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Showing posts from February 19, 2012

Peru: Captured Shining Path leader accepts responsibility for over 100 deaths

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Captured Shining Path leader Florindo Flores Hala aka Comrade Artemio (Photo:Andina) On Thursday, captured Shining Path leader Florindo Flores Hala aka Comrade Artemio, accepted responsibility for the death of 56 soldiers, 43 policemen and 32 civilians. According to El Comercio, Artemio acknowledged his responsibility after prosecutor Marco Guzman read him the 27 police reports against him. The reports date as far back as 1989, and as late as last year. "I accept everything," Artemio said, according to El Comercio. "I accept the facts as chief of the Huallaga Regional Committee. What you have read are facts of war." When asked why he had ordered the killing of civilians, Artemio said they had been traitors. "They weren’t ordinary civilians. They were informers, collaborators of the security forces, traitors to the [Shining Path] party, criminals who extorted others using the name of our organization, common criminals, and homosexuals,"

Kashmiri Pandits: A Forsaken Minority

Another anniversary of the exodus that made the Kashmiri Pandits orphans of history stared at us on January 19. The Pandits, were uprooted from their home and hearth and cast about as refugees in their own homeland. The tragedy and tribulations that befell this unfortunate community for the last twenty two years include some of the most heart-rending stories. Theirs is a story of humanitarian disaster of unprecedented magnitude, but strangely, had gone unnoticed by the rest of the world and more importantly by their own countrymen here in India. As K.P.S. Gill, former police chief of Punjab who rid his state of separatist militancy put it, “[...] one of the reasons for the apathy [of the rest of the world] could be the non-violent nature of the community itself.” They have stoically suffered their fate without even a single retaliatory act of violence. ………………………………………………………………………………………………. Our intellectuals and media crib and caw about the settlements in West Bank and Gaza and the inj

FARC commander killed in military offensive

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The Colombian army announced the death of a FARC front commander during military operations in the central Meta department Friday. "Eduardo Robayo," whose real name was Wilson Correa Trujillo, was the commander of the FARC's 42nd front and accused of kidnapping former Meta Governor Alan Jara, who spent several years in captivity. Robayo is also thought to have been behind hundreds of other kidnapping and extortions. The guerrilla commander was killed in a rural area of the community Vista Hermosa. His girlfriend was arrested during the operation. Robayo assumed commanding duties of the 42nd Front in May 2011 after the killing of Victor Rojas Suarez, alias "Mono Jojoy." Source: http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/22430-farc-commander-killed-in-military-offensive.html

Bahrain's 'underground medics' secretly treat injured protesters

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Fearful of arrest when seeking treatment in Bahrain's hospitals, injured protesters are turning for help to medics who have been forced underground, a Bahraini doctor has told the BBC. Sixteen-year-old Mohammed al-Jaziri was seriously injured when he was struck in the face with a tear gas canister on February 18, in the Bahraini village of Sitra. He was with a band of young Shia confronting riot police in a community that has been a hotspot of protest since an uprising against Bahrain's Sunni Muslim rulers began a year ago. In a video seen by the BBC, Mohammed is shown, together with other youths, hurling stones toward a line of police. At a distance of less than 50m, one of the officers appears to aim and fire a tear-gas launcher towards Mohammed, who collapses clutching his head. John Timoney, Miami's ex-police chief, was hired by the Bahraini government to improve policing methods. When asked about the rules of engagement for tear gas, he told the BBC that po

ETA member arrested in France

MADRID, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- French police detained Oier Oa Puyol, a member of Basque separatist group ETA late on Friday evening in the town of Bayonne, local media reported Saturday. French police confirmed that the 27-year-old ETA member was carrying a bag with false documents and cash between 1,300 euros (1742 U.S. dollars) to 1,800 euros (2412 dollars) when arrested. He was considered one of the "most wanted" members of the group, whose armed struggle for Basque independence has so far cost 829 lives and the arrest came three days after two other suspected members of ETA, Inaki Igerategi Lizzarribar and Juan Ignacio Otano, were detained. Oa Puyol had been on the run since October 2009 after failing to appear at court accused of membership of SEGI, an organization linked with ETA. He had previously been arrested in 2002 and 2005 on both occasions accused of membership of SEGI. Oa Puyol's arrest means that 13 ETA members have been arrested since the group confirmed its

Religious Conversion: A form of violence.

To the Divine and Respected, Disclaimer: This article does not blame any religion. It simply brings up the issue of Religious conversion and encourages one to look into the issue. Also, when I say conversion I am talking about forced and involuntary conversion as well as proselytizing. A humble request: the point of this article is not  to argue or point fingers at any religion but act upon the issue peacefully through dialogue and similar means. Reminds us all why interfaith dialogue is extremely important in todays world. Thank you. As I was en route to visit the Bhutanese refugees I tutor one Sunday morning, I received a phone call from one of my Bhutanese brothers telling me that two Bhutanese have committed suicide. Unable to understand what he was saying, I told him we will discuss the incident upon my arrival at his apartment in West Park, Cleveland. I sat down with him and he told me the story. Two Bhutanese refugees who have escaped religious persecution and ethnic cleansing

US Military in Asia: ‘Places not Bases’

As part of its much touted ‘pivot to Asia’, the United States is beefing up its forward military presence in Asia after nearly two decades of preoccupation with the Middle East. Despite the recently announced defence cuts, the Obama Administration has declared that it will raise its military profile in East Asia amidst the rapid rise of China and its assertive posture in the Western Pacific. Last week, the United States and the Philippines announced a political decision to expand bilateral security cooperation. The United States will do more joint military exercises with the Philippines, rotate more troops through the country and increase the maritime surveillance of the South China Sea from the island nation. The Philippines, a former colony of the United States had compelled Washington in the early 1990s to vacate its large naval base in the Subic Bay and the Clark’s air force base. Now locked in a deepening territorial dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea, Manila is

Gogoi points to Maoists, ISI, anti-talk ULFA links

Guwahati, February 24 2012:   Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi recently revealed that Maoists and Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) were trying to make the northeast their base. Gogoi further said they are also trying to join hands with different insurgent outfits in the region. "Maoist activities are increasing in Assam. We are not denying it. They are increasing their activities in some districts. There is no doubt that they have established relations with the ULFA and other insurgency groups," said Gogoi. "The ISI is also trying to get involved in this. We also discussed about the strategy that needs to be developed for it," he added. Gogoi, who met Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, discussed security related issues of the state with him. One of the highlights of their discussion was the strategy to tackle groups operating from Myanmar. "Myanmar is the largest base for the militants. Not just of Assam, but also for the whole of northeast. W