Sunday, June 22, 2008
Weekend
Friday I had a meeting with Khalid Azizi, General secretary of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran, and Swara Mouloud, the Party's UK representative, for a discussion on the situation in Iranian Kurdistan, which is deteriorating, as it is in Iran generally. One of the problems we discussed is that of communicating with the Foreign Office, on which I am in touch with officials.
Saturday Lindsay and I attended the Bye Bye Blasphemy party, organised by the National Secular Society. They gave a splendid presentation on the history of blasphemy, and there was a recitation by Sir Ian McKellen of the Gay News poem by James Kirkup which led to the last conviction for blasphemy. Its funny, that now the Government have acted, there's not a squeak of protest, either from the churches or Christian Voice, who were so vociferous during the select Committee which sat for a year after my last Bill, in 2002. Maybe they've been reading the story of what happened to Chicken Licken.
In the evening we saw Ariadne at Covent Garden, with Deborah Voigt in the title role. It had good reviews, deservedly I thought. Gillian Keith was an agile gymanastic Zerbinetta, a bit of a contrast with Ms Voigt, who had a stomach tuck operation after a previous invitation to Covent Garden had been cancelled because she was so vast. She's still pretty large, and so was the Bacchus, Richard Margison, a Canadian like Gillian Keith. I only wished my dearest Aunt Tordie, who died last year, could have been with us - coming from Toronto, and being an avid opera fan, she must have known both of them.
Saturday Lindsay and I attended the Bye Bye Blasphemy party, organised by the National Secular Society. They gave a splendid presentation on the history of blasphemy, and there was a recitation by Sir Ian McKellen of the Gay News poem by James Kirkup which led to the last conviction for blasphemy. Its funny, that now the Government have acted, there's not a squeak of protest, either from the churches or Christian Voice, who were so vociferous during the select Committee which sat for a year after my last Bill, in 2002. Maybe they've been reading the story of what happened to Chicken Licken.
In the evening we saw Ariadne at Covent Garden, with Deborah Voigt in the title role. It had good reviews, deservedly I thought. Gillian Keith was an agile gymanastic Zerbinetta, a bit of a contrast with Ms Voigt, who had a stomach tuck operation after a previous invitation to Covent Garden had been cancelled because she was so vast. She's still pretty large, and so was the Bacchus, Richard Margison, a Canadian like Gillian Keith. I only wished my dearest Aunt Tordie, who died last year, could have been with us - coming from Toronto, and being an avid opera fan, she must have known both of them.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Molly Lepell
Molly Lepell (Sep 26, 1706 -Sep 2, 1768), my 7G grandmother, by kind permission of The National Trust Picture Library, copyright NTPL/Christopher Hurst. Gay referred to her as 'youth's youngest daughter, sweet Lepell' and Pope was another of her many admirers.
Brig.-Gen. Nicholas Wedig Lepell, was born in Santau, a small town on the right bank of the Elbe. His father was Borchard Lepell and his mother Eleanor, and according to the Rev Sydenham H A Hervey, there was a connection with the von Lepel family, which the writer traced back to the 13th century . He came to England in the entourage of George, Prince of Denmark, the husband of Queen Anne , and if he arrived with the Prince in 1683 he would then have been about 17.. He was naturalised by Private Act of Parliament, then the normal route to citizenship, on February 2, 1699 . He married Mary Brooke, orphan daughter of John Brooke of Rendlesham, Suffolk in August 1698 , when he was 32 and she was 25. She was said to be worth £20,000. They had one child, also called Mary, born September 26, 1706 .
Nicholas was said to have received a commission to raise a regiment of foot towards the end of 1711, and was promoted to Brigadier-General five years later . But since he was at the battle of Villaviciosa in Spain on December 10, 1710, already a brigadier , it is more likely that he was given a command after Prince George died in 1708. He died before April 19, 1720, since on that date the marriage settlement between his daughter Mary and John Hervey [HA 507/4/12, Suffolk Record Office] describes Mary Lepell as widow.
Daughter Mary who unlike most women at the time was properly educated in French, German and Latin, as well as being a great beauty and an heiress worth £20,000, married John, Lord Hervey, and they in turn had one child, a daughter named Lepell, who married Constantine John Phips, 1st Baron Mulgrave. Yet again the couple had one girl child, Henrietta Maria, who married Charles, 12th Viscount Dillon. Their son Henry, 13th Viscount Dillon, married Henrietta Browne. Their daughter, also Henrietta Maria, married Edward John 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley, from whom we are twice descended – through a daughter Alice, who married General Augustus Fox Pitt Rivers, and through a son Edward Lyulph 4th Baron Stanley of Alderley.
Brig.-Gen. Nicholas Wedig Lepell, was born in Santau, a small town on the right bank of the Elbe. His father was Borchard Lepell and his mother Eleanor, and according to the Rev Sydenham H A Hervey, there was a connection with the von Lepel family, which the writer traced back to the 13th century . He came to England in the entourage of George, Prince of Denmark, the husband of Queen Anne , and if he arrived with the Prince in 1683 he would then have been about 17.. He was naturalised by Private Act of Parliament, then the normal route to citizenship, on February 2, 1699 . He married Mary Brooke, orphan daughter of John Brooke of Rendlesham, Suffolk in August 1698 , when he was 32 and she was 25. She was said to be worth £20,000. They had one child, also called Mary, born September 26, 1706 .
Nicholas was said to have received a commission to raise a regiment of foot towards the end of 1711, and was promoted to Brigadier-General five years later . But since he was at the battle of Villaviciosa in Spain on December 10, 1710, already a brigadier , it is more likely that he was given a command after Prince George died in 1708. He died before April 19, 1720, since on that date the marriage settlement between his daughter Mary and John Hervey [HA 507/4/12, Suffolk Record Office] describes Mary Lepell as widow.
Daughter Mary who unlike most women at the time was properly educated in French, German and Latin, as well as being a great beauty and an heiress worth £20,000, married John, Lord Hervey, and they in turn had one child, a daughter named Lepell, who married Constantine John Phips, 1st Baron Mulgrave. Yet again the couple had one girl child, Henrietta Maria, who married Charles, 12th Viscount Dillon. Their son Henry, 13th Viscount Dillon, married Henrietta Browne. Their daughter, also Henrietta Maria, married Edward John 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley, from whom we are twice descended – through a daughter Alice, who married General Augustus Fox Pitt Rivers, and through a son Edward Lyulph 4th Baron Stanley of Alderley.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Monday to Wednesday
Monday I had a kind offer of research help from a barrister with lots of international experience! The problem is, I have no office space in the House, no discrete research tasks that can be separated from the rest of the day's work, and a large amount of very humdrum tasks like trying to get bits of paper into the right files, and respomdimg to routine correspondence.
