Russian servicemen to kill all French soldiers in Ukraine — senior lawmaker

©Andrei Rubtsov/TASS

Russian servicemen will eliminate all French soldiers coming to Ukraine, State Duma Deputy Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy said.

"We will kill all French soldiers who will come to the territory of Ukraine. All of them," he told the BFMTV channel. The politician also pointed out that 147 out of 367 French mercenaries who arrived in Ukraine earlier have been eliminated.

In addition, Tolstoy emphasized that Russia "does not care" about the statements of French President Emmanuel Macron and his words about the rejection of red lines in the provision of aid to Kiev.

On March 19, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin said that France was already preparing a military contingent to be sent to Ukraine, which would initially amount to about 2,000 soldiers. After that, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces made a statement on the social network X that what Naryshkin said did not correspond to reality.

The Russian intelligence chief pointed out that France unofficially recognized the deaths of its own servicemen. The French army has not experienced such a level of losses since the Algerian War of 1954-1962. The Elysee Palace, as Naryshkin noted, also believes that the number of dead Frenchmen has exceeded a psychologically significant threshold, and now there is a question about how to bury the dead and treat the wounded in secret so as not to spark a public outcry.

In late February, after a conference in Paris devoted to Ukraine, Macron did not explicitly rule out the possibility of sending ground troops from Western countries to the special military operation zone. Macron also said that Western states "intend to do whatever is necessary" to prevent Russia from gaining the upper hand in this conflict.

Potential deployment of French troops to Ukraine may be of benefit to Russia — Medvedev

Eliminating French military personnel that may appear in Ukraine would be a critical but not particularly difficult mission for the Russian Armed Forces, but for Paris such a humiliating defeat of its legions would be tantamount to being guillotined, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said.

"Actually, for the success of our cause, it would be nice if the restless French dispatched a couple of regiments to ‘Banderaland.’ It would be very problematic to hide such a number of servicemen, so systematically eliminating them would not be the most difficult task, but surely the most important one. But, just think of the beneficial knock-on effect!" he wrote on his Telegram channel.

As Medvedev noted, with so many coffins to be delivered to France from a foreign country it would be impossible to hide the mass deaths of professional soldiers.

"There will be no chance of getting away with various lame excuses and speculations that mercenaries choose their own fate and that they are risking their lives at their own discretion," he warned.

The deputy head of the Russian Security Council pointed out that such military personnel would become full-fledged combatants as part of an interventionist contingent, and so their destruction would be "a priority and a matter of honor" for the Russian Armed Forces.

"As for the Gallic roosters in the French leadership, it would be tantamount to being guillotined. They would be torn to pieces both by the enraged relatives and angry members of the opposition, who have been assured all along that France is not at war with Russia. Also, it would be a good lesson for other rambunctious fools in ," Medvedev predicted.

He suggested that the immortal lines of 19th century classic Russian writer Alexander Pushkin will prove their timeless relevance once again:

"Then send your numbers without number,

Your maddened sons, your goaded slaves,

In Russia's plains there's room to slumber,

And well they'll know their brethren's graves!"

On French military in Ukraine

On March 19, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin said that France was already preparing a military contingent to be sent to Ukraine, which would initially amount to about 2,000 soldiers. At the same time, he remarked that French military personnel have been unofficially present in Ukraine for quite a while already. Some have already been killed or wounded.

Naryshkin pointed out that France unofficially recognized the deaths of its own servicemen. The French army has not experienced such a level of losses since the Algerian War of 1954-1962. The Elysee Palace, as Naryshkin noted, also believes that the number of dead Frenchmen has exceeded a psychologically significant threshold, and now there is a question of how to bury the dead and treat the wounded in stealth so as not to spark popular protests.

