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Contents contributed and discussions participated by runlai_jiang

runlai_jiang

Colombia's Santos wins Nobel Peace Prize in boost for troubled talks | Antigua Observer... - 0 views

  • Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to end a 52-year-old war with Marxist guerrillas, a surprise choice and a show of support days after voters rejected a peace deal he signed with the rebels.
  • Santos has promised to revive the plan even though Colombians narrowly rejected it in a referendum on Sunday.
  • The fact that a majority of the voters said ‘No’ to the peace accord does not necessarily mean that the peace process is dead.”
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  • his makes it even more important that the parties … continue to respect the ceasefire
  • More than 220,000 people have died on the battlefield or in massacres during the conflict between leftist guerrillas, government troops and right-wing paramilitaries.
  • Santos has used his two terms in office to open negotiations with rebel leaders in four years of talks.
  • The peace accord was indeed a major achievement and, although the referendum was a setback,
  • hopefully this award will help peace builders maintain the momentum needed to keep the process moving forward,” Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Director Dan Smith said in a statement.
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    Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. He accord the rebelling guerrilla to ceasefire. Although the majority of voters said no in the referendum, President promised that they would continue the peace process. His negotiations to ceasefire helped the peace process in the future decision and also have made sure people's safety. The Nobel Peace Prize adviced us to keep solving the Colombia Peace Process.
runlai_jiang

DEATH TO DEMOCRACY | Antigua Observer Newspaper - 0 views

  • Keeping the status quo on campaign financing is “the death of democracy.”
  • He is calling for a ban on private funding for political campaigns.
  • Samuel said there should be stringent laws that severely punish politicians through penalties and fines for using private funding for political campaign.
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  • “What they fail to realise is that they have no power, all the power is in the hands of those who make giant contributions.”
  • The head of the Electoral Commission said political campaigns should be paid for by the public purse, and that political organisations should find other ways to fund their campaigns
  • I believe a percentage of the budget should be allocated to the body that is responsible for election, ABEC, and that they will be charged with coming up with a formula to hand out donation to political parties for them to run their campaigns, and that private financing be totally banned,”
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    The Chairman of the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission pointed out that private funding to political campaign groups is a risk toward democracy. The power is hold by the giant private contributors instead of the public. Thus, the funding should be paid by the public purse. He believes that a percentage of the budget should be allocated to the responsible election body and the money should be allocated in a formula, but the private financing should be banned.
runlai_jiang

Antiguan ex-president of UN general assembly faces $1m corruption charges | World news ... - 0 views

  • Antiguan ex-president of UN general assembly faces $1m corruption charges
  • A former president of the United Nations general assembly turned the world body into a “platform for profit” by accepting over $1m in bribes and a trip to New Orleans from a billionaire Chinese real estate mogul and other businesspeople to pave the way for lucrative investments, a prosecutor charged on Tuesday
  • John Ashe, a former UN ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda who served in the largely ceremonial post from September 2013 to September 2014, faces conspiracy- and bribery-related charges along with five others, including Francis Lorenzo, a deputy UN ambassador from the Dominican Republic who lives in the Bronx.
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  • Dujarric said Ban was “shocked and deeply troubled” by the allegations that “go to the heart and integrity of the UN”.
  • Corruption is not business as usual at the UN.
  • Those charged in the criminal complaint unsealed on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court included Seng, who was arrested two weeks ago along with his chief assistant, Jeff C Yin, 29, a US citizen whose bail was revoked last week over allegations that he lied to investigators after his arrest.
  • Other money, they said, was used to lease a luxury car, pay his home mortgage, buy Rolex watches and custom suits, and construct a $30,000 basketball court at his home in Dobbs Ferry, New York, where he was arrested on Tuesday. He opened two bank accounts to receive the funds and then underreported his income by more than $1.2m, officials said.
  • Prosecutors said two other arrested individuals were involved with Ng. They were identified as Sheri Yan, 57, and Heidi Park, 52, both naturalized US citizens who reside in China and helped facilitate the scheme, prosecutors said.
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    The Antiguan ex-president of UN general assembly, John Ashe accepted bribe from a chinese real estate buisness man and other businesspeople and was asked to benefit them for paving the way for lucrative investments. The president was charged. UN is not a usual corruption place and Antigua and Barbuda should rethink  its democracy system because our representative was even bribing.
runlai_jiang

