Bangl@news

Weekly Newsletter on Bangladesh, Missions and Human Rights  

Year X

Nr. 406

Mar 3, 10

This issue is sent to 486 readers and to 5.745 ones in the Italian version

 

           

Summary

    

Mission

Holy Father's Missionary Intention for March 2010

World

World Social Forum: Reconciling Social and Environmental Needs by Mario Osava

Biodiversity: The Amazon Is Not Eternal by Stephen Leahy

Asia

Humans forgotten by finance system: Caritas

Civil society interventions to improve policing by Muhammad Nurul Huda

Bangladesh

Dhaka unveils ten-year modernisation plan for armed forces by William Gomes

Dropout rate must be contained 

Khasia tribal people get own Catholic priests

Rajshahi’s first Church school revels in change

Dhaka gives green light to crocodile exports by William Gomes

A Precipitate Outcome by Reaz Rahman

Abominable admission business 

Crowds gather to attract young to vocations

Food availability for the poor

Lost land areas should return to public

Restoring standard of education

International Mother Language Day in the context of Bangla by Mohammad Amjad Hossain

Cambodia

Focolare throws lifeline to Cambodia's poorest

Chile

Tsunami alarm lifted. In Chile more than 700 dead

China

Dissidents arrested as land disputes continue

Haiti

A land of asylum in Africa discussed at AU summit 

India

EU delegation visits persecuted Christians of Orissa by Nirmala Carvalho

Orissa: state government removes Christians as EU delegations arrives

Indonesia

Church attacks increase in SBY's first 100 days

Iraq

A Faulty Truth by Nader Rahman

Iraq's democracy by Forrest Cookson

Japan

Suicide mission

Middle East

Pro-Israel Lobbies Work on Europe by David Cronin

Why does the US turn a blind eye to Israeli bulldozers? by Robert Fisk

Myanmar

'Religious must reach out to all people'

Nepal

Police carry out torture, killings and rapes in the region of Terai

Pakistan

The murder of a 12-year-old Christian girl could go unpunished by Fareed Khan

Muslim lawyers will "burn alive" anyone who defends murdered 12 year old Christian  by Fareed Khan

Catholic puts first Urdu Bible on line

Russia

Russian Orthodox Church, close to Catholics, but far from Protestants

Saudi Arabia

Discrimination and religious intolerance the evils of Saudi Arabia by Nirmala Carvalho

Sri Lanka

The death of Italian "Fr. Gandhi" by Melani Manel Perera

Gov't Defends Detention of Suspected Tamil Rebels by Feizal Samath

Has Sri Lanka stumbled onto path to democracy? by Barrister Harun ur Rashid

Sudan

UN and AU push for national unity

Thailand

Food security and the fight against corruption, Thai PM's priorities by Weena Kowitwanij

Other articles italian edition

Missione: Noi e i musulmani le ragioni per provarci di Gerolamo Fazzini * Storia di una vocazione normale, eppure speciale di Gerolamo Fazzini * Quella "guerra santa" dentro il Sepolcro di Claudio Monge * Da Lisbona a Macao il viaggio della vita di Gianni Criveller * Al centro l'uomo: ecco la chiave per una reale integrazione di Paolo Nicelli   Mondialità: Anche i poveri saranno più vecchi - Che l'Onu lo dica a se stesso di Davide Rondoni  * Dopo Copenaghen: dal Marocco, per uno sviluppo sostenibile * Contro la logica delle armi una nuova cultura della pace di Giulio Albanese * Una donna per le donne, nominata inviata contro violenze * Primo rapporto globale su popoli indigeni, per conoscerli e difenderli * Storia di Shazia, 12 anni, cristiana di Antonio Socci  * Fao: dall'Aquila solo promesse di Paolo M. Alfieri  Africa: Nasce fondo per le donne africane, l'UA in difesa dei loro diritti * Vertice UA: misure per prevenire golpe e difendere democrazia * Concluso il Vertice dell'UA:...  * L'Africa dei figli di papà di Anna Pozzi  Asia: La donna in Asia, fra violenza e povertà, trova forza nell'Eucarestia  * Migranti e diritti, voci contro la "fortezza Europa"  Bangladesh: Medici italiani al St. Vincent Hospital di Dinajpur di Bruno Guizzi  * Schegge di Bengala - 53 (prima parte) di p. Franco Cagnasso * Gli 80 anni di p. Adolfo di Bruno Guizzi  Costa d’Avorio: Cinquant'anni d'indipendenza, è tempo di "riflessione"  Etiopia: Il record dei cristiani di Philip Jenkins  Haiti: Dopo terremoto: tra cordoglio e aiuti, la sfida della scuola * Una terra d'asilo in Africa, se ne parla al vertice UA * Wharf Jeremie, lo slum dove vivono "gli ultimi" di Claudio Monici  Honduras: Lotta alla corruzione: che cosa possiamo fare? di Card. O.R. Maradiaga  India: Inedito: gruppo buddista premia un prete  Italia: Suicida col fuoco - Il grido disperato di Sergio parla a noi di Dino Greco * Se il mondo va in «nomination» di Giorgio Bernardelli * Energia dalla Terra: la sfida del Vesuvio di Antonio Giorgi  * Medici Senza Frontiere presenta "Al di là del muro"  * Il Vangelo radicale - Armi, pace e nonviolenza: quale pastorale è possibile? di Fabio Corazzina * Immigrazione: presentato rapporto Caritas * P. Sorge: "Non è il tempo di chiuderci in casa e di rinunciare a partecipare" di Giuseppe Delfrate * Sbarca in Italia la banca di Yunus * Uno sciopero per difendere la dignità degli immigrati di don Paolo Farinella   Kyrgyzstan: Il Regno di Dio nel cuore dell'Asia:...  Medio Oriente: Berlusconi non ha visto il muro di Raniero La Valle  Somalia: I Paesi vicini temono un'estensione del conflitto somalo alle aree finora risparmiate dalle violenze  Sudan: Onu e Unione Africana rilanciano l'unità del paese  Thailandia: L’odissea dei migranti birmani di Alessandro Ursic  Turchia: In Turchia c'è chi prega ancora nella lingua di Gesù di Egidio Picucci  Yemen: Sono oltre 250 mila gli sfollati in Yemen  

      

Web Sites: Bangladesh   Asianomads   Congo   Congo blog  Pamoia na KakaLuigi  Ladymercyindia

Agencies: Asianews   Misna   Fides     old issues: index indice     email: bernig@fastwebnet.it   brguiz@yahoo.it

       

     

  

MISSION   

Holy Father's Missionary Intention for March 2010

Agenzia Fides - Vatican City - February 26, 2010
"That the Churches in Africa may be signs and instruments of reconciliation and justice in every part of that continent." Commentary. 

       
Africa is a continent full of hope and vitality in the faith, however it also presents some situations that must be solved so that the potential available may reach its full development, for the common good and spread the Gospel. We cannot forget that many of the current shortcomings are the result of past abuses in Africa. At the end of the last Synod for Africa, Pope Benedict XVI said: "We think in particular of our brothers and sisters who in Africa suffer poverty, diseases, injustice, wars and violence, forced migration" (Homily, October 25, 2009). Our African brethren are having to suffer from a series of limitations that have been imposed on them by the greed of others. It has been pointed out that within the borders inherited from colonial powers, the coexistence of ethnic groups, traditions, languages and even religions, often presents serious obstacles due to the mutual hostilities (cf. Ecclesia in Africa, 49). 
Benedict XVI has highlighted that "the reconciled Church is the potent leaven of reconciliation in each country and in the whole African continent" (Homily, October 25, 2009). In spite of the wars and ethnic conflicts, the Church seeks to carry out this mission of unity, to make Africa an image of a new humanity, reconciled in love. This reconciliation must certainly occur through what can be at times an heroic act of forgiveness for offenses. "Faith in Jesus Christ when properly understood and experienced guides men and peoples to liberty in truth, or, to use the three words of the Synodal theme, to reconciliation, to justice and to peace" (ibid.).
In order to reach this unity and keep peace, John Paul II encourages a constant dialogue within the Church, as the Family of God, as "openness to dialogue is the Christian's attitude inside the community as well as with other believers and with men and women of good will" (Ecclesia in Africa, 65). This dialogue must be extended in an ecumenical sense, to include all the baptized brethren of other Christian confessions, in order to achieve the unity for which Christ prayed, and to ensure that the Gospel is more credible in the eyes of those who sincerely seek God. 
The Church, in her service to man, wishes to tread the path of justice. This is why she conveys the message of salvation by combining evangelization and human promotion. This integral development is the only way to emerge from the bondage of sickness and hunger. "This means transmitting the announcement of hope, following a 'sacerdotal form,' that is, living the Gospel in the first person, trying to translate it into projects and undertakings that are consistent with its principle dynamic foundation, which is love," Benedict XVI has said (Homily, October 25, 2009). 
We cannot conclude without recalling a fundamental truth: Christ alone is the Savior of mankind. Technical and human development, in and of themselves, cannot save man. Although it may be a necessary condition, development is not everything. The Church, as a priestly people, is called to lead people to an encounter with Christ, so that they can share in His Life. This is why, through the Sacraments, she brings them into contact with the Divine Doctor, who came not to seek out the healthy, but the sick. "Thus the ecclesial community, in the steps of its Master and Lord, is called to walk decisively along the path of service, to share the condition of men and women in its time, to witness to all the love of God" (Benedict XVI, Homily, October 25, 2009). 

  

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WORLD

World Social Forum: Reconciling Social and Environmental Needs by Mario Osava

www.ipsnews.net - Salvador - Brazil - January 31, 2010 

   

One of the greatest challenges facing the world today is to attend to the urgent social needs of the planet's population, and particularly the one billion people living "on the brink of survival", while dealing with the equally urgent demands of the environment.

This warning came from Brazilian Social Development Minister Patrus Ananias at the Thematic World Social Forum meeting held here in the capital of the northeastern state of Bahia.

Meeting the basic needs of the one billion human beings suffering from hunger today will require the production of massive amounts of food and other goods, which will inevitably affect the environment, he noted.

Ananias addressed the Forum on behalf of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was unable to attend under doctors' orders after suffering a bout of high blood pressure on Wednesday.

Close to 600 people filled the conference room of the Hotel Pestana on Salvador's beachfront to hear government authorities and activists air their views in a discussion panel on "Dialogue and debate between social actors and Brazilian government representatives".

The panel was the key event at the Thematic World Social Forum meeting held in Bahia this Friday through Sunday as one of the numerous "decentralised" meetings organised as part of this year's World Social Forum (WSF).

As potential means of overcoming the apparent contradiction between food production and protection of the environment, Ananias stressed the solidarity economy, family farming, the creation of cooperatives and "above all, reducing consumption."

Another apparent contradiction, though one that is totally false according to Ananias, is "between economic growth and social inclusion."

Brazil's experience has demonstrated that social policies such as the family allowances provided to 11 million extremely poor households in exchange for meeting basic requirements (school enrolment for children, for instance) and pensions for people with disabilities actually helped the country to weather the effects of the international financial crisis.

The redistribution of income and social safety net that lifted millions of families out of poverty and turned them into consumers contributed to economic recovery through a "virtuous circle" of economic growth and social justice, he explained.

"We are eradicating hunger," said Ananias, adding that, according to a recent study, if the country's current policies are maintained, poverty in Brazil will be reduced to the level of a developed nation by 2016.

At the same, however, the high rate of violence in Brazil, resulting in the premature death of tens of thousands of young people every year, casts a pall over the country's economic and social advances. For this reason, Ananias called on the social activists participating in the meeting to join in a "pact for life" and do their part to combat the causes of this violence.

For his part, Bernard Cassen, one of the founders of the WSF in 2001, said that in the world today, governments face contradictions that they fail to even recognise when searching for solutions to the problems facing the planet.

The multilateral free trade negotiated among governments through the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is the "number one enemy of the environmental imperative," yet this fact is not considered by those same governments when they meet at climate change conferences aimed at reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, he said.

Promoting international trade results in an increase in emissions through the burning of fossil fuel required for transportation, noted Cassen, who is also one of the founders of the Association for the Taxation of Transactions for the Aid of Citizens (ATTAC).

He therefore views the failure of the U.S.-backed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) as a major victory.

What is really needed in the world today is "to produce locally, strengthen food sovereignty, and 'relocalise' the economy," he concluded, referring to free trade as "a weapon used by the powerful to the detriment of democracy."

Brazilian Minister of Strategic Affairs Samuel Pinheiro Guimarães, another panelist, highlighted the fact that the Lula administration adopted a strategy similar to the WSF by organising over 60 national conferences at which the Brazilian public and civil society groups were able to freely voice their views and help shape state policies.

In a message to the participants in the Bahia thematic meeting, Lula praised the World Social Forum as a process that generates "transformational power and energies" and is much more than merely a counterpoint to the World Economic Forum, an annual gathering of the international business and banking elite held at the same time of year in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.    

    

Meanwhile, João Paulo Rodrigues, one of the coordinators of the Movement of Landless Rural Workers (MST), stressed the need to continue to struggle for faster agrarian reform, in order to foster sustainable agriculture and generate employment for young people in rural areas.

Brazil is one of the countries with the highest concentration of land ownership in the hands of a small few, with a great many unproductive large landholdings, he emphasised.

Also on the panel were trade union leaders like Artur Henrique, president of the trade union federation Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT), founded in 1983 with the participation of Lula, a union leader himself at the time.

Henrique stressed the key role of employment in the development model to be pursued, and particularly the importance of decent conditions for workers, with an end to employment practices akin to slave labour and the highly precarious nature of work in the informal sector.

Nair Goulart, vice president of Força Sindical, another trade union federation, was the moderator of the discussion panel, and reported that more than 10,000 people had registered to participate in the three days of discussion and other events comprising the Bahia forum.

An analysis of changes at the international level was presented by United Nations Assistant Secretary-General Carlos Lopes, who is also the head of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Lopes highlighted the "end of the unipolar world," reflected by the changes that have taken place over the last decade - coinciding with the existence of the WSF - such as China's accumulation of 2.7 billion dollars in reserves and subsidisation of consumption in the United States.

The rise of the Group of 20 (G20, made up of the finance ministers and central bank governors of world's leading economies) as a forum for discussing the fate of the world is another result of these changes, although it arose as a "palliative" for global imbalances, he noted.

New forms of international negotiation have gained hold in areas like trade and climate change, and decisions can no longer be adopted without the input of poor countries, such as those of Africa, he said.

But "the new world is not here yet," and inequalities persist, said Lopes. Moreover, the crises that the world currently faces are "multifaceted" and it is impossible to even adequately gauge their true scale.

 

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Biodiversity: The Amazon Is Not Eternal by Stephen Leahy*

www.ipsnews.net - Tierramérica - Paris - February 2, 2010

The Amazon jungle "is very close to a tipping point," and if destruction continues, it could shrink to one third of its original size in just 65 years, warns Thomas Lovejoy, world-renowned tropical biologist.  

      

Climate change, deforestation and fire are the drivers of this potential Amazonian apocalypse, according to Lovejoy, biodiversity chair at the Washington DC-based Heinz Centre for Science, Economics and the Environment, and chief biodiversity adviser to the president of the World Bank.

Lovejoy laid out the scenario for participants at the Biodiversity Science Policy Conference in Paris last week, sponsored by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), and marking the beginning of the U.N.'s International Year of Biodiversity.

"The World Bank released a study that finally put the impacts of climate change, deforestation and fires together. The tipping point for the Amazon is 20 percent deforestation," and that is "a scary result," Lovejoy told Tierramérica in an interview.

The study, "Assessment of the Risk of Amazon Dieback," released Jan. 22, drew on the expertise of several international research institutions, including Japan's Meteorological Research Institute, Britain's Exeter University, Brazil's Centre for Weather Forecasting and Climate Change (CPET/INPE), Germany's Potsdam Institute and Earth3000.

The results and analysis were reviewed by an international blue-ribbon panel of scientists.

Lovejoy, head of the committee responsible for this major scientific investigation, said the Amazon has already lost 17 to 18 percent of its forests. Furthermore, "it has a remarkable hydrogeological system where the forest generates at least half of its own rainfall."

