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Photo: Sr Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena. Credit: Colombo Telegraph.

Sri Lanka President Told Not to Trample on Parliamentary Democracy and the Rights of People

Viewpoint by Friday Forum

Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena's move to remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and prorogue Parliament was "a shameless disregard of this political mandate given to him by the people", avers the Friday Forum in a statement circulated on November 5. The Friday Forum is "an informal group of concerned citizens pledged to uphold norms of democracy, good governance, the rule of law, human rights, media freedom and tolerance in our pluralist society". We are publishing this statement in full with a view to offering a perspective different from that reflected in two viewpoints* we have carried. in the aftermath of President Sirisena's "shock decision on October 26 to appoint his political foe of recent years Mahinda Rajapakse as Prime Minister", which has evoked outrage among Western diplomats and the international media. – The Editor.

: Devinder Kumar; OPINION; 06 November 2018

Photo: British Prime Minister Theresa May (left) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right). Credit. The Mirror

Theresa May Should Join Angela Merkel at the Retirement Door

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Is Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, responsible for Brexit? In a way yes she is because at the time of the great economic crisis of 2007-2013, counterproductively she insisted on austerity throughout the European Union. Austerity helped turn the poorer classes of the UK towards Brexit.

But so also are the people in high places who lied to the British electorate and persuaded them to vote in a referendum for it. So are those who have fanned the anti-immigrant flames all over Europe. Angela Merkel, in this case, was the most heroic of all the leaders of the West in going the other way and taking in one million, mainly Syrian, refugees.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 06 November 2018

Photo: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasingha (left) with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi who participated in the International Vesak Day celebrations in Colombo in May 2017. The measured response to the "crisis" in India and Australia suggests a greater appreciation of the real situation in Sri Lanka. Credit: Daily News & Analysis (DNA)

The 'CRISIS' In Sri Lanka – Invented by the Western Media

Viewpoint by Dr Palitha Kohona

Ambassador Dr Palitha Kohona, Former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations.

COLOMBO (IDN) – The change of Government in Sri Lanka, following the unceremonious sacking of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasingha by President Maithripala Sirisena, has given rise to a crescendo of alarmist commentary in the Western media, which is slowly seeping in to the non-Western media as well. One after the other, the Western media outlets have taken a critical approach to the change and have begun to characterize the replacement of the Prime Minister as a "Crisis".

: Dr. Palitha Kohona; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 06 November 2018

Photo: Participants in the opening session. Credit: Global Forum on Human Settlements.

Global Forum on Human Settlements Calls for Urban Innovation

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK | BANGKOK (IDN) – The Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS) 2018 has called for greater efforts to speed up the transition to green growth through developing a circular economy, scaling-up financing for sustainable urban infrastructure, sustainably managing urban water, applying innovative technologies for smart cities, building enhanced partnership and creating international green model cities.

GFHS enjoys a special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

: IDN-INPS Asia Editor; UN INSIDER; 06 November 2018

Photo: ESCAP Executive Secretary Dr. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana. Credit: ESCAP

New ESCAP Chief Aims at Deepening Regional Cooperation

By Jaya Ramachandran

NEW YORK | BANGKOK (IDN) – Dr. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, the new Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), is convinced that the organization has the opportunity to lead from the front.

"The Asia-Pacific region has in recent decades seen remarkable social and economic progress," says Dr. Alisjahbana who officially took office on November 1 in Bangkok. Much of this success has been built on strong foundations – on the richness and diversity of its cultures, and on the energy of the people who have changed the world by transforming their own economies, she adds.

: Jaya Ramachandran; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 06 November 2018

Photo: Kazakh peace troops getting ready for UN mission in Lebanon. Credit: Kazakh Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.

Kazakhstan Becomes the First Central Asian Country to Join UN Peacekeeping

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – For the first time in the history of Central Asia, a peacekeeping contingent from the Republic of Kazakhstan is participating in a UN peacekeeping operation. 120 Kazakh peacekeepers have arrived in Lebanon to participate in the mission of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

The peacekeeping operation will continue for 18 months.

The arrival of the Kazakh troops on October 31 brings the current number of the UNIFIL's total military strength to some 10,600 men and women from 42 countries.

: Santo D. Banerjee; CENTRAL ASIA; 05 November 2018

Photo: Protests in Pakistan. Source: Times of India.

Protests As Pakistan Blasphemy Death Sentence Is Overturned

Viewpoint by René Wadlow

The author is representative to the United Nations, Geneva, of the Association of World Citizens (AWC)*. This blog was carried by AWC on November 1, 2018. Since then, Asia Bibi remains in prison, and it is her lawyer who has had to flee the country. There are demonstrations against the Supreme Court decision in the larger cities of Pakistan, and Islamist groups have focused on the case. – The Editor

GENEVA (IDN-INPS) – On October 29, 2018, the Supreme Court of Pakistan reversed the decision of lower courts sentencing to death Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of four for blasphemy. After 3,422 days of imprisonment in solitary confinement, the Supreme Court reversed a 2010 lower court verdict. Asia Bibi is now in seclusion and will probably leave the country as some 60 persons in Pakistan have been murdered since 1990, accused of blasphemy.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 04 November 2018

Palestinians, Goodbye?

Viewpoint by Pier Francesco Zarcone*

ROME (IDN) – Sorry to say so, but the future of the Palestinians is darker and more bleak than ever, because the Sunni Arab countries have become disinterested in them and they have no powerful friends in the world. Today their loneliness is stronger and more evident, as even the residual veils of hypocritical rhetoric have disappeared among the Arabs could support them, having money and political and media influence. Let's see why.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 04 November 2018

Photo: SIDS meeting in Apia, Samoa. Credit: UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.

Small Island Developing States Reiterate Commitment to Sustainable Development

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Confronted with the increased effects of climate change, natural disasters, and the outsized impacts of global economic shocks on small economies, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have resolved to strengthen their efforts to achieve sustainable development.

The 'Apia Outcome' – adopted at the conclusion of a three-day meeting that ended on November 1 in Apia, Samoa – will serve as the basis for the preparation of the inter-governmentally agreed Political Declaration of the High-level SIDS Midterm Review of the SAMOA Pathway, to be held in September 2019.

: J Nastranis; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; United Nations; 03 November 2018

Photo: The Gradjet website helps government officials in least developed countries understand what it means to leave the LDC category and to plot a course for future action. It’s also aimed at the wider development community and anyone else interested in LDC graduation. Credit: Gradjet.

UN Calls for Ensuring Smooth Transition of Poorest Countries from LDC Status

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the decade 2011–2020 draws to an end and a growing number of world's most vulnerable countries are increasing national earning power and improved access to health care and education, making them eligible to exit the group of least developed countries (LDCs), the United Nations has accentuated the importance of paying increased attention to smooth transition processes, thus ensuring sustainable development and the irreversibility of graduation.