Day: September 9, 2022

Zambian rights groups are calling on the government to make good on a vow to repeal a defamation law they say is being used to silence critics of President Hakainde Hichilema. The call comes after Zambian police arrested an opposition leader this month under the colonial-era law for insulting the president.

Zambian court Tuesday charged the leader of the opposition Patriots for Economic Progress party, Sean Tembo, with hate speech, which carries a punishment of a fine of up to $6,000 and two years in prison if he is found guilty.

The charge followed Tembo’s September 1 arrest after he posted online criticism of President Hakainde Hichilema’s monthly fuel price hikes, comparing them to menstruation.

While the charge was reduced, Zambian rights groups note the arrest was the latest carried out under a harsh, colonial-era law against defaming the president.

The 1965 law carries a punishment of up to three years in prison for insults against the president and has been used by past governments to silence critics.

Campaigning for president in last year’s election, which he won, Hichilema promised to revoke the law.

In the past year, though, rights groups say Zambian police arrested 12 people under the law, including members of opposition political parties. Two were released, six were jailed, and four, including Tembo, are awaiting trial.

Chama “Pilato” Fumba is a popular musician and director of the group People’s Action for Accountability and Good Governance in Zambia. He himself has been arrested several times for insulting Zambia’s president.

He says the defamation of the president as a law is very backwards and very unnecessary in a democratic country like ours. “This law should be scrapped off our constitution as it does not represent our interests and our aspirations as a country. It is a bad law that even good presidents can become bad presidents.”

Hichilema’s spokesman was quoted in Zambian media saying the president had nothing to do with opposition leader Tembo’s arrest.

Cornelius Mweetwa is a lawyer and spokesman for the ruling United Party for National Development.

He says Zambia’s opposition is being petty in complaining about the law.

“It has nothing to do with restriction of the freedom of speech because this is not a law promulgated and enacted under the new dawn administration. It is a law that has always been in force but one where now the opposition wants to take advantage of to be insulting the president when they are arrested so that they can say no change has occasioned in Zambia. Deep down their hearts they know that this is a different Zambia. This is Zambia that the people wanted and voted for.”

Mweetwa would not say whether the government plans to amend the controversial law.

Macdonald Chipenzi is director of Zambian rights group Governance, Elections, Advocacy, and Research Services.

He says the government will continue to abuse the defamation law if there are no campaigns to end it.

“So, the only thing that is required now is to call for the immediate review or reform of this law so that it is not infringing on the freedom of the people and also try to bring in the aspect of civic education on the responsibilities of citizens as they express themselves as they enjoy this freedom.”

Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard met with Hichilema in Zambia in March and repeated their position that the law should be repealed, citing its past use against critics, opposition, and journalists.

The president said his government was committed to upholding human rights, liberties, and freedoms but would maintain strict adherence to the rule of law.

The Zambian court has not yet set a date for Tembo’s trial.

Source: Voice of America

Nigeria’s military says it has killed more than 250 Islamist militants with the Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) groups in attacks over the past two weeks. A military spokesman said Nigerian troops also rescued three abducted Chibok schoolgirls, who the militants had held captive since 2014.

Nigeria’s defense ministry authorities made the announcement Thursday during a security update in the capital of Abuja.

Defense spokesperson Musa Danmadami said military forces carried out highly successful air bombardments and ground clearance operations in Operation Hadarin Kai between August 25 and September 8.

He said in the early stages of the operation, troops attacked insurgents in isolated villages in northeast Borno and Yobe states and killed 52 terrorists. He said troops arrested 14 other fighters and rescued 22 hostages, including three “Chibok girls” who were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014.

Danmadami said troops even scored more success during operations in the Bama district of Borno state on September 3, when air and land attacks wiped out Boko Haram and Islamic State hideouts.

“Feedback from various sources reveal that over 200 terrorists were neutralized including five high profile commanders. Their enclaves were bombarded, the airstrikes resulted in the neutralization of a large number of insurgents, while the land components mopped up the fleeing terrorists.”

Danmadami said a total of 556 people surrendered to the military, including 15 adult males, 189 females and 252 children.

The defense spokesperson said troops also recovered grenades, AK-47 rifles, grenade launchers and many rounds of ammunition.

Nigeria has been battling an Islamist insurgency in the northeast which started in 2009. Years of fighting has killed tens of thousands of people.

Nigerian authorities have been intensifying assault against the Islamist groups in the country’s northeast.

But authorities are also contending with kidnap-for-ransom gangs active mainly in the country’s northwest and central states.

Beacon security analyst Kabiru Adamu says security forces are making an impact.

“The last few months we’ve seen an increase in both the clearance and interdictions operations by the Nigerian security operatives, creating huge blows in the capacity and efficiency of the non-state actors to carry out attacks. There has been progress in that regard.”

Another security expert, Patrick Agbambu, says authorities must sustain the pressure.

“It’s cheering news, we give kudos to the security agencies, but I’ll want to urge them to continue because while you’re recording success, the criminals are trying to devise other means.”

Nigerian authorities have been widely criticized for failing to maintain security. But on Thursday, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari urged citizens to believe in the capacity of the security forces to restore lasting peace and stability.

Source: Voice of America

Condolence messages on the death of Queen Elizabeth have been pouring in from Africa, where the queen made many visits during her 70-year rule.

Elizabeth became queen while in Kenya in 1952, and her first overseas tour as monarch was in South Africa. She later helped steer Britain through the end of its colonial rule in Africa, while promoting good ties with the continent’s new countries.

The presidents of Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa are among the African leaders who sent messages mourning the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, who died Thursday at the age of 96.

