SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 26 (IPS) – Like so many others, Africans have long been misled. Alleged progress under imperialism has long been used to legitimize exploitation. Meanwhile, Western colonial powers have been replaced by neo-colonial governments and international institutions serving their interests.
KINSHASA, Jul 26 (IPS) – The writer is the International Project Leader for the Congo Basin Forest, Greenpeace AfricaFrom the fall-out of the pandemic to the interlocking cost of living and energy security crises currently gripping the world, it has been fascinating to see the world’s richest governments bending over backwards to help fossil fuel companies.
The overall situation in Libya remains “highly volatile”, Martha Pobee, UN Assistant Secretary-General for political affairs and peace operations, told the Security Council on Monday.
The Roman Catholic Church leader sought forgiveness from the indigenous community
Pope Francis on Monday begged forgiveness from Canada’s indigenous community, apologizing for the Roman Catholic Church’s participation in the project of residential schools which a Canadian government body has described as genocidal. The pontiff is on a six-day apology tour of Canada, demanded since last year by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“Dear Indigenous Peoples of Canada, I have come to your native lands to tell you in person of my sorrow, to implore God’s forgiveness, healing and reconciliation, to express my closeness and to pray with you and for you,” the pope tweeted on Monday.
“I ask forgiveness for the ways in which many members of the Church cooperated in those projects of cultural destruction and assimilation stipulated by the government, which culminated in the system of residential schools,” he added.
The tweet came after the pope visited the former site of the Ermineskin Indian Residential School in Maskwacis, Alberta. Visiting the local cemetery, Francis sought absolution from the four Cree nations that live in the area.
“I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples,” the pope said.
The 85-year-old pontiff arrived in Edmonton on Sunday, for a “penitential pilgrimage” to Canada that will take him from Alberta to Quebec as well as the far-north region of Nunavut. The purpose of the trip is to mend relations with First Nations over the residential schools program, which Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2008-2015) said amounted to “cultural genocide.”
Seeking to “civilize” the children of native nations, the Canadian government separated them from their families and sent them to a network of boarding schools, which continued operating until 1969. Catholics operated 66 out of the 139 institutions, with the Church of England responsible for another 36. An estimated 150,000 indigenous children went through the system.
In addition to the “cultural genocide,” however, indigenous activists have accused the Catholic Church of a physical one as well, alleging widespread sexual abuse and even deaths at residential schools. Last year, several activist groups claimed to have found “mass graves” at four sites, from Kamloops, British Columbia to Saskatchewan.
In the weeks that followed, several Catholic churches across western Canada went up in flames in suspected arson attacks. Trudeau’s response was to denounce the residential schools as a “dark and shameful chapter of our country’s history” and to demand Pope Francis come to Canada and seek forgiveness.
Canada has already paid billions of dollars in reparations to First Nations in a settlement with some 90,000 surviving residential school students. Catholic dioceses in Canada have contributed about $50 million, and intend to add $30 million more over the next five years. Indigenous activists have also sought reparations from the British crown – as the head of both the Canadian state and the Church of England.
Some critics have pointed out that while the radar imagery cited by indigenous activists showed “disturbances” in the ground, no actual bodies have been found – only to be denounced as “genocide deniers” by much of the Canadian public.
The pope’s trip to Canada comes just weeks after the Vatican canceled his six-day trip to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, citing ongoing problems with his knee. Francis has been using a wheelchair and a cane to move around during the Canadian visit.
Dealing with the Russian president is a matter of attitude, the Turkish leader said
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday criticized his Western colleagues for having the wrong attitude towards Russian President Vladimir Putin, contrasting that with his own ability to work with Moscow on issues ranging from the Syrian peace process to last week’s deal to export Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea ports.
“You know the attitude of Western politicians towards Putin,” he told the state broadcaster TRT during a lengthy interview on Monday evening, calling it “unbecoming of politics.”
“The attitude you show him is the attitude you will get in return,” Erdogan explained.
He credited this insight for Ankara’s ability to successfully negotiate the grain deal with both Moscow and Kiev on Friday. Turkey had also hosted the initial talks between Ukraine and Russia in the early days of the conflict, before the process broke down – reportedly at the urging of some Western leaders.
“We are determined to put this agreement into practice,” Erdogan said of the grain deal, saying it would go a long way to ease the threat of a global food crisis. He urged both Russia and Ukraine to abide by what they signed in Istanbul.
In the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Ankara does not regard either side as an enemy, Erdogan said. Turkey has not imposed sanctions against Russia, but it has spoken in opposition to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine and sold Kiev combat drones such as the Bayraktar TB-2.
As for relations with Russia, Erdogan said that Turkey was focusing on issues of “mutual benefit,” such as the peace process for neighboring Syria. As part of the ‘Astana Three’ initiative, the Turkish leader met with Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran earlier this month.
New UN-backed guidelines issued on Monday aim to protect, include and empower children forced to flee their homes due to the climate crisis, marking the first-ever global effort to address this increasingly major concern.
The overall situation in Libya remains “highly volatile”, Martha Pobee, UN Assistant Secretary-General for political affairs and peace operations, told the Security Council on Monday.
DAKAR, Senegal, Jul 25 (IPS) – The current Ukraine-Russia conflict is dominating the global media to the point of overshadowing longer protracted crisis that no longer make headlines, but are still rife. Such is the case with the on-going Sahel crisis, one of the world’s most neglected ones, where acute poverty, the dramatic effects of climate change and rising armed conflicts have become the norm for more than a decade. A situation further exacerbated by the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.
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