Rohingyas: la Birmanie devant la CIJ pour génocide

La Birmanie a-t-elle commis un génocide contre sa minorité musulmane rohingya ? C’est la question que les magistrats de la Cour internationale de justice (CIJ) devront trancher à l’issue de trois semaines d’audiences qui débutent lundi.Dans cette affaire, portée par la Gambie devant la plus haute instance judiciaire de l’ONU, le pouvoir birman est accusé de violations de la Convention des Nations unies sur le génocide de 1948.Le dossier est suivie de près car il est susceptible de créer des précédents pour une affaire portée devant la CIJ par l’Afrique du Sud, qui accuse Israël d’avoir commis un génocide à l’encontre de la population palestinienne de Gaza.Des centaines de milliers de musulmans rohingyas ont fui en 2017 une répression sanglante de l’armée birmane et de milices bouddhistes, trouvant refuge au Bangladesh voisin.Des témoignages ont fait état de meurtres, de viols collectifs et d’incendies criminels.Aujourd’hui, 1,17 million de Rohingyas vivent entassés dans des camps délabrés qui s’étendent sur plus de 3.200 hectares à Cox’s Bazar, au Bangladesh.”Je veux voir si les souffrances que nous avons endurées seront prises en compte lors de l’audience”, a expliqué à l’AFP Janifa Begum, mère de deux enfants vivant dans ces camps.”Nous voulons justice et paix”, a ajouté cette femme de 37 ans.- “Meurtres insensés” -La Gambie, pays à majorité musulmane d’Afrique de l’Ouest, a porté l’affaire en 2019 devant la Cour internationale de justice de La Haye, qui statue sur les différends entre Etats.En vertu de la Convention pour la prévention et la répression du crime de génocide, un pays peut saisir la CIJ contre un autre qu’il estime avoir violé le traité.En décembre 2019, les avocats de la Gambie ont présenté des preuves de ce qu’ils ont qualifié de “meurtres insensés”, et “d’actes de barbarie qui continuent de choquer notre conscience collective”.La lauréate du Nobel de la Paix Aung San Suu Kyi s’était elle-même rendue à La Haye pour défendre la Birmanie devant la cour.Elle a rejeté les arguments de Banjul, les qualifiant de “tableau trompeur et incomplet” de ce qu’elle a décrit comme un “conflit armé interne”.L’ancienne figure emblématique de la démocratie a averti que l’affaire devant la CIJ risquait de raviver la crise, qu’elle a attribuée aux attaques de militants rohingyas.Aung San Suu Kyi a depuis été évincée de la tête du gouvernement birman par le coup d’État militaire du 1er février 2021, et se trouve actuellement en détention.La Birmanie a toujours soutenu que la répression menée par les forces armées était justifiée pour réprimer l’insurrection des Rohingyas après une série d’attaques qui avaient coûté la vie à une douzaine de membres des forces de sécurité.- Pression politique -La cour de La Haye s’est initialement rangée du côté de la Gambie, qui avait demandé aux juges des “mesures provisoires”, c’est-à-dire des décisions d’urgence pour mettre fin aux violences pendant l’examen de l’affaire.En 2020, le tribunal a déclaré que la Birmanie devait prendre “toutes les mesures en son pouvoir pour empêcher (… ) tous les actes” visés par la convention de 1948.Suite à cet arrêt de la CIJ, les États-Unis ont officiellement déclaré en 2022 que les violences constituaient un génocide.Une équipe de l’ONU avait déjà affirmé en 2019 que la Birmanie nourrissait des “intentions génocidaires” à l’encontre des Rohingyas.Un verdict final de la cour de La Haye pourrait encore prendre des mois, voire des années.Bien que le tribunal n’ait aucun moyen de faire appliquer ses décisions, un arrêt favorable à Banjul exercerait une pression politique sur la Birmanie.Les juges de la CIJ ne sont pas les seuls à se pencher sur les violences contre les Rohingyas.La Cour pénale internationale (CPI), qui siège également à La Haye, mène une enquête sur les crimes contre l’humanité qui auraient été commis par le chef militaire birman Min Aung Hlaing.

Asian equities edge up, dollar slides as US Fed Reserve subpoenaed

Asian equities posted gains Monday while the dollar dipped as investors digested news that the US Justice Department subpoenaed the Federal Reserve, raising fears over US central bank independence.Fed Chair Jerome Powell confirmed the unprecedented move late Sunday, which he blasted as part of US President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign for another rate cut. The Fed has indicated it would hold rates steady.”The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” Powell said in a statement late Sunday.Powell said the bank received grand jury subpoenas on Friday related to his Senate testimony in June, which had been about a major renovation project of Federal Reserve office buildings.It came on the heels of Friday’s soft US jobs report showing just 50,000 new positions in December and unemployment slipping to 4.4 percent.The dollar fell about 0.2 percent against major peers, according to Bloomberg, while gold surged 1.5 percent as investors faced with political uncertainty sought safe havens.Asian markets posted gains in early trade. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul and Taipei climbed, tracking Wall Street’s record close Friday.Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Jakarta were also up.Most stock markets have enjoyed a solid start to the year, with indices in Frankfurt, London, Paris and Seoul hitting record highs last week, largely on optimism for the tech sector and gains in defence sector shares.Oil prices saw a slight dip, but largely held after a rally last week, as protests in Iran continued to stoke geopolitical risk and the US seizure of Venezuela’s crude supplies added to concerns of a supply glut.President Trump has warned Tehran of repercussions if demonstrators were harmed, while Iran cautioned against foreign intervention.On Sunday evening, Trump said he was considering potential military action against Iran following reports of a violent crackdown leading to the deaths of hundreds of people in the country.”They’re starting to, it looks like,” Trump said, when asked by reporters aboard Air Force One if Iran had crossed his previously stated red line of protesters being killed.”We’re looking at it very seriously. The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options. We’ll make a determination,” he said.He also said that the Islamic republic’s leadership had called seeking “to negotiate” and that a meeting was being set up.- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 26,327.33Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 4,138.32Tokyo – Nikkei 225: (closed for holiday)West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $59.06 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $63.30 per barrelEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1656 from $1.1635 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3424 from $1.3407Dollar/yen: FLAT at 157.88 yen from 157.88 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.83 pence from 86.78 penceLondon – FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 10,124.60 (close)New York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 49,504.07 points (close)

