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A30 world news
Diabierna 2 Juli 2021

Turkey officially withdraws from treaty protecting women

(AP) — Turkey formally withdrew “deeply disappointing and a step backward
Thursday from a landmark international for the international effort to end violence
treaty protecting women from violence, against women.”
and signed in its own city of Istanbul,
though President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Women, LGBT groups and others have been
insisted it won’t be a step backwards for protesting the decision. They say the conven-
women. tion’s pillars of prevention, protection, crimi-
nal prosecution and policy coordination,
Hundreds of women demonstrated in Istan- as well as its identification of gender-based
bul later Thursday, holding banners that said violence, are crucial to protecting women in
they won’t give up on the Council of Eu- Turkey.
rope’s Istanbul Convention. “It’s not over for
us,” one read. Similar protests were held in Hundreds of women gathered Thursday
other Turkish cities. amid a heavy police presence in Istanbul’s
main pedestrian thoroughfare. Protesters
Erdogan ended the country’s participation held colorful banners, feminist and rainbow
in the convention with a surprise overnight flags, played music, whistled, and shouted
decree in March, prompting condemnation slogans. Police closed off the area but later
from women’s rights groups and Western briefly removed barricades to allow a short
countries. A court appeal to stop the with- march.
drawal was rejected this week.
Amnesty International’s Turkey campaigner
Erdogan announced his “Action Plan for Milena Buyum tweeted from the protest af-
Combating Violence against Women” on ter police re-closed the avenue with barri-
Thursday, which includes goals such as re- cades: “The irony of hundreds of women &
viewing judicial processes, improving protec- LGBTI+ rights defenders being blocked by
tion services and gathering data on violence. a huge number of predominantly male police
officers is not lost.” The rights group’s ob-
“Some groups are trying to present our of- servers said police used tear gas after they told
ficial withdrawal from the Istanbul conven- demonstrators to disperse.
tion on July 1st as going backwards,” he said.
“Just like our fight against violence towards On Saturday, police dispersed LGBT dem-
women did not start with the Istanbul Con- onstrators with tear gas and detained dozens,
vention, it won’t end with our withdrawal.” who were later released.

In March, the Turkish Presidency’s Direc- Data by the We Will Stop Femicide group
torate of Communications issued a state- show that 189 women have been murdered
ment saying the Istanbul Convention was so far in 2021 in the country, and 409 last year.
“hijacked” by those “attempting to normalize
homosexuality – which is incompatible with Earlier, Amnesty International called Tur-
Turkey’s social and family values.” key’s withdrawal “shameful” in a statement.

Erdogan emphasized traditional family and “At the stroke of midnight today, Turkey
gender values Thursday, saying combat- turned its back on the gold standard for the
ing violence against women was also a fight safety of women and girls. The withdrawal
to “protect the rights and the honor of our sends a reckless and dangerous message to
mothers, wives, daughters.” perpetrators who abuse, maim and kill: That
they can carry on doing so with impunity,”
U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned said Amnesty International’s Secretary Gen-
Price tweeted that Turkey’s withdrawal was eral, Agnès Callamard.

Attack in eastern Congo kills 9; US ambassador vows support

(AP) — At least nine ci- army. Investigations are un- This attack comes days after “We will begin intelligence
vilians, including women, derway to find the perpetra- two explosions on Sunday hit “Are we Congolese like the cooperation between the
were killed in an attack by tors of this crime.” a Catholic church in Beni’s others? In Beni, we are being Congolese army and the
rebels in Congo’s eastern Butsili district and a market killed with bombs, sporadic U.S.,” he said. He said the
city of Beni, officials said Some of the victims were in another district, leaving machete attacks ... I would U.S. will support training for
Thursday. The attack in killed in their homes while four wounded. The Islamic like the government to help the Congolese army and po-
Beni’s Rwangoma neigh- others were taken to the cen- State group’s Central Africa us because we are going to lice forces.
borhood is the third such ter of the neighborhood be- Province claimed responsi- die overnight,” said Kambale
attack in the Beni area fore being shot and beaten bility for the two Sunday ex- Tsongo, a protester carrying Eastern Congo has been
this week. with machetes or pieces of plosions, which included its the body of a victim. mired in conflict for more
concrete, the military spokes- first suicide bombing. than a quarter-century par-
Police and the military have person in the region, Lt. An- U.S. Ambassador to Con- ticularly near its border with
blamed Allied Democratic thony Mwulushayi, said. Many Beni residents protest- go, Mike Hammer, visited Rwanda. Armed groups there
Forces rebels for the violence. Nine bodies are in the ed the violence and angrily Beni on Thursday and told have vied for control of the
morgue, he said, adding that demanded that the police and The Associated Press that region’s mineral resources.
“These ADF terrorists at- one other body of a woman military provide better pro- the United States stands in
tacked peaceful populations remains at the scene. tection to the civilian popula- solidarity with the residents The ADF, which traces its or-
... killing and kidnapping tion. Demonstrators carried of Beni, and will help track igins to nearby Uganda, has
others,” said Beni’s police “Alongside the human toll, the body of a slain victim down attackers who are allied mounted an escalating num-
chief, Col. Narcisse Muteba. businesses were looted be- to the town hall, where the to the Islamic State group. ber of attacks in and around
“These rebels used the kid- fore being set on fire, and army and police dispersed He visited Beni Thursday Beni in the last several years
napped civilians (as shields) residences were also set on the protests with live ammu- morning. even as the community was
to escape the Congolese fire,” he said. nition. struck by an Ebola epidemic.