From the Peoples Dispatch / Globetrotter News Service

Headlines:

• U.S. Activists Face Harassment From Authorities Upon Return From Cuba
• IACHR Slams Peru’s De Facto Government for Human Rights Violations Against Protesters
• South African Court Rules in Favor of NUMSA and Others in Load Shedding Case, Asks State to Ensure Power Supply to Critical Facilities
• Iran and Syria Call for End of Western Economic Domination, Withdrawal of All Foreign Troops From the Region

U.S. Activists Face Harassment From Authorities Upon Return From Cuba

On May 7, several participants in the May Day Brigade of the U.S.-based National Network on Cuba (NNOC), were detained and harassed by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol upon arrival to the United States from Cuba.

Similarly, on May 3, over a dozen people who had traveled to Cuba as part of a 10-day international youth delegation faced similar treatment from U.S. authorities during their return to the country.

For the NNOC, the incidents faced by U.S.-based activists on May 3 and 7 constitute “an onslaught against Cuba solidarity activism.”

The People’s Forum, one of the organizations that participated in the solidarity brigade of young people organized by the International Peoples’ Assembly, condemned the harassment faced by delegation members at U.S. airports. It affirmed, “We will not be moved! Our commitment to end the U.S. [blockade] of Cuba will only grow”

The NNOC also released a public statement following the detention of their delegates, emphasizing that “In face of persecution, we reaffirm our right to travel to Cuba. Solidarity is not a crime—the U.S. blockade is!” They added that several of the people who were detained by CBP also had their electronics seized and some were even threatened with jail time.

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IACHR Slams Peru’s De Facto Government for Human Rights Violations Against Protesters

On May 3, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) released a report on human rights violations in Peru during protests that broke out following the ouster of left-wing president Pedro Castillo in December.

In its 113-page-long report, the IACHR established that the country’s security forces committed “serious human rights violations” as they cracked down on nationwide protests against the de facto Dina Boluarte government. According to reports, at least 60 people were killed in these protests.

The IACHR characterized the state’s response to demonstrators as the “disproportionate, indiscriminate, and lethal use of force.” The report added that in some cases, the government’s actions could be classified as “extrajudicial executions” and “massacres.”

In this regard, the IACHR said that an objective investigation must be conducted “with due diligence and an ethnic-racial approach,” and by “prosecutors specialized in human rights.”

The day after the report was released, the Boluarte government rejected the IACHR’s report and dismissed its conclusions.

“We reject the supposed findings of extrajudicial killings and the claim of mass massacres,” said Boluarte at a press conference.

Boluarte downplayed IACHR’s report, claiming that the report did not in fact confirm the existence of human rights violations in her government, it merely confirmed the possibility of there being human rights violations.

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South African Court Rules in Favor of NUMSA and Others in Load Shedding Case, Asks State to Ensure Power Supply to Critical Facilities

In a crucial ruling on May 5, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria decided in favor of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) and 18 other applicants seeking relief from severe power outages that have affected much of the country. The Court ordered the Minister of Public Enterprises to take “all reasonable steps” within 60 days to ensure that there is sufficient supply or generation of electricity to prevent any interruption due to load shedding to all public health establishments, all public schools, and the South African Police Service.

South Africa has been in the throes of an electricity crisis as Eskom, the state-owned energy utility company, has struggled to meet the country’s energy demands for over 15 years, resorting to load shedding in the process.

Record power outages over the past year have inflicted major economic losses and disrupted access to crucial public services including hospitals. Conditions are set to worsen with Eskom preparing protocols for Stage 9 load shedding, which could see outages lasting for over 14 hours a day.

In March, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) and NUMSA joined political parties, trade unions, and civil society groups in calling upon the court to declare load shedding (or rotational power cuts) unconstitutional.

As such, the application not only named Eskom, but also President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Ministers of Mineral Resources and Energy and Public Enterprises, and the South African government as a whole.

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Iran and Syria Call for End of Western Economic Domination, Withdrawal of All Foreign Troops From the Region

The Syrian and Iranian presidents met in Damascus and announced their resolve to work for greater regional stability. The leaders stressed that the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the region was necessary for this purpose. They emphasized that their cooperation in the economic field is intended to be a strategic move to counter the impact of illegal unilateral sanctions imposed by the U.S. and some of its allies.

The countries signed a long-term comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement during the state visit of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Damascus on May 3. They also signed long-term cooperation agreements in various economic areas such as agriculture, oil, and transport.

Raisi is the first Iranian president to visit the country in the last 13 years. He was accompanied by his foreign, economic, and transport ministers and the chief of Iran’s central bank.

After the meeting, Syrian President Bashar Assad claimed that the various economic projects agreed upon between Iran and Syria would help “mitigate the impacts of sanctions” and aid in liberating “international economics from Western hegemony.” He also emphasized that both countries agreed that it has been an old colonial tactic to “undermine the stability of countries and divide them.” However, countries in the region need to take advantage of improving relations to find common grounds for peace and prosperity. Assad was referring to the recent rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran after years of tension and hostility.