Tag: US AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Pro-EU forces in Moldova claim victory in questionable vote + More

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
YouTube

The tiny European state of Moldova is increasingly being drawn into the maelstrom of NATO’s war against Russia. On Monday, the US-allied government of Maia Sandu claimed victory in a referendum held the day before over whether the country should join the European Union. According to the Central Election Commission, 50.39 percent of voters supported and 49.61 percent opposed EU ascension. Slightly more than half of those eligible to cast a ballot did so.

Pro-EU forces in Moldova claim victory in questionable vote

The International Republican Institute is affiliated with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). See my “front organizations” page regarding NED and Amnesty International.

Related:

06-10-2024 Daniel Runde and Thomas Bryja: Moldova’s Fate Is Tied to Ukraine’s: Now Is the Time for the West to “Go Big” on Moldova

Daniel F. Runde’s Support for Ukraine (CSIS):

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Powell’s hit piece on “Media Unlocked”

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Unlocking China’s “Media Unlocked” Propagandists

Recently, Media Unlocked unveiled its latest triumph–an interview with a former U.S. president’s brother, Neil Bush, whose George H.W. Bush Foundation For U.S.-China Relations has allegedly received millions of dollars from a group associated with CCP influence operations. Bush–apparently unconcerned that he was participating in Beijing’s propaganda campaign–helpfully sang the praise of China’s communist system, its electric vehicle industry and, incredibly, even announced that he was observing a “massive freedom movement” in today’s China.

Propagandists? Und das bist du nicht?

Now, let’s get into who’s funding the George H.W. Bush Foundation For U.S.-China Relations. Powell links to a Fox News article about its funding from the China–United States Exchange Foundation, based in Hong Kong. The Fox News article links to an Axios article (which is behind a paywall). Nowhere does Powell mention that the foundation also gets funding from the U.S. Department of State, The Rockefeller Foundation, etc.

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Updates for the Bangladesh document

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Battle for soul of Bangladesh far from over

One of the most pressing issues facing Yunus’ interim government is the restoration of law and order. Since the uprising, the police — once a tool of state terror under Hasina — have largely disappeared from the streets fearing violent retribution from the public. Police stations have been set ablaze, and in their absence, student-led groups have taken up roles in maintaining local order. In a country where state violence was once the norm, the people’s reliance on these grassroots organisations rather than formal law enforcement is a telling indicator of the deep mistrust in state institutions, although, over the span of two months, we have also witnessed that dynamic of trust taking on significant concessions and alterations in the questions of nationalism, the phantom of separatist movements and the security discourse enveloping the Chittagong Hill Tracts [CHT].

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Perhaps above all else, the Chittagong Hill Tracts have historically been a flashpoint for military-police dynamics, reflecting tensions between the indigenous populations, popular local political parties and civil society members on one side, and Bangladeshi state authorities, the military, and the plainland settlers serving as vanguards of the Bengali-Bangladeshi nationalist project on the other. The military’s sustained and in fact, expanding presence in the CHT, justified as means of ‘maintaining order’, has led to systemic human rights violations and a climate of permanent, pervasive fear, discontent, animosity, and distrust, and for good reason.

As per a report by the Human Rights Support Society, in the month of September alone, 28 were killed in 36 different incidents of mob lynching across Bangladesh, with 14 others injured. Political violence claimed another 16 lives and injured 706. In their report, HRSS refers to a wild-wild-Western state of affairs that is still developing, including factional clashes within the two major political parties, targeted violence against ethnic and religious minorities, attacks on journalists, extrajudicial killings, and worker protests. Overnight, netizens witnessed footage of defenceless Tofazzal and Shamim Mollah, mercilessly beaten to their deaths in the two top public universities.

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This is especially true when we consider how global neoliberal agendas intersect with local political upheavals. Like the Arab Spring, derailed by counter-intelligence tactics, surveillance capitalism, and imperialist interventions, Bangladesh faces the risk of its uprising being neutralised by the coalescence of state surveillance, corporate interests, and international capital. The convergence of military intelligence, former Awami elites, and foreign backers — including both regional powers and multinational corporations — threatens to undo the revolution’s hard-won gains by appealing to reactionary fears and mobilising mobs against progressive forces.

No criticism of U.S. puppets allowed:

Criticism on Dr Yunus: Magistrate suspended in Bangladesh

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Leaked files expose covert US government plot to ‘destabilize Bangladesh’s politics’

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Leaked docs reveal that prior to the toppling of Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina, the US govt-funded International Republican Institute trained an army of activists including rappers and “LGBTQI people,” even hosting “transgender dance performances,” to achieve a national “power shift.” Institute staff said the activists “would cooperate with IRI to destabilize Bangladesh’s politics.”

