<p>Following the sentencing of nine of Catalonian separatist politicians on Monday, the streets of Barcelona have erupted in protest for a second day, bearing witness to clashes between the police and demonstrators.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Spanish Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday, that nine Catalonian politicians were guilty of sedition, has resulted in sentences between 9-13 years for the organisation of the October 2017 independence referendum.&nbsp;</p> <p>Whilst the referendum has been deemed illegal by Spanish courts, pro-secession politicians have vowed to hold another independence referendum. They have told reporters that their will has only been strengthened by these imprisonments.</p> <p>During the protest, a candlelight vigil was held by the organisation Omnium Cultural organisation, who is chaired by Jordi Cuixart, a secessionist who was convicted on Monday. The protesters chanted "Freedom for political prisoners”.</p> <p>Responding to the protests Spanish Foreign Minister, Josep Borrell insisted on the importance of dialogue, he maintains that the secession movement has ignored Catalonian’s who wish to remain in Spain. He described such a view as “a totalitarian attitude.”</p> <p>This tension is likely to dominate the upcoming general election on November 10, Spain’s fourth election in four years.</p> <p>Read more <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/barcelona-police-separatist-prot…">here</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/clashes-over-catalan-separa…">here</a>.</p>

British Kurds took to the streets of London in a mass demonstration of over 20,000 people to march against the US withdrawal of troops from the Kurdish regions of Northern Syria and the subsequent Turkish attacks on the Kurdish controlled territories. 

The US withdrawal from the region came on the 8 October following a phone conversation between US President Donald J. Trump and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Following this withdrawal Turkish troops immediately seized upon the opportunity and launched offensive airstrikes and fired artillery at Kurdish controlled territory in Northern Syria. The US President has come under wide criticism for his decision but has defended his position stressing both the financial burden to US taxpayers and stating "Kurds didn't help us at Normandy".

The protesters' demands were:

- Britain needs to impose a no-fire zone over the conflict region.

- Britain must stop selling arms and financially supporting the Turkish state.

- Turkey must be removed from the North Atlantic Trading Organisation.

- This conflict must be brought to an end with a free and autonomous Kurdistan.

Saph Meran, a Kurdish activist, told the Tamil Guardian;

"We are here today because the American government made the decision to unilaterally withdraw from Northern Syria, leaving our only allies in the region, and the only people who have demonstrated that they are capable of Daesh and the Islamic State as well as Al Queda and all the other forces that are converging around Syria, and we have left them in the lurch. Meaning they are about to be killed. The Turkish government have no interest in combating terrorism as they say; that is a smokescreen for ethnic cleansing. Erdogan is in economic peril in his own country and is using this as a political excuse to distract away from poor local election results. As a result, a whole lot of Kurds are going to die".

Meran further explained that the UK can and must play a role in resolving this conflict:

"The UK has played a role in securing safety for Kurdish people before, they established a no-fly zone when Saddam Hussein was about to attack the North of Iraq, which is where the majority of Kurds live. It is now the Kurdish regional government and the safest autonomous region probably in that area of the Middle East. It is also a functioning democracy. We would like to see the British government play some kind of a  role, failing that sanctions against the Turkish government, failing that Turkey should be expelled from NATO, effective immediately".

Meran further mourned the loss of a Kurdish political leader who was assassinated the day before, "she was dragged out of her car along with her driver and shot in the head by affiliated Turkish mercenaries ". 

 

Soran Sharifi, another Kurdish protester, told the Tamil Guardian:

"We are fighting for freedom, for democracy, we are fighting for five years for everyone in the world. 

This isn't a problem for just the Kurds it's a problem for the world 

UK, British government wake up, where are you, where is your humanity"

 

A member of the Socialist Alliance said;

"Absolute atrocity what the Turkish state is doing in North-East Syria, the British government has particular responsibility for dividing up with the French the different Kurdish land in 1923 but the British government has issued hundreds of millions of pounds worth of export licenses for arms sales to Turkey. Those weapons are being used as I speak to bomb villages, towns and where civilians are living, to attack refugee camps and the siege of ambulances and medical staff by the Turkish armed forces. This would not be possible without arms supplied from amongst others Britain. "

 

During the protest, one activist told the crowd;

"We are here to say the Kurdish women are not alone, the thousands who defeated ISIS on our behalf are not alone. Kurdistan will be the graveyard of Turkish fascism. From the people of the world, we are united".