Baru Dalam Sejarah PPP Tak Lolos Senayan Selama Kiprahnya di Pemilu

Ilustrasi PPP

Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP) gagal lolos ke Senayan karena tidak memenuhi ambang batas parlemen atau parliamentary threshold sebesar 4%. Hasil data Komisi Pemilihan Umum (KPU), PPP hanya memperoleh suara 5.878.777 atau 3,873% pada pemilihan umum 2024.

Tidak lolosnya PPP ke Senayan menjadi ironi bagi partai berlambang Ka'bah tersebut. Sebab, jika disandingkan dengan partai-partai lain, PPP sudah jauh lebih lama berkiprah di dunia politik Indonesia.

PPP partai yang dibentuk di masa Orde Baru sebagai bagian kebijakan fusi partai. Fusi partai adalah ide Presiden Soeharto untuk merampingkan partai-partai yang punya satu ideologis serupa.

Merujuk pada website resmi, PPP merupakan salah satu partai politik di Indonesia. PPP didirikan pada tanggal 5 Januari 1973 yang merupakan hasil Fusi atau gabungan dari empat partai berbasis Islam yakni Partai Nahdhatul Ulama, Partai Muslimin Indonesia (Parmusi), Partai Syarikat Islam Indonesia (PSII), dan Partai Islam Perti.

Partai ini dipelopori oleh KH Idham Chalid (Ketua Umum PB NU), H.Mohammad Syafaat Mintaredja (Ketua Umum Parmusi), SH, Haji Anwar Tjokroaminoto ( Ketua Umum PSII), Haji Rusli Halil (Ketua Umum Perti), dan Haji Mayskur (Ketua Kelompok Persatuan Pembangunan di DPR). Dengan hasil gabungan dari partai-partai besar berbasis Islam, maka PPP telah memproklamirkan diri sebagai "Rumah Besar Umat Islam".

Sejak berkuasa, Presiden Soeharto memang tak ingin ada banyak partai di Indonesia. Dia belajar dari era demokrasi terpimpin masa Soekarno saat keberadaan banyak partai terbukti tidak efektif. Saat itu, partai-partai yang ada malah saling menjatuhkan satu sama lain, sehingga stabilitas politik terganggu dan kebijakan negara tak terwujud.

Alhasil, Soeharto ogah masalah itu terjadi saat dia berkuasa. Maka, lahirlah ide fusi atau penyederhanaan partai.

Namun, ide tersebut tak langsung terwujud saat Soeharto berkuasa. Pada Pemilu pertama Orde Baru tahun 1971, semua partai apapun ideologinya masih bertanding. KPU pun menetapkan organisasi masyarakat, Golongan Karya (Golkar), memenangi Pemilu.

Dalam perspektif pemerintah, kemenangan Golkar bukan berarti situasi bakal aman. Pasalnya, menurut Andre Feillard dalam NU vis a vis Negara (1999), di Senayan bakal ada banyak partai lain yang bisa mengganggu jalannya pemerintahan.

Atas dasar ini, pemerintah melakukan intervensi kepada partai-partai, termasuk partai Islam yang eksis sejak masa Soekarno dan mewakili kelompok Islam, antara lain:

Intervensi tersebut berupa ikut campur pemerintah mengatur sosok ketua umum partai dalam pemilihan terbuka. Pemerintah menempatkan orang kepercayaan untuk mensukseskan langkah fusi partai.

Singkat cerita, hasil dari intervensi itu sukses menggabungkan partai-partai Islam tersebut menjadi satu wadah bernama Kelompok Persatuan Pembangunan pada Oktober 1972. Penamaan ini juga diatur oleh Soeharto yang tak ingin kelompok partai Islam menggunakan nama "Islamis."

Kelompok Persatuan Pembangunan itulah yang kelak berubah jadi Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP) pada 5 Januari 1973. Selama Orde Baru berkuasa, PPP menjadi pilihan politik para tokoh Islam dan pendukungnya.

