The Boston Globe - 30.08.2019

A4 The Boston Globe FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019

The World

HONG KONG — China’s
military deployed fresh
troops to Hong Kong on
Thursday in what it called a
routine rotation amid specu-
lation that it might intervene
in the city’s pro-democracy
protests.
Video broadcast on China
Central Television showed a
long convoy of armored per-
sonnel carriers and trucks
crossing the border at night
and troops in formation dis-
embarking from a ship. Earli-
er, scores of soldiers ran in
unison onto trucks, which the
state broadcaster said were
bound for entry points into
Hong Kong.
The official Xinhua News

Agency said it was the 22nd rotation of the People’s Liber- ation Army’s garrison in Hong Kong. The previous one was in August 2018. Nearly three months of fi- ery antigovernment demon- strations have sparked concerns that the military will be deployed in the city. The Hong Kong garrison earlier published a promotional video with scenes of soldiers fac- ing off with people dressed like protesters. The newly arrived Chinese troops have been educated on Hong Kong’s laws and vowed to defend the nation’s sover- eignty, Xinhua said. ASSOCIATED PRESS

ChinasendstroopstoHongKong

French vintners haven’t
lived through such a succes-
sion of hot weather and dry
harvests since at least the
time of the Black Death in the
14th century.
Weather extremes that
could now be considered nor-
mal for anybody under the
age of 30 are unprecedented
in historical records going
back to when Europe was re-
covering from the pandemic
that eviscerated the popula-
tion, according to a study in
the European Geosciences
Union journal Climate of the
Past.
“Outstanding hot and dry
years in the past were outliers,

while they have become the norm since the transition to rapid warming in 1988,” said the authors. Hotter tempera- tures over the last three decades have resulted in Bur- gundy grapes being harvested on average 13 days earlier than they were over the last 664 years, they said. The new study underscores how human-made climate change is forcing populations to adapt to new cycles. Hotter and drier weather affects not only Burgundy’s farmers tend- ing their vineyards, but also itinerant harvesters, mer- chants, and consumers. BLOOMBERG NEWS

Frenchvineyardsadapttoheatwave

BERLIN — Germany is making it easier for descendants of those persecuted by the Nazis to regain German citizenship, which could help some Britons seeking Europe- an Union passports post-Brex- it. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said Thursday he’s revised legislation to open new categories of eligibility, such as for descendants of women who were forced to emigrate from Germany and lost their citizenships through

marriages with non-German men before April 1, 1953. Seehofer says many descendants from such marriages living in Britain who ap- plied for German citizenship after the 2016 Brexit referen- dum have been rejected, but will now be able to get approv- al. A German passport will give them the right to live and work in Germany and the Eu- ropean Union if Britain leaves the EU later this year. ASSOCIATED PRESS

NationalitylaweasedforkinofNazivictims

ROME — Days after step- ping down, Italy’s ex-premier accepted the role of premier- designate Thursday in a bid to cobble together a new coalition of longtime political foes with the aim of blocking a power grab by Matteo Salvini, the right-wing leader whose anti-migrant crackdowns and euroskeptic provocations have dominated Italian politics for more than a year. But even if Giuseppe Con- te, at the helm of a mostly squabbling populist coalition, succeeds in building a new majority between the grass- roots 5-Star Movement and the center-left Democratic Party, political analysts warn it may not last. ‘‘Weak leadership and significant intra-party cleavages

... will limit the shelf-life’’ of

any coalition government between the two parties, which were enemies until just days ago, said Wolfango Piccoli of the Teneo consultancy. Another government col- lapse would likely set the country back on course to new elections, which could play straight into the hands of Salvini, the leader of the right-wing League party. Salvini’s popularity soared as he grabbed the spotlight with hard-line policies blocking Italian ports to humani- tarian rescue ships carrying migrants. He plunged Italy into crisis when he withdrew support for Conte earlier this month in a bid to force new elections that he was convinced the League would win. ASSOCIATED PRESS

