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IDN-InDepthNews

 

CENTRAL ASIA

   

 

Acronym of the Year

    

UN INSIDER

Asia-Pacific

Photo credit: World Bank

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) - Cambodia is no longer going forward, it is slipping backwards, as it has many times before. Earlier this month the government asked the Supreme Court to dissolve the main opposition coalition. One opposition leader, Kem Sokha, was sent to prison in September and the other, Sam Rainsy, is in exile. The English-language newspaper, The Cambodia Daily, has been closed and the relatively free radio stations leant on and a number closed. The decades-long Prime Minister, Hun Sen, talks about rebels in the capital, Phnom Penh, plotting to overthrow the government.

OPINION

Photo: Since the Nobel Committee painstakingly scrutinizes the words and deeds of all nominees, it was cognizant of President Sirisena's failure to sign the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. UN Photo/Cia Pak.

Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa*

NEW YORK (IDN) - “Commiserations, Mr. President” in the Sunday Times of October 8 noted that President Maithripala Sirisena was “nominated and short listed” but missed the coveted Nobel peace prize.

The article provided an impressive historical perspective of our democracy – a must read by all who love our country. Bravo! to the writer. It is unfortunate that we, Sri Lankans, lost a jubilant moment.

Though no small feat to hit the short list, we are unable to know the details and opinions related to the award as the statutes of the Nobel Foundation restrict disclosure of information about the nominees for 50 years.

THE WORLD
Asia-Pacific

Photo: A painting of British soldiers shooting civilians in Amritsar on April 13, 1919. Credit: sabrangindia.in

By Janaka Perera

This report first appeared on LankaWeb on October 3, 2017, and is being re-published because it addresses an important issue which has been persistently highlighted by Shashi Tharoor, an eminent Indian politician, prolific writer and a former senior UN official. – The Editor

COLOMBO (IDN-INPS) - At a seminar on Foreign Policy and International Law held at the Organisation of Professional Associations (OPA) auditorium, Colombo on October 2, 2017, a member of the audience, Attorney Senaka Weeraratna, called for unity among Asian countries in claiming compensation from Western colonial powers which ravaged Third World nations including Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), during question time.

Weeraratna said: "The biggest proponents of Human Rights today are the very same countries that had decimated ancient civilizations in the two Americas (Aztec, Inca, Mayan and other Native American – the so-called Red Indian), Australia ( 40,000 year old Aboriginal civilization), Africa, Middle East, and Asia, within the last 500 years. There is mounting evidence of these crimes."

THE WORLD
Asia-Pacific

Photo: In last six quarters, the economy under Prime Minister Modi sank from 9.2 per cent to 5.7 per cent, according to the Congress Party. Courtesy: PTI.

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) - Recent reports estimate that India’s annual economic growth rate is now down to 5.5%. The government of Narendra Modi which until recently seemed to be on a public opinion roll could fall off its log – but that depends on the Indian electorate ending its self-deceit.

Three years ago Modi at the helm of his Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, gave Congress a thumping defeat. Suave and persuasive on the podium, Modi rammed home a simple message that in the state of Gujarat where he was the chief minister more had been achieved in a short space of time than anywhere else in India. It was industrializing fast, building more roads, modernizing its ports and communications and helping the poor.

OPINION

Photo: The UN Human Rights Council meeting room in Geneva. Credit: ohchr.org

By Dr Palitha Kohona

The writer is a former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations. The following are extracts from his presentation to the Organisation of Professional Associations, Colombo.

COLOMBO (IDN) - The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted the resolution entitled "Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka" on October 1, 2015, Resolution 30/1. This has been described by some critics as a constitution amendment project for Sri Lanka. Interestingly, it was cosponsored by Sri Lanka. In 2017, Sri Lanka obtained a two-year grace period to implement the resolution, further confirming the country’s acquiescence with Resolution 30/1.

Ominously, this year, the High Commissioner commented that in the absence of progress on the implementation of Res. 30/1, other countries could invoke the "universal jurisdiction" principle to start judicial proceedings against persons accused of having committed war crimes.

THE WORLD
Asia-Pacific

Photo: UNGA adopted the Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons, on 7 July 2017. Credit. UNODA

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK | COLOMBO (IDN) – Sri Lanka has refrained from signing the landmark UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that was adopted by 122 countries on July 7, 2017 and opened for signature on September 20 at the UN headquarters in New York.

