The inside story: How Maithripala Sirisena spent election night on a Dodangaslanda estate

‘There were plans to destroy my whole family’ – President tells Sandeshaya

by Suresh Perera-March 21, 2015, 7:41 pm 

With President Maithripala Sirisena’s revelation to Sandeshaya, BBC’s Sinhala Service in London, that there were plans to "destroy his whole family" if he lost the presidential poll, political sources recalled how the then common candidate was escorted under cover of darkness to an estate owned by a close friend in the Kurunegala district.

Just days after the January 8 presidential election, The Sunday Island learnt how the drama unfolded at Dodangaslanda, a sleepy village at the far end of Kurunegala bordering the Matale district, but political sources politely declined to discuss details as the President himself had not referred to the episode earlier.

During his recent visit to London, President Sirisena told BBC Sandeshaya’s Saroj Pathirana in an interview that he wouldn’t know whether he and family would be alive today if the elections favoured the other side. "That was the democracy the Rajapaksas practiced. I know that only too well, he said.

On the day of the poll, Sirisena had cast his vote at Polonnaruwa and decided to leave home to a secret destination as there were credible reports that he and his family could be harmed if they remained in a location which could be easily traced after the outcome of the election was announced the following day (January 9), the sources recounted.

As darkness fell, the convoy of vehicles cut across Dambulla and headed towards a coconut plantation at Dodangaslanda owned by Kiran Atapattu, a close friend of Sirisena. The village was asleep as the black BMW vehicle carrying the common candidate approached the estate, the sources said.

Not leaving anything to chance, the vehicle snaked its way in pitch darkness along the narrow dark road leading to the sprawling plantation. The other vehicles in the convoy were halted at a point en route to prevent information of the exact location leaking out and also to ensure the villagers were not alerted, they recalled.

Later, some other vehicles deemed "safe" sneaked up the estate road one by one and spread out to be parked under some coconut trees. Every possible precaution was taken to prevent word getting around, which, the sources explained, could have endangered the life of the common candidate and his family, if the worse came to the worst.

"After dinner, Sirisena, accompanied by his wife Jayanthi Pushpa Kumari and children Daham, Chathurika and Dharani, son-in-law Thilina and grandchildren, relaxed as news of the vote count filtered through.

Many were the calls that came through and some officials kept him abreast of the developments in Colombo, the sources said.

There were many who asked him where he was, to which he replied "Polonnaruwa". Concerned about him remaining in his North Central province home base, he was advised to move to a safer location as there were reports of a sudden build up of troops in Colombo, they noted. "The situation was becoming increasingly tense as reports of a possible coup attempt also did the rounds".

Sirisena was selective in answering telephone calls as many within the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime could not be trusted and giving away his hide-out would have been disastrous at that critical hour, the sources pointed out. "Some callers specifically wanted to know whether he was at home in Polonnaruwa.

It was a long night and as news emerged that the common candidate was steadily making headway and victory was predicted, a jubilant Sirisena decided to leave for Colombo the following morning. An aide fixed a Sri Lankan national flag on the front of the BMW car as he prepared to depart, the sources said.

The President-elect thanked Kiran Atapattu and his family for their courageous efforts and the bold resolve to offer him protection, despite the horrendous reprisals the move would have triggered if Sri Lanka’s voters had decided otherwise.

Villagers of Dodangaslanda gaped as Sirisena’s car, with the Lion flag fluttering in the gentle breeze, cruised down the estate road after it became clear that President Mahinda Rajapaksa was on his way out, the sources elaborated.

It was ironical that Sri Lanka’s incumbent Executive President had to remain under cover fearing for his life until the final outcome of an election in a country which was at one time described as a "five-star democracy", they pointed out.

President Sirisena also told the BBC Sandeshaya program that everybody now harps on democracy, but if he was defeated in the presidential poll, how many people would have been killed by now. "In addition, we know how many people would have had their limbs broken, how many would have been jailed and how many would have been thrown out of their jobs".

"If I lost the election, there was a plan to imprison my whole family and destroy us", he asserted.

