Selasa, 17 Desember 2019

Why Are People Protesting in India? - The New York Times

A wave of protests against a new citizenship law has broken out in cities across India, as demonstrators fear it could endanger the nation’s Muslim minority and chip away at the government’s secular identity.

The unrest has spread to more than a dozen cities, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has responded by deploying troops, enacting a curfew and shutting down the internet. Violent police confrontations have followed; the police fatally shot several young men in Assam State, beat unarmed students with wooden poles in New Delhi, and used tear gas and batons to disperse protests elsewhere.

The citizenship law, which passed both houses of Parliament last week, was seen by critics as part of Mr. Modi’s broader push to transform India into a place where being Indian is synonymous with being Hindu. India, with a population of 1.3 billion, is about 80 percent Hindu and about 14 percent Muslim.

The law, paired with a citizenship test that has left nearly two million people in danger of being declared stateless, has Indian Muslims fearing they are being targeted at a time when there has been a surge of anti-Muslim sentiment.

Here is the background to understand what is happening.

The law, called the Citizenship Amendment Act, applies a religious test to whether illegal migrants from neighboring countries can be fast-tracked for Indian citizenship. It would apply to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsees and Jains — but not Muslims.

Government officials have said the law is intended to protect persecuted religious minorities in some neighboring countries. But it would not protect persecuted Muslims, including the Rohingya in neighboring Myanmar.

All 33 million residents of Assam, a state bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh, had to provide documentary evidence, such as a property deed or a birth certificate, showing that they or their ancestors lived in India before 1971. Those who could not would be declared foreign migrants, at risk of being sent to huge new detention camps.

More than two million people, many of them Muslims, failed to pass the test and could end up stateless. The governing party of Mr. Modi has vowed to extend the test to other parts of India.

The government has said the test was intended to root out undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh. India’s home minister, Amit Shah, has repeatedly referred to these migrants as “termites.”

Many of India’s roughly 200 million Muslims see the new citizenship law as blatantly anti-Muslim. Constitutional scholars say that it is the first time India has passed a law that treats people differently based on their religion, and that it flies in the face of the country’s commitment to equality.

Some worry that the citizenship test and the new citizenship law could be used in tandem to strip them of rights they’ve held for decades and send them off to detention camps. They could be declared foreign migrants by failing the citizenship test, then denied protection from the new citizenship law because it doesn’t include Muslims.

There’s growing concern among progressives and Indians of other faiths that Mr. Modi is trying to dismantle India’s secular traditions and turn the country into a religious state as a homeland for Hindus. Many of Mr. Modi’s supporters among the Hindu right support the nationalist push, and Mr. Modi himself comes from an ideological background that emphasizes Hindu supremacy. But there are many Hindus who want to keep India secular, as India’s founders, such as Mohandas K. Gandhi, had wanted.

In Assam, protests were led by Hindus who feared that the citizenship law could allow migrants to settle there and take their land. In this state, it’s not so much a rivalry between Hindus and Muslims. It’s more a case of locals versus foreigners. Many of the indigenous Assamese don’t want any new migrants, no matter what religion they subscribe to.

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2019-12-17 09:01:00Z
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The Citizenship law causing nationwide protests in India - BBC News - BBC News

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2019-12-17 07:42:48Z
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China may be doling out incentives for Macao in what could be a 'signal' to Hong Kong - CNBC

Tourists walk with shopping bags in front of Grand Lisboa Casino in Macau on December 15, 2019.

Eduardo Leal | AFP | Getty Images

China is reportedly set to announce new financial policies in Macao in a potential snub to protest-stricken Hong Kong, said Richard McGregor, senior fellow at Sydney-based think tank, the Lowy Institute.

President Xi Jinping will be visiting Macao this week to commemorate the city's 20th anniversary return to China. His visit and the reported economic incentives are meant to send a "signal to Hong Kong," said McGregor.

According to Reuters, Beijing is set to unveil a slew of policies including the establishment of a yuan-denominated stock exchange in the Chinese special administration region. The new incentives also include the acceleration of a yuan settlement center that is already in the works, and the allocation of more land in mainland China for Macao to develop, Reuters reported.