Selain PPP, kelompok lain yang terdampak fusi adalah golongan partai nasionalis, seperti Partai Nasional Indonesia (PNI), Partai Musyawarah Rakyat Banyak (Murba), Ikatan Pendukung Kemerdekaan Indonesia (IPKI) serta Partai Kristen Indonesia (Parkindo) dan Partai Katolik. Mereka bergabung menjadi Partai Demokrasi Indonesia (PDI).

Beranjak dari sini, PDI, PPP dan Golongan Karya saling berebut suara di tiap pemilu Orde Baru. Tentu, kita mengetahui selama berulangkali Pemilu terselenggara, tetap saja pemenangnya Golkar, disusul PPP dan PDI.

Di era reformasi, suara PPP juga harus berjuang dengan sengit karena ketatnya persaingan antar partai. Suara PPP terus turun dari 11,33 juta pada pemilu 1999 atau 10,71% menjadi 6,32 juta pada pemilu 2019 atau 4,52%.

Banyaknya partai baru serta pergeseran ideologi dan tren elektoral membuat suara PPP turun. Puncaknya adalah pada 2024 di mana PPP tidak lolos ke parlemen karena suaranya di bawah threshold yang ditentukan.

Hasil Pileg 2024, ada sepuluh partai politik gagal lolos ke DPR RI. Selain PPP, ada PSI, Perindo, Gelora, Hanura, Buruh, Ummat, PBB, Garuda, PKN.

Mengacu pada Undang-Undang Nomor 7 Tahun 2017 tentang Pemilu, partai politik yang gagal meraup sedikitnya 4 persen suara sah nasional tidak dapat mengonversi suaranya menjadi kursi di Senayan.

Kelurahan Cimincrang Tata Ratusan PKL di Kawasan Masjid Al Jabbar

Kawasan Masjid Raya Al Jabbar, Kota Bandung/Ist

Kawasan Masjid Raya Al Jabbar, Kota Bandung, terus ditata dari semrawutnya para pedagang kaki lima (PKL). Sebanyak 120 PKL telah ditertibkan agar kawasan masjid kebangaan masyarakat Jawa Barat itu lebih tertib.

Lurah Cimincrang, Rakha Dhifan mengatakan, penataan PKL dilakukan secara bertahap. Saat ini, para PKL telah direlokasi ke area parkir barat Masjid Raya Al Jabbar.

Rakha menjelaskan, kawasan tersebut merupakan lahan untuk parkir sekitar 80 hingga 100 bus. Nantinya para PKL yang berjualan di area tersebut bisa langsung menawarkan dagangannya saat jemaah turun naik bus.

"Alhamdulilah itu (lahan parkir bus) cukup untuk menertibkan PKL yang asalnya berada di halaman (depan masjid)," kata Rakha, pada hari Kamis, 21/03/2024.

Menurut Rakha, para PKL yang berjualan merupakan warga lokal yang tinggal di wilayah Cimincrang. Pihaknya juga mengoptimalkan warga untuk menjadi pekerja, mulai dari petugas kebersihan hingga sekuriti.

"Kami prioritaskan warga asli, karena mereka yang mendapatkan dampak pembangunan masjid. Ini pemberdayaan warga, ada 70 persen tenaga kerja di sana, warga kami dan 30 persen dari luar," kata Rakha.

Rakha melihat hadirnya Masjid Raya Al Jabbar telah meningkatkan perekonomian warga. Sejauh ini, warga memilih untuk berniaga di kawasan Masjid Raya Al Jabbar.

"Di samping banyak yang berdagang. Saya pernah bertanya ke salah satu pedagang, untuk jual minuman mineral saja, keuntungannya hampir Rp700.000 sehari," tutup Rakha.

Kini wajah Masjid Raya Al Jabbar, Kelurahan Cimincrang, Kecamatan Gedebage, Kota Bandung, Jawa Barat, kini semakin rapi sehingga membuat pengunjung pada bulan puasa Ramadhan 1445 H/2024 M ini semakin nyaman.