Owners of floating armory vessel to file an FR

Monday, 23 March 2015 

The owners of the vessel Mahanuwara that was used for the floating armoury, which was seized in the Galle Port in January this year, are contemplating filing a Fundamental Rights application against the authorities.

Sri Lanka Shipping has been quoted in the local media as saying that they had brought to the attention of the Magistrate Courts, the Harbour Master and the Criminal Investigation Department that the vessel was 40 years old and the Certificate of Class expires on March 31, 2015 and on expiry of class the insurances for pollution, wreck removal and damage to third party property becomes invalid.

According to reports, charter of the vessel had ended on February 28, 2015 and the vessel is currently detained by the Criminal Investigation Department.

The vessel has reached 40 years and to extend and renew the class of the vessel will well exceed the current value of the vessel and the vessel was not worth that expenditure. The condition of the vessel has deteriorated by being in a dormant position with its steel hull being fouled with barnacles. The vessel being detained indefinitely also poses an environmental risk and endangers the port.

The CID according to Daily FT has informed the Magistrate that the Attorney General had advised that the vessel remain detained until the completion of the investigation and asked for time until March 30, 2015 to complete this investigation. The CID has further informed the courts that this matter would be handed over to the Bribery Commission after the investigation was completed.

Meanwhile, the crew of Mahanuwara has claimed that they are not permitted to be signed off after completing their contract with the ship owning company Sri Lanka Shipping Company.

The crew has claimed that they were not under arrest or detained but the Harbour Master in Galle was not allowing them to disembark because the Magistrate Order to the Harbour Master gives him custody of the ship.

The crew has claimed that their right to sign off and go home to their families was violated.

It has to be assumed that the operation of the floating armoury is legitimate since the CID informed the courts that this matter would be referred to the Bribery Commission said Reza Managing Director of the Sri Lanka Shipping Company Ltd.

He added that the Defence Secretary and Minister Lakshman Kiriella had announced that the floating armoury would be handled in a legal manner.

Japan may be set for world’s biggest IPO

Japan Post — it’s a postal service, it’s a bank, and it could become the biggest IPO in history.
By

JEFFW. RICHARDS-Mar 19, 2015

TOKYO (MarketWatch) — Last year, China’s Alibaba Group unleashed a monster of an IPO, the world’s biggest to date. But this year, Japan has a monster of its own that by all accounts could blow past the Alibaba listing to become the most massive offering of stock ever seen.

It is easily the hottest topic around the boardrooms and izakayas (after-work drinking halls) across Tokyo: the highly anticipated initial public offering of Japan Post Holdings, the finance-ministry-held behemoth that combines the national postal service with the country’s biggest savings bank and major insurer. Its financial arm alone had ¥205 trillion ($1.71 trillion) worth of assets under management as of December, roughly one-third the entire annual GDP of Japan.

The offering has been more than a decade in the making, surviving fierce political controversy since the idea of privatization was first introduced. The issue was a sensitive one because not only does Japan Post bring in a massive amount of revenue, but also it’s the nation’s largest employer.

Finally, with the government determined to shore up Japan’s debt-bedraggled finances, the stock appears ready to go to market sometime this autumn, with the ministry having set a goal of ¥4 trillion yen, or about $33 billion, for the divestment proceeds. It has earmarked the funds for rebuilding parts of northeastern Japan destroyed by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Such an amount would dwarf Alibaba’s BABA, -0.04%  $25 billion haul — to date the largest in history. Still, much of the details have yet to surface, and according to the Nikkei Asian Review, the event may come as a trio of listings: Japan Post Holdings, along with separate tickers for its subsidiaries Japan Post Bank and Japan Post Insurance. Likewise, some reckonings see the issue as pulling in a somewhat more modest $10 billion-$20 billion.

In discussing the big Japan Post sale, those with longer memories note similarities with the situation a quarter-century ago, when the government privatized its fixed-line carrier, Nippon Telegraph & Telephone 9432, +0.38% NTT, +0.16% Unusually for Japan, its listing was a big event not just for institutions, but for retail investors as well.

