”Un uomo leggendario, un audace stratega, un logico, un organizzatore instancabile, Giap ha combattuto per più di trent’anni, plasmando un gruppo di guerriglieri disorganizzati in uno degli eserciti più efficienti al mondo”. Così lo ha definito lo scrittore, giornalista e storico statunitense, Stanley Karnow, uno degli ultimi ad averlo intervistato.

Nato da una famiglia contadina in un villaggio nella provincia centro settentrionale di Quang Bình, Giap, insegnante e giornalista si unisce al partito comunista all’età di vent’anni, prendendo parte alle prime manifestazioni degli anni ‘30 del secolo scorso, contro il dominio francese sulla penisola indocinese. Dopo quasi due anni agli arresti e l’esilio in Cina, dove conosce Ho Chi Minh, allora a capo della Lega per l’indipendenza del Vietnam, Giap assiste inerme alla scomparsa della sua famiglia. In quegli anni, infatti, affronta la morte di sua moglie, della sorella, del padre e di sua cognata, arrestati, torturati e infine uccisi dalle autorità coloniali francesi. Tornato in Vietnam nel 1944 combatte contro le forze di occupazione nipponiche e nel settembre del ‘45 è al fianco di Ho Chi Minh quando questi annuncia la nascita della Repubblica Democratica del Vietnam. Giap è ormai uomo al servizio dell’esercito e del movimento di liberazione che ottiene la sua grande vittoria nella valle di Dien Bien Phu, dove il più organizzato e temuto esercito francese è costretto a consegnare le armi e a subire una delle più gravi sconfitte della sua storia militare. E’ il 13 marzo quando il generale lancia l’offensiva che andrà avanti per ben 54 giorni, in cui morirono sul campo circa 2.500 uomini. Il 7 maggio i francesi si arrendono e il giorno seguente annunciano il proprio ritiro dal Vietnam. Quella di Dien Bien Phu è solo la più celebrata di numerose battaglie vinte dal ‘mitico’ generale che condusse le principali operazioni anche nella celeberrima ‘Offensiva del Tet’, del 1968 contro l’esercito statunitense, impegnato in Vietnam nella sua lotta contro ”l’avanzata del comunismo in Indocina”. Sebbene dal punto di vista militare per i vietnamiti fu una disfatta, quel sacrificio di milioni di soldati e civili vietnamiti cambiò le sorti psicologiche della guerra contro gli Stati Uniti d’America, che si arresero al nemico, quando il 30 aprile del 1975 l’ultimo elicottero decollò dall’ambasciata dell’allora Saigon. Impegnato nella vita politica del Paese che ha contribuito a rendere libero, Giap è inoltre autore di numerosi saggi militari. Un generale che Karnow ha affiancato a ”Wellington, Grant, Lee, Rommel, e MacArthur, nel pantheon dei grandi leader militari”. Un generale che anche negli ultimi anni ha tuonato contro alcune scelte del suo stesso partito. Giap ha infatti fortemente criticato il progetto vietnamita di avviare operazioni minerarie per estrarre bauxite negli altopiani centrali. Un progetto che, affidato a compagnie cinesi, causerebbe, secondo il generale vietnamita, ”gravi danni ambientali ed ecologici irreversibili”. Un impegno sociale e politico, quello del generale Giap, che i media vietnamiti non sembrano voler sottolineare nel giorno in cui l’intero Paese e le più alte cariche della Repubblica Socialista gli rendono omaggio nel giorno del suo centesimo compleanno.

Per AKI ADNKRONOS INTERNATIONAL

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites

INDIA: Kashmir Diary–Where do we go from here?
by Tappan Bose

Friday 13, 2010
Four more were killed in the valley. It was the first Friday, Jumma of the Holy month Ramadan. The killing began immediately after the morning (fajar) prayer in Trehgam near Kupwara, Bommai near Sopor and in Patan. Throughout the day, in different parts of Srinagar slogan shouting youthful demonstrators and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) aided by Kashmir police continued to clash. While there was no curfew in the morning, but by mid-day it was clamped in almost all parts of the valley.

As I drove into Srinagar city from the airport on August 13, my vehicle was stopped at seven places. There were CRPF and Kashmir police pickets every where. My Indian passport got me through these check posts, though at one place a constable wanted to know why I was visiting the city when “Indians” were being attacked. The fact that not one Amarnath Yatri was attacked, no non-Kashmiri was targeted during the past two months of agitation did not seem to matter. In the opinion of the CRPF Jawans, stones thrown at them by the Kashmiri demonstrators were sufficient evidence of Kashmiris deliberately attacking Indians. I did not challenge the perception that the CRPF “represented” India in the valley.

At none of these pickets, whether manned by the CRPF or the Kashmir police did I see any senior officer. Apparently they were busy elsewhere. When I mentioned this to some of the press persons whom I met later in the day, I was told that they have also observed this absence of the officers on the street as a result. It was often the SHOs, sub-inspectors, head constables and Havildars who decided on the use of force as well as the quantum of force to be used on the streets.

The law of the land requires that the state should use “minimum” force while dealing with civilians. It also directs that the orders for “baton charge”, use of “tear gas” and firing “live bullets” on an “uncontrollable” crowd should be given by a Magistrate of an officer of that rank. It also directs that before using any of these of measures, proper warning must be given.

Clearly in Kashmir the authorities have decided to dispense with the requirements of law. The CRPF and the Kashmir Police, having worked in close association with the Army and especially under the Unified Command for twenty years, have internalized the culture of the use of force maximum against the ‘enemy’ by the Army which functions under the protection of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act that empowers an ordinary soldier to kill any one on mere suspicion under conditions of impunity. The CRPF and Kashmir police also shoot first and then ask questions. All dead terrorists are good terrorists as the dead do not talk. But in Kashmir, the dead talked.

