many others. COVID-19 seems duct and try to intimidate the teachers and those Chief Justice Neville Samarakoon, is part of this coronavirus, sampling the notorious ‘Dhammika peniya’ to be mocking them. It seems to ask “Can’t you who support them in other ways. As this could not narrative. There are several ways in which the Ju- in public, and watching on helplessly while the pandemic find someone among yourself who is capable of be done purely by adverse propaganda against the diciary was exposed to many forms of intimida- escalated in to hundreds of deaths per day- that was only stopping me.” spontaneous movement, the government resorted tion and there are criticisms about the times when expected. The answer is that it is time to ignore all those to what it has always been good at, which is to re- it succumbed to some of these pressures. Some- That is not to say that mismanagement of the pan- who claim to have taken the responsibility to pro- sort to various forms of repression. times, the governments have been lucky when demic was all Wanniarachchi’s doing. Medical experts tect the people. Instead the people themselves Some perversely imaginative means were used there were such judges as Sarath Nanda Silva, who dealt with the former minister say they were always should take whatever measures they can to pro- as tools of repression. For example, when the the former Chief Justice, who on his own co-op- treated with the utmost respect by Wanniarachchi who tect themselves. teachers protesting in Nugegoda and Demata- erated with the Executive to undermine judicial valued their opinions and gave them due consideration. A certain degree of resilience is emerging among goda were arrested by the police for no reason independence. But later resistance by the Judici- Nevertheless, Minister Wanniarachchi was also not the people. They have lost confidence in the State at all, they were not taken to the relevant police ary was manifest in many instances such as when assertive enough and could not prevent the entire COV- and the government. However, passive withdraw- stations as the law required the police to do. They former Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake ID-19 management strategy being hijacked by the Presi- al is no solution to the threat of death that is now were sent to the Harbour Police. The Opposition resisted the attempts to force her to resign. dential Task Force led by General Shavendra Silva that at their doorstep. They have to do something and Leader and another parliamentarian were pre- In recent times, the Judiciary has intervened marginalized her and reported directly to the President. they are looking for ways to do it themselves. vented from seeing the teachers at the Harbour effectively when the former Chief of the Criminal In the deliberations of the Task Force, where the domi- Not merely being abandoned by the govern- Police under the pretext that prior permission Investigations Department, Shani Abeysekara, nant voice was that of the President, she may have been ment, but to be actually opposed by it at perhaps was needed from the harbour authorities and the was arrested and kept in custody for a long period heard, but she was not listened to. the most crucial moment the country has ever Navy, without which the police could allow any- of time. The Court of Appeal held that the arrest Wanniarachchi was also guilty of pathetically pander- faced, is an unusual experience. The economy has body to visit people under arrest. It was designed was based on fabricated charges and was illegal. ing to the whims and fancies of the Government Medi- to be saved, so if some of you have to die for that to prevent even lawyers, family members and oth- In several fundamental rights cases, the Court has cal Officers’ Association (GMOA), a trade union which there is nothing the government can do seem to er concerned people from visiting the teachers. A come forward strongly against extrajudicial kill- runs a mafia-style operation, shamelessly manipulating be the message that is loudly proclaimed in many further aspect of the arrests was revealed by Presi- ings in police stations, torture and other forms of younger doctors who are not specialists. So, Wanniar- different ways. dent’s Counsel and MP M. A. Sumanthiran, when suppression of freedoms. achchi’s departure from the Health portfolio will not be The government, if one is to go by their claims, he said in Parliament that these arresting officers Thus, as the people themselves are now looking lamented that much. is a victim of circumstances created by them- came in white vans. He said it was an attempt to to demonstrate their power of resilience, it is to be The surprise was Wanniarachchi’s replacement: for- selves and their predecessors. They have tried to remind people of a very dark period in the recent hoped that the people will also resort to their ju- mer media minister Keheliya Rambukwella, a hotelier by rule the country while undermining all the basic history, when the abductions and disappearances dicial institutions in order to safeguard their lives training, perhaps better described as a political oppor- structures of the State. The consequence is that took place using white vans; a white van was sym- and freedoms. tunist who in 2006 crossed over from the United Nation- the governing of the country has now become an bolic of terrifying forms of repression. Every act of illegality needs to be challenged. al Party (UNP) to the then ruling United Peoples’ Free- impossible task. There is one institution the government has yet That is the only way to revive the basic structure dom Alliance (UPFA) headed by Mahinda Rajapaksa. In such a situation, it was only natural that failed, and is likely to fail further, to have full con- of the State that has been severely attacked by the That ‘jump’ has served Rambukwella well for he has the people would rise in protest. One of the most trol of – the Judiciary. The judges have upheld the arbitrary forms of government imposed on the spent eleven of the subsequent fifteen years in govern- peaceful sections of the society, teachers, have right to peaceful assembly and have ordered bail, people. ment as a minister. He has also been involved in several come out in protest in massive numbers dur- even while a representative from the Department - Basil Fernando, is a Hong Kong-based controversies- such as falling off a balcony in a Mel- ing the last few weeks. Although the government of the Attorney General’s office was objecting to it, Sri Lankan jurist, author, poet, human rights bourne hotel-and hasn’t distinguished himself as a par- tried to blame union leaders, the attempt to pun- for the people wrongfully arrested. activist, editor of Article 2 and Ethics in Action, ticularly successful or performance-oriented minister ish these leaders led to even bigger protests. Close When President J. R. Jayewardene initiated the and a prolific writer, associated with to warrant his elevation to a crucial portfolio at a time observers say it was a movement from the ground process of trying to trample on State structures, Asian Human Rights Commission of national crisis. What is even more intriguing is that level that the unions were forced to reckon with. he realized the major obstacle was the tradition of and Asian Legal Resource centre President Rajapaksa is not short of medical professionals to choose from among his MPs. On medical credentials alone, the best choices would be either Tissa Vitarana, a virologist of repute