Agrégateur de flux

/ Bulgarie, Région parisienne

Ce matin, l’armée de Terre a rendu hommage au caporal Émile AVAÉ, sapeur du 6e régiment du génie décédé lundi des suites de ses blessures. Le général de corps d’armée Christophe de Saint Chamas, commandant la zone Terre Nord-Ouest et représentant le chef d’état-major de l’armée de Terre, a présidé la cérémonie d’hommage au soldat décédé ...

Vingt ans après, les circonstances et les auteurs de l’assassinat des sept religieux français tués en Algérie restent inconnus.

Das Internet wird in Europa zum unüberschaubaren Marktplatz für neue gefährliche Substanzen - und immer mehr junge Menschen greifen unbedacht zu, warnt der Direktor der Europäischen Beobachtungsstelle für Drogen EMCDDA, Alexis Goosdeel.

Dominique Reynié, Directeur général de la Fondation pour l’innovation politique, recevra Luc Ferry pour une discussion autour de son dernier ouvrage : La Révolution transhumaniste. Luc ferry sera interrogé par Élisabeth de Castex, membre du Conseil scientifique et d’évaluation de la Fondation pour l’innovation politique et Dominique Reynié.

Cet article 29 juin 2016 – Discussion autour de l’ouvrage « La Révolution transhumaniste » de Luc Ferry est apparu en premier sur Fondapol.

L’Algérie a remis à une juge française des prélèvements des têtes des moines de Tibéhirine assassinés en 1996. Ces prélèvements avaient été effectués à l’automne 2014 mais Alger avait refusé qu’ils soient ramenés à Paris.

French bank Societe Generale began closing the accounts of Russian diplomats in Paris without explanation on Friday, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.

The United Nations human rights office today strongly condemned a series of rocket and mortar attacks against several residential areas and markets in Taiz between since last Friday, which killed 18 civilians, including seven children, and injured 68 others.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Pour un mois, les unités d'intervention vont être sur les charbons ardents. C'est la police, dont
Plus d'infos »

Le candidat de centre-droit Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (PKK) n’a jamais été aussi proche d’être élu président du Pérou, mais avec très faible légitimité face à sa rivale Keiko Fujimori qui a obtenu 49, 88 % des voix. Comment expliquez-vous ces résultats et une telle fracture dans le pays ?
Pour l’heure, le résultat semble effectivement donner la victoire à Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (PKK), quatre jours après l’élection. Il a donc fallu beaucoup de temps pour arriver à déterminer le gagnant de cette élection présidentielle, l’une des plus disputée de l’histoire du Pérou. En effet, la différence sur les 17 millions de votes exprimés est seulement de 40 000 voix (0,12 %).
Pourquoi un résultat aussi serré ? Certainement parce que le vote en faveur de PKK n’était pas un vote d’adhésion mais un vote d’opposition à Keiko Fujimori. Une majorité de Péruviens a exprimé son hostilité au système Fujimori, qui comprend aussi bien la fille que le père, ancien président actuellement en prison pour violation des droits de l’Homme et de la Constitution du Pérou. Les Péruviens sont nombreux, même parmi ceux qui ne partagent pas les idées de PKK, à avoir décidé de faire barrage. La candidate arrivée en troisième position au premier tour de l’élection présidentielle, Veronika Mendoza, qui avait obtenu 19 % des suffrages et avait défendu le seul programme alternatif de centre-gauche, a ainsi appelé ses électeurs à empêcher le retour du système Fujimori et donc à voter PKK.
Cela explique la victoire surprise du candidat Kuczynski, qui était loin derrière sa rivale au premier tour – 21 % contre 38 % – et qui, 10 jours avant les élections, semblait n’avoir aucune chance d’être élu. Il y a donc eu une forte mobilisation des opposants au système Fujimori, qui avait conduit le Pérou au bord d’un conflit civil. Cependant, en raison de l’écart très faible entre les deux candidats, des recours restent possibles, exigeant le recompte d’un certain nombre de bulletins.