“In 1990, NTT went public, and I think it was the same situation” as now, says Masaki Kai, the founder and chief executive of Tokyo investor-relations firm FinanTec.

“This is a positive thing,” says Kai, who also runs the bilingual website TokyoIPO.com. “When Japan Post goes public, people who are not interested in equity markets will become interested in them.”

And Japan Post isn’t the only potential stock-market debutante with mass appeal. Among other stars likely to list in Tokyo this year is Line Corp., the maker of Japan’s most widely used free-call and messaging app, often compared with Facebook Inc.’sFB, -0.05%  WhatsApp and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s 0700, +1.82% TCEHY, +2.58% WeChat.

Line — currently a wholly owned subsidiary of South Korean Internet company Naver Corp. 035420, +3.98% NHNCF, +0.00%  — has proved adept at monetizing its content. For example, it does brisk sales in its virtual “stickers,” which users can send in lieu of emoji, to the tune of $323 million in 2013, according to The Wall Street Journal. In fact, the stickers have become so popular that the company even opened up a brick-and-mortar “Line Friends Store” in central Tokyo where users can purchase physical versions of the official seals they send digitally. How meta.

Line had planned to list last year but later decided the timing wasn’t right. According to the Nikkei, one of the possible issues delaying an IPO was internal debate over whether to list simultaneously in the U.S. and Japan.

As with Japan Post, the familiarity of Line could spark considerable retail interest. This is not usually the case, notes NHK World Newsline reporter Mayu Yoshida. While “buzz” is a regular feature of IPOs in the U.S., at least if they are of a significant size, Japan greets most new offerings with a yawn.

But this year, the potential market debutantes “are definitely more eye-catching than in previous years,” Yoshida says, citing talks that theme park Universal Studios Japan (USJ) might also go to market soon.

“It’s very popular in Japan,” FinanTec’s Kai says of privately held USJ, which operates under license from Comcast Corp.’s CMCSA, -0.05%  NBCUniversal. “They had gone public in 2006 and then went private in 2009. Now, they are relisting their brand. … Harry Potter is still popular, so maybe they will get a good valuation.”

Kai also tips a likely IPO from the capital’s light-rail operator Tokyo Metro Co., which first applied last year for a listing — a move that would allow them to secure funding for major upgrades and infrastructure improvements.

“It’s a good story for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” says Kai. “I think they will probably announce within this year.”

MarketWatch/Jeff Richards

Popular messaging-app provider – and merchandiser – Line Corp. is among the potential major IPOs expected in Japan this year. Seen here is a Line Friends store in Tokyo's Harajuku district.

Alexis Tsipras warns Angela Merkel of Greek 'cashflow issue' ahead of talks

 Angela Merkel and Alexis Tsipras address a news conference following talks in Berlin. Photograph: Hannibal Hanshke/Reuters

Helena Smith in Athens-Monday 23 March 2015

The Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, has raised the stakes ahead of talks with Angela Merkel, warning that an insolvent Athens will be unable to meet looming debt repayments without urgent aid from its creditors.

In a letter leaked on the eve of his visit to Berlin, the leftwing leader catapulted to power promising to end austerity urged Merkel not to allow “a small cashflow issue” to turn into a major crisis.

“Given that Greece has no access to money markets, and also in view of the ‘spikes’ in our debt repayment obligations in the spring and summer of 2015, it ought to be clear that … it would [be] impossible for any government to service its debt obligations,” said the five-page letter leaked to the Financial Times.

“Servicing these repayments through internal resources alone would, indeed, lead to a sharp deterioration in the already depressed Greek social economy – a prospect that I will not countenance,” the letter said.

Tsipras, who will hold face to face talks with Merkel for the first time on Monday, issued the warning as it became clear that the cash-strapped Greek state has come perilously close to running out of money. The coalition government, dominated by Tsipras’ leftwing Syriza party, may have to resort to raiding insurance funds to pay pensions and public salaries at the end of the month.

