Pino-Migliorino

Australia, with the much publicised multiculturalism, is miles away from implementing it in true letter and spirit. The communities, especially from the South Asia, are yet to see a Member of Parliament from among them. A classical example of this is Mr. Susai Benjamin of Indian background, who, despite serving the community for the last two decades has been, reportedly, ignored for the Toongabbie seat which is going the Nathan Rees way.

 In a historical national campaign, over 100 key organisations and individuals across Australia have signed in support of “Reclaim Multiculturalism” statement which calls for urgent action for multiculturalism as a national Australian policy.

 The organisations represent diverse sectors and include the AFL Multicultural Program, Netball Australia, The Australian Human Rights Commission, Museums Australia, The National Council of Churches in Australia, peak religious bodies from Islamic, Sikh, Hindu and Buddhist faiths, Australian Education Union, state ethnic peaks and women’s organisations including the Country Women’s Association of Australia and health groups such as Multicultural Mental Health Australia.

 Prominent individuals who supported the statement include Rt. Hon. Mr Malcolm Fraser, author Randa Abdel-Fattah, actor Lex Marinos and Neville Roach.

 The public campaign is the initiative of the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) which is the peak national body for multicultural Australians. This effort is undertaken in face of the fact that the last national multicultural policy in Australia expired in 2006. Currently there is a national policy vacuum in this arena.

The full list of the supporting organisations for the “Reclaim Multiculturalism” campaign was unveiled at a press conference in Sydney on Monday November 30^th morning. 

 In a statement of support from Sir William Deane which was read out at the conference, he said, “True multiculturalism, based on mutual understanding, respect and acceptance, is undoubtedly the most effective way of combating the evil of racism. It also provides the basis of our national unity and decency.”

 Australia’s rising cricket star, Usman Khawaja, spoke on video about his Pakistani background and his pride at calling Australia his home. He said, “My faith and my culture is part of who I am.  Australia, my cricket and my mates are also part of my life.  I do not choose between them, they all make me the person I am.”

 NSW Minister for Citizenship John Hatzistergos congratulated FECCA on the campaign and voiced the NSW Government’s support for multiculturalism. “Multiculturalism is not just an abstract ideal. It benefits us as a community, as an economy and as a democracy.

 That is why the NSW Government has enshrined multiculturalism in legislation – in the Community Relations Commission and Principles of Multiculturalism Act 2000,” he said.

Racism has raised its ugly head again and this time with more venom. Three incidents in three days targeting India have rocked the goodwill relations between India and Australia and New Zealand with South Africa also joining in.

First, a New Zealand TV show presenter made fun of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s name by intentionally mispronouncing the surname and then shamefully, went on to disgrace her with sick humour “It’s so appropriate, because she’s Indian, so she’d be dick-in-sh*t wouldn’t she, do you know what I mean? Walking along the street … it’s just so funny.”

The Indian government expressed its displeasure and summoned the New Zealand high commissioner over the issue. The broadcaster in question is Paul Henry of who even the Prime Minister of his country thinks has disgraced the whole nation.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said “racist” comments from a broadcaster had embarrassed the country.  Key said TV host Paul Henry’s “poorly designed humour has ended up embarrassing New Zealand. For that I am regretful.”
According to latest reports, Paul Henry has resigned after being suspended without pay,NZTV said.

The second case is more sickening as it comes from government machinery itself. The High Commissioner of Australia has been summoned by the Foreign office in New Delhi to explain the e mail circulated by some top ranking Victorian Police officers.

Sick police officers have been caught joking about the electrocution of an Indian train passenger in a racist email scandal. They circulated sickening video footage of the man being killed and suggested it could be a way to fix Melbourne’s Indian student problem, The Herald Sun reported.

The High Commissioner Mr. Peter Varghese has condemned the e mails and assured of action against these police officers.

Three superintendents were nabbed during an investigation into the circulation of inappropriate emails through the police computer system. Several inspectors have also been caught.

Emails probed by the Ethical Standards Department’s Operation Barrot contain pornographic, homophobic, racist and violent material.