The decision not to sign the Treaty has triggered questions and concern at home and abroad. "Sri Lanka voted for the resolution adopting this very same Treaty [. . .], when we had a different Foreign Minister and Foreign Secretary. Has there now been a change of policy after a new minister assumed office?," wonders the Friday Forum, a think tank based in Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka.

UN INSIDER

Photo: Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. The camp is one of three, which house up to 300,000 Rohingya people fleeing inter-communal violence in Burma. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

By Jayasri Priyalal*

SINGAPORE (IDN) - The Rohingya crisis and influx of refugees to Bangladesh is headline stories in the media at present. As a Sri Lankan I could note the similarity of the conflicts of statelessness that prevailed in Sri Lanka then and Myanmar at present, and Sri Lanka’s approach to solving the crisis with India could be a framework for Myanmar to follow.

In 1948 when Sri Lanka gained independence from Britain, the island nation was left with about one million Tamils who were called "Indian Tamils" in Sri Lanka. They were brought to Sri Lanka from South India from the lowest Dalit caste to work in tea plantations that were set up on land the British confiscated from Sinhala peasants, who refused to work in those plantations. Thus the presence of these Tamils was deeply resented by the Sinhalese. British have created a stateless community who were neither Indian nor Sri Lankan citizens.

OPINION

Photo shows Kisao Hattori addressing the SGI Youth Summit in Yokohama, Japan, on September 2, 2017. Credit: Soka Gakkai.

By Kisao Hattori

Following are extensive excerpts from the remarks by 91-year old Kisao Hattori at the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Youth Summit for the Renunciation of War on September 2, 2017 at the SGI Kanagawa Culture Center in Yokohama, Japan. The gathering was convened to mark the 60th anniversary of second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda’s 'Declaration Calling for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons'. The summit was held 18 days before the UN treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons opened for signature in New York. – The Editor

YOKOHAMA (IDN-INPS) - I was exposed to the atomic bomb radiation in Hiroshima as a visiting soldier and joined Soka Gakkai (SG) after the war. I am 91 years old now. I was a witness to President Josei Toda calling for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons here in Yokohama.

OPINION

Photo: Henry Van Thio, Vice President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, addresses the general debate of the General Assembly's 72nd session on 20 September 2017 in New York. Credit: UN Photo/Cia Pak

By U Henry Van Thio, Vice-President of Myanmar

Following are excerpts from the statement by U Henry Van Thio, Vice-President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, at the General Debate of the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 20, 2017. – The Editor

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) - We welcome this year's theme "Focusing on people - striving for peace and a decent life for all on a sustainable planet". Peace and stability is something that we are striving to achieve in Myanmar after nearly seven decades of civil strife and conflict.

Last year from this podium, our State Counsellor Daw Aung San SuuKyi set out the government's vision to end decades of internal armed conflict in Myanmar and to find lasting and meaningful solutions to the complex situation in Rakhine State.

OPINION

Photo: There are 49 officially recognized ethnic groups in Lao PDR. Credit: UNDP Lao PDR/Harish Murthimore

By Devinder Kumar

VIENTIANE (IDN) – Laos is a landlinked country bordering Myanmar, Cambodia, China, Thailand, and Vietnam. About 6.8 million people live in its 18 provinces, with most people – 68 percent – still living in rural areas. However, urbanisation is occurring at a rate of 4.9 percent each year. The country is largely mountainous, with the most fertile land found along the Mekong plains. The river flows from north to south, forming the border with Thailand for more than 60 percent of its length.

Despite still being a least developed country (LDC), Laos – officially known as the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) – has made significant progress in poverty alleviation over the past two decades with poverty rates declining from 46% in 1992 to 23% in 2015, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). "The country achieved the Millennium Development Goal target of halving poverty, however the challenge now is to ensure that all Lao people benefit in the country's development."

THE WORLD
Asia-Pacific

  1. There's More to the Catastrophe in Myanmar than Meets the Eye
  2. Ulaanbaatar Conference Stresses the Role of Individual States in Nuclear Disarmament Process
  3. Suu Kyi Slams “Disinformation” As Information War Intensifies
  4. Two UN Agencies Hold First Ever Asia-Pacific Ministerial Summit on the Environment
  5. Use Sanctions Pressure and Diplomacy with North Korea: Expert

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