Category: Asia News

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Plaque omits Tamil evokes fury in Srilanka

Sri Lanka in major language controversy as Mandarin replaces Tamil on signages

The inclusion of Mandarine raised concerns over whether the China is beginning to impose its cultural hegemony on the Sri Lanka…reports Rahul Kumar

Sri Lankans are holding a major debate in the country after two back-to-back incidents in which Mandarin was included in sign boards omitting out Tamil from government projects. Now people are debating if China is beginning to impose its cultural hegemony on the island nation.

This week Sri Lankan Attorney General Dappula de Livera unveiled a plaque written in Sinhala, English and Mandarin. It caused a controversy on both countries that Tamil was not included and Mandarin was. This goes against the official language trilingual policy in the country wherein Sinhala, Tamil and English are used.

The controversy erupted after China gifted a smart library to the attorney general’s department. Social media platforms were abuzz with the development. Facing criticism, the plaque was removed. The attorney general’s office declined to comment.

In a bid to control the damage, the Chinese embassy tweeted: “We noticed an interim sign in a JV building site not abiding by trilingual rules. Request raised. We respect all three official languages in Sri Lanka, and urge China companies to follow”. It shared images of other Chinese-built structures that included the Tamil language in their signages.

This controversy erupted on the heels of another similar one.

Just last week, the central park being developed in the China-backed Colombo Port City had replaced Tamil with Mandarin. After the news went viral on Tamil groups and in social media circles, the Port City Colombo released a statement saying that the photograph being circulated is that of an old signboard.

News website, Colombo Page, published a statement, by Port City Colombo, released on its trilingual letterhead that the project is under construction and the signboards put up by the contractor are meant for employees and authorised visitors. It added that temporary sign boards do not have to be in all three official languages.

The clarification said that due to a majority of employees being locals, Sinhala language was used while English and Chinese were used for the considerable number of foreign workers at the site. It added that, “… When opening doors to the public to visit, any and all signboards in all public areas will be erected as per the government regulations for such boards,” the Port City Colombo said.

ALSO READ: Lankan Navy rescues foreign crew from burning cargo ship

The controversy generated by the signage and the plaque refuses to die out.

State Minister of National Heritage, Performing Arts and Rural Arts Promotion, Vidura Wickramanayka told Sri Lankan newspaper, The Daily Mirror: “As a country we should not allow these type of things to happen. We talk about co-existence. An inquiry in this regard has to be carried out…”

Gotabaya Rajapaksa meets Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe(Twitter)

Batticaloa Member of Parliament from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Shanakiyan Rasamanickam said that it is China which decides what to put on the sign boards in Sri Lanka. He added that Sri Lanka had become “Chi-Lanka”.

The controversy over the languages comes soon after the massive opposition to the Colombo Port City, which had been opposed by almost the entire cross section of the Sri Lankan society except President Rajapaksa Gotabaya’s ruling party – Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. Even powerful Buddhist monks had opposed Chinese control over the Colombo Port City saying that it would make Sri Lanka a colony of the communist giant.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

ALSO READ: Soon, Lankans will need a passport issued by China to enter Port City

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ASEAN News Asia News

Myanmar students can stay in Japan even after visas expire

The exemption applies to students and technical interns who could face trouble returning home…reports Asian Lite News

Japan will let Myanmar citizens remain in the country legally even after their visas expire, in response to deteriorating political conditions in the Southeast Asian nation following the military coup, reported Nikkei Asia.

The exemption applies to students and technical interns who could face trouble returning home. They can choose to study or work in Japan for another six or 12 months, according to the plans outlined by the country’s Immigration Services Agency to lawmakers on Wednesday.

If the political situation in Myanmar fails to improve, these Myanmar citizens will be able to apply for another extension.

On February 1, the Myanmar military overthrew the civilian government and declared a year-long state of emergency. The coup triggered mass protests and was met by deadly violence.

According to Nikkei Asia, Japan also will accelerate the screening process for refugees, and allow applicants from Myanmar to stay and work in the country without that status.

It further reported that the Myanmar junta has fired two diplomats stationed in Tokyo for speaking out against the military’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. The Japanese government is looking to grant the diplomats visas, such as those designated for highly skilled professionals.

There were 35,049 Myanmar citizens living in Japan as of the end of 2020, Nikkei Asia reported citing a preliminary data released by the Immigration Services Agency. A total of 2,944 were seeking asylum at the end of March.

