Thursday, March 10, 2016

Nationalism, National Anthem and the Constitution

by N. A. de S. Amaratunga

( March 10, 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) One must understand what is meant by nationalism before one could understand the association between nationalism, the National Anthem and the Constitution. Nationalism is not racist; it is neither aggressive nor oppressive, on the contrary it is defensive and protective. It arises in the hearts of people who had built a civilization on the land that belongs to them and who would fight at the cost of their lives to protect it and defend it against all attempts to destroy, subjugate or dilute it. The important components of such a civilization would be the language, the religion, the culture and of course the land. Nationalism resides in the hearts of the people as the civilisational consciousness, and would come to the surface whenever their country is in peril.

The history of this country is the history of this consciousness, the history of the struggle of its people to protect their country, religion and language, their struggle against invasions from South India, Europe and the terror of Tamil separatists. At present the threat is as bad as ever with all of the three forces mentioned above joined in a major effort to destroy the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of our country. Each of the three forces mentioned above stand to gain by such action in different ways and are therefore working in conjunction. As in the past, it is the nationalism, the civilisational consciousness that has the strength to stand against this threat.

This nationalism by no means is anti minority, anti-Tamil or anti-Muslim. In fact, it would protect them whenever the need arises as has happened in the past. Sinhala kings have given protection to Muslims and Catholics when they were harassed by Portuguese and Christians respectively. The Tamils were looked after by the Sinhalese when they were subjected to attacks by goons of politicians. If this nationalism is discriminatory, the tremendous development seen in the North and the East would not have happened. In the year 2014, the household income in the district of Vavuniya was better than that in Kandy. Students in the North had recorded the best results at the GCE A Level exam. 65% had electricity. Roads were better than those in some parts of Kandy. Unemployment figures in the North and the East were comparable to the rest of the country. All this achievement would not have been possible if Sinhala nationalism had been discriminatory or racist. These achievements were gained during the time of the previous government, which is often castigated as racist. The Sinhalese had sacrificed a lot to make this possible, for, if the LTTE had not been defeated this development would not have been possible.

Therefore, Sinhala Nationalism is important not only for the Sinhalese but for everybody who inhabits this land. If it is destroyed, subjugated or diluted the country as a whole would suffer, may come under the yoke of foreign powers, we could be a subject nation once again and our country may even be divided.

There would be no peace, no reconciliation, no economic development and our resources would be exploited by foreign powers. This is what the western powers want to do in this country and we would be playing into their hands if we collude with them in any way. Our government seems to be doing just that. They have co-sponsored a UN resolution designed to erode into our sovereignty and independence and have agreed to do almost everything they want us to do, in the area of security, economy, judiciary, police, constitution, devolution of political power etc. It is nationalism that could stand against this onslaught and protect everybody who lives in this country.

The National Anthem is a symbol of this nationalism, and those with ulterior motives who want to dilute and destroy it would attack the symbols and make them meaningless. Thus, it was sung in Tamil at the last National Day Celebrations. The government is obliged to do the bidding of the western powers and also placate the separatists who are in cahoots with the west. To cover up their servile attitude to the West, the government likes to claim that they have established friendly relations with all the countries in the world. Prof. Carlo Fonseka says Belgium is a unitary state, but its national anthem is sung in two languages (The Island – 04.03.2016). This is not correct. Belgium was made a federal state in 1993.

Before that it existed as two language states. Their national anthem was sung in the language of the State in which it happened to be sung, and not in both languages at the same time. Belgium is in danger of being soon partitioned. Sri Lanka seems to have entered the path that Belgium followed step by step.

The Constitution of a country must be designed to safeguard its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. A constitution which does not give due regard to the fact that nationalism and civilisational consciousness is essential for the protection of independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity is not worth its salt, and could only pave the way for dominance and subjugation of the country by foreign powers. The symbols of this nationalism are clearly defined in the Constitution of all countries which have a written constitution and one important symbol is the national anthem. This symbol must be very important to deserve mention in the Constitution. To sing it in any language other than Sinhala is a violation of the Constitution, and what is worse it is a weakening of the protective function of the country’s nationalism.