Kondisi tersebut berkat tangan dingin Lurah Cimincrang, Rakha Dhifan, yang turut membantu menata 120 Pedagang Kaki Lima (PKL) di kawasan Masjid Raya Al Jabbar yang sebelumnya semrawut dan membuat area masjid tidak tertib.

Di kawasan parkir tersebut, lanjutnya, merupakan lahan untuk parkir sekitar 80-100 bus. Sehingga dengan luas itu, dimanfaatkan untuk penataan PKL.

Ia berharap, ketika parkir bus dan turunnya penumpang, para PKL bisa memanfaatkan untuk menawarkan barang dagangannya.

“Alhamdulilah itu (120 PKL) cukup untuk menertibkan PKL, yang asalnya berada di halaman (depan masjid),” ujarnya.

Ia mengungkapkan, pihaknya memprioritaskan warlok alias warga lokal yang tinggal di wilayah Cimincrang.

“Kami prioritaskan warga asli. Karena mereka yang mendapatkan dampak pembangunan masjid itu,” ujarnya.

Selain PKL, Pengelola Masjid Raya Al Jabbar juga mengoptimalkan warga Cimincrang, untuk menjadi pekerja. Mulai dari Office Boy (OB) hingga security.

Hal itu, menurut Rakha, sebagai pemberdayaan masyarakat di wilayah tersebut, sebagai penyerapan tenaga kerja.

“Ini pemberdayaan warga, ada 70 persen tenaga kerja yang merupakan warga kami, dan 30 persen dari luar,” bebernya.

Hadirnya Masjid Raya Al Jabbar juga meningkatkan perekonomian warga. Sejumlah warga memilih untuk berniaga.

“Di samping banyak yang berdagang. Saya pernah bertanya ke salah satu pedagang, untuk jual minuman mineral saja, keuntungannya hampir Rp700.000 sehari,” tutup dia.

Russian Scout Who Destroyed US-Made Abrams Recalls What it Was Like

Russian forces have been using kamikaze drones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) designed to explode upon impact with a target, since the beginning of the special military operation. Such drones provide a cheap and effective way to eliminate specific targets without risking the lives of soldiers.

The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage showing the destruction of American Abrams tanks in the Avdeyevka area.

"There was information that tracked vehicles were coming to the settlement of Berdychi. But it was unconfirmed, so we decided to just work, look, and search. When we started to fly to the target, we spotted some equipment, but we could not really see it. And flying closer, we hit the equipment and could see that it was a tank. At first we thought it was a Leopard," an FPV drone operator said.

He noted that the scouts confirmed the UAV had hit a US-made Abrams tank during the attack only after the second strike. According to him, if heavy equipment is moving, it is better to immobilize it first and then use other drones to eliminate the target.

Watch Russian Forces Probe Destroyed US-Made Abrams Tank in Special Op Zone

The destruction of Ukraine's Abrams tanks by Moscow's forces showcases Russia's powerful anti-tank capabilities and its adeptness at countering advanced Western military equipment.

The Defense Ministry has released footage showing Russian special forces successfully reaching an Abrams tank that was struck in the village of Berdychi. The captured video footage from inside the tank was released as part of the mission given to Battlegroup Tsentr troops, which was to inspect the Abrams and collect technical samples for command analysis.

Approaching the disabled tank was no easy task, given its location in Berdychi, close to the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and with kamikaze drones constantly circling overhead. Despite these challenges, the troops managed to reach the vehicle. During the time the footage was taken, there was an ongoing battle in Berdychi as motorized riflemen from Battlegroup Tsentr continued their assault on the Ukrainian Armed Forces positions.

Russian military hits Ukrainian sabotage groups near border

Moscow has successfully struck the positions of Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance units near the Russian border, the Defense Ministry said in a series of statements on Tuesday. The Russian military also published video clips demonstrating the strikes.

Source: Russian Defense Ministry

The first video published by the ministry shows an air strike targeting Ukrainian positions in the woods near Russia’s Belgorod border region. An “enemy troop and equipment concentration” was hit in a “preventive high-precision strike,” the ministry’s statement said. A short clip shows several explosions in the woods and a field near what appears to be a dirt road. It is unclear what weapons were used in the attack.