Powell says Federal Reserve subpoenaed by US Justice Department

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Sunday that the central bank had been subpoenaed by the US Justice Department, blasting the move as part of President Donald Trump’s extraordinary pressure campaign on US monetary policy decisions.Powell added in a statement that the bank received grand jury subpoenas “threatening a criminal indictment” on Friday related to his Senate testimony in June, which had been about a major renovation project of Federal Reserve office buildings.He dismissed the possible threat of indictment over his testimony or the renovation project as “pretexts.””The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” Powell said. “This unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure,” Powell said.The Fed has a dual mandate to keep prices stable and unemployment low, and its main tool in doing so is by setting a key interest rate that influences the cost of borrowing across the economy.Trump has consistently pressured Powell and the central bank to move faster in lowering interest rates, in a breach of the long-standing independence of the institution.Trump on Sunday denied any knowledge of the Justice Department’s investigation into the Federal Reserve.”I don’t know anything about it, but he’s certainly not very good at the Fed, and he’s not very good at building buildings,” NBC quoted Trump as saying.- ‘Corrupt takeover’ -Senators from both sides of the aisle blasted the investigation. “It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question,” Republican Thom Tillis said.”I will oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed — including the upcoming Fed Chair vacancy — until this legal matter is fully resolved,” he added.Democrat Elizabeth Warren accused Trump of trying “to complete his corrupt takeover” of the central bank by pushing Powell out and installing a “sock puppet” instead.Powell’s term as chairman of the Federal Reserve ends in May, and Trump told Politico in an interview last month that he would judge Powell’s successor on whether they immediately cut rates.The US president has openly spoken about ousting Powell but stopped short of doing so, and focused instead on cost overruns for renovation of the Fed’s Washington headquarters.In July, the cost of the Fed’s facelift of its 88-year-old Washington headquarters and a neighboring building were up by $600 million from an initial $1.9 billion estimate.That month, Trump made an unusual visit to the construction site during which the two men, clad in hard hats, bickered over the price tag for the makeover.A significant driver of the cost is security, including blast-resistant windows and measures to prevent the building from collapsing in the event of an explosion. The Federal Reserve, the world’s most important central bank, makes independent monetary policy decisions and its board members typically serve under both Republican and Democratic presidents.

Globes red carpet: chic black, naked dresses and a bit of politics

Hollywood’s top stars hit the red carpet on Sunday for the Golden Globes, the first major event on the road to the Oscars, and they delivered lots of old-school glamour.Here is a glance at some of the looks seen at the Beverly Hilton Hotel:- Ever-chic black -Selena Gomez is a newlywed and her happiness shows. The best comedy actress nominee for her work on “Only Murders in the Building” radiated joy as she arrived on the arm of her husband Benny Blanco.She oozed sophistication in a black Chanel column gown with a frothy white feathered strapless neckline, her black bob swept into soft waves.Gomez was not alone in striking an understated pose, with lots of stars opting for black or dark, wintry hues.Teyana Taylor, a winner for her searing turn as a leftist revolutionary in hotly-tipped film “One Battle After Another,” scorched the carpet in a cut-out backless black Schiaparelli gown with a halter neckline — and a cheeky crystal bow on her backside. Ariana Grande (“Wicked: For Good”), who competed with Taylor for the award for best supporting actress, turned heads in a black textured Vivienne Westwood ballgown with an asymmetrical neckline and a bubble silhouette before trailing to the floor. Her hair was swept into her signature ponytail, and she kept the jewelry simple with a diamond choker.Amy Madigan, also in their category for her villainous turn in “Weapons,” went for a tuxedo look with cropped pants and patent leather boots.Nominee Jenna Ortega embraced the goth chic of her title character in “Wednesday” in a black high-neck Dilara Findikoglu gown with glittering epaulets and cut-offs that revealed a bit of side boob… and part of her hip bone.Among the male stars in attendance, Colman Domingo was as usual a standout, wearing head-to-toe black Valentino, with silvery appliques scattered from his left shoulder down his lapel to his waist.- Naked ambition -Jennifer Lopez is no stranger to strong fashion statements. Her plunging green Versace gown at the Grammys in 2000 is still a reference for winning the red carpet by adopting the “less is more” rule. On Sunday, Lopez — whose turn in “Kiss of the Spider Woman” was overlooked by Globes voters — wore a figure-hugging sheer gown with bronze patterns snaking over her body, ending in a mermaid fishtail.Jennifer Lawrence –nominated for best drama actress in a film for “Die My Love” — got the memo as well, rocking a barely-there sheer nude Givenchy gown with only a smattering of strategically placed flowers. – Stars slam deadly ICE shooting – Hollywood never quite has a night out without a bit of politics coming into play. On Sunday, some of the stars including nominee Mark Ruffalo wore pins with the messages “BE GOOD” — a reference to Renee Good, the Minneapolis woman who was shot and killed by a federal immigration agent.Comedian Wanda Sykes wore the same pin on her lapel, while actress Natasha Lyonne, a nominee for her TV show “Poker Face,” attached one to her clutch handbag.The campaign is endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), one of the country’s most prominent civil rights organizations.