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Tanzania opposition leader defiant as he appears for treason trial

Tanzania opposition leader defiant as he appears for treason trial

News.com.au19-05-2025

Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu appeared in court on Monday for his latest hearing in a treason trial in which he faces a potential death penalty.
Activists say the case against him is the latest sign that democracy is under threat in several East African nations.
An opposition leader is also on trial for treason in neighbouring Uganda and opposition movements facing pressure in several other countries.
In Tanzania, a defiant Lissu was greeted by supporters when he entered the courtroom on Monday.
Lissu's Chadema party has been disqualified from presidential and legislative elections due in October after demanding electoral reforms.
He had insisted on attending in person after being forced to appear by video link for earlier hearings.
"We will be fine... Don't worry at all," he told supporters.
A group of Kenyan rights defenders, including a former chief justice, were detained at the airport in Dar es Salaam when they attempted to come and observe the trial.
That followed the similar detention and deportation of Kenyan presidential candidate Martha Karua, a former justice minister, at the same airport on Sunday.
Karua said it showed Tanzania's ruling party was "determined to violate the law and are not keen on according Tundu Lissu a fair trial".
- Regional concerns -
Opposition movements face pressure across the region.
Karua also serves as lawyer for Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who was kidnapped in Kenya last year and taken back to his home country for trial.
Uganda is due to hold elections in January.
There is also concern about the political situation in Kenya, long considered a bastion of stability in the region.
President William Ruto's popularity has been undermined by tax rises and corruption that sparked mass protests last year and were followed by a spate of abductions and political violence targeting his critics.
When Ruto's former deputy launched a new political party in Nairobi last week, unidentified attackers stormed the meeting.
Kenya is in "total disarray", Karua told AFP in an interview earlier this month.
"It's as if our constitution has been suspended. We have abductions, arbitrary arrests... extrajudicial killings... And the police and authorities fail to take responsibility," she said.
Karua said Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda were "collaborating" in their "total erosion of democratic principles".
"All these countries now have become dangerous, not just to others but to their own nationals. I tie this to the forthcoming elections," she said.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia's leading opposition party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front, was banned from any political activity last week, ahead of elections due by June 2026 at the latest.
South Sudan has repeatedly delayed holding its first elections and President Salva Kiir has placed his long-time rival, First Vice-President Riek Machar, under house arrest.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame last year won re-election with more than 99 percent of the vote, amid long-running accusations of repression targeting the opposition.
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Global Rights Index report shows working standards, wealth dropping at ‘alarming pace'
Global Rights Index report shows working standards, wealth dropping at ‘alarming pace'

News.com.au

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  • News.com.au

Global Rights Index report shows working standards, wealth dropping at ‘alarming pace'

If you're a multi-millionaire in 2025, things are going great. If you're anyone else, particularly someone who works for a living, the picture isn't so peachy. That's the main takeaway from the International Trade Union Confederation's latest Global Rights Index report, which aims to deliver an annual, broad-strokes analysis on the current issues facing millions of workers across the globe. The report includes 151 countries and declares workers' rights are in 'freefall' across every continent, with Europe and the Americas clocking their worst scores in the index's 11-year history. 'The five richest people in the world more than doubled their wealth over the last five years, while 60 per cent of the population of the world got poorer,' ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle said. 'We are investing nearly US$3 trillion as a world into arms and into weapons and there is unfair taxation.' 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While plagued by rampant cost of living pressures and wage stagnation and an impossible housing market for people just beginning their careers, Australia has some standout policies embedded into our system that guarantee rights that less developed nations can only dream about. Data collated by YCharts shows just how far the average Aussie's disposable income has dropped since the pandemic. But while we haven't got as much cash to throw around, at least we can tell our boss to stick it if they text us on the weekend. The Fair Work Act 2009 established the National Employment Standards (NES), which include 11 minimum entitlements such as maximum weekly hours, annual leave, and parental leave. These standards provide a solid foundation for employee rights in Australia. Australia has also ratified all 10 fundamental International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions, becoming the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to do so. And just last year, we introduced the 'right to disconnect', allowing employees to refuse work-related communications outside of normal working hours, provided their refusal is not unreasonable. It's not all doom and gloom The report paints a grim picture of the state of work, but it's not entirely one-sided. The ITUC Index leans heavily on data from more developed and industrialised economies where workers' protections have historically been stronger. In countries with atrocious human rights records, the narrative if shifting, albeit slowly. According to a 2023 World Bank report, global poverty has continued to decline over the past decade, especially in lower-income nations. Living standards have risen in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, largely thanks to targeted development, aid programs and general advancement of technology across the board.

