SHILLONG, Sept 13 – The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) today tabled a no confidence motion in the Assembly against the Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance Government.
Opposition leader Conrad Sangma (NCP) tabling the motion said that the Council of Ministers have been found “wanting” to bring overall development in the State and also failed to maintain law and order.
He added that the current Assembly session was too short and there was no other way to discuss crucial issues relating to the government’s failure, but tabling the no confidence motion.
The Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, after initially resisting the admission of the motion, said, the government was ready to face such motion anytime.
“Let the motion be discussed tomorrow or even today,” Sangma challenged. His confidence comes from the fact that the present government enjoys a comfortable majority with 43 MLAs in the House of 60 members.
Speaker Charles Pyngrope said he was “bound by rules” and admitted the motion. He announced that a date would be fixed later today through a bulletin for discussion of the motion in the House.
Civic polls: Objecting to the government’s insistence in trying to hold municipal elections only in Garo Hills, the opposition NCP today said it amounted to “testing the sentiments of the people of Garo Hills.”
Opposition leader Conrad Sangma asked from the government why it was adamant to hold the municipal elections only in Garo Hills and not elsewhere in the State.
“Is the government testing the sentiments of the people in Garo Hills and then hold similar elections in other parts of the State,” Sangma said during the question hour, while objecting to the government’s decision to unsuccessfully hold the elections in the four wards of Garo Hills on several occasions.
Garo Hills has erupted in violent protest every time the government decided to hold the municipal elections in the four wards of Tura, Williamnagar, Resubelpara and Baghmara claiming it would dilute the powers of the traditional chiefs.
Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh, meanwhile, said that the government respects the sentiments of all sections of the people, but due to Court directives the government was compelled to hold the elections in Garo Hills.
Monday, 12 September 2011
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Meghalaya-Bangladesh border tense
Raju Das
SHILLONG, Sept 12 – Some areas along the Indo-Bangla border in Meghalaya is tense after villagers yesterday took up arms in self-defence against Bangladeshi intruders. The Border Security Force, meanwhile, is being blamed for poor border management.
Tension arose after Bangladeshis were fired upon by local villagers near Lapalang village along the international border at Pynursla, East Khasi Hills district.
“The Indian villagers fired in self-defence after a group of Bangladeshis intruded into Indian territory and attacked at about 11 am yesterday,” John Kharshiing, member, State Planning Board, who has been campaigning on behalf of the border population, said.
The BSF, after the incident, filed an FIR with the police station at Pynursla police station against “unknown individuals,” saying they heard gunshots in the area.
Last month, a similar incident occurred at the same village where two Bangladeshis were shot dead after they entered into one of the orchards in the area. A few days later an Indian villager was grievously attacked by Bangladeshis near the village.
The BSF, which is mandated to provide security in these unfenced villages along the border, is being blamed for its failure to curb these repeated intrusions and violence.
Senior police officials at Pynursla said, there has been no such case of firing reported, although, confirming that the BSF has indeed filed an FIR.
“The BSF has filed an FIR against unknown individuals after hearing gunshots. We have sent our police team in the area to investigate. We cannot say anything for certain before the investigation is completed,” the police official said on condition of anonymity.
Warning that such tensions along the border would only flare up, Kharshiing, meanwhile, suggested: “the Home Ministry must deploy home guards in the border areas because of their better knowledge about the local terrain and population, or conduct specialised training for the Village Defence Party.”
He said the local border population finds it difficult to communicate with the BSF due to the language barrier. “By the time the local villager tries to explain to the BSF, something grave happens. That hopefully won’t be the case once the home guards are deployed or the VDPs are properly trained,” he maintained.
Meanwhile, the BSF frontier (Assam-Meghalaya) headquarter officials did not return calls after repeated attempts to get the border guards’ view about the allegations and the firing.
SHILLONG, Sept 12 – Some areas along the Indo-Bangla border in Meghalaya is tense after villagers yesterday took up arms in self-defence against Bangladeshi intruders. The Border Security Force, meanwhile, is being blamed for poor border management.
Tension arose after Bangladeshis were fired upon by local villagers near Lapalang village along the international border at Pynursla, East Khasi Hills district.
“The Indian villagers fired in self-defence after a group of Bangladeshis intruded into Indian territory and attacked at about 11 am yesterday,” John Kharshiing, member, State Planning Board, who has been campaigning on behalf of the border population, said.
The BSF, after the incident, filed an FIR with the police station at Pynursla police station against “unknown individuals,” saying they heard gunshots in the area.
Last month, a similar incident occurred at the same village where two Bangladeshis were shot dead after they entered into one of the orchards in the area. A few days later an Indian villager was grievously attacked by Bangladeshis near the village.
The BSF, which is mandated to provide security in these unfenced villages along the border, is being blamed for its failure to curb these repeated intrusions and violence.
Senior police officials at Pynursla said, there has been no such case of firing reported, although, confirming that the BSF has indeed filed an FIR.
“The BSF has filed an FIR against unknown individuals after hearing gunshots. We have sent our police team in the area to investigate. We cannot say anything for certain before the investigation is completed,” the police official said on condition of anonymity.
Warning that such tensions along the border would only flare up, Kharshiing, meanwhile, suggested: “the Home Ministry must deploy home guards in the border areas because of their better knowledge about the local terrain and population, or conduct specialised training for the Village Defence Party.”
He said the local border population finds it difficult to communicate with the BSF due to the language barrier. “By the time the local villager tries to explain to the BSF, something grave happens. That hopefully won’t be the case once the home guards are deployed or the VDPs are properly trained,” he maintained.
Meanwhile, the BSF frontier (Assam-Meghalaya) headquarter officials did not return calls after repeated attempts to get the border guards’ view about the allegations and the firing.
Meghalaya on alert after rebel threat
Shillong, Sep 12 : An alert was sounded across Meghalaya Sunday after Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) rebels threatened to bomb several areas in the Garo Hills region, police said.
'We want the government to withdraw all security forces from Garo Hills and suspend the combing operation against us or else we will bomb several areas in Garo Hills,' Kakam D. Shira, a GNLA rebel leader, said in a statement.
'There is no question of withdrawing the troops or suspending our combing operation against them. Instead, we will vigorously intensify our operations,' said S.K. Jain, intelligence chief of Meghalaya Police.
An alert has been sounded across the state, he added.
The GNLA's threat came after personnel of the Combat Battalion for Resolute Action commandos and Border Security Force were deployed in the Garo Hills region.
Shira said the outfit had decided to go ahead with the three-day dawn-to-dusk shutdown from Sep 12-14 in protest against the ongoing combing operations.
The Garo Hills region is being used as a safe haven by various militant groups.
'We want the government to withdraw all security forces from Garo Hills and suspend the combing operation against us or else we will bomb several areas in Garo Hills,' Kakam D. Shira, a GNLA rebel leader, said in a statement.
'There is no question of withdrawing the troops or suspending our combing operation against them. Instead, we will vigorously intensify our operations,' said S.K. Jain, intelligence chief of Meghalaya Police.
An alert has been sounded across the state, he added.
The GNLA's threat came after personnel of the Combat Battalion for Resolute Action commandos and Border Security Force were deployed in the Garo Hills region.
Shira said the outfit had decided to go ahead with the three-day dawn-to-dusk shutdown from Sep 12-14 in protest against the ongoing combing operations.
The Garo Hills region is being used as a safe haven by various militant groups.
Night blockade in Meghalaya against influx
Shillong: Twelve organisations have threatened night blockades on highways in Meghalaya on Tuesday and Wednesday alleging government's failure to initiate steps to control influx of people from outside the state.
East Khasi Hills deputy commissioner J Lyngdoh held talks with the protesting groups yesterday, but the organisations were adamant to go ahead with their agitation even as they assured there would be no law and order problem, official sources said.
The organisations, including the influential Khasi Students Union (KSU), the Federation of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) and the Jaintia Students Union (JSU) wants the government to implement an innerline permit system and work permit system for migrants.
The night blockades would be enforced from 7 pm to 5 am, they said.
FKJGP president Emlang Lytan said though the government insists that efforts were being made to address the problem, there has been no results and situation has not improved.
The organisations said their demand for implementation of work permit system has been lying pending since 2007 despite the cabinet approving it.
East Khasi Hills deputy commissioner J Lyngdoh held talks with the protesting groups yesterday, but the organisations were adamant to go ahead with their agitation even as they assured there would be no law and order problem, official sources said.
The organisations, including the influential Khasi Students Union (KSU), the Federation of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) and the Jaintia Students Union (JSU) wants the government to implement an innerline permit system and work permit system for migrants.
The night blockades would be enforced from 7 pm to 5 am, they said.
FKJGP president Emlang Lytan said though the government insists that efforts were being made to address the problem, there has been no results and situation has not improved.
The organisations said their demand for implementation of work permit system has been lying pending since 2007 despite the cabinet approving it.
Expert Meeting on ABS and IPRs
Johanna von Braun and Sabine Zajderman (Natural Justice) attended the Expert Meeting on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) from 5-9 September in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The meeting was organized by the ABS Capacity Development Initiative for Africa (ABS Initiative) in cooperation with the Ethiopian Institute of Biodiversity Conservation.
This was the first meeting discussing ABS implementation in light of the Nagoya Protocol and its links to IPRs in the African context. The workshop aimed to provide a dialogue platform for representatives from African countries and international IPR experts to explore the challenges of linking ABS and IPRs in a coherent manner when implementing ABS at the national and sub-regional levels. Concrete practical experiences on ABS cases linked to IPRs were presented and formed the basis of intensive discussions.
This was the first meeting discussing ABS implementation in light of the Nagoya Protocol and its links to IPRs in the African context. The workshop aimed to provide a dialogue platform for representatives from African countries and international IPR experts to explore the challenges of linking ABS and IPRs in a coherent manner when implementing ABS at the national and sub-regional levels. Concrete practical experiences on ABS cases linked to IPRs were presented and formed the basis of intensive discussions.
