NEWS OF THE DAY
_1 Kashmir conflict: Human rights groups have long accused Indian forces of using systematic abuse and unjustified arrests in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The Indian government has acknowledged the problem exists, but denies it is part of a wide strategy to intimidate residents. Kashmiris have been uploading videos and photos of alleged abuses for some years, but several recent clips, captured in the days surrounding a violence-plagued local election April 9, have proven to be especially powerful and have helped to intensify anti-India protests. The rights group Jammu-Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society estimates that at least 200,000 people have been tortured during Kashmir’s decadeslong separatist conflict fueled by anti-India sentiment among a mostly Muslim population and a deployment of hundreds of thousands of troops.
_2 Political crisis: Venezuela’s government said Wednesday that it will begin withdrawing from the Organization of American States in reaction to growing international pressure on the socialist-run South American nation. Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez said President Nicolas Maduro will send a letter to the OAS in Washington renouncing its membership in the hemispheric body. Rodriguez said Maduro’s administration has been forced to counter what it sees as an attempt by the OAS and conservative regional governments to topple Maduro.
_3 Uber protest: Hundreds of taxi and bus drivers protested outside Romania’s government offices in Bucharest on Wednesday to demand that Uber and other online ride services be outlawed. Drivers parked some 200 taxis and buses outside the office buildings in the capital, disrupting transport in the already crowded city, and blew vuvuzela horns. The protest ended early after the government agreed to pass an ordinance within days better regulating taxi services.
_4 Referendum challenge: Turkey’s main opposition party said Wednesday that it would challenge the outcome of the country’s April 16 referendum on expanding the president’s powers at the European Court of Human Rights a day after a high court rejected its appeal. The pro-secular Republican People’s Party is disputing the referendum, which gave President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “yes” side a narrow victory. Critics say there have been a number of irregularities, including an electoral board decision to count ballot papers that lacked official stamps. International monitors also noted irregularities in the voting process and said the decision to validate the unstamped ballots removed an important safeguard against ballot-stuffing.
_5 South Korean politics: South Korean presidential frontrunner, Moon Jae-in, outraged persecuted sexual minority groups by saying during a television debate that he opposes homosexuality, something his supporters say he had to do to win office in the deeply conservative country. Moon, a liberal candidate and former human rights lawyer, made the comments Tuesday night while responding to a conservative presidential candidate who argued gay soldiers were weakening the country’s military. Gay rights advocates, some of whom who were dragged away after approaching Moon following a speech at the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday, see Moon’s words as hate speech. Police said 13 activists were detained at the scene of Moon’s speech on suspicion of violating laws that ban protests inside the gates of the legislature.
Chronicle News Services