Singapore riot: Four Indians face fresh charges

PTI Dec 27, 2013, 07.47PM IST

SINGAPORE: Fresh charges were on Friday slapped on four Indians, part of 25 alleged rioters who participated in Singapore's worst outbreak of violence in over 40 years.

Earlier, all 25 Indians faced one rioting charge each, punishable by up to seven years in prison and caning.

But, additional charges were filed against Chinnappa Prabakaran, 23, for instigating a group of Indians to set fire to an ambulance while Bose Prabakar, 29, was accused of assaulting an auxiliary police officer by kicking him.

 

Moorthy Kabildev, 24, also faced an additional charge of punching a woman coordinator of the bus which ran over 33-year-old Indian pedestrian Sakthivel Kumaravelu.

Arumugam Karthik, 24, now faces two new charges: one of setting fire to a police car with one other person; and another of throwing pieces of concrete and flipping over a police car with some others.

The prosecution is looking to revoke their bail, or increase their bail amount to 40,000-60,000 Singapore dollars, The Straits Times reported.

Since the court offered bail to all 25 accused on Tuesday after submitting sureties of 20,000 Singapore dollars, only two are out on bail, Channel News Asia reported.

Chinnathambi Malesan, 22, was today released on bail besides Arun Kaliamurthy, a 28-year-old tourist in Singapore on a social visit pass.

The court allowed Malesan's employer to post bail, even though his employer is a Malaysian of Chinese-origin.

Meanwhile, one of the accused, 32-year-old Chinnappa Vijayaragunatha Poopathi, has indicated to the court that he might plead guilty, Channel News Asia reported.

The cases of 24 accused would be mentioned again on January 29 while Kaliamurthy's case would be heard on December 30.

Fifty-six Indians and a Bangladeshi have been deported from Singapore for alleged involvement in the riot in Little India, a precinct of Indian-origin businesses, eateries and pubs where most South Asian workers take their Sunday break.

The trouble started after a private bus fatally knocked down Kumaravelu in Little India on December 8. Some 400 migrant workers were involved in the rampage that left 39 police and civil defence staff injured and 25 vehicles -- including 16 police cars -- damaged.

Singapore previously witnessed violence of such scale during race riots in 1969.

Singapore authorities will implement new traffic arrangements in Little India on Sundays from this Sunday to smoothen operations for private bus services plying in the Little India area and "facilitate safe passenger activities along the road", The Straits Times reported.

 http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-12-27/other-news/45625646_1_one-rioting-charge-singapore-riot-channel-news-asia

Fifa wants 'fair conditions' quickly for Qatar's World Cup workers

• Sepp Blatter admits abuse of migrant workers is 'unacceptable'
• Union leader warns 2022 World Cup could move from Qatar

 Fifa has said "fair working conditions with a lasting effect must be

introduced quickly in Qatar" after Sepp Blatter admitted that widespread abuse of migrant workers was "unacceptable" following a meeting with international union leaders in Zurich.

World football's governing body has come under pressure to act in the wake of a Guardian investigation that revealed the scale of the abuse of migrant workers in Qatar who are building the infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup.

Blatter recently travelled to Doha to meet with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, and subsequently gave a press conference in which he said the country's rulers were "on the right track" in dealing with the issue.

But after meeting with Wolfgang Niersbach, president of the Confederation of German Trade Unions, and Michael Sommer, president of the International Trade Union Confederation, Fifa said that the trio had agreed that "fair working conditions must be introduced quickly, consistently and on a sustained basis in Qatar".

Sommer said the trade union movement would not rest until conditions were "fundamentally transformed" but that Fifa made it clear they took their "responsibilities on social policy seriously". He added: "Fifa recognises that its international significance brings a responsibility to influence decision-makers in Qatar.

"Qatar must guarantee the core labour standards of the International Labour Organisation, end discrimination and forced labour and allow freedom of association for its 1.3 million migrant workers.

"The direction being taken by Fifa in this sense is welcome, and respects the concerns of people who live for the 'people's game'. We as trade unions maintain our demand: if Qatar does not respond properly, then consequences must follow, and the World Cup be taken from Qatar."

The ITUC has warned that as many as 4,000 migrant workers could die before a ball is kicked in 2022, while a new in-depth Amnesty report last Sunday revealed wide-scale and endemic mistreatment of workers, many of whom are tied to their employer under the kafala system.

Blatter admitted that the situation was "unacceptable" but the Fifa president said publicity generated by the controversial decision to award the World Cup to Qatar in 2022 had helped draw attention to the issue.

"Economic and political leaders must contribute to improving the unacceptable situation in Qatar. That is why I welcome the initiative shown by the DFB [German football federation] and ITUC because together we can achieve change," he said. "I am convinced Qatar is taking the situation very seriously. These very discussions about Qatar show what an important role football can play in generating publicity and thus bringing about change."

Human rights groups including Amnesty and Human Rights Watch are hopeful the international pressure building on the Qatari authorities will lead to concrete action. But they want to see meaningful practical steps,such as an end to the exit visa system that is also keeping French footballer Zahir Belounis trapped in the country, to prove their seriousness.

After meetings with Fifa as long ago as 2011 the Qatari government promised to take action but Amnesty's investigators still found widespread mistreatment of migrant workers by subcontractors effectively engaged in forced labour for major construction groups.

The report, based on two recent investigations in Qatar and scores of interviews, found workers living in squalid, overcrowded accommodation exposed to sewage and sometimes without running water.

It found that many workers, faced with mounting debts and unable to return home, have suffered "severe psychological distress", with some driven to the brink of suicide.

Theo Zwanziger, the German Fifa executive committee member who helped to convene the talks at Fifa's $100m headquarters in Zurich, said: "The aim is to be in a position to report on concrete measures for Qatar at the executive committee meeting in March 2014. Large companies must be reminded of their duties in this area. The international community must also accept its responsibility."

Zwanziger will be handed responsibility for ongoing dialogue with international trade union groups and human rights groups.

"The awarding of the World Cup and the considerable public exposure gives us the opportunity to point out irregularities and to exact lasting change," said Niersbach. "If we succeed, then a lot will have been achieved. It was a matter of priority for us to quickly bring together the International Trade Union Confederation and Fifa as contractual partners for Qatar."

 http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/nov/20/fifa-qatar-world-cup-sepp-blatter

 

 

Olympics Must Push Russia On Gay Rights, Say Out Athletes

 http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/worldbrief-with-ase-december-11/529e2bbd02a7604017000121

 By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Tennis star Martina Navratilova and U.S. basketball player Jason Collins said on Tuesday the International Olympic Committee has not done enough to defend the rights of gay athletes ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Russia triggered angry criticism and even calls to boycott the Sochi Games when, in June, it banned spreading "gay propaganda" to minors. Critics denounced the law as discriminatory and a curb on rights to free speech and assembly.

Speaking at the United Nations to mark International Human Rights Day, Navratilova and Collins said focus should not just be on the Sochi Games in February and March, but also on the rights of gay Russians and on anti-gay laws in other countries that will play host to global sporting events in the future.

Navratilova, who has become a champion for gay athletes in sport since revealing she was gay in 1981, said she was disappointed with the International Olympic Committee "for really putting their head in the sand" over the Russian law.

"The IOC needs to stand up better for their athletes quite frankly," she told reporters. "It's (also) what happens after, and it's not just one country, it's many countries."

"Nobody is talking about, for example, Qatar, where the World Cup is going to be, homosexual activity is punishable by a jail term there," Navratilova said, referring to the 2022 FIFA World Cup of soccer.

The IOC has said it has received written assurances from the Russian government that the "gay propaganda" law would not affect Games participants and spectators.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in October that everything was being done "so that participants and guests feel comfortable in Sochi, regardless of nationality, race or sexual orientation." However, gay rights activists have reported a rise of violence toward their community sparked by the new law.


'OUTRAGEOUS AND DANGEROUS'

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power met with international gay rights activists on Tuesday and said the Russian law is "as outrageous as it is dangerous".

"And it is a reminder that whether the struggle for equality takes the form of equal employee benefits or protection from being imprisoned or executed, we have a long way to go," Power said.

"We are well into the 21st century and yet some 78 countries still have laws that criminalize consensual sex between adults. In some countries, the sentence for being gay is still the death penalty," she said.

Collins said sporting bodies such as the International Olympic Committee and soccer's governing body, FIFA, should consider carefully the countries and cities with which they link their brands.

"Do you choose to associate with a country or a people or a government that will oppress and put down their own people?" Collins asked. "You should choose to associate with people who stand for the same ideals that you stand for, which should celebrate sport and athletes to be their true selves."

Collins became the first openly gay active player in North America's four major professional sports leagues - the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball - in April.

Navratilova also pointed out that while the United States has made progress on gay rights, there was still work to be done. "In this country, in 29 states, it is legal to fire someone for being gay," she said.

"We have a tendency to point fingers but we need to clean up our own country first. We're heading in the right direction but still have a long way to go." (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Peter Galloway)

Reuters  |  Posted: 12/10/2013 4:07 pm EST