Russia, China propose easing N Korea sanctions, US says premature - Al Jazeera English

Russia and China on Monday proposed easing some sanctions against nuclear-armed North Korea, on condition the government commits to Security Council resolutions on denuclearisation, in a move the United States described as premature.

The proposal, in a draft resolution which surprised several diplomatic missions, suggested the Security Council lift a ban on North Korea exporting statues, seafood and textiles and was aimed at encouraging dialogue between the North and the US, Russia said.

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A State Department official dismissed the proposal, telling Reuters the UN Security Council should not be considering "premature sanctions relief" for North Korea as it is "threatening to conduct an escalated provocation, refusing to meet to discuss denuclearisation".

The draft also called for a ban to be lifted on North Koreans working abroad and the termination of a 2017 requirement that all such workers had to be repatriated by next week.

It would also exempt inter-Korean rail and road cooperation projects from UN sanctions.

'Not rushing'

It was not immediately clear when, or if, the draft resolution could be put to a vote in the 15-member Security Council. A resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the United States, France, Britain, Russia or China to pass.

"We're not rushing things," Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told Reuters, adding that negotiations with council members would begin on Tuesday. He said the sanctions they had proposed lifting were "not directly related to the North Korea nuclear programme, this is a humanitarian issue."

Nuclear negotiations have been largely stalled since the collapse of a February summit in Hanoi between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and the North has been issuing increasingly strident declarations as it pushes the US to make concessions by the end of the year as a condition of resuming talks.

It has also carried out some 13 ballistic missile launches since May.

Trump on Monday said he would be disappointed if something was "in the works" in North Korea and the US was watching activities in the country closely.

The sanctions on industries that Russia and China have proposed lifting earned North Korea hundreds of millions of dollars and were put in place in 2016 and 2017 to try and cut off funding for Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes.

North Korea has carried out a number of missile tests since May, releasing undated and unlocated pictures through its official Korean Central News Agency [KCNA via AFP]

The US, Britain and France have insisted that no UN sanctions should be lifted until North Korea gives up its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Pyongyang has been subject to UN sanctions because of those programmes since 2006.

"On North Korea, as in the past, it's very important that the council maintains unity," German UN Ambassador Christoph Heusgen said on Monday.

Dialogue

China and Russia, which had cautiously backed pressure against North Korea after its past nuclear tests, had indicated last week they would reject further sanctions.

At a council meeting on North Korea last week - called by the US - China's UN Ambassador Zhang Jun said sanctions should be adjusted to "head off a dramatic reversal" of the situation.

Nebenzia said the draft resolution was aimed at encouraging talks between the US and North Korea.

"That's the whole idea, we don't do this resolution in spite, we really want to facilitate," he added.

The draft welcomes "the continuation of the dialogue between the United States and the DPRK at all levels, aimed at establishing new US-DPRK relations, building mutual confidence and joining efforts to build a lasting and stable peace on the Korean Peninsula in a staged and synchronized manner." DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The draft text also calls for the "prompt resumption of the six-party talks" which involved China, the two Koreas, the US, Russia and Japan. Those talks lasted from 2003-2009.

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2019-12-17 06:06:00Z
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China may be doling out incentives for Macao in what could be a 'signal' to Hong Kong - CNBC

Tourists walk with shopping bags in front of Grand Lisboa Casino in Macau on December 15, 2019.

Eduardo Leal | AFP | Getty Images

China is reportedly set to announce new financial policies in Macao in a potential snub to protest-stricken Hong Kong, said Richard McGregor, senior fellow at Sydney-based think tank, the Lowy Institute.

President Xi Jinping will be visiting Macao this week to commemorate the city's 20th anniversary return to China. His visit and the reported economic incentives are meant to send a "signal to Hong Kong," said McGregor.

According to Reuters, Beijing is set to unveil a slew of policies including the establishment of a yuan-denominated stock exchange in the Chinese special administration region. The new incentives also include the acceleration of a yuan settlement center that is already in the works, and the allocation of more land in mainland China for Macao to develop, Reuters reported.

