Egypt unrest: NGO offices raided in Cairo
Egyptian soldiers and police have raided the offices of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Cairo.
At least 17 US-based and local groups receiving foreign funding were targeted, according to activists and Egyptian state media.
An official said at least one of the US-based groups was operating without proper permits.
The US state department said it was "very concerned" and urged authorities to stop the "harassment" of NGO staff.
Some civil society activists have reported that employees were prevented from leaving while searches continued.
"This is not appropriate in the current environment," state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, adding that senior US officials had been in touch with Egyptian military leaders to express their concern over the raids.
'Violations'
Egypt's military has vowed to investigate how pro-democracy and human rights organisations are funded and has said repeatedly it will not tolerate foreign interference in the country's affairs.
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Heba Morayef of Human Rights Watch: "Egyptian civil society is being tightened"
"The public prosecutor has searched 17 civil society organisations, local and foreign, as part of the foreign funding case," official news agency Mena cited the prosecutor's office as saying.
"The search is based on evidence showing violation of Egyptian laws including not having permits."
The US-based groups targeted include the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI), loosely associated with the US Democratic and Republican parties.
'Guardians of freedom'
Documents and computers have been seized as part of the investigations and one report said that the IRI's doors had been sealed with wax.
Julie Hughes, Cairo Director of the NDI, told the BBC about 14 members of the security forces had turned up at its offices.
"They came in and asked all of us to gather together in a room, to leave the laptops on our desks, and open and accessible," she said.
"They went around the room from computer to computer looking through files and then gathering up those computers, and then about four and a half hours later they left."
Both pro-democracy groups, who say they take a neutral political stance, run programmes to train members of nascent political parties in democratic processes.
The Arab Centre for the Independence of Justice was also among those being investigated, its head, Nasser Amin, told AFP.
Civil society groups have responded angrily to the raids.
"[Former President Hosni] Mubarak's regime did not dare to undertake such practices prior to the uprising," the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information said in a statement.
The group said the authorities were "aiming to intimidate activists and rights advocates, gag their mouths and freeze their activities in support of human rights and against repression and torture".
Nobel peace laureate and Egyptian reformist Mohamed ElBaradei said any attempt to stifle such groups would surely backfire.
"Human rights organisations are the guardians of nascent freedom. Efforts to suffocate them will be a major setback," he wrote on his Twitter account.
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Security forces, prosecutors raid five NGOs, shut down one
CAIRO: Prosecutors and security forces raided Thursday five Egyptian and foreign non-profit organizations (NOG), confiscating equipment and documents, closing down one of them under allegations of receiving illegal foreign funding.
The official news agency MENA said the offices of 17 NGOs were raided but only five could be confirmed by press time: the Egyptian Arab Center for the Independence of Judiciary (ACIJ) and Budgetary and Human Rights Observatory (BHRO), the foreign International Republican Institution (IRI), National Democratic Institution (NDI) and Freedom House.
"A force of police and a prosecutor raided the center and the only employee who attended today was held inside before the whole center was shut down," Executive Director of BHRO Helmy El-Rawy told Daily News Egypt Thursday.
"The employee [Ahmed Aly] was held inside for a couple of hours and his mobile phone was switched off," El-Rawy said, adding that the center was notified only Wednesday that they are summoned to stand before an investigations judge at the Ministry of Justice on Jan. 1.
Aly, a researcher at BHRO, was arrested and taken to the Giza prosecution office. The charges he was held for were not clear by press time.
"We could not identify the reason why we will be summoned for investigation," El-Rawy said.
Head of ACIJ and member of the National Council of Human Rights Nasser Amin recounted a similar story.
"Commandos and members of the general prosecution told us they have orders to shut down the center as they confiscated many documents and equipment," Amin said, adding that the center was sealed and closed down after the raid.
"We were never notified about any investigation concerning us or any allegations of receiving foreign funding," Amin told DNE.
Minister of Justice Adel Abdel Hameed said in a press conference earlier this month that investigations into illegal foreign funding were based on the results of a probe conducted by a fact-finding committee affiliated to the Ministry of Justice.
"The probe examined the legality of the work of 300 NGOs and the direct foreign funding they received from foreign countries and organizations," the minister said.
"The investigations revealed that a number of Egyptian and foreign organizations received foreign funding and worked illegally inside Egypt. Investigations are ongoing as other state monitoring institutions are compiling reports about these organizations," he added.
NDI Country Director Julie Hughes could hardly speak to DNE as security forces were confiscating documents and equipment from the institution Thursday afternoon.
"We were never notified of any investigations against us. I asked the police forces and prosecutors about the reasons for the raid, but I received no answer," Hughes told DNE.
Rights groups slammed the targeting of civil society organizations, describing the campaign against them as a return to the practices of the ousted regime.
"A security campaign has started today against civil society organizations, especially rights organizations to terrify rights activists, silence them and stop their activities against oppression and injustice," the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) said in a statement released Thursday.
"Even Mubarak’s regime did not dare to launch such campaigns [raiding the headquarters of NGOs] against civil society organizations. This is an organized crusade … that has been under preparation for a very long time, especially in the media," the statement added.
ANHRI said that the aim of this campaign is to silence the voices exposing the continued human rights infringements taking place until today.
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NGO asks the youth to be ambassadors of peace
Mr Francis Nana Quarme, Project Director of Ghana for Peace Project (GFPP), a non-governmental organisation, has urged the youth not to allow themselves to be used by politicians for violence and political instability.
