TGR Weekly Review - 6.6.21
Israeli politics heat up, Roman Protasevich appears on Belarusian state TV, and Hong Kongers remember the Tiananmen Square massacre
Seventy-seven years ago, American troops stormed the beaches of Normandy on what would become known as D-Day. It was that day, that the war in Europe shifted and the Allies began to beat back the evil that had spread across the continent. At its zenith, Nazi Germany looked like it might succeed in conquering Europe, but good always wins in the end.
š®š± Knesset vote to establish new government and make Naftali Bennet prime minister scheduled for Wednesday; Netanyahu reportedly not preparing to leaveĀ
On Sunday, during a Likud faction meeting, Netanyahu called on MKs in Yamina and New Hope to reject the āchange coalitionā formed by Naftali Bennet and Yair Lapid. The speech came amid reports that the Prime Ministerās Office has made no preparations to transition to a new government.Ā
āVote against this government that endangers the State of Israel,ā Netanyahu said. "It is late, but not too late. Do the right thing and vote against the left-wing government. The entire nationalist camp opposes a dangerous left-wing government. It is right and responsible to protest in every legal and democratic way.ā
Another source close to Bennet told the Jerusalem Post that the Likud is confident the new government will fail and Israel will go on to their fifth election in two years. āLikud people keep telling us they know theyāll knock us down no matter what we do. Theyāre completely positive Netanyahu will stay,ā a Yamina Party member said.
Avigdor Lieberman, head of the secularist right-wing Yisrael Beytenu Party and the man who is expected to be the next finance minister, said that he expects what āeveryone saw in the Capitol in Washington to happenā in Jerusalem.Ā
For his part, Netanyahu has made sure to condemn any kind of violence or incitement. On Sunday, he said that the Likud ācondemns incitement and violence from any side, even if others were silent when the incitement against us is raging. Incitement is a call to violenceā¦The principle needs to be clear: incitement to violence is out of bounds. At the same time, freedom of speech is not incitement.āĀ
In a prime-time speech, Naftali Bennet pleaded with Netanyahu to let go of power and allow Israel to move on. āFree the country to move on. People are allowed to vote for the formation of a government, even if it is not led by you.ā He also denied Netanyahuās assertions that his government would be a left-wing government. āThis government will be 10 degrees more right-wing than the current one.ā
Netanyahu, in a TV interview of his own, called Bennet a āserial liarā for making a deal with Mansour Abbas, head of the Joint Arab List Party.Ā
Netanyahu also warned that the new government would not be able to adequately protect Israel and cautioned against letting Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, Labor head Merav Michaeli, and Meretz head Nitzan Horowitz make decisions on Iran.Ā
āThis is a government that will not be able to withstand the pressure from the United States to return to the nuclear agreement with Iran that will bring Iran atomic bombs that would threaten us. When this agreement comes, the security cabinet with Lapid, Michaeli, and Horowitz will not approve any daring steps in enemy territory inside Iran.āĀ
He went on, āA government that is dependent on supporters of terrorism cannot take consistent and systematic steps against terrorist groups in Gaza, and it is doubtful that it will be able to fight decisions against IDF soldiers by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.ā
The āchange coalitionā government is to be presented to the Knesset for a vote on Wednesday. If it passes, the new government will be sworn in within 48 hours.
