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Straits Times
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Restrictions on aid deliveries by foreign governments may violate law, US lawmakers say
FILE PHOTO: Pro-Palestinian demonstrators take part in a protest against the drone attack on a Gaza-bound activist aid ship, near the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, May 2, 2025. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Palestinian men walk near rubble of houses destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 13, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo Restrictions on aid deliveries by foreign governments may violate law, US lawmakers say WASHINGTON - A group of U.S. senators wants Congress' watchdog agency to investigate whether controls on humanitarian aid deliveries by Israel and other foreign governments violate U.S. law, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The six senators - Chris Van Hollen, Dick Durbin, Jeff Merkley, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Peter Welch - wrote to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro asking him to launch an investigation by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office of the U.S. government's implementation of laws regarding the delivery of humanitarian assistance. All of the senators are Democrats except Sanders, an Independent who caucuses with Democrats. "In Ethiopia, Sudan, Ukraine, Burma, Syria, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Gaza, vital humanitarian assistance such as food, medical equipment, water purification systems, and other lifesaving goods have been blocked or restricted, directly and indirectly, by state and non-state actors," they said in a letter, dated Monday and seen by Reuters, referring to Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act and the Leahy Laws. The Leahy Laws prohibit the supply of U.S. assistance to any foreign security force unit implicated in gross violations of human rights, including torture and extrajudicial killing. Section 620I bars assistance for countries that impede delivery of humanitarian aid. Much recent concern has focused on Gaza. The United Nations and Palestinian representatives at the International Court of Justice have accused Israel of breaking international law by refusing to let aid into Gaza, after Israel began on March 2 to cut off all supplies to the 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave. Israel has defended its blockade against aid entering Gaza, alleging that Hamas steals supplies intended for the civilian population and distributes them to its own forces, an allegation that Hamas denies. Activists have long argued that the United States disregards its own laws in sending military and other assistance abroad. Concern about civilians in Gaza has risen since Republican President Donald Trump, who is a staunch supporter of Israel, began his second term on January 20. Aid workers also have accused Sudanese paramilitaries of constraining aid deliveries in territories where it is seeking to cement its control. Rights groups sounded alarms on Monday when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet approved plans for an expanded offensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas that might include seizing the entire Gaza Strip and controlling aid. The war in Gaza followed Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies, and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel's ground and air campaign in Gaza has since killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to local health authorities, and left much of Gaza in ruins. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Turkish police scuffle with May Day protesters in Istanbul, detain hundreds
Detained protesters shout slogans from inside a bus, as people attempt to defy a ban and march on Taksim Square to celebrate May Day, in Istanbul, Turkey May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Murad Sezer People march to celebrate May Day, in Kadikoy, Istanbul, Turkey May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya People hold a banner with the picture of Ekrem Imamoglu, the arrested mayor of Istanbul, as they gather to celebrate May Day, in Kadikoy, Istanbul, Turkey May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya People gather to celebrate May Day, in Kadikoy, Istanbul, Turkey May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya People march to celebrate May Day, in Istanbul, Turkey May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya People march to celebrate May Day, in Kadikoy, Istanbul, Turkey May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya People carry banners as they march to celebrate May Day, in Kadikoy, Istanbul, Turkey May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya Protesters scuffle with riot police as they attempt to defy a ban and march on Taksim Square to celebrate May Day in Istanbul, Turkey May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas A protester gestures as she is detained, on the day people attempt to defy a ban and march on Taksim Square to celebrate May Day, in Istanbul, Turkey May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Murad Sezer Plain-clothed police members detain a protester, as people attempt to defy a ban and march on Taksim Square to celebrate May Day in Istanbul, Turkey May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas ISTANBUL - Turkish police charged May Day protesters in Istanbul on Thursday, detaining hundreds of people and dragging some away in buses after they tried to defy a ban on public gatherings and march towards Taksim Square. Unions and NGOs had called for protests and marches across Istanbul, which has seen a wave of mass demonstrations in recent weeks over the detention of its mayor and President Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival, Ekrem Imamoglu. On Thursday, protesters attempted to march towards central Istanbul's Taksim Square, where all protests have been banned for years, under overcast and rainy weather. Police blocked them in Istanbul's central Besiktas and Sisli districts and pushed them back, scuffling with some who attempted to break through barricades. Footage from Istanbul showed riot police and protesters charging at each other. Protesters held up signs and chanted slogans as police forcefully hauled detainees to waiting buses. The Istanbul governor's office said in a statement that 384 people who demonstrated without authorisation had been detained. Gatherings in Turkey for International Labour Day are held annually, but police have often intervened in recent years. Last year, police detained more than 200 people attempting to march to Taksim Square. In 1977, 34 people were killed during May Day demonstrations in the square. Ozgur Ozel, head of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), to which Imamoglu also belongs, said the ban on demonstrations and marches in Taksim Square showed "the ruling party's insecurity and lack of confidence". "Imprisoning a square with thousands of police shows those who lead the country have no real authority and have turned the state into a police state," Ozel told reporters. In Ankara, Erdogan hosted representatives from unions and various professional fields to mark May Day. He said his government had, over the years, lifted some restrictions on labourers and implemented several legal amendments to improve working conditions. Thousands more rallied in Ankara for largely peaceful marches and demonstrations, while gatherings were held in other cities as well. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
