Rajapaksas out in force for Sri Lanka election

Huge cut-outs show President Mahinda Rajapaksa pointing to his son, Namal

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa hopes his governing coalition will score a clear victory in Thursday’s legislative elections. He also hopes two of his brothers, his cousin and his eldest son, Namal, will win or regain places in parliament. The BBC’s Charles Haviland reports from the Rajapaksa heartland in Southern Province.

Namal Rajapaksa is held in high esteem by many Sri Lankans

By a huge banyan tree in the town of Tangalle, Namal Rajapaksa is meeting the people outside the family home.
A crowd clusters around the 23-year-old candidate and presidential son. Each person seems anxious to tell him their problem. They clutch school admission certificates and town council documents.
Namal is young but is already being groomed for great political things.
“I’ve come to Namal for help in rebuilding our temple which was ruined by the tsunami,” says an orange-robed Buddhist monk. “Namal seems to do a lot for the people.”
A woman holds her young disabled boy in her arms. She needs funds to treat him.
“He can’t speak or walk. I felt Namal would help us because he loves kids. I’m confident he will help me.”
One armed soldier is on the parapet just above. Namal, however, listens to the people, promises action – and nuzzles the babies’ cheeks.
The Rajapaksas are Sri Lanka’s first family. There have been other political families in this subcontinent, and this country – including the Bandaranaikes, who supplied two prime ministers and a president.
But the Rajapaksas’ involvement in politics is especially broad. The President, Mahinda, has three of his brothers in top positions.

Kumarini Wickramasuriya has praise for the Rajapaksa family

Among the Sinhalese majority, Mahinda and the defence secretary, Gotabhaya, are highly popular for last year’s military victory over the Tamil Tiger separatists.
That popularity has been only slightly dented by the government locking up the former army chief and losing presidential candidate, Sarath Fonseka.
Just outside Tangalle, near a wild and beautiful beach, I meet Kumarini Wickramasuriya.
Her charity for disabled people is in the same building where the president first had an office as a 24-year-old MP. She has known the Rajapaksas for years.
“They are very stable, very people-friendly and approachable and work at grassroot level,” she says. “I think Namal also has those qualities in him. And we hope that he will be able to mingle with the people. We see that happening.”
Driving in the rain through this lush countryside, almost entirely Sinhalese-inhabited, I see Rajapaksa posters everywhere. There are huge images of Namal. There are also his genially smiling uncle, Chamal, and a cousin, Nirupama – both also candidates here.
There are cardboard cut-outs of the president, 10 metres tall, pointing towards pictures of his son as if to say “this is the man of the future”.
‘Dictator’
In a glade we meet politicians from the main opposition United National Party. They are hard to find, their posters few.
One, Dilip Wedaarachchi, says they have had difficulty campaigning and that the police have sided entirely with the president’s family. He calls Mr Rajapaksa a “dictator”.
“The family is trying to rule this [part of southern Sri Lanka] – his wife, brother, sons, aunties, everyone is trying to rule this place,” he said.
“They’re not leaving room for others to come forward and rule the country.”

Sajith Premadasa says power is concentrated in the hands of a few

Another is Sajith Premadasa whose father, Ranasinghe, was Sri Lanka’s president and was assassinated by the Tamil Tigers.
He is measured in his remarks, stressing that most of the Rajapaksas are popularly elected.
“Of course there is a monopolisation and a concentration of power in the hands of a few at this present juncture,” he says.
“People should realise that and recognise that.”
Recently, state television showed a huge music and dance extravaganza in Colombo, with the Rajapaksa brothers and their families in the front row for an event laid on entirely to heap praise on Mahinda and Gotabhaya.
A famous woman singer performed a song billed as a lullaby which a century from now would be sung by mothers to their babies, explaining how “King Mihindu” (a nickname) saved their country from terrorists.
“Long live our king who overcame all the challenges from within and abroad,” ran another song as incense wafted around.
This kind of trend prompts sharply differing reactions.
One man said the president wanted to “be the king in the country for the rest of his life. By doing that he has let down everybody else in the country”.
Another described the Rajapaksa family as “heroes” for bringing peace.

Buildings in Tangalle are draped in posters of the Rajapaksa candidates

“I don’t agree with the fact that our people treat them like kings, but it’s just the nature of Sri Lankans to put them on a pedestal.”
Back in Tangalle, Namal Rajapaksa finishes his street meetings and warmly invites us into his home. There are no security checks on us and we sit in the hallway for a chat. He denies being part of yet another typical South Asian political dynasty.
“This is the 21st Century,” he says. “People are more educated now. I don’t think family politics will play a role. As long as you work, you be with the people… you love the country, you will be elected.
“It’s a matter of who you are, not what you are.”
We are ushered in for an audience with the president himself, who is sitting in a small study. He is completely informal. We chat, though largely off-the-record. He does not look at his watch.
Namal Rajapaksa tells us he is still referred to as Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son. But he hopes Mahinda will one day be known as Namal Rajapaksa’s father.
The 23-year-old politician with the common touch clearly wants to go far.

