TOPIC-1:The
curious case of Julian Assange
Personal liberty
still eludes WikiLeaks founder and
Editor-in-Chief Julian Assange, despite a ruling by a United Nations legal
panel that has declared his confinement “arbitrary and illegal”. The ruling of
the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
— the authoritative UN body that pronounces on illegal detentions based on binding
and legal international instruments — has met with support, but not
surprisingly, with a bitter backlash as
well, notably from governments that have suffered incalculable
damage from WikiLeaks’ relentless exposures.
Sweden and Britain have rejected the panel’s findings outright, despite the fact that they are signatories to the
International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and the other treaties upon which the UN legal panel has based
its recommendation. The same countries have in the past upheld rulings of the
same panel on similar cases such as the ‘arbitrary detention’ of the Myanmar
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed. The
British Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, has called the ruling “ridiculous”, and dismissed the distinguished panel
as comprising “lay people, not lawyers”. As for the Swedish Prosecutor’s
Office, it has declared that the UN body’s opinion “has no formal impact on the
ongoing investigation, according to Swedish law”. In other words, both
countries argue that his confinement is
not arbitrary but self-imposed, and he is at ‘liberty’ to step out, be
arrested, and face the consequences.
The specific allegation of rape that Mr. Assange faces in
Sweden must be seen in the larger international political context of his
confinement. He has made it clear he is not fleeing
Swedish justice, offering repeatedly to give evidence to the Swedish
authorities, with the caveat that he be
questioned at his refuge in London, either in person or by webcam. While he
will have to prove his innocence, Mr. Assange is not being paranoid when he talks of his fear of extradition to the U.S.: Chelsea Manning, whose damning Iraq revelations were first carried on
WikiLeaks, was held in a long pre-trial detention and convicted to 35 years of
imprisonment. The U.S. Department of Justice has confirmed on more than one
occasion that there is a pending prosecution and Grand Jury against him and
WikiLeaks. Mr. Assange’s defence team argues that the Swedish police case is
but a smokescreen for a larger political
game plan centred on Washington, which is determined to root out whistle-blowers
such as Mr. Assange, Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning for exposing dirty
state secrets. It was WikiLeaks that carried the shocking video evidence of the
wholesale collateral murder by the U.S.-led forces of civilians in Iraq and
Afghanistan, in addition to thousands of pages of evidence of other violations
of sovereignty and international law. By defying the UN panel’s carefully considered
recommendation that Mr. Assange be freed and awarded compensation, Britain and
Sweden are damaging their own international standing. They must reverse their untenable stand and do what law and decency
dictate by allowing Mr. Assange an opportunity to prove his innocence without
fearing extradition to the United States.
VOCABULARY:
1.liberty : the
state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by
authority on one's behaviour or political views.
2.eludes : escape
from or avoid (a danger, enemy, or pursuer), typically in a skilful or cunning
way.
3.Arbitrary :
based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system.
4.detentions : the
action of detaining someone or the state of being detained in official custody.
5.binding : fabric cut or woven in a strip, used for
binding the edges of a piece of material.
6.backlash :a
strong negative reaction by a large number of people, especially to a social or
political development.
7.incalculable :
not able to be calculated or estimated.
8.relentless :
harsh or inflexible.
9.despite :
without being affected by; in spite of.
10.Covenant :
agree by lease, deed, or other legal contract.
11.treaties :a
formally concluded and ratified agreement between states.
12.ridiculous :
deserving or inviting derision or mockery; absurd.
13.confinement :
the action of confining or state of being confined.
14.consequences: a
result or effect, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.
15.allegation : a claim or assertion that someone has done
something illegal or wrong, typically one made without proof.
16.fleeing : run
away from a place or situation of danger.
17.caveat :a warning or proviso of specific
stipulations, conditions, or limitations.
18.paranoid
:characterized by or suffering from the mental condition of paranoia.
19.extradition :
the action of extraditing a person accused or convicted of a crime.
20.damning :(of a
circumstance or piece of evidence) strongly suggesting guilt or error.
21.smokescreen : a ruse designed to disguise someone's real
intentions or activities.
