OLD CONTENT
www.dailymail.co.uk/mostread/article-6850095/Mexican-president-asks-Spain-apologize-actions-conquest.htmlMexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has demanded an apology from Spain and the Vatican for wrongs committed against indigenous people during the Spanish conquest 500 years ago.
...
The Mexican leftist leader said the letter cited massacres that took place during the Spanish conquest at the beginning of the 16th century.
'There were massacres and oppression,' said López Obrador from the archaeological zone in the southeastern state of Tabasco. 'The so-called conquest was carried out with the sword and the cross. They built their churches on top of the temples.'
While looking for a reconciliation with Spain, López Obrador said his government would be publicly apologizing for the abuses the indigenous people.
'I will also do it because after the colony there was a lot of repression of the indigenous peoples,' he said.
This is what I like to see! Bringing the Vatican into it is a fine touch that demonstrates proper historical knowledge.
'López Obrador's letter is an intolerable offence to the Spanish people,' said Alberto Rivera, head of the center-right Ciudadanos party, in a tweet.
Pablo Casado, the head of Spain's main center-right opposition party, said López Obrador's statement was an 'affront to Spain and its history'.
Spain should have thought about that before they decided to colonize. But of course, being Westerners, they believe the problem is not Western civilization doing evil, but its victims actually daring to raise awareness of it. This attitude is the same attitude that caused the colonial era, and as we can see, nothing has changed.
Anyway, every former Western colony should follow suit! Spain's other former colonies should find it especially easy to do so as they can directly join in the call:
And don't forget, if only Spain had remained Andalus, none of the stuff on the map would ever have happened. And if the Spanish/Portugese Empires had not started things off, the other colonial empires might not have followed either. Looking at it this way, Andalus was in effect the portal guardian
singlehandedly protecting the whole planet from the horrors of the colonial era. As such, we should not only be demanding apologies from the former colonial powers, but should also be expressing gratitude to Andalus. Ultimately we should be trying to restore Andalus, not only back to what it was, but all the way to what it should have been.
---
Someone has joined in!
www.lasexta.com/noticias/nacional/mezquita-ishbilia-sevilla-exige-que-rey-felipe-pida-perdon-reconquista_201903295c9e031f0cf221c687040191.htmlThe Ishbilia mosque has published a post on Facebook under the name of the Islamic Community itself and its president, Yihad Sarasua, in expressing “the sentiments among Spanish Muslims and those who for certain reasons, reside in Spain, for the lack of conciliation between the Crown and the heirs of the Andalusian legacy.
“Sir, being the King of Spain, I believe that the historical moment has arrived to carry out the recognition of the vileness, plunder, displacement and murders carried out by orders of the Catholic kings and their most direct collaborators, which culminated with the surrender of Granada and the breach of everything subscribed to the Muslim community,” reads the letter.
Besides, he adds that the Muslims were subjected to a “constant persecution” that left “millions of dead”: “Never has existed such a fierce persecution and eagerness to eliminate a religious community, as was carried out by the old Spanish royalty in the times of Felipe II, (an) extermination that culminated in the War of the Alpujarres subsequent to the Pragmatic Sanction of 1567”.
---
news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d514f7767544e34457a6333566d54/index.html
Fazeli Nashli highlighted the need to understand each other without the "Western go-betweens" while strongly advocating for collaborative research.
"We [Asian civilizations] have similar cultural components. We need to understand each other more because due to the modernity we are very quickly passing from the old traditions to new traditions," he said.
"Before we lose lots of other information, historical and social backgrounds, archaeological background, we need more research activities to establish joint projects, for example between China and Iranian archaeologists, rather than Western scholars telling us about each other," the Iranian archaeologist quipped.
"We need to understand each other because we have a long, long, inter-relationship together dating back to 10,000 years ago. Why in modern times we have to understand our histories from the Western point of view?" he asked.
He recommended civilizational countries such as China, India, Japan, Iran and also other Western, Central and East Asian nations to open their academic facilities and resources for joint research and preservation of archaeological monuments and cities.
"We need more anthropological studies, ethnographic studies, historical studies, archaeological studies to record lots of information on past societies… Academic centers in different countries need to be interconnected so that more scholars can learn from each other," he proposed.
OK, but in that case surely the first thing you need to do is stop using the term "Asian", which itself is nothing but what Westerners have told you that you are! (Or if you must use it, at least put "" around it to show that you despise the term.) Moreover, once you have understood that you are not "Asian", you might realize that a grand decolonizing coalition has no reason to be limited to "Asians", but can and should accomodate all former victims of the Western colonial powers.
Here is a nice gesture, at least:
On the other hand, beware of our enemies who try to divide us by offering some of us alliance with them in exchange for betraying the rest of us:
vdare.com/articles/john-derbyshire-at-amren-the-arctic-alliance-revisited
I divide the human race into Arctics and non-Arctics on paleoanthropological grounds. So Arctics are those present-day races whose remote ancestors inhabited the forests and tundra of northern Eurasia—the whites and the yellows, to a first approximation. In my book We Are Doomed I used the synonym “Ice People.”
