Dhaka, Jun 3: Myanmar’s National Security Adviser Thaung Tun said on Saturday his country will take back all 700,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees who have fled to Bangladesh if they volunteer to return.
He was speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a regional security conference in Singapore, where he was asked if the situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where most Rohingya live, could trigger use of the Responsibility to Protect framework of the United Nations.
The so-called R2P framework was adopted at the 2005 UN World Summit in which nations agreed to protect their own populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity and accepted a collective responsibility to encourage and help each other uphold this commitment.
“If you can send back 700,000 on a voluntary basis, we are willing to receive them,” Thaung Tun said. “Can this be called ethnic cleansing?
“There is no war going on, so it’s not war crimes. Crimes against humanity, that could be a consideration, but we need clear evidence. These serious charges should be proved and they should not be bandied about lightly.”
Since August 2017, about 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled a military crackdown in mainly Buddhist Myanmar, many reporting killings, rape and arson on a large scale, UN and other aid organizations have said.
The United Nations and aid agencies have described the crackdown on the Rohingya as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”, an accusation Myanmar rejects.
Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in January to complete the voluntary repatriation of the refugees within two years.
Myanmar signed an agreement with the United Nations on Thursday aimed at eventually allowing the Rohingya sheltering in Bangladesh to return safely and by choice.
It also said it would set up an independent commission to investigate “the violation of human rights and related issues” in Rakhine State following the army operation there in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents on security posts.
Thaung Tun said that the narrative of what happened in Rakhine was “incomplete and misleading”. “Myanmar does not deny that what is unfolding in northern Rakhine is a humanitarian crisis,” he said. “There is no denying that the Muslim community in Rakhine has suffered. The Buddhist Rakhine, Hindu and other ethnic minorities have suffered no less.”
He said that while the military had the right to defend the country, if investigations showed they had acted illegally, action would be taken.
Chandigarh, Jun 3: Vegetable prices at various cities in Punjab, Haryana started soaring in the wake of the dwindling fresh supplies of farm produce in mandis even as the farmers dumped vegetables, milk on roads and blocked supplies to cities.
As part of the 10-day agitation , the farmers stopped supply of vegetables, fruits, milk and other items to various cities against the alleged anti-farmer policies of the Centre.
Though the impact of farmers’ stir on price of farm commodities was not visible yesterday, the retail prices of vegetables in several cities soared in the range of Rs 10-20 per kg on the second day today, forcing consumers in cities to shell out more for buying vegetables.
According to traders in Chandigarh, the price of tomatoes soared to Rs 20-25 per kg against Rs 10-15 per kg prevailing two days back. Similarly, retail prices of potatoes, capsicum, bottle gourd, cucumber, have also gone up on short supplies.
Traders said the fresh supplies of vegetables coming through vehicles in mandis have dwindled, triggering fears of more price rise in coming days.
The farmers continued to hold protest at several places in Punjab, including Nabha, Ludhiana, Muktsar, Tarn Taran, Nangal and Ferozepur and there were reports that farmers even put up blockades not to allow supply of vegetables and milk entering cities.
According to a report from Ferozepur, the farmers allegedly forced the closure of vegetable mandi.
In Bathinda, a group of farmers, owing allegiance to the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur), stopped some milk sellers from going to the city in the morning at village Jodhpur Romana which resulted into heated arguments among them.
Milk sellers were requesting the protesting farmers to allow them to sell their milk but they refused, said police.
Then, four farmers were taken into preventive custody, said Bathinda police station Sadar SHO Iqbal Singh. The farmers even staged sit-in outside police station demanding release of their fellow farmers.
In Mohali, a group of farmers parked their cars outside the entry gate of Verka milk plant as part of their protest. They were demanding that Verka milk plant should not procure milk from farmers. Verka is a brand of cooperative federation Milkfed Punjab.
The decision to stop supplies starting from June 1 till June 10 was taken by farmers under the banner of Kisan Ekta Manch and Rashtriya Kisan Maha Sangh.
The farmer organisations have been demanding minimum income guarantee scheme, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report and waiver of farmers’ debt.
London, Jun 2 : “Harry Potter” creator JK Rowling has revealed that she is currently writing the screenplay for the third film in the “Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them” series.
The 52-year-old author took to her official blog to share the news.
“I’ve just finished the fourth Galbraith novel, ‘Lethal White’, and I’m now writing the screenplay for ‘Fantastic Beasts 3’,” Rowling wrote.
The third installment is yet to be titled.
The second part, “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”, will release on November 16 this year.
Rowling further teased her writing plans, saying she will pen another children’s book – which will be a departure from the Harry Potter universe.
“After that I’ll be writing another book for children. I’ve been playing with the (non-Harry Potter/wizarding world) story for about six years, so it’s about time I get it down on paper,” she wrote.
Beijing, Jun 2 : US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross arrived in Beijing today for talks aiming to ease tensions over tariffs that have heightened fears of a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies, Chinese state media said.
Despite announcing a truce earlier this month, the United States is working to finalise planned sanctions on Beijing — including restrictions on Chinese investment, export controls and 25 percent tariffs on USD 50 billion in Chinese tech goods.
China has threatened to hit back with tit-for-tat tariffs on tens of billions of dollars in US goods.
Ross will stay in the Chinese capital until Sunday, a US government official told AFP.
His visit comes as fears of an all-out global trade war intensified after the European Union,
Canada and Mexico drew up retaliatory measures to Washington’s stinging steel and aluminium tariffs that came into effect yesterday.
US President Donald Trump first announced trade sanctions on China, largely focused on the Asian giant’s theft of US intellectual property, in March.
