Month: April 2017

Oil giant ExxonMobil has asked the Trump administration for an exemption from U.S. sanctions against Russia, so it can resume drilling around the Black Sea with a Russian partner, according to U.S. news reports Wednesday.

The request likely will receive extra scrutiny from U.S. officials because the deal between Exxon and Rosneft, the Russian state-owned energy company, was negotiated by the company’s former chief executive officer, Rex Tillerson, now the U.S. secretary of state.

Tillerson forged a landmark joint-venture deal with Rosneft worth hundreds of billions of dollars in direct talks five years ago with Russian officials including the Kremlin leader, President Vladimir Putin.

Drilling in Arctic

The Rosneft-Exxon team had begun drilling in the Arctic’s Kara Sea, but that work stopped when former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions against Moscow in 2014, following the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. The energy group also had agreed to look for shale oil in western Siberia and in the deep waters of the Black Sea, the area where Exxon is now seeking a waiver from sanctions.

Neither the Treasury Department nor Exxon would comment on the company’s request, first reported by The Wall Street Journal. A State Department spokesman said Tillerson pledged to recuse himself from any matters involving Exxon for two years after he took his Cabinet-level position, and added that the secretary is not involved with any decision by any government agency affecting Exxon.

Tillerson retired from Exxon late last year, after it became known that Trump would name him to head the State Department.

Treasury approval

The Associated Press reported that ExxonMobil, which is based in Irving, Texas, filed documents in 2015 and 2016 disclosing that it had received three licenses from the Treasury Department, through its Office of Foreign Assets Control, authorizing the company to conduct “limited administrative actions” with Rosneft.

Exxon has said that it and its investment properties in Russia comply with all aspects of the U.S. sanctions program. The original Exxon-Rosneft drilling project in the Arctic was halted by a U.S. order prohibiting American companies from transferring advanced technology used to drill offshore and in shale formations.

The head of Rosneft, Exxon’s partner, also was personally blacklisted by the U.S. action.

Exxon estimated in 2015 that its potential losses from the Rosneft venture could amount to $1 billion. In his corporate role, Tillerson spoke out against the U.S. sanctions in 2014, declaring such tactics are usually ineffective and warning they could cause “very broad collateral damage.”

Tillerson and Russia

A year earlier, before Russia annexed Crimea and the United States responded with sanctions, Putin personally honored Tillerson by naming him a member of Russia’s Order of Friendship. After the 2016 election, when the Trump team first considered Tillerson for the top U.S. diplomatic post, Capitol Hill lawmakers including Republican Senator Marco Rubio began questioning whether Tillerson was too close to Putin to serve effectively as secretary of state.

Amid the continuing controversy over Russia’s involvement in last year’s political campaign, as reported by the FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies, Tillerson became the first senior member of the Trump administration to visit Moscow. He traveled there last week for talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and with Putin. The meetings were reported to have been dominated by U.S-Russian tensions over Syria.

The environmentalist organization Greenpeace USA reacted quickly, calling on the Trump administration to reject Exxon’s request.

“If the Trump administration allows Exxon to move forward with extreme offshore oil drilling in Russia despite sanctions, the United States Congress must resist. Removing barriers to Exxon drilling in the Russian Black Sea with a state-controlled company like Rosneft would not only jeopardize global progress on climate change and provide momentum for a similar waiver in the Russian Arctic, it would also send a message to Russia that it can intervene in any country, including the United States, with no consequences. Members of Congress must stand up for the separation of oil and state.”

“We are extremely concerned that Rosneft’s control of a major U.S. energy supplier could pose a grave threat to American energy security,” the six senators wrote in an April 4 letter to the U.S. Treasury secretary.
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Billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates is urging British leaders not to back down from their commitment to foreign aid, saying it could cost lives in Africa.

Gates on Wednesday was in London, where campaigning has started for early elections called by Prime Minister Teresa May.

May has so far declined to say whether she will heed calls by fellow Conservatives to slash British foreign aid as part of her party platform.

Gates told the Guardian newspaper Wednesday that a British refusal to commit itself to targeted spending on foreign aid could hurt efforts to wipe out malaria in Africa.

“The big aid givers now are the U.S., Britain and Germany … and if those three back off, a lot of ambitious things going on with malaria, agriculture and reproductive health simply would not get done,” he said.

Gates said British funding has made an “absolute phenomenal difference” in eradicating tropical diseases that affect more than 1 billion people.

Many conservatives want the government to spend more money at home to combat domestic crises. Some also contend that foreign aid money is frequently squandered.

Gates said as a business executive who spends $5 billion a year helping developing nations, he hates wasting money. But he told an audience of British politicians and diplomats that no country can “build a wall to hold back the next global epidemic,” and that foreign aid combats socioeconomic problems “at the source.”
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A feel-good Paris concert, a meeting with Muslim leaders and a blowout rally in Marseille – France’s presidential candidates are blanketing the country Wednesday with campaign events to try to inspire undecided voters just four days before a nail-biting election.

Crowds danced on a Paris plaza as Socialist presidential candidate Benoit Hamon held what is seen as a last-chance rally and concert. Hamon is polling a distant fifth place ahead of Sunday’s first-round election and has little chance of reaching the decisive May 7 runoff – a failure that could crush his party.

French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, who has dominated the campaign with her anti-immigration, anti-EU proposals, is appealing to her electoral base in hopes of maintaining a shot at the runoff.

She assailed recent governments for failing to stop extremist attacks in recent years and warned on BFM television that “we are all targets. All the French.”

The candidates have increased security in recent days. Authorities announced Tuesday that they had arrested two Islamic radicals suspected of plotting a possible attack around the vote.

Independent centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron reached out to the French Muslim community Wednesday, saying it’s fighting on a “common front” alongside the state against Islamic extremism.

Macron met with the head of leading French Muslim group CFCM, Anouar Kbibech. In a statement afterward, Macron insisted on the importance of respecting France’s secular traditions but said they shouldn’t be used to target Muslims. Some Muslims feel unfairly targeted by French laws banning headscarves in schools and full-face veils in public.

Also Wednesday, the Grand Mosque of Lyon issued an appeal urging Muslims to cast ballots instead of isolating themselves, “so that all the children of France, regardless of their skin color, their origins or their religion, are fully involved in the future of their country.”

Le Pen also defended her decision to force national news network TF1 to take down the European flag during an interview Tuesday night.

She said Wednesday that “I am a candidate in the election for the French republic” and that Europe is acting like France’s “enemy.”

Accusing the EU of taking away France’s sovereignty and hurting its economy, she wants to pull France out of the EU and the euro – which would devastate the bloc and badly disrupt financial markets.
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Protests continued in Istanbul and other cities over allegations of vote fraud in Sunday’s referendum. The narrow 51-49 percent victory gives Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sweeping powers to turn the country into an executive presidency from the current parliamentary system. But allegations of ballot stuffing and mishandling of certified ballots continue.

“Erdogan a thief, Erdogan a murderer” hundreds chanted in the Kadikoy, the center of the Asian side of Istanbul and a stronghold of the president’s opponents. “The vote was unfair. We don’t want one-man rule. We just want democracy for everyone,” a woman protestor said.

Some protestors carried placards with the viral hashtag slogans from referendum night “The ‘No’ is not finished” and ” ‘No’ has won”.

Similar protests were held across Istanbul. The demonstrations were smaller than Monday when thousands took to the streets. Demonstrations were also held in other cities, including the capital, Ankara.

Protests have been broadly tolerated by security forces, which have sweeping powers to stop them, under emergency rules introduced after July’s failed coup. Usually those powers are used to quell anti-government dissent.

The Kadikoy protest was devoid of the usual intimidating presence of heavily armed riot police and armored cars. Instead, plain-clothes police filmed those participating and checked foreign media credentials as well as occasionally politely asking demonstrators not to use derrogative chants against the president.

Dawn raids were made across Istanbul Wednesday, detaining dozens of people suspected of organizing and participating in the protests.