Stop the blame game; think of the future

2016-03-11

Some reflections on Latheef Farooq’s thoughts My mind started debating with itself after reading the thought provoking piece by our senior and most respected colleague Latheef Farooq that referred in detail to my previous column in the Daily Mirror on the harmony between Sinhala Buddhists and Muslims.

In fact two particular recent incidents, specifically from the Sinhala Buddhist side, prompted me to add these thoughts to the deliberation with Mr. Latheef.

Before getting into those two incidents let me comment on some particular points of Mr. Latheef. He has correctly detailed the historical background to the issue, but should we repeat this over and over again? We are very well aware of the fact that the racist political leaders are responsible for the ethno-religious tension in this country that galvanised into a fully-fledged war between two ethnic communities (Though someone could argue otherwise claiming that it was not an ethnic war, my explanation would be totally different).

I honestly think that we should stop this blame game and strategically think of the future searching for ways and means to rectify the situation since continuation of these accusations would not bring any result, rather deepen the mistrust through an unpleasant debate. Of course, we should not forget it as the lessons from the past should be the foundation for future.

I mostly like his critical analysis on the role of the religious leaders. The two incidents that I was referring to were, in fact, the role of these religious representatives who had immense power in shaping the minds of their blind followers. These two incidents depict two different aspects of the Sinhala Buddhist mindset on ethnic reconciliation.

One incident happened in the historic university of Nalanda in the State of Bihar in India early this week when a group of Sri Lankan Buddhists visited the site.

A Sri Lankan Buddhist monk, who was residing in that area was explaining the historical value of the former educational cum monastery complex, but slowly crossed the limit and started stereotype rhetoric against the Muslims referring to the devastating attack by the Turkish leader Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193 that caused a major setback to Buddhism in India.

While alarming the Sinhala Buddhist listeners about alleged threats from the ‘over-populated’ Muslims, the monk was referring to a series of doctored statistics, which were far beyond reality. The Sinhalese will soon become a minority in Sri Lanka, he warned them with some hypothetical numbers. The usual rhetoric against Muslim businesses was repeated requesting them not to step into those shops.

See more>>>

Allow Kumar Gunaratnam an opportunity to apply for ‘dual citizenship’

( March 10, 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) When thousands have been given dual citizenship, why is Kumar being denied dual citizenship? AG’s role in ‘most talk about Political Prisoner’

Executive Director of the Sri Lanka Centre for Human Rights and Research, Keerthi Tennakoon issuing a statement said that the Government needed to take urgent action to grant Kumar Gunaratnam the opportunity to apply for dual citizenship.

Kumar Gunaratnam, a leader of the Frontline Socialist Party, has presently been remanded at the Kegalle remand Prison for over 100 days. In an unprecedented fashion, virtually unheard of and hitherto unseen in other parts of the world, he has been detained for a lengthy period for a violation of the immigration and emigration law.

It is not an immigration and emigration law related issue that is there in relation to Kumar Gunaratnam but a political problem. This issue can be solved through the intervention of the political leadership.

At present and as of now, the new Government has granted dual citizenship to approximately 4,000 persons or either has completed the basic aspects necessary to give dual citizenship to these persons. Thousands of Sri Lankans are being granted dual citizenship. Only Gunaratnam is being denied this.

The crisis surrounding Gunaratnam is dragging on because the Attorney General’s Department is blocking opportunities for Gunaratnam to apply for the dual citizenship status.

Aside to the group detained under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the political prisoner who is at present in the most vulnerable situation is Kumar Gunaratnam. The country gains nothing by continuing to keep him in remand custody. The Government must take a creative approach to solve this crisis. There cannot be a legal solution to a problem which requires a political solution.