Hong Kong and Macao are both semi-autonomous regions of China that have their own legal, administrative and judicial systems from the mainland. But since early June, Hong Kong has been crippled by widespread pro-democracy protests as some of its citizens lobby for greater independence from the mainland.

McGregor said the possible financial incentives are an attempt to put pressure on Hong Kong, and in the longer term, to build up Macao.

"I think it's trolling Hong Kong if you like, it's attempting to say 'look, you think you've got some special services that you offer China, well we can put them in Macao," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday.

No substitute for Hong Kong

McGregor pointed out that it is unlikely for Macao or any other Chinese city to replace Hong Kong's significance in the near future.

"If China could have replicated Hong Kong, frankly in Shanghai or Shenzhen, and all the things Hong Kong can do, particularly in financial services, China would have done it already," he said.

Hong Kong is a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Under the "one country, two systems" structure, its citizens are granted some degree of financial and legal independence from the mainland.

The same system applies to neighboring Macao, a former Portuguese colony that returned to Chinese rule in 2000. And from Beijing's perspective, Macao is the token success story of the policy working out, said McGregor.

Macao's economic vibrancy is fully dependent on the casino industry and "at the mercy of Beijing," McGregor explained, noting that gambling is not legal in the mainland.

Therefore Beijing has the power to "turn that tap on and off and stop high rollers coming there, so Macao is fulfilling its function, and China is pretty happy with it," he said.

'One country, two systems'

Beijing has been trying to sell the "one country, two systems" framework to Taiwan for years, but the recent social unrest in Hong Kong has undermined the credibility of that principle, said McGregor.

In October, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen — who is seeking a second term in the January elections — has outrightly rejected the "one country, two systems" formula. China views Taiwan as a renegade province, and has previously suggested the island should come under Chinese rule in a similar arrangement.

"Clearly it's not working in Hong Kong, and clearly it is not attractive in Taiwan," McGregor said about the policy.

As Taiwan gears up for the upcoming polls, it appears likely that Tsai will win again, said McGregor. "That's a big problem for Beijing," he said, pointing out that she was "anti-Beijing."

Xi is currently under a lot of pressure on many fronts, McGregor said.

Even as ongoing protests in Hong Kong continue to threaten Xi's grip on power, Taiwan's elections might also boost anti-China sentiments. On the U.S. front, there's the trade war, and domestically, there is an economic slowdown in China.

But McGregor said he is confident that Xi will not be "shunned" domestically, but he might be left with no choice but "to share power more than he has been willing to do thus far."

WATCH: What is Hong Kong's relationship with China?

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2019-12-17 06:56:00Z
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Allies and former enemy Germany mark 75th anniversary of Battle of the Bulge - Fox News

Side by side, the Allies and former enemy Germany together marked the 75th anniversary of one of the most important battles in World War II — the Battle of the Bulge, which stopped Adolf Hitler's last-ditch offensive to turn the tide of the war.

At dawn on Dec. 16, 1944, over 200,000 German soldiers started the most unexpected breakthrough through the dense woods of Belgium and Luxembourg's hilly Ardennes. Making the most of the surprise move, the cold, freezing weather and wearied U.S. troops, the Germans pierced the front line so deeply it came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge.

Initially outnumbered, U.S. troops delayed the attack enough in fierce fighting to allow reinforcements to stream in and turn the tide of the battle by Christmas. After a month of fighting, the move into Germany was unstoppable.

WALTER BORNEMAN: BATTLE OF THE BULGE - WAGED ON VICTORY'S DOORSTEP - PROVED WWII WASN'T OVER YET

U.S. Battle of the Bulge veterans, front row, listen to the U.S. national anthem during a ceremony to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge at the Mardasson Memorial in Bastogne, Belgium on Monday, Dec. 16, 2019. The Battle of the Bulge, also called Battle of the Ardennes, took place between Dec. 1944 and Jan. 1945 and was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during World War II.  (AP)

U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper paid tribute to over 19,000 U.S. troops who died in one of the bloodiest battles in the nation's history.