He said they should rather channel their youthful exuberance into peace building and other positive activities to build a Better Ghana.
“Ghanaians must not take the prevailing peace for granted and work hard to protect it,” he added in an interview with Ghana News Agency in Accra.
Mr Quarme pointed out that many people would be tempted and likely to fall victim to politicians, especially those seeking for political power and positions for material reward.
“Ghanaian must not forget that political bridges are always broken after election and re-build before the next election.”
The GFPP project is an initiative of Business Impact Media Consult to mobilise the Ghanaian youth as volunteers to promote peace in the country.
It is a non-political, non-denominational organisation volunteering to ensure sustainable peace before, during and after Election 2012. GNA
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Shifting stir to Mumbai a mistake: IAC
The low turnout at the Mumbai’s MMRDA ground during Anna Hazare’s fast has left a bad taste for members of the Delhi wing of India Against Corruption, who on Wednesday blamed NGO Jagruk Nagrik Manch for failing to get the crowds to the fast venue.
They admitted that the low turnout in Mumbai had a big role to play in Hazare’s decision to call of the fast — a day before schedule. They also said it was a mistake to shift the main agitation to Mumbai, leaving behind a well-oiled network in Delhi that got in huge crowds during the agitation at the Ramlila Maidan in August.
On Wednesday, while volunteers took to the stage at Ramlila Maidan to sing paeans to Hazare and Kiran Bedi exhorted the crowd to step up participation, there was despondency backstage. There was even talk about how if Delhi was indeed to be shunned because of the cold, going to Kolkata — the “real city for agitations” — may have been a better option than Mumbai.
Kolkata, incidentally, saw the lowest registration for the Jail Bharo agitation among all the metros.
“It was a monumental mistake to shift to Mumbai. Who would have thought it would be such a letdown. We have our own people here, a setup that has delivered twice before,” Sanjay Singh, a member of the IAC core committee, told The Indian Express. “Jagruk Nagrik Manch had promised great things but they have delivered nothing on the ground.”
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Many connect to Anuj’s family
Pune: In the four days since Anuj Bidve’s death, nearly 5,000 people have connected to his family on social networking site Facebook expressing their grief and condolences.
Messages of support, expressing shock at the incident, asking Indian or British authorities to step in or promising to light a candle or participate in peace marches for Anuj, are pouring in on five pages that have been created on the online site.
One of the five pages, Anuj Bidve-Help Page, has been created by his brother-in- law Rakesh Sonawane requesting people to help in getting Anuj’s body to India.
About 620 people liked the page while another 318 people were talking about the page that describes Anuj as actor/director.
A community Justice for Anuj Bidve created by NGO Good Human Foundation that works for Indians in UK has received 2,862 likes from people who expressed their disgust at the shocking murder.
A vast majority of these comments are from residents of Salford who either saw Anuj’s body being taken away in an ambulance a few metres from the murder spot.
Resident of Ordsall Lane in Salford where Anuj was shot, Victoria Louise Brown wrote she was saddened and ashamed that he was killed in her neighborhood. “My mother has just returned from a holiday in India and was humbled by people’s hospitality and friendliness. I don’t have the right words to express how terribly disappointed and upset I am that someone in my community could act so brutally,’’ she wrote.
Indian families whose children are abroad have expressed shock and fear too.
Writes Swati Raje, “My daughter studies in the UK. This incident shook thousands of parents like me who send their children abroad with a heavy heart but bright dreams for their loved ones. Even if we parents cannot attend the peace march, all our sentiments are with you.’’
Pune families whose children are studying in Salford are unnerved at the resemblance. “My dear brother is also studying in Salford. As we are from Pune, we can feel the pain and sorrow of Anuj’s family. Please be alert whenever going out and take care of yourself,’’ wrote Pune resident Zeba Shaikh.
Other Facebook pages, Candle Light March for Anuj Bidve, Peace March for Anuj Bidve and others have nearly 1,500 people connected who have promised to attend the peace marches on Monday in Salford and Jantar Mantar in New Delhi from 6 pm to 9 pm.
Salford resident Liz Baron who saw the ambulance escorted up Regent Road by police promised to attend the march. “I became more aware of events after hearing the news. I will be there to show my sadness and disgust at such a senseless act.’’
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Closing Ceremony TANGO’s 4 Day NGO Training
Mrs. Tabara Njie Sarr, Programme Officer TANGO chaired the closing ceremony.
She called upon Mr. Madi Jobarteh Deputy Executive Director of TANGO to make some remarks. Mr. Jobarteh expressed his personal delight to see the four (4) day training successfully concluded as it is not a waste of resources because his interaction with the participants showed that it was a worthwhile venture.
Mr. Jobarteh said strengthening NGOs to influence public policy to enhance the development process is a worthwhile venture as the Gambia is a developing country that needs NGOs to complement national efforts.
He said TANGO’s partnership with Jollof Tutors is well calculated to tap in-country resources. He said in the new year TANGO hopes to cover more NGOs.
Mr. Kurang, CEO Jollof Tutors made some few remarks. He again reiterated his pleasure for Jollof to be given the opportunity to prove its training capacity. He admitted that it was a great challenge but that it has also forced them to buckle up and took it up. He thanked TANGO and the participating NGOs for providing them the opportunity to prove themselves.
Mr. Kurang said this scale of training has never been dared by Jollof Tutors.
“We have been opportuned to meet different kinds of NGOs. We said ‘waaw!’ These are government partners that make things happen in Gambia”, said Mr. Kurang.