Chief Commissioner Simon Overland described the emails as “disturbing, offensive and gross”.

One of the offending emails contained video footage showing the death of a man who was travelling on the roof of a crowded train in India.

When the train stopped at a station the man stood up and touched an overhead power cable. Onlookers screamed as he was electrocuted.

The email containing the shocking video began circulating in the Victoria Police computer system and racist comments were added, suggesting “this might be a way to fix the Indian student problem”.

It came at a time when force command was trying to ease racial tension after a number of assaults and incidents involving Indians living in Melbourne.

Premier John Brumby too has criticised the actions of the police who circulated the racist material.

“This is completely offensive and contrary to the views and values at the heart of the Victorian community – tolerance and respect,” he said.

A police spokesman said the emails were offensive.

“These are matters which demanded we took action. Some of the content was extremely offensive and we can’t tolerate that within the ranks of Victoria Police,” he said.

None of the superintendents or inspectors caught during the sweep have been interviewed by ESD yet.

But the Herald Sun believes it has been unofficially suggested to two long-serving superintendents they should retire as soon as possible to avoid disciplinary action.

A sergeant, two leading senior constables and a senior constable have already been sacked and six other low-ranking police have been demoted or fined.

Healesville sergeant Tony Vangorp took his life in March after being suspended and being told he faced the sack over inappropriate emails.

Fifteen officers will be dealt with at disciplinary hearings in the next fortnight.

The third is coming from a South African athlete participating in the Delhi Commonwealth Games.

South African swimmer Roland Schoeman described a largely Indian crowd of acting like “monkeys”.

Lalit Bhanot, the secretary general of the Delhi organising committee, condemned the remarks on Saturday as “unfortunate” while Mike Fennell, the president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, said any racist outbursts would not be tolerated.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Bhanot, who added that he was reluctant to take the matter up with the South African authorities.

“These are the friendly Games, so we do not want to lodge an official complaint,” he said.

Fennell insisted that any behaviour which had a racial element would be pounced upon.

“We do not tolerate racial slurs or abusive behaviour, and when it happens we have to take measures to control it. People will be dealt with according to proper measures.”

Schoeman, a former world record holder, was furious that the noise generated at the start of his 50m freestyle semi-final meant he entered the water too early.

“It’s unacceptable to be at a professional event like this and have people going on like monkeys. Someone like that doesn’t deserve to be here,” fumed the South African who was allowed to restart and qualified for Saturday’s final.

“It’s an absolute disgrace. There’s a guy in the stands just shouting, shouting, shouting. Somebody like that needs to be ejected.”

Schoeman immediately launched a damage-limitation exercise, using his Twitter account to make clear that his anger was directed at just one person.

“For the first time in my life I had someone scream out as we were going to start the 50m freestyle,” he wrote on the micro-blogging site.

“I’ve never experienced something like that before. The behaviour by that individual was unacceptable and my comments are directed solely at him. The spectators have been fantastic here. But an individual like that doesn’t deserve to be sitting poolside at an international competition.”

Unfortunately for the organisers, Schoeman’s outburst is the latest worrying incident as relations between teams, spectators and officials have become increasingly strained.

In the fourth incident, briefly reported in the Indian media, India’s national archery coach Limba Ram claimed he was abused by a foreign official after his women’s team won gold by beating England on Friday.

“I extended my hand to this person wearing white and red. He shoved my hand away and told me ‘f*** ***’,” Ram told the Hindustan Times.

England’s archery team leader, Hilda Gibson, said she was unaware of the incident.

“I didn’t see any such thing. I didn’t receive any official complaint either. Our official team kit for archery is red. So I am not sure whether that person was part of our team,” Gibson told the newspaper.

There have been regular complaints over the behaviour of crowds at the Games, particularly at the Yamuna Sports Complex where the archery is being held.

England complained about the boisterous crowd after India’s win on Friday.

Amy Oliver said the chanting of “Come on India” as she performed was against the spirit of the sport.”The crowd was not good. They were pretty loud – it was not good sportsmanship,” she said.

Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court

The composition of the bench indicated the tenor of the 2-1 verdict. It is not a surprise. But what has surprised all is appeasement. Justices S U Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and D V Sharma delivered a split verdict in 60-year old Ayodhya title suit filed by the Sunni Central Waqf Board. The majority of the bench ruled that the disputed land in Ayodhya was a joint property, held by all the three claimants namely Hindu Mahasabha, Nirmohi Akhara and Sunni Central Waqf Board

 But all the three are still not happy with the verdict albeit the opinion that the land is the birth place of Lord Rama.

The BJP is jubilant as it sees the political advantage and can now fulfil the promise to the people of building a Lord Ram’s temple but the Hindu Mahasabha and the Wakf Board are readying themselves for yet another battle in the Supreme Court.

Without getting emotional, it is hard to prove that it was indeed the birth place of Lord Ram since there is no record in history but an assumption since the idols were found. The Judges have not provided any basis for their opinion and instead taken the installed idols as the key for determining the Janambhoomi. The court has, in a way, shown its inability to solve the issue by just distributing the land to all the three parties.

While everyone is calling for peace, the verdict comes at a very sensitive juncture when the whole is watching India to successfully complete a major and most controversial sporting event. The leaders are capable of igniting the passions of masses.

The need of the hour is to keep the country and its prestige uppermost in mind and overlook religious passions. It is time for all the parties to come together and work for a national monument or have both, a mosque and a mandir built on the disputed land.  We are living in modern and awakened society and we should go with the time. Leave such disputes behind and work for the progress of the nation.

However, it is a landmark judgement after 60 long years

The majority (of the judges) also ruled that the central dome of the disputed structure, where idols of Lord Ram are presently kept in the makeshift temple, be allotted to Hindus. Justice Khan ruled that the mosque was built by Babar, not by demolishing a temple, but on the ruins of a temple.

Justice Sharma categorically rejected the claim of Sunni Central Waqf Board and has ruled that the ‘disputed site is the birth place of Lord Rama’.

However, the entire bench was of the view that the central dome of the disputed structure goes to Hindu Mahasabha, where idols were installed in 1949 and again in 1992 after the demolition of the Babri Mosque. The sita rasoi and ram chabootara have been given to Nirmohi Akhara.

The judges said that none of the litigants would take any action on the land for the next three months.

“We are party disappointed. We will approach the Supreme Court,” Sunni Waqf Board lawyer Zafaryab Jillani told reporters.

Lawyers K N Bhat and Ravi Shankar Prasad, who represented two of the Hindu litigants, announced to reporters that the bench had decided that Lord Ram was born where the Babri mosque was built.

“All the three judges, including S U Khan, are unanimous in accepting that the idol of Ram cannot be removed from the place where it is installed right now,” said lawyer and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad in Lucknow after the court verdict.

The bench invited suggestions from all the parties for demarcation of the land.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Justice S U Khan

 ”Disputed structure was constructed as mosque by or under orders of Babar. It is not proved by direct evidence that premises in dispute including constructed portion belong to Babar or the person who constructed the mosque. No temple was demolished for constructing the mosque, but it was constructed on the ruins of the temple or some of its material was used in the construction of the mosque.”

Justice Sudhir Agarwal

” It is declared that the area covered by the central dome of the three domed structure, the disputed structure being the deity of Bhagwan Ram Janma Sthan and place of birth of Lord Rama as per faith and belief of the Hindus, belong to plaintiff- Bhagwan Sri Ram Virajman and shall not be obstructed or interfered in any manner by the defendants, Rajendra Singh and others.”

Justice Dharam Veer Sharma

“The disputed site is the birth place of Lord Rama. Disputed building was constructed by Babar, the year is not certain, but it was built against the tenets of Islam. Thus it cannot have the character of a mosque. The disputed structure was constructed on the site of old structure after demolition of the same. The ASI has proved that the structure was a massive Hindu religious structure. The idols were placed in the middle dome of the disputed structure in the intervening night of 22/23 December 1949.”