The protesters were heard chanting in unison;

"We are Rojava. Rojava is us.

We are YPG. YPG is us.

We are PKK. PKK is us.

Long Live Rojava". 

 

As thousands of Kurds marched through London, several Eelam Tamils came to join their rally and express solidarity. One Tamil activist told Tamil Guardian;

"We saw the massacres at Mullivaikkal and can relate to the pain the Kurdish people are feeling right now. We have also marched on these very same streets calling for action."

 

      
Read more here and here.
 

<p>Spain’s Supreme Court plans to convict and sentence Catalonia’s separatist leaders for up to 15 years in prison, over a 2017 bid for independence, according to a judicial source.</p> <p>The 12 leaders would be found guilty of charges of sedition and misuse of public funds. The verdict is expected to be signed by the judges and made public next week.</p> <p>The charges stem from the leaders’ role in an October 2017 referendum, which led to a short lived Declaration of Independence. Spanish courts ruled the referendum to be illegal.&nbsp;</p> <p>During the trial, the leaders stated that they did nothing wrong and were being prosecuted for political acts.&nbsp;</p> <p>“They have tried to behead us and now they want to culminate it but they will not achieve it...They will not make disappear the millions of separatists in this country,” Pere Aragones, a top official of Catalonia’s Republican Left.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Former South African President, Jacob Zuma, is expected to face trial on Tuesday on 16 counts of fraud, racketeering and money laundering.</p> <p>The accusations specify&nbsp;that during his reign as President, 2009-2018, he took bribes from the French defence company Thales which was related to a 1999 multi-billion-dollar arms purchase, which he oversaw as vice president.&nbsp;</p> <p>Zuma tried in March to have his case permanently dismissed however High Court Judge Wilie Sertie ruled against him; agreeing with the prosecution that aspects of his case we "scandalous and or vexatious".</p> <p>Charges were first brought against Zuma in 2005 but were dropped in 2009, shortly before he became president and reinstated in 2016.</p> <p>In 2018, Zuma was forced out of his office due to a separate corruption scandal.</p> <p>Zuma’s lawyers have refuted the charges, claiming that they are politically motivated and that the significant delay will inevitably lead to an unfair trial. To avoid facing trial, he may still appeal the High Court’s decision to the Supreme Court.</p> <p>Read more <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/south-africa-president-zuma-face…;">here</a> and <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/south-africas-jacob-zuma-to-stand-trial-for-corru…;">here</a>.</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

Police have detained the chief of the Tibetan Youth Congress and 11 other students for shouting slogans demanding freedom while holding "Free Tibet" flags ahead of President Xi Jinping's arrival in Chennai today for a summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Photographs: Tibetan Youth Congress

Gonpo Dhondup, the chief of the Tibetan Youth Congress, and the other students were detained in several locations including the airport and the highway leading to the summit venue.

Photograph: Tibetan Youth Congress

Earlier this week, New Delhi said changes to Kashmir's status were an internal affair and there was no room for third party involvement after Xi said he was watching the situation closely and assured Pakistan of Chinese support.

Trade issues, boundary disputes and multilateral cooperation are expected to dominate the two day informal summit at Mamallapuram.

Tweeting on arrival, Modi wrote, “Landed in Chennai. I am happy to be in the great land of Tamil Nadu, known for its wonderful culture and hospitality. It is gladdening that Tamil Nadu will host President Xi Jinping. May this informal summit further strengthen ties between India and China.”

 

 

