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الثلاثاء، 15 نوفمبر 2011

Lincoln Tribune

Indonesia loses $4.8 billion a year due to counterfeit goods
Rights groups urge Brazilian authorities to stop forced evictions ahead of Olympics
UN: Lord’s Resistance Army rebels displace 440,000 in Central Africa
Georgian breakaway republic South Ossetia holds presidential elections
Maoist rebels in eastern India call off ceasefire

Indonesia loses $4.8 billion a year due to counterfeit goods

Posted: 15 Nov 2011 03:00 AM PST

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- The Indonesian economy loses at least Rp. 43.2 trillion ($4.8 billion) a year in potential taxes due to counterfeit goods being imported into the country, according to a study released on Tuesday.

The study, conducted by the University of Indonesia's Institute for Economic and Social Research and the Indonesian Anti-Counterfeiting Society (MIAP), surveyed 500 people from June to October of this year on their consumption of fake goods,

The results showed high consumption rates for a number of fake items such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, clothing, automotive parts, electronics and computer software, the Jakarta Globe reported.

As a result of the study, Indonesia's Ministry of Justice and Human Rights has introduced an "original store" campaign which aims to encourage stores and shopping centers not to sell counterfeit goods. However, with the exception of upscale shopping centers, most stores in Indonesia are not regulated and are able to sell counterfeit goods.

"For now, we can only encourage [stores and shopping centers] not to sell counterfeits," said the directorate's enforcement director, Fathlurachman, as quoted by the Jakarta Globe. "In a year or two we'll focus on enforcement.""

MIAP secretary general Justisiari Perdana Kusuma said it welcomes the campaign, but hopes it will not be limited to conventional products such as clothes or bags. "[We hope it] will also target sophisticated ones like songs, movies and software," Justisiari told the newspaper. "Counterfeiting has hurt state income and created unemployment."

Rights groups urge Brazilian authorities to stop forced evictions ahead of Olympics

Posted: 15 Nov 2011 02:59 AM PST

LONDON (BNO NEWS) -- Amnesty International and housing activists on Tuesday urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to call on Brazilian authorities to stop forcibly evicting hundreds of families across Rio de Janeiro amid preparations for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

Residents' groups, local housing activists and Amnesty International said that dozens of families have lost or are at risk of losing their homes in the city's low-income areas as the authorities build infrastructure for the event. Favelas and informal settlements around the city have already been affected over the past year and more are slated for future evictions by the authorities.

"Forcing families out of their homes without adequate notice, prior consultation with those affected and without offering adequate alternative housing or provision of legal remedies flies in the face of the very values the Olympics stand for, and violates Brazil's laws and international human rights commitments," the organizations said.

It added: "The Olympic organizers should use their influence to put an end to this practice now, before it's too late. The IOC must not be complicit with human rights abuses carried out in its name, and should publicly and unequivocally condemn all forced evictions in Rio de Janeiro."

Rio de Janeiro's officials maintain that no forced evictions have been conducted and that all families are being appropriately compensated before losing their homes. However, independent research by local NGOs showed that in the gravest cases, the authorities arrived in a community without prior notice and begun tearing down homes and businesses.

Earlier this year, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Raquel Rolnik, demanded that the Brazilian government "stop the planned evictions until dialogue and negotiation can be ensured."

Rio de Janeiro authorities have been trying to secure the city ahead of the 2014 World Cup and the Olympic Games in 2016.

UN: Lord’s Resistance Army rebels displace 440,000 in Central Africa

Posted: 15 Nov 2011 02:58 AM PST

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations (UN) on Tuesday condemned the continuing attacks across Central Africa by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and demanded an immediate end to the violence which has left hundreds of thousands of people displaced.

LRA attacks have displaced more than 440,000 people across the region and the group has been accused of serious humanitarian and human rights violations, the UN Security Council noted, expressing deep concern that its previous calls for the LRA to cease its attacks have not been heeded.

The LRA was formed in the late 1980s in Uganda and for over 15 years its attacks were mainly directed against Ugandan civilians and security forces, which in 2002 dislodged the rebels. They then exported their rampage to Uganda's neighbors such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR) and South Sudan, with practices that include the recruitment of children, rape, killing, maiming and sexual slavery.

More than 12,000 combatants and abductees have left the LRA's ranks since the group's existence and have been integrated and reunited with their families. "The Security Council encourages the remaining LRA fighters to leave the group's ranks and take advantage of offers of reintegration support," the 15-member body said.

Meanwhile, the UN envoy for Central Africa, Abou Moussa, told the Council that the affected countries' limited capacity to control their porous borders stretching over vast areas means that the group can move easily between the affected countries.

Presenting the UN Secretary-General's report on the LRA-affected areas, he also noted that the governments of the affected countries have recently taken important steps to address the threat, including through coordinated military operations.

Moussa, however, noted that the national security forces of these countries lack the full range of resources and capabilities in areas such as logistics, intelligence-gathering and air mobility to effectively deal with the problem on their own as well as extend their authority throughout their respective territories, protect the civilian populations and enforce the rule of law.

