Darkness At Noon On The Ethnic Front – (2)

By Izeth Hussain -February 8, 2014 |

Izeth Hussain

I must first of all make some clarifications on the point I made in my last article that India might someday impose a Cyprus-style solution to the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka: Indian troops invade Sri Lanka, carve out territory in the North-East for the separate state of Eelam, and hold the frontier thereafter. That process would be comparable to what happened in Cyprus: Turkish troops invaded that country, carved out territory for the Turkish Cypriots, held the frontier, and the de facto division has held for four decades.

The way we think is shaped to a substantial extent by the experiences we undergo, and very probably I would not be thinking along these lines at all if not for the fact that I went as Ambassador to Moscow in 1995. The political question that preoccupied me above all else at that time was this: how was it that so few foresaw the collapse of Soviet Communism despite all the expertise on that subject in the decades since 1945? It happened that I was in Sochi and Moscow attending a UN Conference in 1989, and I actually saw the collapse at its incipient stage. Howard Wriggings, one-time US Ambassador in Colombo and a political scientist by vocation, was also a delegate to that Conference, but he was also part of a group of Kremlinologists who were observing what was going on in Moscow. He told me they were stunned by the almost unanimity of the open denunciations of Communism by the Russians they encountered. My thinking was that the Soviet Union would go through a process of transformation similar to the one initiated in China by Deng Hsiao-ping’s economic reforms of 1979: a process of economic liberalization together with pluralism not amounting to democracy. I thought that that process would fit into the convergence theory of Raymond Aaron and others, which was much in vogue in the ‘sixties and ‘seventies, but came to be forgotten later. According to that theory the Western democracies and the Communist world would come to resemble each other because the latter would find itself forced to adopt the strategies required for the progress of the industrial society. Wriggins agreed that it was time to revisit the convergence theory.Read More

'How dare you insist on such matters’

07 February 2014

Sri Lanka’s Presidential Adviser on Reconciliation Rajiva Wijesinha indignantly dismissed calls for an international investigation, in a heated interview with Al Jazeera this week.

In a 5-minute interview, where Wijesinha frequently clashed with the Al Jazeera presenter whom he refered to as "my dear lady", he stated that there was “no question” of an international investigation into human rights violations. 

He went on to chide the presenter for echoing calls for an international investigation, stating that he "reject(s) totally" claims that the Sri Lankan government has been unable to independently investigate itself.

The Sri Lankan MP also went to slam British Prime Minister David Cameron, stating he doesn’t “run the world” and accusing him of “talking rubbish”, before labelling Gordon Weiss, who helped co-author an ICEP report released this week, “a very clear liar”.

Even Al Jazeera was lambasted by Wijesinha, who he accused alongside of having a “disease”, alongside people of the West for focussing on accountability for war crimes.

Extracts from the interview have been reproduced below.

Reporter: Why won’t the government now allow an independent investigation to come into Sri Lanka to really find out what happened?

The ICEP is really not a body of any standing and unfortunately they put on the ICEP, one name I recognise Gordon Weiss who self confessedly has a grudge against the Sri Lankan government… who is, as I said, a very clear liar. 

Reporter: I’m going to interrupt you, the one thing you are saying is the Sri Lankans want to conduct their own investigation but constantly we have heard international criticism that that is not credible and there has to be an independent body going in. That people are not going to turn away until that is done and indeed until someone is held accountable in the Sri Lankan government.

There seems to be an assumption of what you call the international community, which consists of a few Westerners, that anything we do is not independent…

Reporter: Well why don’t you name an international body that you trust to come in and do an inquiry?

There is no question of international bodies; we have made it very clear.
I reject totally the assumption that anything we do is not independent. How dare you insist on such matters…

Reporter: But sir, your government is being accused so how can it be independent? You are the ones that are being brought to book.

Well, my dear lady, in any country it is normal to have your own internal inquiry and only if it doesn’t seem to be independent… We had allegations about the LLRC, the Americans in particular were very nasty about it, when the report came out they welcomed it. The British, the High Commissioner told me ‘We had our suspicions, but it’s a very good report.’

Reporter: The British have called for an independent investigation. Their Prime Minister David Cameron has called for one.

Well, if you think David Cameron runs this world, I am very sorry for you. David Cameron does not run the world. When he was talking rubbish here, Jacob Zuma the President of South Africa came and told us you should have an inquiry like the one we did – that was an internal thing.