Burundi votes but with opposition neutered
Burundi votes but with opposition neutered

News.com.au

time5 days ago

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Burundi votes but with opposition neutered

Burundi votes for a new parliament on Thursday but with little risk of an upset after the main opposition was effectively barred from running. The impoverished, landlocked country in east Africa has seen decades of ethnic violence, civil war and authoritarian rule. The ruling CNDD-FDD party of President Evariste Ndayishimiye is accused of undermining its main opponent, the National Freedom Council (CNL), which came second at the last election in 2020 and claimed it was cheated. In 2023, the interior ministry suspended the CNL over "irregularities" in the way it organised its meetings. Then last year, the CNL ousted its leader, former militia commander-turned-politician Agathon Rwasa, while he was abroad. He was replaced by someone considered close to the ruling party, Nestor Girukwishaka, a former minister and senior executive at a state-owned company -- in what critics described as a government-orchestrated coup. The government then passed new rules that effectively barred Rwasa and his allies from joining other opposition parties or standing as independents. A Burundian analyst, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, said the ruling party was taking no chances because the elections were taking place amid "a very deep socio-economic crisis". The analyst said the country was facing "all sorts of shortages, galloping inflation of more than 40 percent per month and growing popular discontent". - 'Very difficult for us' - President Ndayishimiye took over following the death of his predecessor, Pierre Nkurunziza, who had isolated the country with his brutal and chaotic rule since 2005. While Ndayishimiye has been seen as relatively less authoritarian, Burundi's human rights record remains poor, with journalists, activists and opposition figures all facing severe repression. One of the candidates for Thursday's election, Patrick Nkurunziza -- no relation to the previous president -- of the opposition coalition Burundi for All, told AFP the campaign had been "very difficult for us". He said his members faced "threats, harassment and sometimes even attacks" from a government-aligned youth league known as the Imbonerakure. A group of media executives last month accused the Imbonerakure of arresting and torturing a journalist while he tried to work at the University of Burundi in the capital Bujumbura. A fuel shortage that has largely paralysed the country for nearly three years also made it difficult for opposition candidates to operate, said Nkurunziza. "In the absence of Agathon Rwasa's CNL, the CNDD-FDD is sure to win," said the analyst. Most of the other candidates are "token candidates, who are there just to show that democracy is still happening in Burundi", they added. Burundi experienced decades of ethnic violence and civil war up to 2005. Under a peace agreement signed in 2000, seats in the parliament are split 60-40 between the two ethnic groups, Hutu and Tutsi. Burundi remains one of the world's poorest countries with almost two-thirds living below the World Bank's poverty line of $2.15 per day.

South Korea's new president Lee Jae-myung will be busy balancing relations with the US, China and North Korea
South Korea's new president Lee Jae-myung will be busy balancing relations with the US, China and North Korea

ABC News

time6 days ago

  • ABC News

South Korea's new president Lee Jae-myung will be busy balancing relations with the US, China and North Korea

