Daily Archives: January 27, 2020

The most dangerous saying is: Its how weve always done it. I think that phrase stops people from evolving and creating a society that can be far more inclusive than it is right now.

I appreciate questioning things by looking at the situation and how following the standard practice is hindering people within the system. We need to question things. These questions shouldnt just be wordsmithing or laying blame, but digging deep into the root of the problems. Its these roots that create systems that lead to oppression.

For example, look at common hiring practices. Most non-government jobs will post a job and not list the salary. Then, during the screening process, a potential candidate is asked what they are either expecting to make or what they currently make.

You might be reading this and thinking: Yeah, sounds about right. Whats the issue?

To me, there are plenty of issues. First of all, if someone really needs a job, they will 100 per cent say a lower number than desired to ensure they arent counted out for the position. That lower number is then tied to them.

For people from other cultures, including Indigenous communities, humility is a virtue that is culturally ingrained. Being humble will also play a role in someone proposing a lower salary.

When a position is created, there is always a range of what the employer is willing to pay, usually a range depending on experience.

Lets say there is a position that the employer is willing to pay $60,000 to $65,000 annually, and the candidate said they are looking for a job paying $55,000. I dont think many employers would turn around and say: Weve seen your resum, and you are fully qualified, and we want to offer you the position at $65,000.

If I am wrong, please let me know.

When a candidate discloses their current salary to a potential employer, its saying this is where my current employer values my performance.

There is no denying that there is a wage gap between women and men, minorities and the majority and people with disabilities. If people have been discriminated against in previous positions and had their performance valued as less than, it is going to follow them throughout their career and continue to be an uphill battle.

Theres an easy way to solve this issue, and thats by selecting the salary range for the position, which in most cases is already there, and then paying the new hire that amount. If you take a chance on someone with less experience and they can do the job, why should they get paid less, just because you can?

If someone currently makes $32,000 and applies for a $50,000 job and can do the job, they should get $50,000.

This removes bias from the situation and levels the playing field. I know there is the argument of saving money and not spending more than you have to, but I really think following these archaic guidelines are keeping people oppressed. Not in every situation, but I am sure it happens.

Granted, its important to reiterate that the oppression could have initially taken place early in someones career, and they are continually paying for it. It might not be their current employer, even their past two or three employers who are consciously valuing their performance as less. Its unintentional, and thats what makes this tricky. Laying blame is dangerous, but educating people on the whole picture might change internal hiring practices.

Think of women in your family, a friend with a disability, or other people youve worked with who are minorities.

I think its important to question things, and by question I dont mean openly criticizing without a valid solution to the problem. I want to reiterate that its not wordsmithing, either. Weve all sat at a table where someone doesnt really want to change the content, but the diction, grammar or sentence structure. The wordsmith either wants to make everything perfect, in their vision, or to waste peoples time while trying to demonstrate how smart they are.

Lets not find fault to demonstrate dominance, because thats the whole issue I am trying to address.

Charla Huber is the director of communications and Indigenous relations for Makola Housing Society.

See the original post:

Charla Huber: Pay people what they are worth - Times Colonist

The International Court of Justices (ICJ) order to the government of the Republic of Myanmar to adopt various provisional measures to protect the Rohingya community from physical destruction is a decision of tremendous significance.

The order also requires Myanmar to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article 11 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, including killing members of the group and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group,

The order also urges the Myanmar military as well as any regular armed units which may be directed or supported by (the military) and any organisation or person which may be subject to its control, direction or influence not to commit genocide or be complicit in acts of genocide.

The government of Myanmar is also required in the order to submit a report to the ICJ on all measures intended to give effect to the order within four months and thereafter every six months until a final decision on the case is rendered by the court.

Needless to say, the government of Myanmar has rejected the ICJs order. It denies that there has been any genocide against the Rohingya.

However, reports from independent human rights observers and from Rohingya themselves many of them refugees living in other countries tell a different story.

It is this evidence adduced by the government of the Gambia, especially its Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou, which convinced the ICJ panel that the allegations of genocide against the Myanmar government had a basis.

The world should now use the ICJs stand to mount a massive global campaign on behalf of the oppressed and discriminated Rohingya.

It should in fact go beyond the ICJs order and address the root cause of the suffering of the Rohingya people.

Stripping them of their Myanmar citizenship in 1982 is what is largely responsible for their oppression and marginalisation.

This is why the world, in endorsing the ICJs decision, should also plead with the Myanmar government to restore the citizenship of all Rohingya who qualify for citizenship.

The media, both old and new, have a critical role to play. It is disappointing that even in their coverage of the ICJ decision, most of the media have been somewhat lukewarm. There has been very little support by way of follow-up articles and the like.

And yet the ICJ is a mainstream institution with a high degree of credibility.

One hopes the UN General Assembly will also be persuaded to endorse the ICJ decision, reinforced by a call to grant citizenship to the Rohingya people.

Perhaps the government of the Gambia should take the lead. It is said that in bringing the Rohingya case to the ICJ, the Gambia was motivated largely by its conscience, specifically the pain and anguish leaders like Tambadou felt when the carnage in Rwanda occurred in the mid-1990s.

