«Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sparked a new diplomatic brushfire by declaring that the Golan Heights, seized from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war, is and should remain “under Israel’s sovereignty permanently.”» 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sparked a new diplomatic brushfire by declaring that the Golan Heights, seized from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war, is and should remain “under Israel’s sovereignty permanently.” 

But following tough international criticism, Israeli officials said Netanyahu’s statements had been misconstrued and that a 1981 decision to apply Israeli law to the strategic plateau fell short of annexation. 

The debate offers a window into a more nuanced Israeli perspective that, despite statements from the country’s hard-line political leadership, continues to leave the door open, just barely, to a peace deal when Syria’s civil war finally winds down. 

For now, the debate is largely academic.  Syria has been engulfed in civil war for nearly five years, and there is no end in sight.  With Syria, and the Syrian side of the Golan, divided between Syrian troops and various rebel forces, there is nobody to talk to, even if Israel decided to open negotiations. 

But the Golan remains central to any future peace deal with Syria, and its fate is a key part of a 2002 Saudi initiative that offered Israel peace with the Arab world in exchange for a full withdrawal from all territories captured in the 1967 Mideast war.  While that offer is usually connected to areas sought by the Palestinians, the Golan is also considered occupied land by the international community.  Past Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu himself, have held talks with Syria about control of the Golan. 

So when Netanyahu convened his Cabinet for a first-ever meeting in the Golan on April 17, he triggered an international uproar by calling it “sovereign” Israeli territory. 

“The Golan Heights will forever remain in Israel’s hands,” he declared. “ After 50 years, the time has come for the international community to finally recognize that the Golan Heights will remain under Israel’s sovereignty permanently.” 

The US, Israel’s closest ally, quickly criticized Netanyahu, saying the Golan is “not part of Israel.” 

Germany and the European Union also rejected his statement, as did the Arab League, 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Syrian government.  And early this week, the UN Security Council took issue with him. 

“Council members expressed their deep concern over recent Israeli statements about the Golan and stressed that the status of the Golan remains unchanged,” said Council President Liu Jieyi, China’s ambassador to the UN.  He noted a previous 1981 resolution that said Israel’s decision to impose Israeli law on the Golan is “null and void.” 

Colin Lokey, also known as “Tyler Durden,” is breaking the first rule of Fight Club: You do not talk about Fight Club.  He’s also breaking the second rule of Fight Club. ( See the first rule.) 

After more than a year writing for the financial website Zero Hedge under the nom de doom of the cult classic’s anarchic hero, Lokey’s going public.  In doing so, he’s answering a question that has bedeviled Wall Street since the site sprang up seven years ago: Just who is Tyler Durden, anyway? 

The answer, it turns out, is three people.  Following an acrimonious departure this month, in which two-thirds of the trio traded allegations of hypocrisy and mental instability, Lokey, 32, decided to unmask himself and his fellow Durdens. 

Lokey said the other two men are Daniel Ivandjiiski, 37, the Bulgarian-born former analyst long reputed to be behind the site, and Tim Backshall, 45, a well-known credit derivatives strategist. ( Bloomberg LP competes with Zero Hedge in providing financial news and information.) 

In a telephone interview, Ivandjiiski confirmed that the men had been the only Tyler Durdens on the payroll since Lokey came aboard last year, but he criticized his former colleague’s decision to come forward. 

He called Lokey’s parting gift a case of sour grapes.  Backshall, meanwhile, declined to comment, referring questions to Ivandjiiski.  A political science graduate with an MBA and a Southern twang, Lokey said he had a checkered past before joining Zero Hedge.  Earlier this month, overwork landed him in a hospital because he felt a panic attack coming on, he said. 

“Ultimately we wish Colin all the best, he’s clearly a troubled individual in many ways, and we are frankly disappointed that he’s decided to take his displeasure with the company in such a public manner,” Ivandjiiski said. 

The Schism

Ivandjiiski worked for a hedge fund before being barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in 2008 for insider trading.  He didn’t admit or deny wrongdoing, the agency said.  Backshall is a familiar face on financial news networks who has been quoted by media outlets, including Bloomberg.  His involvement with Zero Hedge, along with that of Lokey, hasn’t been widely known. 

The schism between the men sheds light on a website popular among market professionals, one that mixes detailed financial analysis with sensational headlines such as “The Coming War Will Solve Our Unemployment & Growth Problem” and “Exposed—How Two Janet Yellen Phone Calls Saved The World.” 

Since being founded in the depths of the financial crisis, Zero Hedge has grown from a blog to an Internet powerhouse.  Often distrustful of the “establishment” and almost always bearish, it’s known for a pessimistic world view.  Posts entitled “Stocks Are In a Far More Precarious State Than Was Ever Truly Believed Possible” and “America’s Entitled (And Doomed) Upper Middle Class” are not uncommon. 

The site’s ethos is perhaps best summed up by the tagline at the top of its homepage, also borrowed from Fight Club: “On a long enough timeline the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.”  A paean to populism, the 1999 film is filled with loathing for consumerism and the financial system.  Brad Pitt portrays Tyler Durden as hell-bent on bringing down the corrupt system of the global elite—an attitude often reflected in Zero Hedge’s content. 

