“All sides in Bangladesh must ensure that journalists can report safely during this delicate time of political transition,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “The attacks on journalists and the blocking of internet and phone service during recent weeks of protests are unacceptable and need to stop immediately.”

At least three Bangladeshi journalists were killed covering unrest in July and dozens more were assaulted either by police, supporters of Hasina’s Awami League party, or protesters. Another journalist, Daily Khoborpatra newspaper correspondent Pradip Kumar Bhowmik, was reported killed on Sunday in northwest Sirajganj city, as well as other fresh attacks on the press.

Sunday’s renewed violence saw further attacks on the media, including The Business Standard newspaper reporters Miraz Hossain and Jahidul Islam, who were beaten in the capital Dhaka by supporters of the Jubo League, the youth wing of the Awami League, Hossain told CPJ.

In addition, the Dhaka offices of multiple pro-Awami League broadcasters including Somoy TV, Ekattor TV, and DBC News, were vandalized on Monday.

On Sunday, the government ordered its second mobile internet shutdown in three weeks and on Monday broadband services were suspended for about three hours. Services resumed on Monday afternoon as Hasina fled the country after protesters stormed her palace.

Army spokesperson Sami-Ud-Dowla Chowdhury and the Jubo League general secretary Mainul Hossain Khan Nikhil did not respond to CPJ’s requests for comment via messaging app.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Arlene Getz/CPJ Editorial Director.

The Iranian government "bears responsibility" for the physical violence that led to the death of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman who died in police custody in 2022, and for the brutal crackdown on largely peaceful street protests that followed, a report by a United Nations fact-finding mission says.

The report, issued on March 8 by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran, said the mission “has established the existence of evidence of trauma to Ms. Amini’s body, inflicted while in the custody of the morality police."

It said the mission found the "physical violence in custody led to Ms. Amini’s unlawful death.... On that basis, the state bears responsibility for her unlawful death.”

Amini was arrested in Tehran on September 13, 2022, while visiting the Iranian capital with her family. She was detained by Iran's so-called "morality police" for allegedly improperly wearing her hijab, or hair-covering head scarf. Within hours of her detention, she was hospitalized in a coma and died on September 16.

Her family has denied that Amini suffered from a preexisting health condition that may have contributed to her death, as claimed by the Iranian authorities, and her father has cited eyewitnesses as saying she was beaten while en route to a detention facility.

The fact-finding report said the action “emphasizes the arbitrary character of Ms. Amini’s arrest and detention, which were based on laws and policies governing the mandatory hijab, which fundamentally discriminate against women and girls and are not permissible under international human rights law."

"Those laws and policies violate the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, and the autonomy of women and girls. Ms. Amini’s arrest and detention, preceding her death in custody, constituted a violation of her right to liberty of person,” it said.

The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran hailed the findings and said they represented clear signs of "crimes against humanity."

“The Islamic republic’s violent repression of peaceful dissent and severe discrimination against women and girls in Iran has been confirmed as constituting nothing short of crimes against humanity,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the center.

“The government’s brutal crackdown on the Women, Life, Freedom protests has seen a litany of atrocities that include extrajudicial killings, torture, and rape. These violations disproportionately affect the most vulnerable in society, women, children, and minority groups,” he added.

The report also said the Iranian government failed to “comply with its duty” to investigate the woman’s death promptly.

“Most notably, judicial harassment and intimidation were aimed at her family in order to silence them and preempt them from seeking legal redress. Some family members faced arbitrary arrest, while the family’s lawyer, Saleh Nikbaht, and three journalists, Niloofar Hamedi, Elahe Mohammadi, and Nazila Maroufian, who reported on Ms. Amini’s death were arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to imprisonment,” it added.

Amini's death sparked mass protests, beginning in her home town of Saghez, then spreading around the country, and ultimately posed one of the biggest threats to Iran's clerical establishment since the foundation of the Islamic republic in 1979. At least 500 people were reported killed in the government’s crackdown on demonstrators.

