Posts

Showing posts from December 4, 2011

'Maoists get international supports'

Imphal, December 09 2011:  The proscribed UG group Maoists Communist Party, Manipur in a press statement today claimed that many international communist parties are supporting the ongoing Joint initiative by the party. The statement further claimed that one of the most powerful communist party, the Communist Party of Philippines (CPP) has recently extended its support to the initiative of the Manipur Maoists against the killing of Indian Maoists leader Kishenji by CRPF. Since its inception in the late 2009 and public appearance on August 10, 2011, the party has crossed many milestone in its movement. The International Committee of the party has been reporting the situation and status of the ongoing liberation movement to the various communist parties in the world. Association for Proletarian Solidarity, Italy (ASP), Communist Party of Philippines (CPP), Maoists Communist Party of France (MCPF), Partito Comunista maoista (PCm) Italia, Party of the Committees to Support Resistance for

Peace process will gain stability: PM Dr Bhattarai

LALITPUR: Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai has said it is certain that the peace process will get stability because of the environment of consensus that is emerging among the political parties of late. Addressing a special programme organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day here on Saturday, he said the process of constituting the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission on Enforced Disappearances, the main part of the peace process, has reached the final stages. Prime Minister Dr. Bhattarai said nobody would be benefited by licking the old wounds dating back to the conflict period and that both the commissions would be formed for building the environment for forging reconciliation. Stating the human rights could not be guaranteed due to the various activities that took place in the country, he pledged that the present government is committed to upholding the human rights, the press fr

1800 Christian and Hindu women enforcedly converted to Islam in Pakistan in 2011.

Islamabad; December 9, 2011. (PCP) The Asian Human Right Commission in a report issued on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011, declared that 161 individuals from religious minorities are arrested under blasphemy law and 1800 women from Christian and Hindu communities are kidnaped and enforcedly converted to Islam in Pakistan. The AHRC alleges that Pakistan has become dysfunctional in providing basic human rights to the people. Though the parliament exists it either cannot assert its constitutional duties or does not want to assert itself in the presence of the powerful military which is dominating both internal and external affairs. The Pakistani society and the government remain under the strong grip of the military which does not allow them to interfere in the affairs of the armed forces. Pakistan remains a highly militarized society where economic, political, foreign affairs and judicial policies are dictated by the armed forces. The laws f

Maoist rebels kidnap 7 workers in eastern India

Police say they have launched a rescue operation for seven road construction workers kidnapped by Maoist rebels in eastern  India . They say dozens of rebels seized the workers on Friday as they were building a bridge in Bihar state's southeastern Jamui district. Police official Puskar Anand said Saturday that the district's borders have been sealed and authorities believe the workers are being held in a remote jungle hide-out. Last week, the rebels killed 11 people and attacked police stations, railway lines and a school building. The government considers them to be the country's greatest internal security threat. The rebels are inspired by Chinese revolutionary Mao Zedong and have fought for decades for land and jobs for farmers and the poor. Source:  http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=1783469

A Hindu Thanksgiving prayer

A historical rooting of Thanksgiving tradition in the intersection of early European immigrants with erstwhile “Indians” notwithstanding, the newest Indian Americans --not those native to the Americas--embrace this weekend with the same gusto.  A time to give thanks for life’s bounties-- material and spiritual, and relish the bonds of family and friends over shared meals, Thanksgivings is a uniquely secular, non-sectarian and singularly American holiday that will put my family and millions of other on the road later today . A Hindu American family, mine will share a vegetarian meal rich with pastas, pumpkins and all of the traditional fixings--eschewing the gastronomically bland--much maligned tofurkey.  Most of us will head out to the gym--weekend warriors trotting out to battle--knowing that only a spirited basketball game will assuage the coming guilt of over-indulgence and gluttony.  There will be pumpkin pie and pecan pies after all!  Prayers of thanks will be shared, childr

One killed, two injured in bomb blast outside Karachi University

At least one person was killed and two others injured in a blast outside the Karachi University on Saturday. According to police, a powerful bomb planted with a tree outside the KU Silver Jubilee gate exploded as soon as a Rangers vehicle reached the scene. The Rangers vehicle was partially damaged but the driver managed to take away the vehicle. Dense clouds of smoke and dust were witnessed at the scene after the bomb blast. According to police officials, the blast was aimed to target Rangers personnel. A motorcyclist passing nearby the scene was killed and two other passers-by were injured as a result of the blast. The injured were shifted to hospital for treatment. Several vehicles present near the blast scene were damaged and windowpanes of surrounding houses were also smashed due to intensity of the blast. The bomb exploded at the place which usually remains congested especially when BA and BSc exams were being conducted in the city’s largest university. The bomb dis

The state of human rights in Asia on International Human Rights Day 2011

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 On the occasion of the annual International Human Rights Day, held on December 10, 2011, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is releasing reports on the human rights situations in ten Asian countries:  Bangladesh ,  Burma ,  India ,  Indonesia ,  Nepal , Pakistan ,  the Philippines ,  Thailand ,  South Korea  and  Sri Lanka . In 2011, the AHRC has witnessed the continuing widespread use of torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings by state agents, serious clampdowns on the freedom of expression, and attacks on human rights defenders. Furthermore, in some of the countries listed above, religious intolerance has led to suppression of religious freedoms and violence against religious minorities.  Failure of the justice institutions The reports, which are based on the AHRC's documentation of cases throughout the year, show that