This literally means the rainforest makes its own rain, but it also brings rainfall to many areas outside of the Amazon, including the central-western Brazilian state of Mato Grosso and northern Argentina, he said.

What the study shows for the first time is the combination of global warming on a path to reach two degrees Celsius, deforestation of roughly 20 percent of the original forest, and forest fires that undermine the Amazon's unique hydrogeological system.

The Amazonian south and southeast will receive much less rainfall. Less moisture means those areas will be more prone to fires, which not only destroy the forest but also further dry out the surrounding forest - all of which reduces the Amazon's ability to produce rain. The process becomes a self-reinforcing feedback loop.

"The forest eventually converts to cerrado (the Brazilian savanna) after a lot of fire, human misery, loss of biodiversity and emission of carbon into the atmosphere," said Lovejoy.

The Earth's average temperature has already warmed 0.8 degrees Celsius since the pre-industrial era. At the 15th Conference of Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Copenhagen in December, virtually all countries agreed that the warming must not surpass two degrees.

The report's conclusion: "For the Amazon as a whole, the remaining tropical forest will shrink to about three-quarters of its original area by 2025 and further to about only one-third of its original extension by 2075 as a result of these combined impacts of climate change, deforestation, and fire."

"The good news is that deforested areas can be reforested and provide a safety margin," said Lovejoy, maintaining some optimism.

It is estimated that a single hectare of Amazon rainforest contains about 900 tonnes of living plants, including more than 750 types of trees and 1,500 other plants, the report notes.

A single pond in Brazil can sustain a greater variety of fish than is found in all of Europe's rivers, and more than 2,000 species of fish have been identified in the Amazon Basin - more species than in the entire Atlantic Ocean.

The Andes mountain range and the Amazon jungle are home to more than half of the world's species of flora and fauna. For example, one in five of all birds in the world can be found there.

Sadly, before the end of this century many, and perhaps most, of those species will become extinct. After millions of years of existence many plants, insects, birds, animals will never be seen again on the Earth. Habitat loss and climate change will be the biggest reasons for their extinction.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change conservatively estimates that 30 percent of all species will be extinct by the end of this century, if global warming is not kept below two degrees.

Other experts, such as eminent Harvard entomologist E.O. Wilson, told participants at the UNESCO conference that extinctions could go as high as 50 percent.

"Our purpose this year is to focus the world's attention on the need to stop the destruction of biodiversity, the destruction of nature," Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, said in the opening address of the conference in Paris.

The countries party to the Convention agreed in 1990 to slow the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. "We will not meet that goal," Djoghlaf told Tierramérica.

However, with the launch of the International Year of Biodiversity, and the many events, celebrations and conferences to be held around the world, Djoghlaf hopes biodiversity, which is another term for nature, will garner interest and support from the public and policy makers.

With the theme "Biodiversity is life. Biodiversity is our life," organisers are launching a largely educational effort to explain that plants, animals, insects, birds, and bacteria make up the world's ecosystems, which provide humanity with food, fibre and clean water and air.

According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, "60 percent of the world's ecosystems are degraded and failing. We have an obligation to change our ways. This is not a luxury," Djoghlaf said.

In October, the 193 countries that have signed the Convention will set new biodiversity reduction targets at a conference in Nagoya, Japan.

The failure to achieve the 2010 targets for protecting biodiversity resulted from countries' inability to define how they would reach them, Djoghlaf said.

He is confident that, having learned from these mistakes, countries will set specific national goals to curb species loss, with comprehensive plans on how to achieve them. That will then feed into a global target for 2020.

"We will have studies, reports and scientific indicators to guide us, but in the end it is up to policy makers to set targets and policies that will make it happen," said the biodiversity chief.

(*This story was originally published by Latin American newspapers that are part of the Tierramérica network. Tierramérica is a specialised news service produced by IPS with the backing of the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank.)

   

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ASIA

Humans forgotten by finance system: Caritas

Ucan - Bangkok - February 1, 2010  

    

Caritas Internationalis Secretary General Lesley-Anne Knight says human beings have been left out of post-financial crash calculations "with dire consequences for us all, especially the poor."

"Finance has been focused on financial mechanisms, profits and bonuses," she said.

"For humanitarian organizations, such as Caritas, the human person must be at the heart of everything we do. But this should equally be applied to economic systems, which are also ultimately at the service of humanity," she said.

Knight, representing 164 Catholic national charities that work in more than 200 countries around the world, made the comments at the Davos World Economic Forum (WEF) that ended yesterday [Jan. 31].

Knight said five steps need to be taken immediately.

*  Financial institutions must consider the human impact of their activities

*  Poorer nations must have an effective voice at international institutions such as the UN and World Trade Organization

*  Development aid must be delivered free of conditions

*  Recipients should play a greater role in their own development

*  There must be stronger recognition of civil society and faith groups.

The annual WEF brings together business leaders, politicians and heads of state, with artists, academics, religious leaders, and other civil society representatives.

"It is of course easy enough to identify the values and principles that should form the basis of systems and institutions," Knight said.

"What is more difficult is to ensure that these values are applied. This relies on us as individuals - our consciences, and our capacity for solidarity, for compassion, for true charity," she said.

"The richer nations of the world must provide assistance for developing countries who are bearing the brunt of climate-related disasters," Knight said.

"Economic growth and development must have regard for inter-generational justice. Rich countries have profited the most from the industrialization that has led to climate change, and now they must pay the costs of adapting and mitigating the damage."  

 

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Civil society interventions to improve policing by Muhammad Nurul Huda

Daily Star - February 6, 2010

 

EXPERIENCE shows that the police organisations of South Asia including Bangladesh have been more focused on using aggressive tactics to ensure law and order. This attitude and resultant tactics, though unfortunate, have stemmed from the colonial and feudal mindset and has placed a premium on control and suppression. It is thus no wonder that the South Asian countries, professedly democracies, do not have policing that reflects liberal democratic ideals.

Concerned citizens are of the view that instead of having the desirable law enforcement for safeguarding individual rights, the South Asian countries have willy-nilly fostered the growth of unaccountable and unprofessional police organization. Such citizens hold the view that since the politicians in these countries have not demonstrated adequate will to improve law enforcement, it is incumbent on civil society to play a more active role to achieve better policing.

The question therefore, is, can civil society organisations improve police professionalism? To come to specifics if the civil society sees any value in engaging with police and what could be the possible mechanisms to establish an effective and productive relationship with the police. In the same vein, the type of probable assistance the civil society can provide to police could be an area of interest. Similarly, such society's using of benchmarks to hold the police accountable for misconduct may be relevant for responsive policing.

Related to the above ideas could be the strategies the civil society may like to employ to assist in the vitally required oversight of police conduct. Similarly, one needs to know if the nature of internal oversight mechanism of police is understood. Can the civil society address the "brotherhood" within the police that often permits impunity to flourish? A considered view is that since external oversight in South Asia is not desirably effective, the civil society needs to address the scenario.

Observers believe that while it is right to denounce the human rights violations committed by police, it is also important to focus on the desirable course by engaging with the police and participating in the security debate. If this is accepted then the relation between police and civil society, most often characterized by caution and distrust, may hopefully evolve into a less polarized and more cooperative process. However, this cannot happen without supportive developments.

The civil society needs to understand that for long term positive impact on police practice, it would not be sufficient to comment from the sideline. In fact, extended commitment would be necessary. For their part the police need to enhance their responsiveness to the community they serve and understand that cooperation from the public is vital for tactical reasons. For effective crime prevention and detection, sharing information with willing members of public is a vital necessity.

It needs to be remembered that civil society's engagement with police and the latter responding proactively cannot happen in isolation. The desirable intervention can take place within the context of broader reforms aiming to enhance the democratic orientation of the government. In other words, measures like adoption of human rights oriented legislation, general security sector reform, appointment of reform minded police leadership, international police cooperation etc are deemed as facilitating factors.

One cannot lose sight of the reality that engagement with police poses some dilemmas. The first dilemma is about how to find a balance between engagement and criticism. It is indeed difficult for non-governmental organisations dedicated to protecting human rights to learn to work with, as well as against, the police. Engagement should not be seen as jeopardizing the organization's ability to condemn police misconduct.

Another dilemma is about the core function. Civil society organisations mostly act as observers rather than players and engagement with police runs the risks of blurring this distinction. Understandably, this is a less than comfortable situation. The real challenge is perhaps how and to what extent to cooperate without losing the ability to condemn abuses.

Improved methods of measuring crime and public confidence in the police can be taken as indicators for professionalism but very little information is available about the impact of civil society engagement. However, the very phenomenon of civil society engagement may be treated as an indicator of democratic policing. 

 

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BANGLADESH

Dhaka unveils ten-year modernisation plan for armed forces by William Gomes

AsiaNews - Dhaka - February 5, 2010

The government plans to spend almost half a billion dollar to modernise its army, navy and air force. Segments of public opinion criticise the choice and want more money for health care and transport. Half of all Bangladeshis live below the poverty line.  

      

The Government of Bangladesh has unveiled a ten-year plan to upgrade the country's armed forces (army, navy and air force), including new weapons system and armoured vehicles. Planning Minister Air vice Marshal (retd) AK Khandker, who is also in charge of the Defence Ministry, made the announcement yesterday in Dhaka. The modernisation programme comes with a price tag of 338 billion taka (almost US$ 490 million), this in one of the poorest countries in the world, where half of the population lives below the poverty line.

The minister said the money would buy tanks, armoured vehicles, and helicopters, as well as double domestic ordinance production. Barracks and weapons facilities will also be improved. Two maritime patrol aircraft will be purchased and five patrol crafts will be locally built at the shipyard in Khulna, the country's third largest city.

The plan includes modernising the country's air defence system with a new fighter squadron, air-to-air missiles, a surface-to-air missile system, air defence radar and two helicopters.

Bangladesh's military modernisation is part of a broader development plan based on the expectation that by 2017 its economy will reach a 10 per cent annual growth.

At the same time, the government wants to tackle poverty and corruption.

However, the plan to invest so heavily in the military has come in for sharp criticism. In the 2008-09 fiscal year, defence spending ranked eighth in terms of spending at about  6.4 per cent, higher than Transport and Communications (6.1 per cent%), Health (5.9 per cent) and Public Order and Security (5.6 per cent).

Bangladesh has a population of 143 million. It is ranked 140th on the human development scale.

In 2007, it was estimated that only 3.2 Bangladeshi in a thousand had access to internet. Illiteracy stood at 59 per cent. In addition, the annual per capita revenue was around US$ 470.  

 

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Dropout rate must be contained

New Age - February 5, 2010  

        

Education for all is one of the main responsibilities of the government towards its citizens. Although school enrolment of children and gender parity therein has improved remarkably in Bangladesh, dropout rates are still alarmingly high.

   According to a New Age report of February 4, more than 41 per cent of the female students enrolled in Class IX in the 2008-2009 academic session have dropped out as they have not registered to take the SSC and equivalent examinations scheduled to begin on February 11, 2010. Such a dropout rate and that too for a single session is alarming, but when majority of these defaulting students are female, it raises double concern.

   It is not only the number of students enrolled every year in schools and colleges that can ensure education in its true sense. What is equally important is whether the enrolled students are completing the full course and whether they are getting quality education in their respective institutions. Continuing education for the full-term depends on the students, parents as well as many other factors that come to play important roles.

   Some of the few major causes of such an alarming dropout rate, as identified by the education ministry, are early marriage of female students, enrolment of a significant number of female students only for getting stipends, stipends given to wrong students and enrolment forged by the authorities to retain the licence of some schools and madrassahs.

   With majority of the people living below the poverty line, it is only natural that the parents would want their children to become earning members as early as possible or would want their daughters to marry off to ease their financial burden.

   These parents will consider sending their offspring to seek education only if there is adequate number of incentives. Steps, therefore, are required to be taken immediately in that direction so that the students can enjoy the facility of free education in the true sense of the term.

   Imparting quality education also depends on the ability and training of the teachers to make the lessons more interesting. If the teachers are not qualified enough, or sufficiently motivated and well trained, the result would be dismal and the number of dropouts will also increase.

   True in the last few years, school enrolment rate and gender parity therein have improved remarkably in our country and is considered a developmental milestone in the SAARC region, but the success achieved in this sector might soon become overshadowed if education cannot be made truly free and brought within the reach of anyone and dropout rate contained as much as possible.  

 

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Khasia tribal people get own Catholic priests

Ucan - Moulovibazar - February 2, 2010

       

Archbishop Paulinus Costa of Dhaka (center) ordains the first tribal Khasia priests

The priestly ordinations of two Khasia tribal seminarians is a “historic moment” for the Bangladesh Church, says the Dhaka archbishop.

“A new history began for the Khasia tribe today. It is a great joy for the Bangladesh Church as we got new priests from this ethnic tribal group,” Archbishop Paulinus Costa of Dhaka said during the Jan. 29 priestly ordination of Oblates of Mary Immaculate deacons Pius Pohdueng and Valentine Bawel Talang at the Immaculate Conception Church, a predominantly Khasia parish in Lakshipur, Dhaka archdiocese.

About 5,000 tribal and Bengali Catholics, other Christians and those from other faiths attended the ceremony which featured a traditional tribal mix of song and dance.  

“Now the Khasia people will be able to take part in Mass in our own language, tradition and culture,” said Father Talang, 34.

Father Pohdueng, the other priest, pointed out that with their ordination, the Khasia will be now be free to come to the parish and “comfortably talk and share their problems with us in their own dialect.” He pointed out that “So far they felt ashamed to talk with Bengali priests in their broken Bangla” and so “kept away aside from other people.”  

Oblate Father Joseph Gomes observed that the “Khasia language is quite difficult for Bengali priests to learn and similarly Bengali is a difficult language for Khasia people.”  

Babli Talang, 35, a Church worker and Father Talang’s elder sister, pointed to another problem. “Khasia people are backward socially in terms of education. I think the two new priests will help improve the situation for their own community.” She said many Khasia students become dropouts when they fail. “They literally give up instead of trying once more. So, the literacy rate is very poor among them,” she said.

Khasia, a matriarchal Mongol tribe settled in Bangladesh’s Sylhet region migrating from India long ago. Presently, they live in 108 villages in three Catholic parishes and one sub-parish in the region.

They have their own culture, tradition, religion and language and live completely segregated from the dominant Bengali influence.

Most of the 30,000 Khasia in Bangladesh cultivate betel-leaves for a livelihood.

About 80 percent of the Khasia people are Christians with the majority of them Presbyterian or Catholic. Some also belong to the Baptist Church.  

 

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Rajshahi’s first Church school revels in change

Ucan - Natore - February 3, 2010

The first Catholic school in Rajshahi diocese, noted for lifting the literacy rate in northwestern Bangladesh, is celebrating its 50th year.  

   

Bishop Gervas Rozario (left) and Archbishop Joseph Marino inaugurating the anniversary celebrations

About 4,000 former and current students, guests and government and NGO officials took part in the Jan. 28-29 celebrations for St. Louis High School at Maria Virgo Potens Church in Borni. The celebrations featured a Mass, speeches and cultural programs. Archbishop Joseph Marino, the apostolic nuncio to Bangladesh and Bishop Gervas Rozario of Rajshahi attended the celebration.

“The Catholic Church gladly thanks everyone involved in setting up this school and improving education for people in the area,” the nuncio said.

Bishop Rozario thanked teachers past and present for their dedicated service.

Father Shankar Dominic Gomes, the current headmaster said the school was the brainchild of Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions Father Angelo Canton.

The Italian missioner was appointed pastor for the predominant Bengali Catholic Borni parish in 1956 and found that almost all people in the area were illiterate.  

A parish primary school he began was upgraded to a high school in 1960 and named St. Louis High School. In 1963, nine students successfully took school leaving public examinations for the very first time.  

Father Gomes said school began with 40 students in 1960 and now has 700 students. The students are mostly Bengali and tribal Catholic with those from other faiths also studying at the school.  

Over the years about 2,000 students have passed the school leaving public examination.  

