யுத்தக் குற்றச்சவாரி!

இன்று வெளியாகப்போகும் ஐ.நா.அறிக்கையை இங்கு பெறலாம்.

UN Media Release

(தலைப்பில் அழுத்துக)

UNHR Report Sri Lanka 2015

(தலைப்பில் அழுத்துக)

UN Human Rights Office report on Sri Lanka to be published Wednesday ((Today)

GENEVA/COLOMBO (14 September 2015) – The report of the UN Human Rights Council-mandated investigation on Sri Lanka will be made publicly available on Wednesday, 16 September at 10h30 CET time and 14h00 UTC time.

The report will then be posted online on:

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/OISL.aspx.

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/OISL.aspx. 

A press release accompanying the report will also be posted online and disseminated to the media.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein will hold a press conference to discuss the findings of the report, including recommendations for the way forward, at 10h30 CET in Geneva. The press conference will be webcast live on http://webtv.un.org.

The OHCHR* Investigation on Sri Lanka was mandated by the Human Rights Council in Resolution 25/1** in March 2014.

The resolution requested the High Commissioner to

“undertake a comprehensive investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes by both parties in Sri Lanka during the period covered by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), and to establish the facts and circumstances of such alleged violations and of the crimes perpetrated with a view to avoiding impunity and ensuring accountability, with assistance from relevant experts and special procedures mandate holders.” 

For more information about how the investigation was conducted, please visit: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/OISL.aspx

ENDS

ENB Note: GENEVA Time is 1 hour plus GMT

“We fundamentally believe that you’re going to have a more durable outcome if there is a very strong and credible domestic process'' US

“We fundamentally believe that you’re going to have a more durable outcome if there is a very strong and credible domestic process'' US

UNHRC report: No names but strong indictment

Sri Lanka faces tough international challenge as Geneva sessions begin, Govt. to propose two-year road map

The biggest international challenge for Sri Lanka will unfold in the coming week as the UN Human Rights Council receives the findings of the probe into alleged war crimes by troops and Tiger guerrillas.

A copy of the report, which has already been provided to the Government of Sri Lanka, is being kept a close secret until it is formally placed on the UNHRC’s official website anytime next week. However, diplomatic sources say the probe team has made strong indictments against both the troops and the guerrillas over purported war crimes.

Though no politicians or those who were in combat have been named, these sources said, identification of those involved was not difficult since reference was being made in the findings to the chain of command with the identification of areas where violations occurred.

According to some sources, the previous Government has also been strongly indicted for what they call systematically denying or depriving food and medicine to civilians in war-affected areas. It has taken note of reports by the Government Agent for Wanni that some 350,000 civilians were affected by this move, the sources added.

Even before some of the allegations became the specific subject of a probe titled “OISL” under the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the sponsor of the resolution as well as countries that backed it called for an international investigation. However, the new Government that took office in January succeeded in persuading them to agree to a “credible domestic inquiry” after the OISL findings are made known.

The United States’ position was articulated in Colombo by Nisha Biswa, Assistant Secretary in the Department of State. Addressing an “invitees only” news conference at the American Center — the Sunday Times was not an invitee — Ms. Biswal said, “We fundamentally believe that you’re going to have a more durable outcome if there is a very strong and credible domestic process that actually brings communities together in the country. As Secretary Kerry reiterated during his visit, we fundamentally support efforts to create a credible domestic process for accountability and for reconciliation.”

Tom Malinowski Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, who accompanied Ms. Biswal declared, “We have said that we support a domestic mechanism that will be credible to all of the affected communities in Sri Lanka. I would also add that international support for this process has been, and will continue to be important to building trust and confidence….”

Notwithstanding the public statements for Sri Lankans during the Colombo news conference, Mr. Malinowski has been more pointed in the tweets he made on the issue. A sampling: “US will back the Sri Lanka Accountability process if it’s credible, done in consultation with the victims and in co-operation with the United Nations.” – “When UN report comes hope Sri Lanka Government will continue defending the country without being defensive, accepting the need to fully, honestly confront past.”

That the US position has not helped one of the stakeholders in the issue – the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) – became clear yesterday. Its leader Rajavarothayam Sampanthan was busy with the draft of a letter he is sending to the UN Human Rights High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, seeking a meeting with him in Geneva.

The TNA wants to impress on him the need for an international investigation. The TNA also has another unenviable issue – different groups, some hardliners who support Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran, want to be in Geneva to push their different campaigns.

However, other Tamil sources in Colombo, not aligned to the TNA, held a different view. They claimed that a “credible domestic inquiry” mechanism, which would “satisfy all stakeholders”, would have expert foreign technical assistance, the oversight of the UNHRC and be based on a two-year road map Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera would present. Such a road map, these sources said, would mean that Sri Lanka would have to keep the UNHRC briefed at its every session on the progress in the “domestic inquiry”. “All that would make it function much the same as an international inquiry,” a source pointed out.

In June 2014, the High Commissioner for Human Rights appointed three experts — Martti Ahtisaari, a former President of Finland, Silvia Cartwright, a former High Court judge of New Zealand, and Asma Jahangir, former President of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, to play a supportive and advisory role, as well as independent verification throughout the investigation.

WORLD

Labor Shortage: Germany Needs More Immigrants

Germany needs to add 400,000 skilled immigrants to its workforce every year to maintain its economic strength.

By Anthony Advincula / New American Media

January 4, 2015

Print

12 COMMENTS

BERLIN, Germany — Yves Pierre, 34, traveled around the world for over a decade looking for a land of opportunity - a place to live where he could have steady work in order to support his family back in Haiti. When he found a job with a multinational cruise line based in Berlin, he embraced Germany as his new home.

