Bash for questions: the worst parliamentary punch-ups

SATURDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2014

Turkey's parliament sees violent scenes as members of the ruling and opposition party clash - not for the first time. We look at other debates where the battle of ideas has turned physical.

Bash for Questions the Worst Parliamentary Punch-ups by nelvely

North Korean leaders may be called to face ICC over 'human rights abuses'

Panel sitting in London hears 'extremely powerful' evidence of mistreatment by totalitarian country and neighbour China

A North Korean defector prays for human rights at a church in Seoul, South Korea. The UN commission of inquiry on human rights has been hearing of alleged abuses in North Korea. Photograph: Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters

UN investigators leading an inquiry into human rights abuses in North Korea are consulting international lawyers over the possibility of summoning senior regime figures to appear before the international criminal court.

China could also face condemnation for its longstanding policy of sending home North Koreans, despite evidence they faced mistreatment and abuse on their return, said the head of the inquiry after what he called heart-rending testimony in London by escapees from the country.

Among witnesses to the panel, which has spent two days taking evidence in the UK after sessions in South Korea and Japan, was a former political prisoner who described having to enter the cell he shared with 40 other detainees via a door 50cm (20in) high, a deliberate policy by guards so they crawled "like animals".

Another UK-based exile wept as she said she had been forced to leave behind her Chinese-born infant son when she was sent back to North Korea for fear of the treatment he would receive under the country's racial purity beliefs.

Michael Kirby, chairman of the UN commission of inquiry on human rights.

Michael Kirby, the Australian retired judge who chairs the panel, set up in March by the UN human rights council and due to report by the end of the year, described the evidence in London as extremely powerful. He said: "You have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by the testimony you receive."

The panel is consulting legal experts in London and the US on the possibility of extending the remit of the Hague-based international criminal court (ICC) to try people for abuses in North Korea, Kirby told reporters.

He said: "We have in our mandate an obligation to look at who, in positions high and low, is responsible for the human rights violations we find. That is a matter that is agitating a lot of our thoughts at the moment."

While North Korea is not a signatory to the treaty that created the ICC, Kirby said, the UN security council had the power to extend the court's remit in exceptional cases.

China was also likely to be asked to account for its policy of treating North Koreans who flee to the country as economic migrants, Kirby said, given that treaties to which Beijing is a signatory compel nations to protect those who face maltreatment when sent home.

"The gathering evidence of the inquiry is certainly that people who are sent back from China to North Korea suffer very great punishments," he said. "This is a matter which may need to be considered by us."

Many of the 65 witnesses heard by the panel fled North Korea via China, with a number saying they faced incarceration in prison camps and abuse when they returned.

Kim Song Ju told the hearing that he received subhuman treatment when sent back, including the use of the cell with the 50cm door.

Park Jiyhun, who was returned from China several times, said she believed her son might have been sold into human trafficking when she was ejected from China.

The inquiry also heard that women returned from abroad were routinely checked for pregnancy in case they were carrying a child by a foreign father, and that one mother was forced to drown her newborn baby in a bucket because prison guards believed the father was Chinese.

Such notions of racial purity had "resonances that are specially horrifying if you are in Europe, because of the memory of the second world war", Kirby noted.

It was difficult to remain objective in the face of such "very distressing" evidence.

North Korea had been asked repeatedly to give its side but refused, he said.

The hope was, Kirby said, that the commission's report would bring renewed focus to human rights in North Korea, which had "slipped below the radar" compared to the likes of Syria and Burma.

Kirby said: "There's not a lot of interest in or knowledge about human rights issues in North Korea.

"The problems which are described in the evidence are known vaguely by the international community but there is not the engagement with them."

Lokpal or Lok Sabha? The Arvind Kejriwal interview

bruary 15, 2014 | Duration: 31 min, 58 sec

A day after resigning as Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal speaks to NDTV, says Lieutenant Governor's decision to keep the Assembly in suspended animation is wrong. "It has been done because the Congress doesn't want the election now," he said.

Union Cabinet recommends President's Rule in Delhi

Arvind Kejriwal taking oath as Chief Minister from Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung (left) at Ramlila Maidan on December 28, 2013. (AFP photo)

New Delhi:  The Union Cabinet today recommended President's Rule in Delhi and suspended animation of the Assembly.

In his report to the President earlier today, Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung refused to dissolve the Delhi Assembly and call fresh elections, thereby rejecting outgoing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's recommendation in his resignation letter last evening.