š§š¾ Roman Protasevich appears in an interview on Belarusian state TV
Roman Protasevich, 26, the Belarusian journalist who was arrested in Minsk after his Ryanair flight was forced down by a Belarusian fighter jet, appeared in an interview on state TV on Friday. It was just his third public appearance since his arrestāor kidnappingātwo weeks ago.Ā
During the interview, Protasevich āconfessedā to organizing protests in opposition to President Lukashenko and inciting mass disturbances, a crime that could get him up to 15 years in jail. The journalist also praised Lukashenko, saying he āabsolutelyā respected him.Ā
āI wonāt hide it, I criticized Alexander Grigoryevich [Lukashenko] a lot,ā Protasevich said. āOf course, because it seemed to be that there were reasons for itā¦And then I started to realize that many things Alexander Grigoriyevich is criticized for are just attempts to pressure him. And that in many moments he acted like a man with balls of steel, despite all the pressure and so on.ā
At the end of the interview, Protasevich covered his face with his hands and began to cry, saying that he hoped to get married and have kids one day. Marks were visible on his wrists and face.Ā
The journalistās father told AFP TV that he had no doubt his son had been tortured. āI know my son very well and I believe he would never say such things. They broke him and forced him to say what was needed. No one should believe these words because they were beaten out, through abuse and torture of my son.āĀ
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the Belarusian opposition leader, echoed the sentiments. āYou should understand it what condition these people are, and they are for sure being tortured and violated, and we shouldnāt believe any of the words of these people, including Roman Protasevich, because you have to understand how they are forced to say.ā
Tikhanovskaya also called on the world to act against Belarus. āPressure is more powerful when these countries are acting jointly, and we are calling on the UK, the USA, the European Union, and Ukraine. They have to act jointly so their voice will be more loud.ā
On Friday, the European Union banned Belarusian planes from EU airspace and instructed all flights to avoid Belarusian airspace if at all possible. France also said it plans to invite the Belarusian opposition to the G7 summit happening June 11th through the 13th, granted the host countryāthe United Kingdomāagrees.Ā
šš° Hong Kongers defy orders to stay home to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre
June 4 marked the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre when the Chinese military declared martial law and rolled into Beijing to suppress anti-government protests that had been going on since April. Armed with assault rifles and tanks, the PLA crushed the movement and left several thousand dead in their wake.
Throughout mainland China, even commemorating the event on social media can get you in trouble with the regime. But every year, thousands of Hong Kongers would fill Victoria Park to wave candles and remember those lost. Last year, for the first time, the event was canceled and the park closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the sweeping National Security Law has changed Hong Kong and taken away many of the freedoms they once enjoyed.Ā
This year, the event was once again canceled by the Hong Kong government and Victoria Park barricaded by the police. Their reason was once again the coronavirus, but itās an invalid reason. Hong Kong hasnāt reported a single community case of COVID-19 in weeks.Ā
Even so, hundreds of brave Hong Kongers went out into the streets to memorialize those who were killed and to bring to remembrance the awfulness of the Chinese regime. Thousands more posted commemorations online. Simply, to make sure the Tiananmen Square massacre is never forgotten.Ā
Xi Jinping and the CCP would like nothing more than for June 4 to be swept under the rug and forgotten by the world. It must not be so.
Other stories from around the world:
š·šŗ Putin signs law banning āextremistsā from running in any elections (Reuters)
š²š± š«š· France suspends military operations with Mali over the second coup in nine months (France 24)
š®š· š®š± Multiple unexplained fires and explosions rock Iran; some point to Israel (Iran International)
šŗšø US places a bounty on the head of Abu al-Anabi, the leader of al-Qaeda in North Africa (The National News)
š¬š§ Prince Harry and Meghan announce the birth of baby girl (BBC)
Quote of the week:
Three hundred days have passed since the resignation of my government, and Lebanon continues to go through a tunnel that is getting darker, and whenever a glimmer appears on the horizon, it is quenched by political calculations that no longer considers the fate of the country or the suffering of the Lebanese who are exhausted by the search for medication, childrenās milk or gasoline. They are grappling with the surge in prices that have far exceeded their purchasing power and incomes; their frustration is taking root and is pushing some of them to search for hope and relief away from their homeland, which is losing, on a daily basis, its scientific competencies and youth, along with capability erosion, in the absence of a new government.
~ Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab amid a crisis that threatens the very existence of the country. The World Bank reported that Lebanon ranks in the top 10 most severe crises in the world and that nearly half of the population is below the poverty line.
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