August 16, 2011 Tags: Katchatheevu, Lanka, Pon Radhakrishnan
Questioning the legitimacy of the Indo-Sri Lanka accord on Katchatheevu with the island nation “dishonouring” the agreement, BJP state president Pon Radhakrishnan on Monday pitched for scrapping the accord.
“Sri Lanka is unwilling to accept the agreement. It has ruthlessly been killing the Tamil Nadu fishermen…. and there is no point in India honouring the accord. Any agreement should be mutually respected,” he said and contended that the 1974 Indo-Sri Lanka pact ceding Katchatheevu to the island nation was invalid.
Flaying Lankan navy for the renewed attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen, the BJP leader claimed that the island nation did not have any claim over Katchatheevu island.
He also lashed out at the UPA government for maintaining “stoic silence” over the attacks on the Tamil Nadu fishermen and said its “inept handling” has led to problems with the neighbouring countries.
“Countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, which are smaller than India, have been creating problems. And the Prime Minister is not in a position to act tough on them,” Mr Radhakrishnan said and added the situation would change only when a new government under the leadership of an able Prime Minister is in place at Delhi.
On the party’s “sea blockade” agitation in Rameswaram on August 7, Mr Radhakrishnan alleged that the police foisted cases against BJP members for staging the agitation.
Earlier, hoisting the national flag tricolour at Kamalalayam, party headquarters, he said, “We have a Prime Minister who is unconcerned about issues like corruption, black money and foreign incursions. We should fight hard to retain our hard won Independence.”
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Dutch Court Opens Door to Legal Accountability for Peacekeepers
By Thalif Deen
IPS News
Monday, Aug 15, 2011
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 11, 2011 - A landmark ruling by a Dutch court last month holding the Netherlands government liable for the failings of its soldiers on a U.N. peacekeeping mission may be used as a precedent for criminal liability involving sexual violence, according to human rights groups.
"The decision of the Dutch court is significant for two reasons," said Marek Marczynski, international justice expert at Amnesty International.
First of all, it demonstrates that human rights of victims and their families to gain truth and justice prevail over the immunity of peacekeepers.
Secondly, it may open the doors for reparation claims by the victims, he said.
"This judgment gives hope to victims of human rights violations by peacekeepers and sets a new tone in the discussion about state duty to investigate and prosecute crimes under international law," Marczynski told IPS. Full Story>>> 