He’s now been here for five years. He has an apartment in a neighborhood he loves, and German friends he hangs out with on weekends.

“I really like it here - the social life, the arts,” says Pierre, who speaks five languages, including German. “I find it [very] international.”

He also sees career opportunities. He just established a small fashion company, and he dreams of expanding to New York and Paris. But wherever his work may take him, he says, he knows that he wants Berlin to remain his home.

Facing an enormous demographic shift, with an aging population and a low birthrate, Germany is taking new measures to open its doors to immigrants like Pierre, with the hope that they’ll bolster the workforce and help maintain Germany’s status as an economic powerhouse within the European Union.

Two years ago, the German government enacted the “blue card” system for non-EU nationals who are willing to stay and live permanently in Germany to replenish its dwindling labor force. Similar to a green card in the United States, an immigrant is eligible to apply for a blue card if he or she has a confirmed job offer or a valid work contract with a sponsoring employer, holds a university degree, and earns an annual salary of at least 35,000 euros.

Pierre holds a blue card and is currently applying for German citizenship.

Der Spiegelrecently reported that over half a million immigrants with college degrees came to Germany in the first half of 2012 - the largest number since the 1990s. But this may not be enough. According to a 2011 study conducted by the Nuremburg-based Institute for Employment Research, given the current shortage of skilled labor and the shrinking German population, the country’s labor force is expected to drop by almost 7 million by 2025.

Click to enlarge.

The study estimated that Germany would need to add about 400,000 skilled immigrants to its workforce every year to maintain its economic strength.

“Some of my friends have asked me, ‘Why do you want to work in Berlin? Why do you want to live in Germany?’“ Pierre says. “[But] my life here has been great. I don’t feel different because of the color of my skin. For me, [Berlin] is a small world of communities where you find a lot of welcoming people.”

Other immigrants, though, haven’t felt as welcome as Pierre has.

More refugees

In the early 1970s, the German economy collapsed and the government froze recruitment for foreign guest workers, known as gasterbeiter, mostly from neighboring European countries. But the effort didn’t quite achieve its aims. Many guest workers who had already entered the country not only maintained their residence permits, but also brought their families into the country to be with them.

So, despite Germany’s resistance to immigration at the time, there was a major influx of immigrants who joined their families that were already in the country. Germany became the world's third largest immigrant country in the 1990s, after the U.S. and Russia, with almost 11 million immigrants.

To date, according to the German Federal Statistical Office, about 15 percent of the German population has a migrant background. A large number of them are second- and third-generation offspring of former guest workers. Of these, 8 million are German citizens.

And, in recent years, the number of refugees who flee wars, famine, and political unrest in their home countries has increased. In 2012 alone, the number of refugee applications rose to over 100,000. The majority are from Syria, though about a fifth come from the Balkan states, such as Serbia and Bosnia.

But as German cities struggle to find housing for these refugees, others look on in horror at what they see as a growing burden on the government that is at the same time fueling the “Islamisation” of their home country.

The ‘outsiders’

With the steady growth of immigrant communities, the question of what constitutes a true German identity has become yet more sensitive and contentious.

“It’s easy to feel like an outsider,” says Gokai Dobak, a 32-year-old German who was born and raised in Berlin but has a Turkish background. He says that while few would openly say it, many Germans don’t consider him to be a fellow German because of his ethnic background.

Dobak drives a taxi five days a week to support his wife and their five-year-old daughter. He says that he got married early and did not finish college.

“Here, they will always think of me as a Turk. It sounds crazy if I say ‘I am German,’” he says. “[But] when my family visits Istanbul, our relatives there do not consider me like one of them.”

Dobak says that he and his wife decided to send their daughter to a school where the students are primarily from migrant backgrounds, hoping that in this way she will feel less isolated. “[But] I am afraid she won’t be able to speak Turkish anymore,” he says.

In Cologne, Tanchanok Blattman, 55, works as a maid for a prestigious hotel that faces the iconic Cologne Cathedral. “It can be difficult here,” she says, almost in a whisper, standing next to a housekeeping cart in a hallway.

After emigrating from Thailand in 1996 to join her younger sister, she studied German in a government-subsidized language school for eight hours a day. She is now married to a German and they have a son who is in college.

“Sometimes I get a different treatment, but Germans are good people,” she says.

An identity - hyphenated

Officials here say that government integration efforts will help alleviate the stigma associated with immigrants, refugees and ethnic Germans.

In recent years, says Honey Deihimi, a federal commissioner for migration, refugees, and integration, millions of euros have been allocated for services like language courses and employment programs.

“The majority of [immigrant] Germans go into labor, they pay taxes, they contribute to the social system,” Deihimi says.

She notes that it’s flawed to assume that refugees are not highly skilled. The majority of Syrian refugees, she says, are highly educated, many of them doctors.

“I am always optimistic,” she says. “If the nation becomes a more welcoming state, we can increase the current positive environment towards integration in this country.”

According to Dr. Ulf Rinne, deputy director of research at the Institute for the Study of Labor, Germany is more than ready to become an ethnically diverse nation “because it is such a nation already.” But, he says, “Discrimination is still relevant. For example, foreign-sounding names matter in access to jobs.”

Yves Pierre, for his part, has found not only material success, but also happiness and acceptance in Berlin.

“This is the city and country where I want my 10-year-old son to grow up,” he says. “I have already started processing his papers so we will be reunited again. I would like him to be a Haitian-German someday.”

This story was produced as part of the RIAS and RTDNA German/American Exchange Fellowship for Journalists in October 2014.