BBC

After the Tigers, a new Tamil struggle

Mahinda Rajapaksa was among devotees at the Nallur temple last week

Tamil Tiger rebels were crushed in Sri Lanka’s civil war, while President Rajapaksa from the Sinhalese majority has gone from strength to strength. His government is expected to win parliamentary elections on Thursday – and many minority Tamils now wonder what the future holds. The BBC’s Charles Haviland reports from Jaffna.
The Nallur temple, a great Hindu shrine, is alive with drumbeats and the sound of squealing horns.
There are crowds of school students, including a flock of mainly Sinhalese visitors from the south-east.

There has been encroachment on places of cultural importance to us R Sambandan Tamil National Alliance

Sinhalese Buddhists are glad to be back in Jaffna after the war. Tamil Hindus welcome them. Hindu and Buddhist alike strip off their shirts to enter the temple and worship the popular deity Murugan.
Local student Ramanan is here with three friends and, like others in the majority-Tamil city, he says life has improved with the end of the civil war.
But given that the Tamil Tiger rebels were defeated last May, he is annoyed by continuing restrictions.
“If the government thinks the Tigers are no longer there, why are there so many checkpoints?” he says.
“If they think the Tigers are no more, they must leave us alone. Just to come here from my place takes a long time because of all the checks.”
‘Cultural vandalism’
People in the port city of Trincomalee, a little way down the coast, also say life is getting more relaxed.
But there was terrible violence in the recent past and, with many cases unresolved, people have a sense of grievance.

Loyalists turned out to back Mahinda Rajapaksa in Jaffna

R Sambandan, a veteran politician who leads the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), lives and campaigns in Trincomalee.
His party was very close to the Tigers and remains the biggest and most popular Tamil political group.
Mr Sambandan alleges that Tamil culture here in the north-east is being threatened.
“Tamil Hindu religious places of worship have come under severe attack in the recent past,” he says.
“There has been encroachment on places of cultural importance to us. There is an organised movement in the country which unquestionably is engaged in these deliberate acts of sacrilege and cultural vandalism.”
The TNA has abandoned the Tigers’ old idea of a separate homeland for the ethnic minority.
In recent weeks, it has even jettisoned some of its former MPs seen as too hard-line.
But the Alliance still demands federalism or autonomy for Tamil-majority areas – the Northern and Eastern provinces – in order to “preserve and nurture” their Tamil-speaking cultural identity.
No minorities?
But whatever the grievances of Tamils, they may not automatically vote for the TNA.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited Jaffna last week to address a rally in a place which is politically difficult territory for him.

A Sinhalese from the other end of the island, he scored badly in the region in a recent presidential election.
With a small crowd in the stadium, he made an effort to address them in their language through an incredibly loud speaker system. They were loyalists and applauded.
His talk was not of political reforms but of development. What the Tamils want, he said, was schools, homes, a railway extension.
That is his continuous refrain these days: major development projects will heal the Tamil-populated areas; and that the country in fact has “no minorities”.
Some see his message as an anti-discrimination plea, but others fear minority rights will get trampled on.
Even within the president’s own Sri Lanka Freedom Party, some take a distinctly different approach from that of Mr Rajapaksa.
Like all those standing for the party in Jaffna, K Sri Saravana Pavaan is Tamil. He told the BBC that his ethnic group does need special assistance.
He would like one-third of all state sector jobs to be reserved for Tamils and Muslims, whose mother tongue is also Tamil.
He also wants English to be the language of administration in the provinces where Tamils are in a majority.
Most people believe the president does not want any special treatment for those areas.
“That may be wrong,” he says.
“Because we have been affected by the violence. Because we are disabled people. Normally a disabled person needs special treatment.”
All-powerful president
Sri Lanka’s Tamils have an array of politicians competing for their votes. Some – including former paramilitary members – are now with the government but still, in many cases, feared.

