Wednesday, 7 December 2016

Launch of Verison 10.

Opposition rejects Saenuri dissenters’ demand to revise impeachment motion

A group of Saenuri Party lawmakers who support the ouster of President Park Geun-hye gather for a meeting at the Seoul-based National Assembly on Dec. 7, 2016. (Yonhap)
A group of Saenuri Party lawmakers who support the ouster of President Park Geun-hye gather for a meeting at the Seoul-based National Assembly on Dec. 7, 2016. (Yonhap)
South Korean opposition parties on Wednesday rejected ruling party lawmakers’ demand to remove President Park Geun-hye’s alleged inaction during the 2014 ferry disaster from the charges listed in an impeachment motion against her.
The Saenuri Party members, who hold the balance of power in the vote slated for Friday, demanded earlier in the day the opposition revise details on the bill, saying the impeachment should focus only on charges leveled by state prosecutors.
Late last week, the three opposition parties submitted the motion, which claimed that Park violated the Constitution and other laws in connection with the influence-peddling scandal in which she was named as an accomplice.
The opposition bloc also included the Sewol ferry disaster as one of its reasons for impeaching Park, adding the president failed to protect the lives of the people as stipulated in the Constitution.
The Saenuri lawmakers, however, demanded the Sewol issue be removed from the motion altogether.
“This, however, is not an official request. We are only asking the opposition bloc to consider such a move,” said Rep. Hwang Young-cheul, the spokesman of the group. “This is not a prerequisite for our participation in the impeachment.”
In response, the opposition parties said they cannot accept the Saenuri dissenters’ request, adding the incident plays a crucial part in the impeachment motion.
“It is difficult for us to make changes,” Rep. Woo Sang-ho, the floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party said. Pundits said the party is making efforts to persuade Saenuri lawmakers to accept the existing motion.
The splinter People’s Party said an amendment must win approval from all three opposition parties, adding its stance remains unchanged.
The group of around 40 non-mainstream Saenuri lawmakers are expected to play a crucial role in the passage of the motion as the opposition bloc is still 28 seats short from meeting the minimum requirement of at least 200 members from the 300-seat National Assembly.
The Sewol ferry, which sank on April 16, 2014, was en route to the southern resort island of Jeju from Incheon, west of Seoul, with a total of 476 passengers. Most of the 304 dead were high school students on a field trip.
Meanwhile, Hwang also said Moon Jae-in, a presidential hopeful who formerly led the main opposition Democratic Party, should retire from politics if the impeachment motion fails to be approved by parliament on Friday.
The group said Moon is attempting to take advantage of the situation for his own political ambitions. Moon earlier said Park should step down even if the impeachment motion is passed by the National Assembly, regardless of the Constitutional review.
Lawmakers, meanwhile, differed in their estimates of how many Saenuri lawmakers will support the impeachment bill on Friday.
Hwang said at least 35 members will vote for it, which will be sufficient to pass it. Another lawmaker of the group put the figure at 50.
Other Park loyalists, however, said such estimates are an exaggeration, adding some have already expressed their intent to leave the dissenters’ group. A pro-Park lawmaker said the motion will not pass the parliamentary session and predicted the impeachment will get 195 votes at most.