Explosion hits mosque in Nigeria's oil region

LAGOS — An explosion damaged a mosque early Saturday in a town in Nigeria's southern oil rich Niger Delta, police and a government source said. "There was an incident in Sapele,... several persons were injured, but no deaths," a government official who asked not to be named told AFP. Delta State police spokesman Charles Muka dismissed the explosion as an "internal fire incident" and said only one person was wounded. "Only one person sustained injuries," said Muka. He could not ascertain how many worshippers were inside the mosque at the time of the blast. "It was not a bomb, we suspect an internal fire. There is no trace of a bomb blast," he said. Source:  http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h7kMPK4HfhwDfSGH_GNJ4fblhRZw?docId=CNG.4df034a80725d0c44da18538105d6420.9c1

2 killed, 16 injured in Afghanistan blast

Image
A file photo of the aftermath of a bomb attack in Afghanistan An explosion has rocked the city of Konduz in northern Afghanistan, killing at least two people and wounding 16 others, an Afghan police spokesman says. The deadly incident occurred on Saturday when a bicycle bomb went off in Konduz city center, said Sayed Sarwar Hosseini, the spokesman for the Kunduz police chief.  Former member of Afghanistan peace council Sher Mohammad Arab was one of those killed in the blast, Reuters cited the spokesman as saying.  Violence continues across Afghanistan despite the presence of nearly 150,000 US-led foreign troops there.  In a latest incident, a powerful explosion targeted a mosque in the Ghaziabad district of the northeastern province of Kunar after Friday Prayers. The blast killed at least six people, including a police chief, an intelligence officer and two other security officials.  Earlier on Wednesday, a roadside bomb hit a mini-van carrying Afghan civil

It seems US has some serious commitment to Armenian diaspora – Novruz Mamamdov

"It seems the United States has an unnatural love for Armenia. Head of the foreign relation department at the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Novruz Mammadov has commented on recent remarks made by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton which contained biased criticism towards Azerbaijan.   "It's quite interesting statement. I would say it is interesting for several reasons. Firstly, I note that discussions on human rights, of course, are very important in today's world. “And the desire to protect those rights is quite normal. However, are human rights divided into different categories according to their significance?" Mammadov said and noted that the US ignores the violation of rights of almost one million Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons, victims of Armenian aggression. In her statement on occasion of 9 December which marks International Day of Human Rights, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking about v

13 killed in militant attack in Yemen

A Yemeni military official says al-Qaida-linked militants have attacked a military barracks in an embattled southern town, leaving two soldiers and 11 militants dead. The official said Saturday that another 36 soldiers were injured in the base in Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province. He says that the fighting began Friday night and continued into the morning. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. Militants and the army have fought for control of Zinjibar since May. A 10-month-old uprising against authoritarian President Ali Abdullah Saleh has caused a breakdown of authority throughout the country. Source:  http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2704047.ece

The Human Rights Struggle in Our Backyard

Tomorrow is Human Rights Day, a time to commemorate those around the world who defend and promote human rights. It’s also a time to honor those whose lives have been uprooted and sacrificed as a result of war, ethnic or sectarian conflict, oppressive regimes, failed states, genocide and other atrocities. In the wake of World War II, the international community gathered in solidarity and vowed never to allow the atrocities of that conflict – events that left over 60 million dead and over 40 million displaced in Europe – to happen again. On December 10, 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was born out of that vow and outlined a framework based on the “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family.” Also born out of that vow was the 1951 U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. It established a framework for the protection of persons fleeing pe

Iranian Rights Activists Criticize Tehran's Satellite Jamming

Two prominent Iranian human rights activists are calling on the European Union and United States to take action against European satellite companies who host Iranian state programming. Nobel Peace Prize winner and human-rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi and the director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran Hadi Ghaemi made the comments on Friday in an opinion article in the Wall Street Journal Europe. Ebadi and Ghaemi criticize satellite companies, Eutelsat and Arqiva, for broadcasting the "libelous programs" of the Iranian government, while allowing Tehran to jam U.S. and European broadcasting into Iran via the same companies' satellites. Ghaemi spoke to VOA's Persian News Network on Friday, saying Iran uses its state-run media outlets to defame anyone who speaks out against the state. "The Iranian radio and television actually work very closely with the intelligence and security forces to the point that we have many testimonies of former deta

Germany: Police Training Key to Curbing Hate Violence

German law enforcement authorities need better training to effectively identify, investigate, and prosecute racist, homophobic, and other hate violence. (Berlin) - German law enforcement authorities need better training to effectively identify, investigate, and prosecute racist, homophobic, and other hate violence, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today. The 21-page briefing paper analyzes the criminal justice system's response to hate violence in six German states. It concludes that despite improvements in the criminal justice system response to hate violence in recent years, there are gaps, with attacks sometimes not investigated adequately or prosecuted as though they were ordinary crimes. Germany's approach to hate violence is under the spotlight following recent revelations about the failure of German authorities to adequately investigate a neo-Nazi gang implicated in the murder of nine migrants and a policewoman during a 13-year crime spree. &quo