The UN report said "violations and crimes" under international law committed in the context of the Women, Life, Freedom protests include "extrajudicial and unlawful killings and murder, unnecessary and disproportionate use of force, arbitrary deprivation of liberty, torture, rape, enforced disappearances, and gender persecution.

“The violent repression of peaceful protests and pervasive institutional discrimination against women and girls has led to serious human rights violations by the government of Iran, many amounting to crimes against humanity," the report said.

The UN mission acknowledged that some state security forces were killed and injured during the demonstrations, but said it found that the majority of protests were peaceful.

The mission stems from the UN Human Rights Council's mandate to the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran on November 24, 2022, to investigate alleged human rights violations in Iran related to the protests that followed Amini's death.

This content originally appeared on News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and was authored by News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.

The Iranian government "bears responsibility" for the physical violence that led to the death of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman who died in police custody in 2022, and for the brutal crackdown on largely peaceful street protests that followed, a report by a United Nations fact-finding mission says.

The report, issued on March 8 by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran, said the mission “has established the existence of evidence of trauma to Ms. Amini’s body, inflicted while in the custody of the morality police."

It said the mission found the "physical violence in custody led to Ms. Amini’s unlawful death.... On that basis, the state bears responsibility for her unlawful death.”

Amini was arrested in Tehran on September 13, 2022, while visiting the Iranian capital with her family. She was detained by Iran's so-called "morality police" for allegedly improperly wearing her hijab, or hair-covering head scarf. Within hours of her detention, she was hospitalized in a coma and died on September 16.

Her family has denied that Amini suffered from a preexisting health condition that may have contributed to her death, as claimed by the Iranian authorities, and her father has cited eyewitnesses as saying she was beaten while en route to a detention facility.

The fact-finding report said the action “emphasizes the arbitrary character of Ms. Amini’s arrest and detention, which were based on laws and policies governing the mandatory hijab, which fundamentally discriminate against women and girls and are not permissible under international human rights law."

"Those laws and policies violate the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, and the autonomy of women and girls. Ms. Amini’s arrest and detention, preceding her death in custody, constituted a violation of her right to liberty of person,” it said.

The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran hailed the findings and said they represented clear signs of "crimes against humanity."

“The Islamic republic’s violent repression of peaceful dissent and severe discrimination against women and girls in Iran has been confirmed as constituting nothing short of crimes against humanity,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the center.

“The government’s brutal crackdown on the Women, Life, Freedom protests has seen a litany of atrocities that include extrajudicial killings, torture, and rape. These violations disproportionately affect the most vulnerable in society, women, children, and minority groups,” he added.

The report also said the Iranian government failed to “comply with its duty” to investigate the woman’s death promptly.

“Most notably, judicial harassment and intimidation were aimed at her family in order to silence them and preempt them from seeking legal redress. Some family members faced arbitrary arrest, while the family’s lawyer, Saleh Nikbaht, and three journalists, Niloofar Hamedi, Elahe Mohammadi, and Nazila Maroufian, who reported on Ms. Amini’s death were arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to imprisonment,” it added.

Amini's death sparked mass protests, beginning in her home town of Saghez, then spreading around the country, and ultimately posed one of the biggest threats to Iran's clerical establishment since the foundation of the Islamic republic in 1979. At least 500 people were reported killed in the government’s crackdown on demonstrators.

The UN report said "violations and crimes" under international law committed in the context of the Women, Life, Freedom protests include "extrajudicial and unlawful killings and murder, unnecessary and disproportionate use of force, arbitrary deprivation of liberty, torture, rape, enforced disappearances, and gender persecution.

“The violent repression of peaceful protests and pervasive institutional discrimination against women and girls has led to serious human rights violations by the government of Iran, many amounting to crimes against humanity," the report said.

The UN mission acknowledged that some state security forces were killed and injured during the demonstrations, but said it found that the majority of protests were peaceful.

The mission stems from the UN Human Rights Council's mandate to the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran on November 24, 2022, to investigate alleged human rights violations in Iran related to the protests that followed Amini's death.