Hong Kong and Macao are both semi-autonomous regions of China that have their own legal, administrative and judicial systems from the mainland. But since early June, Hong Kong has been crippled by widespread pro-democracy protests as some of its citizens lobby for greater independence from the mainland.

McGregor said the possible financial incentives are an attempt to put pressure on Hong Kong, and in the longer term, to build up Macao.

"I think it's trolling Hong Kong if you like, it's attempting to say 'look, you think you've got some special services that you offer China, well we can put them in Macao," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday.

No substitute for Hong Kong

McGregor pointed out that it is unlikely for Macao or any other Chinese city to replace Hong Kong's significance in the near future.

"If China could have replicated Hong Kong, frankly in Shanghai or Shenzhen, and all the things Hong Kong can do, particularly in financial services, China would have done it already," he said.

Hong Kong is a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Under the "one country, two systems" structure, its citizens are granted some degree of financial and legal independence from the mainland.

The same system applies to neighboring Macao, a former Portuguese colony that returned to Chinese rule in 2000. And from Beijing's perspective, Macao is the token success story of the policy working out, said McGregor.

Macao's economic vibrancy is fully dependent on the casino industry and "at the mercy of Beijing," McGregor explained, noting that gambling is not legal in the mainland.

Therefore Beijing has the power to "turn that tap on and off and stop high rollers coming there, so Macao is fulfilling its function, and China is pretty happy with it," he said.

'One country, two systems'

Beijing has been trying to sell the "one country, two systems" framework to Taiwan for years, but the recent social unrest in Hong Kong has undermined the credibility of that principle, said McGregor.

In October, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen — who is seeking a second term in the January elections — has outrightly rejected the "one country, two systems" formula. China views Taiwan as a renegade province, and has previously suggested the island should come under Chinese rule in a similar arrangement.

"Clearly it's not working in Hong Kong, and clearly it is not attractive in Taiwan," McGregor said about the policy.

As Taiwan gears up for the upcoming polls, it appears likely that Tsai will win again, said McGregor. "That's a big problem for Beijing," he said, pointing out that she was "anti-Beijing."

Xi is currently under a lot of pressure on many fronts, McGregor said.

Even as ongoing protests in Hong Kong continue to threaten Xi's grip on power, Taiwan's elections might also boost anti-China sentiments. On the U.S. front, there's the trade war, and domestically, there is an economic slowdown in China.

But McGregor said he is confident that Xi will not be "shunned" domestically, but he might be left with no choice but "to share power more than he has been willing to do thus far."

WATCH: What is Hong Kong's relationship with China?

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2019-12-17 06:56:00Z
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Russia, China propose easing N Korea sanctions, US says premature - Al Jazeera English

Russia and China on Monday proposed easing some sanctions against nuclear-armed North Korea, on condition the government commits to Security Council resolutions on denuclearisation, in a move the United States described as premature.

The proposal, in a draft resolution which surprised several diplomatic missions, suggested the Security Council lift a ban on North Korea exporting statues, seafood and textiles and was aimed at encouraging dialogue between the North and the US, Russia said.

More:

A State Department official dismissed the proposal, telling Reuters the UN Security Council should not be considering "premature sanctions relief" for North Korea as it is "threatening to conduct an escalated provocation, refusing to meet to discuss denuclearisation".

The draft also called for a ban to be lifted on North Koreans working abroad and the termination of a 2017 requirement that all such workers had to be repatriated by next week.

It would also exempt inter-Korean rail and road cooperation projects from UN sanctions.

'Not rushing'

It was not immediately clear when, or if, the draft resolution could be put to a vote in the 15-member Security Council. A resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the United States, France, Britain, Russia or China to pass.

"We're not rushing things," Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told Reuters, adding that negotiations with council members would begin on Tuesday. He said the sanctions they had proposed lifting were "not directly related to the North Korea nuclear programme, this is a humanitarian issue."