Both the President and the Prime Minister repeatedly told the people of the country prior to the election that all people of the land will be given political freedom. Yet, except for Kumar Gunaratnam, many have received political freedom. The Sri Lanka Centre for Human Rights and Research is of the firm conviction that this situation must be immediately rectified.

(letter by AG )

“Whole-Some Agriculture” For A “Toxin-Free Nation” ?

By Chandre Dharmawardana –March 10, 2016

Prof. Chandre Dharmawardana

The President unveiled a three-year program put forward by the agriculture minister, promising a “toxin free nation” based on ”wholesome agriculture”. The minsters as well as Ven. Athuraliye Ratana are acting with what they believe are the best interests of the people. That “modern agriculture” is responsible for an alleged deterioration of public health is a common belief among the more affluent “concerned individuals” all over the world, and not just in Sri Lanka. This is often coupled with proposals to return to “traditional ways” of doing things, and opposing genetically modified foods “at all costs”!

What are the most important toxins consumed by the public? The very day that the “Toxin-free nation” was heralded, a newspaper reports that “Mountain-Dew” has been approved for Sri Lanka. We already have Coke, Pepsi, etc., and local carbonated drinks, all containing at least five table spoons of sugar per cup! They contain high amounts of phosphates and other additives. Sugar is a major toxin that causes innumerable illnesses like diabetes, cardio-vascular diseases, cancer, allergies etc. But no one is ready to ban sugar. It is “traditional” to consume whole-fat buffalo curd and palm “treacle” and other “traditional” Sri Lankan deserts based on treacle. In ancient times, ordinary people lived at subsistence level and ate rich food rarely. Thus corpulence and a big belly, known as a “ping bandiya” were signs of aristocratic bearing and high status!

Another class of ubiquitous toxins is spewed all over the country by diesel and motor engines and even by kerosene cookers. These are class-I carcinogens in the World Health Organization list, i.e., they definitely cause cancer. These toxins accumulate in the fatty layers of the body and cause chronic diseases. But we use the largest fraction of the national income to import these toxins and vehicles, instead of using electric vehicles and trains. We are even going to use coal-fired power in this “toxin-free nation” and please the Indians who sell coal!

(Lanka-e-News - 10.March.2016, 8.30PM) Failure to explain how a colossal amount of black money was collected had necessitated the FCID to file action against Namal Rajapakse (son of ex president Mahinda Rajapakse) and seven accomplices of his in the Colombo magistrate court.

Action was filed under the money laundering Act against Namal Rajapakse and his accomplices in connection with the purchase of Gowers Corporation Pvt. Ltd. for Rs. 125 million by Namal Rajapakse, which provides services to Air Lanka .

The Colombo additional magistrate Nishantha Peiris who issued an order to freeze four accounts of the Company maintained in banks and financial Institutions also imposed a ban on foreign travel on all the suspects except Namal Rajapakse.

Dr. Ashru Marasinghe who recently disclosed the amount of official income of the Rajapakse family said, Namal Rajapakse M.P. who was not engaged in any other business , had collected only his monthly salary for 61 months , and his total salary during that period is Rs. 4,104,385/- only. Hence, how did such an income earner Namal Rajapakse buy a Company for Rs. 125 million? he questioned.

---------------------------
by (2016-03-10 16:02:02)

Sri Lanka: Report on alleged attempt to suspend Presidential results, submitted to AG

( March 10, 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The report on the alleged attempt to suspend the Presidential election results of 2015 had been submitted to the Attorney General and we are awaiting his response to take further action, Minister of Law and Order and Southern Development Sagala Ratnayake said in Parliament, yesterday ( March 9. 2016).

Responding to an oral question raised by UPFA MP Udaya Gammanpila, the Minister said the report on the investigations being carried out by the CID into this incident, had already been forwarded to the Attorney General. The process was delayed due to the delay caused by the previous Attorney General.