Afternoon, Select Committee, looking at the draft of the first chapters of the report on communicable diseases. Them, to Refugee Council reception, where they launched a campaign on allowing asylum seekers to work. That's been our Party policy for years. Its plain stupid to keep people on benefits when they are capable of earning a living.
Tuesday, chaired a meeting of the CHT Working Group in the Moses Room. There are some excellent people working on the issues and it would be useful to find ways of improving their links.
Then fielded questions on Zimbabwe, and the Government's insane policy of doubling the number of places in Immigration Detention Centres. They have a mania for locking up ever more people, instead of sorting out the problems. Two out of every five people who are detained in IDCs are subsequently released back into the community, and others spend months in the Centres because of administrative problems like getting their countries of origin to accept them back. But the Government SAY they are turning the cases round faster, which should mean fewer rather than more detention places. And they could put more effort into volumtary returns, where people have reached the end of the road.
Later, in the Moses Room, an order on the Fees being charged for Tier 2 and Tier 5 immigrants under the new Points Based Scheme. They haven't thought through how to deal with visiting Buddhist monks, who aren't employed, though in Tier 5 there is a category for 'temporary religious worker'. Before they launched the scheme they consulted two lay Buddhists but no representative of the Sangha. It was as if they claimed to have consulted the Church of England by talking to a couple of laymen picked at random and ignored the synod. I hadn't had time to warn the Minister I was goinfto raise this problem, so all he could do was promise to write to me.
Today, Wednesday, there were more votes on the Lisbon Treaty Bill in which the Government and the LibDems heavily defeated the Tories. The Tories say they're pro-Europe but are doing their best to wreck attempts to improve the way Europe operates.
Discussed next Monday's meeting of the International Organisations Committee with the Chair, Clive Soley. He has to be absent and has asked me to chair the meeting at which evidence is being taken from DfID and Health Ministers.
Afternoon, Select Committee, looking at the draft of the first chapters of the report on communicable diseases. Them, to Refugee Council reception, where they launched a campaign on allowing asylum seekers to work. That's been our Party policy for years. Its plain stupid to keep people on benefits when they are capable of earning a living.
Tuesday, chaired a meeting of the CHT Working Group in the Moses Room. There are some excellent people working on the issues and it would be useful to find ways of improving their links.
Then fielded questions on Zimbabwe, and the Government's insane policy of doubling the number of places in Immigration Detention Centres. They have a mania for locking up ever more people, instead of sorting out the problems. Two out of every five people who are detained in IDCs are subsequently released back into the community, and others spend months in the Centres because of administrative problems like getting their countries of origin to accept them back. But the Government SAY they are turning the cases round faster, which should mean fewer rather than more detention places. And they could put more effort into volumtary returns, where people have reached the end of the road.
Later, in the Moses Room, an order on the Fees being charged for Tier 2 and Tier 5 immigrants under the new Points Based Scheme. They haven't thought through how to deal with visiting Buddhist monks, who aren't employed, though in Tier 5 there is a category for 'temporary religious worker'. Before they launched the scheme they consulted two lay Buddhists but no representative of the Sangha. It was as if they claimed to have consulted the Church of England by talking to a couple of laymen picked at random and ignored the synod. I hadn't had time to warn the Minister I was goinfto raise this problem, so all he could do was promise to write to me.
Today, Wednesday, there were more votes on the Lisbon Treaty Bill in which the Government and the LibDems heavily defeated the Tories. The Tories say they're pro-Europe but are doing their best to wreck attempts to improve the way Europe operates.
Discussed next Monday's meeting of the International Organisations Committee with the Chair, Clive Soley. He has to be absent and has asked me to chair the meeting at which evidence is being taken from DfID and Health Ministers.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Last seven days
Last Sunday, to the Globe, for Merry Wives of Windsor, with Mort but alas Sarah was still not feeling well enough to join us. There was aflying apron (I think its called) in front of the stage) and it was difficult to hear the actors on it. But generally to follow a play at the Globe one ought to have the text, and I mean to do that in future.
Monday morning Mort and Sarah left for Washington, and I do hope she survived the journey without too much discomfort. I fielded three out of the four questions:
House of Lords
Deportation: Iran
Sudan: Comprehensive Peace Agreement
EU-Latin America Summit
Then, an informal meeting of the Select Committee on International Organisations, at which there was a discussion on possible subjects for the next session, assuming we are to continue. There is only a fixed number of Select Committees, determined by the availability of human and financial resources, and there are competing subjects, on which th Liaison Committee adjudicates.
Then, a meeting with Salim Malik of theAhmaddiya Muslims, to discuss problems the Community is experiencing in Pakistan and Indonesia. Surprisingly, there is very little mention of the persecution of the Ahmadis in the reports of te Universal Periodic Review of Pakistan at the UN Human Rights Council.
Tuesday, chaired a meeting of the All-Party Gypsies and Travellers Group to hear from former (Conservative) Councillor Richard Bennet to hear about the sterling work ha had been doing with the Local Government Asssociation and individual local authorities to persuade them of the merits of the present arrangements for providing enough sites.
After lunch, fielded Peter Blaker's regular question on Zimbabwe. The Minister, Lord Malloch-Brown, tries hard, but obviously there are limites on what the UK can achieve.
At 17.00, to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Centenary celebration at the QEII conference centre across the road, where I had the honour of being received by the Khalifa, and was invited to speak first at the very well attended public gathering. Then had to leave before the dinner to get back to the House, to speak on the Immigration (Registration Card) Order 2008. I'm not bothering to give Hansard references any more, because in the unlikely event of anyone actually wanting to read what I said, its very easy to find it on the Parliament website.
Wednesday, a meeting of the Parliamentary Human Rights Group officers, and a briefing on Sudan by FCO officials.
Thursday, lunch at the Fishmongers, for those who had been liverymen for more than 50 yers.
Friday, Limndsay returned from North Devon where she was staying with Mel.
Saturday, Lyulph's birthday party.
Today, Prins and Suriya, Lamka and Thomas and their two children to lunch. Verity arrived for a short stay.
Monday morning Mort and Sarah left for Washington, and I do hope she survived the journey without too much discomfort. I fielded three out of the four questions:
House of Lords
Deportation: Iran
Sudan: Comprehensive Peace Agreement
EU-Latin America Summit
Then, an informal meeting of the Select Committee on International Organisations, at which there was a discussion on possible subjects for the next session, assuming we are to continue. There is only a fixed number of Select Committees, determined by the availability of human and financial resources, and there are competing subjects, on which th Liaison Committee adjudicates.
