[GreenYouth] A Break from the Usual: Hope You'd Enjoy!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154123340345195set=a.310155230194.332977.144221695194type=1 [image: American Humanist Association's photo.] https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154123340345195set=a.310155230194.332977.144221695194type=1 -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[GreenYouth] Nepal Updates: Maoists agree to disagree in Biratnagar; closed session postponed again
http://www.nepalnews.com/index.php/top-story/34094-maoists-agree-to-disagree-in-biratnagar-closed-session-postponed-again Maoists agree to disagree in Biratnagar; closed session postponed againhttp://www.nepalnews.com/index.php/top-story/34094-maoists-agree-to-disagree-in-biratnagar-closed-session-postponed-again Published on Monday, 05 May 2014 14:30 The closed session of the UCPN (Maoist)'s national convention in Biratnagar could not resume even on Monday, as the party's prominent leaders continued differing on major political issues. The closed session was supposed to begin early in the morning, to which senior leaders Baburam Bhattarai and Narayan Kaji Shrestha were scheduled to address. The crux of the problem is about the selection process of the new leadership, it is learnt. Youth leaders are in favour of selecting central leadership through election, while other leaders are in favor of nomination. UCPN (M) chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal agreed for an election, but he said it has to take place by raising hands, instead of casting secret ballots. Dahal said a secret ballot is not necessary for the party's internal election at this stage. It has been further learnt that Bhattarai is not happy with the view of Dahal and was preparing to come back to Kathmandu without completing his participation in the convention. On Sunday, too, Bhattarai left the convention in the midway. A total of 22 groups were formed in the convention. Most party leaders present in the convention heavily came down on chairperson Dahal's working style. Various issues ranging from the party's defeat in the November 19 elections to corruption in the UN-monitored Maoist cantonments were raised during the convention. Amid uncertainty, the postponed closed session of the convention is likely to take place on Tuesday morning. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[GreenYouth]
Dear All Please Sign petition Demanding review of Tsundur Judgement https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/to-the-president-of-india-government-of-india-new-delhi-we-demand-government-of-india-to-take-all-the-possible-steps-to-review-judgment-of-clean-acquittal-of-accused-in-tsundur-dalits-massacres-case-and-prefer-an-appeal-against-this-arbitrary-judgmen# -- B.Karthik Navayan, http://karthiknavayan.wordpress.com/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[GreenYouth] Boko Haram 'to sell' Nigeria girls abducted from Chibok
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27283383 5 May 2014 Last updated at 17:53 Boko Haram 'to sell' Nigeria girls abducted from Chibok The BBC's Tomi Oladipo says it is not clear from the video what the fate of the abducted girls is Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram has threatened to sell the hundreds of schoolgirls it abducted three weeks ago. Militant leader Abubakar Shekau sent a video obtained by the AFP news agency, in which he said for the first time that his group had taken the girls. About 230 girls are still believed to be missing, prompting widespread criticism of the Nigerian government. The Boko Haram insurgency has left thousands dead since 2009. The girls were taken from their boarding school in Chibok, in the northern state of Borno, on the night of 14 April. Mothers of the missing girls have been speaking to the BBC Boko Haram, which means Western education is forbidden, has attacked numerous educational institutions in northern Nigeria. 'God instructed me' In the video, Abubakar Shekau said the girls should not have been in school in the first place, but rather should get married. God instructed me to sell them, they are his properties and I will carry out his instructions, he said. However, BBC Hausa Service editor Mansur Liman points out that the Boko Haram leader did not state the number of girls abducted, nor where they were taken or are now. Assurances from President Goodluck Jonathan have done little to convince Nigerians of the government's commitment to freeing the girls, says our correspondent. The Associated Press news agency says it is unclear whether the video was made before or after reports last week that some of the girls had been forced to marry their abductors, who paid a nominal bride price of $12 (£7). Others are reported to have been taken across borders into Cameroon and Chad. The girls were in their final year of school, most of them aged 16 to 18. The BBC Hausa Service has received reports of a gun battle on the Nigeria-Cameroon border, and houses being burnt down by individuals suspected to be members of Boko Haram. No further details are available. Protest organiser detained Meanwhile, a woman who helped organise protests over the abduction was detained and later released. Naomi Mutah was taken to a police station