Japan Parliament Support Group for Tibet Welcomes Kalon Norzin Dolma



International Desk, Barta24.com
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Shimomura Hakubun, Chairman of the Japan Parliament Support Group for Tibet, and the standing committee members welcomed Kalon(Minister) Norzin Dolma of the Department of Information & International Relations(DIIR) at the Japan Parliament Lower House building’s meeting hall at Nagatacho on 12 July 2023.

Shimomura Hakubun in his welcome speech expressed pleasure in meeting Kalon Norzin Dolma and informed her of the vibrant support of the parliament members for the Tibet issue. “We have more than a hundred members in the support group and we have been able to get the resolution condemning China for human rights violations and religious suppressions in Tibet, Uyghur, South Mongolia, and Hong Kong passed by the Lower House last year.” He read a part of the resolution urging the Japanese government to monitor human rights in China. He promised full support and expressed great respect for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his message of peace and non-violence.

Kalon Norzin Dolma greeted and thanked the Chairman and the members for their strong and continued support for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibet issue. She informed the members of the critical situation in Tibet, where cultural genocide is going on through the sinicisation of Tibetan Buddhism and colonial boarding schools. She briefed the committee about Tibet being the water tower of Asia and how the livelihoods of 1.4 billion people of the riparian states are in great danger. She thanked the lawmakers for their help and guidance and discussed further support in both political and community development initiatives for about an hour.

Watanabe Shu, a lawmaker from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, welcomed Kalon Norzin Dolma and thanked her for the updates on the Tibet issue. He compared Tibet’s situation with North Korea where there is virtually no flow of information and people in and outside the country. He encouraged the dissemination of testimonies worldwide from the few who could escape from the communist regime and make the world aware of what is happening in Tibet.

Kalon further explained the massive surveillance system, monitoring of mobile phones, and collection of DNA samples of Tibetans without their consent. She dwelt on how the number of refugees from Tibet has diminished since 2008 because of strict and restrictive measures adopted by the communist regime.

Representative Dr. Tsewang Gyalpo Arya thanked the lawmakers for their time and updated them on three issues: request statements from the lawmakers on the ongoing repression and cultural genocide going on in Tibet; online registration of the lawmakers in International Network of Parliamentarians on Tibet (INPaT), an initiative from the Tibetan Parliament in Exile and the World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet (WPCT); and the continued help and support in the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) efforts in logistic and capacity building initiatives in the exile community.

General Secretary of the Japan Parliament Support Group for Tibet, Ishikawa Akimasa, moderated the discussion and informed Kalon that the Japan Parliament Support Group is a non-partisan group with members from almost all the parties. He thanked Kalon Norzin Dolma for her visit to Japan and for addressing the committee members. Urano Yasuto from Japan Innovation Party and Eto Seichi from the Liberal Democratic Party participated in the reception and the discussion.

Kalon presented Tibetan traditional scarves to the lawmakers and a copy of the recently released book “Chibetto No Hanron”, a Japanese version of “Harnessing the Dragon’s Fume” by Representative Dr. T.G. Arya. Chairman Shimomura Hakubun thanked and assured Kalon of the continued support from the lawmakers and wished her a successful tour in Japan.

Tselha of the Office of Tibet Japan accompanied Kalon and Representative to the Parliament building and Maruyama Chieko of the Human Value Institute interpreted for Kaon Norzin Dolma.

-Report filed by the Office of Tibet, Japan

   

Hamas says 'yes' to Gaza ceasefire



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Hamas has accepted a ceasefire proposal brokered by Qatar and Egypt. But so far nothing has been reported from Israel in this regard. They are looking into the matter.

On Monday (May 6), Qatar-based media Al Jazeera reported this information.

According to a statement by Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, the head of Hamas' political wing, Ismail Haniya, called Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and informed him that Hamas had approved the proposal for a ceasefire agreement. Ismail Hania also said the same thing to the Minister of Intelligence of Egypt, Abbas Kamal.

Meanwhile, the residents of Gaza expressed joy at the news of Hamas agreeing to a ceasefire.

It should be noted that at least 34 thousand 737 people have been killed and 78 thousand 108 people have been injured in the Israeli attack on Gaza since October 7. And the number of dead in Israel is 1 thousand 139 people.

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Campuses can be battlegrounds around graduation ceremonies in the United States



International Desk, Barta24.com,Dhaka
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Protests against the Israeli attack on Gaza have erupted in several US universities. The student protests there have entered their second week. Last Saturday (May 4), police arrested at least 25 more pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Virginia.

Al-Jazeera reported that more than two and a half thousand students have been arrested from campuses across the United States. In the meantime, graduation ceremony in universities is approaching.

It is feared that various university campuses in the United States may turn into battlefields around graduation ceremonies in the coming days.