With that in mind, the website has argued that “pseudonymous speech” is necessary amid an atmosphere of stifled public dissent—hence the “Tyler Durden” alias was born.  In earlier years, Durden was joined by “Marla Singer,” another Fight Club character, as one of the site’s most prominent authors. 

“It reminds me of a successful information operation where you mix in the propaganda stories along with other legitimate stories,” said Craig Pirrong, finance professor at the University of Houston. “ There are some interesting things on it, and then there are the crazy things.” 

Profit Motive

Despite holding itself out as a town crier for market angst, transcripts from Zero Hedge internal chat sessions provided by Lokey reveal a focus on Web traffic by the Durdens.  Headlines are debated and a relentless publishing schedule maintained to keep readers sated.  Lokey said the emphasis on profit—and what he considered political bias at the site—motivated him to quit. 

He pointed to the wealth of the Durdens as a factor.  Ivandjiiski has a multimillion-dollar mansion in Mahwah, N.J., and Backshall lives in a plush San Francisco suburb—not exactly reflections of Pitt’s anticapitalist icon. “ What you are reading at Zero Hedge is nonsense.  And you shouldn’t support it,” Lokey wrote in an e-mail. “ Two guys who live a lifestyle you only dream of are pretending to speak for you.” 

Lokey adds: “Durden lives in a castle.  If you’ve seen Fight Club, you know how ironic that is.” 

A former “director of contributor success” at website Seeking Alpha, Lokey said he joined Zero Hedge for $6,000 a month and received an annual bonus of $50,000, earning more than $100,000 last year.  His salary helped pay the rent on a “very nice” condominium on South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island, he said.  Despite the compensation, he contends that he left because he disagreed with the site’s editorial vision. “ Reality checks are great.  But Zero Hedge ceased to serve that public service years ago,” Lokey wrote. “ They care what generates page views.  Clicks.  Money.” 

Zero Hedge founder Ivandjiiski defended the site, adding that it’s designed to be a for-profit entity. “ Ultimately, the website makes money, and it’s profitable, which is also why we’ve never had to seek outside funding or any outside money—our only revenue is from advertising, always has been since day one,” he said. “ Obviously, every publisher’s mission is to maximize revenue and page views, and we think that we do it in a way that is appropriate.” 

Outside the Bubble

Any website’s focus on traffic and revenue certainly isn’t unusual.  But Lokey said he was irked by what he saw as the hypocrisy of Zero Hedge and how it runs counter to its antiestablishment image.  In the chat transcripts, Ivandjiiski refers to America’s “silent majority” as “beastly,” while Backshall acknowledges life in the U.S. is bad “outside of my bubble.” 

Ivandjiiski disagreed with the suggestion that personal worth or lifestyle precluded them from donning the mask of Durden (the character who quipped “the things you own end up owning you”) to deride the prevailing order. “ We’ve never said that we are pro-socialist,” he said. 

Lokey, who said he wrote much of the site’s political content, claimed there was pressure to frame issues in a way he felt was disingenuous. “ I tried to inject as much truth as I could into my posts, but there’s no room for it. “ Russia=good.  Obama=idiot.  Bashar al-Assad=benevolent leader.  John Kerry= dunce.  Vladimir Putin=greatest leader in the history of statecraft,” Lokey wrote, describing his take on the website’s politics.  Ivandjiiski countered that Lokey could write “anything and everything he wanted directly without anyone writing over it.” 

Working at Zero Hedge was also exhausting, Lokey said, and typically involved early morning starts and writing as many as 15 posts a day of as many as 1,500 words each.  The work didn’t stop on the weekends, either.  Text messages exchanged between Lokey and Ivandjiiski, screen shots of which were provided by the latter, paint the picture of a work environment that ranged from exhilarating to exasperating. 

For instance, Lokey says he’s “scared to even ask for an hour off,” while Ivandjiiski replies that “if you ever need time off for whatever reason, never hesitate to just ask.”  In February, Lokey says, “I love this company and this website,” and tells Ivandjiiski “you saved my life,” expressing thanks for the job. 

By April 2—the day Lokey left Zero Hedge—their relationship had deteriorated significantly, according to the messages provided by Ivandjiiski. 

“I can’t be a 24-hour cheerleader for Hezbollah, Moscow, Tehran, Beijing, and Trump anymore.  It’ s wrong.  Period.  I know it gets you views now, but it will kill your brand over the long run,” Lokey texted Ivandjiiski. “ This isn’t a revolution.  It’s a joke.” 

«China was among the first to label “Internet addiction” a clinical disorder»

*

«The program featured in this video admits teenagers, usually male, whose parents typically take them there against their will»

*

«Once inside, the children are kept behind bars and guarded by soldiers»

*

«Patients undergo military-inspired physical training, and their sleep and diet are carefully regulated»

*

«Tao Ran, the center’s director, claims a 70 percent success rate.» 

*

«If that’s true, perhaps China’s treatment model is something other nations should embrace, however disturbing it may seem to outsiders»

* * * * * *

«The day starts with a shrill whistle at 6.30am.  The patients hurriedly line up in the hallway, dressed in camouflage T-shirts.  A monitor bellows out each of their names, a routine that is repeated a further five times a day.  They have 20 minutes to wash and arrive at the exercise ground for their first set of military training.» 