after a meeting called by First Lady Patience Jonathan. Mrs Jonathan reportedly felt slighted that the girls' mothers had sent Ms Mutah to the meeting instead of going themselves. Mrs Jonathan is seen as a politically powerful figure in Nigeria but has no constitutional power to order arrests. Ms Mutah, a representative of the Chibok community, organised a protest last week outside parliament in Abuja. President Goodluck Jonathan: Wherever these girls are, we will surely get them out Pogo Bitrus, another Chibok leader, described Ms Mutah's detention as insensitive, telling the BBC he hoped Mrs Jonathan would soon realise her mistake. The AP news agency quotes another community leader, Saratu Angus Ndirpaya, as saying that Mrs Jonathan accused the activists of fabricating the abductions and supporting Boko Haram. In a TV broadcast on Sunday, his first comment on the abductions, President Jonathan said he did not know where the girls were but everything was being done to find them. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[GreenYouth] Chief minister Tarun Gogoi had said the state government would not provide firearms to the affected in Bodo Territorial Areas District, but added that people had the right to apply for li
[We do not need any weapons, said Sayed Ali, the lone survivor in his family. We told the forest minister that if the government cannot protect our lives and property, give us arms to defend ourselves. However, we did not mean what we said. It was said on the spur of the moment and out of anger against the government.] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Non-Bodos-reject-govt-offer-of-guns/articleshow/34699570.cms Non-Bodos reject govt offer of gunsPrabin Kalitahttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toireporter/author-Prabin-Kalita.cms ,TNN | May 5, 2014, 11.58 PM IST Chief minister Tarun Gogoi had said the state government would not provide firearms to the affected in Bodo Territorial Areas District, but added that people had the right to apply for licensed arms. KOKRAJHAR: Residents of Balapara village in Kokrajhar district, where NDFB(S) militants killed seven people on Thursday night, said no to licensed arms for self-defence against militants. Instead, they demanded the state government seize illegal arms in the militancy-torn Bodo areas and provide adequate security to residents. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi had said the state government would not provide firearms to the affected in Bodo Territorial Areas District, but added that people had the right to apply for licensed arms. The government has not taken any decision in this regard, Gogoi said. We will provide security to people in the vulnerable areas, increase the number of police pickets and outposts, strengthen village defence parties, form peace committees and take up other security measures. It is an entirely different matter if people want to apply for licensed arms. On Sunday, after visiting Balapara, forest minister Rockybul Husain had told TOI: The state government has received demands for licensed arms from the villagers themselves. The villagers later told TOI they had sought arms from Husain in a fit of anger. We do not need any weapons, said Sayed Ali, the lone survivor in his family. We told the forest minister that if the government cannot protect our lives and property, give us arms to defend ourselves. However, we did not mean what we said. It was said on the spur of the moment and out of anger against the government. His neighbour Zaved said: We want the government to set up enough security pickets and seize illegal arms in Kokrajhar. The villagers had submitted to Hussain a list of the names of the people they believed possessed illegal arms. Bodoland Territorial Council chief Hagrama Mohilary denied the presence of illegal arms in Bodo areas. An All India United Democratic Front spokesperson said the government should not give arms to people. It seems the government is trying to start a civil war and we do not want that, the spokesperson said. The BJP said the government's idea of arming villagers against militants reflected a casual approach to a complex problem and a permanent solution should instead be sought. The government wants to keep this issue alive, BJP state spokesman Santanu Bharali said. Trouble will continue. *Assam intensifies drive to seize illegal arms* The Assam government on Monday ordered security forces to launch an intensive drive to seize illegal weapons with the assistance of Army personnel deployed in Baksa, Kokrajhar and Bodo Territorial Areas District, even as the situation returned to normal following last week's killings of Muslims by Bodo militants. The body of a seven-year-old girl, who was killed in the attack in Baksa on Friday, was found in the Beki river, taking the death toll up to 35. G P Singh, a senior officer of National Investigation Agency, arrived in Guwahati to finalize the modalities of taking over the investigation of cases on the state government's request. The preliminary report submitted by the police to chief minister Tarun Gogoi clearly hints at the involvement of the IK Songbijit faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland in the killings. No incident has been reported in the last 72 hours and curfew has been relaxed in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Baksa districts, said state home commissioner G D Tripathi. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[GreenYouth] Nepal Updates: Developments within the Splintered Maoist Camps