Quel est le programme et le positionnement international du probable nouveau président du Pérou dans un pays profondément divisé ? Alors que l’élection législative donnait parallèlement la victoire au parti de sa rivale Keiko Fujimori, PKK est-il en capacité de gouverner ?
Le Pérou est certes polarisé, mais cela est un peu moins vrai si l’on regarde la politique économique privilégiée par le nouveau président, très proche de celle défendue par sa rivale Keiko Fujimori. Le Pérou est intégré et ouvert sur le monde occidental, les Etats-Unis, le Pacifique et l’Europe. C’est l’un des pays membres de l’Alliance du Pacifique. Il participe à la Coopération économique pour l’Asie Pacifique (APEC). Il a signé des accords de libre-échange avec les Etats-Unis et l’Union européenne. Ce positionnement ne fait pas l’objet de divergence entre le président élu et la candidate malheureuse. Le consensus est réel en matière de politique économique, que ce soit à propos de l’ouverture sur les marchés internationaux ou de la poursuite de la politique minière.
Seule nuance remarquable dans ses premières déclarations en tant que candidat quasiment élu, PKK a signalé que sa priorité serait asiatique et que son premier déplacement se déroulerait en Chine. Cela est tout à fait cohérent avec la situation de l’économie péruvienne qui, ces dernières années, est devenue beaucoup plus dépendante des partenaires asiatiques, en particulier de la Chine, et beaucoup moins des Etats-Unis et de l’Europe.
Il faut toutefois remarquer que le futur président ne possède que 18 députés sur 130 au Congrès, contre 73 pour sa rivale qui a donc la majorité des sièges. La gauche, dont 20 représentants ont été élus, a annoncé qu’elle serait dans l’opposition dans la mesure où son appel à voter pour PKK était seulement motivé par le rejet de Keiko Fujimori. Au-delà de la politique économique un différend supplémentaire pourrait apparaitre à propos d’une éventuelle amnistie de l’ancien président Fujimori, actuellement en prison. Cela pourrait fait l’objet d’une demande de la part de Force Populaire, le parti fujimoriste, d’autant plus qu’il existe une querelle au sein de la famille Fujimori : le frère de Keiko Fujimori, partisan du secteur le plus radical du parti, a ainsi signalé que si sa sœur était battue, il prendrait les rênes du parti pour être candidat aux prochaines élections présidentielles, notamment pour exiger l’amnistie de son père.

Quels sont les défis que le Pérou devra relever à l’avenir ?
Le défi du Pérou est celui de tous les pays d’Amérique latine qui ont centré leur développement économique sur l’exportation de matières premières brutes, minérales, énergétiques, agricoles, etc. Le Pérou, qui a fait le pari de ne pas simplement s’orienter vers un ou deux partenaires, a mieux résisté que ses voisins équatorien, chilien et brésilien, et peut donc se targuer d’avoir un taux de développement relativement honorable.
Cependant, deux problèmes se posent au Pérou. Le défi des inégalités et la capacité de former un consensus quant au développement des activités minières qui se font souvent au détriment de zones naturelles protégées, ou dans des régions habitées par des communautés indigènes qui ne sont pas toujours consultées par les autorités. On assiste d’ailleurs depuis une dizaine d’années à des affrontements violents – certains ayant causé plusieurs dizaines de morts – entre la police et les autorités gouvernementales favorables aux exploitations minières, et les communautés indigènes qui entendent à la fois protéger leur milieu naturel et éventuellement profiter de la manne financière des ressources minières qui leur échappent pour l’essentiel.

Une revue de presse présentée en partenariat avec Le Courrier des Balkans.

L'armée de l'air et le ministère de l'Intérieur ont testé hier les capacités de lutte antidrones, au Stade
Plus d'infos »

This report is for media and the general public.

The SMM observed fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous day and some ceasefire violations in Luhansk region compared with none the previous day. Whilst at Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, incoming fire impacted about 100 metres from SMM’s position. The SMM observed craters and damage caused by shelling in Donetsk city and other areas. The Mission continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons, and noted heavy weapons in violation of the withdrawal lines; it also noted armoured combat vehicles and anti-aircraft weapons in the security zone. Armed “DPR” members continued to keep the power supply to SMM’s repeater in Donetsk city disconnected; and the SMM faced four additional restrictions of its freedom of movement, mainly in areas not controlled by the Government.* The Mission observed in Lviv civic activists demanding the dismissal of the mayor.

