Europe takes step towards making Russia pay for Ukraine war

Yahoo – AFP, Marc BURLEIGH, May 16, 2023 

Leaders from the 46-nation Council of Europe including French President
Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasised that Moscow
would be held accountable

A summit of a rights body spanning Europe on Tuesday created a "register of damages" to record Russia's destruction of Ukraine for future compensation, and heard Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plead for Western fighter jets. 

Leaders from the 46-nation Council of Europe including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasised that Moscow would be held accountable for the harm and destruction it has caused in its 15-month invasion of its neighbour. 

The register of damages, to be lodged in The Hague, aims to record the tangible costs Russia has exacted on Ukraine in that time. 

"There will be no reliable peace without justice" and the register lays the ground for "a full-fledged compensation mechanism," Zelensky said in a video address at the start of the two-day summit. 

Right now, though, Zelensky said, ballistic missile and drone attacks on his country showed "Russia is trying very hard to improve its ability to kill". 

Ukraine consequently needed "additional air defence systems and missiles -- we also need more fighter jets, without which no air defence system will be perfect," he said. 

The call came just after a whirlwind tour by Zelensky of major European capitals to press for Western warplanes ahead of an expected offensive against Russian positions in Ukraine in coming weeks. 

He received pledges of more military deliveries from Germany, France and Britain. The latter two said they would train Ukrainian fighter pilots. 

Jet 'coalition'  

Western countries however are wary about supplying advanced fighter aircraft to Ukraine, fearing their use could escalate the war. 

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte agreed at the summit that they would build an "international coalition to provide Ukraine with combat air capabilities, supporting with everything from training to procuring F-16 jets," according to Sunak's office. 

Other leaders in Iceland emphasised the registry of damages -- and how justified they were in kicking Russia out of the Council of Europe a year ago over its war in Ukraine. 

Scholz said the registry would play "a central role" in "punishing and demanding accountability for the war crimes committed by the Russian occupiers". 

Macron called on other countries to join the initiative and "actively contribute to filling it out". 

The United States -- represented at the summit in an observer role -- said it too supported the creation of the register. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the register would play a role in deterring further Russian "war crimes" and called it important for the future "because only justice can be the foundation of lasting peace in Ukraine". 

Britain seeks reform 

All of the EU's 27 countries are part of the Council of Europe, and several of them are in favour of setting up a special tribunal to try Russia's leadership. 

That would be deferred until the conclusion of the grinding war. 

Russia could well be preparing its own spring attack on Ukrainian positions to try to break a battlefield stalemate. 

For all the unity projected at the summit, there were fissures in the European community. 

Britain is antagonistic towards the council's European Convention of Human Rights, which is a barrier to its plans to stem the irregular arrival of asylum-seekers by deporting them to Rwanda. 

The convention is backed by a European Court of Human Rights which has made rulings stymying Britain's policies. 

Sunak said as he arrived that he was pressing for a reform of that court as part of a strategy to stop small boats carrying refugees reaching Britain after transiting through France. 

"We're going to do absolutely everything we can to do that... I'm not going to rest until we can stop the boats and that's why I'm here," Sunak said. 

The leaders' gathering was also a key moment for the heads of European heavyweights Germany, France, Italy and Britain to meet before a G7 summit starting Friday in Japan.

Turkey quake tests Erdogan's all-powerful rule

Yahoo – AFP, Fulya Ozerkan with Burcin Gercek in Ankara, February 16, 2023 

When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assumed sweeping powers in 2018, he swore the state would deliver more under a centralised system that his critics compare to one-man rule. 

Five years on, an agonisingly slow response to a catastrophic quake has undermined that idea, boosting the opposition's case in  polls planned for May, experts say. 

Erdogan has acknowledged "shortcomings" in the government's handling of Turkey's deadliest disaster of its post-Ottoman history. 

More than 36,000 people have died in Turkey and nearly 3,700 in neighbouring Syria. The toll is expected to keep climbing for days to come. 

Under pressure like at few points in his two-decade rule, Erdogan blamed obstacles such as freezing temperatures and quake-damaged airports and roads. 

No government in the world could have done better, Erdogan said. 

The opposition counters that the February 6 quake underlines why Turkey must switch back to a parliamentary system under which agencies have more freedom to act on their own. 

"You have centralisation in all Turkish institutions, which is reflected in institutions that specifically should not have it," such as the disaster agency, said Hetav Rojan, a disaster management expert who follows Turkey closely. 

'Critical hours' 

Rojan argued that the system, which Erdogan secured through a constitutional referendum in 2017, had hamstrung disaster response agencies that need to make snap decisions on their own. 

Help took days to arrive in many areas, with distressed residents forced to use their bare hands to try and pull relatives from the rubble. 

Others were left without water, food or shelter in freezing temperatures. 

Many volunteers who rushed to the region shared on social media how they were forced to wait for authorisations or how equipment was slow to arrive. 

The government has since dispatched tens of thousands of soldiers to the scene, reinforcing support for millions of people left homeless by a 7.8-magnitude quake. 

But many are still fuming at the initial delay. 

The main opposition leader, who is running neck-and-neck with Erdogan in opinion polls, has spearheaded the criticism. 

"There wasn't any coordination. They were late in the critical hours," Kemal Kilicdaroglu thundered this week. 

"Their incompetence cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of our citizens." 

Unseemly arguments 

For example, it was impossible for crane operators -- who offered critical assistance to rescuers -- to be deployed without the disaster agency's approval. 