Then, a meeting with Salim Malik of theAhmaddiya Muslims, to discuss problems the Community is experiencing in Pakistan and Indonesia. Surprisingly, there is very little mention of the persecution of the Ahmadis in the reports of te Universal Periodic Review of Pakistan at the UN Human Rights Council.
Tuesday, chaired a meeting of the All-Party Gypsies and Travellers Group to hear from former (Conservative) Councillor Richard Bennet to hear about the sterling work ha had been doing with the Local Government Asssociation and individual local authorities to persuade them of the merits of the present arrangements for providing enough sites.
After lunch, fielded Peter Blaker's regular question on Zimbabwe. The Minister, Lord Malloch-Brown, tries hard, but obviously there are limites on what the UK can achieve.
At 17.00, to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Centenary celebration at the QEII conference centre across the road, where I had the honour of being received by the Khalifa, and was invited to speak first at the very well attended public gathering. Then had to leave before the dinner to get back to the House, to speak on the Immigration (Registration Card) Order 2008. I'm not bothering to give Hansard references any more, because in the unlikely event of anyone actually wanting to read what I said, its very easy to find it on the Parliament website.
Wednesday, a meeting of the Parliamentary Human Rights Group officers, and a briefing on Sudan by FCO officials.
Thursday, lunch at the Fishmongers, for those who had been liverymen for more than 50 yers.
Friday, Limndsay returned from North Devon where she was staying with Mel.
Saturday, Lyulph's birthday party.
Today, Prins and Suriya, Lamka and Thomas and their two children to lunch. Verity arrived for a short stay.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
This week
Monday morning the awards for the poster competition for Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month were distributed in Committee Room 3 by the Minister, Andrew Adonis, and me. There was a very good attendance from the winners, their parents and teachers, who were all agreed that it was an excellent start to the History Month.
Afternoon, Select Committee on Intergovernmental Organisations, meeting to consider the structure and themes of the report on the UK's contribution to organisations dealing with HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria.
Tuesday, question on Zimbabwe (www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200708/ldhansrd/text/80603-0001.htm#08060383000005), a slow-motion catastrophe in which the international community demonstrates its impotence.
Evening, to the National History Museum for the launch of Darwin 200, the bicentenary of his birth.
Wednesday, very agreeable lunch with Philippe Labreveux and friends including George Hayim, born 1920, who gave me his autobiography. I told him I didn't read anything about modern times for pleasure, but this is definitely an exception.
Thursday, three hourse evidence taking in the All-Party Committee on Pneumococcal Disease. These diseases kill a million chidren every year, and it may be asked why the Select Committee didn't cover them in its terms of reference.
Dinner with Tameem Ebrahim from Singapore, who was on the last leg of a 3-week trip covering most of the globe. I hadn't seen him for several months, and it was good to catch up, though we're in touch by email and occasionally Skype.
Friday, to the Norwegian Embassy for a lunch in honour of Shirin Ebadi, the Nobel Prizewinning Iranian judge and human rights activist. Then to Lady Rothermere's for a meeting of the Friends of the Alola Foundation, which is concerned with promoting the interests of women and children in East Timor. Patricia Mirrlees reported on her visit to East Timor, and to Atauro Island where a kindergarten had been constructed with our help. The building was only being used for the children two hours a day, and we wondered if it might also double as a local centre for maternal and infant health.
Morton and Sarah arrived from Washington to visit.
Afternoon, Select Committee on Intergovernmental Organisations, meeting to consider the structure and themes of the report on the UK's contribution to organisations dealing with HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria.
Tuesday, question on Zimbabwe (www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200708/ldhansrd/text/80603-0001.htm#08060383000005), a slow-motion catastrophe in which the international community demonstrates its impotence.
Evening, to the National History Museum for the launch of Darwin 200, the bicentenary of his birth.
Wednesday, very agreeable lunch with Philippe Labreveux and friends including George Hayim, born 1920, who gave me his autobiography. I told him I didn't read anything about modern times for pleasure, but this is definitely an exception.
Thursday, three hourse evidence taking in the All-Party Committee on Pneumococcal Disease. These diseases kill a million chidren every year, and it may be asked why the Select Committee didn't cover them in its terms of reference.
Dinner with Tameem Ebrahim from Singapore, who was on the last leg of a 3-week trip covering most of the globe. I hadn't seen him for several months, and it was good to catch up, though we're in touch by email and occasionally Skype.
Friday, to the Norwegian Embassy for a lunch in honour of Shirin Ebadi, the Nobel Prizewinning Iranian judge and human rights activist. Then to Lady Rothermere's for a meeting of the Friends of the Alola Foundation, which is concerned with promoting the interests of women and children in East Timor. Patricia Mirrlees reported on her visit to East Timor, and to Atauro Island where a kindergarten had been constructed with our help. The building was only being used for the children two hours a day, and we wondered if it might also double as a local centre for maternal and infant health.
Morton and Sarah arrived from Washington to visit.
CHT Commission mission statement
Mission statement of the re-established CHT Commission:
The purpose of the Commission, which is composed of concerned experts from inside and outside Bangladesh, is to promote respect for human rights, democracy, participatory development and land rights in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, including examination of the implementation of the CHT Peace Accord of 1997. It will build on the work already done by the Commission between 1990 and 2001.
---------------------------------------------------
Today, events in the CHT become known rapidly world wide, and the issues are well known in Bangladesh and internationally. They are increasingly of concern to human rights organizations, the media, and all within Bangladesh who are looking for a peaceful future in the CHT based on the preservation of the linguistic, cultural and religious rights of the indigenous inhabitants.
The limited implementation of the 1997 CHT Peace Accord, particularly as regards land rights; the continued violations of human rights in the region; the relentless influx of Bengali settlers, and the oppressive presence of the military, made a compelling case for re-establishing the CHT Commission, decided at the Copenhagen Conference of May 31 and 1 June.
The meeting elected Ms Sultana Kamal, Ms Ida Nicolaisen and Eric Avebury as co-chairs of the Commission.
The purpose of the Commission, which is composed of concerned experts from inside and outside Bangladesh, is to promote respect for human rights, democracy, participatory development and land rights in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, including examination of the implementation of the CHT Peace Accord of 1997. It will build on the work already done by the Commission between 1990 and 2001.