Nuclear negotiations have been largely stalled since the collapse of a February summit in Hanoi between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and the North has been issuing increasingly strident declarations as it pushes the US to make concessions by the end of the year as a condition of resuming talks.

It has also carried out some 13 ballistic missile launches since May.

Trump on Monday said he would be disappointed if something was "in the works" in North Korea and the US was watching activities in the country closely.

The sanctions on industries that Russia and China have proposed lifting earned North Korea hundreds of millions of dollars and were put in place in 2016 and 2017 to try and cut off funding for Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes.

North Korea

North Korea has carried out a number of missile tests since May, releasing undated and unlocated pictures through its official Korean Central News Agency [KCNA via AFP]

The US, Britain and France have insisted that no UN sanctions should be lifted until North Korea gives up its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Pyongyang has been subject to UN sanctions because of those programmes since 2006.

"On North Korea, as in the past, it's very important that the council maintains unity," German UN Ambassador Christoph Heusgen said on Monday.

Dialogue

China and Russia, which had cautiously backed pressure against North Korea after its past nuclear tests, had indicated last week they would reject further sanctions.

At a council meeting on North Korea last week - called by the US - China's UN Ambassador Zhang Jun said sanctions should be adjusted to "head off a dramatic reversal" of the situation.

Nebenzia said the draft resolution was aimed at encouraging talks between the US and North Korea.

"That's the whole idea, we don't do this resolution in spite, we really want to facilitate," he added.

The draft welcomes "the continuation of the dialogue between the United States and the DPRK at all levels, aimed at establishing new US-DPRK relations, building mutual confidence and joining efforts to build a lasting and stable peace on the Korean Peninsula in a staged and synchronized manner." DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The draft text also calls for the "prompt resumption of the six-party talks" which involved China, the two Koreas, the US, Russia and Japan. Those talks lasted from 2003-2009.

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2019-12-17 06:06:00Z
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Senin, 16 Desember 2019

India's Citizenship Law Triggers Mass Protests And Violence As Modi Calls For Peace - NPR

Protests against India's new citizenship law include a "mega rally" in Kolkata, where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in white, led a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act Monday. Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP via Getty Images

Tens of thousands of protesters marched on college campuses across India Monday, saying a new citizenship law is unconstitutional because it treats Muslims differently from Hindus, Buddhists and other religious groups.

The mass demonstrations followed violence that erupted Sunday night, as police stormed a public university in New Delhi. Many of Monday's protests were organized last-minute in solidarity with students in the capital who were beaten by police with batons, and had tear gas fired at them. Videos posted to social media show bloodied students fleeing into a library and a men's restroom.

The Citizenship Amendment Act, which Parliament approved last week, offers amnesty and citizenship to immigrants who aren't Muslim and who entered India illegally from neighboring countries that are majority-Muslim: Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Its backers say the law offers religious minorities an escape from persecution. But critics say it goes against India's constitution to view people differently based on their religion. They also accuse Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of pandering to his Hindu Nationalist base with the law.

Over the past week, at least six people have been killed in clashes between police and protesters, mostly in India's far northeast, where immigration is a sensitive issue. Many residents there fear new citizens will dilute their local culture and compete with them for jobs.

Protests have since spread to the capital and other cities, including Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. On Monday, Modi called for peace and calm, after violence erupted at Jamia Millia Islamia University.

More than 200 people were injured when Delhi police stormed the campus of Jamia Millia University last night. They fired tear gas and beat students with batons. Dormitories were evacuated. Videos posted to social media show bloodied students fleeing into a library and a men's restroom. The university's vice chancellor, Najma Akhtar, told reporters she's filing a police report — against police.

"Damaged property can be recovered, but the emotional toll this has taken on our kids cannot be repaired," Akhtar said.

Modi says the protests against the new law are "unfortunate and deeply distressing." And on Monday, he sought to dispel concerns by saying on Twitter that no one who is currently a citizen of India has anything to worry about, regardless of their religion.

A different message is being heard in West Bengal, the eastern state that borders Bangladesh. There, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called for a "mega rally" in Kolkata to protest what she says are unconstitutional changes to India's laws.