PM recommits to ending corruption in Antigua-Barbuda | Caribbean News Now - 0 views

  • PM recommits to ending corruption in Antigua-Barbuda
  • he was president of the UN General Assembly, have “cast a pall of gloom over all of us and neighbouring Caribbean countries”, in a national broadcast on Sunday Prime Minister Gaston Browne promised to strengthen the structures and machinery of good governance in his country and put an end to all corrupt practices.
  • The implication of members of the former United Progressive Party (UPP) government, including the former prime minister, Baldwin Spencer, in bribery, money laundering and other corruption charges, has also caused us great alarm,” Browne said.
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  • , Ashe “gravely misrepresented the United Progressive Party government by implying that bribe money was necessary to gain an audience with me or my colleague ministers. That was never the case during the ten years of our administration.”
  • they have encountered a residue of corrupt practices from the former UPP regime, involving the abuse of public office and organized misappropriation of state resources.
  • We intend to have the best and most transparent governance structure in the Caribbean and beyond,” Browne said.
  • Browne noted that offences may also have been committed in Antigua under the Prevention of Corruption Act, which, he said, would be independently investigated by local law enforcement agencies.
  • that is their prerogative and there will be no political witch hunt by his government or the political party that he leads.
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    PM recommits to end corruption in Antigua and Barbuda. The former government gained much bribe from China. 
runlai_jiang

Supporting the Organization of American States in victim protection in Colombia - 1 views

  • The aim of this international peacekeeping mission is to support Colombia’s justice and peace process. Its mandate was extended in 2010 to include support for the land restitution process and implementation of the Victims and Land Restitution Law.
  • The Mission also helps to identify new armed parties and advises Colombia on alternative methods of resolving conflicts and strengthening democracy.
  • The international community pays into a fund to facilitate the work of MAPP/OEA. In 2015 funds were received from the Netherlands, the UK, Spain, the USA, the EU and Turkey as well as from Germany. This money is used to support MAPP/OEA’s general mandate and all the associated activities. BMZ has a financing agreement in place with MAPP/OEA.
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  • For the first time governmental institutions now recognise victims’ representatives as legitimate partners and take the lead in inviting them to meetings. Representatives’ proposals are taken into account when planning and implementing initiatives under the Victims and Land Restitution Law.
  • The support that MAPP/OEA provided to the victims during the trial was and remains a crucial element in the proceedings. The German contribution enables 100 victims to take part in each trial, offering general guidance, legal advice and psychological support throughout.
  • ourts, public prosecutors and victims’ associations use shared databases to exchange information with one another on the demobilised paramilitaries and update these databases continuously.
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    The OAS has started fund raising and programs such as offering general guidance, legal advice and psychological support.
runlai_jiang

OAS probes Antigua's voting problems - News - JamaicaObserver.com - 1 views

  • 10 per cent of the polling stations in mainland Antigua were unprepared to facilitate voting before noon, six hours late.
  • Yesterday was a day of shame for Antigua and Barbuda. Never in our history of free and fair elections has there been this disgraceful experience of polling stations which should legally be opened from 6:00 am until 6:00 pm, failed to do so for at least four hours and in some cases for six hours.
  • said that the problems associated with the failure for timely opening of polling stations was "most regrettable, and quite irregular for elections in Antigua and Barbuda".
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    During the 2009 Antiguan Election, the OAS observers report that 10 percent of the polling stations in mainland Antigua were about six hours late to facilitate voting before noon.The head of the OAS observer mission, Ambassador Albert Ramdin sid the failure of being on time was "most regrettable, and very irregular for elections in Antigua". The good thing about the election was that it took place peacefully and orderly. 
runlai_jiang