Compulsive Internet use has been categorized as a mental health issue in many countries, including the United States, but China was among the first to label “Internet addiction” a clinical disorder. 

In this Op-Doc video, we show the inner workings of a rehabilitation center where Chinese teenagers are “deprogrammed.”  The Internet Addiction Treatment Center, in Daxing, a suburb of Beijing, was established in 2004.  It was one of the first of its kind – and there are now hundreds of treatment programs throughout China and South Korea. ( The first inpatient Internet addiction program in the United States recently opened in Pennsylvania.) 

The program featured in this video admits teenagers, usually male, whose parents typically take them there against their will.  Once inside, the children are kept behind bars and guarded by soldiers.  Treatment, which often lasts three to four months, includes medication and therapy, and sometimes includes parents.  Patients undergo military-inspired physical training, and their sleep and diet are carefully regulated.  These techniques (some of which are also used in China to treat other behavioral disorders) are intended to help the patients reconnect with reality. 

Yet after four months of filming in this center (for our documentary “Web Junkie”), some vital questions remained: Are the children being accurately evaluated?  And is the treatment effective?  In many cases, it seemed parents were blaming the Internet for complex social and behavioral issues that may defy such interventions. ( For example, we noticed that some patients experienced difficult family relationships, social introversion and a lack of friends in the physical world.)  Tao Ran, the center’s director, claims a 70 percent success rate.  If that’s true, perhaps China’s treatment model is something other nations should embrace, however disturbing it may seem to outsiders.  There is still no real global consensus among experts about what constitutes addiction to the Internet, and whether the concept even exists, particularly in a strict medical sense. 

What is clear is that this issue is not confined to China.  With millions (if not billions) glued to screens and electronic devices, the overuse of technology is becoming a universal, transnational concern.  While treatment methods may vary, one way or another, we will need to find effective ways to moderate our use of technology and provide help to those who need it. 

MOKCHEON, South Korea — The compound — part boot camp, part rehab center — resembles programs around the world for troubled youths.  Drill instructors drive young men through military-style obstacle courses, counselors lead group sessions, and there are even therapeutic workshops on pottery and drumming. 

But these young people are not battling alcohol or drugs.  Rather, they have severe cases of what many in this country believe is a new and potentially deadly addiction: cyberspace. 

They come here, to the Jump Up Internet Rescue School, the first camp of its kind in South Korea and possibly the world, to be cured. 

South Korea boasts of being the most wired nation on earth.  In fact, perhaps no other country has so fully embraced the Internet.  Ninety percent of homes connect to cheap, high-speed broadband, online gaming is a professional sport, and social life for the young revolves around the “PC bang,” dim Internet parlors that sit on practically every street corner. 

But such ready access to the Web has come at a price as legions of obsessed users find that they cannot tear themselves away from their computer screens. 

Compulsive Internet use has been identified as a mental health issue in other countries, including the United States.  However, it may be a particularly acute problem in South Korea because of the country’s nearly universal Internet access. 

It has become a national issue here in recent years, as users started dropping dead from exhaustion after playing online games for days on end.  A growing number of students have skipped school to stay online, shockingly self-destructive behavior in this intensely competitive society. 

Up to 30 percent of South Koreans under 18, or about 2.4 million people, are at risk of Internet addiction, said Ahn Dong-hyun, a child psychiatrist at Hanyang University in Seoul who just completed a three-year government-financed survey of the problem. 

They spend at least two hours a day online, usually playing games or chatting.  Of those, up to a quarter million probably show signs of actual addiction, like an inability to stop themselves from using computers, rising levels of tolerance that drive them to seek ever longer sessions online, and withdrawal symptoms like anger and craving when prevented from logging on. 

To address the problem, the government has built a network of 140 Internet-addiction counseling centers, in addition to treatment programs at almost 100 hospitals and, most recently, the Internet Rescue camp, which started this summer.  Researchers have developed a checklist for diagnosing the addiction and determining its severity, the K-Scale. ( The K is for Korea.) 

In September, South Korea held the first international symposium on Internet addiction. 

“Korea has been most aggressive in embracing the Internet,” said Koh Young-sam, head of the government-run Internet Addiction Counseling Center. “ Now we have to lead in dealing with its consequences.” 

Though some health experts here and abroad question whether overuse of the Internet or computers in general is an addiction in the strict medical sense, many agree that obsessive computer use has become a growing problem in many countries. 

Doctors in China and Taiwan have begun reporting similar disorders in their youth.  In the United States, Dr. Jerald J. Block, a psychiatrist at Oregon Health and Science University, estimates that up to nine million Americans may be at risk for the disorder, which he calls pathological computer use.  Only a handful of clinics in the United States specialize in treating it, he said. 

“Korea is on the leading edge,” Dr. Block said. “ They are ahead in defining and researching the problem, and recognize as a society that they have a major issue.” 

The rescue camp, in a forested area about an hour south of Seoul, was created to treat the most severe cases.  This year, the camp held its first two 12-day sessions, with 16 to 18 male participants each time. ( South Korean researchers say an overwhelming majority of compulsive computer users are male.) 

