Dissident | CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon

03/03/2013

* We will defeat Maoists design through development: Jairam Ramesh

Times of India: “The Centre would “fight” Naxals through welfare and empowerment schemes and protect tribals from being used as shields by the ultras, union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said.

Jairam Ramesh the Indian Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment and Forests (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“In the name of forest dwellers, Maoists have created an atmosphere of fear (in the society). Our fight against Maoists is continuing. Through schemes for tribal welfare and women empowerment, with a strong political willpower, we will defeat their design,” he told a meeting of Adivasi Adhikar Samavesa at Narla in Odisha’s Kalahandi district.

Stating that Maoists were using tribals as shields, Ramesh said the Naxal issue can be tackled by strengthening Gram Sabhas and accelerating political processes and greater participation among forest dwellers.

As promised, the UPA government had undertaken several developmental schemes for uplift of tribals and many more were in the offing, Ramesh said.

Union Tribal Affairs Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo, who also attended the function, said tribals remained deprived as benefits of developmental schemes failed to percolate to them and they should be brought into the social mainstream.

A large number of tribal representatives from different parts of Kalahandi and adjoining districts drew the attention of the two union ministers to various problems, including the issue of fake caste certificates.

In a major step to empower forest dwellers, Jamguda in tribal dominated Kalahandi became the first village in Odisha and second in the country to exercise its community right to harvest bamboo under the Forest Rights Act.

With transit passes given to gram sabha, residents of Jamguda are now free to harvest and sell bamboo and not wait wait for the government’s special permission.”

via We will defeat Maoists design through development: Jairam Ramesh – The Times of India.

Tribals should not be treated as show pieces for museums: Jairam (thehindu.com)
Give priority to agriculture, Ramesh tells Naxal-hit States (thehindu.com)
Ramesh calls for development of tribals to root out Maoist menance (indiavision.com)
Jairam hoists Indian flag in Maoist den (indiavision.com)
Jairam is wrong: It isn’t mining that causes poverty (kractivist.wordpress.com)
Development to be ramped up in Maoist-hit districts: Ramesh (news.in.msn.com)

Posted in Dissident, Economics, India alert, Instability, Insurgency, Politics | 1 Comment »

Tags: India, Jairam Ramesh, Maoism, Maoist

20/01/2013

* In China, Discontent Among the Normally Faithful

NYT: “Barely two months into their jobs, the Communist Party’s new leaders are being confronted by the challenges posed by a constituency that has generally been one of the party’s most ardent supporters: the middle-class and well-off Chinese who have benefited from a three-decade economic boom.

A Jan. 9 demonstration in Guangzhou, where people protested the censorship of a paper known for investigative reporting.

A widening discontent was evident this month in the anticensorship street protests in the southern city of Guangzhou and in the online outrage that exploded over an extraordinary surge in air pollution in the north. Anger has also reached a boil over fears concerning hazardous tap water and over a factory spill of 39 tons of a toxic chemical in Shanxi Province that has led to panic in nearby cities.

For years, many China observers have asserted that the party’s authoritarian system endures because ordinary Chinese buy into a grand bargain: the party guarantees economic growth, and in exchange the people do not question the way the party rules. Now, many whose lives improved under the boom are reneging on their end of the deal, and in ways more vocal than ever before. Their ranks include billionaires and students, movie stars and homemakers.

Few are advocating an overthrow of the party. Many just want the system to provide a more secure life. But in doing so, they are demanding something that challenges the very nature of the party-controlled state: transparency.

More and more Chinese say they distrust the Wizard-of-Oz-style of control the Communist Party has exercised since it seized power in 1949, and they are asking their leaders to disseminate enough information so they can judge whether officials, who are widely believed to be corrupt, are doing their jobs properly. Without open information and discussion, they say, citizens cannot tell whether officials are delivering on basic needs.

“Chinese people want freedom of speech,” said Xiao Qinshan, 46, a man in a wheelchair at the Guangzhou protests.”

via In China, Discontent Among the Normally Faithful – NYTimes.com.

https://chindia-alert.org/prognosis/chinese-challenges/
* Corrupt Chinese Officials Draw Unusual Publicity (chindia-alert.org)
Chinese hold anti-censorship protest outside newspaper (familysurvivalprotocol.com)
* China censorship storm spreads, Beijing paper publisher resigns in protest (chindia-alert.org)
Chinese paper at centre of censorship protests hits newsstands – Reuters (reuters.com)
Chinese hold anti-censorship protest outside newspaper – Reuters (reuters.com)

Posted in Censorship, China alert, corruption, Democracy, Dissident, Economics, Governance, Inequalities, Openness, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, Chinese people, Communist China, Communist Party, grand bargain, Politburo, politics, street protests

01/01/2013

* Reform now or there’ll be a revolution, Chinese leaders told

The Times: “China faces the prospect of “violent revolution” if the Government fails to implement political reform, a group of prominent intellectuals is warning six weeks after the country’s change of leadership.

