Thailand: Drop Charges Against Peaceful Critics

Arnon Numpa (L), a 30-year-old rights lawyer, and Sirawith Seritiwat, 24, a student, leaves a police station for the military court in Bangkok on March 16, 2015.
© 2015 Reuters

End Trials of Civilians in Military Courts-MARCH 17, 2015
(New York) – Thai authorities should immediately drop charges against four activists who peacefully expressed opposition to military rule. 

On March 16, 2015, Bangkok police charged four activists for violating the ban on political activity and holding a public gathering of more than five people. Those charged were: Sirawit Serithiwat, a student activist from Thammasat University; Pansak Srithep, a pro-democracy activist and the father of a boy killed by the military during the 2010 political violence; Anon Numpa, a human rights lawyer; and Wannakiet Chusuwan, a pro-democracy activist and taxi driver. After being charged, the four activists were immediately sent to the Bangkok Military Court, where they face trial with no right to appeal.

“The Thai military junta should immediately stop arresting and prosecuting peaceful critics and end the trial of civilians in military courts,” said Brad Adams,Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Every arbitrary arrest shows Thailand descending deeper into dictatorial rule.”

Thai authorities arrested the four activists on February 14 at the Bangkok Art and Cultural Center while they were holding a mock election and calling for martial law to be revoked. If found guilty they could be jailed for one year and fined up to 20,000 baht (US$625). Anon also faces an additional charge under the Computer Crime Act for criticizing the military authorities on his Facebook page, which could result in up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to 500,000 baht ($15,625).

The four activists were arrested less than a week after Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, leader of the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) junta, publicly pledged to return Thailand to democratic civilian rule through free and fair elections as soon as possible.

The NCPO continues to rule Thailand under the Martial Law Act of 1914 and has severely repressed fundamental rights and freedoms that are essential for the restoration of democracy, Human Rights Watch said.

Three days after seizing power on May 22, 2014, the NCPO issued its 37^th order, which replaced civilian courts with military tribunals for some offenses—including articles 107 to 112, which concern lese majeste crimes, and crimes regarding national security and sedition as stipulated in articles 113 to 118. Individuals who violate the NCPO’s orders are also subject to trial by military court. At least 700 people, most of them political dissidents, have been sent to trials in military courts since the coup.

As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Thailand is obligated to uphold and take measures to ensure basic fair trial rights. Governments are prohibited from using military courts to try civilians when civilian courts can still function. The Human Rights Committee, the international expert body that monitors state compliance with the ICCPR, has stated in its General Comment on the right to a fair trial that “the trial of civilians in military or special courts may raise serious problems as far as the equitable, impartial and independent administration of justice is concerned.” This is particularly problematic in Thailand where every element of military courts functions within the Defense Ministry’s chain of command, which has been controlled by the NCPO since the coup.

“The rolling crackdown on civil and political rights in Thailand continues without letup,” Adams said. “Promises to respect human rights and restore democracy are constantly contradicted by the junta’s actions.”

Three judges removed and a fourth resigns for viewing pornography at work

Judicial Conduct Investigations Office finds ‘inexcusable misuse’ of the four judges’ IT accounts

Viewing pornography on office computers was ‘wholly unacceptable conduct for a judicial office-holder’, the investigations office said. Photograph: Homer Sykes/Getty

Owen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondent-Tuesday 17 March 2015 10.41 GMT

Three judges have been removed and a fourth has resigned following an investigation into an allegation that they viewed pornographic material on office computers.

The disciplinary inquiry was revealed by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office, which found that there had been “inexcusable misuse” of their IT accounts.

“Three judges: district judge Timothy Bowles, immigration judge Warren Grant, and deputy district judge and recorder Peter Bullock have been removed from judicial office following an investigation into an allegation that they viewed pornographic material on judicial IT equipment in their offices,” a statement from the JCIO said.

“The lord chancellor [the justice secretary, Chris Grayling] and the lord chief justice [Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd] were satisfied that the material did not include images of children or any other illegal content, but concluded that this was an inexcusable misuse of their judicial IT accounts and wholly unacceptable conduct for a judicial office-holder.

