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Otpor was formed on October 10, 1998 in response to repressive university and media laws introduced earlier that year. In the beginning, Otpor's activities were limited to University of Belgrade.In the aftermath of the NATO airstrikes against FR Yugoslavia in 1999 regarding the Kosovo War, Otpor began a political campaign against the Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević. This resulted in nationwide police repression against Otpor activists, during which nearly 2000 were arrested, some beaten. During the presidential campaign of September 2000, Otpor launched its "Gotov je" (He's finished) campaign which would galvanize national discontent with Milošević and eventually result in his defeat. Some students who led Otpor used Serbian translations of Gene Sharp's writings on nonviolent action as a theoretical basis for their campaign.Otpor became one of the defining symbols of anti-Milošević struggle and his subsequent overthrow. By aiming their activities at the pool of youth abstinents and other disillusioned voters, Otpor contributed to one of the biggest turnouts ever for the September 24, 2000 federal presidential elections.Having succeeded in persuading a large number of the traditional electorate to abandon Milošević was another one of the areas where the smear-proof Otpor played a key role. Milošević had in the past succeeded in persuading the public that his opponents were spies and traitors, but on this occasion, it backfired, as the beatings and imprisonments during the summer of 2000 further cemented the decision to vote against the regime in many voters' minds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQCrwX7rL_o

Tibetan protesters today scaled the walls of the UN compound in the Nepalese capital.Police detained 60 other exiles who were protesting outside the building in Kathmandu, dragging some into waiting vehicles.Around 18 Tibetans climbed into the compound to demand UN intervention following the Chinese crackdown on demonstrations in Tibet.Protests have taken place almost every day in Nepal since the unrest began earlier this month.Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers will begin debating a European response to the crackdown during two days of talks.The negotiations come amid calls from some politicians for a boycott of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.The demonstrations in Tibet have been the most sustained challenge to China's rule there since 1989. Beijing has sent troops into Tibetan regions to enforce calm following clashes that the government claims have killed 19 people, but Tibetan authorities in exile say have resulted in 140 deaths.Today, the Chinese ambassador to Britain told a BBC interviewer that she wanted to keep politics separate from the Olympics.Fu Ying said the games should be treated as a separate issue."I'm very worried because for days, for weeks, we have heard about the Beijing Olympics as if it's a UN conference for solving all domestic problems," she added. "For the Chinese, it's about sports."She claimed foreign journalists were being restricted in China to protect them from recent violence and said the Chinese government would speak to the Dalai Lama so long as he was not demanding Tibetan independence.The Olympic torch would go through Tibet despite recent unrest, she added.Matt Whitticase, of the Free Tibet Campaign, said China was taking the torch through the Himalayan region to "underscore baseless claims to sovereignty".He claimed Beijing was using the Olympics as "a platform for self-aggrandisement on the world stage".The vice governor of Tibet, Baima Chilin, today told reporters that monks who disrupted a state-organised media trip to Lhasa yesterday would not be punished.More than 30 monks at the Jokhang temple - the most sacred in Tibetan Buddhism - burst in on a briefing during the first foreign journalists' tour since riots erupted in the Tibetan capital on March 14.Interrupting a speech about inter-ethnic harmony by the head of the temple's administrative office, the lamas surrounded the journalists and said: "They are tricking you. Don't believe them. They are lying to you."The incident lasted around 15 minutes, after which unarmed police took the Tibetans to another area of the temple.China's state-run Xinhua news agency noted that the media tour had been briefly disrupted by monks."What they said is not true," Chilin said. "They were attempting to mislead the world's opinion."However, Tibetan activists said they remained concerned about retaliation by the Chinese authorities."There are serious fears for the welfare and whereabouts of the monks," the International Campaign for Tibet said.Bowing to political pressure, the Chinese foreign ministry has allowed a group of foreign diplomats to visit Lhasa today and tomorrow. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/28/tibet.china1