As Delhi enjoys a special status of being a Union Territory, the Lieutenant Governor, who is Delhi's constitutional head, is not bound to act as per the outgoing chief minister's advice.
 
The Cabinet decision will come into effect after promulgation of a notification by President Pranab Mukherjee, which has to be then endorsed by Parliament through a resolution under Article 356 of the Constitution.

The Delhi elections in December last year threw a split verdict with no political party getting the absolute majority. The Aam Aadmi Party led by Mr Kejriwal formed the minority government with outside support from the Congress. (Nightmare is over: Arun Jaitley on Arvind Kejriwal's resignation)

Mr Kejriwal resigned as Chief Minister yesterday after his 49-day government fell over the Delhi Assembly stalling the tabling of the anti-graft Jan Lokpal Bill with a 42-27 vote. AAP has been asked to run a caretaker government for the next few days as an interim arrangement.

In an exclusive interview to NDTV today, Mr Kejriwal alleged that the BJP and Congress joined hands to get rid of the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi after a case was filed against industrialist Mukesh Ambani in a natural gas case

Israel bars Gaza patients over 'Palestine' letterhead

Wed, Feb 12 2014

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel has denied entry permits to some 50 Palestinian medical patients from the Gaza Strip because the words "State of Palestine" appears on the letterhead of their application, officials said on Wednesday.

Israel does not recognize a Palestinian state, whose creation it says should stem from peace negotiations. It voted against a U.N. General Assembly resolution in 2012 that gave de facto recognition to a sovereign Palestinian state.

"On Sunday (the Palestinians) filed a range of requests ... on a document that said 'State of Palestine'. On the spot, we returned it to them, saying they should refile the request on appropriate paperwork," said Major Guy Inbar, a spokesman for COGAT, the military-run authority that handles entry permits.

He said 10 Palestinians whose cases were urgent were allowed to enter Israel while about 50 others were not.

Israeli treatment for patients from the Gaza Strip - an enclave run by Hamas Islamists hostile to Israel - is arranged by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank.

Omar al-Naser of the Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank city of Ramallah said the ministry had been using the "State of Palestine" letterhead for a year without any move by Israel to deny patients entry.

It was unclear why Israeli authorities took exception this time, but the decision coincided with diplomatic wrangling in U.S.-sponsored peace talks over Israel's demand that Palestinians recognize it as a Jewish state in any final accord.

In the past, Palestinian entry applications had the words "Palestinian Authority", an entity established under interim peace deals with Israel, in their letterhead.

(Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah, Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Gareth Jones)

Indian publisher withdraws book, stoking fears of nationalist pressure

All India | Ellen Barry, The New York Times | Updated: February 14, 2014 13:57 IST

Wendy Doniger's "The Hindus: An Alternative History," which was released five years ago in India and the United States has now been withdrawn from the market

In a fight with a major company, a frail 84-year-old retired headmaster would seem to be the David to India's publishing Goliath, Penguin Books.

But this week the headmaster, Dinanath Batra, achieved the crowning victory of his career as a right-wing campaigner, forcing Penguin to withdraw and destroy remaining copies of a scholarly work on Hinduism by an American professor that Batra has called "malicious," "dirty" and "perverse."

Indian Publisher Withdraws Book, Stoking Fears of Nationalist Pressure by nelvely

Storms claim two lives

SATURDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2014

A motorist dies in central London after her car is crushed by falling masonry and a cruise ship passenger dies after the vessel is hit by a freak wave.

A woman died and two other people were injured late on Friday when part of the front of a building collapsed on to a Skoda Octavia opposite Holborn Underground station in central London.

Storms Claim Two Lives by nelvely

Wigneswaran says Tamils can’t expect a total power-sharing 


By Zahrah Imtiaz-February 14, 2014

The Chief Minister of the Northern Provincial Council (NPC), C.V. Wigneswaran, said he would settle for the best possible solution to the ethnic issue, with a win-win situation for all, rather than expecting the government to grant them all the powers.

He was speaking at the National Conference on 'Post-war Socio-economic Development of the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka' organized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) held yesterday (13).

Breaking away from the somewhat rigid standpoint of the TNA, Wigneswaran said, "I admit that the Tamils cannot expect to have total power-sharing but a solution where at least the majority is shared, is good enough," and added,

"Sampanthan, when he visited India, had said that he wanted nothing short of the Federal model, but I personally am prepared to accept something less than that. We need to change the attitudes of the people and go for the best possible solution.""At this point, I would like to add that the TNA has managed to bring the Tamil people to a practical stand point. We do not want our own homeland; we only want power-sharing within a united country."

