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A6 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 4 February 2021
U.K.-E.U. talks aim to defuse Brexit tensions over N. Ireland

By JILL LAWLESS back from throwing the
Associated Press baby out with the bath-
LONDON (AP) — Senior pol- water, what we need to
iticians from Britain, North- do is be calm, be steady
ern Ireland and the Europe- and work our way through
an Union held inconclusive these issues,” she said.
talks Wednesday in a bid Police have warned that
to ease post-Brexit trade violent pro-British Loyalists
tensions that have shaken could capitalize on the ten-
Northern Ireland’s delicate sions, though they say the
political balance. current threat appears to
British Cabinet minister Mi- come from a small number
chael Gove, European of individuals rather than
Commission Vice President paramilitary groups.
Maros Sefcovic and the The sensitivity of Northern
leaders of Northern Ire- Ireland’s status was under-
land’s Catholic-Protestant scored last week, when the
power-sharing government EU threatened to ban ship-
held a video conference to ments of coronavirus vac-
discuss problems that have cines to Northern Ireland
erupted barely a month af- as part of moves to shore
ter the U.K. made an eco- A woman walks past past graffiti with the words ‘No Irish Sea Border’ in Belfast city centre, Northern up the bloc’s supply. That
Ireland, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021.
nomic split from the 27-na- Associated Press would have drawn a hard
tion EU. Sefcovic is expect- border on the island of Ire-
ed to travel to London next Ireland from the rest of The checks are strongly op- ist Party, which heads the land — exactly the scenar-
week for more talks. the U.K. are a contentious posed by pro-British Union- power-sharing Belfast ad- io the Brexit deal was craft-
Northern Ireland authorities product of Brexit. ist politicians, who say they ministration, is refusing to ed to avoid. British, Irish and
halted veterinary checks Since the U.K. left the Eu- drive a wedge between cooperate with the Irish Northern Ireland politicians
and withdrew border staff ropean Union’s economic Northern Ireland and the government on implement- all expressed alarm at the
this week from Belfast and structures at the end of rest of the U.K. They are ing the new rules. plan, and the EU dropped
Larne ports after threaten- 2020, customs and vet- calling on the British gov- Northern Ireland Depu- the idea. The U.K. govern-
ing graffiti appeared re- erinary checks have been ernment to rip up a section ty First Minister Michelle ment is urging the bloc to
ferring to port workers as imposed on goods moving of its divorce agreement O’Neill, from the Irish na- take a more light-touch ap-
targets, and staff report- between Britain and the with the EU known as the tionalist party Sinn Fein, ac- proach to border checks,
ed seeing people writing bloc — and on some Brit- Northern Ireland Protocol, cused the DUP of stirring up which have already led
down vehicle license plate ish goods going to Northern which gives the region a tension with its “reckless” to shortages and delays
numbers. Ireland, because it shares separate trade status to attacks on the Brexit agree- in getting some goods to
The border checks on a border with EU member the rest of the U.K. ment. Northern Ireland. In a letter
goods entering Northern Ireland. The Democratic Union- “The DUP needs to step to Sefcovic,q

UN report: Widespread torture of detainees in Afghan prisons

By TAMEEM AKHGAR between January 2019 ing major gains in recent ous reporting period, from the rule of law and can be
Associated Press and March 2020. years, and now effec- 2017 to 2018. a contributing factor to-
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The alleged torture includ- tively control over half the “Perpetrators must be wards peace,” said Lyons.
Nearly a third of all detain- ed beatings, suffocation, country. Separately, wide- held accountable,” said “Torture can never be jus-
ees held in Afghan deten- and electric shocks. spread corruption and Deborah Lyons, the U.N.’s tified. It has lasting conse-
tion centers say they have The U.N. says 30% of those distrust of the government special representative for quences for victims, their
suffered some form of tor- interviewed provided has undermined efforts to Afghanistan. “This would families, and society,” she
ture or ill-treatment, a new “credible and reliable” ac- combat the Taliban. increase confidence in added.q
U.N. report said Wednes- counts of abuse and mis- The insurgents, meanwhile,
day. treatment. have been demanding
According to the “Torture Afghan officials did not the release of thousand
Report,” more than half of immediately respond to more Taliban prisoners, un-
the allegations are from Associated Press calls for der a deal signed between
southern Kandahar prov- comment on the U.N. re- the Taliban and the U.S.
ince, a Taliban heartland. port. Due to the outbreak government last year that
The United Nations ex- of the coronavirus, U.N. saw 5,000 insurgents freed.
pressed serious concerns visits to the detention fa- The U.S.-Taliban deal aims
about the claims, including cilities were suspended last to end the decades-long
allegations of “enforced March. war and facilitate the with-
disappearances.” The U.S.-backed Afghan drawal of U.S. and interna-
For the report, conducted government is holding tional troops from Afghani-
jointly by the U.N. mission thousands of detainees, stan. The Biden administra-
to Afghanistan and the many of them captured tion has said it plans to re-
U.N. Human Rights Office, as part of the ongoing war view the U.S.-Taliban deal.
U.N. officials interviewed with the Taliban, who are The report said 30.3% of de-
a total of 656 detainees, mainly ethnic Pashtun. tainees reported torture or In this Jan. 11, 2018 file photo, Afghan prisoners prepare to be
held in 63 government fa- The Taliban have stepped mistreatment, down from released from Pul-e-Charkhi prison, in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Associated Press
cilities across the country, up their offensive, mak- 31.9 % during the previ-