Saturday, 31 March 2018
Friday, 30 March 2018
Wednesday, 28 March 2018
Julian Assange silenced: Ecuador cutting off communications
Julian Assange silenced: Ecuador cutting off WikiLeaks founder's communications
The government of Ecuador has confirmed that it has cut off internet access in its embassy in London to Julian Assange.
By Associated Press March 28, 2018 18:09 BST
Ecuador's government is cutting off WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's communications outside the nation's London embassy.
Officials announced Wednesday they were taking the measure in response to Assange's recent activity on social media.
As part of an agreement between Assange and the Ecuadorean government, he is not permitted to send any messages that could interfere with the South American nation's relations with other countries.
Assange has been living in Ecuador's embassy for more than five years.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Ecuador said that the step had been taken because Assange had failed to abide by an agreement not to interfere in the South American country's relations with other states.
"The government of Ecuador warns that Assange's behaviour, through his messages on social networks, put at risk the country's good relations with the United Kingdom, the other states of the European Union, and other nations," the statement said.
Ecuador gave Assange asylum after he sought refuge in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden for investigation of sex-related claims. Sweden dropped the case, but Assange remains subject to arrest in Britain for jumping bail.
Assange, who has been holed up in the embassy in Knightsbridge, London, since 2012.
WikiLeaks disclosed tens of thousands of emails during the 2016 US presidential election that the US government believes were provided by Russian intelligence-linked hackers.
Assange denied his source was a "state actor" but declined to elaborate further.
Source:IBT
The government of Ecuador has confirmed that it has cut off internet access in its embassy in London to Julian Assange.
By Associated Press March 28, 2018 18:09 BST
 |
| Julian Assange gestures as he speaks to the media from the balcony of the Embassy Of Ecuador on May 19, 2017 in London, England Jack Taylor/Getty Images |
Ecuador's government is cutting off WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's communications outside the nation's London embassy.
Officials announced Wednesday they were taking the measure in response to Assange's recent activity on social media.
As part of an agreement between Assange and the Ecuadorean government, he is not permitted to send any messages that could interfere with the South American nation's relations with other countries.
Assange has been living in Ecuador's embassy for more than five years.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Ecuador said that the step had been taken because Assange had failed to abide by an agreement not to interfere in the South American country's relations with other states.
"The government of Ecuador warns that Assange's behaviour, through his messages on social networks, put at risk the country's good relations with the United Kingdom, the other states of the European Union, and other nations," the statement said.
Ecuador gave Assange asylum after he sought refuge in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden for investigation of sex-related claims. Sweden dropped the case, but Assange remains subject to arrest in Britain for jumping bail.
Assange, who has been holed up in the embassy in Knightsbridge, London, since 2012.
WikiLeaks disclosed tens of thousands of emails during the 2016 US presidential election that the US government believes were provided by Russian intelligence-linked hackers.
Assange denied his source was a "state actor" but declined to elaborate further.
Source:IBT
வெள்ளை வானில் கூடும் வீடு!
கூட்டமைப்பு ஆட்சியமைக்க ஈபிடிபி, ஐதேக நிபந்தனையற்ற ஆதரவு
யாழ். மாநகர சபையில் தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு ஆட்சியமைப்பதற்கு, ஈபிடிபியும், ஐதேகவும் நிபந்தனையற்ற ஆதரவை வழங்குவதாக அறிவித்துள்ளன.
வடக்கு கிழக்கில் பெரும்பாலான உள்ளூராட்சி சபைகளில் எந்தக் கட்சியும் பெரும்பான்மை பலத்தைப் பெறவில்லை. இதனால் தொங்கு நிலையில் உள்ள உள்ளூராட்சி சபைகளில் பிறகட்சிகளின் ஆதரவுடனேயே நிர்வாகத்தை நடத்த வேண்டிய நிலை ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது.
இதனால், தமிழ்க் கட்சிகள் ஒன்றிணைந்து, உள்ளூராட்சி நிர்வாகத்தை பலப்படுத்த வேண்டும் என்ற கருத்து, சிவில் சமூகத்தினால் வலியுறுத்தப்பட்டது.
இந்தச் சூழலில், 45 உறுப்பினர்களைக் கொண்ட யாழ்ப்பாண மாநகர சபையில், அதிகபட்சமாக 16 ஆசனங்களை வென்ற தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்புக்கு, வெளியில் இருந்து- நிபந்தனையற்ற ஆதரவை வழங்க 10 ஆசனங்களைக் கொண்ட ஈபிடிபியும், 3 ஆசனங்களைக் கைப்பற்றிய ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சியும் முன்வந்துள்ளன.
பெரும்பான்மை பலம் இல்லாத உள்ளூராட்சி சபைகளில், அதிக ஆசனங்களைப் பெற்ற கட்சி, ஆட்சியமைப்பதற்கு ஈபிடிபி ஆதரவு அளிக்கும் என்றும், மக்கள் நலத் திட்டங்களை முன்னெடுப்பதற்காக ஆறு மாதங்களுக்கு அளிக்கப்படும் இந்த நிபந்தனையற்ற ஆதரவு, நிர்வாகத்திறனைப் பொறுத்து நீடிக்கப்படும் என்றும் அறிவித்துள்ளது.
அதேவேளை, மத்தியில் கூட்டு அரசாங்கத்துக்கு தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு ஆதரவு அளிப்பதால், யாழ். மாநகர சபையில் தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்புக்கு ஐதேக ஆதரவு அளிக்கும் என்று அந்தக் கட்சியின் யாழ். மாவட்ட அமைப்பாளரான விஜயகலா மகேஸ்வரன் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
Monday, 26 March 2018
PROTEST HIT BARCELONA AFTER CATALAN LEADER ARRESTED
BLOODY PROTEST HIT BARCELONA AFTER EX-CATALAN LEADER ARRESTED
By Jare Tiamiyu - March 25, 2018
Thousands of Catalan separatists hit the streets of Barcelona on Sunday, vowing the arrest of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont in Germany would not stop their push for independence.
Some threw garbage cans at Catalan police in riot gear, who responded by beating demonstrators with their batons or firing warning shots in the air.
“This Europe is shameful!,” they chanted as they marched by the office of the European Commission in the Catalan capital.
Despite the efforts of Puigdemont, who fled to Brussels after the Catalan parliament declared independence on October 27 and Madrid countered by taking control of the region, no European Union member state backed the secessionist cause.
Outside of the German consulate demonstrators held up a photo of German Chancellor Angela Merkel sporting a Hitler-style moustache.
Many chanted “no more smiles”, a reference to the longstanding claim from Catalan separatist leaders that their drive to break the wealthy northeastern region away from Spain would be a “revolution of smiles”.
But other separatist leaders like Elsa Artadi, a lawmaker in the Catalan parliament for Puigdemont’s Together for Catalonia party, appealed for calm.
The protest was called by the radical Committees for the Defence of the Republic (CDR), which were set up just before Catalonia held a referendum on independence on October 1 that was banned by the courts.
– ‘More radical’ –
“They are not going to stop anything with these arrests, on the contrary,” said Yolanda Salleras, a 37-year-old physiotherapist.
“They want to bury us but each time they hit us, four new separatists arise. They want to decapitate us but we are two million,” she added.
Salleras said the time had come for separatists to do more than just hit the streets in protest.
“We need something more radical. I would paralyse the country, a general strike lasting several days until they free everyone,” she said.
According to Catalan public radio, CDR members blocked several roads in Catalonia, causing traffic jams, just as they did during two strikes in the region last year called to protest police violence during the independence referendum.
Aside from Puigdemont, who was arrested in Germany on a European warrant issued by Spain, nine other Catalan separatist leaders are in jail over their role in the region’s independence push.
Five other Catalan separatist leaders went into exile along with Puigdemont, who will now have to appear before a German judge who will decide if he is sent back to Spain to face trial.
“I hope they will not extradite him but I am not very optimistic,” said Rosa Vela, a 60-year-old teacher.
– ‘Other Puigdemonts’ –
Sirens wailed in the background throughout the protest which was held under an overcast sky.
Judit Carapena, a 22-year-old architecture student, said Spain’s central government should not “sing victory because it is not the end of separatism, far from it.”
“It’s the people who fuel separatism and they can’t put us all in jail. There will be other Puigdemonts,” she added.
Polls show Catalans are almost evenly divided on the issue of independence but the vast majority back holding a legal referendum to settle the question.
“We are going to continue to resist and fight to be free,” said Julio Vallmitjana, a bearded 64-year-old pensioner who wore his white hair in a pony tail and stood a bit apart from the crowd.
“Before I was in favour of confrontation but I realised that is not the best path. We have nothing more to do than to do things peacefully. The problem is that the good guys never win but we will be the first to do it.”
AFP.
Carles Puigdemont Is Arrested in Germany, Drawing E.U. Giant Into Catalan Fight
Carles Puigdemont Is Arrested in Germany, Drawing E.U. Giant Into Catalan Fight
By RAPHAEL MINDERMARCH 25, 2018
MADRID — Carles Puigdemont, the former leader of Catalonia wanted in Spain on rebellion charges, was detained on Sunday in Germany on an international arrest warrant, in a move that drags Berlin into Spain’s festering territorial dispute.
Mr. Puigdemont was arrested by a German highway police patrol soon after crossing the border with Denmark. He was traveling by car to Belgium from Finland, and had planned to present himself to the Belgian authorities, according to Mr. Puigdemont’s lawyer, Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas.
The arrest came two days after Spain, trying to strike a decisive blow against the secession movement, reactivated a European arrest warrant against Mr. Puigdemont and five other separatist leaders.
Catalonia has been in political turmoil since its leaders formally declared independence in October and the central government ousted them, assuming direct control of the wealthy autonomous region. Madrid also moved to prosecute Mr. Puigdemont and his allies for rebellion and sedition, prompting some to flee to several other European countries.
Now, with Spain renewing its efforts to have the former Catalan officials arrested and returned home for prosecution, Europe may be about to become more embroiled in the conflict.
Whether Spain’s newly aggressive posture would weaken the independence movement or strengthen it was not immediately clear.
In Catalonia, the effect of Mr. Puigdemont’s arrest was immediate. Protesters took to the streets of Barcelona and clashed with the authorities. Riot police officers in Barcelona shoved and struck protesters with batons to keep an angry crowd from advancing on the office of the Spanish government’s representative. Police vans showed stains of yellow paint reportedly thrown by protesters.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain did not respond immediately to Mr. Puigdemont’s arrest, but Albert Rivera, leader of the anti-secession party Ciudadanos, welcomed it.
Mr. Rivera accused Mr. Puigdemont of trying to “destroy a European democracy” and said that “for this, you can’t enjoy impunity,” he argued.
