The Washignton Post - 04.04.2020

A1 0 ez re the washington post.saturday, april 4 , 2020

The World

MeXiCO

Social distancing isn’t

reducing c rime rate

Social distancing measures
and c alls for Mexicans to remain
in their homes have n ot produced
a drop in v iolent crime, President
Andrés Manuel López Obrador
said Friday.
There h ad been hope t hat the
measures implemented i n late
March to slow t he s pread of t he
novel coronavirus would lead to a
significant decrease in
criminality, but t he president said
that hasn’t b een seen in t he
numbers.
López Obrador b lamed t he
stubbornly high murder r ate on
“confrontations between gangs.
They c ontinue disputing
territory, c lashing amongst
themselves.”
He s aid the figures w ere not
showing, a s some had predicted,
a higher i ncidence of domestic
violence because p eople have
been confined to their homes in a
stressful situation.
One i ndustry g roup — the
National Association o f Vehicle
Tracking a nd Protection
Companies — predicted t hat
highway f reight hijackings could

actually increase by as much a s

50 percent during the pandemic,

in part because o f shortages of

key goods.

While freight hijackings h ave

declined in recent months,

criminal groups f requently s tage

armed thefts o f entire tractor-

trailers to sell t he merchandise i n

Mexico’s u biquitous street

markets.

“We are afraid that in coming

months as the c ountry’s economy

takes a downturn, there will be an

increased d emand for basic g oods

at l ow p rices, l ike processed

foods, medicine, personal hygiene

products, f ootwear and clothing,”

said the association’s p resident,

Víctor Manuel Presichi. “ That i s

precisely where t he black market

will step i n, t o sell s tolen or fake

merchandise.”

In s ome parts of Mexico, like

the s outhern s tate of Guerrero,

police have b een stationed

outside s tores, a nd the

government threatened to bring

felony charges such a s criminal

conspiracy against l ooters, w ith

prison sentences of u p to 16 years.

As o f Friday, 5 0 people had died

in Mexico of covid-19 and more

than 1,5 00 had t ested positive for

the c oronavirus.

— Associated Press

FRANCe

Birdsong, clear skies:

Paris pollution clears

Parisians c onfined t o their

apartments b y a lockdown

imposed to curb t he spread o f the

coronavirus can at l east now open

their windows and b reathe fresh

air, listen to the birds a nd enjoy a

peaceful night’s s leep.

That’s b ecause air a nd noise

pollution h ave fallen sharply in

Paris, w here streets a re l argely

deserted, empty of the traffic and

tumult t hat usually drown

birdsong and choke the air n ear

landmarks such as the E iffel

To wer and Arc d e Triomphe.

“We’re really witnessing an

improvement i n air q uality,

including p ollutants r esponsible

for g lobal warming,” s aid Karine

Leger, h ead of the Airparif agency,

which m onitors a ir quality in the

greater P aris region.

The same is true for n oise

pollution. At street level on some

of Paris b usiest thoroughfares,

noise levels are down to as little as

six t o nine decibels a t night, s ome

70 to 90 percent lower than

normal, a ccording t o Bruitparif,

which m onitors n oise quality.

“ We’re in an exceptional

situation,” s aid Matthieu Sineau

of Bruitparif. “In these

unfortunate times, people can at

least r ealize the i nterest they have

in a quieter living e nvironment.”

— Reuters

Prague removes monument to

WWII Soviet commander:

A d istrict i n the Czech capital

went ahead Friday with a plan to

remove t he statue of a Soviet

World War II commander. The

Russian Embassy in Prague

condemned the m ove, saying i t

sent a protest note to the Czech

Foreign Ministry about the

“demolition.” Marshall Ivan

Stepanovic Konev led the R ed

Army forces that liberated Prague

and l arge parts of C zechoslovakia

from the Nazi o ccupation i n 1945.

His monument, unveiled in t he

Prague 6 district in 1980 when the

country was o ccupied by S oviet

troops, h as been a source o f

controversy. R ussia vehemently

protested w hen a t ext about

Konev’s role in crushing the 1956

anti-Soviet uprising i n Hungary

and p reparing the 1 968 Soviet-led

invasion of Czechoslovakia was

attached to his monument two

years a go. After the s ite w as

targeted by vandals, P rague 6

representatives agreed l ast year

to remove the statue.