Officials in Athens said Monday’s meeting with Merkel – which comes at a potential turning point for the eurozone – would be used to ram home the message that the new administration was determined to implement reforms. Berlin, the biggest contributor to the €240bn (£175m) bailout propping up the Greek economy, has made clear that without a concrete plan to overhaul the country’s dysfunctional state, there can be no further aid.

Tsipras, insiders said, would be attending the talks armed with an array of specific economic measures. “Under no circumstances do we want to appear submissive towards the Germans,” one official said. “But we want to convince [them] that we have a plan and the required determination to enforce it without calculating the costs.”

The proposals would include measures that no previous government had dared, from targeting oligarchs and corrupt vested interests to clamping down on tax evasion. Privatisations – of particular interest to Germany but stalled since elections in January – would also be among them.

Trust between Europe’s paymaster and the eurozone’s weakest link has been badly dented in the two months since the radicals assumed power. Athens has ratcheted up the pressure, demanding that Berlin pay war reparations for Nazi atrocities.

Senior EU officials have said that five years into the euro debt crisis time is running out for Greece. Athens has been told it will have to renege on its pre-election promises if it wants the crisis-plagued country to remain in the 19-member currency bloc.

“This government has been given a last chance to prove it wants [Greece] to stay in the eurozone,” German officials were quoted as saying on Monday.

Over 640,200 Syrians live under 'slow death' sieges: Report

The Syrian government is accused of siege tactics that led to deaths of civilians by starvation, dehydration and the lack of medical aid

A Syrian boy carries a food ration distributed by volunteers to poor families during Ramadan in a rebel-held area in the northern city of Aleppo on 5 July, 2014 (AFP)

MEE staff-Saturday 21 March 2015

More than 640,200 Syrians are living under long-term sieges, most of which are enforced by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, a new report to be released in full next week has found.

The cited figure is more than three times the estimate made by the United Nations, which calculated that around 212,000 Syrians live in besieged areas that have no access to humanitarian aid.

The report, entitled "Slow Death" and written by the Syrian American Medical Society, identifies 38 communities as being besieged, which is more than the 11 areas that the UN recognises.

"We’re not talking about quote-unquote terrorists, we're talking about families who have nothing to do with armed groups," Zaher Sahloul, the president of the Syrian American Medical Society, told the Associated Press, which had obtained a copy of the report in advance.

According to the report, 560 people died in "areas besieged by the Syrian government," adding that pro-Assad forces are using siege tactics that have led to deaths by starvation, dehydration and lack of medical aid.

Damascus, however, had denied using siege tactics.

"If weapons and instruments of death are reaching those areas … how can they be said to be besieged?" Syria’s UN ambassador, Bashar Jaafari, wrote to the UN secretary-general in late February.

'Not acceptable to just sit around'

The report's findings along with pictures of the civilian victims – including those of emaciated children - were presented to UN diplomats on Thursday.

"We’re trying to find creative ways to address this, because it’s not acceptable to just sit around. People are dying," Valerie Szybala, the author of the report, was quoted as saying by AP, acknowledging the divide in the UN Security Council (UNSC) with regards to Syria.

Separately, the US ambassador to the UN said that Russia's vetoes against holding Syria's government accountable at the UNSC are "extremely disruptive" to restoring peace in the country, allowing Assad to do "almost whatever he wants".

"The things we think are indispensable, Russia is not prepared to do," Samantha Power told AP on Friday, accusing Moscow of allowing the civil war to continue by shielding Assad from pressure.

Russia and China have vetoed efforts to refer Syrian officials to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"If the Caesar photos don't make you want to do an ICC referral, I don't know what does," Power said, in a reference to an archive of graphic photographs of tortured prisoners smuggled out of Syria by a former government crime scene photographer who used the pseudonym "Caesar."

However, the US ambassador did signal optimism with regards to Moscow, saying that she is seeing "more of an emphasis on a political solution now from Russia than we've seen before, and that's for good reason, because the situation of course is so much worse the longer it goes on."

Air raid on mosque

Meanwhile on the ground in Syria, at least 15 people were killed when Syrian air forces targeted a mosque during Friday prayers in the northern province of Idlib, according to a statement by the Syrian Revolution General Commission.