[In Nepal, the UCPN (M) is the parent Maoist party and the third largest party in the current Parliament, sitting in the opposition. In the first elected Parliament, after doing away with the Monarchy, it had provide two Prime Ministers, in two separate instalments. The CPN (M) is is the breakaway hardline faction which did not take part in the last election heading a motley group of fringe parties.] I/II. http://www.nepalnews.com/index.php/top-story/34116-pkd-re-elected-party-chair,-as-brb-walks-out-updated PKD re-elected party chair, as BRB walks out (updated)http://www.nepalnews.com/index.php/top-story/34116-pkd-re-elected-party-chair,-as-brb-walks-out-updated Published on Tuesday, 06 May 2014 10:43 The UCPN (Maoist)'s national convention in Biratnagar has re-elected party chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal to the same post again, as senior leader Baburam Bhattarai has walked out of the convention midway citing differences with Dahal on Tuesday. The closed session of the key opposition party's national convention first approved the proposal of Dahal to form a 99-member central committee. The new central committee then endorsed Dahal as the party chairperson. Dahal's name was proposed by Narayan Kaji Shrestha and supported by Posta Bahadur Bogati. It will be Dahal's 23rd year as the party chair without a break. The central committee will hold its next meeting on May 15 so as to elect other central committee officials. Apart from the current 99 members, the central committee is expected to name 61 more leaders as the nominated central committee members. Meanwhile, Bhattarai has left the closed session in the midway, as he refused to remain even in the UCPN (M)'s newly formed central committee. Along with Bhattarai, 16 leaders, who supported Bhattarai, also walked out of the closed session that resumed today after on-and-off events of the key opposition party's national convention in the eastern Terai city. We will support the party from outside, but will not occupy central committee posts, Bhattarai said during his short speech in the convention that lasted for around 10 minutes. Following Bhattarai's step, yet another leader Top Bahadur Raimajhi also announced the convention's boycott. The other leaders who left the convention unfinished included Hisila Yami, Debi Khadka, Ganga Shrestha, Hemraj Bhandari, Kumar Poudel, Balwati Sharma, Prabhu Sah and Debenra Poudel, among others. Leaders of Bhattarai panel said their voices were ignored by party chair Dahal in the convention, as Dahal involved allegedly in highhandedness in the selection of party's central committee members. With the self withdrawal of Bhattarai supporters, chairperson Dahal had announced the new central committee without including the opposition leaders of his party. Bhattarai is leaving for China on Wednesday and he cited it as one of the reasons for abandoning the convention halfway. This is the first time that Bhattarai is visiting the northern neighbor after shunning 10-year long armed conflict and joining the peace process in 2006. II. http://www.nepalnews.com/index.php/news/34118-cpn-m-to-expedite-unity-talks-with-two-left-parties CPN-M to expedite unity talks with two left partieshttp://www.nepalnews.com/index.php/news/34118-cpn-m-to-expedite-unity-talks-with-two-left-parties - Published on Tuesday, 06 May 2014 11:28 A politburo meeting of the CPN-Maoist chaired by Mohan Baidya has decided to take ahead party merger talks with two communist parties - CPN (United) and Revolutionary Communist Centre, on Tuesday. Unity talks are moving ahead positively with these two parties. Efforts are being made to bring the mutual talks to a logical conclusion, read a CPN-M statement issued today. Both the parties, proposed to be merged with CPN-M, are fringe parties and hold minimum effect in national politics. However, the merger move has been taken as an effort of the CPN-M to set up a leftist centre of hardcore communists, who still believe in non-peaceful means, such as, waging an armed conflict and people's war. For the unity of all revolutionary communists of Nepal, we are at the stage of developing the theoretical, political and organizational foundations, added the statement. According to CPN-M, such foundation will have six components: (1) Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, (2) new pro-people revolution, (3) boycott of parliamentarianism, (4) acceptance of the role of 'force' for social revolution and transformation, (5) readiness to correct past mistakes, and (6) developing party organization as per the spirit of pro-people centralism. We have vested the authority to expedite merger talks to our central committee comrades, the statement further said. As a continuation of its previous policy, today's CPN-M meeting also decided to boycott the by-election of Constituent Assembly to be held in three constituencies. The CPN-M will hold its national convention sometime after two months, the meeting further decided.