Roger Torrent, the pro-independence speaker of the Catalan Parliament, went on Twitter on Sunday to urge fellow Catalans to form “a common front” to defend individual and collective rights.
Mr. Puigdemont was arrested Sunday morning on the A7 autobahn. He was transferred to a jail in Neumünster, in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, according to the German news agency D.P.A. He was to appear before a German judge on Monday.
The government of Catalonia has been in a deadlock since December, when a snap election called by Prime Minister Rajoy resulted in separatist parties retaining a narrow parliamentary majority. Last week, however, separatist lawmakers could not agree on the latest candidate to replace Mr. Puigdemont as regional leader, Jordi Turull.
Catalonia voted on independence despite opposition from Spain's government. What are the origins of the secessionist movement, and what has happened since the vote?
Unable to win at the ballot box, Spain’s central government seems to be turning its attention to the courts. In addition to reissuing the arrest warrants for the fugitive separatists, it also jailed without bail five still in Spain. One of them was Mr. Turull.
Mr. Puigdemont, the embodiment of Catalonia’s aspirations for independence, announced in early March that he was giving up his efforts to be reappointed as the region’s president. But he continued his efforts to promote the Catalan separatist cause internationally, traveling to Switzerland and Finland to attend conferences there.
When he arrived in Brussels, Mr. Puigdemont said he could not get a fair trial in Spain. He also said he had selected Brussels, home to the main European Union institutions, because he wanted to put Catalonia in the “institutional heart of Europe.”
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Mr. Puigdemont received some support from Flemish nationalists and other separatist politicians across Europe, but his call for the European Union to mediate in Catalonia fell on deaf ears. No European government leader agreed to meet him.
But in a column on Sunday in the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, Thomas Urban said Mr. Puigdemont had managed to “internationalize” the Catalan conflict, and that this “cannot be in the interest of Madrid.” He argued that Madrid’s hard line risked reuniting the pro-independence movement, only days after the bickering separatists could not agree on a new leader.
On Saturday, Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation said it had received the warrant for Mr. Puigdemont’s detention issued by Spain, but the police said they had no knowledge of his whereabouts. According to Spanish media reports, Mr. Puigdemont’s car was trailed by the Spanish secret service as it left Finland, who alerted their German counterparts about his arrival.
With Mr. Puigdemont’s arrest in Germany, the spotlight now turns to judges in European countries who will review Spanish arrest warrants, including in Belgium, Scotland and Switzerland. The countries the separatists chose for refuge is important, because European nations have different criminal codes. Some may not recognize the charges brought by Spanish state prosecutors against the Catalan politicians, particularly rebellion.
The arrest in Germany could pose a challenge for Angela Merkel, who started her fourth term as chancellor this month at the helm of a coalition government after months of tense negotiations.
“Legally, the arrest of Mr. Puigdemont is not objectionable, but politically it creates great problems,” a member of Parliament from the Free Democrats, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, told The Augsburger Allgemeinen Zeitung, a regional paper, on Sunday.
In Scotland, the police said that the lawyer for one fugitive there, the former Catalan education minister, Clara Ponsati, had been in touch with them, and that they were preparing for her to turn herself in.
In December, Pablo Llarena, the Spanish Supreme Court judge who is leading the case against the Catalan separatist leadership, withdrew his initial European arrest warrant against Mr. Puigdemont and others who fled to Belgium, amid concerns that the Belgian judiciary might seek to limit the crimes for which the separatists could be charged if they were returned to Spain.
Altogether, the Spanish Supreme Court is seeking to try 25 Catalan separatist leaders for violating Spain’s Constitution during their unsuccessful secession attempt.
State prosecutors in Spain have moved to sentence the separatist leaders to decades in prison for organizing the independence referendum in October that they say violated Spanish law. The separatists followed the referendum with their declaration of a new Catalan republic.
Mr. Puigdemont is among 13 defendants who are accused of rebellion, the most serious charge, as well as other offenses that include the misuse of public funds to host the referendum.
Christopher F. Schuetze contributed reporting from Berlin.NYT
Sunday, 25 March 2018
Ahed Tamimi gets eight months in prison after plea deal
Ahed Tamimi gets eight months in prison after plea deal
Palestinian teen activist was arrested after a video of her slapping and hitting two Israeli soldiers went viral.
by Jaclynn Ashly
Bethlehem, occupied West Bank - Imprisoned Palestinian teen activist Ahed Tamimi has reached a plea bargain with Israeli army prosecutors that will see her serve eight months in jail.
The 17-year-old was arrested in December 2017 after a video of her slapping and hitting two Israeli soldiers outside of her house in the village of Nabi Saleh went viral.
The sentence, announced during a closed-door hearing on Wednesday at Israel's Ofer military court near Ramallah, brought to an end a case that attracted worldwide attention.
Tamimi accepted the deal in exchange for pleading guilty to four out of the 12 charges initially brought against her, according to Gaby Lasky, the lawyer of the teen.
The other eight charges against Tamimi, including those referencing instances of stone throwing and "incitement to terror and stabbings", were dropped by the prosecution, Lasky told Al Jazeera.
"There is no justice under the occupation and this court is illegal," the teen said, addressing the courtroom after the plea deal was presented to the judge, according to her father, Bassem Tamimi.
Tamimi pleaded guilty to "attacking" two Israeli army officials and to "two additional criminal acts" where she "disrupted" an Israeli soldier and "carried out incitement", according to an Israeli army statement.
The three months Tamimi has already served in prison will be counted into her overall sentence, Lasky said. She will also be fined $1,500.
Last month, the judge decided that the teen's trial would proceed behind closed doors. On Monday, Israel's military appeals court rejected Tamimi's request to hold her legal proceedings in an open court.
Following that decision, "we understood that Ahed was not going to receive a fair trial", said Lasky. "A plea bargain is the best option that Palestinians can get in the military courts."
Convictions against the Tamimi women
Tamimi was arrested during an overnight army raid after the video of her confrontation with the Israeli soldiers was widely shared on social media. Her mother, Nariman, was arrested soon after for allegedly live streaming the incident on Facebook.
Shortly before the video was filmed, the teen had been informed that Israeli forces had shot her 15-year-old cousin, Mohammad, point-blank in the face with a rubber bullet.
In January, Ahed and Nariman were both indicted on various charges, including "aggravated assault" and "incitement".
Lasky said Nariman had also accepted a plea bargain. Like her daughter, she was also sentenced to eight months in prison, including time already served. According to the army statement, Nariman was convicted of "causing incitement" and "disrupting and attacking"
Nariman will be fined $1,700.
Both are expected to be released in July.
"This is the way that the occupation is punishing us," Bassem said following the hearing. "All of the occupation's decisions are illegal and unjustified, because the occupation itself is illegal."
Meanwhile, Nour, Ahed's 20-year-old cousin who also appeared in the controversial video, was convicted of "attacking" an Israeli soldier and sentenced to time already served and a fine of $576, according to the army statement.
'She cannot get a fair trial'
Sahar Francis, director of Palestinian prisoners' rights group Addameer, told Al Jazeera that "most cases" in Israel's military courts result in a plea bargain.
"They [Palestinians] don't trust the system. All the confessions are taken following torture, ill-treatment and coercion," she said.
If a Palestinian was to proceed with a trial, it would be based on "confessions" obtained through abuse and coercion during initial interrogations, Francis said.
Meanwhile, Palestinians face an almost 100 percent conviction rate in Israel's military courts, leaving Palestinians with little hope for a fair trial.
According to Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP), out of 297 cases that were closed by the group’s lawyers between 2012 and 2015, 295 resulted in a plea bargain.
"These military courts are incapable of offering a fair trial under a prolonged 50-year [military] occupation,” said Francis.
First visit
Meanwhile, prior to Tamimi's hearing on Wednesday, 38 prominent legal experts from various countries, including South Africa, Canada, the Netherlands and the United States, submitted a letter to Nadav Padan, Israel's army commander, calling for the teen's release.
The lawyers noted that her case exemplifies Israel's routine violations of the rights of Palestinian children and Israel's "separate and unequal system of military detention".
Palestinians are tried in Israel's military courts and face harsher sentences than Israelis who have committed the same crimes, but are tried in civil courts.
This two-tiered legal system "segregates based on race and nationality in the occupied territories," the statement said.
Meanwhile, Bassem on Monday was able to visit his daughter and wife in Israel's HaSharon prison for the first time since they were arrested three months ago.
"I couldn’t sleep for days before the visit. For months, I have been constantly thinking about how they are doing and how I could speak with them," said Bassem, who has also been arrested numerous times by Israeli forces.
"It was difficult for me when I saw them. I felt a variety of emotions. I was happy and sad at the same time," he said.
சுதாகரனை விடுதலை செய்ய அமைச்சர் றிசாட் கோரிக்கை
🕔 March 24, 2018
தாயை பறிகொடுத்த துயரத்திலும், ஏக்கத்திலும் அநாதைகளாகிப் போன ஆனந்த சுதாகரனின் குழந்தைகளின் நலனைக் கருத்திற்கொண்டு, சிறையில் வாடும் ஆனந்த சுதாகரனை – கருணை அடிப்படையில், பொதுமன்னிப்பு வழங்கி, உடனடியாக விடுதலை செய்ய நடவடிக்கை எடுக்குமாறு ஜனாதிபதி மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேனவுக்கு வன்னி மாவட்ட நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினரும், அமைச்சருமான ரிஷாட் பதியுதீன் அவசரக் கடிதம் ஒன்றை எழுதியுள்ளார்.
அத்துடன், பாகிஸ்தானுக்கு உத்தியோகபூர்வ விஜயம் மேற்கொண்டுள்ள ஜனாதிபதி நாடு திரும்பியவுடன், அவரை சந்தித்து இதுதொடர்பில் அமைச்சர் பேசவும் உள்ளார்.
அமைச்சர் ரிஷாட் பதியுதீன், ஜனாதிபதிக்கு எழுதியுள்ள கடிதத்தில்;
கடந்த யுத்த காலத்தின் போது, அரசுக்கெதிராக ஆயுதம் தூக்கிப் போராடியவர்கள் மாத்திரமின்றி, அப்பாவித் தமிழர்களும் சிற்சில காரணங்களுக்காக பயங்கரவாதத் தடைச் சட்டத்தின் கீழ் கைது செய்யப்பட்டு சிறையில் அடைக்கப்பட்டனர். திட்டமிட்டு தவறு செய்தவர்களும், எதுவுமே அறியாமல் தப்பு செய்தவர்களும் இந்தச் சட்டத்தின் கீழ் கைது செய்யப்பட்டு சிறையில் வாடுகின்றனர்.