“Their efforts not only defended America but also ensured that the peoples of Europe would be free again," Esper said, calling the Battle of the Bulge “one of the greatest in American history."

Even though German deaths also exceeded well over 10,000 in the battle that stretched deep into January, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier took special time to thank the U.S. troops.

“On this day, we Germans would like to thank the United States of America. The American armed forces, together with their allies, liberated Europe and they also liberated Germany. We thank you," Steinmeier said.

WWII BOMB DISCOVERY PROMPTS EVACUATION OF 54,000 FROM SOUTHERN ITALY TOWN

U.S. Secretary of Defence Mark Esper gives a speech during a ceremony to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge at the Mardasson Memorial in Bastogne, Belgium (AP)

“Those who died were victims of hatred, delusion, and a destructive fury that originated from my country," he said.

Germany is now an ally of the United States and its wartime partners, united in the NATO alliance. During the poignant ceremonies under leaden skies and rain at the star-shaped Mardasson memorial in Bastogne, the current discord between the United States and several European allies over trade and security were never mentioned.

Even if it was relatively warm 6 degrees Centigrade (43 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to the shivering conditions 75 years ago, there was also a fog hanging low.

Hitler had hoped the advance would change the course of World War II by forcing U.S. and British troops to sue for peace, thus freeing Germany to focus on the rapidly advancing Soviet armies in the east.

Out of the blue at dawn, over 200,000 German troops counter-attacked across the front line in Belgium and Luxembourg, smashing into battle-weary U.S. soldiers positioned in terrain as foreign to them as it was familiar to the Germans.

Yet somehow, the Americans blunted the advance and started turning back the enemy for good, setting Allied troops on a roll that would end the war in Europe less than five months later.

THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE: GERMAN DECEPTION AND ADVANCED WEAPONS COULDN'T TURN THE TIDE OF THE WAR

Belgium's King Philippe, center, Belgium's Queen Mathilde and Luxembourg's Grand Duke Henri, right, leave at the end of a ceremony to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge at the Mardasson Memorial in Bastogne, Belgium on Monday, Dec. 16, 2019.  (AP)

This battle gained fame not so much for the commanders' tactics but for the resilience of small units hampered by poor communications that stood shoulder to shoulder to deny Hitler the quick breakthrough he so desperately needed. Even though the Americans were often pushed back, they were able to delay the German advance in its crucial initial stages.

“It was ultimately the intrepid, indomitable spirit of the American soldier that brought victory," Esper said.

When the fortunes of war turned, it was most visible in the southern Ardennes town of Bastogne, where surrounded U.S. troops were cut off for days with little ammunition or food.

When Brig. Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe of the 101st Airborne received a Dec. 22 ultimatum to surrender or face total destruction, he offered one of the most famous — and brief — replies in military history: "Nuts." Four days later, U.S. troops broke the Nazi encirclement.

“News of their fierce defense quickly spread, boosting the morale of allied forces all along the Western Front,” Esper said.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

After the fighting in the Battle of the Bulge ended on Jan. 28, 1945, Allied forces invaded Germany, eventually leading to the Nazi surrender and the end of the war in Europe.

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2019-12-16 13:34:08Z
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General election 2019: Boris Johnson's Brexit bill planned for Friday - BBC News

The government plans to ask MPs to vote on Boris Johnson's Brexit bill on Friday, Downing Street has said.

The PM's spokesman said the government planned to start the process in Parliament before Christmas and will do so "in discussion with the Speaker".

The withdrawal agreement bill is the legislation that will enable Brexit to happen - the UK is due to leave the EU on 31 January.

It comes as the PM prepares to address his new MPs in Westminster later.

Many of the 109 new Conservative MPs won in areas traditionally held by Labour in Thursday's election, which saw the Conservatives gain an 80-seat majority.

Mr Johnson is also expected to carry out a mini cabinet reshuffle.

He needs to fill posts made vacant by those who stood down ahead of the general election, including the culture and Welsh secretary posts.

The prime minister has also cleared a parliamentary report into alleged Russian interference in UK democracy for publication.

