South Asia Citizens Web

Nuclear Free India Vol.1, Issue 5, June 15, 2009
Contents: Nuclear Promises (Zia Mian) For Nuclear Sanity (Praful Bidwai) Another Nuclear Anniversary (Pervez Hoodbhoy) What Good is the A- Bomb? (Farooq Saleem) Nuclear Disaster in South Asia (Brian Cloughley) National Alliance of Anti Nuclear Movements Launched Kanyakumari Declaration Toxic Link : The WHO and The IAEA (Oliver Tickell) The Catastrophic Economic of Nuclear Power (Harvey Wasserman) The Public Hearing in Jadogoda - Citizens (…)

The international community’s game of double standards and the Afghan government’s backing of this game has had bitter results for the people. Alongside the spread of human rights violations, the situation with regard to freedom of expression has become equally desperate. Afghanistan has become one of the most dangerous parts of the world for journalists.

We, the Forest People from 15 states of India representing several people’s movements who have gathered under the banner of National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers’ National Conference, being held at Dehradun, India from 12 to 14 June 2009; stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are protesting against the Amazon rainforest industrial development policies of your government.

In India, the State now speaks in many tongues on homosexuality. Different ministries have come up with bafflingly different positions on the matter. So far, on the ’reading down’ of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (the archaic law that ends up criminalizing adult consensual homosexuality in India), the courts have sounded progressive, the health ministry encouraging, and the law and home ministries regressive. The regressiveness is alarming, not only because of the astonishing ignorance, indeed blindness, of its "India is not ready for it yet" position, but also because of the schizophrenic divide regarding sex and sexuality within the State that shows up when the health ministry’s view is compared with those of the law and home ministries.

The recent denial of entry to the Canadian Parliamentarian Bob Rae, a long time champion of democracy, requires particular attention by those who care about the future of Lanka. His deportation reflects the paradox of continuing internal repression and unhealthy xenophobia despite the end of the war. It reflects a mindset that bodes ill for the minorities and the democratic rights of Sinhalese. It is a government that wants everyone else to conform to its own agenda and is hostile to discussion of any kind based on rights.