<p>Following a week of protests which saw the deaths of at least 105 people, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has condemned the “excessive and unnecessary lethal force” of the Iraqi military who were sent to suppress rock-throwing demonstrators.&nbsp;</p> <p>In their report, HRW called upon Iraqi officials to hold accountable members of the security forces responsible for the brutal suppression of protesters in the capital Baghdad, and several other cities.</p> <p>Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW, writes;&nbsp;</p> <blockquote><p> <em>"For more than a decade, Iraqi governments have said they would investigate abuses by security forces but haven't done so,"</em></p> <p><em>"The killing of at least 105 protestors requires a transparent investigation that results in public findings and accountability for abuses."</em> </p></blockquote> <p>Protesters, mostly young men, gathered in the thousands across Iraq to denounce the government’s rampant corruption, lack of opportunity and poor public services. Al Jazeera notes that the protests began in Baghdad but quickly spread to the Shia heartland in the south, including the flashpoint city of Basra.</p> <p>In response to the protests, the government imposed a strict curfew and shut down the internet to stop social media and limit the protests. Men in official uniform stormed several local television stations and staff were threatened. The men demanded they stop broadcasting.</p> <p>HRW condemned this interference with media and communication lines maintaining that the government had a duty under international law to protect free speech and assembly. In their report they state;</p> <blockquote><p> <em>"While national security is a legitimate basis for restrictions on freedom of expression, these restrictions must be necessary and proportionate to address a specific security concern”.</em> </p></blockquote> <p>For the first time, Iraq’s military acknowledged the excessive use of force telling reporters;&nbsp;</p> <blockquote><p> "Excessive force outside the rules of engagement was used and we have begun to hold accountable those commanding officers who carried out these wrong acts,” </p></blockquote> <p>Read more <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/iraq-hrw-denounces-lethal-force-…">here</a> and <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/10/10/iraq-lethal-force-used-against-prot…">here</a>.</p>

Two people have been killed and another two seriously injured during a live-streamed anti-Semitic attack on a German synagogue on Yom Kippur.

The attacker, known as Stephan B, is a 20-year-old German male, who broadcast his crimes on Amazon’s game streaming service known as Twitch.

Reuters notes that during his broadcast he claimed:

“I think the Holocaust never happened,” he began, before adding “feminism is the cause of decline in birth rates in the West” and mentioning mass immigration. He concluded: “The root of all these problems is the Jew.”

During the video, the attacker drove a van into the synagogue and forced the gates open. He shot a woman passer-by and a man near a kebab shop.

A spokeswoman for Amazon responded to the attack maintaining that the company “worked with urgency to remove this content and will permanently suspend any accounts found to be posting or reposting content of this abhorrent act.”

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel visited a Berlin synagogue and spoke to a crowd of 200 people. In response to the attack she tweeted her condemnation of antisemitism, stating: 

“We must oppose any form of anti-Semitism.”

Thanks to the actions of the Jewish community leaders, safeguards were in place to protect those inside the synagogue. 

Max Privorozki, Halle’s Jewish community chairman, told reporters;

“We saw via the camera system at our synagogue that a heavily armed perpetrator with a steel helmet and a gun tried to shoot open our doors […] We barricaded the doors from inside and waited for the police,” 

There were an approximate, 70 to 80 people inside the synagogue observing Yom Kippur, known as the Day of Atonement which is marked by fasting and solemn prayer.

These attacks follow a worrying resurgence of antisemitism and xenophobia in Germany and abroad.

 

Read more here and here.

<p>Following the US withdrawal from the region, Turkey has launched airstrikes and fire artillery at Kurdish armed forces positioned around the border of Ras al Ain, in the Kurdish regions of northern&nbsp;Syria on Wednesday.</p> <p>Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, has defended his actions claiming he intended to eliminate “a “terror corridor” on Turkey’s southern border.</p> <p>The attacks were launched against the Kurdish YPG militia which Turkey has accused of being an off-shoot of the&nbsp; Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PPK), a Kurdish organisation&nbsp;fighting for autonomy.</p> <p>Prior to the attack, Kurdish-led authorities declared a state of “general mobilisation”, stating:&nbsp;</p> <blockquote><p> “We call on all our institutions, and our people in all their components, to head towards the border region with Turkey to fulfill their moral duty and show resistance in these sensitive, historic moments,” </p></blockquote> <p>The decision to by the US President to withdraw support has been met with wide criticism, including from senior officials in his own party and US allies.</p> <p>Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, warned&nbsp;that it will&nbsp;destabilise the region and risk a resurgence of the Islamic State.&nbsp;</p> <blockquote><p> “Turkey is risking a further detribalization of the region and a reinvigoration of Islamic State […] The Turkish offensive could lead to a new humanitarian disaster as well as new refugee flows […] We urge Turkey to end its operation and to pursue its security interests in a peaceful way.” </p></blockquote> <p>Read more <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-turkey-usa/turkish-ar…">here</a> and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-germany/turkish-offen…">here</a>.</p>