The commission also said that dozens were wounded in the attack on the village of Muntif.

The attack on the mosque comes one day after Assad had reportedly fired two of his top intelligence chiefs.

"General Rustom Ghazaleh, head of political intelligence, and General Rafiq Shehadeh, head of military intelligence, were fired at the beginning of the week by President Assad after a violent dispute between the two men," a high-ranking security source in Damascus told AFP on Friday.

Ghazaleh has been replaced by his former deputy, Nazih Hassoun, with Mohamed Mahalla taking over as military intelligence chief, the source added.

The two men were replaced after a violent argument over Ghazaleh's involvement in the southern front of the conflict in Syria, according to the source. Ghazaleh was briefly hospitalised after the incident two weeks ago.  

IS 'trying to score military points'

Meanwhile, more than 70 pro-Assad forces have been killed in attacks by the Islamic State group in central Syria over the past 24 hours, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday.

The attacks in Homs and Hama provinces targeted checkpoints and positions manned by government loyalists, the Observatory said.

"IS has faced setbacks recently in the provinces of Aleppo and Raqqa and in Hasakeh in confrontations with Kurds on the one hand and regime forces on the other, and are now trying to score military points, even limited ones, to offset their losses," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Abdel Rahman also accused IS of carrying out an attack that killed 45 Syrian Kurds in Hasakehprovince as they celebrated their new year.

Netanyahu’s Win Is Good for Palestine

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday.

By YOUSEF MUNAYYERMARCH 18, 2015

WASHINGTON — IF anyone doubted whereBenjamin Netanyahu stood on the question of peace, the Israeli prime minister made himself clear just before Tuesday’s election, proclaiming that there would never be a Palestinian state on his watch. Then he decided to engage in a bit of fear-mongering against Palestinian citizens ofIsrael in hopes of driving his supporters to the polls. “The right-wing government is in danger,” Mr. Netanyahu announced on Election Day. “Arab voters are heading to the polling stations in droves.”

But Mr. Netanyahu’s victory is actually the best plausible outcome for those seeking to end Israel’s occupation. Indeed, I, as a Palestinian, breathed a sigh of relief when it became clear that his Likud Party had won the largest number of seats in the Knesset.     Full Story>>>

Israelis fret about risk of isolation but concern may be overdone

Israeli workers count ballots cast by Israeli soldiers and civil servants living overseas at the central elections committee building in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem March 18, 2015.

BY LUKE BAKER-JERUSALEM Mon Mar 23, 2015

(Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's re-election last week has prompted alarmed chatter in the cafes of Tel Aviv and on talk shows about the risk of Israel losing the support of its closest allies and being left isolated in the world.

It is clear Netanyahu still has fences to mend with President Barack Obama, despite rowing back from his rejection of a two-state solution with the Palestinians, which prompted new calls for sanctions from campaign group BDS.

But fears in Israel that another Netanyahu government, this one more right-wing than the last, will lead the country towards isolation appear to be running ahead of reality.

While the United States talks about a "reassessment" of its ties with Israel, it has so far put little flesh on the bones of the suggestion, instead wielding it as a stern verbal warning to Netanyahu not to push the situation too far.

On defence and security, the White House has made clear there will be no change in policy, and Israel's director of military intelligence recently returned from a working visit to Washington saying there was no cause for concern.

Foreign investment flows, which normally react to the possibility of a country being sanctioned or isolated, show no signs of declining: they have risen steadily over the past four months and hit $710 million in January alone.

Figures for March - taking into account any impact from the election - are not released until early May, but the clear trend is upwards. The Tel Aviv stock exchange has gained more than 2 percent since the election and the shekel is steady against the dollar. Moody's is positive.

The biggest concern for Israel is likely to come from its largest trading partner, the European Union, which has repeatedly criticised Israel for its settlements policy in the past and taken steps to restrict loans to research institutes that have operations in the occupied West Bank.

While there is the prospect of further measures along those lines, including EU-wide labelling of Israeli goods produced in settlements, they have long been in the works.