This content originally appeared on News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and was authored by News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.

Congress passed an 11th-hour short-term funding bill this weekend, narrowly avoiding a government shutdown for the next 45 days, but the House is in a state of turmoil as far-right lawmakers threaten to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for working on the bipartisan bill. “It’s a crisis entirely of Kevin McCarthy’s own making,” says our guest Sasha Abramsky, the West Coast correspondent for The Nation, who also calls McCarthy’s impeachment inquiry into President Biden “the most ill-prepared, ill-thought-out, poorly advised Republican inquiry you could possibly imagine,” and discusses Republicans’ embrace of Vladimir Putin to contrast with establishment Democrats’ support of Ukraine in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

Poor People's Campaign co-chair Bishop William J. Barber II on Wednesday stood in solidarity with three Democratic Tennessee state lawmakers facing a Republican-led expulsion effort over protesting for gun reform on the House floor after last week's Nashville elementary school massacre.

"Let's be clear—Republican extremists in the Tennessee Legislature want to silence the voices of dead children," Barber tweeted. "They are impeding three brave legislators, who articulate the concerns of millions, because they aim to keep families whose children were murdered unseen and unheard."

"The blood of murdered children cries out for us, and extremist Tennessee Republicans are content to ignore them."

Republican leadership in the Tennessee House of Representatives began the process of expelling state Reps. Justin Jones (D-52), Gloria Johnson (D-90), and Justin Pearson (D-86) on Monday. The Democrats used a bullhorn to lead chants supporting gun control legislation on the chamber floor while thousands of Nashville-area students rallied outside following the March 27 mass shooting at Covenant School that left three 9-year-old students, three staff members, and the shooter dead.

Noting that Jones, Johnson, and Pearson each represent more than 70,000 Tennesseans, Barber said the lawmakers are "standing on the principles of democracy, freedom of speech and debate, and the right to redress of grievances."

"Expelling them is an attempt to expel the voices of the people," he added.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-25) compared the actions of lawmakers and protesters to the deadly January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol insurrection, arguing that "if this is not what rises to the level of expulsion then tell me what does."

In an interview with WATE, Pearson retorted: "The thousands of children and adults who marched outside of the people's House are not insurrectionists. My walk, my colleagues' walk to the House floor, was in a peaceful and civil manner, and it was not an insurrection."

Speaking on CNN Wednesday morning, Jones called the effort to oust him and his colleagues "morally insane."

"It's very concerning and it represents a clear and present danger to democracy all across this nation that should trouble us all," Jones added.

Johnson toldWKRN Tuesday that "we have had admitted child molesters on the floor, we have had members that have peed in each other's office chairs, we have someone who has illegally prescribed drugs to their cousin-mistress and nothing ever happened to those folks."

"It was really just about 20 seconds of us talking at the mic before it was cut and before recess was called," she added. "Never in a million years did we imagine that they would try to expel members in the body for speaking for their constituents when we had not been allowed to do that previously in the day."

The besieged lawmakers' plight has drawn the attention of national Democratic figures. In a Tuesday media briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre argued that "by doing what they're doing with these three Democratic legislators, they're shrugging in the face of yet another tragic school shooting while our kids continue to pay the price."

A two-thirds vote is required to expel a member of the Tennessee House, which is currently composed of 75 Republicans and 24 Democrats. The vote is slated for Thursday.

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Brett Wilkins.

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and her progressive allies are denouncing the Republican effort to oust her from a key House panel as early as Thursday.

House Republicans on Wednesday advanced a resolution to remove Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC). In a party-line 218-209 vote, GOP lawmakers approved a rule that sets the parameters for debate on the chamber floor prior to a final vote.

"It remains unclear when House Republicans will bring the Omar resolution to the floor for debate and a final vote," The Hillreported. "Democrats still need to formally submit a separate resolution with their roster for the Foreign Affairs Committee." That is expected to happen by Thursday.