Responding to a questioned posed to him by the academia of the UGC, with regard to a lack of participation of the TNA in talks with the government, he said, "I personally think that we could go to the PSC but we need an agenda of our own before we do so. If we attend the talks at the PSC, we will meet with all the government members who view the problem in the same way and voice the same opinion. It is hard to reach a solution in such an environment."

He further asked the academia to contribute by coming up with a set of proposals that both the government and the TNA could work with. Referring to past talks held between the government and Tamil political parties, Wigneswaran said the TNA did not want to end up as failures like their predecessors, and added they would rather talk when a solution seems possible.

UK will call for international investigation in absence of domestic process – Rankin ( Exclusive Interview )
Feb 12, 2014  Kavinthan Shanmugarajah
 

The British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka John Rankin says that in the absence of a domestic process, the United Kingdom will call for an international investigation in Geneva.

Rankin made this statement at an exclusive interview with News1st’s Shameer Rasooldeen.

The interview with the British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka John Rankin will be telecast in the near future

The Character Of The Conflict And Accountability

By Laksiri Fernando -February 14, 2014

Dr. Laksiri Fernando

Neville Ladduwahetty has written an interesting but controversial article toThe Island newspaper (11 February 2014) titled “Accountability in non-international armed conflicts.” His title expresses his view on the character of the conflict but not the conclusion. It is more interesting to note his conclusion which he begins by saying,

“The belief among many is that a national inquiry with focus on accountability would be in the best interest of Sri Lanka. I too was of that view. But on deeper reflection the complexities and impracticalities involved in such an exercise makes it counterproductive to reconciliation which should be the final goal if internal conflicts are not to recur.”

Does this mean that he now agrees for an international inquiry? Obviously not. He has strongly argued that at the conclusion of a non-international armed conflict, whether by peace agreement (i.e. South Africa) or by defeating one party by the other (Sri Lanka), it is best not to investigate the accountability at all as it would be counterproductive to ‘reconciliation’ as he interprets. According to him what the government now should do is the following.

Sri Lanka’s position in Geneva should be that although Sri Lanka has every right for its actions to be judged by provisions of International Humanitarian Law, as a responsible Government it performed functions and adopted military strategies that were well over and above those required by Rules of War for the primary purpose and long-term goals of post-conflict reconciliation. This should precede the Progress Report on the Action Plan. Presenting the progress on the Action Plan WITHOUT FIRST PRESENTING IT IN THE LEGAL CONTEXT would deny Sri Lanka the opportunity to take a dignified stand without having to plead its case.

He does not completely deny that ‘Sri Lanka has every responsibility (although he says right) for its actions to be judged by provisions of International Humanitarian Law.’ What should be added here is also ‘international human rights law.’ But instead of ‘having to plead its case,’ according to him, Sri Lanka should ‘take a dignified stand’ or assert in Geneva saying that “as a responsible Government it performed functions and adopted military strategies that were well over and above those required by Rules of War.”

There is nothing wrong in asserting innocence, and it is like ‘pleading not guilty.’ But the question is how those assertions can be verified in the rule of (international) law. His proposition leaves open for the UNHRC to propose an international investigation, if the required votes are garnered, without Sri Lanka objecting or proposing an alternative.

Character of the Conflict                                      Read More

Poll to Impact Stand on Lanka at UN: Khurshid

By P K Balachandran - COLOMBO

Published: 14th February 2014

Indian Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid.

Indian Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid has said that the Indian parliamentary elections this year will cast a shadow on India’s stand on the Sri Lankan human rights issue at the March session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.

“We are in an election mood. In election time it is not always easy to explain to people. There is no time and no willingness to listen to things. And lots of people get excited and sometimes get upset,” Khurshid told a group of Lankan journalists who called on him in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Pressed to state India’s stand on the United States-sponsored anti-Lankan resolution at the UNHRC, Khurshid said that Lanka should do things that will enable India to help it. However, Khurshid said that Sri Lanka has to realise that the international community is taking up the human rights question in the island nation in a certain historical context, a context which cannot be wished away. Pointing out that Lankans are “over-sensitive” while the world is “over-active”, he stressed the need for moderation.

Khurshid appealed to Lanka not to isolate itself. While everyone realises that a 30-year conflict cannot be resolved overnight, Lanka cannot take 30 years to bring about reconciliation, he said. “Sri Lankans will have to find means to satisfy the world, while convincing the world that it needs more time to find its own solution at a pace and in a time frame convenient to it,” Khurshid said.