As demonstrated by the government of the Gambia, the nine Asean governments, who share a regional platform with Myanmar, should also for once act on the basis of their conscience.

They should set aside concerns such as trade and investments, big power politics and geopolitical pressures and focus solely upon the ordeal of a people facing extermination, and act accordingly.

It is not just Asean that should respond to the ICJ. What about China?

China, for geopolitical and geo-economic reasons, has become particularly close to the Myanmar government. Can the Chinese leadership rise above these considerations and instead emphasise the vital importance of our common humanity and our human dignity?

One can ask the same question of India and of Japan in their relations with the Myanmar government.

Of course, the Myanmar governments treatment of the Rohingya minority will only change for the better if the majority of the Myanmar people express strongly their disapproval of present policies.

They should urge their government to heed the ICJs order. This is not likely to happen in the foreseeable future.

It appears that the majority of the populace are attached to a Burman-Buddhist identity that does not really accommodate the non-Burman, non-Buddhist minorities a notion of identity which the ruling elite with the military at its core espouses. Antagonism towards the Rohingya is part of this notion of identity.

What this means is that if a substantial segment of Myanmar society is going to persuade their government to adhere to the ICJs order, it will be because of external pressure. Hence the importance of accelerating pressure through Asean, the big powers, the UN General Assembly and global public opinion.

Dr Chandra Muzaffar is the president of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST).

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.

See original here:

Enforcing the International Court of Justice order on Myanmar - Free Malaysia Today

NASSAU, BAHAMAS The inability of Bahamians to readily invest their money abroad has resulted in financial oppression, according to a well-known ophthalmologist.

Dr K Jonathan Rodgers underscored local investment options were unattractive during a lecture hosted by local think-tank The Nassau Institute on The End of Exchange Controls.

Rodgers noted that while there are advantages to having the Bahamian dollar as fixed currency 1.1 with the US dollar, a key disadvantage was what he referred to as financial oppression.

Rodgers said while having a fixed currency limits currency speculation Bahamians were also disadvantaged.

Due to the fact that Bahamians cant readily invest their money overseas, they are forced to invest it locally, he said on Wednesday night.

One of the most common investments locally is real estate. That is one of the reasons it costs so much and that combined with high transactions fees make it almost prohibitively expensive for the average persons to invest in real estate.

Rodgers continued: Its madness. As an alternative you can put it in a government bond but two years ago our sovereign debt got downgraded one level above junk status and they are not quite as safe as they used to be so you have to think twice about that. He also argued due to low interest rates on savings and services fees, Bahamians were losing money saving with commercial banks.

Financialoppressionforces you into these types of investments, he said.

On the possibility of the Bahamian dollar being devalued, Rodgers said: You always hear people saying, especially on the radio and talk shows.

That the Bahamian dollar will never devalue beach it is pegged to the US dollar. Absolute nonsense. Our currency is grossly overvalued. When you have an overvalued currency you tend to import more than you should and export less than you could. Government often has a falls sense of security with this one to one peg.

This why they dont have any problem borrowing in US dollars, he added.

Continued here:

Rodgers: Financial oppression as Bahamians unable to readily invest abroad - EyeWitness News

A respected woman social activist and political leader beaten and kicked in the stomach at a police station for recording a public protest. A human rights lawyer arbitrarily detained and given electric shocks by police officers. A journalist covering public demonstrations for a prominent national newspaper taken to a police station, subjected to obscene slurs by the police while witnessing a social activist being badly beaten-up.

Police stand by as an organised mob of masked goons attack students of a premier Left-leaning university in the dead of the night. Blanket institution of highly questionable criminal cases, indiscriminate arrests, caning and use of live ammunition with lethal effect on protestors. This is not the image of their country that Indians at home and abroad want to project to the world.

Nonetheless, many across the world are watching events unfold in the country with dismay. This Republic Day, Indias political leadership should be celebrating 71 years since the adoption of the constitution. Instead, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is preoccupied with justifying flawed amendments to the Citizenship Act that exclude Muslims and have been described by the UN as fundamentally discriminatory. The constitutions promise of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity is being tested by injecting religion into the discourse around who gets to be an Indian citizen.

With attempts underway to crush largely peaceful nationwide mass mobilisations, the present appears to be reminiscent of the time when Indira Gandhi suspended certain constitutional rights by declaring a national Emergency from 1975-1977. Then as now, people from all walks of life and across the country came out to protest in large numbers in the tradition of satyagraha.

Could the repression now be worse than it was in 1975? Those who have resisted have been subjected to the full force of the law and more. Over 25 people have been killed in the protests. Unspecified numbers have been detained while many have been dubiously booked for rioting. They will face judicial harassment for extended periods of time as the wheels of justice grind slowly in India.

Random disruption of internet services to prevent public mobilisations and routine invocation of the regressive colonial era Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code to disallow five or more people from gathering in public places is tarnishing Indias global reputation as a stable democracy. The recently released Economist 2019 Democracy Index has noted a sharp decline in civil liberties in the country.