The camp is entirely paid for by the government, making it tuition-free.  While it is too early to know whether the camp can wean youths from the Internet, it has been receiving four to five applications for each spot.  To meet demand, camp administrators say they will double the number of sessions next year. 

During a session, participants live at the camp, where they are denied computer use and allowed only one hour of cellphone calls a day, to prevent them from playing online games via the phone.  They also follow a rigorous regimen of physical exercise and group activities, like horseback riding, aimed at building emotional connections to the real world and weakening those with the virtual one. 

“It is most important to provide them experience of a lifestyle without the Internet,” said Lee Yun-hee, a counselor. “ Young Koreans don’t know what this is like.” 

Initially, the camp had problems with participants sneaking away to go online, even during a 10-minute break before lunch, Ms. Lee said.  Now, the campers are under constant surveillance, including while asleep, and are kept busy with chores, like washing their clothes and cleaning their rooms. 

One participant, Lee Chang-hoon, 15, began using the computer to pass the time while his parents were working and he was home alone.  He said he quickly came to prefer the virtual world, where he seemed to enjoy more success and popularity than in the real one. 

He spent 17 hours a day online, mostly looking at Japanese comics and playing a combat role-playing game called Sudden Attack.  He played all night, and skipped school two or three times a week to catch up on sleep. 

When his parents told him he had to go to school, he reacted violently.  Desperate, his mother, Kim Soon-yeol, sent him to the camp. 

“He didn’t seem to be able to control himself,” said Mrs. Kim, a hairdresser. “ He used to be so passionate about his favorite subjects” at school. “ Now, he gives up easily and gets even more absorbed in his games.” 

Her son was reluctant at first to give up his pastime. 

“I don’t have a problem,” Chang-hoon said in an interview three days after starting the camp. “ Seventeen hours a day online is fine.”  But later that day, he seemed to start changing his mind, if only slightly. 

As a drill instructor barked orders, Chang-hoon and 17 other boys marched through a cold autumn rain to the obstacle course.  Wet and shivering, Chang-hoon began climbing the first obstacle, a telephone pole with small metal rungs.  At the top, he slowly stood up, legs quaking, arms outstretched for balance.  Below, the other boys held a safety rope attached to a harness on his chest. 

“Do you have anything to tell your mother?”  the drill instructor shouted from below. 

“No!”  he yelled back. 

“Tell your mother you love her!”  ordered the instructor. 

“I love you, my parents!”  he replied. 

“Then jump!”  ordered the instructor.  Chang-hoon squatted and leapt to a nearby trapeze, catching it in his hands. 

“Fighting!”  yelled the other boys, using the English word that in South Korea means the rough equivalent of “Don’t give up!” 

After Chang-hoon descended, he said, “That was better than games!” 

Was it thrilling enough to wean him from the Internet? 

“I’m not thinking about games now, so maybe this will help,” he replied. “ From now on, maybe I’ll just spend five hours a day online.” 

There are 632 million internet users in China – and 24 million of its children are thought to be hooked.  The Telegraph visits a controversial military-style boot camp where desperate parents send their offspring in the hope of weaning them off the web. 

*

Chen Fei is nervous.  His parents had told him that they would be travelling to Beijing once school broke up for the summer, but had been clear that this would not be a holiday.  He has found himself in an inconspicuous building that was formerly a technology institute in Daxing, a working-class district south of Beijing.  There are 70 adolescents milling about in military-style T-shirts.  These slight, mostly bespectacled teenagers are in direct contrast to the burly men that appear to be serving as their guards. 

In a small room inside the centre, while her son waits outside, Chen’s mother is crying as she explains to a psychiatrist why they have travelled more than 600 miles from their home in the central province of Henan. ‘ Our son’s addiction to the internet is destroying our family,’ she says. ‘ About two years ago he started going to cybercafes to play online, but we gave it little thought.  He was a good student and we knew he had to relax.  Yet the sessions became longer and he began to play every day.  His schoolwork suffered so we tried to convince his teachers and classmates to distance him from that scene, but about six months ago he completely lost control and spent more than 20 hours in front of a computer.’ 

‘We can’t control him any more,’ his father adds.  Which is why the family are here, at the Daxing Internet Addiction Treatment Centre, ready to enrol their son. ‘ We want him to understand what is happening to him, to heal, and for this nightmare to be over,’ his father says. 

It is decided that Chen will be committed to the centre for a period of three to six months – perhaps longer if he does not respond positively.  He will undergo a therapy treatment designed by Tao Ran, a psychiatrist and colonel in the People’s Liberation Army, that combines military discipline with traditional techniques to overcome addiction.  A doctor explains to Chen’s parents that their son will be denied access to all electronic devices, will be prohibited from having any outside contact, and will have to follow all orders.  It will be a difficult process, he warns. 

Chen will be one of 6,000 boys and (occasionally) girls to have entered the centre since it opened in 2006.  When his mother breaks the news, he looks at her with repressed anger but does not utter a word as he is led away by one of Daxing’s psychologists.  Then he snaps. ‘ You bitch!  How dare you do this to me,’ he shouts, rushing towards her.  It takes five attendants to subdue him. 