Sri Lanka slams int'l community on "inconsistent" policies ahead of fresh resolution

Feb 13,2014

COLOMBO, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Under censure for its human rights record, Sri Lanka's government hit back at the international community on Thursday, blaming it for "inconsistent" policies.

Sri Lanka will be facing a third resolution in as many years on its human rights record that includes war crimes allegations at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) next month.

The tropical island off the southern coast of India ended a three-decade war with the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) in 2009 but has since been dogged by criticism on accountability, reconciliation, political power devolution and adherence to human rights.

Government Spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella reiterated the government's stance that it has implemented a significant number of reconciliation measures and rejected international criticism that credible investigations have not taken place regarding allegations of civilian deaths during the last phase of the war.

"The resolution is a serious concern for the government. Reconciliation is something that is important for the people and we are very aware of it and have done an incredible amount of work so far but we feel that the international community keeps changing the specifications of what it wants us to achieve," he said.

Rambukwella emphasized the government sensed a "hidden agenda" in the international community's continued interest in Sri Lanka but pledged to work to "win every country over."

The United States will table the resolution and is already in talks with countries to obtain support for the proposal. In 2012 and 2013 Sri Lanka failed to defeat the resolution but has taken a more proactive role in this round by sending envoys to drum up support from Africa, the Middle East and Far East nations.

In fact Rambukwella noted that in the coming weeks special envoys will be sent to Japan and South Korea as well as the Middle East to further bolster Sri Lanka's support base.

The country's External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris wrapped up a tour to China this week where he was assured of assistance.

The island is expected to send a strong team to defend itself in Geneva next month and Prof. Peiris is already tabled to make the main speech on behalf of the government.

Muslim Grievances Need To Be Heard, Identified And Redressed Properly: Muslim Congress

February 14, 2014

Today, almost five years after the end of the war, the wounds of the Muslim community await due recognition and redress, says the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress.

M.T. Hasen Ali MP

Issuing a statement, its Secretary-General M.T. Hasen Ali MP said today; “Justice has eluded the victims of massacres, thousands of Muslim families remain in IDP camps and many are unable to reclaim their lost assets, including ancestral lands and places of worship. Since the war, in my electorate alone, thousands of acres of land were expropriated by government agencies. Equally worrying is the fact that, in 2013 there were hundreds of attacks against Muslims, many of them violent.”

We publish below the statement in full;

The Muslim community has always strived to live in harmony with all communities in the island. For many generations, the community has produced many loyal citizens, who have served the nation with honour, dedication and a spirit of self-sacrifice. However, the 30 year internal armed conflict in Sri Lanka deeply affected the Muslim community – approximately 20,000 Muslims were massacred, tens of thousands were evicted from their homes overnight and assets worth billions were expropriated.

Today, almost five years after the end of the war, the wounds of the Muslim community await due recognition and redress.  Justice has eluded the victims of massacres, thousands of Muslim families remain in IDP camps and many are unable to reclaim their lost assets, including ancestral lands and places of worship. Since the war, in my electorate alone, thousands of acres of land were expropriated by government agencies. Equally worrying is the fact that, in 2013 there were hundreds of attacks against Muslims, many of them violent.

It is a matter of grave concern and regret, that even today, these victims seem all but forgotten. The precise extent and impact of the tremendous losses and continuing prejudice to the community remain unknown, as no systematic, objective official inquiries have been conducted to date. For example, even today, no one knows with any reasonable degree of certainty, how many Muslims died or went missing during the war. Existing government efforts are not fit for this purpose: it is impossible to conduct an accurate assessment of the dead and disappeared in one month – especially as many of the deaths occurred in remote border villages over two decades ago.

It is clear that the nature and extent of the particular grievances of the Muslim community need to be heard, identified, and redressed properly. This requires a special mechanism that is credible, independent and empowered in dealing with these forgotten grievances. Therefore, we call upon the Government to set up such a special mechanism forthwith, to specifically inquire into the grievances suffered by Muslims, so that proper steps may be taken to grant relief to the affected Muslim citizenry.