Editorial: Voters save democracy in Antigua and Barbuda | Caribbean News Now - 0 views

  • in spite of the eventual margin of victory, the result was always in doubt because of persistent allegations of widespread vote buying and other electoral manipulation by the now former government.
  • Whatever the truth or otherwise to the several allegations of attempted election fraud,
  • it was reported locally that the questionable activities more or less ceased as soon as the observers arrived in the country just a few days before the election itself
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  • the question has to be asked whether the observation missions mounted by three organisations: the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Commonwealth and the Organisation of American States (OAS), are capable of making any real difference to this kind of situation in Antigua and Barbuda or any other country.
  • CARICOM issued a 400-word statement that was essentially devoid of any meaningful observations or recommendations – or indeed anything worth publishing.
  • do these electoral observation missions have any real teeth or are they just for the purpose of paying lip service to the concept of free and fair elections?
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    The OAS observation missions to 2014 Antiguan election is in doubt because evidence shows that vote buying and electoral manipulation by the government still exists. Doubt in the capability of OAS organization took place. Reports show that many illegal election actions disappeared only during the election when the observers came. Also, the observers did not report any meaningful observations after the mission. The OAS organization and other organizations have not responded any of the editors' recommedations. It let people doubt if the OAS is just doing some programs for the concept but not the real actions.
runlai_jiang

OAS mission issues preliminary statement on the general elections in Antigua-Barbuda | ... - 0 views

  • OAS mission issues preliminary statement on the general elections in Antigua-Barbuda
  • electoral observation mission issued the following preliminary statement on the general elections In Antigua and Barbuda:
  • n Antigua and Barbuda congratulates the people of Antigua and Barbuda for their extraordinary commitment to the electoral process, reflected in a high voter turnout and a peaceful exercise of their franchise during the Election Day.
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  • recognizes the efforts made by both the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission and the Supervisor of Elections in the preparation of this election, enabling them to overcome several of the problems experienced in 2009.
  • collaborating to ensure a peaceful voting process.
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    On the June 12th, 2014, the OAS issued a electoral observation mission to supervise and reflect the voter turnout on the Election Day. A team of 16 members went to observe on the Election Day. Security was present to ensure a peaceful voting process. The team's purpose was to supervise the Election and enabling them to prevent the problems experienced in 2009. Finally, the election was very successful and smoothly. Women and all the people had the chance to vote. 
runlai_jiang

Government's Website Is Again Up And Running After A Cyber Attack | ABS TV Radio Antigu... - 0 views

  • Government’s Website Is Again Up And Running After A Cyber Attack
  • The Minister has confirmed that the hackers originated outside of Antigua and Barbuda but was careful not to release too much details saying the issue is still under investigation.
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    The Antigua and Barbuda government website was shut down following a cyber-attack. This shows that the Antiguan government does not have a strong cyber security. The votes database is at a risk to be hacked. If the votes database is at risk, then the Antiguan democracy is also at risk.
runlai_jiang

Cyber attacks plague Antiguan investigative news site - IFEX - 1 views

  • Share The International Press Institute (IPI) is deeply alarmed to hear that the editors of the Antiguan investigative news site Caribarena have left Antigua and Barbuda reportedly due to fear for their family's safety.
  • they and their children had been threatened and harassed and their home vandalised following the publication of articles alleging corruption among high-ranking Antiguan politicians and public figures.
  • Moreover, a series of alleged cyberattacks that began on July 19th have shut down Caribarena's website indefinitely.
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  • "We remind the Antiguan government that it is responsible for the safety of all journalists working within its borders, and we would urge the government to officially and publicly reject all acts of intimidation directed against any media house," Mills added.
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    Hackers intimidated the Antiguan investigative news site Caribarena and its employees by cyber attacing. Many Caribarena editors left Antigua and Barbuda because they were afraid. Caribarena was threatened because of the articles alleging corruption among high-ranking Antiguan politicians and public figures. The Antiguan government take responsibility for this and improve the cyber security.
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