TNA To Send Lawyers’ Team To UNHRC

TNA To Send Lawyers’ Team To UNHRC
By P.K. Balachandran
Published: 12th September 2015 12:34 PM

COLOMBO: The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will be sending a lawyers’ team to the coming session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva at which the UN Human Rights High Commissioner’s report on war crimes allegedly committed in Sri Lanka is to be presented and acted upon.

TNA leader and Jaffna MP Mavai Senathirajah told Express on Saturday, that the team will be headed by Supreme Court Senior Counsel, M.A.Sumanthiran, who is also a fellow MP from Jaffna.

“A TNA delegation, as such, might be sent after reading the High Commissioner’s report and the Sri Lankan government’s response to it. The task of Sumanthiran and his team of lawyers will be to examine the High Commissioner’s report and the Lankan government’s reply, and chalk out a line on which the TNA leadership will base its final decision,” Senathirajah said.

Meanwhile, speaking to the media on Friday, 

TNA’s chief, R.Sampanthan, said that party’s stand on the UNHRC’s proceedings on Lanka will be based on the Tamils’ sentiments as well as the views of the International Community.
“While we have to go by the peoples’ sentiments, we cannot alienate the international community,” he said.

There is an overwhelming demand from the Tamils that the TNA should reject the US-Lankan agreement to substitute the international investigation by a domestic probe. M.K.Shivajilingam, a TNA member of the Northern Provincial Council is currently leading a march from Kilinochchi to Jaffna seeking an international probe and an international judicial mechanism for the trial of the accused.

But the TNA’s leadership feels diffident about alienating the US and the Western world which also dominate the UNHRC.

Truce Over Wigneswaran

Asked if the anti-party activities of the Northern Province Chief Minister C.V.Wigneswaran was discussed at the TNA’s Executive Committee meeting on Friday, Senathirajah said that the committee decided to let Sampanthan talk to  Wigneswaran to sort out matters.

In the run up to the August 17 parliamentary elections, Wigneswaran had issued a statement saying that he would be “neutral”.  As if this was not enough, he indirectly advised voters to support the radical Tamil National Peoples’ Front (TNPF).

Button holed on this by the Tamil daily Thinakkural, Wigneswaran said that hehoped to resolve the issue during meetings with the TNA’s leadership.“I am not a politician. I had accepted the post of Chief Minister only to see that the war-affected people of the North get their due. I am not interested in anything else,” he declared.

மார்க்சியம் காப்போம்! Face Book இல் ஒரு மோதல்

2015 அப்பு பாலன் தியாகிகள் தினம்

நக்சல்பாரிப் புரட்சியாளர்கள்

அப்பு பாலன் நினைவு நீடூழி வாழ்க!

இந்திய புதிய ஜனநாயக விவசாய தேசியப் புரட்சி ஓங்குக!

இந்திய விஸ்தரிப்புவாதம் ஒழிக!

புதிய தமிழ் ஈழம் மலர்க!

மார்க்சிய லெனினிய மா ஓ சிந்தனை வெல்க!

மக்கள் ஜனநாயக இளைஞர் கழகம் வாழ்க!

புதிய ஈழப் புரட்சியாளார்கள்

செப்டெம்பர் 12 2015

நக்சல்பாரிப் புரட்சி இயக்கத் தோழர் பாலன் தர்மபுரி மாவட்டத்தில் ஜனநாயகப் புரட்சிகரப் போராட்டத்திற்கு மக்களை அணிதிரட்டுவதில் முன்னணித் தோழராக செயல்பட்டார். புரட்சிகர இயக்கத்தை அழிக்கும் நோக்கத்தோடு எம்.ஜி.ஆர். ஆட்சி நடத்திய நர பலி வேட்டையில் 1980 செப்.12ல் தோழர் பாலன் படுகொலை செய்யப்பட்டார். தோழர் பாலனின் நினைவு நாளை நாட்டின் விடுதலைக்கும், ஜனநாயகத்திற்கும் போராடி உயிர்நீத்த அனைத்து  தியாகிகளையும் நினைவுகூரும் நாளாகவும், அவர்களின் இலட்சியங்களை நிறைவேற்ற உறுதி ஏற்கும் நாளாகவும் கழகம் கடைப்பிடித்து வருகிறது.

இதன் பொருட்டு இவ்வாண்டு (2015) இலும் கழகம் பிரச்சார இயக்கத்தை முன்னெடுத்து வருகின்றது.

* அமெரிக்க மேலாதிக்கத்திற்கு சேவை செய்யும்

இந்துத்துவப் பாசிச மோடி, ஜெயா ஆட்சியில்

நாடு ஒட்டாண்டி ஆவதும்,மத, சாதிவெறிக் கலவரங்கள்தலைவிரித்தாடுவதுமான அவலங்கள்;

* அவலங்களை எதிர்த்து காங்கிரஸ் உள்ளிட்ட

தரகு முதலாளித்துவ, நிலப்பிரபுத்துவ

நாடாளுமன்றவாத எதிர்க் கட்சிகள்

மாற்றுத்  திட்டத்துடன்ஒன்றுபட   முடியாத கையாலாகாத்தனம்;

* அவலநிலையைப் போக்கஅந்நிய ஆதிக்கத்தை எதிர்த்தும்,மத, சாதிவாத பாசிசத்தை எதிர்த்தும்

அனைத்து ஜனநாயக சக்திகளும் ஒன்றிணைந்து

மக்கள் ஜனநாயக அரசமைக்க அணிதிரள்வோம்!