---------------------------------------------------
Today, events in the CHT become known rapidly world wide, and the issues are well known in Bangladesh and internationally. They are increasingly of concern to human rights organizations, the media, and all within Bangladesh who are looking for a peaceful future in the CHT based on the preservation of the linguistic, cultural and religious rights of the indigenous inhabitants.
The limited implementation of the 1997 CHT Peace Accord, particularly as regards land rights; the continued violations of human rights in the region; the relentless influx of Bengali settlers, and the oppressive presence of the military, made a compelling case for re-establishing the CHT Commission, decided at the Copenhagen Conference of May 31 and 1 June.
The meeting elected Ms Sultana Kamal, Ms Ida Nicolaisen and Eric Avebury as co-chairs of the Commission.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Chittagong Hill Tracts
This conference was held in Copenhagen on May 31 and June 1, following up the earlier work of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission, an international body of experts which published a series of reports on the governance and human rights problems of the CHT between 1991 and 2000. The territory had been administered separately during the colonial era, but since independence it has been effectively under the control of the military. Arrangements for local self-government, agreed in 1997, were not implemented, and immigration of settlers from the rest of Bangladesh have progressively diluted the CHT's cultural, linguistic and religious identity. The Copenhagen meeting discussed the present situation, and made decisions on how to proceed, which will be announced shortly.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Monday, June 02, 2008
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Monday, to Paris, where the Select Committee on International Organisations took evidence on Tuesday from the OECD, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The latter is important to our inquiry on communicable diseases because of the growing threat from epizootic disease that spreads from animals to humans, such as 'mad cow disease' or avian flu. Lunch on Tuesday at the British Embassy.
Wednesday, hosted a tea party for Leyla Zana, the Kurdish leader I had last met in 1993 when we toured eastern Anatolia together. She said that the Turkish constitution had to be amended to remove the clause which declares the unity of the Turkish republic and people, but the Kurdish people aren't asking for independence. On the detailed changes needed, she was cautious, saying that the constitutional amendment was the pre-requisite to discussion of questions such as the degree of local autonomy, mother tongue education etc.
Thursday, my oral question on the arrests of leading Baha'is in Iran, which elicited a sympathetic and helpful reply from the Minister, Mark Malloch-Brown. There had been a Presidential statement by the EU, and the Minister indicated that it might be possible to discuss an emergency Resolution at the Human Rights Council in the first half of June. Whether it would get through, against the 'like-minded states', a coalition of Islamic states plus Russia, China and their allies, may be doubtful. Some pessimists now think the usefulness of the UN human rights system is severely impaired by this line-up.
After Questions, I met Shafiq Chaudhry, who is refurning to Bangladesh to contest the forthcoming election as an Awami League candidate. He was very concerned about the treatment of Sheikh Hasina, the Party Leader, who is denied access to medical advisers of her choice by the caretaker goverrnment.
Next week the House is in recess.
Wednesday, hosted a tea party for Leyla Zana, the Kurdish leader I had last met in 1993 when we toured eastern Anatolia together. She said that the Turkish constitution had to be amended to remove the clause which declares the unity of the Turkish republic and people, but the Kurdish people aren't asking for independence. On the detailed changes needed, she was cautious, saying that the constitutional amendment was the pre-requisite to discussion of questions such as the degree of local autonomy, mother tongue education etc.
Thursday, my oral question on the arrests of leading Baha'is in Iran, which elicited a sympathetic and helpful reply from the Minister, Mark Malloch-Brown. There had been a Presidential statement by the EU, and the Minister indicated that it might be possible to discuss an emergency Resolution at the Human Rights Council in the first half of June. Whether it would get through, against the 'like-minded states', a coalition of Islamic states plus Russia, China and their allies, may be doubtful. Some pessimists now think the usefulness of the UN human rights system is severely impaired by this line-up.
After Questions, I met Shafiq Chaudhry, who is refurning to Bangladesh to contest the forthcoming election as an Awami League candidate. He was very concerned about the treatment of Sheikh Hasina, the Party Leader, who is denied access to medical advisers of her choice by the caretaker goverrnment.
Next week the House is in recess.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Maurice Lubbock Scholars 50th Anniversary
The first picture is of the presentation of the silver bowl to the College by the Maurice Lubbock Scholars. Howard Davies, 1958, and Malcolm Forrest, 1958, the first two Scholars, made the presentation on behalf of the scholars, and Dr Paul Buckley received the bowl on behalf of the College. Altogether 27 of the Scholars attended, the highest number we have ever had. It was noted that the Maurice Lubbock Engineering Scholarship had spanned half the century of the Engineering School itself.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Land grabs in the Chittagong Hill Tracts
Three examples of land belonging to indigenous people being seized illegally in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and their property destroyed. I shall be going to Copenhagen to participate in the meeting of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission at the end of May:
NGO accused of grabbing land in Bandarban
chtnews.com
News No. 85/2008, May 18, 2008
Development Organisation of the Rural Poor, a local NGO, is accused of grabbing lands belonging to Tripura nationality in Lama Upazila of Bandarban.
An NGO by the name of DORP has cleared fruit orchards and other trees of the Tripura people in Lama Upazila of Bandarban and then set fire to it, reports Prothom Alo, a vernacular daily published from Dhaka.
Now a signboard reading 'Saistyogram Dorp' (Sanatorium Village Dorp) has been put up over the said land, it added.
Taking responsibility for the destruction of the orchards, Dorp said it had taken those lands on lease. However, chairman of Bandarban District Council, Professor Thanzama Lusai and district administration officials refuted the claim saying there was no scope for land leases after the CHT peace accord.
The indigenous Tripura people have been living, for hundreds of years, in Tongo Zhiripara village under Soroi Union that lies about 20km north of Bandarban Sadar Upazila on Sualok-Lama road. Although a few families have land documents, others have been practicing Jum cultivation on the hills for generations under traditional land management system. The villagers said 10 - 12 days ago Dorp people cut the trees of their gardens in 25 - 30 acres of land and then set them on fire.
Khenda Tripura (65) said "I grew a mixed garden of teak, Gorjon, Gamari, mango and jackfruit in about 10 acres of land near my 2-acre plough land that I had been granted in 1982. The Dorp people have occupied both the plough land and the garden."
Rongsaha Tripura said "I grew an orchard five years ago. Now my heart breaks when I look at the destroyed orchard."
Zillyamoni, Rungkoma, Bikram Moni and many others said their titled lands and orchards had been grabbed by Dorp people.
Nurul Alam, a labourer employed by Dorp, said on orders of Dorp's Executive Director Noman and its field organisers Ayub and Malek, 20 - 25 labourers cut the orchards of the Tripura people and then set fire to it.