During the course of the week, participants were briefed on: (i) the Nagoya Protocol on ABS, with a special focus on the interlinkages between ABS and IPRs and their significance for the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in domestic and sub-regional policies and regulations; and (ii) the process and status of negotiations under the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding IPR aspects related to ABS. They then reflected on intellectual property aspects and considerations that will have to be taken into account in the development and implementation of ABS policies and regulations at national and sub-regional levels while discussing the development of effective institutional coordination mechanisms between the relevant competent national and international authorities. Also thoroughly examined were the practicality of different intellectual property instruments used along the value chain, research, and/or product development process of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, particularly Prior Informed Consent (PIC), Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT) and the granting of access permits.
On the last day on the meeting, a calendar of ABS- and IP-related events and meetings was set up with the view to prepare the African Group for the 11th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 11) in October 2012. The meeting ended with a visit to the Ethiopian Institute of Biodiversity Conservation, formerly known the Plant Genetic Resources Centre, which safeguards Africa’s oldest and largest gene bank and, since its inception in 1976, has accomplished remarkable work in exploration, collection, and conservation of plant genetic resources.
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Meghalaya NGOs call night blockade
SHILLONG, Sept 11 – NGOs in Meghalaya have called night road blockade for two days from September 13 demanding stronger rules to discourage influx into the State.
The NGOs, including Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) and Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) and nine others, have called the night road blockade in Khasi hills, Jaintia Hills and Ri-Bhoi districts.
The night blockade would come into effect from 7 pm and end at 5 am on the two consecutive nights.
The State Government recently announced that an anti-infiltration directorate to deal with the problem of influx would be set up in the State.
However, the NGOs said that the setting up of the proposed anti-infiltration directorate was just an “eyewash” and their suggested points to curb influx were not taken seriously by the Government.
The NGOs are demanding that work permit be issued to labourers coming from outside the State, introduction of a three-tier identification card for the residents of the State and scrapping of Indo-Nepal Treaty amongst other demands.
“Our demands were not addressed by the Government. The setting up of the anti-infiltration directorate is just an eyewash and so we have decided to call the night road blockade from September 13,” Samuel Jyrwa, KSU president said after a meeting of NGOs.
He said if the Government does not respond to their demand even after the night road blockade then the NGOs would hold a public meeting and decide on the future course of action.
Meanwhile, the State Government has decided to set up the anti-infiltration directorate with the recommendation of the State Task Force on Influx.
The NGOs, including Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) and Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) and nine others, have called the night road blockade in Khasi hills, Jaintia Hills and Ri-Bhoi districts.
The night blockade would come into effect from 7 pm and end at 5 am on the two consecutive nights.
The State Government recently announced that an anti-infiltration directorate to deal with the problem of influx would be set up in the State.
However, the NGOs said that the setting up of the proposed anti-infiltration directorate was just an “eyewash” and their suggested points to curb influx were not taken seriously by the Government.
The NGOs are demanding that work permit be issued to labourers coming from outside the State, introduction of a three-tier identification card for the residents of the State and scrapping of Indo-Nepal Treaty amongst other demands.
“Our demands were not addressed by the Government. The setting up of the anti-infiltration directorate is just an eyewash and so we have decided to call the night road blockade from September 13,” Samuel Jyrwa, KSU president said after a meeting of NGOs.
He said if the Government does not respond to their demand even after the night road blockade then the NGOs would hold a public meeting and decide on the future course of action.
Meanwhile, the State Government has decided to set up the anti-infiltration directorate with the recommendation of the State Task Force on Influx.
Friday, 9 September 2011
Culture and ‘Spatial Intelligence’
By Christopher Shea
Men tend do better than women on tests of spatial intelligence (though you have to watch your tone when you point this out, as the former Harvard president Larry Summers learned). But would the difference persist in a world of educational and professional equality? Or—if women ruled?Researchers administered four-piece jigsaw puzzles to nearly 1,300 members of two closely related tribes in Northeast India with little to no experience with such puzzles. The twist: One tribe, the Khasi, was matrilineal: Property descends through the youngest daughter and men are forbidden to own land. The other, the Karbi, is patrilineal.
Participants were offered about a quarter of a day’s wage if they could solve the puzzle quickly.
In the patrilineal tribe, men were 36% faster at solving the puzzle, on average (42.3 seconds versus 57.2 seconds). But there was no statistical difference in the matrilineal society. Men finished in 32.1 seconds, women in 35.4 seconds.
In the patrilineal society, men attended school longer than women; the researchers chalked up one-third of the gendered performance difference to that fact. But culture, they said, also appeared to play a strong role.
The authors note, at the end of their paper, that their “results do not provide evidence against the role of nature.”
(Neuroskeptic offers a couple of objections to the study, including that it “essentially has only two datapoints.” But Moshe Hoffman, one of the authors, counters that the study amounts to a natural experiment involving two carefully matched groups: “[T]he Khasi and Karbi have the same means of subsistence, are geographically interspersed, and are genetically close kin. We can be certain that our result is due to cultural differences; we don’t need to rely on the law of large numbers to rule out the effect of other differences because there aren’t really other differences to rule out.)
Source: “Nurture Affects Gender Differences in Spatial Abilities,” Moshe Hoffman, Uri Gneezy and John A. List, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Sept. 6)
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