Many of them are now government and NGO officials, college and university professors, lawyers, journalists and writers. One even became a member of parliament, Father Gomes added.

According to local the government education office, the literacy rate in the area is about 75 percent, up from the 1 percent it was when the Church school began. People credit the school for improving the education level in the area during the past half century.

“I believe that the ethics I learned from this school has helped me lot,” said Abdul Majid, 45, a Muslim who is now a college professor. “I came from a poor family and had to struggle a lot in my early life. Many times I had to starve but never missed school,” he recounted.

Sujit Sarkar, 53, another former student and a Hindu, now a Rajshahi University professor, told UCA News, “This school lit the candle of education when the whole area was in the darkness of ignorance.” He added his appreciation, saying, “I would like to thank those Catholic priests who paved the way for us to gain success in life through education.”

According to the latest Catholic Directory, Rajshahi diocese has a total of 53,151 Bengali and tribal Catholics in 14 parishes and six sub-parishes.

 

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Dhaka gives green light to crocodile exports by William Gomes

AsiaNews - Dhaka - February 1, 2010      

The government authorises the country's only crocodile farm to ship 67 specimens to a German university for research. Reptile Farm Ltd managing director says the product represents an important source of foreign exchange. The goal is to reach US$ 5,000,000 in earnings by 2015.  

  

For the first time in its history, Bangladesh is going to export crocodiles for commercial purposes. On 21 January, the Department of Forests authorised the country's only crocodile farm, Reptile Farm Ltd, to sell reptiles to Germany. Exotic animals represent a large market in Europe, the United States and a number of Asian countries. The goal is to generate up to US $ 5 million in revenues by 2015.

Mushtaq Ahmed, managing director and CEO of Reptile Farm Ltd., said that on 31 August of last year, his company applied for a permit to export 67 frozen crocodiles to Germany and 10 live ones to Malaysia. After months of waiting, the Forest Department gave the green light.

He said an agreement was reached with Heidelberg University of Germany to ship 67 crocodiles, ranging from nine inches to five feet in length, which the university will use these in research. "We will export the crocodiles next month," he said.

Reptile Farm Ltd. is situated in Hatiber village (Mymensingh district), and owns 825 saltwater crocodiles, including 67 specimens that are big size.

Ahmed noted that the regular export of crocodiles from Bangladesh would be an important source of foreign exchange earnings. The aim is to export over 5,000 pieces of crocodile skin annually and create a base for "earning up to US$ 5 million by 2015."

There is a huge demand of crocodiles in European nations like France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Crocodile skins, meat and bones as well as charcoal made from croc bones used in the perfume industry are in great demand.

To meet this demand, more crocodile farms could be set up in Bangladesh, Ahmed said.  

 

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A Precipitate Outcome by Reaz Rahman

Daily Star Forum - February 7, 2010  

      

No one expected that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's state visit to India would resolve all outstanding issues. It was a goodwill visit. It was to set the climate for negotiations and lay down a base for communications.

Despite all the euphoria over the visit it has been repeatedly underscored that relations between Bangladesh and India are motivated neither by good intentions nor by good neighbourly relations but by the logic of "realpolitik."

The key characteristics are caution, circumspection, pragmatism and hardball negotiations. It must be remembered that India never concedes an inch. Leader of the Opposition Begum Khaleda Zia categorically stated that Bangladesh was not anti-Indian. It was simply not oriented to making it easy for India.

The purpose of the visit was thus to lay down an agenda that would lay a foundation for follow-up over time -- a framework as it were, for discussion, agreement and subsequent implementation. Fundamental concerns of each side were to be spelt out and a network of existing mechanisms and institutions were to be energised and reactivated.  

    

Bangladesh's Fundamental Concerns

Water sharing: 54 rivers cross into Bangladesh from India. In the last 38 years, a sharing agreement has been concluded on only one of them. Many in Bangladesh believe that the 30 Years Ganges Water Treaty is seriously flawed. It was concluded in haste and abandoned the major planks of Bangladesh's claims for a reasonable and equitable share. Furthermore, Bangladesh has no protection in seasons when there is a drastic fall in the flow of waters. The impact of this agreement has had disastrous adverse consequences for Bangladesh. The river-linking project embracing 30 rivers hangs over Bangladesh's head like a Damocles sword. The project is still on the books despite strong protest in India itself. It remains an incalculable threat to Bangladesh.  

 

Environment: The issue of water sharing is compounded by larger economic, ecological and environmental hazards, which call for much greater cooperation especially with regard to watershed and catchment area management, control of pollution, etc. Environmental hazards wreak annual havoc to the tune of billions of dollars downstream. "No harm" assurances have never been realised.

   

Land boundary issues: Non-ratification by India 36 years after signing the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement has exacerbated tensions all along the 4096 km Indo-Bangladesh border. 6.5 km remain to be demarcated, constituting the core of the most disputed issues. Exchange of territories in adverse possession, and enclaves in each others territory have now unnecessarily become hot spots of tension. Willful disregard of border ground rules and shoot to kill orders have seen mounting toll of innocent civilians killed. Movements of people across the border, trafficking in humans and drugs, border smuggling, etc remain constant pin-pricks. Two elements in particular contain huge potential for conflict: (i) exaggerated claims of large scale illegal immigration, and (ii) the building of a fence to deter such illegal immigration, check smuggling and prevent infiltration by Indian insurgent groups. The fence has at points arbitrarily encroached within 150 yards against agreed border ground rules. India is now justifying that the fence does not constitute a defense mechanism.  

     

Maritime boundary: Demarcation of the maritime boundary between adjacent states carries significant potential for competition and conflict over living and non-living resources. Both India and Myanmar have adopted an unvarying stand on demarcation on the basis of the most rigid application of the equidistant line.

A joint stand of India and Myanmar could cut-off Bangladesh's access to the limits of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and Continental Shelf, and deprive it of its legitimate rights over resources of the sea, sea-bed and sub-soil thereof. Bangladesh's case is based on equity.  

Government has precipitately embarked on arbitration with the international sea-bed tribunal. It appears to have now reverted to pursuing both options, i.e. arbitration and bilateral negotiations. The fact is that it has not yet firmed up its position in determining the equities of its case. One of the key elements is establishing Bangladesh claim for an extended continental margin up to 350 nautical miles.  

   

Transit and trade: The government has obscured the distinction between transit and transshipment by using a loose interpretation of the broader term connectivity. India's single-minded pursuit is to establish a corridor to North-East India. Transit is reciprocal in nature and implies mutual benefits. Transshipment is unilateral in nature and benefits only India. The AL government has sought to dissemble and cover up the entire issue by arguing that the objective has broader regional dimensions, embracing not only Bhutan, Nepal, North-East Indian states, but also Sri Lanka and the Asean countries as well. The fact of the matter is that the whole exercise was to establish multi-modal transport connectivity to North-East India.  

Of major concern for Bangladesh was the burgeoning trade deficit with India. Despite many promises in the past and the huge benefit it received as a result of Bangladeshi economic liberalisation policies, India remains reticent to accord duty free access to Bangladeshi exports or to lift para-tariff and non-tariff barriers. As an alternative, India had suggested entering into a bilateral free trade agreement on the lines of the Sri Lanka-Indian FTA. The matter is still under study. However, some negative aspects are being underscored. It was opined that there was no compelling case for Bangladesh to pursue a bilateral FTA with India based on potential economic benefits. Rather, broad-based liberalisation was preferable and would yield larger benefits. The risk was also underlined of a captive market if Indian producers were to collude among themselves or with Bangladeshi importers so as to artificially increase prices.

 

Security and strategic issues: Bangladesh has been made a convenient scapegoat for the Indian army and intelligence failure to resolve the six decade old separatist insurgency in North-East India. A drumbeat of exaggerated accusations variously charge Bangladesh with stoking insurgency with collusion of Pakistan's ISI; refusing to dismantle camps or repatriate insurgency leaders; harbouring fundamentalist/extremist groups and their Indian collaborators; allowing madrassas to churn out radicals; channeling sophisticated arms from South-East Asia to India's North-East, and even of supporting an umbrella organisation geared to creating a third Muslim state in India.

These accusations have been directed at all governments in Bangladesh, including the Awami League. They cannot be wished away in the euphoria of a so-called new beginning. Bangladesh has steadfastly denied these accusations in terms of intent or actual involvement. It has raised the question as to why India's lack of responsibility at finding solutions to its own problems should be laid at the doorstep of Bangladesh. Moreover, India has done little to address Bangladesh concerns relating to criminal elements taking refuge in India and anti-Bangladesh groups carrying out activities inimical to Bangladesh including the carving out of a state comprising parts of Bangladesh.  

 

Actual Outcome

It is in light of the above backdrop that we must assess the actual outcome of the visit. At its best, it can be said that the outcome was disappointing. At its worst, it can be bluntly stated that the nation was unprepared for the stunning concessions that were made. It was all give and very little take.  

 

India's Gains

India gained on four major fronts: (A) Security; (B) Connectivity; (C) Economic Cooperation , and (D) Psychological.

 

Security: With the signing of three agreements whose contents are yet to be made overt, India appears to have significantly edged forward in securing its objectives to curb insurgent activity, that of terrorists and militants as well as repatriation of leaders. These agreements are nothing new and have been on the boards for some time. The difference was that so far they have been on a regional or multilateral plane and now they have been pinpointed on a bilateral basis.

In November 2008 the AL manifesto called for the creation of a South Asia Task Force to combat militancy. The then Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on a visit to Dhaka in February 2009 said the concept already exists but what was important was "the sincerity to fight terrorism." He said that this could be achieved if we had bilateral, regional and global mechanisms. To what extent and in what direction bilateral cooperation will take place is unclear. It has given rise to a host of questions: What will be the modalities? Will it entail a standing military force that will operate jointly? Will it jointly carry out verification or will each country coordinate its own actions?

How far Bangladesh will be embroiled in India's security and larger strategic concerns remains a matter of speculation. The release of Aravind Rajkhowa the ULFA leader in advance of the summit was a major fillip for India. The two prime ministers underscored their common ethos for democracy and moderation (euphemism for vindicating censure of fundamentalism and extremism).

 

Transshipment: India's pre-eminent goal of a corridor to its North-Eastern states has been all but secured. The joint communiqué is rife with commitments that constitute significant links in the chain of connectivity. These include:

Ashuganj and Silghat were declared new ports of call. More important was the fact that the use of multi-modal transport links was ushered in. This was a major concession. Originally a request was made for one time use of over dimensional cargo. Now possibility arose of longer term use.

The understanding to discuss the use of Chittagong port by India has translated to allowing actual use of both the Mongla and Chittagong ports for movement of goods to and from India. This is a mega concession.  

Bangladesh agreed to the early implementation of the Akhaura-Agartala rail link to be financed by India.

The two prime ministers welcomed the start of the Maitree Express and called for the establishment of road and rail links between the two countries. Nothing was discussed regarding the long delays that have made the service virtually unprofitable.  

 

India announced a credit line of $1 billion for a range of projects including railway infrastructure, supply of locomotives, rehabilitation of Saidpur workshop, procurement of buses and dredging projects. The question arises as to why the people of Bangladesh have to pay off a credit that is oriented to serving India's interests. Moreover, given the excess of liquidity in the Bangladesh banks these could have been financed from indigenous sources.

The above elements demonstrate sustained progression towards India's realisation of a corridor to the North-East. The AL government's cabinet decision of June 2009 to join the Asian Highway network effectively rounded off the process.  

      

Economic cooperation: India's constant complaint that Bangladesh has been overly negative on economic cooperation issues, especially transport connectivity as well as sale of gas and electricity, was somewhat assuaged when the Bangladesh prime minister took another quantum leap forward, without any preparation, by signing an MOU on cooperation in power.

Para. 32, though silent on details, deals with: (i) 250 megawatts electric supply for Bangladesh from India's central grid and (ii) agreement of the two prime ministers to: (a) expedite inter-grid connectivity, (b) cooperation in development and exchange of electricity, and (c) setting up joint projects or corporate entities. The paragraph entails an open-ended agenda with wide-ranging implications.

 

Psychological gain: The Bangladesh prime minister, in another unprecedented move and without laying any groundwork, conveyed Bangladesh's support in principle for India's candidature for permanent membership of the UN Security Council as and when reform takes place. It was argued that the BNP government made a similar announcement supporting Japan's candidature long in advance of the decision to reform. The AL government has missed the point. The implications of Japan becoming a permanent member and India becoming a permanent member are not on the same plane. The Bangladesh PM has given explicit recognition to India as the dominant power -- the "hegemon" of the region.

 

Bangladesh's Gains
Bangladesh made no commensurate gain. India remained tight-fisted. Outstanding concerns of Bangladesh were not voiced or acknowledged and no foundation laid for addressing them. Criticism is not being directed at India for the outcome of the summit but at the AL for over-reaching itself. There was too much give and too little take. That is why the leader of the opposition called the outcome a joint communiqué between India and the AL not India and Bangladesh.  

      

Water related issues: The two prime ministers agreed that discussion on Teesta water sharing should be concluded expeditiously and the JRC was to meet at ministerial level by the first quarter to discuss Teesta and other rivers. Differences over sharing Teesta waters remain so widespread that prospect of early agreement is negligible. The Bangladesh prime minister, however, has referred to the "spirit of the Ganges Water Treaty" in motivating a sharing agreement. This is a recipe for cumulative disaster. Bangladesh's legitimate claims for a reasonable share were abandoned and the consequences of the Treaty had a disastrous impact on Bangladesh. The prime minister also made no protest, nor sought any assurances regarding the river linking project. By accepting assurances of no harm regarding the Tipaimukh Dam the prime minister has literally signaled the green flag for its construction.  

 

Trade deficit: India's response on trade related matters was lukewarm to say the least, including duty-free access and lifting of restrictions on para- and non-tariff barriers. It was quick, however, to reiterate its own concerns regarding port restrictions, containerised cargo, upgradation of standards and testing to build up capacity for certification as well as lifting restrictions on Indian investments and on specified commodities. Reference to (i) initiatives India has undertaken to provide Saarc LDCs duty free access and (ii) the reduction of a number of items (47) from India's negative list (242) was pathetic in the face of huge gains India has made as a result of liberalisation of Bangladesh's economy.

 

Land boundary issues: Land boundary issues were placed in abeyance pending comprehensive address of all related issues. Bangladesh prime minister inexplicably thanked the Indian PM for facilitating provision of electricity in Dahagram/Angarpota enclaves. She forgot that the cardinal issue is that after 36 years of signing the Land Boundary Agreement of 1974 Bangladesh is yet to exercise full sovereignty over the enclaves whereas India has enjoyed sovereignty over South Berubari Union since 1974. The issue of constructing a fly-over was a pragmatic solution made three decades ago to which India has never responded.  

        

Conclusion
The balance between gains made by India and those made by Bangladesh are seriously askew. 

 

Many of the commitments made by Bangladesh constitute unilateral concessions whose far reaching implications were neither studied nor examined in consultation with the country's parliament, opposition, or experts. No serious review or study was made of Bangladesh's major threat perceptions on such important concerns as water sharing, the dire impact of the river linking project, huge environmental and ecological impact downstream apart from global warming, the real equities of Bangladesh case for demarcation of the maritime boundary and the implications of arbitration, charges of widespread illegal immigration and serious security and strategic issues.

On the economic front, Bangladesh appears to have blindly conceded benefits without any studies on the capacities of allowing the use of our ports, opportunity and other costs, the real cost of connectivity and its security and strategic implications. In the face of this total lack of preparations the AL government must take serious stock of what it has conceded and what it can implement without endangering our national interest.  

Reaz Rahman is a former State Minister for Foreign Affairs and former Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs.

   

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Abominable admission business

Daily Star - February 2, 2010

Stop the hooligans  

        

EDUCATION is the backbone of the nation and undermining or vitiating it in any form can only have disastrous effects on it. Many developing nations, including India, have used education as a powerful tool for economic progress and prosperity.

But what are we doing? A congenial academic atmosphere is now absent even in many reputable institutions due, largely, to the activities of the ruling party's student wing fanning out in different money-making directions. In addition to indulging in tender business, the BCL cadres are reportedly thriving on booming admission business in the colleges.