The SMM recorded a lower number of ceasefire violations[1] in Donetsk region compared to the previous day. Whilst in “DPR”-controlled Donetsk city centre, during the night hours of 8-9 June, the SMM heard 67 undetermined explosions and eight bursts of heavy machine-gun at locations 5-7km north-west of its position. Whilst in Donetsk city’s Kyivskyi district (“DPR”-controlled, 7km north of Donetsk city centre), the SMM heard 13 undetermined explosions at locations 2-3km north-north-west of its position.

Whilst in “DPR”-controlled Horlivka (39km north-east of Donetsk), during the night hours of 8-9 June, the SMM heard four undetermined explosions, two outgoing mortar explosions, two mortar round impacts, two automatic-grenade-launcher shots, and 46 bursts of heavy-machine-gun and small-arms fire at locations 2-10km from south-west to north-west of its position.

Positioned in “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata (16km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM heard 52 undetermined explosions, 82 single shots and 52 bursts of small-arms fire, and 20 bursts of heavy-machine-gun fire at locations 2-7km ranging from south-west, west, west-north-west, north-west and north-north-east of its position.

Whilst in government-controlled Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk), the SMM heard 12 undetermined explosions and at least 80 shots of small-arms fire at locations 3-6km south, south-east and east of its position. The SMM heard two explosions assessed as caused by impacts of 122mm artillery rounds 5km south of its position.

Positioned in government-controlled Pervomaiske (17km north-west of Donetsk), the SMM heard 11 undetermined explosions at locations 5-7km south-west of its position.

The SMM observed some ceasefire violations in Luhansk region compared with none during the previous day. Whilst at the “LPR” checkpoint south of Stanytsia Luhanska bridge (16km north-east of Luhansk), the SMM heard a single small-arms shot some 500-700 meters from its position. The SMM could not ascertain the direction of fire. Just after the shot, the SMM heard two explosions assessed as impacts less than 100 meters north of its position. The SMM members felt the shock wave while they were getting into the vehicles. No casualties and damage occurred.

Whilst in government-controlled Sievierodonetsk (74km north-west of Luhansk), the SMM heard four undetermined explosions 4km south and south-west of its position.

Positioned at the Zolote (60km west of Luhansk), the SMM heard an undetermined explosion 3km north-east of its position.

The SMM followed up on reports of shelling. In Kuibyshevskyi district of Donetsk city, the SMM visited nine locations in residential areas affected by shelling. The SMM observed damage to several houses, including severe shrapnel damage to roofs and walls facing west and south, shattered windows and damaged apartment buildings. The SMM found pieces of projectiles and shrapnel of 122mm artillery rounds. The SMM analysed four fresh craters near private houses and assessed them as caused by impact of 120mm mortar rounds fired from a westerly direction (three craters) and north-westerly direction (one crater). At one house, the SMM saw blood traces on a mattress. Residents told the SMM that the shelling had started on 8 June at around 23:00 and that one elderly woman had been wounded and hospitalized. The SMM observed damage to a three-floor apartment building with shattered windows and damage to walls facing west assessed as being caused by an explosion. The SMM found pieces of projectiles and assessed that the explosion was caused by impacts of 122mm rounds. Some 450 metres north-east of that location, the SMM spotted four surface-to-air missile systems (9K35 Strela-10, 120mm), in violation of withdrawal lines, as highlighted below.

In Kyivskyi district of Donetsk city, the SMM observed damage to houses and punctured roofs facing north-west. The SMM analysed five fresh craters near private houses and assessed them as caused by impacts of either 122 or 152mm artillery rounds fired from a westerly (four craters) and north-north-westerly direction (one crater). No casualties were reported.

In “DPR”-controlled Dokuchaievsk (30km south-west of Donetsk), the SMM visited four locations affected by shelling. The SMM observed damage to several houses, including shrapnel damage to roofs and walls facing west and north-west. The SMM saw that the gas pipeline close to a residential building had shrapnel marks. The SMM analysed six fresh craters in the vicinity of private houses and assessed them as caused by 120mm mortar rounds fired from a westerly direction (two craters) and a west-south-westerly direction (three craters) and north-north-westerly direction (one crater). According to residents, shelling had started on at 00:30 on 9 June, lasting until 4:30. No casualties were reported.

In “DPR”-controlled Yasynuvata (16km north-east of Donetsk), the SMM observed a fresh  crater approximately 70cm deep and 215cm wide and 210cm long next to a platform of the railway station, located between two railway tracks. The SMM observed that two sets of train electricity wires were damaged. The SMM conducted analysis on one crater and assessed it as caused by 122mm artillery fired from a north-westerly direction. Several people at the railway station told the SMM that shelling had occurred on 8 June at around 23:45. None of them could confirm any casualties.

