Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council: What Now?

With the long-awaited report on Sri Lanka’s violent history finally out, what’s next for Colombo at the UN Human Rights Council?

By Taylor Dibbert-September 18, 2015

The long-awaited UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report that deals largely with wartime abuses in Sri Lanka has finally been made public.

It’s a big moment for the island nation and OHCHR has come out with a strong report. This is a detailed, lengthy document that covers a range of disturbing topics, including extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, disappearances, torture, and attacks on civilians. Importantly, the report also includes violations which have occurred since the end of the war (in 2010 and 2011).

So, where does Sri Lanka go from here?

In the coming days, an informal meeting will be held on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC). At that time the possible content of another HRC resolution on Sri Lanka will be discussed. (Originally scheduled to take place on September 17, the event has been pushed back to September 21.) The delay of this meeting may seem insignificant, but it’s actually quite useful. Since the OHCHR report was only made public on September 16, that didn’t give people much time to read the report and consider the recommendations it lays out.

Significantly, the report includes a recommendation that a hybrid court be created. More specifically, the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) asserts:

…for an accountability mechanism to succeed in Sri Lanka, it will require more than a domestic mechanism. Sri Lanka should draw on the lessons learnt and good practices of other countries that have succeeded with hybrid special courts, integrating international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators, that will be essential to give confidence to all Sri Lankans, in particular the victims, in the independence and impartiality of the process, particularly given the politicisation and highly polarised environment in Sri Lanka.

The recommendation is a logical one given Sri Lanka’s history with past domestic accountability mechanisms and the current state of the country’s institutions. Nevertheless, there’s no indication that Sri Lanka’s new government would agree to the establishment of a hybrid accountability mechanism.

So what’s next for Sri Lanka at the HRC?

The U.S. has already made it clear that it will sponsor another HRC resolution on Sri Lanka and that Washington supports Colombo’s domestic accountability process. The U.S. expects to collaborate with the Sri Lankan government on this resolution. Nonetheless, coming up with a consensus resolution on Sri Lanka that satisfies everyone, especially the Tamil community, is going to be virtually impossible. It will be interesting to see which recommendations from the OHCHR report make it into the forthcoming HRC resolution – especially as it relates to institutional reforms and justice.

For those pushing for truth and accountability in Sri Lanka, it seems that the best outcome – for now anyway – would be that U.S. diplomats and others convince Colombo of the need for a strong, clear resolution on Sri Lanka at the HRC. A key point here could be, within the framework of Sri Lanka’s domestic mechanism, laying out the details for how members of the international community can be involved in every step of the process. Reaching agreement on the details of the imminent resolution (and the level of international involvement in Colombo’s domestic processes) may be challenging. The HRC’s 30th session will end in two weeks so a lot could happen between now and then. We’ll have to wait and see how things play out.

Proposals for immediate reforms by JVP

Sep 17, 2015

Nine months have passed since a new administration on policies of ‘good governance’ was established to replace Mahinda Rajapaksa’s rotten political culture that had affected the socio-political system of this country for nearly a decade. The aspirations of the masses in voting in a new mandate on 8th January did go beyond mere defeat of Mr. Rajapaksa as an individual. It was to get rid of the political culture nurtured during that period and to establish political, legal and administrative reforms that would prevent a repetition of such a situation. Also, a number of reforms demanded and had been agitating by political and civil organizations for a long period had been included in the manifesto for the presidential election held on 8th January. These reforms were also included in the manifesto of the government presented for the general election held on 17th August. We, as responsible members of political parties and civil organizations as well as individuals, have included several such reforms approved by people in two elections held within 8 months and several other reforms as it is our responsibility to get inspirations of the masses and their needs fulfilled. Also, it is the responsibility of an administration that respects the mandate it has been given to implement such reforms. The following is a set of proposals for immediate implementation:  

01.     Bring in constitutional amendments to totally abolish executive presidential system
02.     Enforce laws to revoke Parliamentary seats of Parliamentarians who cross over
03.     Abolish provisions that exist in the 19th amendment to increase the number of ministers to 30 and the number of deputy ministers to 40 and legalize  having subjects and institutions of ministries on a scientific basis by bringing in a Parliamentary act   

04.     Introducing, after a broad dialogue with the masses, a new electoral system that would allow fair representation of multiple political tendencies that exist in our country in Parliament, provincial councils and local government bodies.