To be clear, the chaos and cruelty currently unleashed have been brewing for a while. Last December, prior to the ongoing nationwide protests and the ensuing crackdown, the CIVICUS Monitor, a research platform that measures the state of civic freedoms in every country, downgraded India to the second worst category, repressed, placing it on par with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan. Reasons for the downgrade included a months long clampdown on public gatherings and internet freedom in Jammu and Kashmir, muzzling of the media and gross intimidation of civil society activists and their organisations through selective invocation of security and criminal legislation to silence criticism.

Notably, mass mobilisations are an opportunity for ordinary people to get their voices heard and for the political leadership to course correct in between election cycles. Governments can take a reform-minded approach and make necessary changes in line with public demands or they can take an unbending undemocratic approach, spread disinformation and clampdown. The launch of the disingenuous hashtag called #IndiaSupportsCAA along with the marshalling of the countrys diplomats to justify the ruling partys position with foreign governments raises further concerns about the politicisation of national institutions.

Nonetheless, another course of action is available to the government: to back down and take corrective action. In Chile last year when massive public protests rocked the country against neoliberal economic policies, the government of President Sebastian Pinera agreed to hold a constitutional referendum. In Ecuador, President Lenin Morera reached a deal with indigenous leaders to cancel an austerity package following weeks of protests. In Lebanon, bowing to public dissatisfaction with official corruption, poor public services and economic mismanagement, Prime Minister Saad Hariri tendered his resignation. Even China, in the face of mass protests by residents of Hong Kong backtracked on a controversial extradition law albeit after strong-arm tactics failed to deter protestors.

Prime Minister Narendra Modis promise of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas rings hollow in the face of an economic downturn and the ramping up of emotive politics of religion. But Indias youth are inspiring hope. Thousands of young people cutting across religious and caste divides are leading the way by becoming politically active on social media and on the streets, raising hopes that Indias democracy will ultimately emerge stronger.

Many are finding their voice in speaking out against the muzzling of protest against hate filled politics, rightly calling for a return to the values of democratic dissent and debate that define being Indian. Notably, women have come out in large numbers. Several are leading the protests. In expressing their indignation against attempts at institutional discrimination they are eroding patriarchy along the way.

The government of the day may have failed to honour Mahatma Gandhis legacy of communal harmony and peaceful resistance against oppression. However, this Republic Day conscientious Indians around the world are speaking out against the present injustices and are being the change they wish to see.

Lysa John is the secretary general of the global civil society alliance, CIVICUS. Mandeep Tiwana is chief programmes officer.

More here:

The Republic at 71: Faced With an Unbending Government, Indians Continue to Speak Out - The Wire

Following French President Emmanuel Macrons outburst at Israeli Shin Bet security officers outside the Church of St. Anne on Wednesday, several Israeli news outlets said his anger about Israeli security officials entering the church was due to the pro-BDS and anti-Semitic organization that is housed in the church.

No one really knows whether that prompted Macrons anger or he just has a bad temper but is there is a genuine reason he is so territorial about the church? The Church of St. Anne is a Roman Catholic church in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem which was given to France by the Ottoman Empire in 1856.

There definitely is a reason and its not pretty. What is indeed known about the Church of St. Anne is that it houses a branch of the organization called the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). EAPPI, founded by the Geneva-based World Council of Churches (WCC), brings activists to Judea and Samaria as tourists, who receive special training and are deployed at Palestinian checkpoints and other sensitive areas to provoke and video confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers. The tourists then return to Europe and use their first-hand experience and documentation to advance anti-Israel and pro-BDS campaigns.

The EAPPI activities, which are branded as working toward a just peace between Palestine and Israel, is completely slanted and one-sided with the only goal being to video Israeli oppression of Palestinians while completely ignoring the presence of anti-Israeli and pro-violence propaganda in Palestinian society, not to mention outright terror. Activists are required to have experience with video and digital tools in order to document the Israeli oppression and transfer the material for anti-Israel incitement campaigns as well as have connections with church or political groups in Europe to use as platforms for anti-Israel campaigns.

DMU, an organization that monitors the WCCs actions in Israel, stated: The French government has been tied over and over to activity against the state of Israel. In March 2018, a [French] embassy employee was caught smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip. In July 2019, the French consulate chose a terrorism activist to manage a camp on its behalf in east Jerusalem. Throughout this time, the government continues to provide day-to-day protection to BDS activists. The French government should be pressured to end the free-reign of these activists and remove them from the compound.

A report by NGO Monitor in 2019 called EAPPI: The World Council of Churches Training Camp for Anti-Israel Advocacy said that the EAPPI has brought 1,800 volunteers to Judea and Samaria to witness life under occupation something the WCC does only in Israel and not in any other conflict zone throughout the world.

Despite marketing itself as a human rights and protection program, EAPPI places significant emphasis on political advocacy before, during, and after the trip, the NGO report states. When volunteers return to their home countries and churches, they engage in anti-Israel advocacy, such as BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns and comparing Israel to apartheid South Africa and Nazi Germany.

EAPPI partners with a number of political NGOs in the region, including groups that support BDS campaigns against Israel and/or that accuse Israel of war crimes.