The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties in “DPR”-controlled Makiivka (12km north-east of Donetsk) and visited hospital no. 2. The SMM spoke to the chief of the intensive care unit who confirmed the death of a woman. According to him, the woman had suffered injuries from shelling outside her house and had been hospitalized on 8 June at 22:30 and passed away on 9 June at 01:30. He said the woman had suffered multiple shrapnel injuries all over the body, limbs and face, and had died in the hospital.  

In relation to the implementation of the Addendum to the Package of measures, beyond withdrawal lines but outside storage sites, the SMM observed at a training range in “LPR”-controlled Myrne (28km south-west of Luhansk), 15 stationary tanks (T-64).

The SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of heavy weapons foreseen in the Minsk Package of Measures. The SMM has yet to receive the full information requested in the 16 October 2015 notification.

In violation of respective withdrawal lines the SMM observed in “DPR”-controlled Kuibyshevskyi district of Donetsk city, the above mentioned four surface-to-air missile systems (9K35 Strela-10, 120mm).

The SMM revisited locations known to the SMM as heavy weapons holding areas, even though they do not comply with the specific criteria set out for permanent storage sites in the notification.

In government-controlled areas beyond the respective withdrawal lines, the SMM revisited such locations and observed: 11 multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS; BM-21 Grad, 122mm), 18 self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm), 12 mortars (seven 2B11, 120mm; five PM-38, 120mm), and twelve anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm). The SMM noted as missing, for the first time, three anti-tank guns (D-48, 85mm) and one MLRS (BM-21 Grad, 122mm), first observed missing on 23 February).

In “DPR”-controlled areas beyond respective withdrawal lines, the SMM revisited such locations and observed nine MLRS (BM-21 Grad, 122mm), eight towed anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm), and five self-propelled howitzers (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm).The SMM noted as missing: two MLRS (BM-21 Grad, 122mm), first observed missing on 5 April 2015, four towed anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm; two observed missing on 12 August 2015, the third on 8 November 2015 and the fourth on 22 December 2015). The SMM observed one additional self-propelled howitzer (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm).

The SMM observed the presence of armoured combat vehicles and anti-aircraft weapons in the security zone. In government-controlled areas, the SMM observed three armoured personnel carriers (APC; BTR-60) moving in a northerly direction in Trokhizbenka (32km north-west of Luhansk), two APCs (BTR-60, BTR-4E) stationary in Popasna (69km west of Luhansk), one APC (BTR-60) stationary in Raihorodka (34km north-west of Luhansk) and one APC (BTR-80) moving south in Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk), 12 infantry fighting vehicles (BMP-2), two anti-aircraft guns (ZU-23) mounted on two military-type trucks (ZIL131), and two armoured reconnaissance vehicles (BRDM) in Nyzhnii Minchenok (33km north of Luhansk). In “DPR”-controlled areas the SMM observed six multi-purpose light-armoured towing vehicles (MTLB) in the vicinity of a shell-damaged building and a school in Kuibyshevskyi district of Donetsk city.

The SMM continued to observe the presence of unexploded ordnance (UXO). Near an “LPR” checkpoint south of the bridge in government-controlled Shchastia (20km north of Luhansk), the SMM observed an unexploded 82mm mortar round lying 10cm away from the road. The SMM immediately left the area and reported this to the “LPR” members at the checkpoint and to an “LPR” demining team present in the area. Later on the SMM observed that the unexploded mortar grenade had been removed.

The SMM continued to monitor queues at entry-exit checkpoints along the contact line. At the “LPR” checkpoint south of Stanytsia Luhanska bridge, the SMM observed 150-200 persons leaving non-government-controlled areas within about 15 minutes. At the government checkpoint north of the bridge, soldiers told the SMM that the bridge had been closed after an attack on their position, which had caused an explosion inside their bunker at around 8:00. The SMM saw traces of an explosion outside the bunker and was not allowed to check inside it. The SMM saw at 8:40 that around 400 people were waiting at the closed government checkpoint. At 12:15the SMM observed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces re-opened the checkpoint and the SMM observed 250 people waiting to proceed towards government-controlled areas; about 75 people were waiting to cross the bridge towards non-government controlled areas.  

