Junior doctors in India’s eastern city of Kolkata on Monday called off a 17-day-old hunger strike launched in protest against the rape and murder of a colleague, in response to an appeal by the victim’s parents.
Protesters also met the chief minister of the opposition-led state, which has drawn scrutiny for its handling of sex crimes, to press their demand for better security and conditions at government hospitals, as well as justice for the woman.
A police volunteer was arrested for the crime, which sparked nationwide protests in August and last month, after the woman’s body was found at the city’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital on Aug. 9.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“They [the victim’s parents] expressed their worries about the fasting junior doctors’ health, as well as the defunct healthcare services that must have affected hundreds of ordinary citizens,” said Debasish Halder, a spokesman for the doctors.
Some strike participants suffered severe dehydration and had to be admitted to hospital.
The doctors said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee agreed to most of their demands when she met them on Monday.
“Our movement for justice and a healthy, secure healthcare system will continue,” Halder said, adding that the doctors would track the progress of her assurances and orders for change.
Government hospitals across India lack basic amenities such as restrooms for doctors, security personnel and closed circuit television cameras, doctors say.
The Indian Supreme Court also took up the matter, but junior doctors say its efforts have not been sufficient to ensure justice.
India adopted tougher laws to protect women after the horrific gang rape and murder of a woman in the capital, New Delhi, in 2012, but activists say women are still prey to sexual violence.
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country’s north and east. Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said he had agreed to the deal to avoid a broader war. He made the decision after deadly clashes in the Syrian city of Raqa on Sunday between Kurdish-led forces and local fighters loyal to Damascus, and fighting this month between the Kurds and government forces. The agreement would also see the Kurdish administration and forces integrate into the state after months of stalled negotiations on
‘MOBILIZED’: While protesters countered ICE agents, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activated the state’s National Guard to ‘support the rights of Minnesotans’ to assemble Hundreds of counterprotesters drowned out a far-right activist’s attempt to hold a small rally in support of US President Donald Trump’s latest immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday, as the governor’s office announced that National Guard troops were mobilized and ready to assist law enforcement, although not yet deployed to city streets. There have been protests every day since the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ramped up immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul by bringing in more than 2,000 federal officers. Conservative influencer Jake Lang organized an anti-Islam, anti-Somali and pro-US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
RSS