“A fourth judge, recorder Andrew Maw, was also found to have viewed similar inappropriate material via his judicial IT account. The lord chancellor and the lord chief justice would likewise have removed Recorder Maw had he not resigned before the conclusion of the disciplinary process.”

The judges were not exchanging images or believed to be linked in any way. The JCIO declined to say whether the images had been discovered during a routine internal audit of computer files or through a different procedure.

Maw worked at Lincoln county court, Bowles at Romford county court, Bullock on the North Eastern Circuit, and Grant at the Immigration and Asylum Chamber, first tier immigration tribunal, based at Taylor House, central London. District judges earn £115,000 a year; first-tier tribunal judges are paid £113,000.

Viewing pornography is not illegal but doing so on office equipment is considered a serious act of misconduct that undermines public confidence in the judiciary. Dismissal was seen as a necessary punishment for judges whose private lives are not expected to raise questions about their impartiality – or judgment.

There is no appeal within the JCIO’s disciplinary procedure but dismissed judges can make a judicial review challenge.

One way China still really, really needs the U.S.

China needs way more soybeans, cotton and meat than it can produce. The U.S. is happy to provide.

By Lydia DePillis-March 17 at 10:28 AM 

On Monday, we took note of the fact that China's faltering construction sector has meant that all the steel it's churning out -- which hasn't slowed down a bit -- is flooding world markets. And that's the typical trade story with China, where the low cost of production and strategic currency management helped propel its trade surplus with the United States to arecord high last year.
One Way China Still Really, Really Needs the U.S. by Thavam Ratna

China becomes the world's third largest arms exporter

China's exports of weapons surged by 143% in the five years to 2014 compared to the previous five years

Big Brothers US-Russia-China

 

China has become the world's third largest exporter of arms after the US and Russia, according to a new report.

15 March 2015
China overtook Germany, France and the UK in exporting weapons between 2010 and 2014, said the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

China now accounts for about 5% of the world's exports of arms.

Three Asian countries, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, accounted for more than two-thirds of those exports.

The world's second largest economy also had 18 African nations as clients during the five year period, according to the study, which said the data reflected the volume of arms deliveries and not the financial value of the deals.

The 10 largest exporters of major weapons
Country	Share of global exports 2010-14
SOURCE: SIPRI
US	31%
Russia	27%
China	5%
Germany	5%
France	5%
UK	4%
Spain	3%
Italy	3%
Ukraine	3%
Israel	2%

China exports jump

China's exports of major arms rose by 143% in the five years to 2014 from the previous five years.

Meanwhile, Germany's arms exports fell by 43%, while France's dropped 27% in the same time frame.

Overall, that compares to a 16% increase in the volume of arms transferred around the world.

However, despite China's big jump in the global rankings, there is still a sizeable gap between the volume of its exports and those of the top two exporters the US and Russia.

The US accounted for 31% of the world's weapons exports, while Russia sold 27%. Exports from those two countries rose 23% and 37% respectively in the time period.

SIPRI compares arms sales over five year periods because of large fluctuations in the volumes of arms traded year on year.

Emerging markets must prepare for U.S. rate hike - IMF's Lagarde

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde attends an extraordinary euro zone finance ministers meeting to discuss Athens' plans to reverse austerity measures agreed as part of its bailout, in Brussels February 11, 2015.

BY SUVASHREE CHOUDHURY AND NEHA DASGUPTA-Tue Mar 17, 2015

(Reuters) - Emerging markets need to be prepared for the impact of a rise in U.S. interest rates which could still surprise in both timing and pace, the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, said on Tuesday.

In a speech in Mumbai, Lagarde warned that there could be a repeat of the so-called "taper tantrum" seen in 2013 when then Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's mere mention of trimming the Fed's bond purchase programme was met with a global market selloff.