The SMM monitored two border areas not controlled by the Government. At the “LPR”-controlled Dovzhanskyi border crossing point (84km south-east of Luhansk) the SMM observed approximately 18 trucks (seven with Russian Federation and 11 with Ukrainian licence plates) - three trucks were without canvas and empty, the others were covered. In addition, the SMM observed 33 civilian cars (ten with Russian Federation and 23 with Ukrainian licence plates), and two buses with Ukrainian licence plates lined up to proceed towards the Russian Federation. The SMM saw 25 civilian vehicles parked close to the border crossing point (ten with Russian Federation and 15 with Ukrainian licence plates). At the “DPR”-controlled Uspenka border crossing point (73km south-east of Donetsk), the SMM observed 18 civilian cars: 12 with Ukrainian licence plates, five with Russian Federation licence plates, and one with Lithuanian licence plates. There were 84 covered commercial trucks with the majority displaying Ukrainian plates, 20 Russian Federation licence plates and ten Belarus licence plates lined up to proceed towards the Russian Federation.

In Lviv, the SMM monitored some 60 people (men, aged 20-30) enter the city council building to demand the dismissal of the mayor. The SMM observed the presence of 100 police officers inside and outside the building. Some 100 activists (men, aged 20-30) were in front of the building, most of them dressed in camouflage clothing. The SMM saw several of them waving black-and-red coloured flags. The situation remained calm and the SMM observed that after the activists had left the building, six minivans and three buses with law enforcement officers (police and National Guard) parked next to the Lviv city hall.

*Restrictions to SMM’s freedom of movement or other impediments to the fulfilment of its mandate

The SMM’s monitoring is restrained by security hazards and threats, including risks posed by mines and unexploded ordnance, and by restrictions of its freedom of movement and other impediments – which vary from day to day. The SMM’s mandate provides for safe and secure access throughout Ukraine. All signatories of the Package of Measures have agreed on the need for this safe and secure access, that restriction of the SMM’s freedom of movement constitutes a violation, and on the need for rapid response to these violations.

Denial of access:

• Armed “DPR” members did not allow the SMM to proceed to the east of “DPR”-controlled Oleksandrivske (formerly Rozy Liuksemburh, 90km south-east of Donetsk), citing live-fire training at a firing range outside the security zone. The SMM took an alternative route.
• Near Dokuchaievsk, “DPR” members insisted that the SMM took an alternative route in order to reach the village. The SMM eventually used an alternative route and reached the village.
• Armed “DPR” members continue to keep the power supply to SMM’s repeater in Donetsk city disconnected as they have been since 20 May. As a result, SMM remote monitoring equipment at “DPR”-controlled Oktiabr mine and in government-controlled Avdiivka are disabled (see SMM Daily Report 21 May 2016).

Delay:

• At a checkpoint near Yurkivka (government-controlled, 86km north of Donetsk), a Ukrainian soldiers stopped the SMM, requesting a special permit for entering that specific area. The JCCC was informed and shortly after the SMM was allowed to proceed, after waiting for 12 minutes.
• Armed “LPR” members insisted that the SMM show a permit to enter the “Pervomaisk Industrial Education School” in “LPR”-controlled Pervomaisk (58km west of Luhansk). The SMM informed the JCCC and after nearly one hour one armed “LPR” member allowed the SMM to enter the building.

[1] Please see the annexed table for a complete breakdown of the ceasefire violations as well as map of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions marked with locations featured in this report. 

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Sous prétexte de s'émanciper des Etats-Unis, M. Abe Shinzo veut contourner la Constitution pacifiste de son pays, malgré une forte opposition de la population. Du reste, il a accepté l'extension des bases militaires réclamée par Washington dans l'île d'Okinawa… / États-Unis, Japon, Armée, Démocratie, (...) / États-Unis, Japon, Armée, Démocratie, Géopolitique, Pacifisme, Environnement - 2015/09

By Zubeida Mustafa
Jun 10 2016 (Dawn, Pakistan)

The Pakistan Economic Survey 2015-16 reminds us of our ticking population bomb.

We are told that today the country`s population stands at 195.4 million 3.7m more than it was the previous year. We have regressed.

The population growth rate stands at 1.89pc in 2016. It dropped to 1.49pc in 1960-2003.