12 convicted in Guinea-Bissau

i n s muggling case: A court in

Guinea-Bissau has convicted 12

people of c ocaine smuggling after

the s eizure last year of 1 .8 tons of

the d rug hidden i n flour sacks,

the l argest haul e ver i n the West

African nation. The two believed

to be the g roup’s r ingleaders a re

still on the r un b ut were both

sentenced in a bsentia to 16 years

in prison for d rug smuggling,

money l aundering a nd terrorism

financing charges. Te n others,

who are in c ustody, received

prison terms of f our to 14 y ears.

The group comprised citizens of

Colombia, Guinea-Bissau a nd

Portugal, the c ourt said.

— From news services

Digest

Peter cziborra/reuters

A man feeds deer in the Harold Hill housing estate in the English

town of Romford. The deer pretty much have free rein these days as

Britain’s coronavirus lockdown keeps residents off the streets.

BY STEVE HENDRIX

JERUSALEM — Israel’s unprece-
dented political stalemate — in
which no party has been able to
construct a governing majority in
the deeply divided country for
more than a year — has persisted
through three ugly national elec-
tions, relentless campaigning and
round after round of negotiations.
Now, not even the surrender of
one side has been enough to cre-
ate a breakthrough. At least, not
yet.
More than a week ago, Benny
Gantz, the former army chief of
staff who spent the past 16
months trying to unseat Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
stunned the country when he an-
nounced that he was willing to
join forces with his rival in an
emergency unity government as
the country battles the coronavi-
rus outbreak.
Some Israelis were devastated,
others cheered, but all wondered
whether finally — finally! — Israel
would get its first government
since the political system locked
up at the end of 2018.
But Gantz’s move only plunged
the parties back into the tar pit of
compromise as they tried to divvy
up dozens of ministerial portfoli-
os and settle major policy dis-
putes, illustrating just how rusty
and broken the country’s govern-

ing machinery remains.

Leaked reports from inside the

talks have consistently portrayed

the broad outlines of a deal in

which Netanyahu will remain

prime minister for a fixed period,

possibly 18 months, after which

Gantz will take over the top job.

Each will serve as the other’s

deputy premier in turn.

But the rest of the government

has reportedly been harder to

build as the parties have vied for

the most influential ministries,

factions have fiercely resisted giv-

ing up their plum jobs, and thorny

policy issues — including the tim-

ing of future moves to annex Jew-

ish settlements of the West Bank

— have proved to be stubborn

sticking points.

Would Gantz take over as for-

eign minister, as some reports

hinted? Would he take over the

Defense M inistry or remain as the

speaker of the Knesset, a job he

was elected to last week after his

parliamentary forces unseated

the previous speaker, a Netanya-

hu ally? Even the living arrange-

ments of the two party leaders

became an issue when a proposal

was floated that the new position

of deputy prime minister would

require a second official resi-

dence.

Negotiators also have wrestled

over the size of the government,

which is on track to become Isra-

el’s biggest — with 34 or 36 minis-

tries, according to reports — lead-

ing many to warn of a bloated,

costly structure just as the econo-

my is sagging under the coronavi-

rus slowdown.

Gantz has said he wants a gov-

ernment in place by the begin-

ning of the Passover holiday next

week.

The haggling has unfolded

against the backdrop of a worsen-

ing covid- 19 outbreak, with the

number of infections in Israel

topping 7,000. Twice during nego-

tiations, Netanyahu himself has

had to go i nto isolation after being

exposed to infected individuals,

including, most recently, his own

minister of health.

It w as the pandemic t hat forced

Gantz to finally give up his drive

to end Netanyahu’s long tenure at

the top of Israeli politics.

“These are unusual times, and

they call for unusual decisions.

That’s why I intend to explore the

formation of a national emergen-

cy government,” Gantz said in an

address to the Knesset after his

election as speaker.

Analysts said Gantz and Netan-

yahu were forced to come togeth-

er after it became clear that, once

again, the March 2 election had

left both short of taking control.

As the pandemic worsened, the

stalemate became even more in-

tolerable.

“The thought of another elec-

tion is unbearable these days,”

said Aviv Bushinsky, a political

commentator and former Netan-

yahu aide. “For Gantz, because of

all his political mistakes, he will

not be able to get the same kind of

results as in the past. And for

Netanyahu, because no one

knows how he will exit this crisis.

Will he still be King Bibi, or will he

be a loser?”

But bringing Gantz to the table

was also a triumph o f Netanyahu’s

relentless efforts to stay in power

even after failing to achieve a

majority in three elections and

being indicted on corruption

charges.

As the pandemic erupted, Ne-

tanyahu became the public face of

the response, appearing almost

nightly on television and beseech-

ing Gantz to drop his opposition

and join him in government.

