There have been penalties for those who looked the other way when Epstein was convicted of child sex offences and decided to maintain relationships with the financier — but not for the British ambassador to Washington, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES
Blessed are the peacemakers
BOB NEWLAND welcomes the acquittal of Eta-member-turned-peace-negotiator Josu Urrutikoetxea, who was facing terrorism charges in a French court despite a supposed guarantee of immunity
Peace negotiator Josu Urrutikoetxea
Labour’s new Treasury unit will ‘challenge unnecessary regulation’ by forcing nominally independent bodies like Ofwat to bend to business demands — exactly what Iain Anderson’s corporate clients wanted, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
DR DYLAN MURPHY looks at a Big Brother Watch report which exposes the government as an enabler of DWP secret spying on benefit claimants
The EU faces a critical choice: will it remain in the shadow of an increasingly unreliable US ally, or will it forge its own path in a multilateral world where co-operation with China is essential, asks MARC VANDEPITTE as leaders meet for the EU-China Summit
A lot of discussion about how the left should currently organise – including debate on whether the Green Party is a useful vehicle for advance – runs the risk of refusing to engage with or learn from the reasons the left was defeated previously, argues KEVIN OVENDEN
For Egypt trade trumps the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians, but how long can the country’s ‘misleaders’ – and others in the region – continue their indifference against the popular will of their own people, asks ROGER McKENZIE
IN A landmark case for the Basque independence movement, Josu Urrutikoetxea, Basque activist and peace negotiator, was acquitted of all charges following his trial at the 16th Anti-Terrorist Correctional Chamber in Paris.
Urrutikoetxea’s prosecution for “criminal association with a terrorist aim” arose from his role as a peace negotiator during talks between Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (Eta) and the Spanish government.
These ended one of the bloodiest conflicts in 20th-century Europe and led to Eta’s voluntary dissolution. It is the first time that charges against a Basque militant have been dismissed.
This outcome was not simply a personal victory for Urrutikoetxea, welcome though that is. It emphasises the importance of peace negotiators in bringing about the end to conflict and for them to be granted and retain immunity for their work.
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