Furthermore, a senior source told TPS in 2019 that EAPPI activists have directly supported terrorism. EAPPI activists visited the family of Palestinian terrorist Omar al-Abed, who murdered Yosef Salomon, his daughter Chaya, and his son Elad at their home in Neve Tsuf in July 2017. The visit was only a few days after the attack and the activists even gave the family money!

DMU told TPS that EAPPI activists have also visited terrorists homes in Hebron.

Since the EAPPI program is located in St. Annes compound under French jurisdiction, it enjoys diplomatic immunity from Israeli law enforcement officials and Israeli security officials are not allowed to enter the church without the permission of the French government. In other words, France is providing diplomatic power to anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian campaigns in the heart of Jerusalems Old City.

In 2016, the Christian Empowerment Council (CEC) wrote a letter to the French Ambassador to Israel complaining about the French diplomatic protection granted to EAPPI, according to a Jerusalem Post report.

I think that the fact their office is in the area under the auspices of the French government is serious and represents inappropriate relations between friendly nations, CECs leader, Father Gabriel Naddaf, wrote: The French government should take them out of the compound under its territory immediately and without delay and to stop assisting the organization, which is operating illegally.

(YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem)

Read this article:

Was Macron's Outburst Tied To The Pro-BDS & Anti-Israel Program Housed In St. Anne's Church? - Yeshiva World News

For many years, I tried to prevent the Holocaust from becoming a defining factor in my Judaism. Sadly, Ive found it unavoidable.

My family comes from a once thriving Jewish community in a small village in Lithuania. My grandfather, Barnett, came to the UK from there at the age of three. After they left, on just one day, Nazis and Lithuanian collaborators rounded up 2,000 Jewish residents, including the rest of my family, threw them into their synagogue and burnt it to the ground with all of them inside.

Keeping the flame of remembrance alive continued with my family. My father, Greville, co-founded the Holocaust Educational Trust with Merlyn Rees. This was key in lobbying for the War Crimes Act (1991) to bring those responsible for Nazi atrocities (and now resident in Britain) to justice; government-sponsored visits to Auschwitz; and for reparations for survivors. In the past I would rarely teach or speak about the Shoah but, after the death of my father, I feel the obligation, the duty as his daughter, to continue the work as best as I can.

I dont think it is possible for us ever to rid ourselves of the taste of destruction that the Holocaust has caused our community. Our task is to turn this devastation into something of meaning which keeps the flame going, to find strength and joy in being Jewish in the post-Holocaust world.

Psalm 100 tells us: ivdu et hashem bsimcha, bou lfanav birnana to serve God with joy and to come into the presence of the Eternal with singing.

That is my kind of Judaism one filled with fun, warmth and learning. Much in common with the Chassidic movement of the 18th century, my Judaism has always been a Judaism of joy over fear.

We cannot give those who seek our harm the victory of making us live unhappily, or partake in our Judaism quietly and furtively. This joy is the first element to keeping our flame lit.

The second way we keep our flame alive is through memories that we revisit and retell which can be a blessing they enable us to act proactively and appropriately when we believe something in our world is going wrong.

We need to use this central Jewish belief to speak out at the right time with conviction.

Yet memories also have the capacity to be a curse, leading us to see threats where they may not be, or as much greater than they really are. Our collective memory has given us a sixth sense for danger, but one we must keep calibrated. By speaking correctly when the time is right, turning the phrase never again into action, we take the second step to continuing to care for the flame of memory we hold.

Finally, we must look outwards. We alone do not have the fuel to keep the flame going we need to share it with others. While the Holocaust is part of the history of our community, it is a history which has value far beyond ourselves.

Sharing the memory with wider society allows other communities to be our allies in ensuring that our pain is never forgotten. More than that, we can share our pain with others who have experienced terrible oppression in history and find common ground to build lasting coalitions, to stand together, fighting against such oppression being carried out again.

We have this flame to carry together, but looking after it need not be a burden. We can take a legacy of pain and together we can transform it into a blessing for us and for our world.

Rabbi Janner-Klausner grew up in London; worked as an educator in Jerusalem for 15 years working with Jews and as dialogue facilitator trainer of Palestinians and Israelis. She is the Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism in the UK.

Read more:

Our legacy of pain can be turned into a blessing - Jewish News

DetailsPublished: Sunday, 26 January 2020

On the dawn of January 3, the worldparticularly the people of the Middle Eastwas released from a dangerous threat after Qassem Soleimani was taken out by a U.S. drone.

Soleimani as the commander of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force was responsible for many crimes against the people of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, etc. In the wake of Soleimanis elimination, many Iraqis and Syrians broke to streets and celebrated the news by dancing and distributing sweets.

In Iran, in contrast with the governments propaganda for styling him as a hero, youths distributed sweets to show their rejoicing over this significant occasion. Thanks, President Trump, read on sweets boxes, showing Iranians support for targeting the IRGC commander.

Some while later, protesters in different Iranian cities chanted the slogan, Soleimani is a murderer, as is his leader [the supreme leader Ali Khamenei]. Additionally, they tore down, trampled, and torched Soleimanis portraits to debunk the misinformation campaign run by the Iranian propaganda apparatus, called IRIB.