05.     Adopting in Parliament and implementing the Right to Information Act

06.     Adopting and implementing the National Audit Act  

07.     Appointing a Parliamentary Select committee to prepare a programme to enable Sri Lankan citizens living abroad to vote from where they are domiciled

08.     Humiliating, ridiculing and subjecting to injustice due to one’s race, religion or any other reason should be totally prohibited and a ‘Commission Against Discrimination’ should be established to entertain and investigate complaints from those who have been subjected to indiscrimination and to take legal action against offenders.

09.     Establishing a ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’ through an Act of development and reconstruction of national unity to enable those who were affected by the war to present their grievances, to find out the truth regarding such complaints and to give relief to the distressed.

10.     Investigating expeditiously all frauds and corruption that have been reported so far and punishing the perpetrators immediately should be considered a priority of the government. Change the situation that exists in Attorney General’s Department, the CID and other state investigating institutions that undermines, puts off investigations to fulfill the needs of politicians.

11.      Strengthening and making totally independent all institutes that have been established to investigate frauds and corruption and to punish those responsible.

12.      Allocating a minimum of 6% of GNP from state funds for education and making use of these funds to develop free education, its quality and development of infrastructure relevant to education.  

13.     i. Adding all allowances of state employees to their basic salary
    
ii. Bringing in laws necessary to increase the salary of all private sector employees by Rs.2500
    
iii. The proposed daily wages of estate sector employees to be increased to Rs.1000
    
iv. Implementing, as has been accepted by the Construction Industry Development Act, pension benefits and an insurance scheme to employees and craftsmen in the construction industry as they represent a large portion of the irregular employment sector.

14.     Abolishing the system of political appointments when recruiting to state and statutory bodies and establishing a system to recruit on eligibility.

15.     Strengthening legal provisions and institutions that exist for the protection of women and children and establishing a special court to hear offenses of abuse of women and children.

16.     Stopping the spread of narcotic drugs to save children and young generation from the hazard of drug addiction and taking immediate steps to implement the law against drug racketeers.

17.     Legalizing, to cover the private sector as well, the guaranteed prices decided by the government for paddy, rubber and tea and legalizing prices of other agro products when their guaranteed prices are determined.

18.     To frame a national policy that covers fine arts and the media sector that would protect the professional dignity of artistes, to give total freedom for creations, enable all citizens to appreciate artistic creations and to establish a council consisting of experts in the relevant fields to frame such a policy.   

19.     Activating immediately the National Intellectual Property Office to consolidate the right of artistic creators in a manner that would not hinder the right of the people for information and people’s access to knowledge.

20.     Compile a national policy to conserve natural resources and the environment to meet national necessity and study existing policies, acts and regulations in connection with conservation strategies and strengthen them. 
  

Sri Lanka: A Dictatorship Of Morons & Frogs?

By Jagath Asoka –September 17, 2015

Dr Jagath Asoka

I am certain that most Sri Lankans are not happy with the current political situation. The crooks and frogs who were defeated and rejected are back as cabinet ministers, and the ostensible excuses given were: To make a stable government; to unite Sri Lanka against any imminent international pressure. I am certain that the world is not mourning the decline of dictators, and Sri Lankans just got rid of a “potential dictator.” However, now, it seems like Sri Lanka is on a path to dictatorship without a dictator.

The promises that were made just before January 2015 have disappeared without a trace; the numbers—promise to appoint only 30 cabinet ministers—that were flaunted were multiplied without any shame; intrepid, honest politicians who worked hard were pushed aside and defeated asinine, belligerent crooks and frogs were appointed as cabinet ministers. Who are the morons who appointed this cabinet? Our rotten politicians have created a system to maintain the status quo, a system that ensures their own survival and well-being; it seems like this “good governance,” “national government,” is just a façade for their own survival. The hoi polloi would kill, burn, and stab each other to make their politicians victorious, while sleazy, unctuous politicians clink whisky glasses, pat each other, and take bribes. Sri Lankans, when are you going to believe what you see with your own eyes?

What would have been the outcome if people had known what these politicians had concocted to maintain the status quo? It seems like people cannot win even when they have chosen wisely.Read More

Tortured Toronto man says he feels vindicated by UN report on Sri Lanka

Roy Samathanam: “At least they recognized it and said this happened. They at least acknowledged it. That is really good, I’m satisfied with that.”

Sri Lankan soldiers in May 2009. The UN received complaints that both government forces and the Tamil Tigers rebels had committed atrocities during their fighting.