மேற்காணும் மூன்று முழக்கங்களின் அடிப்படையில் இப்பிரச்சார இயக்கம் கட்டியமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

இதனடிப்படையில் துண்டுப்பிரசுர விநியோகமும் , பொதுக்கூட்டங்களும் ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளன.

துண்டுப்பிரசுரம்

(தலைப்பை அழுத்துக)

பொதுக்கூட்டங்கள்

அம்மா ஆட்சி கழகம் வேண்டிய இடங்களில் சிலவற்றுக்கு அநுமதி மறுத்துள்ளது .

அநுமதி பெற்று கழகப் பொதுக்கூட்டம் நடை பெறும் திடல்கள்

======================================

காந்திபுரம்

சேலம் மாவட்ட தியாகிகள் தின பொதுகூட்டம்

நாள் :12/09/2015சனி மாலை6.00 மணி 

இடம் :காந்திபுரம் கோயில் மைதானம் சேந்தமங்கலம் ,நாமக்கல் .

===================================================

இண்டூர்

தியாகிகள் தின பிரச்சாரப் பொதுக்கூட்டம்

12-09-2015 சனி மாலை 5.00 மணி

(இண்டூர் பேரூந்து நிறுத்தம் அருகில்)

==================================

உத்திரமேரூர்

தியாகிகள் நினைவு நாள் பொதுக்கூட்டம்

இடம்: உத்தரமேரூர் பேருந்து நிலையம் அருகில் 

நாள்: 12.09.2015, சனிக்கிழமை

நேரம்: மாலை 5 மணி

===================================================

ஆபிரிக்க மத்திய கிழக்கு ஏதிலிகளின் இடப்பெயர்வுப் பிரச்சனை மூலகாரணம் என்ன?

ஆபிரிக்க மத்திய கிழக்கு ஏதிலிகளின் இடப்பெயர்வுப் பிரச்சனை.
================================

“Destabilization of Africa and the Middle East Prompts Millions to Flee”: Mass Migration Deaths Caused by US Foreign Policy

By Abayomi Azikiwe    Global Research, September 01, 2015

There was yet another gruesome discovery of over 70 dead migrants in Austria on a highway between Budapest and Vienna where thousands are seeking refuge. These deaths compounded approximately 100 others who died after their vessel capsized in route to Europe.

Inside the truck in Austria people had apparently suffocated while being illegally transported from the Mediterranean into Southern and Eastern Europe.

Austrian governmental officials announced on August 28 that 71 refugees, including an infant girl, were found dead in what appeared to be an abandoned freezer truck.  During the same day Libyan naval units recovered the bodies of 105 migrants who were washed ashore apparently after an overcrowded boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea on its way to Europe.

These deaths are occurring due an upsurge in migrants running away from war and poverty that has been initiated by United States and European Union foreign policies.  United Nations officials and other international agencies concerned with migration have reported since last year that the number of internally displaced persons and refugees are higher today than any period since the conclusion of World War II.

The International Organization for Migration has revealed that over 330,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year. Consequently, the number deaths are ranging in the thousands and there no reasons to believe that more of these tragedies will not occur in the short term.

Impact of Imperialist Wars Span Several Continents
These recent mass deaths are by no means isolated incidents. A pattern of dislocation has been rising steadily since the wars of regime change in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Nigeria from 2001 until the present.

Also the growing class divisions and economic difficulties in other Asian and African states are creating tensions which foster migration. Some of the states which are impacted by this global crisis include Morocco in North Africa, Nigeria in West Africa and Bangladesh in South Asia.

When the U.S. and its NATO allies went to war against the Taliban government in Afghanistan they claimed that it was designed to end “terrorism” and ensure stability in Central Asia.

However, some fourteen years later hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives in both Afghanistan and Pakistan with many more leaving the country as a result of the ongoing fighting between forces in support and in opposition to the Washington-imposed regime in Kabul.

Going back over 35 years, the U.S. waged a war against the socialist-oriented government in Afghanistan that was supported by the-then Soviet Union. Washington funded, trained and coordinated Islamic fighters which led to the formation of al-Qaeda and the eventual ascendancy of the Taliban between the late 1970s up until the 1990s.

In Iraq beginning with the military build-up and invasion during 2002-2003, some estimates claim that over one million people have died. War still rages between the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Iraqi government in Baghdad causing a new wave of outmigration.

Both Syria and Libya were targeted for regime-change in 2011 through the support of pro-western groups, militias and massive bombing campaigns. Over four million Syrians have left the country many of whom are now seeking refuge in Europe.

The situation in the Horn of Africa is largely the result of successive U.S. administrations meddling in the affairs of the region. Somalia has been a major source for Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) interventions since the late 1970s when the administration of Jimmy Carter won over the regime of Mohamed Siad Barre and encouraged it to invade Ethiopia which was undergoing a socialist revolution supported by the Soviet Union and Cuba.

Coinciding with the weakening of the USSR, the regime of Mikhail Gorbachev halted support for the Ethiopian government of Mengistu Haile Miriam. After the overthrow of the Workers Party state in Addis Ababa in 1991, the U.S. the following year invaded and occupied Somalia under the guise of a humanitarian mission.

Somalians rose up against the occupation in 1993 prompting a withdrawal by the Pentagon and the United Nations peacekeeping forces. Nonetheless, Washington would continue to seek domination of Somalia through an invasion by the current western-oriented regime in Ethiopia in 2006 and the formation of a regional African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) 22,000-member military force now operating inside the country.

All of these geo-political regions have their nationals being lured by human traffickers across borders in Asia, the Middle East and Africa with the promise of prosperity in Europe. However, Europe itself has serious economic crisis particularly in southern states such as Greece.

