FifthIt was clear from the start that this vote would be symbolic. It will show how much influence China has in the bodies of the United Nations. It was clear on Thursday afternoon: Beijing has enough power to start a discussion about human rights abuses in Xinjiang to prevent. The United States and nine other countries deliberately introduced a clearly neutral draft resolution. He simply said that the Human Rights Council „notes with interest” the report of former High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on the human rights situation in Xinjiang and decides to discuss it at the Council’s next meeting in February.
Frederic Pogue
Political correspondent for China, North Korea and Mongolia.
17 countries voted for it, and 19 countries opposed it. Eleven countries abstained from voting. It was enough to get yes votes more than no votes. When the result was announced, the deputies applauded from China and his supporters. The president invited them to order in the name of the „dignity” of the council.
Fearing such a symbolic defeat, Western countries have always avoided putting a draft resolution on China to a vote. Instead, they provided joint statements that countries could join by signing. However, after the release of the Bachelet Report at the end of August, some countries felt the need to seize the momentum and risk defeat. Bachelet published the report in late August, just minutes before she left office. It states that „gross violations of human rights” in Xinjiang „may constitute crimes against humanity”.
The United States submitted the draft resolution with Britain, Scandinavia, Australia, Lithuania, Canada, Iceland and Denmark. Germany did not join the group, perhaps because it wanted to focus more on a decision to appoint a special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Russia, which will be voted on on Friday. Presumably, there was also concern that fewer countries might be willing to vote against China and Russia at the same time or to abstain.
Beijing can count on supporters
Previously, China had suspended all stations. Entire groups of diplomats lobbied representatives of the undecided countries in Geneva. Some countries have reported numerous calls in their capitals. Fears that China might cut back on promised investments in countries may have played a role in its voting behavior. A spokesman for the Xinjiang government had earlier threatened „countermeasures” in Geneva. „We are ready for battle,” he said.
Late on Wednesday evening, supporters of the draft resolution campaigned for its approval. Until the end, it was not clear how the vote would take place. Ukraine, which Western countries might have hoped for a yes vote, abstained. Beijing In turn, he is likely to be particularly disturbed that Japan once again expressed its „deep concern about the human rights situation in Xinjiang” at the meeting. Indonesia voted against the resolution along with the usual Chinese supporters such as Pakistan, Venezuela, Eritrea and Cuba. Jakarta made it clear that one does not turn a blind eye to human rights abuses against Muslims, but does not expect any progress for the Uyghur situation in Xinjiang from the initiative.
So hopes for a special rapporteur on Xinjiang should be off the table for the time being. The new High Commissioner for Human Rights, Austrian Volker Türk, could decide for himself to present the Bachelet report at the next meeting of the Human Rights Council next year.
In its reactions to the report, which China called „deviant”, among other things, it has not yet attempted to refute the individual content. This may be because the report is largely based on Chinese government documents. As noted by the US Ambassador for Human Rights in Geneva, Michelle Taylor. Meanwhile, supporters of China, literally in some cases, made the same arguments as Beijing itself.
Russia and China demand a buffer zone for nuclear powers
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Vladimir Putin has once again chosen Beijing as his first foreign trip during his new term. Xi Jinping supports the Russian president. In a statement, Beijing and Moscow called for the establishment of some kind of sphere of influence for nuclear powers.
DrThis plan is likely to be aimed primarily at Ukraine’s accession to NATO: Russia and China spoke in a joint declaration in favor of creating a buffer zone for nuclear powers compared to other military alliances.
“Nuclear powers must maintain global strategic stability, respect the principle of equal and indivisible security, and not infringe on each other’s vital interests,” said the joint statement issued by Kremlin President Vladimir Putin and Chinese state and party leader Xi Jinping on Thursday. In particular, “the expansion of military alliances and coalitions and the creation of direct military bridgeheads on the borders of other nuclear powers” should be avoided.
Russia also justified the war in Ukraine by NATO’s expansion eastward, and said it felt threatened. The buffer zone would in effect resemble a Russian sphere of influence, because Ukraine cannot become a member of NATO under this condition. Other former Soviet republics such as Georgia would also be affected by such a buffer zone.
Moscow and Beijing said on Wednesday that the political agreement was an option to resolve the conflict. “Both sides see that a political agreement is the right path to resolving the Ukrainian crisis,” Chinese state and party leader Xi Jinping said Thursday in Beijing during Russian President Putin’s state visit.
China and Russia object to US support for Taiwan
China, a nuclear power, also has a self-interest in securing its influence through a buffer zone. Beijing wants to reunite the island of Taiwan with the mainland, using military means if necessary. It also claims the Taiwan Strait, an international body of water, as its own.