At least 828 people have been confirmed to be killed since the military takeover on February 1, according to Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

Meanwhile, Japan’s health ministry said that the number of Covid-19 patients nationwide designated as being in a serious condition rose to a record high of 1,413 on Wednesday.

The number of serious-ill patients who typically need intensive care treatment in hospitals and require the use of ventilators or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machines jumped by 119 from a day earlier, the ministry said.

The officials said that 4,536 new cases and 116 deaths were recorded on Wednesday.

The total infections since the outbreak here have risen to 730,646 across the country, with the death toll increasing to 12,640 people, according to the latest figures.

New cases in Tokyo increased by 743, the health ministry said, while those in Osaka rose by 331. Aichi Prefecture saw daily infections up by 331 and Hokkaido Prefecture reported 551 new Covid-19 cases, according to official figures.

In a bid to accelerate its inoculation campaign, two mass vaccination centres were opened in Tokyo and Osaka Prefecture on Monday with the state-backed facilities aimed at helping to complete administering vaccinations of 36 million seniors aged 65 or older by the end of July. (ANI/IANS)

ALSO READ: Armed resistance in Mindat against Myanmar military

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-Top News ASEAN News Asia News

828 people killed in Myanmar as military crackdown continues

“As of 26 May, 828 people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup,” said AAPP…reports Asian Lite News

As violence continues to intensify in Myanmar, 828 people have been confirmed to be killed since the military takeover on February 1, according to Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

“As of 26 May, 828 people are now confirmed killed by this junta coup,” said AAPP, adding that a total of 4,330 people are currently under detention.

“A woman, living in Taw Seint Village in Salin Township, Magway Region, was shot dead in the head last night when the village administrator requested the military to come to the village and open fire in response to a “No to Military Slavery Education” sticker campaign at a local school,” said AAPP.

A demonstrator stacks bags on a street as a barricade during a demonstration against the military coup and the detention of civilian leaders in Myanmar(ians)

Earlier, Myanmar’s military government announced it will reopen public schools on June 1 but many teachers and students opposed to the coup might refuse to return.

According to Kyodo News, a number of teachers and others engaged in education have joined the so-called civil disobedience movement to boycott work, as a protest against the junta. But the junta called on them to return to work and prepare for the reopening of the schools as it announced the restart on April 30.

The public schools in the country have been closed for more than a year since the ousted government led by detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi had decided not to open the schools in June last year as the country saw a surge in the coronavirus infections, Kyodo News reported.

US journo detained

Authorities in Myanmar detained an American journalist, an employee at a local English-language publication, at the Yangon airport shortly before boarding a flight back home, according to his employer on Tuesday.

Danny Fenster, 37, has been taken to prison, dpa news agency quoted his employer, Frontier Myanmar, as saying in a statement.

The charges against Fenster are unknown.

“We do not know why Danny was detained and have not been able to contact him since this morning. We are concerned for his well-being and call for his immediate release. Our priorities right now are to make sure he is safe and to provide him with whatever assistance he needs,” the statement said.

Frontier Myanmar’s chief, Thomas Kean told dpa news agency that Fenster had worked at the newpaper since August 2020 and that he had been on his way to the US for personal reasons.

Myanmar protestors flood streets in Mandalay despite army crack down

The military leaders of Myanmar have cracked down hard on anyone they view as an opponent ever since grabbing power in February.

There have been reports of more than 5,400 detentions since the start of their rules, including of many journalists.

Many reporters have already fled the country, though foreign correspondents had been viewed as enjoying a degree of protection.

“This unlawful restriction of a foreign journalist’s freedom of movement is the latest grave threat to press freedom in Myanmar,” read a statement from the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

On February 1, the Myanmar military overthrew the civilian government and declared a year-long state of emergency. The coup triggered mass protests and was met by deadly violence. (ANI/IANS)

ALSO READ: EU warns Myanmar junta against NLD dissolution

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-Top News Asia News Columns

KERALA: Catching the winds of change

Pinarayi Vijayan’s historic victory vindicates the Communist-led Left Democratic Front government’s people-focus rule …. Writes Sabin Iqbal

Not every firebrand, trigger-happy revolutionary gets the opportunity to become a seasoned statesman. Particularly, not one with a history of violent political feuds and a tempestuous past. As one attains political and leadership maturity, and becomes a people’s leader in a democracy, the angry storms of youth and an incendiary party are tamed, and tucked within, paving the way for a new brand of communist.