Yet few express serious concern about the threat we face from our rapidly growing numbers that are undermining our national economy and destroying our social structures.

Many myths have been propagated to camouflage the official apathy vis-à-vis the population sector. Thus, it is said that there is population resistance to family planning on religious grounds. Another myth goes that people are ignorant of birth control and prefer large families.

These myths have been exploded by the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey of 2007 and 2014 which established that only a handful of women cited religion as a factor in their failure to limit pregnancies.

As for ignorance, practically all women questioned knew of at least one or more contraceptive methods. It cannot be disputed that irrespective of the views expressed from the pulpit women are now ready to plan their families. According to the two demographic surveys, there is also a substantial unmet need. That means there is a big chunk of the reproductive age female population 40 pc according to some estimates who want to limit their family size but cannot.

Then why are we failing in this sector? Of course, there is the usual absence of political will, ineptitude and corruption that marks the government`s working in the social sectors.

Policies are there but implementation is not.

The number and performance of population welfare centres that were set up to provide access to contraceptive services leave much to be desired. Media reports indicate that they are either non-existent or non-functional in many remote areas. Poor performance of official service institutions impacts mainly on the underprivileged, the worst sufferers. This is visible in the large family size of the poor.

There is a lot of focus on awareness-raising and research when the key issue to be addressedis thatofeasy access tocontraceptive services for potential acceptors. It is a pity that many who do not want more children cannot avert births because family planning services are beyond their reach.

There is also the need to integrate the population sector with the health system. This was suggested many years ago by Dr Nafis Sadik, the first executive director of the UN Population Fund, to the Pakistan government. But for reasons not known, Islamabad could never understand why a holistic approach was needed for a successful familyplanning programme.

Another aspect that has been ignored is the need to focus intensely on the status of women.

It seems that the progress made by the feminist activists in the 1980s and 1990s in empowering women has been pushed back. With daughters held in low esteem, family planning has suffered a setback. Parental preference for a male child remains pronounced.

Itappears thatithasbeenlefttoahandful of NGOs to sustain Pakistan`s population programme. The biggest of them is RahnumaFPAP, the oldest organisation in the field.

Having been launched in 1953 when Pakistan did not even have an official population programme, it has an impressive delivery network of 10 family health hospitals, 10 mobile service units and thousands of clinics. It has created referral mechanisms with a number of government and private clinics and practitioners and thus claims to cover an area of 77,910 square kilometres and a population of 12.5m.

Rahnuma`s dynamic and committed president, Mahtab Akbar Rashdi, tells me that her organisation has made all its programmesholistic and integrated. She herself is a staunch advocate of family planning and agrees that low esteem for women is a deterrent to progress in this sector.

HANDS is another large NGO that was launchedin 1979 with the mission of improving health and education, with a focus on mother and child and reproductive health. It claims an outreach of 25m people in 42,000 villages. Its Marvi model involving community-based health workers visiting women in their homes was conceptualised in 2007. HANDS claims that it is making an impact.

But can NGOs with their limited resources and capacity achieve what is essentially the government`s responsibility? Mahtab Rashdi complains that `visible political commitment from the provincial governments is yet to be seen`. She specifically identifies Punjab, Pakistan`s most populous province, where the government`s family planning programme `reaches only 17pc of people in the reproductive age`.

This leaves one wondering if family planning also has a political dimension as the census that has been blocked since 2008. After all, doesn`t a big population translate into a big constituency? That is a political bonus in a country where ethnicity determines electoral results.

www.zubeidamustafa.com

This story was originally published by Dawn, Pakistan

Oxana Sokolovskaya, the lawyer who defended captured Russian soldier Yevgeny Yerofeyev in a Kiev court, is to sue Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko for "damage to her honor and her professional reputation."