<p>The US has said it will impose visa restrictions on Chinese government and Communist Party officials,&nbsp;accused of involvement in the&nbsp;repression of Muslim minority groups in Xianjiang, China.</p> <p>In a statement, Secretary of State,&nbsp;Mike Pompeo said, "the Chinese government has instituted a highly repressive campaign against Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other members of Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang."</p> <p>"The United States calls on the People's Republic of China to immediately end its campaign of repression in Xinjiang, release all those arbitarily detained, and cease efforts to coerce members of Chinese Muslim minority groups residing abroad to return to China to face an uncertain fate," the statement added. See the full statement <a href="https://www.state.gov/u-s-department-of-state-imposes-visa-restrictions…">here</a>.</p> <p>China denied the claims of repression. "There is no such thing as these so-called 'human rights issues' as claimed by the United States,"&nbsp;Geng Shuang, foreign ministry spokesman said.</p> <p>"These accusations are nothing more than an excuse for the United States to deliberately interfere in China's internal affairs."</p> <p>Earlier this year, more than 20 countries at the UN Human Rights Council signed a joint letter, urging China to end mass detention in Xianjiang.</p> <p>The United Nations currently estimates that as as many as 1 million Uighurs have been detained. The Chinese government maintains that these education centres are crucial in their effort to stamp out religious extremism and violence within the region.</p> <p>Read more <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-49979063">here</a>.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Following the US call to withdraw troops from Northern Syria, President Donald Trump has faced a barrage of criticism and has responded by warning that if Turkey “does anything […] I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey”.</p> <p>The US withdrawal of troops from Northern Syria was granted after President Trump had a conversation with Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday. In return for the US withdrawal, Turkey would claim custody of all captured IS fighters.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Read more here:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/us-allow-turkish-assault-kurdish-…">US to allow Turkish assault into Kurdish territory</a></strong></p> <p>In response to accusations that the US had betrayed their Kurdish, allies who had helped them to fight ISIS, President Trump said on Twitter:</p> <blockquote><p> “As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!). They must, with Europe and others, watch over …<br> ...the captured ISIS fighters and families. The U.S. has done far more than anyone could have ever expected, including the capture of 100% of the ISIS Caliphate. It is time now for others in the region, some of great wealth, to protect their own territory. THE USA IS GREAT!” </p></blockquote> <p>Trump has faced a barrage of criticism from both parties, including senior Republican officials such as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Lindsey Graham and former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.</p> <p>McConnell urged Trump to reverse his decision stating "a precipitous withdrawal of US forces from Syria would only benefit Russia, Iran, and the Assad regime.”</p> <p>Sen. Lindsey Graham stated :</p> <blockquote><p> "I urge the President to exercise American leadership to keep together our multinational coalition to defeat ISIS and prevent significant conflict between our NATO ally Turkey and our local Syrian counterterrorism partners […]</p> <p>Major new conflict between Turkey and our partners in Syria would seriously risk damaging Turkey's ties to the United States and causing greater isolation for Turkey on the world stage. </p></blockquote> <p>Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, Jonathan Hoffman, has criticised the move stating:</p> <blockquote><p> "The Department of Defense made clear to Turkey - as did the President - that we do not endorse a Turkish operation in Northern Syria. The U.S. Armed Forces will not support, or be involved in any such operation," </p></blockquote> <p>Read more <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-49966216">here</a> and <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/07/politics/mitch-mcconnell-republican-…">here</a>.</p>

^{File photograph: Kurdish YPG fighters in 2014 (Kurdishstruggle)}

The US has consented to a withdrawal of troops from northern Syria to allow for a Turkish offensive in the Kurdish region, disregarding their long-held alliance with the Kurds.

This decision follows a phone conversation between US president, Donald Trump, and Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday. In return for the US withdrawal, Turkey would claim custody of all captured IS fighters. Shortly before 11 pm on Sunday, the White House issued a statement which read:

 “Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned operation into northern Syria. The United States Armed Forces will not support or be involved in the operation, and United States forces, having defeated the Isis territorial ‘caliphate’, will no longer be in the immediate area.”