Much in Sri Lanka depends on what the president wants

Those close to the Tamil Tigers, like the TNA, win the votes of many but are despised by others for not having stood up to the rebels’ violence.
Then there are moderates struggling to have their voice heard. Many moderate Tamil politicians were killed by the Tigers.
Waiting at the Jaffna bus-stand, Mrs Vanaja Uma Khanta, who is in her 40s, says none of the Tamil politicians is quite right for her.
“We’ve faced so many problems because we Tamils didn’t have proper leadership,” she says.
“Only when we have a good leader who’s experienced and who understands Tamils’ problems, and will fight for our rights, can our problems be solved.”
The coming election is likely to make President Rajapaksa more powerful than ever – and his word is what counts.
The federalism that the TNA campaigns for, as well as the positive discrimination some of the president’s own party colleagues desire, may be forlorn hopes as long as the president does not want them.
After decades of civil war waged in the name of Tamil rights, many members of the ethnic minority feel they still have little influence in charting the future of themselves and their country.

BBC

Q&A: Post-war Sri Lanka

For the first time in decades, the army now controls the whole of Sri Lanka

In May 2009 Sri Lanka’s government declared victory in its 26-year war with Tamil Tiger rebels who were fighting for a separate homeland.
It was one of the world’s bloodiest and longest-running civil wars and it left parts of the island devastated and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

On the eve of the first parliamentary election since the war ended, BBC News examines what is at stake for the people of Sri Lanka.
Who are the candidates and what are the issues?
About 7,620 candidates are competing for 225 seats. Out of those, 196 will be elected directly to parliament, with the remainder filled by parties based on their total vote percentages.
President Rajapaksa’s United People’s Freedom Party is seeking to consolidate his political dominance after winning re-election in January against Gen Sarath Fonseka. He is currently in detention but is still competing for a seat in Colombo.
The president hopes to get a two-thirds parliamentary majority, which would allow his party to change the constitution. His coalition currently holds 128 seats in the outgoing parliament and few expect it to face much competition at the polls. The opposition is badly divided since its defeat in January.
Correspondents say that the key issues in the vote will be how to rejuvenate the stagnant economy, unemployment, rural development, how to integrate the minority Tamil community and the fight against corruption.
The expectation is that turnout will be low because this vote comes just three months after the presidential poll.
What about the Tamil vote?
Many Tamil parties are competing in the polls but the BBC’s Anbarasan Ethirajan says that they are mostly disunited. The biggest political grouping, the Tamil National Alliance, is expected to perform well.
The major political parties have made promises in the hope of securing Tamil votes – they make up about 12% of the population.
But none has promised any significant devolution of power to Tamil areas in the north and east of the country.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Tamils displaced by the war are still confined to camps in the north. Tamil political parties complain that many of them have not been given proper voter identity cards.
What happens next?
Polls close around 1600 local time on Thursday, 8 April and counting may go on into the weekend because of the large number of candidates and the complexities of the proportional representation system.
Correspondents point out that to some extent the outcome of the vote is academic because the president will continue to wield the lion’s share of political power.
What challenges face the new parliament?
Relief and reconstruction for the parts of the north and east devastated by decades of war will be high on the list.

Many Tamils have been resettled but still need help with rebuilding lives

Areas devastated by the conflict need to be de-mined and rebuilt. Hundreds of thousands of Tamils were displaced in the final stages of the war.
Many of these have now been released but say they need help with rebuilding their homes and with their livelihoods. Those left in camps are eager to be allowed back home.
Then there are the questions regarding a political settlement for minority Tamils.
The forthcoming trial of Sarath Fonseka – whenever that takes place – is also likely to be a hot political potato.
What were the Tamil Tigers fighting for?
The rebels started fighting in the 1970s for a separate state – Eelam – for Tamils in Sri Lanka’s north and east.
They argued that Tamils had been discriminated against by successive majority Sinhalese governments.
The rebels were among the most disciplined and organised guerrilla groups in the world in recent times. They had their own “capital”, ground forces, navy and even a rudimentary air force.
They honed the tactic of suicide bombings to deadly effect and became a proscribed terrorist group in many countries.
Have the rebels been eliminated?
The government says the rebels have been crushed. For the first time in decades, the army now controls the whole of Sri Lanka’s territory.
The rebel movement is over as a conventional military force and its leadership has been decimated.
But the Tamil Tigers controlled huge financial and logistical resources, and are supported by many expatriate Tamils around the world.
Analysts say that the manner in which the government pursued victory – ignoring international calls for restraint – may have radicalised a new generation of Tamils, both on the island and in the diaspora in Europe, Asia and North America.
What was the human and economic cost of the war?
The conflict killed well in excess of 70,000 people, displaced hundreds of thousands more and held back the island’s growth and economic development.
Sri Lanka’s defence expenditure has soared in recent years – to 166.4bn rupees ($1.48bn) in 2008. This amounts to about 5% of GDP, nearly double that spent by India and Pakistan.

