In 13 different incidents reported since January 5, from the districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar and Dhemaji, the United Liberation Front of Asom is reported to have mowed down in cold blood about 60 poor workers from Bihar who had gone to Assam to earn their living as milk vendors, workers in brick kilns etc. These workers — all Hindi speakers — were allegedly separated from Assamese-speaking workers living in the same area and were shot dead at point blank range with hand-held weapons. Read the rest of this entry »
In less than two years, Beijing will host the 29th Olympic Games.
Pierre de Coubertin, the French founder of the modern Games, had coined a motto for this important world event: ‘It is less important to win than to take part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.’
It seems that the Chinese leadership has not yet grasped the full meaning of Courbertin’s words: They believe that the only important thing is to win and smash others. Their public relation exercise has already begun.Take, for example, the train to Lhasa: a publicity blitz projects the railway line from Golmud in Qinghai province to the capital of the Roof of the World as one of the greatest technological feats ever achieved. Journalists from all over the world were invited to cover the inauguration of the Chinese engineers’ prowess.Beijing also engaged the services of their self-nominated Panchen Lama (who is recognised only by the Chinese Communist Party) for this. In a rare appearance, the young monk, the symbol of Chinese power over Tibet, visited the railway station in Lhasa and repeated what he had been asked to say: ‘It’s apparent that the railway will promote the economic and social development of Tibet.’ Going around the station which has seen an average of 2,300 passengers each day since July 1, the Lama was supposedly ecstatic: ‘It’s very, very beautiful.’ The railway was a link for national unity; and ‘will help promote exchanges between Tibetans and other ethnic groups in China,’ the official news agency Xinhua quoted him as saying. But the reality is quite different. Read the rest of this entry »
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