Les douanes ivoiriennes ont saisi 150 kg de défenses d’éléphants en provenance du Nigeria

Fotópályázatot hirdet a Kovászna Megye Tanácsa alintézményeként működő Europe Direct Információs Központ. A Kapd lencsevégre a természetet című pályázat célja megmutatni Háromszék Natura 2000 területeinek természeti értékeit, szépségeit.
Kategória: Aktuális/Háromszék

By Ahmad Ibrahim
Jun 10 2016 (The Daily Star, Bangladesh)

In a developing country such as Bangladesh, where the implementation of democracy still seems a far flung dream as national budgets blur the line between fantasy and expectation, land has come to be the defining issue of the day. It is of little surprise that a third-world country, caught in the throes of frantic industrial development, would have to deal with the issue of land. Add to it the fact that Bangladesh is the most densely populated country in the world and what you basically have is a recipe for development induced disasters. But even taking all of these challenges into account the current state of land rights in the country is appalling. Almost 56 percent of the entire population is functionally landless, getting by either through odd jobs or becoming part of the industrial division of labour. The average size of land holding is a meagre 0.6 hectare. For a country that is yet almost completely dependent on agrarianism as part of its economy, that is a terrible figure.

PHOTO: Sheikh Nasir

A quick look at the rampant corporatism in the acquisition and use of land will tell us where the root of the problems lie. A 1950 law states that no corporation or household is allowed to own more 33.33 acres of land by itself. While this law itself seems to have been made with the region’s low availability of land in mind, it falls flat in the face of bureaucratic capitalism. An investor can now easily create dummy firms and corporations under whose name they can own an unlimited amount of land, all registered under different firms or people. This is why we see thousands upon thousands of acres of land owned by giant firms, while the poorest are becoming increasingly dispossessed of land and livelihood.

The question of land extends far beyond the scope of acquisition. In many parts of the country, some yet to be transformed by the mechanisms of for-profit businesses, land forms an intrinsic part of a community’s identity. Often the land on which people farm has been passed down through the generations, and is used to grow crops, house the dead and for festivals and the likes. Is there a monetary value that can be placed on such a relationship? The answer to that might be no, but the government does seem intent on trying its best to do so. A nation gripped by the rhetoric of development, Bangladesh is now site to several contested regions where displacement is occurring every day.

Yours truly has visited several of these sites- Rampal in Bagerhat, Chunarughat in Habiganj, Banshkhali in Chittagong. In all of these cases, displacement either has occurred or will occur due to development projects. In the case of Rampal, the land acquisition for the coal-power plant has already displaced thousands. Where there was once fields of fish farms and crops, there are now trucks carrying sand as the Sundarbans wait apprehensively for a death blow. A fact-finding mission has revealed that the government had absolutely no safeguards in place for the displacement that happened there. They only offered monetary compensation for the land, and even that below market price. The government knowingly flouted several rules from institutions such as World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Development-Induced Displacement (DIDR). That is, when a government removes a people from their land in order to make way for some infrastructural development, they must not only compensate but also rehabilitate, make sure that these people have a new area of living, and a secure means of living. Instead, the government chose to only pay the value of the land and move on. Not looking at the population who were landless on paper, who were evicted and got nothing in return. These people, along with the ones who received compensation, will eventually fill garments factories and chemical factories, having no choice but to enter the labour supply- thereby fundamentally changing their way of life without their consent. The only law the government has to go by is the Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 1984, which is probably one of the laziest examples of lawmaking. In a legislation that is almost copied word for word from one created in 1850 by the colonial powers, the document provides many barriers for those who own land and, in fact, makes it extremely easy for the Bangladeshi government to acquire land via eminent domain.

Bangladesh is home to a diverse group of religions and ethnicities, many of whom have culturally different ties to nature and land, and yet the rampant dispossessing of the poor from their lands is changing the realities of all these communities. Take, for example, the legislation on Special Economic Zones (SEZ), where it is mentioned that the government will only look at khas land and not farm lands. And yet the records they rely on date back to colonial times, making a mockery of all their promises. In those outdated records, the 512 acres in Chunarughat are khas arid lands, while in reality they are the major source of sustenance for the tea-workers’ community, who have endured poverty for centuries. In those records, the Khasia village in Nahar Tea Gardens is khas land, whereas the indigenous community have lived there for over 75 years. It is these inefficiencies that forever cripple an already corrupt system of governance.

No doubt the country needs a robust infrastructure if it is to compete in the wider world’s game of power, but it is being done by sacrificing millions of poor people inside the country. Who does the electricity generated from Rampal go to? Where would the profits from the SEZ in Chunarughat go (according to BEZA, there is full repatriation for foreign investors)? These are hard questions that we must ask ourselves. Today, the state of land rights in the country is in a deplorable condition, but with effective campaigning, we may be able to better protect individual landowners from the mouths of the big sharks.

The writer is a researcher and activist.

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh