Page 29 - bon-dia-aruba-20220423

A29
world news Diasabra 23 aPriL 2022

Love thy enemy: Critics key for Macron in France’s election

(AP) — As France elects era.” blame him for Le Pen’s rise,
a president, Paris-based saying that in trying to un-
artist Vincent Aïtzegagh “It’s horrible, enough to dercut support in France for
is going to ground, escap- make one cry. I have spent the extreme right, Macron
ing to a bucolic village to sleepless nights in tears not swerved too far right-ward
avoid what for him — and knowing what to do,” says himself.
millions of other left- Clek Desentredeux, a dis-
wing French voters — is a abled and queer artist and Macron’s saving grace, how-
painful, even impossible, live-streamer who voted for ever, is also Le Pen. After years
electoral choice. For the hard-left leader Jean-Luc of drum-banging about im-
first time in his life, the Melenchon in round one. migration and Islam’s influ-
65-year-old has decided to ence in the country with the
not vote at all in the deci- With 7.7 million votes, Me- largest Muslim population in
sive ballot this Sunday. lenchon finished just 420,000 Western Europe, the 53-year-
votes shy of the runoff, in old is reviled by many on the
“I am fleeing,” he says. “Be- third place behind Le Pen. Le left as a racist xenophobe, too
cause it stinks.” Pen and Macron have since dangerous for France’s stated
expended much time and en- principles of “Liberty, Equal- “I’m going to vote because round one, round two for
Disgruntled voters like ergy trawling for support in ity, Fraternity” to ever vote some women died for my him is the dilemma of a ballot
Aïtzegagh whose favored can- Melenchon’s now orphaned for. In conceding defeat in right to do so,” she said. “But for Macron, a blank ballot or
didates were knocked out in and disappointed reservoir round one, Melenchon said I’m going to cast a blank bal- not voting. He said he won’t
the election’s first round on of voters. It is an uphill battle his backers “must not give lot because I don’t want to vote Le Pen.
April 10 are the wild cards in for them both. a single vote to Madame Le choose between either of
the winner-takes-all runoff. Pen” — repeating the exhor- them.” The choice is so difficult
How they vote — or don’t Generally speaking, many tation four times. and divisive that friendships
vote — on Sunday will in leftist voters resent Ma- Others will, almost literally, and families are being tested.
large part determine whether cron for having dynamited But he stopped short of ask- hold their noses and vote for Aïtzegagh voted for the green
incumbent Emmanuel Ma- France’s political landscape ing his electors to shift their Macron to keep out Le Pen. party candidate in round one;
cron gets a second five-year with his get-things-done votes to Macron, instead Some will back Le Pen, in a his daughter chose Melen-
term or cedes the presiden- middle-way method of gov- leaving them to wrestle alone poke at the president. Mul- chon. She then told her dad
tial Elysee Palace to far-right ernance, siphoning ideas, with what Melenchon de- tiple polls indicate that Ma- that she might vote Le Pen
nationalist Marine Le Pen, a supporters, government scribed as a choice between cron, who won round one, in the runoff because she
seemingly unlikely but not ministers and political oxy- “two evils.” is now building a significant cannot stomach Macron.
impossible outcome that gen away from mainstream runoff lead, larger than the Aïtzegagh said he responded
would be seismic for France parties on both the left and Some will deliberately spoil polling margin of error. Me- by warning: “If you vote Le
and Europe as they deal with right. their ballots, even putting lenchon voters from round Pen, I will repudiate you.”
the fallout of Russia’s war in toilet paper in the voting one appear to be shifting in
Ukraine. His pragmatism is too vanilla envelope instead of a can- greater numbers behind him In 2002, when Le Pen’s fa-
and opportunistic for many didate’s name to show how than Le Pen. But the outcome ther, Jean-Marie, stunned
With the stakes high, never leftist voters hungry for a dimly they view the options. remains uncertain because France by advancing to the
has the decision been so dif- sharper and more ideological Some won’t vote. Some will many have yet to choose. runoff, Aïtzegagh was among
ficult for leftist voters who political divide. More spe- cast ballots with no name. the 82% of voters who came
view both Macron and Le cifically, many describe the “I’ll decide at the last mo- together behind conservative
Pen as anathema — a choice 44-year-old former banker as They include 22-year-old ment,” said retired power Jacques Chirac, in a power-
that some describe as “be- friend to the rich and oppres- Emma Faroy in Paris. worker Pierre Gineste. Hav- ful rejection of the extreme
tween the plague and chol- sor of the poor. Some also ing voted Melenchon in right.

Kremlin pursues more cases against critics of Ukraine war

(AP) - Russian authorities have Russian media reported that simi- speaking out against Russia’s war in
opened a criminal case against lar charges were being drawn up Ukraine. In March and early April, the activist
prominent opposition activist against outspoken tech executive Ilya made a series of public addresses in
Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. for al- Krasilshchik, the former publisher of Russia adopted a law criminalizing which he denounced Russia’s actions
legedly spreading “false informa- Russia’s top independent news site, spreading false information about its in Ukraine. In an April 11 interview
tion” about the country’s armed Meduza. The moves against the two military shortly after its troops rolled with American television network
forces, his lawyer said Friday. Kremlin critics are part of a widen- into Ukraine in late February. The of- CNN, he described the Kremlin as
ing crackdown against individuals fense is punishable by up to 15 years “a regime of murderers.”
in prison. Human rights advocates so
far have counted 32 cases targeting Kara-Murza was detained hours af-
critics of the invasion. ter the interview and jailed for 15
days for disobeying a police officer.
Kara-Murza is a journalist and a for- Prokhorov said his client had been
mer associate of late Russian opposi- due to appear in court for an appeal
tion leader Boris Nemtsov, who was hearing Friday but instead was taken
assassinated in 2015, and oligarch- in for questioning at the Russian In-
turned-dissident Mikhail Khodor- vestigative Committee headquarters.
kovsky, who was jailed for years in
Russia. Kara-Murza himself was hos- Prokhorov said Kara-Murza has
pitalized with poisoning symptoms maintained his innocence.
twice, in 2015 and 2017.
The spokespeople for a Moscow
Lawyer Vadim Prokhorov told re- court said investigators have peti-
porters that the false information case tioned to place Kara-Murza in pre-
against Kara-Murza cited a March 15 trial detention for an initial period of
speech to the Arizona House of Rep- two months. A hearing on the peti-
resentatives as the basis for the latest tion was scheduled for Friday after-
charges. noon, Prokhorov said on Facebook.