acrimony

Elections: UN warns against hate speech, acrimony

The UN has advised stakeholders in the forthcoming general elections to avoid messages of hate, politics of acrimony, bitterness and rancour to avoid undermining the peace and stability of Nigeria.

The Special Representative of the  UN Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Mohamed Ibn Chambas, gave the advice in Abuja on Saturday.

Ibn Chambas spoke at a one-day national sensitisation workshop on Broadcast Media Coverage of the 2019 General Elections.

The workshop was organised by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) with the theme: “Fake News, Hate Speech, Vote and PVC Buying”.

Chambas, represented by Dr Zebulon Takwa, Peace and Development Advisor, Resident Coordinator’s Office, emphasised the need for all Nigerian stakeholders to eschew any form of discourse that could ignite tension and violence.

INEC to extend PVC Collection deadline in selected states

The envoy also urged the stakeholders to double their efforts in ensuring issue-based elections that would make Nigeria to succeed.

He expressed the hope that the country would overcome its challenges.

“I hope that Nigeria continues to set the pace in establishing the positive tradition that, as leaders, access to power or quest to retain or consolidate it, must never be stained with blood of any Nigerian.

“Nigeria occupies a strategic position in West Africa, the African continent and indeed, globally.

“It is, therefore, crucial that Nigeria delivers credible, peaceful and fair elections in 2019, in a manner that improves upon the performance of 2015 elections.

“Nigeria, as the `big brother`, has played a critical role in stabilising many parts of Africa and consolidating their democracy; therefore, Africa is looking up to you for leadership,” Chambas said.

He urged that all candidates and political parties be given a level playing field and treated with respect and fairness, saying that UN was looking forward to Nigeria’s 2019 elections with realistic optimism.

“I have equally expressed my concern that fewer women and youth candidates have been fielded by political parties than expected of Nigeria with a large number of women voters and enthusiastic youths, who are eager to take part in nation-building as responsible leaders,” he said.

Chambas assured Nigeria of the commitment of UN to contributing toward violence-free and hitch-free  elections that would symbolise global best practices.

“The United Nations is committed to assisting with any measure that will enhance popular confidence in the electoral process,” he said.

INEC to extend PVC Collection deadline in selected states

The Director-General of NBC, Malam Is’haq Modibbo Kawu, advised broadcasters to assist in deepening the democratic culture by refusing to air narratives dangerous to the peace of the country.

Kawu said that over the past three years, NBC had been sensitising its licencees on the dangers associated with hate and dangerous speech.

“In 2016, we commissioned a team of Nigerian researchers to do an in-depth study of the place of hate and dangerous speech in the 2015 General Elections as well as the manner that the broadcast media became suborned into the controversial political circumstances of the last elections.

“We had used the reports in gathering of broadcasters in Kaduna and Kano; just this week, we were in Lagos.

“Today’s gathering in Abuja is the final one, timed to bring critical stakeholders together on the eve of the 2019 General Elections,” Kawu said.

Acrimony, Fear Reign in Thailand Following Princess’s PM Ploy

BANGKOK — 

The dramatic foray of a Thai princess into the country’s election, which collapsed almost as dramatically as it began over the weekend, has returned Thai politics to a familiar state of turmoil and fear.

In a country that has endured more than 30 attempted coups since 1932, 12 of them successful, rumors are now circulating wildly of another.

“More has happened politically in the past five days than has happened in 15 years, if not 20 years, in Thailand. And this is creating a lot of confusion and everyone is scrambling to keep up with what’s happening,” said Thailand based political risk consultant George McLeod.

Princess Ubolratana Mahidol triggered the pandemonium on Friday by registering as a prime ministerial candidate for upcoming March 24 elections - an unprecedented royal foray into frontline politics.

Initially it was heralded as a political masterstroke as the popular princess was considered a far more appealing electoral prospect than incumbent military junta rule Prayuth Chan-o-cha.

But the move was quickly struck down - first by her younger brother King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who called it highly inappropriate and unconstitutional hours later, and then by the Election Commission on Monday.

Thai royals have long been held to embody a higher moral purity that serves to lift the country above the pettiness of political bickering.

Rules preclude them from participating directly in party politics, though the princess believed she was exempt from these because she relinquished her royal title in 1972.

