November 5, 2021
Dear Friends,
CANVAS is delighted to bring you another issue of our weekly report!
In this issue, we cover the latest updates on the ongoing UN climate change summit in Glasgow, the coup in Sudan, the civil war in Ethiopia, and more.
This week at the UN climate summit in Scotland, youth activists led by Greta Thunberg held two days of demonstrations to call attention to climate inaction on the part of international leaders. Organizers have complained that large promises and weak delivery have hindered past climate action and that the summit is not satisfactory to meet the demands of stopping climate warming. Instead of small cuts to emissions or long shifts to more sustainable energy, activists call for “drastic carbon dioxide emission cuts, reparations from the Global North to the Global South to use for adaptation and to manage loss and damages, and […] an end to the fossil fuel industry.” As a result of the protest, over 20 roads were closed in Glasgow this Friday.
In Jakarta, Indonesia, hundreds of climate activists filled the streets in response to the government’s position switch at the Climate conference in Glasgow. In the statements by the Indonesian environment minister, he criticised plans to end deforestation globally by 2030, and carbon emission cuts as unfair to the country’s development plans. Indonesia, which holds a third of the world’s rainforest, was criticized by environmental groups for “paying lip service” to climate change initiatives all the while increasing coal production. Policies in support of deforestation were also criticized for profiting large companies at the expense of rural communities living off the forests.
In Palestine, budget cuts by the UN’s relief agency, halving the UK grant money available, are leading the agency to collapse. The commissioner-general of the organization has reported a 100 million dollar loss in funding over the course of the year. The humanitarian aid crisis in the region is exacerbated due to the recent actions of Israel, labelling many aid organizations and Palestinian rights organizations in the area terrorist organizations. Leaders of the six organizations branded terrorists have been accused of diverting funds to the Popular Front for the Liberations of Palestine, which all the organizations refute. Speaking at a Huan Rights Watch Conference, the director of Addameer, a group promoting Palestinian prisoner rights in Israeli jails, stated “They are trying to illegalise us to make the international community fear communicating with us.”
Four Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia have cut ties with Lebanon over remarks by the Lebanese information minister criticizing Saudi-led intervention in Yemen. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, and Kuwait have all withdrawn their ambassadors from Lebanon, with the UAE and Bahrain urging citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately. Saudi Arabia has also banned all Lebanese imports, dealing a huge economic blow to the already cash-strapped country; the World Bank estimates that Lebanon is facing one of the world’s worst recessions since the 1850s. The remarks by Georges Kordahi condemning Saudi-led intervention in Yemen against Houthi rebels marks the latest development in a deepening political crisis between Lebanon and other Gulf states. A crisis that is rooted in Gulf states’ concerns over the rising influence of Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. All of which is not to mention Lebanon’s internal political tension; its cabinet has not met in nearly a month after disputes over the Beirut blast investigation.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has since publicly called on Kordahi to make Lebanon’s national interest his main priority, hinting that he should resign. Additionally, the US has also urged Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to leave diplomatic channels open given Lebanon’s economic crisis and political uncertainty. The US State Department spokesperson Ned Price underscored that, now more than ever, Lebanon needs international support. The statement comes a day after PM Mikati met with the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to discuss the Gulf Crisis on the sidelines of the climate change summit in Glasgow.
Human Rights Watch has reported that Taliban policies that block women from working as aid providers are further contributing to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Only in three out of thirty four provinces are women explicitly permitted to work as aid providers without barriers. In more than 16 provinces, women must be with a male family member at all times when working as an aid provider, making work much harder or impossible to complete.
The supreme leader of the country, Haibatullah Akhunzada, claimed that factions within the Taliban are “working against the will of the government”. Such reports of rogue elements among the Taliban have been commonplace since its seizure of power in August. Recently, the Taliban has increased recruitment numbers in order to hold to its pledge to maintain security and fend off the attacks from Islamic State groups. On Tuesday, at least 19 were killed and 43 wounded by explosions and gunfire in the largest military hospital in the country located in Kabul. Two explosions followed by immediate gunfire caused the injuries. The Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP or ISIS-K) has claimed responsibility for the bombing on Telegram, reporting that five fighters from the group carried out the attacks. The explosions are said to be the result of an explosive belt, and Taliban officials claim that the attack began when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated at the entrance of the hospital. Taliban official Zabihullah Majahid reports that the Taliban special forces killed five attackers. One Taliban military commander died during the attack, a Hamdullah Mokhlis, a member of the infamous Haqqani network. Aljazeera reports that he is “the most senior figure to have been killed since the Taliban seized the capital.”
Myanmar’s ruling military on Wednesday stood by its decision to deny a Southeast Asian envoy access to detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, resisting growing international pressure to comply with a regional peace plan agreed in April. Vice-Senior General Soe Win, the second in command of the junta that seized power from Suu Kyi’s elected government in February, said allowing a foreigner access to someone charged with crimes was against domestic law. “I believe no country will allow anyone to do beyond the existing law like this,” he said in a speech published in state media. His remarks follow last week’s virtual Asian leader summits hosted by ASEAN that Myanmar did not attend, in protest at junta leader Min Aung Hlaing’s exclusion for not honouring the peace deal.
The administrator of Thinpyo village in Mandalay’s Kyaukse Township was shot three times and died on Monday evening while announcing through a megaphone that residents needed to pay their electricity bills or face a power cut. A local resistance force calling itself the Dragon Kyaukse Defence Force released a statement just hours after the assassination claiming responsibility for the killing. A spokesperson for the group alleged that Thein Htay was a known military informant who willingly assisted the junta in apprehending anti-coup activists.
All 24 female U.S. senators, with the lead of Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senator Jon Ernst, sent a bipartisan letter to President Joe Biden, calling on him to protect the rights of Afghan women and girls in the wake of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. They wrote how U.S. disengagement from Afghanistan threatens some of the “hard-won gains” for Afghan women and girls’ participation in public life. In other news, Indira Sheumaker, a 27-year-old Black Lives Matter activist ousted a two-term incumbent on Tuesday to win a seat on the Des Moines City Council. She ran on a platform that included defunding the police and decriminalizing marijuana in the capital city of Iowa, to become the youngest member and the only person of color on the Des Moines City Council.
The US National Intelligence Estimate on Climate Change that looks at the impact of climate on national security through to 2040 presented its first 27-page report that says countries will argue over how to respond resulting in global tensions and the effects will be felt most in poorer countries which are least able to adapt. In the COP26 summit, Biden said how this was both a “moral” and “economic imperative” and an opportunity to build an “equitable, clean energy future” that could create “millions of good-paying jobs in the process” around the world, in the process raising living standards.
US Congress has approved a new resolution to support all destabilization actions in Cuba where US lawmaker Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart and Dem. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz asked the Cuban government to respect the rights of its people, without mentioning the US blockade. On the other hand, 40 Democrats, mostly from the progressive caucus, opposed this resolution to express “solidarity with Cuban citizens demonstrating peacefully for fundamental freedoms, condemning the Cuban regime’s acts of repression, and calling for the immediate release of arbitrarily detained Cuban citizens” including Mass. Representative Jim McGovern. Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez took Twitter to call the US policy towards Cuba hypocritical and accused the US government of financing subversive actions on Cuba.
Michael Carey Abadin, a Canadian citizen jailed by Cuban authorities during the July protests is reported to do hard labour despite serious health problems. On Tuesday, a leading member of the Cuban opposition was set free with restrictions. During his one-day arrest, he was asked about comments on the social webs in solidarity with the promoters of the 15 November protests.
In other news, Cuba plans to expand trade relations with China during its participation in the fourth China International Import Expo (CIIE). Considering it as an opportunity to bring foreign investments to Cuba, the country will promote advances in biotechnology, cultural goods and services, tourism, health and agriculture, in addition to its tobacco, coffee and rum brands.