யுத்த முடிவுக்குப் பின்னரான சமாதானம் ஏற்பட்ட பின்னர், விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் அநேகருக்கு அரசாங்கம் பொதுமன்னிப்பு வழங்கி, புனர்வாழ்வளித்து விடுதலை செய்தது. அவர்கள் தற்போது தமது இயல்பு வாழ்க்கையை ஆரம்பித்து, சமூகத்தின் பிரஜைகளாக வாழ்ந்து வருகின்றனர்.
அந்தவகையில், கிளிநொச்சியைச் சேர்ந்த தமிழ் அரசியல் கைதியான ஆனந்த சுதாகரும், ஏதோ காரணங்களுக்காக கடந்த பத்து வருடங்களாக சிறையில் வாடுகின்றார். அவரது மனைவியும் தற்போது இறந்துவிட்ட நிலையில், எதுவும் அறியாத 09 வயதுடைய ஆண் பிள்ளையும், 11 வயதான பெண் பிள்ளையும் தாயும், தந்தையுமின்றி அநாதைகளாக்கப்பட்டு நிற்கதியாகியுள்ளனர்.
எனவே, இந்தக் குழந்தைகளின் துயர் கருதி, அவர்களுடைய தந்தையை விடுதலை செய்ய நடவடிக்கை எடுங்கள் என்று அமைச்சர் ரிஷாட், ஜனாதிபதியிடம் கோரியுள்ளார்.
நன்றி-புதிது இணையம்
ஆனந்த சுதாகரனின் மகள் சங்கீதாவின் கருணை மனு!
ஜனாதிபதியின் மகளுக்கு உருக்கமான கடிதம் ஒன்றை எழுதிய ஆனந்த சுதாகரனின் மகள்
March 22, 2018 11:29 pm
ஆயுள் தண்டனை விதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ள அரசியல் கைதியான சச்சிதானந்தம் ஆனந்தசுதாகரின் மகள் சங்கீதா தனது அப்பாவை மன்னித்து விடுதலை செய்யுமாறு ஜனாதிபதி மைதிரிபால சிறிசேனவின் மகள் சதுரிகாவுக்கு உருக்கமான கடிதம் ஒன்றை எழுதியுள்ளார்.
கடந்த 15 ஆம் திகதி அன்று சுகயீனம் காரணமாக மரணமடைந்த தனது மனைவியின் இறுதி நிகழ்வுக்கு சிறைவிடுப்பில் வருகைதந்த ஆனந்தசுதாகர் இறுதி நிகழ்வு முடிந்து மீண்டும் சிறைசாலை பேரூந்தில் மகசீன் சிறைச்சாலை நோக்கி செல்வதற்கு ஏறிய போது அவரது பத்து வயது மகள் சங்கீதாவும் சிறைச்சாலை பேரூந்தில் தந்தையுடன் சேர்ந்து ஏறியமை அனைவரின் மனங்களையும் நெகிழவைத்த உருக்கமான காட்சியாக இருந்தது.
தாயும் தந்தையும் இல்லாத நிலையில் வாழ்ந்து வரும் கனிரதன் மற்றும் சங்கீதாவின் நிலைமைகளை கருத்தில் கொண்டு ஆனந்தசுதாகருக்கு பொது மன்னிப்பு வழங்கி விடுதலை செய்யுமாறு பல மட்டங்களிலும் கோரிக்கை விடுக்கப்பட்டு வருகின்றன.
இந்த நிலையில்தான் இன்று (22) ஆனந்தசுதாகரின் மகள் சங்கீதா ஜனாதிபதியின் மகள் சதுரிகாவுக்கு உருக்கமான கடிதம் ஒன்றை எழுதியுள்ளார். குறித்த கடிதத்தில் குறிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ளதாவது
அன்புடன் சதுரிகா அக்காவுக்கு!
அம்மாவையும் இழந்து அப்பாவையும் பிரிந்து நானும் அண்ணாவும் அநாதையாய் இருக்கின்றோம். நான் அம்மாவின் வயிற்றில் இருந்த போதே அப்பா கைது செய்யப்பட்டார். எனக்கு இன்று எனக்கு பத்து வயது இதுவரைக்கும் அப்பாவுடன் பாசமாக பழகியது இல்லை. அம்மாவின் செத்தவீட்டில்தான் அப்பாவின் மடியில் இருக்க கிடைத்தது. அதுவும் கொஞ்சநேரமே. அம்மா இல்லாத இந்த வீட்டில் நானும் அண்ணாவும் அப்பாவுடன் இருக்க ஆசையாய் இருக்கு. அக்கா உங்களுக்குத் தெரியும் அப்பாவின் பாசமும் அருமையும். நீங்கள் கருணை வைத்து உங்கட அப்பாவுக்கு கொஞ்சம் சொல்லி எங்கட அப்பாவை மன்னித்து விடச்சொல்லுங்கோ.
அக்கா நான் இப்ப கடவுளை விட உங்கட அப்பாவைதான் நம்புறன் ஏனென்றால் இந்த உலகத்தில் அவரால் மட்டும்தான் எங்கட அப்பாவை விடுவிக்க முடியும். இது நடக்க நீங்களும் உங்கட அப்பாவிடம் சொல்லுங்கோ. அன்புள்ள அக்கா அம்மாவும் அப்பாவும் இல்லாத இந்த வீட்டில் எங்களுக்கு வாழவே பிடிக்கவில்லை.
அக்கா என்னை உங்கள் தங்கையாக நினைத்து எனது அப்பாவை விடுதலை செய்ய நீங்களும் உதவுங்கள், என அனைவரது மனதையும் உருக்கும் விதத்தில் குறித்த சிறுமி ஜனாதிபதியின் மகளுக்கு கடிதம் ஒன்றை எழுதியுள்ளார்.
(கிளிநொச்சி நிருபர் நிபோஜன்)
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அரசியல் கைதியான சுதாகரனை பொதுமன்னிப்பில் விடுவிக்குக!
மைத்திரியிடம் கூட்டமைப்புக் கோரிக்கை
10 ஆண்டுகளாகச் சிறையில் வாடும் ஆயுள் தண்டனை விதிக்கப்பட்ட தமிழ் அரசியல் கைதியான சச்சிதானந்தம் ஆனந்த சுதாகரனை அரச தலைவர் மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேன பொதுமன்னிப்பு வழங்கி விடுதலை செய்யவேண்டும் என்று தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு நேற்றுச் சபையில் கோரிக்கை விடுத்தது.
சிறார்கள் மீது அதிக அன்பு வைத்துள்ள அரச தலைவர் மைத்திரி, சுதாகரின் இரண்டு பிள்ளைகளினதும் எதிர்காலத்தைக் கருதி இந்த முடிவை எடுக்கவேண்டும் என்று கூட்டமைப்பின் வன்னி மாவட்ட நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினரான சார்ள்ஸ் நிர்மலநாதன் வலியுறுத்தினார்.
நாடாளுமன்றத்தில் நேற்று நடைபெற்ற நீதித்துறை சட்டத்தின் கீழ் ஒழுங்கு விதிகள் மீதான விவாதத்தில் கலந்துகொண்டு உரையாற்றும்போதே அவர் இவ்வாறு கோரிக்கை விடுத்தார். அவர் தெரிவித்ததாவது-
இலங்கையில் நடைமுறையிலிருக்கும் பயங்கரவாத தடைச் சட்டம் நீக்கப்பட்டு, மனித உரிமைகளைக் காக்கும் வகையில் பன்னாட்டுத் தரத்திலான சட்டமொன்று அறிமுகப்படுத்தப்படும் என்று ஐ.நா. மனித உரிமைகள் சபையில் 2015ஆம் ஆண்டு இலங்கை அரசு உறுதி வழங்கியது. அந்த உறுதிமொழி இன்றும் நிறைவேற்றப்படவில்லை.
பிழையான இந்தச் சட்டத்தால் பல தமிழ் இளைஞர்கள் சிறைகளில் வாடுகின்றனர். பயங்கரவாத தடைச் சட்டம் எப்போது நீக்கப்படும் என்பதை நீதி அமைச்சு அறிவிக்கவேண்டும். சட்டத்தின் விளைவு கொடூரமானது. கடந்த ஞாயிறன்று கிளிநொச்சியில் நெஞ்சை நெகிழவைக்கும் சம்பவமொன்று நடைபெற்றது.
2008ஆம் ஆண்டு பயங்கரவாத தடைச் சட்டத்தின் கீழ் கைது செய்யப்பட்ட சச்சிதானந்தம் ஆனந்தசுதாகர் என்ற அரசியல் கைதிக்கு ஆயுள்தண்டனை விதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. கடும் மன அழுத்தத்துக்குள்ளான அவரின் மனைவி கடந்த 18ஆம் திகதி உயிரிழந்தார். அவரின் இறுதிக்கிரியைகளில் பங்கேற்பதற்கு கணவரான சுதாகருக்கு மூன்று மணி நேரமே வழங்கப்பட்டது.
இறுதிக்கிரியைகளில் பங்கேற்றுவிட்டு சுதாகர் சிறைச்சாலை வாகனத்தில் ஏறும்போது அவரின் மகளும் அதில் ஏறிவிட்டார். இந்தக் காட்சியானது அனைவரையும் சோகத்தில் ஆழ்த்தியது.
சுதாகருக்கு இரண்டு பிள்ளைகள் இருக்கின்றனர். தற்போது தாயும் இல்லை. தந்தையும் சிறையில். அவர்களின் எதிர்காலம் என்னவாகும்?. இரண்டு பிள்ளைகளினதும் கல்வியையும், எதிர்காலத்தையும் கருதி அரச தலைவர் மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேன பொதுமன்னிப்பு வழங்கி சுதாகரை விடுதலை செய்யவேண்டும்.
நிகழ்வுகளில் பங்கேற்றும் அரச தலைவர் மைத்திரி அங்குவரும் சிறார்களிடம் அன்போடு பழகுவார். இந்த இரண்டு பாலகர்களின் எதிர்காலம் பற்றி யோசித்து தாமதமின்றி அரச தலைவர் இந்த முடிவை எடுக்க வேண்டும் – என்றார்.
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Saturday, 24 March 2018
Central body may oversee Cauvery water distribution
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| ENB: Snap shot Hinustan Times Web |
An official privy to the development said that the Centre has no “option” but to form an authority managed by the government.
INDIA Updated: Mar 24, 2018 11:50 IST
Toufiq Rashid
New Delhi, Hindustan Times
Even as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka fight over formation of the Cauvery Management Board (CMB), the ministry of water resources has prepared a draft cabinet note suggesting the formation of a centrally managed authority to oversee release of water to states in Cauvery basin .