Now, his successor Esmail Ghaani has vowed to continue Soleimanis luminous path, which means mass killing Iranians, Syrians, Iraqis, and American citizens and troops. If Ghaani follows the same path of killing Americans then he will meet the same fate, U.S. special envoy for Iran Brian Hook told the Arabic-language daily Asharq al-Awsat. However, the new chief of the IRGC-QF has a long-time background in committing crimes against the people of Iran and the region.

Esmail Ghaani Akbarnejad who has just been replaced with the slain IRGC-QF commander, for many years was serving the oppressive, terrorist apparatus of the Iranian government as Soleimanis deputy. He was personally involved in all tracked and non-tracked crimes by the IRGC-QF.

Since 1980, when he was only 20 years old, the fledgling government of Iran dispatched him to Kurdistan to crack down on regional upheaval. During the Iran-Iraq war, he led many teenagers and minors to killing fields by horrendous methods.

Notably, the IRGC commanders were to employ the human wave tactic for sweeping minefields. They literally sacrificed many teenagers by giving them hollow promises about Heaven, and deceived them by giving them key to heaven and sending them to clear minefields. In 1987, Ghaani was appointed as the Ansar Corps Commander to orchestrate IRGC operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Also, several oppressive positions are seen in Ghaanis background. Following the end of the war with Iraq, Ghaani spent some time as the Commander of Intelligence in the Kurdistan region, Intelligence Office Chief of the IRGC Joint Command, and Deputy Intelligence Chief of the IRGC Joint Command.

In 1992, Ghaani played a decisive role in suppressing protests in Mashhad, his birthplace. In July 1999, he along with 23 other IRGC commanders including Qassem Soleimani, Hossein Hamedani, etc. signed a letter to then-President Mohammad Khatami demanding severe oppression of the student uprisings.

Hamedani as Soleimanis appointee for suppressing the Syrian revolt against Bashar al-Assads regime was killed by the Free Syrian Army. It is worth reminding that following Hamedanis death, Ghaani was sent to Syria and assumed command of oppressive operation in Aleppo.

Ghaani has also been involved in warmongering projects of the Iranian government. Since April 2014, he constantly traveled to Iraq to supervise the training and organizing Iran-backed militias, such as Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahle Haq, Badr organization, etc.

Notably, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the commander of the Iraqi version of Lebanese Hezbollah was slain beside Soleimani on January 3. He was responsible for many crimes against the Iraqi people, in addition to foreign citizens, troops, and embassies in Kuwait and Iraq. Al-Muhandis spent the majority of his life in Iran and the ayatollahs considered him as a key implementer of their policy in this country.

Meanwhile, Ghaani played an essential role in expanding conflicts in Yemen by funding and training Houthi militants. The defenders of Yemen were trained under the flag of the Islamic Republic. The enemies cannot confront the Yemeni fighters, said Ghaani in an interview with the state-run TV on May 23, 2014.

The new commander of IRGC-QF like his predecessor was involved in underground transactions. He was responsible for organizing and overseeing the vast smuggling network of the Quds Force. The IRGC-QF pursues this dirty commerce to supply arms and funds terrorist proxies in various countries, including Afghanistan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. In November 2012, the U.S. Department of Treasury added Ghaani to the list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) in its effort to counter the funding of terrorism.

See the article here:

Terrorism and Suppression, the Core of Iran's IRGC - Iran News Update

- Advertisement -

Malaysia has taken top spot in the Asean region on the 2019 Global Democracy Index of the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Malaysia shares 43rd spot with Trinidad and Tobago with a score of 7.16 against the best score of 9.87 achieved by Norway in the global ranking of 167 political entities. Timor Leste is ranked the highest in South-east Asia, scoring 7.19 while achieving the 41st global position for democracy.

This is not an evaluation or ranking that most countries give much credence to especially if they are not ranked highly. The socialist and authoritarian countries would be particularly disdainful and dismissive of the ranking attempted.

Korea and Japan ahead

- Advertisement -

It is significant that in Asia the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan are ranked the highest at 23rd and 24th position respectively at the top of the Flawed Democracy category. These two East Asian countries are ranked above the United States, which is slotted at 25th position.

This is somewhat of an irony when it is recalled how the famous US General Douglas MacArthur virtually dictated Japans postwar Constitution and saved the ROK from a deep crucible and firmly set both countries on a path of stabilisation, free enterprise and peaceful progress from the late 1940s.

India Downgraded

The most unsurprising element in the latest ranking exercise was India, which fell 10 places to position 51 from 41. India has slid back in many ways under its current government which came into power with much promise. It shows how the worlds largest democracy has receded into a narrow, negative path marshalling majoritarian religious sentiment to bear on its immigration and citizenship regulations. It is, however, heartening that the people of India, belonging to every religious faith, and most intellectuals including prominent writers, have protested and are continuing to protest over this discriminatory piece of legislation.

Malaysia Upgraded

Malaysia has steadily moved up the scale from position 59 in 2017 and 52 in 2018. It is an impressive climb but it does not do justice to Malaysia as it does not capture the difficult situation that the current government has had to navigate in upholding democratic values. In May 2018 the current government inherited a deeply flawed and faulty system from the previous government.