How it began.
The agitation began in the month of May after the exhumation of the bodies of three young men – Shahzad Ahmad Khan, Riyaz Ahmad Lone and Mohammed Shafi Lone. They were residents of Nadihal village in Kupwara district of north Kashmir. The Commanding Officer of 4 Rajput Regiment on April 30. The officers of regiment had claimed that these were Pakistani terrorists who were trying to infiltrate into India through the Line of Control (LoC). The army claimed that these boys were killed in an encounter that took place between them and the soldiers of Rajput Regiment, at Machil about 100 KM north of Srinagar.

The family members of the three missing youth from village Nadihal, recognized them from the pictures of these “dead Terrorists” published by the police. The bodies were exhumed after massive demonstrations in Kupwara. The dead bodies of Shahzad Ahmad Khan, Riyaz Ahmad Lone and Mohammed Shafi Lone “rose” from the graves and exposed the lie of the Indian Army.

On June 5, the head of the army’s Srinagar-based Northern Command, told reporters that two officers of 4 Rajput Regiment were suspended and a Court of Inquiry was ordered. He promised that the process of the inquiry would be transparent. But the Kashmiris did not believe him. Similar discoveries of bodies of Kashmiri civilians killed by the army in fake encounters in the past–Kupwara, Kokarnag, Parthibal to mention a few have yielded no justice. No army or security force officials implicated in these murders have been put on trial in any civil court as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act has put the army beyond the jurisdictions of the law courts.

The agitation spread from north to the southern districts of the valley. For the first time since 1993/94 when then people of the valley had abandoned street agitation, unable to face the massive repression let loose by the army and the security forces – cordon and search, arrests, torture, killings, rape and burning down of bazaars, commercial and residential buildings- the people have come out again. This time in apparent defiance of the bullets of the security forces Kashmiris are out on the streets in large numbers. The agitation has spread into far flung rural areas of the valley. Children, young men and women as well as the old people are out on the streets raising slogans and asking India to “quit Kashmir”. Unlike in the past, they seem to have overcome their fear of the soldiers and the bullets. Sixty have been killed.

I met a young woman lawyer outside the Srinagar district court. She had come in the morning to attend to some urgent work and had to stay back as curfew was imposed. Now she was trying to catch a ride to go home as curfew was relaxed after Iftar. I asked her whether she supported the agitation. “Of course I do” was the reply. “Every Kashmiri is a part of this struggle. In the past 20 years 80,000 Kashmiris were killed. It did not stop us. Many more are ready to die till we get our freedom” she said. She ridiculed the perception of the Indian media that this was “agitational terrorism” sponsored by “terrorists”. She wondered whether the Indian intelligence agencies and the security forces really believed that Pakistan sponsored terrorists had spread out to all the districts of the valley and were able to motivate the children young men and women to come out of their homes in the thousands day in and day out, defying curfew, confronting t he security forces, throwing stones getting tear gasses, lathi charged, shot and even killed.

The answer to the question, “what do you want” is the same no matter who you put this question to. “We want India to recognise that Kashmir is a disputed territory, we want CRPF and all other central forces out of Kashmir, we want the repeal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act and we want all our people released unconditionally from the jails”.

During the last two months of agitation, not even two percent of government employees including senior officers attended office. The only department of the state government that was visible was the police. The Chief Minister lamented that he had lost control over the CRPF. He was pulled up by New Delhi and on June 28, India’s Home Minister gave a clean chit to the CRPF and praised them for the good work they were doing in Kashmir under rather difficult conditions. The Chief Minister withdrew his comment. Once again New Delhi demonstrated that the “elected government” in Srinagar was just a puppet.

August 14, 2010
The third day of Ramadan, police and CRPF troops shot dead two persons just before Iftaar (breaking of the fast), one at Islamabad in south Kashmir and another at Narbal in Srinagar’s outskirts. The police and troops also fired at protesters at four other places, injuring at least a dozen persons. Later in the day, about 33 persons were injured in baton (lathi) charge and tear gas shells inside the Hazratbal shrine where a few persons was raising anti Indian slogans after the prayer. With today’s killings, the number of victims of CRPF and police since June 11 has gone up to 58.

August 15
India’s 63rd Independence Day, 64th day of the agitation and the 4th day of Ramadan. Curfew was strictly imposed all over the valley. Early in the morning in Nowhatta when a group of youth tried to take out a procession they were pushed back by the police. There was no baton charge or firing. No lives lost.

Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort in Delhi, the Prime Minister of India appealed to the people of Kashmir to end violent protests. He said, “The years of violence should now end. Such violence will not benefit anyone”. Emphasizing that Kashmir was in “integral part” of India Dr. Manmohan Singh offered to talk, “to talk to every person or group which abjures violence.”

During the Independence Day celebration today, when the Chief Minister Omar was taking salute after unfurling the Indian flag at the official function at Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar a police constable, Abdul Ahad Jahan hurled a shoe at him. The brown shoe missed the Chief Minister. The shoe thrower waved a black flag and raised pro-freedom slogans before he was over powered by security men and taken away.

New Delhi “Responds”
Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister held a meeting of political party leaders in New Delhi. Recognising the need for a political dialogue, the Prime Minister promised to deliver an “economic” package which would hopefully address all the problems of Kashmir–lack of jobs, medical facilities, infrastructure, better power supply and many other such desirable things. He also said that he was going to involve several successful CEOs of India’s private sector in planning and implementation this project.

The Prime Minister, the UPA Chairperson Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, the Home Minister of India, the Finance Minister of Indian and the Chief Minister of J & K Omar Abdullah every one seems to be convinced that this is good prescription for Kashmir. Clearly the received wisdom in New Delhi is that if such a package was implemented in proper spirit, it would inspire the people, particularly the youth of Kashmir who are alienated.

The trouble with this prescription is that it has been around for decades. The same prescription has been made for Kashmir several times over the last two decades. In fact this prescription was written for all those “sick” areas of the country where the local people were seemingly afflicted by the diseases called “anti-nationalism” or “separatism”. The evidence shows that it has not worked in the north east or in Kashmir. However the trouble shooters in New Delhi continue to hold on to their beliefs.