The UN peacekeeping operations have taken a number of actions in the region in order to strengthen their capacities within their mandates and capabilities in strategic locations in the LRA-affected areas to help deter attacks against civilians and facilitate humanitarian operations.

Georgian breakaway republic South Ossetia holds presidential elections

Posted: 15 Nov 2011 02:34 AM PST

MOSCOW (BNO NEWS) -- The Georgian breakaway republic of South Ossetia on Sunday voted for a new leader for the first time since its brief war with Georgia in 2008. The presidential election will continue during a second round after the candidates failed to win a majority.

The runoff presidential election in the Caucasian republic will be held on November 27 after the top two candidates failed to receive the 50 percent of the vote required by law, according to South Ossetian Central Election Commission chairwoman Bella Pliyeva on Monday. Incumbent president Eduard Kokoity was constitutionally banned from serving a third term.

After 98.84 percent of the votes were counted, with a turnout of 67.05 percent, Pliyeva said Emergency Minister Anatoly Bibilov was leading with 25.44 percent of the votes. However, former Education Minister Alla Dzhioyeva was following closely behind with 25.37 percent of the vote.

Kokoity was criticized on Tuesday after he told a Russian radio station that Dzhioyeva, a woman, has no chance of winning the second round even though she had almost as many votes as Bibilov. "That's not an option," Kokoity said when asked if South Ossetia might see a female president.

Kokoity, who has previously been criticized over other remarks such as suggesting that South Ossetia would one day become part of Russia, added: "No one oppresses women. In our society, women are treated very well - with respect. But the Caucasus is still the Caucasus."

In addition, Pliyeva announced that the Russian language will become the second official state language in South Ossetia after voters supported the initiative during a referendum, which was also held on Sunday along with the presidential vote. She said 83.99 percent had voted in favor.

However, as a large majority of the international community considers South Ossetia to be part of Georgia, the international response to the election was mostly negative.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner reiterated the 'strong support' for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. "The United States does not recognize the legitimacy or the outcome of these so-called presidential elections and referendum," he said.

The European Union also condemned the elections, saying it does not recognize the region's self-declared independence. "The European Union does not recognize the constitutional and legal framework within which these elections have taken place," Michael Mann, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said in a statement.

NATO also released a statement to condemn the presidential elections and showed its support for Georgia. "The holding of such elections does not contribute to a peaceful and lasting settlement of the situation in Georgia," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

South Ossetia, along with neighboring Abkhazia, consider themselves independent nations but have only been recognized by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Tuvalu. The region declared independence from Georgia in 1990.

Russia, the breakaway region's most important ally, recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states two weeks after a five-day war with Georgia in August 2008. Georgian forces attacked South Ossetia in an attempt to bring it back under central control after which Russia deployed its troops to protect the disputed area.

Hundreds of Russian, Georgian, South Ossetian and Abkhazian soldiers were killed during the violent conflict, as well as more than 160 civilians. South Ossetia, with the help of Russia and Abkhazia, won the conflict.

Maoist rebels in eastern India call off ceasefire

Posted: 15 Nov 2011 01:49 AM PST

NEW DELHI (BNO NEWS) -- Maoist rebels in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal have called off their ceasefire in a letter to the state government, the Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday.

The rebels said the state-appointed interlocutors and the state government led by chief minister Mamata Banerjee have not kept any of the promises they had made. The letter, addressed to human rights activist Sujato Bhadra and other members of the six-member interlocutor team, was dated October 31 and reached the media on Monday.

"The ceasefire period has ended as neither you nor the state government kept any of your promises," Akash, state secretary of the banned Community Party of India-Maoist, said in the letter. "Despite being encircled by the joint forces, we met you twice and have kept all the promises we made during those meetings. But have you managed to keep your word? You haven't, because neither the state government nor the Center wants peace."

The rebels said they were willing to meet the interlocutors only if the state government completely halted anti-Maoist operations by the state and central police forces. They also slammed the interlocutors for favoring the government, saying that they have not criticized the "terror unleashed by the ruling party and security forces."

However, the interlocutors said all was not lost. "We don't think the peace talks have ended with this letter. The situation is tough. It would have been better had the ceasefire period been increased," Bhadra told the Hindustan Times.

The Maoists had unilaterally declared on September 30 that they would maintain a ceasefire for the duration of one month to let peace talks take shape. The ceasefire started on October 3, but the state government never officially reacted to the proposal.

The ceasefire only applied to the eastern state of West Bengal as attacks continued in other regions. On October 21, six Indian policemen were killed and three others were injured in an ambush by Maoist rebels in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.

More than one-third of India's 626 administrative districts are affected by the Maoist insurgency. At least 1,170 rebels, troops and civilians were killed in insurgency-related incidents in 2010 alone. The Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of tribal, landless and poor people in the country's poorest regions.

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الثلاثاء، 15 نوفمبر 2011

Lincoln Tribune

Lincoln Tribune

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