Ahead of the Presidential election on November 7th, there have been rising pressures to discredit President Daniel Ortega’s expected presidential win. Critics of the president, included his estranged daughter Zoilamérica Ortega Murillo have been encouraging the international community to pay attention to what is happening in Nicaragua. In an interview where she talked about the current situation with political prisoners in Nicaragua, Ortega Murillo says she believes her mother is the driving force behind the repression. She stated that her mother, “doesn’t forgive and she doesn’t forget.” President Ortega has been relentless in his pursuit to target political opponents. The amount of Nicaraguans fleeing the country this year climbed sharply to more than 50,000 compared to the 35,000 people you sought asylum in twenty-twenty.
On Wednesday, The United States House of Representatives approved reinforcing Nicaragua’s Adherence to Conditions for Electoral Reform Act. Since the Senate passed this piece of legislation it will now go to President Biden to be signed. RENACER act will place additional sanctions on Ortega’s government and include initiatives to monitor, report, and address corruption by President Ortega and his administration. The foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, to the European Union called President Ortega a dictator who will oversee a fake election on Tuesday. During his tour of Latin America, he said: “The situation in Nicaragua is one of the most serious in the Americas at the moment.” Supporters of Ortega’s government continue to defend his actions saying that it is protected the country from usurpers backed by countries such as the United States.
Demonstrations over abortion rights erupted in La Paz on Wednesday, November 3 in response to the case of a 61-year-old rapist. The man had raped his 11-year-old step-granddaughter, who had been in his custody for over five months while her parents worked in La Paz. The girl’s cousin recently found out the girl was 22 weeks pregnant. The rapist was taken into custody, and the girl’s case was taken up by the Santa Cruz children’s ombudsman, during which the girl allegedly agreed to an abortion. However, during the weekend, the girl’s mother, accompanied by a lawyer who claimed to be associated with the Catholic Church, stated that the girl will not be undergoing an abortion. The intervention of the church in reversing the girl’s decision has been denounced by agencies, activists, and NGOs who asserted that the girl had the right to abortion. In addition, the United Nations office in Bolivia has called on authorities to uphold children’s rights, stating that “to submit a girl to undergo a forced pregnancy is a form of torture.”
In a letter dated November 4, 35 member states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have invoked the Vienna Mechanism asking Minsk for answers on “serious human rights violations and abuses” taking place in Belarus.
On Thursday, the presidents of Russia and Belarus signed an array of measures that approve the integration measures, especially for financial markets and gas, during a meeting of the bilateral Supreme State Council for the union state. Lukashenko has been relying now on Russia for support as the country becomes increasingly isolated because of numerous international sanctions, and its harsh crackdown on opposition, independent news media, and human rights groups.
On Wednesday, Poland accused Belarus of staging an armed cross-border intrusion saying unidentified uniformed individuals armed with long guns had crossed into Polish territory from Belarus on the night of Monday, Nov. 1. Belarus rejected the allegation as unfounded and its Foreign Ministry summoned Poland’s charge d’affaires and issued him a protest amid an escalating row over migrants. NATO headquarters in Brussels having observed a wave of migrants trying to enter NATO member states via Belarus called on Minsk to observe international law. In a press release, NATO expressed its readiness to help its alliance partners in maintaining security in the region.
Thousands of opposition supporters filled the street outside Georgia’s national parliament building Sunday to protest municipal election results that gave the country’s ruling party a near-sweep. Candidates of the Georgian Dream party won 19 of the 20 municipal elections in runoff votes on Saturday, including the mayoral offices in the country’s five largest cities: Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Rustavi, Batumi, and Poti. The opposition alleges election fraud. The Saturday runoff elections were held after no candidate in the cities won an absolute majority during the first round of nationwide municipal elections on Oct. 2. The elections were shadowed by the arrest of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, the founder of the United National Movement, on Oct. 1, who is currently performing a hunger strike in prison.
The United States has joined the European Union in voicing concern about the conduct of Georgia’s local election runoffs, which resulted in the ruling Georgian Dream party largely sweeping the vote. In a statement on November 1st, the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi said it agreed with international election observers that the vote was well-administered, but it noted allegations of intimidation, pressure on voters, and an escalation of negative rhetoric impacting the vote. “Sharp imbalances of resources and an undue advantage of incumbency further tilted the playing field,” the embassy said.