The unrest is focusing on the decision by Turkey’s Supreme Election board during voting to allow ballots without an official stamp in Sunday’s referendum. Under Turkey’s election law, all ballots and the envelope they are placed in have to have an official stamp, a measure to prevent vote-stuffing.

Election board Head Sadi Guven made the decision, reportedly without consulting his other board members and at the request of the ruling AK Party. International monitors of the OSCE strongly criticized the decision Monday in their initial findings on the referendum.

The result also prompted the European Union to weigh in: “We also call on all actors to show restraint and on the authorities to launch transparent investigations into these alleged irregularities found by the observers,” said EU Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas at a press conference Tuesday.

Growing numbers of unverified videos and photos have appeared on social media purporting to showing vote-stuffing. Many are from Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast. Much of the region has strict security as it battles Kurdish insurgents of the PKK.

Several voting districts that are traditional strongholds of the pro-Kurdish HDP that was campaigning against the referendum recorded massive ‘yes’ votes. Only one-half percent voted no on the referendum in one district where a majority voted for the HDP in the 2015 election.

The HDP along with the main opposition CHP, Republican People’s Party, are refusing to recognize the result, calling for the narrow referendum victory to be annulled.

“The only thing that needs to be done with regard to this referendum which has lost its legitimacy, is its annulment,” declared Bulent Tezcan, deputy CHP leader, after submitting an annulment petition Tuesday to the Supreme Election Board.

The CHP also threatened Wednesday to boycott parliament. “We do not recognize the referendum result,” said CHP spokeswoman Selin Sayek Boke. “There should be no doubt that we will exercise all our democratic rights against it.”

A nationwide campaign has started for individual petitions challenging the vote. Hundreds of people queued outside the Supreme Election Board headquarters in Ankara to personally file complaints. Turkey’s Supreme Election Board, which is the only body legally empowered to annul the vote, has started considering the more than 700 complaints.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim pushed back Wednesday, telling reporters, “It is unacceptable for the main opposition party not to acknowledge results which the public has already acknowledged.”

In a move widely seen as intended to thwart potential further legal complications over the referendum, Erdogan’s first meeting on the day after Sunday’s vote was with the head of the Constitutional Court.

The president and his ruling AK Party, under emergency rule in the aftermath of the coup, have purged and arrested thousands of the judiciary members, including those of the Supreme Election Board and the Constitutional Court.

“There is no way this can be reversed. To expect the ‘yes’ camp to accept calls for a re-vote is naive in the present polarized political climate,” warns political columnist Semih Idiz of the Al Monitor website. “The performance of the Supreme Election Board it is almost like it’s co-opted (to the president). So the way things are stacked against the opposition, I don’t think their efforts will lead to much.”

But the narrow margin of victory, and the ongoing controversy appears to be galvanizing the opposition, which has been largely influenced by the tens of thousands of arrests and purges across academia, media and within the Turkish State, under emergency rule.  

“We are standing up for our ‘no’ votes,” declares a journalist student at Wednesday’s Kadikoy protest. “All we want is fair and just referendum results.  And we will keep demanding this until we win!”

Protests across Turkey have been called for Wednesday night. “For the ‘no’ camp, it has injected a new sense of enthusiasm,” notes columnist Idiz. “It’s now a question of how the main opposition will mobilize in the lead up to the next elections, whether it’s early elections, or in 2019.”

 
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The British parliament voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to back Prime Minister Theresa May’s call to hold early general elections on June 8, three years ahead of schedule.

May pushed for the snap poll in hopes of smoothing the Brexit process.

The vote in parliament was 522 to 13. Members had been widely expected to approve the early poll, which analysts say will likely give May a stronger hand in negotiating Britain’s exit from the European Union but also gives the opposition a greater voice in how the Brexit process is carried out.

The two-year exit negotiation process began last month when May triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon EU treaty. However, the British leader has been weighed down by the opposition’s protests over how the negotiations on trade and taxes are conducted.

May said the early vote is necessary to ensure that her government can “strengthen our position in these negotiations.”  

“I believe this is the way we get clarity and stability in the future for the United Kingdom beyond Brexit,” she said.

WATCH: May on early vote

On Wednesday, May repeated her belief that there is “no turning back” on Brexit.

The early general election will not change the two-year departure timetable, but has opened up a new episode of bickering over the measure, which has bitterly divided the country for the past year.

Courting opposition

May has challenged Britain’s deeply fractured opposition to band together and present their arguments against Brexit.

Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn appeared to accept that challenge by welcoming early elections. But in a heated exchange before the vote in parliament Wednesday, Corbyn criticized May for her decision to not take part in any televised debates ahead of the June poll.

Corbyn also denied May’s allegations that he and his fellow Brexit opponents, the Liberal Democrats, have been working to derail the process.

“There is no obstacle to the government negotiating, but instead of getting on with the job she is painting herself as the prisoner of Lib Dem threats to grind government to a standstill,” Corbyn said, adding that the Liberal Democrats have “only nine” seats in parliament.

With the Labor Party’s popularity at a historic low, analysts widely expect Theresa May’s Conservatives and their allies to retain a majority in parliament, meaning May would remain prime minister during course of the Brexit negotiations.

Last year, polls failed to predict the passage of the referendum on Brexit and observers now caution that in seeking to strengthen her mandate, May also risks her political career, depending on whether voter attitudes change in the next seven weeks.
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European Council President Donald Tusk was met at Warsaw’s main train station Wednesday by hundreds of people — both supporters and angry opponents — as he arrived to testify in an investigation.

The mood at the train station was tense, with supporters of the former Polish prime minister carrying EU and national flags and chanting “Donald, we are with you!” while opponents hurled accusations of crimes and of hurting Poland’s interests. One detractor held up a large mock-up photo depicting him in striped prison garb.

Tusk is only a witness in the current case — an investigation by military prosecutors into alleged secret illegal contacts between Polish and Russian intelligence officials at a time when he was still prime minister.

“I have no doubt this is a part of political witch hunt,” Tusk told reporters while walking to the prosecutors’ office surrounded by bodyguards. He wore a daffodil on his jacket, in honor of the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising against Nazi occupiers.

However, many see his questioning as part of a larger attempt by Poland’s nationalist government to discredit a political foe by linking him to scandals and perhaps imprison him eventually. With still strong backing in Poland, Tusk could prove to be a serious rival to the ruling party in the 2019 parliamentary elections and in the 2020 presidential election.

Tusk has also been accused by the Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz of treason in another matter, the handling of the aftermath of the 2010 plane crash in Smolensk, Russia, that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski.

Prosecutors have not revealed details of the alleged illegal contacts, but they are investigating whether the heads of the intelligence had neglected their obligation to seek Tusk’s approval for cooperating with foreign intelligence.

Polish media reports say the deal was aimed at allowing Polish investigators working on the Smolensk crash to operate on Russian soil.

“I have no reservations as to the work of the (special) services,” Tusk said.

Poland’s current ruling party, Law and Justice, is led by the late president’s twin brother, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a nationalist politician who is a long-term political rival of Tusk’s.

Kaczynski drove the failed effort last month to block Tusk from getting a second term as head of the European Council. Only Poland opposed Tusk’s re-election, with 27 other EU members supporting another term for him.

In their chants, Tusk’s supporters said he beat Kaczynski 27-1.

Kaczynski and others accuse Tusk of failing to oversee proper security for the presidential flight. They also fault Tusk for letting the Russians carry out the main investigation and for failing to get the wreckage back.

Supporters of the government also blame Tusk for pro-business policies during his 2007-2014 term that they feel hurt the country. Those policies helped drive strong economic growth, but many Poles felt left out by the economic boom.

“Tusk should face justice for having brought Poland to ruins, for closing shipyards, scandals, for Smolensk, for working together with Russia. We still can’t bring the wreckage back,” said Halina Wojcicka, 74, a retired office clerk.

Those who rallied to support Tusk expressed opposition to Poland’s larger political direction under Kaczynski, which opponents view as xenophobic and having authoritarian tendencies.