Pinarayi Vijayan takes oath second time as the cm of kerala . (Photo:pallav paliwal)

For years, Pinarayi Vijayan has been laying brick after brick to build this new visage of a communist leader, who is people-focused and investor-friendly.

Not many has his uncanny ability or the opportunity to weather the self-destructive storms within, and emerge as a statesman, standing up for his people, leading them in times of catastrophes, and giving them a glimmer of hope in a time of hovering dark clouds of communal hatred and religious and doctrinal polarisation.

The first chief minister of Kerala to overcome the anti-incumbency electoral pattern of the state to assume power in successive terms, Vijayan has shown flashes of transformation into a statesman, a far cry from his ‘eye-for-eye’ and ‘tooth-for-tooth’ image of his youth with ‘burning eyes and fiery tongue’. In other words, a walking away from the once unalloyed brand of communism to a corporate-friendly version. He may have his reasons for the drift, and they have been validated by the historical victory in successive elections.

His address to the people of Kerala on the day of the historical win on May 2 in which he underlined the importance of taking people into confidence, and of governance for the benefit of the people, we heard the early echoes of a leader trying to break free of political confines.

“This victory belongs to the people of Kerala. I thank you all for reposing faith in the LDF (Left Democratic Front) once again. We need to come together more than ever before to tackle this pandemic and to take Kerala forward in the path of development, welfare and secularism!” he tweeted. He also came down heavily on the UDF (United Democratic Front) legislator who moved court against the government’s Life Mission project. “In such times of disasters and distress, we should stand together, across the lines party divide,” he said in his victory speech.

Over the years, Vijayan has smudged the veracity of the red, drawing flak for his alleged soft-pedalling with the corporates, taking the party towards some detours which have not gone down well with the ‘puritans’ in the party. But Vijayan has evolved into a practical and pragmatic leader, and what we see now are also the signs of him evolving into a possible statesman of a leader.

If we look across Southeast Asia, we see the communist governments changing tack or facing the anger of the people because of the increasing degree of poverty and suffering. Doctrinal chimeras cannot keep hungry people quiet for long.

In fact, the floods that inundated Kerala in an unprecedented way, and the outbreak of Nipah virus, the cyclone that ravaged the southern coastal villages and now the coronavirus wreaking havoc have tempered and conditioned the leader in Vijayan. Crises bring forth character,  and in his case, it has brought forth the inherent leadership qualities.

Not that he is going to have a walk in the park.

It is no secret that Kerala’s economy is a dog’s dinner. A consumer state, Kerala depends heavily on tourism, foreign exchange, taxes on booze, and, to an extent, returns from its IT industry. But that’s not enough to keep the wolf at bay. Successive governments have borrowed from international agencies, pushing the state into debt. Despite the high-brow projects under KIIFB (Kerala Infrastructure Investment Funds Board), the exchequer is as good as scraping empty.

Kerala’s total debt burden has seen an increase of 70.21 per cent in the five years from 2014-15 to 2018-19. The total burden of debts and interest was Rs 1,41,947 crore in 2014-15, and it shot up to Rs 2,41,615 crore in 2018-19, according to the CAG report. The per capita debt has also seen an increase from Rs 42,499 in 2014-15 to Rs 66,561 in 2018-19.

Vijayan has no magic wand. He came to power in the first term on a slogan that ‘LDF will set everything right’. Not that everything has been set right. But in the last five years, people in Kerala knew that there was a leader in place. Someone who had the chutzpah to stand up against the diktats of a Hindu right-wing Union government. He took them on, but brought it on his government what according to him was a witch-hunt by central agencies with a clear political agenda.

Now that he has won the people’s  mandate for another five years on the promise of ‘delivering the promises’, the BJP, licking its electoral wounds and baying for his political blood, will make sure that the coming tenure will not be an easy ride for Vijayan or the LDF. Stifling the already-choked State for funds could be an easy method. The possible continuation of the central agencies’ intervention in the State’s affairs looms large.

Not that Vijayan is a saintly leader. Never. In fact, he has, at times, shown signs of highhandedness. He has earned the tag of ‘Modi in mundu’ for his style of leadership which often borders on being haughty and arrogant—at least to those outside the ring of his trusted allies and sycophants. Despite the occasional aberrations of oneupmanship and haughtiness, which may be forgiven in the larger context of able governance, and his ‘serious and hard-to-please look’, Vijayan the chief minister has begun to show signs of mellowing.