In case of Kashmir, New Delhi’s recent the track record of “delivering development packages” makes one wonder whether New Delhi is at all serious about such initiatives. For example, this is the third time within the last five years that Mr. Rangarajan, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India is being asked by Prime Minister to head a committee to study the “ground realities” and recommend steps for economic development and creation of jobs. The recommendations of the two earlier committees with similar mandate headed by Mr. Rangarajan are gathering dust in the office of the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Same is the fate of the reports and recommendations of four committees set up by the same Prime Minister during his first tenure in office.

Omar Abdullah the embattled Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir in his speech at the Independence Day rally in Bakshi Stadium echoed the popular Kaskmiri perception of New Delhi–it sleeps on the promises it makes to Kashmir. Clearly, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has to improve his performance for the Kashmiris to trust him.

Where do we go from here?
I believe that there still are possibilities of pulling Kashmir back from the brink of an abyss, back to a stable situation, and towards a democratic solution. But that would require enormous courage and political will to recognise and admit the ground reality. The failure of the State “government” to get the employees to attend office, keep the markets, schools, colleges and the university is an indication that it has virtually lost all control over Kashmir.

It is clear that telling the parents to keep their “boys” and “girls” indoor is not only futile but an insult to the people of the valley who are sacrificing their lives in search of justice. Sending the CRPF and other armed forces to face them every time they come out on the streets to vent their anger and replying to their stone with bullets will not work. Praising the CRPF for these killings is like waving the red rag before the bull. The Prime Minister’s Independence Day offer, “to talk to every person or group which abjures violence” was rejected on the streets of Srinagar immediately. The youth are comparing Dr. Singh’s response with that of Israel to the stone pelting boys in Palestine.

It is time to realise that these so-called exercises of holding “elections” and installing “democratic governments” in Jammu and Kashmir have shown the hollowness of this “democracy”. The French held elections in occupied Algeria. The USA also did the same in occupied Vietnam and recently in Iraq and Afghanistan. Did these elections bring “democracy” to any of these countries?

It is time to realise that in reality this exercise in democracy has spawned an empowered band of politico bureaucratic class who have fattened themselves on the largess handed out by New Delhi. They set themselves up as the toll gates for every plan, every project and every scheme for the ordinary people of the state. They took the butter out and distributed the skimmed milk only among their loyal supporters. Thus they spread their patronage and built armies of personal goons.

Every political, party of Jammu and Kashmir are guilty of this corruption. They have been milking the state treasury in many ways. For example of the nearly three hundred and seventy thousand employees on the rosters of the state government, about two hundred thousand are personal and domestic servants of the current and former ministers, MLAs, MPs, serving and retired bureaucrats. Jammu and Kashmir is known as the second most corrupt state in India.

New Delhi should give up this charade of “democracy” in Jammu and Kashmir. Remove these interlopers–the politicians who were nurtured over the past six decades and take charge of Kashmir directly. Begin a new chapter, first by apologizing to the people for all the wrongs. Only strong persons are able to admit their mistakes and ask for forgiveness. The weak and the small can never admit their mistakes.

There is no need to put preconditions like “abjure violence”. The ongoing mass movement in Kashmir is non-violent. There are no militants or terrorists lurking behind the agitators. No matter what the police hand outs claim, there is no evidence of guns being used by the agitators. Using bullets at random at stone pelting crowds shows our security forces have lost all sense of proportionality.

Instead of calling on the youth to stop violence, New Delhi should unilaterally release all the Kasmiris from detentions, set up a transparent justice commission in the lines of the “Truth and Justice Commission” of South Africa and request the people of Kashmir to come forward. Appoint several task forces to address all the political, social and economic issues that have been agitating the minds of the people. These should be done in open and transparent manner throughout the valley. These task forces must be empowered not only to make recommendations but to implement their recommendations. As these Task Forces will begin to meet and discuss all issues in an open manner with the people in the districts and tehsils we will perhaps begin to see the contours of a solution emerging from the darkness that engulf the region of Kashmir today. This will go a long way to establish substantive democracy in Kashmir. But the question is–Who in New Delhi listening?

About the Author:
Mr. Tappan Bose is a reputed writer and a human rights activist.

The views shared in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the AHRC, and the AHRC takes no responsibility for them.

# # #

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites

Secondo quanto riportato dal quotidiano in lingua inglese ‘VietnamNews‘, l’azienda produttrice di glutammato monosodio ha già trasferito un primo 50 per cento ai contadini dei comuni di Long Thanh e Nhon Trach, mentre il resto della cifra sara’ devoluto nella seconda settimana di gennaio prossimo.
Nel settembre del 2008 la Vedan, operativa in Vietnam dal 1991, venne accusata dagli ispettori della polizia ambientale di riversare direttamente nelle acque del fiume Thi Vai oltre 100mila metri cubi al mese di rifiuti liquidi non trattati. Una quantità che, secondo l’Istituto per l’Ambiente e le Risorse umane dell’Università di Ho Chi Minh City, ha inquinato il 90 per cento dell’intero corso del fiume che attraversa le province di HCM City, Dong Nai e Ba Ria-Vung Tau.
Nonostante la compagnia taiwanese abbia deciso di pagare un risarcimento, il primo processo contro un’azienda privata estera per inquinamento andrà avanti e servirà da monito nei confronti di altre multinazionali che in molti casi operano nel Paese est asiatico senza rispettare i vincoli ambientali. ”Questo è un caso senza precedenti e sono convinto che altre imprese estere seguiranno i procedimenti legali tuttora in corso perchè servirà come esempio”, ha affermato alla ‘Vietnam Investment Review’ Cao Ba Khoat, direttore generale dell’agenzia di consulenza ‘K&Partners Law Firm’. In particolare due aziende, Miwon e Tung Kwuang, entrambe attive nella zona settentrionale del Vietnam, sono state anch’esse accusate di aver riversato direttamente nei fiumi circostanti rifiuti liquidi non trattati. ”La causa contro Vedan incoraggerà altre persone e comunità in altre regioni del Paese a muovere azioni similari quando si accorgeranno che il loro ambiente viene inquinato da aziende estere”, ha sottolineato Khoat.

