International
Afghan stuck in Belarus border camp risks dying: charity
AFP
A 52-year-old Afghan woman stuck in a makeshift migrant camp on the border between Belarus and Poland risks dying without urgent help, a charity helping the migrants told AFP on Wednesday.
The group of some 30 migrants has been stuck on the EU’s eastern frontier for more than two weeks, with Polish border guards and soldiers preventing them from entering to make asylum claims.
While Poland has flown in hundreds of evacuees from Afghanistan in recent days, the government has ruled out allowing in migrants who it says are being forced across the border by the Belarusian regime in a “hybrid attack” on the European Union.
“We are concerned for the life of a 52-year-old woman,” said Kalina Czarnog from the Ocalenie (Salvation) foundation.
The foundation said the woman has respiratory and renal problems and a total of 12 migrants are now seriously ill.
“They do not have drinking water. They have had nothing to eat since yesterday,” the foundation, whose representatives have been communicating with the migrants through megaphones since Polish soldiers are preventing them access, said on Twitter.
Thousands of migrants — mostly from the Middle East — have crossed the border from Belarus into the eastern EU states of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland in recent months.
Brussels believes the regime in Minsk is deliberately engineering the influx in retaliation against EU sanctions — an accusation Belarus denies.
The Polish government says the migrant camp is just outside its border and that Belarus should therefore be helping but Warsaw’s position has been criticised by the liberal opposition, human rights organisations and some Catholic leaders.
The Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner Dunja Mijatovic on Wednesday joined calls for Poland to take in the migrants, a day after the UN refugee agency made a similar plea.
Mijatovic said in a statement that the situation was “alarming”.
“Pushing people back, denying them access to fair asylum procedures, or simply leaving them stuck in a humanitarian emergency cannot be the answer of a Council of Europe member state” bound by international human rights rules, she said.
Poland this week said it would build a 2.5-metre (8.2 foot) high barbed wire fence along the border to keep the migrants out and plans to double troop numbers assisting border guards to 2,000.
International
Petro expresses concern over fatal shooting during mass protests in Lima
Colombian President Gustavo Petro voiced his “concern” on Thursday over recent events in Peru, following the death of a protester reportedly shot during a massive demonstration in Lima against the government and Congress.
“I must express my concern over the events in Peru. A young artist has been killed in citizens’ protests,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The Colombian leader also noted that in Peru, “a popularly elected president remains imprisoned without conviction,” referring to Pedro Castillo, who led the country from July 2021 to December 2022 until he was removed by Congress following a failed attempted coup.
“This is a blatant violation of the American Convention on Human Rights,” Petro stated, adding, “I hope Peru seeks social and political dialogue to legitimize its public institutions.”
On Wednesday, Peru experienced widespread protests in several cities, with the largest demonstration in Lima in recent years, driven by citizens’ concerns over corruption and public insecurity.
During the capital’s mobilization, the Ombudsman’s Office confirmed the death of Eduardo Ruiz, 32, and reported clashes that left over 100 injured, including 78 police officers and 24 protesters, as well as ten arrests.
The Attorney General’s Office, investigating Ruiz’s death “in the context of serious human rights violations,” confirmed that the protester was shot.
International
Peru’s interim president José Jerí refuses to resign after protester’s death in Lima
Peru’s interim president, José Jerí, stated Thursday that he has no intention of resigning from the post he assumed last Friday, following the removal of former president Dina Boluarte, despite growing unrest over the death of a protester during massive demonstrations in Lima on Wednesday.
“I will not resign,” Jerí declared outside the Government Palace in Lima, where he returned on foot after making a surprise visit to Congress headquarters alongside Prime Minister Ernesto Álvarez.
Earlier, after leaving the Legislative Palace, the president acknowledged that the country is going through “difficult times” and condemned what he described as “a small group attempting to impose an agenda different from the citizens’ expression of discontent.”
Jerí expressed condolences for the death of Eduardo Ruiz, a 32-year-old man who died during Wednesday’s protest against the government and Congress, amid growing anger over corruption and insecurity.
“We stand in solidarity with his family,” he said, without offering further details about the incident, which has sparked outrage among Peruvians.
The president also described the demonstrations as “a legitimate civic expression” that later turned violent due to “certain groups seeking to provoke chaos by exploiting a peaceful citizen movement.”
“In a state governed by the rule of law, the rights of both demonstrators and security forces must be protected,” Jerí emphasized, adding that “as a result of that situation, this unfortunate death occurred outside the main area where the protest was taking place.”
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
Petro expresses concern over fatal shooting during mass protests in Lima
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Peru’s interim president José Jerí refuses to resign after protester’s death in Lima
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