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SearchToday in Islamophobia: In India’s Assam, a young Muslim leader fights election to unite, Ignoring criticism, Bangladesh begins to resettle Rohingya in Bhasan Char. Our recommended read today is by Mohamed Hassan, calling on New Zealand to address past failures to restore Muslims’ sense of safety and belonging. This, and more, below:
New Zealand
Opinion | New Zealand must address past failures to restore Muslims' sense of safety and belonging | Recommended Read
The majority of evidence collected throughout the royal commission of inquiry into the Christchurch mosque attacks will be suppressed for 30 years. In fact, the government ministers, police, immigration and intelligence officials questioned throughout the entire process have been promised they would remain anonymous – shielded from public scrutiny until the year 2050. These decisions were made by the commission to protect confidentiality and national security. read the complete article
India
Opinion | Can India’s protesting farmers restore its democracy?
On Nov. 26, tens of thousands of farmers from the northern states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan began marching to Delhi with a cry — “Delhi chalo” (“Go to Delhi”). The peaceful protesters faced a militarized police force at the Punjab-Haryana and Haryana-Delhi borders. Marchers were met with tear gas, batons and water cannons. Police even used trenches, barbed wire and barricades to stop the farmers. read the complete article
In India’s Assam, a young Muslim leader fights election to unite
Human rights activist, journalist, poet: Shajahan Ali Ahmed has worn many hats. And now he has plunged into an electoral race with the aim of bridging the gulf between Bengali-origin Muslims and the Bodo tribal group in India’s northeastern state of Assam. read the complete article
Bangladesh
Ignoring Criticism, Bangladesh Begins Resettling Rohingya
Authorities in Bangladesh have begun transporting thousands of Rohingya refugees from camps to a previously uninhabited and flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal. Rights groups are concerned that many are being moved against their will. Some 1,600 people were taken to the island of Bhasan Char on Friday. The island, whose name means “floating island,” first emerged from silt in the estuary over 20 years ago. The government of Bangladesh hopes to resettle 100,000 people there to ease pressure on mainland refugee camps. read the complete article
Australia
Moral reckoning after the Brereton report
We owe the victims of these crimes a true moral reckoning; a moral reckoning made all the more urgent in light of the cover-ups documented in the report. This moral reckoning requires that we — the Special Forces community, the military profession, and the Australian public — acknowledge the ways in which the perpetrators are just like us. This does not mean that all soldiers are war criminals or bear the same degree of responsibility as the perpetrators. But by refusing to see how Australian society and military culture contain the seeds of these alleged crimes, we distance ourselves from any responsibility for the crimes and from the victims’ suffering. We exempt ourselves from the force of the victims’ demands for justice and moral recognition. In that respect, we fail them. read the complete article
China
'Cultural genocide': The 'dark secret’ uncovered on Chinese border
China’s shadowy regime of detention camps along the country’s western border appears to be ratcheting up. In an extensive report by Buzzfeed News, journalists uncovered a growing internment camp quietly nestled in the mountainside which has reportedly ballooned in size by ten-fold in a year and a half. “Mongolküre, or Zhaosu in Chinese, is an idyllic mountain county with a dark secret,” Buzzfeed journalist Megha Rajagopalan said on Twitter, sharing reconstructed images of the camp. “This internment camp grew to 10 times its original size within just a year and a half after beginning as a pre-trial detention complex. It now includes dorms, admin buildings and factories.” Buzzfeed spoke with former detainees about the conditions of the facility and the harsh treatment of those detained. “Those who had spent time inside spoke of being beaten with the butt of a gun, being forced to sign ‘self criticism’ documents, and of the routine humiliation of being imprisoned without cause. None of them ever saw charges, much less the inside of a courthouse,” Ms Rajagopalan said. read the complete article