The GOP has sought for years to remove Omar, a principled critic of Israeli apartheid and Washington's role in perpetuating it, from the HFAC. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has unilateral authority to boot any lawmaker from a select committee, but because the HFAC is a standing committee, removing a member from it requires a full House vote.

On Tuesday night, after Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) introduced the measure to remove Omar from the HFAC over supposedly "antisemitic" remarks, the progressive lawmaker tweeted that "there is nothing objectively true in this resolution."

In response to Miller's argument that "Omar clearly cannot be an objective decision-maker on the Foreign Affairs Committee given her biases against Israel and against the Jewish people"—a contention that wrongfully equates criticism of Israel's colonization of Palestine with criticism of Jewish people—the Minnesota Democrat said that "if not being objective is a reason to not serve on committees, no one would be on committees."

In a Wednesday statement, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) called the House GOP's pending vote against Omar "the latest racist attack by the far-right to silence progressives in Congress who speak up for a human rights-centered foreign policy, including Palestinian human rights."

"The GOP is riddled with white nationalists and antisemites. It is infuriating and absurd that they are trying to distract from the bigoted hatred in their own party by attacking a progressive woman of color."

"Anti-Palestinian politicians and organizations" have long tried "to censor the Congresswoman's consistent calls for accountability for the Israeli government's apartheid and human rights violations against Palestinians," said JVP. "Sadly, these Republican attempts to attack Congresswoman Omar have been buoyed in the past by attacks on Palestinian rights advocates within the Democratic party."

According to Beth Miller, political director of JVP Action: "These attacks are happening because Congresswoman Omar is effective. Because she is a progressive. Because she is a Black Muslim woman. Because her values are universal and include fighting for Palestinians."

"The GOP is riddled with white nationalists and antisemites," said Miller. "It is infuriating and absurd that they are trying to distract from the bigoted hatred in their own party by attacking a progressive woman of color. Congresswoman Omar consistently calls for the Israeli government to be held accountable for its crimes—crimes the GOP would rather cover up."

Meanwhile, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said Monday that the CPC "stands fully behind our deputy chair."

"Omar is a valued member of the Democratic caucus and of this Congress," said Jayapal. "Throughout her service in Congress and on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, she has brought her essential and unique voice and lived experience to bear: as a refugee, war survivor, and soon, as the first African-born ranking member on the Africa Subcommittee."

"You cannot remove a member of Congress from a committee simply because you do not agree with their views," Jayapal continued. "This is both ludicrous and dangerous. In the last Congress, Republican members were moved from committees with a bipartisan vote for endangering the safety of their colleagues. Speaker McCarthy is attempting to take revenge and draw false comparisons."

Jayapal praised the few Republicans "who have already rejected this idea" and expressed hope that "more will join them to state their opposition so it is not brought to the floor, or vote against it should it be brought to the floor."

As The Washington Post reported Wednesday:

Republican leaders have worked for weeks to ensure that there were enough votes to pass a resolution removing Omar from the committee through their razor-thin majority margin, which stands at three as Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) remains away from Washington recuperating from a traumatic fall. Opposition to the effort emerged last month as four lawmakers signaled that they wouldn't support the measure, citing concerns that it would continue a precedent set by former speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

But the inclusion of a provision in the four-page resolution, that Republicans argue provides due process to Omar, seems to have appeased at least one crucial voter, as Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) announced Tuesday that she would now support the measure. Reps. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) have publicly suggested that they would vote against it before the resolution's text was released Tuesday, while Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has said he remained undecided. Republican leadership aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to outline private whip counts, said they have the votes to pass the measure whenever Democrats formally appoint Omar to her committee.

Jayapal affirmed earlier this week that Democrats "will stand strongly with Rep. Omar: an esteemed and invaluable legislator, a respectful and kind colleague, and a courageous progressive leader."

On Sunday, Omar argued that House Republicans are trying to oust her from the HFAC because they disapprove of having a Muslim refugee from Somalia on the panel, as Common Dreamsreported.