In this regard Dorp's Executive Director AHM Noman said they have 150 acres of hilly land in the area taken on lease. They have now taken initiative to grow a garden and build a hospital there. He claimed that the Tripuras did not possess any land in the said area.
A study of land leases records in the office of the Deputy Commissioner has revealed that Dorp's chief coordinator Babul Kumar Adhikari, AHM Noman, Nurul Islam and some others have been granted lease of 25 acres each in Doluchari Mouza. The leases were granted in the year 2000. However, under the provision of CHT peace accord land leases and transfer of lands already leased out should have ceased. The District Council officials were of the same view that as per the District Council Act of 1998, these leases were illegal.
Professor Thanzama Lusai, chairman of Bandarban District Council, said the Chittagong Hill Tracts Ministry had been requested to revoke all the leases granted after the CHT peace accord and the District Council Acts came into effect and without prior permission of the Councils. He added that he will take actions after an inquiry into the activities of Dorp.
The Officer-in-charge (OC) of Lama police station, Abul Kashem, said he had been informed that an NGO styled DORP cleared the orchards and gardens belonging to the Tripura people and added that the issue was under investigation.
Mohammad Ali, chairman of Soroi Union Council, agrees that what Dorp has done is tantamount to grabbing of indigenous Tripura people's land.
The Tripura villagers further said they had protested when their orchards were being cut. In order to scare the indigenous people off, the Dorp people filed a general diary (GD) with the local police station claiming that the Tripuras demanded Taka 2 lakhs (Taka 200 thousand) as subscription. They also alleged that the Dorp people had threatened them with arrest and even death.
Jonti, Manik Chandra, Bikram and Satyoram Tripura and many others said after the threats the indigenous people get frightened at the mere sight of police personnel in the area.
..............................
Based on Prothom Alo report published today, 18 May 2008. www.prothom-alo.com
From the Daily Star, March 2, 2008
20 acre lands of tribesmen grabbed in Khagrachhari
Haque's two sons are leaders of Jubo Dal and Chhatra Dal
Our Correspondent, Khagrachhari
Aminul Haque's two sons are leaders of BNP fronts-- Jubo Dal and Chhata Dal. He allegedly grabbed about 20 acre lands of indigenous people in Ganjapara union in Khagrachhari during the past alliance government.
Aminul is a resident of Mohazonpara Narikel Bagun area in the Sadar upazila. His son Bahadur Alam alias Bahar is Khagrachhari Jubo Dal vice-president and the other-- Shahidul Hoqueis a cadre of district Chatra Dal, the victims said.
The lands grabbed by Aminul Haque earlier belonged to some 10 indigenous families in Ganjapara, according to Golabari Union Parishad Chairman Chaila Prue Marma and some other sources.
While talking to this correspondent, some of the victims complained that Aminul grabbed most of the lands by using political clout during the rule of four-party alliance government. They were helpless as sections of unscrupulous officials and political leaders connived with the land grabber who also threatened of muscle power, they said.
They said they went to authorities concerned for legal action but they were 'harassed by some officials and local political leaders', they claimed.
"I went to the court of First Class Magistrate on August 8 last year to seek legal action. The then magistrate ordered police to investigate the matters and record a case", Golabari UP Chairman Chailapru Marma told this correspondent yesterday.
"But have not yet investigated the matter, let alone filing of case", he said.
Sub-Inspector Rafiq, who was asked to probe the allegations have done nothing so far, he said. "Rather, he has very good relations with the grabber", Chailapru Marma said.
He said he also submitted a complaint to joint forces in December last year to take steps for return of the grabbed lands.
Chaindi Aung Marma, 61, of Ganjapara area alleged that Haque grabbed about two acre lands of her family by making fake document.
"He (Haque) leased the land for two years for a brick field from my brother Mrasathowai Marma. After my brother died, he declined to return the land, saying my brother sold the land", she said.
Chaindi filed a case with the civil judge's court.
Anil Chakma of Perachhara Darmapur area claimed that Haque grabbed about one acre of his land. He moved police stations but to no effect, he claimed.
The victims also include Satho Aung Marma, Neeaung Marma and Lali Marma alais Lal Buri, who alleged that Haque grabbed about 10 acres of their land by using the then ruling party cadres and forged documents.
Some Bangalee people also alleged that was tried to grab their lands.
The victims alleged that Haque enjoyed the blessings of Khagrachhari municipality chairman and district BNP secretary Joynal Abedin, among others.
Joynal Abedin, a close aide to former lawmaker Wadud Bhuiyan, is also advisor to the Parbattya Chattagram Samo Adhiker Andolon (PCSAA), a forum of Bangla speaking people in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).
While contacted, Hoque said he has all legal documents on the lands but he could not show any paper. He however admitted that he is facing some cases regarding land.
Assistant Police Superintendent (ASP) Mohammad Tareq Ahmed, when contacted, said police has nothing to do till case is filed. He however said he will look into the matter.
When contacted, Joynal Abedin denied his involvement with Haque in land grabbing.
PRESS STATEMENT
SAJEK'S BURNT VILLAGES:
CITIZEN'S TEAM CALLS FOR INQUIRY AND URGENT RELIEF
A group of citizens conducted an on-site inquiry on 28th and 29th April 2008 in Sajek Union, Rangamati District, following press reports of about 150 houses being burnt down across seven villages in the area. On arrival in the area, we saw that in eight villages within the reserved forest area in Sajek Union -- Nursery Para, Daney Bhaibachora, Bamey Bhaibachora, Purbopara, Balughatpara, Retkaba, MSF Para and Gongaram Mukh – the mostly Pahari houses which had been burnt down to the ground remained just as they were. The charred remains of burnt houses could be seen across a four kilometer long area. Many people are still in hiding. Others told us that several persons were injured during this incident. People do not have proper shelter, and some remain under open skies.
For the full story see www.jpnuk.org.uk/
NGO accused of grabbing land in Bandarban
chtnews.com
News No. 85/2008, May 18, 2008
Development Organisation of the Rural Poor, a local NGO, is accused of grabbing lands belonging to Tripura nationality in Lama Upazila of Bandarban.
An NGO by the name of DORP has cleared fruit orchards and other trees of the Tripura people in Lama Upazila of Bandarban and then set fire to it, reports Prothom Alo, a vernacular daily published from Dhaka.
Now a signboard reading 'Saistyogram Dorp' (Sanatorium Village Dorp) has been put up over the said land, it added.