Reporter: So you won’t accept anybody? It has to be only the government, you won’t accept anybody else?

We will not have international interference in Sri Lanka, just as I hope you in Qatar will not allow international interference. There is such a thing, that the UN accepted of national sovereignty. But I agree about independent, what I am trying to tell you is when you have several allegations that nothing we do is independent, followed by bleating of “oh yes yes that is ok”.

Reporter: Sir, can I ask you, you are in charge of reconciliation, do you think this is really the way to reconcile Sri Lanka, with an attitude towards nobody coming in?

It is not only about war crimes. You people in the West, and I’m sorry but Al Jazeera seems to have this disease as well now, which is a pity because you were so much more civilised during the war as opposed to Channel 4, but you people think everything is about war crimes. It’s not, it is about reconciliation.

War crime claims re-emerge in Sri Lanka

When troops crushed the Tamil Tigers, allegations of mass killings arose, but officials reject calls for an inquiry.

Rahul Radhakrishnan Last updated: 07 Feb 2014 

In March 2009, in a small town in the north of the island, hundreds of Sri Lankan Tamils had formed a queue to collect kanji, a boiled rice-porridge dish, which was being distributed by a charity later found to have ties with armed groups.

Then the explosions began.

"I remember that one shell fell adjacent to the food distribution line, and when it exploded the shrapnel hit many civilians who were standing in line," said one eyewitness.

"I remember seeing many dead bodies... A number of these dead bodies were elderly people and children."

War Crime Claims Re-emerge in Sri Lanka by nelvely

An Open Letter To The American President Before His Geneva Pyrotechnics

By Kiribanda Sumanasekara - February 8, 2014

Dear Mr. President Obama

I am writing you before the Ides of March!!

I am a Sinhala Buddhist from Sri Lanka and I want to be blunt right at the outset: You are an idiot!

Who are you to impose sanctions against the greatest country in the world? Who are you to pass any resolutions against us? You are an idiot. Let me tell you why.

Ours is the greatest country in the world. This is known as Dharmadeepa- the island of righteousness. This land has 2500 years of written history. That history is a history of non-violence because there were Buddhist monks all along advising our kings on non-violence. Yes. We did have some wars in the past. But they were merely to protect non-violence.  I know that you know some English even though you are African. So read Mahawansa in English. Even at the war against the foreign king Elara only one and half human beings were killed in our country. All others had not entered the Path and, therefore, they were not human beings. How many times do we have to tell you that human beings have to be Sinhala Buddhists?                           Read More

Sobitha Thero Willing To Stand For Presidential Election; Says Sri Lanka Should Face international Inquiry If It Has Nothing To Hide

February 7, 2014 

Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thero, Chief Incumbent of the Kotte Nagavihara and a vocal monk in the movement calling for an abolishing of the Executive Presidency has expressed his willingness to stand as a presidential candidate.

Madluwawe Sobita Nayaka Threo

‘Yes I am ready to stand as a Single-Issue (SI) presidential candidate, but if a former Chief Justice or a former President is interested, no problem, I am happy to step aside. I will serve for six months only within which time I will abolish the Executive Presidency and institute a parliamentary system by constitutional methods. The roots of bribery, corruption, nepotism and bad governance lie in Executive Presidency,” Sobitha Thero told the Sunday Thinakural newspaper in a wide ranging interview.

Sobitha Thero has headed the movement that gathered a group of experts to draft a new constitutional framework that replaces the presidential system and sets up certain safeguards to prevent the abuse of power by the political leadership including the limiting of the cabinet of ministers and anti-graft measures. The monk is seen to be leading a broad opposition alliance of political parties, civil society groups, trade unions and professional organisations against the undemocratic, corrupt and authoritarian policies of the Rajapaksa Administration.

He told the Tamil language newspaper that there was no need to speak of overthrowing the Government. “Today the Government is confused. These kinds of internal conflicts will naturally lead to collapse. Today, the Prime Minister is against the President. We believe the minds of the people are changing,” Sobitha Thero said.

Dropping another bombshell about the ongoing international challenges against Sri Lanka with momentum building for another resolution in Geneva, Sobitha Thero inserted a major sanity check into the national discourse about human rights and a war crimes inquiry.

“Sri Lanka is a part of the international community, we have to abide by international norms, and if there is a call for an international investigation, I have no problem in agreeing. If we have done nothing wrong we can go before an international investigation and vindicate ourselves” he acknowledged.