But the decision to bring in all-new cabinet for the second tenure was a surprise move. Though it has been termed as a decision by the party, one cannot absolve Vijayan of any role in the decision. Leaving out KK Shailaja Teacher, who had done remarkably well as Health Ministry and was hugely popular, was a real surprise move.

The UDF, especially Congress Party, has shrunk into insignificance. There has to be much soul-searching for the party, and its groups. They will be better off if they take a leaf out of the LDF’s book. Choosing a relative younger VD Satheeshan as Opposition leader is a welcome sign.

The new-gen communist leaders know that it is imperative that they catch the winds of change, lest they face the fate of the Congress Party.(A senior journalist, Sabin Iqbal is the author of two novels, The Cliffhangers, and Shamal Days.)

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PORTRAIT OF A POLICEMAN AS A PUJARI

PORTRAIT OF POLICEMAN AS A PUJARI

Mr Rakesh Kumar, 56, is an assistant sub-inspector at Delhi Police. But, he is now busy with a new rota. As the Covid pandemic rages in Delhi, he has been performing the last rites of Covid-victims at Lodi Road Cremation ground in New Delhi. The policeman’s family is in full support of his new duty. They even postponed the marriage of a daughter to let the Father of the Bride to fulfil his commitment to society.

PORTRAIT OF POLICEMAN AS A PUJARI

Copy & Pics – Pallav Paliwal

  • PORTRAIT OF POLICEMAN AS A PUJARI
  • PORTRAIT OF POLICEMAN AS A PUJARI
  • PORTRAIT OF POLICEMAN AS A PUJARI
  • PORTRAIT OF POLICEMAN AS A PUJARI
  • PORTRAIT OF POLICEMAN AS A PUJARI
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-Top News Asia News Woman

Indian Women’s Forum Offers Help For NRI Brides

Indian Women’s Forum Offers Help For NRI Brides

IIW (Inspiring Indian Women) curates an online workshop- No more Silence to Domestic Violence… A special report by Maheen Nusrat

Indian Inspiring Women (IIW) hosted an online workshop on the topic of ‘NRI Brides session: No more Silence to Domestic Violence’. The event featured Family Law and Immigration experts, domestic violence registered counsellors, charity organisations, and Councillor.   The event was hosted by Jasmine Vithalani; who is a Community Engagement Officer in London, an advocate for the fight against domestic abuse, passionate about empowering women through education. She is also an RJ for BHF Radio and TV show host for women’s program ‘Nari tu Narayani and a freelance writer.

Indian Women’s Forum Offers Help For NRI Brides

Those in attendance had an opportunity to hear at length from legal experts such as Savitha Bansal; who is a qualified solicitor with 20+ years of diverse experience in two different legal systems: UK and India. She shared her wisdom and stories of women who had suffered Domestic Violence at the hands of their husbands; sharing many stories where women successfully got settlement in the UK.  Bansal, also shared some tips for women who may be currently facing such circumstances for women to safeguard themselves; highlighting the importance of documents, what steps to take to protect one’s interest in property and what steps to take before coming as a bride to the UK to ensure protection of jewellery and money.

Audience also had an opportunity to hear from Reema Chugh, who is a solicitor, specializing in property/construction disputes, runs a mediation service and Aum Charity that helps victims of domestic violence and children in Asian countries. Chugh focused on the questions women and their families must ask before marrying, and the responsibility on the families of the women to do their due diligence and not be afraid to ask questions and also be willing to investigate through using social media, or asking local family and friends to check the prospective groom.

 Kashmira Kalsi; who is a Registered Counsellor and works at Sangam, a Charity which provides free counselling for victims of Domestic Abuse shared the psychological impact on victims and highlighted that help is available. She busted the myths that simply having a proposal from the UK is not a guarantee that life will be a bed of roses.

Ritu Sharma, writer of ‘Rich Man’s Poor Daughter’ who manages Kaushalya in Birmingham also chimed in that the temptation to move to the UK is enticing and the risk of losing a potential proposal is so high which is why often even well-educated families will not ask questions or investigate.

Indian Women’s Forum Offers Help For NRI Brides

Garima Jhamb; who is a domestic abuse practitioner, National Women’s Aid trainer on forced marriage and honour-based violence with a passion to help victims of violence but also to advocate for them. Jhamb elaborated on the lack of support often from the family of the victims itself. Jhamb pointed to the reality victims often face where the inlaws and the perpetrator will discredit the victim through character assasination, hurling false accusations of being greedy or simply accuse of mental health problems; all as a way to deter the victim from raising a voice against her own oppression and from seeking help. 