"The danger is that vulnerabilities that build up during a period of very accommodative monetary policy can unwind suddenly when such policy is reversed, creating substantial market volatility," Lagarde said in the speech at the Reserve Bank of India.

"We already got a taste of it during the taper tantrum ... I am afraid this may not be a one-off episode. This is so, because the timing of interest rate lift-off and the pace of subsequent rate increases can still surprise markets."

Advanced economies could help reduce the risk of market volatility by communicating policy intentions clearly. However, emerging markets that had tackled economic vulnerabilities had fared better when shockwaves hit in 2013, she said.

"In particular, higher GDP growth, stronger external current account positions, lower inflation and more liquid financial markets helped dampen market volatility," Lagarde said, adding that a more resilient financial services sector would help.

India was pursuing reforms that were "timely, but will also need to be pursued with the utmost speed", she said.

Lagarde said central banks should also stand ready to act, with both liquidity support and targeted foreign exchange interventions.

She justified the right of major central banks to engage in unconventional monetary policies, saying they were not "supposed to last forever."

"They are of a temporary nature, and they were clearly intended by all those who articulated their vision about unconventional monetary policies to deal with specific issues and particular circumstances," she said during a question-and-answer session after the speech.

Lagarde also described cooperation among central banks on their unconventional monetary policies as "solid and frequent so that there can be good anticipation, good preparation, by those who will be suffering or receiving the spillover effect."

Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, however, said cooperation between central banks globally required more action.

"My sense is appetite for global cooperation is smaller than one might wish," he noted. "We hope that when push comes to shove cooperation would emerge."

India has unexpectedly cut interest rates twice this year at unscheduled meetings. In a statement announcing its latest cut on March 4 the RBI said the possible spillover of volatility from international financial markets was a "significant risk".

(Additional reporting by Rafael Nam and Swati Bhat; Writing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Suvashree Dey Choudhury; Editing by Susan Fenton)

What is graphene? The key questions

TUESDAY 17 MARCH 2015

A new wonder material discovered by two Russian scientists at Manchester University, graphene promises to transform people's everyday lives. But what is it? And how will it be used?

What is graphene?

Graphene is a form of carbon, a single layer of carbon atoms in a hexagonal lattice. Most of us have made graphene ourselves, by simply using a pencil.

It is the thinnest material ever found, a million times thinner than a human hair, and cannot be seen by the human eye without the aid of a microscope.

It is the world's first 2D material and is very light, but also tough - 200 times as strong as steel, but flexible and stretchable at the same time, as well as being fire resistant and an excellent conductor.

How was it 'discovered'?

Although scientists have long been aware that graphene exists, the challenge was to extract it from graphite and isolate it. This was achieved in 2004 by a team at Manchester University.

Two Russian-born scientists, Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov, used sticky tape to peel away layers of graphite. What was left on the tape was graphene, although this was not immediately apparent to the two researchers.

What was the reaction?

After Sir Andre and Sir Kostya published their findings in the journal Science in 2004, scientists from around the world descended on Manchester to find out how to repeat their feat. Their discovery earned them Nobel prizes for physics and knighthoods.

Many other countries are now investing in graphene research, alhough Manchester remains the leading centre, with the £61m National Graphene Institute, based in the city, opening its doors any day now.

Researchers in the north west have been working with 35 companies on product development. Their ambition is the production of graphene on an industrial scale through a process called chemical vapour depositon.

How will it be used?

The team in Manchester says that when graphene is used on its own or with other materials, "the possibilities are infinite. It is a young material with the potential to create incredible future technologies and vastly enhance existing products".

It adds: "The properties of graphene mean that it will touch every area of our lives. It is difficult to imagine an industry where it would not have impact."

The first products we are likely to see are graphene screens for mobile phones, along with phones and cameras that can be bent, with the added advantage of a much longer battery life.

There are also medical benefits, with Manchester scientists having aleady used graphene to target and neutralise cancer stem cells without damaging other cells. The aim is to prevent and treat cancers, but clinical trials will be needed before this strage is reached.