Stewart Bell | September 16, 2015

TORONTO — Roy Samathanam was beaten with pipes and kicked in the groin after he was arrested by Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Division, but it was when they threatened to rape his wife that he broke and agreed to sign a false confession.

Tortured Toronto Man Says He Feels Vindicated by UN Report on Sri Lanka by Thavam Ratna

Sri Lanka tilts back from China

Author: David Brewster, ANU-17 September 2015

Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s failed bid to return to power as Sri Lanka’s prime minister is seen by many as a major blow for Beijing’s growing influence in the country and the region. The outcome of August’s parliamentary elections, which followed Rajapaksa’s ouster in January, seems to signal a return to Sri Lanka’s more traditional foreign policy orbit: balancing India’s security sensitivities with its pursuit of other relationships, including with China.

Since independence, Sri Lanka has been both fearful of Indian hegemony and usually realistic about its options. The country has to face the difficult reality of dealing with its giant, nervous and sometimes overbearing neighbour. This forces Colombo to perform a delicate balancing act: it must try to create some space for itself through limited relationships with extra-regional powers, while constantly reassuring New Delhi that it will not allow itself to be used to threaten India’s regional dominance.

This delicate balance has long been reflected in Colombo’s external relations with major powers, including with Britain, the United States and China. And although New Delhi usually grudgingly tolerates Colombo’s flirtations, there are real limits.

Colombo knows well the consequences of provoking India’s ire. In the early 1980s New Delhi mistakenly convinced itself that Sri Lanka was going to allow the United States to build a signals intelligence facility and even a naval base on the island. The message for Colombo was clear: there were red lines that Sri Lanka should not cross in its relationships with extra-regional powers.

These events led some to talk about the so-called ‘Finlandisation’ of Sri Lanka: an implicit understanding that Colombo would avoid security relationships with other powers, while India would refrain from interfering in Sri Lanka’s domestic affairs. This idea does not do justice to the intricacies of the relationship, but it does express an uncomfortable truth — that small countries with large and nervous neighbours may find it in their interests to limit the exercise of their sovereignty. Not that Sri Lanka has ever been a client state of India. Indeed, Colombo has often shown itself to be adept at calibrating its strategic distance from India — keeping New Delhi on its toes and leveraging potential benefits from its neighbour.

But this delicate balance came unstuck over the last few years under Rajapaksa’s increasingly authoritarian and corrupt rule — and a shower of Chinese money. Rajapaksa not only seemed to favour Chinese investments but he also began to flirt with a limited Chinese security presence on the island. New Chinese-built ports at Hambantota and Colombo became symbols of Beijing’s presence in the region, fuelling claims of a ‘String of Pearls’ across the Indian Ocean. China built a satellite station and there were rumours of a possible air force presence.

The turning point came in September 2014 when a Chinese submarine and minder made an unexpected visit to Colombo only days before the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to New Delhi. It seemed that Beijing was trying to send a clumsy message to India. New Delhi summoned the Sri Lankan foreign minister to suggest that there should be no further visits of Chinese submarines. When Rajapaksa authorised a return visit of the submarine in November, many took this as an explicit signal that Sri Lanka was abandoning its longstanding balancing act and possibly tilting to China.

This, apparently, was a step too far. Only few weeks later, Maithripala Sirisena, then a minister in Rajapaksa’s government announced that he would stand against Rajapaksa as president. By January, Rajapaksa’s regime, which looked like it was permanently cemented into power, was gone. The full extent of India’s involvementin the Sri Lankan elections in January 2015 and again in August 2015 remains unclear, but there is little doubt that New Delhi was at least able to unite Tamil groups against Rajapaksa, no doubt lubricated with plenty of money.

Where does that leave Sri Lanka’s foreign policy? It seems like it will move back towards a long term balancing act. Colombo will not be beholden to India, but it will certainly pay a lot more attention to New Delhi’s security sensitivities while pursuing a more cordial relationship with the West. There may not be any further visits of Chinese submarines any time soon, but Sri Lanka will continue to court Chinese investment to develop Sri Lanka’s infrastructure and manufacturing base. But it will also be careful to ensure that other investors, including from Japan and India, are given investment opportunities on the island. Sri Lanka could have bright economic prospects as a new ‘Bengal Tiger’ economy and China will play an important role in that.

