Thursday, March 29, 2007

Materials: Brute force yields new molecules

Urbana (USA), 28 March: Chemists have designed a new type of molecule that changes identity when a mechanical force is applied. Apart from offering new ways to control chemistry, the effect might even result in mechanically responsive polymers that warn of impending structural failures, delay damage or even self-repair.

In most chemical reactions, reactants need to overcome an energy barrier before they are turned into products and the energy needed for this is usually provided by heat, light, pressure or electrical potential. In this week’s Nature, Jeffrey S. Moore and colleagues use mechanical force to achieve the same effect.

The team added carefully designed, force-sensitive units called ‘mechanophores’ to the middle of polymer strands. When a mechanical force is applied, the mechanophore undergoes a chemical reaction and turns into a different molecule.

It’s already known that mechanical forces can activate reactions by ‘tugging’ on reactant bonds, but usually this just ruptures the molecules. Critically, these new materials don’t break.

Neuroscience: Emotion and moral judgments

Los Angeles (USA), 28 March: The critical role played by part of the brain in making normal judgments of right and wrong is highlighted by a study in Nature this week. Patients with damage to an area of the brain involved in the normal generation of emotions have an abnormally ‘utilitarian’ reaction when presented with certain types of moral dilemma.

Antonio Damasio and colleagues studied six patients with focal lesions to the venteromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPC) on both sides of the brain. They presented them with a set of moral dilemmas that pit compelling considerations of aggregate welfare against highly emotionally aversive behaviors, such as having to decide whether to sacrifice one’s child in order to save a number of other people. The authors report that the patients tended to have a utilitarian reaction to these dilemmas – that is, they responded in a manner that favored the greater good, despite the emotional significance of the decision.

The authors note that the effects of damage to the VMPC on emotion processing depend on context, and that their results are consistent with a model in which a combination of intuitive and rational mechanisms operate to produce moral judgments.

Earth sciences: Ocean crust formation

Eugene (USA), 28 March: The upwelling mantle that lies under the Earth’s crust at mid-ocean ridges is not symmetrical, a paper in this week’s Nature suggests. The surprising find helps refine our understanding of how the oceanic crust is formed.

New oceanic crust is produced at geologically active areas called mid-ocean ridges, where molten rock wells up and solidifies. Using seismic waves to image the mantle underneath one of these regions, Douglas R. Toomey and colleagues find that the zone of upwelling is unexpectedly skewed with respect to the axis of the ridge itself, and they suggest that this may govern segmentation of the East Pacific Rise — a long north–south region of seafloor spreading under the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Geology: The driving force of plate tectonics

London (England), 28 March: The North American plate may be driven by mantle flow and deformation at the base of the continental crust, according to a report in Nature this week. David W. Eaton and colleagues studied the surface expression of the Great Meteor hotspot track to estimate the relative motion between the surface and the underside of the plate. The results provide new insights into the driving forces of plate motion.

Hotspots — relatively-fixed locations of active volcanism deep beneath the Earth’s surface — allow scientists to track the movements of plates as they pass over them, producing lines of volcanoes. The Great Meteor hotspot is one of the longest tracks in the Atlantic and reveals the movement of the North American plate over time. The authors used seismic images, geochronology and plate-motion reconstruction to compare the location and chronology of the hotspot track at the base and top of the North American lithosphere. They found that there is a displacement between the surface and deep parts of the tracks. This misalignment increases with age along the track, and is best explained by deformation in the mantle lithosphere beneath North America. They suggest that that motion of the plate is driven, rather than impeded, by viscous traction at the base of the plate.

Organic chemistry: Unprotected complexity

La Jolla (USA), 29 March: A simple and efficient approach to making large amounts of complex natural products from scratch is unveiled in this week's Nature.

Many bacteria naturally produce complex molecules with a broad range of biological activities, including antifungal, antibacterial and anticancer properties. But making large amounts to study in the lab or clinic can be problematic. Chemists often need to perform twenty or more steps, and even if each step is optimized to give high yields, very small amounts of the natural product are usually eventually obtained. Protecting groups are often needed to cover up particular parts of a molecule that might react with other reagents during the synthesis, but the addition and removal of these groups take time, add steps to the synthesis, and can reduce the end amount.

In this week's Nature, Phil Baran and his co-workers reveal an approach that slashes the number of steps needed to make several complex natural products. This approach avoids using protecting groups, and the authors were able to obtain gram — rather than milligram — quantities of the desired natural marine products. The team believes that this approach will facilitate the production of other medically relevant molecules in quantities that will enable biologists to study their mechanism of action and explore whether or not the natural products could be turned into potential therapeutic agents.

Evolutionary Ecology: Understanding evolutionary bursts

Ottawa (Canada), 29 March: The diversity of life is thought to have arisen through a series of bursts of evolution, referred to as adaptive radiations. Two studies published online in Nature this week identify predation and immigration history as key factors that influence this process.

Both groups manipulated microbial systems, which can evolve quickly over time, to study the processes influencing adaptive radiation. Justin R. Meyer and Rees Kassen looked at the effects of a predator, the single-celled eukaryote Tetrahymena thermophila, on the subsequent diversification of its prey, the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens. The presence of predators stifled the bacterium’s ability to diversify. The duo think that this may explain why adaptive radiation seems to occur after mass extinctions and on deserted islands, when predators are rare.

Tadashi Fukami and colleagues found that the sequence in which different species arrive in a given isolated habitat also affects subsequent bacterial diversification. And even small changes in immigration history can have a big knock on effect. Together, the findings show that the origins, extent, function and stability of biodiversity can only be understood by integrating ecology with evolution.

Monday, March 26, 2007

OILspace Unveils New Out-Of-The-Box Online Trade Management Software

NEW YORK, N.Y./EWORLDWIRE/March 26, 2007 --- OILspace, a leading provider of real-time, on-demand energy supply chain, risk, and trade management applications has just released its newest online application, Aspect TradeFlo. TradeFlo is a ground-breaking solution that allows firms to bypass the lengthy sales, negotiation and implementation process that comes with purchasing larger enterprise software packages. It allows small trading and brokerage groups and individuals the advantage of logging on to an affordable, customized portal within hours of requesting the solution.

Bronwen Energy, a London-based trading firm, recently conducted a search for a system that would help it record, manage and report trades, and also offer the flexibility to add-on functionality in the future. It looked at the larger, more expensive systems on the market, but nothing compared to the ease of use, Web-accessibility and low cost of TradeFlo.

According to Consultant Andrew Cudjoe of Andrew Ulric LTD, who was tasked with advising and implementing a system for Bronwen, TradeFlo was the perfect option.

Cudjoe says, "It used to be that the only option for a small trading company was to buy a large software package with high implementation and maintenance costs, and more functionality than needed, or adopt a highly labor intensive process through spreadsheets. We looked at TradeFlo, and within just a few days we were managing trades with our same password account access as OILwatch, OILspace’s market data portal. It provides the visibility and deal management functions our team needs - and there’s nothing else like it available."

Matt Stanley of the Bronwen Energy finance team said, "Beyond the attractive cost and online accessibility of TradeFlo is the added benefit of knowing we can integrate additional tools as we need them for accounting, finance logistics and storage. The system will grow with us."

Aspect TradeFlo is a Web-based deal entry and position-keeping system. It combines the ease of use of spreadsheets with the power of exposure and profit-and-loss reporting found in full-featured energy trade management systems. Whether companies are comprised of a one, two or 50-member trading team, the importance of capturing and managing trades and monitoring positions in a professional system is no different. It's vital to a successful, profitable, marketing operation. With Aspect TradeFlo, it's now affordable and accessible to every company.

OILspace President and CEO Steve Hughes says Aspect TradeFlo fills a gap in the market that has long been needed but never before offered.

"Our customers tell us how important it is to be able to enter trades, create reports and manage portfolios professionally in a system of record. But the costs for big enterprise software systems has traditionally been too high for many smaller companies. What we've created is a powerful solution that meets key trading requirements for most small marketers," says Hughes.

Among its many front-office features, Aspect TradeFlo provides users with a system to enter trades, monitor positions and exposure, and understand how market fluctuations and trades impact profits and losses. Users are able to create detailed audit, market exposure and P&L reports in exportable formats. OILwatch and other industry systems and real-time energy pricing feeds integrate seamlessly with Aspect TradeFlo to eliminate redundant data input and inaccuracies.

WMAX World Asia

The WiMAX World Conference and Expo series are the world's largest events showcasing next generation mobile broadband and WiMAX technology solutions.
Now in its fourth year, WiMAX World takes place on three continents and offers unrivaled business development, branding, sales, educational and networking opportunities.

Last year over 7,000 professionals registered for WiMAX World in the USA and Europe. In 2007, the WiMAX World conference series will draw over 10,000 people, 230+ exhibitors, and will be sponsored by 300+ leading telecommunications and mobile broadband solution providers, analyst firms, media channels and associations around the globe.

Whether you are an operator, service provider, enterprise executive, equipment or radio manufacturer, systems integrator, content provider or a player in an adjunct technology market like Wi-Fi or VOIP, or an analyst or investor, you will find the answers you are looking for at WiMAX World Conference & Expo.

The Lancet Asia Medical Forum 2007

The Forum will offer a unique opportunity for leading regional and international experts to come together with a unified goal of addressing the specific issues surrounding the provision, and future needs, of effective cancer care in Asia. The Forum will focus on the ten most prevalent cancers in Asia-Pacific.
Asia is on the cusp of a major cancer epidemic of unprecedented proportions. The population is expanding rapidly – many times faster than in Europe and the USA – and the proportion of people aged 65 years and older is rising at an even more alarming rate. Over the past 25 years, the population in China has increased by 31% and the number of people older than 65 years by 81%. By comparison, in the UK, the population has risen by 6% and the proportion of people aged 65 years or older by 7%. These disparities are worrying because most cancers present in people of older age. Indeed, current projections suggest that the number of new cases of cancer in Asia will increase from 3.5 million in 2002 to 8.1 million by 2020 if current prevention and management strategies remain unchanged.