Banerjee, who later walked at the front of a huge march in Kolkata's streets, said via Twitter, "Come, let us all, every section of society, join this people's movement in a peaceful manner within the ambit of law."

In Mumbai, students read aloud the Indian constitution's preamble — which defines India as secular democratic republic. In Delhi, protesters hoisted portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, India's freedom leader. They called the new citizenship law a betrayal of the equal rights and secularism Gandhi stood for.

India has one of the world's largest Muslim populations — about 180 million people — whom many believe are increasingly disenfranchised under Modi's government.

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2019-12-16 15:41:00Z
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General election 2019: Boris Johnson's Brexit bill planned for Friday - BBC News

The government plans to ask MPs to vote on Boris Johnson's Brexit bill on Friday, Downing Street has said.

The PM's spokesman said the government planned to start the process in Parliament before Christmas and will do so "in discussion with the Speaker".

The withdrawal agreement bill is the legislation that will enable Brexit to happen - the UK is due to leave the EU on 31 January.

It comes as the PM prepares to address his new MPs in Westminster later.

Many of the 109 new Conservative MPs won in areas traditionally held by Labour in Thursday's election, which saw the Conservatives gain an 80-seat majority.

Mr Johnson is also expected to carry out a mini cabinet reshuffle.

He needs to fill posts made vacant by those who stood down ahead of the general election, including the culture and Welsh secretary posts.

The prime minister has also cleared a parliamentary report into alleged Russian interference in UK democracy for publication.

The Queen will formally open Parliament on Thursday when she sets out the government's legislative programme.

On Monday, the prime minister's official spokesman told a Westminster briefing: "We plan to start the process [of the withdrawal agreement bill] before Christmas and will do so in the proper constitutional way in discussion with the Speaker."

Asked if the legislation would be identical to that introduced in the last Parliament, the spokesman said: "You will have to wait for it to be published but it will reflect the agreement that we made with the EU on our withdrawal."

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With the large majority, the bill is expected to pass through Parliament in time to meet Boris Johnson's promise for the UK to leave the EU on 31 January.

Mr Johnson then has to negotiate a new trade agreement with the EU and have it ratified before the end of the post-Brexit transition period that ends on 31 December 2020. He has repeatedly said that the transition period will not be extended.

The Queen's Speech is also expected to include legislation linked to pledges made during the election campaign - most notably a guarantee on NHS funding.

The prime minister's spokesman has also said Mr Johnson has "carefully considered" a report from the Commons Intelligence and Security Committee into alleged Russian interference in UK democracy.

"He is content publication would not prejudice the functions of those bodies that safeguard our national security," the spokesman said.

"Publication will be a matter for the new ISC in due course."

Elsewhere, moves to get the Northern Ireland government at Stormont up and running again are also expected, with talks resuming on Monday.

New Conservative MPs have been posting pictures of themselves on their first day including the members for Bishop Auckland and Stoke-on-Trent North - Dehenna Davison and Jonathan Gullis.

Meanwhile, the fallout from Labour's defeat continues.

Labour's general secretary says party officials are likely to meet early in the new year to agree the timetable for replacing Jeremy Corbyn as leader.

Mr Corbyn wants the process to begin "swiftly", Jennie Formby said, so his successor can be in place by the end of March.

She has written to members of Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) recommending a provisional date of 6 January for the meeting, with the process beginning the following day.

Both Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell said on Sunday that they took the blame for Labour's "catastrophic" defeat in Thursday's election.

Speaking to the Today programme, shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald accused the BBC of having "played your part" in Mr Corbyn's defeat and said the corporation needed to "have a look in the mirror".

Meanwhile, MP Stephen Kinnock told BBC Breakfast the main problems were "weak and incompetent leadership" as well as the decision to support another Brexit referendum and a "Christmas wishlist" manifesto.

The race for their replacements has already begun, with Wigan MP Lisa Nandy saying for the first time she was "seriously thinking about" running.

Other possible contenders are shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer, shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey, shadow education secretary Angela Rayner, Jess Phillips, who is an outspoken critic of Jeremy Corbyn, and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry.