By Ashok Kumar

 In a democracy, it is hard to believe that a government could think of any draconian law that turns a blind eye towards the future of hundreds and thousands of students who want to benefit the country with their skills they acquired by studying and working in this country.

The Immigration and Citizenship Minister, Mr. Chris Evans has sent the Migration Amendment Bill 2010, popularly known as Visa Capping Bill to the Senate for approval and that is more or less certain to win the approval if the elections are not held early. The approved amendment will have a retrospective effect. With the new powers the Minister attains, he will ask thousands of potential migrants to leave after accepting their applications and granting them the bridging visa, or in other words assuring them of a settlement in Australia. Continue Reading

 The Rudd Government has no intention of putting a limit on the number of international student visas issued each year, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans said today.

Senator Evans said there was no basis for the concerns being expressed by education providers about the possible impact of proposed legislation which would allow the Government to cap and cease certain visa sub classes.

“I want to assure the university sector and all providers of quality education that Australia will continue to welcome students from across the globe to study in our country,” he said.

“The proposed legislation is designed to provide flexibility in the management of the general skilled migration program and to ensure we are able to get the balance right when it comes to targeting the skilled workers we need.

“The legislation, which was introduced into Parliament last month, will allow the Government to control the numbers of visas issued in certain occupations if necessary but will not have any impact on students wishing to come to Australia to study.”

Senator Evans said since February the Government had introduced a number of changes, including launching a new Skilled Occupations List (SOL), designed to ensure the skilled migration program targeted the occupations the Australian economy needs.

As a result of these changes, the Government has put in place generous transitional arrangements to assist international students adjust to changes to the General Skilled Migration (GSM) program.

“International students who were in Australia prior to February 8, 2010 and hold a vocational, higher education or postgraduate student visa are able to apply either for permanent residence if their occupation is on the new SOL, or a temporary skilled graduate visa on completion of their studies,” Senator Evans said.

A skilled graduate visa allows former students to spend 18 months in Australia to acquire work experience and seek sponsorship from an employer willing to sponsor them into a job using those skills. This transitional arrangement will run through to the end of 2012.

“We want to attract skilled migrants of the highest calibre but the changes we have announced in no way affect international students coming to Australia to study and then return home,” he said.

“The Rudd Government values the contribution made by the international education sector and welcomes its feedback on the proposed legislation.”

A local court on Monday sentenced eight former Union Carbide of India Ltd (UCIL) executives to two years’ imprisonment for the criminal negligence that led to the Bhopal gas disaster of December 1984. But two hours after the sentencing, the convicts were freed on bail on personal bonds of Rs 25,000 each. The court also fined them Rs 1 lakh each and UCIL Rs 5 lakh, report agencies with inputs from BBC News.

The tragedy claimed more than 15,000 lives and affected the health of 500,000 when nearly 40 tonnes of a poisonous gas emitted from the now defunct Union Carbide factory on the night of December 2-3, 1984.

There was tension on the court premises, where prohibitory orders were imposed, as Chief Judicial Magistrate Mohan M Tiwari announced the verdict.
 
The convicts include the top brass of UCIL in 1984: the then chairman Keshub Mahindra, Vijay Gokhle, SP Raichoudhary, Kishor Kamdar, J Mukund, KV Shetty and SI Qureshi. Another person convicted, RB Rai Choudhary, has passed on.

US-based Union Carbide on Monday said it was not subject to the jurisdiction of the Bhopal court and that none of its officials was involved in the operation of the plant. “Union Carbide and its officials were not part of this case since the charges were divided long ago into a separate case,” a company statement said.

“Furthermore, Union Carbide  and its officials are not subject to the jurisdiction of Indian court since they did not have any involvement in the operation of the plant, which was  owned and operated by UCIL,” the statement read.

The convicts have the option to move the sessions court and subsequently the higher courts against the verdict. Three other accused in the case — one and two corporate entities — were declared  absconding: the  then chairman of Union Carbide Corporation (worldwide) Warren Anderson, Union Carbide Corporation and Union Carbide (eastern) Hong Kong.