24,000 underage pregnant mothers every year

Mar 10, 2016
The health ministry has revealed that every year 24000 number of underage mothers found in Sri Lanka. Psychiatric unit directress of the health, nutritious and indigenous medicine Chithramalie De Silva revealed this today 10th joining for a media discussion under the theme “Violence and woman’s mental health

She said 6% of the age between 15 and 24 has borne with suicide idea, 15000 abortions are taking place annually and in 2013 fifty pregnant mothers have been suicide. She said women have been inflicted with severe mental pressure due to poverty, malnutrition, domestic violence, stress and physical changes.

She said an island wide program has been started for women raising awareness about mental health. 22 hospitals around the country have created “Mithuru Piyasa” centers and all women who are encountered violence can obtain service.

Towards A World Free From Chronic Kidney Diseases

By Sarath Wijesinghe –March 10, 2016

Sarath Wijesinghe

World Kidney Day on 10th of March

Events and projects on awareness on kidney related complications are organized worldwide on “WORLD KIDNEY DAY” voluntarily to educate fellow citizens how to safeguard this amazing and complicated vital organ in a human body in the interest of the present and future generations due to the importance of kidneys which has the impact and connected to problems such as Diabetes, Hypotension, Kidney Failure, Blindness and other related complications. Proper precautionary measures will minimize kidney related diseases while having short and long term affects and individual family disasters. It is a precious organ in the human body making urine, remove excess water, control body chemicals, /toxins, controls blood pressure, keep bones healthy, help make red blood, controls mineral potassium, blood for long and healthy life kidney is as important as acidity and many other factors for a healthy life. Kidney is as important as the heart that pumps blood for the body to function. Many external an internal factors are responsible for the damages caused by the kidneys leading to kidney failures which was somewhat rare in the past. Today it has become dangerously high due to imbalanced food habits, water, leading artificial life against nature, excessive intake of chemicals external articles and many other factors causing short and long term dangerous to this vital organs Sri Lanka is the most recent victim of this disastrous epidemic due to chemicals and other undetected and unidentified causes researched worldwide . It is the duty of the human being to take precautions for the maintenance and safety of the precious Kidney pressured due to excessive use of chemicals, external articles and many other factors causing short and long term damages to this vital organ. Sri Lanka is the most recent victim of this disastrous epidemic.

Kidney Diseases in the Word and in Sri Lanka

Due to the rapidity of the increase of the kidney diseases governments and non-governmental organizations have set up foundations, advisory centres and worldwide network on educating the citizens on safety and preventive measures. Medical researchers have found the main causes of Kidney diseases to be due to Diabetes, Blood Pressure, Hypotension, Chemicals, Food Pattern and many connected factors. Diabetes is spreading fast worldwide including Sri Lanka with the increase of Kidney patients. About 10% of the world population is affected by Chronic Kidney Diseases (CKD) with 6% Asian diabetic patients and death of 1.5 million citizens per year worldwide. There are 400,000 sickened kidney Patients and 4 million diabetic patients in Sri Lanka out of 21 million. 382 million diabetic patients in the world will rise to 592 million in 2035 which is a frightening health risk for the future population.

(Lanka-e-News - 10.March.2016, 8.40PM) After reading the news report of Lanka e news ,“in much the same way as the Universities of Sri Lanka (SL) must be freed from the grip of the politicians ,so the Universities cannot be the property of each and every Don of the University ,” I thought of writing this column:

Sri Lankan public University problems deeper than your analysis: You need to sack all fake profs and follow international criteria to appoint them: In order to be a real international professor your PhD from world top 100 University, minimum 20 articles in ISI/SCOPUS indexed journals, 10 text books with international publishers and three countries have to appoint you as a Visiting professor. But all these Sri Lankan Professors are jokers and more than 40% University Lecturers are relatives to each others and they give degrees to each other (Husband gives PhD to wife and girlfriend/mistress getting PG degree, sons, daughter and son-in law and daughter- in-law).

President Maithree clean University system and sack fake professors and University mafia system. Some Dept are family trees. Colombo University Arts faculty Economics Dept is a good example. We well know how they recruits and promoted in University Mafia.