American President Joe Biden attacked China for its absence at the UN climate change conference COP26 where more than 120 leaders were present at the conference, saying climate was “a gigantic issue” and China “walked away”. China is the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, followed by the US. Meanwhile, in a notice from the Ministry of Commerce, China’s government urged families to stock up on essential supplies in case of emergencies without explicitly giving any reason. The cause is said to be the rise in COVID-19 cases.
Zhang Zhan, a 38-year-old citizen journalist, who was jailed for her coverage of China’s initial response to Covid in Wuhan is continuously on hunger strike prompting renewed calls from rights groups for her immediate release, is now in critical condition as stated by her family.
In China’s turn to regulate the content consumed by its people and growing paranoid over big tech platforms spreading views and ideas countering the traditional ideals of masculinity and femininity, the LGBT community has been severely affected. Amid the tightening environment LGBT Rights Advocacy China announced it was ceasing all activities and shutting down its social media accounts on Thursday.
Hong Kong’s top court on Thursday ruled that individuals can generally be convicted of the crime of rioting only if they were present at the scene or had incited others to join in, dealing a blow to government efforts to prosecute some residents linked the city’s 2019 demonstrations. The Court of Final Appeal’s five-judge panel explained in its written judgment that the offenses of rioting and unauthorized assembly are both participatory in nature and that there must be sufficient evidence shown of having taken part and of having done so intentionally. Merely being present should not constitute a crime. The judges ruled that whether present or absent, defendants who incite or encourage a criminal assembly — such as a “mastermind” remotely overseeing the actions or providing instructions online — are punishable to the same extent as the principal offenders. The court added that those who provide funds or materials for an illegal assembly, or promote it on social media, can also be prosecuted under the common law’s principle of “joint enterprise”. The landmark ruling, which will have far-reaching implications for future riot and unlawful assembly cases, comes at a time when the independence of Hong Kong’s judiciary is under immense pressure, straining a core element of the city’s special status and distinction from mainland China.
46% of Hong Kong-based journalists polled said they were considering leaving the city due to a decline in press freedom under a Beijing-drafted security law. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong’s inaugural press freedom survey published Friday painted a damning picture of the former British colony’s media landscape since the vague national security law was imposed on the city by China in June 2020. An overwhelming 84% of journalists said working conditions in the Asian financial hub had declined under the law, with 56% saying they’d engaged in self-censorship since its passage. Only half said they understood where the government’s so-called “red lines” were.
Prior to the Glasgow Climate Change Conference (COP 26), Jokowi signed a new presidential regulation on carbon emissions, thus reasserting the G20 leader’s commitment to climate change issues. Among other things, the Presidential Regulation on Carbon Economic Value contains tax incentives for clean energy, clean technology development, budgeting, and the Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) plan. The new regulation is targeted towards reduced emission in 2030 and zero-net emission in 2060.
Despite Indonesia’s apparent commitment to climate change issues, environmental and indigenous groups have criticised the carbon offset scheme discussed during the UN COP26. In this scheme, companies will be required to counterbalance their use of fossil fuels with “offset investments” in sustainable energy. In response, Greenpeace Indonesia has accused the scheme of being “mere greenwashing” as long as “they [the government] are not truly committed to lower carbon emissions.” Additionally, there are concerns that the scheme will be an excuse for systemic land and forest grabs committed against indigenous people in Indonesia. According to the Alliance of Indigenous People (AMAN) “This mechanism can potentially become a new vehicle for looters for customary land.”
Human Rights Watch has said that Thai authorities should promptly and impartially investigate the alleged police torture of two pro-democracy activists in Bangkok and hold those responsible to account, Human Rights Watch said today. On October 29, 2021 police arrested Attasith Nussa, 35, and Weeraphap Wongsaman, 18, after violently dispersing a protest outside Bangkok’s Din Daeng police station. The two men allege that the police beat them while arresting them and then took them inside the police station, where officers beat and choked them, burned them with cigarettes, and threatened them with death. The government’s Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Bill, which is currently being considered by parliament, does not meet international human rights standards, such as lacking definitions for cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Thailand is a party to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which obligates governments to investigate and prosecute acts of torture and other ill-treatment. Article 4 of the Convention states that a government should “ensure that all acts of torture are offenses under its criminal law. The government should also promptly act to fulfill past pledges to make torture a criminal offense.