“I can see that harm is being done to Poland. The state of law is gone. The country is run by one person, driven by hatred,” said Iwona Guz, a 60-year-old economist. “I am here to show that I want Poland to be in Europe, not in the East.”

 
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British Prime Minister Theresa May announced Tuesday she will seek an early election on June 8.

Three weeks after officially launching the process for Britain to exit the European Union, May said opposition parties are threatening to derail the process and that parliament is not coming together in the same way as the nation.

“Division in Westminster will risk our ability to make a success of Brexit and it will cause damaging uncertainty and instability to the country, so we need a general election and we need one now,” May said.

The House of Commons must approve the call for new elections.

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, welcomed May’s announcement, saying it will “give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first.”
…

U.S. President Donald Trump has congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his “referendum victory,” in a narrow vote that would create a powerful executive presidency from the current parliamentary system.

The White House said in a statement the two leaders spoke by phone, with their conversation also including the need to hold Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accountable for a recent chemical attack, the ongoing fight against Islamic State and “the need to cooperate against all groups that use terrorism to achieve their ends.”

Erdogan’s opponents are seeking a revote of Sunday’s referendum, and international monitors have questioned the fairness of the vote, saying it was contested on an uneven playing field.

At a news conference Monday in Ankara, monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said the “No” campaign faced numerous obstacles including a lack of freedom of expression, intimidation and access to the media. The OSCE also alleged misuse of administrative resources by Erdogan.

The controversial decision to allow the use of ballots that did not have an official stamp was also criticized. “The Supreme Election Board issued instructions late in the day, that significantly changed, the validity criteria, undermining an important safeguard and contradicting the law,“ observed Cezar Florin Preda of the monitoring group at the Ankara press conference

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry released a statement saying it was “saddened” by the OSCE’s finding that the referendum fell short of international standards. The ministry called it “unacceptable” and accused the OSCE of political bias.

Under Turkey’s 2010 electoral law, all ballots require an official stamp as a measure aimed at preventing vote stuffing. The main opposition CHP alleges that as many as one-and-a-half million unstamped ballots could have been used, more than the winning margin in the referendum.

The CHP is now demanding the referendum be held again. “The only decision that will end debate about the legitimacy, and ease the people’s legal concerns is the annulment of this election,” declared Bulent Tezcan CHP deputy head, speaking at a press conference Monday.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim rejected opposition complaints in remarks to a group of legislators Tuesday. He said the opposition “should not speak after the people have spoken.”

Protests were held in several locations across Istanbul and in the capital, Ankara, over the handling of the vote; similar demonstrations were reported in other cities.

The only legal redress the CHP has to overturn the vote is with Supreme Election Board, which made the decision to use the unstamped ballots.

The head of the board, Sadi Guven, strongly defended his decision to allow the controversial ballots, citing high demand for ballots and saying similar procedures had been followed in the past.

“This is not some move we’ve done for the first time,” said Guven, speaking to reporters Monday in Ankara. “Before our administration took over, there had been many decisions approving the validity of unstamped ballots.”

Critics point out the previous use of unstamped ballots was before the introduction of the electoral law banning the practice. Guven said he did not know how many of the ballots were used, and admitted he made the decision after consulting with the ruling AK Party.

Many of the ballots are suspected of being used in the predominantly Kurdish southeast where strict security measures are in force due to an ongoing fight against Kurdish insurgent group the PKK. “No” campaigners in the region, said its observers, were prevented from monitoring many ballot stations. The OSCE also said its monitors too faced restrictions.

While the OSCE refused to be drawn in on whether the shortcomings and difficulties it highlighted were enough to ultimately affect the outcome of the vote, its assessment will likely embolden the opposition and add to growing international concern.

“The European politician will refer to the OSCE; even Americans have said it was going to wait for the OSCE report [before commenting on the referendum result], warns political columnist Semih Idiz of Al Monitor website. “It’s a complication for Erdogan but he will try and turn it to his advantage, by saying the West is up to its old tricks again.” Throughout the campaign, Erdogan played the nationalist card, accusing Western countries of conspiring against him and Turkey. Erdogan described the referendum as a victory against the crusaders.

Europe has so far avoided directly addressing the controversy, choosing to look beyond the result with calls on Erdogan to reach out to his opponents to ease the political polarization. The U.S. State Department called on Turkey to protect basic rights and freedoms as authorities work to resolve the contested results.
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Turkey’s president has rejected international monitors’ criticism of the referendum that approved expanded presidential powers Sunday, saying the vote was the “most democratic election” seen in any Western country.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told supporters Monday outside his palace in Ankara that international election monitors should “know their place.”

He said Turkey will ignore findings by monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, calling the reports “politically motivated.”

Fairness questioned

The monitors have questioned the fairness of Sunday’s referendum, saying it was contested on an uneven playing field. At a news conference in Ankara, monitors from the OSCE said the “No” campaign faced numerous obstacles, including a lack of freedom of expression, intimidation and access to the media.

They also questioned the controversial decision by Turkey’s Supreme Court to allow the use of ballots that did not have an official stamp on them. The main opposition CHP alleges that as many as one-and-a-half million unstamped ballots could have been used, more than the winning margin in the referendum.

Opposition calls for new vote

Bulent Tezcan, deputy head of the CHP demanded the referendum be reheld, saying that would be the “only decision that will end the debate about the legitimacy” and ease people’s concerns.

Unofficial election results from Turkey’s electoral board said the “yes” vote took more than 51 percent while the “no” vote took just under 49 percent. Official tallies were expected to be released within 12 days of the vote.

The approval means the Turkish parliament will be largely sidelined, the prime minister and Cabinet posts will be abolished, and ministers will be directly appointed by the president and accountable to him. The president also will set the budget.

The constitutional amendments also end the official neutrality of the president, allowing him to lead a political party. The president will have the power to dissolve parliament and declare a state of emergency, while enjoying enhanced powers to appoint judges to the high court and constitutional court.

A divided nation

The referendum has divided the nation, with both supporters and opponents arguing that the future of the country is at stake.

Erdogan insists the reforms will create a fast and efficient system of governance that will allow Turkey to face the challenges of fighting terror and the slowing economy. Critics argue the constitutional reforms will usher in an elected dictatorship.

Erdogan spoke by telephone Monday with U.S. President Donald Trump, who according to a White House statement congratulated the Turkish leader on the referendum win.  The statement further said the two men talked about the situation in Syria, both the fight against Islamic State and holding Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accountable for a chemical attack earlier this month.
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The U.S. State Department said Monday it had taken note of concerns by European monitors of Turkey’s referendum and looked forward to a final report, suggesting it will withhold comment until a full assessment was completed.

An initial assessment by the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said Sunday’s referendum, which granted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sweeping new powers, did not meet democratic norms.

“We look forward to OSCE/ODIHR’s final report, which we understand will take several weeks,” acting spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.
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As France’s unpredictable presidential campaign nears its finish with no clear front-runner, centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen hope to rally big crowds in Paris with their rival visions for Europe’s future.

Meanwhile, far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, enjoying a late poll surge, is campaigning on a barge Monday floating through the canals of Paris. And conservative candidate Francois Fillon is taking his tough-on-security campaign to the southern French city of Nice, which was scarred by a deadly truck attack last year that killed 86 people.

The race is being watched internationally as an important gauge of populist sentiment, and the outcome is increasingly uncertain just six days before Sunday’s first round vote.

Le Pen’s nationalist rhetoric and Melenchon’s anti-globalization campaign have resonated with French voters sick of the status quo. Macron, meanwhile, is painting himself as an anti-establishment figure seeking to bury the traditional left-right spectrum that has governed France for decades.

The top two vote-getters Sunday of the 11 candidates on the ballot advance to the May 7 presidential runoff. The latest polls suggest that Le Pen, Macron, Melenchon and Fillon all have a chance of reaching the runoff — and as many as a third of voters remain undecided.

Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon insisted Monday that he, too, remains a contender.

“Things are evolving,” he said on Europe-1 radio.