‘Internet addiction leads to problems in the brain similar to those derived from heroin consumption,’ Tao says in his office at the centre’s headquarters, a new building added in 2013 to increase patient capacity to 130. ‘ But, generally, it is even more damaging.  It destroys relationships and deteriorates the body without the person knowing.  All of them have eyesight and back problems and suffer from eating disorders.  In addition, we have discovered that their brain capacity is reduced by eight per cent, and the psychological afflictions are serious.  If someone is spending six hours or more on the internet, we consider that to be an addiction.’ 

According to Tao, who began specialising in addiction treatment in 1991, 90 per cent of patients suffer from severe depression and 58 per cent have attacked their parents. ‘ According to official statistics, 67 per cent of juvenile misdemeanours are committed by internet addicts that idolise the mafia and have difficulty differentiating between reality and fiction,’ he says. ‘ I fear the trend will increase, because the problem is especially grave in China.’ 

A Chinese anti-videogame activist and university lecturer, Dr Tao Hongkai, has led the opposition to Daxing’s practices.  Another doctor, New Zealander Trent Bax, wrote his PhD about Daxing and considers Tao Ran’s methods a form of torture.  They both contest Tao’s assertion that internet addiction is comparable with drug addiction as the withdrawal symptoms are not linked to the taking of substances.  They believe internet addiction should be considered a social deviation, and not a medically ‘curable’ condition. 

The day starts with a shrill whistle at 6.30am.  The patients hurriedly line up in the hallway, dressed in camouflage T-shirts.  A monitor bellows out each of their names, a routine that is repeated a further five times a day.  They have 20 minutes to wash and arrive at the exercise ground for their first set of military training. 

‘They are very arrogant when they arrive but in bad physical shape,’ Ma Liqiang, a former soldier and now the centre’s behaviour instructor, explains. ‘ They fall apart when they have to run or do push-ups.  This puts them in their place.’  I spot several red-faced, panting boys stop jogging and slow to a walk.  The centre’s seven girls run by, laughing at them.  Embarrassed, the boys unsuccessfully attempt to pick up the pace. ‘ They must learn to respect authority, get into shape, and create a very orderly routine,’ Ma says. ‘ In the beginning it is difficult, but after a few months, the results are apparent.’ 

Tao Ran intends his treatment to become standard practice for internet addiction.  He claims a success rate of 75 per cent since 2008, though there is no way of accurately substantiating this.  But there are already about 300 clinics in China that incorporate elements of his model – mainly the military discipline.  His manifesto has been published in 22 languages. ‘ It was the Sars epidemic of 2003 that appears to have been a critical moment,’ he says. ‘ The majority of students had to remain at home at the same time the internet was taking off.  Without supervision, many started to play excessively.  Soon after, a number of parents asked me for help.’ 

Tao first treated 17 adolescents, but failed in every case.  In 2005 he started to admit patients to the military hospital where he worked for a 30-day period. ‘ The success rate was only 30 per cent but this first step helped me to understand how the disorder functions,’ he says. ‘ In 2007 I got permission to bring in the kids for three months, and a year later we started to involve the parents in the treatment.  Their participation has been key to the method’s success.’ 

Wang Shupei, a construction worker, is one of the parents who understands their role. ‘ Our son came to the centre for the first time in March last year and stayed for eight months,’ he says. ‘ But soon after leaving, he began to play online again.’  So three months ago they returned to Daxing.  They have spent 170,000 yuan (about £17,500) so far, a fortune for rural families. 

Tao Ran says that a month of therapy costs ‘a reasonable’ 9,300 yuan, but several parents tell me this does not include meals, medical tests or medication – courses of drugs including antidepressants and sedatives are individually prescribed. 

Most consider it a necessary financial sacrifice.  There is a follow-up ‘after-care’ schedule, and parents are briefed on how best to supervise their child’s gradual reintegration to the web.  Tao considers a patient cured if they are able to use the internet for less than six hours a day six months after leaving the centre.  Despite – perhaps because of – this relatively low ‘success’ benchmark, there are plenty of familiar faces at Daxing.  Twenty-two-year-old Li Wenchao is a repeat patient, and although the specialists have discharged him he has decided to stay on. ‘ I am afraid to go back to a normal life,’ he says. ‘ I fear I will become addicted again.  That is why I have asked to stay longer, until I develop enough confidence to deal with life.’ 

«Mr Reusch is clearly a reliable official, and his superiors have the authority to decide his professional career.  If he’s being promoted, then that is in accord with the normal regulations of civil service law.» 

Berlin state prosecutor Roman Reusch has been promoted to a position that gives him more power to deport foreign criminals.  The only problem – he is a leading member of the right-wing populist AfD party. 

*

Berlin lawyers and immigrant community organizations have expressed anger at the appointment of Roman Reusch to “directing chief state prosecutor,” despite being one of the chairmen of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the neighboring state of Brandenburg. 

Reusch’s new position gives him authority to cooperate with foreign law enforcement authorities and deport foreign criminals.  According to the Turkish association of Berlin and Brandenburg (TBB), his political views make him unsuited to the job. 

“It is more than worrying that a leading member of the AfD, which famously employs scorn against refugees and Islam is now getting an important position,” TBB spokeswoman Ayse Demir said in a statement. 