The case began in December 1987 after the CBI filed a chargesheet in court. Since then, 20 CJMs heard the case. There were 256 hearings in all.

The hearings were suspended briefly after the Supreme Court ratified an out-of-court settlement between Union Carbide Corporation and the Indian government in 1989. By the terms of the agreement, the company got immunity from all civil and criminal liabilities relating to the gas disaster.

Proceedings resumed in 1991 after the Supreme Court restored criminal charges against the company and its officials in response to a petition by two NGOs — Bhopal Gas  Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangthan and Bhopal Gas Peedit Sagharsh Sahyog Samiti.
 
However, a  Supreme  Court  Bench  in 1996 diluted the charges against the accused from culpable homicide to criminal negligence.

Reactions

The convictions have been heavily criticised by campaigners.

Amnesty International described the two-year sentences for eight people as “too little, too late”.

The convictions are the first since the disaster at the Union Carbide plant – the world’s worst industrial accident.

The eight Indians, all former plant employees, were convicted of “death by negligence”.

One was convicted posthumously. The others are expected to appeal.

Nityanand Jayaraman, of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal campaign group, told the BBC the punishment imposed on Union Carbide was wholly inadequate.

“I share the Bhopalis’ sense of outrage and betrayal,” he said.

“I feel that it portends ill for the country that industrialists and corporations are being told that they can actually get away with murder, and today’s verdict is essentially that – a signal that [after] the world’s worst industrial disaster, the people who were accused of that are just being let off with a rap on the knuckles.”

Satinath Sarangi, an activist also campaigning on behalf of Bhopal victims, told the BBC that justice would not be done until US executives from Union Carbide at the time of the incident – including the company’s former head, Warren Anderson – were brought to India to face justice.

“This is not the justice that we have been waiting for, because the principal accused – Warren Anderson, Union Carbide corporation USA – are not here,” he said.

“The charges that have been [laid] on the Indian accused have essentially been the charges that you would put for a traffic accident. This is indeed a very sad day for us.”

Forty tonnes of a toxin called methyl isocyanate leaked from the pesticide factory and settled over slums in Bhopal on 3 December 1984.

Official figures show at least 3,000 people died at the time and as many as 15,000 have died since.

Campaigners put the death toll as high as 25,000 and say the horrific effects of the gas continue to this day.

‘Unacceptable’

Amnesty International also called on the Indian and US governments to take legal action against US executives of Union Carbide.

“These are historic convictions, but it is too little, too late,” said Audrey Gaughran, an Amnesty director.

Rashida Bee, president of the Bhopal Gas Women’s Workers group, told the AFP news agency that “justice will be done in Bhopal only if individuals and corporations responsible are punished in an exemplary manner”.

Although Warren Anderson was named as an accused and later declared an “absconder” by the court, he was not mentioned in Monday’s verdict.

The eight convicted on Monday were Keshub Mahindra, the chairman of the Indian arm of the Union Carbide (UCIL); VP Gokhale, managing director; Kishore Kamdar, vice-president; J Mukund, works manager; SP Chowdhury, production manager; KV Shetty, plant superintendent; SI Qureshi, production assistant. All of them are Indians.

The seven former employees, some of whom are now in their 70s, were also ordered to pay fines of 100,000 Indian rupees (£1,467; $2,125) apiece.

The site of the former pesticide plant is now abandoned.

It was taken over by the state government of Madhya Pradesh in 1998, but environmentalists say poison is still found there.

Campaigners say Bhopal has an unusually high incidence of children with birth defects and growth deficiency, as well as cancers, diabetes and other chronic illnesses.

Twenty years ago Union Carbide paid $470m (£282m) in compensation to the Indian government.

Dow Chemicals, which bought the company in 1999, says this settlement resolved all existing and future claims against the company.

Bhopal residents describe the impact of the disaster and give their reaction to the sentencing.

Justice delayed is justice denied. Two years prison sentence after 25 years is too little too late.

People in Bhopal have been waiting for justice for too long, but they are also waiting for concrete action to help those still suffering.