Civil Society Condemns Buddhist Extremists Attacks On Religious Places, Police Inaction And The Silence Of Mainstream Religions And Media

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Buddhist Monks Surrender Over Hikkaduwa Church Attack; Granted Bail

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Abusing War Affected Children: Suspected Paedophile Buddhist Monk Was Granted A Non-Conditional Bail

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An Open Letter To Prof. Kapila Abhayawansa

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Marketing Buddhist Monk Pitiduwe Exposed

January Incident Report: Threats To Religious Freedom Continues

Sri Lanka ruling party ally pleased with government's refusal of visa for US representative

Thu, Feb 6, 2014, 09:30 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Feb 06, Colombo: Ally of Sri Lanka's governing party, the National Freedom Front (NFF) says the party is pleased with the government's move to refuse a visa for a US representative to visit Sri Lanka.
However, issuing a statement the External Affairs Ministry clarified that the US official was not denied the visa but on the contrary the Embassy was informed that the proposed dates of her visit were not convenient.
NFF Spokesperson Mohammed Muzammil told a news conference today that there were several NGOs working against the country.
Pointing out to a recent report by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre which has stated that the Sri Lankan military were responsible for the vast majority of the alleged war crimes that occurred during the final months of the war, Muzammil added that such elements were putting pressure on the international community.

According to the NFF member, war crimes were not committed in the country.

Government decides not to challenge UN reports and resolutions

 Saturday, 08 February 2014 

The government has decided not to challenge the legality of the UN Secretary General’s Panel of Experts’ Report or the US-sponsored resolutions against Sri Lanka.

When a question on the matter was posed to Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga, he has said, “I do not think so. It is very unlikely.”

As for the possibility of him being included in the Sri Lanka’s delegation for UNHRC sessions in Geneva as the head of the committee looking at the implementation of the National Action Plan on the Implementation of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Report, he has said, “I have already made the international community aware about the progress Sri Lanka has made in terms of the LLRC implementation.”

Meanwhile, President Mahida Rajapaksa is yet to decide on the Sri Lankan government delegation that will travel to Geneva to attend the UNHRC sessions next month.

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil 




  February 7, 2014

Early this week, the General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara Thera, giving evidence in a Court hearing, on an attack on the Calvary Church at Araliya Place, Thalahena, alleged that 374 organizations, registered under the Company Act, are involved in 'unethical conversions' of Buddhists in the country.
He alleges that the police, under the instructions of the Attorney General's Department, had provided 'protection' to those institutions.

Such assertions, though unverified, tend to generate strong reactions from certain quarters of the population. Though projected as a lament, by extension, those assertions also provide a subtle justification for the attacks on places of worship. In other words, they blame the aggrieved party for inviting trouble or getting attacked.
Those remarks are very much in line with the official government version of those events, which the government has described as random incidents blamed on the reaction of the neighbourhood, provoked by the noisy congregation.
This is what Prof. G.L. Peiris told this writer, when he was questioned during an interview about the attacks on places of worship of religious minorities:

"In many cases, those are not churches, temples or mosques; those are rooms in private houses which are being used as prayer rooms. Then let's say on a public holiday, there is a greater deal of noise and there is reaction from the neighbourhood. That has nothing to do with religious intolerance and even less so to do with the government support. It is a local neighbourhood reacting to what it considers as a disturbance.

"There are rules in this country governing the establishment of places of worship. You cannot simply convert a room in a private house into a place of worship, and then complain if there is a problem in connection to the room in your own house. All of these are matters that need to be taken into consideration. Simply to listen to someone, come to a conclusion and broadcast it to the rest of the world, is, in our view, not a responsible course of action."
The same account of events is reflected in an official communiqué issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, in response to remarks made by US Assistant Secretary of State, Nisha Biswal, in Colombo.

"In fact, the latest allegation of religious intolerance, repeatedly stated by the US, appears to be in order to give credence to isolated incidents as a regular occurrence. It is well-known that many of the facilities for religious worship which have been targeted are those operating in violation of the guidelines governing the establishment of these places. It has generally been found that these incidents have been a reaction on the part of the community residents in those areas. Attributing blame to the government is totally unwarranted. While legal action has been taken with regard to some incidents, others have been settled amicably. Therefore, the criticism is grossly disproportionate and politically motivated."