A new intake of 47 SNP MPs will also be taking their seats on Tuesday.

Leader Nicola Sturgeon has insisted this number gives her a mandate for a second referendum on Scottish independence - something the prime minster has told her he remains opposed to.

She said the Conservatives, who lost seven of their 13 seats in Scotland, had been "defeated comprehensively" and that the new MPs would continue to press for independence.

What will happen this week?

Tuesday

Proceedings begin when MPs gather for their first duty: to elect the Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who replaced John Bercow in November. Technically, MPs can hold a vote on this motion but this has never happened in practice.

Later in the day, the Speaker will begin the process of swearing in MPs, who are required to take an oath of allegiance to the Crown, or, if they object to this, a solemn affirmation. Those who speak or vote without having done so are deprived of their seat "as if they were dead" under the Parliamentary Oaths Act of 1866.

Two to three days are usually set aside for this process.

Thursday

The state opening of Parliament. The Queen's Speech is the centrepiece of this, when she will read a speech written by ministers setting out the government's programme of legislation for the parliamentary session. A couple of hours after the speech is delivered, MPs will begin debating its contents - a process which usually takes days.

Friday

Depending on how rapidly Boris Johnson wants to move, the debate on the Queen's Speech could continue into Friday.

The government will introduce the Withdrawal Agreement Bill - the legislation that will implement Brexit - to Parliament.

MPs in the previous Parliament backed Boris Johnson's bill at its first stage but rejected his plan to fast-track the legislation through Parliament in three days in order to leave the EU by the then 31 October Brexit deadline.

After the debate on the Queen's Speech is concluded, MPs will vote on whether to approve it. Not since 1924 has a government's Queen Speech been defeated.

Read more from the BBC's parliamentary correspondent, Mark D'Arcy

Find a constituency


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2019-12-16 12:43:20Z
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General election 2019: Labour prepares for leadership race after defeat - BBC News

Hopefuls to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader are examining the reasons for the party's election defeat.

Norwich MP Clive Lewis and Wigan's Lisa Nandy have both said they are considering running for the position of Labour leader.

Other potential contenders Keir Starmer and Emily Thornberry have so far declined to confirm their candidacy.

The contest could begin on 7 January following recommendations from the party's general secretary.

And Labour Party officials have suggested that Mr Corbyn's successor will be in place by the end of March.

Mr Corbyn announced he would step down as leader, after the party suffered its worst election result since 1935.

Speaking to Radio 5live, Ms Nandy said she was "seriously thinking" about running in the leadership contest.

She said the challenge for her party was to "rebuild the traditional coalition that has previously propelled Labour into power between the middle class and the working classes".

She also argued that voters had "no great enthusiasm for the Tory offer" and although they liked Labour policies the electorate "couldn't trust" the party to implement them.

On Brexit, she said she doubted she would vote for the prime minister's withdrawal deal - expected to return to Parliament this week.

Asked if he would run, Mr Lewis also said he was "thinking about it".

Speaking to the Victoria Derbyshire programme, the Norwich South MP said Labour's defeat had been "40 years in the making" arguing that the New Labour governments between 1997 -2010 had not invested enough in certain areas.

He said the party needed to reach out to both Leavers and Remainers.

Both the shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer and shadow foreign secretary Ms Thornberry are possible successors to Mr Corbyn, however they have so far not announced their intention to run.

Sir Keir said: "This is a moment for reflection, we're talking to lots of colleagues, the competition doesn't open until early next year."

Meanwhile Ms Thornberry said the party's central message was "the right one... so how we managed to lose that one is something we need to think about".

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The London MP also attacked Caroline Flint, who accused Ms Thornberry of saying "I'm glad my constituents aren't as stupid as yours."

Ms Thornberry said it was "simply untrue" and confirmed she would be taking "legal action".

Ms Flint lost her Yorkshire seat to the Conservatives in Thursday's election.

Other candidates being mooted include Jess Phillips, Rebecca Long Bailey and Angela Rayner.

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2019-12-16 12:01:52Z
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