An international conflict this week has centered Iran in its scope. Multiple media sources have published claims reporting that Iran has seized an oil tanker carrying a Vietnamese flag in the Gulf of Oman and has kept it in its custody for a month. The sources for such claims seem to be stemming from U.S. officials. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have claimed that they had stopped an attempt by the United States to seize a tanker which held Iranian oil in the Sea of Oman, stating “the U.S. terrorist Navy’s operation to steal Iranian oil in the Sea of Oman failed.”
Pentagon officials have rejected these claims, and again state that “the only seizing that was done was by Iran.” American officials state that Iran seized the tank a month ago, and U.S. naval forces were only monitoring the situation.
This exchange has added tension to the already fraught situation in the Gulf of Oman, where Iran has repeatedly warned against U.S. military activity, and has increased Revolutionary Guard presence in the waters. Iran claims that when their oil tanker was detained by the U.SRevolutionary Guard naval forces used helicopters to gain access and direct the ship back to Iran. In response, the U.S. has claimed that drones that they suspect to be Iranian have been circling a navy ship in the Strait of Hormuz in recent days. In relation to the already rife tensions between the countries caused by the delaying of the Nuclear Deal, future conflict in this area may occur.
Climate crisis in Iraq has become increasingly important. This year, droughts have dried up lakes and rivers so intensely that the Iraqi government has reported only half of its arable farmland is able to be used. The UN Environmental Program has stated that the country is the fifth most vulnerable in the world to climate change effects. In Diyala, NPR reports that most of the farmland looks abandoned. Speaking to farmers in the region, they state “Normally, in the previous years when you came here, you can see it’s all green […] now it’s like a desert.” One farmer claimed his yield is so low it is unable to even feed his own family off of it. The Iraqi spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture stated that in 2020, the country was able to farm 160,000 hectares of land.
This year, only a third of that land is expected to be arable without rain. Due to the lack of rainfall in the greater region, Turkey and Iran have had to draw more water from the rivers of Tigris and Euphrates, leaving less water to flow into Iraq. Other problems contributing to the water shortage are faulty irrigation systems and cracked pipes. Iraq is reportedly experiencing longer summers with higher temperatures and a drier climate. The weather changes have drastically influenced livestock as well, with one farmer claiming that a few of his cows and 40 sheep died due to the heat and low quality water. The crisis has also caused an influx of farmers who are unable to sustain themselves into Baghdad, to seek work as day laborers.
Up to seven million people are now at risk due to the water shortage. Due to the water drawing of Turkey and Iran as well as climate factors, the Tigris and Euphrates waters have decreased by half. The Iraqi ministry is now filing an international lawsuit against Iran on the grounds of lack of cooperation in water resources. The water shortage is also expected to affect the quality of that water left, a large impact in the country where in 2018 more than 118,000 were hospitalized for water contamination. In 2019, the UN migration agency stated that more than 21,000 were displaced in the central and southern governorates due to a lack of clean water.
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan released a statement following a phone conversation with the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In the statement, the Sudanese coup leader agreed to speed up the formation of the new government and ordered the release of four ministers of the overthrown government. A spokesman for the US State Department said that Blinken urged the release of all political figures apprehended during the coup and to speed up the formation of the government with a complete structure of a transition to democracy. The United States has leverage over Sudan due to the economic support Sudan relies on from the US. The UN has attempted to mediate an end to the political crisis. The special envoy to Sudan Volker Perthes said that: “talks had yielded the outline of a potential deal on a return to power-sharing, including the deposed premier’s reinstatement.” The unseated PM Hamdok was been allowed to meet with the UN and other international diplomats as part of mediation efforts.