South Korea's new president has a gargantuan job ahead. After six months of political chaos, three different interim presidents, protests and legal battles, deep divisions have been exposed in what's considered one of Asia's most successful democracies. President Lee Jae-myung has experienced the worst of this himself. After he survived a serious assassination attempt early last year, he'd been campaigning behind bullet proof glass and wearing a bulletproof vest. Healing society's wounds will be chief among his priorities as he begins his new role. "I will build a truly happy community where we coexist and cooperate over hatred and confrontation," he told supporters as the votes were being finalised. "What the president is responsible for is harmony among others." Voters went to the polls exactly six months to the day since impeached conservative leader Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, throwing South Korea into chaos. Politicians — including Lee Jae-myung — scaled fences and fended off armed officers to enter the National Assembly so they could vote to block the declaration. They did so successfully and Yoon lifted the order after only six hours, but it dredged up painful memories of South Korea's authoritarian past. Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans rallied calling for Yoon's resignation and impeachment over following weeks. Standing on the wide road leading up to the country's National Assembly, flanked by thousands of other protesters, one young woman cried as she told th ABC she feared that South Korea's democracy had been destroyed. "I think it's tragic, I've lived in a democratic country my whole life and suddenly I feel it's not democratic anymore," she said. Retired teacher Seo Haewoon lived through the last time the government declared martial law more than 40 years ago. He was shocked to see it happen again. "I was looking for a job, four months after finishing my military service, when I saw the martial law army coming, suppressing the civilians," he told the ABC of the declaration in the late 1970s. "I was very confused and shocked. It is still a trauma for me." But Mr Seo is hopeful the country has now learned a valuable lesson. "All political turmoil should be resolved via communication and democratic methods, not with the guns or martial law," he said. "I believe students today have learned the value of democracy. They are looking for a fair society. If the politicians do any bad things like last year, I'm pretty sure the students would rally again. "Martial law cannot be accepted. This demolishes democracy." South Korean media reported that Mr Lee began his official duties at 6.21am, before even being inaugurated. He won't benefit from the usual two month transition period, considering the country was on its third interim president before his election. And there's no doubt there's plenty of urgent work to do. Many South Koreans the ABC spoke to were concerned about the country's economy, some even said they thought Yoon's martial law had deterred tourists from visiting. The other chief concern is negotiating with the US, South Korea's most important ally. The revolving door of presidents over the last few months has stymied South Korea's ability to finalise a deal with the White House. US President Donald Trump wants to put 25 per cent tariffs on South Korea. He also wants the country to pay more for the 28,000 American troops stationed here to deter nuclear armed North Korea. Under Yoon, tensions with the North had grown. Mr Lee is more open to communicating with Pyongyang and fostering on regional alliances, rather than putting all the focus on the US. "I will try my best to recover the economy, restoring livelihoods as soon as possible so that you can come to an end with this difficult periods," Mr Lee told his supporters. "I will build up a peaceful and coexisting Korean peninsula with dominant national defence power, clearly deterring North Korea. "I am sure that genuine security derives from winning without fighting rather than confrontation. With inter-Korean communication we will come to a common prosperity." Navigating these relationships will be one of the key challenges for the new president, according to Chun Chaesung, a professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Seoul National University. "How to maintain a strong US Alliance? That's very difficult, because these days, the US is showing the so called MAGA realism, and President Trump doesn't put more put much emphasis upon the alliance partner," he said. "So it'll be very hard for him to strengthen the alliance, which is critical in deterring North Korea risk of actions in the future." And of course, just across the Yellow Sea, Mr Lee needs to navigate relations with China. "Now the bilateral relationship is really bad, and President Lee thinks that we have to recover the relationship with China, because China is the number one trading partner of South Korea, like your country," Professor Chun said. "So how to achieve these two very difficult, incompatible purposes — which is to maintain [the US] Alliance and recover relations with China — it will be very critical." While many, including Mr Lee, will be hoping his election marks the end of a sorry chapter of South Korea's history, it's likely there is more drama to play out. Yoon is still on trial for insurrection, and he's been indicted for abuse of power. Many of his supporters still feel he's been unfairly treated. And Mr Lee isn't without legal troubles himself. His candidacy was briefly thrown into doubt when the Supreme Court overturned his acquittal for an alleged election law violation. If found guilty he would have been barred from running. The court postponed the retrial until June 18, saying it was "in order to guarantee a fair electioneering opportunity to the defendant, who is a presidential candidate, and eliminate controversies about the fairness of the trial". It's unclear now if that will still go ahead, or if Mr Lee will benefit from presidential immunity. The election result too speaks to the deep divisions remaining in South Korean society. Professor of Political Science at Pusan National University, Robert Kelly, said the outcome — with only 8 per cent between Mr Lee and Mr Kim — should have been a slam dunk for the president-elect's progressive Democratic Party. "The big take-away of the [South] Korean presidential election is not the leftist's victory, but the strength of the right despite the huge scandal of the previous conservative president imposing martial law last year," he posted on X. "If anything should lead to a wave election, it should be impeachment. But it still didn't happen. "That's how polarised South Korean politics is. Wow." Mr Lee's own story exemplifies the magnificent transition the country has seen over his life time. Growing up in poverty, he didn't finish school. Instead, he worked in sweatshops and factories as a teen and was seriously injured in a machinery accident. But he managed to pass the university entrance exam, eventually becoming a human rights lawyer before entering politics. This is his second time running for president — he lost in 2022 to Yoon Suk Yeol by the narrowest margin in South Korea's democratic history. But this time around, with the highest voter turnout in nearly 30 years, Professor Chun argues Mr Lee is in a strong position. "This is the highest vote in 21st century South Korea, reflecting the public's interest and eagerness to move beyond instability and show the resilience of democracy," he told the ABC. "Secondly, Lee Jae-myung took office with a vast majority in the Congress. "So he is backed by a parliamentary majority for his party, which is giving him a very rare, unified government, a strong mandate." But with that, comes the responsibility to meet the expectations of South Koreans hoping to put this saga behind them. Cho Seoyeon, a mother of three told the ABC: "I hope we can live in a better Korea, with our kids — with our next generation — in a better, peaceful place."

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