Dhaka College, which has a long and glorious history as one of the leading educational institutions of the country, is now the scene of the BCL activists trying to control the admission process. They went to the extent of preventing admission seekers from appearing in their viva voce on Sunday. Of course, they used muscle power to drive away the genuine students. They are demanding a 'political quota' of 500 seats for their organisation on the basis of a 400 seats quota they had last year. Quota means a huge amount of money as the seats will be sold out to the students wanting to get admission through the dark alleys of corruption -- now almost institutionalised in the academic arena, obviously to the detriment of the interest of deserving candidates.

Needless to say, the slide in the standard of education will continue if the admission business is not stopped as a matter of top priority. The future of the nation is bound to be bleak if student leaders are allowed to take charge of the admission process.

The question is, who will stop it? The BCL has been committing all sorts of excesses in the educational institutions that couldn't have nor did it escape the AL high command's notice. The prime minister herself rebuked and warned the errant BCL activists of dire consequences. But all the warnings and exhortations have gone unheeded with similar rapidity with which these were spewed out by leaders, with the result that they have only provided sinews to the culture of impunity they think they are heir to by virtue of being associated with ruling party.

It is high time that zero tolerance is shown to vandalism and corrupt practices on campuses not in mere words, but in actual deeds that make examples out of them with a deterrent effect. It is hard to believe that the AL cannot control the ominous forces out to ruin everything in the academic arena. They are expected to gauge the extent of the danger that the nation is exposed to because of wheeling and dealing with as sacrosanct an arena as education. It is too precious an affair to be left to hooligans and vandals. Bring the culprits to justice.

 

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Crowds gather to attract young to vocations

Ucan - Gazipur - February 4, 2010  

A Year for Priests celebration in Dhaka archdiocese expects to draw more vocations to the priesthood and Religious life.

 

Youngsters during celebrations to honor their priests

About 10,000 Catholics gathered at Panjora village of Nagari parish in the archdiocese’s Bhawal region to greet their priests on Feb. 1. Archbishop Paulinus Costa of Dhaka and his Auxiliary Bishop Theotonius Gomes attended the program honoring 50 diocesan and Religious priests.

“Bhawal region has contributed 90 priests to the Church, more than any number in any Catholic settlement in the country,” the archbishop said.

He told the people that their presence shows their love for their priests and is a “source of hope” for priests whenever they face challenges in their vocation.

The prelate also urged parents to encourage their children to join the priesthood or Religious life.

The Bhawal Regional Pastoral Council, that covers six parishes, organized the event. Dhaka is the country’s only archdiocese.

“We hope that this program will inspire people to encourage their children to join the Religious life” said Holy Cross Brother Prodip Louis Rozario, convener for the event.

Riten Rego, a ninth grader, said he was inspired by the celebration to become a priest.  

“I learned from the speeches of the priests how beautiful and holy their life is. It inspired me to make my life as beautiful and holy,” he said.

Beauty Rebeiro, a Catholic mother, told UCA News that she was overjoyed to see so many priests at the same time. “I wish to become a proud mother of a priest one day,” she said. “I sent my son to this program so that he could be inspired to be a priest.”

The presence of so many people was an inspiration for the priests too.

“This program gives me strength to continue my priestly service in this world full of challenges,” said Holy Cross Father Atul Palma.

“I was never a good student but I overcame every challenge [to becoming a priest] with the power of prayer,” the 66-year-old priest told the gathering.

The Pope declared a year dedicated to priests from June 19, 2009.

According to “Pratibeshi,” Bangladesh’s only Catholic weekly, there are 351 priests in the country among whom 84 are foreigners. The 2007 Catholic Directory of Bangladesh records about 310,000 Catholics, giving a ratio of roughly one priest for every 900 Catholics.

Christians make up less than 1 percent of the country’s almost 150 million people, 88 percent of whom are Muslims.  

 

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Food availability for the poor

New Nation - January 30, 2010  

         

AS reported recently in the press, there is 'no guarantee of access' to food for almost half of Bangladeshis living below the poverty line despite country's tripling of food production since its independence and various kinds of public safety net programmes. Extreme weather events posing threats of significant reduction in agricultural production due to the process of climate change have further endangered the food security for more than 150 million people. The strategy for making food available through imports if necessary, completely broke down when food prices soared.

There were difficulties in procuring food grains due to ban on rice export by a number of countries in 2007-2008. Domestic food prices jumped up rapidly as traders, farmers and consumers anticipating higher prices hoarded the food grains according to a recent policy paper published by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies. The paper noted that the situation led to 'increased food insecurity' and 'higher levels of poverty', especially for the poorest and most vulnerable. Private research further showed stunningly that the incidence of poverty rose to almost 50 per cent from a lower rate of 40 per cent in 2005, especially due to volatility of food prices.

Such a situation gave a wake-up call for increasing food production for self-sufficiency and making social security for the poor and vulnerable groups to support them with livelihoods instead of providing them with subsistence for years. This explains the social safety net programmes worth Taka 17,300 crore - a package of mostly subsistence programmes which is described by the food minister as one of the world's biggest for the poor. An economist on the basis of ground-level research however, termed the coverage of safety net programmes as poor benefiting only about 20 per cent of the deserving people.  

 

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Lost land areas should return to public

Daily Star - February 6, 2010

Punish illegal occupants, adopt land use policy and stick by it  

    

THE plunder of land resources has reached a critical state as is evident from the disclosure in parliament of the land minister and state minister for environment and forest on Thursday. It is now known that around 13 lakh acres of khas land, both farm and non-farm, including large forest swathes, has been expropriated and held in illegal possession by individuals, industries and businesses over the years.

Such turning of public lands into personal fiefdoms is nothing short of a national betrayal perpetrated through connective tissues of power and influence over the years by default of the patently culpable variety. But now that the government has woken up to the criminal denial of resources that belong to the public it must go the whole hog in ensuring that the these are fully restored to the people. Basically, those who have committed the illegalities should be criminally charged with full weight of the powers of the state bearing down on them.

No government worth its salt in any country whatsoever of whatever size would have countenanced the land grabbing on any scale but this is all the more damning and culpable in our context, especially given the magnitude of expropriation blatantly taking place in such a land-short and populous country like Bangladesh.

It is the fundamental lack of an overarching land usage policy, far less implementation of any semblance of it, that has given a free hand to wheeling and dealing with our land resources. Therefore, what the startling disclosure about the extent of land loss to illegal possession should lead to are serious, energetic and focused efforts climaxing in the formulation of a balanced land use policy that is home grown and yet based on best practice methods projected into the future. We broadly need optimal land utilisation in such areas as forestry, habitat formation and sustenance, infrastructure building, industrialisation, agriculture, fishery and horticulture.

A land constrained country smarting under population pressure and the prospect of being a victim to global warming has all the requirements in the world to cater to basic demands for: a) housing; b) more food; and c) industrialisation to increase livelihood options. Each of these three basic claimants to land is as strong as the other. The population now hovering at 150 million is projected to be 220 million by 2025. To that extent, our basic needs are poised to multiply and in view of this overriding reality, it is a stupendous intellectual challenge to address such a perspective with an adequate, sustainable and effective land use policy. There is no trifling with a land management and usage policy and concrete steps towards it must be taken without any further loss of time.  

 

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Restoring standard of education

New Nation - February 1, 2010  

     

PRESIDENT Zillur Rahman has drawn attention to the alarming picture on the standard of education at the university level as he addressed the fourth convocation of the Jahangirnagar University the other day. He expressed concern at the fall of the standard of education. The President is also the chancellor of most of the universities. Education at the university level signifies higher education of international standard with worldwide recognition. Public universities in Bangladesh, particularly the Dhaka University in the past, occupied a prestigious position in the world of education. It produced many scholars of international repute.

The present reality however is that these highest seats of learning have failed to retain their good names. Academic atmosphere in these institutions is repeatedly hampered by violent clashes among members of student organisations. A section of the teachers, sharply divided politically, are said to be busy with moneymaking and can hardly concentrate on education and research to empower themselves for imparting quality education. Poor and meritorious students mostly have higher education at the public universities which charge less fees. The President has urged all concerned to come forward to identify the causes and take necessary steps to upgrade the quality of education.

The government and the political parties should first take initiatives to free teachers and students from divisive politics so that they can concentrate on studies. The stakeholders, students and their guardians, should be conscious about the graveness of the situation. The university authorities should take urgent steps based on evaluation of the prevailing situation to restore congenial atmosphere. The University Grants Commission that acts as the intermediary between the universities and the government, can help make varsities to plan ways out of the prevailing mess and turn those into centres of excellence in education.  

 

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International Mother Language Day in the context of Bangla by Mohammad Amjad Hossain

Daily Star - February 21, 2010       

     

EVERY year we religiously observe Ekushey February, but we may not be aware of its history and significance.    

 We do not follow the ideals for which students gave their blood to establish Bangla as the official language, in turn, establishing Bengali nationalism. Its main purpose was establishing Bangla in every sphere of our lives.
We were overjoyed when the Unesco, on November 17, 1999, declared Ekushey February as International Mother Language Day. The UN General Assembly declared 2008 the International Year of Languages, with the slogan "Languages Matter." That decision by the international community is a great tribute to the Bangla language martyrs. Bengalis around the world should feel proud. The death of those martyrs 58 years back was not in vain and has won the international community's hearts and minds.

Geographically and culturally, both parts of Pakistan were vastly different. Historically, the East Pakistani way of life -- rivers, poetry and music -- was distinct from that of West Pakistan. Their cultural and social practices were also diametrically opposite. Despite this, the federal government, dominated by West Pakistanis, tried to impose Urdu as the only state language -- which was spoken and understood by only 7 percent of the population -- whereas 56 percent were Bangla speaking East Pakistanis. 

Governor General Mohammad Ali Jinnah, a founder of Pakistan, declared at Curzon Hall on March 24, 1948 that only Urdu would be Pakistan's state language. This declaration agitated the student community and certain politicians. Bengalis felt that Mohammad Ali Jinnah should have realised that Dhirendra Nath Datta, a Pakistan constituent assembly member, had proposed on February 23, 1948 to make Bengali one of the state languages -- alongside Urdu and English. Pakistan Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan and Khaja Nazimuddin, a former chief minister of Bengal, opposed the proposal. 
Datta's proposal should be viewed as the first formal articulation for establishing Bangla as a state language of Pakistan, although Tamaddun Majlish -- a socio-cultural group of East Pakistani intellectuals led by physics professor Abul Kashem -- began the state language movement on September 15, 1947, one month after Pakistan's birth. Tamaddun Majlish arranged a language movement symposium the same day at Nupur Villa of Dhaka's Government Intermediate College, which was presided over by renowned linguist Professor Muhammad Shahidullah, who established Mirpur's Bangla College. Resentment over language increased, and exploded in 1952. Pakistan's rulers had to accept the demand and incorporated Bengali as a state language in the 1956 constitution.
Language is a nation's backbone. The German, Chinese, French or Japanese prospered in the arts, science, technology, and trade because their languages had developed. The only way to educate the masses in science and technology is through the mother tongue. No wonder intellectuals like Rabindranath Tagore, Profulla Chandra Roy, Saytendranath Bose, Qudrat-e- Khuda, Abdulla-al-Muti Sharfuddin and others emphasised using Bangla as the medium of our intellectual endeavours. They published many scientific books in Bangla. Unfortunately, the government did not strongly propagate it, resulting in a country weak in science and technology. However, credit goes to President Ershad for introducing Bangla at different levels. Many diplomats were forced to write in Bangla.
Another equally important element is patriotism. Love for country and language enhances a country's prestige. We should emphasise development of our language and translation of science and mathematics books.
Maybe, we made a mistake in choosing Ekushey February, instead of Atoi Falgoon, for observing Shaheed Dibosh. Falgoon belongs to the Bangla calendar whereas Ekushey belongs to the English calendar. Srijoni Sahitya Gosti, in the mid-'60s, tried to popularise Atoi Falgoon by organising meetings and publishing a journal. Incidentally, this writer was a member of this Gosti in Dhaka. 
I met Professor Abul Kashem at Amader Press at Sheikh Saheb Bazaar in Azimpur in 1961 to persuade him to follow Atoi Falgon as Language Day. This Gosti's efforts could not succeed in reversing the Ekushey February trend because Abul Gaffar Choudhury's poem: "Amar bhaiyer rokto rangano Ekushey February, ami ki bhulite pari" greatly influenced the country. That could be a reason why Bangladesh is currently confronted with an identity crisis.
Today, we see the mushrooming growth of English medium schools and universities where graduates are neither conversant in Bangla nor English. We ignore the importance of Bangla in our life, and thus prevent a majority of our population from their right to gain knowledge. English is predominant in offices also. 
The students who sacrificed their lives for Bangla in 1952, and a few Bengali-Canadians who continue trying to get the international community to recognise Bangla, deserve our tribute and profound thanks. International Mother Language Day and Bangladesh Shaheed Dibosh generate goodwill and respect for all languages. They open up a new vista of interaction and cooperation in the world. I salute M. Humayun Kabir, former Bangladesh ambassador to the US, for observing this day in 2008 with other world cultures. The embassy also plans a similar event this year. 

    

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CAMBODIA

Focolare throws lifeline to Cambodia's poorest

Ucan - Phnom Penh - February 3, 2010

 

A personal sponsorship program run by the Italian lay organization Focolare is providing schooling for children in the country who otherwise could barely feed themselves.

Orphan Mao Sampors, 14, and his two older brothers, for example, live with their aunt Im Vang, 59. She earns 5,000-6,000 riel (US$1.20-1.40) by selling cakes from her home.

That is just about enough to feed herself and Sampors, while his two brothers work as laborers but Vang had no hope of sending any of them to school.

The Focolare movement is helping them with a scheme in which a sponsor "adopts" a child and finances his or her schooling.

The program, centered on the Spatoch Catholic church in Phnom Penh, helps some 150 poor or orphaned children and youths across the country.

Sampors, who has been sponsored for eight years, receives US$15 a month for school materials, snacks and uniforms, and another 25,000 riel for extra tutorial classes in mathematics, physics and chemistry.

"I am very happy that the Church helps me in my studies. I don't have anything to give back in return, but I will always study hard. I want to finish high school," the Buddhist boy told UCA News.

Vang is also grateful.

"I could not give him a schooling without this Church support," she said. "I want him to have a good future working in an office or NGO. I don't want him to be selling cakes like me."

Father Bob Piche, who heads the sponsorship program, said children need an education to build a future and contribute to society.

The Paris Foreign Missions priest said that at the monthly gatherings when the students receive their funds, he and other Church workers always discuss their studies.

"We impress upon their parents or guardians how important education is. We find that every child wants to study," the Canadian priest said.

The program is also supported by Enfant du Mekong (Children of the Mekong), an NGO that runs children's projects in Southeast Asia. Sponsors are mainly from Canada, France, Italy and United States, as well as Cambodia.  

 

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CHILE

Tsunami alarm lifted. In Chile more than 700 dead

AsiaNews  - Tokyo - March 2, 2010 
In the eastern Pacific Ocean waves up to a meter, but in some villages off the Chilean coast, the tsunami left at least 350 dead. Population and economy of the Latin American country hit hard. Price of copper soars. China promises $ 1 million in emergency aid. 

     
The tsunami warning throughout the Pacific in the aftermath of the earthquake in Chile has been lifted. For the countries of the eastern Pacific the tidal wave has had no disastrous effects, but in Chile, near the epicentre of the earthquake, the tsunami swept away entire villages and doubled the number of dead from the disaster. 
In a village near Concepion, at least 350 bodies were found. In the port of Talcahuano the waves dragged 20 ships through the streets of the city. Also in the Juan Fernandez Islands, near the Chilean coast, there are five dead and several missing. 
A tsunami warning was issued in many countries after the earthquake on Saturday 27 February: Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Japan, but the waves that arrived on the coast were only about one meter. 
The Chilean government says that so far there are 711 dead. But there are collapsed buildings that still contain dead or persons trapped beneath the rubble. Over 10 thousand troops are in the area to maintain order and a curfew has been imposed to prevent the looting of shops and supermarkets by survivors seeking food and water. 
The earthquake has damaged hundreds of thousands of homes, devastated highways, destroyed bridges, communications and electricity are not guaranteed. 
The economy has been stretched to its limit. Chile is home to the world's largest copper mines, and although they restarted operations yesterday, today the markets raised the price of the metal by 6% in fear of a drop in production. 
In Shenzhen and Shanghai, shares of China's copper mines grew by 6%. 
China today issued a statement promising 1 million U.S. dollars for emergency aid to Chile 
Yesterday, Benedict XVI urged the international community for solidarity with the Chilean people. 