First find a person and then advertise according to his/her requirement and send aboard for their friends’ places for PhDs. Go beyond Sri Lankan airport and see International job market. Even in Middle East job market, without PhD from accredited Western University you cannot become even Assistant Lecturer. But in Sri Lanka more than 80% professors do not have PhD.

The countries they (University teachers) go to do higher studies, no person is going to studies: China, Malaysia, Thailand and India now many are doing PhDs locally in their own work places or under friends and lovers. See Colombo University Economics Dept all the recruitment done in outdoor connections and son and his friends also got as lecturers. Even PhD applications outright they rejected at Dept level and only interview called for friends. This happen in all Universities.

See Colombo University Economics Dept all the recruitment done in outdoor connections:

Sirimal Abeyrathne gave Lecturership because he drew diagrams for Famous robber WD Lakshman’s Economics book and later he was given many Scholarships because Sirimal wife has to cook for WD Lakshman’s son who studies in Netherland. Sirimal could not get PhD from Economics dept but finally he was given PhD from Sociology Dept by Lakshmnan’s friends in Free University. Can a person become professor in Economic Dept with Sociology PhD?

Rev. Wimalarathne has second lower but gave Lecturership because Head Economics wife working as teacher in this Rev. Sunday School.

Ranjith Bandra(No.1 robber and rapists) gave Lecturership as a dowry for marring Lakshman’s friend’s daughter.

WD Lakshman’s Son and his many friends gave Lectureship in this dept.

In this way all the recruitment done in wrong way in this Dept

In the report of Lanka e news it was stated “ like how the Universities of SL must be freed from the grip of politicians, so it should not be allowed to be the property of the University Dons .”Indeed this problem has now sunk deeper than what was revealed in the LeN report.

By a patriotic scholar
(open for debate)

---------------------------
by (2016-03-10 16:25:11)

Thilina Gamage to be arrested today

Mar 10, 2016

Colombo additional magistrate Thilina Gamage is to be arrested today (10), reports say. That is for having kept baby elephants illegally.

The CID has obtained permission from the Judicial Services Commission to arrest him, according to reports. Since Gamage is a magistrate, the CID should obtain permission from the JSC to arrest him.

There has been talk that Gamage would be arrested, and he filed a FR petition against it, but, the Supreme Court dismissed it.

Meanwhile, Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera, arrested for having kept a baby elephant illegally, was ordered remanded until March 17 by Colombo additional magistrate Nishantha Peiris yesterday.

Video: “Let him die” say Israelis as Palestinian boy lays bleeding

Relations of Ahmad Yousef Amer, 16, mourn during the youth’s funeral in the West Bank village of Masha after he was shot dead by Israeli forces, 9 March.Nedal EshtayahAPA images

Quds published a montage of photos of four Palestinians killed during alleged attacks this week; clockwise from the upper left corner, the image shows Fuad Abu Rajab, Bashar Masalha, Fadwa Abu Teir and Abd al-Rahman Radad:

Warning: this article includes video showing very graphic violence.

Maureen Clare Murphy-10 March 2016

Graphic video shows a gravely injured Palestinian lying on the floor of a liquor store, apparently struggling to breathe, as Israelis curse him and call for him to die on Tuesday.

“Die, you fucker, die, you son of a whore,” a man not seen in the video says in Hebrew. The wounded Palestinian is also called homophobic epithets.

“Don’t call an ambulance, let him die,” the same man says.

The Palestinian, who died of his injuries, was identified as Abd al-Rahman Radad, 17, from al-Zawiya village near the occupied West Bank town of Salfit.

An Israeli police spokesperson told media that the youth was shot dead by police after he allegedly stabbed and wounded a Jewish Israeli man near Petah Tikva, a city in Israel.

Radad is one of several Palestinians who have been killed in recent days during alleged attacks on Israelis in which an American tourist was slain and several others wounded.

Another boy was shot dead by Israeli forces on Wednesday at a military checkpoint outside al-Zawiya, which was blockaded by the military late Tuesday after the alleged attack in Petah Tikva.