Managing the cancer burden in Asia presents many unique challenges. About twice as many men in Asia smoke compared with their northern European counterparts, and the number of tobacco-related deaths is expected to double by 2025. This will equate to about 1 million men aged 25-69 years dying from tobacco-related causes per year in India alone. Similarly, infection is an underlying cause of nearly 20% of cancers worldwide; and in south-central Asia, 75% of the population carry Helicobacter Pylori, which increases the risk of stomach cancer by five to six times, and in south-east Asia, Hepatitis B is endemic, which substantially increases the risk of liver cancer. Exposure to sunlight is also a major source of cancer risk: the global solar UV index for Asia is about twice that of countries in the northern hemisphere. And finally, diet, nutrition, and physical exercise are all vital components of cancer risk, but the rapid rate of economic development in some Asian countries-534% increase in gross domestic product per capita in China over the past 25 years compared with 348% in the UK – along with the accompanying industrialisation and urbanisation, are contributing to an ever-increasing risk of cancers such as breast, colon, prostate, endometrium, kidney, and oesophagus.

Despite this backdrop, very few cancer screening programmes are available in Asia; access to treatment is inadequate – for example, Indonesia has fewer than an eighth of the number of radiotherapy machines needed to provide sufficient coverage for the entire population; and research is still but a fraction of the worldwide effort – in 2005, just 51 registered trials out of 3270 were being done in Asia. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the number of cancer survivors in Asia is very small compared with numbers in Europe and the USA.

International Petroleum & Petrochemical Exhibition (CIPPE)

This is known as the premier exhibition in the petroleum and petrochemical industries in China and has 6 successful events in a row.
Exhibitions in the same period with cippe2007:

1. CIPE2007(The Seventh China International oil & gas pipeline and storage technology and equipment exhibition)
2. Ciooe2007(The 4th China International Offshore Oil and Gas Exhibition )
3. Expec2007(The 4th China International Explosion 4. Protection Electric Technology & Equipment Exhibition)

The four relevant topic exhibition in petroleum and petrochemical industry have arrived the best effect, it’ll bring more opportunities for your business!

According to the data from the organizer of Beijing Zhenwei Exhibition C o., Ltd., some 20,000 professional visitors from 50 countries will attend the exhibition. The overseas visitors are from America, Germany, UK, Italy, French, Russia, Canada, Brazil, Denmark, Norway, Nigeria, Iran, Iraq, UAE, Japan, Korea, India, Indonesia, China, etc. 50 countries and areas.

Cippe, with 31,000 square meters exhibiting area, 42% oversea exhibitors, 9 international pavilions, 629 famous exhibitors from 33 countries, has made wide influence in the world, and been regarded as the top 5 petroleum and petrochemical exhibition in the oil & gas field.

4th Bottom Line Improvement Asia 2007 Conference

This conference should provide two full days of high calibre discussions triggered by papers presented by representatives from the Petroleum and Petrochemical Industries covering Middle East, Indian subcontinent, China, Japan, Korea, ASEAN and Oceania.

The downstream Petroleum and Petrochemical Industries in the Republic of Indonesia face particular challenges. Petrochemical production is relatively modest in size relative to the population compared with other ASEAN countries. The supply and demand of crude oil and refined products currently places pressure to increase sour crude processing and requires substantial balancing product imports. These are the reasons why the 4th Bottom Line Improvement conference focuses on Indonesia’s need to invest in existing and new production facilities, while maximising the value of the in-place facilities.

The conference aims to enable companies in the oil refining and petrochemicals industries to share their views and experiences in the following areas:
Supply/Demand expectations in petroleum and petrochemicals

Increasing pressure on refining and petrochemicals facilities to optimize performance

Exploiting possible synergies between refining/chemicals/power generation/others

Trends in product quality and cost effective means to meet those requirements

Ways to increase capacity and product quality of conversion units

Improving utilization (mechanical reliability/operational availability)

Improving energy performance

This should provide each participant with insights in what does and what does not work, and hence help each participant to find opportunities to improve the bottom line of their own operations. The business objective of bottom line improvement needs to be supported by advanced technologies, application of best practices, selective use of composites and by making sure the hearts and minds of the whole organization are aligned to the common goal. These aspects are in line with Hydrocarbon Asia’s continued editorial focus on business challenges faced by the industry and strategic as well as technical and human relations solutions to address these challenges. ASEAN and Oceania.

The Drama of Asian Globalization: from Malacca to Memphis

This seminar argues that "calls to shut down globalization are pointless, because nobody is in charge," while at the same suggesting ways in which "we can attempt to nudge our rapidly integrating world toward a more harmonious course."
In the eyes of many observers of globalization today, its origins are recent and Western. In fact, Indians, Chinese, and Southeast Asians pioneered globalization long before the colonial era. In the 1st century CE, discovery of the monsoon wind brought increasing number of Indian, Roman, and Arab traders to Southeast Asia in search of spices and precious metals. In the 16th century, the port of Malacca emerged as a crucial nexus - the vital transshipment point of commerce between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The discovery of the New World and the ensuing boom in silver bound Southeast Asia even more tightly with India and Europe in triangular trade. Malacca's early importance as an entrepot is akin to the role that Memphis, Tennessee, plays today as the global air-cargo hub for Federal Express. Against this rich background, Nayan Chanda will contend that "calls to shut down globalization are pointless, because nobody is in charge," while at the same suggesting ways in which "we can attempt to nudge our rapidly integrating world toward a more harmonious course."

Nayan Chanda is director of publications at the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization and editor of YaleGlobal Online. In April 2007 Yale University Press will publish his new book on globalization, Bound Together. In 2005 Stanford and Harvard Universities awarded him their joint Shorenstein Prize for Excellence in Journalism on Asia. In 1990-92 he edited the Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly. His many writings include a widely admired book on Indochina, Brother Enemy: The War After the War (1986). Earlier in his career he worked for the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review as its reporter, diplomatic correspondent, and editor.

Aftermath of Cataclysm: From Emergency to Recovery in Post-Tsunami Aceh, Indonesia

Based on his personal experience on the ground, speaker Dr. Eric Morris will analyze the successes and failures in managing this transition. He will examine issues of accountability, transparency, and equity.

On the morning of 26 December 2004, a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated coastal areas throughout the Indian Ocean region. Most damaged by far was the Indonesian province of Aceh. There, within 30 minutes, some 170,000 lives were lost. The international response was unprecedented. Governments, international agencies, and private citizens contributed massively to relief and reconstruction. The rest of the story is less well known: the difficult and critical transition from emergency aid to sustainable recovery. Based on his personal experience on the ground, speaker Dr. Eric Morris will analyze the successes and failures in managing this transition. He will examine issues of accountability, transparency, and equity. Particular attention will be paid to the convergence of tsunami recovery and conflict recovery in a province afflicted not only by a natural cataclysm but by thirty years of intermittent yet brutal conflict between the central government in Jakarta and the secessionist Free Aceh Movement.

Dr Morris, before his posting to Aceh, headed the New York Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees from 2002 to 2005. In 2000-2001 he served simultaneously as special envoy in the Balkans of the High Commissioner for Refugees and as UN humanitarian coordinator for Kosovo. In 1998-99 he was deputy special representative of the secretary general for the UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He received his Ph.D from Cornell University, an MA from Yale University, and a BA from Baylor University.

Amazing Peace: From Conflict to Compromise in War-torn Aceh, Indonesia

This seminar will focus on the dynamics inside the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). It also includes first-hand research in Aceh including interviews with former GAM leaders and combatants.

From 1976 to 2005 an intermittent but bloody guerilla insurgency raged in the Indonesian province of Aceh. Just a few years ago the conflict seemed intractable, with no end in sight. The two sides had irreconcilable nationalist visions and both appeared committed to violent solutions. However, in August 2005, following the devastating December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, they signed a "Helsinki Agreement," committing themselves to a peaceful resolution. This breakthrough was possible, above all, because the chief secessionist organization, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM, Gerakan Aceh Merdeka) agreed to a compromise settlement by which it accepted Aceh's "self-government" within Indonesia.

How could an organization so intransigently committed to an ethno-nationalist vision of Acehnese independence, and for so long, have suddenly re-imagined Aceh as being compatible with Indonesia? Also surprisingly, the peace process has continued since 2005 with very few serious violations. (A former GAM leader, Irwandi Yusuf, was elected as the new governor of the province in December 2006.) In explaining these unexpected events, Aspinall will focus on the dynamics inside GAM. For evidence and illustration, he will draw on first-hand research in Aceh including interviews with former GAM leaders and combatants.

Edward Aspinall is writing a book on the Aceh conflict. Relevant publications include Opposing Suharto: Compromise, Resistance and Regime Change in Indonesia (2005); The Peace Process in Aceh: Why it Failed (2003), coauthored with Harold Crouch; and "Sovereignty, the Successor State and Universal Human Rights: History and the International Structuring of Acehnese Nationalism," Indonesia (April 2002). Before joining ANU, he taught Southeast Asian and Indonesia studies at the University of Sydney (2003-2005) and the University of New South Wales (1997-2001). Aspinall has a Ph.D from ANU and BA degrees from the Universities of Adelaide and Sydney.

Genetics: ‘Out of Africa’ With Helicobacter Pylori

Berlin (Germany), 25 March: Humans were already infected with the ulcer-causing bacterium Helicobacter pylori around 58,000 years ago when man and micro-organism migrated out of Africa.

In this week’s Nature, Mark Achtman and colleagues report that the key patterns in the distribution of H. pylori genetic diversity mirror those of its human host. As in humans, there is a continuous loss of genetic diversity with increasing distance from East Africa. Humans and H. pylori also seem to have spread from East Africa over the same time scale, suggesting that their association predates the ‘out of Africa’ event.

The team also found that the genetic makeup of H. pylori is more diverse than that of humans, so analyses of the micro-organism's DNA might aid future work on human geographic diversity.

(ResearchSEA)

The Changing Asian Family as a Site of (State) Politics

The conference aims to bring together scholars of Asia whose work interrogates the state-family relationship.

The conference reflects on the complex political processes that produce “the Asian family” and to analyze the consequences of these processes for state and society.

The rapidly changing face of Asia is perhaps most sharply represented in the changing composition, functions, and meanings of its families. Scholarship on the Asian family has highlighted the myriad ways in which changes in the organization of economic lives, demographic trends, social mobility opportunities, migration patterns and global cultural influences have affected the shape, form, and significance of “the family” in people’s lives. Scholars have long acknowledged the family as an important site of state action within the context of these changes. The tendency remains, however, to conceptualize the family and the state as distinct entities—with the state impacting on the family—rather than formed in relation to each other. In this framework, the “public” state steps in to “interfere” with the “private” family only on specific “problems.” In this way, despite the richness of this scholarship, studies of the family continue to stand somewhat outside larger debates about political systems and state-society relations. Contemporary Asian state actors also contribute to perpetuating a view of “the Asian family” as private and primordial, and hence, its own actions as ameliorative and apolitical.

This conference focuses on the relational formation of state and family by highlighting the complex and sometimes contradictory power struggles and negotiations that render possible or impossible particular definitions of the contemporary Asian family, as well as the consequences of these processes on larger questions of political culture and state-society relationships. We aim to bring together scholars of the region whose research investigates the politics of state-family relations through these questions: How are familial forms produced—what are the political processes that produce specific definitions of “family members,” “family relations,” and “familial responsibilities and rights”? On the other hand, what are the consequences of these political processes—on individuals, on civil society, on the state’s own authority, and more broadly, on the texture and tone of power relations in society?

Key themes that follow:

State definitions of “the family”: rhetoric and practice; variations across time and space; “The family” as site of mobilization, movements, contestations and/or cooperation among different actors, vis-à-vis the state. These interactions may include different government agents, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in both national and transnational contexts, and contestations may be based around class, ethnic, gender, and other group interests and agenda;
The reach of the state and its limits in relation to its definitions of meanings, forms, and functions of family;
The (re)production of inequality and equality through interactions between state and family;
The (re)production of political culture and political subjectivity as a result of state and family interactions: the generation of interests, identities, and legitimate and illegitimate political behavior;
“Powerful” families—such as families of political elites and royal families—and their roles in shaping the definition of family in specific contexts, and in shaping state and family relations;
The changing family as a site where there is rethinking of the state and civil society in the era of rapid global change.

In Search of Reconciliation and Peace in Indonesia and East Timor

This workshop goes beyond a mere political approach to reconciliation and offers new understandings of cultural reconciliation processes and factors, which both facilitate and inhibit reconciliation in different cultures. This will provide valuable insights not only for Indonesia, but for conflict situations much more broadly.

A number of Southeast Asian countries have been badly shaken in recent decades by religious, ethnic, social, political and economic conflicts. The search for reconciliation and peace is an important issue in the whole region.

The issues of conflict, conflict resolution and reconciliation have been on the agenda for most of the second half of the twentieth century in general. The rise of the new media has transformed conflicts into global spectacles: images of conflicts from all over the world are brought right into the users' homes, be it on TV or the Internet, in the newspaper or on the radio. Images of conflict seem to be much easier to convey on these channels than images of reconciliation and peace. As we all know: only bad news is news. Recent conflicts in South Africa, Rwanda and East Timor have given rise to a reconciliation toolkit of truth commissions and law enforcement, justice and human rights, forgiveness and amnesty. These mechanisms are supposed to be the means not only to stop conflict and violence, but also to reconcile warring parties and create sustainable peace. Due to the often limited success of these approaches, people and organizations involved in developing conflict solving strategies have started to think about the integration of cultural factors into the reconciliation process. Kevin Avruch argues (1998) that no conflict can be understood and analyzed, let alone sustainable solved, without taking its cultural context into account. The workshop therefore aims to go beyond seeing reconciliation as a purely political process by exploring its socio-cultural contexts and promoting a more ethnographic reading of the reconciliation processes.

A lot has been said and written about violent conflict in Indonesia, investigating its different dimensions across disciplines. Unfortunately, reconciliation has caught much less attention by academics. Debates on reconciliation in Indonesia focus on human rights issues, justice and law enforcement and are heavily influenced by international NGOs and agencies such as the UN. This workshop strives to fill major gaps in reconciliation studies by exploring the cultural dimension of reconciliation in general and its specific forms in Indonesia.

The workshop aims to invite scholars from different academic disciplines such as social anthropology, sociology, law, political science, history and others from Indonesia and abroad. We invite both empirical case studies based on original fieldwork and theoretical reflections to be presented at the workshop. The workshop will cover reconciliation issues that deal with conflicts on different scales, in different contexts, in different regions and in different phases of contemporary Indonesian history. The publication of selected papers of the workshop will make a unique and new contribution to understanding 'the other' dimension of reconciliation and different cultures of reconciliation.

Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

• Cultural approaches to conflict resolution and reconciliation
• Actors of reconciliation and different levels of reconciliation (government, local and international NGOs, media, religious organizations, grassroots organizations etc.)
• Traditional conflict resolution mechanisms
• Local narratives of reconciliation
• Reconciliation, public sphere and civil society
• Democratization, conflict and reconciliation
• Spatial or territorial dimensions of reconciliation
• Gender, ethnic and religious aspects of conflict and reconciliation
• Regional case studies (including those from East Timor)
• Comparative studies from beyond Indonesia

Saturday, March 24, 2007

POLICE REFORM: AN EXCHANGE OF EXPERIENCES FROM SOUTH ASIA

23-24 March 2007
Qutab Hotel, Shaheed Jeet Singh Marg, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi
A Round Table facilitated by Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative

AGENDA

The Objectives of the Round Table are to provide a forum for:
• the exchange of experiences of police reform;
• examining current challenges and debates in the region;
• analyzing existing mechanisms for police accountability and
• creating a plan to catalyze and track police reform processes in the participating countries of South Asia


Day 1 Friday 23 March 2007

9.00 – 9.30 Registration

Opening session: The Discourse on Policing
Session Objectives:
1. Provide an opportunity for participants to table their key concerns about what needs fixing in policing.
2. Raise awareness about the concept of democratic policing
Session Moderator: Ms. Maja Daruwala

9.30 – 9.45 Welcome remarks
Mr. BG Verghese (Chair, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative)
Mr. Verghese will speak about the work of CHRI and set the context for this conference.

9.45 – 10.05 Inaugural Address
Mr. Shivraj Patil (Minister, Home Affairs, India)
Mr. Patil will welcome international guests to India and raise the significance of police reform to good governance in democratic nations.

10.05 – 10.45 Introductory Exercise by participants on ‘What ails policing in the countries of South Asia?’
Facilitator instructs participants to introduce themselves to their neighbour and talk to them about either (1) the key causes of problems in policing, or (2) their 3 main complaints about the police, or (3) the main constraints police face in doing their job. All three aspects will be discussed by sections of participants. Participants’ observations will be shared with the whole group, with the facilitator scribing responses and drawing out themes and commonalities.

10.45 – 11.00 Hallmarks of Democratic Policing
Ms. Maja Daruwala (Director, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative)
Ms Daruwala will speak on the concept of democratic policing, and her vision for the police we have and the police we deserve.

11.00 – 11.15 Morning Tea Break

Session 2: Police Reform Initiatives in South Asia
Session Objectives:
1. Examine the commonalities in policing concerns among South Asian countries, whilst acknowledging the individual differences.
2. Understand the political context and its impact on current police reform processes
3. Get an overview of police reform initiatives in the region and impediments to their success
Session Moderator: Ms. Maja Daruwala

11.15 – 12.40 What’s happening in South Asia?
In this session, representatives from each participating country will make a 15-minute presentation on:
• the political context in their country vis a vis policing concerns
• police reform initiatives currently underway
• blocks hindering the reform measures from being realised

Bangladesh: Dr. Md. Shamsuddoha Khondaker (Additional Inspector General Recruitment, Management & Training, Bangladesh Police and National Programme Coordinator - Police Reform Programme
India: Mr. Prakash Singh (Indian Police Service, Retired), Ms. Swati Mehta (CHRI)
Maldives: Ms Aminath Najeeb (Human Rights Association of Maldives, registration denied since July 2004)

12.00 – 12.10 Q & A

Pakistan: Mr. Mukhtar Ahmad Ali (Executive Director, Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives)
Sri Lanka: Basil Fernando (Director, Asia Human Rights Commission)

12.40 – 1.30 Open Floor Discussion
Ms. Daruwala will then moderate an open floor discussion on the challenges facing policing and police reform in the participating countries vis a vis their specific political contexts.

1.30 – 2.30 Lunch

Session 3: South Asian Experiences of Police/Executive Relationships
Session Objectives:
1. Understand the nature of police/executive relationships in countries of South Asia
2. Identify if and how this poses problems in police functioning
3. Generate discussion on reform measures to address these problems
Session Moderator: Ms. Maja Daruwala

2.30 – 4.00 Police-Executive Relationships in the countries of South Asia Panel

Each panelist will make a 15-minute presentation on:
• How the police-executive relationship is defined in law;
• What happens in practice?
• Whether there have been any government commissions or committees to review relationship;
• If so what suggestions have they made? Have any of them been implemented?

Bangladesh: Prof. Ishrat Shamim (President, Centre for Women and Children Studies)
India: Mr. Kamal Kumar (Indian Police Service, Retired)
Maldives: Mr. Mohamed Jinah (Police Officer, Maldives)

3.15 – 3.30 Q & A


Pakistan: Dr. M. Shoaib Suddle (Director General, National Police Bureau)
Sri Lanka: Mr. J. Thangavelu (Deputy Inspector General, Sri Lanka Police)

4.00 – 4.30 Open discussion [Tea served at the table]

Session 4: Getting the Balance Right – International Experiences
Session Objective:
Reflect on international experiences and models of healthy police/executive relationships
Session Moderator: Ms. Maja Daruwala

4.30 – 5.00 Ingredients for a healthy police/executive relationship
Prof. Philip Stenning, School of Criminology, Education, Sociology & Social Work, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK.

Prof. Stenning will make a 30-minute presentation on the ingredients required for a healthy police/executive relationship, with reference to international good practices.