The panel also provided an opportunity to hear from other survivors and how they found their voice having gone through such adversity. One of the victims, Veena shared a heart-wrenching story of the various types of abuse she faced from her perpetrator. All showed immense appreciation for Veena’s vulnerability, honesty and courage. Veena also sang in her beautiful voice-which was a delight everyone who attended got to indulge in.

The event also featured the youngest parish council candidate from Chigwell Row, Cllr. Pranav Bhanot; who shared his experience of helping victims of domestic violence in his capacity as a councillor.  Bhanot shared that one of the highest crimes in Chigwell Row unfortunately is Domestic Abuse, mainly against women and made worse during the lockdown. He also highlighted how a large segment of the population in Chigwell Row is from the South Asian diaspora of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. He shared about a campaign called ANI, which is designed as a codeword. ANI allows victims to go into shops and pharmacies and get immediate access to help simply by uttering ANI to someone working there.

Author Harpal Singh of ‘The First Slap’ minced no words when he called out the culture of patriarchy within the South Asian Community which gives impunity to the perpetrators and refuses to acknowledge the deep impact of domestic violence and its prevalence in our communities. He encouraged a strong stance against such abuse and encouraged the families of women to stand by their daughters while dumping this false concept of izzat because the life, and safety of women is far more important than a mythical concept of izzat.

Indian Women’s Forum Offers Help For NRI Brides

We also heard from Meena Nahar who is an IDVA and works for Women’s Aid in Leicestershire and volunteers with Asian Women Foundation in Bedford. She shared with us the work that her charity is involved in and also the work of many other charities that are active within the UK. She provided hope that help is available and signposted to the various aid available to victims of abuse, especially those who are on a spousal visa.

The webinar provided a lot of information, and a list of contacts and organisations that can help victims in need. The recording of the forum can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzZt7jdBjRA. For more info check the IIW ( Inspiring Indian Women ) website – inspiringindianwomen.org               

  • Indian Women’s Forum Offers Help For NRI Brides
  • Indian Women’s Forum Offers Help For NRI Brides
  • Indian Women’s Forum Offers Help For NRI Brides
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-Top News Asia News China

Pakistan and Turkey’s selective support to Muslim causes

Uyghur

The Pakistan foreign minister made it clear that he could not speak against a powerful totalitarian country like China even if it was in the thick of carrying out a ‘genocide’ of Muslim brethren, reports Rahul Kumar

The Israel-Palestine conflict has opened up a can of worms revealing that when it comes to Pakistan and Turkey, their support for Muslim causes is selective, opportunistic and in the end based on cynical geopolitical calculations. Both countries are trying to champion Palestinian rights an effort which was visible in plain sight during the latest round of fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas, which is confined to Gaza.

But given their embrace of China, the leadership of the two countries remains petrified, unable to displease Beijing, despite the violation of human rights on an industrial scale of the Uyghur Muslim community in Xinjiang. Some countries have labelled the mass incarceration of the Uyghurs by China as genocide.

Pakistan’s double standards on supporting Islamic causes were on public display when Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi flew all the way to Turkey on a two-day visit and then to New York to discuss the Palestine issue and the rights of the Muslims in Israel. On his Europe to US flight, he was accompanied by the foreign ministers of Turkey, Palestine and Sudan to lend a collective voice to the repression of the Muslims.

In New York, when asked by CNN as to why Pakistan was not raising the issue of ‘genocide’ of Uyghurs in China, the Pakistan foreign minister fumbled to answer the question. All that Qureshi could manage was: “… You know China is a very good friend of Pakistan. They have stood by us through thick and thin. And we have means of communication. We use our diplomatic channels. We do not discuss everything in public”.

To Qureshi’s discomfiture, the CNN journalist remained insistent and asked again: “… But you can’t just turn a blind eye to human rights abuses in one country. Are there discussions behind the scenes by your Prime Minister Khan?” A re-faced Qureshi could only say: “Ma’am, there’s always a way of doing things. And we are not oblivious of our responsibilities.” The Pakistan foreign minister made it clear that he could not speak against a powerful totalitarian country like China even if it was in the thick of carrying out a ‘genocide’ of Muslim brethren.