who once headed the Medical Re- By Vasi Samudra Devi search Institute, or Sudarshini Fernandopulle, the State Minister for COVID-19 control who is also a specialist community physician, if the former is not the best fit be- A diseased state of affairs cause of his advanced age. About 10 days ago, a video surfaced online of an pates in dissent and to end protest before it even voicing concerns and anger at their rulers. Mean- Even if Rajapaksa was worried that the integrity of unmasked and ungloved policeman stopping and begins. It has been looming on the horizon since while, the military is armed with a goal of stamp- Vitarana and Fernandopulle was such that they might arresting some men in a trishaw in the dead of 2018 and is nothing new. For those who are as yet ing out dissent to maintain a conservative, deeply voice their independent opinions about the pandemic, he night. Among these men was IUSF convener and uninitiated, the bill seeks to create a board similar racist and malevolent state that has for years only could have chosen from his own protégé, Seetha Aram- speaker Wasantha Mudalige, well-known stu- to the University Grants Commission(UGC) that served to push forward the violent and cruelly ex- bepola or even Channa Jayasumana, who has shown am- dent activist and figure the author has seen and will be under the authority of a military training clusionary framework of nationhood through its ple loyalty to Rajapaksa in being ‘flexible’ with the facts heard speak while covering protests related to the academy and will strive to create ‘military dis- opposition to the long defeated yet still colonized related to the pandemic. There was also Ramesh Pathi- Kotelawala National Defense University (KNDU) cipline’ within the student body on campus, a north and east of the country, the illusion of sov- rana, Cabinet spokesman and already a cabinet minister, Bill. Mudalige and seven other student activists premise that spits in the face of free education. ereignty and deep state paranoia. This year has who has been more a politician and less of a doctor in his were arrested over a protest that happened on Free education is not merely not paying for one’s nevertheless seen increasing protests and dissent public utterances. August 3 outside of the Parliament complex in Sri education from the school level upwards but is rising from the masses across the country. Yet, President Rajapaksa has decided to ignore all Jayawardenapura, which also involved alterca- also a means of exploring an expanded, multi- The state’s fear of its people is these doctors at his disposal and appoint Keheliya Ram- tions with the police. disciplinary curriculum including extracurricular bukwella as the new Minister of Health. The message he The author need not tell the reader why sta- activities that have something for all students. nothing new sends is the same that he has been sending to the medical tioning police and other armed personnel at pro- Free education is a system that must not be made In an effort to validate other attacks against profession for the past several weeks: you maybe doctors tests and areas in which public dissent occurs is restrictive like the KNDU bill aims to do. It will public dissent, the so-called king of the tattered but I am in charge and I will tell you what to do; the pan- pointless, foolish and defeats the purpose of free- also discriminate between students who can and nation has been monkeying around with the demic will not be managed the other way around. ly gathering together and expressing@Copyrights one’s views cannot pay, thus leaving working class youth in Judiciary itself, forcing magistrates within the So far, that policy has resulted in disastrous conse- as part of a collective. the dust. Western Province to a seminar and others from quences. The daily death toll from the pandemic an- The police and military, as institutions of force Even worse, the governing body will be main- outside it to a webinar with the goal of cracking nounced by the government, averaging around fifty per and violence should, in practice, have nothing to taining discipline on campus and in the class- down on COVID-19 by targeting public dissent day just a fortnight ago has now sky-rocketed to 170 per do with public gatherings. room, completely cutting out argumentative and peaceful demonstrations. day. The response from Rajapaksa to the loud demands Yet as a photographer who captures protests discussion between lecturers and students. Edu- The goal? A longstanding one that has been from several medical professional bodies for an immedi- in broad daylight, specifically against the KNDU cation in politics and critical thought equal a pop- months in the making that connects to the State’s ate lockdown to prevent deaths from escalating further, Bill, the author has seen both military and police ulation that will be much harder for the state to cruelty in creating a public that internalizes the has been a resounding ‘no’. at several locations where criminally underpaid, terrorize and intimidate. Military discipline is a fear they feed on. This is the ultimate goal of the That is also the same reason why Rambukwella was underequipped teachers fighting to preserve free complete sham to enforce brainwashing. KNDU bill; nationally creating the populace that sworn in as the new Minister of Health. Rajapaksa knows education are labelled terrorists for raising their The author would not have survived under ex- the failed government and its ruling family can Rambukwella will echo His Master’s Voice and sing the voices in public. treme discipline such as this, being a product of run. same tune. In that, he would probably do better than University students, on whose backs the sys- free higher education herself and an enthusiast And what better way to dissuade dissent than Wanniarachchi. tem of protest and dissent is built, are arrested of her own little dissent. The lust for discipline by weaponizing a disease that has been ravaging As a footnote to the so-called ‘Cabinet reshuffle’, Min- and detained for safeguarding the systems that permeates much of the Sri Lankan education sys- the country. COVID-19 now spreads via protests ister of Sports and Youth Affairs and the heir apparent to allow them to dream of a better and brighter fu- tem already; schools are modelled on an undying and open, public opposition towards the govern- the Rajapaksa dynasty, Namal Rajapaksa was also given ture. While on the other hand, there is a perahera Victorian missionary school setup that penalizes ment. COVID-19 does not however spread during a newly created portfolio with a convoluted title ‘Devel- in Kandy with 5,000 artistes and dancers to keep freedom and creates rigid hierarchies within its Buddhist celebrations aimed at showcasing the opment Co-ordination and Supervision’. needlessly forcing a Sinhala Buddhist dogma. The diverse student communities. A centre for learn- insecure State’s hegemonic control. Observers have noted that some of those institutions author does not need to tell you where the state’s ing should be no place for this rigidity. This terror-based narrative around the pan- that were shifted to Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, priorities lie; they clearly do not lie in favour of A voice for protests debarred demic as well as the restrictive framework to- when he was first appointed and then returned to Prime empowering state education for the better. wards education, both to silence protest, is Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa a few days later, have now Sri Lankan needs an open, unfettered path to Fears of discipline and disciplines nothing new for the public and we are fed up. If been vested under Namal Rajapaksa. Some of them are education as much as it needs its protest, and this nobody in this failed government can be held ac- crucial institutions such as the Treasury, Department of of fear system of going against a failing government and countable to its people that it needs to serve, what Inland Revenue, the Department of Customs, the Central The KNDU Bill (our microcosm in this agoniz- its cronies peacefully begins with addressing the do we have left? Bank and all other banks. That is a lot of responsibility ing series of insults) itself is a cunning strategy university system and its agonized youth. A coun- -This article was originally featured on on Namal’s politically immature shoulders. meant to weed out whoever leads and partici- try’s masses rising up is the only true means of groundview.org - counterpoint.lk 8 AUGUST 20 - 22, 2021 WEEKEND EXPRESS INSIGHT

By Eric Nagourney Who are the Taliban, and what do they want? In the winter of 1995, a New York Times correspondent visiting Afghanistan reported that after years of brutal civil strife, a big change seemed to be afoot. A “new force of professed Islamic purists and Afghan Taliban fighters on patriots” had quickly taken military control of more than a Humvee in Kabul, 40% of the country. It was surprising, because until taking Afghanistan, on up arms just a year before, many of the fighters had been little more than religious pupils. Their very name meant Sunday (15) ‘students’. The Taliban, they called themselves. A quarter- century later, after outlasting an international military coalition in a war that cost tens of thousands of lives, the onetime students are now rulers of the land. Again. Here is a look at the origin of the Taliban; how they managed to take over Afghanistan not once, but twice; what they did when they first took control — and what

- Jim Huylebroek/The New York Times that might reveal about their plans for this time. By David Zucchino When did the Taliban first emerge? The Taliban arose in 1994 amid the turmoil that fol- lowed the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan Collapse and conquest in 1989. The group was rooted in rural areas of Kandahar province, in the country’s ethnic-Pashtun heartland in the south. The Taliban strategy that seized Afghanistan The Soviet Union had invaded in 1979 to prop up the In early May, a Taliban commander telephoned trol among the country’s 400-odd districts from vehicles — even providing written receipts good Communist government in Afghanistan, and eventually Muhammad Jallal, a tribal elder in Baghlan prov- 77 on April 13 to 104 on June 16 to 223 on Aug. 3, across the country. And by controlling the high- met the fate of big powers past and present that have tried ince in northern Afghanistan, and asked him to according to the Long War Journal at the Foun- ways, they were able by July to seize control of to impose their will on the country: It was driven out. deliver a message to Afghan government troops dation for Defence of Democracies. several border crossings, appropriating millions The Soviets were defeated by Islamic fighters known at several bases in his district. The Taliban also received money, supplies and in customs duties intended for the government. as the mujahedeen, a patchwork of insurgent factions “If they do not surrender, we will kill them,” support from Pakistan, Russia and Iran, analysts “It’s Military 101: Whoever controls the supply supported by a US government only too happy to wage a Jallal said he was told. said. That included 10,000 to 20,000 Afghan vol- lines controls the battlefield,” said Sarah Kreps, proxy war against its Cold War rival. He and other tribal elders complied. After unteers sent from Pakistan, a Taliban safe haven, a former US Air Force officer and a professor of But the joy over that victory was short-lived, as the vari- several rounds of negotiations, two government and thousands more Afghan villagers who joined government and law at Cornell University. ous factions fell out and began fighting for control. The bases and three outposts surrendered without a the militants when it became clear they were win- In the north, the government never recovered country fell into warlordism, and a brutal civil war. fight. More than 100 security forces handed over ning, said Antonio Giustozzi, a London-based from the surprise summer attacks on anti-Tali- Against this backdrop, the Taliban, with their promise weapons and equipment and were sent home un- analyst who has written several books about Af- ban strongholds in the region, Giustozzi said. The to put Islamic values first and to battle the corruption that harmed. ghanistan. government had expected attacks in the Taliban drove the warlords’ fighting, quickly attracted a following. The Taliban’s strategy of coercion and persua- The volunteers swelled Taliban ranks to more heartland in southern Afghanistan, where gov- Over months of intense fighting, they took over most of sion was repeated across the country, unfolding than 100,000 fighters from most analysts’ esti- ernment forces mounted fierce resistance in Kan- the country. for months as a focal point of the insurgents’ new mates of 60,000 to 70,000, Giustozzi said. That dahar and Helmand provinces before collapsing How did the Taliban rule? offensive this year. The militants cut multiple was more than enough to crush a government earlier this month. surrender deals that handed them bases and ul- force listed at 300,000 on paper but hollowed out “The Taliban adopted a strategy to push on key In 1996, the Taliban declared an Islamic Emirate, im- timately entire provincial command centres, cul- by corruption, desertion and a staggering casualty northern warlords to push them and their militias posing a harsh interpretation of the Quran and enforcing minating in a stunning military blitz this summer rate; US officials have said that perhaps only one- to defend their own areas, essentially preventing it with brutal public punishments, including floggings, that put the militants back in power two decades sixth of that total was in the fight this year. them from cohering a national defence,” Kimber- amputations and mass executions. And they strictly cur- after they were defeated by the United States and The key to victory, Giustozzi and other analysts ly Kagan, founder and president of the Institute tailed the role of women, keeping them out of schools. its allies. said, was the Taliban’s plan to threaten and ca- for the Study of War in Washington, DC, wrote They also made clear that rival religious practices The negotiated surrenders were just one ele- jole security forces and government officials into in an email. would not be tolerated: In early 2001, the Taliban de- ment of a broader Taliban strategy that captured surrendering, first at the checkpoint and outpost To the very end last week, the Taliban contin- stroyed towering statues known as the Great Buddhas of heavily defended provincial capitals with light- level, then the district and provincial level as they ued to pursue their strategy of forcing negotiated Bamiyan, objects of awe around the globe. The Taliban ning speed and saw the insurgents walk into the swept through the countryside. surrenders. considered them blasphemous, and boasted that their de- capital, Kabul, on Sunday (15) with barely a shot “They contacted everyone and offered the By Aug. 14, Sahaifullah Andkhoie, a pro-gov- struction was holy. There was a framework of a modern fired. It was a campaign defined by both collapse chance to surrender or switch sides, with incen- ernment militia commander in Maimana, the government, including ministries and a bureaucracy. But and conquest, executed by patient opportunists. tives, including money and rewarding people capital of Faryab province in northern Afghani- at the street level, it was religious edict, and the whim of Each surrender, small or large, handed the Tal- with appointments afterward,” said Giustozzi, a stan, said he had received several calls from Tali- individual commanders, that dictated everyday life for iban more weapons and vehicles — and, vitally, research fellow at the Royal United Services Insti- ban commanders offering surrender terms. Afghans. more control over roads and highways, giving tute in London and author of the 2019 book, “The “The Taliban were reassuring us that if we They did not control the entire country, however. The insurgents freedom to move rapidly and collect Taliban at War.” surrender, they will not kill us,” Andkhoie said. north, where many of the mujahedeen commanders had the next surrenders as the security forces were “A lot of money changed hands,” he added. “Then I saw the Taliban were seizing weapons taken up occupancy, remained a bastion of resistance. progressively cut off from ammunition, fuel, food The Taliban exploited Afghans’ resentment to- and ammunition of the regimental headquarters.” What does Taliban rule mean for women? and salaries. ward a corrupt and ineffective government that That night, the province fell to the Taliban. The Taliban were founded in an ideology dictating that Each victory also added to a growing sense of was unable to resupply its forces or mount an ef- Fighters and government officials surrendered women should play only the most circumscribed roles in inevitability that the Taliban would eventually fective media campaign to rally the public to its en masse, handing over a trove of weapons and society. win, especially after the Taliban poured so many side. By contrast, the Taliban pounded home a equipment to the militants. The last time they ruled, they barred women and girls resources into winning the north, a traditional message through social media and village elders For nearly 20 years, with the backing of US and from taking most jobs or even going to school. And wom- stronghold of anti-Taliban militias. As those out- that the government was illegitimate and the mil- NATO forces and airstrikes, Afghan government en caught outside the home with their faces uncovered posts and districts fell, the Taliban gained im- itants would soon restore their Islamic rule. forces had been able to hold on to all 34 provincial risked severe punishment. Unmarried women and men portant propaganda victories, quickly spreading The nearly 20-year war was perhaps all but won capitals despite persistent attacks by the Taliban. seen together also faced punishment. the word that the Taliban could overcome even last winter, when the Taliban seized control of the That is what made events earlier this month so dogged resistance and would keep their word to country’s major highways. Government forces extraordinary — the rapid collapse of more than Why did the US invade Afghanistan? allow soldiers and policemen to walk away with had only lightly defended the roadways, prefer- 15 major provincial capitals in a span of just nine When they were in power, the Taliban made Afghani- their lives. The result was a lopsided fight be- ring to hunker down in the relative safety of out- days. tween an adaptable and highly mobile insurgent posts, bases and provincial command centres. The first provincial capital to topple was Zaranj stan a safe harbour for Osama bin Laden, a Saudi Arabia- juggernaut and a demoralized government force That was part of a government strategy, urged in Nimruz province in the remote southwest, born former mujahedeen fighter, while he built up a ter- that had been abandoned by its leaders and cut by the US military, to cede rural areas and focus which surrendered Aug. 6. It was lightly defended rorist group with global designs: al-Qaida. off from help. Once the first provincial capital city on protecting urban centres and major provinces. because government forces were focused on hold- On Sept. 11, 2001, the group struck a blow that rattled surrendered this month, the big collapses came as Initially, dominance on the highways allowed ing the much larger southern cities of Kandahar the world, toppling the World Trade Centre towers in New fast as the Taliban could travel. the Taliban to cut off district-level checkpoints and Lashkar Gah. Each subsequent Taliban vic- York and damaging the Pentagon in Washington. Thou- The Taliban victory came just four months af- and outposts by forcing negotiated surrenders or tory freed up more fighters to assault larger gov- sands were killed. ter President Joe Biden announced April 14 that simply overpowering outgunned security forces. ernment provincial capitals, moving quickly and President George W. Bush demanded the Taliban hand he would honour a deal with the Taliban signed By midsummer, they were able to besiege provin- lethally along highways they now owned. Those over al-Qaida and bin Laden. When the Taliban balked, by the Trump administration to withdraw all US cial capitals cut off from resupplies or reinforce- capitals toppled in rapid succession as soldiers the United States invaded. Unleashing a heavy airstrike troops beginning May 1. The announcement sank ments. With the roads closed to government con- surrendered, deserted or simply took off their campaign, and joined by former mujahedeen groups the morale of already beleaguered security forces voys, there was enormous pressure on the game uniforms and disappeared. within the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance coalition, the and emboldened the Taliban, which had failed to but struggling Afghan air force to deliver close Troops in Kandahar and Lashkar Gah put up a US and its allies soon toppled the Taliban government. honour most pledges under the February 2020 air support, troops and supplies. But the air force sustained fight, but those capitals collapsed last Most of the al-Qaida and Taliban officials who survived agreement. The Taliban seized the advantage in could not cope with the burden. Nor could US- Friday (13). On Sunday, Taliban fighters sped fled to Pakistan. May, crushing government troops now forced to trained commandos, who were dispersed to hot down wide open highways on motorcycles and in Twenty years later, some of those same Taliban offi- defend themselves, with only an occasional long- spots to perform duties abandoned by soldiers captured government Humvees and police vehi- cials were among the delegation that struck a deal for the distance US airstrike to help hold off Taliban and police. At the same time, the militants raised cles, rolling uncontested into the nation’s capital. United States to leave Afghanistan, and they will number surges. The militants quickly expanded their con- millions of dollars by taxing trucks and other -New York Times among the country’s new rulers. What happened to the Taliban after their By Max Fisher 2001 defeat? With the shelter and assistance of Pakistan’s military @Copyrights— the same force receiving heavy financial aid from the Seeking global