BBC

Sri Lanka’s first post-war parliamentary polls close

There have been concerns over breaches of electoral rules

Voting has ended in parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka – the first since government forces defeated Tamil Tiger rebels last year.

Monitoring groups report a low turnout of about 40%, especially in the Tamil-dominated northern and eastern areas, and some incidents of violence.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s party is expected to triumph over a split opposition. Results are due on Friday.
His main rival, Gen Sarath Fonseka, is also standing despite being in jail.
Gen Fonseka, the former army chief, denies charges of participating in politics while still in uniform and illegal arms procurement.
The main opposition coalition he presided over during the presidential campaign has since split up into three main camps.
One is a new political alliance led by Gen Fonseka. Also standing is Sri Lanka’s main opposition party and the main ethnic Tamil alliance, which is expected to get most support in the north and east of the country.
But Mr Rajapaksa still enjoys much popularity because of last year’s crushing defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels after a 26-year civil war.
He is seeking a two-thirds majority in parliament.
‘Ballot stuffing’

SRI LANKA VOTES First parliamentary election since war with Tamil Tigers ended Over 7,000 candidates compete for 225 seats President’s coalition currently holds 128 seats Now seeks two-thirds majority to allow it to change constitution Q&A: Post-war Sri Lanka Rajapaksas out in force for Sri Lanka election

The BBC’s Charles Haviland in Colombo says the vote went smoothly in many places.
But an independent body, the Centre for Monitoring Electoral Violence, told the BBC it received 300 complaints of misconduct – 80% of them were levelled against Mr Rajapaksa’s coalition.
Near the central town of Kandy, it said pro-government activists chased away voting agents and stopped people voting in one area, and stormed into polling booths, stuffing the boxes with ballot papers.
In the south, two instances of shooting were reported quite close to polling stations, but there were no injuries.
The organisation believed turnout had been low, at around 40%.
Voting took place amid heavy security, with nearly 80,000 police and soldiers deployed to protect voting stations.
Planned reforms
The president says that after his election he will clarify his ideas for any political reforms to tackle Sri Lanka’s ethnic problem.
If he achieves his aim of a two-thirds majority in parliament – or 150 seats, analysts say that would allow him to change the constitution.
Mr Rajapaksa has spoken of adding a second chamber of parliament to accommodate minorities better – but he has ruled out the federalism many Tamil politicians want.
Many people predict he would also try to scrap the current limit of two presidential terms.
History suggests his coalition is unlikely to get two-thirds of the seats.

BBC

Israel lifts gagging order on Anat Kam espionage case

Anat Kam worked in the office of the IDF central command

A gagging order stopping Israeli media from reporting the case of a former soldier accused of leaking top secret documents has been partially lifted.

Anat Kam, 23, has been charged with “serious espionage” for allegedly giving more than 2,000 Israeli military documents to a journalist.

Observers believe they form the basis for claims the military ignored a major court ruling on killing militants.
Israeli authorities say the journalist may still have some secret documents.
Ms Kam’s lawyer is due to give a statement later on Thursday.
One of her representatives said the security services were trying to paint her as an “enemy of the state”.
She was a “zionist” who acted as a “concerned citizen”, not a left-wing activist, the representative said.
Ms Kam, who has worked as a journalist for the Israeli news website Walla, is widely reported to have been under house arrest in Israel since December.
But until Thursday, a gag order had prevented Israeli media from reporting the case – although details have emerged through the international media.
On Thursday the Ministry of Justice said some limitations remained in place “to maintain state security”.
Assassinations
Ms Kam did her national service in the office of the General Commander of the Israeli military’s Central Command, which is responsible for activities in the West Bank.
She is alleged to have saved onto DVD 2,000 military documents, 700 of which were “secret or top secret”, and taken them home and copied them onto her laptop.
The Ministry of Justice said the case was “exceptionally serious” and the documents included detailed military operational plans and a description of IDF deployments during both routine and emergency periods.
The Israeli state believes she passed some of these documents to Uri Blau, a reporter on the newspaper Haaretz.
There has been widespread speculation that they formed the basis for a report he wrote in November 2008, saying that Israeli forces in the West Bank had breached new rules on the targeting of suspected Palestinian militants.
A 2006 Supreme Court ruling had required that efforts should be made first to arrest rather than kill them.

The report accused the IDF of unilaterally loosening their regulations and designating two leaders of Islamic Jihad as targets for assassination.
At the time, the military said the militants had fired on its forces before they were killed.
The Ministry of Justice said the gagging order, which was heavily criticised in Israel, had been in place to help exhaust the possibilities for the return of the stolen documents, and to prevent obstruction of the investigation.
It said the release of the documents could “endanger human life”, and “reach hostile elements and thus would cause hard and continuous damage to state security”.
Mr Blau is outside Israel and publishing stories in Haaretz under a London dateline.
The Ministry of Justice said it had been trying to agree a deal with him for the return of documents it believed to still be in his possession.