INVITATION TO SOUTH KOREAN PAVILION

5thIEF-IGU Ministerial Gas Forum,

New Delhi 6 December 2016
1-   Upon the invitation of His Excellency Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas of the Republic of India, Ministers, industry leaders, heads of international organisations, and invited energy market stakeholders of the member countries of the International Energy Forum (IEF), and the International Gas Union (IGU) gathered at the 5th Meeting of the Bienniel IEF-IGU Ministerial Gas Forum, hosted by the Government of the Republic of India on 6 December 2016 in New Delhi, India.
2-    Under the theme “Gas for Growth: Improving economic prosperity and living standards” ministers deepened their dialogue, while engaging with industry representatives as well as energy thought leaders on the role of gas to enable an orderly energy transition that strengthens energy security, stimulates economic growth and enhances healthy energy market functioning, prosperity and wellbeing globally.
3-    Gathered in New Delhi India, one of the world’s largest new gas consuming markets, counting more than 1.2 billion prospective gas consumers in the world, and most rapid growing economy that is seeking to embrace the “Age of Gas”, ministers from both producing and consuming countries, exchanged views in three sessions on gas for growth and sustainability, regional gas markets; new prospects for trade and integration, and policy trends for investment across regions.
4-    Sessions included key note presentations by His Excellency Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas of the Republic of India, His Excellency Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry, Qatar the Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, His Excellency Seyed Mohammad Hossein Adeli, the Chairman and Managing Director of Gail India, Shri B.C. Tripathi and Nizar Mohammad Al-Adsani, the Chief Executive Officer of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, among the many senior level interlocutors from government, industry and international organisations.
5-    Mindful of the outcomes of the 15th Session of the IEF Ministerial Energy Forum held in Algiers on 26-28 September 2016 that took place against the background of key governance initiatives, such as, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015, the landmark “Paris Agreement” concluded the 21st session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as new energy governance initiatives in the framework of the G20 and other platforms, discussions focussed on how gas resources and technologies can stimulate sustainable growth, diversify economies, improve air quality, keep global warming within agreed thresholds, and achieve energy access goals.
6-    Ministers discussed global market developments that are charactarised by more abundant gas supplies, weaker than expected demand growth, and the global spread of new technologies that enables more diverse gas trade between global gas and demand centres in which Asia and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) flows are rapidly increasing market share. They noted that this has made gas markets more competitive, and the terms of trade more short-term and flexible between a broader range of gas producers and consumers that stand to further benefit both.
7-    Ministers acknowledged that increasing supplies on a more competitive global gas market creates new opportunities for gas importing countries to lock in supplies on more favourable terms. On the other hand enduring gas market supply abundance reduces investment incentives in the development of upstream gas resources. Growing gas trade volumes and opportunities may expose global gas  markets to new risks and price fluctuations, as shifts in regional markets can propagate with greater ease across a better interconnected system. Delegates noted the importance of strengthening dialogue on a rolling basis, and that bilateral producer-consumer relations built up over the past decades remain critical for longer term gas market security.
8-    Delegates recognised that a denser global midstream sector with more diverse pipeline and flexible LNG trade capacity should encourage governments to consider market reforms that reduce price, regulatory, infrastructure and other hurdles, and industry to consider more cost efficient operations and innovate on business models.  For all stakeholders it would be important to seize the opportunity of more abundant gas supplies and trade in shaping healthier energy matrices that increase economic prosperity and living standards in both consuming and producing countries while delivering on globally agreed goals.
9-    Noting that gas can be a driving force to help achieve an orderly energy transition, and is projected to make the largest contribution to societies across the world, when compared to other energy technologies in energy outlooks, delegates acknowledged that an enhanced producers-consumer dialogue on the evolution of gas markets is neccesary for both governments and industry to seize on these opportunities arising on the medium term, and maintain longer term gas market security.
10-   Ministers noted that on one hand the future of gas is bright considering 21st century demographics that require economic prosperity and living standards to increase across societies, but that on the other hand, established policies and business models require closer consideration in light of current energy market projections. To facilitate future gas demand growth trajectories, ministers and industry delegates affirmed their commitment to:
禮bsp;        The IEF producer-consumer dialogue welcoming initiatives to conduct an energy technology neutral, inclusive and ongoing dialogue on the platform that the IEF uniquely provides to ensure gas markets make an optimal contribution to energy matrices, for governments and industry to deliver on economic growth, climate change, and energy transition goals.
禮bsp;        The Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI-Gas) and the JODI 5-Year Plan that Ministers validated at the 15th International Energy Forum meeting on 26-28 September 2016 in Algiers, aiming to improve complete, timely gas market data reporting on a more visible and userfriendly JODI platform, and to explore improving energy market data transparency in general.

Music at the time of Cervantes by Forma Antiqva

INSTITUTO CERVANTES DE NUEVA DELHI  –  CULTURA  – 13 DICIEMBRE 2016  –  Web
foto destacada

Música en la epoca de Cervantes

Music at the time of Cervantes by Forma Antiqva
Para cerrar los actos conmemorativos del IV centenario de la muerte de Cervantes El Instituto Cervantesy la Embajada de España en India,tienen el placer de invitarle al concierto de

“Donde hay música no puede haber cosa mala. Música en la época de Cervantes” por Forma Antiqva
que tendrá lugar el martes 13 de diciembre a las 7:00 p.m. en el India Habitat Center de Nueva Delhi. (+)
Closing the commemorative events of the fourth centenary of the death of Cervantes Instituto Cervantes and the Embassy of Spain in India have the pleasure to invite you to the concert:
         “Where there’s music there can be no evil. Music at the time of Cervantes” by Forma Antiqva
on Tuesday 13th of December at 7:00 p.m. at India Habitat Centerin New Delhi. (+)

Sobre los intérpretes: Centrado en los hermanos Pablo, Daniel y Aarón Zapico, Forma Antiqva es un conjunto de música barroca de formación variable que reúne a los intérpretes más brillantes de su generación y que está considerado por la crítica como uno de los conjuntos más importantes de la música clásica en España. Su fulgurante carrera incluye conciertos en los más prestigiosos festivales y ciclos del país. Forma Antiqva es conjunto residente del Auditorio – Palacio de Congresos «Príncipe Felipe» de Oviedo. Sus más recientes compromisos incluyen representaciones de ópera en el Teatro Real y de tonadillas escénicas en la fundación Juan March de Madrid, y conciertos en el Festival Bach de Thuringia, el Festival de Música Antigua de Sevilla y en el Festival Internacional de Música de Cámara de Camberra (Australia).
About the musicians: Consisting of a core of musicians made up of brothers Pablo, Daniel and Aarón Zapico, Forma Antiqva is a Baroque music ensemble with a variable line-up that brings together the most outstanding performers of its generation. The group is considered by critics to be one of the most important and promising classical music ensembles in Spain. Their meteoric rise has included concerts at the most prestigious festivals and concert series in Spain. Their two last recordings are “Crudo Amor”, consisting in a selection of Agostino Steffani’s duetti da camera and “The Volcano Symphony”, the first time Forma Antiqva performs contemporary music, written by the Dutch composer Ernst Reijseger. Forma Antiqva was awarded the Premio de la Radio Televisión del Principado de Asturias, the Premio de la Música en Asturias, the Premio Serondaya, was designated “Grupo Recomendado” by the Asociación Española de Festivales de Música Clásica and was named “Asturiano del Mes” by the La Nueva España newspaper. Forma Antiqva is the resident ensemble at the Auditorio – Palacio de Congresos “Príncipe Felipe” in Oviedo. Exciting plans for the future include concerts at the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid and at the Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona, International Spring Prague Festival, and at the Frick Gallery in New York City.
AGENDA
foto agenda09/12/2016
Auditorio, Instituto Cervantes, a las 7:00 p.mCine ecuatoriano: “El Juego Sucio”
Sinopsis: “El Juego Sucio” cuenta la historia de un periodista norteamericano que viaja a Ecuador para buscar pruebas del supuesto fraude del sistema jurídico en el país en contra de la petrolera Chevron que fue condenada a pagar a las comunidades amazónicas una indemnización por daño ambiental, que asciende a $ 9.500 millones de dólares. Sin embargo, luego de su investigación en el país andino encuentra otra realidad y decide viajar a la Amazonía para constatar las pruebas de los residuos dejados por Texaco por la explotación de hidrocarburos realizada entre 1964 y 1992, sin cumplir con las normas mínimas ambientales, que ocasionó daños en un área de 2 millones de hectáreas. (+)
Ecuadorian Cinema: Foul Play
Synopsis: “The Dirty Game” tells the story of an American journalist who travels to Ecuador to seek evidence of the alleged fraud of the legal system in the country against the Chevron oil company that was condemned to pay the Amazon communities compensation for environmental damage, which Is $ 9.5 billion. However, after his research in the Andean country finds another reality and decides to travel to the Amazon to verify the evidence of the waste left by Texaco for the exploitation of hydrocarbons made between 1964 and 1992, without complying with the minimum environmental standards, which caused damage in an area of 2 million hectares. (+)
Free Entry. In Spanish with English subtitles.
foto agenda11/12/2016
Auditorio, Instituto Cervantes, a las 4:30 p.mCiclo de cine colombiano: “Gente de bien” de Franco Lolli
Sinopsis: Erick, un niño de diez años abandonado por su madre, se encuentra viviendo de la noche a la mañana con Ariel, su padre a quien apenas conoce. Al hombre le cuesta mantenerlos a flote y crear una relación con su hijo. Conmovida, Maria Isabel, la mujer de clase alta para la que Ariel trabaja como carpintero, decide ayudarlos, y los invita al campo a pasar las Navidades con ella y su familia. Pero al tomar al niño bajo su ala, no mide del todo las consecuencias de sus actos. (+)
Colombian Film Series: “Good people” by Franco Lolli
Synopsis: Eric, 10, finds himself almost overnight living with Gabriel, his father, who he barely knows. Living in a noisy boarding house in a rough and ready quarter of Bógota, Gabriel struggles to make ends meet. However, Eric sees a different side to the city when he is taken to the home of one of Gabriel’s wealthier clients, a middle-class university teacher who is keen to help the pair out. (+)
Free Entry. In Spanish with English subtitles.
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Amma, The Symbol Of Populist And Welfarist Politics

Amma, The Symbol Of Populist And Welfarist Politics, Has Left Behind A Vacuum In Tamilnadu Politics!
Her administrative ability will be remembered, not corruption charges against her…
Jayalalitha Amma was a symbol of ‘Popular Politics’. She was a great administrator as we witnessed her capacity during the post Tsunami relief and rehabilitation work.
She was popular, on one hand, due to her welfarism however, her more influential leadership was due to her intense relationship with the people. She was a unique personality that would stand up in the “gallery” and yet would look down to the downtrodden. She was capable of turning her own independent decisions, whether on the farmers’ issues on the land acquisition, Cauvery delta affected by upstream dam or ONGC Project in Tanjavur, carrying forward her own politics but also giving some relief to the common people. She also opposed strongly the GST Bill, changes in Food Security Act, Land Acquisition Amendment Bill, Elevated express way, displacing thousands of slum dwellers to far off places causing deprivation of livelihoods and education, methane project, GAIL project, implementation of ecologically devastating Setu Samundran Project etc. She also demanded retrieval of “Katcha Theevu” and for declaration of Rajapakshe as war criminal and punishment in the International Court of Justice. She was firm on relief and rehabilitation but was not showing any depth on development issues.  Even when she was with NDA, she had her own space within and much later she became an occupier of widest possible political space in Tamil Nadu and through it at the national level.
Her not being as much sensitive as she should been to insecure workers and atrocities against dalits, yet she had her own ways to control casteism….. She still scored marks over other politicians by carrying forward welfare boards and welfare funds for the same. She had lost her votes in one election on not responding to organized workers, undermining social welfare boards by transferring responsibility to revenue departments which encouraged huge corruption and disconnection with a lot of genuine unions, responded very late to demands of many of closing down the TASMAC shops, which could have been considered her position on disparity between her own understanding about certain demands and priorities. One wished she had a different position on the Koodankulam nuclear power plant issue but unfortunately like every other politician she saw nuclear energy as necessary development and didn’t support the popular demand for its cancellation. She no doubt cancelled the plans to shift her administrative offices to Marina Beach, after peoples’ resistance however she changed her mind, after initially supporting the fish workers, and slum dwellers with whom NAPM allies have been working since long.
She could not get the credit of pro-equity politician as her own property indicates. Her support to associates like Shashikala and expensive events as well as land grabs could not be justifiable at all. How she got out of the cases on corruption against her and continued to be in the hearts of Tamil people is a mystery, no doubt. Jayalalitha’s ways of remaining in the position of inaccessible yet the most popular leader certainly is her success in the today’s politics with not just dramatics but also popular matrix which she created and even changed.
To say that it’s a great vacuum in the electoral politics is created with her demise is true about Tamilnadu where there is no opposition, either clean or caring the people that could fill it. However emergence of Amma through resorting to distribution of consumer goods, the freebies, is something that has started a new era in the vote bank mongering which was and needed to be questioned.
Whether or not AIADMK would survive without her charismatic personality and welfarist politics with relations unbound, remains to be seen. There is no doubt that neither DMK nor NDA or UDA can evolve as an alternative to AIADMK under Jayalalitha’s powerful heritage.
The people of Tamil Nadu, no doubt, are shocked with the valuation of her property as well as her personal belongings which was not easily denounced as a result of massive corruption, for whatever reason. However they are the ones who would also miss her administrative ability and reach to the poor, and her responses to the issues raised and taken to peak by the people’s organizations in Tamil Nadu.
Let us bid farewell for Amma, empathizing with her supporters in tears and shatters… and join others in analyzing her popularity and her politics. May her soul rest in peace…
—
Medha Patkar, Madhuresh Kumar, Gabriele Dietrich, Geetha Ramakrishnan, Arul, Rajendra Ravi, Suniti S. R. 