Graphene could also be used in water purification, aircraft technology and cars, and could create sensors to detect gases or dangerous chemicals, as well as sustainable food packaging that tells consumers when their products have gone off.

Is the government on board?

Yes, Chancellor George Osborne, a Cheshire MP, is a big fan of graphene, seeing science as key to his ambition to create a "northern powerhouse", with thousands of jobs and billions of pounds of investment following.

In January, during a visit to Manchester, which will be European City of Science in 2016, he andDavid Cameron talked about making the region a "global centre of outstanding scientific innovation".

In his autumn statement in December, the chancellor announced £235m in funding for the Manchester-based Sir Henry Royce Institute for Materials Research and Innovation (a northern version of the Crick Institute in London). This is due to open in 2019 and will play a major part in the development and commercialisation of graphene.

Taxpayers' money has also gone to the National Graphene Institute and a new Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre, but not everyone is impressed. Sir Andre Geim has questioned whether government funding for the National Graphene Institute will be sufficient. Talking to theIndependent about George Osborne, he said: "I try to find myself somewhere else when he is visiting so I have an excuse not to meet him."

Calls for international war crimes probe 'insulting', says former Sri Lanka president

Let us have humility to admit that we have failed as a nation, says Chandrika Before 2015 Election ......

Chandrika Kumaratunga, former president of Sri Lanka President, has said that her country would not accept an international investigation into alleged war crimes that occured during its 26-year-long civil war. (Anuruddha Lokuhapuarachchi/Reuters)

By Orlando Crowcroft in Dubai
March 15, 2015
Sri Lanka is united against an international investigation into alleged war crimes during its 26-year-long civil war, according to its former president, Chandrika Kumaratunga.

Kumaratunga, who served as president of Sri Lanka from 1994-2005, said that both the Sri Lankan people and its politicians found the calls for a UN-led international investigation "insulting" by implying that the country could not carry out its own.

Speaking to IBTimes UK at the International Conference on Education in Dubai, she said that while Sri Lanka would ask the UN to provide technical support, the probe would be a domestic one. 

"The whole country doesn't want (an international inquiry) because it is the feeling that it is insulting to the government that we cannot carry out our own investigation in a transparent manner," she said.

Sri Lanka's president, Maithripala Sirisena, has said the country would launch a domestic enquiry into crimes committed during the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), but ruled out the investigation being carried out by an international body.

The calls for a UN-led probe intensified in March 2014, when mass graves were uncovered in the Tamil north of the country and the UN Human Rights Council began a report into whether the army had carried out widespread abuses against civilians.

It was announced in February that the report was being shelved for another six months, and is now due in September. 

The UN estimates that up to 100,000 people died during the conflict, which ended in 2009.

The discovery of a mass grave in northern Sri Lanka fuelled speculation that there may be more(Reuters)

Filmmaker Callum Macrae recently released No Fire Zone: a documentary in Sinhala – one of Sri Lanka's official languages – which accuses the Sri Lankan government of targeting civilians.

Macrae, who directed the film, said last week that a domestic inquiry would not be credible.

"How does he [Sirisena] expect witnesses and survivors of these awful crimes to come forward and testify at a domestic investigation set up by someone who has effectively said in advance that he 'doesn't believe' the events they will describe? How can such a process be described as 'impartial'?" Macrae said in a press release.

The BBC reported that when President Sirisena was asked about the documentary, he said that he "doesn't believe" the allegations, but Kumaratunga said that the president had been "misunderstood", and that if the filmmakers had evidence then it should be passed on to the investigators.

"If it is presented as evidence then he will see it," she said.

Kumaratunga and her family have been major figures in Sri Lankan politics for almost a century.

Her father, Solomon Bandaranaike, was prime minister until his assassination in 1959, her brother was speaker of the Sri Lankan government and her husband, Vijaya – a popular politician and film star – who was shot dead in 1988.

Kumaratunga was elected president in 1994. Five years later, during her re-election campaign, she was blinded in her right eye after an assassination attempt by the LTTE. She stood down as president in 2005.

WELL, SHIT. MAITHRI LIED.

WELL, SHIT. MAITHRI LIED.

MARCH 15, 2015

Remember that dude we voted in because he was going to abolish the Executive Presidency?

HE LIED.

In reforms discussed today, the Cabinet and the President apparently decided against acting on promises. Instead, they’re “pruning” the Executive Presidency. The pruning, done according to the 19th Amendment, is (roughly) as follows:

a) A President shall serve no more than two terms in office

b) Each term shall be no more than five years

c) The President cannot arbitrarily dismiss Parliament until he has served for 4 /12 years of his term.

d) The President can be removed if the Prime Minister, Chief Justice and the Speaker judge that he’s gone too far off his rocker.

This is a problem.  Because:

a) The President still appoints the Prime Minister and the Cabinet

b) No act of the President can be questioned in a court of law, as before

c) The President is still Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and gets to appoint the heads of the Army,  Navy and the Air Force.

And all of this will be presented in a bill to the Parliament. If this is passed, we’re no better off than before. The President can still d) do whatever the fuck he wants b) fuck whoever he wants, provided he makes a yes-man his PM.

Correct me if I’m mistaken, but I believe I voted for a system of checks and balances, not for an extension of the same God-mode privileges that Sri Lankan Presidents have had since 1978. At least, that’s what the doctor told me. Turns out Maithri’s 100-day Manifesto turned out to be like Mahinda’s Chinthanaya. This is an outrage. We’ve been lied to- oh, wait, this is a familiar feeling.

The funny thing is, Suchetha Wijenayake, over at raramimu.blogspot.com, said “Here comes the new king, the same as the old king.” At the time it seemed like unwarranted cynicism. Now it stinks of prophecy.

What does this mean?

• Ranil, Chandrika and Maithri (I’ve stated them in that order because that seems to the real flow of power) are either horrible insecure or confident that they will not be voted back (same difference). Which means they’re also sure that Mahinda will come back. I don’t need to spell out what happens if MR returns – it’s going to be the political equivalent of a ripe pineapple inserted in the anus, and then twisted.
• 
  
• We have just voted in another potential dictator. Keep in mind that no President starting from Junius Richard Jayewardene has ever done right by democracy. Premadasa? CBK? MR? Bets on how long it takes for Maithri to go the same way.
• 
  
• Mahinda will experience a wave of popularity as the current government reneges on its promises (the only for voting it in).

Is this bad?

I don’t know. Maithri’s government has done both good as bad. Good in the sense that we seem to have gained a humble man, and, finally, some accountability and common sense in international politics. Forget all the people on LankaWeb who consider Mahinda sacred.  Arrogance and secularism isn’t going to win us any prices. Nor is turning a blind eye to corruption and nepotism.

From a power perspective, this makes sense – MR is still massively popular and Maithri’s government seems to have less support than it did when it started, a precarious position. They probably need this simply to instil order – at least, in their sense of the term. The problem is that they’re painting balconies and tiling floors above a fundamentally rotten foundation. Assume that Maithri works out. What of the next President? Will the Executive Presidency be abolished then? Or will we vote in another dictator?

What do you think? I think you should talk.  If you’re a writer, write about this. If you’re on Twitter, tweet. If you’re on Facebook, clear out those Candy Crush notifications and then TYPE SOMETHING IN CAPITALS. Because while we’re all collectively obsessing over Jeremy Clarkson being fired, socialism is backdooring the republic.

GOVERNMENT MAKES PROGRESS IN REBUILDING CONSTRUCTIVE RELATIONS--JEHAN PERARA

16 March 2015

The election of President Maithripala Sirisena and the appointment of a government headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have seen a turnaround in relations with those within and outside the country. The improvement in international relations has been notable. The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi who won election on a nationalist platform decided to be the first Indian prime minister in 28 years to visit the country. The last Prime Minister of India to visit, 

Government Makes Progress in Rebuilding Constructive Relations--jehan Perara by Thavam Ratna