Beijing’s Global Times contends that: ‘Although partisan politics may have a certain effect on bilateral ties … No matter which party takes power, it will maintain a good relationship with China’. That is certainly true, but at the same time, the fall of the Rajapaksa regime does represent a significant set-back for China’s hopes to develop a greater security presence in the Indian Ocean to support its economic interests. Seen alongside moves by Myanmar’s regime to distance itself from Beijing, it is a reminder of the risks of relying on authoritarian leaders for friends.

Dr David Brewster is a visiting fellow at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre in the College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University.

Arrests of Weeratunga, Palpita imminent

Attorney General instructs

Thursday, September 17, 2015

The Attorney General's Department has given written instructions to the Police FCID to arrest former Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga and former TRC Director General Anusha Palpita in connection with the alleged misappropriation of Rs. 600 million. With this development, the arrests of Weeratunga and Palpita, two high profile state officials under the previous government, are imminent, sources from the Attorney General's Department told the Daily News.

The Attorney General (AG) had filed action in the High Court of Colombo against Lalith Chandrakumar Weeratunga, the Secretary to the former President, and Anusha Palpita, former Director-General of the Sri Lanka Telecom Regulatory Commission (SLTRC) for misappropriating Rs 600 million from TRC.

The Police FCID investigated into allegations that the money siphoned off from the TRC had been used for distributing sil redi among Buddhist devotees four days before the Presidential election, in January.

The AG has filed action against Weeratunga and Palpila in the Colombo High Court in connection with the case.

Colombo High Court Judge, Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena on Monday decided to take up the case on September 18 and requested the AG to produce the initial reports of the Magistrate's Court and the Court productions on that date.

The AG has indicted Weeratunga and Palpita under public property Act. Twenty one prosecution witnesses including Elections Commissioner, Mahinda Deshapriya and the former President's coordinating secretary (religious affairs) Ven. Vatinapane Somananda Thera have been cited, and 15 Court productions were presented.

- See more at: http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=police-legal/arrests-weeratunga-palpita-imminent#sthash.AbCBjOK2.dpuf

The big powers, ‘regime change’ and the Syrian crisis

September 16, 2015, 8:42 pm 

The involvement of external powers in a Southern country’s political crises would increase in magnitude and kind to the degree to which the crises in question aggravate and are seen as affecting these outside powers’ interests. In Sri Lanka’s case, since the political changes referred to were of an entirely democratic and ‘bloodless’ nature, conditions that could have prompted external military involvement, for example, were absent. But this is not the case in the conflict zones of the Middle East. In the case of Syria, for instance, the incumbent Bashar Al Assad regime is intent on keeping its hold on power despite facing some resistance forces advocating progressive political change.

‘Regime change’ has been the buzz phrase among sections critical of political developments in the Middle East and adjacent regions, over the past few years, which centred on the overthrowing of repressive governments by pro-democracy forces. A central viewpoint of these critics is that such ‘regime change’ was initiated and sustained by the prime powers of the West. In other words, the ‘pro-democracy’ revolution of the early decades of the 21st century is the handiwork, so to speak, of the major Western powers, who enjoy absolute power of manipulation over the forces seeking democratic change.

The irresponsible extremes to which this popular notion is taken are evident in its application, by some local counterparts of the ‘regime change’ proponents, to political developments in Sri Lanka. While it goes without saying that regional and extra-regional powers would be concerned over political developments in our part of the world, and it cannot be otherwise because power and who wields it, is, for example, at the heart of big power foreign relations perspectives on any region, one cannot argue, on this basis, that popular movements for progressive political change are initiated and guided by the big powers. Those sections adopting the latter point of view could be said to be guilty of being ignorant of historical political change and its internal dynamics.

Popular resistance, of a peaceful or non-peaceful nature, to repressive local conditions, is a spontaneous development and cannot be dictated entirely ‘from the outside’. However, once such resistance takes hold, regional and extra-regional powers may seek to influence these developments in keeping with what is seen as their foreign policy interest. It cannot be otherwise, for, politics, whether internal or external, devolve around power, and who takes and exercises power locally is of the utmost importance to external powers. But it does not follow from these premises that ‘regime change’ is initiated entirely by external quarters and that ‘pro-democracy movements’, for instance, follow a course which is meticulously and rigidly laid out by external powers.

