We ask Kenyan FM Amina Mohamed, and speak to Ingrid Betancourt, a former FARC captive, about the derailed peace deal.
In this week’s UpFront, we ask Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed about her country’s progress in the war against al-Shabaab. We also discuss her government’s successes and Kenya’s experience with the International Criminal Court.
In the Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan looks into the French concept of “laicite” – separation of church and state – and some of the double standards it seems to have when it comes to Islam.
And in a special interview, former Colombian presidential contender Ingrid Betancourt – who spent more than six years in FARC captivity – weighs in on the latest referendum that rejected a peace deal between the government and rebels.
Headliner: Kenyan FM on human rights, refugees and al-Shabaab
The armed group al-Shabaab continues to sow chaos in Somalia and Kenya, as evidenced by the latest attack that left six dead just a kilometer from the Somali border.
Five years on since Kenya first crossed the Somali border to root out al-Shabaab fighters, attacks have seemingly increased.
In this week’s Headliner, Mehdi Hasan asks Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed about her country’s achievements against the armed group and if the intervention has backfired.
Amina Mohamed also discusses accusations about the treatment of ethnic Somalis and refugees in the country. Kenya, which has taken more than half a million refugees, hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world.
We also discuss her government’s successes and Kenya’s experience with the International Criminal Court.
Editor’s note: This interview was recorded before the latest al-Shabaab attack in Kenya on October 6, 2016.
Reality Check: Islam and the myth of French secularism
From a recently proposed ban on Muslim women wearing burkinis to banning face veils in public, France has cracked down on Islamic practices in the public sphere.
The French government points to the concept of “laicite”, the strict French secular separation of church and state, to justify such measures, but a look at France’s practice of laicite proves there may be a double standard when it comes to Islam.
In this week’s Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan highlights some of the myths of French secularism.
Why did Colombians reject the FARC peace deal?
This week, Colombians shocked the world by narrowly rejecting a peace accord with FARC, a deal that was four years in the making.
While President Juan Manuel Santos, who received the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to end the conflict, accepted the vote, he vowed to continue to seek peace with the rebel group despite the ceasefire ending at the end of the month.
In a special interview, former presidential contender and FARC captive Ingrid Betancourt weighs in on why there was so much opposition to the peace accords.
“When you see a map of the regions that voted ‘yes’, you see those are the regions that are really suffering from the war,” Betancourt says. “So what it tells us is that for people who haven’t been affected by the war, the issue of the referendum was abstract.”
Editor’s note: This interview was recorded prior to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
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Source: Al Jazeera News