Zealots
However, the fact of the matter is that the government's lax attitude, evident in the statements made by its key interlocutors, tends to embolden a minority of Buddhist zealots and foster further attacks.
Equally worrying is that the number of attacks that are investigated and prosecuted leading to convictions is alarmingly low. That may be partly due to the fact that the two sides had agreed to reconcile out of Court. However, the absence of convictions itself fosters a climate of impunity which begets further attacks.

The government's mollycoddling of the religious right is partly driven by its considerations of its constituency. Those considerations are, however, not limited to its alliance with the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), the ultra nationalist party which has gradually become redundant as the government and some of its key interlocutors are adopting the slogans of the JHU. The primary driver for the government's lenient approach towards rising religious extremism is that this increasingly intolerant message in the revisionist Buddhist Right has found a receptive audience in the government's core constituency, the average Sinhalese Buddhist folks, who are by no means extremists or intolerant. However, courtesy largely exaggerated claims spouted in a virulent campaign led by a microscopic minority of religious zealots, they now feel aggrieved that their religion is under threat by aggressive proselytizing of Evangelical groups.

The vast majority of claims of unethical conversions are exaggerated and unsubstantiated, and are, in fact, contrary to the very idea of religious freedom, which also includes the right to change the religion. Nonetheless, those claims propagated in a well-oiled propaganda campaign have shaped the outlook of the average Sri Lankan Buddhists populace, whose religiosity may have overpowered their good judgment.

A case in point
In other words, this is religious radicalization, though the impact of the process as of now may be mild. However, once the wheels of radicalization are set in the motion, they take a life of its own and in the long run would destroy the nation and its polity from within.

Pakistan which nurtured Islamic extremism as part of its strategic culture and is now a victim of that very extremism, is a case in point. Two moderate politicians had who campaigned to abolish country's draconian blasphemy laws, which had regularly been abused to prosecute Christians and moderates, were killed in recent times. On one occasion, the assassin of a Punjab Governor was garlanded by the lawyers, when he was produced before Court. Extreme religiosity and indoctrination have the dangerous potential to turn its population into mind-altered zombies.

The Sri Lankan Government, in fact made too previous aborted attempts to pass an unethical conversion bill, which was viewed as a blatant violation of religious freedom by minority groups. In the first instance, the Anti- Conversion Bill, spearheaded by the JHU, was shelved by the then Chandrika Kumaratunga Government in the face of the local and international pressure.

A second bill – the Bill for the Prohibition of Forcible Conversions' was tabled in 2009. The provisions of the Bill criminalized any act to convert or attempt to convert a person from one religion to another religion by the use of force, fraud or allurement. Those found guilty could be imprisoned for up to seven years and/or fined up to Rs 500,000 (US 4,425). However, the government had not proceeded with the Bill, though it was initially touted as 'fulfilling a campaign promise' of the Rajapaksa administration, due to obvious international repercussions.

But, in the grass roots, the government has failed to act with same prudence. Its constituency considerations have blinded it from potential, disastrous fallout of rising religious intolerance. Worse still, by its condoning of the religious rights, the government is aiding and abetting to deform one of the most liberal and tolerant religions in the world, Buddhism.

New office bearers of FUTA

 Friday, 07 February 2014 

New office bearers have been appointed at the AGM of Federation University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) held at the Open University today.

President: Mr. Chandragupta Thenuwara

Secretary: Dr. Rohan Fernando
Treasurer: Dr. Primal Fernando
Asst. Secretaries:
Dr. Harini Amarasuriya
Mr. Rohan Laksiri
Dr. H.H. Sumathipala

Vice Presidents:
Dr. U. Anura Kumara
Dr. T. Jayasingam
Dr. Rangika Halwathura
Prof. Devaka Weerakoon
Dr. A.W. Wijeratne

Media Spokesman : Rev. Dambara Amila

Media Coordinator: Dr. Pradeep Weeasinghe

See full details here 

New Office Bearers-FUTA 2014-1-1 by nelvely

FIRE DESTROYS 20 HOMES IN WELLAMPITIYA

February 8, 2014 

Around 20 houses have been destroyed after a fire broke out and spread through a row of houses at Estate No. 101 in Nagahamulla, Wellampitiya today, police said. 

The flames were successfully extinguished in a joint effort by the fire brigade, municipal council, police and residents in the area, the Police Spokesman’s Office said.