[GreenYouth] 'Worried Modi Will Run a Bully Government': Salman Rushdie
[This already lamentable state of affairs looks likely to become much worse if it, as seems likely, seems probable, the election results bring to power the Hindu Nationalist BJP so that the highly divisive figure of Narendra Modi, a hardliner's hardliner, becomes India's next Prime Minister, he added. ] http://www.ndtv.com/elections/article/election-2014/worried-modi-will-run-a-bully-government-salman-rushdie-519143 'Worried Modi Will Run a Bully Government': Salman Rushdie Press Trust of India http://www.ndtv.com/topic/press-trust-of-india | Updated: May 06, 2014 14:55 IST *New York: *India-born author Salman Rushdiehttp://www.ndtv.com/topic/salman-rushdie has expressed concern that under Narendra Modihttp://www.ndtv.com/elections/article/election-news/narendra-modi-the-tea-seller-who-could-be-pm-501035, India will have a fairly bullying government and attacks on freedom of expression could worsen if the BJP comes to power. I am pretty concerned about a Modi-run government. The indications that it would be a fairly bullying government are already there. We have already seen journalists and writers being bullied and (the BJP) has not taken power yet, Mr Rushdie told PTI during a session on the importance of freedom of expression at the 10th annual PEN World Voices Festival in New York. You already see even more worryingly a kind of self-censorship setting in, people worry that they are going to be bullied and therefore try not to do anything that will attract the wrath of the 'Modistas', he said, voicing his thoughts on an India with Mr Modi as its leader. Rushdie said there has never been a politician quite like Narendra Modi in India and given the high likelihood of the BJP winning the national elections and Mr Modi becoming India's next prime minister, we have to see whether the experience of office serves to moderate him. During his address at the literary festival's opening, Mr Rushdie described Mr Modi as a highly divisive figure and a hardliner's hardliner and voiced concern that the attacks on freedom of expression and literary works could worsen in an India run by BJP. He said for India, democracy should not mean just conducting free and fair elections but also ensuring free speech rights to its citizens. If freedom of expression is under attack, if religious freedom is threatened and if substantial parts of society live in physical fear for their safety, then such a society cannot be said to be a true democracy, Mr Rushdie said. In contemporary India, all these problems exist and they are getting worse. The attack on literary, scholarly and artistic freedom have gathered force ever since his book the *Satanic Verses* was banned, he said. This already lamentable state of affairs looks likely to become much worse if it, as seems likely, seems probable, the election results bring to power the Hindu Nationalist BJP so that the highly divisive figure of Narendra Modi, a hardliner's hardliner, becomes India's next Prime Minister, he added. Last month, Mr Rushdie and sculptor Anish Kapoor were among a group of Indian-origin writers, artists and lawyers who had signed an open letter worrying about Modi's rise to power. (Salman Rushdie, Anish Kapoor lead anti-Modi charge in UK mediahttp://www.ndtv.com/elections/article/election-2014/salman-rushdie-anish-kapoor-lead-anti-modi-charge-in-uk-media-507428 ) Mr Rushdie said following the letter, attacks on us in Indian social media has been relentless and paradoxically has validated our fears. We are worried about the arrival of a bullying, intolerant new regime and here are its early outriders - menacing, nasty and vengeful. There will not be less of this after a Modi victory, Mr Rushdie added. Mr Rushdie said free speech and religious freedom in India are increasingly coming under attack and writers and artists are being targetted for their work just because a section of the population deems it offensive. Citing the examples of the banning of Wendy Doniger's book on Hindus and M F Husain's exile from India for his art works, Mr Rushdie said episodes of this sort are multiplying every week and day and the authorities have failed lamentably in their duty to protect free speech rights. (Penguin to destroy copies of Wendy Doniger's bookhttp://www.ndtv.com/article/india/penguin-to-destroy-copies-of-wendy-doniger-s-book-the-hindus-481966 ) The climate of fear that has consequently being created is such that the hooligans' and censors' work is now often done for them by the collapse of those who ought to be free speeche defenders. India is in the danger of betraying the legacy of its founding fathers and greatest artists like Rabindranath Tagore, Rushdie said, quoting from the Nobel laureate's iconic work 'Where the mind is without fear'. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