EU Divided Over Migrant Crisis

These deaths of migrants totaling nearly 3,000 this year, poses a problem for the EU due to the financial instability inside the imperialist states. Many migrants have entered Greece where the most serious economic downturn has taken place leaving millions in poverty and uncertainty stemming from the U.S. as well as Northern and Western European capitalist states’ terms of loan repayments and imposed economic conditionalities.

Italy has experienced a large wave of migration in recent months. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says that over 65 percent of the people seeking entry into Europe this year have crossed over into Greece and Italy.  (Reuters, August 28)

The International Business Times reported on August 30 that recent migrants are being trafficked heavily through the Balkans.

An article from this publication says “Investigations will likely focus on the Balkans region, which has now reportedly become the primary route for people-smuggling gangs transporting migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia into Western Europe. Between January and July this year, 102,342 people crossed into Austria via the western Balkans, more than 10,000 higher than the total which entered Europe via the so-called ‘Central Mediterranean’ route, according to data from Frontex, the EU border control agency.”

In a recent Washington Post analysis of the crisis written by Anthony Failoa and Michael Birnbaum, they acknowledge the criticism of the EU system for its failure to develop a sound and rational immigration policy. Earlier in June, the regional organization sought to handle the burgeoning migration into Europe through military means by halting, boarding and returning vessels where migrants were being transported.

The Washington Post authors say “Perhaps nowhere is that more true than in Hungary, the nation the perished migrants were smuggled through. This former Soviet bloc country, now led by right-wing nationalists, is fast emerging as the toughest obstacle for a record number of refugees trying to reach Europe from war-torn Syria, Iraq and other nations.” 
(August 31)

This same report continues noting that “Hungary is building a 109-mile-long razor-wire fence on its southern border meant to keep out migrants. But as they come ashore in Greece, then try to reach the wealthy core of Europe – nations such as Germany, Sweden and Austria – the asylum-seekers’ path to sanctuary runs straight through Hungary.”

Although Germany is portraying a more humane posture related to the latest migrant crisis they are not burdened with the same problems as the lesser developed states on the continent. The EU states have failed to agree on a uniform policy of quotas and methods of processing migrants.

“The problem is that the European system is dysfunctional, and when a system is dysfunctional, refugees are going to put themselves in danger,” according to Babar Baloch, the spokesman for UN High Commission for Refugees in Budapest. “Especially in Hungary, they are being pushed to take risks because they have no other legal way.” 
(Washington Post, August 31)
Copyright © Abayomi Azikiwe, Global Research, 2015

Media Coverage of Europe's Migrant Crisis Ignores Root Cause ...

(தலைப்பில் அழுத்துக)

Destabilization of Africa and the Middle East Prompts Millions to Flee

(தலைப்பில் அழுத்துக)

European Union Advancing Plans for Military Response to Migration ...
(தலைப்பில் அழுத்துக)

The Root Cause of the Migrant Crisis – Putting Profits Before People ...

(தலைப்பில் அழுத்துக)

The Migration Crisis: Victims of Western Wars Forced to Flee Their ...
(தலைப்பில் அழுத்துக)

Greece – The Refugee Crisis and the Horror of Europe | Global 
(தலைப்பில் அழுத்துக)

The Refugees are the Victims of US-NATO led Wars: The Migrants ..
(தலைப்பில் அழுத்துக)

African, Asian Migrants Dying in Mass in the Mediterranean | Global ...
(தலைப்பில் அழுத்துக)

America's Responsibility for the Global Refugee Crisis | Global ...
(தலைப்பில் அழுத்துக)

Building “Security Walls” To Keep Migrants Out of the EU: Hungary ...
(தலைப்பில் அழுத்துக)

European Powers Seek to Bomb Libya to Stop Migrants | Global ...
(தலைப்பில் அழுத்துக)

குறிப்பு: இது ஒரு தகவல் தொகுப்பு.

Tony Blair could face trial over illegal Iraq war

Tony Blair could face trial over 'illegal' Iraq war, says Jeremy Corbyn

Corbyn, the Labour leadership frontrunner, claims Chilcot report may lead to ‘consequences’ for former PM over decisions made during 2003 invasio Tony Blair arriving at Basra airport in Iraq in December 2004 for meetings with senior military officers.
Wednesday 5 August 2015 07.13 BST

Tony Blair should stand trial on charges of war crimes if the evidence suggests he broke international law over the “illegal” Iraq war in 2003, the Labour leadership frontrunner Jeremy Corbyn has said.

Corbyn called on the former prime minister to “confess” the understandings he reached with George W Bush in the run up to the invasion.

Asked on BBC Newsnight whether Blair should stand trial on war crimes charges, Corbyn said: “If he has committed a war crime, yes. Everybody who has committed a war crime should be.”
The veteran MP for Islington North was a high-profile opponent of the war and became a leading member of the Stop the War coalition. He said: “It was an illegal war. I am confident about that. Indeed Kofi Annan [UN secretary general at the time of the war] confirmed it was an illegal war and therefore [Tony Blair] has to explain to that. Is he going to be tried for it? I don’t know. Could he be tried for it? Possibly.”

Corbyn said he expects the eventual publication of the Chilcot report will force Blair to explain his discussions with President Bush in the runup to the war.

He said: “The Chilcot report is going to come out sometime. I hope it comes out soon. I think there are some decisions Tony Blair has got to confess or tell us what actually happened. What happened in Crawford, Texas, in 2002 in his private meetings with George [W] Bush. Why has the Chilcot report still not come out because – apparently there is still debate about the release of information on one side or the other of the Atlantic. At that point Tony Blair and the others that have made the decisions are then going to have to deal with the consequences of it.”

On Newsnight, Corbyn made clear that he is opposed to British involvement in air strikes against Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria. Prime minister David Cameron is hoping to win parliamentary support to extend Britain’s involvement in the aerial bombing of Isis targets from Iraq to Syria.

Corbyn said: “I would want to isolate Isis. I don’t think going on a bombing campaign in Syria is going to bring about their defeat. I think it would make them stronger. I am not a supporter of military intervention. I am a supporter of isolating Isis and bringing about a coalition of the region against them.”

Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture By Former British PM Tony Blair (Text)

Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture By Former British PM Tony Blair (Text)

Thursday, 27 August 2015 11:19

 Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture By Former British PM Tony Blair
It is a great pleasure and honour to be giving this Lakshman Kadirgamar lecture at the Institute which bears his name. Before I say anything else I should say one thing at the conclusion of two weeks’ vacation here: I love Sri Lanka. This is truly an amazing country and we have had the best time. I have to say the last two weeks have been bliss because they have been free from speeches but when I was asked to do this, I wanted to, not only as a mark of respect to the country but also as a mark of respect to Lakshman for all that he achieved and accomplished. He was a brilliant lawyer, and I know a thing about brilliant lawyers as I am married to one. He was a distinguished statesman and he was also renowned internationally. When he died so tragically 10 years ago the outpouring of respect did not only come  from Sri Lanka but from his many friends and admirers from around the world, paying tribute  for what he achieved for this country but also for the cause of peace. He was a huge believer in equality between people of different faiths. This fascinates me and takes up a large part of what I do today.

He believed in a Sri Lanka where all people were equal under one law, so Mrs. Kadirgamar thank you very much for inviting me to give this speech in honour of your husband. It is genuinely an honour to be here with you and with so many distinguished members of society in Sri Lanka and to offer you my thoughts at this very important moment, almost a junction between the past and future where Sri Lanka finds itself.

I’m just back from the Middle East, which was the one break in my holiday. I went back to try and contribute to its peace process there. This was actually my 150th visit to Jerusalem since leaving office, although as Cherie once pointed out to me, it’s not the number of visits you make it’s the progress that counts; which I did not think was very supportive by the way, but unfortunately it is true. Not all peace processes end in success. It can take some a very long time to succeed, but in the experience of Northern Ireland we did.  However it is worth pointing out we succeeded after, according to some calculations, decades of conflict, and others, centuries of conflict on the island of Ireland. And that is an important lesson in itself to realise, that however tough things seem and however intractable problems are, it is always worth striving for peace because you never know the moment at which peace becomes possible. Here in Sri Lanka for many years you had conflict of a terrifying nature where so many innocent people lost their lives. Today that conflict has ended and the pursuit of reconciliation has begun.

Now each conflict always has its own characteristics, therefore when you compare the experience of Northern Ireland with that of Sri Lanka you have to do so with caution because the circumstances are so different. Having had experience now in different parts of the world since leaving office including, but not limited to, the Middle East it is true that conflict comes in an array of different circumstances and characteristics. It is also true that peace-making and reconciliation have characteristics which are common to whatever the circumstances or whatever the origins of conflict were. With peace comes enormous opportunity, and we can feel this as visitors to Sri Lanka, it is in the air, and it is important that someone from outside tells you of the excitement the world feels about where Sri Lanka can go. So in your pursuit of reconciliation you have many long standing friends who want you to succeed but you also have new interest in the country and what it can do. Even in the two weeks we have
been here it is evident that this country has beauty, a remarkable variety of beauty. It has an extraordinary history. When we went to see Anuradhapura, this ancient civilisation now in the process of being excavated and as each stage proceeds we saw the quality of the civilisation, and when I went back to the Middle East I was telling them about the Sigirya. So when you see the way the whole civilisation was built around it with two million people living in the main city, the history of this country is a history that is profound and is the subject of fascination for people coming here. You have natural wealth and resources and to the British most importantly tea!  I travel the world today, I travel the world to get a decent cup of tea because the British care about tea. But most places you travel throughout the world, they may think they are great countries but they don’t know anything about tea. I won’t mention any names of super powers, roughly 50 states in it, and then you get your tea and it looks like dish water and when you taste it, it actually tastes like dish water! So to come here and get a decent cup of tea it is such a blessing.  You have also the fantastic potential for tourism, and your trade agreements offer amazing opportunities for business to come and locate here. Most importantly, your biggest resource is your people who are kind and generous and want the best for their country. So there is so much to be proud of and hope for. Yet, despite all this, for decades, the country defined by conflict and conflict is always hard, bloody and unforgiving. So right now as peace has come we have to look upon this as the supreme moment of possibility and opportunity. But we have to realise one other thing which the minister did so well in his introduction which is that peace is a beginning which gives you a chance to create something new. It does not in itself create it. When we made that Good Friday agreement in 1998, it took nine years after that before Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness sat down in government together. Through that period of time there were ups and down and periods of difficulties and crisis in which we thought peace would not be possible. You have the opportunity, but the opportunity has to be seized, for reconciliation won’t come unless there is much more work done.

I think I can identify, based on my experience not only in Northern Ireland but elsewhere, seven principles of successful reconciliation.

First is the continued absence of conflict.