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The two countries also accused the United States of transferring medium-range missiles to Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. “It is about the United States of America creating a global air defense system and deploying its elements in different parts of the world, in the Universe, as well as expanding the potential of high-precision non-nuclear weapons in Europe and the southern part of the Pacific Ocean,” the statement said.
Putin arrived in China on Thursday for a two-day visit. At the beginning of the talks on Thursday, Xi congratulated his „old friend” on his fifth term in office and expressed confidence that Russia’s development would make „great progress” under his leadership.
Xi described the relations as conducive to peace. Sino-Russian relations have become stronger and have withstood “the test of the changing international landscape.” The two sides signed an agreement aimed at deepening the existing partnership between the two countries.
Putin, who began another term in office at the beginning of May, traveled with a delegation of senior politicians and business leaders. These include Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, new Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina. Putin is also accompanied by the heads of some of Russia’s most important companies, such as Igor Sechin of the oil company Rosneft, German Gref of Sberbank, and industrialist Oleg Deripaska. Prime Minister Li Qiang was among the Chinese hosts.
Wade Venture (37) staunte nicht schlecht, als er das Rolltor zu einer Lagerbox in Portland (US-Bundesstaat Oregon) öffnete und begann, in den Kisten zu stöbern, die sich dort türmten.
Der Amerikaner hatte die verlassene Einheit bei einer Versteigerung für umgerechnet etwas mehr als 370 Euro ergattert. Dann stellte sich heraus: Der Inhalt war 70 000 Dollar (mehr als 64 000 Euro) wert!
Der Kauf war ein „Blind-Kauf“
Venture hat Erfahrung mit solchen „Blind-Käufen“: Nach eigener Aussage hat er bereits zwischen 400 und 500 Lagerräume gekauft. Und er schlug auch bei diesem zu – ohne zu wissen, was ihn erwarten würde. Doch einen solchen Schatz hatte er noch nie gefunden. Unglaublich: Die Vorbesitzerin der Box hatte Designerkleidung ohne Ende hinterlassen – unbenutzt!
Es war unfassbares Glück
Venture gegenüber US-Medien fassungslos: „Es ist selten, dass man eine solche Einheit findet, oft findet man Haushaltsgegenstände oder Müll.“ In der Vergangenheit hatte er den minderwertigen Inhalt seiner „Fundgruben“ oft einfach für wohltätige Zwecke gespendet. Venture weiter: „Die Leute denken, ich mache das schon so lange, dass ich schon alles gesehen habe, aber so eine Einheit habe ich noch nie gefunden.“
Hunderte Paare nagelneuer Schuhe
Unter den Fundstücken in seiner neuesten Schnäppchen-Schatztruhe: Mehr als 400 Paar Schuhe (u.a. von der Luxus-Marke Gucci), Pelzmäntel und Accessoires im Wert von mehreren Tausend Dollar. Viele der Stücke trugen sogar noch die originalen Verkaufsetiketten.
Der glückliche Finder: „Normalerweise finde ich Dinge, die zu 30 Prozent neu und zu 70 Prozent gebraucht sind. Aber das hier war alles brandneu.“ Mittlerweile hat er damit angefangen, die Kleidungsstücke zu verkaufen. Allein für einen der Mäntel bekam er 1500 Dollar (rund 1400 Euro), berichtet Venture.
Eine Theorie über die Vorbesitzerin der Lagerbox hat er auch. Venture: „Es ist mehr als wahrscheinlich, dass sie ein Shopping-Problem hatte.“
Und weiter: „Man munkelt, dass sie das vielleicht vor ihrem Mann geheim halten musste.“
DrSlovak MP Lubos Blaha is not exactly known for his soft tones. Even on Wednesday, shortly after learning of an attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico, left-wing populist Blaha, a Fico supporter, had not backed down. “This anger, this anger, this hatred: this is your job today,” he told Slovak TV cameras. “The opposition, the progressives and the liberal media. “We are full of emotions,” Blaha said. The fact that FICO is unpopular with all segments of the population is due, among other things, to the planned judicial and media reform.
Milan Nick, an expert on Eastern Central Europe at the German Foreign Policy Association, is not surprised by this reaction. “It does not surprise me that Blaha, known for such rhetoric, would say this. But so far it has been an exception, as many politicians from various parties, including Fico Smer’s party, have expressed their dissatisfaction and called for calm and caution.
In fact, Liberal President Zuzana Čaputová gave a well-received speech. She clearly condemned the attack and wished „that Robert Fico would have a lot of strength at this critical moment so that he could recover from the attack. Peter Pellegrini, the president-elect, made a similar statement.” Pellegrini comes from the government coalition led by Robert Fico and was elected president in April. However, he will not be sworn in until June.
Meanwhile, 59-year-old Fiko is still receiving treatment in hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica. His deputy, Thomas Taraba, told the BBC late on Wednesday evening that he appeared to have survived an emergency operation after the attack and was no longer in a life-threatening situation. Slovak media reported early Thursday morning that Fico had regained consciousness.