At 47 US universities, students are protesting against Israeli aggression and genocide in Gaza. This protest has been going on since April 17. Since the beginning, the police have used excessive force to suppress this peaceful protest.

In this way, the rights activists protested the suppression of the protest and the arrest of the protesting students. They demanded to ensure the freedom of expression of the students.

Graduation ceremonies are scheduled for the end of this week at four universities hit by protests. The event is scheduled to take place this month or next June at several other universities, including New York's Columbia University, the epicenter of the protests.

The university authorities fear that the protesting students may disrupt the graduation ceremony. For this reason, the authorities are taking initiatives to strengthen the security system.

The protesting students have threatened that if their demands are not met, they are thinking of alternative programs including boycotting these events and walking out of the venue. In such circumstances, some universities have canceled these programs. Some are procrastinating.

The peaceful protests at the University of Virginia continued until Saturday morning. At that time a video spread among the students. In the video, police are seen detaining some protesting students from the campus lawn.

Apart from this, the police are using chemical sprays to quell the protests. After that the protest turned into a riot.

In a statement, University President Jim Ryan said that the protesters were detained when campus security informed the police that they would be protesting in tents last Friday night. However, it is not clear how many university students are among those detained.

Pro-Palestinians protest in front of the stage at the graduation ceremony at the University of Michigan. But this protest was peaceful. Campus police quickly surrounded the protesters and escorted them to the back of the stadium. But dozens of students dressed in flags, kaffiahs and graduation caps staged a university graduation ceremony.

A day later, Northeastern University and Ohio State University were supposed to hold the closing ceremony on Sunday, but the commencement ceremony was disrupted.

Meanwhile, apart from the United States, this protest has now spread to new countries. Students from France, UK, Italy, Australia, Canada, Japan, India, Lebanon, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland and Mexico have come to protest for the Palestinians.

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Israel launched a ground attack in Rafah amid ceasefire talks



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Israel launched a ground attack in Rafah in the midst of Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks in Gaza.

A delegation from the Palestinian group Hamas is in the Egyptian capital for ceasefire and prisoner-release talks. Sources said Ceasefire talks have progressed.

International media Al Jazeera reported in a report that despite the negotiations, Israel continued its ground attack on Rafah, the southernmost city of Gaza.

A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Saturday to meet with mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States to negotiate a 40-day ceasefire, according to reports published by the United Kingdom.

The talks are at a critical stage, sources told Al Jazeera, as a Qatari technical team is working out the details of a potential deal with the Egyptians.

As technical teams indicate, we are moving into the operational side of a deal. They are monitoring the issues in detail in this agreement.

A senior Hamas spokesman, Osama Hamdan, told Al Jazeera, "It is clear that we are moving forward. There are some good points.

"So far we are still talking about the main issue, which is a complete ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from Gaza," he said. We hope to find some good and positive answers today.

Israel said it will continue to attack Rafah despite talk of a possible deal with Hamas. UN agencies and aid groups have long warned that the ground operation would spell disaster for the 15 lakh people taking refuge there.

Hamdan said, "Unfortunately, Netanyahu has made a clear statement that no matter what happens, if there is a ceasefire or not, he will continue to attack." That means there will be no ceasefire, and that means that the offensive will continue.

Al Jazeera's Ahlbara said the talks were focused on convincing Hamas that it should refrain from demanding a permanent ceasefire from Israel during the first phase of the deal because it is unlikely to happen.

On October 7, Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel, killing more than 1,100 people. During this time, more than 240 people were captured by Hamas.

Later, more than 34,600 Palestinians have died in Israel's attack on Gaza. More than 70 percent of Palestinian territory has been reduced to rubble, pushing the region toward famine.

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Attacks on environmental journalists are on the rise worldwide: UN



News Desk, Barta24.com
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According to a recently published report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO, 44 environmental journalists from 15 countries around the world lost their lives in violent attacks from 2009 to 2023; And 24 people managed to return alive.

This information was reported in the report of the news agency Reuters on Friday (May 3).

According to the report, attacks on environmental journalists are increasing around the world. UNESCO representatives interviewed 905 environmental journalists from 129 countries to prepare the report.

In the interview, 749 out of 905 journalists (more than 70 percent) said that they had to face physical attacks or intimidation, threats, and pressure at some point in their lives to perform their professional duties. Many have also had to deal with the legal problems of detention and defamation cases.

Analyzing the cases of assault-harassment, it has been found that the cases of physical assault have occurred more among male journalists. On the other hand, women journalists are more victims of harassment.

Journalists have been attacked and harassed while reporting on various environmental issues. These issues include various mining irregularities, land tenure conflicts, deforestation, extreme weather related disasters, pollution and environmental damage, fossil fuel sector and its trade etc.

All of these attacks and harassment have come from individuals and groups associated with the power structure of the state. In this context, the UNESCO report said, 'Police, army, government officials and employees, people of local government authorities are responsible for these attacks and harassment. 

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