India wants Lankan Govt. to resume talks with TNA on political settlement

• Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh says Lankan political leadership promised 13A Plus
• No position on third US backed resolution at UNHRC before seeing text

Dharisha Bastians reporting from New Delhi-February 14, 2014 
Veering away from taking a committed position on a third US backed resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council next month India yesterday renewed its call for Sri Lanka to go beyond the provisions of the 13th Amendment and a resumption of talks between the Government and the Tamil National Alliance.
Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh told Sri Lankan journalists in New Delhi that the promise of 13 Plus was not India’s creation, but a commitment by the Sri Lankan political leadership.
Singh said it was important that everyone in Sri Lanka reached a mutual comfort level in living within the framework of a united Sri Lanka.
“We are not there yet, and we are talking about what is needed to get there,” the Indian bureaucrat emphasised.
Singh was reticent in her remarks about India’s position on a third US sponsored resolution to be tabled at the UNHRC in Geneva next month, saying India could not formulate a position on the issue until the text of the resolution was made available.
“We can only take a position when there is a resolution to take a position on and that is not there yet,” she said.
In the backdrop of reports that Washington was in discussions with New Delhi regarding the UNHRC processes, the Indian Foreign Secretary maintained that New Delhi had its own views on the Sri Lankan issue that was not influenced by other countries.
The Indian Foreign Secretary said that in Geneva, the Indian Government was in touch with all parties concerned. “It is an issue certainly on our radar,” Singh said.
The official denied New Delhi was exerting pressure on Sri Lanka to implement the 13th Amendment or pressing for further devolution for the Tamil people.  “It is in Sri Lanka’s own interest to deal with this issue in a manner that addresses the concerns expressed,” Singh added.
She said that would also help to meet concerns by Sri Lanka itself about what was going to transpire in Geneva in a few weeks.

Ananthy Sasitharan in Geneva Departure kept secret following threats 

By Ananth Palakidnar-  February 14, 2014 


Northern Provincial Councillor, Ananthy Sasitharan, who arrived in Geneva on Wednesday, began to engage in discussions with officials of the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) yesterday.


Ananthy's travel plans were kept under wraps until her departure from Colombo on Wednesday (12), following the anonymous calls she had received asking her to cancel her plans to attend the 25th UNHRC sessions in Geneva in March.However, Ananthy had reached Geneva on Wednesday, and was given a warm welcome at the airport, sources said.

Ananthy began her meetings with the UNHRC officials in Geneva accompanied by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarians, M.A. Sumanthiran and Suresh Premachandran.

Informed sources said that Ananthy's discussions were based on the disappearances in the North, and she had even submitted the documents she had carried with her to be presented to the officials in Geneva regarding the evidence she had over the disappearances, including that of her husband, Sasitharan alias Elilan, who had reportedly surrendered to the Security Forces with hundreds of others in Kilinochchi during the final stages of the conflict, sources said.
Apart from her meetings with the UNHRC officials, on the sidelines of the UNHRC sessions in Geneva, Ananthy is also expected to hold meetings with several organizations in various parts of Geneva, sources added.
Ananthy will stay in Geneva until the UNHRC sessions are over, they further said.

Meanwhile, Northern Province Chief Minister, C.V. Wigneswaran, during his meeting with the Norwegian Ambassador, Grete Lochen, in Jaffna on Wednesday, confirmed Ananthy Elilan Sasitharan's participation at the UNHRC sessions in Geneva.

The Chief minister also said that instead of his presence in Geneva the NPC had decided to send Ananthy to Switzerland as she was also a victim, who is in search of her husband.
Another delegation of TNA Parliamentarians is also likely to travel to Geneva in March sources said.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake Is A Capable Leader, TNA Congratulates, TNA Calls On JVP To Work Together

February 13, 2014

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) congratulates the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Anura Kumara Dissanayake on his assumption of office as the third leader of the JVP.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake

“Mr. Dissanayake is a capable leader, whose appointment strengthens the progressive forces of this country.” says the TNA.

Issuing a statement the TNA said today; “The JVP has struggled to alleviate oppression and suffering, especially in the South, and Mr. Dissanayake has dedicated himself to that cause. He has displayed high standards of parliamentary practice and has been a vocal advocate of the fundamental principles of equality, democratic government, justice and the rule of law. In particular, we welcome the JVP’s rejection of racist politics, its continued calls for truth and justice for those tortured, killed and disappeared over the past 43 years and its commendable campaign against corruption.  He has rightly called for the confinement of the military to barracks, for impartial and expeditious investigations into the mass graves at Matale and Mannar. He has also called for the restoration of judicial independence, law and order. The TNA has consistently advocated on these very issues.

“The TNA calls on the JVP to work with it towards the eradication of oppression and tyranny. The TNA looks forward to working with the JVP and Mr. Dissanayake in the struggle to build a pluralist society based on the principles of truth, justice and equality, with lasting reconciliation for all.”