Leaked files expose covert US government plot to ‘destabilize Bangladesh’s politics’

Previously:

Atlantic Council’s Ali Riaz to lead commission on constitutional reforms for Bangladesh

What’s Behind Regime Change in Bangladesh

Bangladesh and Kenya document

Atlantic Council’s Ali Riaz to lead commission on constitutional reforms for Bangladesh

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Ali Riaz to lead commission on constitutional reforms

The government yesterday named Professor Ali Riaz as head of the Constitutional Reform Commission, replacing Supreme Court lawyer Shahdeen Malik.

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Prof Yunus announced the formation of six reform commissions in his address to the nation on September 11.

They were formed to reform the judiciary, the election system, the administration, the police, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and the constitution. Prof Yunus also named the chiefs of the commissions.

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Ali Riaz, a Bangladeshi-American, is a distinguished professor of politics and government at Illinois State University, US. He was the chair of the Department of Politics between 2007 and 2017.

He is a nonresident senior fellow of the Atlantic Council and the president of the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies.

Related:

About Ali Riaz

Atlantic Council, American Institute of Bangladesh Studies, BBC World Service, Claflin University (South Carolina), Illinois State University, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute (Singapore), University of Hawai’i (East-West Center), University of Lincoln (U.K.), V-Dem Institute (funders), Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (2023 donors), Testified at U.S. Congress in 2013, 2015, and the US Commission on International Religious Freedom in 2008.

See Page 2 for more:

Dr Yunus introduces Mahfuz Alam as mastermind of student movement +

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
Source / Full video

Dr Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser in Bangladesh’s interim government, on Tuesday introduced Mahfuz Alam, his special assistant, as the “brain” behind the country’s recent student-led movement and subsequent push to topple the Awami League regime, at an event in New York, US.

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Dr Yunus praised Mahfuz for his leadership, calling him the “brain of the whole revolution,” though Mahfuz humbly insisted that the movement had been a collective effort. 

Dr Yunus introduces Mahfuz Alam as mastermind of student movement

Related:

Who was the third youth to join Yunus on stage at the Clinton Global Initiative event?

Read More »

PH gov’t encourages youth participation in SCS campaign

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Surprisingly, I didn’t see Powell there. /s

Source

PH gov’t encourages youth participation in WPS sovereignty campaign (Translation by Google Translate)

The Philippine government anchors transparency* efforts in its vision to make the West Philippine Sea (WPS) an “intergenerational concern.”

Commodore Jay Tristan Tarriela of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said that the main objective of the government’s efforts is to ensure that the fight for the WPS will be continued by future generations.

Tarriela joined the third episode of the PN Conversations organized by Palawan News on September 13.

“The national government’s responsibility now for the younger generation is for us to hold the line so that the next generation of Filipinos can still be able to fight for our rights in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.

The transparency effort implemented under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., is part of the government’s obligation to provide the right information to Filipinos, he added.

Tarriela believes that the right information will also awaken Filipinos’ sense of patriotism, particularly among the youth.

The government’s transparency could also raise awareness among the international community about the situation in the WPS.

The limited information given during the previous administration under former president Rodrigo Duterte made it easy for China to spread disinformation, Tarriela said. In contrast, the current administration supported the concept of having “many voices with one message.”

“We recognize that our fight in the West Philippine Sea cannot be met by us alone,” he said.

National Youth Commission (NYC) Commissioner-at-Large Karl Josef Legazpi, a Palaweño himself, shares the view on the need to emphasize that the future of younger generations is at stake in the fight for sovereignty.

“But the waters that belong to us are gradually being taken from us—we want to convey to you what is happening. Our future is at stake,” he said.

NTF-WPS is actively working with various partner agencies, including the state information arm, Philippine Information Agency** (PIA). Director General Jose Torres, Jr.***, also joined Tarriela in the forum, believing in the role of the youth in the fight over the WPS.

Torres emphasized that the youth’s use of technology plays a significant role in fighting misinformation and disinformation about WPS.

“The young people play a great role and challenge when it comes to the West Philippine Sea. As young people, we need to stand up for our country and truth,” he said.

The PN Conversations is a Palawan News initiative that provides a platform for in-depth discussions on pressing issues faced by the community, such as WPS.

Notes on page 2: