The Boston Globe - 23.08.2019

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019 The Boston Globe A

TheWorld

RIO DE JANEIRO — Amid
global concern about raging
Amazon fires, Brazil on Thurs-
day said it was the target of a
smear campaign by critics who
contend President Jair Bolson-
aro is not doing enough to
curb widespread deforesta-
tion.
The growing threat to what
some call ‘‘the lungs of the
planet’’ has ignited a bitter dis-

pute about who is to blame during the tenure of a leader who described Brazil’s rainfor- est protections as an obstacle to economicdevelopment. The president’s defiance came as Brazilian experts re- ported a record numberof wildfires across the country this year, up 84 percent over the same period in 2018. Satel- lite images show smoke from

the Amazonreaching across the Latin American continent to the Atlantic coast and Sao Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city, according to the World Meteoro- logical Organization. Onyx Lorenzoni, the president’s chief of staff, accused European countries of exag- gerating environmental prob- lems in Brazil in order to dis- rupt its commercial interests.

‘‘There is deforestation in Brazil, yes, but not at the rate and level that they say,’’ said Lorenzoni, according to Brazil- ian news website globo.com. The allegation came after Germany and Norway decided to withhold morethan $ million in funds earmarked for sustainability projects in Bra- zilian forests. ASSOCIATED PRESS

In Brazil, Amazonforest fires stir a bitter dispute over who is to blame

BAGHDAD — The headof
Iraq’s paramilitary forces sup-
ported by Iran on Thursday
walked back a statementby
his deputy the day before in
whichhe blamed Israeli
dronesand held the United
States responsible for a series
of attackson basesrun by the
militias.
Faleh al-Fayyadhsaid the
statementby his deputy, Abu
Mahdi al-Muhandis, did not
represent the view of the
mainly Shi’ite militias known
as Popular Mobilization Forces
— or the view of the Iraqi gov-
ernment. Fayyadh’s statement
alleged the attacks on the bas-
es over the past weeks ‘‘were
the result of an act organized
by a foreign side,’’ but re-

frained fromnaming that side. The statementshighlight divisions within the paramilitary force, which is headed by Fayyadhbut practically run by his deputy, a powerful military commanderknownfor his anti-American sentiments. The militia group’s website pub- lished only Muhandis’ statement on Thursday. Iraq’s fragile government is walking a fine line trying to manage its alliances with both the United States and Iran amid rising tensions between the two. Iran wields powerful influence through its support of the militias, whichare sanctioned by the Iraqi government. ASSOCIATED PRESS

Rift exposedin Iraq’sparamilitary forces

BARCELONA — Robberies involving violence or intimi- dation have spiked sharply in Barcelona, one of Europe’s most attractive summer vacation destinations, Spanish police officials said. Officials from the regional police force for Catalonia said muggings or street robberies that include the threat of violence have increased 30 percent since the beginning of the year compared withthe same period in 2018 in the popular Mediterraneancity that draws nearly 16 million visitors a year. Those attacks, which often target tourists in the city, have sometimes hit foreign officials.

This week the Afghan am- bassador to Spain was knocked to the ground by a group of thieves who took his watch, injuring his leg. Also this month, a FBI agent on vacation had his watch stolen in the center of Barcelona. In June, a South Korean official died from injuries re- ceived whenshe was knocked to the ground when a thief riding a motorbike triedto snatch her purse. Police director Andreu Martínez said Wednesday that police wereworking to halt the crime wave that had ‘‘generated a heightened per- ception of insecurity.’’ ASSOCIATED PRESS

Barcelonaseesspike in violent robberies

MAXARTECHNOLOGIESVIA ASSOCIATEDPRESS

A satelliteimageshowsa fire ragingin theAmazonsouthwest of Porto Velho,Brazil.

HONG KONG — The Hong Kong authorities said Thurs- day they had charged two men with rioting over a mob attack on protesters and passersby in a train station in a satellite town last month. The assault led to widespread criticism of the police for their failure to stop the violence and of prosecutors for the time it took to charge anyone. Dozens of people were injured — including journalists, protesters, a prodemocracy lawmaker, and bystanders — when more than 100 men dressed in white shirts and wielding sticks and metal bars swarmed inside the Yuen Long train station in Hong Kong on July 21. On Wednesday, thou- sands gathered in Yuen Long to remember those injured in the attack and to call for swift- er prosecution. No suspects were arrested in the hours after the violence. A police official said none of the men were seen with weap- ons, despite photographs and video of officers talking to men in white shirts holding sticks and metal rods.

In the weeks after the attack, the police arrested more than 20 people, including some who had connections with organized crime. On Thursday, Kong Wing-cheung, senior superintendent of the Police Public Relations Branch, sought to justify the apparent delay, saying that police sometimes do not make immediate arrests when they fear it could escalate volatile situations. Police officials had previ- ously acknowledged shortcom- ings in their response in Yuen Long, but had defended their overall actions,saying the need to send officers to other parts of the city had put strains on their response times. When Matthew Che- ung, the No. 2 official in the Hong Kong government, apol- ogized for the police response, some officers and police asso- ciations denounced him. Lam Cheuk-ting, the lawmaker who was injured in the attack, said Thursday that many more should face prosecution. NEWYORK TIMES

Two charged in HongKong mob attack

Daily Briefing

BERLIN — A German court convicted a Syrian asy- lum-seeker of manslaughter Thursday over a stabbing last year that touched off nation- alist and neo-Nazi rioting in the eastern city of Chemnitz and revealed the strength of an anti-immigrant backlash. The Chemnitz state court found the Syrian man, identified only as Alaa S. in keeping withprivacy laws, guilty of manslaughter and dangerous bodily harm for his role in the death of a German man, Dan- iel Hillig, on Aug. 26, 2018. He was sentenced to nine yearsand six months in pris- on; prosecutors had sought a 10-year term. The trial was held in the city of Dresden for security reasons. Defense lawyers said they would appeal the ruling. A second suspect, an Iraqi man identified only as Fahrad A. whose DNA was found on the knife usedin the killing, is being sought on an interna- tional arrest warrant. A third man, also Iraqi, was initially detained but released for lack of evidence.

Alaa S. denied participat- ing in the killing, saying that he had left a nearby kebab shop only after he heard shouting outside and was then immediately detained by police. “I can only hopethat the truthwill be brought to light and a fair verdict will be reached,” he told the court in his finalremarks before the sentencewas readout. His defense lawyers point- ed to weaknesses in the prosecutors’ case, including the absence of his DNA on the weaponand confusing, at times contradictory, testimo- ny fromthe prosecution’s main witness, a man who said he had observed what happened from a window about 150 yards away. One of Alaa S.’s lawyers, Ricarda Lang, said the pres- sure on everyone involved in the trial was enormous, given the politics surroundingthe case. “Someone needsto be found guilty, so calm can re- turn to Chemnitz,” she told reporters, according to MDR, a regional public broadcaster. NEW YORK TIMES

Syrianasyleeconvicted in stabbingdeath

ByChoe Sang-Hun
and Motoko Rich
NEWYORKTIMES
SouthKorea said Thursday
it would abandon a military in-
telligence-sharingpact with Ja-
pan,a movethat dramatically
escalates tensions between the
two countriesand underscores
the United States’ diminishing
leadership in the region.
The SouthKoreandecision
against renewing the security
deal — a pact the United States
had pushed in part to ensure
tightmonitoringof North Ko-
rea’s missile activity — provides
a barometer of the relations be-
tween Seoul and Tokyo, Ameri-
ca’s two closest Asian allies.
Those ties had reached their
lowest point in years after To-
kyo imposed trade restrictions
this month targeting exports to
South Korea. Japan tookfur-
ther action against Seoul by re-
moving it from a list of trusted
trade partners,and SouthKo-
rea responded in kind.
The flare-up punctuated de-
cadesof waxingand waning en-
mity between the two coun-
tries,which is rootedin Japan’s
colonization of the Korean Pen-
insula before World War II.
Inrecentdays,therehad
beensignsthat the two sides
were seeking ways to ease the
strains, making the decision by
Seoula surprise to many.
During a major speechlast