The casualties have been reported from the fire, which erupted at around 3.35pm today, while investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the fire. 

ONE DEAD, TWO INJURED IN FIREWORKS FACTORY FIRE

February 7, 2014
One dead and two others injured following a fire in a fireworks factory in Kimbulapitiya, Negombo. The fire which began at 3.30pm claimed the life of a 26 year old and two others had been rushed to the Negombo hospital with burn wounds, Police spokesman said.

Israelis Attack Palestinians in Jordan Valley near Deir Hijlah

Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh Salem-News.com-Feb-07-2014 

Violence jumps as Israeli Apartheid week gets underway...

Israeli soldiers patrol in the Ein Hijleh protest camp, Jordan Valley, West Bank, February 5, 2014. (photo: Activestills.org)

(BETHLEHEM) - Early this morning, Israeli forces brutally uprooted Palestinians who made presence in the Jordan Valley near Deir Hijlah. Many Palestinians were injured including our friend Abdullah Aburahma from Bil'in whose arm was broken.

Israeli media ignored this event that lasted eight days of non-violent action that attempted to draw attention to the ongoing ethnic cleansing in the Jordan valley. But actions continued with the Israeli military attacking worshippers in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound injuring many (but those present succeeded in repelling the invaders). Many demonstrations were also met by brutal colonial Zionist army attacks including use of live ammunition in Jalazon Refugee camps.

Human Rights groups also complained about the increasing pace of Israeli home demolitions and colonial settlement building on Palestinian land that are crimes against humanity (yet, the US administration still refuses to pressure the Israeli government in any meaningful way).

Tomorrow/Saturday, we are taking hikes and observing nature in the area of Beitunya and Ain Qusra and then having a meeting to discuss activism for one democratic state.

Meanwhile it seems the Zionist lobby in the US is frustrated that it is not getting its way 100% of the time (as before). I guess they realize that the writing is on the wall. So they started to withdraw from direct controversy or redrawing bills they wrote.

The bill they wrote in New York targeting the American Studies association and others who might contemplate joining the growing BDS movement was withdrawn and a new bill is being concoct ted that tries to hide its attack on the US constitutional protections of free speech and association. I thus decided to take a trip to the US this Spring to help in the ongoing growing movement.

Israel Apartheid Week (http://apartheidweek.org/) is coming in March with actions in over 40 cities planned. Hope you can help.

And America's Tax Day is April 15, 2014 The People's Committees of Palestine on behalf of the Palestinian people invite US tax-payers to join in and/or plan mass demonstrations across the United States and for all people around the world at U.S. embassies around the world. Demand an end of U.S. support of the Israeli occupation Of Palestine. US taxpayers pay $4-6 billion to support Israeli apartheid and the US uses its veto power to shield Israel from International law.

That is no longer acceptable as it was not acceptable for the US government to support Apartheid in South Africa in the 1950s to the 1980s. We in Palestine are confident that we will get freedom and justice (prerequisites to peace) and that time is not on the side of colonial settlers in an apartheid regime. "The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice." What we ask is that you help us speed things up and bend things more towards justice.

(In pictures) Israeli media ignored one week of non-violent action in the Jordan valley that was faced with Israeli brutalityhttp://972mag.com/photos-ein-hijleh-village-evicted-after-seven-days-of-protest/86871/

An example of great work: "Yesterday as I sat in the Old Assembly Hall of our Parliament, I experienced the South Africa I am proud of. We, members of the civil society, proposed actions in solidarity with Palestine, Western Sahara and Cuba. We came from all walks of life and we held different opinions as we debated in the packed hall. But in the end (with the exception of four votes against the proposal) the Cape Town Declaration was overwhelmingly accepted.

http://marthiemombergblog.wordpress.com/2014/02/07/feedback-on-session-in-parliament-good-news/

Stay human and do come visit us in Palestine

Mazin Qumsiyeh
Professor and activist
Occupied Palestine
http://qumsiyeh.org
http://www.facebook.com/mazin.qumsiyeh.9

Asia leaders join Sochi as Obama, others stay away

By AP News Feb 08, 2014

TOKYO (AP) — When top Western leaders decided to stay away from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Winter Olympics, he wasn’t exactly left friendless: he has the heads of leading Asian nations and others to help show the world that not everyone is put off by his human rights record and the anti-gay law he championed.

