The Week UK - 04.04.2020

Best articles: International NEWS 21

4April 2020 THE WEEK

Catalans are

being conned

over Covid-19

El País

(Madrid)

Catalan nationalists have reachedanew low, says JavierSampedro. Desperate to furthertheir

separatistagenda,they’venowresor ted to exploiting thecoronavirus crisis for their ownends:the

region’s pro-independence premier,Quim Torra, has called for Catalonia’s border with Spain to

close.Inatelevisedaddr ess, he declared this wasthe only way theregioncan hope tocontain the

virus as Spain grappleswith one of Europe’s worst outbreaks. It’s“pathetic” –and,what’s more ,the

logic isn’teven borne outby science. Cataloniais oneofthe country’sworstaffected regions:the big

problem willbethe viru sspreadinglocally there.Closing theborderwould be “completely useless”.

Predictably,separatistpoliticiansare loudly complaining that Madrid is “stealing theirmasks and

respirators”, andthatits hostility to the region is costing Catalan lives.Many ordinary Catalansare

ashamedofsuch “stubbornprovincialism”.Thosewho aren’t must be madetor eali se th at theonly

ones tobenefit ifpeople swallow suchclaims are “opportunistic”politicians. It’spure selfishness at a

time when the only wayto overcomethe crisis is with acompassionate andcoordinatedfightback.

There are no

social distances

in shanty towns

Al Jazeera
(Doha)

Thecoronaviruscrisis hasn’t yetreachedanepic scalein Africa, says Karsten Noko,butonestruggles

tothink howthe continentwill copewhen itdoes. IfItaly, withits advancedhealthsystem, canbuckle

underthestrain,whathopeforwar-torn SouthSudan–whereahealthsystemhardlyexists –orfor

those countries wheresystems arechronically underfunded,owingtotheausterity measures imposed

as aconditionfor receivingIMFloans?Norisitrealisticto talkof “closingborders”:most such

borders exist onlyin theory.For thecommunities thatstraddlethem,they’rejust lines drawn

on maps: as inthe Ebola crisis, trade rs and families continue to cross them unhindered.Self-isolation,

too,ist otally unfeasibleinAfrica ’s crammedslums. In thetownship of Alexandra, Johannesburg,

700,000 people liveinanarea ofless than two squaremiles; inLagos,300,000peoplelive over a

lagoononhomes builtonstilts. As forhygiene,howare Africans to keepwashing theirhandsift hey

live in villages wheretheyhave to rely on asingle publictap or boreholetoget water,orincities like

Harare,Zimba bwe’s capital, where tapshavebeennearlydryfor adecade? As Africabecomesthe

next Covid-19battlefield,alotmoreimagination abouthowtobeat it is going to be needed.

It was onlysixmonths ago that EmmanuelMacron, theFrench president, vetoed EU plans to open

accession talks with NorthMacedoniaand Albania. Neither Balkan statewasready for membership

of th ebloc, heargued,astance thatcreatedarift with other EU leaders.Yetnow France,along with

the Netherlands (whichsuppor ted the veto in October), seems ready to drop its opposition. They

shouldhavestuck to their guns, says FatosLubonja. Albania, in particular,is acorrupt“narco-

state” still plagued by organisedcrime.Released from communist rule in1990,the countrynever

createdmore than a“facade” of democracy. Its “weak, informal” economy is nowrunbyanelite

in cahoots withcriminals, andarece nt constructionboom in thecapital, Tirana,issimplyafront

for moneylaunderers. C rime hasinfiltrated thehighest level of politics, with MPs’criminal pasts

catchingupwiththem .Nowonder so many inthis country of2.9 million people–56% according

to arecent Galluppoll –wanttoemigrate. But, fearful of leavingavacuum for Russia or Turkey

to fill,EU leaderspref er to turn ablind eye, insistingAlbania is making progresstowards true

democracy. It’s obvious that this isa“myth”–but E Ubureaucrats can’t bring themselves to admit it.

Keep this sham

democracy out

of the EU

De Volkskrant
(Amsterdam)

SPAIN

SOUTH AFRICA

ALBANIA

Aftermonthsoffiercecriticismoverits

handlingofthecoronavirusoutbreak,

Beijingissalvagingitsreputationby

resortingto“maskdiplomacy”,

saidBrianWonginTheDiplomat

(Washington).Ithassentplane-loads

offacemasks,ventilatorsandother

medicalequipmenttocountriesaround

theworld.Italy,Spain,thePhilippines

andIraqhaveallbeenofferedhelp,

andChinesedoctorshavejoined

emergencyteamsinforeignhospitals.

China’sprivatesectorissteppingin

too:telecomsgiantHuaweihasoffered

protectiveequipmenttoIrelandand

Holland,amongothers,andAlibaba’s

JackMahaspromisedtosendtwomillionmaskstoEurope.

Beijingclaimsitisrisingtothechallengesofgloballeadership,

whiletheEU’sresponsehasbeen“inert”,andtheUS’snakedly

self-interested(thoughreportsthatittriedtobuyoutaGerman

vaccinecompanyforitsownexclusiveusehavebeendeniedby

thecompanyitself).Thestrategyseemstobeworking:China’s

batteredreputationnowhasashot at“globalredemption”.

Beijingisvery pointedlyextendinghelptocountrieslike Serbia

and Greece,whichfeelneglectedbyBrussels,while leavingthe

likesofFranceandGermany outinthe cold,saidAndreas Ernst

in Neue ZürcherZeitung.SowhileEurope’srichestcountries

desperately“hoard”masksand

ventilators,planesladenwithChinese

equipmentlandinBelgradeand

Athens.Serbia’spresident,whohas

rebukedtheEUforfailingtohelp,now

describesChina’sleader,XiJinping,as

his“brother”.With“Machiavellian”

cunning,Beijingisdrivingawedge

betweenEuropeancountries,saidPeter

RoughinForeignPolicy(Washington).

Thevirusis“exposingthefrailtyand

brittleness”attheheartofthe

Europeanproject–andtheWest’s

enemiesstandtogain.

TheassistanceisakeypartofBeijing’s

strategytodeflectblameforitsroleinthecreationofthe

pandemic,saidDavidHuttinNikkeiAsianReview(Tokyo).

Butitwon’tchangeperceptionsthatChina“mishandledand

triedtocoverup”theoriginaloutbreakinWuhan.However

cynicalChina’sapproach,saidPhilippeBernardinLeMonde

(Paris),itstillstandstogainfromit.Beijingisfarmoreeffective

thanEuropeatprojectingitselfastheGoodSamaritan:who

nowremembers the 50tonnesof medical equipmentsentby the

EUtoWuhanin February?Asthe USreelsfromits “chaotic”

management ofthecrisis,Beijingisfillingthe internationalvoid:

Covid-19may yetbe seenas the key catalystbehind China’srise

tothe positionofthe world’s dominant superpower.

FacemaskproductioninChina:ashotatredemption?

China, coronavirus, and the bid for global supremacy