The Queen will formally open Parliament on Thursday when she sets out the government's legislative programme.

On Monday, the prime minister's official spokesman told a Westminster briefing: "We plan to start the process [of the withdrawal agreement bill] before Christmas and will do so in the proper constitutional way in discussion with the Speaker."

Asked if the legislation would be identical to that introduced in the last Parliament, the spokesman said: "You will have to wait for it to be published but it will reflect the agreement that we made with the EU on our withdrawal."

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With the large majority, the bill is expected to pass through Parliament in time to meet Boris Johnson's promise for the UK to leave the EU on 31 January.

Mr Johnson then has to negotiate a new trade agreement with the EU and have it ratified before the end of the post-Brexit transition period that ends on 31 December 2020. He has repeatedly said that the transition period will not be extended.

The Queen's Speech is also expected to include legislation linked to pledges made during the election campaign - most notably a guarantee on NHS funding.

The prime minister's spokesman has also said Mr Johnson has "carefully considered" a report from the Commons Intelligence and Security Committee into alleged Russian interference in UK democracy.

"He is content publication would not prejudice the functions of those bodies that safeguard our national security," the spokesman said.

"Publication will be a matter for the new ISC in due course."

Elsewhere, moves to get the Northern Ireland government at Stormont up and running again are also expected, with talks resuming on Monday.

New Conservative MPs have been posting pictures of themselves on their first day including the members for Bishop Auckland and Stoke-on-Trent North - Dehenna Davison and Jonathan Gullis.

Skip Twitter post by @JEGullis

With some of the other newbies from the Conservative Party (2019 intake). About to start some training in one of the Committee Rooms.

Still hasn’t sunk in. So humbled to have been elected as the MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke. pic.twitter.com/8Dhv1qhnZM

— Jonathan Gullis MP (@JEGullis) December 16, 2019

End of Twitter post by @JEGullis

Meanwhile, the fallout from Labour's defeat continues.

Labour's general secretary says party officials are likely to meet early in the new year to agree the timetable for replacing Jeremy Corbyn as leader.

Mr Corbyn wants the process to begin "swiftly", Jennie Formby said, so his successor can be in place by the end of March.

She has written to members of Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) recommending a provisional date of 6 January for the meeting, with the process beginning the following day.

• Who will be Labour's next leader?
• Labour leadership takes blame over election result

Both Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell said on Sunday that they took the blame for Labour's "catastrophic" defeat in Thursday's election.

Speaking to the Today programme, shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald accused the BBC of having "played your part" in Mr Corbyn's defeat and said the corporation needed to "have a look in the mirror".

Meanwhile, MP Stephen Kinnock told BBC Breakfast the main problems were "weak and incompetent leadership" as well as the decision to support another Brexit referendum and a "Christmas wishlist" manifesto.

The race for their replacements has already begun, with Wigan MP Lisa Nandy saying for the first time she was "seriously thinking about" running.

Other possible contenders are shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer, shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey, shadow education secretary Angela Rayner, Jess Phillips, who is an outspoken critic of Jeremy Corbyn, and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry.

A new intake of 47 SNP MPs will also be taking their seats on Tuesday.

Leader Nicola Sturgeon has insisted this number gives her a mandate for a second referendum on Scottish independence - something the prime minster has told her he remains opposed to.

She said the Conservatives, who lost seven of their 13 seats in Scotland, had been "defeated comprehensively" and that the new MPs would continue to press for independence.

What will happen this week?

Tuesday

Proceedings begin when MPs gather for their first duty: to elect the Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who replaced John Bercow in November. Technically, MPs can hold a vote on this motion but this has never happened in practice.

Later in the day, the Speaker will begin the process of swearing in MPs, who are required to take an oath of allegiance to the Crown, or, if they object to this, a solemn affirmation. Those who speak or vote without having done so are deprived of their seat "as if they were dead" under the Parliamentary Oaths Act of 1866.

Two to three days are usually set aside for this process.

Thursday

The state opening of Parliament. The Queen's Speech is the centrepiece of this, when she will read a speech written by ministers setting out the government's programme of legislation for the parliamentary session. A couple of hours after the speech is delivered, MPs will begin debating its contents - a process which usually takes days.