Thousands of Tibetan exiles demonstrated in Nepal and India on Thursday, a day before the Olympics open in Beijing, demanding religious rights and saying China should not be allowed to host the games while its harsh rule over their homeland continues.Police broke up a protest by about 2,000 Tibetans, including many monks, nuns and schoolchildren, in Nepal's capital. The protesters threw rocks and bricks at police, who retaliated by beating some of them with bamboo batons. Police official Bharat Lama said 570 protesters were detained and no one was seriously injured.Tibetan activists said the protest was aimed at urging other nations to put pressure on China."We timed our demonstration just before the Olympic Games begin in China to try to draw maximum attention," said Lakpa, an activist who uses only one name.Many demonstrators wore T-shirts that said, "Free Tibet. Stop killing in Tibet."In India's capital, New Delhi, heavily armed paramilitary forces manned roadblocks around the Chinese Embassy and hundreds of police surrounded several thousand marchers, as India sought not to embarrass Beijing ahead of the games."There is no human rights, no justice and no freedom inside Tibet," said Konchok Yangphel of the Tibetan Youth Congress, one of the more radical exile groups.The protesters said China's rule of Tibet violates the Olympic spirit.Several hundred protesters also marched in Dharmsala, the northern India hill town where the self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile is based. India is home to the largest Tibetan exile community and its exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.Tibetan exiles in both Nepal and India have been staging frequent protests to show their support for the uprising that erupted in Tibet's capital in March, and to protest China's hosting of the Olympics.The March protests were some of the biggest in almost 50 years of Chinese rule. Many Tibetans insist they were an independent nation before Communist troops invaded in 1950, while Beijing says the Himalayan region has been part of its territory for centuries. http://a.abcnews.com/International/wireStory?id=5530903

LAHORE: About 1,500 lawyers, civil society activists and political workers took to The Mall to rally for the reinstatement of the sacked judges on Thursday.The National Coordination Council gave the protest call. Followed by the general house meetings, the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) and Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) took out their rallies from Aiwan-e-Adl and the Lahore High Court respectively. The two rallies joined at GPO Chowk and marched towards the Punjab Assembly Hall. Solidarity: Workers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Tehreek-e-Khaksar (TK), the Labour Party Pakistan, the Tehreek-e-Insaf (TI), the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP) also took to The Mall to show solidarity with the protesting lawyers. They joined the rally at GPO Chowk holding flags in support of their party leaders.On their way to Charing Cross the protesters shouted slogans against the government and the chief justice of Pakistan for “using illegal means to get his daughter more numbers in FSc”. Lawyers who were contesting upcoming elections of the LHCBA and LBA were showing more aggression against the government apparently to win over other lawyers. Pledge: The protesters demanded that the government reinstate the sacked judges as soon as possible. At the Chairing Cross, senior lawyers spoke to the protesters and pledged to continue their movement until the reinstatement of sacked chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and other sacked judges. Advocate Hamid Khan said that lawyers, civil society and political parties were united on the reinstatement of the sacked judges. He said allegations against Justice Dogar had put a new spirit in the lawyers’ movement. He said they wanted Justice Dogar to be tried. He said appointing a chief justice as an acting governor was in violation of the Supreme Court’s judgement.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C12%5C19%5Cstory_19-12-2008_pg7_46

Tens of thousands of demonstrators crowded downtown streets today calling for the resignation of Serbia's President as the first effects of United Nations sanctions were being felt. The President, Slobodan Milosevic, criticized the sanctions imposed on Saturday, saying Serbia was not responsible for the fighting in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which continued today. "This is the price we have to pay for supporting Serbs outside Serbia," Mr. Milosevic said early this morning after he cast his vote in elections for the Yugoslav Parliament. "As far as the accusations that we have committed aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina are concerned, surely every citizen of Serbia knows that they are ridiculous. We have not committed any aggression against Bosnia." Election Boycotted Mr. Milosevic appeared tired as he voted today. All major opposition parties were boycotting the elections in Serbia and Montenegro, the only remaining Yugoslav republics, and the Serbian Orthodox Church denounced the vote. Polls opened just hours after the United Nations Security Council imposed the economic sanctions. [ Bush Administration officials Sunday expressed deep reluctance to use military force to enforce the sanctions, saying Washington's immediate goal was to force the Serbian-backed military to lift its two-month blockade of Sarajevo. Administration officials said they wanted to assess the effects of the embargo before taking any further steps to punish Yugoslavia. Page A8 ] The first outward signs of the embargo were lines forming at gasoline stations in the Belgrade area and the disruption of air links. Flights Are Canceled This morning, hundreds of stranded travelers milled around Belgrade Airport watching the word "Canceled" click up next to one departing flight after another on the large black timetable. Within hours, only flights for Paris, Copenhagen, Moscow and London were left and it was unclear whether they would actually depart. Yugoslavia also has been disqualified from the European soccer championship in Sweden as a result of the United Nations embargo. The peaceful demonstrators, many dressed in black, took over downtown Belgrade streets for about three hours this afternoon, unfurling a mile-long black banner along the city's main shopping thoroughfare before protesting outside the television station, the hub of the Serbian Government's propaganda network. Demonstrators jeered and shouted "Slobo Must Go!" outside the republic's Presidency Building, referring to President Milosevic. The demonstration was the largest anti-Government gathering in Serbia since violent protests in March 1991 brought Yugoslav Army tanks to Belgrade streets. Bombing of Belgrade "I am against the war and the regime that has sucked our sons into war," said a Yugoslav Airline flight attendant, laid off last week after 30 years on the job because of the cancellation of the airlines' landing rights by the United States and Canada. "I want to show the world that all Serbs are not the same," she said. "We all expect to be bombed, and we remember when the Americans bombed Belgrade in 1944." Slobodanka Karic, a 50-year-old health worker, said, "It's only a matter of time before the armed conflict comes to Belgrade. The international community should stop all the armed attacks by all sides, and then the Communists must be removed." The demonstrators scoffed at today's elections, calling them a "farce." Reports on Turnout Election officials reported only a 38 percent turnout at Serbian polling stations at 2 P.M., and by evening were asserting that 60 percent of the electorate had voted. In Montenegro, turnout reports ranged from 6 to 60 percent. About 7.3 million people are eligible to vote. Final results are not expected until Wednesday. Western diplomats said a weak turnout would not necessarily be interpreted as a vote of no confidence in Mr. Milosevic, who rose to power through the Communist Party's apparatus and has deflected criticism and held power by appealing to Serbian nationalism and controlling the republic's large enterprises and most influential media. Serbia's main opposition parties, the Serbian Renewal Movement, Democratic Party and Serbian Liberal Party called for the boycott because they said the Government pushed through the country's new Constitution without adequate discussion, allowed only a short period for campaigning and refused to end its virtual monopoly on the country's main television channel. 'Duty to Liberate Serbia' The leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement, Vuk Draskovic, said: "The Serbs' enemies are not in London, New York, Paris or Moscow. They are right here in Belgrade. It's our duty to liberate Serbia." "The Serbian people are not guilty," Mr. Draskovic said. "Sanctions are needed against the regime, not the people." The Serbian Orthodox Church denounced the Serbian and Yugoslav Governments last week, disassociated itself from the new Constitution and the elections and called for the formation of a government of national salvation. Only the renamed Communist Party of Serbia and Montenegro, two ultra-nationalist parties, and several dozen tiny political groups ran candidates. Successor to Old Yugoslavia The elections were scheduled after the new Yugoslavia was formed on April 27 in an attempt to claim the status of the successor to the Yugoslav Federation as well as its assets. Government leaders say the elections are important because they will allow the Yugoslav Government to begin functioning normally again after huge gaps were torn in the Legislature and administration by the secession of Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia. Officials of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Sarajevo today won agreements from Serbian leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina's government for a new cease-fire scheduled to begin on Monday at 6 P.M. local time, an official in Sarajevo said. The cease-fire agreement provides for the evacuation of a besieged Yugoslav Army barracks in the city center. Bosnian Serb forces this morning continued their bombardments of Sarajevo, while Yugoslav Army and Bosnian Serb forces also shelled the historic port city of Dubrovnik, lobbing about 17 shells into the walled Old Town. More than 2,300 people have been killed and 7,700 wounded since the Serbs began their military campaign to seize most of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The fighting has driven well over 700,000 people from their homes.

(http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CEFD61739F932A35755C0A964958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1)

How was the Raj transformed from the jewel in Britain's imperial crown to the independent nations of India and Pakistan?1858: Beginning of the RajIn 1858, British Crown rule was established in India, ending a century of control by the East India Company. The life and death struggle that preceded this formalisation of British control lasted nearly two years, cost £36 million, and is variously referred to as the 'Great Rebellion', the 'Indian Mutiny' or the 'First War of Indian Independence'. Inevitably, the consequences of this bloody rupture marked the nature of political, social and economic rule that the British established in its wake. It is important to note that the Raj (in Hindi meaning 'to rule' or 'kingdom') never encompassed the entire land mass of the sub-continent. Two-fifths of the sub-continent continued to be independently governed by over 560 large and small principalities, some of whose rulers had fought the British during the 'Great Rebellion', but with whom the Raj now entered into treaties of mutual cooperation. 'The 'Great Rebellion' helped create a racial chasm between ordinary Indians and Britons.'Indeed the conservative elites of princely India and big landholders were to prove increasingly useful allies, who would lend critical monetary and military support during the two World Wars. Hyderabad for example was the size of England and Wales combined, and its ruler, the Nizam, was the richest man in the world. They would also serve as political bulwarks in the nationalist storms that gathered momentum from the late 19th century and broke with insistent ferocity over the first half of the 20th century. But the 'Great Rebellion' did more to create a racial chasm between ordinary Indians and Britons. This was a social segregation which would endure until the end of the Raj, graphically captured in EM Forster's 'A Passage to India'.While the British criticised the divisions of the Hindu caste system, they themselves lived a life ruled by precedence and class, deeply divided within itself. Rudyard Kipling reflected this position in his novels. His books also exposed the gulf between the 'white' community and the 'Anglo-Indians', whose mixed race caused them to be considered racially 'impure'.

Please see: (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/independence1947_01.shtml) for the next seven pages.

 

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