But the note, which is likely to be sent to the cabinet, has not insisted on the nomenclature of the Cauvery Management Board.
An official privy to the development said that the Centre has no “option” but to form an authority managed by the government.
The government had argued in Supreme Court that Section 6A of the 1956 Act, by employing the word “may”, has left room for discretion to the Central government for the purpose of framing a scheme. However, the SC in its judgment “repelled the submission’’, saying that the “framing of the scheme is exclusively meant for implementation of the award or as the same gets modified by this court”.
The official cited above said that the authority is likely to be headed by an “independent member”... who can be an IAS officer , a technocrat, and not necessarily a chief engineer as suggested by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.
The authority is likely to have five full-time members, including the chairman and four other experts appointed by the Centre. The representatives of the four states are likely to be “part-time members”.
The CMB was to consist of a full-time chairman and two members to be appointed by the Centre. According to the tribunal, the chairman was to be an irrigation engineer of the rank of chief engineer with not less than 20 years of experience in water resources management. Of the two full-time members, one was to be an irrigation engineer not below the rank of chief engineer and another an agricultural expert. The CMB also included two part-time members nominated by the Centre besides representatives of the states .
The above official, however, refused to give a timeline for setting up of the authority, suggesting that the “implementation of the court order might not meet the March 29 deadline”.
“The court order has come in 2007 and is being implemented now. Nothing will change if we don’t form the board within the deadline set up by the Supreme Court,” said the official.
While Kerala has sought a review on the rejection of its stand of “seeking trans-basin diversion of the allocated 30 tmc ft of water for hydropower projects”, the Karnataka government, which is against the formation of the CMB, has decided not to file a review petition regarding the verdict. Karnataka feels the formation of the CMB will lead to the state losing control over its waters.
Instead of the CMB, Karnataka has sought the formation of Cauvery Decision Implementation Committee (CDIC). The state’s proposal says CDIC will have six members to be headed by the Union water resource ministry and another 11 members of a monitoring agency under it.
On February 16, the Supreme Court awarded Karnataka an additional 14.75 tmc ft of water on account of providing Bengaluru 4.75 tmc ft of water for drinking water. Karnataka’s allocation stands at 284.75 tmc ft.
Tamil Nadu, despite reduction in its water share, has insisted on formation of the board as the state is against Karnataka’s proposal of controlling the release of water. The sharing of the Cauvery water is a sensitive political issue in both states and Karnataka, which saw one of its worst droughts in 2017, goes to polls in the next few months.
Source:
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/central-body-may-oversee-cauvery-water-distribution/story-HIUJQoLZcVoDUcvpvyDgZL.html
காவிரி மேலாண்மை வாரியத்துக்கு பதிலாக மேற்பார்வை ஆணையம்!
காவிரி மேலாண்மை வாரியத்துக்கு பதிலாக காவிரி மேற்பார்வை ஆணையம் அமைக்க மத்திய அரசு திட்டம்.
WebDesk
Mar 24, 2018
காவிரி மேலாண்மை வாரியம் அமைக்க வேண்டும் என்பது தமிழ்நாட்டின் நீண்ட கால கோரிக்கையாகும். காவிரி நடுவர் மன்றம், கடந்த 2007-ல் இதற்கான உத்தரவை பிறப்பித்தது. அந்த உத்தரவு 2013-ல் மத்திய அரசிதழிலும் வெளியிடப்பட்டிருக்கிறது.
காவிரி வழக்கை விசாரித்த உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் கடந்த மாதம் அளித்த தீர்ப்பில், தமிழகத்திற்கான நீர் ஒதுக்கீடை 14 டி.எம்.சி குறைத்தது. ஆனால் நடுவர் மன்ற தீர்ப்பின் இதர அம்சங்களை உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் தடை செய்யவில்லை.
இதனால், காவிரி மேலாண்மை வாரியம் அமைக்கக் கோரி தமிழக கட்சிகள் அனைத்தும் குரல் கொடுத்து வருகின்றன. நாடாளுமன்றத்தை அதிமுக எம்.பி.க்கள் தொடர்ந்து முடக்கி வருகிறார்கள். இதற்கிடையில், மத்திய நீர்வளத்துறை செயலாளர் யு.பி.சிங் சமீபத்தில் டெல்லியில் செய்தியாளர்களிடம் பேசுகையில், காவிரி மேலாண்மை வாரியம் வருகிற 30-ம் தேதிக்குள் அமைக்கப்பட வாய்ப்பு இல்லை. இது தொடர்பாக ஏற்கனவே நடைபெற்ற ஆலோசனை கூட்டத்தில் எழுத்துபூர்வமான கருத்துகனை தெரிவிக்குமாறு சம்பந்தப்பட்ட மாநில அரசுகளை கேட்டுக் கொண்டு இருக்கிறோம்.
சுப்ரீம் கோர்ட்டு தனது தீர்ப்பில் காவிரி மேலாண்மை வாரியத்தை அமைக்க வேண்டும் என்று எந்த இடத்திலும் கூறவில்லை. ஒரு திட்டத்தை உருவாக்கவேண்டும் என்று தான் தீர்ப்பில் கூறப்பட்டு உள்ளது. அதை எப்படி செயல்படுத்துவது என்பது பற்றி மத்திய அரசு ஆலோசித்து வருகிறது” என்று கூறி இருந்தார்.
இந்த நிலையில், நீர் வளத்துறை அமைச்சகம் ஒரு வரைவை அமைச்சரவைக்கு அனுப்பியுள்ளது. அதில் காவிரி மேற்பார்வை ஆணையத்தை அமைக்க கோரியுள்ளது. காவிரி நீரை மாநிலங்களுக்கு பகிர்ந்து அளிப்பதை மேற்பார்வையிட ஒரு ஆணையத்தை ஏற்படுத்த வேண்டும் என்று கூறியுள்ளது. அதில் மேலாண்மை வாரியம் என்ற வார்த்தை எங்கும் இல்லை.
காவிரி மேற்பார்வை ஆணையத்தை அமைக்கவும், இதற்கு 9 பேரை உறுப்பினர்களாக்கவும் மத்திய அரசு திட்டமிட்டுள்ளது. அந்த குழுவில் தலைவர் உள்பட 5 பேர் முழு நேர உறுப்பினர்களாகவும், மீதமுள்ள 4 பேர் 4 மாநிலங்களில் இருந்தும் பகுதி நேரமாக நியமிக்கப்படுவர் என்று கூறப்படுகிறது.
செய்தி மூலம்:
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/central-body-may-oversee-cauvery-water-distribution/story-HIUJQoLZcVoDUcvpvyDgZL.html
Thursday, 22 March 2018
சமரன்: காவிரி:கழகப் பிரச்சாரக் கூட்டங்கள்
சமரன்: காவிரி:கழகப் பிரச்சாரக் கூட்டங்கள்: தருமபுரி அரக்கோணம் செங்கல்பட்டு
Wednesday, 21 March 2018
Gas leak hospitalises 47 workers, Ja-ela factory closed for now
Gas leak hospitalises 47 workers, Ja-ela factory closed for now
Wednesday, March 21, 2018 - 01:00
Camelia Nathaniel and Kusum S.HennadiRagama group correspondent
Around 47 employees of a factory in Ja-ela were hospitalised following a gas leak, which had taken place on Monday around 11.30 pm. They were admitted to the Ja-ela, Ragama and Gampaha hospitals.
It was reported that the employees of the factory located in Ekala, Ja-Ela were hospitalised on Monday due to the gas leak which has been occurring since Monday. According to hospital sources, 12 women were among those hospitalised.
Meanwhile another batch of employees were reportedly admitted to hospital yesterday morning.
Police had been alerted to the incident through a call on the emergency 119 hotline. Police Media Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said the gas leak had occurred through a pipeline that combines a certain gas to operate the machines.
The workers who had inhaled this gas had taken ill and were taken to the hospital. It was reported that there were around 1,200 workers in the factory premises at the time of the gas leak.
The gas leak had re-occurred around 10 am last morning, affecting around 52 workers who were at work within the factory. They were admitted to the Gampaha and Ragama hospitals for treatment.
The Ja-Ela Police had taken measures to obtain a Court Order to temporarily close down the factory until the relevant authorities conduct further tests to ensure that it was safe to reopen.
The Negombo Magistrate issued an order closing down the factory until March 22.Police are expected to take action against the factory owners for negligence.
Daily News LK
Wednesday, March 21, 2018 - 01:00
Camelia Nathaniel and Kusum S.HennadiRagama group correspondent
 |
| Some of the hospitalised employees. Picture by Kusum Hennadi. |
It was reported that the employees of the factory located in Ekala, Ja-Ela were hospitalised on Monday due to the gas leak which has been occurring since Monday. According to hospital sources, 12 women were among those hospitalised.
Meanwhile another batch of employees were reportedly admitted to hospital yesterday morning.
Police had been alerted to the incident through a call on the emergency 119 hotline. Police Media Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said the gas leak had occurred through a pipeline that combines a certain gas to operate the machines.
The workers who had inhaled this gas had taken ill and were taken to the hospital. It was reported that there were around 1,200 workers in the factory premises at the time of the gas leak.
The police said that after the initial gas leak on Monday the authorities of the garment manufacturing company had been told by the police to close the factory until the gas leak was repaired.The authorities had paid no heed to the warnings and recommenced work again last morning.
The gas leak had re-occurred around 10 am last morning, affecting around 52 workers who were at work within the factory. They were admitted to the Gampaha and Ragama hospitals for treatment.
The Ja-Ela Police had taken measures to obtain a Court Order to temporarily close down the factory until the relevant authorities conduct further tests to ensure that it was safe to reopen.
The Negombo Magistrate issued an order closing down the factory until March 22.Police are expected to take action against the factory owners for negligence.
Daily News LK
Monday, 19 March 2018
Putin wins new six-year term, Western leaders mum on victory
Putin wins new six-year term,
Western leaders mum on victory
Sheetal Sukhija - Monday 19th March, 2018
MOSCOW, Russia - 65-year-old Vladimir Putin, already Russia’s longest-serving leader since the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, won another term as the country’s President after securing a stunning 76 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election.
The man, who has been undefeated since 1999, when he became president on New Year's Eve that year, following Boris Yeltsin’s resignation, has dominated Russian politics since then.
And while it was a victory in an election that was widely projected to have no chance of going any other way - grand celebrations marked his victory nonetheless.
Putin’s landslide victory also came on the fourth anniversary of the treaty in which Putin formally declared Crimea part of Russia following its annexation.
Putin is set to serve to the end of his new fourth term, which will take his political dominance of Russia to nearly a quarter of a century until 2024, making him the longest ruler since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, by which time Putin will be 71.