Friday

Depending on how rapidly Boris Johnson wants to move, the debate on the Queen's Speech could continue into Friday.

The government will introduce the Withdrawal Agreement Bill - the legislation that will implement Brexit - to Parliament.

MPs in the previous Parliament backed Boris Johnson's bill at its first stage but rejected his plan to fast-track the legislation through Parliament in three days in order to leave the EU by the then 31 October Brexit deadline.

After the debate on the Queen's Speech is concluded, MPs will vote on whether to approve it. Not since 1924 has a government's Queen Speech been defeated.

Read more from the BBC's parliamentary correspondent, Mark D'Arcy

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2019-12-16 12:43:20Z
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Beijing Backs Hong Kong Leader Despite Election Setback - The New York Times

BEIJING — China’s top leader backed Chief Executive Carrie Lam of Hong Kong on Monday despite the monthslong protests that have rocked the city and the recent landslide defeat in local elections of political parties aligned with her.

Xi Jinping, China’s president, praised Mrs. Lam for her “courage and responsibility” during what he called the “gravest and most complicated year” in Hong Kong since it returned to China from Britain in 1997.

In an implicit warning to the protesters who seek greater autonomy for the region, Mr. Xi also stressed that Beijing had an “unwavering determination to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests.”

Mrs. Lam’s visit to Beijing over the weekend and on Monday was an annual year-end event for Hong Kong’s leaders, at which their performance is assessed by China’s leaders. But her visit is being closely watched for signs of her fate as Hong Kong’s leader after six months of protests punctuated by frequent street violence.

The protests began in June over an unpopular extradition bill Mrs. Lam pushed to pass that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be extradited to mainland China to face trial in a Communist Party-controlled judicial system. Mrs. Lam has quickly become a personal target for the city’s protesters, who see her as a symbol of a leadership that is overly beholden to its patrons in Beijing and not accountable to the city’s seven million people.

Earlier Monday, Mrs. Lam also met with China’s No. 2 official, Premier Li Keqiang, who praised her for rolling out a series of measures to help businesses and stabilize employment.

“You have been leading the government in safeguarding social stability with the utmost effort,” Mr. Li said to Mrs. Lam in a televised excerpt released by the Hong Kong government.

“It can be said that you rose to the challenges,” he said. “The central government fully affirms the efforts that you and the government have made.”

Mr. Li added that Hong Kong had not escaped its predicament. He called on Mrs. Lam’s government to continue working to “stop the violence and curb disorder.”

He said officials should work quickly to find solutions to “deep-rooted contradictions and problems” in Hong Kong’s society and economy. The Chinese government has previously urged Hong Kong’s leaders to address high housing prices, a yawning wealth gap and other economic issues.

Mrs. Lam herself has said that she is willing to do whatever is necessary to bring peace to the city although she has denied rumors that she actually submitted her resignation over the summer. Senior Hong Kong officials and Beijing’s advisers have said that even if she wanted to resign, China’s leaders would not allow her to do so, because that might be seen as a sign of weakness on their part.

Mr. Xi previously praised Mrs. Lam’s leadership of Hong Kong when she visited Shanghai in early November. But that visit was immediately followed by a two-week violent showdown between police and activists at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and then the almost complete collapse of pro-Beijing parties in local elections.

Democracy advocates swept 87 percent of the seats on neighborhood councils in those elections and took control of 17 of the territory’s 18 councils. They previously had about a quarter of the seats and controlled none of the councils.

The vote was hailed as a sign of enduring support for the protest movement despite increasingly violent clashes with the police. The contentious bill was formally withdrawn in September, but protesters say they will not stop until their other demands are met, including free and open elections of the territory’s leadership and legislature and an independent investigation into allegations of police brutality during the unrest.

The election results appeared to come as a surprise to Beijing, which, together with its allies in the city, had portrayed the vote as a way for a silent majority in Hong Kong to “end social chaos and violence” by signaling their unhappiness with the protest movement. State media in Beijing ultimately blamed the outcome of the vote on interference from hostile Western forces bent on stirring up unrest in the city.