A temporary staging point for Kiev’s forces in the village of Ryzhevka was also hit in an air raid, the ministry said. The settlement is located just a few kilometers away from the Russian border. Moscow’s troops used precision gliding bombs to target the Ukrainian positions, the statement added.

Footage shows several major explosions rocking some facilities in a settlement presumed to be Ryzhevka. Details of the operation remain scarce and the Ukrainian losses are unclear.

The reports came just a day after another Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance unit was struck near the Russian border. Moscow used an unmanned aerial vehicle to hit group of Ukrainian servicemen as they were about to get into an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV). The strike left eight Ukrainian soldiers either dead or injured and prompted the IFV to flee, leaving the survivors behind.

Russian forces have enhanced their operations against Ukrainian units active near the border following a series of attempted incursions by Ukraine in mid-March. Russian border guards had to repel such attacks in Belgorod and Kursk regions for several days.

The Defense Ministry said that Russian security forces eliminated 234 fighters, seven tanks, three Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and two armored personnel carriers in their defensive operations.

Hasil rekapitulasi suara - Prabowo-Gibran pemenang Pilpres 2024

Komisi Pemilihan Umum (KPU) mengumumkan hasil rekapitulasi suara Pilpres 2024, Rabu malam, 20/03/2024. Pasangan Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka meraih suara terbanyak, dan unggul hampir di semua provinsi.

Penetapan dilakukan setelah rekapitulasi hasil penghitungan dan perolehan suara tingkat nasional dinyatakan selesai pada Rabu, 20/03/2024, pukul 22.19 WIB.

Rekapitulasi meliputi perolehan suara di 38 provinsi dan 128 wilayah luar negeri.

Prabowo-Gibran dinyatakan menang atas dua pasangan calon lainnya dengan selisih cukup jauh.

Paslon nomor urut 2 ini dinyatakan memperoleh 96.214.691 suara atau sekitar 58,58 persen dari seluruh suara sah nasional.

Sementara itu, pasangan capres-cawapres nomor urut 1 Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar mengantongi 40.971.906 suara atau sekitar 24,95 persen dari seluruh suara sah nasional dan capres-cawapres nomor urut 3 Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD mengoleksi 27.040.878 suara atau sekitar 16,47 persen dari seluruh suara sah nasional.

Dengan hasil ini, maka Prabowo-Gibran di atas kertas memenangkan Pilpres 2024 satu putaran.

Sebagai informasi, dari hasil rekapitulasi, jumlah suara sah 164.227.475 suara.

Hasil Pilpres 2024 ini dituangkan KPU RI dalam Keputusan Nomor 360 Tahun 2024.

"Memutuskan, menetapkan Keputusan KPU tentang Penetapan Hasil Pemilihan Umum Presiden dan Wakil Presiden, anggota Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, Dewan Perwakilan Daerah, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah Provinsi, dan Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah Kabupaten/Kota secara nasional dalam Pemilihan Umum Tahun 2024," kata Ketua KPU RI Hasyim Asy'ari di kantor KPU RI, Menteng, Jakarta Pusat.

Pengumuman hasil Pemilu 2024 turut dihadiri oleh Menteri Dalam Negeri (Mendagri) Tito Karnavian, Menteri Koordinator Politik, Hukum, dan Hak Asasi Manusia (Menko Polhukam) Hadi Tjahjanto, Kepala Badan Intelijen Negara (BIN) Budi Gunawan, serta jajaran Badan Pengawas Pemilu (Bawaslu) RI.

Israel Must Be Treated Like ‘Pariah’ State, Ended ‘Forever’ – Jewish Activist

©AP Photo/Fatima Shbair

Israeli-American activist Miko Peled had strong words for Israel, which he accuses of torture, genocide, and “all kinds of crazy, sadistic policies for 76 years.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a trip to Egypt and Saudi Arabia this week seeking funds for Gaza’s postwar reconstruction.