Per AKI ADNKRONOS INTERNATIONAL

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites

Il 7 novembre, ovvero un numero che in un Paese chiuso come l’ex-Birmania, dove da sempre regnanti e generali si affidano anche al giudizio di indovini e astrologi in un clima circondato da superstizioni e leggende, non rappresenta semplicemente una data. Allontanata quindi l’ipotesi di un possibile voto che si sarebbe dovuto tenere il 10.10.2010 sembra che la scelta del numero 7, così come riportato anche dalla testata on-line ‘Democratic Voice of Burma‘, derivi dal suo significato numerologico. Sommato al numero del mese (11), infatti si otterrebbe 18, ovvero un multiplo di 9 la cui somma (8+1) da, appunto, 9. Un numero dagli ottimi auspici che spinse il generale Ne Win un anno dopo l’ascesa al potere nel 1962 a bloccare la stampa di tutte le banconote che non fossero divisibili per nove. Una scelta che al tempo causò, però, non pochi problemi al sistema fiscale e monetario nel Paese governato da quella che è stata poi ribattezzata la prima generazione di generali. Anche il numero 11, del resto, ha nell’attuale Myanmar un significato numerologico molto rilevante. Oltre ad essere un numero composto da due uguali, è un numero che sottolinea la sconfitta del nemico. In passato, ad esempio, il noto leader studentesco, Min Ko Naing, venne condannato a 65 anni di carcere proprio l’11 novembre alle 11 del mattino.

Il Myanmar e la giunta militare che governa il Paese non sono nuovi a questo tipo di speculazioni. Quando venne annunciata la scelta di spostare la nuova capitale in una zona stepposa e desertica al centro del Paese si pensò che il sito della nuova ‘Sede dei Re’, Napyidaw, fosse stato scelto dagli astrologici. Con il tempo, invece, gli analisti hanno sottolineato soprattutto altri aspetti, come quello logistico militare per esempio, rafforzando la volontà politica di una tale scelte, piuttosto che dar seguito a voci di popolo. La decisione di tenere le elezioni agli inizi di novembre e non ai primi di dicembre come si era prospettato nell’ultimo mese ha infatti fondate ragioni politiche. Il 27 novembre scadono  i termini di detenzione per Aung San Suu Kyi, la leader del movimento democratico birmano attualmente agli arresti domiciliari. Sebbene Suu Kyi non potrà prender parte al processo elettorale così come stabilito dal testo costituzionale prima e dalle cinque leggi elettorali promulgate tra febbraio e marzo scorsi, la giunta ha quindi deciso che se dovesse essere liberata, verrà fatto a parlamento eletto. Un parlamento che di fatto riserva il 25 per cento dei seggi ai militari, in cui sarà necessario avere un consenso superiore al 75 per cento dei parlamentari per cambiare le leggi costituzionali.

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites

Traduzione dal francese di Giusi Valent
2004, pp.192, € 16,00 (20,5×12,5cm)
ISBN 88-87510-22-9

S-21 fu il principale “ufficio di sicurezza” sotto il regime dei Khmer Rossi guidato da Pol Pot. Tra il 1975 e il 1979 in questo centro di detenzione 17 mila persone furono imprigionate, fotografate, schedate con minuzia maniacale, interrogate e torturate. Solo sette ne uscirono.
In questo stesso luogo Rithy Panh ha voluto riunire, venticinque anni dopo, due sopravvissuti e alcuni ex-aguzzini, per capire come individui non particolarmente crudeli abbiano potuto progressivamente perdere qualsiasi forma di umanità.
Da questo confronto nascono il film presentato al Festival del Cinema di Cannes nel 2003, e questo libro scritto in collaborazione con Christine Chaumeau.
Una testimonianza che apre il cammino della riconciliazione: affinché il passato che incide nell’anima non distrugga il presente e apra al futuro, occorre ripensarlo a fondo con chiarezza, intelligenza e coraggio.

GLI AUTORI
Rithy Panh. Regista cambogiano, nato nel 1964 a Phnom Penh, sotto il regime di Pol Pot nel 1975 viene rinchiuso in un campo di rieducazione, dal quale riesce a fuggire quattro anni dopo rifugiandosi in Thailandia. Nel 1980 si reca a Parigi dove completa gli studi alla Scuola Nazionale di Cinema. Vive tuttora in Francia.

Christine Chaumeau è giornalista. Ha vissuto più di tre anni in Cambogia. Ha lavorato per Phnom Penh Post, Radio France International e National Geographic.

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites

Duch, 67 anni, aveva fatto le sue ammissioni di colpa già durante le udienze che si erano tenute nel giugno dello scorso anno. ”Non mi sento di accusare i miei subordinati. Io sono vergognosamente responsabile”, aveva affermato Duch in quell’occasione riferendosi alle immagini dipinte da uno dei sopravvissuti ad S-21, il pittore Vann Nath, e che ritraggono i ‘figli di Angkar’ in abito nero mentre scagliano neonati e bambini contro tronchi d’albero.
Già nelle prime udienze di marzo, a un mese dall’inizio del processo, Duch aveva chiesto scusa per gli orribili crimini commessi, pur continuando a negare di aver ricoperto un ruolo centrale tra i quadri di ‘Kampuchea Democratica’. Dall’inizio di un processo più volte rimandato per mancanza di fondi, Duch ha sempre ammesso di non aver mai ucciso nessuno personalmente e di aver torturato solo due persone, durante la direzione di S-21, ovvero uno dei 196 centri di detenzione creati durante il regime instaurato da Pol Pot tra il 1975 e il 1979.
Per l’ex professore di matematica, i giudici hanno inoltre tenuto conto degli undici anni già trascorsi in carcere e una riduzione di 5 anni rispetto alla richiesta iniziale del pubblico ministero perchè detenuto illegalmente, ovvero senza che gli fosse mai stata formalizzata un’accusa.
Quello di oggi è il primo verdetto dell’Eccc, che dovrà sentire e arrivare ad un verdetto anche nei confronti degli altri quattro imputati. Khieu Samphan (alias Hem), ex-capo di Stato di Kampuchea Democratica, Ieng Sary, ex-ministro degli Esteri, sua moglie Ieng Thirith (alias Phea), ex ministro degli Affari sociali, e Nuon Chea, considerato il capo ideologico del gruppo, sono accusati di genocidio e crimini contro l’umanità. Accuse che dovranno essere provate nelle udienze che dovrebbero iniziare entro l’anno.
Fu nel 1997, un anno prima della morte di Pol Pot, che l’Onu diede inizio ai negoziati con la Cambogia, raggiungendo un accordo solo nel 2003, per stabilire un tribunale in grado di processare gli ex-leader Khmer rossi. Il budget iniziale di 56 milioni di dollari è andato progressivamente aumentando fino toccare quota 169 milioni.