5.00 – 5.30 Interactive Discussion

5.30 Close of Day 1 Proceedings
_____________________________________________________________
Day 2 Saturday 24 March 2007
9.00 – 9.15 Review of proceedings

Session 5: Who Polices the Police? A Discussion on Police Accountability
Session Objectives:
1. Examine current police accountability systems in South Asia
2. Debate the reasons for the gap between intent and practice and ways to narrow the gap
3. Explore through case studies, the role/effectiveness of specific police oversight bodies.
Session Moderator: Ms. Maja Daruwala

9.15 – 10.30 Focussed discussion based on session objectives.

10.30 – 10.45 Morning Tea

10.45 – 11.15 Have police oversight bodies in South Asia been successful in holding the police to account?

Each presenter will detail in a 10-minute presentation:
• the structure and mandate of the oversight body
• the extent to which the body has satisfied its mandate
• challenges faced in fulfilling its mandate

Police Integrity Commission: Maldives
Ms. Shabab Rasheed (Member, Police Integrity Commission)

National Police Commission: Sri Lanka
Ms. Kishali Pinto Jaywardane (Senior lawyer)

Human Rights Commission: India
Mr. Chaman Lal (Former police officer and special rapporteur, National Human Rights Commission)

11.15 – 11.30 Questions and Discussion
Session 6: Civilian Oversight of Police – International Experiences
Session Objectives:
1. Reflect on the Northern Ireland experience of civilian police oversight bodies
2. Learn about international examples of effective civil society intervention in police reform

11.30 – 12.00
Ms. Maggie Beirne, Director, the Committee on the Administration of Justice, Northern Ireland.

Ms. Beirne will make a 30-minute presentation on the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland and share reflections on the role played by the Committee on the Administration of Justice in the police reform process.

12.00 – 12.30 Interactive Discussion

12.30 – 1.30 Lunch

Session 7: Police Reform … treading the path from rhetoric to reality
Session Objectives:
1. Identify the value of civil society input in police reform processes
2. Map strategies to catalyse and track police reform in participating countries

1.30 – 1.45 Civil Society – Integral or Marginal to Police Reform?
Ms. Patricia Mukhim (Journalist)

1.45 – 1.50 Allocation of Breakout Groups and focus questions
Ms. Maja Daruwala (Director, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative)

1.50 – 2.45 Breakout groups
The participants will be divided into 6 small groups – one per country, with the Indian participants being split into two groups, one for police officers and government members and one for civil society. CHRI staff and the International Guest Speakers, Phillip and Maggie will be assigned to each of the small groups as facilitators. The focus questions the small groups will deliberate on are:
• From which quarters have we encountered resistance to police reform or are likely to do so?
• How should this resistance be addressed?
• How do we progress police reform, both within our country and in solidarity?

2.45 – 3.45 Spokespersons from each group to present deliberations to large group

3.45 – 4.00 Tea break

Session 8: Collective Action
Session Objective:
Collectively draft a conference statement for release to the media and to form the basis of communiqués issued in participating countries

4.00 – 5.00 Working as a group on the adoption of a Conference Statement

5.00 – 5.20 Valedictory Address
Mr. I.K. Gujaral (former Prime Minister, India)

5.20 – 5.30 Vote of Thanks
Ms. Maja Daruwala (Director, CHRI)

Police Reform in South Asia: Sharing of Experiences

1. Background

Over the last eight years, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) has been working on issues related to police reform. During this time, CHRI has worked on police reform and police accountability across the Commonwealth, and has particularly focused on catalysing a reform movement in India. CHRI has identified the enormous potential for and value in sharing experiences of policing and challenges to reform in South Asia, and is facilitating a workshop on police reform in South Asia in New Delhi, March 2007.

CHRI recognises the importance that community focused, transparent and accountable policing has on democracy, development and the protection and promotion of human rights.

2. Police reform in South Asia

Presently, there is growing debate on police reform in all the five Commonwealth countries of South Asia – Bangladesh, Maldives, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Both Bangladesh and Pakistan have witnessed donor driven police reform initiatives. In 2002, Pakistan enacted a new law to govern the police. Pakistan’s Police Order is the most modern law in all the five countries, but is yet to be implemented in spirit.

In India, a Committee set up by the Federal Government has drafted a new Model Police Bill and in a separate initiative, the Supreme Court has directed all the state governments to institutionalise best practices in policing. However, state governments that are required to implement police reform are resisting change.

Sri Lanka gave impetus to police accountability in a 2002 constitutional amendment that saw the establishment of one of the strongest civilian oversight bodies in the Commonwealth, but once again lack of political will subverted the entire process of reform.

The Maldives does not have a law to govern the police and is in the process of enacting a Police Act. Meanwhile, police accountability is a key policy focus of the government’s Roadmap for Reform policy document, which has led to the creation of a Police Integrity Commission.

3. Aim

South Asia faces huge problems in terms of police brutality and a lack of accountability, yet few organisations in the region work on systemic police reforms.

This workshop provides the first opportunity to different stakeholders and voices to share experiences and best practices from across the region, particularly from a human rights perspective. The workshop will bring together government, media, police, civil society and human rights institution representatives from across the region with a view to examine current challenges and debates on police reform in the region and to look at some of the best practices from around the globe. As well as a forum for open discussion and debate of challenges and experiences, the workshop will include a focus on the technical aspects of reform, exploring the structure and mandates of existing and possible mechanisms that aim to create stronger police accountability. The workshop also aims to put together a plan for moving forward with the reforms process in each of the jurisdictions in South Asia.