      

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CHINA

Dissidents arrested as land disputes continue

AsiaNews - Beijing - February 2, 2010

The stability of Chinese society continues to be undermined by these two major social problems. Despite efforts by the central government, violent clashes continue.  

   

Despite an appearance of greater openness, China's central government is relentless in its repression of dissidents. Clashes between ordinary civilians and security forces over land ownership continue as well, especially in the rural areas of central and southern provinces.

In Beijing, the authorities have placed Cha Jianguo and Gao Hongming under house arrest on 27 and 29 January respectively. They are guarded by police stationed at their apartment building but are allowed to leave their homes on condition they travel in police vehicles.

When asked why, police say that the two dissidents are under surveillance in accordance with orders from higher authorities. Obviously, the two men cannot meet any other dissident.

Both were co-founders of the China Democracy Party in 1998 and for that reason were arrested on subversion charges.

On 27 January, security staff employed by Guangxi Jiahe Development Group, a real estate developer, attacked with clubs and shields Huang Jianxian, a 76-year-old man who enquired about their activity as they stripped away electric cables at his farm.

Locals who came to his defence were driven away. Others called police who came only an hour later.

Later, about 200 Jiuquwan residents demonstrated outside of the Jiahe Group building. They were dispersed by about a hundred police agents.

Huang's family said that their relative is uneducated and he was tricked into signing a contract to sell his land to the Jiahe Group without being told the full extent of the deal.

Land disputes remain a thorn in the side of the central government. Last Friday, central authorities released new draft regulations to protect homeowners against buyers; as part of the process, they are asking the public for input.

On paper, this represents an improvement but laws, in China, have a way of being ignored by those who are supposed to enforce it.  

 

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HAITI

A land of asylum in Africa discussed at AU summit 

Misna - February 1, 2010    

 

The African Union, meeting for its XIV general summit in Addis Abeba this week, shall examine the octogenarian Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade’s proposal to create a state in Africa for the survivors of the January 12 earthquake in Haiti. “It is the sense of duty, of memory and solidarity that imposes upon us president Wade’s proposal to create the conditions in Africa for the return of Haitians who would like to come after the disaster that has hit their country”, said, during the opening of the summit, the president of the AU Commission, Jean Ping. Ping also said that a chequing account has been opened at the African Development Bank (ABD) to contribute funds toward Haiti’s reconstruction. Noting the historic ties between the peoples of Haiti, whose origins go back to the slave trade period – the first to have “dared raise the flag of the liberation of the black people”, said a Senegalese MP – Wade, with the backing of the intellectuals of his country, had proposed setting aside some land for the earthquake survivors. Wade did not indicate how, exactly, the Haitians are supposed to arrive in Senegal, nor did he consider how the Senegalese people might take to the idea. Interestingly, in 2009, Senegal was ranked 166th out of 177 countries in the UNDP Human Development Index. Haiti was 17 places higher at 149. [AB]  

 

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INDIA

EU delegation visits persecuted Christians of Orissa by Nirmala Carvalho

AsiaNews - New Delhi - February 3, 2010

Delegates are met by ultranationalist Hindus. Tomorrow they will travel to conflict-torn Kandhamal. Mgr Cheenath says things will be back to normal only when Christians can live in their homes and pray without fear.  

  

Representatives from the European Union were met by ultranationalist Hindu protesters from the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) as they began their visit to the State of Orissa, scene of anti-Christian violence at Christmas in 2008 and the summer of 2009.  The European delegation is in India to take stock of the situation in that state but their presence has caused resentment among Hindu extremists who made sure to tell the diplomats to "go back" home.

Heavy police presence kept protesters far from the delegates, who are from Hungary, Poland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Britain, Finland and Sweden.

Tomorrow, they will meet officials from the state of Orissa and the local police. The next day they will travel to Kandhamal, and then fly back to the Indian capital on Friday.

The protest comes after VHP national leaders expressed their opposition to the visit, going so far as to call on the government of Orissa to ban it.

Mgr Raphael Cheenath, archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, told AsiaNews "vested interests are not interested in the truth. They are afraid that the truth might come out and that the EU might want to address this problem" of anti-Christian persecution in Orissa.

In fact, the situation in Kandhamal is still difficult, the prelate said. "Many Christians are still forced to live on the outskirts of villages, not allowed to live in them. Many are also afraid of being forcibly converted to Hinduism because in some places being Hindu is a prerequisite to live in the villages," the archbishop explained.

"We do not have accurate data, but we do know that a large proportion of Christians is still refugee. Some are living in temporary shanties in Bhubaneswhar; others have moved to other states in search of security."

"Our people continue to live in a precarious situation, in fear. Intimidation by the majority community continues, even if it has lessened somewhat," Bishop Cheenath said. However, "in Kandhamal, life will be normal only when all the people have returned to their village and can live in peace in their homes, and pray safely in their churches. At present, some of those involved [in the carnage] are on trial, but the real criminals, the perpetrators of communal violence, are still at large."  

 

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Orissa: state government removes Christians as EU delegations arrives

AsiaNews - Gudaigiri - February 4, 2010

Extremists had forced a group of 91 Christians, victims of religious violence in August 2008, to leave their native village to seek shelter in a refugee camp. Now they are being "cleansed" ahead of a visit by a European delegation.  

     

The Government of Orissa has forced a group of 91 Christians, victims of the religious violence of 2008, to set up a shantytown on the outskirts of G Udaigiri. Now they are being threatened of forced removal from there as well, as part of a forced "cleansing" operation before the visit by a European delegation to the State today and tomorrow. The All India Christian Council has sent a letter a letter to the delegation from the European Union and the State government expressing its deep concern over the decision.

In the letter, John Dayal, who is the council's secretary general and a member of the National Integration Council, explains who the refugees are and why they are being persecuted.

"The families are originally from the villages of Killaka, Kutuluma, Rotingia-Porakia, Kiramaha, Dokadia, G-Mangia, Ratingia, Dhangarama, Lorangia, Dakapala, Rudiangia, in Raikia and other blocks.  [. . .] they had to flee their villages in the first wave of violence on 25-26 August 2008," the letter said.  

Right after the attack, these "families were resettled in a government refugee camp. In the past few months, the government of Orissa has shut down the camp and dispersed its residents. Some of the men have found work in shops in G Udaigiri or farms around the town, but none of them has received any support or assistance from the government." Instead, "they have always been subjected to harassment by local residents," Dayal said.  

      

The reason is simple. "Only by converting to Hinduism can these families get any help. Now however with the arrival of the European delegation, the local government has changed its tune.  The local market committee secretary, Jeevan Pattnaik, came with uniformed men to clear the camp. Once again, Christians were forced to leave and so set up their shanties along the road."

The misadventures of the 91 Christians were not over though. "When I left, at 10 am, a government representative came saying that he would be back to clear the shanties from the road. Some protested, to no avail. Now we want their situation to be solved. These Christians should not be forced to convert to Hinduism in order to live in a dignified manner."  

 

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INDONESIA

Church attacks increase in SBY's first 100 days

Ucan - Jakarta - February 2, 2010

     

Catholic and Protestant leaders have blamed the Indonesian president for recent church attacks, saying that he failed to maintain religious freedom during the first 100 days of his second term.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was re-elected last year, beginning his new five-year term on Oct. 20.

Yudhoyono's 100-day program "was not clear," Christian leaders said.

"The number of church attack cases increased. Eighteen Catholic and Protestant churches were attacked, including arson attacks at Protestant churches in North Sumatra," said Father Benny Susetyo, executive secretary of the Indonesian Catholic bishops' ecumenical and interreligious affairs commission.

Batak Society Christian Church and Pentecost, two Protestant churches in Padang Lawas district of North Sumatra province were burned on Jan. 23 by groups protesting religious activities conducted in both churches.

Yudhoyono was blamed for not pushing hard enough for an apolitical religious affairs minister. "It is different from previous cabinets whose religious affairs ministers were not from any particular political parties. Hence, they could focus on their programs," Father Susetyo said.

He also lamented that the Interreligious Communication Forum (FKUB) at both national and regional levels could not work well because of bad management.

Reverend Gomar Gultom, general secretary of the Communion of Protestant Churches, also blamed Yudhoyono for the church attacks.

"I got the impression that he let those [attacks] happen," he told UCA News.

He observed that within his first 100 days, Yudhoyono failed to take legal action against the perpetrators. "It is obvious that such attacks are against human rights," he said.

Reverend Gultom also criticized interreligious dialogue programs organized by the religious affairs ministry, saying that they have stagnated at the higher levels and failed to touch the grassroots.

"Groups at the grassroots must be empowered to understand the law so they do not commit violence," he added.

He suggested that the national government act firmly using existing laws to deal with any case of violence.

Jesuit Father Johanes Nikolaus Haryanto, general secretary of the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace (ICRP) reported 20 cases of church-building disputes, church attacks, and attacks on followers of religions regarded as cults during Yudhoyono's first 100 days.

"It is against human rights and respect for religions," he told UCA News.

The ICRP has submitted a report on sectarian violence to Yudhoyono but has received no response yet. "I do not expect too much. For me, what is most important is to educate civil society on pluralism," he said.

Theopilus Bela, general secretary of the Indonesian Committee on Religions for Peace, also said that the church attacks were because of Yudhoyono's laxity. "He is a good person, but he is weak. He does not act firmly against radical groups and local authorities that commit violence.

"I am very disappointed as similar cases happen again and again in Indonesia, and none has been resolved," he said.  

   

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IRAQ

A Faulty Truth by Nader Rahman

Daily Star Magazine - February 6, 2010

        

It has been close to eight years since the Iraq war started and even today it elicits just as much passion and emotion as it did in the summer of 2003. But a lot has changed in those eight years, the war which so many Americans backed close to a decade ago is now one of the most unpopular conflicts since, well, Vietnam. But unlike the Vietnam conflict the war in Iraq was never fully viewed as the United States' war alone, it was always the US and UK war on terror. In those heady days of 2003, George W. Bush and Tony Blair each created the perfect environment in their respective countries for the war not only to be justified but generally backed by the majority of their people. The only problem is that of hindsight.

A few months into the conflict it was clear that there was no enriched uranium in Iraq and claims of weapons of mass destruction never existed. That was when things went sour. This week Tony Blair took to the stand in England as he sought to justify his decision to go to war and in the highest profile question and answer session since Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama went head to head two years ago. It was the moment people around the world had been waiting for and as such it turned out to be a supreme disappointment. The questions were basic at best and a master orator like Blair handled them with consummate ease. He never seemed perturbed or ruffled and eventually seeing him in front of the camera answering questions about the legitimacy of the war was like seeing question time in the House of Commons. The only problem was that eight years ago the House of Commons failed to ask the right questions as well.

Interestingly when it was finally announced that Blair would give evidence to commission, most viewed it as possibly the last time the former PM would have to account for the reasoning behind his decision to go to war. The commission was given six hours to interrogate him and what should have been nothing short of a roast eventually petered out into a walk down memory lane.

Blair remained unrepentant for his actions, claiming that if he were in the same position again with the information that he had, he would have made the same decision. And while that did not 'shock and awe,' it was a slap in the face of the United Nations, yet again. When the UN was bypassed for the war against Iraq, Bush and Blair played it cool, they talked of the importance of getting the timing right and why that led to them unilaterally acting against Iraq without proper UN approval. They made it seem like a one off, it would never happen again. But this time Blair cleared out the issue beyond doubt that it was more than just a one off, but an attitude that any perceived enemy of theirs would be dealt with swiftly, with as little reliable intelligence as possible and of course without a UN resolution because obviously that is for wimps who actually care for the law.

While that may be a little harsh of Blair it remains true, after hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost including a few hundred British soldiers this was the ideal opportunity for him to apologise for the flimsy reasoning behind the war. It may not have soothed everyone's feelings but would have gone a long way to restoring his tarnished image. But seemingly that was not on his mind, he decided to defend his decision and stand by them through thick and thin, in a way his performance was rather heroic, if only his actions and intention were.

What proved to be the most frustrating aspect of his testimony was how smug he was through it all. He never once looked under pressure and for the most part spoke with a smile on his face. It was like looking at a man on death row who was happy to be there, except unfortunately the enquiry would not lead to death row. It would just lead to another report or dossier no one would read and whose outcome people knew from the beginning all along.

It left one fuming, that the man who went into an illegal and immoral war could sit in front of millions of people and continue to tell them how little he cared for the UN system. He stood and looked people in the eye and said he did not have the requisite evidence to go to war and yet he still did. He looked people in the eye and said he would do it all again, if the information was the same. Then right before our eyes he talked of Iran and the threat it posed and expected us to believe him. After one faulty, problematic, expensive and draining war he moved seamlessly into what now seems like his second war. His claims that Iran is a threat to peace in the area are not un founded, but that is only if their rhetoric is to be taken seriously. To prove they are producing or going to produce weapons of mass destruction will take more than another faulty report.

Worryingly Blair had the world's attention when he made his claims against Iran, one only hopes the decision makers were either not listening or they understood how eerily similar his words about Iran were to his rhetoric against Iraq when he was still in office. As the middle east envoy for the Quartet Blair has done nothing of note, but he certainly found time to wage war against Iran. If only he did his basic reading properly he would have understood that meaningful foreign policy in the Middle East will only come around once both Iran and Hamas are at the table. Waging a war against them would be more than a step back, it would be a disaster. But that is not to say that Iran has not given reason for the west to get worked up. But their strategic importance means they have an important voice, it would be in Blair's best interests not to drown out that voice with bombs and mortars. They tried that in Iraq and look where that got them.

When the history of the 21st century is finally written, there will be a fair amount to say on Tony Blair. If someone like the recently deceased Howard Zinn has his way with the writing of it, then Blair better not read it. If only he had found a way to apologise for the war, if only he had looked down and said 'sorry', then maybe history would have been kinder than it should have towards him. But he chose what must be for him the moral way, he decided to stick to his decisions through thick and thin and while that may have worked for Britain during his decade in power, it did not work so well for the rest of the world.  

 

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Iraq's democracy by Forrest Cookson

The Independent - February 5, 2010  

         

Difficulty with Iraq's evolution as a democratic state comprising three different groups - Shiite Arabs, Sunni Arabs, and Kurds (Sunnis) living under a common Constitution - has once again come to the fore. As American influence is declining disputes between the Sunni Arabs and the Shiites and between the Arabs and the Kurds is increasing. As Iraq approaches the next Parliamentary election there are increasing difficulties over qualifications of candidates. In particular 511 largely Sunni Arab candidates are being disqualified on the grounds they were active members of Saddam Hossain's Baath party. This action has precipitated yet another crisis with the election scheduled for March.

Go back to 1991 and the events surrounding Iraq's attack on Kuwait, the defeat of the Iraqi armies by an American led coalition, and the revolts of the Kurds and the Shiites against Saddam's Government. The Kurdish areas were isolated by American air power allowing Kurds to build their own country for a decade without Baghdad's participation and since 2003 within a Iraqi Government, but still with a very high degree of independence. The Shiite revolt was put down brutally by Saddam. The series of trials of "Chemical Ali" for the chemical warfare attacks against Shiites and Kurds culminated in his death by hanging and symbolise the abuse of these groups by Saddam's Sunni Government. Saddam's legacy was a bitter hatred, historical but fuelled by contemporary actions by Saddam, between Sunnis and Shiites.