BBC 

Asian leaders urged to pressure Burma at Asean summit

Burma’s military rulers have put thousands of dissidents in jail

Leaders of 10 South East Asian nations meeting for a summit in Vietnam have been urged to put Burma’s coming elections at the top of their agenda.

The agenda of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) summit focuses on building regional ties.

But some 100 legislators in the region have appealed to the leaders to put pressure on Burma to ensure fair polls.
Thai PM Abhisist Vejajjiva will no longer attend, after declaring a state of emergency amid protests in Bangkok.
Officials had said Mr Abhisist would shuttle between Hanoi and Bangkok but correspondents say the situation is so delicate he now appears unwilling to leave the country.
‘Extremely important’
The Asean summit is expected to focus largely on improving relations between the neighbours and regional trading partners.
Forming a free market group of 600 million people by 2015 is a key theme, although wide differences remain between the delegates.

The summit is focused on building stronger regional ties

A petition signed by more than 100 legislators in the region has appealed to the summit to take decisive action against Burma – a fellow member – with the aim of ensuring the elections are free and fair.
Burma’s military junta has not yet given a date for the polls – the first in the country in 20 years – but they are expected to take place later this year.
Last month, the country implemented a series of electoral laws which effectively prevent the opposition from taking part in any meaningful way.
Some Asean members have criticised Burma’s election plans and delegates of several countries have said they intend to raise the subject at the summit in Hanoi.
The Philippines and Indonesia have been outspoken in calling for a genuinely inclusive election in Burma, in which the opposition led by detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi, could take part.
Her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), decided last week not to participate because of restrictions on campaigning, leadership and the continued detention of hundreds of its members.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said the poll in Burma, also known as Myanmar, was “a potentially extremely important election”.
“We’ve made references to the commitment by Myanmar that this will be an open, free, democratic and credible elections and we would like to see those kind of commitments realised.”
Draft summit documents suggest the leaders will also be discussing how fast to cut back on economic stimulus measures, how to speed up construction of regional infrastructure and what action to take on climate change.
Host Hanoi has also spoken before the summit of its desire to secure a regional approach towards China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.
But the summit slogan, “From Vision to Action” is intended to refer to economic, not political progress.
“The building of the economic community will be one of the focal points during the summit,” said Vietnam’s Assistant Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh.
Asean combines the more developed economies of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei, with Burma, Laos and Cambodia.

BBC

Kyrgyzstan opposition declares new government

The opposition in Kyrgyzstan says it has dissolved parliament and taken power, after a bloody uprising forced the president to flee the capital.

Opposition leader Roza Otunbayeva, an ex-foreign minister, said the interim government was fully in control.
She urged President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to resign but in a statement quoted by Kyrgyz news agencies he has refused.

Clashes in the capital, Bishkek, and other towns left 75 dead and more than 1,000 hurt, the health ministry said.

What we did yesterday was our answer to the repression and tyranny against the people by the Bakiyev regime Roza Otunbayeva Q&A: Kyrgyzstan unrest Kyrgyz voices: ‘Uncertain situation’ In pictures: Kyrgyzstan revolt Violence leaves uncertainty

Violence initially broke out in the provincial town of Talas on Tuesday and spread to the capital Bishkek, where demonstrators marched on government buildings, and another town, Naryn, on Wednesday.
Mr Bakiyev, who came to power in a revolution in the central Asian state five years ago – reportedly flew out of the capital on Wednesday to travel to the city of Osh in his home region of Jalalabad.
A statement attributed to Mr Bakiyev that appeared on the 24.kg news website quoted him as blaming the opposition for the violence and saying he would not resign.
Reuters news agency reported scuffles in Osh on Thursday between hundreds of Bakiyev supporters and members of the opposition who had taken over a government building.

AT THE SCENE Richard Galpin, BBC News, Bishkek Looting continues here in the capital, particularly of the offices of the President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. The leaders of the opposition have moved quickly to announce that they are now in control after setting up what they call a temporary popular government until fresh elections can be held. They say the armed forces are now under their command. But the president has not resigned, raising fears there could be further violence if he manages to mobilise his supporters. All this will particularly worrying for the US military, which relies on a large air base near the Kyrgyz capital to send troops and supplies into Afghanistan. At a news conference, the head of the interim government said it would meet with American diplomats to discuss the air base, but stressed it needed time to decide what it is going to do.