The queen’s early years on the throne saw Britain lose its colonial empire in Africa.

The United Kingdom at one time controlled at least 17 countries in Africa, and British rule is still associated with conflicts, forceful extraction of natural resources and land grabs.

Ikemesit Effiong, a geopolitical analyst based in Lagos, Nigeria, said the queen mended her country’s post-colonial relationship with many African countries.

“In particular, the United Kingdom have built and maintained extensive economic, political and cultural ties with much of the rest of the continent. Even though there has been more of an ambivalent attitude on the path of many African governments and for many Africans towards Europe in general since the turn of 21st century, a lot of those longstanding ties still persist,” Effiong said.

Kenya is one of the countries that Britain colonized, and then-Princess Elizabeth became queen during a visit to Kenya in 1952, when her father died while she was on safari.

Macharia Munene, an international relations lecturer at the United States International University Africa in Kenya, said the queen’s ascension helped to accelerate self-rule in the country.

“Then that’s the time when the country was boiling,” he said. “The Mau Mau was about to break out and the fighters kept following the events in Britain and that’s part of the reaction when the war broke out. They burned down the tree tops, hitting back at the British and then when she was being coroneted, [Kenyans] coroneted their own young girl and called her the Mau Mau Queen.”

Effiong said Queen Elizabeth took a different path than previous British leaders in dealing with Africa.

“Queen Elizabeth was very much different in that she was the first British monarch in almost two centuries that represented disengagement,” he said, adding that she invested in a lot of monarchies’ legitimacy, such as in the Commonwealth nations associated with the cultural institutions.

The Commonwealth of Nations has 56 members, most but not all of which are former British colonies. The member states meet to strengthen relations and tackle global problems together.

The queen visited more than 20 African countries during her rule, starting with South Africa.

Munene said the queen made sure she changed the image of British rule.

“She is the last monarch who has any connection with colonialism. As long as people talk about colonialism in Africa, there is no choice but to see her in that context as the last monarch,” he said. “She had direct colonial experience and she saw the transition from colonialism to independence, she welcomed it. She nurtured it such that the hostility that could have been there was reduced to a point where it became now embracing each other and people feeling good about the Commonwealth.”

Speaking at the Commonwealth Summit in Rwanda this June, then-Prince Charles said he treasured the friendship Britain had built with Africa in the last 70 years, and was looking forward to deepening the relations in the years ahead.

Charles, 73, takes the throne from his late mother and becomes King Charles the Third. The new king will be the head of state for the United Kingdom and 14 other countries.

Source: Voice of America

Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com.

US Education Institutions Report a Rise in International Student Applications

As a new school year begins in the United States, institutions of higher education are voicing optimism that international student numbers are bouncing back, given an increase in applications for the 2022-23 school year. But an increase in applications does not necessarily mean growth in foreign student enrollment in U.S. higher education institutions.

Biden Administration to Remove ‘Public Charge’ Immigration Hurdles

The Biden administration finalized a rule Friday to remove hurdles to immigration to anyone deemed “likely” to become dependent on public benefits while trying to obtain a visa or become a U.S. permanent resident. The rule is scheduled to take effect December 23.

No Longer Young, ‘Dreamers’ in US Uneasily Watch a Legal Challenge

“Dreamers,” long a symbol of immigrant youth, are increasingly easing into middle age as eligibility requirements have been frozen since 2012, when the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was introduced. The oldest recipients were in their early 30s when DACA began and are in their early 40s today. At the same time, fewer people turning 16 can meet a requirement to have been in the United States continuously since June 2007.

3 Green Card Holders Rescued From Afghanistan Arrive in US

Three U.S. green card holders rescued from Afghanistan by a Tampa, Florida-based nonprofit landed at JFK International Airport in New York earlier this week. The organization, Project Dynamo, said that the three Afghans had been hiding in Kabul for a year before being rescued “during a dangerous operation codenamed: SLINGSHOT 8,” the organization said via press release on Tuesday.

Washington Mayor Declares Public Emergency Over Migrant Arrivals From Texas, Arizona

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday declared a public emergency over buses of migrants sent by Republican governors from the U.S.-Mexico border states of Texas and Arizona.

Migration around the world

UN Refugee Agency Rushes Aid to Pakistan Amid Raging Floods

The U.N. refugee agency rushed in more desperately needed aid Monday to flood-stricken Pakistan as the nation’s prime minister traveled to the south where rising waters of Lake Manchar pose a new threat.

Huge Relief Operation for Pakistani Flood Survivors Gathers Steam

The United Nations is rapidly scaling up its relief operation in Pakistan amid fears the situation could further deteriorate as more rains are predicted in the coming month. Torrential monsoon rains and floods in Pakistan have killed more than 1,200 people and affected upward of 33 million, rendering millions homeless and causing widespread destruction and damage to homes and infrastructure.

Climate Change, Conflict Forcing More People in Africa to Flee

The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, is warning that the displacement crisis in the Horn of Africa and Sahel is getting worse as the impacts of climate change and conflict are forcing more people to flee in search of safety and humanitarian assistance.

Canadian Parties Agree: Immigrants Are Welcome Here

At a time when many developed countries are facing backlashes against immigration, Canada is experiencing a broad consensus in support of throwing open its doors to more new residents from abroad. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser boasted at a press conference last month that Canada “is on track to exceed its immigration goal of granting permanent residency to more than 430,000 people in 2022.” That will easily exceed the admission of 401,000 immigrants in 2021, more than in any previous year.

News in Brief

— U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services posted “an overview of some of the temporary and permanent pathways for noncitizens to work in the United States in STEM fields.”

Source: Voice of America