Italy’spoliticalturmoildeepens

Daily Briefing

By Karla Adam and
Michael Birnbaum
WASHINGTON POST
LONDON — Prime Minister
Boris Johnson faced defections
by senior allies Thursday as a
backlash built and opponents
planned legal challenges of his
decision to suspend Parliament
to push his Brexit plans.
The resignation of Ruth Da-
vidson, who had been talked
about as a future prime minis-
ter, and another senior Conser-
vative in the House of Lords sig-
naled rising worry within John-
son’s ranks that the move to
suspend Parliament was side-
lining Britain’s elected repre-
sentatives during one of the
biggest political crises in gener-
ations.
Elsewhere in Europe, policy
makers were jolted by the move
to suspend Parliament for five
weeks, which some of them
said brought Britain closer to a
sudden, cliff-edge Brexit; that,
analysts say, could spark food
and medicine shortages.
Some diplomats said they
were increasingly convinced
that Johnson was a brutally
ruthless tactician who would
stop at little in a risky gambit to

force both Europe and his own rebelliouslawmakersintoa compromise. The resignations came after protesters jammed streets in cities around Britain, including London, Edinburgh, and Man- chester. Outside of Parliament, demonstrators chanted ‘‘Stop the coup!’’ A petition calling for the government to end the suspension quickly surged past a million signatures. Johnson’s adversaries promised to appeal his move in the courts. And Br- exit opponents were strategiz- ing about how to use their dwindling time in Parliament to halt the relentless move to- ward an uncontrolled break from Europe. Johnson sparked a torrent of criticism with his decision to ask Queen Elizabeth II to suspend Parliament for five weeks, dramatically shortening the time lawmakers have to try to block a no-deal Brexit. Johnson has said that Brit- ain will leave the European Union by Oct. 31, with or without a deal. The majority of lawmakers in the House of Com- mons are opposed to leaving the bloc without a transition

deal to smooth the way. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said that when Parlia- ment reconvenes after summer break on Tuesday, he would move immediately to pass legislation to keep the chamber open and to prevent a no-deal Brexit. ‘‘We will be back in Parlia- ment on Tuesday to challenge Boris Johnson on what I think is a smash-and-grab raid against our democracy,’’ he told Sky News. ‘‘What we’re going to do is try to politically stop him on Tuesday with a parliamenta- ry process in order to legislate to prevent a no-deal Brexit and also to try and prevent him shutting down Parliament during this utterly crucial period.’’ Opposition lawmakers will have to move fast if they are to have a chance at success. Once Parliament is suspended, no later than Sept. 12, any legislation in the pipeline is killed off and lawmakers would have to start again from scratch when Parliament resumes Oct. 14. In Davidson’s careful resignation letter, the charismatic leader avoided linking her move directly to Johnson’s deci-

sion to suspend Parliament, in- stead focusing on family issues. But she mentioned the ‘‘conflict I have felt over Brexit,’’ and the British media quickly linked the departure to Johnson’s strategy. Davidson’s departure after eight years leading the Scottish wing of the party is a major blow for the Conservatives, whose fortunes she helped to turnaroundinapartofBritain where the Conservative Party was for decades a toxic brand. Davidson’s resignation came

shortly after that of George Young, a former Cabinet minister who left his post as a government whip in the House of Lords. The move ‘‘risks undermin- ing the fundamental role of Par- liament at a critical time in our history, and reinforces the view that the Government may not have the confidence of the House for its Brexit policy, Young wrote. Johnson’s government in- sists they are not doing any- thing unusual and that it is nor-

mal for a new prime minister to suspend Parliament ahead of the queen’s speech presenting the country’s legislative agenda. It generally does happen ev- ery year, but the length of the suspension — the longest since 1945 — and the timing have drawn widespread criticism. Johnson’s allies — the ones who were not quitting — were quick to dismiss the concerns. Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the House of Commons, dis- missed what he called the ‘‘can- dyfloss of outrage’’ over the temporary shuttering of the leg- islature, using the British term for cotton candy. ‘‘I don’t think there is any attempt to rail- road,’’ he told the BBC on Thursday, insisting Johnson simply wanted to get on with his domestic agenda. In the rest of the European Union, some onlookers ques- tioned whether the challenges to democracy and the rule of law that have enveloped coun- tries such as Hungary and Po- land have spread to Britain’s far more ancient political system. ‘‘Boris Johnson is often com- pared to Donald Trump. He also isn’t far off from Machiavel- li,’’ read one editorial in Le Figa- ro, a French newspaper.