The scene in Bishkek on Thursday was calm, with the opposition apparently in control of the government headquarters.
There was widespread looting and gunfire during the night in the capital.
Speaking at a packed news conference, Ms Otunbayeva said an interim government – which would remain in power until elections are held in six months – was fully in control of the country and had appointed new ministers.
She said Mr Bakiyev was trying to rally support in the south and urged him to resign, saying: “His business here is over.”
Ms Otunbayeva went on: “What we did yesterday was our answer to the repression and tyranny against the people by the Bakiyev regime.
“You can call this revolution. You can call this a people’s revolt. Either way, it is our way of saying that we want justice and democracy.”
The BBC’s Rayhan Demytrie in Bishkek says Mr Bakiyev has a large support base in the south but it remains to be seen how many people there will turn out for him and whether he will try to fight back with their backing.

http://cdnedge.bbc.co.uk/player/emp/2.18.13034_14207/9player.swf?revision=11798

Kyrgyzstan is a strategically important central Asian state and houses a Russian base and a key US military base that supplies forces in Afghanistan. The US suspended military flights on Wednesday.
Ms Otunbayeva said the “status quo would remain” regarding the bases but that some questions had to be considered.
Ismail Isakov, named interim defence minister, has affirmed that the country’s armed forces and border guards are under the control of the interim government.
Russian paratroopers
On Thursday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said it was “time to work urgently in establishing constitutional order” in Kyrgyzstan.

TIMELINE: KYRGYZSTAN UNREST March 2005: Protests over disputed parliamentary election, dubbed the Tulip Revolution, lead to fall of President Askar Akayev; Kurmanbek Bakiyev appointed acting president and PM July 2005: Mr Bakiyev elected president by a landslide May 2006: Mass protests demand constitutional reform and more action to combat corruption October 2007: Referendum approves constitutional changes, which the opposition present as a step towards authoritarianism December 2007: Mr Bakiyev’s Ak Zhol party wins parliamentary poll; opposition left with no seats July 2009: Mr Bakiyev re-elected in vote criticised by monitors January 2010: Opposition leader Ismail Isakov jailed for eight years for corruption, sparking opposition hunger strikes April 2010: Clashes between police and anti-government protesters leave 65 dead Kyrgyz crisis: Eyewitness accounts Country profile: Kyrgyzstan Hub of superpowers’ plans

Announcing he would be sending a UN envoy to the country immediately, Mr Ban said: “There are difficult social and economic issues underlying the unrest.”
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Ms Otunbayeva held telephone talks, Moscow said.
“It is important that the conversation was held with her in her role as the head of the government of national trust,” Mr Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters.
The Russian chief of staff of the armed forces said an extra 150 paratroopers were being sent to Russia’s Kant military base, near Bishkek, to ensure the security of Russian personnel there. Moscow has denied playing any role in the unrest.
The United States said it deplored the violence and urged “respect for the rule of law”.
On Thursday, European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said the EU was offering emergency humanitarian aid to help stabilise the nation.
“I call on all sides to show continued restraint. A rapid return to public order is essential to avoid further loss,” she said.
A Chinese foreign ministry statement said it was “deeply concerned” about events in Kyrgyzstan, which shares a 533-mile (858km) border with China, and hoped order could be restored soon.
Mr Bakiyev, 60, came to power amid a wave of street protests in 2005 known as the Tulip Revolution, but many of his allies have deserted him claiming intimidation and corruption.

KEY LOCATIONS IN KYRGYZ UPRISING

Bishkek: Opposition claim to have control. Protesters still surround government HQ (aka the White House) which has been ransacked and part of it set on fire. Reports of looting in the city.

Osh: President Bakiyev has a support base in the country’s second city and is believed to be in the region.

Naryn: Second day of unrest. New opposition governor installed.

Talas: Uprising began here on 6 April. Interior minister beaten up by protesters on 7 April who stormed police HQ and installed new governor.

Border with Kazakhstan is closed.

Flights suspended from US military base in Manas.

 

BBC

US and Russian leaders hail nuclear arms treaty

http://cdnedge.bbc.co.uk/player/emp/2.18.13034_14207/9player.swf?revision=11798

US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, have signed a landmark nuclear arms treaty in the Czech capital, Prague.

The treaty commits the former Cold War enemies to each reduce the number of deployed strategic warheads to 1,550 – 30% lower than the previous ceiling.

Mr Obama said it was an important milestone, but “just one step on a longer journey” of nuclear disarmament.
Mr Medvedev said the deal would create safer conditions throughout the world.
If ratified by lawmakers in both countries, the treaty will replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start) of 1991, which has expired.
Missile defence
The US and Russian leaders signed the New Start treaty at a ceremony attended by hundreds of officials in the lavishly decorated Spanish Hall of Prague Castle, the Czech president’s residence.