Se vuoi leggere l’intera sentenza Clicca qui

Guarda il VIDEO

Per AKI – ADNKRONOS INTERNATIONAL

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites

Sarzana. Anche quest’anno la ricorrenza del 21 luglio sarà celebrata attraverso tante iniziative con appuntamenti ufficiali, di riflessione e di rielaborazione artistica.

Mercoledì 21 luglio, presso la Sala del Consiglio comunale di Sarazana, si terrà, a partire dalle ore 11.00, la cerimonia di consegna dell’onorificenza civica “XXI Luglio 1921”, assegnata per il 2010 ad Aung San Suu Kyi “Per il coraggio, la determinazione e la dedizione assoluta nella lotta per la libertà e la democrazia attraverso la non violenza”. La medaglia civica intitolata ai fatti del 21 luglio 1921, istituita dal Consiglio comunale per stimolare la riflessione sui valori fondanti delle istituzioni democratiche, propone come esempio per le giovani generazioni quei personaggi che sostengono e difendono i valori della democrazia e della convivenza civile anche nelle più difficili circostanze.

Dopo Paolino Ranieri ed Anna Maria Vignolini, ai quali il premio era stato assegnato rispettivamente nel 2008 e nel 2009, per il 2010 la commissione presieduta dal sindaco Caleo ha deciso di attribuire l’onorificenza ad Aung San Suu Kyi, protagonista della resistenza non violenta contro il regime militare che dal 1988 domina in Birmania (“Myanmar” secondo la nuova denominazione imposta dal governo) impedendo qualsiasi possibilità di espressione e di confronto democratico.

Nel corso della cerimonia, che sarà aperta dal saluto del sindaco Caleo, grazie alla presenza della partigiana Anna Maria Vignolini verrà evidenziato il legame ideale tra le lotte antifasciste del passato e quelle attuali; poiché, come è noto, la signora Aung San Suu Kyi è tuttora agli arresti domiciliari, il premio sarà materialmente consegnato al giornalista freelance Roberto Tofani, che presto partirà nuovamente per la penisola indocinese; Roberto Tofani, dal 2004 collaboratore dal Sud Est Asiatico di importanti agenzie e testate giornalistiche, autore – con Alessandra Chiricosta – del reportage Viet Pop: Pop, cultura e immagini del nuovo Vietnam e curatore del sito www.sudestasiatico.com, terrà una relazione sullo stato dei diritti umani in Birmania.

Altre iniziative, in una sorta di ‘gemellaggio storico’, quest’anno consentiranno di approfondire il tema del rapporto tra i fatti di Sarzana e quelli di Viterbo, altra città protagonista della resistenza al fascismo montante: grazie all’iniziativa dell’ANPI di Sarzana e dell’ARCI di Viterbo (con la fondamentale collaborazione dell’ARCI Sarzana – Val di Magra), e con il patrocinio del Comune, sono infatti previsti i seguenti momenti: martedì 20 luglio, alle ore 17.30, nella sala del Consiglio comunale, si terrà la conferenza “Luglio 1921, i fatti”, alla quale interverranno l’autore e regista teatrale Antonello Ricci e gli storici Lorenzo Vincenzi e Andrea Ventura; mercoledì 21 luglio, alle ore 21.30, nella piazza d’armi della Fortezza Firmafede, andrà in scena lo spettacolo teatrale “Sottoassedio”, scritto e diretto da Antonello Ricci ed interpretato da “La banda del racconto”.

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites

Per AKI ADNKRONOS INTERNATIONAL

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites

Un rapporto, quello tra Myanmar e Repubblica Popolare cinese, che si traduce in uno scambio commerciale di 2,91 miliardi di dollari, oltre il 10 per cento in più rispetto al 2008. Un rapporto che sembra intensificarsi sulla sete di energia cinese e le ingenti capacità dei giacimenti di gas e petrolio ‘Made in Myanmar’. Un paese, quello est asiatico, che ha da tempo dato il via libera agli investimenti cinesi per migliorare i propri porti e le infrastrutture necessarie al trasporto delle risorse energetiche dal mar delle Andamane fino alla provincia cinese dello Yunnan.

Per AKI ADNKRONOS INTERNATIONAL

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites

Bridging Thailand’s Deep Divide

Bangkok/Brussels, 5 July 2010: The Thai government should immediately lift the state of emergency to create conditions for national reconciliation that would allow the building of a new political consensus and the holding of peaceful elections if the country is to return to stability.

Bridging Thailand’s Deep Divide,* the latest report from the International Crisis Group, says the protracted tussle between the royalist establishment and those allied with ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has left the country deeply polarised. In April and May it sparked the most violent political confrontations in decades, killing at least 90 people, injuring nearly 2,000 and inflicting deep wounds on the national psyche. Shortly before authorising a violent crackdown on anti-government protestors by the army, the establishment-backed government of Abhisit Vejjajiva unilaterally offered to opposition groups a “roadmap” to national reconciliation. It now persists with this plan despite having created an atmosphere of repression where basic rights of the pro-Thaksin “Red Shirt” movement are denied by emergency laws.