The Jollof Tutors CEO said in-country training is equally good as out of country training.
Mr. Ousman Yarbo, TANGO Executive Secretary, said this is another achievement for TANGO and its partners to have personnel of 25 NGOs trained within four days and with an in country trainer, Jollof Tutors.
“A lot of money has been spent but it is worthwhile. I ask participating NGOs some questions and I am satisfied with their answers. At least, they have learnt something new within the four days. That is kudos for Jollof Tutors and TANGO,” he said.
He reported that TANGO has already initiated another one day consultation meeting with the NGO Affairs Agency to make NGOs know what is expected of them and what they should know about government policy. TANGO has provided the funding.
Mr. Karamo Keita, a participant, from ISRA, gave the vote of thanks. He urged participants to share the information and for Jollof Tutors to also share the notes from the other sessions to all the participants.
Mrs. Jainaba Nyang Njie gave the closing remarks. She said she was pleased to be invited as TANGO’s Board Vice Chair to do the closing ceremony.
Mrs. Nyang Njie said the training supported by Africa Capacity Building foundation (ACBF) was as a result of a recent needs assessment exercise done with TANGO members. She said she is pleased that NGOs have benefited from the training. She NGO work as very essential as it compliments Government’s effort.
Mrs. Nyang Njie said training is ongoing and TANGO would always try its best to upgrade its members through capacity building. She asked participants to disseminate the information gained from the training. She then declared the four day capacity training closed.
Certificates were issued to participants.
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The romance and magic of Dharavi
For some time now, but certainly since Slumdog Millionaire, foreign correspondents make a beeline for Dharavi to try and understand why it creates such as buzz.
“In the labyrinthine slum known as Dharavi are 60,000 structures, many of them shanties, and as many as one million people living and working on a triangle of land barely two-thirds the size of Central Park in Manhattan. Dharavi is one of the world’s most infamous slums, a cliche of Indian misery. It is also a churning hive of workshops with an annual economic output estimated to be $600 million to more than $1 billion,” writes Jim Yardley in the New York Times (reproduced in the Times of India).
Why did Yardley want to go to Dharavi? The New York Times answers.
“Why Dharavi?
For most of our Indian readers, or our readers familiar with India, Dharavi is hardly an unknown topic; if anything, it is one of the most scrutinized, vilified and romanticized slums in the world. We went to Dharavi, anyway, because it offers real insights into the questions we’ve been trying to explore in the “India’s Way” series: how does India function? Why does it often not function very well? How does the tension between the public and private sectors shape India’s irregular style of economic growth? What are the paths out of poverty in India?”
Sri Lankan writer Lucky de Chickera has written a book that focuses on Dharavi, Sarasu… amidst slums of Terror!
“I came across the slums of Dharavi on a business visit to India, and the sights I encountered were downright appalling,” says the author. “Children in tattered rags with dishevelled hair and grime covered faces, scrambling for survival, was a sight that struck me.” The life of the slum-dwellers is filled with gloom and dire uncertainties, he says, recalling the vivid picture of a million little houses squashed into a few acres of land, dotted by litter as a sewage canal meandered its way right at the heart of the slum,” he says in an interview to Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
Parag Khanna of CNN too felt that Dharavi was a must visit. “Despite its status as an emerging superpower, India’s thriving commercial hub of Mumbai represents approximately one-third of the national economic output. In the feature segment for CNN’s new flagship business program “Global Exchange,” I tour Mumbai with CNN’s Mallika Kapur to explain the need for such a data-driven cities index, the importance of large-scale infrastructure to alleviate urban congestion and boost productivity and the economic promise of slums such as Mumbai’s Dharavi,” he writes.
The BBC discovers a singer in Dharavi. “Jishan Shah lives in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum with his family. He is proud of his roots, but believes he can pursue a different career path to that of his parents, who make a modest living working in Dharavi. Every week he gets together with a group of his friends to perform songs, through workshops organised by a local music venue and an NGO.” More about the singers here.
Mills and Boon milks Dharavi as well in His Monsoon Bride by Astha Atray. “Atray’s book – which is redolent with the flavours of Bollywood – is set in Mumbai.
“It is about a journalist – a rich man’s daughter – in Mumbai who chooses to travel by train. The hero is a self-made millionaire in modern Mumbai who has lived in Dharavi as a child,” Atray, who has lived in Mumbai for six years said.
The two, Amrita and Mehtab, enter into a marriage of convenience – but soon find themselves drawn to each other.
“In our country, the Mills & Boon formula has been replicated in Bollywood movies forever. My hero is tall, dark and handsome – and pretty flawed,” the writer said.
More about the book and author here.
But the romance of Dharavi could be ending. Alex Rossi, India correspondent of Sky News Australia, writes, “India’s poor are being priced out of slum areas in Mumbai with some shacks being sold for more than $77, 355. The Dharavi slum, which is home to more than one million people, used to be on the edge of India’s richest city. But as Mumbai expanded it now enjoys a prime centrally-located position.”
It’s a slum that movies and books are based in. It’s a slum that is romanticized and eulogized. It’s a slum that’s now a tourist attraction. It’s a slum that’s become the first stop in Mumbai for the foreign correspondent.
But to Mumbaikars, sadly, as Alex Rossi says, it’s more than that – it’s land, precious land. Land is already priced so high that the slum is on the way out.