Taking responsibility for the destruction of the orchards, Dorp said it had taken those lands on lease. However, chairman of Bandarban District Council, Professor Thanzama Lusai and district administration officials refuted the claim saying there was no scope for land leases after the CHT peace accord.
The indigenous Tripura people have been living, for hundreds of years, in Tongo Zhiripara village under Soroi Union that lies about 20km north of Bandarban Sadar Upazila on Sualok-Lama road. Although a few families have land documents, others have been practicing Jum cultivation on the hills for generations under traditional land management system. The villagers said 10 - 12 days ago Dorp people cut the trees of their gardens in 25 - 30 acres of land and then set them on fire.
Khenda Tripura (65) said "I grew a mixed garden of teak, Gorjon, Gamari, mango and jackfruit in about 10 acres of land near my 2-acre plough land that I had been granted in 1982. The Dorp people have occupied both the plough land and the garden."
Rongsaha Tripura said "I grew an orchard five years ago. Now my heart breaks when I look at the destroyed orchard."
Zillyamoni, Rungkoma, Bikram Moni and many others said their titled lands and orchards had been grabbed by Dorp people.
Nurul Alam, a labourer employed by Dorp, said on orders of Dorp's Executive Director Noman and its field organisers Ayub and Malek, 20 - 25 labourers cut the orchards of the Tripura people and then set fire to it.
In this regard Dorp's Executive Director AHM Noman said they have 150 acres of hilly land in the area taken on lease. They have now taken initiative to grow a garden and build a hospital there. He claimed that the Tripuras did not possess any land in the said area.
A study of land leases records in the office of the Deputy Commissioner has revealed that Dorp's chief coordinator Babul Kumar Adhikari, AHM Noman, Nurul Islam and some others have been granted lease of 25 acres each in Doluchari Mouza. The leases were granted in the year 2000. However, under the provision of CHT peace accord land leases and transfer of lands already leased out should have ceased. The District Council officials were of the same view that as per the District Council Act of 1998, these leases were illegal.
Professor Thanzama Lusai, chairman of Bandarban District Council, said the Chittagong Hill Tracts Ministry had been requested to revoke all the leases granted after the CHT peace accord and the District Council Acts came into effect and without prior permission of the Councils. He added that he will take actions after an inquiry into the activities of Dorp.
The Officer-in-charge (OC) of Lama police station, Abul Kashem, said he had been informed that an NGO styled DORP cleared the orchards and gardens belonging to the Tripura people and added that the issue was under investigation.
Mohammad Ali, chairman of Soroi Union Council, agrees that what Dorp has done is tantamount to grabbing of indigenous Tripura people's land.
The Tripura villagers further said they had protested when their orchards were being cut. In order to scare the indigenous people off, the Dorp people filed a general diary (GD) with the local police station claiming that the Tripuras demanded Taka 2 lakhs (Taka 200 thousand) as subscription. They also alleged that the Dorp people had threatened them with arrest and even death.
Jonti, Manik Chandra, Bikram and Satyoram Tripura and many others said after the threats the indigenous people get frightened at the mere sight of police personnel in the area.
..............................
Based on Prothom Alo report published today, 18 May 2008. www.prothom-alo.com
From the Daily Star, March 2, 2008
20 acre lands of tribesmen grabbed in Khagrachhari
Haque's two sons are leaders of Jubo Dal and Chhatra Dal
Our Correspondent, Khagrachhari
Aminul Haque's two sons are leaders of BNP fronts-- Jubo Dal and Chhata Dal. He allegedly grabbed about 20 acre lands of indigenous people in Ganjapara union in Khagrachhari during the past alliance government.
Aminul is a resident of Mohazonpara Narikel Bagun area in the Sadar upazila. His son Bahadur Alam alias Bahar is Khagrachhari Jubo Dal vice-president and the other-- Shahidul Hoqueis a cadre of district Chatra Dal, the victims said.
The lands grabbed by Aminul Haque earlier belonged to some 10 indigenous families in Ganjapara, according to Golabari Union Parishad Chairman Chaila Prue Marma and some other sources.
While talking to this correspondent, some of the victims complained that Aminul grabbed most of the lands by using political clout during the rule of four-party alliance government. They were helpless as sections of unscrupulous officials and political leaders connived with the land grabber who also threatened of muscle power, they said.
They said they went to authorities concerned for legal action but they were 'harassed by some officials and local political leaders', they claimed.
"I went to the court of First Class Magistrate on August 8 last year to seek legal action. The then magistrate ordered police to investigate the matters and record a case", Golabari UP Chairman Chailapru Marma told this correspondent yesterday.
"But have not yet investigated the matter, let alone filing of case", he said.
Sub-Inspector Rafiq, who was asked to probe the allegations have done nothing so far, he said. "Rather, he has very good relations with the grabber", Chailapru Marma said.
He said he also submitted a complaint to joint forces in December last year to take steps for return of the grabbed lands.
Chaindi Aung Marma, 61, of Ganjapara area alleged that Haque grabbed about two acre lands of her family by making fake document.
"He (Haque) leased the land for two years for a brick field from my brother Mrasathowai Marma. After my brother died, he declined to return the land, saying my brother sold the land", she said.
Chaindi filed a case with the civil judge's court.
Anil Chakma of Perachhara Darmapur area claimed that Haque grabbed about one acre of his land. He moved police stations but to no effect, he claimed.
The victims also include Satho Aung Marma, Neeaung Marma and Lali Marma alais Lal Buri, who alleged that Haque grabbed about 10 acres of their land by using the then ruling party cadres and forged documents.
Some Bangalee people also alleged that was tried to grab their lands.
The victims alleged that Haque enjoyed the blessings of Khagrachhari municipality chairman and district BNP secretary Joynal Abedin, among others.
Joynal Abedin, a close aide to former lawmaker Wadud Bhuiyan, is also advisor to the Parbattya Chattagram Samo Adhiker Andolon (PCSAA), a forum of Bangla speaking people in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).
While contacted, Hoque said he has all legal documents on the lands but he could not show any paper. He however admitted that he is facing some cases regarding land.
Assistant Police Superintendent (ASP) Mohammad Tareq Ahmed, when contacted, said police has nothing to do till case is filed. He however said he will look into the matter.
When contacted, Joynal Abedin denied his involvement with Haque in land grabbing.