According to official results, Putin got over 76 percent of the vote.
His nearest competitor, millionaire communist Pavel Grudinin, received 11.8 percent of the vote.
Ksenia Sobchak, a former reality TV host got less than 2 percent of the vote, while veteran nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky got 5.6 percent.
Putin’s fiercest political opponent, Alexei Navalny was prohibited from contesting due to a fraud conviction that he has criticized as being politically motivated.
The scale of victory in the Presidential election had been widely predicted and appears to be a marked increase in Putin's share of the vote from the 64 percent he won in 2012.
Meanwhile, voter turnout stood at 67.47 percent, which was also said to have risen considerably since 2012.
The English-language Moscow Times said in a report, "In a widely-expected result, an exit poll by pollster VTsIOM showed Putin, who has already dominated the political landscape for the last 18 years, had won 73.9 percent of the vote. Backed by state TV, the ruling party, and credited with an approval rating around 80 percent, his victory was never in doubt. Critics alleged that officials had compelled people to come to the polls to ensure that voter boredom at the one-sided contest did not lead to a low turnout."
Following the elections, Igor Morozov, a member of the upper house of parliament, said on state television, “I think that in the United States and Britain they've understood they cannot influence our elections. Our citizens understand what sort of situation Russian finds itself in today.”
His statement came after Russia's Election Commission said in a report on Sunday their “website was hit by a cyberattack overnight” and adding that “the cyberattack originated overseas - in 15 countries overseas. We don't have much more detail than that, and we'll see if the claim goes anywhere."
Addressing a late night victory rally near Red Square in Moscow, Putin told a cheering crowd he interpreted the win as a vote of confidence and said that voters had "recognized the achievements of the last few years” in tough conditions.
He led the crowd in repeated chants of “Russia” and said, “It's very important to maintain this unity.”
Later, he told a meeting of supporters that difficult times were ahead, but that Russia had a chance to make "a breakthrough."
He also said that he was considering changes to his government, including the post of prime minister.
Since 2012, the post is held by former President Dmitry Medvedev who changed places with Putin that year.
Putin has also vowed to use his new term to beef up Russia's defences against the West and to raise living standards.
On Monday morning, Russia's Central Election Commission said it had not registered any serious complaints about violations.
However, video recordings from polling stations showed irregularities in a number of towns and cities across Russia.
Some even showed election officials stuffing boxes with ballot papers.
Independent election monitoring group Golos reported hundreds of irregularities during polling day.
The group said these irregularities included webcams at polling stations obstructed by balloons and other obstacles.
However, Ella Pamfilova, head of the Central Electoral Commission, said there were only half as many reported violations compared to 2012, and that none had been serious.
International observers are due to give their verdict on how clean the election was later on Monday.
Meanwhile, Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the upper house, hailed the victory as a moral one over the West and said, "Our elections have proved once again... that it's not possible to manipulate our people. People came together."
Opposition leader Navalny, reacting to the election result indicated he had been unable to contain his anger.
He tweeted, “Now is the season of Lent. I took it upon myself never to get angry and not to raise my voice. Oh well, I'll try again next year.”
He is expected to call for anti-Putin protests demanding a re-run of an election and has claimed that the polls were neither free nor fair.
As world leaders congratulated Vladimir Putin on Sunday night and into Monday morning, no Western leaders have responded to his victory so far.
The Chinese President Xi Jinping was among the first to offer his congratulations to Putin and said in a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement, that he believed Russia would "definitely continue to create new glories for national development."
Jinping added, "Currently, the China-Russia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership is at the best level in history, which sets an example for building a new type of international relations."
Leaders of Kazakhstan, Belarus, Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba also sent their best wishes to Putin.
However, no Western leaders have so far made any comment.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas questioned the fairness of the election.
Maas said Russia would remain a difficult partner, but added, "We want to remain in dialogue."
In recent weeks, tensions between Russia and the West have deepened after the poisoning of an ex-spy in Britain.
The U.K. government, blaming Russia and Putin directly for the poisoning has expelled 23 Russian diplomats from London, triggering a tit-for-tat response from Moscow.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on a group of Russians over alleged interference in the 2016 election.
Western leaders mum on victory
Sheetal Sukhija - Monday 19th March, 2018
Putin got over 76 percent of the vote, won a new six-year term as Russian President
He has said he is considering changes to his government including the post of Prime Minister
World leaders have congratulated Putin but no Western leaders have responded to his victory
MOSCOW, Russia - 65-year-old Vladimir Putin, already Russia’s longest-serving leader since the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, won another term as the country’s President after securing a stunning 76 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election.
The man, who has been undefeated since 1999, when he became president on New Year's Eve that year, following Boris Yeltsin’s resignation, has dominated Russian politics since then.
And while it was a victory in an election that was widely projected to have no chance of going any other way - grand celebrations marked his victory nonetheless.
Putin’s landslide victory also came on the fourth anniversary of the treaty in which Putin formally declared Crimea part of Russia following its annexation.
Putin is set to serve to the end of his new fourth term, which will take his political dominance of Russia to nearly a quarter of a century until 2024, making him the longest ruler since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, by which time Putin will be 71.
According to official results, Putin got over 76 percent of the vote.
His nearest competitor, millionaire communist Pavel Grudinin, received 11.8 percent of the vote.
Ksenia Sobchak, a former reality TV host got less than 2 percent of the vote, while veteran nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky got 5.6 percent.
Putin’s fiercest political opponent, Alexei Navalny was prohibited from contesting due to a fraud conviction that he has criticized as being politically motivated.
The scale of victory in the Presidential election had been widely predicted and appears to be a marked increase in Putin's share of the vote from the 64 percent he won in 2012.
Meanwhile, voter turnout stood at 67.47 percent, which was also said to have risen considerably since 2012.
The English-language Moscow Times said in a report, "In a widely-expected result, an exit poll by pollster VTsIOM showed Putin, who has already dominated the political landscape for the last 18 years, had won 73.9 percent of the vote. Backed by state TV, the ruling party, and credited with an approval rating around 80 percent, his victory was never in doubt. Critics alleged that officials had compelled people to come to the polls to ensure that voter boredom at the one-sided contest did not lead to a low turnout."
Following the elections, Igor Morozov, a member of the upper house of parliament, said on state television, “I think that in the United States and Britain they've understood they cannot influence our elections. Our citizens understand what sort of situation Russian finds itself in today.”
His statement came after Russia's Election Commission said in a report on Sunday their “website was hit by a cyberattack overnight” and adding that “the cyberattack originated overseas - in 15 countries overseas. We don't have much more detail than that, and we'll see if the claim goes anywhere."
Addressing a late night victory rally near Red Square in Moscow, Putin told a cheering crowd he interpreted the win as a vote of confidence and said that voters had "recognized the achievements of the last few years” in tough conditions.
He led the crowd in repeated chants of “Russia” and said, “It's very important to maintain this unity.”
Later, he told a meeting of supporters that difficult times were ahead, but that Russia had a chance to make "a breakthrough."
He also said that he was considering changes to his government, including the post of prime minister.
Since 2012, the post is held by former President Dmitry Medvedev who changed places with Putin that year.
Putin has also vowed to use his new term to beef up Russia's defences against the West and to raise living standards.
On Monday morning, Russia's Central Election Commission said it had not registered any serious complaints about violations.
However, video recordings from polling stations showed irregularities in a number of towns and cities across Russia.
Some even showed election officials stuffing boxes with ballot papers.
Independent election monitoring group Golos reported hundreds of irregularities during polling day.
The group said these irregularities included webcams at polling stations obstructed by balloons and other obstacles.
However, Ella Pamfilova, head of the Central Electoral Commission, said there were only half as many reported violations compared to 2012, and that none had been serious.
International observers are due to give their verdict on how clean the election was later on Monday.
Meanwhile, Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the upper house, hailed the victory as a moral one over the West and said, "Our elections have proved once again... that it's not possible to manipulate our people. People came together."
Opposition leader Navalny, reacting to the election result indicated he had been unable to contain his anger.
He tweeted, “Now is the season of Lent. I took it upon myself never to get angry and not to raise my voice. Oh well, I'll try again next year.”
He is expected to call for anti-Putin protests demanding a re-run of an election and has claimed that the polls were neither free nor fair.
As world leaders congratulated Vladimir Putin on Sunday night and into Monday morning, no Western leaders have responded to his victory so far.
The Chinese President Xi Jinping was among the first to offer his congratulations to Putin and said in a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement, that he believed Russia would "definitely continue to create new glories for national development."
Jinping added, "Currently, the China-Russia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership is at the best level in history, which sets an example for building a new type of international relations."
Leaders of Kazakhstan, Belarus, Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba also sent their best wishes to Putin.
However, no Western leaders have so far made any comment.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas questioned the fairness of the election.
Maas said Russia would remain a difficult partner, but added, "We want to remain in dialogue."
In recent weeks, tensions between Russia and the West have deepened after the poisoning of an ex-spy in Britain.
The U.K. government, blaming Russia and Putin directly for the poisoning has expelled 23 Russian diplomats from London, triggering a tit-for-tat response from Moscow.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on a group of Russians over alleged interference in the 2016 election.
Thursday, 15 March 2018
சமரன்: காவிரி: கழக தெருமுனைப் பொதுக்கூட்ட உரை
சமரன்: காவிரி: கழக தெருமுனைப் பொதுக்கூட்ட உரை: https://youtu.be/x4IhzadhRo4 காவிரி மேலாண்மை வாரியத்தை உடனே அமை! ம.ஜ.இ.க. கண்டன பொதுக்கூட்டம் மீஞ்சூர் கடை வீதி,சென்னை....
Wednesday, 14 March 2018
Stephen Hawking, science's brightest star, dies aged 76
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| ENB Poster Stephen Hawking |
Stephen Hawking’s final Reddit post is going viral over its ominous warning about robots
Stephen Hawking, science's brightest star, dies aged 76
The physicist and author of A Brief History of Time has died at his home in Cambridge. His children said: ‘We will miss him for ever’
Published: Mar 14, 2018
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| KARI PAUL REPORTER |
Famed physicist Stephen Hawking died Tuesday at the age of 76, and before he departed this world, he left us with warnings that Earth is headed for a “catastrophic ending” in the near future.
This doom will not come from a fiery asteroid or even global warming, but from rising inequality fueled by increasingly smart robots, Hawking said.
“Intelligent future AI will probably develop a drive to survive and acquire more resources as a step toward accomplishing whatever goal it has, because surviving and having more resources will increase its chances of accomplishing that other goal,” he said in a Reddit Ask Me Anything forum in 2015. “This can cause problems for humans whose resources get taken away.” His solution? We should all leave the planet and find new lives in outer space.