An army spokesperson told the Ma’an News Agency that an “assailant armed with a knife” approached the checkpoint and Israeli forces “thwarted” the attack by shooting the Palestinian dead. No Israelis were injured during the incident.

“Locals said that Israeli soldiers shot and wounded a second Palestinian during the deadly encounter, although the army spokesperson had no information about a second Palestinian being shot during the incident,” Ma’an reported.

Ma’an was told by a local official that both Palestinians were left bleeding while Palestinian emergency medics were prevented from reaching them.

The fatally wounded Palestinian was identified as 16-year-old Ahmad Yousef Amer from the nearby village of Masha.

In a note reportedly left by Amer, the youth bid farewell to his parents and asks them for forgiveness.

A photo of Amer circulated on social media after his slaying:

South Sudan journalist kidnapped and tortured

Reporter who criticised goverment is attacked soon after being released from detention by security services as media crackdown intensifies

South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, who announced last year that journalists who report “against the country” would be targeted. Photograph: Charles Atiki Lomodong/AFP/Getty Images

Thursday 10 March 2016

A South Sudanese journalist has been abducted, tortured, burned and dumped near a graveyard, according to local media reports, in the latest attack on the media in the country.

The assault on Joseph Afandy came as he recovered from being held for two months in detention without charge by security forces, after criticising the government’s handling of a two-year civil war.

Afandy, who was reportedly kidnapped on Friday by unknown men in a white vehicle with tinted windows, phoned for help after he was dumped near the graveyard.

“We found him in a bad condition - beaten and burned in his legs,” colleague Ibrahim Awuol told Juba’s Eye Radio on Tuesday.

The journalist is now recovering in hospital.

“We call on authorities to credibly investigate this horrible crime against our colleague, Joseph Afandy, to hold the perpetrators to account, and to ensure the journalist’s safety,” said Robert Mahoney of the Committee to Protect Journalists CPJ’s deputy executive director. “No one should have to endure what this young man has survived.”

Rights groups have accused the security forces of cracking down on journalists, stifling debate on how to end a civil war in which tens of thousands of people have been killed since December 2013.

Seven journalists were killed last year while covering the conflict. Some were caught up in the fighting but a reporter was shot in August in an apparently targeted attack. Peter Julius Moi was killed days after president Salva Kiir announced that journalists who reported “against the country” would be targeted.

Journalist George Livio, who worked for the UN-backed Radio Miraya in the town of Wau, has been in detention since being arrested in August 2014.

Reporters in Juba have described an Orwellian atmosphere in the country, saying only good news about the government is tolerated.

“It is very hard to maintain any level of professional standards here,” said a radio reporter who asked to remain anonymous. “We are only allowed to report about the positives without pointing out weaknesses or what needs to be corrected.”

Reporters Without Borders ranks South Sudan as 125th out of 180 countries in its2015 world press freedom index.

• This article was amended on 10 March 2016 to clarify the meaning of the final sentence.

A right-wing party in Germany hopes to capitalize on anti-migrant anger

German Chancellor Angela Merkel waves at a campaign rally as she receives applause from Julia Klöckner, the Christian Democratic Union party’s top candidate for in a state election Sunday. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)

By Anthony Faiola-March 10

BERLIN — In a new German political ad, a young woman in a dimly lit underground crossing gazes directly into the camera. She flashes a concerned look, then references the series of sexual assaults in the city of Cologne allegedly committed by migrants on New Year’s Eve.

“I want to feel carefree and safe when I go out,” the woman says in the spot. Afterward, a voice demands the deportation of criminal migrants .

Sponsored by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ahead of key local elections this Sunday, the ad is heralding the rise of a new brand of

right-wing populism in this nation still haunted by its Nazi past.

Polling as high as 18 percent in one of the three states where voters are heading to the ballot box this weekend, the three-year-old AfD is catching on as never before. It has done that in part by turning Sunday’s vote into a referendum on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door policy for asylum seekers.