Protests against the current government continue to take place around the country. Leaders of various protests movements have collectedly stated that demonstrations will not stop until the military reverses its takeover and gives the ruling power to the civilian government. Mohammed Yousef Mustafa the spokesperson for the Sudanese professional associations, said that the military will be held accountable for the takeover of the government. He said, “It is either the Military ruling with dictatorship and we stand against them every day no matter the killings, detentions and rapes, or they leave the political scene to the people to be responsible for themselves, manage the country the way they want and do what they believe is right.” On Sunday, October 31st the country saw one of the largest pro-democracy protests since the coup. Ten thousand Sudanese protesters took to the streets demanding the military hand over its power. Crowds held up signs with slogans such as, “Give it up Burhan” and “Going backward is impossible”. Three protesters were killed and many were injured as security forces fired live ammunition at demonstrators. A mass protest is expected to take place on Friday, November 5th in the capital of Khartoum with sister protests in other major cities.
President Museveni met with the Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi to discuss the security crisis in Eastern Congo. While leaders did not agree on a formal solution they said that the talks between the two nations are progressing well. Following the meeting, in a statement, President Museveni stated how both leaders agreed that insecurity in the region was a main problem of concern. Uganda is working to establish stronger infrastructure along the border with the DRC which the DRC believes will help. The UN Security Council supports the progress made in the region particularly the infrastructure improvement solution put forth by Uganda. They say this will help promote economic development which will help improve the security crisis in Eastern Congo.
On November 16th, President Museveni called a joint meeting of an East African bloc to discuss the conflict in Ethiopia. Uganda’s State Minister, Okello Oryem said that the President has been in touch with Prime Minister Abiy of Ethiopia. However, President Museveni was concerned by the lack of participation by the Tigray group to negotiate a ceasefire.
In the Nakaseke district around 27 miles north of Kampala, a bomb shaped like a jackfruit killed two children on October 30th. According to a police report, the deceased include a 14-year-old and a child with disabilities. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in a Telegram message. This attack is just one of many that have happened over the past week. Ugandan authorities are now investigating the link between ISIS and the armed militia group the ADF which operates in the eastern territory of the DRC, close to the Ugandan border. The ADF was formed as a coalition of armed Ugandans who were opponents of current President Museveni. Ugandan authorities continue to monitor the group’s activities to stop any suspected operatives.
Environmentalists in Zimbabwe are furious at President Mnangagwa’s address at the COP26 conference. In his statement, Mnangagwa said that developing nations are paying the consequences for developing countries’ emissions. He promised that Zimbabwe would commit to a conditional 40% per capita greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2030. At the same time, environmental activists claim that Mnangagwa’s comments run contrary to what is happening in the country. Zimbabwe continues to sell land, to mostly Chinese companies, to mine for coal. The coal is then used as a source of energy which the COP26 wants to phase out. Henry Nyapokoto, a manager for the Center for Natural Resource Governance explained his concern that profitable business deals between foreign companies and the government will lead to further deforestation. The Forestry Commission in Zimbabwe stated that 300,000 hectares of forests are destroyed annually by fires or for profit. Environmentalists have been urging the government to revoke exploration licenses given to a Chinese company to mine coal for energy use.
Somizi Mhlongo most known for his role as a judge on a popular reality television show contest in South Africa has cancelled his trip to Harare, Zimbabwe. This announcement comes after a Zimbabwe Chrisitan group attempted to ban Mhlongo from entering the country because he is openly gay. Homosexuality continues to remain illegal in Zimbabwe. Under the late President Robert Mugabe, LGBT community activist state the community faced violent persecuted and harsh rhetoric. Once the former President stated, they (gay people) are worse than pigs and dogs.” The Leaders of the Apostolic Council released many homophobic statements discouraging Mhlongo from visiting. In an open letter to the current President Mnangagwa they said, “Zimbabwe doesn’t tolerate homosexuality”. They also claimed that Mhlongo’s visit would have a poor effect on the ruling Zanu-PF party during the upcoming elections. Instead, the TV personality will now travel to Namibia instead. In a six-minute video explaining his decision, Mhlongo said: “If it means you not wanting me being me, authentically me, keep it, keep your space, keep your country, I don’t want to be there anyway.” In an Instagram post, he wrote: “Bye bye ZA Hello NA.”