Right to political engagement

But the Berlin prosecutor defended the appointment. “ Reusch has done outstanding work,” spokesman Martin Steltner told “Der Spiegel” magazine. “ He is not a member of a banned organization, he has a right to be politically engaged.” 

The AfD, meanwhile, has professed itself to be confused at the controversy. “ I don’t understand it,” the AfD’s Brandenburg leader Alexander Gauland told the magazine. “ Mr Reusch is clearly a reliable official, and his superiors have the authority to decide his professional career.  If he’s being promoted, then that is in accord with the normal regulations of civil service law.  The fact that he belongs to the AfD plays no role in that.” 

Reusch’s appointment is seen as particularly sensitive because of a 2007 interview in which he suggested that young offenders should be locked up as a warning. “ If it is legally possible at all, then we reach for investigative custody as a means of education,” he told the magazine as part of a debate. 

He also made comments that many interpreted as xenophobic at the time: “Nearly 80 percent of my perpetrators have an immigrant background, 70 percent are Middle Eastern migrants.  Every one of these foreign perpetrators has no business whatsoever in this country.” 

In response, Berlin’s justice minister at the time, Gisela von der Aue, had him removed from his job as head of the repeat offenders’ department. 

Lawyers unite

Reusch’s promotion also touched a nerve with Berlin defense lawyers, who released a statement last week condemning it. “ The promotion of state prosecutor Reusch raises concern … that the state prosecutor is willing to make itself the judicial arm of the AfD,” the association of Berlin defense attorneys said. “ It is damaging the potential trust in the neutrality of their decisions.” 

The lawyers added that a prosecutor who makes statements such as those quoted in “Der Spiegel” in 2007 was not suitable for his role.  The TBB’s Demir went further, calling it a “scandal, that a state prosecutor who was moved because of his highly discriminatory statements is now being made chief state prosecutor.” 

The Turkish organization also implied that Berlin politics may have played a role in the appointment.  The city state is electing a new parliament in September, and the mainstream governing parties the Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats are facing a challenge from the AfD. The far-right party recently polled as high as 13 percent and has national momentum following successful results in three state elections in March. 

Although it is perfectly legal in Germany for an active member of a political party to be employed in the judiciary, membership of a party on the fringes of the mainstream has been used previously (though rarely) to prevent state officials taking certain posts. 

The media outlet “Heise” pointed out last week that Germany’s highest administrative court ruled in 1960 that a “civil servant may … be fired, if through his behavior he brought occasion to doubt his personal or professional suitability to take a state job for life.” 

Now, AfD chairman, Roman Reusch has been promoted to chief state prosecutor, giving him the power and authority to cooperate with foreign law enforcement and deport foreign criminals.  Reusch has been given this role despite his anti-immigration views, and for some, this makes him unsuitable for the job. 

Ayse Demir, spokeswoman for the Turkish Association of Berlin and Brandenburg (TBB) said in a statement:

“It is more than worrying that a leading member of the AfD, which famously employs scorn against refugees and Islam is now getting an important position.” 

Ms Demir, has not been the only one to express concerns at his appointment — many immigration campaigners and charities have also voiced their worries. 

However, with every negative view there have been those who are in favor of Reusch and his controversial promotion. 

Martin Steltner, a Berlin prosecutor, defended the appointment saying, in a recent interview:

“Reusch has done an outstanding job, he is not a member of a banned organization, he has the right to be politically engaged.” 

Further support for the promotion came from Reusch’s very own party. 

“I don’t understand it, Mr Reusch is clearly a reliable official, and his superiors have the authority to decide his professional career.  If he is being promoted, then that is in accord with the normal regulations of civil service law.  The fact he belongs to AfD plays no role in that,” said Alexander Gauland, a leading AfD politician. 

Reusch’s controversial opinions have not gone unnoticed and could be one of the reasons why people have been against this new promotion.  In an interview he gave in 2008, he suggested that young offenders should be locked up with no warning. 

Within the same interview some of his comments were also seen as xenophobic, he said: “Nearly 80 per cent of my perpetrators have an immigrant background, 70 per cent are from the Middle-East.  These foreign perpetrators have no business in this country”. 

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — This week a parliament member from Germany’s Christian Social Union (CSU) party Alexander Radwan recommended the introduction of “church tax” for Muslims living in Germany, telling Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that this could be done similarly to the “existing church tax for Catholics and Protestants”. 

“We don’t want [any] German tax agency to collect money for Muslim [cause], be it a local agent in Bavaria or a national agent in Berlin’s ministry of finance.  Faithful Muslims shall benefit — as every religion — from our religious freedoms, but not from taxpayers’ money.  They must fund their church by themselves,” AfD spokesperson Ronald Glaser said in reaction to Radwan’s initiative. 

According to the German Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the tax to fund church activities amounts to 8-9 percent of the total income tax and is paid by every church member registered as Catholic, Protestant or Jewish.  Mosques and Islamic kindergartens across Germany are funded by foreign countries such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which Radwan proposes to ban. 

“We would also prefer that foreign government[s] or institutions shall not be allowed to fund Muslim activities in Germany,” Glaser said. 

Germany is a home to four million Muslims, and many of migrants who have recently arrived to the country also adhere to Islam. 