The electoral verdicts of January 8 and August 17 in Sri Lanka, for example, grew out of popular disgust with the regime which existed in this country from 2005 until early January this year and one would be severely insulting the intelligence of the local voter by suggesting to him that he was a tool in the hands of external powers seeking ‘regime-change’ in this country. The well-springs of political change in Sri Lanka this year are rooted in popular disenchantment and the observer would be guilty of falsifying reality by seeking to argue otherwise.

The same goes for the popular political upheavals in Egypt, Libya and Syria, to consider just three such cases. It is now not disputed that youth disenchantment with existing regimes and the people’s powerlessness had a considerable bearing on these political developments. Youth unemployment had a lot to do with the resistance which arose against the repressive administrations in question. But there is no denying that the Western powers took a huge interest in the way these upheavals evolved and were subsequently supportive of the pro-democracy movements. However, there has been no tangible, divisive presence of regional or extra-regional powers in Sri Lanka’s recent political developments. It does not follow, though, that these powers are not supportive of this or that political party or force in Sri Lanka.

The involvement of external powers in a Southern country’s political crises would increase in magnitude and kind to the degree to which the crises in question aggravate and are seen as affecting these outside powers’ interests. In Sri Lanka’s case, since the political changes referred to were of an entirely democratic and ‘bloodless’ nature, conditions that could have prompted external military involvement, for example, were absent. But this is not the case in the conflict zones of the Middle East. In the case of Syria, for instance, the incumbent Bashar Al Assad regime is intent on keeping its hold on power despite facing some resistance forces advocating progressive political change. While forces, such as the IS, are obviously anti-democratic is nature, there are groups in the Syrian theatre which want to see an end to what is viewed as repression.

At present, the West is supportive of those groups in the Syrian situation which it sees as advocating democratic change and is simultaneously taking on the IS militarily, but this involvement has been instrumental in creating a humanitarian crisis of daunting proportions. The bourgeoning refugee crisis in the Middle East currently, lends increasing proof to the well founded view that it is civilians who suffer most in war and conflict.

While it is up to the international community, read the UN, to ensure the well being of the people displaced in the Syrian conflict and outside it, the Western powers are obliged to seek a political solution to the crisis in Syria. It should be plain that the military involvement of the West in these conflict zones is in no way promotive of their aims.

However, the forging of political solutions to the Syrian and other crises in West Asia would necessitate the involvement of the totality of interested parties in such searches. It just would not be sufficient to emphasize that the US and its allies only need to figure in these exercises, when the observer speaks in terms of the need for ‘Western’ involvement in the search for peace. The ‘West’ in this context should also mean Russia, which has reason to be concerned about developments in the Middle East. In fact, Russia is seen as militarily supporting the Assad regime in a substantial way. Accordingly, the concept of the ‘West’ needs to be broadly interpreted if managing these conflicts is to prove meaningful. The JVP, please take note.

What needs to be aimed at in the conflict areas under discussion is democratic development, which would ensure the dignity and empowerment of civilian publics. The latter should figure solidly in the search for political solutions which aim at democratic development. Indeed, it is primarily the people who should figure in ‘regime change’. Supporting repression would not serve this worthy aim.

Israeli arms fuel atrocities in Africa

The South Sudanese army, armed and trained by Israel, is committing systematic rights abuses, according to the UN.

Rania Khalek The Electronic Intifada 16 September 2015

Israeli weapons are fueling atrocities in South Sudan, according to a United Nations report that sheds new light on the secretive Israeli arms trade in Africa.

Authored by an investigative team assembled by the UN Security Council, the report cites photographic evidence of automatic rifles made by Israel Military Industries (IMI) being in the arsenal of South Sudan’s army and police. Known as Galil ACE, the guns have particularly been used by bodyguards of high-ranking politicians and by senior army officers.

Israeli Arms Fuel Atrocities in Africa by Thavam Ratna

Pakistan accuses India of killing three civilians in border shelling

An Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldier patrols near the fenced border with Pakistan in Suchetgarh, southwest of Jammu in this January 14, 2013 file picture.

MUZAFFARABAD, PAKISTAN-Thu Sep 17, 2015

Pakistan accused Indian troops of firing shells across the disputed border in Kashmir on Thursday and killing three civilians as tensions ran high in both countries just weeks after they called off high-level peace talks.

Frontier clashes have intensified in recent months and the latest violence will put more strain on ties between the nuclear-armed rivals.

Nazakat Hussain, an administration official in Nakyal near the Line of Control, a ceasefire line dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan, said shelling started at around five p.m. and was still continuing.

