Daily Archives: October 1, 2015

Race + Color + Ethnicity

Sri Lanka News | Tamils

Sri Lanka announces reconciliation measures to facilitate civil war resolution
  • As part of the reconciliation process following the country’s 26-year civil war, the government will provide certificates acknowledging the forced disappearance of thousands, many of whom were ethnic Tamils abducted by security forces.
  • In addition to an Office of Missing Persons, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera promoted the establishment of a truth commission, Office of Reparations, and new constitution as part of the resolution process.
  • The announced measures follow a survey of families of the missing conducted nationwide, with more than 20,000 complaints have been filed with the government over such disappearances since 2013.

Read more:
“Sri Lanka plans new statute to redress Tamils’ grievances” (The Hindu)
“Sri Lanka to issue missing certificates to families of civil war disappeared” (The Guardian)
“Sri Lanka Prepares ‘Certificates of Absence’” (Inter Press Service)

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Hungary News | Muslims & Roma

Muslims and Roma bear brunt of anti-immigrant rhetoric in Hungary
  • Anti-immigrant sentiment fueled by xenophobic government rhetoric has led to harassment and assault of Hungary’s established minority populations, including Muslims and Roma people.
  • Politicians have drawn parallels between migrants and its own Roma population, painting the Roma minority as a situation to be “handled.”
  • While Muslims began immigrating to Hungary after World War II, the Roma have been present in the land now known as Hungary since the Middle Ages.

“I wish the government would think more carefully before starting campaigns like this. … It’s our wives who get spat on and have their veils ripped off in the street.”

Read more:
“Hungary’s minorities bear brunt of anti-migrant rhetoric” (Reuters)

(Image Credit: Leonhard Foeger/Reuters)

Ideology + Affiliation

Turkey News | Journalists

Turkish journalist attacked outside home
  • Ahmet Hakan, a prominent government critic and journalist affiliated with secular media organizations Hürriyet and CNN Turk, was followed home by four men and beaten.
  • The event followed an attack on Hurriyet offices by nearly 100 government sympathizers last month after being accused of supporting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), with whom the government is locked in conflict.
  • The anti-journalist climate in Turkey has led Reporters Without Borders to rank the country 149th out of 180 countries for press freedom.

Read more:
“Anti-government Turkish journalist injured in Istanbul attack” (AFP, via Yahoo! News)
“Attack on Hürriyet columnist condemned after latest blow to press freedom in Turkey” (Hürriyet News Daily)
“Document shows gov’t ignored attacked journalist Hakan’s security request” (Hürriyet News Daily)
“Hürriyet attacked again after gov’t fails to condemn first attack” (Today’s Zaman)

(Image Credit: Bulent Kilic/AFP, via Yahoo! News)