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NGOs for disabled threaten strikes over state funding
BEIRUT: Organizations working to advance the rights of the disabled called on the government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati to increase funds earmarked for the groups, warning that demonstrations and open-ended strikes could be launched next year if their request is not met.
“Our 56 organizations take care of 8,000 disabled children and we will all escalate our protest through open-ended strikes if the government fails to commit to its duties and fails to pay the funds that have been agreed upon,” Raif Choueiri, president of the Permanent Coordination Office of NGOs, said Thursday.
Speaking at a news conference at the Press Federation Thursday, Choueiri said that the strikes would affect the level of care provided to some 8,000 disabled children.
Annual government funds provided to the NGOs in the service of disabled Lebanese have remained unchanged for years despite inflation, as the current level of funding is based on a cost appraisal formulation that was carried out in 2004.
Choueiri said that he hoped the government would recognize the urgent need to support families of the disabled and organizations taking care of disabled children.
“We hope that the government won’t make us take these dangerous steps ... we know the damage that will result in the lives of the children due to the strikes,” said Choueiri.
Sami Hammoud, who heads an NGO and serves as secretary-general of the National Association of Parents and Institutions for the Disabled, told The Daily Star that a joint committee, which includes members from some six ministries and NGO members, formulated a new cost appraisal for the year 2011.
“Some LL30 billion in annual funds should be given to the NGOs as of this year [based on the 2011 cost appraisal],” said Hammoud, explaining that the funds should be divided between the National Association of Parents and Institutions for the Disabled, which comprises 44 NGOs, and the Permanent Coordination Office, which is made up of 12 other organizations.
Hammoud said organizations depend heavily on government funding, but the current level is not keeping pace with raising costs, which he estimates to have doubled in the past seven years.
“We can mostly depend on the funds provided by the government because an agreement between the NGOs and the government states that the NGOs are not allowed to charge children’s parents for the services provided,” Hammoud explained.
The longstanding dispute over funds between the NGOs for the disabled and the government has often threatened the continuation of the NGOs’ work.
Under former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s government, the Accounting Department requested a cut in the funds given to the NGOs, but an initiative by former Social Affairs Minister Salim Sayegh helped delay a confrontation by overturning the Accounting Department’s decision last summer.
Hammoud acknowledged that Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour has greatly supported the organizations and has succeeded in helping formulate a new cost appraisal for the government. “Abu Faour has agreed to our demands and has placed them on the Cabinet’s agenda for approval,” he said.
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Concerns over KZN Childline
Despite pledges made by a Durban businessman to contribute more than R300 000 to KZN Childline’s crisis line, the organisation is still concerned about its survival.
“Vivian Reddy agreed to give us the money for the first three months of the financial year, but what then?” asked the organisation’s director, Linda Naidoo.
Naidoo said that while the organisation was grateful for Reddy’s generosity, it was concerned about the future of its 13 satellite offices and nine other programmes across the province.
Reddy pledged to bail out the organisation in August and vowed that attempts would also be made to help with the organisation’s application to the National Lotteries Board.
National Lotteries Board spokesman Sershan Naidoo had said at the time that a 2009 funding application by KZN Childline was approved and R2 million was paid out to the organisation on March 29 this year.
Childline failed to apply for funding from the organisation for the next financial year, he said.
Linda Naidoo said that at a meeting earlier this year, the National Lotteries Board and other funders made presentations.
“From those we gathered that the NGO and NPO sectors are in deep, deep trouble,” she said.
Naidoo said that this meant that the marginalised and vulnerable were in “quite a dilemma”.
“We offer services at no charge to communities everywhere. Most of our efforts this year, for example, were concentrated outside Durban in distant rural areas.”
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NGO seeks funds for school children
Save the Children Fiji is asking more people to support underprivileged children so they can go back to school next year.
Chief Executive, Chandra Shekhar told FBC News they have received $14, 000 and need another $6,000 to help needy children with stationary.
He says FBC News played a major part in encouraging a lot of people who came and donated stationary packs.
“Following your news last week there were several people who called in to enquire what type of assistance we were giving and what was the need at the Save the Children and we emailed the list to several people - I think it’s a big credit to FBC for coming up and supporting Save the Children in this program.”
Save the Children is targeting to assist at least 2000 vulnerable students whose parents joint income is less that $120 a week.
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Top wars in 2012
Louise Arbour, the group’s president, said in a statement the list reflects the ranking of wars at risk of deteriorating further in 2012.
Arbour said Burma’s civil war in ethnic border areas had a chance to show improvement in 2012.
The ICC statement on Burma said: The government's pledges on reform are being fulfilled: the military has moved out of front-line politics; top opposition figure Aung San Suu Kyi was released, is engaging with the government at top levels, and is set to run in elections.
“Many other political prisoners were also released, and there are livelier debates in Parliament that are even broadcast on TV,” said the statement. “There is a major opportunity for this long-suffering country to continue in a positive direction in 2012.
The ICC said, “The outside world, particularly the West, needs to respond by engaging further and dropping counterproductive sanctions that have harmed civilians without loosening the junta's grip on power. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Myanmar in early December was the right move at the right time, but it is not enough.
“Key next steps to watch for from the regime include releasing all remaining political prisoners, passing a new media law that would curtail censorship, and signing cease-fires with armed ethnic groups that would be a key step towards ending abuses by the military in these border conflicts.”
The ICC board is chaired by Thomas Pickering, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Russia, India, Israel, Jordan, El Salvador and Nigeria. Crisis Group’s president and CEO is Louise Arbour, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda.
Egyptian soldiers and police have raided the offices of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Cairo.
At least 17 US-based and local groups receiving foreign funding were targeted, according to activists and Egyptian state media.
An official said at least one of the US-based groups was operating without proper permits.
The US state department said it was "very concerned" and urged authorities to stop the "harassment" of NGO staff.
Some civil society activists have reported that employees were prevented from leaving while searches continued.
"This is not appropriate in the current environment," state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, adding that senior US officials had been in touch with Egyptian military leaders to express their concern over the raids.
'Violations'
Egypt's military has vowed to investigate how pro-democracy and human rights organisations are funded and has said repeatedly it will not tolerate foreign interference in the country's affairs.
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Heba Morayef of Human Rights Watch: "Egyptian civil society is being tightened"
"The public prosecutor has searched 17 civil society organisations, local and foreign, as part of the foreign funding case," official news agency Mena cited the prosecutor's office as saying.
"The search is based on evidence showing violation of Egyptian laws including not having permits."
The US-based groups targeted include the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI), loosely associated with the US Democratic and Republican parties.
'Guardians of freedom'
Documents and computers have been seized as part of the investigations and one report said that the IRI's doors had been sealed with wax.
Julie Hughes, Cairo Director of the NDI, told the BBC about 14 members of the security forces had turned up at its offices.
"They came in and asked all of us to gather together in a room, to leave the laptops on our desks, and open and accessible," she said.
"They went around the room from computer to computer looking through files and then gathering up those computers, and then about four and a half hours later they left."
Both pro-democracy groups, who say they take a neutral political stance, run programmes to train members of nascent political parties in democratic processes.
The Arab Centre for the Independence of Justice was also among those being investigated, its head, Nasser Amin, told AFP.
Civil society groups have responded angrily to the raids.
"[Former President Hosni] Mubarak's regime did not dare to undertake such practices prior to the uprising," the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information said in a statement.
The group said the authorities were "aiming to intimidate activists and rights advocates, gag their mouths and freeze their activities in support of human rights and against repression and torture".
Nobel peace laureate and Egyptian reformist Mohamed ElBaradei said any attempt to stifle such groups would surely backfire.
"Human rights organisations are the guardians of nascent freedom. Efforts to suffocate them will be a major setback," he wrote on his Twitter account.
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Security forces, prosecutors raid five NGOs, shut down one
CAIRO: Prosecutors and security forces raided Thursday five Egyptian and foreign non-profit organizations (NOG), confiscating equipment and documents, closing down one of them under allegations of receiving illegal foreign funding.
The official news agency MENA said the offices of 17 NGOs were raided but only five could be confirmed by press time: the Egyptian Arab Center for the Independence of Judiciary (ACIJ) and Budgetary and Human Rights Observatory (BHRO), the foreign International Republican Institution (IRI), National Democratic Institution (NDI) and Freedom House.
"A force of police and a prosecutor raided the center and the only employee who attended today was held inside before the whole center was shut down," Executive Director of BHRO Helmy El-Rawy told Daily News Egypt Thursday.
"The employee [Ahmed Aly] was held inside for a couple of hours and his mobile phone was switched off," El-Rawy said, adding that the center was notified only Wednesday that they are summoned to stand before an investigations judge at the Ministry of Justice on Jan. 1.
Aly, a researcher at BHRO, was arrested and taken to the Giza prosecution office. The charges he was held for were not clear by press time.
"We could not identify the reason why we will be summoned for investigation," El-Rawy said.
Head of ACIJ and member of the National Council of Human Rights Nasser Amin recounted a similar story.
"Commandos and members of the general prosecution told us they have orders to shut down the center as they confiscated many documents and equipment," Amin said, adding that the center was sealed and closed down after the raid.
"We were never notified about any investigation concerning us or any allegations of receiving foreign funding," Amin told DNE.
Minister of Justice Adel Abdel Hameed said in a press conference earlier this month that investigations into illegal foreign funding were based on the results of a probe conducted by a fact-finding committee affiliated to the Ministry of Justice.
"The probe examined the legality of the work of 300 NGOs and the direct foreign funding they received from foreign countries and organizations," the minister said.
"The investigations revealed that a number of Egyptian and foreign organizations received foreign funding and worked illegally inside Egypt. Investigations are ongoing as other state monitoring institutions are compiling reports about these organizations," he added.
NDI Country Director Julie Hughes could hardly speak to DNE as security forces were confiscating documents and equipment from the institution Thursday afternoon.
"We were never notified of any investigations against us. I asked the police forces and prosecutors about the reasons for the raid, but I received no answer," Hughes told DNE.
Rights groups slammed the targeting of civil society organizations, describing the campaign against them as a return to the practices of the ousted regime.
"A security campaign has started today against civil society organizations, especially rights organizations to terrify rights activists, silence them and stop their activities against oppression and injustice," the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) said in a statement released Thursday.
"Even Mubarak’s regime did not dare to launch such campaigns [raiding the headquarters of NGOs] against civil society organizations. This is an organized crusade … that has been under preparation for a very long time, especially in the media," the statement added.
ANHRI said that the aim of this campaign is to silence the voices exposing the continued human rights infringements taking place until today.
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NGO asks the youth to be ambassadors of peace
Mr Francis Nana Quarme, Project Director of Ghana for Peace Project (GFPP), a non-governmental organisation, has urged the youth not to allow themselves to be used by politicians for violence and political instability.
He said they should rather channel their youthful exuberance into peace building and other positive activities to build a Better Ghana.
“Ghanaians must not take the prevailing peace for granted and work hard to protect it,” he added in an interview with Ghana News Agency in Accra.
Mr Quarme pointed out that many people would be tempted and likely to fall victim to politicians, especially those seeking for political power and positions for material reward.
“Ghanaian must not forget that political bridges are always broken after election and re-build before the next election.”
The GFPP project is an initiative of Business Impact Media Consult to mobilise the Ghanaian youth as volunteers to promote peace in the country.
It is a non-political, non-denominational organisation volunteering to ensure sustainable peace before, during and after Election 2012. GNA
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Shifting stir to Mumbai a mistake: IAC
The low turnout at the Mumbai’s MMRDA ground during Anna Hazare’s fast has left a bad taste for members of the Delhi wing of India Against Corruption, who on Wednesday blamed NGO Jagruk Nagrik Manch for failing to get the crowds to the fast venue.
They admitted that the low turnout in Mumbai had a big role to play in Hazare’s decision to call of the fast — a day before schedule. They also said it was a mistake to shift the main agitation to Mumbai, leaving behind a well-oiled network in Delhi that got in huge crowds during the agitation at the Ramlila Maidan in August.
On Wednesday, while volunteers took to the stage at Ramlila Maidan to sing paeans to Hazare and Kiran Bedi exhorted the crowd to step up participation, there was despondency backstage. There was even talk about how if Delhi was indeed to be shunned because of the cold, going to Kolkata — the “real city for agitations” — may have been a better option than Mumbai.
Kolkata, incidentally, saw the lowest registration for the Jail Bharo agitation among all the metros.
“It was a monumental mistake to shift to Mumbai. Who would have thought it would be such a letdown. We have our own people here, a setup that has delivered twice before,” Sanjay Singh, a member of the IAC core committee, told The Indian Express. “Jagruk Nagrik Manch had promised great things but they have delivered nothing on the ground.”
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Many connect to Anuj’s family
Pune: In the four days since Anuj Bidve’s death, nearly 5,000 people have connected to his family on social networking site Facebook expressing their grief and condolences.
Messages of support, expressing shock at the incident, asking Indian or British authorities to step in or promising to light a candle or participate in peace marches for Anuj, are pouring in on five pages that have been created on the online site.
One of the five pages, Anuj Bidve-Help Page, has been created by his brother-in- law Rakesh Sonawane requesting people to help in getting Anuj’s body to India.
About 620 people liked the page while another 318 people were talking about the page that describes Anuj as actor/director.
A community Justice for Anuj Bidve created by NGO Good Human Foundation that works for Indians in UK has received 2,862 likes from people who expressed their disgust at the shocking murder.
A vast majority of these comments are from residents of Salford who either saw Anuj’s body being taken away in an ambulance a few metres from the murder spot.
Resident of Ordsall Lane in Salford where Anuj was shot, Victoria Louise Brown wrote she was saddened and ashamed that he was killed in her neighborhood. “My mother has just returned from a holiday in India and was humbled by people’s hospitality and friendliness. I don’t have the right words to express how terribly disappointed and upset I am that someone in my community could act so brutally,’’ she wrote.
Indian families whose children are abroad have expressed shock and fear too.
Writes Swati Raje, “My daughter studies in the UK. This incident shook thousands of parents like me who send their children abroad with a heavy heart but bright dreams for their loved ones. Even if we parents cannot attend the peace march, all our sentiments are with you.’’
Pune families whose children are studying in Salford are unnerved at the resemblance. “My dear brother is also studying in Salford. As we are from Pune, we can feel the pain and sorrow of Anuj’s family. Please be alert whenever going out and take care of yourself,’’ wrote Pune resident Zeba Shaikh.
Other Facebook pages, Candle Light March for Anuj Bidve, Peace March for Anuj Bidve and others have nearly 1,500 people connected who have promised to attend the peace marches on Monday in Salford and Jantar Mantar in New Delhi from 6 pm to 9 pm.
Salford resident Liz Baron who saw the ambulance escorted up Regent Road by police promised to attend the march. “I became more aware of events after hearing the news. I will be there to show my sadness and disgust at such a senseless act.’’
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Closing Ceremony TANGO’s 4 Day NGO Training
Mrs. Tabara Njie Sarr, Programme Officer TANGO chaired the closing ceremony.
She called upon Mr. Madi Jobarteh Deputy Executive Director of TANGO to make some remarks. Mr. Jobarteh expressed his personal delight to see the four (4) day training successfully concluded as it is not a waste of resources because his interaction with the participants showed that it was a worthwhile venture.
Mr. Jobarteh said strengthening NGOs to influence public policy to enhance the development process is a worthwhile venture as the Gambia is a developing country that needs NGOs to complement national efforts.
He said TANGO’s partnership with Jollof Tutors is well calculated to tap in-country resources. He said in the new year TANGO hopes to cover more NGOs.
Mr. Kurang, CEO Jollof Tutors made some few remarks. He again reiterated his pleasure for Jollof to be given the opportunity to prove its training capacity. He admitted that it was a great challenge but that it has also forced them to buckle up and took it up. He thanked TANGO and the participating NGOs for providing them the opportunity to prove themselves.
Mr. Kurang said this scale of training has never been dared by Jollof Tutors.
“We have been opportuned to meet different kinds of NGOs. We said ‘waaw!’ These are government partners that make things happen in Gambia”, said Mr. Kurang.
The Jollof Tutors CEO said in-country training is equally good as out of country training.
Mr. Ousman Yarbo, TANGO Executive Secretary, said this is another achievement for TANGO and its partners to have personnel of 25 NGOs trained within four days and with an in country trainer, Jollof Tutors.
“A lot of money has been spent but it is worthwhile. I ask participating NGOs some questions and I am satisfied with their answers. At least, they have learnt something new within the four days. That is kudos for Jollof Tutors and TANGO,” he said.
He reported that TANGO has already initiated another one day consultation meeting with the NGO Affairs Agency to make NGOs know what is expected of them and what they should know about government policy. TANGO has provided the funding.
Mr. Karamo Keita, a participant, from ISRA, gave the vote of thanks. He urged participants to share the information and for Jollof Tutors to also share the notes from the other sessions to all the participants.
Mrs. Jainaba Nyang Njie gave the closing remarks. She said she was pleased to be invited as TANGO’s Board Vice Chair to do the closing ceremony.
Mrs. Nyang Njie said the training supported by Africa Capacity Building foundation (ACBF) was as a result of a recent needs assessment exercise done with TANGO members. She said she is pleased that NGOs have benefited from the training. She NGO work as very essential as it compliments Government’s effort.
Mrs. Nyang Njie said training is ongoing and TANGO would always try its best to upgrade its members through capacity building. She asked participants to disseminate the information gained from the training. She then declared the four day capacity training closed.
Certificates were issued to participants.
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The romance and magic of Dharavi
For some time now, but certainly since Slumdog Millionaire, foreign correspondents make a beeline for Dharavi to try and understand why it creates such as buzz.
“In the labyrinthine slum known as Dharavi are 60,000 structures, many of them shanties, and as many as one million people living and working on a triangle of land barely two-thirds the size of Central Park in Manhattan. Dharavi is one of the world’s most infamous slums, a cliche of Indian misery. It is also a churning hive of workshops with an annual economic output estimated to be $600 million to more than $1 billion,” writes Jim Yardley in the New York Times (reproduced in the Times of India).
Why did Yardley want to go to Dharavi? The New York Times answers.
“Why Dharavi?
For most of our Indian readers, or our readers familiar with India, Dharavi is hardly an unknown topic; if anything, it is one of the most scrutinized, vilified and romanticized slums in the world. We went to Dharavi, anyway, because it offers real insights into the questions we’ve been trying to explore in the “India’s Way” series: how does India function? Why does it often not function very well? How does the tension between the public and private sectors shape India’s irregular style of economic growth? What are the paths out of poverty in India?”
Sri Lankan writer Lucky de Chickera has written a book that focuses on Dharavi, Sarasu… amidst slums of Terror!
“I came across the slums of Dharavi on a business visit to India, and the sights I encountered were downright appalling,” says the author. “Children in tattered rags with dishevelled hair and grime covered faces, scrambling for survival, was a sight that struck me.” The life of the slum-dwellers is filled with gloom and dire uncertainties, he says, recalling the vivid picture of a million little houses squashed into a few acres of land, dotted by litter as a sewage canal meandered its way right at the heart of the slum,” he says in an interview to Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
Parag Khanna of CNN too felt that Dharavi was a must visit. “Despite its status as an emerging superpower, India’s thriving commercial hub of Mumbai represents approximately one-third of the national economic output. In the feature segment for CNN’s new flagship business program “Global Exchange,” I tour Mumbai with CNN’s Mallika Kapur to explain the need for such a data-driven cities index, the importance of large-scale infrastructure to alleviate urban congestion and boost productivity and the economic promise of slums such as Mumbai’s Dharavi,” he writes.
The BBC discovers a singer in Dharavi. “Jishan Shah lives in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum with his family. He is proud of his roots, but believes he can pursue a different career path to that of his parents, who make a modest living working in Dharavi. Every week he gets together with a group of his friends to perform songs, through workshops organised by a local music venue and an NGO.” More about the singers here.
Mills and Boon milks Dharavi as well in His Monsoon Bride by Astha Atray. “Atray’s book – which is redolent with the flavours of Bollywood – is set in Mumbai.
“It is about a journalist – a rich man’s daughter – in Mumbai who chooses to travel by train. The hero is a self-made millionaire in modern Mumbai who has lived in Dharavi as a child,” Atray, who has lived in Mumbai for six years said.
The two, Amrita and Mehtab, enter into a marriage of convenience – but soon find themselves drawn to each other.
“In our country, the Mills & Boon formula has been replicated in Bollywood movies forever. My hero is tall, dark and handsome – and pretty flawed,” the writer said.
More about the book and author here.
But the romance of Dharavi could be ending. Alex Rossi, India correspondent of Sky News Australia, writes, “India’s poor are being priced out of slum areas in Mumbai with some shacks being sold for more than $77, 355. The Dharavi slum, which is home to more than one million people, used to be on the edge of India’s richest city. But as Mumbai expanded it now enjoys a prime centrally-located position.”
It’s a slum that movies and books are based in. It’s a slum that is romanticized and eulogized. It’s a slum that’s now a tourist attraction. It’s a slum that’s become the first stop in Mumbai for the foreign correspondent.
But to Mumbaikars, sadly, as Alex Rossi says, it’s more than that – it’s land, precious land. Land is already priced so high that the slum is on the way out.
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NGOs for disabled threaten strikes over state funding
BEIRUT: Organizations working to advance the rights of the disabled called on the government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati to increase funds earmarked for the groups, warning that demonstrations and open-ended strikes could be launched next year if their request is not met.
“Our 56 organizations take care of 8,000 disabled children and we will all escalate our protest through open-ended strikes if the government fails to commit to its duties and fails to pay the funds that have been agreed upon,” Raif Choueiri, president of the Permanent Coordination Office of NGOs, said Thursday.
Speaking at a news conference at the Press Federation Thursday, Choueiri said that the strikes would affect the level of care provided to some 8,000 disabled children.
Annual government funds provided to the NGOs in the service of disabled Lebanese have remained unchanged for years despite inflation, as the current level of funding is based on a cost appraisal formulation that was carried out in 2004.
Choueiri said that he hoped the government would recognize the urgent need to support families of the disabled and organizations taking care of disabled children.
“We hope that the government won’t make us take these dangerous steps ... we know the damage that will result in the lives of the children due to the strikes,” said Choueiri.
Sami Hammoud, who heads an NGO and serves as secretary-general of the National Association of Parents and Institutions for the Disabled, told The Daily Star that a joint committee, which includes members from some six ministries and NGO members, formulated a new cost appraisal for the year 2011.
“Some LL30 billion in annual funds should be given to the NGOs as of this year [based on the 2011 cost appraisal],” said Hammoud, explaining that the funds should be divided between the National Association of Parents and Institutions for the Disabled, which comprises 44 NGOs, and the Permanent Coordination Office, which is made up of 12 other organizations.
Hammoud said organizations depend heavily on government funding, but the current level is not keeping pace with raising costs, which he estimates to have doubled in the past seven years.
“We can mostly depend on the funds provided by the government because an agreement between the NGOs and the government states that the NGOs are not allowed to charge children’s parents for the services provided,” Hammoud explained.
The longstanding dispute over funds between the NGOs for the disabled and the government has often threatened the continuation of the NGOs’ work.
Under former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s government, the Accounting Department requested a cut in the funds given to the NGOs, but an initiative by former Social Affairs Minister Salim Sayegh helped delay a confrontation by overturning the Accounting Department’s decision last summer.
Hammoud acknowledged that Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour has greatly supported the organizations and has succeeded in helping formulate a new cost appraisal for the government. “Abu Faour has agreed to our demands and has placed them on the Cabinet’s agenda for approval,” he said.
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Concerns over KZN Childline
Despite pledges made by a Durban businessman to contribute more than R300 000 to KZN Childline’s crisis line, the organisation is still concerned about its survival.
“Vivian Reddy agreed to give us the money for the first three months of the financial year, but what then?” asked the organisation’s director, Linda Naidoo.
Naidoo said that while the organisation was grateful for Reddy’s generosity, it was concerned about the future of its 13 satellite offices and nine other programmes across the province.
Reddy pledged to bail out the organisation in August and vowed that attempts would also be made to help with the organisation’s application to the National Lotteries Board.
National Lotteries Board spokesman Sershan Naidoo had said at the time that a 2009 funding application by KZN Childline was approved and R2 million was paid out to the organisation on March 29 this year.
Childline failed to apply for funding from the organisation for the next financial year, he said.
Linda Naidoo said that at a meeting earlier this year, the National Lotteries Board and other funders made presentations.
“From those we gathered that the NGO and NPO sectors are in deep, deep trouble,” she said.
Naidoo said that this meant that the marginalised and vulnerable were in “quite a dilemma”.
“We offer services at no charge to communities everywhere. Most of our efforts this year, for example, were concentrated outside Durban in distant rural areas.”
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NGO seeks funds for school children
Save the Children Fiji is asking more people to support underprivileged children so they can go back to school next year.
Chief Executive, Chandra Shekhar told FBC News they have received $14, 000 and need another $6,000 to help needy children with stationary.
He says FBC News played a major part in encouraging a lot of people who came and donated stationary packs.
“Following your news last week there were several people who called in to enquire what type of assistance we were giving and what was the need at the Save the Children and we emailed the list to several people - I think it’s a big credit to FBC for coming up and supporting Save the Children in this program.”
Save the Children is targeting to assist at least 2000 vulnerable students whose parents joint income is less that $120 a week.
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Top wars in 2012
Louise Arbour, the group’s president, said in a statement the list reflects the ranking of wars at risk of deteriorating further in 2012.
Arbour said Burma’s civil war in ethnic border areas had a chance to show improvement in 2012.
The ICC statement on Burma said: The government's pledges on reform are being fulfilled: the military has moved out of front-line politics; top opposition figure Aung San Suu Kyi was released, is engaging with the government at top levels, and is set to run in elections.
“Many other political prisoners were also released, and there are livelier debates in Parliament that are even broadcast on TV,” said the statement. “There is a major opportunity for this long-suffering country to continue in a positive direction in 2012.
The ICC said, “The outside world, particularly the West, needs to respond by engaging further and dropping counterproductive sanctions that have harmed civilians without loosening the junta's grip on power. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Myanmar in early December was the right move at the right time, but it is not enough.
“Key next steps to watch for from the regime include releasing all remaining political prisoners, passing a new media law that would curtail censorship, and signing cease-fires with armed ethnic groups that would be a key step towards ending abuses by the military in these border conflicts.”
The ICC board is chaired by Thomas Pickering, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Russia, India, Israel, Jordan, El Salvador and Nigeria. Crisis Group’s president and CEO is Louise Arbour, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda.