The Socialists’ campaign has suffered from internal divisions and Socialist President Francois Hollande’s dismal image — he’s so unpopular that he declined to seek a second term.

Macron, a former investment banker well connected in the business world, fended off questions Monday about his elitist image on BFM television.

“The money I earned in my life, I earned it. I have not been given gifts,” he said.

He accused rivals of pandering to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and tried to distance himself from Fillon, whose austerity-focused campaign has been damaged by accusations that he misused taxpayer money to pay his wife and children for government jobs that they allegedly did not perform. French investigators are probing the case.

Fillon denies wrongdoing and is focusing instead on security issues that resonate with many voters after two years of deadly attacks across the country. French voters will cast their ballots under a state of emergency that’s been repeatedly extended as new violence has hit.

Macron and Le Pen are holding their last big rallies in the Paris region later Monday.

 
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Germany said on Monday the close result in Turkey’s referendum on expanding Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s powers was a big responsibility for him to bear and showed how divided Turkish society was.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel also said Turkish authorities needed to address concerns about the content and procedure of Sunday’s referendum raised by a panel of European legal experts.

Erdogan declared a narrow victory in the vote, which marked the biggest overhaul of modern Turkish politics. Opponents said it was marred by irregularities and they would challenge the result.

Merkel and Gabriel, whose country has about 3 million residents of Turkish background, said they noted the preliminary result showing a victory for the “Yes” camp. Official results are expected within 12 days.

“The German government… respects the right of Turkish citizens to decide on their own constitutional order,” they said in a statement.

“The tight referendum result shows how deeply divided Turkish society is and that means a big responsibility for the Turkish leadership and for President Erdogan personally.”

They expected Ankara to have a “respectful dialogue” with all parts of Turkish society and its political spectrum after a tough campaign.

German integration commissioner Aydan Ozoguz warned against criticizing Turks living in Germany across the board over how they voted, telling regional newspaper Saarbruecker Zeitung that only around 14 percent of all German Turks living in Germany had voted “Yes” and added that most migrants had not voted.

German integration commissioner Aydan Ozoguz warned against criticizing Turks living in Germany over how they voted, telling regional newspaper Saarbruecker Zeitung that only around 14 percent of all German Turks living in Germany had voted “yes” and added that most migrants had not voted.

EU talks

Germany’s comments were echoed in France, where President Francois Hollande said: “It’s up to the Turks and them alone to decide on how they organize their political institutions, but the published results show that Turkish society is divided about the planned deep reforms.”

On Sunday, the European Commission said Turkey should seek a broad national consensus on constitutional amendments, given the narrow “Yes” majority and the extent of their impact. In March, the Venice Commission, a panel of legal experts at the Council of Europe, said the proposed changes to the constitution on which Turks voted, namely boosting Erdogan’s power, represented a “dangerous step backwards” for democracy.

Merkel and Gabriel pointed to the Commission’s reservations and said that, as a member of the Council of Europe and the OSCE security and human rights watchdog and an EU accession candidate, Turkey should quickly address those concerns.

“Political discussions about that need to take place as quickly as possible, both at the bilateral level and between the European institutions and Turkey,” Merkel and Gabriel said.

In a separate statement, France’s Foreign Ministry called on the Turkish government to respect the European Convention on Human Rights and its ban on the death penalty.

Erdogan told supporters on Sunday that Turkey could hold another referendum on reinstating the death penalty. Such a move would spell the end of Turkey’s accession talks with the European Union.

Austria, which has repeatedly called for halting membership talks, called once more for them to stop.

“We can’t just go back to the daily routine after the Turkey referendum. We finally need some honesty in the relationship between the EU and Turkey,” said Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, adding the bloc should instead work on a “partnership Agreement.”

During the campaign, Erdogan repeatedly attacked European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, accusing them of “Nazi-like” tactics for banning his ministers from speaking to rallies of Turkish voters abroad.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek told Reuters on Monday he expected the “noise” between Ankara and Europe should die down after the European elections cycle. The French vote for a new president begins next Sunday. Germany votes in September.

 
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Easter dawned in Jerusalem with a sunrise service at the Garden Tomb, where the faithful sang hymns of the resurrection. This holy site seeks to recreate the setting of the burial place of Jesus according to biblical accounts: “Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid” (John 19:41).

Facing an empty tomb carved into a rock in antiquity, the congregation proclaimed that “The Lord is risen!”

A short time later, bells rang out in the narrow cobblestone alleyways of Jerusalem’s Old City, summoning worshippers to Easter Mass at the 4th century Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

The atmosphere in the cavernous church was mystical. Priests in festive robes chanted the Easter liturgy, as a fragrant cloud of incense rose into a golden rotunda, symbolizing the glory of the resurrection.

Pilgrims from all over the world gathered around the historic stone tomb believed to be the very place where Jesus rose from the dead. The ancient sepulcher has a fresh look: It was renovated for the first time in 200 years after the feuding denominations that control the site decided to bury their differences and allow the repairs in the name of Christian unity.

Pilgrims came from all over the world to experience Resurrection Day in the city where, according to the New Testament, the events took place.

“Being here where Christ was caused me to strengthen my faith,” Travis Cullimore, an American from San Francisco, California, told VOA. “It really provides a good perspective on who Christ is and what other people believe about Christ, and also it causes me to reflect on what I truly believe about Christ.”

There were also groups of Arab Christians in town, including Israeli citizens from Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth and members of the Coptic Orthodox Church from Egypt.

“It’s a holy place and we are blessed to be here,” said Sam Nicola, a Coptic Orthodox Christian from Cairo. “We are very fortunate to be here.”

A week ago on Palm Sunday, ISIS militants blew up two churches in Egypt killing more than 40 people. The bombings, which were not the first, raised further questions about the safety and future of the dwindling Christian community in Egypt.

“I’m not worried, no,” Nicola sighed, taking a fatalistic approach. “Whatever happens is happening, so whatever is meant to be is meant to be. [Terrorist] incidents happen everywhere, not only in Egypt; it happens everywhere.”

Nor was he perturbed by the Israeli police and soldiers who were patrolling the streets armed with pistols and assault rifles. “We have normal relations with Israel and there is no problem for us to come here,” he said. “We feel very safe.”

It was a big turnout this year because the Eastern Orthodox and Western churches, which use different calendars, celebrated Easter on the same day. The holiday was a multicultural experience, and not only because of the different Christian traditions.

The Old City was packed with Jewish pilgrims celebrating the weeklong holiday of Passover, one of three biblical Feasts of Pilgrimage; and the Christians and Jews mingled with the Palestinian Muslim shopkeepers in the Old City bazaar.

“I think all the people have the right to believe in God in their own way,” said Michael Price, an Israeli who came up to Jerusalem for Passover with his family. “The main thing is to coexist and live together in peace.”
…

Millions of Orthodox Christians around the world have celebrated Easter in overnight services and with “holy fire” from Jerusalem, commemorating the day followers believe that Jesus was resurrected nearly 2,000 years ago.

This year the Orthodox churches celebrate Easter on the same Sunday that Roman Catholics and Protestants mark the holy festival. The Western Christian church follows the Gregorian calendar, while the Eastern Orthodox uses the older Julian calendar and the two Easters are often weeks apart.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, who is the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christian faithful, delivered a message of peace during the midnight service at the Patriarchate in Istanbul.

“Our faith is alive, because it is based on the event of the resurrection of Christ,” Bartholomew said.

In his official Easter message issued earlier in the week, Bartholomew urged strong faith in the face of the world’s tribulations.

“This message — of the victory of life over death, of the triumph of the joyful light of the [Easter] candle over the darkness of disorder and dissolution — is announced to the whole world from the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the invitation to experience the unwaning light of the resurrection,” his message said.  

In predominantly Orthodox Romania, Patriarch Daniel urged Christians to bring joy to “orphans, the sick, the elderly the poor … and the lonely.”

Late Saturday, Orthodox clerics transported the holy flame from Jerusalem by plane and it was then flown to other churches around the country. According to tradition the flame appears each year at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and is taken to other Orthodox countries.