recognition, Taliban take a new approach: making nice United States to help hunt down al-Qaida — the Taliban The Taliban may occupy Afghanistan’s border Afghans who worked with the US-backed govern- body’s member states. Only Pakistan, the United reformed as a guerrilla insurgency. crossings and government offices, but what they ment. It would not shelter international terror- Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia ever recognized The US began pouring resources into a new war in Iraq, control falls far short of a fully functioning coun- ists, as it had during its prior stint in power, from Taliban rule as legitimate. and American officials told the world that Afghanistan try. 1996 to 2001. The public relations push marks a Regardless of whether today’s Taliban leaders was well on its way to becoming a Western-style democ- Services like water, electricity and trash pickup new chapter in the Taliban’s struggle, one nearly have moderated ideologically, their grasp of dip- racy with modern institutions. But many Afghans were are faltering as state employees hide out at home. as high stakes as any on the battlefield. lomatic matters and concern with global standing coming to feel that those foreign institutions were just an- Ministries overseeing everything from diplomacy They need to persuade foreign powers to send appears to have deepened substantially. other way for corrupt leaders to steal money. to public health have become little more than idle aid and lift sanctions if they are to reconstitute the “The quest for diplomatic and political recogni- The Taliban weathered the storm when President Ba- office buildings. The central bank sits effectively bare essentials of a government, much less begin tion has been a constant in the Taliban’s struggle” rack Obama vastly expanded the US military presence in empty, with Washington having frozen Afghan to rebuild a country devastated by 42 years of war. to regain power, Barnett R. Rubin, an Afghani- Afghanistan, up to around 100,000 troops in 2010. And government reserves held in US bank accounts. The group could also use foreign recognition stan scholar, wrote this spring. when the Americans began drawing down a few years And the group faces a parallel threat: that Af- to shore up its legitimacy at home, coaxing civil The group’s negotiators have repeatedly em- later, the insurgents began gaining ground again. It was a ghans, foreign governments and even interested servants and everyday citizens to accept its rule. phasized a desire for normal relations with Wash- campaign of persistence, with the Taliban betting that the security or intelligence services might not fully And, as the Taliban learned in 2001 when a US ington and other foreign powers, describing it as United States would lose patience and leave. accept their rule, undermining their ability to -led invasion expelled them from power, their a priority. They appear to now better understand They were right. More than 2,400 American lives lat- consolidate power. reputation as a global pariah can be a grave liabil- those countries’ demands and, as at Mujahid’s er, $2 trillion later, tens of thousands of Afghan civilian But to the Taliban, these problems all share at ity. The result is head-spinning scenes like Muja- press event, how to at least pay lip service to and security forces deaths later, President Donald Trump least one possible solution: making nice. hid’s press event, with hardened fighters toiling them. Analysts stress that, if the Taliban’s prom- made a deal with the Taliban and declared that American “Animosities have come to an end, and we to appease the very foreign powers they dedicated ises are real, it is almost certainly out of pragmatic forces would leave Afghanistan by mid-2021. President would like to live peacefully, without internal or their lives to expelling and trying to smooth over self-interest, with any ideological shift a second- Joe Biden endorsed the approach, and presided over an external enemies,” Zabihullah Mujahid, the Tali- the hard-line ideology that animates their move- ary factor. uncompromising troop withdrawal even as the Taliban ban’s chief spokesperson, told a gathering of re- ment. If this is the case, then foreign governments can began gobbling up whole districts, and then cities. porters Tuesday (17). In 1997, it sent emissaries to New York to re- expect the Taliban to keep their word as long as This week, just nine days after the Taliban seized their The group would respect women’s rights, me- quest a seat at the United Nations. But the delega- the outside world makes it worth their while, but first provincial capital, the insurgents walked into the dia freedoms and the sanctity of foreign embas- tion solicited the UN secretary-general, not real- no longer. capital, Kabul. Taliban rule of Afghanistan has resumed. sies, he promised. It would grant amnesty to izing that recognition comes through a vote of the -New York Times -New York Times WEEKEND EXPRESS AUGUST 20 - 22, 2021 9 LITERARY LIVES

Toni Morrison 1931-2019 By Capt. Elmo Jayawardena Canoeing down the A life of the arts and the mind Kalu Ganga The trip had been on my mind. The trick was Sir Christopher Ondaatje concludes his two-part series exploring the life and times of the Nobel to find a matching dullard to come along. Wild goose chasers these days are hard to come Prize-winning American novelist who conjured a black girl longing for blue eyes, a slave by. Ananda came from far, all the way from Melbourne. Left his legal paraphernalia and mother who kills her child to save her from bondage and other indelible characters, pleaded guilty to join me in canoeing down the beautiful Kalu Ganga, from Ratnapura to helping transfigure a literary canon long closed to African Americans Kalutara. Forget the planning. There is no planning. Our lives are too full of plans to carry it to the river. This one was pure spasmodic, take it as it comes stuff. The boat was there, the lovable SOLITAIRE. We were ready; Ana Jayasinghe and I, and the Kalu Ganga would surely flow. That’s all you need to melody moonbeams. It would take three days, that’s what I reck- oned. In age, Ana and I added to a fair amount over hundred years. He’s never canoed before, but he runs full marathons. Knew what disci- pline was. That’s what you need in the river, a plodder who will hang in there when the going got rough. The days would surely crawl from tiring to very tiring. We would stop two nights. Friends would put us up. Then, there was Hemal, the support man, who would follow us by van. We were no Rob- inson Crusoes. A touch of civilization was a must, especially considering how young we were. It was a mandatory ruling given by the family tree, from every single branch. Day one was from Ratnapura to Kiriella. I do not know what the river distance is, but it is a lot more than by road. Kalu Ganga meanders – Getty Images all the time. Three hours of steady rowing, With Oprah Winfrey from three to six in the evening, brought us to Kiriella. Out there, the river is narrow and it jangles fast, makes it a bit rough, but easy pad- dling for old shoulder blades. Ana, the novice, - parmindervir.com tested out well. We packed the boat ashore, A Mercy, Morrison’s ninth novel, was published and went back to stay the night at Ratnapura. We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives – in 2008 and is set in the Virginia colonies of 1682. The next morning we started out early. By Toni Morrison seven we were in the river. The idea was to “‘A Mercy’ is a poetic, visionary, mesmerising go as far as possible, to lighten the third day. Part II popular audience. In all Winfrey selected four of tale that captures, in the cradle of our present It was beautiful. The world stands still as we In 1987 Morrison published her most celebrated Morrison’s novels over a six-year period. problems and strains, the natal curse put on us row, just as nature intended. novel Beloved. It cemented her importance as an back then by the Indian tribes, Africans, Dutch, We came from Kiriella passing Pahala American author. “Make up a story ... For our sake and yours for- Portuguese, and English competing to get their Dumbara, Bodinagala, and Bulathsinhala, to get your name in the street; tell us what the world footing in the New World against a hostile land- the bridge across the Horana - Govinna road. “Her importance as an American writer, with- has been to you in the dark places and in the light. scape and the essentially tragic nature of human 3 hours 50 minutes. We had breakfast on the out qualifying epithet, was certified by ‘Beloved’ Don’t tell us what to believe, what to fear. Show experience.” riverbank, a feast of hoppers and bananas. in 1987. The story is based on the historical figure, us belief’s wide skirt and the stitch that unravels -Diane Johnson Took a few breaks, and came to the bridge by Margaret Garner, a slave, who, when her escape fear’s caul.” Vanity Fair noon. We carried the boat under the bridge. was foiled, killed her daughter rather than have -Toni Morrison The jaggard rocks there, are for Rambo types, her taken back into captivity. She was prosecuted From 1989 until her retirement in 2006 Mor- certainly not for two ancient pelicans. From less for absconding than the destruction of prop- Morrison’s later fiction received a much more rison held the Robert F. Goheen Chair in the Hu- the bridge we rowed to Veherawatta, Kotapo- erty. By this stage of her career, Morrison’s narra- critical reception. Paradise (1998) told the story of manities at Princeton University. However, she did tha, Narathupana and Thebuwana. Kotapo- tive technique had evolved into something akin to a massacre of whites by blacks in 1970s Oklahoma. not regularly offer writing workshops to students tha was the best I saw. We bathed in natural the fluidities of black musicians like Charlie Parker It is a much more contrived piece of writing than after the late 1990s, earning some criticism. In- granite bath-tubs, installed on the river by the or Lester Young – an analogy confirmed by the ti- Beloved. But Morrison was popular enough to with- stead she conceived the Princeton Atelier program Gods themselves, where the water jacoozeed tle of her 1992 novel, ‘Jazz’” stand some criticism. She explored different art which brought together students with writers and around you. Smoked a cigar and talked of life. -John Sutherland forms collaborating with André Previn on the song performing artistes, encouraging them to produce We both agreed we couldn’t change our lots, Lives of the Novelists, 2011 Honey and Rue in 1992, and in Four Songs with works of art that were presented to the public after too many responsibilities. The lawyer and the Sylvia McNair in November 1994 at Carnegie Hall. a semester of collaboration. aeroplane driver would remain. Too far in- Morrison’s novel imagines the dead baby return- Sweet Talk: Four Songs on Text and Spirits in the grained. But, we sure were thankful for this ing as ‘a ghost, Beloved’ to haunt her mother and Well were written for Jessye Norman with music On November 17, 2017 Princeton University ded- interval. family. The book was a critical success and bestsell- by Richard Danielpour in 1997, and with Maya icated Morrison Hall (a building previously called The buwana was a stop for lunch. We ate er for twenty five weeks. The New York Times book Angelou and Clarissa Pinkola Estés. She also pro- West College) in her honour. two rice packets and rested on a sand bank reviewer Michiko Kakutani wrote that the scene of vided the text for composer Judith Weir’s woman. under a bo tree. It is the people you meet that the mother killing the baby was so brutal and dis- life.song commissioned by Carnegie Hall for Jessye After she retired, Morrison wrote books for give the varnish to the trip. A kind woman, liv- turbing it appeared to warp time before and after Norman, which premiered in April 2000. children with her younger son Slade Morrison – a ing with her two small children in a shanty, into a single unwavering line of fate. painter and musician. Slade Morrison died of pan- gave us plain tea. The boatmen, the river dob- Morrison wrote the libretto for the new opera creatic cancer on December 22, 2010, aged forty- bins making their meagre living, were ever so Despite its high praise, Beloved failed to win Margaret Garner based on the protagonist of her five. Her novel Home (2012) – dedicated to her son friendly. We stopped and chatted. Broke their the prestigious National Book Award or the Na- novel Beloved. It premiered on May 7, 2005 at the – was half finished when he died. monotony, ours too. They wished us well, tional Book Critics Circle Award, and triggered Detroit Opera House with Denyce Graves in the title we wished back for the fish to bite, hello and one of the most controversial events of her career. role. Morrison received an Honorary Doctor of Let- good-bye. A group of influential black writers, among them ters from Rutgers University in New Brunswick in The best were the sand collectors we met, Maya Angelou, bought advertising space pro- Love, Morrison’s first novel since Paradise (1997) May 2011; and that same year worked with opera or should I say the saddest. Jayantha is 29. He testing the injustice. Two months later Beloved came out in 2003, and she compiled a children’s director Peter Sellars and Malian singer-songwriter dives and digs sand from the riverbed. Only won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Oprah Win- book called Remember to mark the fiftieth anniver- Rokia Traomé in a new production of Desdemona job available, works from 6 to 6. Makes Rs frey’s powerful book club bought the rights and sary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme – creating a new perspective on the relationship of 150-200. Starts the day with a gulp of moon- financed a later movie. Court decision in 1954 that declared racially segre- Othello’s wife Desdemona and her African nurse- shine and continues to warm himself from the gated public schools to be unconstitutional. maid Barbary. The play, a mixture or words, music brew all day long. “Otherwise too cold” he tells Beloved is one of three novels about love and and song, premiered in Vienna in 2011. me. End the day with a full bottle, pauperized African-American history. Jazz, the second novel, From 1997 to 2003, Morrison was an Andrew ecstasy of the poor. He is not the odd one. It was published in 1992. A third novel, Paradise, was D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. In August 2012, Oberlin College in Ohio became is the norm among the sand diggers. No so- published in 1997, but well before that Morrison Two years later, in June 2005, Oxford University the home base of the Toni Morrison Society, dedi- lution. No way out, perpetual penance in the was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993 – awarded Morrison an Honorary Doctor of Letters cated to scholarly research of Morrison’s work. concert of the downtrodden. The names of the the first black woman of