Keith Bradsher reported from Beijing and Austin Ramzy from Hong Kong. Elaine Yu in Hong Kong contributed reporting and Elsie Chen in Beijing contributed research.

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2019-12-16 08:14:00Z
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China would have to buy a 'crazy amount' of farm goods to meet Trump's demand in phase one deal - CNBC

Soybeans are harvested from a field on Hodgen Farm in Roachdale, Indiana, November 8, 2019.

Bryan Woolston | Reuters

China ramping up agricultural purchases to the level that the U.S. is demanding would be a problem and Beijing would probably only do it if the market situation warranted it, analysts said.

Their comments pour skepticism on the farm purchases that are part of the phase one trade deal recently announced by both countries.

Calling it a "crazy amount" of agricultural buying with "market distorting powers" on a global scale, Deborah Elms, executive director of the Asian Trade Centre, said: "The ramping up of scale at that speed is going to be problematic."

She told CNBC: "I would be willing to take a bet ... that we will be back at this table in relatively short order even if we get a deal, because the ability of the Chinese to actually match those purchases is going to be limited."

U.S. and Chinese officials announced on Friday that both countries finally reached an agreement after a contentious 18-month trade war. But as part of the deal, U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that China buy more U.S. crops, saying that Beijing will purchase $50 billion worth of agriculture goods "pretty soon." For his part, he vowed not to pursue a new round of tariffs originally set for the previous Sunday.

But Elms warned that the Chinese has been "very cautious" in saying that they would buy according to market conditions and World Trade Organization restrictions.

"In other words, there's a giant red flag that says: 'even if we promise this ... be careful because if the market doesn't support the purchases at that level, then we may not reach that target,'" she told CNBC on Monday.

That skepticism was echoed by other analysts, who also pointed out that there are limits to the amount of farm goods that China can consume.

"Some of this deal rhetoric is really more about politics than reality," said Mark Jolley, global strategist at CCB International Securities.

"There's been some people who've been saying the only way they would be able to meet that commitment is if they start stockpiling food — it's going be in excess of probably what they need to buy," he told CNBC. "It's pretty difficult to see how they can increase the imports beyond the natural levels they have been taking."

One bright spot could be feed imports, given that China would need to build up its hog population, Jolley said, pointing to China's dire swine flu situation, which has killed off millions of pigs in the country.

In recent months, China has been making big soybean purchases — feed primarily used for hogs — as well as record large purchases of U.S. pork, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

But while China definitely needs agricultural purchases, they currently have agreements with other countries, Elms pointed out.

China has, for instance, largely turned to South America for soybeans since the trade war began. U.S. soybean exports to the country dropped off sharply in the second half of last year after Beijing retaliated to U.S. tariffs with its own duties.

While the Chinese may shift away from their current sources in order to buy from the U.S., the sheer amount of purchases required in a short time frame — from current levels to the $50 billion Trump is demanding — makes it "very challenging," Elms said. Last year, Beijing bought only around $8.6 billion worth of farm goods.

The country's current commitments will add to the uncertainty about the timing of those purchases, pointed out Jim Sutter, chief executive of the U.S. Soybean Export Council.

"Of course the Chinese are going to want to do this based upon when the right timing is for them. And for them to just kick in and say okay all of a sudden we're going to start buying a lot more U.S., when they may already have purchases from South America ... from other origins ... other things in their books, it's going to take some time before this all works out," he said.

Despite Trump negotiating in hopes to boost agriculture, Sutter also signaled that the industry doesn't want to do business only with China and wants to see "free and open markets."

"What we want to see is for U.S. soy to compete with soy from other origins … We don't want to be a China-centric supplier. We want to be a supplier to all markets around the world," Sutter said.

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2019-12-16 08:07:00Z
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Protests Spread Across India Over Divisive Citizenship Bill - The New York Times

NEW DELHI — The Indian police cracked down heavily on protesting students Sunday night, blasting tear gas into a library and beating up dozens of young people as violent demonstrations against a contentious citizenship bill spread across the country.