After a cabinet meeting on Wednesday in the town of Handelova, when Fico went out into the street, a 71-year-old man fired four to five shots at him. The suspected perpetrator was arrested at the scene and the Prime Minister was airlifted to hospital by helicopter.
Government officials assume a „political motive.” There are many photos and video recordings of the attack itself. Slovak news platform aktuality.sk She also stated that the suspected killer was legally in possession of a gun. The 71-year-old was not undergoing psychiatric treatment. These rumors have been reported previously.
There is also speculation on social media in Slovakia about the possible politicization of the alleged killer. This intensifies the already heated mood in the country, which reached two peaks during the parliamentary elections in September last year and the presidential elections in April this year.
Both elections were accompanied by an aggressive mood and disinformation campaigns on social media, as well as questionable rhetoric by the actors involved. Fico’s Smer Party considers itself a social democratic party, but in the eyes of many observers it is characterized as a left-wing nationalist. It became the strongest force in the recent parliamentary elections, with 22.9 percent of the votes. In October 2023, Fico was able to assume the reins of government in a coalition with the Social Democratic Party of Halas and the far right.
He is considered a veteran of Slovak politics, having ruled from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018. His companion Peter Pellegrini won the presidential election in April. Fico polarized the country for several months and thousands of Slovaks took to the streets against his policies.
There are major concerns among many Slovaks about an authoritarian state restructuring similar to what happened in Hungary or Poland. The Slovak Parliament approved a first legislative package in April as part of a controversial judicial restructuring process. The law provides, among other things, for the dissolution of the Special Public Prosecutor’s Office or the reduction of penalties for serious crimes such as murder.
The EU Commission has already expressed concern that the so-called judicial reform could violate EU law. In addition, there are verbal attacks on journalists from politicians – and concrete plans to control the media. Public television station RTVS is set to be transformed into a state broadcaster over which the government will have enormous influence. A similar law could be passed in June.
The NGO Transparency Law also made international headlines. If an organization receives €5,000 or more from abroad in one year, it should in the future be classified as an “organisation receiving support from abroad”. Critics fear the government will ban organizations it doesn’t like as a result.
Fico also reoriented Slovakia’s foreign policy. He himself and other members of the government have loudly criticized the course of the European allies towards Russia and Ukraine. Fico criticizes Russian sanctions as well as arms shipments to Ukraine. His government stopped supplying weapons from Slovak stockpiles to Ukraine. The partly pro-Russian policy of Slovakia, a member of the European Union and NATO, is also worrying diplomats and politicians in Brussels and other European capitals.
It is striking that Slovak society now seems to be uniting and that politicians from different political camps are strongly condemning the attack. Religious organizations, bishops and Islamic associations also commented on this. Expert Nick said, „The assassination attempt on Fico represents a turning point for Slovak politics, regardless of whether he will be able to take office again or not.”
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Another turning point for Slovakia was the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova in 2018. Through his research, Kuciak uncovered organized crime connections in Slovak politics. He worked for aktuality.sk, a news portal of Ringier Axel Springer Slovakia, a joint venture between Axel Springer SE (including WELT and “Bild”) and Swiss Ringier AG.
The murder of Kuciak and his fiancée attracted much attention in Slovakia and internationally. Fico, who was prime minister at the time, was forced to resign after mass protests following the killings. Even then, Fico’s policies were radically rejected by many Slovaks, but he always enjoyed a stable fan base, as demonstrated by his recent electoral victory in 2023.
However, expert Nick does not see a direct link between the assassination attempt on Fico and the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak and his wife. “This aggression against politicians and the cruelty of the conflict is not just a Slovak phenomenon. We see something like this everywhere in Europe, and unfortunately also attacks on politicians. Look at Germany: from the assassination attempt on Wolfgang Schäuble many years ago to the recent attacks on politicians,” says Nick.
Speculation about the paramilitary organization
Despite voices calling for calm in Slovakia, observers are also concerned that the government camp, after a brief period of calm, will use the attack to further divide society and consolidate its power. Blaha statements are the first sign. Fake news is also likely to spread quickly on social media, and disinformation campaigns can be launched.
The evening after the attack on Fiko, a report was published in Slovak online media that was likely to increase speculation about the background of the crime: the famous Hungarian investigative journalist Száblocs Bánje shared old photos of the alleged killer, which had a connection to a loyalist Slovak paramilitary women’s organization. For Russia, it is called the „Slovak Brotherhood”. Photos from 2016 are considered original.
“However, in the next few days we are likely to see an increase in disinformation campaigns and the like on social networks. What happened is a reason for this,” says Milan Nick. But a lot will depend on whether Fico will survive the attack.