ALSO READ: Now, Lankan’s will need a passport issued by China to enter Port City

This hypocrisy is not limited to Pakistan alone. Turkey�the other aspirant to global Muslim leadership�sails in the same boat. What is worse is that both the nations have instead helped China in a crackdown upon the runaway Uyghurs. Over the last many years, the two Muslim countries have hounded and deported Uyghurs back to China. It is not difficult to guess what fate awaits the deported Uyghur men and women in China.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping

Just last month, Human Rights Watch in a 53-page report said that China has detained up to a million Muslim people in its western region as it carries on a campaign of repression against the minority. The report says: ” As many as a million people have been arbitrarily detained in 300 to 400 facilities, which include “political education” camps, pretrial detention centres, and prisons. Courts have handed down harsh prison sentences without due process, sentencing Turkic Muslims to years in prison merely for sending an Islamic religious recording to a family member or downloading e-books in Uyghur.”

Emboldened with the hypocritical attitude of the Islamic nations, China is exploring an extradition treaty with Turkey. Expectedly, this has sent a shiver among the Uyghur community that has escaped to Turkey.

Media reports suggest that Turkey has agreed to deport Uyghur Muslims in return for covid-19 vaccines. Dilxat Raxit, a spokesperson for the World Uyghur Congress, told AFP earlier this year: “This extradition treaty will cause worry among Uyghurs who have fled China and do not yet have Turkish citizenship.” Through Turkey has denied these allegations, it is under constant pressure from Beijing about deporting Uyghurs who managed to escape. Over the years it has been sending back the activists that China wants.

In another instance, Uyghur women activists made allegations of rape, torture and forced sterilisations against China on this International Women’s Day. They also alleged that Uyghur and Turkic women are forced to marry ethnic Han men. Such serious allegations against the mistreatment of the ethnic minority did not evoke condemnation from the Islamic world.

This curious sentiment of looking the other way over Uyghur rights is now being investigated by the international media. After a new report came out on the human rights violation of the Uyghur community, The Washington Post asked, ‘Why do some Muslim-majority countries support China’s crackdown on Muslims?’

ALSO READ: How China exploits social media to amplify its propaganda?

Uyghurs�this is one Muslim issue on which both Pakistan and Turkey muffle their high-volume global voices even as they carry on a crusade for the rights of Muslims in other countries. It is important to take up these two countries because Pakistan shares a land link with Xinjiang�the homeland of the persecuted community in China while Turkey hosts the largest Uyghur community with which it shares a common ethnicity.

Like Turkey, Pakistan has been abetting China in its human rights abuses of the Uyghurs. It too sends the escaped Uyghurs back to the Communist regime. With a massive $62 billion project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Pakistan is one of the few all-weather friends of China. Even when asked on international platforms about the plight of the Uyghurs, the Pakistani government has ended up praising their treatment at the hands of China.

While Pakistan has been vociferous over raising issues like the Charlie Hebdo cartoons of the Prophet in the French media and other perceived insults or violation of rights of the Muslim community in other countries, it has not shown the same courage against China on behalf of the Muslim Uyghurs.

It is not just hypocrisy at play.

The answer lies in both�the power of fear and the lure of money that keeps self-appointed leaders of the Muslim world like Pakistan and Turkey cosy up to China. Both have made the protection of Islam a convenient weapon, which they unleash or keep sheathed as they wish to. The liberal and democratic nations are however a convenient and soft target.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

ALSO READ: Pakistan will not provide bases to US in future

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-Top News China Sri Lanka

Soon, Lankans will need a passport issued by China to enter Port City

Under the Port City Economic Commission Bill, businesses can operate in any recognized foreign currency, reports Asian Lite News

Silently China has done the impossible. In a deft move loaded with strategic importance Beijing has purchased 269 hectares of reclaimed land in what China calls will be used as a special economic zone (SEZ) for services-oriented industries.

The controversial Port City Economic Commission Bill was passed by the Lankan Parliament last week with 149 votes in favour and 58 against. Under the legislation, a President-appointed commission will be established to govern the SEZ.

The $1.4 billion-Colombo Port City, was launched in 2014 during the previous term of the Rajapaksa government, when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the island nation. The mega infrastructure project is currently being built on land reclaimed alongside Colombo’s iconic sea front, while environmentalists, fisher folk and Opposition parties are against the move.