The visit comes as Israel continues its military operation in the besieged Gaza Strip where nearly 32,000 Palestinians have been killed per local authorities. In recent weeks people in the enclave’s northern sector have begun to succumb to starvation as Israel enforces a tight blockade, with UNICEF director Catherine Russell calling the number of child casualties in the conflict “staggering.”

The continued suffering in Gaza caused Political Misfits host John Kiriakou to suggest the Biden administration is “putting the cart before the horse” with the trip. “First don't we have to ensure that there will still be living Palestinians in Gaza?” asked the former CIA officer. Anti-Zionist activist Miko Peled, who came to support the Palestinian cause after being born to a prominent Israeli general, joined Kiriakou on Tuesday to discuss the country’s continued assault on Gaza.

“I think he's a servant of the Zionist state, of the state of Israel,” Peled said of Blinken. “I don't think there's any question about that.”

Peled criticized Blinken’s focus on asking other states in the region to help fund aid for Palestinians, noting that, “a five minute drive from any spot in the Gaza Strip there's all the food, all the water, and all the medical aid that anybody could possibly need. Israel is denying them.”

“The party that needs to pay to rehabilitate Gaza is the party that created this catastrophe, which is Israel,” said Peled. “Can you imagine any scenario on Earth where the world begs Hitler for a ceasefire and trying to find the terms that are most favorable to Hitler as the genocide of the Jews and so many others is taking place in full force? Can you imagine a scenario like this?” The activist recounted the similarities between Israel and other extremist governments, noting that “Israel has never had any problem with the most right-wing, antisemitic fascist regimes.” Throughout the Cold War Israel retained cordial relations with apartheid South Africa, even offering to sell nuclear weapons to the white supremacist regime.

Israel was also a key ally in the United States’ Cold War campaign of violence and state terror in Latin America known as Operation Condor. For decades Israel helped train police, militaries, and death squads in the region to repress popular movements. Israel also served as a key conduit for supplying weapons to Latin American dictatorships as the US Congress attempted to stem the flow from America.

Israel’s dark history of support for violence and repression in Latin America was noted recently by Colombian President Petro Gustavo, who has sharply criticized the country in the past months. Chile, Colombia, Honduras, and Brazil have all recalled their ambassadors from Tel Aviv while Bolivia has opted to suspend relations with the country entirely.

“A regime like [Israel] should not have a seat on the table, they should be thrown out,” said Peled, noting the documented mistreatment of Palestinians in Israeli prisons. “Palestinian suffering has got to stop, and it's got to start from this point on and forever.”

Peled agreed with Kiriakou that Israel should be sanctioned and diplomatically isolated as happened to the apartheid South African regime in the 1980s.

Many observers have noted the similarities between Israel’s system of governance and the proposals of racial supremacists. Israel was once even praised by American neo-Nazi activist Richard Spencer, who views the country’s “Jewish nation state” law as a model for his desired white ethnostate. The comments caused significant embarrassment for Zionist groups, who were quickly forced to distance themselves from the endorsement of the notorious neo-fascist.

“Support for Israel and right-wing politics both here and in Europe – particularly in Europe – those go hand in hand,” noted Peled, as Israel has seen strong support from rightwing figures like Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Italy and Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders. “Israel has to be brought to its knees and as quickly as possible. The international community needs to impose severe sanctions. Israel should not be part of the conversation.”

“This is an insane state, an insane regime that's been involved in torture and genocide and all kinds of crazy, sadistic policies for 76 years,” he added. “And it's time to stop it and forever, not to bring it to the table, but to bring it to a point where it's over, it's ended.”

“My friends in the pro-Palestinian movement who are the most reliable in their support of Palestine by and large happen to be Jewish,” added Kiriakou. “There's not this Israel-first mentality just because people happen to be Jewish.”