TREATY LIMITS Warheads: 1,550 (74% lower than the 1991 Start Treaty and 30% lower than the figure of 2,200 that each side was meant to reach by 2012 under the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (Sort)) Launchers: 700 deployed intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and deployed heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments New limit on delivery systems less than half current ceiling of 1,600 Global map of nuclear arsenals Q&A: New Start

Under the pact, each side is allowed a maximum of 1,550 warheads, about 30% lower than the 2002 Moscow Treaty.
It also limits the number of deployed delivery vehicles – ballistic missiles and heavy bombers – to no more than 700. However, each bomber counts as one warhead irrespective of the fact that it might carry multiple bombs or missiles.
Speaking after the signing ceremony, President Obama said the treaty demonstrated that both countries had halted the deterioration of their relations, which had prevented agreement on mutually important issues in the past.
“When the United States and Russia are not able to work together on big issues, it’s not good for either of our nations, nor is it good for the world. Together we’ve stopped that drift and proven the benefits of co-operation,” he added.
Mr Obama said the pact was “an important milestone for nuclear security and non-proliferation” and set the stage for further arms cuts.
“While the New Start treaty is an important first step forward, it is just one step on a longer journey. This treaty will set the stage for further cuts, and going forward, we hope to pursue discussions with Russia on reducing both our strategic and tactical weapons, including non-deployed weapons.”

http://cdnedge.bbc.co.uk/player/emp/2.18.13034_14207/9player.swf?revision=11798

Dmitry Medvedev: Nuclear treaty a ‘win-win’

He said the talks – beginning this summer – would cover missile defence, threat assessments, and the completion of a joint assessment of emerging ballistic missiles.
For his part, President Medvedev said the negotiating process had not been simple, but the treaty represented a “win-win situation” that would enhance strategic stability and bilateral relations.
“The result we have obtained is good,” he said. “We have got a document that fully maintains the balance of interests between Russia and the US. The main thing is that there are no victors or losers here.”
But Mr Medvedev said disagreements remained between Moscow and Washington over US plans for a missile defence shield, which have been modified by Mr Obama.

ANALYSIS By Jonathan Marcus, BBC News, Prague Numbers here are not hugely important though in the sense that these arsenals are still far in excess of what might be needed to deter each other or, for that matter, any other potential nuclear competitor. This agreement really is a starting benchmark; a formal treaty that sets the scene for much more significant reductions in the future. Indeed, much of the new agreement’s importance is in its collateral benefits. It marks an important improvement in US-Russia relations and it gives President Obama in particular an important boost ahead of next month’s review conference for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Bolstering this agreement, which is the central pillar of efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, is a high priority for him. Nuclear milestone on a long road

On Tuesday, Russia’s foreign minister warned that it could abandon the New Start treaty “if a quantitative and qualitative build-up of the US strategic anti-missile potential begins to significantly affect the efficiency of Russia’s strategic forces”.
It was Moscow’s concerns over Washington’s plans to base interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic that helped delay the new treaty. President Obama shelved the idea in September, although new plans include ground-based interceptor missiles in Romania.
The White House has said it hopes and expects the US Senate to ratify the New Start treaty this year. Senate ratification requires 67 votes, which means it must include Republicans.
The Russian lower house of parliament must also approve the treaty, but as long as the Kremlin supports it, ratification there is expected to be a formality.
During private talks before the signing ceremony, Mr Obama and Mr Medvedev also discussed Iran’s nuclear programme.
The US wants the UN Security Council to approve tougher sanctions against Tehran, over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.
“Unfortunately Tehran is not reacting to an array of constructive compromise proposals. We cannot close our eyes to this,” Mr Medvedev said afterwards.
Disarmament vision
BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus, who is in Prague, says the real significance of this deal is that it marks a warming of US-Russian ties and heralds, perhaps, tougher Russian action on Iran’s nuclear programme.

FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE http://cdnedge.bbc.co.uk/player/emp/2.18.13034_14207/9player.swf?revision=11798 More from BBC World Service

It also gives Mr Obama a disarmament success that he hopes will strengthen his hand at next month’s review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), our correspondent says.
An overhaul of the 40-year-old pact is seen as the central pillar of the US president’s efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
However, much more significant cuts in long-range nuclear weapons could take years of negotiation with the Russians, who do not share Mr Obama’s ambitious disarmament vision, our correspondent says.
Nuclear weapons are in fact looming larger in Russia’s security equation at a time when their role in US strategic thinking is becoming more circumscribed, he adds.
On Tuesday, President Obama unveiled the new Nuclear Posture Review, which narrows the circumstances in which the US would use nuclear weapons.
“The United States will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapons states that are party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and in compliance with their nuclear non-proliferation obligations,” it said.
Countries which the US regards not complying with the NPT, including Iran and North Korea, will not be spared a nuclear response.
North Korea pulled out of the NPT in 2003, while the US claims Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies.
Mr Obama also pledged not to develop any new nuclear weapons, a move pushed through in the face of resistance by the Pentagon.

US AND RUSSIA NUCLEAR WEAPONS

BBC

Sittwe Public Barred from Water Festival Celebration

4/8/2010

Sittwe:
The state military authority is currently preparing to observe the New Year festivities in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, but Arakanese people have been denied the chance to celebrate the famous Rakhine festival in Sittwe this year, said a town elder.

“The authority has started the construction of many pavilions in front of government buildings and in front of the Vasila sports ground for Burmese style water play, but the authority is not allowing residents to construct the pavilions in the respective wards around Sittwe,” the elder said.

The water festival starts on 13 April but the people will be engaging in the water play from 14 to 16 April.

The elder added, “The authority seems to not want people to celebrate the biggest Arakanese water festival in Sittwe this new year because the authority is afraid untoward incidents such as anti-government protests will break out in Sittwe during the water festival.”

During the 2008 and 2009 new year celebrations, some Arakanese youths participated in anti-government activities by wearing t-shirts saying “No Vote” and “Ven Uttama”. Many of the youths were detained by police in Sittwe but later released on bail.

“During this year’s water festival, such anti-government activities may arise again in Sittwe because this year is very crucial in Burma with the election. So the authority is likely to fear this and bar celebration of the Arakanese water festival in the downtown area of Sittwe,” he said.

The authority ordered its government departments and private businesses to construct stages and pavilions in front of Vasali sports ground, which is located on the outskirts of Sittwe some distance from the rest of the city.

In Sittwe, there are plans for 18 pavilions to be constructed by government ministries for this year’s water festival for water play in the Burmese style.

A youth from Maw Late Ward said, “We lost the opportunity to celebrate the Arakanese traditional water festival in Sittwe this year because the authority barred celebration of the water festival in downtown Sittwe. It is difficult for us to participate in the Burmese-style water festival that will be celebrated by the government ministries.”

The traditional Arakanese water festival is different than the Burmese water festival, but the authority does not want to encourage the Arakanese celebrations. It is typical for the authorities to try and substitute the Burmese style of celebrating for the traditional Arakanese water festival in Sittwe.

“The Burmese-style water festival is nice, but I like the Arakanese traditional water festival very much because we have the chance to throw water face to face between groups of women and men in the pavilions. In the Burmese-style, people are throwing water with water pipes from the stage onto the visitors who walk or drive in front,” the youth said.

Narinjara

Wildlife Disappearing in Arakan

4/7/2010

By Tun Tun, Sittwe: Wild animals in Arakan State have become scarce due to indiscriminate killing by hunters and locals, reports an environmental worker and other sources.

The environmental worker said, “We are unable to see deer, barking deer, sambur, tiger, or wild boars in the jungle currently because the animals have become rare in our state after so many have been killed by local people to sell and to eat for food.”

In several mountain restaurants located at the top of the Arakan Roma along the Rangoon – Taungup highway, the meat of wild animals is available on the menu at any time and restaurants are selling the meat freely without any prohibition.

“We all can see the signboards and disk menus with the names of several kinds of meat of wild animals out in front of the restaurant entrances. The meat of deer, barking deer, and sambur are available at all times in the restaurants,” the source said.

Hundreds of wild animals have been killed by hunters and locals for the restaurants over the last 50 years, but the authority has not yet prohibited the killing of wild animals for food in the area.

A farmer from Taungup said, “We were able to see the wild animals anywhere in Arakan Roma in the past, but now we can not see the animals even if we go deep into the jungles in Arakan Roma. I am a mountain cultivator so I know the animals will be extinct in our state in the future.”

Arakan Roma is a famous mountain range in Burma because so many kinds of animals inhabit the area, but the wild animals are becoming increasingly scarce from the hunting. In addition to restaurants, the dried meat of the wild animals are available everywhere in Arakan State, such as at jetties, bus stations, and markets.

“Many poor people in rural areas in Arakan are involved in the business of selling the meat of wild animals just to survive. If this rate of killing of wild animals continues, the deer, barking deer, sambur, and wild boar will disappear from our state in the near future,” the environmental worker concluded.

Narinjara