PRESS STATEMENT
SAJEK'S BURNT VILLAGES:
CITIZEN'S TEAM CALLS FOR INQUIRY AND URGENT RELIEF
A group of citizens conducted an on-site inquiry on 28th and 29th April 2008 in Sajek Union, Rangamati District, following press reports of about 150 houses being burnt down across seven villages in the area. On arrival in the area, we saw that in eight villages within the reserved forest area in Sajek Union -- Nursery Para, Daney Bhaibachora, Bamey Bhaibachora, Purbopara, Balughatpara, Retkaba, MSF Para and Gongaram Mukh – the mostly Pahari houses which had been burnt down to the ground remained just as they were. The charred remains of burnt houses could be seen across a four kilometer long area. Many people are still in hiding. Others told us that several persons were injured during this incident. People do not have proper shelter, and some remain under open skies.
For the full story see www.jpnuk.org.uk/
Bahá'ís of Iran
Letter sent to the office of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion, Ms Asma Jehangir:
The Bahá'ís tell me that six members of the national-level group that helps see to the minimum needs of Bahá'ís in Iran in the absence of the formal elected Baha'i institutions, were arrested in their homes early on Wednesday (May 14) morning and taken to Evin prison in Tehran. Government intelligence agents spent up to five hours searching each home, before taking the Baha'is to prison.
Those arrested were Mrs Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr Afif Naeimi, Mr Saeid Rezaie, Mr Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr Vahid Tizfah. A seventh member of the coordinating group (known as the Friends in Iran), Mrs Mahvash Sabet, had been detained in Mashad on 5 March and has been held since then in Evin.
My informants recall similar episodes in the 1980s when scores of leading Iranian Baha'is were rounded up and killed. (All nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Iran were abducted on August 21, 1980 and disappeared without trace, but certainly that they were murdered. The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Iran was reconstituted soon after that, but eight of its members were executed on December 27, 1981. All the elected Baha'i councils, national and local, were disbanded after that and have never been reelected since.)
Mrs Sabet was due for release quite some time ago, but her detention has been extended, without legal process.
The effect of these detentions is to create fear and uncertainty amongst the Iranian Baha'is and to enhance the suspicion that the regime's longer-term aim is to extinguish the Baha'i Faith in the land of its birth.
Could the Special Rapporteur ask the Iranian authorities why they have arrested these leaders? I'd be most grateful if you could let me know of any action you decide to take.
------------------------------------------------------------------
I have also written in similar terms to the Country of Origin Information Service, the source of information used by the immigration appellate authorities to help them determine who is a genuine refugee.
For further information see www.bahai-egypt.org/2008/05/world-condemns-iran-for-arresting-bahai.html
The Bahá'ís tell me that six members of the national-level group that helps see to the minimum needs of Bahá'ís in Iran in the absence of the formal elected Baha'i institutions, were arrested in their homes early on Wednesday (May 14) morning and taken to Evin prison in Tehran. Government intelligence agents spent up to five hours searching each home, before taking the Baha'is to prison.
Those arrested were Mrs Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr Afif Naeimi, Mr Saeid Rezaie, Mr Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr Vahid Tizfah. A seventh member of the coordinating group (known as the Friends in Iran), Mrs Mahvash Sabet, had been detained in Mashad on 5 March and has been held since then in Evin.
My informants recall similar episodes in the 1980s when scores of leading Iranian Baha'is were rounded up and killed. (All nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Iran were abducted on August 21, 1980 and disappeared without trace, but certainly that they were murdered. The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Iran was reconstituted soon after that, but eight of its members were executed on December 27, 1981. All the elected Baha'i councils, national and local, were disbanded after that and have never been reelected since.)
Mrs Sabet was due for release quite some time ago, but her detention has been extended, without legal process.
The effect of these detentions is to create fear and uncertainty amongst the Iranian Baha'is and to enhance the suspicion that the regime's longer-term aim is to extinguish the Baha'i Faith in the land of its birth.
Could the Special Rapporteur ask the Iranian authorities why they have arrested these leaders? I'd be most grateful if you could let me know of any action you decide to take.
------------------------------------------------------------------
I have also written in similar terms to the Country of Origin Information Service, the source of information used by the immigration appellate authorities to help them determine who is a genuine refugee.
For further information see www.bahai-egypt.org/2008/05/world-condemns-iran-for-arresting-bahai.html
Ping-Pong
JW and I have played two quick games of ping-pong for the first time since last October, 1-1 both times, making the cumulative score (since my last operation in April 2006) 77-76 to me. This is my barometer, and its reassuring to know that I'm not falling apart just yet.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Another week
Last Sunday Rhoda Torres came to tea, and it was the first time we'd seen her since before we moved to Camberwell 21 years ago. She seemed just the same, other than putting on a little weight since she gave up smoking. Somehow we omitted to take a photograph.
Monday, Dawn Smith, representative of the British Virgin Islands, came to lunch, and we discussed the Islands' successful regulation of the financial services industry, ecotourism, and Richard Branson's plans for development of the two islands he owns.
After Questions, the weekly meeting of my Select Committee, hearing evidence from Professor Davis Fidler of Indiana University and Dr Kellet Lee of the Centre on Global Change and Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Professor Fidler says that the global health picture (he doesn't like the use of the word architecture) is one of open source anarchy. He would like to see international law developing sets of health norms, on the lines of the International Health Regulations, but acknowledges that states are not readily going to cede that amount of sovereignty.
In the evening, to Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe, with Lindsay's brother Philip and his 13-year old son Alex, staying with us from Hong Kong. Puck was inaudible and the fairies were in punk fashion. Why doesn't the Globe stick to doing real Shakespeare?
Tuesday morning, to Mr Speaker's, as one of the judges for the Mr Speaker Abbott Award, given by the Press Gallery of the Commons to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the admission of journalists to the proceedings of the House of Commons in 1803. It was a varied list of nominees, all of whom had made significant contributions towards the promotion of Parliamentary democracy at some risk to themselves.
Then Lindsay and I had lunch with Lee Foster, development officer at William and Mary, Lindsay's old college.
I fielded a question on the Democratic Republic of Congo, asking if the Government would press for the appointment of a monitor for the performance by all parties of the humanitarian and human rights obligations they had undertaken in the January 23 Goma Agreement. Lord Malloch-Brown gave an assurance that the matter would be raised at the meeting of the Contact Group next week.
Thursday, to Oxford with Lyulph, for the Maurice Lubbock Memorial Lecture at the Engineering School, which was delivered by Lord Browne, former head of BP. He was making an argument for the wider contribution of engineers to the solution of political, social and economic problems, taking the case of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline as an illusttrative case study. Although there were formidable technological problems with the development of a large pipeline through terrain that is subject to extremes of temperature and earthquakes, there were also major environmental and political hurdles that had to be overcome.