This sounds obvious but it is very important. Security matters. Lakshman understood this very well, which is why he spent so much time and energy in waking the world up to the LTTE. We have to say constantly as we pursue reconciliation that whatever your grievance and disagreement, nothing justifies terrorism. To achieve lasting peace the cycle of violence has to be put in permanent suspense because the evil of terrorism is not just the act itself, but it also creates a division, a reaction. I have never come across an instance in the world where there is terrorism and there is not a response from the forces of authority and then there is a reaction to the reaction and so it goes and that is why you cannot reconcile while there is violence. What we had to understand in the Northern Ireland situation and the first thing we did, was to create the circumstances in which the violence stopped. This was not easy, but it was absolutely essential, if not we would not be in the position we are today. Right now we see terror around the world and I could take any terror hot spot and I can promise you one thing a majority of people don’t want it! Even in the most war torn areas in the Middle East or in northern Nigeria. What terrorism does is to create sectarian divisions within a community that even if people don’t want it and don’t like it they get caught up in it. For reconciliation to succeed, you should never lose sight of the fact that the very basis of it is the absence of conflict and that has to be maintained.

 Secondly, the reconciliation framework needs to be fair.

In a conflict there will be dispute, divisions and disagreements. But for sustainable solutions to come to pass one needs a conceptual framework that allows people to understand the nature of the accord being afforded to them. Essentially what is the framework which is going to govern our view of the future?  In Northern Ireland the conceptual framework was simple. You have a republican movement which believes in a united Ireland, and the unionists who believe that Northern Ireland should be a
part of the UK. The framework adopted said that whilst the majority wants Northern Ireland to stay in the UK, the principle of consent applies and for the time being Northern Ireland stays a part of the UK. But, in return for that, under the law people are going to be treated equally because for a long time the Catholics, the Nationalist and Republican communities felt that they were not. Thus the conceptual framework permitted the principle of consent to be balanced by equal treatment.  In the Middle East, it’s land for peace. Two states for two peoples. The problem in getting there is vast but the conceptual framework is very simple. One of the most frustrating things about the Middle East is that even though there is in principle an agreement on the conceptual framework, the facts on the ground contradict the hopes for peace.

Sri Lanka will have to work out its own framework. Obviously there are issues around devolution, guarantee of rights, development and dignity and fair treatment which will have to be resolved. The second principle is understanding that you can end the conflict of the past but you cannot get reconciliation for the future without a framework for the future which is fair - and seen to be fair - that allows for disagreements to happen within a normal political process without a cycle of violence.

 Third is Unity and Diversity.

Where conflict involves different parts of a country, faiths and ethnicities, then for reconciliation to work two things must be in balance: unity and diversity. Around the world, globalisation is pushing us closer together into a global community. It’s a cliche but it is true. Migration, travel and telecommunication devices are pushing us together so people across boundaries of nations, faith, ethnicities and culture are mixing and mingling in a way that is on an epic scale compared with previous times. This trend will only increase. For instance, take the city of London. When I first came to London from where I was brought up in the north east of England, in Durham, communities were very homogeneous and there was not a lot of mixing and mingling.  But if you go to London today it is an explosion of different cultures. Of course it has done a lot for us particularly on the culinary front!  But, London today is a vibrant and successful city precisely because of it diversity. However, the thing about difference and diversity is that while they have to be celebrated, it is also important that all the different groups recognise a common space which is governed by shared norms and values. One of the main problems faced in Europe and Britain today is that parts of our Muslim communities often don’t feel that they are a part of the rest of society and therefore that common space is not there. So if reconciliation is to work you have to recognise that you are bringing together people who are disparate and different but doing so within a unified nation where values such as democracy, freedom and equal rights for women cannot be disregarded by anyone who may disagree with those values. So in my view, if you are to be a part of the UK, these are the values which are
viewed as common; people may worship in different ways and be further differentiated by cultural views and practices but in a UK setting, to be a part of that setting, it is critical that everyone signs up to these values, for that is what keeps the nation together. Lakshman, in his speeches, had a very clear position on these issues, for where as a Tamil, he argued for religious freedom he also advocated for it within a nation of shared values. This I think is very important, because religious freedom today
is one of the main   bulwarks against religious extremism. I mentioned radicalised Islam but look at any religion and you find its share of extremists, of people who take the faith and i warp its values, ‘such as do unto others as you have them to do you’, into an instrument of violence. This balance is fundamental to the pursuit of reconciliation for as more and more people come to cross those boundaries that separate different cultures, the value of unity alongside diversity will only increase.

My foundation works on inter-faith relationships in about 20 countries around the world and where there has been a conflict with ethnic dimensions to it, these values become essential and the balance between unity and diversity  needs to be got right.

The fourth principle is the importance to reconciliation of Economic Development.

Conflict creates dislocation, poverty, and despair and reconciliation is hard in a crippled economy, economic development is critical. In Northern Ireland it definitely helped, because this investment, along with the improved security, meant that people came, located and invested. As a result, local communities got a stake in the future, thus mitigating the effects of despair, which was used as an excuse for violence. Where there is economic development there is a real prospect for peace, because as one dimension of reconciliation is economic opportunity for young people. In the Middle East as things have evolved over time and the wealth disparity has grown to enormous degrees between the Israelis and Palestinians by about 10 to 15 times. This is not propitious for bringing about reconciliation and peace. Further, when the economy stagnates the youth don’t feel they have stake in the future and this does not make reconciliation any easier.

Fifth is Education.