Some resign after suspension of Parliament

Defections test new prime minister and his Brexit plan

FRANK AUGSTEIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS Anti-Brexit demonstrators waved flags opposite Parliament in London on Thursday.

By Dylan Baddour and Anthony Faiola WASHINGTON POST BOGOTA — Former senior leaders of Colombia’s largest guerrilla group announced a break with the 2016 peace accord that ended Latin Ameri- ca’s longest war, appearing in green fatigues, toting rifles, and declaring a ‘‘new chapter’’ in the armed struggle against a government they said had be- trayed the deal. In a video posted online early Thursday, the former lead negotiator for the FARC — the leftist guerrilla group that became a political party in the after- math of the deal — denounced the fail- ure of the government, now led by conservative Presi- dent Iván Duque, to live up to the promises of the accord. Luciano Marín — known by the nom de guerre Iván Márquez — stood among a group of 20 heavily armed FARC members, including other prominent leaders, and condemned the killing in the past two years of more than 500 left-wing com- munity leaders and 150 former fighters. ‘‘The state has not fulfilled its most important obligations, which is to guarantee the life of its citizens and especially avoid assassinations for political rea- sons,’’ Marín said. He said his group would fight for a government that upholds the peace process. Miguel Ceballos, Duque’s high commissioner on the peace deal, suggested that Marín and the others were committing ‘‘new crimes’’ not covered by the amnesty grant- ed to members of the FARC by the peace accord. He said that judicial authorities would con- sider possible orders of cap- ture. Rodrigo Londoño, the former supreme leader of FARC who now heads its political party, rejected Marín’s move. ‘‘Our commitment today more than ever, as a majority, as a party, as a country, is peace, defense and compliance with the agreement,’’ he tweet- ed. ‘‘Those who move away from peace are mistaken.’’

Marín’s announcement pos- es the most significant threat yet to a peace process that analysts say has been gradually unraveling. Analysts warned that it could unite the two dozen small groups of dissident fighters who have continued the armed conflict. Marín said he would seek to coordinate with Colombia’s largest guerrilla group, called the ELN, after FARC members laid down their arms. Naryi Vargas, a researcher with the Bogota-based Peace and Reconciliation Founda- tion, suggested that Marín and other leaders in the video could bring together at least 1,500 fighters. The FARC had more than 13,000 members — about half of them armed com- batants — before the peace accord. The Marín faction has ‘‘the capacity to regroup the close to 24 dissident groups that are in the country, they have the capacity to give them energy, a solid organi- zational structure, to give them a long-term plan,’’ Vargas said. For more than half a century, the FARC — the Spanish acronym for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — waged a leftist struggle in which more than 220,000 Colombians were killed and 7 million displaced. The FARC, which adheres to a Marxist-Leninist doctrine, became linked with drug traffick- ing; its fight earned widespread rejection from a popu- lation exhausted by decades of kidnappings, bombings, and land seizures. The conflict ended with the historic 2016 deal, but some fighters continued the struggle. In the years since the accord was signed, FARC officials and observers have criticized the Colombian government for not making good on ambitious promises of rural reform and economic development. Ceballos, the high commissioner for the peace deal, de- fended the government against charges that it has not moved fast enough to enact its pledges. ‘‘You have to remember that the peace process was meant to be implemented over 12 years, and we have been in of- fice for just one year,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s not fair to say that we are not complying the process.’’

Ex-FARCleaders

announcereturnto

conflictinColombia

Guerrilla group

breaks with

peace accord

JORGE GUERRERO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

REACHING LAND —Migrants lined up upon their arrival at the harbor of Malaga, Spain, on Thursday after an inflatable raft carrying people from sub-Saharan Africa was rescued off the coast by the Spanish coast guard. The Spanish maritime rescue service said 208 migrants in three boats were picked up in 24 hours east of Gibralter.

Rodrigo Londoño of the FARC political party.

The Boston Globe - 30.08.2019

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