British military equipment is being used by the Indonesian authorities against civilians in remote parts of the country.
Despite promises by British Foreign Office ministers that UK arms exported to the country are not used for internal repression photographic evidence exists showing a British-made Tactica water cannon vehicle deployed in the troubled eastern province of West Papua.
Eyewitness reports have claimed that the cannon have been used to control demonstrators protesting against Indonesian rule and widespread human rights abuses in the region, including thousands of extra-judicial killings. It is claimed that the water in the cannon is mixed with chemicals that makes demonstrators' eyes burn. The vehicles were made by Alvis in Coventry, England, and sold to Indonesia in 1998.
Last week Foreign Office Minister Ian Pearson told the House of Commons: "We are not aware of any UK-supplied equipment currently deployed in Papua. We have consistently made clear to the Indonesian authorities that no British-supplied equipment, or indeed any other equipment, should be used in any human rights abuses."
The photographic evidence has provoked outrage among groups campaigning against Indonesian rule in the province.
Benny Wenda, a West Papua tribal and political leader now living in exile in Britain, explained: "When I was in West Papua I saw with my own eyes the Indonesian soldiers using Hawk jets made in the UK to bomb our villages."
"They killed thousands of my people and most of my own family," he said.
"Now they are using British weapons again. So this is my message to the government and people of the UK: please, please, stop selling weapons to Indonesia," he said.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number