In Russia, where Orthodox Christianity is the dominant religion, President Vladimir Putin along with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his wife Svetlana attended midnight Mass at Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral.

The cathedral is a potent symbol of the revival of observant Christianity in Russia after the fall of the officially atheist Soviet Union. It is a reconstruction of the cathedral that was destroyed by explosion under dictator Josef Stalin.

In Serbia, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej, held a liturgy in Belgrade’s St. Sava Temple which outgoing president Tomislav Nikolic attended.

Irinej said in his Easter message that “with great sadness and pain in our hearts, we must note that today’s world is not following the path of resurrection but the road of death and hopelessness.”  He also lamented the falling birth rate in Serbia as “a reason to cry and weep, but also an alarm.”

Irinej evoked Kosovo, Serbia’s former province which declared independence in 2008. Hundreds of medieval Orthodox churches and monasteries are located there.

Orthodoxy is also predominant in Bulgaria, Ukraine and Moldova.
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Christians around the world Sunday are celebrating Easter — the day they believe Jesus arose from the dead.  It is the holiest day of the Christian calendar.  

Throngs of the faithful endured heavy security checks to secure a place Sunday in the Vatican’s flower-filled Saint Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’ celebration of Easter Sunday Mass and his delivery of his annual “Urbi et Orbi” —  “to the city and to the world” — Easter address.

Pope Francis denounced how migrants, the poor and the marginalized are treated.  He said they see their “human dignity crucified” every day through injustice and corruption.  

The pope asked in his prayers for peace in the Middle East “beginning with the Holy Land, as well as in Iraq and Yemen.”

He hoped that Jesus’ sacrifice will inspire world leaders to “sustain the efforts of all those actively engaged in bringing comfort and relief to the civil population in Syria, prey to a war that continues to sow horror and death.”

Easter is Christianity’s “moveable feast,” falling on a different date each year.  Western Christian churches celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox.  

This year, however, the date of the Roman Catholic and Protestant observance of Easter coincides with the Orthodox churches.  The two Easters are usually weeks apart with the Western Christian church following the Gregorian calendar, while, the Eastern Orthodox uses the older Julian calendar.  

In Jerusalem, a sunrise service at the Garden Tomb, where worshippers sang hymns of the resurrection, set the biblical tone. Throughout the day, masses of different denominations of both Western and Eastern Christians coexisted in the same holy space.  

Wajeeh Nusseibeh, a Muslim man and member of one of the two families who guard and keep the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, said there were fewer people visiting the holy place this year than in the past.

Nusseibeh blamed that on tough economic times and security concerns among Middle Eastern Christians, who feel under threat in Iraq and Syria.

“We hope to have peace next year,” he said. “And everyone accepts the other.”

The Old City also had Jewish pilgrims celebrating the weeklong biblical holiday of Passover — the story from the biblical Exodus celebrating the ancient Israelites’ liberation from Egyptian slavery.

Reports say many of the attendees were ultra-Orthodox Jews in dark suits and hats, but they were joined by others including members of the Israel’s Ethiopian Jewish community.

Armed Israeli police and soldiers patrolled the streets near the site of Christ’s tomb, but the atmosphere was calm.

In Egypt, however, authorities beefed up security after a suicide bomb attack on a Coptic Christian church last Sunday left dozens dead and more than 100 wounded.

Easter marks the end of Holy Week, which includes Maundy Thursday, the day of Jesus’ last supper with his disciples. Holy Week also includes Good Friday, the day Jesus was crucified.

In predominantly Orthodox countries such as Russia and Serbia, government and church leaders attended midnight masses and held liturgy.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christian faithful, conveyed a message of peace during midnight mass at the Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey.

“Our faith is alive,” he said.

“This message – of the victory of life over death, of the triumph of the joyful light of the [Easter] candle over the darkness of disorder and dissolution — is announced to the whole world from the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the invitation to experience the unwaning light of the resurrection,” he said.  

Patriarch Irinej, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, delivered a gloomier Easter message. “With great sadness and pain in our hearts, we must note that today’s world is not following the path of resurrection but the road of death and hopelessness,” he said.

In Romania, another Orthodox Christian country, Patriarch Daniel asked members of the church to bring “joy to orphans, the sick, the elderly, the poor … and the lonely.”

Photo gallery: Christians around the world celebrate Easter

 
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On Sunday, Turks will vote in a referendum on turning Turkey into an ‘executive presidency’ from the current parliamentary system. If approved, the 18 article constitutional reform package will greatly enhance presidential powers, creating one of the most powerful elected presidencies in the world. Supporters argue it is essential to meet what they call unprecedented threats facing the country. Detractors warn the measures will turn Turkey into an autocracy.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been at the forefront of the yes campaign, argues the reforms will ensure political stability and efficiency following July’s failed coup and continuing threats by both the so-called Islamic State and the Kurdish insurgent group, the PKK.  The wide ranging reforms propose giving the president the powers to appoint ministers, set the budget, issue laws by decrees on a wide range of issues, dissolve parliament and declare a state of emergency. The prime minister and cabinet will also be abolished.

Although Erdogan’s voting coalition of his ruling AK Party and nationalist MHP has accounted for well over 60% of the vote in past elections, most opinion polls indicate only a small lead for yes which is within the polls’ margin of error.

The no campaign

“AKP has massive monetary and propaganda advantage,” notes political consultant Atilla Yesilada,”But my gut feelings is AKP does not have the same confidence it has had in past polls that it will win.” A broad coalition has emerged, drawing normally antagonistic groups under the same banner. Both Kurdish and Turkish nationalists, secular and pious voters are supporting the no campaign, united by worries they believe the reforms would usher in an autocratic regime.

On the last day of campaign, Erdogan is making four speeches in Istanbul. All of the speaking venues are in traditional stronghold’s of his AKP party, leading observers to suggest that the president is trying to shore up his own support.

While opinion polls indicate that AKP supporters strongly backs the constitutional changes, a number of prominent political figures including the former president Abdullah Gul, have not campaigned in support of the reforms.

The proposals also have drawn strong international condemnation,  “A dangerous step backwards in the constitutional democratic tradition of Turkey,” wrote the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, adding, “The Venice Commission wishes to stress the dangers of degeneration of the proposed system toward an authoritarian and personal regime.”

Erdogan has dismissed such criticism, claiming it’s part of the international conspiracy against Turkey. In the last few campaign rallies, the Turkish president claims the conspiracy is led by the Pope.

“Turkey is increasingly like the La La land. The entire country lives in fiction,” warns consultant Yesilada, “but unfortunately this is what a lot of people believe. That we are under siege, by the Christian crusaders and Erdogan is the only man who is standing between captivity or colonialism.”

Much of the campaign was dominated by diplomatic spats with Germany and the Netherlands over restrictions on Turkish ministers being allowed to campaign among the large diaspora voters. A controversy that is widely believed to have helped the yes campaign.

Concern over the fairness of the campaign is increasingly being voiced. The OSCE which is monitoring the referendum in an interim report ahead of the vote, claimed that “No” campaigners faced bans, police interventions, and violent attacks at their events. The OSCE received a swift rebuke from Erdogan, who bellowed, “Know your place,” at a rally in the provincial city of Konya, he declared the report “null and void”

90% of TV coverage has been devoted to the yes campaign. That followed Erdogan issuing a legal decree under emergency powers that have been in force since July’s coup, abolishing the legal requirement for fair coverage by media companies.

There is growing scrutiny over the vote itself. According to the OSCE, at least 140 representatives nominated by opposition parties to monitor voting have been rejected by Turkish authorities. While several civic organizations that usually monitor polls are among the over 1500 shut down under emergency powers.

With the referendum considered too close to call, scrutiny over the vote is expected to be intense both nationally and internationally. “I’d just say we’re obviously following this issue very closely.,” said U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner. “We hope the referendum is carried out in such a way that guarantees and strengthens democracy in Turkey.”
…

Regardless of whether Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan succeeds in bolstering his increasingly authoritarian clout in Sunday’s constitutional referendum, one thing is clear: despite a crackdown on his critics and the media, the country is deeply divided, with signs that the gap is growing.