22.sovereignty : the authority of a state to govern itself
or another state.
23.defying :
appear to be challenging (someone) to do or prove something.
24.untenable
:(especially of a position or view) not able to be maintained or defended
against attack or objection.
TOPIC-2:Why Siachen must be demilitarised
The
February 3 avalanche on the Siachen
glacier that buried 10 Indian Army soldiers is a stark reminder to both India
and Pakistan about the cost of military deployment in such inhospitable
territory. The bodies of most soldiers of the 19 Madras Regiment are yet to be
recovered from the post on the northern part of the glacier, at a height of
19,600 feet. This was not an isolated incident but part of a growing trend in
that region, as global warming dramatically
affects the glacier. Last month, four soldiers of 3 Ladakh Scouts were killed
when an avalanche hit a patrol party in the Ladakh region, not very far from
the site of the present tragedy. Avalanches are a threat not just to Indian
soldiers, but also to the Pakistani troops. In April 2012, in the Gayari
sector, 129 soldiers of the 6th Northern Light Infantry
of the Pakistani military and 11 civilian contractors were buried by a
massive avalanche. It is not just avalanches; the challenging terrain of the glacier and its surroundings as a
whole have been regularly claiming lives. According to reliable
estimates, over 2,000 soldiers from both sides have died on the Siachen glacier
since 1984, when India beat Pakistan by a few days to occupy many of the
strategic locations on the glacier.
Ever since the two militaries began
a costly engagement on the glacier, there have been numerous efforts by both
countries to find a way to demilitarise
the glacier. In June 1989, they came very close to clinching
a final deal. The two sides had agreed to “work towards a comprehensive settlement, based on redeployment of forces to reduce the chance of conflict, avoidance of the use of force and the
determination of future positions on the ground so as to conform with the
Shimla Agreement and to ensure durable peace in the Siachen area”. Ever since
then, India and Pakistan have tried diplomatically
to find away to demilitarise the region. However, a lack of political will on
both sides has meant that the status quo
holds, and soldiers continue to pay a very high price in that remote snowy outpost. India has in the past suggested delineation of the Line of Control north of NJ
9842, redeployment of troops on both sides to agreed positions after demarcating their existing positions, a zone of
disengagement, and a monitoring mechanism to
maintain the peace. Given Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal initiative to
visit Lahore on Christmas day and to push forward peace with Pakistan, it would
only be the next logical step to look at the low-hanging fruits in bilateral issues
to build trust. The demilitarisation of Siachen is definitely doable. This is not only because it is
diplomatically possible, but also because there is a critical mass of opinion
in both India and Pakistan that neither can sacrifice, or put in harm’s way, so
many lives on the inhospitable glacier. If the initiative is not seized by both
sides now, the vagaries of nature will
continue to exact a toll on forces deployed in Siachen, even if peace holds.
VOCABULARY:
1.dramatically :
something done with great flare or done in an overly exaggerated or theatrical
manner.
2.avalanche : a
mass of snow, ice, and rocks falling rapidly down a mountainside.
3.Infantry :
soldiers marching or fighting on foot; foot soldiers collectively.
4.buried : cover
(someone or something) completely.
5.terrain : a
stretch of land, especially with regard to its physical features.
6.reliable : consistently
good in quality or performance; able to be trusted.
7.demilitarise :
remove all military forces from (an area).
8.clinching :
confirm or settle (a contract or bargain).
9.comprehensive :
including or dealing with all or nearly all elements or aspects of something.
10.redeployment :
to transfer (a unit, a person, supplies, etc.) from one theater of operations
to another.
11.diplomatically
: skilled in dealing with sensitive matters or people; tactful.
12.quo : the
existing state of affairs, particularly with regards to social or political
issues.
13.delineation :
the action of describing or portraying something precisely.
14.demarcating :
the action of fixing the boundary or limits of something.
15.disengagement :
the action or process of withdrawing from involvement in an activity,
situation, or group.
16.doable : within
one's powers; feasible.
17.vagaries : an
unexpected and inexplicable change in a situation or in someone's behaviour.