A leading member of the German anti-immigrant Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party has been appointed Berlin state prosecutor, a position which gives him power to deport foreign criminals. 

Berlin lawyers and immigrant groups have criticised state authorities for appointing Brandenburg AfD chairman Roman Reusch as state prosecutor, after controversial comments he made in a 2008 interview that up to 80% of repeat offenders had an immigrant background. 

“It is more than worrying that a leading member of the AfD, which famously employs scorn against refugees and Islam is now getting an important position,” said Ayse Demir, spokeswoman for the Turkish association of Berlin and Brandenburg (TBB), reported Deutsche Welle. 

Amid increasing opposition to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door refugee policy the AfD has soared in popularity, with a strong showing in three German states in recent regional elections. 

Its critics though claim the party is guilty of whipping up racism and xenophobia, with its leader, Frauke Petry, calling on police to shoot immigrants who entered the country illegally. 

Brandenburg AfD leader Alexander Gauland said he didn’t understand the controversy. “ I do not understand, Mr Reusch is obviously a reliable officer.  Over the course of his career, this is for his superiors to decide,” Gauland told Der Spiegel. 

Berlin prosecutors’ office defended the appointment. “ Reusch has done outstanding work,” spokesman Martin Steltner told Der Spiegel magazine. “ He is not a member of a banned organization, he has a right to be politically engaged.” 

Reusch was dismissed from his position as head of the state’s repeat offenders department in 2008 after making allegedly xenophobic comments in a media interview. 

“Nearly 80% of my perpetrators have an immigrant background, 70% are Middle Eastern migrants,” he said. “ Every one of these foreign perpetrators has no business whatsoever in this country.”  In the same interview he called for young offenders to be jailed “as a means of education”. 

The Association of Berlin Defence Attorneys also criticised the appointment, claiming the views Reusch expressed in the interview made him ineligible for the job. 

“The promotion of state prosecutor Reusch raises concern… that the state prosecutor is willing to make itself the judicial arm of the AfD,” the association said. “ It is damaging the potential trust in the neutrality of their decisions.” 

Though prominent members of political parties are not barred from the judiciary in Germany, if their behaviour gives reason to doubt their suitability for the role they can be sacked. 

«The 10,000 kroner would be in addition to the 20,000 kroner already given to asylum seekers and migrants in an irregular situation who wish to return voluntarily from Norway to their country of origin». 

Norway already gives refugees who want to return home about $2,400 to do so.  The newly announced bonus of $1,200 is in addition to that base figure, The Local reports. 

The hope of such a plan, which runs for about six weeks and only applies to the first 500 asylum seekers who sign up, is to incentivize refugees to leave the country voluntarily.  It applies to refugees who have entered Norway before April 1 and who have not overstayed their limits. 

The program targets refugees who are unlikely to have successful claims to remain in Norway.  If the government doesn’t find a way to get them out of the country now, they will likely impose a much greater cost later.  Government workers are trying to get word out about the program through spreading fliers across 31 different municipalities. 

According to Integration Minister Sylvi Listhaug, the proposal would save the government an extraordinary amount of money, since operating asylum centers is a huge fiscal burden. 

“We need to entice more to voluntarily travel back by giving them a bit more money on their way out.  This will save us a lot of money because it is expensive to have people in the asylum centres,” Integration Minister Sylvi Listhaug told broadcaster NRK, according to The Local. 

Earlier this year, Listhaug blasted France and Belgium for allowing the creation of immigrant ghettos, which according to her resulted in the terror attacks in Paris and Brussels. 

Listhaug has previously emphasized the need to not be like Sweden, with its overly generous policies for migrants, which often results in completely separate and segregated communities, among other socioeconomic problems. 

“It is obvious that we do have problems, one needs only look at the social statistics,” Listhaug said. 

“We have foreign fighters who have left Norway and radical environments.  We should not stick our heads in the sand and say that everything is good here.  But fortunately we are a long way from the conditions we see in some other countries, for example Sweden,” Listhaug added. 

Norwegian authorities are offering a “bonus” 10,000 kroner (£1,000) to asylum seekers willing to leave the country voluntarily. 

The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) says the measure is less expensive than keeping refugees in immigration centres in the country. 

Launched on Monday, the scheme will run for six weeks, state broadcaster NRK reported UDI saying. 

The money will be paid to the first 500 asylum seekers to apply on a first-come, first-served basis. 

“We need to entice more [people] to voluntarily travel back by giving them a bit more money on their way out.  This will save us a lot of money because it is expensive to have people in the asylum centres,” Sylvi Listhaug, integration minister, said. 

The 10,000 kroner would be in addition to the 20,000 kroner already given to asylum seekers and migrants in an irregular situation who wish to return voluntarily from Norway to their country of origin. 

Ms Listhaug said she hoped this project would be successful and would support those who return to their homeland voluntarily. 

Spain’s political parties on Thursday ruled out last-minute talks to secure a parliamentary majority and form a government, making it virtually inevitable that there will be a new election in June. 

Spain has been without a government since an inconclusive December election and King Felipe VI is due to meet all parties next week in a last-ditch attempt to strike a deal. 

But Acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whose People’s Party (PP) came first in the December vote although well short of a majority, said on Thursday he would tell the king he did not have enough support to form a government. 