any nationality to win the degree. actors did alter, but never the parts. prize. The citation praised her as an author “who in Morrison’s eleventh and last novel God Help the From Thebuwana we rowed to Galapatha, novels characterized by visionary force and poetic Early in 2006, a selection of prominent writers, Child was published in 2015. The book recounts the a pleasant afternoon’s work. It was six again import, gives life to an essential aspect of Ameri- literary critics, and editors chose Beloved (1987) story of an executive named ‘Bride’ in the fashion when we came ashore. Total rowing time for can reality.” In return, Morrison, in her acceptance by Morrison as the best work of fiction published and beauty industry whose mother tormented her the day; 8 hrs and 40 minutes, only three speech said: in the previous twenty-five years – as announced in as a child for being dark-skinned – a childhood more hours to Kalutara. The New York Times Book Review. trauma that dogged her throughout her entire life. The next day was the grand finale. The river “We die. That may be the meaning@Copyrights of life. But gets wide after Galapatha and there is hardly we do language. That may be the measure of our “In Search of the Best: Any other outcome On May 29, 2012, President Barack Obama pre- a flow, hard work for worn old muscles. SOLI- lives.” would have been startling, since Morrison’s novel sented Morrison with the Presidential Medal of TAIRE moved along, as graceful as ever. Our -Toni Morrison has inserted itself into the American canon more Freedom. paddles dipped, and our hearts sang, as we completely than any of its potential rivals. With inched our way to the destination. We came In 1996, the National Endowment for the Hu- remarkable speed, ‘Beloved’ has, less than twenty Toni Morrison died at Montefiore Medical Cen- around the last bend and there loomed in all manities selected Morrison for the Jefferson Lec- years after its publication, become a staple of the tre in The Bronx, New York City, on August 5, 2019, its majesty, the shining white dagaba of the ture, the US federal government’s highest honour college literary curriculum, which is to say a clas- from complications of pneumonia. She was eighty- Kalutara Pansala. It is a sight to remember, for “distinguished intellectual achievement in the sic. The triumph is commensurate with its ambi- eight years old. A memorial was held for her on No- the two bridges linking the banks, the sea in humanities”. She was also honoured with the 1996 tion, since it was Morrison’s ambition in writing it vember 21, 2019 at the Cathedral of St. John the Di- the far horizon, and the temple dominating a National Book Foundation’s Medal of Distinguished to expand the range of classic American literature, vine in the Morningside Heights neighbourhood of clear blue sky. Contribution to American Letters – awarded to a to enter, as a living black woman, the company of Manhattan in New York City. She was eulogized at The wild goose chase was over. ‘Oru Ana’ writer “who has enriched our literary heritage over dead white males like Faulkner, Melville, Haw- this special service by Oprah Winfrey, Angela Davis, packed his bags and flew off to Melbourne, a life of service, or a corpus of work.” thorne and Twain.” Michael Ondaatje, David Pemnick, Fran Lebowitz, to yell in his courtroom, whilst I crept back -A.D. Scott Ta-Nehisi Coates, Edwidge Danticat, and the jazz to my flight deck to drive aeroplanes. But we Oprah Winfrey’s co-production of Morrison’s Book Critic saxophonist David Murray. treasure the remembrance. We’ll surely take Beloved, which took ten years to bring to the The New York Times some moments and think of Solitaire and the screen, was released in 1998. Directed by Jonathan Morrison left an estate of twenty million dollars. Kalu Ganga, the journey, the people, the total- Demme, it flopped badly at the box office. Win- In November 2006, Morrison was invited by the -End ity, all adding to the beauty and serenity of a frey herself played the main character Sethe, with Louvre Museum in Paris as the second in its ‘Grand distant world. We certainly will be thankful Danny Glover as Sethe’s lover Paul D. However, her Invité’ program to guest-curate a month-long series for the little intermission. A break from our newly launched book club in 1996 chose Song of of events across the arts, on the theme of ‘The For- daily drudgery, to sing our hearts on an od- Solomon as her main selection, and then an average eigner’s Home’ about which the New York Times yssey, that others possibly may call eccentric of thirteen million viewers of Winfrey’s talk show stated: and absurd. caused sales of over eight hundred thousand paper- At times, in life, such moonbeam melodies back copies of Morrison’s earliest novel The Bluest “In tapping her own African-American culture, do make a difference. Eye when it was made a selection of her book club. Ms. Morrison is eager to credit ‘foreigners’ with -Capt. Elmo Jayawardena can be It also enabled Morrison to reach a much broader, enriching the countries where they settle.” contacted on [email protected] 10 AUGUST 20 - 22, 2021 WEEKEND EXPRESS SPORTS

COUNTER PUNCH By The Line Judge Real heroes gunning for medals at Tokyo Paralympics There was plenty of swagger when the nine- at the fact that a newspaper headline chided way to the real heroes who put their life and Paralympics will be another javelin thrower, is considered a hot medal prospect. Although member Team Sri Lanka took part in the him for cutting a pathetic figure. Late entry limbs on line and now aim to bring glory to Sampath Hettiarachchi,(F64), a silver medal- there were five more athletes within the Tokyo XXXII Tokyo Summer Olympics last month. 800m Nimali Liyanarachchi was left huff- the country at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. list at the 2018 Para Asian Games in Jakarta, qualifying standard, Sri Lanka were offered only As expected it was all about marketing hype, ing and puffing, while show jumper Matilda These are not empty boasts, if the determina- Indonesia. two slots to Palitha Bandara (F42 shot put) and with participants assembling from the United Karlsson’s Chopin froze when Sri Lanka made tion written on their faces is anything to go Sri Lanka has competed in athletics, swim- Saman Maduranga Subasinghe (T46 400m). States, Germany, Thailand and even Japan, equestrian history. by. ming, powerlifting, archery and tennis in the Subasinghe is in fine form after winning sil- in what was pitched as a high-profile blitz by The worst part was Sri Lankans were won- Not for them the super status, corporate past. Rowing will be the latest addition with ver at the Fazza Grand Prix in Dubai. the National Olympic Committee (NOC) dur- dering whether the Olympians were repre- backing or even performance-enhancing re- the team to Tokyo comprising six athletes, an The other two athletes Chaminda Sampath ing a raging pandemic. Sri Lankan sports fans senting the country or personal sponsors wards. Their desire to excel comes from the archer, a wheelchair tennis player and rower. Hettiarachchi (T64 Javelin) and Dissanayake never expected them to produce an Olympic during the event. In contrast, the pride for the heart and their genuine desire to not just “For the first time in Paralympic history, Mudiyansalege Kumudu Priyanka (T45/46 medal like a magic wand given the chaotic national flag was evident even among world achieve personal glory but to fly the national rowing got a slot. We won our