That is bad, not only for Turkey, but for just about everyone with interests in the region, given the country’s economic power and historically strategic location as a bridge between East and West – particularly with Syria’s civil war and the fight against so-called Islamic State raging on its border.

Despite the government’s efforts to severely limit campaigning against the changes that could extend Erdogan’s rule for a decade or more, polls show the election too close to call. That raises the possibility of violence no matter what the final results are, particularly with last July’s military coup attempt fresh in the public’s memory.

Only a few years ago, Turkey seemed well-entrenched as a flourishing democracy and well on the way to joining the European Union. It has huge potential with Europe’s youngest population: 19 million of the 75 million people are ages 15 to 29.

Today, it stands accused of human rights abuses that have included imprisoning more than 45,000 people, among them the leaders and nine other legislators from the second-largest opposition party in parliament, for alleged links to Kurdish terrorists.

Rallies for the “No” camp are banned due to possible terrorism; coverage of its arguments is severely limited. In fact, almost any opposition to the changes proposed in the referendum carries the risk of being labeled as terrorism.

The once-vibrant media have seen their freedoms severely curtailed, with many of journalists jailed. The judiciary’s power has been eroded. Unemployment is at 10.7 percent and up to 25 percent among the young who embody the future.

A shift from America’s sphere of influence to Russia’s seems possible, and the prospects of joining the EU are stalled, if not dead.

Still, Erdogan stands poised to further enforce his will with the proposed reforms, which would change the government from a parliamentary system to what opponents describe as a dictator-like executive presidency, extend presidential power over the judiciary, allow rule by decree and create a loophole in the limit of two five-year terms for the president.

The checks-and-balances system would essentially be gone.

“Erdogan has pursued this greater responsibility despite an increasingly disastrous record of governance,” Freedom House wrote in an analysis of the election.

“For nearly four years, Turkey has been trapped in a cascade of crises – protests, terrorist attacks, crackdowns, a coup attempt, purges and war. The only blow the country hasn’t suffered is an economic crash, but that too seems imminent, as tourism and foreign investment have cratered and Erdogan has subordinated fiscal and macroeconomic management to his short-term political agenda.”

Analyst Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy was equally harsh.

“The country’s deep social chasm gives even the most ardent optimist grave cause for concern,” he said.

Others say they have never seen the country more unstable despite the president’s growing authoritarianism.

After serving as prime minister for 11 years, Erdogan was elected president in August 2014. Despite having no clear mandate – opponents received 48 percent of the vote – he began changing the political landscape quickly, leading to the coup attempt. Since quashing it, he has further consolidated power with those who would choose a near-dictatorship over uncertainty and the rise of terrorism, which has hit Turkey hard.

Crises, including an estimated 3 million refugees from Syria’s civil war, have not undercut his position as Turkey’s most popular politician, based on the early successes of his party and bolstered by his argument that only a strong leader can deal with the country’s problems.

“I have been voting for Tayyip Erdogan for 17-18 years, and he never failed me,” says retiree Ibrahim Yazka, explaining why he will vote “yes.”

“If he wants, he can just sit in the presidential mansion and sign papers; but, this man loves this country so much that he can’t stop. He believes he should do more. That’s why I believe in him.”

The European Union and Council of Europe have voiced concern over the fairness of the campaign, highlighting the fact that it is being carried out under emergency rule introduced after July’s failed coup. Armed troops are prominent in opposition strongholds, creating an air of intimidation.

“Legitimate dissent and criticism of government policy are vilified and repressed,” Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner, Nils Muiznieks, warned about the impact of emergency rule ahead of the campaign.

The friction with Europe has led to open animosity from Erdogan, who said German and Dutch leaders were using “Nazi practices” by resisting his efforts to have his deputies campaign for “yes” votes among the sizable expatriate communities living in neighboring countries.

 
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Pope Francis, presiding at a Good Friday service, asked God for forgiveness for scandals in the Catholic Church and for the “shame” of humanity becoming inured to daily scenes of bombed cities and drowning migrants.

Francis presided at a traditional candlelight Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) service at Rome’s Colosseum attended by some 20,000 people and protected by heavy security following recent attacks in European cities.

Francis sat while a large wooden cross was carried in procession, stopping 14 times to mark events in the last hours of Jesus’ life from his sentencing to his death and his burial.

Similar services, known as the Stations of the Cross, were taking place in cities around the world as Christians gathered to commemorate Jesus’ death by crucifixion.

Pope speaks of shame, hope

At the end of the two-hour service, Francis read a prayer he wrote that was woven around the theme of shame and hope.

In what appeared to be a reference to the Church’s sexual abuse scandal, he spoke of “shame for all the times that we bishops, priests, brothers and nuns scandalized and wounded your body, the Church.”

The Catholic Church has been struggling for nearly two decades to put the scandal of sexual abuse of children by clergy behind it. Critics say more must be done to punish bishops who covered up abuse or were negligent in preventing it.

Violence ‘ordinary in our lives’

Francis also spoke of the shame he said should be felt over “the daily spilling of the innocent blood of women, of children, of immigrants” and for the fate of those who are persecuted because of their race, social status or religious beliefs.

At the end of this month Francis travels to Egypt, which has seen recent attacks by Islamists on minority Coptic Christians. Dozens were killed in two attacks last Sunday.

He spoke of “shame for all the scenes of devastation, destruction and drownings that have become ordinary in our lives.”

On the day he spoke, more than 2,000 migrants trying to reach Europe were plucked from the Mediterranean in a series of dramatic rescues and one person was found dead. More than 650 have died or are unaccounted for while trying to cross the sea in rubber dinghies this year.

Francis expressed the hope “that good will triumph despite its apparent defeat.”

Security increased

Security was stepped up in the area around the Colosseum after recent truck attacks against pedestrians in London and Stockholm. Some 3,000 police guarded the area and checked people as they approached. The Colosseum subway stop was closed.

Francis on Saturday is to say an Easter vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and on Easter, the most important day in the Christian liturgical calendar, he reads his twice-annual “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and the World”) message in St. Peter’s Square. 
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In the face of growing international concern about reported detentions and killings of gay men in Chechnya, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman says the Kremlin does not have confirmed information on the targeted violence.

The respected Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported this month that police in the predominantly Muslim republic rounded up more than 100 men suspected of homosexuality and that at least three of them have been killed.

Chechen authorities have denied the reports. But the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights and prominent international organizations have urged the Russian government to investigate the reported abuse.

But Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday: “We do not have any reliable information about any problems in this area.”

Novaya Gazeta said in a statement on Friday that it fears for the safety of its journalists after exposing the persecution of gay men in Chechnya, a Muslim-majority republic of Russia.

Novaya Gazeta referred to a large gathering in Chechnya’s main mosque earlier this week which threatened those reporting the story with “reprisals.” The paper’s editor-in-chief, Dmitry Muratov, called on authorities to investigate the threats.

The Russian office of Amnesty International on Friday echoed the concern about the gathering of Chechen elders and clergymen. It reportedly took place several days after the newspaper article and threatened retaliation against those who “insulted the centuries-old foundations of Chechen society and the dignity of Chechen men.”

Amnesty International says it “considers this resolution as a threat of violence against journalists.”

In Washington, former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden issued a statement Friday, condemning the persecution and abuse of gay men in Chechnya.

“The human rights abuses perpetrated by Chechen authorities and the culture of impunity that surrounds them means that these hate crimes are unlikely to ever be properly investigated or that the perpetrators will see justice,” Biden said.

The former vice president also called on the current U.S. administration to live up to its promises “to advance human rights for everyone by raising this issue directly with Russia’s leaders.”
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Russia’s leading state broadcaster has announced plans to boycott the Eurovision 2017 song contest after the host country, Ukraine, barred Russia’s contestant, wheelchair-bound singer Yulia Samoylova, from entering the country.