His dire prediction came as robots and artificial intelligence increasingly take over human jobs, with some 800 million people around the world — including a third of the workforce in the U.S. — predicted to be out of jobs by 2030 because of automation, according to an eight-month study from the McKinsey Global Institute. Though Hawking often warned about the upcoming robot takeover, he noted technology could also produce new solutions.
“If machines produce everything we need, the outcome will depend on how things are distributed,” he wrote. “Everyone can enjoy a life of luxurious leisure if the machine-produced wealth is shared, or most people can end up miserably poor if the machine-owners successfully lobby against wealth redistribution.”
This philosophy has also been described as automated luxury communism: the idea that in a future in which labor is automated, machines will do work that profits people and those profits can be distributed amongst them equally. In such a post-work society, things like a 10-12 hour work week, a guaranteed social wage, guaranteed housing, universal education, and healthcare would be the norm, Aaron Bastani, author of “Fully Automated Luxury Communism,” set for release in September 2018, told the Guardian.
“There may be some work that will still need to be done by humans, like quality control, but it would be minimal,” he said.
He noted Uber as an example: now the company employs hundreds of thousands of drivers around the world, but it is anticipated to replace them with self-driving cars by 2030. Under the tenets of luxury communism, such services would be provided by the state rather than a private company, with profits being used to increase the standard of living for all.
Can AI improve the taste of kale?
Some argue automation will not evolve to meet all of the needs of humans, or that the model of luxury communism isn’t environmentally sustainable. Hawking himself said the future didn’t seem bright for such a model.
“So far, the trend seems to be toward the second option, with technology driving ever-increasing inequality,” he said.
Others say some form of shared wealth from automation is inevitable and already coming to fruition. In 2016, Swiss voters rejected an initiative to create a guaranteed minimal income on which to live, a concept that tech magnates like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerburg have both promoted.
“A world of increasing abundance, even luxury, is not only possible, but likely,” Erik Brynjolfsson, author of “Second Machine Age,” a book on the rise of robots, said. “Many of things we consider necessities today – phone service, automobiles, Saturdays off – were luxuries in the past.”
Thursday, 8 March 2018
Sri Lanka Declares State of Emergency After Mob Attacks on Muslims
ASIA PACIFIC
Sri Lanka Declares State of Emergency After Mob Attacks on
Muslims
By MUJIB MASHAL and DHARISHA BASTIANS
MARCH 6, 2018
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s government imposed a nationwide state of emergency on Tuesday after mob attacks against the minority Muslim population in a central district, violence that has highlighted the country’s fragility as it tries to recover from decades of civil war.
The unrest in the district of Kandy began on Sunday as angry mobs made up of the majority Sinhalese ethnic group attacked dozens of Muslim businesses and houses and at least one mosque. At least one person was killed. Hundreds of security personnel, including special forces, were deployed to Kandy on Monday and a curfew was declared there.
Officials feared that the death of a 27-year-old man — who was trapped inside a burning house and who described the attack on the building in an audio recording — could provoke violence across the country.
“We have decided to declare a state of emergency to ensure these clashes and tensions don’t spread elsewhere in the country,” said Dayasiri Jayasekera, a government spokesman.
Mr. Jayasekera said the state of emergency would last 10 days and that law enforcement would also act against “all communal hate speech posts on social media.”
“There were mistakes on the part of the local police in implementing the law. Some of the attacks happened in front of them,” Mr. Jayasekera said.
The victim was identified as Abdul Basith, who had just gotten a job as a local reporter for a radio station. He lived with his parents, who ran a small shop selling slippers on the first floor of their two-story house. The house was burned to the ground, witnesses said.
Fayaz Samsudeen, Mr. Basith’s father, said they had escaped the first floor when the fire started. But his son was on the second floor.
“When the fire started, he screamed for help and asked people to help us get out of the house. There is no way to get outside from upstairs, but we thought he would have escaped,” Mr. Samsudeen said. “In the morning when we came back to see our house, we found his body.”
Mr. Basith’s uncle, Mohammed Maleek, said he was in communication with Mr. Basith in his final minutes and that his nephew had assured him he would be safe because the police were everywhere.
In an audio message sent to his uncle, Mr. Basith described the scene as the mob could be heard outside. The audio was circulating in Kandy after his death and as a sign of its authenticity, a cabinet minister who had visited the scene referred to the message in Parliament on Tuesday.
“They have broken all the doors in our house, large stones are falling inside,” Mr. Basith said in the message. “Hello, yes I am inside our house and they are burning something. There are flames coming inside.”
Later, his voice grew tense.
“They have burned the house,” he said. “The house is burning.”
The latest tensions, coming a week after similar mob attacks against Muslims in an eastern region, erupted after a Sinhalese truck driver was injured by a group of Muslim men in what has been described as a road rage incident. The man died from his injuries on Saturday.
After his death, officials and Kandy residents said, extremist Buddhist monks who have incited communal violence in the past descended on the area, offering their condolences. But many believed that their presence amid the tensions fueled the violent backlash against the Muslims.
“Two controversial Buddhist monks who have been at the center of similar anti-minority clashes before had been in the area on Sunday night,” said Rishad Bathiudeen, Sri Lanka’s minister of industry and commerce who was in Kandy to survey the damage. “We demand their arrest for inciting communal violence.”
Mr. Bathiudeen said that after the truck driver died, the police in Kandy were warned about the rising tensions and urged to send reinforcements.
“The deputy inspector general told us to tell the Muslims to stay at home and close up their shops in the Digana town,” Mr. Bathiudeen said. “The Muslims stayed at home and the mobs came and burned the deserted shops.”
“How are minority communities supposed to feel when the police stand by and watch while their houses and their businesses are destroyed by violent mobs?” said Mr. Bathiudeen, who is Muslim. “We are urging our people to remain calm. But when their houses and livelihoods go up in flames, how long will they bear it?”
Four mosques, 37 houses, 46 shops and 35 vehicles have been damaged in the attacks, according to Hidayath Saththar, a member of the provincial council in Central Province, where Kandy is located.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lanka’s prime minister, told the Parliament on Tuesday that local community elders, both Buddhists and Muslims, had tried to ease tensions after the driver’s death through dialogue. “Extremists” from outside had come in to the area to stir violence in what he called “organized acts of sabotage.”
“All of us who have experienced a 30-year war know the value of peace, harmony and unity,” Mr. Wickremesinghe said.
Anti-Muslim violence has been on the rise in Sri Lanka in recent years as the country’s leaders have struggled to rein in the nationalist fervor of the majority Sinhalese Buddhists. President Maithripala Sirisena’s fragile coalition government has been accused of emboldening extremists by failing to hold groups that incite hatred to account.
Sri Lanka’s long civil war ended in 2009 with the bloody crushing of an insurgency by the Tamil ethnic minority. But observers say many of the underlying causes of the war still remain and the country’s relative stability could further deteriorate if the government does not win trust of the minority groups by providing protection and justice. Thousands of families, mostly Tamil, are still looking for loved ones who were forcibly disappeared or trying to take back land taken over by the military.
One recent example of how tense relations remain was an episode involving the country’s military attaché to the United Kingdom. From the steps of the Sri Lankan high commission in London, video cameras captured Brig. Priyanka Fernando, who was in uniform, making a throat-slitting gesture to Tamil protesters gathered there, which many saw as a threat.
The foreign ministry suspended him from his job but the president stepped in to reinstate him.
Eventually, Brigadier Fernando was recalled from London — not to be disciplined but for his own security, the army said.
Muslims
By MUJIB MASHAL and DHARISHA BASTIANS
MARCH 6, 2018
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s government imposed a nationwide state of emergency on Tuesday after mob attacks against the minority Muslim population in a central district, violence that has highlighted the country’s fragility as it tries to recover from decades of civil war.
The unrest in the district of Kandy began on Sunday as angry mobs made up of the majority Sinhalese ethnic group attacked dozens of Muslim businesses and houses and at least one mosque. At least one person was killed. Hundreds of security personnel, including special forces, were deployed to Kandy on Monday and a curfew was declared there.
Officials feared that the death of a 27-year-old man — who was trapped inside a burning house and who described the attack on the building in an audio recording — could provoke violence across the country.
“We have decided to declare a state of emergency to ensure these clashes and tensions don’t spread elsewhere in the country,” said Dayasiri Jayasekera, a government spokesman.
Mr. Jayasekera said the state of emergency would last 10 days and that law enforcement would also act against “all communal hate speech posts on social media.”
“There were mistakes on the part of the local police in implementing the law. Some of the attacks happened in front of them,” Mr. Jayasekera said.
The victim was identified as Abdul Basith, who had just gotten a job as a local reporter for a radio station. He lived with his parents, who ran a small shop selling slippers on the first floor of their two-story house. The house was burned to the ground, witnesses said.
Fayaz Samsudeen, Mr. Basith’s father, said they had escaped the first floor when the fire started. But his son was on the second floor.
“When the fire started, he screamed for help and asked people to help us get out of the house. There is no way to get outside from upstairs, but we thought he would have escaped,” Mr. Samsudeen said. “In the morning when we came back to see our house, we found his body.”
Mr. Basith’s uncle, Mohammed Maleek, said he was in communication with Mr. Basith in his final minutes and that his nephew had assured him he would be safe because the police were everywhere.
In an audio message sent to his uncle, Mr. Basith described the scene as the mob could be heard outside. The audio was circulating in Kandy after his death and as a sign of its authenticity, a cabinet minister who had visited the scene referred to the message in Parliament on Tuesday.
“They have broken all the doors in our house, large stones are falling inside,” Mr. Basith said in the message. “Hello, yes I am inside our house and they are burning something. There are flames coming inside.”
Later, his voice grew tense.
“They have burned the house,” he said. “The house is burning.”
The latest tensions, coming a week after similar mob attacks against Muslims in an eastern region, erupted after a Sinhalese truck driver was injured by a group of Muslim men in what has been described as a road rage incident. The man died from his injuries on Saturday.
After his death, officials and Kandy residents said, extremist Buddhist monks who have incited communal violence in the past descended on the area, offering their condolences. But many believed that their presence amid the tensions fueled the violent backlash against the Muslims.
“Two controversial Buddhist monks who have been at the center of similar anti-minority clashes before had been in the area on Sunday night,” said Rishad Bathiudeen, Sri Lanka’s minister of industry and commerce who was in Kandy to survey the damage. “We demand their arrest for inciting communal violence.”
Mr. Bathiudeen said that after the truck driver died, the police in Kandy were warned about the rising tensions and urged to send reinforcements.