While Bangladeshis often deny the depth of this Sunni-Shiite split, in Iraq it is deep and bitter. The behavior of the Shiites is at two levels: First, their determination to dominate the society putting the Sunni down to a secondary role. Second, to fight among themselves for dominance within the Shiite population. Shiite dominance of Iraq is virtually assured. The United Sates and many others have followed a dream of a united Iraq with the three sectarian groups living under a democratic regime. The Shiites have a majority of the population so unless there are non-sectarian political movements should have the leading voice. So long as American power, military and economic, has been present the society struggled towards acceptance and compromise. As immediate American influence wanes the willingness of Iraqis to make compromises also falls. The history, theology, personal arrogance, and past grievances loom larger leading to confrontation and conflict. Obama's determination to keep to a timetable for removal of the American military from Iraq makes this worse. The certainty of withdrawal of the U.S. is a highly destabilising event. Ironically the world demands such withdrawal, certain to increase the level of violence.

Uncertainty as to the length of American presence is the strongest medicine to encourage cooperative democratic behaviour. Iraq is headed for chaos as the two major conflicts explode. All will look on in despair as these conflicts increase in violence. First is the conflict between Shiite and Sunni. After decades of repression and maltreatment deliverance is at hand. The Shiites will want everything for themselves. There is a lot to divide! Oil production is headed for at lest 5 million barrels per day which at $80/barrel is an income of $400 billion less production costs etc. of $10/barrel leaving $350 billion available to the state every year. Who gets this money and what will be done with it is the central issue of Iraqi politics. Do you think the Sunnis are going to get much? Out of the question! Spreading these good things around is what Iraqi politics is about.

The Sunnis response to their marginalisation will be to turn to the Saudis for guidance and help. The response is uncertain, but compromise will not come easily - neither side has leaders able to reach out for such an outcome. The most likely outcome is violence led by the Sunnis in an attempt to negotiate a stronger Constitutional position. As the US presence winds down Sunni inspired violence will grow. We see evidence already in the increasing violence now emerging in Iraq. There is no obvious solution. Unless great leaders emerge, there is only continuing arrogance and anger, with bombs and bullets as arbitrators.

The second conflict is between Kurds and Arabs. The Arabs neither feel nor demonstrate acceptance of the Kurds as equals. The Kurds have been up in their mountains hemmed in by Iranians, Iraq Arabs and Turks. Over the years this ethnic group has been abused and marginalised economically. The past two decades Kurds have experienced a renaissance under the protection of the Americans. The Kurds have no intention of giving up the progress they have made. After centuries of repression and exploitation they are prepared to defend their new status.  One mystery is what will the American Government do? In the past the United States Government has betrayed the Kurds withdrawing support when it was convenient. Further difficulties arise from the attitude of Turkey.

The Turkish Government is becoming more Islamic in its choices, turning away from its secular occidentation. Many Turkish leaders have given up on joining the European Union after the EU raised obstacle after obstacle. The EU leaders have signaled they do not want Turkey in the union; the Turks have consequently taken actions that widen their breach with the EUs human rights rules making it appear that the Turks are at fault. Actually the EUs fear of Islamic immigrants has driven their rejection of Turkey. One consequence is that proper treatment of the Kurds implicit in the move to join the EU became less important. Recently the Turkish Supreme Court banned a Kurdish political party undermining political cohesion of the Kurds. The Turks will more and more apply pressure on the Kurds who are trying to protect their language and culture. The future is not bright. If the United States stands with the Kurds their new "nation" will survive. But if Obama lifts American military protection we will see a new chapter in the book of genocide. It will be a tough call for the Obama administration. What will happen? I certainly have no idea - but if you own land in Kurdish areas of Iraq, sell!

I have long argued that Iraq could not survive as a government ruling over the three groups. Under the "peace of Washington" the three have warily coexisted. Without this peace one group will seize power or the state will fragment. Dominance of one group in a non-democratic environment is really no longer possible. Too much has happened. The Kurds are now much stronger and the Sunnis will turns to KSA for support. Few believe in Iraq as a political construct, and show limited loyalty to the abstract Iraqi nation. The battle is over the oil resources and the unwillingness by the Shiites to let anyone else have a share!

The outlook for Iraq is not bright. The British forced these three groups into the skin of Iraq. There is nothing natural about this arrangement!  Sunni imperialism and brutality held Iraq together for decades. Now the mantle is passed to the Shiites. The inability to work cooperatively and to reject the religious biases is a phenomenon we see elsewhere in the world. Intolerance and ideology lead to unhappy endings. Bangladesh has its own problems along these lines with distrust and fear blocking cooperative behaviour. Iraq's future as a democracy is unstable. The best hope is for a federal system with a high degree of devolution of power.  This is unlikely to be achieved. Civil war seems a more likely outcome.  

   

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JAPAN

Suicide mission

Ucan - Tokyo - February 1, 2010  

    

For the twelfth year in a row, the number of people who committed suicide in Japan has topped 30,000. According to statistics released by the National Police Agency on January 26, a total of 32,753 people took their own lives in 2009. This was the fifth highest toll in history, an increase of 504 persons over the 2008 figure and on average one such death every 16 minutes.

Thirty years ago, the "typical" suicide was a woman in her 20's or 30's who faced romantic difficulties such as a break up with a boyfriend or the prospect of never finding a spouse. Another group was women who suffered marital difficulties. These often killed their children as well, since it would be poor mothering to leave them orphans.

Nowadays, the profile has changed, with 71 percent of 2009's suicides being men. The most common reason for killing themselves is financial difficulties, the loss of a job or unpayable debts.

Another group that has recently attracted attention because of a spike in suicides are children. Schoolyard bullying and poor grades seem to be behind this phenomenon.

Suicide is not unknown even among Christians. There is probably no priest in the country with more than a few years' experience who has not in the course of his ministry been called upon to deal with the aftermath of suicide.

Those of us who live in Tokyo are not surprised at the police reports' high numbers. In recent years, more than 300 people have committed suicide each year in the region by jumping from station platforms in front of oncoming trains. Being stuck on a train delayed by a suicide somewhere along the line is a common experience for Tokyoites, especially during morning rush hours.

Railroads have installed special lighting and replaced black asphalt platforms with white tiles in the hope that a brighter environment might deter jumpers. Gradually, fences and gates that block access to the tracks until after trains have come to a stop are being installed on platforms.

Japan has always had a high suicide rate and the country has been fairly tolerant of self-destruction. Traditionally, suicide has been an honorable way to atone for failure or to resolve intractable problems. It was even turned into a ceremony in the practice of "seppuku," ritual self-disembowelment. (The commonly used word for it in English, hara-kiri (belly cutting), is somewhat vulgar in Japanese.) The Tokyo site of the 1912 joint ritual suicide of Count Maresuke Nogi and his wife Shizuko upon the death of Emperor Meiji is a Shinto shrine where the count is revered as a divinity.

However, Japan's mildly tolerant attitude toward suicide is changing, and not simply because people are annoyed at having their morning commute disrupted by train delays caused by jumpers.

The increase in suicide is seen as a symptom of something gone wrong with Japan. Those who kill themselves are not judged for their actions. The country is.

After the total destruction of Japan in World War II, the Japanese set themselves to rebuild economically and socially. In 1964, the nation hosted the Olympics. In connection with that event, the "bullet train" high-speed rail system was built. Modern highways were constructed. That year marked the country's re-entry to world-class status as a nation, an end to the post-war period of humiliation and reconstruction. The young man chosen to light the Olympic flame symbolized that. Yoshinori Sakai was born in Hiroshima on the day an atomic bomb was dropped on that city.

Japan went on to become the second largest economy in the world. In 1979, an American book spoke of "Japan as Number One." But, then it all fell apart. The economy stagnated, the population showed inexorable signs of aging and decline. It seemed that just as the suffering, sacrifice and hard work of the post-war reconstruction was about to bear fruit, Japanese increasingly realized that something had been lost along the way. There was no longer anything left to achieve in the way of economic growth, but the achievement turned out to be not worth the effort. And those who put forth the greatest effort, no longer having something for which to live, began to choose death.

Where does this leave the Church? What does it mean to proclaim Good News in a wealthy land that has the means to live, but may be losing the will to do so?

The Church does a good job when what the bad news people face is hunger, ignorance or disaster. However, bad news in the midst of wealth is a new challenge. The best way to face it remains a mystery. The search for answers in Japan may provide the model for missions in the 21st century as more and more of Asia moves beyond mere subsistence and finds that the pursuit of wealth may mean the loss of something more important. It may also become a model for the re-evangelization of the West, which was once a model for Japan, but now seems more and more to be imitating Japan in its wealthy poverty.  

 

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MIDDLE EAST

Pro-Israel Lobbies Work on Europe by David Cronin

www.ipsnews.net - Brussels - February 2, 2010 

   

Defenders of Israel's aggressive stance have for many years been recognised as a powerful force shaping United States foreign policy. A less well-known fact is that the pro-Israel lobby has been making a concerted effort to strengthen its presence in Europe.

The lobby's determination to make an impression on European Union policy-makers was exemplified by a new booklet published on Jan. 28.

Titled 'Squaring the Circle?: EU-Israel Relations and the Peace Process in the Middle East', the booklet advocates that EU should "rebalance its priorities" and pursue closer relations with Israel regardless of whether progress is made in resolving the conflict with the Palestinians.

 

Unlike the plethora of publications on EU affairs that quickly fade into obscurity, there are good reasons to believe that this one will not go unnoticed in the corridors of power.

First, it was published by the Centre of European Studies, the official think-tank for the network of Christian Democrat and conservative parties that dominate European governments.

Secondly, its author, Emanuele Ottolenghi, has already demonstrated his capability to catch the eyes of politicians by penning several pamphlets for Labour Friends of Israel, a group that boasts of the top figures in Britain's ruling party among its members.

Ottolenghi is the director of the Transatlantic Institute. Also styling itself as a think-tank, this Brussels-based institute was set up by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in 2004.

"The AJC is the foreign policy wing of the Israel lobby," says Muhammad Idrees Ahmad, a researcher in Scotland's University of Strathclyde, who monitors the activities of hawkish pro-Israel groups for the website neoconeurope.eu "The two places that it has decided to focus on most are Latin America and Europe. This is because it has a sense that American power might be in decline."

The AJC has been successful in convincing the EU that many criticisms of Israel can be considered as a general slur on Jews. In 2005, the EU's Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (which has been subsequently renamed the Fundamental Rights Agency) published a working definition on anti-Semitism, admitting that it had been drawn up in consultation with the AJC and the like-minded Anti-Defamation League.

According to this definition says that criticisms of Israel, which contend that the establishment of that state was a "racist endeavour" or which compare Israel's attacks on the Palestinians to the behaviour of the Nazis during the Second World War, should be considered as anti-Semitism. Ottolenghi's new booklet invokes that definition to call on the EU to declare campaigners critical of Israel ineligible for funding from those sections of Union's budget dealing with the promotion of human rights and democracy. It is "curious," he argued that EU financial support has gone to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) "whose work depicts Israel as a racist society and an apartheid regime."

"In other words, EU Commission money is helping certain NGOs spread a message that, according to another EU agency, is considered to be anti-Semitic and thus against EU values," he wrote.

Ottolenghi has been active, too, in urging the EU to adopt a tough line against Iran's nuclear ambitions. His book 'Under a Mushroom Cloud,' which was published last year, posited the theory that Arab leaders are unconcerned by how Israel had developed nuclear weapons of its own decades before Iran started work on its nuclear programme.

"Arab leaders sleep soundly under the shadow of Israel's nuclear umbrella; it is Iran's nuclear quest which gives them nightmares," Ottolenghi wrote. "They know - they have always known - that Israel's military prowess serves its survival and does not seek to impose a political diktat on its neighbours. The same cannot be said of Iran, with its hegemonic ambitions, and its desire to refashion the region."

Yet since the book was published Arab governments sponsored a resolution on Israel passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The resolution noted that Israel is the only state in the region that has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a 1968 agreement designed to curb the spread of nuclear weapons. This was the first such call directed at Israel approved by the IAEA, an official body of the United Nations, in 18 years.

Along with the AJC, several other pro-Israel lobby groups have opened new offices in Brussels over the past decade. These include the European Jewish Congress and B'nai B'rith. Another group, the European Friends of Israel (EFI), has been formed as a cross-party alliance of members of the European Parliament (MEPs).

During Israel's offensive against Gaza last year, the EFI circulated briefing papers that defended the killing of Palestinian civilians. According to the EFI, it was impossible for Israel to avoid civilian deaths because Hamas, a Palestinian resistance movement, had ordered its members "to discard uniforms and dress in regular clothes that made them indistinguishable from the civilian population".

Michael Gahler, a German Christian Democrat MEP who describes himself as pro-Israel, said that such lobby groups have "always been very influential" in Europe. Gahler argued, though, that the groups should not ignore the widespread opposition in Europe to Israeli actions in the occupied Palestinian territories. "They should be here and listen," he told IPS. "They should not only be a loudspeaker."

Luisa Morgantini, a former vice-president of the European Parliament and a veteran Palestinian solidarity activist, said that all forms of racism and anti-Semitism must be opposed.

But Morgantini also suggests that pro-Israel groups are exploiting the history of Jewish suffering in Europe to dissuade its modern-day politicians from taking robust action against Israeli oppression in Palestine. "They are using the holocaust as blackmail," she said. "It is time for us to stop this blackmail."

 

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Why does the US turn a blind eye to Israeli bulldozers? by Robert Fisk

New Age - February 3, 2010  

  

'Palestine' is no more. Call it a 'peace process' or a 'road map'; blame it on Barack Obama's weakness, his pathetic, childish admission - like an optimistic doctor returning a sick child to its parents without hope of recovery - that a Middle East peace was 'more difficult' to reach than he imagined.

But the dream of a 'two-state' Israeli-Palestinian solution, a security-drenched but noble settlement to decades of warfare between Israelis and Palestinians is as good as dead.

Both the United States and Europe now stand idly by while the Israeli government effectively destroys any hope of a Palestinian state; even as you read these words, Israel's bulldozers and demolition orders are destroying the last chance of peace; not only in the symbolic centre of Jerusalem itself but - strategically, far more important - in 60 per cent of the vast, biblical lands of the occupied West Bank, in that largest sector in which Jews now outnumber Muslims two to one.

This majority of the West Bank - known under the defunct Oslo Agreement's sinister sobriquet as 'Area C' - has already fallen under an Israeli rule which amounts to apartheid by paper: a set of Israeli laws which prohibit almost all Palestinian building or village improvements, which shamelessly smash down Palestinian homes for which permits are impossible to obtain, ordering the destruction of even restored Palestinian sewage systems. Israeli colonists have no such problems, which is why 300,000 Israelis now live - in 220 settlements which are all internationally illegal - in the richest and most fertile of the Palestinian occupied lands.

When Obama's elderly envoy George Mitchell headed home in humiliation this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrated his departure by planting trees in two of the three largest Israeli colonies around Jerusalem. With these trees at Gush Etzion and Ma'aleh Adumim, he said, he was sending 'a clear message that we are here. We will stay here. We are planning and we are building.' These two huge settlements, along with that of Ariel to the north of Jerusalem, were an 'indisputable part of Israel forever.'

It was Netanyahu's victory celebration over the upstart American President who had dared to challenge Israel's power not only in the Middle East but in America itself. And while the world this week listened to Netanyahu in the Holocaust memorial commemoration for the genocide of six million Jews, abusing Iran as the new Nazi Germany - Iran's loony president supposedly as evil as Hitler - the hopes of a future 'Palestine' continued to dribble away. President Ahmadinejad of Iran is no more Adolf Hitler than the Israelis are Nazis. But the 'threat' of Iran is distracting the world. So is Tony Blair that day, trying to wriggle out of his bloody responsibility for the Iraq disaster. The real catastrophe, however, continues just outside Jerusalem, amid the fields, stony hills and ancient caves of most of the West Bank.

 

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MYANMAR

'Religious must reach out to all people'

Ucan - Yangon - February 2, 2010   

Religious must reach out to all the people, Salesian Archbishop Charles Bo said today.  

   

The Yangon archbishop told UCA News during the annual Consecrated Day for Religious in the country that the occasion was one to renew lives of witness for Christ.