We still don’t have proper medical facilities and those affected have to go to private hospitals and pay for their treatment.

The compensation still hasn’t reached the right people and there are many who are desperately in need. Most of the people who registered for compensation were adults – those under 18 were not allowed to register.

The BCCI has accepted Sachin Tendulkar’s request to be rested for the Asia Cup and has not included him in the squad for the tournament in Sri Lanka. Saurabh Tiwary, the Jharkhand batsman, has received his maiden call-up in a 15-man team that is significantly stronger than the side that failed to qualify for the tri-series final in Zimbabwe.

 MS Dhoni returns to captain a team that is bolstered by the return of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra. Yuvraj Singh, however, has not been included in the squad, while Yusuf Pathan has been dropped from the team that toured Zimbabwe.

  Squad: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Ashok Dinda, R Ashwin, Saurabh Tiwary.

In  do or die matches India always opts for the latter,since dying is easier than doing. Look at the T20 Q-finals, India could not come out of the jinx and this time too its the same old story.India were shut out of Wednesday’s Tri-nation final here on Saturday when Dinesh Chandimal led Sri Lanka to victory with just 10 balls to spare.

India needed a win to stay in the tournament, which would have given them a slender chance to play in the final. That would have depended on Zimbabwe then beating Sri Lanka in the last round robin match on Monday. This game will now have no significance for the tournament, but will be a guide to form. India’s score of 268-9 was not quite enough. Sri Lanka hit 270 with 10 balls to spare and six wickets in hand.

India now have six days to wait to play two Twenty20 matches against Zimbabwe next weekend, which have been added on to the tournament. With this latest defeat they have dropped to third place behind Australia and South Africa in the ICC ODI rankings.

Chandimal, named man of the match, punished Indian bowlers with 111 in 118 balls. It was his maiden century in internationals and he said afterwards, “I just played my normal game, which is an aggressive one.”

He was partnered for the third wicket of 114 by Chamara Kapudegera in a supporting but important role, scoring 42. Every one of Sri Lanka’s batsmen contributed more than 21.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Sri Lanka captain, said he was pleased and relieved not to leave it late getting to the final. “Our plan was to keep the pressure on India all the way. Our fielding was excellent and that was a key to our success.”

India skipper Suresh Raina thought losing the toss was important to the result. “The wicket just got better and better for batting during the day,” he said. “We now have a week off and we’ll use that to improve all aspects of our game. There is much work to do.”

India brought in three young players into the side — Naman Ojha, R Ashwin and Pankaj Singh. Their innings got off to a bad start when Ojha was out for one.

It fell to Virat Kohli (68) and Yusuf Pathan (44) in an 84-run partnership for the third wicket to set up India for a potentially good score and in a bid for a 280 runs target, which they nearly reached.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed appeals filed by authorities challenging the release of JuD chief Hafiz Muhammed Saeed, blamed by India for masterminding the Mumbai attacks, from house arrest, reports PTI.

The appeals against the Lahore High Court’s order to release Saeed were filed by the federal and Punjab governments last year but could not be taken up earlier for various technical reasons.

When the matter came up for hearing today, a three-judge bench headed by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk dismissed the appeals. Further details were not immediately available.

Saeed, also the founder of the banned Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), was put under house arrest in December 2008 in the wake of the Mumbai attacks after the UN Security Council declared the JuD a front for the LeT.

The JuD chief challenged his detention in the Lahore High Court. Saeed was freed on June 2 last year by a three-judge bench of the High Court that said that Punjab and federal governments had failed to provide sufficient evidence to keep him in custody.

Following pressure from India and the international community, the federal and Punjab governments challenged the high court’s ruling in the apex court.

Differences between the federal and Punjab governments and the change of certain legal officials of Punjab province held up the matter in the apex court.

Pakistani leaders like Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi have contended that India has not provided any evidence that will allow authorities to act against Saeed.

Home minister P Chidambaram has maintained that India has provided sufficient evidence against Saeed in several dossiers handed over to Pakistani authorities.