“[...] The US will not hold them [IS fighters] for what could be many years and great cost to the United States taxpayer. Turkey will now be responsible for all Isis fighters in the area captured over the past two years in the wake of the defeat of the territorial caliphate by the United States.”

On Monday, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported that the US had already begun withdrawing troops from areas along Turkey’s border and identified US armoured vehicles leaving positions near the towns of Ras al-Ayn and Tal Abyad in the border region.

In response to this withdrawal, SDF spokesman, Mustafa Bali, accused the US of leaving the area to “turn into a war zone”, adding that the SDF would “defend north-east Syria at all costs”.

In August, the US had agreed with Turkey to create “safe zones” in northern Syria, by which the US-backed Kurdish-led SDF would pull back from the border. This was intended to forestall offensive movements from Turkey.

Turkey planned to use these “safe zones” to eradicate Kurdish militant groups such as the YPG, which Turkey has labelled a terrorist offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a separatist group in Turkey which has been operating for the last 35 years.

Read more here and here.

Justin Trudeau has come under fire as his government sought to appeal a court ruling that found Canada’s on-reserve child welfare system discriminated against Indigenous youth and mandated billions of dollars in reparations be paid.

Canada’s human rights tribunal ruled that Indigenous youth were “wilfully and recklessly” harmed by the government’s policies and called for compensation worth $40,000 CAD to each child removed from their home. The amount is the maximum compensation currently allowable under the country’s human rights act.

However, Trudeau announced his government would appeal the ruling, a move that puts his party in line with the Conservatives. “We agree with the tribunal’s finding that there must be compensation for those who were hurt,” he told reporters. “But the question is how to do that. We need to have conversations with partners, conversations with leaders and communities to make sure we’re getting that compensation right.”

Though the New Democratic Party’s Jagmeet Singh and the Green party’s Elizabeth May vowed to stick by the ruling of elected, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer said he would also appeal the decision. “This is a far-reaching decision that has major impacts on multiple levels of government,” he said. ”It would be appropriate to have a judicial review.”

Indigenous groups have also slammed Trudeau for the move, with Perry Bellegarde, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, stating “This is about supporting First Nations children and families, and respecting human rights... It is unconscionable that anyone would oppose this”.

Outgoing parliamentarian Romeo Saganash tweeted,

“I never want to hear one single Liberal pronounce the word Reconciliation, ever again!”

See more from The Guardian here.

The US State Department said that diplomatic immunity is “rarely waived” after the wife of an American diplomat fled the UK following a car crash she was involved in killed a British teenager.

Though the wife of the diplomat, who has not yet been named, initially cooperated with British authorities and told police she had no plans to leave the country, it is understood she fled to the United States.

The US State Department said it could not comment on "private diplomatic conversation" with the British government, reports the BBC.

Though the State Department expresses “our deepest sympathies and offer condolences to the family of the deceased”, it went on to add;

“Any questions regarding a waiver of immunity with regard to our diplomats and their family members overseas in a case like this receive intense attention at senior levels and are considered carefully given the global impact such decisions carry; immunity is rarely waived."

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he has “called the US ambassador to express the UK's disappointment with their decision”.

See more from the BBC here.

^{Photograph: Studio Incendo}

Thousands of anti-government protestors took to the streets of Hong Kong once more on Sunday, after the government invoked emergency powers to ban protesters from wearing face masks.

Large parts of the city’s metro system, banks and malls remained closed as protestors defied the government ban on masks and continued to voice anger at Hong Kong’s government.

Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, invoked the emergency powers under the colonial era Emergency Regulations Ordinance - last used more than 50 years ago. However Lam denied the city was in a “state of emergency” and instead said it was needed to “end violence and restore order”.

Opposition lawmakers meanwhile sought an emergency injunction to overturn the ban.

“I would say this is one of the most important constitutional cases in the history of Hong Kong,” lawmaker Dennis Kwok said. “This could be the very last constitutional fight on our part. In the name of law they are trying to hurt the people and they try to crush the opposition.

“If this emergency law just gets a pass just like that Hong Kong will be deemed into a very black hole.”

China’s ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, meanwhile warned that “if the situation in Hong Kong becomes uncontrollable by Hong Kong government, the central government will not sit on their hands and watch”.

See more from the Financial Times here, the BBC here and The Guardian here.