I am a person who believes education is a cure for virtually everything. I do believe the more our youth are educated and educated about the world they will grow up in, the easier it will be to pursue reconciliation. Today the whole point about education is not to stick children in front of a teacher in a classroom, but to educate them about the world that they are going to grow up in. In many of the countries I work with I tell those presidents and prime ministers that the key is to get your people connected. It is so that they open their eyes to the opportunities out there and make them realise that around the world young people are all striving for the same kind of opportunity. Education should not be about the number of students in the class but it should be about making them alive to the opportunities and enabling an ‘open mind’. To put it simply, you succeed economically if you are willing to be open minded towards people who are different. So if globalisation is inevitably pushing people together and there are people who have not got the educational opportunities to learn about these new developments and in doing so interact with these other groups, reconciliation cannot be fully achieved. For these young people will not learn to be respectful, tolerant and understanding of the diverse world they are living in. In Northern Ireland we put a lot of effort into education. It is important to remember that extremism is usually taught, it is not natural. It is best if we teach from the beginning, from a curriculum that puts at its centre, education aimed at opening the mind.

The sixth principle is dialogue. 

The dialogue has to be deep, it has to be inclusive and it has to be constant. All the time we have to recognise the importance, even after there is peace, even when you have the framework that I described, of a constant process of dialogue, of interaction, of understanding, of people working out their differences together. One of things that happens in a conflict, and I’ve seen this again and again around the world is that people don’t see each other’s pain. They know about their pain but they don’t see the other person’s.   In Northern Ireland, as we got the framework in place, those mechanisms brought people together, so that they understood that their pain was mirrored in the person on the other side. It was a really important in getting people to understand that reconciliation isn’t just about laws, constitutions and processes. It’s got to touch the heart. If it doesn’t touch the heart, it doesn’t really work. That dialogue is really important. Today in the Middle East Peace Process – perhaps the only good news – is that there are institutions of dialogue even among business people and young people where they are able to see that the person on the other side is not so very different, not a completely different person with a completely different psychology, but rather a mirror image, just on the opposite side.

The seventh final principle

And that brings us to the final principle, which is in many ways the most difficult and the most sensitive. The past cannot be erased and is never forgotten, but it can be confined in some way so that it does not disrupt the possibilities for the future. And where the past is examined it should be examined for the truth and not for any retribution. Conflict creates victims. And that pain never leaves them. It may never leave the people in this room. Not least, Mrs. Kadirgamar herself, knows about the pain, the grief, the suffering. And for the people who were left behind, the memory never dies. for them the past is in one sense the present and the future. So when we try to pursue reconciliation always one of the most difficult things is what you do about the past. The conversations that I’ve had that were more difficult than any others were those with the victims of the violence of both sides, who felt that their truth had never been told, and that closure had never been achieved. And they would be very critical of what they thought was a political process that seemed to have diminished or relegated their grief. I used to say, very often, I’m trying to do this because I want future generations to be released of the suffering. The very worst single act of terrorism occurred after the Good Friday Agreement. It might have disrupted the whole of the Northern Ireland Peace Process. And I remember visiting the families of the victims, and some of them were too torn apart by grief to speak to me. But one man who lost his child said to me, look, people will tell you that now you should stop, but I’m telling you now that you should carry on. This process of reconciliation, it will inevitably involve examination of the past. And countries have done it in many ways around the world. In Rwanda through a remarkable series of courts, specific courts related to the genocide where people – victims and perpetrators - would exchange their feelings with one another. In South Africa they had the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

In Northern Ireland we issued an Inquiry into one of the worst events of the conflict called Bloody Sunday.  It was an event that caused deep anger within the Catholic community. We were trying to get people to understand what they went through and find a way to overcome this. So you in Sri Lanka will have to find your own way to do this, whatever way is consistent with your own sovereignty; but it has to be credible, thorough and it has to succeed in allowing people who have been hurt to understand that any such process should be to salve their anger and not stir it. So the way it is set up is very important.

So these are some of the things I have learnt in the course of Northern Ireland Peace process and other attempts at peace-making in different parts of the world.Some final thoughts:  I believe there is a methodology in reconciliation. You have to get good people in charge of it. Make sure it is organised properly. In Northern Ireland we had a whole series of reforms and changes we needed to get done and make sure it was organised and implemented fairly. You have to realise that some people are going to try to stop the reconciliation.  There will always be people out there for whom the quickest way to whip up the audience is to tap into their fear, insecurity and grievance and play those into a situation of tension. The system has to be strong enough, the people have to be strong enough to overcome that. I see your recent elections as important in this respect and you have to persevere. In reconciliation and peace-making you don’t give up. I remember when I first came to power on the 1st of May 1997, I decided to make the Northern Ireland Peace Process a major part of the government’s programme and older and wiser people said to me are you crazy?

So, when you get to peace you have got all those other nitty-gritties that have to get done.

Persevere is my final piece of advice.  If you can persevere and secure a very clear understanding, which I’m sure is possible for Sri Lanka, that in different cultures people grow up in different ways but somethings are held in common. People prefer to live in a society where they can bring up their children with some peace and security; they  prefer to live in a  country where if they work hard, by their merits they can succeed; they  prefer that the rule of law decides any disagreements they have and that rule of law is impartially administered; they would prefer to have their government underneath them and not on top of them; and they prefer to live in an environment where they can get on with their neighbour whoever their neighbour may be. Now I think these are universal values but many people don’t get the chance to live in such societies.

So you can pursue this reconciliation in Sri Lanka, doing two things: remembering that this is a wonderful country with a rich history and with tremendous possibilities and you can pursue this knowing that the aspirations and the desires of thoverwhelming majority of people, whether they are a Tamil, Muslim, Christian or a Sinhalese, there is the deep rooted wish in the heart of your people that peace is maintained and that with reconciliation, the people will feel part of one country. Then there is nothing this country cannot achieve for itself and no aspiration it cannot fulfil. So this is a great moment of opportunity, I have had a wonderful time here, people have been so generous and so kind but most of all as I leave Sri Lanka I feel a great sense of excitement and hope about its future and perhaps more than anything else I can’t wait to come back.