6th December 2020
Shorts:
News at a glance
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From myanmar to Remote islands, the rohingya journey
-Grace Treesa
Many refugees and humanitarian workers reported that they were being pressured to move to remote islands even though the government stuck to its statement that they wouldn’t force anyone to go. Two Rohingya informants said their names appeared on lists made by the local leaders, even though no consent was given. This was confirmed by aid workers who said the officials threatened and enticed the workers into going.
Human Rights Watch said they interviewed 12 families who were on the list but hadn’t volunteered, and Refugees International said in a statement that it was “nothing short of a dangerous mass detention”. A source through Reuters says the people have been promised priority when they get back, in the forms of resettlement in other countries and access to education.
A senior official mentioned that they were being moved because of the lack of repatriating to Myanmar.
“We came here to save our lives facing different kinds of troubles and difficulties, why would we go to that risky island?” an 18-year-old woman says.
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She is one among more than 740,000 Rohingya who fled Myanmar after a military crackdown that the UN declared as genocidal. Myanmar on the other hand denies this claim and says their forces were only targeting Rohingya militants.
Sources: Reuters, Anadolu Agency
The Rohingya are being forced out of their homes to return to a tumultuous Myanmar
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Farmers protest in north india
-Snigdha Dhameja
Farmers come out to protest against the recent farmers' bills passed.
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Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and other states have taken part in a protest march towards Delhi, in opposition to new agricultural bills passed by the government. These protestors are being fought with water cannons and tear gas, after they blocked roads and made makeshift camps in the outskirts of New Delhi.
These bills will eradicate the price floor, or minimum price for crops and will increase competition in the agricultural market. According to the government, these bills will allow farmers autonomy, and let them sell directly to chains without any sort of auctioning or interference by the government.
These bills have been blatantly opposed by the farmers for the following reasons:
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The dismantling of a minimum price for crops will reduce incomes of farmers considerably.
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Allowing autonomy and access to corporations will further drive down prices and can lead to exploitation of farmers by bigger chains.
Agriculture employs 58% of India's population, causing farmers to be the biggest voter block. Opposing parties have stopped at nothing to express their support for the farmers, and have backed the ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by farmer unions on December 8th. If Modi goes forward with these bills, it is unlikely that these farmers will support the Hindu Nationalist BJP party in the coming future.
The implementation of these bills will mean more than half the nation will suffer a loss in income, and will harshly affect the agriculture industry as a whole. It's not too great that this is happening during a pandemic, where most fields are suffering.
It is not surprising to note that Narendra Modi had promised to double farmer’s incomes by 2022 (as said in 2014). However, he has turned around and backed bills that make it much harder for them to earn a steady income by putting pro-farmer laws out to pasture.
Sources: CNN, Times of India
Trump pulls out troops from Somalia
-Devansh Mishra
In his dying days as POTUS, President Trump retracts ‘a majority’ of troops stationed in Somalia, as he said in an official statement. Counts discern the number to be roughly 700 soldiers in Somalia. After 13 years of posting in the region to fend off attacks from al-Qaeda subordinate al-Shabaab, this decision of retrieval was made.
These 700 troops are now being moved to other bases in Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia, and will completely be removed from Somalia. Gen.Townsend, the commander of US troops in Africa, says ‘this action is not a withdrawal to end our efforts but a reposition so that we can continue our efforts in East Africa’ in a written statement. He says the reposition is to ‘intensify pressure’.
The US troops have been training the local troops, the Danab, to parry the threat of al-Shabaab for the last 13 years. Col. Abdullahi, an ex-commander of the Danab, says this move will make al-Shabaab believe ‘they have gotten rid of their strongest adversary’. In their time stationed there, the US forces provided ‘breathing space’ the Somalian government required to stabilise their military front.
The Pentagon’s order of the withdrawal of ‘a majority’ troops by ‘early 2021’ has clearly angered a lot of faces. The Somalian national elections coming up in February will definitely be affected by the move. The Danab has been shaken, and is hastily trying to reestablish stability.
Sources: Al-Jazeera, Wall Street Journal, BBC
A order of withdrawal of US troops was issued by the Pentagon earlier this week.
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The effects of trump's immigration policy
-akshaj balaji
Trump signs his controversial immigration policy.
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Current American president, Donald J Trump, has implemented several new policies during his presidency. His strong views on immigrants led to some new policies being made, which were not necessarily for the greater good. Many legal American immigrants are being denied the right to a green card. The Government which is supposed to be assisting legal immigrants is denying them their basic rights as many families are going hungry due to absence of a green card. This move was supposedly to ensure that only “self sufficient” immigrants survived the pandemic. Trust in the federal government by the immigrant communities is at an all time low and is only decreasing. WIth people suffering due to no food with the absence of a green card, most immigrants look to President-elect Joe Biden to help them get out of this mess.
Source: NY Times, The Ringer
Sports news
#merciromain
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-n. shriman kumarappan
Romain Grosjean has 10 podiums to his name; he's beaten the best on his day in inferior machinery and he's shown that he can equal Kimi Räikkönen. The news of his miraculous survival has been on the front and back pages of newspapers all over the world - especially in Europe, UK and even here, in India.
India tour of Australia
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-Devansh mishra
Last Friday, the 27 of November, the Indian tour of Australia got underway with a thrilling 3-match ODI series. The two teams are set to play 3 T20Is and 4 Tests till the end of December.