Unlike President Barack Obama, who declined to attend the Sochi Olympics, the leaders of China and Japan — the world’s second and third largest economies — are attending. Both say they hope their visits will boost relations with Moscow.

In China and Japan, gay rights are not a hot-button political issue and officials say they do not link human rights with the Olympics.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, the highest-profile foreign head of state attending, congratulated Putin on the Olympics and hailed their countries’ growing ties, which frequently challenge Western domination of global affairs.

China’s state-controlled media have barely mentioned the Russian law that bans pro-gay “propaganda” that could be accessible to minors. It was signed by Putin in July.

That’s partly because of Beijing’s strict insistence on non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs, but also a reflection of relatively little public discourse on gay rights.

Japanese leader Shinzo Abe was also attending the opening ceremony and is to meet with Putin on Saturday.

“Japan pays close attention to the human right situation in Russia, but we do not link it with Prime Minister Abe’s attendance at the Sochi Olympics,” Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday.

In Japan, awareness about minority rights — not just for gays, but also for migrant workers and ethnic Koreans — lags behind the West, said Sonoko Kawakami, campaign manager for Amnesty International Japan.

“The prime minister’s actions reflect that,” she said.

Skipping the event, in addition to Obama, are French President Francois Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron, German President Joachim Gauck and Brazilian President Dilma Russeff.

Sochi organizers have declined to provide the names of the leaders attending the opening ceremony or the countries they represent, but say some 66 leaders — including heads of state and international organizations — are joining the games.

Those known to be attending include U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and the leaders of Greece, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Morocco, Armenia, Afghanistan, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Montenegro, Serbia, Tajikistan, and the monarchs of Monaco and Luxembourg.

Xi is the first Chinese head of state to attend the opening ceremony of an international sporting event outside of China. State newspapers devoted their front pages Friday to his meeting with Putin, which was also the lead item on state broadcaster CCTV’s national news.

Russia and China have frequently joined forces in the United Nations and elsewhere to challenge Western leadership in global affairs. They have also found common cause in coming under criticism from Western governments, media and human rights groups. During the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008, China faced many complaints about the stifling of dissent.

“The West has constantly found fault with Russia’s holding of the games,” China’s state-run newspaper Global Times said in an editorial Friday. It added that the criticism underscores the connection between the two countries.

Abe’s meeting with Putin will be their fifth since Abe became prime minister about 13 months ago, underscoring his efforts to broaden Japan’s diplomatic ties. Japan hopes a closer relationship will help foster economic and security relations as well as resolve a long-standing territorial dispute that has prevented the two nations from signing a peace treaty officially ending their World War II hostilities.

ICC investigating war crimes in C African Republic

Anti-Muslim militants rest at their base in the Boeing district of the Central African Republic's capital Bangui on January 16, 2014.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) says it has launched a preliminary investigation into war crimes in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Fri Feb 7, 2014

The Hague-based tribunal made the announcement in a statement issued on Friday to investigate the unrest that has plagued the African nation of 4.6 million for over a year.

African leaders have recently strongly criticized the ICC, accusing it of “racism” in indicting only African leaders. Some African countries have also threatened to sever ties with the court.

"My office has reviewed many reports detailing acts of extreme brutality... and allegations of serious crimes being committed," said Fatou Bensouda, the ICC chief prosecutor.

"I have therefore decided to open a preliminary investigation into this... situation," she stated.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in the Central African Republic since Christian militias launched coordinated attacks against the mostly Muslim Seleka group, which toppled the government last March.

Amnesty International has warned of the potential of large-scale killing in the northwest of the country.

France invaded its former colony on December 5, 2013, after the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution giving the African Union and France the go-ahead to send troops to the country.

France has deployed 1,600 troops in the country, but the UN-backed intervention force, which includes about 4,000 African Union peacekeepers, is struggling to restore security in the African Republic.

Paris claims the aim of the mission is to create stability in the country in order to allow humanitarian aid to reach violence-hit areas.

There are many mineral resources, including gold and diamond, in the Central African Republic. However, the country is extremely poor and has faced a series of rebellions and coups since it gained independence in 1960.

GJH/MHB/MAM

The cows with holes in their sides - video

A Swiss company has released footage of14 cannulated cows - cows that have a hole in their sides that allow farmers to look into their stomach and ensure more balanced feeding for the animals.

THURSDAY 06 FEBRUARY 2014

Hole-y Cow!-video