Beijing on Wednesday lambasted “sudden flip-flops” in US policy after the Trump administration said it would still move to impose the sanctions against it — just over a week after announcing a truce.
But as Ross arrived, China appeared to soften its position.
“China’s door for negotiation remains open,” said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying on Friday.
The US and China “should adopt a sincere attitude and follow the spirit of equality and mutual respect to seek a win-win solution through dialogue and consultation”, she added.
The final list of Chinese imports covered by the US tariffs list will be announced June 15 and imposed shortly thereafter, while the proposed investment restrictions and enhanced export controls will be announced by June 30, according to the White House.
Trump has accused China of forcing American firms to hand over their industrial secrets to Chinese companies in order to do business in the country, a charge that Beijing has rejected.
The US leader has also threatened to impose tariffs on an additional 100 billion in Chinese goods if Beijing retaliates.
Chennai, Jun 2 : Welcoming the constitution of a Cauvery Water Management Authority (CMA) by the Centre, the Tamil Nadu government has hailed it as a “grand victory for the “Amma (Jayalalithaa) government” and the state’s farmers.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami expressed joy and recalled the various efforts of the ruling AIADMK on the Cauvery dispute, including the late party supremo
J Jayalalithaa going on a fast in the 1990s on the issue.
The CMA had been set up following the AIADMK government’s sustained efforts and legal battles, he added.
AIADMK leaders had observed a fast while opposition parties in the state staged protests in April demanding constitution of the CMA.
Acting on the Supreme Court’s direction, the Centre has constituted the CMA to address the dispute over sharing of river water among Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry and issued a gazette notification.
On February 16, the apex court had directed the government to form the CMA within six weeks in a verdict that marginally increased Karnataka’s share of Cauvery water, reduced the allocation for Tamil Nadu and sought to settle the protracted water dispute between the two southern states.
In the gazette notification, the Ministry of Water Resources said it has framed a scheme constituting the CMA and the CWRC to give effect to the decision of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal as modified by the Supreme order.
MALE 2018 June 2: – The European Union and some Western nations on Friday urged the Maldives to hold a credible and transparent presidential poll, after police executing a court order disrupted an opposition effort to pick a candidate for the September election.
The Maldives foreign ministry, however, said in a statement that actions taken by the government to stop illegal activities and to maintain law and order should not be seen as aimed at curtailing fundamental freedoms.
The Maldives, home to 400,000 people and best known as a tropical paradise for tourists, has experienced political unrest since Mohamed Nasheed, its first democratically-elected leader, was forced to quit amid a mutiny by police in 2012.
Nasheed, the sole candidate in this week’s primary election held by his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), was convicted of terrorism charges in 2015 and sentenced to 13 years in prison after a controversial and widely criticised trial.
Although Nasheed campaigned from Sri Lanka to win 43,922 of the 44,011 votes cast in Wednesday’s election, the Elections Commission declined to accept the results and vowed to take action against the MDP.
In a joint statement, the ambassadors of the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States said they had followed the deterioration of the situation with increasing concern.
“Legitimate opposition is a vital part of any healthy democracy, and it is critical that authorities respect fundamental freedoms, including freedom of assembly and speech,” the European Union said.
“We urge authorities to demonstrate genuine commitment to a credible, transparent, and inclusive election process.”
In a statement, Nasheed said it was inspiring to see Maldivians rising up with the belief that “Democracy must prevail, despite the atmosphere of military rule and repression” imposed by President Abdulla Yameen.
Patna, Jun 1 : Five Indian Mujahideen militants, convicted by a special NIA court in the 2013 Bodh Gaya blasts case, were sentenced to life imprisonment today.
Special NIA judge Manoj Kumar Sinha awarded the punishment to the five accused – Imtiyaz Ansari, Haider Ali, Mujib Ullah, Omair Siddiqui and Azharuddin Qureishi – who had been convicted on May 25.
The world-renowned Buddhist pilgrimage town of Bodh Gaya was rocked by a series of blasts on July 7, 2013. Though there were no casualties, several people, including some monks, were injured.
In addition to the five convicts, another accused, Taufiq Ahmed, was held guilty in the case by a juvenile court in October last year and sent to remand home for three years.
All six are also facing trial along with others in the Patna blasts case of 2013.
A series of bombs had exploded at a massive election rally of then Gujarat chief minister and now Prime Minister Narendra Modi, killing six people and injuring 89.
Madrid, June 1 : Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy admitted defeat today ahead of a no-confidence vote which was certain to topple him, paving the way for a takeover by opposition leader Pedro Sanchez, his arch rival.
“It’s been an honour — there is none bigger — to have been Spain’s prime minister,” he told parliament after congratulating Sanchez, with lawmakers from his conservative Popular Party (PP) giving him a standing ovation.
Barring any last-minute U-turn, an absolute majority of lawmakers, among them Catalan separatists and Basque nationalists, will vote through a no-confidence motion filed last week by the Socialists following a corruption scandal involving the PP.
“Today we are signing a new page in the history of democracy in our country,” Sanchez told parliament where MPs were to begin voting.
But PP lawmaker Rafael Hernando told him he would be entering the prime minister’s office “through the back door” after failing to win the vote in 2015 and 2016.
“For the first time we may get a prime minister who didn’t win elections,” he retorted.
In order to push through the no-confidence motion, the Socialists, who hold just 84 of the parliament’s 350 seats, have had to cosy up to parties they have previously clashed with, like Catalan separatists and the anti-establishment Podemos.
As such, even if he has pledged to govern long enough to restore “institutional stability,” Sanchez’s new government will likely be highly unstable.