The Indian government says it will ask authorities to release hundreds of students and youths detained during months of civil unrest in Kashmir that has left more than a hundred people dead and to review the massive deployment of security forces there.
The government also offered a dialogue, saying it would appoint people to talk to all stakeholders in the Indian-controlled portion of the divided Himalayan region, where many oppose Indian rule. It stopped short of offering direct talks with separatist leaders.
These “steps should address the concerns of different sections of people, including protesters,” Indian Minister for Home Affairs Palaniappan Chidambaram said on Saturday.
At least 107 people, mostly teenage boys and young men in their 20s, have died in the crackdown by security forces on often-violent demonstrations since June, with every death stoking public anger and more protests. The government’s proposals follow a visit by nearly 40 lawmakers from major Indian national parties to seek ways to end the unrest.
Chidambaram said New Delhi would advise the state government to “immediately release all students and youth detained or arrested for pelting stones and withdraw charges against them.”
There are believed to be hundreds of such detainees.
He also advised the state government to review the cases of all those detained under the Public Security Act which empowers authorities to detain people for two years without trial. Hundreds more people are believed to be held under this law.
He also announced compensation of 500,000 Indian rupees (US$10,800) each to the families of those killed since June.
On the presence of troops, Chidambaram said New Delhi would also ask the state government to convene a meeting of the army and security forces’ unified command “to review deployment of security forces in the Kashmir Valley.”
He said particular attention would be paid to reducing the number of bunkers and checkpoints in the main city of Srinagar and other towns.
There was no immediate comment on the proposals by separatist leaders who had met some of the visiting lawmakers. At the time, they dismissed the visit as grandstanding by the Indian government.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique