Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Tuesday 25th December

DEAR SOH LISTENERS:
To give our wonderful SOH volunteer staff a well-deserved break, only the written script for Asia Cast will be provided on the 24th, 25th, and 26th of December.

In this Bulletin…

- Billions around the world come together to celebrate Christmas,
- Human rights groups warn of increasing child abductions in the Congo, and
- Thailand’s newly elected party claim they have enough support to form a coalition.

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Thousands of pilgrims gathered in Bethlehem yesterday for the most peaceful Christmas mass in the region for years.

The gathering was promoted by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Western powers as a chance to highlight the benefits of peacemaking.

Ahead of the festivities, Palestinian security forces, many carrying newly issued rifles, took up positions on the streets of Bethlehem in numbers not seen in years.

It was the third major deployment of Palestinian forces in a West Bank city under a Western-backed security push launched after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June.

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In related news, Pope Benedict XVI has used his Christmas day speech to speak out against selfishness and the degradation of the environment as he celebrated midnight mass at Saint Peter’s Basilica.

The leader of the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics spoke in Italian as thousands listened in the vast basilica and millions more on television worldwide.

In his speech the Pope lamented man’s preoccupation with himself and his unwillingness to for others and for future generations.

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According to a report from human rights group “Save the Children” yesterday, fighting in eastern Congo this month has led to a surge in child abductions by armed groups who force minors to fight, carry ammunition or become their sex slaves.

Children’s rights campaigners, including the British-based charity, say most of the factions fighting in eastern Congo’s complex web of conflict left behind after the vast country’s 1998-2003 war have used child soldiers.

Save the Children says it has demobilized nearly 7,000 children over the past three years, but some of them are being forced back into armed groups by a wave of recruitment since a government advance and rebel counter-offensive this month.

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The group of Generals that lead Thailand’s military coup in September last year has said it accepts the Country’s election result, which has handed victory to a party loyal to ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Now, the People Power Party (PPP), which won most seats in the election, has claimed it has the backing of enough smaller parties to form a ruling coalition.

But a People Power Party (PPP) spokesman declined to say which parties had agreed to join it.

The rival Democrat party still hopes it can form its own coalition and keep the PPP out of power. According to unofficial election results, the PPP won 232 seats in Sunday’s poll, while the Democrats won 165.

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And now for our original SOH news direct from China

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The construction of the Nioqiao Dam has prompted forced removal of many residents of the area, usually without adequate compensation.

To date, over one hundred and sixty families were coaxed and threatened into relocation by the government, while nine families remain in the dam district after negotiations with authorities failed.

The authorities have allegedly decided to leave the families to face the rising dam waters, and the families say that they can now only rely on those in the society with a sense of justice to reveal their situations and call upon the government to take action.

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Human Rights defender Attorney Zhen Enlong was summoned for interrogation after he recently revealed the involvement of Jiang Zemin’s two sons in seizing two blocks of land in Shanghai city centre’s East Eight Block.

Attorney Zhen was supported by the local community who supplied him with the information to make the claims.

It is not yet clear whether the men will face any charges in a practice of corruption and forced evictions which are now commonplace in China.

It is also unclear at this stage the health of Attorney Zhen.

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We at SOH would like to take this opportunity to wish those of you celebrating Christmas best wishes, and happy holidays to those who are enjoying some time off, and to all of our listeners we say thank you for tuning in this year and we look forward to sharing 2008 with you all.

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