The passing of the bill is considered a major diplomatic and strategic concern for India, as China’s footprint increases in neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Tibet.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa meets Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe(Twitter)

The bill will enable the businesses to operate in any recognized foreign currency within Port City. After the Port City bill was tabled in Parliament on April 8, 19 petitions were filed with the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa told the Parliament that the Port City project would create 200,000 jobs in the first five years, with the majority going to Sri Lankan nationals. He said that the Port City bill provides a competitive framework to attract investment.

Port City Colombo Director of Sales and Marketing Yamuna Jayaratne said that Sri Lanka already enjoys several advantages in the cost of doing business in comparison with established and mature services hubs such as Hong Kong and Dubai.

Lankans will need a passport to enter their own land

According to a report by seatrade-maritime.com, the area in which Sri Lanka is now rooted in Sri Lanka is just 290 km from Kanyakumari. China is also preparing a separate passport for Colombo Port City and Hambantota. However, the Sri Lankan government or media has so far not given any official information about the separate passport.

What are China’s intentions?

Whether it is East Africa or Pakistan, China has always been expanding by extending loans. He has a keen eye on Sri Lanka. Through this, it can pose new threats to India. He has already taken Hambantota on a 99-year lease. Colombo also holds a 99-year lease term with Port City. Sri Lanka will get entangled in the debt trap and will also be with Colombo Port City as it lost Hambantota. Last year, the BBC said in a report – Sri Lanka has borrowed billions of dollars from China to improve the infrastructure sector.

Lankan Oppostion’s argument

Legislators from Opposition parties including the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB or United People’s Front) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) challenged its provisions that they said infringed upon the country’s sovereignty, gave the governing commission overarching powers, and immunity from Sri Lankan law, and threatened to create a “Chinese enclave”.

Some of the strongest attacks on the Bill, during the debate, came from Tamil MPs. Legislator and former Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran on Wednesday asked the government if its stated policy of striving for ‘One Country, One Law’ meant “Chinese law”.

Intervening in the debate, Tamil National People’s Front Leader Gajen Ponnambalam on Thursday said Sri Lanka, in the past, had got too close to the U.S. in the Cold War era, prompting India to back and train Tamil militant groups. The “China-centric” Rajapaksa administration was again challenging the geo-political order in the region, he said. Observing that the “Tamil nation” had paid a heavy price the last time Sri Lanka made such choices, he said he opposed the Bill for that reason.

Tamil National Alliance MP and senior lawyer M.A. Sumanthiran said the Supreme Court had made merely “cosmetic changes” to the Bill, while its fundamental character remained unchanged. Accusing the government of giving away part of its land to China, the Jaffna legislator said: “You say so much about [Tamil] Eelam, but this is Cheelam, [referring to China and Eelam, the Tamil name of Sri Lanka]… and it is Cheelam that you are enacting in your own laws, when you don’t have jurisdiction over that territory.”

ALSO READ: Sri Lanka bans travellers from India

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US pledges support to Gaza without aiding Hamas

Antony Blinken says the US fully supported Israel against Hamas attacks and said it would prevent the militia from benefiting from Gaza’s reconstruction funds, reports Asian Lite News

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged on a Middle East mission that Washington would rally support to rebuild Gaza as part of efforts to bolster a cease-fire between its Hamas Islamist rulers and Israel.

But Blinken made clear that the United States intended to ensure that Hamas, which it regards as a terrorist organization, did not benefit from the humanitarian aid — a potentially difficult task in an enclave over which it has a strong grip.

Blinken began his regional visit in Jerusalem, where he held talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli leader, speaking to reporters with the top US diplomat at his side, threatened a “very powerful response” if Hamas renewed cross-border rocket strikes.

Meanwhile, Blinken said the US fully supported Israel against Hamas attacks and said it would prevent the militia from benefiting from Gaza’s reconstruction funds.

The US secretary of state also said his job in the region was to reduce tension.

In tandem with Blinken’s mission, Israeli authorities said they were allowing fuel, medicine and food earmarked for Gaza’s private sector to enter the territory for the first time since 11 days of cross-border hostilities started on May 10.

A street directly hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza strip is seen in the central Israeli city of Holon on May 12, 2021. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua/IANS)
Blinken arrives in Egypt

Blinken arrived in Egypt on Wednesday on the next leg of a diplomatic mission aimed at shoring up a cease-fire that ended an 11-day war between Israel and the Hamas.

Blinken was scheduled to hold talks with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry and the country’s chief spy Abbas Kamel.