“There is little prospect that genuine reconciliation will succeed when the offer comes from the same government directly responsible for the recent deadly crackdown on the Red Shirts and their ongoing repression”, says Jim Della-Giacoma, Crisis Group’s South East Asia Project Director. “The first gesture that might demonstrate a renewed commitment to building bridges would be to unconditionally and immediately lift the state of emergency”.

Empowered by the emergency decree imposed in 24 provinces – one third of the country – authorities have prohibited Red Shirts’ demonstrations, shut down their media, detained their leaders and banned financial transactions of their alleged financiers. Reconciliation when the government’s partners in resolving this conflict are on the run and denied their political rights is impossible. While the Red Shirts have no opportunity for open and peaceful expression because of draconian laws, their legitimate frustrations are being forced underground and possibly towards illegal and violent actions.

Establishing facts of the recent violence and holding perpetrators of the crimes on all sides accountable is another critical step on the road to reuniting the country. The Independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission headed by former attorney general Kanit na Nakhon should not only seek truth but also initiate prosecutions of those it finds to have committed violent acts. The government’s use of terrorism charges to go after Red Shirt leaders as well as Thaksin is inappropriate for what was mostly a peaceful political movement that did not target civilians. It is also short-sighted as these are the very people that will need to be brought into a national reconciliation process to address the difficult issues facing the country .

In the long run, Thailand needs to think deeply about much broader political reforms of its system of government, laws and constitution, including the role of the monarch and military. Wealth needs to be shared, justice delivered equitably, and power decentralised.

“An election that should be held as soon as possible will be the beginning and not the end of this process”, says Robert Templer, Crisis Group’s Asia Program Director. “Only a new government, with the legitimacy of a fresh mandate, if it is accepted by all sides, can move forward with such a complex reform agenda”.

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites

Secondo fonti militari birmane citate da Dvb, sistemi di lancio missilistico di fabbricazione nord coreana, come il ‘122mm Multiple Launch Rocket Systems’, sarebbero stati collocati nella base militare di Moe Hnyin, nello Stato Kachin. Armi e sistemi radar mobili avrebbero raggiunto il porto di Rangoon molti mesi prima dell’apertura della base incriminata, avvenuta nel maggio scorso. Una seconda postazione radar sarebbe stata inoltre installata a pochi chilometri da Moe Hnyin con l’aiuto di due tecnici russi. Stando alle informazioni raccolte da Dvb, quella di Moe Hnyin sarebbe la quarta base militare con queste caratteristiche. Le altre due sarebbero situate nello Stato Shan e una terza nella divisione di Mandalay, al centro del Paese. Il materiale bellico proveniente da Pyongyang sarebbe arrivato sulle coste birmane nell’aprile scorso su una nave cargo denominata Chong Gen. Se le accuse dovessero essere confermate, Myanmar sarebbe colpevole di aver violato la risoluzione Onu 1874, adottata il 12 giugno del 2009. Risoluzione che impone sanzioni commerciali nei confronti della Corea del Nord e vieta in modo specifico l’esportazione di materiale bellico verso altri Paesi.

AKI ADNKRONOS INTERNATIONAL

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites

Human Rights Groups call on the Cambodian Government to Comply with the UN Torture Convention

(25 June 2010, Phnom Penh), 26 June 2010 marks 23 years since the United Nations’ Convention against Torture came into force. 146 States have joined up to this landmark Convention, undertaking to prevent, prosecute and provide reparations for torture and end impunity for one of the worst crimes known to mankind.
Today, we express our grave concern about the prevalence of torture and other prohibited ill-treatment, the lack of investigation, prosecution and punishment of such crimes. Today we show our solidarity with victims of torture here in Cambodia and around the world.
Cambodia acceded to the Convention in 1992. In 2007, it ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention, a positive step through which it took on the added obligation to set up an independent national preventive mechanism to monitor detention centres to help prevent torture in Cambodia.
26 June is also exactly one month before the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) is due to deliver its first judgment in Case 001, a case which concerns the notorious and wide scale use of torture at Tuol Sleng, the S-21 security prison used during the time of the Khmer Rouge regime.

By agreeing to be bound by the Torture Convention, the Cambodian Government has taken an important step to end torture. In the spirit of this commitment, we now call on the Government:
- To cooperate fully with the United Nations Committee Against Torture, which will consider in November 2010 Cambodia’s second periodic report on the measures it has taken to give effect to its obligations under the Convention and to comply fully with the Committee’s concluding observations;
- To declare in accordance with Article 22 of the Convention that it recognizes the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of individuals subject to its jurisdiction who claim to be victims of a violation of the provisions of the Convention;
- To ensure that the national preventative mechanism established in accordance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture is independent and impartial and also capable of receiving individual complaints about torture and other prohibited ill-treatment which it can then convey to the competent authorities for follow-up action;
- To ensure that torture is recognized as a crime in Cambodia in accordance with the definition set out in Article 1 of the UN Convention against Torture. The Cambodian Government should make an official declaration that the definition of torture set out in Article 1 of the Convention, as well as all other provisions of the Convention, are directly applicable in Cambodia, in accordance with the laws of Cambodia. In addition, to provide the utmost clarity for all Cambodian authorities, the Cambodian Government and the National Assembly should take the necessary steps to ensure that the definition of torture in the Penal Code is made to conform with the definition in Article 1 of the Convention against Torture. Legislation to criminalize torture should be swiftly put in force;
- To establish an accessible and effective means for victims to register complaints of torture and other prohibited ill-treatment with the competent authorities and to ensure that such authorities promptly investigate such complaints in accordance with the Convention, and where sufficient evidence exists, to ensure that those accused of torture are prosecuted;
- To make certain that adequate physical and psychological services are in place for victims of torture, as well as adequate and effective measures of reparation.