The Catholic Church celebrates World Day of Consecrated Life on Feb. 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.

About 130 Religious priests, men and women Religious, novices and postulants participated in the celebration in Yangon, the sixth annual such event.

Archbishop Bo pointed out that "Diocesan priests gain their spirituality through service" but "with the Religious, although there is service as well, we are concerned in witnessing." He said Religious "gain spirituality through witnessing and so we can say it is the witness of life."

The celebration consisted of a Mass, the blessing of candles, a presentation by Archbishop Bo, group discussion, social games, reporting and evaluation of the year's work.

"I feel like I received a new life and it also reminds me to renew my whole life," Sister Lucy Ja Bawk from the congregation of the Missionary Sisters of St. Paul told UCA News.

Sister Victoria from the Servite Sisters of Mary congregation of said it was a great privilege for all Religious from different congregations to gather and meet each other as a family.

"Each congregation takes their responsibilities in the celebration and it shows that we have mutual love and mutual understanding among ourselves," she said.

De La Salle Brother John Hla Maung told UCA News that it was a great chance to exchange experiences.

"We can ask what we do not know and it is the great chance to grow in spirituality," he said.

In Mandalay, Archbishop Paul Zinghtung Grawng led a Mass concelebrated with five Religious priests.

About 80 Religious attended the celebration at the Sacred Heart Cathedral.

There are 32 men and women Religious congregations and about 1,800 Religious serving the Catholic Church in Myanmar.

   

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NEPAL

Police carry out torture, killings and rapes in the region of Terai

AsiaNews - Kathmandu - February 3, 2010

Organization for Human Rights condemns the continuing abuses of police and armed forces in the prisons of 11 districts of Terai (southern Nepal). Mainly affected the ethnic and religious minorities. Among the tortured children aged 9 years.  

        

Summary executions and the use of torture in prisons in the region of the Terai (southern Nepal) a hotbed of ethnic conflict, are on the increase. The Human Rights organization Advocacy Forum (AF) in a 93-page report released yesterday documents the repeated violence - murders, rapes, kidnappings, torture - carried out between January and September 2009 by police and armed forces against ethnic minorities in the region. 

The Af report entitled "Torture and extrajudicial executions amid widespread violence in the Tarai" refers to a total of 15 executions that remained unpunished. According to the organization, the Nepal Police (NP) is responsible for 13 killings, while two were committed by members of the Armed Police Force (AF). The dead belong mostly to political groups linked to the Madeshi community, the ethic minority in the region that is fighting for autonomy. Witnesses said the victims were arrested during clashes between police and Madeshi members and killed on the spot by the officials.

"Once again we see how the Nepalese government has failed to conduct credible investigations and prosecute those responsible for these crimes," said Mandira Sharma, director of AF. "Impunity - she adds - shows the lack of an adequate security system. All this only adds to the resentment of ethnic groups towards the central government in Kathmandu.

The document is also a survey based on interviews with 1473 inmates. This shows the prevalence of torture in prisons in 11 districts: Banke, Barda, Dhanusha, Jhapa, Kanchapur, Kapilvastu, Morang, Siraha, Sunsari, Rupandehi and Udayapur. In the prison in the district of Dhanusha more than 30% of respondents admitted to having been tortured. In particular, women complained of continuous sexual abuse by the guards. Torture also cover 52% of children, in some cases as young as 9 years old. Mainly the ethnic and religious minorities are subjected to torture. Prisoners belonging to the Terai ethnic groups or Muslims are the most affected, while Hindus are given a better treatment.

In July 2009 the Nepalese government launched a special security plan to limit police violence, particularly in the region of Terai. Nevertheless it has not yet been implemented and no measure has been taken against the policemen responsible for violence.

"Until the law is applied and there is more investigations of these facts - says Mandira Sharma - the police will continue to use electric shock treatment in prisons, to carryout extrajudicial executions and use violence against detainees, including children, without having to account anyone.

   

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PAKISTAN

The murder of a 12-year-old Christian girl could go unpunished by Fareed Khan

AsiaNews - Islamabad - February 2, 2010

The murder of young domestic worker, raped and murdered by her employer, is marred by delays and red tape. The murderer, a rich lawyer from Lahore, is getting a VIP treatment from police. Catholics and members of human rights groups have come out in support of the family and are suing the culprit.  

        

Catholic leaders and Pakistani human rights activists are alarmed that the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl, Shazia Bashir, on 23 January might go unpunished. The main suspect is a rich and powerful Muslim lawyer from Lahore, Chaudhry Muhammad Naeem, who was employing the girl as a domestic. The city's bar association has sided with the suspect, a former president of the association, who is being treated as a VIP whilst in custody. Prosecutors meanwhile have delayed filing charges.

Shazia's family said they had no confidence in the committee set up by Punjab's chief minister Shahbaz Sharif because of its delaying tactics. Some of her relatives and a number of human rights activists have staged a protest in front of the Lahore Press Club and have decided to sue.

Peter Jacob, executive secretary of the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) of the Catholic Church of Pakistan, told AsiaNews that the government is ill equipped when it comes to punishing the powerful and defending the rights of the poorest sections of society.

Along with members of human rights groups, the Catholic activist wants to continue the "struggle for justice" and have Shazia's murderer pay for his crime.

On 29 January, a judge extended Chaudhry Muhammad Naeem's remand in custody for another six days. Police has also deployed massive security around him. His lawyers also got a court order banning media from the courtroom. Outside the courthouse (pictured), Shazia's family and supporters shouted protest slogans.

Meanwhile, two Christian organisations, the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) and the Pakistan Masihi League (PML), have appealed to the chief justice of the Supreme Court to do something about the culprit.

PML President Salamat Akhtar said that the girl's death certificate was tampered with. He has also accused the police of treating the suspect as a "guest of the state" with all sorts of special privileges.

He also said that, whilst Lahore Bar Association "may defend their friend in court", they cannot make "unlawful and unethical threats against the girl's family" without "damaging or destroying justice" itself.

In a statement jointly signed by NCJP President Mgr John Saldanha, and Peter Jacob, Shazia's murder is described "as not an isolated incident" because domestic workers are often "the victims of violence and coercion by their employers."

Because the federal and provincial governments are unable to "ensure justice," the cabinet must ban child labour and "guarantee speedy trials".  

 

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Muslim lawyers will "burn alive" anyone who defends murdered 12 year old Christian  by Fareed Khan

AsiaNews - Islamabad - February 6, 2010

No lawyer comes forward to defend Shazia Bashir, the servant girl murdered by her employer. The powerful association of lawyers in Lahore, arrayed in defence of the murderer, launches death threats and prevents access to the Court. Christian Association condemns this new form of terrorism.  

     

Because of the threats posed by the powerful Lahore Bar Association - an umbrella organization of city lawyers - no Christian or Muslim lawyer is ready to take on the defence in the murder of 12 year-old Shazia Bashir, it was reported yesterday by The Pakistani Christian association that deals with legal assistance.  

The girl, of Christian faith, died on Jan. 23 as a result of violence - even sexual - at the hands of her employer, a wealthy and powerful Muslim lawyer in Lahore. The alleged murderess, Chaudhry Mohammad Naeem, is a former president of the Lahore High Court Bar Association. The girl, just 12 years old, had worked as a maid in the home of Naeem in the last six months.

The Center for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) denounces that access to the courtroom where the court hearings were held against the accused was denied, because a group of Muslim lawyers (pictured) 'prevented' entry. The association is fighting - for free - for the rights of the poorest and marginalized groups has been  threatened by  thousands of lawyers - friends of the murderer - that promise to burn alive anyone who wants to represent the victim in court. "  

M. Joseph Francis, director of Claas, asked members of civil society, political and religious leaders to rise up and take steps to "condemn this new form of terrorism" by lawyers who "should ensure justice." The Pakistani newspaper The News reported that on Feb. 4, the police conducted the accused to the courts amid "tight security. And, as usual, officials prevented journalists and relatives of victims to come into the hall for "security reasons".  

Shazia Bashir's family could not access the court not once but three times, a strange fact, regarding the judiciary in Pakistan. Police officials explain that it would "not be possible" to prevent clashes and violence, where "Shazia's relatives and representatives of minorities to enter the courtroom."  

Meanwhile Ashgar Ali, heading the investigation, requested the accused appear before the courts and an extension of the terms of custody for six days. The magistrate added that the murder weapon has not yet been recovered and the accused could provide the names of accomplices, who participated in the torture and murder of the 12 year old Christian girl. The court, however, has only partly accepted the request, ruling only four days in jail.  

 

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Catholic puts first Urdu Bible on line

Ucan - Rawalpindi - February 3, 2010

A Catholic school teacher is working on what is being billed as the world's first online audio Bible in Urdu.  

       

Riaz Masih Gill, 31, a software developer says he actually got the idea while installing Qur'an software three years ago.

"My Muslim friend used to listen to the Qur'an in Arabic. I copied the concept since there is no software for the Bible in local languages available in local markets" he told UCA News.

Gill launched in Dec and has been publicizing his project via cell phone text messages among Christians. His website features an almost complete audio option for the Protestant Bible. Audio narration for a few books of the New Testament is in its final phase.

Father Nasir Javed, his parish priest, has commended Gill's efforts. "Most in our community are poor and illiterate. This website gives them a chance to listen to the word of God even if they can't read it", he told UCA News adding that the Internet has opened new doors for evangelism. Father Javed is the parish priest at Immaculate Conception Church in Rawalpindi.

The Pakistan Bible Society (PBS) confirms Gill's effort is the first online Bible in Urdu "with audio option". Speaking to UCA News, Anthony Lamuel General Secretary PBS said the society is working on a virtual Bible on Unicode; a standard which defines the internal text coding system in computers. It provides a unique number for every character irrespective of the platform, program or language.

"The Unicode Bible is 70 per cent completed", Lamuel added.

Gill said he opted for a "Protestant" Bible due to the availability of pastors for support and guidelines. "I wrote a letter to the local Catholic Bible Commission a few years ago but got no reply."

However, the project was not without its challenges. He invested 50,000 rupees (US$ 581) in his online Bible even though he earns 12,000 rupees a month at St. Mary's Cambridge School in Rawalpindi.

"I paid a few pastors for narrations. However I raised the money through some tuitions work and many customers bought other software I had developed," he described.

According to Gill, a few Muslims also expressed support for his work through text messages. "You have done good work. I did not have this holy book before in my house", he quoted one of them as saying.

Gill now plans to upload the Bible in four other local languages with both text and audio option.  

 

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RUSSIA

Russian Orthodox Church, close to Catholics, but far from Protestants

AsiaNews - Moscow - February 4, 2010

The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill notes closeness between Rome and Moscow on the major challenges of modernity, globalization, secularization, erosion of traditional moral principles. Instead distances increase with Protestants accused of betraying the Christian heritage to the standards of the world.  

 

As it finds itself drawing increasingly closer to the Catholic Church at least on the major challenges of the contemporary world, the Moscow Patriarchate can not say the same of the Protestants.

           

 So says the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill, speaking at the meeting of bishops that took place in the capital on 2 February. "With the Church of Rome - he said - we have similar positions on many issues facing Christians in the modern world. Such as secularization, globalization and the erosion of traditional moral principles. It should be noted that in many matters, Benedict XVI has taken positions which are close to Orthodox ones". 

However, its distance from the various Protestant denominations seem to be increasing. In recent years, "there has been a decrease in the collaboration of  Protestant communities in an effort to preserve the Christian heritage" and that, says Kirill, is because of "constant liberalization" of their world. "Not only - adds the Patriarch -have they failed to propagate Christian values in secular society in a practical manner, rather many Protestant communities have preferred to adapt to those standards." The reference appears to be to the recent election of a woman bishop, Margot Kassmann, as head of the Evangelical Church in Germany.

Kirill says clearly that in dialogue with Protestants, the Orthodox Church must seek ways to overcome the fundamental differences and if this is not possible, " many other important issues will remain, not directly related to the achievement of unity in faith and ecumenical structure, but important in terms of cooperation for the sake of peace, justice, of creation and to resolve other important problems that require a joint effort by those who believe in the Trinity. "  

      

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SAUDI ARABIA

Discrimination and religious intolerance the evils of Saudi Arabia by Nirmala Carvalho

AsiaNews - New Delhi - February 6, 2010

A Christian of Indian origin, O'Connor spent seven months in the prisons of the Kingdom on the false accusations of proselytism. He stresses that the "unlimited powers" of the religious police perpetrate crimes and violence. He prays every day for the country, the rulers and administrators.  

      

In Saudi society, "discrimination and intolerance" are an "evident" matter of fact, exacerbated by the "unlimited powers" enjoyed by the muttawa - the kingdom's religious police - who perpetrate crimes, violence and promote a system of widespread corruption. This is the statement of Brian Savio O'Connor, a Christian of Indian origin, for 7 months and 7 days a prisoner, chained and tortured in a Saudi jail on charges of proselytizing.

For his release AsiaNews had launched an international campaign. We asked the 41-year Christian in Karnataka - who has launched a centre for orphaned children, open to any religious faith - to comment on the results of an investigation into the political and social situation in Saudi Arabia, carried out with a poll conducted in November 2009 by Pechter Middle East Polls, a private polling institute based in Princeton (United States).  

Below the AsiaNews interview with Brian O'Connor (pictured with family):

 

Mr O'Connor, where does the problem with corruption begin?

Unless the Saudi kingdom, permit Religious Freedom and respect the Spirit of Reciprocity, corruption will continue to plague the Saudi Kingdom and have disastrous social consequences.  The 'muttawas' have  unquestionable powers and yield their powers to harras people of other faiths,  evidence is planted, prayers in the privacy of the homes are cause for arrests and jail terms,  While these are also the ways  and avenues for corruption of these 'police.    

  

What was your experience of corruption in jail?

[Prison] is a haven for corruption, any favours could be 'bought for a price' from the jailors, and for the non- muslims, it was even worse, they would be attempts by the jail authorities to subtly get us to renounce my faith and embrace Islam, and this was the case with most who were thrown into jail on fabricated(faith based) cases.  The corruption had even stooped to a level that even a change of name to a Mohammedan one sufficed to some fringe benefits inside the jail. It is significant that arbitrary powers of the Muttawas, have spurred the rise of religious fundamentalism which has implications for social development, for social justice and human rights.

 

Can you describe to readers your days in the Saudi Kingdom?

In Saudi society, discrimination and in tolerance toward non-Muslims is evident and it is worrisome, that all this lacks transparency, to there can be cases of indiscriminate harassment of non- Muslims leading to human rights abuses.  In my humble opinion, it is the rigidity of the Saudi society, and denial of religious freedom that, engenders fundamentalisms.  However, from recent account, in Riyadh (where I lived), the muttawahs have lessened their vigilance and harassment/intimidation of private worship and this is encouraging. 

   

What according to you can help Saudi emerge from this corruption and extremism?

It is known that in the Saudi Kingdom Freedom of religion is legally not recognized and this opens avenues for legal sanction for corruption.  In order to weed out the source of corruption, it is urgent that by Law, the Saudi authorities ensure   protection for private worship for all religious groups, curb harassment of religious groups, and promote tolerance toward all religions.

     

What about Muslims, are things easy for them?

For our Muslims brothers and sisters, the issue of Religion does not arise; however, such strict and rigid laws on Religious Freedom are bound to impact society as well- even for our Muslim brethren.  From my experience, on the one hand the clerics attempt to impose a dogmatic world view, and dogmatic ways of interpreting truth, religious texts and the world with intent to control the individual and/or society as a whole. While on the other, they discourage those who challenge their world vision and staunchly oppose any democratic values and, pluralism.

     

How has life been for you after your jail term in Saudi?

I am married, my wife Liza and I have two children. Here in Hubli, Karnataka, we have stated a "Disciple Training Centre', transmitting faith to pastors and the lay people. Everyday I pray for the Saudi Kingdom, for the rulers and administrators that Freedom of Religious may be permitted for the good of the Saudi kingdom and for its people.  