week, President Moon Jae-in of South Korea sent conciliatory signals to Japanese leaders, saying that “we will gladlyjoin hands” if Tokyo chooses dia- logue. The Trumpadministration urged Moon’s government not to abandon the agreement. Ste- phen Biegun, a US envoy, met with South Korean officials ear- lier Thursday. Kim You-geun, first deputy chief of South Korea’s National Security Council,saidthe South had chosen to terminate the intelligence-sharingdeal because the trade restrictions had“causedan important change in security-related cooperation between the two countries.” Kim added in a statement, “Ourgovernmenthas conclud- ed that it doesnot conform withour nationalinterest to maintain the agreement.’’ Taro Kono, Japan’s foreign minister, called the decision “extremely regrettable.” “The relationshipbetween Japan and SouthKorea is in a very severe situation with the series of extremely negative and irrationalmoves by South Korea, includingthe decision this time,” Kono said in a statement. “The Japanesegovern- mentwill continueto urge SouthKorea to respond sensi- bly, based on our consistent

stand over variousissues.” A Pentagon spokesman, LieutenantColonelDave East- burn, saidthe United States hoped Japan and SouthKorea would resolvetheirdifferences. “We are all stronger — and Northeast Asia is safer — when the United States, Japan,and Korea worktogether in solidar- ity and friendship,” he said.“In- tel sharingis key to developing our commondefense policy and strategy.” The collapseof the deal comesat a particularly sensi- tive moment in the region. North Korea has conducted six ballistic missile tests in about a month,and Japan and South

Korea regularly shareanalysis about such tests with each other as well as withthe United States. “Our hopewas that it would cut downthe timethat the United States had to play the middle manon intelligence sharing in a crisis,” said Kelly Magsamen,who helped work on the agreementwhenshe was the principal deputy assis- tant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Security Af- fairs in the Obamaadministra- tion.“It’s absolutely essential. In a military crisis, suchas a potentially hostile ballistic missile launch, we aren’t going to have time to play refereebe-

tween Tokyo and Seoul.” Analystssaid that in the immediate term, bothJapan and South Korea wouldbe able to obtain important intelligence information about North Kore- an missile launchesthrough the United States. But they not- ed that the South Korean with- drawal effectively prevented closer cooperation in the fu- ture. Washington has long want- ed bothSeoul and Tokyo to workmoreclosely to confront North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats as well as China’s growing influence in the region. US officialshave made re- peated appeals for South Korea

and Japan to mend the growing rupture between them. Under the Trumpadminis- tration,those relationships have becomemorecomplicat- ed. As it pursuesan “America first” agenda,the administra- tionhas let alliances wane around the globe. Although President Trump and senior foreign policy officials have expressed concern about the growing split between Tokyo and Seoul, they have also said they will not play the role of mediator. The end of the intelligence- sharing agreement “is an in- dictment of the fact that this administration hasn’t invested the resourcesnecessary to build any solidbasisfor trilater- alism in Northeast Asia,” said Ankit Panda, an adjunct senior fellowat the Federation of American Scientists. South Korea’s relations with Japan soured late last year whenMoon’s governmenttook steps to effectivelynullify a 2015 agreementhis conserva- tive predecessorhad reached with Tokyo overthe so-called comfort women, Korean women and girls who wereforced or lured into brothels for Japanese soldiers duringWorld War II. The 2015deal was meantto lay that painful issueto rest, and Japan accused Moon of tearing the wounds openagain. Matters worsenedwhen SouthKorea’s highest court ruled that Koreanvictimsof forced laborundercolonialrule couldseek compensation from Japanesecompanies.

South Korea scraps security pact with Japan

Willnotshare defenseintelligence

Shiftshowsdeterioratingalliance

LEE JIN-MAN/ASSOCIATEDPRESS SouthKoreansralliedin frontof theJapaneseEmbassyin SeoulThursday. Tensionshave beenescalatingbetweenthetwo nations,whichsharea troubledhistory.

The Boston Globe - 23.08.2019

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