Liu Xia was filmed in her house as activists pushed past the guards

The call, from 73 of China’s leading scholars, came as dramatic footage emerged yesterday of activists pushing past security officials to reach Liu Xia, the wife of the Nobel Prizewinning dissident Liu Xiaobo.

In a pointed open letter, the academics warn: “If reforms to the system urgently needed by Chinese society keep being frustrated and stagnate without progress, then … China will again miss the opportunity for peaceful reform, and slip into the turbulence and chaos of violent revolution.”

Drafted by Zhang Qianfan, a Law Professor at Peking University, the letter has garnered signatures from such prominent figures as Zhang Sizhi, a lawyer who is known in China as “the conscience of the legal world” and is best known abroad as the man who defended Mao Zedong’s widow at her 1980 trial. Other well-known signatories include Hu Xingdou, a noted economist at the Beijing Institute of Technology, and Jiang Ping, the former dean of the Chinese University of Political Science and Law.

The letter was circulated on the internet but was quickly removed from Chinese news sites, and links to it have been removed from Mr Zhang’s profile on the microblog Weibo.

Entitled “An Initiative on Reform Consensus”, it has echoes of Charter 08, a manifesto published in 2008 calling for the protection of human rights and an end to one-party rule. The main author of that manifesto, Liu Xiaobo, was arrested on charges of subversion and sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment in December 2009.

In a separate development Hu Jia, one of China’s leading dissidents, broke through a security cordon to enter the apartment of Mr Liu’s wife, who has been kept under house arrest since her husband won the peace prize. In a video clip of the confrontation, which was posted on YouTube yesterday, a security official is shown telling Mr Hu and two other activists that it will not be possible for them to see Ms Liu. In response, the three force their way past, saying: “Who are you to tell us it’s not possible?”

Although the petition, signed by the 73 academics last week, raises the spectre of violent revolution, the demands made are not as radical as those found in Liu Xiaobo’s 2008 charter. The signatories to the latest letter urge China’s new leaders to rule according to the country’s constitution. In particular, the letter underlines the Government’s duty to protect freedom of speech, the press and the right to demonstrate, to deepen market reform and to allow for an independent judiciary.

These advocates of reform may have been encouraged by signals sent out by Xi Jinping, China’s new leader, who succeeded Hu Jintao as General Secretary of the Communist Party in November.

Commentators have noted Mr Xi’s easy-going style compared with his predecessors and his decision to do away with red carpets for officials.

He has been quoted in the state press saying: “The Government earnestly wants to study the issues that are being brought up, and wants to perfect the market economy system … by deepening reform, and resolve the issues by strengthening rule of law.”

Judged by actions, the signals sent out by the new government have been mixed. An apparent easing of internet searching restrictions, during which it was possible to search Chinese microblogs for the names of top officials for the first time in months, was followed by legislation that critics say will discourage free commenting online by requiring real-name registration for internet users.

Similar hopes that Mr Hu would prove to be a reformer, which were aired when he first took office, were later dashed by years of stagnation on political reform, a period that has come to be known by many as the “lost decade”.”

via Reform now or there’ll be a revolution, Chinese leaders told | The Times.

Release Liu Xiaobo and wife (point4counterpoint.wordpress.com)
Nobel laureates urge China to free Liu Xiaobo (guardian.co.uk)
Chinese activist’s wife describes his imprisonment (independent.co.uk)
China Scholars Demand Ruling Party Relax Grip on Govt (bloomberg.com)

Posted in China alert, Dissident, Human rights, Illegal practices, Inequalities, Justice, Petitions, Politics, Reform, Rule of law | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, Chinese culture, Hu Jintao, Liu Xiaobo, Mao Zedong, Xi JinPing

28/11/2012

* Tibetan students protest, as four more self-immolations reported

China needs to rethink its policy on Tibet. The issue of autonomy is not going to go away. Unlike the Muslim Uighurs, who are mainly domiciled in Xinjiang, Tibetans reside in large numbers in at least four provinces of which Tibet is only the main one.

BBC: “A crowd of Tibetan students has protested in Qinghai province, activists say, as four more self-immolations were reported.

A man taking a photograph in front of a screen displaying propaganda about China's Tibet Autonomous Region in Beijing, 12 November 2012

Reports said more than 1,000 students took part in the protest, which was reportedly provoked by the contents of a book.

Twenty students were in hospital, media reports and activist groups said.

The four self-immolations, meanwhile, occurred in Gansu, Sichuan and Qinghai provinces on Sunday and Monday.

Foreign media are banned from Tibetan regions, making reports of protests and self-immolations hard to verify independently. Chinese state media reports some of the protests and burnings but not all.

The student protest took place on Monday in Gonghe county in Qinghai province, London-based Free Tibet said.”

via BBC News – Tibetan students protest, as four more self-immolations reported.

Posted in China alert, Dissident, Ethnic clash, Freedom, Politics, self determination | 1 Comment »

Tags: Gansu, politics, Qinghai, religion, Self-immolation, Sichuan, Tibetan independence movement

17/11/2012

* Four killed in fresh Assam violence; curfew continues in Kokrajhar

Despite the appearance of ‘unity in diversity’, India seems to be continually beset with violent tensions; by Maoists/Naxalites, by ethnic groups and borderland disaffection.

Times of India: “Bodoland area in lower Assam witnessed fresh trouble with the killing of four persons by armed assailants in Jiaguri even as police arrested a member of Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District in connection with the killing.

The assailants fired randomly on a group of persons at Jiaguri in Kokrajhar police station in which four persons were killed late on Friday night, inspector general of police (BTAD) S N Singh said.

“Monokumar Brahma alias Jalja, a member of BTAD, was arrested early today in connection with the killing,” he said.

“Two AK-47 rifles, magazines of AK-47 rifles and 60 rounds of assorted ammunition were seized from his bedroom. He is currently being interrogated,” he said.

Indefinite curfew has been continuing in Kokrajhar district as violence flared up in the area again, the police said.”

via Four killed in fresh Assam violence; curfew continues in Kokrajhar – The Times of India.

Tags: bodoland, politics, unity in diversity

14/11/2012

* Five Maoists killed in encounter in Odisha

The problem seems to be intractable. Unless India seriously eliminates rural poverty (as China has done over the last decades), it will never go away.

Times of India: “Five Maoists were killed in a fierce encounter with security forces in a forest on the border of Odisha’s Ganjam and Gajapati districts on Wednesday.

At least two security personnel were also injured in the exchange of fire in Bhaliagada jungle under Mohana police station area, police said.

“We have received information about the death of five Maoists during an exchange of fire in the jungle. The bodies are yet to be recovered as the operation is still on,” DIG of police (southern range) R K Sharma said.

The slain ultras belonged to a group headed by Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda, he said.”

via Five Maoists killed in encounter in Odisha – The Times of India.

Maoists torch construction equipment in Odisha (indiavision.com)
Three held in Odisha with explosives, Maoist literature (vancouverdesi.com)
Jharkhand Police recovers huge cache of arms from Maoists (indiavision.com)
India: Maoist action frees Political Prisoners (revolutionaryfrontlines.wordpress.com)

Posted in Dissident, Economics, India alert, Insurgency | 1 Comment »

Tags: India, Maoism, Maoist, political prisoners

18/10/2012

Wonder if this is in honour of the imminent leadership change or something deeper and more meaningful. We’ll just have to “watch this space”.

Posted in Censorship, China alert, Dissident, Good news, Politics, Reform | Leave a Comment »

02/10/2012

* ‘Murder attempt’ on Golden Temple raid General Brar

It would seem that 28 years is not long enough for those directly affected by Operation Bluestar to forgive and forget. That’s assuming the four suspects were indeed separatist-Sikhs bent on revenge.

BBC: “Police in London say the stabbing of the Indian general who led the 1984 raid on Sikhism’s holiest shrine was attempted murder.

Lt-Gen Kuldeep Singh Brar was stabbed in the neck by four men with beards on Sunday night. He is out of hospital.

Hundreds died when troops flushed Sikh separatist militants out of the Golden Temple in Amritsar in Punjab state.

The 78-year-old is thought still to be a target for extremist Sikhs, but the identity of his attackers is unclear.

Lt-Gen Brar, himself a Sikh, was one of the architects of Operation Bluestar, which removed armed Sikh militants fighting for an independent homeland of Khalistan from the temple.

