OPINION

Photo: Demonstrators filled the sidewalk and part of 10th Street in Sacramento during the "Operation Gridlock" stay-at-home protest at the Capitol Monday, April 20, 2020. Photo by Andrew Nixon, CapRadi

Do Not Abuse Science for Corona Politics

Viewpoint by Cees Jan Hamelink*

This article was originally published on Other News, a vehicle for "voices against the tide" and is being reproduced with thanks.

AMSTERDAM (IDN) – As a scientist it is of course gratifying for me to hear that government policy on Covid-19 takes science seriously. And it is gratifying when press conferences of the prime minister and other authorities refer to scientific research. However, if it is not immediately mentioned by whom these studies were carried out and by whom they were critically assessed, I, as a scientist, become restless.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 10 May 2020

After the Pandemic, Will We Return to Business as Usual?

Viewpoint by Francesc Badia I Dalmases*

This article was originally published on openDemocracy. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News

BARCELONA (IDN) – Meteorologists have warned that this year is on track to become the hottest since records began. The climate crisis continues, whose medium-term consequences will be devastating, without being controlled. And meanwhile, all of us are looking with uncertainty at the future that awaits us, and the daily Covid-19 lockdown news leave us dreaming of returning to a lost normality.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 08 May 2020

Image credit: The World In 2050 [The Real Future Of Earth], YouTube

Pandemics: Lessons Looking Back from 2050 – Part 2

Viewpoint by Fritjof Capra and Hazel Henderson*

This article was originally published on Other News, a vehicle for "voices against the tide" and is being reproduced with thanks. Please click here for Part 1.

Berkeley | JACKSONVILLE (IDN) – When the coronavirus struck in 2020, the human responses were at first chaotic and insufficient, but soon became increasingly coherent and even dramatically different. Global trade shrunk to only transporting rare goods, shifting to trading information. Instead of shipping cakes, cookies and biscuits around the planet, we shipped their recipes and all the other recipes for creating plant-based foods and beverages; and locally we installed green technologies: solar, wind, geothermal energy sources, LED lighting, electric vehicles, boats, and even aircraft.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 08 May 2020

Photo credit: Paul Saad/African Arguments

COVID-19: An Open Letter from African Intellectuals to Africa’s Leaders

100 leading academics and writers call on leaders to govern with compassion and see the crisis as a chance for a radical change of direction. The following is the full text of the letter, being reproduced courtesy of African Arguments under a Creative Commons Licence 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

LONDON (IDN) – The threats that are hanging over the African continent with regards to the spread of COVID-19 demand our individual and collective attention. The situation is critical. Yet this is not about mitigating another “African” humanitarian crisis but to diffuse the potentially damaging effects of a virus that has shaken the global order and put under question the bases of our living-together.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 07 May 2020

Pandemics: Lessons Looking Back from 2050 – Part 1

Viewpoint by Fritjof Capra and Hazel Henderson*

This article was originally published on Other News, a vehicle for "voices against the tide" and is being reproduced with thanks.

Berkeley | JACKSONVILLE (IDN) – Imagine, it is the year 2050 and we are looking back to the origin and evolution of the coronavirus pandemic over the last three decades. Extrapolating from recent events, we offer the following scenario for such a view from the future.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 07 May 2020

Photo: Children, highly vulnerable to COVID-19, look to the future with optimism. Credit: Dilrukshi Handunnetti.

Sri Lanka Has Been Successful in Countering COVID-19

The Small Indian Ocean Island Deserves Recognition

Viewpoint by Dr Palitha Kohona

The writer is former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, and former Foreign Secretary.

COLOMBO (IDN) – Sri Lanka has been successful so far, compared to most countries in the world, in the fight against Covid-19. The mind-numbing figures of death and infection streaming in from many parts of the globe are not being reflected in Sri Lanka. An infection rate of around 700 with 7 deaths in a population of over 21 million are figures to arouse excitement. But surprisingly, no glowing headlines applauding the success of this small relatively poor Indian Ocean island embellish the front pages.

: Dr. Palitha Kohona; OPINION; 06 May 2020

Photo: ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, presents her Office’s 19th report on the Situation in Libya remotely. © ICC-CPI

ICC Prosecutor Reminds the Security Council of a Special Responsibility for Libya

By Fatou Bensouda

The following are extensive excerpts from the International Criminal Court Prosecutor Ms Fatou Bensouda's statement by video to the UN Security Council on May 5.

NEW YORK | THE HAGUE (IDN) – Despite some inevitable limitations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, my Office's Libya team is forging ahead with its judicial work and investigations, managing to remain active and productive in these exceptional times. The Libya situation remains a priority for my Office, and I seize the opportunity in this forum to announce that my team is working on applications for new warrants of arrest.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 06 May 2020

Photo: War crimes include the use of child soldiers; the killing or torture of persons such as civilians or prisoners of war; intentionally directing attacks against hospitals, historic monuments, or buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes. Credit: ICC

Limited Progress Achieved in Deterring War Crimes

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – With a bit more pushing and, after, unfortunately, a bit more killing the three remaining serious wars on the planet, in Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen, should come to an end. Then it will be time to take stock on what caused the killing, especially why so many innocents lost their lives and whether wars of this kind can be deterred in the future.

The world has already made a lot of progress over the last few decades: there are no interstate wars and the number of civil wars has steadily fallen, (albeit the graph has begun an upward turn in the last two years mainly because of mini-wars in West Africa).

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 05 May 2020

People in the Global South Don't Need Debt Relief, They Need a New System

Viewpoint by Meera Karunananthan*

This article was originally published on openDemocracy. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News

OTTAWA (IDN) – "Those who led us into debt were gambling, as if they were in a casino … there is talk of a crisis. No. They gambled. They lost … We cannot repay the debt because we have nothing to pay it with. If we do not pay, our creditors will not die. We can be sure of that. On the other hand, if we pay, it is we who will die. Of that we can be equally sure." [Thomas Sankara, President of Burkina Faso, 1983-87]

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 05 May 2020

Photo: U.S.-Sri Lanka month-long military training continued in March and April at Sri Lanka's strategic Trincomalee air and naval base despite travel sanctions and Covid-19 spread on the Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier based in the Indian Ocean - Guam. Credit: Sri Lanka Navy.

Time to End the COVID-19 Fear Psychosis & Militarized Curfews

Viewpoint by Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake

The writer is an anthropologist affiliated with the International Center for Ethnic Studies in Colombo.

"The claim that coronavirus would kill millions without shelter-in-place orders and quarantines is highly questionable .. there's little evidence to confirm that premise ..and current estimates about the Covid-19 fatality rate may be too high by orders of magnitude' – Dr. Eran Bendavid and Dr Jay Bhattacharya, Professor of Medicine at Stanford University.