Clearing landmines from a Jordan River pilgrimage site

(from The Wall Street Journal)

QASR AL-YAHUD, West Bank—Father Baret Yerezian recalls a time when he didn’t have to walk through a minefield to pray at the traditional site of the baptism of Jesus.

“We would take people, put a small boat in the river and bless them right there in the middle,” said 69-year-old Mr. Yerezian, the director of real estate at the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem. “It was easier then.”

Such free access to the site where St. John the Baptist is said to have baptized Jesus more than 2,000 years ago has been rare in the 50 years since Mr. Yerezian was a teenage clergyman.

Israel wrested control of this West Bank area, known as Qasr al-Yahud, from Jordan in the 1967 war. It then mined the entire site on the banks of the Jordan River to ward off attacks from across the border. But Israel signed a peace treaty with Jordan in 1994 and their border has been relatively quiet for more than 20 years.

Israel cleared a part of the baptismal site in 2011 and it has since become a popular attraction for visiting Christian pilgrims. Now Israeli and Palestinian officials have agreed to allow U.S. and U.K.-based demining group HALO Trust to clear the rest of the site—about 136 acres. HALO and Israeli defense officials estimate the area is littered with more than 3,000 antipersonnel and antitank mines and an unknown number of improvised explosive devices. The plan is to clear all the mines within two years.

All told, eight Christian denominations will get access to land, five churches and monasteries, and a few outhouses that have lain dormant for almost five decades. More than 300,000 tourists already visit the site each year; officials say they expect that the mine clearance will only boost those numbers, something that could lead to further development in the area.

Palestinian officials generally condemn Israeli development of tourism sites on land that they claim for a future state. But officials say they support the demining of Qasr al-Yahud.

The Israeli, Palestinian and religious officials involved in the demining project said they hope it will broadcast a message of religious tolerance in the region.

“The most important thing is to again allow the area for pilgrims to pray,” Noel Muscat, the Franciscan Superior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, said at a recent meeting of leaders of all eight denominations involved.

“Eventually, you will be able to walk freely from each church down to the river,” Ronen Shimoni, head of West Bank operations at HALO, said as he walked the area.

The churches and monasteries were largely built in the 1930s during the British Mandate period. The crumbling structures sit in dusty fenced-off yards and are covered in bullet holes—remnants after the 1967 war. After that conflict, Israeli officials say military documents show that the army placed antitank mines on flat ground to deter armored vehicles from crossing the Jordan River.

Following skirmishes between Palestine Liberation Organization operatives and the Jordanian army and Israeli soldiers post-1967, Israel also placed antipersonnel mines on the site and booby-traps in the buildings to ensure they couldn’t be used as staging areas for attacks on Israel and Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Qasr al-Yahud is just one part of more than 35 square miles of land in Israel and the West Bank designated to be cleared of mines.

 

Canada adopts UN declaration on rights of Indigenous Peoples

(from CBCnews)

There were cheers in the United Nations as Canada officially removed its objector status to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Tuesday, almost a decade after it was adopted by the General Assembly.

“We are now a full supporter of the declaration, without qualification,” Bennett said, as she addressed the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at the United Nations in New York City on Tuesday.

“We intend nothing less than to adopt and implement the declaration in accordance with the Canadian Constitution.”

The declaration recognizes Indigenous Peoples’ basic human rights, as well as rights to self-determination, language, equality and land, among others.

Bennett — who received a standing ovation for her statement — is at the United Nations with Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould.

“It was a very emotional moment for me,” said Chief Wilton Littlechild, a Cree lawyer and former commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada who was at the UN on Tuesday. Littlechild has been involved with the UN for nearly 40 years and said he’s rarely seen anyone receive a standing ovation.

Littlechild said today’s announcement marks a beginning to what could be a long process of “harmonizing” Canada’s laws with the standards set in the declaration, and improving the country’s relationship with Indigenous Peoples.

“It can’t be done unilaterally,” said B.C. Grand Chief Edward John, who was also present for Tuesday’s announcement.

John said that by adopting the UN declaration, more than ever Canada must now consult with Indigenous Peoples on any laws or administrative measures that affect them.

“Indigenous governments are not some inferior form of authority,” John said. “They are the original form of authority over their lands, resources and territories.”

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde — who will also be attending the Forum later this week — tweeted that it was a “historic day” as Canada moves toward reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

Army Corps: Coal terminal violates tribal rights, won’t permit

SEATTLE — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday denied a permit to a $700 million project to build the nation’s largest coal-export terminal in northwest Washington state, handing a striking victory to the Lummi tribe which argued the project would violate its treaty-protected fishing rights.

The decision ends the federal environmental review of a deep-water port that would have handled up to 54 million metric tons of dry bulk commodities, mostly coal, at Cherry Point. The venture between SSA Marine and Cloud Peak Energy proposed receiving coal by train from Montana and Wyoming for export to Asia.

Col. John Buck, commander of the corps’ Seattle district, said the Gateway Pacific Terminal project can’t be permitted because the impacts from the trestle and three-vessel wharf would interfere with the tribe’s treaty rights to fish in its traditional areas.

“The corps may not permit a project that abrogates treaty rights,” Buck said.

The Lummi Nation said the Corps honored its treaty with the U.S. and recognized that the project would hurt the tribe’s fishing rights.

“It’s great news for the Lummi, a great win for treaty rights and Indian country,” said Tim Ballew, chairman of the tribe with more than 5,000 members and one of the largest tribal fishing fleets in the country. “The record established, and everybody knew, this project would have negative impacts to treaty fishing rights.”