“King Bibi,” as his unshakable

base of supporters calls him, still

faces trial on multiple counts of

bribery, f raud and breach of trust.

But the proceeding was put on

hold when his justice minister

shut down most courts, citing the

virus outbreak, two days before

his trial was to begin.

Netanyahu, who tried unsuc-

cessfully to win parliamentary

immunity from prosecution earli-

er this year, is expected to use his

office to delay it further or to seek

some form of official protection.

Gantz’s surrender, after more

than a year of pledging never to

serve with Netanyahu, broke

apart the Blue and White party h e

helped found.

Some of its members have

agreed to join him in the unity

government. Others said he has

been hoodwinked by the savvy

prime minister. And some ac-

cused Gantz of betraying their

common cause of finally breaking

Netanyahu’s grip on power.

Yair Lapid, one of the Blue and

White party’s co-founders, said

his former partner was “crawling”

into their rival’s government.

“The coronavirus crisis doesn’t

permit us to give up our values,”

Lapid said. “This is rewarding

criminality.”

Members of the Joint List, a

coalition of Arab parties that

broke y ears of precedent b y agree-

ing to support Gantz’s bid for

prime minister, condemned him

as well.

“He has now demonstrated

that he is a clone of Netanyahu,”

said Yousef Jabareen, a Joint List

member of the Knesset.

Whatever their view of his mo-

tives in joining a Netanyahu gov-

ernment, all were still awaiting

the elusive final step that would

end the country’s longest stretch

with no elected government at a ll.

[email protected]

Even after partnership, Israeli government stalls

Gantz’s move to join forces with Netanyahu only stirs more conflict as they try to divvy up portfolios and settle policy disputes

ariel schalit/associated Press

A billboard in Tel Aviv shows Benny Gantz, who said he wants a government in place by the beginning of Passover next week. The pandemic spurred the power-sharing deal.

BY EDITH M. LEDERER

UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secre-

tary General António Guterres

said Friday that warring parties in

11 countries have responded posi-

tively to his appeal for a global

cease-fire to tackle the coronavi-

rus pandemic, but that turning

words into peace is enormously

difficult and fighting has escalat-

ed in major conflicts including

Yemen, Libya and Afghanistan.

He called on all governments,

groups and people with influence

“to urge and pressure combatants

around the world to put down

their arms,” saying the need is

urgent because “the covid- 19

storm” i s now coming to all con-

flict a reas.

Guterres told a briefing at U.N.

headquarters in New York that his

appeal 10 days ago was rooted in

the r ecognition that “there should

be only one fight in our world

today: our shared battle against

covid-19.”

The U.N. c hief said the a ppeal is

“resonating” a cross the world, cit-

ing a growing number of endorse-

ments for the cease-fire from 70

countries as well as civil society

groups, religious leaders includ-

ing Pope Francis, and more than

1 million people in an online peti-

tion organized by Avaaz, a U.S.-

based n onprofit group.

He said parties to conflicts in

Cameroon, the Central African Re-

public, Colombia, Libya, Myan-

mar, the Philippines, South Su-

dan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and

Yemen have also expressed their

acceptance.

But Guterres said: “There are

enormous difficulties to imple-

mentation as conflicts have fes-

tered for years, distrust is deep,

with many spoilers and many sus-

picions.”

He also warned that “terrorist

or extremist groups may take prof-

it from the uncertainty created by

the s pread of t he p andemic.”

In Yemen, he said, “ the conflict

has spiked” despite support for a

cease-fire by the government, the

Houthi Shiite rebels and many

other parties.

In L ibya, Guterres s aid, the war-

ring parties w elcomed calls to stop

the fighting, “yet clashes have es-

calated drastically on all front

lines, obstructing efforts to effec-

tively r espond to covid-19.”

In Afghanistan, where fighting

increased, Guterres said the time

has come for the government and

the Taliban, who are working on a

prisoner exchange, to cease h ostil-

ities “as covid-19 looms over the

country.”

In Syria, which has reported i ts

first coronavirus deaths, a cease-

fire in the last rebel stronghold in

Idlib province, which was negoti-

ated b y Russia a nd Turkey, is h old-

ing, he said. But he added that a

permanent nationwide cease-fire

is essential to tackle covid-19 and

help the millions suffering from

the conflict, which is now in its

10th y ear.

“There is a c hance f or peace, but

we are far from there,” Guterres

said.

— Associated Press

U.N. chief:

Proposal for

global truce

gains favor