After largely wallowing on the fringes of German politics, the party could leverage a strong showing this weekend, emerging as a significant new political force here — this despite harsh statements by its leaders deemed outrageous by German political elites and seen by some observers as downright Donald Trumpesque.

[Think Merkel isn’t in trouble? Look at these charts.]

In recent weeks, the AfD’s chairwoman, Frauke Petry, went as far as openly suggesting that police officers could, as a last resort, open fire on asylum seekers trying to cross German borders. Later, a senior AfD politician, Beatrix von Storch, seemed to suggest that police could even fire upon women and children illegally crossing the border.

Von Storch later backtracked. But this is still heady stuff in a country that, given its past, had largely resisted the trend toward extremist politics that is sweeping both sides of the Atlantic. Right-wing parties with authoritarian bents now hold sway in Hungary and Poland. And in recent elections in Slovakia, a group of black-clad, storm-trooping, right-wing militants entered the national parliament.

Should the AfD live up to prognostications, experts say, it would mark the best result for right-wing populists in Germany since the 1960s, when economic hard times allowed the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) to gain a foothold.

Rather than chalking up the AfD’s success to the same neo-Nazi sympathies that helped fuel the NPD, however, experts instead see a reflection of the voter disenchantment that is sweeping the West.

“It’s a similar phenomenon as Trump,” said Heinrich Oberreuter, political scientist at the University of Passau. “People are angry at the political establishment, and they feel they are not being taken seriously. Political elites are the targets. Alternative for Germany is an expression, an articulation of this imprecise feeling of dissent.”

Initially founded in 2013 as a party opposed to German-backed Greek bailouts and the euro, the AfD has morphed in the years since, finding a new reason for being as more than 1 million migrants arrived in Germany last year.

Many in the party insist it is wrong to speak of it in the same breath as the NPD, calling themselves an amalgamation of concerned citizens and former Merkel supporters who feel betrayed. Officially, the party’s platform is far more tempered than the NPD’s. While it says Syrian and Iraqi refugees should be housed in Middle Eastern nations, it officially states that the ones already here who are genuinely fleeing war should be granted temporary protection. It even says immigrants who “want to integrate” are acceptable.

“They are a mix of rather moderate conservatives and people more to the right, with some members flirting with being even further right,” said Jürgen Falter, professor of political science at Mainz University. “But together, they are no further to the right than the tea party.”

[German chancellor pledges crackdown on criminal asylum seekers]

Still, its unofficial stance — as suggested in campaign materials — is markedly more populist.

“Unrestrained mass immigration is threatening our modest wealth and our domestic peace,” reads an AfD election pamphlet distributed in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. Apparently referencing the Nazi era, it also argues in favor of German pride: “A one-sided focus on twelve unlucky years of our history obstructs our view of centuries, in which a unique culture and state order was created.”

Late polling suggests the chancellor’s Christian Democratic Union is poised for net losses in the three states voting on Sunday. Although the voting is for state parliaments, the outcome has national implications — affecting the makeup of the German Bundesrat, which effectively functions as the country’s second legislative chamber.

Should Merkel’s party truly go down in flames in a manner not yet forecast, she could yet face rising pressure to step aside in the coming months. But most observers are predicting milder losses as the popularity of Merkel — whose poll numbers had fallen sharply during the refugee crisis — appears to be staging a comeback following an impressive TV interview last week.

And yet, this Sunday could, experts say, give the AfD a seat at the table in German politics even as it continues poaching disenfranchised voters from the mainstream right and left. That prospect is alarming its critics — including Merkel.

“The AfD is a party that doesn’t unite society and that doesn’t offer appropriate solutions for the problems but one that stokes prejudice and divides,” Merkel told the German news outlet Bild last week.

