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Indigenous no-state people

Manipur dissident leaders announce a ‘government in exile’ in U.K.

Dissident political leaders from the Indian state of Manipur on Tuesday said they were unilaterally declaring independence from India and forming a government-in-exile in Britain.

The former princely state became part of India in 1949, two years after the country won independence from Britain, but has since seen decades-long violent separatist campaigns.

Narengbam Samarjit, external affairs minister in the self-declared Manipur State Council, said the exiled government would push for recognition at the United Nations.

“We will run the de jure exiled government here … from today onwards,” he told reporters in London after a declaration of independence first announced in Manipur in 2012 was read aloud.

“We will seek recognition from different nations … to become a [UN] member. We hope many of the countries will recognise our independence.”

Manipur, one of India’s smallest states with a population of about just 2.8 million people, is one of the so-called “Seven Sisters” – a group of restive northeastern states.

The region, encircled by five other countries and connected to the rest of India by a sliver of land arching over Bangladesh, has been wracked by armed conflict and instability.

Violence part of life

It has spawned more than 100 fighter groups over the decades whose demands range from autonomy to secession.

Violence has been part of daily life for decades in Manipur, which borders Myanmar, with a strong presence of the Indian military.

The state has a strong ethnic mix, and its Meitei, Naga, Kuki and Pangal communities are all deeply committed to preserving their own cultural autonomy.

Its people have also always tended to look eastwards in their search for cultural links.

Samarjit said he hoped the world would support its independence cause.

“We are not free there and our history is going to be destroyed, our culture is going to be extinct,” he warned.

“So the UN should listen … we raise our voice to the whole world that the people living in Manipur are human beings.”

The High Commission of India did not respond to a request for comment.

Himalayan News Network

October 30, 2019 by
Environment

Balakot air strikes: Pakistan to lodge U.N. complaint accusing India of ‘eco-terrorism’

A resident points to the damaged site where Indian military aircrafts released payload in Jaba village, Balakot, Pakistan February 28, 2019. Picture taken February 28, 2019.
Indian jets bombed a hilly forest area near the Pakistani town of Balakot.
Pakistan plans to lodge a complaint against India at the United Nations, accusing it of “eco-terrorism” over air strikes that damaged pine trees, a Minister said on March 1.
Indian warplanes on February 26 bombed a hilly forest area near the Pakistani town of Balakot. New Delhi said it had destroyed a militant training camp. Pakistan denied there were any such camps in the area and locals said only one elderly villager was hurt.
Climate Change Minister Malik Amin Aslam said Indian jets bombed a “forest reserve” and the government was undertaking an environmental impact assessment, which will be the basis a complaint at the United Nations and other forums.
“What happened over there is environmental terrorism,” Mr. Aslam told Reuters, adding that dozens of pine trees had been felled. ”There has been serious environmental damage.”
Two Reuters reporters who visited the site of the bombings, where four large craters could be seen, said up to 15 pine trees had been brought down by the blasts. Villagers dismissed Indian claims that hundreds of militants were killed.
The United Nations states that “destruction of the environment, not justified by military necessity and carried out wantonly, is clearly contrary to existing international law”, according to the U.N. General Assembly resolution 47/37.
March 1, 2019 by
Indigenous no-state people

Facebook’s definition of terrorism could help govts curb dissent: UN expert writes to Mark Zuckerberg

The UN Special Rapporteur on promoting and protecting human rights has written to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying the social media giant’s “overly broad” definition may lead to “over-censoring and arbitrary denial of access”.

Facebook needs to narrow its “sweeping” definition of terrorism to stop governments arbitrarily blocking legitimate opposition groups and dissenting voices, a UN Human Rights Council independent expert said in a statement on Monday.

The UN Special Rapporteur on promoting and protecting human rights, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, while countering terrorism has written to Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg to express concern about the company’s efforts to block “terrorists” from using its platform, according to a statement.

“The use of overly broad and imprecise definitions as the basis for regulating access to and the use of Facebook’s platform may lead to discriminatory implementation, over-censoring and arbitrary denial of access to and use of Facebook’s services,” said Ní Aoláin.

Facebook’s definition, she said, equates all non-state groups that use violence in pursuit of any goals or ends to terrorist entities.

The social media network’s polices prohibit terrorists from using its services, and it uses detection technologies and a growing team of moderators to find and remove content.

“The use of such a sweeping definition is particularly worrying in light of a number of governments seeking to stigmatise diverse forms of dissent and opposition — whether peaceful or violent — as terrorism,” Ni Aolain said.

“The definition is further at odds with international humanitarian law as it qualifies all non-state armed groups party to a non-international armed conflict as terrorists, even if these groups comply with international humanitarian law,” she stressed.

She also voiced concern over a lack of clarity about the methods Facebook uses to determine if a person belongs to a particular group, and if that person has “the opportunity to meaningfully challenge such determination.”

“The absence of any independent processes of review, oversight and monitoring of Facebook’s actions is also highly problematic,” she added.

September 3, 2018 by