Thailand’s ultra royalists are still angry over her short dalliance with Thai Raksa Chart - a party under the control of their staunch enemy, exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Leader of Thai Raksa Chart party Preecha Pholphongpanich, center, holds a picture of Princess Ubolratana at election commission of Thailand in Bangkok, Feb. 8, 2019.

Thaksin and the royalists have been quarreling for most of the last two decades in a bitter feud that has fueled bloodshed and two coups, including one in 2014 that returned the country to its current state of military rule.

Now concerns are growing that the already fragile process that was to see a transition back to civilian rule - albeit with many autocratic, military friendly caveats built into the system - could collapse.

A political pressure group called The Association for the Protection of the Thai Constitution, has pushed the Election Commission to dissolve Thai Raksa Chart entirely.

Thai Raksa Chart has reportedly hit back with a member filing a complaint that calls on the commission to disqualify current Prime Minister Prayuth for an alleged constitutional breach as well.

Future Forward party spokesperson Pannika Wanich said that in political circles it was considered a near certainty that Thai Raksa Chart would be dissolved.

But a greater worry for her was that the political turmoil would be used as a justification to call off or postpone the election.

“It is hard to predict Thailand’s political situation right now, but I would say it’s quite gloomy and we don’t expect a coup to happen anytime soon but there is quite a chance, maybe a 30 or 40 percent, of some political accident might happen,” she said.

Pannika said her party was focused on cooling tensions and restoring normality but that if another coup was attempted they would do whatever they could to prevent it.

“We cannot accept that - three coup d'etats in 12 years. That’s too much,” she said.

McLeod said a series of events over the weekend, including the deployment of police, had fueled the rumors.

“You know at the time it’s a very fast situation and I personally didn’t really hang my hat on there being a coup.” he said. “The authorities that were mobilized were police and they were mobilized for the purpose of crowd control, which is consistent with the fact that the EC (Election Commission) is in the process of dissolving the [Thai Raksa Chart] party and possibly Pheu Thai as well."Pheu Thai is the major party controlled by Thaksin’s red-shirt movement and observers have suggested it could also be dissolved by the commission on the grounds that it is linked to Thai Raksa Chart.

McLeod said it looked like Thaksin would pay a heavy price for the stunt.

“What we know is that Thaksin took a gamble and he lost. He took a high stakes gamble and he lost and he lost on something that was the wild card,” he said.

But Pavin Chachavalpongpun, associate professor at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Kyoto University, suggested Thaksin may have got exactly what he wanted.

“If this would be a plot of Thaksin’s party to try and further politicize the monarchy then Thaksin has become successful. If this an attempt on the part of Thaksin to show there is a conflict within members of royal family, then again Thaksin has become successful,” he said.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred uses appearance to fire back at players’ association

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Flitting around to work on your own ended last Thursday, the first organized day of workouts for Nationals pitchers and catchers.

Several arrived in advance of their mandated report date. Some came to Florida weeks before they needed to. Max Scherzer was happy to abandon the chill-ridden District winter in favor of Florida heat. Anibal Sanchez, displaying his veteran smarts, lives in Florida throughout the offseason. He drove up.

Every pitcher and catcher in big-league camp assembled at 9:30 a.m. for what has become a Davey Martinez staple: The Circle of Trust, a daily gathering which Martinez uses to set the tone for the day. It’s on daily schedules the same way stretching and fielding drills are, an import that came with Martinez’s hiring.  

Martinez provided the first tones of camp by stressing an importance of improving each day. Basic. Straight forward. Steady. Not long after, he turned center stage over to 46-year-old Robert Clifton Henley, better known as Bob Henley, the Nationals’ spirit animal and third base coach.

Henley was born in Mobile, Alabama, and continues to reside in the state during the offseason. When asked, he’ll say he’s from “LA,” in his southern twang, which stands for “Lower Alabama” delivering one of his favorite jokes. Recent home improvements at the Henley homestead include a man-made pond which provided a perfect landing spot for one of his sons following a self-launch off a backyard trampoline. Henley determined the process meant he had a “good redneck” kid on his hands.

What follows is an oral history -- as much as one can be divulged and was audible to those nearby -- of Henley’s rambunctious first-day Circle of Trust speech this spring. Martinez told him to bring the energy. The initial speech subsequently included Henley making fun of himself, claiming to be irritated with a theft of his coffee, as well as a surprise delivery of Valentine’s Day balloons “from” newcomer Patrick Corbin.