Friday, again to Oxford with Lyulph, for the 50th anniversary of the Maurice Lubbock Scholars at Ballil. Malcolm Forrest, the second Lubbock Scholar, said it was the only Trust at the University where the trustees maintained personal links with the Scholars, as we do every year at the Annual Dinner. The Scholars had commissioned a magnificent silver bowl to mark the 50tn anniversary, which Howard Davies, the first Scholar, presented to me to give to the College. The Scholars also gave me a wonderful picture of the Palace of Westminster, looked at from the top of the Eye. Lyulph and I travelled to and from Oxford on the bus for the princely sum of £15 for the two of us, OK if you're not in a hurry, We caught the 23.30 on the return journey, reaching Flodden Road by 02.45.
This week in addition to Philip and Alex, who departed yesterday evening, we had Barbra Stapleton staying for a couple of days on her way from a NATO conference back to Kabul. She was in great form, but we didn't have nearly as much time to discuss the problems of Afghanistan as I would have liked.
Saturday, with Lindsay to the Sri Lanka High Commission, where we were the principal lay guests for the Vesak celebration. The High Commissioner invited me to say why I was a Buddhist, and I spoke for five minutes, relating the story of my conversations with Prins Gunasekera when together with Bala Tampoe we visited the south in 1971. The Four Noble Truths seemed at one level extremely simple, and at another, profound statements about the moral universe that were analogous to the laws of physics in the material universe. The Buddha's analysis of the 'five aggregates' of existence - form, perception, intellection, perception and consciousness - showed that each was changing over time; and if they constituted the sum total of the human being, there was no permanent entity in which the soul or self could reside. This convinced me of the doctrine of Anatta or soullessness, which is apparently so difficult for those brought up in Christian or Islamic societies to grasp.
There was then a sermon by Ajahn Vajiro from Amaravati, in which he dealt with the concept of Dukkha, generally translated as suffering or unsatisfactoriness, the common feeling that something is wrong with one's life even if for most people in the audience, there was enough to eat, they had adequate shelter, and clothing. He touched on the Five Precepts, saying that no doubt everyone present was observing them at that moment. Afterwards everyone circulated and we talked to many of the other guests, invluding Ajahn Vajiro, whom I had met on other occasions but this was the first time I had been able to have some conversation with him.
Monday, Dawn Smith, representative of the British Virgin Islands, came to lunch, and we discussed the Islands' successful regulation of the financial services industry, ecotourism, and Richard Branson's plans for development of the two islands he owns.
After Questions, the weekly meeting of my Select Committee, hearing evidence from Professor Davis Fidler of Indiana University and Dr Kellet Lee of the Centre on Global Change and Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Professor Fidler says that the global health picture (he doesn't like the use of the word architecture) is one of open source anarchy. He would like to see international law developing sets of health norms, on the lines of the International Health Regulations, but acknowledges that states are not readily going to cede that amount of sovereignty.
In the evening, to Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe, with Lindsay's brother Philip and his 13-year old son Alex, staying with us from Hong Kong. Puck was inaudible and the fairies were in punk fashion. Why doesn't the Globe stick to doing real Shakespeare?
Tuesday morning, to Mr Speaker's, as one of the judges for the Mr Speaker Abbott Award, given by the Press Gallery of the Commons to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the admission of journalists to the proceedings of the House of Commons in 1803. It was a varied list of nominees, all of whom had made significant contributions towards the promotion of Parliamentary democracy at some risk to themselves.
Then Lindsay and I had lunch with Lee Foster, development officer at William and Mary, Lindsay's old college.
I fielded a question on the Democratic Republic of Congo, asking if the Government would press for the appointment of a monitor for the performance by all parties of the humanitarian and human rights obligations they had undertaken in the January 23 Goma Agreement. Lord Malloch-Brown gave an assurance that the matter would be raised at the meeting of the Contact Group next week.
Thursday, to Oxford with Lyulph, for the Maurice Lubbock Memorial Lecture at the Engineering School, which was delivered by Lord Browne, former head of BP. He was making an argument for the wider contribution of engineers to the solution of political, social and economic problems, taking the case of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline as an illusttrative case study. Although there were formidable technological problems with the development of a large pipeline through terrain that is subject to extremes of temperature and earthquakes, there were also major environmental and political hurdles that had to be overcome.
Friday, again to Oxford with Lyulph, for the 50th anniversary of the Maurice Lubbock Scholars at Ballil. Malcolm Forrest, the second Lubbock Scholar, said it was the only Trust at the University where the trustees maintained personal links with the Scholars, as we do every year at the Annual Dinner. The Scholars had commissioned a magnificent silver bowl to mark the 50tn anniversary, which Howard Davies, the first Scholar, presented to me to give to the College. The Scholars also gave me a wonderful picture of the Palace of Westminster, looked at from the top of the Eye. Lyulph and I travelled to and from Oxford on the bus for the princely sum of £15 for the two of us, OK if you're not in a hurry, We caught the 23.30 on the return journey, reaching Flodden Road by 02.45.
This week in addition to Philip and Alex, who departed yesterday evening, we had Barbra Stapleton staying for a couple of days on her way from a NATO conference back to Kabul. She was in great form, but we didn't have nearly as much time to discuss the problems of Afghanistan as I would have liked.
Saturday, with Lindsay to the Sri Lanka High Commission, where we were the principal lay guests for the Vesak celebration. The High Commissioner invited me to say why I was a Buddhist, and I spoke for five minutes, relating the story of my conversations with Prins Gunasekera when together with Bala Tampoe we visited the south in 1971. The Four Noble Truths seemed at one level extremely simple, and at another, profound statements about the moral universe that were analogous to the laws of physics in the material universe. The Buddha's analysis of the 'five aggregates' of existence - form, perception, intellection, perception and consciousness - showed that each was changing over time; and if they constituted the sum total of the human being, there was no permanent entity in which the soul or self could reside. This convinced me of the doctrine of Anatta or soullessness, which is apparently so difficult for those brought up in Christian or Islamic societies to grasp.
There was then a sermon by Ajahn Vajiro from Amaravati, in which he dealt with the concept of Dukkha, generally translated as suffering or unsatisfactoriness, the common feeling that something is wrong with one's life even if for most people in the audience, there was enough to eat, they had adequate shelter, and clothing. He touched on the Five Precepts, saying that no doubt everyone present was observing them at that moment. Afterwards everyone circulated and we talked to many of the other guests, invluding Ajahn Vajiro, whom I had met on other occasions but this was the first time I had been able to have some conversation with him.
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