 

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SRI LANKA 

The death of Italian "Fr. Gandhi" by Melani Manel Perera

AsiaNews - Colombo - Frebruary 6, 2010

Yesterday, the funeral of Pastor Angelo Stefanizzi took place in Lewella, central Sri Lanka. The priest has spent 58 years in the island, working with farmers in the area. Provincial of the Jesuits: "a big heart and a profound education."  

      

Many farmers in the province of Kandy in central Sri Lanka, attended the funeral of Italian missionary Fr Stefanizzi Angelo, who died February 3. The funeral of "Fr. Gandhi" - this is the nickname given by the faithful - took place yesterday in Lewella. The remains of the priest, who spent 58 years in the country, were buried in the Jesuit house, the order he chose when he entered the novitiate August 1936.  

Fr. Gandhi spent the last period on a wheelchair because of arthritis, treated with affection and devotion by his confreres. He lived the disease with serenity and presence of mind, without ever losing his missionary zeal, his devotion to prayer and the Eucharist.

K.s.s.a. Francis, director of the organization Foliseb Sri Lanka based in the town of Hatton, remembers him as a "saint of our times" and "a thorough and excellent guide for all workers of the earth". He stresses the special attention shown by Fr. Stefanizzi for the poor farmers of the province and his commitment "to try to talk to them and help them solve problems, so we called him affectionately ... Fr. Gandhi.  

His secret, says K.s.s.a. Francis, was his ability "speak both the Sinhala and Tamil fluently, although he was a foreigner", a special gift that enabled him to "win the hearts of people" who could "approach him without encountering barriers or obstacles."

Fr. Mary Anthony, provincial superior of the Jesuits in Sri Lanka, told AsiaNews that "we have lost a long-time missionary with a big heart and a profound education." "I liked to call him the man of the poor," continues the brother, because "he was ready to work in the middle of every difficulty. He was not interested in an easy life, he just wanted to be close to poor farmers".  

Fr. Angelo Stefanizzi (pictured) was born in the town of Matino, in the province of Lecce, October 2, 1919. He entered the Jesuit order as a novice in Naples in 1936 and studied philosophy in Gallarate, in the province of Varese (northern Italy). In 1949 he left for India, where he studied theology, Tamil language and was ordained priest on 21 November of that year.   

In 1952 he moved to the island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and also embarked on studies of the Sinhala language. His missionary life was spent in contact with the population, with particular attention to the poor farmers of the land. Until his death on 3 February.  

 

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Gov't Defends Detention of Suspected Tamil Rebels by Feizal Samath

www.ipsnews.net - Colombo - February 3, 2010 

     

Sri Lanka is rejecting claims that some 11,000 people who surrendered as suspected Tamil rebels just before the decades-long bloody conflict ended in May 2009 are being held incommunicado or risk being tortured.

"These allegations are untrue. The surrendered persons have access to relatives and family and we are working with UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in their rehabilitation and reintegration programme," said Major General Daya Ratnayake, Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, which is in charge of all rebel suspects undergoing rehabilitation.

On Tuesday, the U.S.-based rights campaigner, Human Rights Watch (HRW), urged the Sri Lankan government to end the alleged indefinite, arbitrary detention of more than 11,000 people held in "so-called 'rehabilitation centres'" and release those who are not being prosecuted.

In a 30-page report titled, 'Legal Limbo: The Uncertain Fate of Detained LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam] Suspects in Sri Lanka,' HRW said its information was based on interviews with the detainees' relatives, humanitarian workers, and human rights advocates, among others. The government has routinely violated the fundamental rights of the detainees, it said.

"The government has been keeping 11,000 people in a legal limbo for months," HRW Asia director Brad Adams was quoted as saying. "It's time to identify who presents a genuine security threat and to release the rest."

The HRW claim was backed by Sri Lankan Tamil Parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran, who said even agencies like the International Committee of the Red Cross were not allowed to visit these centres.

"Nobody knows who is in these camps. When we met President Mahinda Rajapaksa last September, he agreed to our request to release the names of those in these centres. But nothing has happened so far," the parliamentarian, whose party represents the interests of Sri Lanka's Tamil minority community, told IPS.

Sarasi Wijeratne, spokesperson for the ICRC, said they have not had access to these camps since July 2009. "We did a registration of the inmates at that time. There has been no access since July," she told IPS.

However, a local human rights group said that access has improved for the detainees in the last two months, owing to the recently concluded Jan. 26 presidential poll.

"As far as we are aware, parents and relatives have access to these camps in recent weeks, though there is a lot of bureaucracy ... in getting approval. All this, I believe, is because the government wanted to win the Tamil vote," said a spokesperson for the agency, who requested that her name and that of her organisation remain anonymous for fear of repercussions.

Thousands of young and older people from the rebel movement surrendered to the authorities just as the war was winding down in May 2009. The rebels, fighting for a separate homeland for minority Tamils, were finally defeated by government troops after nearly 30 years of conflict.

Some 11,000 former fighters or supporters of the LTTE since then have been housed in what the government calls 'rehabilitation centres' and access to them has been limited.

In an interview with IPS, Ratnayake said his department is focusing on rehabilitating the former rebels under a government programme, which starts after the authorities have identified the hardcore rebels who need to be prosecuted; those who have not been active and need rehabilitation; and those with marginal involvement, who will be released.

"This process is nearing completion, and on Jan. 9 we released 712 detainees while a few more remaining, under this category, will be released soon," he said, without giving a time frame.

However, the spokesperson for the local human rights group, which has provided legal aid for political prisoners for more than two decades, said they were checking reports that about 200 of the released detainees were being housed at a government detention centre for suspected rebels in the southern town of Galle.

"Last week a 60-year-old Tamil man, who was released from the southern centre, told us that 200 of those released on Jan. 9 were actually brought to the Galle centre. He urged us to help them. We are checking out these reports and plan to send lawyers to that centre," said the spokesperson.

The group of detainees was released by Rajapaksa himself in the northern centre, weeks before the Jan. 26 election in a widely publicised event, which opposition politicians said was a pre-election stunt to win Tamil votes.

With Parliamentary polls due in March, the government is still keen on winning Tamil support, sources said.

While Rajapaksa won the recent national poll, securing 57 percent of the votes cast compared to 40 percent obtained by his closest rival, former army commander General Sarath Fonseka, he failed to win any district in the Tamil-dominated areas in the north and the east, where the voter turnout was low due to reported intimidation and threats to voters from individuals who were believed to be supporters of Rajapaksa.

  

Rehabilitation Commissioner Ratnayake said the rehabilitation process has begun and some 600 child soldiers are housed in two camps in Colombo and northern Vavuniya, where he said they receive education and therapy.

"Once they are rehabilitated, hopefully in a year, they would be sent back to their homes," he assured.

The same applies to 80 percent of all the detainees who, Ratnayake said, would be rehabilitated to prepare them for their reintegration into society. The remaining 20 percent of the detainees were perceived to be hardcore rebels and are the focus of continuing investigations.

The department has prepared a profile of all the detainees, indicating their backgrounds, educational attainments, skills, aptitudes and aspirations. "We wanted to establish what kind of persons they are before working out a conceptual framework and an action plan, which is now being implemented," he said.

Ratnayake said the children and adults - segregated by sex - will be moved in groups to around 20 locations, where they undergo educational or vocational training.

The programme, financially supported by international agencies and the country's private sector, has already begun conducting training in short-term courses, such as those on information technology and cosmetology for the females, said Ratnayake.

In the case of some 200 to 300 detainees, their parents cannot be traced. "We are still working on this," he said, denying claims that the rest do not have access to their families.

He said, in fact, on Sunday, one of the 2,000 girls detained was taken under escort to her home in northern Jaffna as a member of the family had died, and brought back.

"The government, with the help of the private sector, wants to give every able-bodied male or female a job once they leave these centres. However, before that, the integration part is important to prepare them, their family and also the community, because they have been involved in antisocial activity," he said.

Whether the detainees are hardcore rebels, sympathisers or simply forced by the rebels to join their movement, they should be charged or released, said Parliamentarian Premachandran. "(But) the government released just a few to win votes," said.

HRW said the government has denied the detainees the right to be informed of specific reasons for their arrest, to challenge the lawfulness of their detention before an independent judicial authority, and to have access to legal counsel and family members

"While the government has the right and responsibility to protect public safety, it also has to do so in a lawful manner that respects basics rights," the report said.  

 

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Has Sri Lanka stumbled onto path to democracy? by Barrister Harun ur Rashid

Dhaka Courier - February 5, 2010

Sri Lanka is known to pride itself as a democratic country since it achieved its independence in1948. But the latest Presidential election on January 26 has raised grave doubts in many quarters about its adherence to democratic norms  

     

Incumbent President Mahinda Rajapakse was declared elected on 27th January for another six year term but his main challenger, a retired army General Sarath Fonseka, who was close ally with the President until a few months ago, rejected the tally and demanded a new vote. It is reported that he would challenge the result in the court.

"We have already collected enough evidence of sophisticated vote-rigging at counting centres and at the time of computer processing of the results,' Fonseka told reporters at his Colombo home, reports AFP.

Rajapakse had stolen 1.4 million votes, he said. 'I should have been the president. I am the people's president,' he declared, adding that he would contest parliamentary elections that are due before April.

Although there was no major fraud in the voting, election observers and advocacy groups have questioned the fundamental fairness, accusing the President of using state-resources to run his campaign. Reportedly state-owned media all but shut out opposition candidates. In essence the equality of opportunity was not provided to the opposition candidates and as such the election failed in maintaining fairness to all.

The head of a Commonwealth observer mission to Sri Lanka, K D Night, the former Jamaican Foreign Minister who led the mission, expressed concern about the abuse of state media and other government resources in the pre-election period by the President. He told The Times that the abuses did not substantially affect the results of the first presidential election since the defeat of the Tamil Tigers in May 2009 but did affect its freeness and fairness, as well as Sri Lanka's reputation inside and outside the Commonwealth.

Until such problems are addressed the electoral process in Sri Lanka will not fully meet key benchmarks for democratic elections, he said, urging the government to implement an overdue constitutional amendment that would de-politicise state institutions.

The United States has pressed for a probe into the charges of vote fraud. The European Commission too issued a statement calling for an investigation.

On 28th January, a Swiss public radio reporter was asked to leave the country - a move she attributed to questions she asked at a government press conference about alleged voting irregularities.

A long night of counting ballots confirmed that turnout in northern Tamil areas was very low while voters have flocked to the polls in President's southern stronghold. This shows ethnic and religious divides in the country exist and the President will face a difficult task to reconcile the country after 26 years of deadly civil war.

Some election observers said that explosions and other disturbances along with the heavy militarization of northern and eastern Tamil areas discouraged them to vote as well.

The General counted on support from Tamil voters who he hoped would choose him over the President but it did not occur. He also sought to capitalise on dissatisfaction with the President in some quarters of Sinhalese majority who expressed concern about the concentration of power in President's family (one brother is a defence secretary and the other is a senior adviser) and many members of President's extended family work in senior government positions.

In a rare call, the public servants in Sri Lanka publicly supported the President in the election and many believe that his extended family who has entrenched in the public service had a big role in persuading public servants to support the President.

Ordinarily public servants remain publicly neutral and non-partisan but they vote according to their choice in secret. This long-tradition of neutrality seemed to have been breached seriously. Now they are seen as partisan and politicisation of public service is no good for larger interest in the country.

On 28th January, the defeated candidate , General Fonseka expressed fear for his life after accusing the government of endangering his security, reports South Asia News.

General Fonseka told a news conference that his 80-member security detail and their vehicles had been withdrawn by the government and replaced by four armed policemen, making him vulnerable.

Earlier, Brigardier Udaya Nanayakkara confirmed that four vehicles, including a bulletproof car and 20 army personnel, had been withdrawn from Fonseka's security assignment.

The spokesman declined to comment on any other security arrangements the general may be entitled to as the army's former chief.

'I am a man who safeguarded my life from terrorists, but now I am hiding to protect myself from state terrorism,' said the General

Fonseka said his name had been given to airports by the government to prevent him leaving the country, though he did not have any criminal charges against him.

'I am aware that the government is accusing me of trying to create a coup from a five-star hotel as the results were coming in after the elections. That's not the best place to stage a coup,' he said.

As preliminary results of the January 26 elections were announced, troops surrounded a Colombo hotel where Fonseka was staying, but the government denied it was trying to arrest the candidate.

Later on a Fonseka spokesman confirmed that the siege had ended and the general had been able to leave the hotel.

The former general led the military campaign against Tamil separatist rebels, a campaign which the government won in May,2009 and the removal of his security could pose a danger to his life, politician Vijitha Herath said.

The head of the Commonwealth Observer mission reportedly aid that the government had damaged its international reputation by deploying troops around the main opposition candidate's hotel headquarters during vote-counting for a presidential election.

Meanwhile on 29th January, the police raided the office of defeated presidential candidate while press photographers and television crews were kept away by security forces but a police officer at the scene said they were looking for 'illegal material' in the compound.

Opposition spokesman Rauf Hakeem told reporters the search was an infringement of democratic rights and branded the raid government intimidation. 'This is an assault on democracy,' Hakeem told reporters. 'They are trying to intimidate us as we collect evidence of vote-rigging.'

Observers say that although the President has emerged stronger from the election than before, the contested election result will have some sobering effect on him and already he has shown olive branch to Tamil minorities for reconciliation so that he can be a President for all Sri Lankans-Sinhalese and Tamils.

[Barrister Harun ur Rashid is former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva]  

 

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SUDAN

UN and AU push for national unity

Misna - February 2, 2010    

  

"These are unprecedented challenges", said African leaders, at a special meeting in the context of the African Union (AU) summit in Addis Abeba, about the electoral rounds and the maintenance of peace in Sudan, as well as the region and the whole continent. In a few months the Sudanese people will go to the polls to vote for a new president, while next year, they shall have to express their vote in a referendum to decide whether South Sudan will have to remain united to the country or become independent. The issue of an independent South is starting to raise many serious concerns in African countries and in regional institutions. The referendum, in fact, would raise doubts about the viability of the principle (one of the very pillars of the AU) of the intangibility of the borders drawn in the continent by the former colonial powers and many suggest that the potential separation of North an South, could lead to analogous efforts in other areas of the continent. The presidents of six major African countries and the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ramtane Lamamra, has underlined the need to "work with all those responsible to promote peace in the country" and, highlighting the need to fully respect the will of the Sudanese people, he added: "in any case we have to work hard to make unity attractive". Lamamra's words, clearly indicating a preference to see Sudanese unity persist, echo a note sent from UN secretary general, Ban Ki Moon, in his speech at the opening of the AU summit. Some Sudanese government members have deemed the position to be 'tardy'; they say that the populations of the South have already formed an idea of the vote they will be giving next year in the referendum. Meanwhile, part of the Sudan people's liberation movement (SPLM) the main political formation in South Sudan, also part of the national unity government, has also criticized the suggestions.  

 

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THAILAND

Food security and the fight against corruption, Thai PM's priorities by Weena Kowitwanij

AsiaNews - Bangkok - February 1, 2010

At the World Economic Forum, Abhisit Vejjajiva promotes international cooperation to improve quality of farm products and agricultural development. Thai PM emphasises his country's economic progress and the global economic role played by East Asian nations.  

      

In his address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, held on 29-31 January, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva focused on ways to improve food security, fight corruption and recognise the role of East Asia in the global market.

Other 2,500 representatives from more than 90 nations also took part in the annual event, which focused this year on "Improve the State of the World: Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild".

The three-day event gave participants an opportunity to discuss ways to especially improve the banking system and deal with the aftermath of the Haiti quake, which killed tens of thousands of people.

International cooperation has a crucial role to play in strengthening global food security and sustainable agriculture, the Thai premier said.

As a major rice producer, Thailand must "be responsible towards consumers in terms of food quality and security."

The prime minister also insisted on the importance of "fair trade".

Abhisit also addressed the issue of corruption, illustrating his country's progress. "The public sector plays an importance role in fighting corruption," he noted.

Significantly, he explained that after meltdown of the world's financial system in 2008, the Thai economy was doing well, and that it was well on its way to recovery, with tourism and agriculture as the leading engines.

Finally, he emphasised the greater role now played by East Asian nations in the world economy.  

        

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