Congress and BJP on FCRA violation.

Foreign Funding: ADR writes to MHA and ECI, urges them to implement Delhi High Court’s ruling against Congress and BJP on FCRA violation.
New Delhi: Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has written letters (attached) to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Election Commission (ECI) urging them to implement and comply with the directions of the Delhi High Court and take action against two national parties BJP and Congress as ‘contemplated by law’ within a specified period of six months.
ADR, in its letters has specifically highlighted Para 73 of the Delhi High Court’s order, which states;
“73. For the reasons extensively highlighted in the preceding paragraphs, we have no hesitation in arriving at the view that prima-facie the acts of the respondents inter-se, as highlighted in the present petition, clearly fall foul of the ban imposed under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976 as the donations accepted by the political parties from Sterlite and Sesa accrue from ‘Foreign Sources’ within the meaning of law.”
The Delhi High Court in its judgment dated 28th March, 2014 had found both Congress and BJP prima facie guilty of accepting foreign funds and violating the provisions of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976. (Click here) Against the High Court’s order, Congress and BJP had separately filed Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) in the Supreme Court on 26 June, 2014, and 26 August, 2014 respectively, and consequently the matter became sub judice. The SLPs in the Supreme Court were “dismissed as withdrawn” on November 29, 2016. (Click here).
In view of the fact that now the Delhi HC order of March 28, 2014 has attained finality and it has been re-affirmed in a way, it is imperative that ECI, as a constitutional body and MHA as an administering authority under FCRA should act and take action against these two national parties for violating the FCRA within a specified time as directed by the High Court.
Section 23(1) of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976 calls for a penal action for the contravention of any provision of the act. The relevant Section reads as follows;
“whoever accepts, or assists any person, political party or organisation in accepting any foreign contribution or any currency from a foreign source, in contravention of any provision of this Act or any rule made thereunder, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both.”
ECI being the Constitutional authority to conduct free and fair elections in the country, it has the powers to either suspend or withdraw the recognition of a political party under Section 16 (A)(b) of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. The relevant Section reads as follows;
“to follow or carry out the lawful directions and instructions of the Commission given from time to time with a view to furthering the conduct of free, fair and peaceful elections or safeguarding the interests of the general public and the electorate in particular, the Commission may, after taking into account all the available facts and circumstances of the case and after giving the party reasonable opportunity of showing cause in relation to the action proposed to be taken against it, either suspend, subject to such terms as the Commission may deem appropriate, or withdraw the recognition of such party as the National Party or, as the case may be, the State Party.”
ADR in its letter, addressed to MHA, has also stated that if “action as contemplated by law” is not taken within a reasonable time, the inescapable conclusion will be that the verdict of the Hon’ble Delhi HC is not being complied with wilfully, and there will be no option but to initiate proceedings for contempt of court against the MHA.
Thanks & Regards
Prof Trilochan Sastry
IIM Bangalore
Founder Member,
NEW & ADR
+91 94483 53285
trilochans@iimb.ernet.in
Prof Jagdeep Chhokar
IIM Ahmedabad (Retd.)
Founder Member,
NEW & ADR
+91 99996 20944
jchhokar@gmail.com
Maj.Gen. Anil Verma (Retd.)
Head
NEW & ADR
+91 88264 79910
adr@adrIndia.org,
anilverma@adrindia.org
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