Further information, please contact:

Mr. Sok Sam Oeun, Acting Chairman of CHRAC/Director of CDP, Tel: 012 901 199
Mr. Thun Saray, President of ADHOC, Tel: 016 880 509
Ms. Sun Chansen, President of KYA, Tel: 017 788 955
Ms. Say Vathany, Executive Director of CWCC, Tel: 092 993 558
Ms. Carla Fershman, Director of REDRESS, Email: carla@redress.org
Mr. Basil Fernando, Director of AHRC, Tel: 852 26986367

# # #

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984. The above statement has only been forwarded by the AHRC.

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites

UN APPELLO DI LETTERA22 ALLE REDAZIONI INFORMALI

Lettera22, un’associazione di giornalisti nata in Italia nel 1993 agli albori della Rete e che ogni giorno fa del web la sua arena di notizie, invita tutte le forme associative di giornalismo ad aderire a questo appello inviando una mail all’indirizzo reteliberit@gmail.com e a pubblicarlo sulla propria testata.

Sarà un modo di contarci e di costruire una rete. L’appello è parte integrante di quello lanciato dalla Fnsi e dalle varie organizzazioni promotrici.

DIRE NO AL DDL ALFANO COL SILENZIO IN RETE

USCIRE DAL SOMMERSO DIFFUSO E DAR MAGGIOR FORZA
ALLA PROTESTA CONTRO LA LEGGE BAVAGLIO

A partire della manifestazione del 1 luglio, la protesta contro il ddl Alfano si protrarrà in forme e modi diversi: giornali e testate web listate a lutto e il giorno 9 giornata del silenzio. Pensiamo che sia importante anche l’adesione di quelle redazioni “sommerse”, spesso informali, che costituiscono l’informazione diffusa nel nostro Paese e che in gran parte viaggia sul web. Un mondo però che, proprio per questa sua specificità, spesso si astiene da queste forme di protesta.
Aderendo all’appello della Fnsi per il 1 luglio, listeremo a lutto i nostri siti e non pubblicheremo nulla il giorno 9 se non le nostre considerazioni sulla legge bavaglio. In questo modo sarà chiaro che anche realtà minori o poco conosciute, alternative e diversificate ma di qualità, sono buona parte della spina dorsale dell’informazione in Italia, dove non esistono solo grandi quotidiani o grandi reti televisive. La minaccia del ddl riguarda tutti e dunque anche chi non lavora in un giornale, non ha una posizione contrattualizzata, non si riconosce nel sindacato o non si sente rappresentato dalla protesta. Chi è meno tutelato di altri ma altrettanto colpito nella sua dignità professionale e nella qualità del suo lavoro

Le adesioni

Lettera22 (www.lettera22.it)
Amisnet (http://amisnet.org)
Libera.Tv (www.libera.tv)
NTNN (www.ntnn.info)
SudestAsiatico (www.sudestasiatico.com)
Afgana (www.afgana.org)
Giornalismo partecipativo (http://www.gennarocarotenuto.it)
PeriodicoItaliano (http://www.periodicoitaliano.it)
InternoOtto (www.internootto.it)
Notiziario delle associazioni (www.notiziariodelleassociazioni.it)
Teatro e Critica (www.teatroecritica.net)
Krapp’s Last Post (www.klpteatro.it)
AltraTv (www.altratv.tv)
Perlapace (www.perlapace.it)

Blogger

BellizziNotizie (www.bellizzinotizie.blogspot.com)
U’Scazzamurrill (http://torremaggiore.blogspot.com)
ArabiInvisibili (http://invisiblearabs.com)
GreatGame (ttp://emgiordana.blogspot.com)

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites

Non solo SUSHI

In principio fu Casio, che con il suo primo calcolatore elettronico prodotto nel 1957 invase le scrivanie di mezzo mondo. In seguito Toyota, che con la sua Corolla, oltre 30 milioni di autoveicoli venduti, ha occupato le strade di un mercato ormai globalizzato. Oggi, il Giappone, mette la sua competenza tecnologica e industriale al servizio del cibo, uno dei grandi piaceri della vita giapponese. Un piacere che, superato l’Oceano pacifico, prende forma in milioni di ristoranti. Piccole ambasciate di una delle cucine più raffinate al mondo. ”Una cucina che – come ha sottolineato l’ambasciatore giapponese in Italia, Hiroyasu Ando – ha già invaso le tavole di numerosi Paesi europei”. Intervenuto in occasione della giornata di promozione della ristorazione giapponese organizzata da NPO corporation (JRO), l’Ambasciatore Ando ha rimarcato il ruolo di una delle più antiche tradizioni nipponiche come ponte culturale ed economico tra il Paese Estremo orientale e quelli europei. Fondata nel 2007 e attiva in ben 18 paesi nel mondo, JRO ha riunito le grandi aziende alimentari giapponesi nella splendida cornice della Città del Gusto di Roma. Proposte di menù sono arrivate soprattutto da Ajinomoto Co., Inc, un marchio che nelle cucine internazionali è associato al glutammato monosodico. Gyoza bollito in brodo o con aceto di agrume e totoro (fellandrio), Yakitori don (pollo alla griglia con riso), Karaage con salsa di mentaiko, sbarcata nel Paese del Sol Levante dopo la guerra russo-giapponese dei primi del secolo scorso, sono solo alcune delle proposte di prodotti surgelati presentati dalla multinazionale dell”’Essenza del gusto”. Alimenti e proposte da sempre presenti nella cucina nipponica ma meno note ai palati internazionali e soprattutto italiani, già avvezzi al sushi, sashimi e sukiyaki.

Una sfida interessante quella della cucina ‘Made in Japan’, che dopo aver conquistato le tavole di Londra, Parigi e Berlino, guarda a Roma e Milano con grande attenzione e voglia di esserci. Del resto, trent’anni fa, nessuno immaginava che le case automobilistiche giapponesi potessero prender spazio in ‘casa Fiat’. Chissà? Magari è solo questione di tempo e soprattutto di gusto.