For a whole decade before May 10, 2018, the country had been slowly sinking under the weight of corruption, inefficiency, repressive laws, a huge debt servicing bill, a massive overdose of religion in schools with its concomitant impact of dividing the people and a steadily growing wage and pension bill that exceeded a third of the countrys Budget.

In Malaysias multicultural society the highest priority is the laying of a solid foundation for national unity but that again is conditioned by the reality of a plural system of education where different schools can provide instruction in Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mandarin and Tamil.

The effect of these varying systems of teaching is that the cultures of minority groups are well safeguarded and enhanced and ultimately the country has the innate and impressive capacity to communicate and interact with different parts of the world. In recent years Malaysia has also promoted itself as a centre of education and has been able to attract more than 170,000 students from other Asian countries, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. There is a truly cosmopolitan environment in the country on account of these factors.

Malaysias well-known tourism advertisement that Malaysia Is Truly Asia is not an empty slogan.

Given Malaysias central location in South-east Asia, its porous borders and its relative prosperity in relation to some of its neighbours, the country has attracted several million foreigners who have mainly sought employment and easier living conditions.

There are perhaps six million foreigners, more than half of them illegal or undocumented. The undocumented ones could not be expelled as that would have caused a major humanitarian crisis and affect relations with the countrys closest neighbours. Given this situation, Malaysia is in a somewhat awkward position although this government has attempted to fully subscribe to the ideals of democracy, good governance, transparency and accountability.

Sensitive Issues

The current Malaysian government abandoned efforts to ratify the International Convention Against All Forms of Racial Discrimination(ICERD) and the Rome Statute following strong opposition and protests by certain conservative groups. Such agitation, largely race-based was mainly orchestrated by the countrys opposition parties which, while preaching rather liberal policies, were actually practising oppression and restricting freedom of expression. The Malaysian government is unable to proceed with other democratic reforms as it does not enjoy the two-thirds majority required to approve amendments to its Constitution.

In examining the EIU methodology for rating Malaysia it is found that Malaysia achieved a score of 9.17 in the category for electoral process and pluralism and a relatively low score of 5.88 for civil liberties. The other scores were 7.86 for the functioning of government, 6.67 for political participation and 6.25 for political culture. The current government has to endeavour to improve the situation with civil liberties in the country. One strong feature in the current situation is a strong, impartial and fair National Election Commission.

Interestingly the Opposition, given the level playing field, has fared generally well in some of the by-elections held since May 2018. There is scope to further improve on civil liberties, wider political participation and the countrys political culture given a rather proactive Human Rights Commission, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, strong NGOs with good, committed leadership, the role of the press and media especially social media and the space provided by the current government for all these agencies and media to operate in.

The police authorities are largely perceived to be impartial although somewhat underfunded and undermanned. The countrys judiciary remains a strong and stable independent pillar but the ease with which its most senior retiring judges move into the private sector and para-statals is a matter of concern. There should be a reasonable cooling-off period of at least six months between these positions.

There is, however, still widespread concern over at least four missing (allegedly forced disappearances) persons, some unresolved cases of excesses by the security authorities and the politicisation of education.

In Malaysias current situation greater attention has to be paid to education provision which is STEM-based (i.e. science, technology, engineering and mathematics), neutral in respect of religion and focused on creating a united, vibrant, harmonious and forward-looking society which transcends race, religion and region.

More significantly the results of the last general election on May 9, 2018, seem to have crystallised a situation where the majority Malay-Muslim community feels that they have lost political power. Najib Razak, the former Prime Minister has thrown in his lot rather irresponsibly with this seemingly disenfranchised lot and is proving to be menacingly threatening to a sane and sober government. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad seems to be acutely aware of this fault line and has attempted to fashion policies to address the matter.

It is imperative that this matter is handled delicately and the governments narrative that it represents 99 per cent of the population is more widely known and appreciated. Malaysia has aspired to be not only more democratic but decent to its diverse population.

M Santhananaban

Dato M Santhananaban is a retired Malaysian ambassador with 45 years of public sector experience.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of The Independent Singapore. /TISG

Post Views: 33

- Advertisement -

See original here:

Dr Mahathir's Malaysia tops democracy index in the Asean region - The Independent

Omar Ameen is an Iraqi-American refugee currently housed in a maximum security cell an hour up the road from me in Sacramento. The United States government contends that Ameen is an ISIS commander who infiltrated the refugee stream coming out of the Middle East. He awaits a hearing next week that could result in his extradition back to a certain death in Iraq.

And yet all of the evidence indicates Ameen is not, in fact, an ISIS commander, but instead an innocent man who fled the sectarian violence and bloodshed that we contributed to in his home country in order to live out what was once considered the American dream with his family here.

Its the type of story that every part of you doesnt want to be truebecause if it is true it is so fucking maddening that you cant even see straight. Its enough to make part of you hope that youre missing something; to hope that Ameen might be secret ISIS after-all. Because if he isnt an ISIS commander who infiltrated the U.S. refugee program, then it means something much worsethat the U.S. government is terrorizing an innocent man on our behalf.

Even the person who spent months getting to the bottom of this atrocity wished he had it wrong. Last week, New Yorker writer Ben Taub tweeted that he is closing a story today one which, at every stage of reporting, I wanted to drop, I wanted to find wasnt true. But it is, and its important, and I hate it.