Omar has been the frequent target of Islamophobic bigotry, including from Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which paid Facebook to host attack ads that endangered the lawmaker's life. Due to credible death threats, the Minnesota Democrat is often assigned security by the U.S. Capitol Police.

In her Sunday conversation with CNN's Dana Bash, Omar acknowledged that she apologized for the wording of her February 2019 tweets tying U.S. lawmakers' support for Israel to money from lobbyists—at the time, she specifically called out AIPAC, which has given millions of dollars to members of Congress.

The GOP's campaign to expel her from the HFAC "is politically motivated," Omar said. "In some cases, it's motivated by the fact that many of these members don't believe a Muslim, a refugee, an African should even be in Congress, let alone have the opportunity to serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee."

On Monday, Omar asserted that her work on the HFAC has contributed positively to "advancing human rights, holding government officials accountable for past harms, and advancing a more just and peaceful foreign policy."

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) concurred, tweeting Monday that Omar's work on the panel "matters deeply and Republicans' cowardly efforts to remove and silence her are a disgrace."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) echoed Pressley, writing on social media: "It's shameful that Republicans are trying to remove her [from the HFAC] after smearing her for years. We need her voice, values, and expertise on the committee."

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), meanwhile, noted that "Omar is once again facing ugly personal and political attacks with incredible courage and dignity."

"It is outrageous that the House leadership wants to boot her off the Foreign Affairs Committee," Sanders tweeted. "Fair-minded Republicans must join Democrats in preventing that from happening."

This article has been updated to include a statement from Jewish Voice for Peace.

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Kenny Stancil.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is condemning thousands of supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro who stormed the Brazilian Congress, Supreme Court and presidential palace Sunday in a scene reminiscent of the U.S. Capitol insurrection. Rioters smashed windows, ransacked offices and set fire to a carpet inside the Congress building before authorities made over 400 arrests. Bolsonaro has never formally conceded the race to third-term President Lula and fled to Florida, where he has reportedly met with Donald Trump at Mar-A-Lago, while his supporters have blockaded highways and set up protest encampments outside military bases and in the capital Brasília to protest what they falsely claim was a rigged election. We get an update from Brazilian newspaper columnist and professor Thiago Amparo in São Paulo and reporter Michael Fox, host of the “Brazil on Fire” podcast.

This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday endorsed Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes' bid to unseat Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, whose efforts to help former President Donald Trump overturn the 2020 presidential election have recently drawn scrutiny from the House January 6 committee.

"As the son of a public school teacher and UAW assembly line worker, Mandela Barnes knows the struggles of the working class," Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the Senate Budget Committee, said in a statement. "His agenda advances the interests of working families, not the billionaire class."

"I'm proud to endorse Mandela," Sanders added, "because he is the best-positioned progressive candidate who will win both the primary and defeat Ron Johnson in November."

A Marquette Law School survey published late last month showed that Barnes—a supporter of Medicare for All and other key progressive priorities—was the top choice of 25% of voters likely to participate in the August 9 Democratic primary contest, leading other contenders.

The poll also showed that Wisconsin voters favor Barnes over Johnson by two percentage points in a hypothetical general election matchup.

In a statement Monday, Barnes said his campaign is "focused on uniting a broad base to defeat Ron Johnson this November, and I'm honored to have Sen. Bernie Sanders' endorsement."

"The truth is, we have more in common with each other than we do with a pro-outsourcing, anti-jobs, anti-child care multimillionaire like Ron Johnson," Barnes added. "Together, we're going to flip this seat and fight for Wisconsin's family farmers, small businesses, unions, and working families to have the fair shot they deserve."

Last month, Barnes called on Johnson to "resign immediately" after the House January 6 panel revealed text messages showing that the Wisconsin Republican's chief of staff attempted to deliver to then-Vice President Mike Pence a slate of fake electors supporting Trump.

"Ron Johnson actively tried to undermine this democracy. He literally tried to hand Mike Pence fake ballots," Barnes said in response to the committee's revelation. "Once again, Ron Johnson has proven he's a danger to our country and our fundamental rights."