Tear Gas and Throwing Water at the PM: Just Another Day in Kosovo’s Parliament

BY MEGAN ALPERT-MARCH 10, 2016
Just how bad are things in Kosovo’s government? Members of parliament now keep gas masks on hand for inevitable occasions when opposition party lawmakers release tear gas into the chamber. The latest incident came Thursday, when a tear gas attack shut down an unfazed parliament for a mere half hour.

Tensions have been running high in Kosovo’s legislature over a planned deal with Montenegro to change the border between the two countries. Opposition lawmakers claim the border change would benefit only Montenegro. They are also frustrated by a plan to expand local power to Kosovo’s Serbian minority, which makes up about 4 percent of the population. Kosovo gained independence from Serbia in 2008.

In December, Kosovo’s Constitutional Court ruled part of the deal with Serbia unconstitutional, and opposition lawmakers repeatedly have demanded the current government step down. Both of those factors fueled Thursday’s outbursts, and tensions have only been exacerbated by the fact that 60 percent of young people and 35 percent of the general population areunemployed.

Besides Thursday, lawmakers have disrupted proceedings eight times since September, including by throwing water bottles and blowing whistles to prevent debate. One of these incidents attempted to block February’s presidential election, which was decided by parliament.

On Thursday, lawmakers reacted to the plumes of gas almost as if they were in the middle of a routine fire drill. One calmly drank a cup of water. Others stood and put on their gas masks or began moving slowly toward the chamber doors.
These outbursts aren’t limited to the government. In early January, civilian protesters angry about the deal with Serbia set fire to government headquarters in Pristina.

“Today we showed the government that we are at war, and war is what we shall see,” a masked protester told Vice News at the time.

Photo credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images

Indian reforms aim to unlock $40 billion of oil and gas output

A technician works inside the Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) group gathering station on the outskirts of the western Indian city of Ahmedabad March 2, 2012. REUTERS/Amit Dave

BY NIDHI VERMA AND PROMIT MUKHERJEE-Thu Mar 10, 2016

India said on Thursday it hoped to unlock gas and oil resources worth almost $40 billion by simplifying licensing rules and offering price incentives to recover gas from difficult offshore fields.

Energy demand in India far outstrips consumption, but regulated low prices for gas from prolific but challenging deepwater fields have deterred investment in the sector.

Under the reforms, companies will have more freedom to set the price of gas from new discoveries and existing finds not yet in production. But they will be subject to a ceiling price set according to the landed price of alternatives such as fuel oil, naphtha, coal and liquefied natural gas, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told a news conference. The ceiling price would be reviewed every six months. (bit.ly/1SBTo7v)

This will help boost gas output by at least 35 million cubic meters a day (mmscmd) for 15 years, equivalent to a total of 6.75 trillion cubic feet over that period, Pradhan said. India's current gas production is about 90 mmscmd.

The move will benefit companies like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, the country's top explorer, and Gujarat State Petroleum Corp, a government-run firm in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ONGC said last month it wanted higher gas prices before it starts production from its east coast deepwater block.

Reliance Industries, currently in a legal battle with the government over gas pricing, will have to either withdraw its case or wait for it to conclude before it can benefit from the new rules.

An oil ministry official said there would be no immediate output increase as production from these difficult fields would take at least three years to come on stream.

India, which imports two-third of its oil needs, will also offer a common exploration license for different hydrocarbons like oil, natural gas, shale oil and gas and coal bed methane, in order to more quickly tap its vast resources.(bit.ly/1TNXyuq)

Pradhan said the new proposal would help reduce government intervention and could boost foreign investment in Indian oil and gas when global oil prices recover.

India has also decided to extend the exploration licenses of 28 discovered oil and gas fields, awarded mainly to ONGC and Oil India, without bidding.

The cabinet granted control of the western offshore Ratna and R-Series oil and gas fields to ONGC. The fields stopped production in 1996, when they were awarded to the Essar Group controlled by India's billionaire Ruia brothers.

"Resource worth 2.61 trillion rupees ($38.92 billion) will be brought to production as a result of today's decision," Pradhan said.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma in NEW DELHI and Promit Mukherjee in Mumbai; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)