first medal in 100m, Long Jump) got Bipartite Invitation build-up. The nine Sri Lankans who paraded class athletes. This was redressed to some ex- flag high. They would rather pay homage to 2012 and second in 2016. Our hope is to dou- Places. themselves as superstars promising to put tent, but after the damage had been. So much Sri Lanka’s national emblem on their perfor- ble the number of medals in Tokyo. Our main Bronze medallist in the 2018 Asian Games their best foot forward not only came up woe- for the meticulous planning of Sri Lanka’s mance kit than kiss any sponsor. medal prospects are in athletics. Our expecta- Long Jump with a leap of 4.51m, 33-year-old fully short but their overall attitude was de- NOC, they had only one athlete standing to Sri Lanka’s Paralympians have made giant tion is for at least five athletes to compete for Kumudu Priyanka lost both her wrists after plorable to say the least. carry the national flag during the closing cere- strides since making their debut in the 1996 a medal by entering the finals going by their handling an explosive by accident and is the Men’s flag bearer, judoka Chamara Nu- mony. The superstars had quietly slunk away Atlanta Games, winning two bronze medals efforts and sacrifices to reach this level,” said only Sri Lanka female Paralympian in Tokyo. wan Gunawardana stormed out without with promises of bring glory at the 2022 Com- through athletes Pradeep Sanjaya (London NPC President Lt. Col. Deepal Herath. Archer Sampath Bandara also returns as a even meeting the touring media after being monwealth or Asian Games. They just wanted 2012) and Dinesh Priyantha Herath (Rio Two-time silver medallist in the Javelin two-time Paralympian having taken part in Rio. knocked out within 30 seconds, swimmers to go down in history as Olympians without 2016). Sri Lanka’s National Paralympic Com- F46 category at the World Para Athletics “Getting the chance to represent the country in Matthew Abeysinghe and Aniqah Gaffoor any significant achievement, in contrast to mittee (NPC) formed in 1995 oversaw steady Championship in London (2017) and Dubai two successive Para Games is a great achieve- failed to achieve their personal best timings, previous Olympic representatives who were progress at international level from just one (2019) Herath will be spearheading Sri Lan- ment and my aim is to win a medal,” said the shooter Tehani Egodawela was the first to full of character and performed with pride, re- athlete in Atlanta to have the largest repre- ka’s historic quest for that elusive gold. 32-year-old who finished 16th in Rio. Bandara, be eliminated along with shuttle star Niluka sulting in Duncan White’s silver medal in the sentation of nine in three disciplines at the Herath and Samitha Dulan Kodituwakku who lost his left leg below the knee during the Karunaratne. While 18-year-old artistic gym- 400m hurdles, and 52 years later, Susanthika last Paralympics in Rio. This number will be were the only two athletes to qualify directly - war in 2009 after stepping on anti-personnel nast Milka Gehani retained her Asian rank- Jayasinghe’s phenomenal burst at the 2000 equalled at the Games in Tokyo, where their Herath by virtue of his silver medal in Dubai, mine, has a world ranking of 34 in Recurve Men. ing, Italy-based sprinter Yupun Abeykoon Sydney Games. leading Para athlete and team captain Herath while Dulan came fourth in the F44 Javelin Asian Para Games Silver Medallist Palitha was mildly apologetic after running nowhere So move over all ye fake Olympians eye- will aim to convert his bronze into a gold. (57.1m). A gold medallist at the Asian Para Bandara will make his debut at the Tokyo Para- his best of 10.16 seconds, but took umbrage ing Paris 2024 or Los Angeles 2028, and give Also making his second appearance in the Games, 30-year-old Army Corporal Dulan lympics, which will get underway on Tues- day (24) and continue till September 5. The 28-year-old will compete in the F42 shot put event. Mahesh Priyamal Jayakody, a paraple- gic who was also injured in the battle front, will be rowing for glory in the PR1 Men 1X Single Sculls. Last but not least in the Sri Lanka team is wheelchair tennis star Ranjan Dharmasena who received a Bipartite Invitation after his excellent performance in the World Team Cup Qualification rounds held in Portugal, where he beat some of the top rankers from Israel, Croa- tia and Greece to remain unbeaten. -ENCL

‘Biggest ever’ disability rights campaign launched before Paralympics TOKYO - A global campaign aimed at end- ing discrimination towards the world's 1.2 billion people with disabilities kicked off Thursday (19) spearheaded by Paralympic chiefs and backed by a broad group of inter- national organizations. The campaign, called ‘WeThe15’, aims to "be the biggest ever human rights move- ment", representing the 15% of the world's population estimated by the UN to have a disability. Backed by corporate muscle and bringing together organizations from the worlds of sport, human rights, policy, and arts and entertainment, the launch comes less than a week before the Tokyo Paralym- pics open on August 24. "We believe that it's really going to be a game-changer," International Paralympic Committee head Andrew Parsons told AFP. "The fact that the Paralympics are in To- kyo can be a platform for that. It's incred- ible." The campaign aims to emulate other hu- man rights movements such as Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, and comes with a slick visual identity based around the colour purple. More than 125 landmarks around the world - from New York's Empire State Building to Rome's Colosseum - will be lit up in purple on Thursday. "We want to put disability at the heart of the inclusion agen- da," said IPC chief brand and communica- tions officer Craig Spence. "There has been so much progress in recent years in terms of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation. But disability has been forgotten about, despite the fact that it in- tersects those three areas." Social media companies are also on board, and celebrities from former football star David Beckham to chat show queen Oprah Winfrey have thrown their weight behind the campaign. Prince Harry's Invictus Games Founda- tion is also involved. The campaign is planned to run for a dec- ade, with each year focusing on a different @Copyrightsaspect of discrimination faced by people with disabilities, including in employment and education. The launch comes days be- fore the opening of the Paralympics, which organizers say is a force for promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities and raises awareness about discrimination. The IPC expects billions to watch the To- kyo Paralympics, boosted by free-to-air cov- erage of the event provided to sub-Saharan African countries. Spence said the 2012 London Paralym- pics - where members of the public snapped up 2.78 million tickets - changed "one in three attitudes towards disability" in Brit- ain. He also said research showed that there were one million more people with disabili- ties in jobs six years after the Games than there were before. "Clearly the Paralympics had an influ- ence on that," he said. "That probably gave us the encourage- ment to deliver this campaign, because we were able to measure the impact that the Paralympic Games has on changing atti- tudes towards disability and transforming society." -AFP PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS (CEY) PVT, LTD. NO - 267, RAJA MAWATHA, EKALA - JA - ELA