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites

La Serata d’onore avrà anche l’obiettivo di raccogliere fondi a sostegno della coalizione di organizzazioni tra cui il governo in esilio, l’NCUB e il sindacato birmano per aiutarli, in questi prossimi mesi ad opporsi pacificamente ai piani della giunta di trasformare con le elezioni farsa, come anche sottolineato dal Parlamento Europeo.

I biglietti gratuiti possono essere richiesti a CISL, Dipartimento Internazionale 068546706 o presso la biglietteria dell’Auditorium Parco della Musica.

Patrizia Amilcarelli
C.I.S.L.
International Dept
00198 Roma – Via Po, 21
Ph: +39 06 8473357-359
fax: +39 06 8413782

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites

AKI ADNKRONOS INTERNATIONAL

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites

Thailand has faced urban rebellion by the militant faction of the reds to strengthen the bargaining power of the overall red movement, which seeks to regain power through a short cut.
The present crisis is not about the red poor versus the rich Bangkok elite, as red sympathisers would have it. Rather, it is about greed and a power struggle to topple the Abhisit government and create an interim government. The red movement consists of various factions, each with its own agenda:

1. The Shinawatra clan. The Thai court has approved an arrest warrant for the fugitive former premier Thaksin on terrorism charges in connection with the recent deadly street protests.

2. The military faction loyal to Thaksin. The fighting between the anonymous “black army” and government troops shows that the Thai military is divided. The military is fighting among itself for power. Maj-General Khattiya Sawasdipol, alias Seh Daeng, who was killed by a sniper, was the face of the armed rebels. But there are several generals operating behind the scenes.

3. The police. They turned a blind eye while the reds accumulated weapons, brought in tyres for burning, set up illegal rallies and rioted before burning central Bangkok. The police are part of this act of high treason. The last time the police were this powerful was when General Pao Sriyanonda was at the helm during the 1950s. Pao’s motto: “There’s nothing in this land that the Thai police can’t do.” Later, Pao was ousted by General Sarit Thanarat, who ruled with an iron fist between 1958 and 1963. The police national headquarters is just across from CentralWorld, where intelligence reports indicated the reds had been keeping weapons and ammunition. It was also common knowledge among the reds that in the event of the crackdown, they would burn down CentralWorld as the first target before setting fire to other symbolic buildings. But the police stood by idly doing nothing when the torching took place. More than 200 reds took part in the arson without facing any deterrence or arrest by the police.

4. The Pheu Thai Party. Many of its members went on stage at the rally sites to attack Abhisit and call for a House dissolution. They turned to street demonstrations to attack the government rather than the parliamentary channel. The party had a chance to launch a censure motion against Abhisit during the rallies but withdrew that measure to focus on the street demonstrations to beef up the reds. Only yesterday did the party change its mind by submitting a censure motion in Parliament against the PM and other Cabinet members.

5. The business elite of Bangkok. The National Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation has produced a list of almost 200 companies and individuals who allegedly might be involved in providing financial and logistic support to the reds. (Read my previous blogs for the list). Their bank accounts, assets and financial transactions have been frozen. They have been required to appear before the crisis management body to answer to their possible involvement in assisting the reds. If they satisfy the interrogators, their assets will be released. Going through the long list of these companies and individuals, we can see at once that they are mostly business elites who hardly represent the interests of the Isaan poor at all.

6. The hardcore reds and the guards of the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship. Many of the core red-shirt leaders such as Veera Musigapong, Jatuporn Promphan, Natthawut Saikua, Dr weng Tojirakarn and others, will face terrorism charges after the deaths of soldiers and civilians, as well as the arson incidents.

7. “Dovish” academics disguised as peace mediators. The role of Gothom Arya was most prominent during the red rallies. In intervals, he showed up frequently on TV to act as a mediator for a peaceful resolution (see my previous blog). But he actually represented the moderate wing of the reds. Many Thammasat University academics are also part of this wing, calling for a peaceful resolution to give the reds more time to drag out the rallies and further hurt the prime minister. The reds will never go for a peaceful resolution or a House dissolution, as they aim for an interim government through abrupt or shocking political change.

8. The brotherhood of the October 6, 1976 tragedy. Dr weng Tojirakarn is the face of the leftist, or Marxist, faction of the reds, the old comrades who want to change the Thai regime. This organisation is huge.

9. Urban red thugs. They represent the urban poor from Klong Toei, Bon Kai, Din Daeng and Don Muang, who are readily recruited by the reds. They burnt the tyres and threw petrol bombs at the military.

10. Upcountry reds. Except for the radical ones, most of these people have a legitimate claim that past governments have ignored their plight. All of us are to blame for taking advantage of them and failing to provide them with good education. They joined the red movement in the hope of winning a better life. But many ended up in a nightmare when the burning and killing took place. Reds in Udon Thani and Khon Kaen are the most radical, to the point of trying to form an independent state. But they represent only the minority. From my point of view, there are at least these ten key players. I do not include in the overall movement the Bangkok reds, the media reds, the local community reds, the opportunist reds, foreign supporters of the reds led by Jeff Savage and Conor David Purcell. This is a complex political and social phenomenon. But the international media, knowingly or unknowingly, has narrowly identified the Isaan and rural reds as forming the majority of this movement when they serve only as a decoy for the other key players.

Since the reds, many of you might want to ask, consist of different segments of Thai society, with different motivations and agendas, how can they work together? The answer is that they come together for their own narrow interests through social networking, community networks, and monetary incentives. And many will become dispensable as the elite of the red movement advances to its goal. This is a false claim of the poor versus the elite.

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites

L’ex premier deve difendersi dall’accusa di terrorismo per aver incitato e finanziato il movimento di protesta delle camicie rosse. Shinawatra, però, si è sempre detto estraneo al movimento di protesta che nei mesi scorsi ha bloccato il centro di Bangkok.

BOOKMARK

Hide Sites