In the world today, the Arctics exhibit two characteristics that separate them quite clearly from non-Arctics, or “Sun People.”.
**** YOU. We are Sun People.
---
Interesting indie news report that spells out much of the above mentioned here, albeit in video form.
Gaddafi was trying to introduce a new African currency before it was -- surprise, surprise -- France that most supported in ousting him.
---
www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-president-praises-ties-with-china-14461Maintaining momentum in relations between Turkey and China is crucial to both the welfare of their peoples and international stability, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, praising the mutual ties during an official visit on July 2.
The president was welcomed by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing before a tête-à-têtes meeting.
“I believe that Turkey and China have great potential for strengthening cooperation,” Erdoğan said following the meeting at Great Hall of the People.
“We are on the same page regarding President Xi’s approach to the initiative, which is not only to improve transport and communication networks, to construct trade corridors and to harmonize trade policies and development strategies but also to boost cultural and human ties in this framework,” he said in an interview with Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua before the meeting.
...
The Turkish president highlighted that Turkey is one of the first countries to support China’s Belt and Road, an initiative of regional development and creating new global trade routes.
“There is a natural harmony between our Middle Corridor Initiative and China’s Belt and Road Initiative,” Erdoğan said.
“This harmony allows us to cooperate with China in large geographies such as Central Asia and Africa.”
...
“I believe that we will witness together how our relations will be upgraded in all fields when we boost our consultations with our Chinese friends.”
“Our strengthening bilateral cooperation promotes greater interaction between our peoples and facilitates progress in the area of tourism. China marked the Turkey Tourism Year in 2018 and hosted dozens of events around the country,” Erdoğan said, voicing pleasure over the considerable rise in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Turkey.
This is especially encouraging because Turkey is a NATO country while China is a NAM country. This is therefore a step towards our proposed NATO-NAM merger.
Some commentators think Turkey improving its relationship with China equates to Turkey worsening its relationship with the US, but this presumes a diplomatically static US. Actually, there is nothing to stop the US from taking Turkey's cue and improving its relationship with China also (which is what we want).
authenticamericandream.blogspot.com/2018/03/countering-pacific-pivot.html
---
Despite his panoramic historical review, Pagden is selective in what he discusses, passing over what does not support his argument. A case in point is Asia Minor, or today’s Turkey. Indeed, he leaves out the Cold War altogether, so important to understanding Turkey. Heir to the Ottoman Empire, Turkey is a member of NATO and an ally of the United States. It played an important role in the containment and ultimate defeat of the Soviet Union. The same can be said about many other Muslim countries that were also allies of the United States against communism. Pagden is forced to neglect the Cold War because it would undermine his attempt to draw a picture of the Muslim world in perpetual conflict with the West.
mepc.org/worlds-war-2500-year-struggle-between-east-and-west
---
---
Iran demonstrates the correct approach to diplomacy with Western states:
theiranproject.com/blog/2019/10/03/iran-calls-on-germany-to-stop-support-for-criminal-israeli-regime/
The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry called on Germany to end support for the criminal regime of Israel and to live up to existing expectations of an effective and constructive role in helping to create lasting peace and stability in the region.
The Islamic Republic of Iran considers reducing tension in the region to be possible only through serious confrontation of all parties with destructive, meddlesome and inhumane actions of the Zionist regime [of Isreal,]” Mousavi said.
The Iranian FM spokesman was referring to the devastating crimes of the Zionist regime in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria.
Mousavi further noted that the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue to support the oppressed nations of the region, including the Palestinian people, based on its adherence to human and Islamic values.
In a statement, the German Foreign Office spokesman underscored his country’s support for the Zionist regime of Israel and called on Iran to be committed to maintaining peaceful relations with the countries of the region and taking practical steps to ease the tensions.
For reference:
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
---
All initiatives to promote positive relations between former fellow colonized countries should be applauded:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kartarpur_Corridor
The Kartarpur Corridor (Punjabi/Urdu: کرتارپور راہداری, Punjabi: ਕਰਤਾਰਪੁਰ ਲਾਂਘਾ) is a border corridor between Pakistan and India, connecting the Sikh shrines of Dera Baba Nanak Sahib (located in Punjab, India) and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib (in Punjab, Pakistan). The corridor is intended to allow religious devotees from India to visit the Gurdwara in Kartarpur, 4.7 kilometres (2.9 miles) from the Pakistan-India border, without a visa.[1]
The Kartarpur Corridor was first proposed in early 1999 by the prime ministers of India and Pakistan, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif, respectively, as part of the Delhi–Lahore Bus diplomacy.[2][3]
On 26 November 2018, the foundation stone was laid down on the Indian side and after two days, on 28 November 2018, the foundation stone on the Pakistani side was laid down by Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan. The corridor was completed for the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev on 12 November 2019.[4]
See also:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi%E2%80%93Lahore_Bus
The Delhi–Lahore Bus, officially known as Sada-e-Sarhad (Hindi: सदा ए सरहद, Translation: Call of the Frontier, Urdu: صدائے سرحد),[1] is a passenger bus service connecting the Indian capital of Delhi with the city of Lahore, Pakistan via the border transit post at Wagah. The Routemaster bus number 10 was of symbolic importance to the efforts of the governments of both nations to foster peaceful and friendly relations.[2] In its inaugural run on 19 February 1999, the bus carried the then-Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was to attend a summit in Lahore and was received by his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif at Wagah.[1][2]
...
Despite suspension due to bilateral tensions, the Delhi-Lahore bus remains a symbol of desired friendship between the two nations.[3][5] Since its inception, the bus has frequently carried trade delegations, diplomats and celebrities to both nations, attracting much media coverage. In consideration of the Indian national cricket team's tour of Pakistan in 2004, the Pakistani government permitted 10,000 Indians to travel to watch the cricket matches in Lahore; many of whom travelled via the bus amidst great fanfare at the border; the gesture was reciprocated the following year when the Pakistan national cricket team toured India.
---
www.politico.eu/article/council-president-michel-tells-african-leaders-a-changed-europe-wants-new-ties/"This changing Europe is looking at Africa with fresh eyes — with respect, optimism and confidence," Michel said, according to a transcript provided by his office.
If so, perhaps you could start by ceasing to use the Eurocentric term "Africa", a term which was never used by the local people themselves prior to the colonial era.
"I am here today to bear witness to a metamorphosis of this continent but also that of Europe," Michel said. "Your northern neighbor is changing. I am here tonight to speak for 27 European countries. Twenty-two of them never had any colonies. A new generation of leaders is coming to power. They are not hampered by the burden of nostalgia."
...
It was unclear which five EU countries Michel was referring to as former colonizers, as Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain all had colonies in Africa, as did the U.K., which left the EU at the end of last month.
This is not funny anymore.
OK, there are indeed some EU countries that did not participate in colonialism. But do these countries feel sentimentally closer to the former victims of colonialism than to the former colonial powers? In practice, do they support the former victims of colonialism seeking accountability from the former colonial powers? If so, we applaud them. But if not, and on the contrary they defend the colonial powers from being held accountable for their pasts, then they too are part of the problem.
The issue of Europe's colonization of Africa remains a highly sensitive subject. Last year, when Michel was still the Belgian prime minister, a United Nations working group issued a report that found "endemic racism" in the country's government institutions that it traced to its colonial past. The working group issued a long series of recommendations that included urging Belgium to "issue an apology for the atrocities committed during colonization."
The Belgian government issued a response in which it acknowledged modern-day racism but disputed the direct link to colonialism, calling it "an oversimplification."
**** you.
---
This on its own is good:
www.aa.com.tr/en/health/china-to-continue-assisting-iran-against-coronavirus/1766434China will continue to provide "as much assistance as it can" to Iran to curb the coronavirus outbreak, the country’s president said Saturday.
Xi Jinping said China offered Iran a batch of anti-epidemic supplies and sent a team of voluntary health experts to Iran, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
On the other hand:
www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/china-sends-essential-coronavirus-supplies-italy-200313195241031.htmlA planeload of medical supplies, including masks and respirators, has arrived in Italy from China to help the European country deal with its growing coronavirus crisis.
...
A team of nine Chinese medical staff arrived late on Thursday with some 30 tonnes of equipment on a flight organised by the Red Cross Society of China.
Has China forgotten so quickly about this?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_concession_of_Tientsin
In context, for China to treat a former colonial power (which additionally has only recently been watching refugees drown every day without helping) as well as it treats Iran is actually an insult to Iran.
---
Good:
Bad:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concessions_in_Tianjin#Belgian_concession_.281902.E2.80.931931.29https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Protocolhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concessions_in_Tianjin#Austro-Hungarian_concession_(1901%E2%80%931917)
---
"I think the leader, Xi Jinping would rather get good reputation from the world for China."
My point is that, when we see China help Western countries (without attaching conditions that function to make them less Western), we should speak badly of China for doing so, thus ensuring that China fails to get good reputation for such actions.
We must often remind people that whatever quantity of help China gives to Western countries is a quantity of help that could have been (but now is not) going to other non-Western countries (which probably need it more), instead going yet again to countries that already stole so much from China (and from other non-Western countries!) during the colonial era.
---
I agree. We should do the same for Iran. The current foreign minister is particularly annoying, always seeking clout from Westerners, effectively behaving as though he is some status seeking “non white” high school teenager. This is unbecoming of any proper statesman, let alone a high level government official.
It is also no coincidence that such actions are praised by Jews.
---
"So is China Western or non Western?"
Still non-Western overall for now (hence my wording "other non-Western countries" when referring to countries that China should concentrate on helping), but in danger of Westernization if it is not careful.
Unfortunately, it is comically Eurocentric:
whenonearth.net/11-fake-european-towns-landmarks-made-china/
This sickness is what we are here to cure.