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams - Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community and was authored by Jake Johnson.

Beijing meanwhile backed Moscow on the matter, with a foreign ministry spokesman saying that no member of the Group of Twenty leading economies had the right to strip another of its membership.

Putin’s attendance at the G-20 summit in Bali would “depend on many things, including the COVID situation that is getting better,” Russian Ambassador Lyudmila Vorobieva said.

“So far, his intention is, he wants to come [to the G-20 summit],” she told a news conference in Jakarta, when asked about the prospect of Russia being booted from the group.

The envoy acknowledged that many international organizations “are trying to expel” Russia, including the World Trade Organization (WTO), and said the West’s reaction to its invasion of Ukraine was “disproportionate.”  

Vorobieva said the G-20 was not the right platform to discuss the conflict in Ukraine.

“The expulsion of Russia from this kind of economic forum will not help economic problems to be resolved. On the contrary, without Russia, it would be difficult to do so,” she said.

“We really hope that the Indonesian government will not give in to … pressure that is being applied not only to Indonesia but also so many countries in the world by the West,” she added. 

Ukraine earlier this month urged Indonesia, this year’s president of the G-20, to include discussions on the invasion during the upcoming summit in Bali.

But Teuku Faizasyah, spokesman for Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Indonesia’s stance was “that the G-20 forum should focus on global economic issues.”

“The G-20 was formed as a premier forum for economic issues,” he told BenarNews last week.

Vorobieva’s made her remarks a day after the top U.S. national security official indicated that Washington would lead an effort to put pressure on Russia to be excluded from international forums over its invasion of Ukraine.

“On the question of the G-20, I will just say this: We believe that it cannot be business as usual for Russia in international institutions and in the international community,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Tuesday.

“As for particular institutions and particular decisions, we’d like to consult with our allies, consult with our partners in those institutions before making any further pronouncements,” he said.

In March 2014, the United States and other powers indefinitely suspended Russia’s membership in the G-8 after Moscow annexed Crimea; In 2017, Russia permanently withdrew from the grouping.

On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden was heading to Brussels to participate in the summits of NATO, the G-7 and the European Union where he plans “to send a powerful message that we are prepared and committed” to Ukraine “for as long as it takes,” Sullivan said.

He also said Biden would consult with NATO on China’s ties to Russia and the question of Beijing’s potential participation in the conflict in Ukraine.

“The administration is worried Beijing will provide economic or military help to Moscow,” Sullivan said.

China, meanwhile on Wednesday, claimed that Russia could not be kicked out of the G-20.

“The G-20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation. It brings together major economies in the world, including Russia, which is an important member of the group,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters.

“No member has the right to strip another member of its membership.  … [The G-20] should practice true multilateralism …”

For its part, Indonesia had voted for a U.N. General Assembly resolution that condemned Moscow’s military strike on Ukraine. But, at the same time, Jakarta has not directly criticized Russia or used the word “invasion.”

After Moscow launched the invasion on Feb. 24, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo posted on Twitter – without referring to Russia or Ukraine: “Stop the war. War brings misery to mankind and puts the whole world at risk.”

Hikmahanto Juwana, a professor in international law at the University of Indonesia, said Western members of the G-20 may boycott the Bali summit if Putin attends.

“[T]hey definitely don’t want to be there if Russia attends. Australia just said they won’t attend if Russia does,” Hikmahanto told BenarNews.

“The absence of other member countries will undermine Indonesia’s credibility,” he said.

According to Hikmahanto, Russia’s expressed intention to attend the summit was intended to forestall American participation.

“Now Russia is playing chess, making such a statement so that America won’t attend. This spells failure for the G-20,” he said.

Teuku Rezasyah, a lecturer in international relations at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, said Putin should be allowed to attend the summit, even it means risking a boycott.

“Everyone wants to hear what Putin has to say because right now he is the center of global attention,” he said.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news service.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Tria Dianti for BenarNews.