Last week, the Indian Parliament passed a measure that would give special treatment to Hindu and other non-Muslim migrants in India, which many critics said was blatantly discriminatory and a blow to India’s founding as a secular democracy.

The legislation is a core piece of a Hindu-centric agenda pursued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party, and many analysts predicted trouble. India’s large Muslim minority, around 200 million people, has become increasingly desperate and angry, certain that many of Mr. Modi’s recent initiatives are intended to marginalize them.

Protests immediately broke out in northeastern India, where several demonstrators were killed, and spread to Bhopal, Jaipur, Ladakh and Kolkata. Cars, buses and railway stations have been set on fire in an explosion of anti-government feeling.

On Sunday, when students at Jamia Millia Islamia University, a primarily Muslim university in New Delhi, organized a large demonstration, which many witnesses said started out peacefully, the police responded with force.

Videos widely circulated on social media show officers beating students with wooden sticks, smashing some on their heads even after they had been knocked down. In one video, a group of female students tries to rescue a young man from the grasp of the police. A squad of officers in riot gear tears him away and knocks him down with heavy blows. Even after the women form a protective circle around the downed student, officers can be seen trying to jab the young man with their wooden poles.

Dozen of students were hospitalized, some with broken bones, according to news media reports. Some witnesses said that gangs of older men appeared on campus to battle students, possibly an echo of past episodes of organized Hindu-Muslim clashes. Some students raced to seek shelter in a library where they were tear-gassed by the police.

Lokesh Devraj, a product designer who lives near the university, said he exited a metro station on Sunday afternoon and saw a stampede of terrified university students running toward him as the police charged, sticks in hand, beating at whatever crush of people they could find. The students did not resist, Mr. Devraj said, and had no sticks or stones in their hands.

A police officer ran at Mr. Devraj and his 65-year-old father, he said, waving a baton in his clenched fist. Mr. Devraj shielded his father from the blows and was beaten himself, he said. The police officer backed off only after Mr. Devraj explained that he was simply a resident trying to return home.

India, at around 80 percent Hindu and 14 percent Muslim, has a history of explosions of religious violence. With this citizenship measure, the Modi government has been pushing legislation guaranteed to create anger and despair in India’s minority Muslim community.

It comes against a steady drumbeat of anti-Muslim moves by Mr. Modi’s government and its allies across India’s states including: changing historic place names from Muslim names to Hindu ones; editing government-issued textbooks to remove mentions of historic Muslim rulers; and stripping away statehood from what was India’s only Muslim-majority state, Jammu and Kashmir, and indefinitely incarcerating hundreds of Kashmiris.

The new citizenship legislation, called the Citizenship Amendment Bill, expedites Indian citizenship for migrants from some of India’s neighboring countries if they are Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, Parsee or Jain. Only one major religion in South Asia was conspicuously left off: Islam.

The legislation, which passed through both houses of Parliament and now awaits the president’s signature, which is expected, follows hand in hand with a divisive citizenship test conducted this summer in one state in northern India and possibly soon to be expanded nationwide.

All residents of the state of Assam, along the Bangladesh border, had to produce documentary proof that they or their ancestors had lived in India since 1971. Around two million of Assam’s population of 33 million — a mix of Hindus and Muslims — failed to pass the test, and these people now risk being rendered stateless. Huge new prisons are being built to incarcerate anyone determined to be an illegal immigrant.

Amit Shah, India’s powerful home minister and Mr. Modi’s right-hand man, has vowed to bring citizenship tests nationwide. A widespread belief is that the Indian government will use both these measures — the citizenship tests and the new citizenship legislation — to render millions of Muslims who have been living in India for generations stateless.

International organizations have sharply criticized the direction India is headed.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called the new bill “fundamentally discriminatory.”

And the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, a federal body, called the measure a “dangerous turn in the wrong direction” and said that the United States should consider sanctions against India if the bill passes.

Maria Abi-Habib contributed from New Delhi.

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2019-12-16 07:54:00Z
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