“The deputy inspector general told us to tell the Muslims to stay at home and close up their shops in the Digana town,” Mr. Bathiudeen said. “The Muslims stayed at home and the mobs came and burned the deserted shops.”
“How are minority communities supposed to feel when the police stand by and watch while their houses and their businesses are destroyed by violent mobs?” said Mr. Bathiudeen, who is Muslim. “We are urging our people to remain calm. But when their houses and livelihoods go up in flames, how long will they bear it?”
Four mosques, 37 houses, 46 shops and 35 vehicles have been damaged in the attacks, according to Hidayath Saththar, a member of the provincial council in Central Province, where Kandy is located.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lanka’s prime minister, told the Parliament on Tuesday that local community elders, both Buddhists and Muslims, had tried to ease tensions after the driver’s death through dialogue. “Extremists” from outside had come in to the area to stir violence in what he called “organized acts of sabotage.”
“All of us who have experienced a 30-year war know the value of peace, harmony and unity,” Mr. Wickremesinghe said.
Anti-Muslim violence has been on the rise in Sri Lanka in recent years as the country’s leaders have struggled to rein in the nationalist fervor of the majority Sinhalese Buddhists. President Maithripala Sirisena’s fragile coalition government has been accused of emboldening extremists by failing to hold groups that incite hatred to account.
Sri Lanka’s long civil war ended in 2009 with the bloody crushing of an insurgency by the Tamil ethnic minority. But observers say many of the underlying causes of the war still remain and the country’s relative stability could further deteriorate if the government does not win trust of the minority groups by providing protection and justice. Thousands of families, mostly Tamil, are still looking for loved ones who were forcibly disappeared or trying to take back land taken over by the military.
One recent example of how tense relations remain was an episode involving the country’s military attaché to the United Kingdom. From the steps of the Sri Lankan high commission in London, video cameras captured Brig. Priyanka Fernando, who was in uniform, making a throat-slitting gesture to Tamil protesters gathered there, which many saw as a threat.
The foreign ministry suspended him from his job but the president stepped in to reinstate him.
Eventually, Brigadier Fernando was recalled from London — not to be disciplined but for his own security, the army said.
Thursday, 1 March 2018
Amparai: Suspected food sample sent to Government Analyst
Suspected contaminated food sample sent to Government Analyst
March 1, 2018,
Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, who is also the co-cabinet spokesman on Wednesday (Feb. 28) said that he was ready to assist in the ongoing investigations into allegations that birth control pills had been mixed with food served at a roadside eatery.
Commenting on media reports, Dr. Senaratne said that over the years there had been a spate of allegations, in some instances directed at doctors. But, subsequent investigations had proved there was no basis for such accusations.
When journalists pointed out that social media had reported that an employee of an eatery in the Eastern Province had admitted serving food with crushed birth control pills, Dr. Senaratne stressed that such claims couldn’t be taken seriously.
Dr. Senaratne explained the difference in male and female birth control methods.
Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ampara, K. N. J. Wedisinghe yesterday told The Island that allegedly contaminated food sample had been sent to the Government Analyst. Wedisinghe said that investigation undertaken by the GA would help establish the truth. The DIG said that five persons had been so far arrested over their alleged involvement in organised attack on the eatery and damaged to other property in the vicinity.
Dr. Senaratne said that mob violence should be examined against the backdrop of nearly 30 year long war and the previous government habitually promoting ethnic tensions for petty political reasons.
In world report Sri Lanka listed among countries unsafe for Muslims
Sri Lanka has been listed among countries unsafe for Muslims in a newly released world report.
In the report, Amnesty International notes that Sri Lanka saw a rise in Buddhist nationalist sentiment last year, including attacks against Christians and Muslims.
In September, a group of hardline Buddhist monks attacked the homes of Rohingya refugees in Boosa, southern Sri Lanka. In November, dozens of home and businesses of Muslims were attacked near the southern city of Galle.
The State of the World’s Human Rights report for 2017 to 2018 by Amnesty International notes that in South Asia, governments invoked law and order, national security and religion as they engaged in attacks against religious minorities, criminalized freedom of expression and subjected civil society to a campaign of intimidation, threats, smears and violence
“Over the past year, the region was marked by assaults on civil society. Journalists, bloggers, activists and others human rights defenders have been vilified and subjected to threats and violence. Meanwhile, online, invasive new cybercrime legislation has been used to criminalize freedom of expression and subject people to unlawful surveillance,” said Biraj Patnaik, Amnesty International’s South Asia Director.
“South Asia also remains one of the most dangerous regions to be a member of a religious minority. Muslims in India and Sri Lanka, Shi’as in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Hindus in Bangladesh have all come under attack over the past year. In each case, the governments have either failed to protect them, been indifferent to their fate, or even encouraged a climate of hostility.”
The report also says that in Sri Lanka, families attempting to arrange stones as memorials for loved ones lost during the 26-year internal conflict were stopped by security forces last year. Human rights defenders were also subject to surveillance and intimidation. Women human rights defenders in the north and east reported that interactions with the police were often degrading and sexualized.
(Colombo Gazette)
நல்லாட்சி அரசு நழுவிப்போக முடியாது – முஜிபுர் ரஹ்மான்
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| முஜிபுர் றஹ்மான் |
2018-02-28
அம்பாறை நகரிலுள்ள பள்ளிவாசலுக்கும் முஸ்லிம்களின் உடைமைகளுக்கும் சேதம் விளைவித்த சிங்கள இனவாதிகளின் செயற்பாட்டைக் கண்டித்தும், அதற்குக் காரணமானவர்களை தேடிப்பிடித்துத் தகுந்த தண்டனை வழங்க அரசாங்கம் தக்க நடவடிக்கையை உடனடியாக மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டும் எனவும் பாராளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் முஜிபுர் றஹ்மான் அரசாங்கத்திடம் வேண்டுகோள் விடுத்துள்ளார்.
அம்பாறை நகரில் ஏற்பட்ட வன்முறை தொடர்பாக அவர் வெளியிட்டுள்ள அறிக்கையில் மேலும் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதாவது;
சில இனவாதிகள் இலங்கையின் கிழக்கு மாகாண அம்பாறை நகரிலுள்ள பள்ளிவாசலுக்கும், முஸ்லிம்களுக்குச் சொந்தமான உடைமைகளுக்கும் சேதம் விளைவித்துள்ளனர்.
முஸ்லிம் உணவு விடுதியொன்றில் ஏற்பட்ட சச்சரவு ஒன்றை மையமாக வைத்தே இனவாதிகள் மேற்படி திட்டமிடப்பட்ட தாக்குதலைத் தொடர்ந்துள்ளனர். இந்தத் தாக்குதல் இடம்பெற்றிருக்கும் முறையைப் பார்க்கும் போது இது நன்றாகத் திட்டமிட்டு நடாத்தப்பட்ட இனவாதத் தாக்குதல் ஒன்று என்பது தெளிவாகிறது.
'பிரச்சினை இடம்பெற்ற உணவு விடுதியைத் தாக்கிய இனவாதக் காடையர்கள் முஸ்லிம்களின் உடைமைகளையும் தாக்கித் தீ வைத்துச் சேதப்படுத்தி விட்டு சுமார் ஒன்றரை கி.மீற்றருக்கு அப்பால் உள்ள அம்பாறை பள்ளிவாசலுக்கு ஊர்வலமாக வந்து தாக்கியுள்ளனர்.`
நாட்டில் தோற்கடிக்கப்பட்டிருந்த இனவாத சக்திகள் மீண்டும் தலைதூக்கி நல்லாட்சியின் உருவாக்கத்திற்கு உரமாக, உறுதுணையாக இருந்த சிறுபான்மை சமூகங்களை சீண்டிப் பார்த்துவருகிறது.
நல்லாட்சியின் வருகையோடு சிறுபான்மை சமூகமான முஸ்லிம்கள் மீது பலதரப்பட்ட இனவாத செயற்பாடுகள் அரங்கேறின. முஸ்லிம்களுக்குச் சொந்தமான கடைகள், வர்த்தக நிலையங்கள் தீவைக்கப்பட்டன. சமூக ஊடகங்களில் முஸ்லிம்களுக்கெதிராக திட்டமிட்டு மோசமான பிரசாரங்கள் முடுக்கி விடப்பட்டன.
நல்லாட்சி அரசாங்கத்தில் கிந்தோட்டையில் முதலில் இது அரங்கேற்றப்பட்டது. கிந்தோட்டையில் சட்டம் ஒழுங்குக்குப் பொறுப்பானவர்கள் கூட ஒழுங்கான நடவடிக்கையை மேற்கொள்ளாமல் இருந்தனர்.
2015 ஜனவரியில் தோற்கடிக்கப்பட்ட இனவாத சக்திகள் அடிக்கடி தலைதூக்கி இத்தகையை நாசகார செயல்களை அரங்கேற்றி வருகின்றன. நல்லாட்சி அரசாங்கம் கூட இத்தகைய இனவாத சக்திகளை முடக்குவதில் பாராமுகமாக இருப்பதாக மக்கள் மத்தியில் குற்றச்சாட்டும் எழுந்து வருகிறது.
கடந்த உள்ளுராட்சி தேர்தலில் இனவாத சக்திகளுக்குக் கிடைத்த வெற்றி ஒரு புது தெம்பை வழங்கியிருக்கிறது. ஓடி ஒழிந்து மறைந்திருந்த இனவாதிகள் வீதிகளில் துணிச்சலுடன் இறங்குவதற்கு இப்போது சந்தர்ப்பம் கிடைத்திருக்கிறது.
இனவாதிகளை அடக்குவதில் நல்லாட்சி பொலிஸார் காட்டும் அசமந்தப் போக்கும் இந்த இனவாதிகளுக்கும் இந்த இனவாதிகளை பின்னணியில் நின்றும் இயக்கும் அரசியல்வாதிகளுக்கும் தைரியத்தை ஊட்டி வருகிறது.
`பொலிஸ் நிலையமும், இராணுவ முகாமும், விமானப்படை முகாமும், விஷேட அதிரடிப்படை முகாமும் இருக்கும் அம்பாறை நகரில் இடம்பெற்ற இந்த முஸ்லிம்களுக்கெதிரான வன்முறையைத் தடுக்க அரச பாதுகாப்பு இயந்திரத்திற்கு இயலாமல் போயிருப்பது எம்மை வெட்கித் தலைகுனிய வைத்திருக்கிறது.`
காலி கிந்தோட்டை சம்பவம் முதல் அம்பாறை சம்பவம் வரை இனவாதிகளின் செயற்பாடுகளை முடக்குவதில் நல்லாட்சி அரசாங்கம் தோல்வியடைந்திருக்கிறது என்பது மிகவும் தெளிவாகிறது.