It is not a step that would be taken in reaction to a right-wing prime minister being re-elected, EU diplomats said.

"There will be noise and perhaps some attempts, but nothing real will come of it," said one.

Even if a number of EU member states were determined to turn up the heat, anything approaching sanctions would require unanimous agreement among all 28 countries. Israel has several strong EU defenders who would stand in the way of that, including Germany, the Czech Republic and probably Britain.

ATTACKS ON THE LEFT

That is not to say, however, that all is plain sailing for Netanyahu, 65, as he prepares for a fourth term in office.

He is locked in an uphill battle to convince the United States that the emerging deal with Iran on its nuclear programme is a bad one. His campaign rhetoric, and his partisan speech to the U.S. Congress on the issue two weeks before the election, has done little to win him allies in that fight.

Regionally, too, his anti-Arab comments on election day - accusing left-wing NGOs of busing Arab-Israelis to the polls "in droves" to vote against him - has not enhanced his standing with neighbourhood allies such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.

But perhaps the biggest problem Netanyahu faces is stitching back together a deeply divided country, where tensions between left and right have spilled over into abuse since the vote.

His attack on the Arab community left the 20-percent minority angry and feeling isolated and prompted stern words from President Reuven Rivlin.

"People should be careful about what they say, especially people in high places whose words are heard by the whole world," he said. "We must never forget it is also a democratic state."

On Saturday, a well-known Israeli author and songwriter was punched at his own home by an unidentified man who called him a "lefty", "murderer" and "traitor". Ahinoam Nini, a pro-left singer better known as Noa, said she was verbally assaulted at Tel Aviv airport by two men who called her an "enemy of Israel" and threatened the same treatment as the author.

While Netanyahu won a clear victory, he achieved it with just 23 percent of the popular vote. His emerging right-wing coalition will probably have a sizeable majority, but he will have to work hard to ensure the whole country feels represented.

(Editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Standing Beside Afghanistan’s Iron Lady

A female Afghan performance artist recently drew international attention to the country's endemic harassment of women. But her message is now in danger of being drowned out.



BY AARYA NIJAT-MARCH 19, 2015
On Feb. 26, 2015, Kubra Khademi, a female Afghan performance artist,protested the country’s widespread street harassment of women by wearing a suit of armor with large breasts and buttocks around Kabul. Her protest made her a social media star for a few days. But while her eight-minute performance triggered a good deal of conversation on the issue of street harassment, it also led to a backlash against Khademi herself: hercharacter, morality, intentions, and motivations in question. Now, almost two weeks later, she is reportedly in hiding.

Street harassment is an endemic obstacle for women in Afghanistan, significantly inhibiting their mobility outside of the home. Further exacerbating the situation is the fact that the country’s public transportation system is in shambles, andincapable of facilitating women’s safe movement around town.

Although every Afghan woman faces street harassment on a daily basis, there is a lack of social consensus on this being a serious problem worthy of the people’s and government’s collective action. Though street harassment is an issue for the mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters of every proud Afghan man — to use the common narrative of women’s social status in relation to men — Afghan society tolerates it under a variety of pretexts, with citizens arguing that: “This is how it is;” “Women should be more careful;” “Women should dress modestly;” “Women should not go out unless they really have to;” “Society is tormented and sexually frustrated;” and “What can men do because sex is a natural drive and thus justifiable,” among others.

This is despite religious and traditional moral norms that prohibit harassment in a Muslim-majority nation like Afghanistan. As the Hadith states: A perfect Muslim is “one from whose tongue and hands the other Muslims are secure.” This definition of “Muslims” seemingly includes women.

Khademi’s intervention, it seems, was aimed at triggering a national discourse on the issue of street harassment, elevating the issue in the public conscience and highlighting it as a serious problem in need of collective action. Though she managed to focus the conversation on street harassment for a little while, it appears that Afghans are not organized enough to sustain it, especially when society reacts by focusing on the messenger and not the message.