Podcast January 24 2020

On today's Friday Bulwark Megacast, host Charlie Sykes is joined by Jonathan V. Last and Jim Swift to discuss impeachmen...

Taubs story, The Fight To Save An Innocent Refugee From Almost Certain Death, lays out in horrific detail how the FBI, DHS, State Department, and DOJ have been co-opted into a campaign to extradite an innocent man to almost certain death, to make a racist talking point appear to be slightly less of a fiction. It reads more like a dystopian movieEnemy of the Racist Statethan a real-life story.

Except that is real. And you must read every word it.

Taub reports that Omar Ameen left Iraq for Turkey in 2012 on a tourist visa and once there sought refugee status on the basis of his family members death and kidnapping at the hand of terrorist groups. His wife and three children followed suit.

In 2014 they were resettled in Salt Lake City. Ameen found work at a Mormon charity and the family began taking English classes. A few months later the family moved to Sacramento for more familiar weather and to be closer to other Iraqi families. Once there, Ameen worked as an Uber and delivery driversometimes as much as 20 hours per day to support his family.

Three years later, as the Ameen family was starting to really acclimate to American life, out of nowhere their apartment was raided by dozens of armed men.

The Trump administration claimed that he was an ISIS commander who had infiltrated the American homeland. The New York Times headlined their story Isis Member Arrested in Sacramento and included a claim from the extradition report that Ameen was one of the founders of an al-Qaeda affiliate.

The basis of the arrest was an Iraqi extradition case. Ameen had been accused of killing a police officer in his home town of Rawah as part of an ISIS kill squad in 2014. When informed of the charge Ameen felt a brief moment of reliefbecause he wasnt in Iraq in 2014. He was in Turkey, awaiting resettlement. He knew the charge was ridiculous and assumed the authorities would realize their mistake, too.

But such exculpatory evidence didnt prove to make much of a difference. Iraq and the U.S. were eager to implement their extradition treaty. Plus an ISIS chief living a quiet life as an Uber driver in Sacramento was the perfect story for the Trump administration, which was looking for any possible excuse to justify its Middle East refugee ban.

And so a year and a half later, Ameen remains incarcerated, awaiting his deportation.

Why is Taub so sure that the government doesnt have it right?

For starters, the idea that one of the founders of a terrorist affiliate successfully navigated the muliti-agency refugee vetting system would be a remarkable achievement. When looking at the Ameen case, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) was confused on this point as well, and requested information on how this could possibly happen. But a year and a half later, the details have not been publicized. Needless to say, an ISIS terrorist trying to come to America has a much much better chance at avoiding the feds by just coming here on a travel visa and staying. Going through a rigorous, years-long U.N. vetting process is a good way to get caught. Why would an ISIS commander have taken that risk?

But lets just pretend for a moment that Ameen is a terrorist founder and financier whorather than using a tourist visa, or flying to Canada and sneaking across the borderdecided to play it straight with the U.N. resettlement process. That he somehow gamed the vetting system. And that he then caught a lucky break in getting sent to the States rather than, say, Germany.

The U.S. governments theory of the case is that right before he completed this masterstroke of long-game deception, Ameen decided to risk it all by traveling from southern Turkey, through war-torn Syria, past the Free-Syrian Army, past various ISIS affiliates, and into al-Anbar provincethe most dangerous part of Iraqall so that he could commit a random murder of a policeman from his hometown.

Again: This all seems highly improbable. At the very least, you would want to have a great deal of evidence to convince you that it might be true.

But in the case of Ameen, the logistics, the evidence surrounding his involvement, and the first hand witnesses to the murder all point to his innocence.

First the timeline. Every Thursday, Ameen was required to sign in at the immigration office in Mersin, Turkey, where he had been resettled awaiting extradition. He signed in the Thursday before the murder. The murder was commited on a Sunday. Ameen then signed back in, at the Mersin office, on the next Thursday. Which means he would have had to make the 600 mile death march from Mersin to Rawahthrough multiple terrorist controlled landsin three days. Two weeks after the murder Ameen had to report to Istanbul for a medical screening, where he exhibited showed no signs of injury, which, again, seems improbable for someone who made two hasty, dangerous journeys and a committed a murder.

There is other evidence. On the day of the murder, Ameen (or someone using his account) liked a Facebook post. Which is important because in the weeks surrounding the murder the internet had been entirely shut down in the Anbar province.

Then there are the witnesses: Multiple witnesses say Ameen never left Turkey during June of 2014. Which makes sense, since part of his refugee agreement was that he was not allowed to leave Turkeyso just the act of leaving the country, even without the commission of a murder, would have put all of that work in jeopardy. Again: Why would an ISIS commander trying to fool the U.N. system take that risk?

But maybe thats not enough for you.

So try this: The victims parents and widow insist that Ameen is innocent.

And the victims final text message contains a LITERAL LIST OF SUSPECTS including those who had threatened [him] and who later showed up in ISIS propganda announcing [his] murder.

Omar Ameen was not on the list.

The United States Government has this exculpatory information. They know that, at minimum, the case against Ameen is deeply flawed.