அம்பாறை சம்பவத்தின் போது பொலிஸாரின் முன்னிலையிலேயே இந்த இனவாதக் காடையர்கள் அசம்பாவிதங்களை அரங்கேற்றியுள்ளனர்.
சம்பவம் இடம்பெற்ற இடத்திற்கும் பொலிஸ் நிலையத்திற்கும் 300 மீற்றர் இடைவெளியே இருந்திருக்கின்றன. காவல்துறையினர் இந்த அசம்பாவிதங்களை கைக்கட்டிப் பார்த்துக்கொண்டிருந்துள்ளனர்.
பிரச்சினை இடம்பெற்ற உணவு விடுதியைத் தாக்கிய இனவாதக் காடையர்கள் முஸ்லிம்களின் உடைமைகளையும் தாக்கித் தீ வைத்துச் சேதப்படுத்தி விட்டு சுமார் ஒன்றரை கி.மீற்றருக்கு அப்பால் உள்ள அம்பாறை பள்ளிவாசலுக்கு ஊர்வலமாக வந்து தாக்கியுள்ளனர்.
இதன்போது அம்பாறை பொலிஸார் எவ்வித நடவடிக்கையையும் மேற்கொள்ளாமல் இருந்துள்ளனர்.
பொலிஸ் நிலையமும், இராணுவ முகாமும், விமானப்படை முகாமும், விஷேட அதிரடிப்படை முகாமும் இருக்கும் அம்பாறை நகரில் இடம்பெற்ற இந்த முஸ்லிம்களுக்கெதிரான வன்முறையைத் தடுக்க அரச பாதுகாப்பு இயந்திரத்திற்கு இயலாமல் போயிருப்பது எம்மை வெட்கித் தலைகுனிய வைத்திருக்கிறது.
இனியும் பார்த்திருக்காது இனவாத அரசியல் சக்திகளினால் திட்டமிட்டு வளர்க்கப்படும் இந்த இனவாத அலையைக் கட்டுப்படுத்த அரசாங்கம் கடுமையான காத்திரமான நடவடிக்கையை மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டும்.
குறித்த சம்பவத்தின் போது கடமை தவறிய பொலிஸார் மீதும் வன்முறையில் ஈடுபட்ட இனவாதிகள் மீதும் அரசாங்கம் கடுமையான நடவடிக்கையை மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டும். சட்டம் ஒழுங்கு அமைச்சராகப் பிரதமர் ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க பதவியேற்று இரண்டு நாட்களுக்குள்ளேயே முஸ்லிம்கள் பெரும்பான்மையாக வாழும் ஒரு மாவட்டத்திலேயே இனவாதிகள் தமது ஆட்டத்தை ஆரம்பித்து காட்டியுள்ளனர். இதற்கான ஒழுங்கான உண்மையான இதயசுத்தியுடனான நடவடிக்கையை அரசாங்கம் மேற்கொண்டு குற்றவாளிகளை சட்டத்தின் முன் நிறுத்தாவிட்டால் மஹிந்தவின் அரசியலுக்கும் நல்லாட்சியின் அரசியலுக்கும் இடையில் வித்தியாசம் இல்லாமல் போய்விடும் என்பதை ஆணித்தரமாக முன்வைக்கிறேன்.
நல்லாட்சி ஆட்சியில் காலி கின்தோட்டை முதல் இன்றைய அம்பாறை வரை இனவாதிகளின் அசம்பாவிதங்கள் தொடர்ந்திருக்கின்றன. இதற்கு இன்றே முற்றுப்புள்ளி வைக்கப்பட வேண்டும். இந்த இனவாத அலையைத் தடுத்து நிறுத்தி இந்நாட்டுச் சிறுபான்மை சமூகங்களைப் பாதுகாக்க வேண்டிய தார்மிக பொறுப்பிலிருந்து நல்லாட்சி அரசாங்கம் நழுவிப்போக முடியாது என்றும் அவர் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார்.
Amparai: Establish the RULE OF LAW in this country
 |
| Mass Usuf |
By Mass L. Usuf –
How many of the Sinhalese people can be fooled? I have to deliberately mention Sinhalese because the fictional ‘victims’ are the Sinhalese people. ‘Victims’ of what? The ‘victims’ of ‘wanda pethi’. Victimised by whom? By the Muslims who are targeting the Sinhalese by
mixing ‘Wanda Pethi’ (tablets to make a woman barren) in the food that they eat. The alleged objective is to reduce the Sinhala population while increasing the Muslim population so that Sharia law can be introduced in Sri Lanka.
Foolishness sometimes comes out of innocence and that can be understood. However, foolishness arising from gullibility conditioned by prejudice is unpardonable. Especially, when such tomfoolery paradoxically, are from the educated lot.
New Discovery
Eureka! It seems that the Muslim Hotels and Muslim Garment outlets in Sri Lanka have discovered what the advanced medical scientists of the developed world has not; That is, a tablet by which a woman can be made barren. Many Sinhalese people including many monks have fallen hook, line and sinker to these absurd lies. In Ampara, on 27th February, a Muslim hotel was attacked by a Sinhalese mob over the allegation that they were mixing these tablets with food served to the Sinhalese customers. The customers in this instance were men and the food served obviously would have been consumed by them. One wonders how could the women become barren through this. Sounds illogical and unscientific.
Reportedly at least five people were wounded and several shops and a mosque damaged. A video clip where the cashier admits that he had mixed the tablets has gone viral. The fact is that the video recording had been done under coercion and the cashier who is not fluent in his Sinhala does not even know what ‘wanda pethi’ is. In a later recorded clip the Cashier explained what had happened. He said that he had nodded his head in admission that the hotel used to mix chick peas flour to thicken the gravy. It was after he was told by his friends at the Police Station that the issue is about mixing some tablets in food which causes infertility that he realised what all this was about.
Law And Order
The serious lapse in the enforcement of the law, interference by corrupt politicians in matters of the Police and the general lack of self-confidence in the Police force is portending disaster to this country. It is alleged that the distance between the Police Station and the Hotel that was attacked is less than one kilometre. Strangely, it had taken a longer time for the Police to arrive at the scene of crime. The attack party was mobilised without delay indicating that this was organised and pre-planned. Altogether, giving credence to the theory that there was collusion. Something that needs to be investigated. Also, the Police needs to be instructed with regard to efficiency in response time, making it mandatory.
The mission statement of the Sri Lanka Police reads:
“Sri Lanka Police is committed and confident to uphold and enforce the law of the land, to preserve the public order, prevent crime and Terrorism with prejudice to none – equity to all.”
In contrast to this idealistic Mission statement, in real life today, we find a driver abandoning his vehicle and running away from an accident site fearing for his life. We find organised racist mobs storming into a hotel and perpetrating a litany of crimes. In a properly functioning democratic state any breach of the law will be duly reported to the Police by the person affected. The Police on its part will protect, investigate and enforce the law. No citizen is expected to take the law into his hand in normal circumstances. Well, if this is how as we know civilised society functions, what then has happened to this country? Can we call ourselves as civilised people? Are the democratic institutions functioning as they ought to? Where is the Rule of Law? Why is the Police hesitant to arrest or file action against the monks who commit crimes? Where does one find in practise the idealistic Mission statement of the Police – with prejudice to none – equity to all. Is it reasonable to deduce that these are the serious indicators of institutionalised racism? Have the people developed an anarchic mentality engendered by the circumstances? Where is the constitutional guarantee of and, the fundamental right of equality and equal status before the law? Why is there discrimination when it comes to enforcing the law in situations where the Sinhalese are involved with the Tamils or Muslims or the Christians?
The Constitution of Sri Lankan guarantees to its citizens, thus:
12. (1) All persons are equal before the law and are entitled to the equal protection of the law.
(2) No citizen shall be discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion, language, caste, sex, political opinion, place of birth or any one of such grounds.
The demise of greats like the late Venerable Sobitha Thero and Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thero who were strong supporters of the Rule of Law is a tragedy for the nation.
Mr. Prime Minister
It was not too long before that you received the appointment as the Minister for Law and Order. The Muslim community is waiting in anticipation to see what action you will be taking on what transpired in Ampara at the Hotel. Absolutely unfounded and scientifically fallacious accusations levelled against the hotelier. Clearly, several crimes had been committed like assault, damage to property, criminal trespass, unlawful assembly, hate speech etc.
The Muslim community is looking for justice. Justice that is manifested in its true sense that is equitable justice to all sides. If there is evidence that the hotelier has mixed the so called ‘wanda pethi’ prosecute him to the maximum. In the same way arrest all those who were directly responsible for causing this mayhem on that day. Also, arrest all those who were accomplices and those who aided and abetted in the violence that took place in Ampara. Let the IGP instruct the CID to identify the persons who misuse social media to spread false news and to take stern action against them.
Mr. Prime Minister both you, as the Minister for Law and Order and the IGP need to focus investigation on the following premise. If these criminals acted as they had done because the hotelier had mixed these tablets in their food, why did they attack and cause damage to the mosque? What could have been the possible correlation between the two? They are mutually exclusive entities. The mosque is a revered place of worship of the Muslims.
The Constitution in Article 14 (1) (e) states:
“Every citizen is entitled to – the freedom, either by himself or in association with others, and either in public or in private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching;”
'The Muslims are not asking for any special favours from you as the Prime Minister nor as the Minister for Law and Order nor any favours from the Inspector General of Police. Both of you belong to the Executive arm of this country. What the Muslims are asking for is very simple and clear.
Please establish the RULE OF LAW in this country.'
Special Favours
How can anyone vandalise and desecrate a place of religious worship and remain free from the arm of the law? Will you enforce the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) law on these unsocial elements? The above is a more stringent piece of substantive law compared to the concomitant relevant Sections in the Penal Code. In many circumstances before there had been reluctance to indict under the ICCPR. Such unwillingness is interpreted by these racist elements as leniency shown towards them. How and when will the Rule of Law be upheld in this country. The eclectic application of the law is a violation of fundamental rights of the citizen as articulated in 12 (1) of the Constitution.
The ICCPR states:
3. (1) No person shall propagate war or advocate national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.
(2) Every person who—
(a) attempts to commit;
(b) aids or abets in the commission of; or
(c) threatens to commit,
an offence referred to in subsection (1), shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.
The Muslims are not asking for any special favours from you as the Prime Minister nor as the Minister for Law and Order nor any favours from the Inspector General of Police. Both of you belong to the Executive arm of this country. What the Muslims are asking for is very simple and clear.
Please establish the RULE OF LAW in this country. This country cannot afford to continue in this path of growing anarchy and chauvinistic hegemony. This has to stop.
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