"It is intense and has caused the death of a 12-year-old girl, a 19-year-old boy and a 50-year-old man after mortar shells landed on their homes," Hussain said.

Officials said two people had been wounded and casualties could increase.

The two countries have fought three wars since independence, two over Kashmir, and relations chilled again after the election of the right-winger Narendra Modi as Indian prime minister last year.

Last month India called off peace talks with Pakistan, giving a jolt to renewed diplomatic efforts between the neighbours and adding to the troubles of Pakistan's government.

The move came barely three months after Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attended the inauguration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the pair shaking hands in a gesture that had raised hopes of warmer ties.

India has for years complained that Pakistan backs separatist militants who slip in from Pakistani-controlled Kashmir to stage attacks.

Pakistan says it only gives political support to the Muslim people of Kashmir, who it says face human rights abuses at the hands of Indian troops. India denies that.

(Reporting by Abu Arqam Naqash; Writing by Mehreen Zahra-Malik; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

Report: Crimea’s Tatars Targeted Since Russian Annexation

BY REID STANDISH-SEPTEMBER 17, 2015 

When Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to absorb Crimea into his country in March 2014, the move was justified as protecting the peninsula’s residents. Crimea’s return to Moscow, accordingto Putin and the supporters of annexation, would right a historical wrong and protect the territory’s citizens from an unstable Ukrainian government. But nearly 19 months later, a new report on the human rights situation in Crimea paints a grim picture of the region since coming under Russian rule.

The 100-page document released Thursday by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) chronicles the widespread targeting of individuals, media, and minority communities who have opposed the Kremlin’s narrative since annexation. “Fundamental freedoms of assembly, association, expression and movement have all been restricted by the de facto authorities in Crimea,” said Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

The targets of these restrictive measures have largely been the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar communities, many of whom refused to accept Russian citizenship following Crimea’s annexation or spoke out against the Kremlin’s landgrab. That placed them in the authorities’ crosshairs as Russia has consolidated its hold on the territory.

The report goes on to describe how the change from the Ukrainian legal system to one run by the Russians was used to deny broadcast licenses to media outlets, such as the T.V. station ATV, and closed organizations with ties to Kiev. This has left the peninsula’s Tatar population particularly exposed, putting “increasing pressure on the peaceful expression of both their culture and their political views,” according to the report.

Muslim Tatars compose about 12 percent of Crimea’s population. They largely opposed Russia’s takeover, mindful of their dark history with Moscow, including mass deportations under Soviet leader Josef Stalin during World War II.

Following Crimea’s annexation, leaders from the Tatar community denounced the move by Russia and staged protests in opposition. While most ethnic Russians did approve of the referendum, the Tatars’s stance dented the Kremlin’s narrative that it was following the will of the people.

In response, several Tatar publications have been closed or sent into exile, and two of the community’s leaders, Refat Chubarov and Mustafa Dzhemilev, have been banned from entering Crimea. Moreover, the Mejlis, the representative political body of Crimea’s Tatars, is under constant threat of being disbanded, with its headquarters currently impounded. The report adds that “through the justice system, the de facto authorities in Crimea have applied vague charges of extremism and separatism,” which has made it easier for Russian officials to target any remaining opposition.  

A month after annexation, Putin issued a decree on the rehabilitation of relations with the Crimean Tatars, giving their language equal status with Russian and Ukrainian as Moscow tried to woo the community. Over a year later, however, concrete progress has failed to materialize. The OSCE report notes that promised access to Crimean language education is still sparse and that land rights, an issue never resolved while Crimea was part of Ukraine, has persisted.

During a three-day visit to Crimea in August, Putin suggested that foreign countries were funding rights activists in an effort to “destabilize the situation” by playing up problems faced by Crimean Tatars. “You and I know full well who we are talking about. There are a number of people who consider themselves professional fighters for rights,” said the Russian president. “They want to receive foreign grants and acknowledgement and realize their ambitions, including political ambitions.”

Crimea was annexed following popular protests that ousted former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Feb. 22, 2014. Less than a week later, gunmen in unidentified green uniforms, who would later be revealed as Russian soldiers, occupied key buildings and airports in Crimea, paving the way for a secession referendum on joining Russia on March 16. Two days later, Putin signed a bill officially absorbing the peninsula into Russia.

SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images

Indian police investigate gang-rape of American tourist

Woman was visiting Dharamsala, home of Dalai Lama, when she was grabbed by two men and assaulted, as latest sexual violence case rocks country

The attack took place in Dharamsala, according to the 46-year-old American woman. Photograph: EyesWideOpen/Getty Images

Jason Burke in Delhi-Thursday 17 September 2015

An American tourist has told police she was gang-raped in northern India earlier this week, officials in the town of Dharamsala have said.

The 46-year-old Californian woman arrived in India about a month ago and had travelled alone to Dharamsala, the home of the Dalai Lama and a popular tourist destination 300 miles north of the capital, Delhi.

She had described walking through the town’s main market when two men grabbed hold of her. She then passed out but on regaining consciousness said she became aware that she had been raped by the pair. The alleged attack is the latest in a series that have targeted foreign women travelling in India, which is suffering a wave of sexual violence.

“She says that after waking up she realised that she had been assaulted ... and decided to approach us. We have registered a case of rape and are investigating,” Abishek Dullar, a police superintendent in Dharamsala, told the AFP news agency.

Earlier this month, three men were jailed for the rape of a 19-year-old Japanese woman in the city of Jaipur, in the western state of Rajasthan. They included a guide who had befriended the tourist then drugged and raped her.

Five men are currently facing trial for the rape of another Japanese tourist in the east of India earlier this year, one of several such cases reported to police in Kolkata. Six men are currently on trial accused of the gang-rape of a Danish tourist in Delhi last year.

Though officials stress that such cases are infrequent and that millions of visitors travel through India every year, the growing problem has hit tourism. The number of foreign tourists arriving in the country dropped by 25% during the first three months of 2013, largely because of fears about the risk of sexual assault,according to an industry survey.

The number of tourists has risen since but officials say incidents have an immediate impact, particularly in Delhi, a blackspot. Only a tiny minority of such crimes involve foreigners.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, incidents of rape in India havegone up tenfold in the past 40 years. From 1971 to 2012, recorded cases rose from just under 2,500 to almost 25,000. Activists say significantly fewer rapes are reported than in western nations due to the social stigma attached to being a rape victim in India.

More than 132,000 cases of sexual violence against women were reported in the country of 1.3 billion in 2014, according to official data.

The high-profile rape and murder of a 23 year old physiotherapist in Delhi in December 2012 prompted a fierce debate over the causes of the wave of violence. Suggestions ranged from too much fast-food and western influences to men influenced by ingrained cultural traditions resisting growing demands for independence from women.

The incident led to new legislation, introducing stiffer punishments for such crimes. Fast-track courts were also introduced and gender sensitisation courses organised for policemen.

The effects on the ground appear to be limited, however. Every week India’s media describe attacks on women across the country, often involving several men and frequently resulting in the death of the victim.

At the weekend, police in the northern Uttar Pradesh state arrested two menaccused of shooting dead women whom they had raped to stop them testifying.

Shortly after winning a landslide election victory in May last year, India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, called for zero tolerance of violence towards women.

Thailand pays lip service to corruption problems with new museum

Image via the Museum of Thai Corruption.

By Thitipol Panyalimpanun-Sep 17, 2015

On September 6, Thailand celebrated the National Anti-Corruption Day for the fifth time as the country proceeds with its national agenda against corruption, having two months ago passed a new anti-graft law, under which the maximum penalty is capital punishment.General Prayuth Chan-ocha presided the opening of the brand new, ‘first of its kind’ Museum of Thai Corruption earlier this month. The public responded with excitement  – but they don’t really need the museum.

In an interview with BK Magazine, Mana Nimitmongkol, the ACT’s secretary, suggested society should be reminded of the corrupt.

Thailand Pays Lip Service to Corruption Problems With New Museum by Thavam Ratna

Muslim schoolboy arrested after clock mistaken for bomb

WEDNESDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2015

Ahmed Mohamed, 14, was arrested and accused of making a bomb after bringing a homemade clock to his Texas school.

Ahmed Mohamed hoped to impress his teachers when he brought a homemade clock to school, but his work instead landed him in handcuffs and a juvenile detention centre.

Ahmed's engineering teacher said the clock was "really nice" but suggested that he not show the invention to others at MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas. But the clock beeped during an English class, alerting his English teacher, who then contacted the authorities.

Ahmed said that when questioned by police, he felt conscious of his brown skin and his name - one of those most common in the Muslim religion.Full story>>>