Kyiv’s decision in late March to ban the 28-year-old Russian paraplegic vocalist stemmed from her June 2015 performance in Crimea, where she appeared without the approval of Ukrainian authorities after Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula.

Announcing the boycott Friday, Channel One, the state broadcaster that transmits the competition to large Russian audiences, said event organizers had offered the option of sending a different contestant or having Samoylova perform via video link from Moscow.

“In our view this represents discrimination against the Russian entry, and of course our team will not under any circumstances agree to such terms,” said Yuri Aksyuta, the station’s chief producer for musical and entertainment programs.

The contest organizers also condemned the Ukrainian decision but said the event will go ahead.

In March, a Ukrainian security services official told VOA that the ban on Samoylova was “based solely on the norms of Ukrainian law and national security interests.”

The Kremlin called it political pettiness.

“Practically everyone has been to Crimea; there are hardly any people who haven’t been to Crimea,” said Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Peskov also challenged criticism that Samoylova’s nomination was a deliberately provocative act by Kremlin officials — an attempt to make Kyiv appear cruel for restricting participation of a disabled artist.

“We don’t see anything provocative in this,” Peskov said, explaining that Channel One producers had nominated Samoylova independently.

Despite the high-blown kerfuffle, Ukrainian political analyst Mikhail Bassarab told VOA that Ukraine’s law can’t allow for exceptions.

“On the basis of Ukraine and international law, the Russian contestant violated the law,” he told VOA’s Russian service. “Naturally, anybody, including this particular Russian citizen, should be barred entry into Ukraine. There is nothing personal in this position. We can’t make exceptions … [just because] they were nominated for an international contest or have a disability.”

Politics or entertainment?

Ukrainian political analyst Yaroslav Makitra says Kyiv’s ban touches on a broader range of questions.

“It’s critical to decide what matters to us more, politics or entertainment,” he said. “If it’s politics, then we should have said ‘no’ to hosting Eurovision. … But if we want to promote the Ukraine across the globe, then we need to seek legislative and legal opportunities that would allow the Russian contestants to come to Ukraine.”

Otherwise, he said, Kyiv risks turning Eurovision into a competition of political finger-pointing.

Samoylova, a 2013 runner-up in the Russian version of The X Factor, who also performed at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Paralympics, says that if she were permitted to perform, political tensions would be far from her mind.

“I’m simply not thinking about that. It is all out of the mix and it’s not very important,” she said. “I sing and my goal is to sing well, to represent Russia and not to embarrass myself.”

Frank Dieter Freiling, chairman of Eurovision’s steering committee, issued a statement Friday condemning Kyiv’s decision to ban Samoylova on the ground that it violates Eurovision’s ethos as a nonpolitical event.

“However, preparations continue apace for the Eurovision Song Contest in the host city, Kyiv. Our top priority remains to produce a spectacular Eurovision Song Contest.”

Dima Bilan was the last Russian to win Eurovision in 2008. The 62nd international song contest will be held in May in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.

Svetlana Cunningham translated from Russian. This report was produced in collaboration with VOA’s Russian service. Some information is from Reuters.
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The U.S. Air Force will this weekend deploy a small number of F-35A fighter jets to Europe for several weeks of training with other U.S. and NATO military aircraft, the Pentagon said Friday.

In a statement, the Pentagon said that the deployment would allow the U.S. Air Force to “further demonstrate the operational capabilities” of the stealth jet. It did not say where the aircraft would be sent.

The F-35, which is the Pentagon’s costliest arms program, has been dogged by problems. The Pentagon’s chief arms buyer once described as “acquisition malpractice” the decision to produce jets before completing development.

During last year’s presidential election campaign, Donald Trump criticized Lockheed Martin Corp. for the F-35’s cost overruns. Days after taking office in January, Trump announced his administration had been able to cut $600 million from the latest U.S. deal to buy about 90 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

The United States is expected to spend $391 billion over 15 years to buy about 2,443 of the F-35 aircraft.

F-35s are in use by the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, and by Australia, Britain, Norway, Italy, the Netherlands and Israel. Japan took delivery of its first jet in December.
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Turks will vote on a constitutional referendum Sunday on whether to transform their government from the current parliamentary system into a powerful executive presidency. The issue has split Turkey down the middle: critics accuse President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of trying to create a dictatorship, while his supporters claim the changes will protect the will of the people. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul on the last days of the campaign.
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International organizations are demanding Russia investigate the abduction, detention and killing of gay and bisexual men in the country’s southern republic of Chechnya.

United Nations human rights experts on Thursday called on Russian authorities to “put an end to the persecution of people perceived to be gay or bisexual in the Chechen Republic who are living in a climate of fear fueled by homophobic speeches by local authorities.”

“It is crucial that reports of abductions, unlawful detentions, torture, beatings and killings of men perceived to be gay or bisexual are investigated thoroughly,” they added.

The appeals follow reports in the respected Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta that police in the predominantly Muslim republic of Chechnya have rounded up more than 100 men suspected of homosexuality and that at least three of them have been killed.

Chechen authorities have denied the reports, while a spokesman for leader Ramzan Kadyrov insisted there were no gay people in Chechnya.

“Nobody can detain or harass anyone who is simply not present in the republic,” Alvi Karimov told the Interfax news agency. “If such people existed in Chechnya, law enforcement would not have to worry about them since their own relatives would have sent them to where they could never return.”

Separately, the director of the human rights office at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Michael Georg Link, said Thursday that Moscow must “urgently investigate the alleged disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment” of gay men in Chechnya.

Novaya Gazeta also reported this month that Chechen authorities are running secret prisons, branded “concentration camps,” in the town of Argun where men suspected of being gay are kept and tortured.

After two separatist wars in the 1990s, predominantly Muslim Chechnya became increasingly conservative under late President Akhmat Kadyrov and then his son Ramzan.
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As the United States and Russia clash on Syria, another war-torn nation could play out as a renewed theater for the U.S.-Russia rivalry: Afghanistan.

Thursday, U.S. forces dropped what was being called the largest non-nuclear bomb on a reported Islamic State militant complex in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar.

The U.S. strike came a day before Russia is to host multi-nation talks on prospects for Afghan security and national reconciliation, the third such round since December.

Eleven countries are set to take part in Friday’s discussions in Moscow, including Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan and India. Former Soviet Central Asian states have been invited to attend for the first time.

The Afghan Taliban said Thursday that they would not take part.

“We cannot call these negotiations [in Moscow] as a dialogue for the restoration of peace in Afghanistan,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told VOA. “This meeting stems from political agendas of the countries who are organizing it. This has really nothing to do with us, nor do we support it.”

The spokesman reiterated insurgents’ traditional stance that U.S.-led foreign troops would have to leave Afghanistan before any conflict resolution talks could be initiated.

The United States was also invited to the Moscow talks, but Washington declined, saying it had not been informed of the agenda beforehand and was unclear about the meeting’s motives.

Undermining NATO

American military officials suspect Russia’s so-called Afghan peace diplomacy is aimed at undermining NATO and have accused Moscow of arming the Taliban.

“I think it is fair to assume they may be providing some sort of support to [the Taliban], in terms of weapons or other things that may be there,” U.S. Central Command Chief General Joseph Votel told members of the House Armed Services Committee in March. He said he thought Russia was “attempting to be an influential party in this part of the world.”

For its part, Moscow has denied that it is supporting the Afghan Taliban.

“These fabrications are designed, as we have repeatedly underlined, to justify the failure of the U.S. military and politicians in the Afghan campaign.There is no other explanation,” said Zamir Kabulov, the Kremlin’s special envoy to Afghanistan.

In a separate statement Thursday, the Taliban also denied receiving military aid from Russia, though the group defended “political understanding” with Afghanistan’s neighbors and regional countries.

Anna Borshchevskaya of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said reports of Moscow supporting the Taliban were not new.

“The official Russian position on the Taliban is that they see it as a group that could help fight ISIS, but this is something that even some Taliban spokesmen have denied, since ISIS and the Taliban reached an understanding about a year ago,” Borshchevskaya said.