Indeed, Khademi has reportedly received death threats for her performance — illustrating Afghan society’s default defense mechanism. And national and international media outlets are talking more about Khademi and less about her cause or practical ways to change the commonplace harassment. While some Afghans may not personally agree with such an emotional frame for protest, mainly because of the high probability of a personalized reaction to it, there is huge potential for following up on the issue that Khademi has raised.

Regardless of how distant Khademi’s definition of protest was from commonly perceived notions of social morality for Afghan women, what she did was an act of bravery and an exercise of her freedom of expression, a constitutionally protected fundamental right under Article 34. Her physical protection, therefore, is the duty of Afghanistan’s security agencies.

With Khademi now in hiding, her work can be carried on by Afghan youth groups including Afghanistan Analysis and Awareness, Afghanistan Forward, and Afghanistan 1400; human rights organizations like theAfghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission; and Afghan women’s organizations, including the Afghan Women Network and Afghan Women’s Charter.

Khademi’s cause is one that deserves continued attention and honest follow-up by all of the above organizations, as well as the National Unity Government. In fact, it would easily fit in on First Lady Bibi Gul’s women-focused agenda. Plus, she has the legitimacy and power to lead an alliance in support of urgent action against harassment.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s first few post-inauguration instructions included an order to develop legislation on ending harassment. Now is perhaps the best time to follow through on that promise, especially since the Afghan Parliament is back from the winter break and in session. Now is the time to test the government’s political will when it comes to building women’s agency in the most practically effective way: by supporting women’s safe mobility through legislation on harassment and initiating transport sector reform. Now is the time for the government to prove that, unlike the previous administration, it is determined to actively support women’s causes, and not just because the international community is providing support to female-empowerment programs. Now is the time to see who will come forward and continue the conversation that Khademi started. 

Indian student drags drunk attacker to police by his hair

Pradnya Mandhare has been praised in India for taking on a man who molested her, and dragging him by his hair to police - while bystanders stood and watched

Pradnya Mandhare, 20, was travelling home after a day of classes when she was assaulted Photo: Europics

By Harriet Alexander-21 Mar 2015

An Indian student has been hailed as a heroine for standing up to a man molesting her at a train station in the middle of the day, and dragging him by the hair to the police – while dozens of people did nothing to help.

Pradnya Mandhare, 20, was travelling home after a day of classes at Sathaye College, in the Mumbai suburb of Vile Parle, when she was approached by an obviously drunken man.

“This visibly drunk person came to me and touched me inappropriately,” she said. “When I tried to avoid him, he grabbed me. I was shocked for a couple of seconds, but then I started hitting him with my bag.

“He was trying to hit me, but I could overpower him because he was stinking of alcohol and I could make out that he was drunk.”

Kandivli station was crowded with people, but Miss Mandhare’s fellow travellers did not move to help her.

“No one came forward to help,” said the media student. “People stopped to stare, but no one bothered to even ask what was going on.

“Since the man was filthy, I found it difficult to even touch him. I caught him by his hair and dragged him to the government railway police.”

She said that hauling him to the police was difficult, but still no one came to her aid.

“Dragging him by the hair and walking was tough, because he was trying to escape and I was afraid he would attack me.

“He kept telling me not to drag him along and that he would come with me on his own, but I did not let go. I finally managed to hand him over to the police.”

She told a local newspaper that most women are scared of approaching the police, because filing a complaint is a lengthy process and the police, she said, can be “uncooperative”.

A policeman from the Borivli GRP said: “We have arrested the accused, Chavan (25), who is a drug addict and was also drunk when the incident took place. We conducted a medical test of the accused and he will be produced in court. We are verifying whether he has a previous criminal record.”

And Miss Mandhare said that other women should not be afraid to come forward and denounce such attacks.

“Every woman should fight back in such cases and they should not keep quiet. I am grateful that the police also helped me and arrested the accused. I also asked the police officers to teach the accused a lesson so that he would not dare to molest a woman ever again.

“Parents of girls also think that going to a police station would tarnish their daughter’s reputation.

“But, women should raise their voice and teach such people a lesson. Women are not objects for anyone to touch at will.”