According to the Indian government, the operation left about 400 people, including 87 soldiers, dead.

Sikhs groups contest this figure, saying the number of casualties was several times higher.

via BBC News – ‘Murder attempt’ on Golden Temple raid General Brar.

Posted in Dissident, Ethnic clash, India alert, Insurgency, Military, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Amritsar, golden temple in amritsar, Khalistan movement, Kuldip Singh Brar, Operation Blue Star, politics, Sikh

03/08/2012

* 20 Sentenced in Terrorism Case

NY Times: “China has sentenced 20 people to up to 15 years in prison for advocating violence and separatism in the western region of Xinjiang, where the central government has clamped down on dissent and restricted religious practices. The state-run newspaper Xinjiang Daily said Thursday that courts in the region had found that the 20 had organized and participated in terrorist groups. The courts said four of them made illegal explosives, the newspaper reported.

The report did not cite any violence linked to the defendants. It named only five people, all with Uighur names. Xinjiang is home to a large population of minority Uighurs but is ruled by members of China’s Han ethnic majority. Violence between the groups in recent years has left nearly 200 people dead. Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the exiled World Uyghur Congress, said that the accused used the Internet to obtain government-controlled information and to express political views. He said the terrorist charges and verdicts were politically motivated.”

via China – 20 Sentenced in Terrorism Case – NYTimes.com.

See also:

2 Suspects Dead in China Plane Hijack Attempt – ABC News (abcnews.go.com)

Posted in China alert, Dissident, Ethnic clash, Inequalities, Insurgency, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Beijing, China, politics, Uighur, Uyghur people, World Uyghur Congress, Xinjiang

03/08/2012

* Activists Trapped Between Government and Maoists

NY Times: “In one of India’s most violent internal conflicts, between Maoist rebels and government security forces, civil society activists appear to be collateral damage.

“Indian authorities and Maoist insurgents have threatened and attacked civil society activists, undermining basic freedoms and interfering with aid delivery in embattled areas of central and eastern India,” Human Rights Watch said in a report this week.

Through a broad swath of India, Maoist rebels, also known as Naxalites, have attempted to overthrow the government in an armed struggle that has its roots in a 1967 rural uprising. In the last two years, 1,611 people have died in a total of 3,968 incidents said to be related to the Maoist struggle.

As recently as last month, the police said they killed a group of Maoists in the dense forest of Chhattisgarh state, but civil rights activists demanded a judicial inquiry over what they called the slaughter of innocent tribal villagers.

The Human Rights Watch report said that grassroots activists who deliver development assistance and highlight abuses risk being targeted by security forces and Maoist insurgents.

“The police demand that they serve as informers, and those that refuse risk being accused of being Maoist supporters and subject to arbitrary arrest and torture,” the watchdog notes. “The authorities use sedition laws to curtail free speech and also concoct criminal cases to lock up critics of the government.”

The Maoists, on the other hand, frequently accuse activists of being informers and warn them against implementing government programs, according to the report.

“The Maoists have been particularly brutal towards those perceived to be government informers or “class enemies” and do not hesitate to punish them by shooting or beheading after a summary “trial” in a self-declared “people’s court” (jan adalat),” the report notes. It adds that this court in no way conforms to international standards.

The rights group said this report is based on more than 60 interviews with witnesses or those familiar with abuses in Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, from July 2011 to April this year.”

via Activists Trapped Between Government and Maoists – NYTimes.com.

India: Government, Maoists Target Civil Society Activists (hrw.org)
Rights group: India’s Maoist fight hurts activists (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
India authorities, Maoists threatening activists: HRW (jurist.org)
Rights Group Accuse Indian Government, Maoists of Targeting Activists (voanews.com)

Posted in Dissident, Freedom, India alert, Inequalities, Insurgency, Military, Politics, unrest | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Chhattisgarh, Human rights, Human Rights Watch, India, Jharkhand, Maoism, Maoist, Naxalite, Orissa, politics

CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon

Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon

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* We will defeat Maoists design through development: Jairam Ramesh

* In China, Discontent Among the Normally Faithful

* Reform now or there’ll be a revolution, Chinese leaders told

* Tibetan students protest, as four more self-immolations reported

* Four killed in fresh Assam violence; curfew continues in Kokrajhar

* Five Maoists killed in encounter in Odisha

* ‘Murder attempt’ on Golden Temple raid General Brar

* 20 Sentenced in Terrorism Case

* Activists Trapped Between Government and Maoists

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