4. Workshop details

The Roundtable will focus on two key policing issues: the police/executive relationship and police accountability.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Charter Presented To Rahul Gandhi On His Coming Visit To Agra

CHARTER OF DEMANDS: Agra, the city of the Taj Mahal and several other architectural wonders which attracts lakhs of visitors from all parts of the globe annually, is unfortunately dying, and is urgently in need of focused attention to streamline civic amenities and overhaul its infrastructure. The decadent city which during the Mughal period was a mega metro, more developed than London and Paris, has been a victim of lobbying and consistent stepmotherly treatment. The city has also suffered as a result of poor political leadership. The city’s economic growth has remained stunted as a result of the pollution war. Promises of developing pollution-free industries including the IT sector have not been kept and the shrinking of opportunities is forcing young graduates to migrate to Delhi and other parts of India. Without adequate economic activities, the city might in future be reduced to a backwater region peopled by retired senior citizens, and the lonely aged couples left to fend for themselves.

To restore to Agra its original glory of the past and a qualitatively better life for its citizens we wish to submit for your kind consideration and action the following demands:

1. International Airport: The city must have its own international airport. This issue has been hanging fire because of intense lobbying by various interest groups including the Delhi lobby of tourism and travel leaders. The Central Government has already taken a principled stand on this and a feasibility study is to be done. But no time frame has been set.

2. Yamuna Waters: The city’s life-line is dying. We need water not only for drinking and consumption but also to ensure good health to the Taj Mahal. A dry river bed is a constant threat to its survival. The SPM level is constantly rising because of the dust from the dry river.

3. Keitham Lake: Agra has one of the biggest lakes along the Delhi highway, but because of poor maintenance, cleanliness, and lack of water supply, we are not able to take advantage of this natural scenic spot, which could be used for both tourism promotion as well as adventure sports. The Mathura Oil Refinery has been pumping away all its supply without paying any attention to its upkeep. The state government should be asked to develop the lake and ensure it remains full of water.

4. Agra Roads: The city is eternally jammed with traffic chaos obstructing vehicular movement within the city. Tourist vehicles are stranded for hours in traffic jams. A scientific road management system has to be put in place along with widening of the roads and demolishing encroachments.

5. Water Logging, Choked Drains, Dirt And Squalor, Overflowing Sewer Lines: Agra has often been described as the dirtiest city in the world. The Agra Municipal Corporation has proved unequal to the challenge of rising mounds of dirt. The city does not have a scientific waste disposal plan and the facilities for regular cleanliness are non-existent. An Action Plan to clean up the city on a war footing and maintaining the tempo of cleanliness subsequently is urgently required through institutional arrangements supported by adequate funding.

6. Power Supply: Even though the Supreme Court of India had directed the state government to ensure uninterrupted 24x7 power supply to the Taj Trapezium Zone, spread over 10,000 sq kms, the goal is yet to be achieved. Erratic power supply, frequent voltage fluctuations and inadequate capacity have led to a situation when use of diesel generators has become an inevitable necessity. A gas based power plant for Agra is a long pending demand which needs to be addressed urgently. The Gas Authority of India Ltd already has an extensive pipeline network feeding the local industries. The same could be used for running a power plant for the city.

7. Local Transport Connectivity: The city lacks a proper local bus transport system. The connectivity being poor between different tourist places, tourist are fleeced and cheated by tempo and taxi operators. Decent air conditioned buses should be available for the tourists to enable them to visit all the tourist spots. Locals should also benefit from a regular and streamlined transport system which should be pollution free, comfortable and affordable.

8. Tourism Projects: half a dozen important tourism related projects are in a limbo. No one knows their fate. Ad hocks has seriously affected the tourism sector which has not achieved its optimum level. Even a modest project like Tourist Police has not been given final shape, despite regular complaints of cheating and misbehavior by tourists. Government agencies pay no heed to the demands from the local tourism bodies. It is therefore necessary that all sectors which are involved in tourism and travel business are involved in drawing up a comprehensive promotional strategy to make the city tourist friendly and accelerate the growth of this industry in the interest of the country.

9. Test Matches And ODIs In Agra: Sports lovers of Agra have been long demanding holding of test matches and ODIs in Agra, but interest groups have been sabotaging action on this. Foreign teams and their fans always want to see the Taj Mahal and other monuments. The city is well connected and has highly developed hospitality industry. The BCCI should be asked to hold matches in Agra to promote sports tourism.

10. Multiple Sets Of Authorities: It has been one of the long standing demands of this city that for speedy and scientific development of the city, the Central government should work out some institutional arrangement to ensure there were no conflicting perspectives and action plans. Right now we have the Mission Management Board, the Taj Trapezium Zone coordination committee, the central and the state pollution control boards, the Nagar Nigam and the Agra Development Authority, each with its own set of priorities and levels of accountability. The Central Government should take up Agra’s development in its own hands, because the Taj Trapezium is India’s most sensitive eco zone.
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