This cost crucial time, Erdogan's critics say.

Others point to unseemly arguments between state agencies and independent rescue and relief workers on the ground. 

AFP journalists witnessed disputes between volunteers and AFAD state disaster responders in Elbistan, near the epicentre of a huge aftershock in Turkey's southeast. 

"We started working on this rubble even though the disaster agency discouraged us from it," a volunteer, who did not wish to be named for fear of retribution, told AFP. 

"When we finally heard the voice of a survivor, AFAD teams pulled us away and took over our work," he added. 

Murat, 48, waiting for news of his loved ones under the rubble in Kahramanmaras, witnessed similar scenes. 

"When miners discovered a person alive under the rubble, they were pushed away and people who wanted to appear on camera took their place," he said, also fearing to disclose his last name. 

Controlling the narrative 

Even a non-profit group run by rock star Haluk Levent, as well as opposition-run municipalities that sent in their own rescue teams, have provoked the government's ire. 

"The necessary actions will be taken against anyone that tries to rival the state," threatened Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. 

"The (ruling party) government and its institutions are really trying to control the narrative of the current rescue management," Rojan said. 

An advertising campaign, called "disaster of the century", had been prepared by an agency close to the government, Turkish media reported. 

The aim, critics say, was to convince Turks that any shortcoming is because of the gigantic size of the disaster -- that no one could handle such a catastrophe. 

In the face of a public outcry, the campaign was withdrawn. 

For Rojan, it's still "too soon" to see if the government's narrative will work. 

"It is definitely a political test for Erdogan with upcoming elections," he said.

Ukraine raids homes, offices in graft clampdown

Digital Journal – AFP, Daria ANDRIIEVSKA with Arman SOLDIN near Vugledar, February 1, 2023 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made tackling corruption a
priority even as the war intensifies in the east

Ukraine expanded a clampdown on corruption on Wednesday launching coordinated searches of residences linked to a divisive oligarch and former interior minister as well as tax offices in the capital. 

The searches came ahead of a key summit with the EU and appeared to be part of a push by Kyiv to reassure key military and financial donors in European capitals and Washington that Ukraine is tackling systemic graft. 

The head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party, David Arakhamia, said the searches had targeted influential billionaire Igor Kolomoisky and former interior minister Arsen Avakov. 

Law enforcement also raided tax offices in the capital and senior customs officials were fired, Arakhamia said in a post on social media announcing the shake-up. 

“The country will change during the war. If someone is not ready for change, then the state itself will come and help them change,” he added. 

Ukraine for years has suffered endemic graft but efforts to stamp out corruption have been overshadowed by Moscow’s invasion launched last February. 

Last week authorities fired around a dozen senior figures, including defence officials and a top aide to the president’s office, signalling a renewed push to clean up its image to appease Western backers. 

The raids on Wednesday came two days before President Zelensky was expected to host a summit with officials from the European Union, which has urged reforms to facilitate deeper integration. 

Investigators from Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, released images of a search from the home of Kolomoisky who was barred from entering the United States over allegations of corruption and undermining democracy. 

‘All necessary steps’ 

Prior to the invasion, Kolomoisky was one of the country’s richest men with holdings in a slew of industries, including media, aviation and energy. 

The security service said the search had been launched in connection with an investigation into the embezzlement of 40 billion hryvnia (more than a billion dollars) from energy holdings. 

The Ukrainian government seized stakes in the energy companies — oil producer Ukrnafta and refiner Ukrtatnafta — as part of stated efforts to consolidate the war effort. 

The SBU also said it had uncovered a scheme by the head of the Kyiv tax office over “multimillion-dollar” fraud schemes, accusing the official of abusing a position of authority. 

In an address to the nation on Tuesday, Zelensky vowed officials would take further measures to sweep away graft, saying “all the necessary steps have already been taken.” 

“People in the government who do not meet the basic requirements of the state and society should not occupy their seats,” he said. 

Arakhamia added that as part of the measures Wednesday several senior defence ministry officials had been informed that they are formal suspects, without specifying the charges. 

Last week the defence ministry announced the resignation of deputy minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, who was involved in logistical support for the army. 

That resignation came after the ministry was accused of signing food contracts at prices two to three times higher that market rates for basics. 

Donetsk battle getting ‘worse’ 

Despite being vocal about fighting corruption, Zelensky himself has been embroiled in corruption scandals in the past, and previously he was seen as harbouring links with Kolomoisky. 

He is now working to drum up political backing for Ukraine at a critical time in the conflict, with Russian forces claiming to have captured fresh ground in the eastern Donetsk region. 

AFP journalists near the small town of Vugledar in the battle-scarred industrial region this week witnessed artillery barrages to keep Russian forces at bay. 

“The more time passes, the worse the situation gets,” Oleksandr, 45, said from a trench just five kilometres (three miles) from Vugledar. 

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Tuesday that a dozen countries had promised more than 100 tanks after Germany and the United States signed off on the deliveries last week. 

Now Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials are calling on the West to supply fighter jets and long-range artillery too. US President Joe Biden said he would discuss the new requests for advanced weaponry with Zelensky. 

The Kremlin said Wednesday that any deliveries of long-range weapons to Ukraine would not change Russia’s military objectives in the pro-Western country or change fighting on the battlefield. 

“It would require greater efforts from us. But again, it won’t change the course of events,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.