Blinken wrapped up extensive talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, and is scheduled to travel to Amman, Jordan late Wednesday to meet with the Jordanian king and other officials.

He has vowed to “rally international support” to rebuild the destruction in hard-hit Gaza, while also promising to make sure that none of the aid destined for the territory reaches Hamas.

Ahead of his departure, Blinken extended US President Joe Biden’s invitation to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin to visit the United States in the coming weeks. Rivlin accepted, according to a statement from his office.

Relatives-of-Palestinian-young-man-Ahmed-Al-Shenbari-mourn-during-his-funeral-in-the-northern-Gaza-Strip-town-of-Beit-Hanoun.-Photo-by-Yasser-QudihXinhuaIANS

Blinken described Egypt and Jordan as central players in trying to bring calm to the region. Both countries are key US allies that have peace agreements with Israel and frequently serve as mediators between Israel and the Palestinians.

“Egypt played a critical role in helping to broker the cease-fire and Jordan has long been a voice for peace and stability in the region,” he told reporters late Tuesday.

In Egypt, which borders both Israel and Gaza, he was scheduled to meet with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and other top officials. Biden spoke with El-Sisi during the war to help broker the cease-fire.

Blinken has set modest goals for the trip, his first official visit to the Middle East as secretary of state. During talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Tuesday, he made clear that the US has no immediate plans to pursue peace talks between the sides, perhaps because previous efforts by past administrations have all failed. Instead, he expressed hope for creating a “better environment” that might lead to peace talks.

US to reopen Jerusalem consulate

Blinken on Tuesday announced plans to reopen a key diplomatic outreach office to the Palestinians and pledged nearly $40 million in new aid — reversing key policies of the Trump administration as he moved to bolster the embattled Palestinian government in the West Bank.

In an act with great symbolic meaning, Blinken said the US would reopen its Jerusalem consulate — an office that for years served as the de facto embassy to the Palestinians.

Trump had downgraded its operations and placed them under his ambassador to Israel when he moved the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city in 2018. The embassy move infuriated the Palestinians, who claim Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as their capital, and led them to sever most ties with the Trump administration.

Blinken did not provide a firm date for the reopening but said that Michael Ratney, a senior US diplomat who has previously served as consul general in Jerusalem, would soon be returning to the region.

ALSO READ: Hamas rules out Gaza reconstruction plans

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Hamas rules out Gaza reconstruction plans

Gaza Strip's top Hamas leader Yehya al-Sinwar attends a gathering to watch the speech of Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal in Gaza City, on May 1, 2017. Islamic Hamas movement presented a new political document in which it said it accepts the establishment of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders in the West bank and Gaza Strip. Khaled Meshaal, Hamas chief, announced the new program in a news conference held in the Qatari city of Doha. (Xinhua/Wissam Nassar/IANS)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged his country’s help in rebuilding Gaza on Tuesday, but stressed that the aid must not benefit Hamas…reports Asian Lite News

Yehya al-Sinwar, the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, rejected reconstruction plans that aim to edge out the Islamist group that rules the coastal enclave in favour of the Palestinian Authority (PA) headed by President Mahmoud Abbas.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged his country’s help in rebuilding Gaza on Tuesday, but stressed that the aid must not benefit Hamas,DPA reported.

Israel is said to be concerned that any aid deliveries to the blockaded coastal territory could be misused to arm Islamist Hamas, as happened after the last Gaza war in 2014.

The idea is instead to work with the PA, reducing the risk of abuse and strengthening the authority vis-a-vis Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by the US as well as the European Union.

Al-Sinwar told reporters in Gaza on Wednesday that Blinken’s remarks were aimed at widening the divide between Hamas and the PA. “We will never fall for this trick and lash out at each other,” he said.

Abbas’ moderate Fatah party has clashed with Hamas for years; Hamas drove Fatah out of Gaza in 2007, and the latter has since ruled only in parts of the West Bank that are not administered by Israel.

Blinken is in the region to help cement the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that has held since coming into effect early Friday.

It ended more than a week of Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli air strikes that left more than 250 people dead in Gaza and 13 in Israel.

Blinken held talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi later on Wednesday, and hailed the Egyptian efforts to reach and stabilize the ceasefire.

At the meeting, al-Sissi also emphasized the importance of working to restart long-stalled direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians “with effective US engagement,” an Egyptian official said.

ALSO READ: Gaza gets back to life