And yet Ameen still sits alone in a cell. Refusing to eat. Wishing for death. While his family are in a prison of their own, living in a new land without their breadwinner, who stands wrongly accused by powerful foreigners of being a terrorist.

When you look at the Ameen story you see tales weve seen before: The wrong guy being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The broken criminal justice system in desperate need of reform. The cruel government agents who dont care about the truth.

And yes, its a story about all of those things.

But the Ameen story is also about what kind of country we are.

The Ameen family storythe first part, before the men with guns swooped in to ruin his lifeis one we used to pride ourselves on.

Refugees fleeing violence and oppression, seeing a beacon of hope shining across the ocean, and sacrificing everything to make it to America. A family does everything by the book, follows all of the rules to get here, then learns our language, helps at religious charities, joins a community, works hundred-hour weeks to support themselves, and comes to love our country for its beauty and opportunity.

Thats the American story. Or at least it used to be.

Today the American story is about sticking up for your own kind and taking what you think you deserve. Its about blocking others from the bounty. Its about being suspicious of anyone who doesnt look like you and being willing to put a family through the deepest circle of hell to prove that your prejudices are right. Its about accepting literally any story from your government, so long as the people suffering are from the other tribe. Its about being righteously aggrieved at the most minor slight while not blinking an eye at the maximum cruelty being imposed on the other.

Its a story I keep wanting to believe isnt true. But keep being reminded that it is.

And I hate it.

Read more:

Were Trying to Send a Refugee to Die to Make a Government Lie Seem True - The Bulwark

In 2008, the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Government of India marked January 24 to be celebrated as National Girl Child Day on January 24. This nationally observed day was initiated to raise awareness about the inequality that still persists in the country. Girls face challenges, sometimes even before they are born. From female foeticide, infanticide, discrimination in education, sexual abuse, child marriage, lack of reproducitve care and equal opportunities, girls and young women in the country have had to deal with tough times.

Artwork celebrating the National Girl Child Day. (Image source: C3)

However, just one day is not enough to spread awareness and tackle these issues, says Aparajita Gogoi with HerStory, Executive Director of Centre for Catalyzing Change (C3), an organisation focused on improving the condition of girls and women in the country.

Efforts must be taken everyday to break the cycle of oppression that many girls still face in the country. And work has to be done every day to ensure girls receive the resources that they deserve and achieve their full potential.

For over three decades, C3 has been working in the country to mobilise, equip, educate and empower girls and women to meet their full potential. Beginning in 1987, at the core of its work is the belief that gender equality is essential for development and democracy.

She adds, We specifically focus on girls completing 12 years of education atleast, and preventing child marriage. Then when the girl reaches her reproductive age, we work around ensuring that women and girls have access to information on family planning, contraception, and quality healthcare services. We try to work around the whole life cycle of a girl.

How does this translate to on ground work?

Modules and curriculums are designed to be delivered to girls and women in areas where intervention is necessary. C3 also works in partnership with governments to design and deliver scaled-up programmes. Its in-school adolescent education programme, Udaan is now delivered at every government school in Jharkhand.

Girls take part in digital literacy class. (Image source: C3)

We have two kinds of programmes. One is delivering these programs at scale. So we work through schools, Anganwadi centres, where we can reach maximum girls, she explains . It leverages the public system, the government schools, and collaborates with the government in this method.

Another method is to curate small programmes, such as offering scholarships to girls, where they can learn skilling or take karate classes. Or digital literacy courses where 3000-10,000 girls are learning digital skills. This is the kind of work where we still focus on the girl as an individual. The organisation has a small grants program called Unniti, which is based on the philosophy of small philanthropy that has helped over 2000 girls.

Other programmes include Pahel, which empowers women politically; Youth Life, its digital education program for adolescents; and Do Kadam, an intervention program in Bihar for preventing domestic violence.

The organisations work has helped over 1.9 million girls in the last 30 years.

Several staff, community members, peer educators and volunteers are involved in bringing these modules to the girls. The organisation which predominantly works in rural areas, has a presence in five states in the country.

Aparajita believes that its these on-ground changemakers and their work needs to acknowledged, recognised, and supported.

In Bilaspur, Chattisgarh, community members provided C3 with free space to run itsdigital and financial literacy classes for adolescent girls. In Jharkhand, Suparna Chatterjee, a life skills teacher with C3, helped a girl continue her education after several teasing incidents made her think of dropping out. Poonam Guria, a teacher at Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) in Ranchi has a secret box in her class where girls can ask any question. The questions range from relationship issues with parents to questions around sexuality, which she discusses openly in class. Her question box now gets 50 questions everyday.

Aparajita outlines three priorities that C3 feels hold the key to its endeavours to help girls and young women. One is to scale the model. We have added digital and financial literacy in some geographies. As the needs of young people change rapidly, the question is how do we keep these models relevant

The second is how can we take these cost-effective models to other states. Third is, how do we share what we are learning about programming to people in the sector, so that more people can work for women and girls, she adds.

(Edited by Rekha Balakrishnan)

See more here:

[National Girl Child Day] How this organisation aims to help girls achieve their full potential - YourStory