The election led to the most fragmented parliament in Spain’s modern history, with the PP winning 123 seats in the 350-seat lower house, the Socialists 90, anti-austerity Podemos 69 and Ciudadanos 40. 

Rajoy also said Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez was to blame for the stalemate. “ Pedro Sanchez can avert the elections.  I call him once more to work on a grand coalition government that would bring stability to Spain,” he tweeted. 

Sanchez has repeatedly ruled out such a possibility and a senior member of the Socialist Party repeated on Thursday that this option was not being considered. 

“Is there seriously somebody who still think there could be a grand coalition with the PP?  Rajoy knows it from day one, we ran in the elections to make sure he would no longer be prime minister,” said the party’s leader in parliament, Antonio Hernando. 

Hernando also criticized the anti-austerity party Podemos (“We Can”) for not agreeing to back a three-way coalition with the Socialists and liberal newcomer Ciudadanos (“Citizens”). 

Nearly 90 percent of Podemos members last week voted against such a government and the party opened the door on Wednesday to running on a joint platform with a former communist movement if a new vote is called, in a bid to overtake the Socialists as the biggest leftwing political force. 

Meanwhile, Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera, whose alliance with the Socialists failed to win enough parliamentary support, called on Rajoy and Sanchez to take a step back and allow a “transition” government lead by an independent figure to be voted in. 

“We should assume that we have failed and we should work on a consensus government that could make reforms,” Rivera told Telecinco television. 

«Turkish nationalism, Islamism and calling the 9/11 terrorist attacks “accidents” are probably the last things you’d associate with the Swedish Green Party, the junior member of the ruling coalition.  You’d be wrong»

*

«One of its ministers resigned amid links to Turkish nationalists and revelations he had compared Israel’s policies to Nazism»

*

«Party leader Romson was then pilloried for calling the 9/11 U.S. terrorist attacks “accidents,”»

*

«another key member resigned amid a feminist uproar over his refusal to shake hands with women»

Turkish nationalism, Islamism and calling the 9/11 terrorist attacks “accidents” are probably the last things you’d associate with the Swedish Green Party, the junior member of the ruling coalition.  You’d be wrong. 

Missteps by the group are adding to the woes Social Democratic Prime Minister Stefan Loefven, whose government is buckling under record low poll numbers amid the biggest inflow of refugees in history.  Green Party leaders Asa Romson and Gustav Fridolin have called a press conference at 11:30 a.m., without saying what it will be about. 

The Greens haven’t had it easy since joining the government in 2014 but last week was especially bad.  One of its ministers resigned amid links to Turkish nationalists and revelations he had compared Israel’s policies to Nazism.  Party leader Romson was then pilloried for calling the 9/11 U.S. terrorist attacks “accidents,” while another key member resigned amid a feminist uproar over his refusal to shake hands with women. 

At week’s end, an exacerbated premier said he couldn’t exclude a broader cabinet reshuffle and that a decision would come soon.  He reassured the country on where his self-declared feminist government stood on shaking hands: In Sweden “men and women shake hands” and there’s “zero tolerance on discrimination,” he said. 

The turmoil “of course makes the work in government more difficult,” Loefven said as he reaffirmed that the collaboration with the Greens is a prerequisite for his minority government to hold together. 

The uproar, augmented by the links to Islamism, reveals a growing unease in Sweden — and in its government — over immigration.  The 10 million-people nation is faced with absorbing almost 250,000 refugees, many of whom are Muslims from war-torn nations such as Syria and Afghanistan. 

The Greens have borne the brunt of the growing anxiety since it has been the most outspoken in favor of open borders, which also helped it attract immigrant politicians.  Party leader Asa Romson last year almost shed tears at the press conference where the government revealed that Sweden would start border checks and tighten asylum rules. 

Some 65 percent of Swedes want the Greens to leave the government, while only 29 percent have faith in the premier, a Demoskop poll in Expressen showed on Friday. 

Yasri Khan, who was poised to join the Green’s executive board before the hand-shaking revelation, is now considering whether to leave the party.  The 30-year-old Stockholm native said he even misses the former conservative prime minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, who joined with the Greens to craft the now abandoned open door policy to refugees. 

“Many Muslims now feel that there’s no room for us in this society, or in politics,” Khan, who’s head of Swedish Muslims for Peace and Justice, said in a phone interview. “ In the past week I’ve had to defend norms as a practicing Muslim.  I think it’s very cowardly of the government.” 

The cabinet member that resigned, Housing Minister Mehmet Kaplan, said that he stepped down because the accusations against him made it impossible for him to do his job while also also renouncing all forms of extremism.  The 44-year-old, who emigrated from Turkey when he was one, was photographed at a dinner with a member of the Grey Wolves, a Turkish ultra-nationalist group.  A 2009 recording later surfaced of him likening Israel’s policies toward of Palestinians to the Nazi’s treatment of the Jews. 

For now, Loefven and the Greens can count themselves lucky that the opposition Alliance parties have shown little appetite to force the issue of a government shift. 

“The Green party’s image is weakened,” Jenny Madestam, a social scientist at Soedertoern University, said by phone. “ There may be a government reshuffle, but it’s hard to see it would mean that the Green party would get kicked out of the government.”