Putin’s motive

She said that if the allegations of Russian support for the Taliban were true, Russian President Vladimir Putin was most likely motivated by his desire to undermine the West.

“Certainly one motivation could be taking advantage of regional chaos, and to assert Russia’s influence at the expense of the U.S., taking advantage of a U.S. retreat from the Middle East and elsewhere and [to] undermine NATO and the U.S.” Borshchevskaya said, “This has been Putin’s pattern.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has made few public statements on Afghanistan, and his administration is still weighing whether to deploy more American troops to try to reverse the course of the war.

Thursday’s strike in Nangarhar marked a major step by the Trump administration in Afghanistan, in which there has been a U.S. military presence since 2001.

During a March 31 NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reaffirmed U.S. support for the alliance’s mission in Afghanistan.

“NATO’s work in Afghanistan remains critical. The United States is committed to the Resolute Support Mission and to our support for Afghan forces,” Tillerson said.

Some 13,000 NATO troops, including 8,400 Americans, are part of the support mission, tasked with training Afghanistan’s 300,000-member national security and defense forces.

Michael Kugelman, South Asia expert at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center, said he expected continuity in U.S. policy toward Afghanistan between the Obama and Trump administrations.

“The statement made by Tillerson at a recent NATO meeting could well have been uttered by an Obama official,” Kugelman said. “The focus on training, advising and assisting and the call for reconciliation mirror exactly the Obama administration’s priorities.”

More troops

But the South Asia analyst noted one important policy difference: U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan.

“Obama was an anti-war president who was never comfortable keeping large numbers of troops in Afghanistan. Trump is unlikely to be as constrained,” Kugelman said.

“Look for Trump to send in several thousand more troops,” he said. “This is a request that the generals in Afghanistan have made for years, and Trump is more likely to defer to the U.S. military’s wishes on this than Obama was.”

As for Russian involvement in Afghanistan following the former Soviet Union’s occupation of the South Asian country from 1979 to 1989, Kugelman said that even if Russia were engaging the Taliban to undercut U.S. influence,  the two nations ultimately hope for the same outcome in Afghanistan.

“The ironic thing is that Washington and Moscow both want the same endgame in Afghanistan — an end to the war, preferably through a reconciliation process — but they simply can’t get on the same page about how to proceed,” Kugelman said.
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Authorities in Spain and France have seized millions of dollars’ worth of assets owned by Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Prosecutors allege his property empire, worth over a half-billion dollars, was built using money embezzled from the Syrian state in the 1980s. Now pressure is growing on Britain to freeze his properties in London, as Henry Ridgwell reports.
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The European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday that Russia failed to adequately minimize risks ahead of a 2004 attack by Islamic militants on a school, and that the actions of security forces contributed to the deaths of hostages.

The three-day siege and massacre that started on September 1, 2004, at School Number One in Beslan, a town in the republic of North Ossetia, left more than 330 hostages dead, including 186 children. It is one of the bloodiest terrorist acts ever in Russia.

A group of Russians filed lawsuits accusing the government of failing to protect the victims against a known threat, mounting a deficient rescue operation, and not effectively investigating the attack and response.

The ECHR sided with the plaintiffs, saying authorities had specific information about a planned attack but did not boost security at the school. The court said afterward investigators did not properly examine how victims died, and “failed to adequately examine the use of lethal force by the authorities.”

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the ruling, calling it unacceptable given that Russia had been the victim of terrorist attacks.

The attack began on the first day of the school year. About 30 mostly Chechen and Ingush Islamic militants seized the school and killed several adults before taking more than 1,100 people hostage, including nearly 800 children. During a 52-hour standoff, most of the hostages were held in the school’s gym, where temperatures soared and no food or water was provided.

On the third day, some of the hostages were released and the bodies of some adults killed on the first day were collected. But a sudden series of powerful explosions was followed by a fire that engulfed the gym and caused its roof to collapse. In response, Russian security forces backed by tanks stormed the building and fought a battle against the hostage-takers, leading to the deaths of more than 330 hostages and 186 children. Hundreds of other people were wounded, and others were reported missing.

The group that carried out the attack was allegedly controlled by Chechen separatist leader Shamil Basayev, who was killed in 2006. Basayev worked with jihadist militants such as Ibn al-Khattab, a Saudi national with close connections to al-Qaida.
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Hours of meetings in Moscow Wednesday between U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov seemed only to reinforce existing divisions between the two nations. VOA’s Daniel Schearf reports from Moscow that the sides continued their exchange of harsh words over Syria, and responsibility for the recent nerve gas attack that killed civilians.
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The recent gas attack in Syria has resurrected Russian-Turkish tensions.  Turkey is again calling for the removal of Russian backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the creation of safe areas and no-fly zones, but renewed tensions between Russia and Turkey could cost Ankara economically.

Ankara’s robust stance against the Syrian regime has brought a swift response from Moscow.  The Russian Union of Travel Industry warned Monday that an embargo on charter flights to Turkish holiday resorts could be reintroduced.

The embargo, which only recently was lifted, was part of tough economic sanctions enforced by Moscow after Turkish jets downed a Russian bomber operating from a Syrian airbase in 2015.  “I don’t think it can afford another crisis with Russia,” warns political columnist Semih Idiz of Al Monitor website, “especially from the economic dimension, just with the advent of tourism season around the corner.  So there has to be a balancing act there, a very delicate one.”

Russian tourists account for the second-largest number of vacationers to Turkey.  Last year’s embargo devastated the country’s lucrative tourism industry, with the number of Russian visitors dropping by nearly three million.  Tourism accounts for 6.2 percent of the Turkish economy, employing eight percent of the labor force.

Until now, Turkish media had been reporting on a surge in Russian tourist bookings and the opening of new air charter routes from Russia, but, hopes of a new tourism boom now appear firmly on hold.

Economy slowed already

The uncertainly could not come at a worse time for the Turkish economy.

“The nation is exhausted by weight of economic slowdown,” warns political consultant Atilla Yesilada of Global Source partners,  “Despite the massive economic stimulus that has been injected into the economy, the consumer side is not recovering.  We’ve seen the latest unemployment figures are at multi-year highs, we see a more important indicator, visit to shopping malls, turnover down by 1.5 percent, visitors down by 5.5 percent.”

Even before the latest outbreak in bilateral tensions, Moscow’s sincerity over rapprochement efforts, was already in question in Turkey, “it was a one side arrangement“ points out Aydin Selcen former senior Turkish diplomat who served widely in the region.  

Despite both presidents talking about progress, Moscow left in place most of the most Draconian economic sanctions against Turkey, “even practical issues like export agricultural products is not solved yet, the issue for visa for Turkish citizens is not solved yet, also the tomato issue is unresolved,” points out Selcen

Rotten tomatoes

Moscow’s ban on Turkish tomatoes is one of most painful and contentious issues for Ankara.  Russia had accounted for more than 70 percent of Turkish exports, worth annually more than $250 million.  A year later Turkish suppliers have struggled to find alternative markets, and the sight of tomatoes rotting on the vines are again starting to be reported in Turkish media.

Ankara last month hit back, introducing its own sanctions against Russian wheat imports.  But in an interview last month Turkish Agriculture Minister Faruk Celik acknowledged the trade war was “unsustainable.”

But strategic interests over Syria could help ease bilateral tensions.  Turkey and Russia, along with Iran, are seen to have a vested interest in cooperating over Syria, despite their differences, “if there is going to be peace in Syria it will require at least for those three countries to be on board, so their proxy actors in Syria to be on board too,” points out Sinan Ulgen, a visiting scholar from Carnegie Europe in Brussels, “So that’s what is creating this feeling — interdependence.”

Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, voicing frustration over the situation, said next week economic delegations will sit down to resolve bilateral trade issues, “No country can win through bans.  On the contrary, all lose.  In an environment devoid of bans, all will win,” said Zeybekci.  Strategic considerations over Syria, however, also could be a factor in preventing a breakdown in relations.

 
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