Davey Martinez: “As you know, Bobby has an unique personality. He gets the guys fired up in the morning. It’s spring training. It’s early. It’s 9:30 [a.m.]. I told him it’s his job to get the guys up, get them ready for the day and bring that energy. Man, he does it every day. I know when I talk to him I get fired up. The players love it. Last year when I told him what I wanted him to do, he said, ‘Are you sure you want me to do that?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ It’s your job to get these guys fired up.”

Reliever Aaron Barrett: “Bobby was actually our [minor league] field coordinator when I first got drafted, so Sammy [Solis] would have been there, Matt Grace would have been there. Stras was probably there the year before. He’s kind of always been that way. There were days when he would come in, he’d be real soft spoken and he would mean business. There were other days where he would fire you up. His personality is fantastic. He’s like family.”

Erick Fedde: “Oh, I mean, he’s the man. Every time he talks, you really don’t know what to expect.”

Koda Glover: “I can’t keep a straight face with him. He cracks me up. He’s hilarious. He gets to going and going and going. I can’t help it. I start laughing.”

[Henley steps into the circle, begins to howl, yelling, gesturing, moving around. He claims he had three coffees and someone stole one. Making this incident all the more egregious in his view is it being Day 1.]

Patrick Corbin: “At first... I haven’t met him yet, so I wasn’t really sure who it was there.”

Matt Grace: “You come to expect it year after year, so it wasn’t anything surprising. I still know he’s going to do stuff like that and I still find myself laughing the entire time. And he called me out, too. Yeah. He called me out.”

[Grace is dinged with faux outrage for selecting tea in the morning as opposed to coffee.]

Grace: “He didn’t like that. I try to go the healthier route.”

[Henley pivots to get an authentic point across, telling the pitchers to speak up if they have a “burner” or soreness during workouts.]

Austen Williams: “He was trying to keep it light. But at the same time, he was making points and trying to get everything squared away for camp. The message was all serious. The delivery, he added a little humor to it.”

[Henley, always slathered in sunscreen for personal health reasons, screams, “You might wonder why is he wearing SPF 1000?!” He goes on to announce, “If I can’t see it, I don’t trust it!”]

Fedde: “It’s always good to laugh at yourself. It makes all the guys know that’s the good mentality of joking around. Don’t be afraid to make fun of yourself, but come together as a team.” 

Trevor Rosenthal: “He was getting after it.”

Corbin: “I was trying to figure out what was going on. Davey spoke. Then [Henley] stepped up and gave his little spiel there. When he said my name at the end, I thought I was going to have some lines or something to say. I thought he missed coming up to me before that and didn’t give me a heads up.”

[Lurking in the background throughout Henley’s speech is “Bob the security guard”, a short, gray-haired Massachusetts native who winters in West Palm Beach and is stationed outside the Nationals clubhouse door. He is holding five balloons.]

[Henley goes on to claim someone stole one of his three air horns, which makes him as enraged as he was with the theft of his coffee, and, presumably, Grace’s tea consumption.]

[Bob approaches, balloons in hand, receives a stare down from Henley.]

Corbin: “[The balloons] were from Patrick Corbin and the pitching staff and [Henley complained about] how I didn’t spend some money to get him a real card.” 

[The gift is enough for Henley to forgive all prior transgressions; he announces it’s 10:03 and apologizes for getting “a little long-winded there.”]

Grace: “He’s awesome. They never get old.”

Williams: “I thought the balloons was a good mix. I didn’t even know what was going on. I thought it was hilarious.”

Rosenthal: “I figured it was kind of his alter ego.”

Wander Suero: [Just starts laughing]

Jeremy Hellickson: [Just starts laughing]

Suero: “A lot of the young guys who don’t know or new guys who don’t know him are probably going to think he’s a clown for what he did. But they’re going to realize the kind of person he really is and they’re going to embrace him because it’s just part of his act to get them to relax and feel welcome.”

Corbin: “The guys were just saying he’s kind of like that a lot. I’m looking forward to more moments like that.”

Joe Ross: “I wouldn’t even say he recycles jokes. He comes up with something new it seems like every year.” 

Hellickson: “It was all my favorite.”