Displaying items by tag: protests

Many Argentines blame the IMF for the country’s 2001 financial meltdown, punctuated by a sovereign bond default and steep currency devaluation, which tossed millions of middle-class Argentines into poverty. Now left-leaning activists have taken to the streets to protest the IMF negotiations taking place in Washington while President Macri is trying to convince average Argentines that his policies will attract the investment needed to establish sustainable economic growth. In Buenos Aires, teachers have been staging protests because life is unbearable as the value of the peso continues to decline by a further 30%, sparking even more inflation. They are demanding pay rises, and say they have been living below the poverty line. To watch a video of thousands of people taking to the streets almost every day go to:

71% of Venezuelans identify themselves as Catholic, and the Church runs numerous charities plus 170 schools for poor children. The country faces 50% hyperinflation, food shortages, black market influences on prices, and failing health systems, with medicine and equipment increasingly not available. Widespread crime is forcing churches to remain locked. There will be a snap election on 20 May, and in the streets there are ongoing protests against a coalition regime they do not trust. Tensions have grown between President Maduro and local bishops. The president has asked them to leave politics out of the pulpit, calling political comments ‘disrespectful’. Not a single thing can be done easily in Venezuela: paying bills, buying food, commuting, visiting loved ones, finding decent-quality women’s hygiene products. In times of crisis like these, religion plays a comforting role for many. See also

Migrants have clashed with Spanish police in Madrid after the death of a Senegalese street vendor who they say had been chased by officers. Protesters set fire to a motorbike and dustbins and threw stones. At least 19 people were lightly injured in the clashes, and ten police officers were hurt. Officials say Mame Mbaye Ndiaye, said to be in his mid-30s, was found unconscious and died of a heart attack. Protesters said he had arrived in Spain by boat twelve years ago. He reportedly worked as a vendor illegally and sent money back to his family. Last year it was reported that the number of asylum-seekers arriving in Spain had tripled in a year, because it was seen as a safer route into Europe.

The Iranian ministry of intelligence and security photographs demonstrations, so that the police can later arrest leaders who exhibit banners criticising the government. The regime will try to weather this latest round of protests while arresting the main agitators, and then torturing them. At least three demonstrators are believed to have been killed in custody at Evin prison, and human rights activists have raised concerns (one death was reported as a suicide, with no credible evidence to back this up). Many believe executions will come next. By 11 January over a thousand people, including nearly a hundred students, had been arrested. Windows International reports protests growing; but Iran has no press freedom, and is attempting to restrict social media which inform Iranians and the world of developments. Pray for basic human rights to be the outcome of this struggle, and for the exposure of corruption in every aspect of the Iranian government. See also:

In a few days protests spread across Iran, with demonstrations different in size, leadership and objectives from those in 2009. The protests started in Mashhad, when religious hardliners voiced legitimate economic grievances to score points against the Rouhani government. They lost control of events when corruption and falling living standards prompted political slogans against the Islamic Republic. Next, there were demonstrations praising Rouhani, but the core demonstrators chanted uncompromisingly anti-regime slogans. Many believe these protests are powered by people who tend not to vote, believing the system cannot be reformed. A spokesman for the Revolutionary Guards said that anti-government protests were over, but offered no evidence of how they had been defeated beyond arrests. His comments appeared to be a warning against more rallies. The BBC and Al Jazeera say that protests are still happening.

Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has generated aggressive reactions. The PLO are seeking full UN membership again (they failed in 2011), and will no longer accept the USA participating in peace negotiations. Turkey called Israel a ‘terrorist state’. Pakistan’s prime minister said, ‘We hope the demonstrations of rage will not dissipate into passive acceptance of the status quo.’ Many onlookers believe that Hamas deliberately resorts to violence to pursue its ends. The violence is rarely spontaneous, is well organised, and used by leaders because violence achieves their goal. It works because policymakers abstain from making controversial decisions, fearing violent reactions. Meanwhile fighting continues in Jerusalem with ten dead, 2809 injured and 400 arrested. This week a 25-member Bahraini delegation held a five-day visit to Jerusalem, ‘sending a message of peace’, as Israeli military carried out air strikes on Hamas training compounds in the Gaza Strip after rocket attacks came out of Palestinian territory. See

Anti-fracking activists placed adverts in Leeds bus-stops stating that thousands of gallons of fracking fluid could be headed for the city. This overnight action was part of a national ‘Break the Chain’ fortnight, which also saw protesters suspended by swings above a quarry in Carnforth for eleven hours and residents walking 120 miles in an area where a fracking licence was granted. Lancashire and Yorkshire are concerned that wastewater from potential fracking sites could enter local treatment works. This week 250 people attended a protest rally near the UK's first horizontal fracking site, and earlier this month the Government was taken to court about its permitting Cuadrilla to test fracking sites in the UK. On Monday Nottinghamshire planning officers will publish recommendations for another shale gas well.