Uttama Chaitanya’s body was brought to Kuala Lumpur’s Jagannath Mandir on Sunday July 19 at 9am for his memorial service. Such was his popularity as the community’s long-serving temple president that around 500 devotees attended the memorial service, honoring him with prayers, offerings, and kirtan.

“His passing came as a shock, and he will be sadly missed by all,” said Ajamila Dasa, speaking on behalf of the ISKCON Kuala Lumpur congregation. “But he was a dedicated preacher, and we can rejoice knowing that his destination is now wonderfully auspicious.”

Originally from Batu Gajah, a small Malaysian town in the state of Perak, Uttama Chaitanya met devotees while studying in college and began to chant the Hare Krishna mantra. He finished his four-year degree in Business Management at the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang, while continuing to attend ISKCON programs. Gradually he became more deeply involved in Krishna consciousness and would himself give regular classes at the Govinda’s Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. His scriptural knowledge and natural gift of the gab made his lectures so riveting that many took up Krishna consciousness after attending them.

His writing skills were just as impressive as his speaking, and they soon earned him the position of sub-editor of the Business Times section in Malaysia’s leading daily newspaper, The New Straits Times Press. Uttama Chaitanya would often use his position to announce Vaishnava festivals and latest releases from the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. He also wrote several Krishna conscious articles, including one on the “Reforestation of Vrindavana” which appeared in the paper’s Life and Times section.

In 1995, he was initiated by Jayapataka Swami. Despite being twenty-nine years old and in the midst of a very materially lucrative career, he immediately committed himself to being a celibate student and full-time devotee. Living in Kuala Lumpur’s Jaganath Mandir, he was soon offered the position of temple commander by the then temple president Simheswar Dasa. Initially declining because he believed other senior devotees to be more qualified, he finally accepted when Jayapataka Swami encouraged him to do so.

When he was eventually made the temple president, Uttama Chaitanya proved to be a visionary leader. Within months, he took an extremely bold step by renovating the current premises despite an initial low level of funds.

A true ISKCON man, he strongly believed in Srila Prabhupada’s formula for spreading Krishna consciousness—book distribution, sacred food distribution, and public chanting—and he worked hard to develop these areas. A few days before his death, he had formally registered ISKCON Kuala Lumpur’s Food For Life program. Over one hundred harinamas (public chanting performances) were held every year during his presidency. And he brought Klang’s Jaganath Mandir to the position of top book distributor in ISKCON Malaysia.

Uttama Chaitanya was devoted to his guru, and made significant progress in organizing Jayapataka Swami’s beloved Congregation Development program in Klang Valley. He also extended his help in this area to other Malaysian centers and organized regular international congregational development meetings. He introduced to Kuala Lumpur the tried and tested Spiritual Counsellor system of ISKCON’s Radha Gopinatha Mandir in Chowpatti, India, thus accelerating the spiritual growth of his congregation.

He also conceived the Damodara Project, under which devotees visited thousands of homes during the sacred month of Damodara to chant Damodara “carols” and delivered ghee lamps and small figurines of Mother Yashoda and baby Krishna. To train others in the program, he and his team members visited Delhi, Tirupati, and even locations as far-flung as Mauritius, South Africa, and Indonesia.

Training and care for devotees were even more important to Uttama Chaitanya. He strongly encouraged the development of Vaishnava training programs such as the the Gokul Garden for children, Pandava Sena for teenagers, and many seasonal courses on philosophical topics. And he lent undivided support to the university preaching program (VOICE), which has been expanding rapidly.

During his tenure as temple president, Uttama Chaitanya also brought about tremendous changes in ISKCON Klang’s deity worship department. He would dress the deities in a rich and opulent style and spend thousands just on flower decorations for the Krishna Janmastami festival. He ensured that guests and regular devotees alike were always welcomed warmly with a smile, folded hands, and a generous helping of sacred food. “This is Jagannatha’s temple—no one should ever leave hungry,” he would say.

He also loved to act, and ISKCON Kuala Lumpur’s Vraja Arts Theater was a project close to his heart. “Srila Prabhupada very much wanted devotees to engage in Vedic drama,” he would say, “Because its impact is much stronger than that of a lecture.” In 2001, his Jagannatha Priya Nataka—Drama of Lord Jagannatha—won rave reviews in many leading local newspapers.

“For most of us, he came across as a character straight out of Shri Chaitanya’s pastimes,” said Klang congregational member Shanti Rupa Dasi. “He was always smiling, had a soft, compassionate nature, and was always mild and gentle in his dealings. He took inspiration from many previous noted ISKCON devotees, such as Gour Govinda Swami and Jayananda Dasa, and would try to follow in their footsteps.”

Fellow devotees remember Uttama Chaitanya as a simple person, wearing plain, often worn-out robes and living very austerely, as befitting a brahmacari (celibate student). Between the double festival-days of Krishna Janmastami and Srila Prabhupada’s appearance day he would barely sleep. Yet still he was seen moving swiftly around the temple with long strides, ensuring that every department worked like clockwork. During festivals he would fast all day and lead the chanting until very late; then serve food to all the devotees and only eat something himself when they had finished.

“He remained humble and unassuming even amongst all his successes,” says Shanti Rupa. “His life has been a wonderful source of inspiration for all of us here at the Kuala Lumpur temple, and we will miss him very much.”

A group of masked people forcefully took samad to Aditmari Degree College compound on a microbus and tied him to a tree around 12 pm on July 20th, said victims family members

The perpetrators tortured him and gouged out his eyes with sharp weapon said victims relatives

He was taken to Aditmari upazila hospital and then to Rangpur Medical College in a seriously by locals said victim’s relatives

Samad lost both his eyes and is now fighting for life at Rangpur Medical College hospital, said Medical officer.

Victim’s elder brother Mohammad Ali who was also an accused of the same murder case tortured and killed same way by Awami league supporters earlier said victims relatives

A case has been lodged with Aditmari Police Station in connection with the torture on Samad and investigation is going on the case of his elder brother’s killing ,said police officials

“The churches still seem to relegate violence to the private sphere, and still understand violence as only physical,” the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, declared.

“The first and most obvious [effort] is to acknowledge that the violence actually exists,” said Kobia at the opening of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) women’s workshop on Transformation Leadership for Peace, Healing and Reconciliation in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

“This means taking it out of the private arena and placing it squarely at the altars of our churches, in the seats of our parliament and in the halls of our academies,” said Kobia.

Churches in the DRC report that as rebel groups continue their activities in the country, women and girls continue to suffer sexual violence by armed men. Some have been brutally gang-raped, often in front of their families and communities. In numerous cases, men have also been forced at gunpoint to rape their own their relatives.

“Those women are traumatized. We keep asking ourselves: what can we do to stop the violence,” said Dr Christine Amisi, the coordinator of the HIV and AIDS programme of Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, South Kivu. The hospital specializes in handling cases of sexual violence. In 2008, for example, it has been handling 3500 case of sexual of violence each year.

“But those who have power seem to have a deaf ear,” Amisi added.

Kobia’s speech coincided with an ecumenical delegation visit sponsored by the WCC. The visit is part of the Living Letters series of visits where delegations visit churches in countries where there is conflict to listen, learn and show solidarity.

From 8-11 July 2009, Kobia and the Living Letters delegation formed five groups which travelled to different parts of the DRC, before coming together in the city on 12 July. They visited communities and projects in Goma and Bukavu in the east, Bas-Congo in the west and the central Kasai province, as well as the area around Kinshasa.

“We have seen and heard stories of women and children who not only
disproportionately bear the hardships and burden of poverty but
sometimes with their bodies and life pay for the egos of violent men,”
said Kobia.

“While these stories ring loud and clear in our ears and their pain bleeds in our heart, we still find the myopia or perhaps complete blindness of the churches and communities to recognize and acknowledge this violence,” he said.

Kobia said women were asking how many stories of pain they needed to tell before the church began to listen.

At the workshop, leaders of the Church of Christ in Congo (ECC), said the Living Letters visit was crucial to them, since, as they knew the WCC had helped other countries, it could also help the DRC.

“We would like your assistance so that you can [knock] on the right door,” Bishop Jean-Luc Kuye Ndondo, South Kivu’s ECC president.

The ECC wants the WCC to help lobby the international community to put pressure on the leaders of the armed groups, who they say are based in western countries, to end the fighting. They are also asking those countries which purchase the minerals mined and sold by the rebels to stop doing so.

Authorities have also revoked the licences of more than 50 lawyers, many known for tackling human rights issues.

About 20 officials from Beijing’s civil affairs bureau arrived at the Gongmeng (Open Constitution Initiative) offices yesterday, confiscating computers and other equipment and questioning staff about their work.

Lawyers from the centre have acted in numerous high-profile cases, most recently representing parents whose children were taken ill due to milk tainted with melamine. It issued a report criticising the government’s handling of unrest across the Tibetan plateau last year and has helped petitioners, relocated families and other disadvantaged groups.

Its closure came two days after the Beijing tax bureau fined Gongmeng 1.4m yuan (about £125,000), saying it had not paid its taxes.

Xu Zhiyong, one of its founders, said officials told them the centre was not registered as an NGO. He said it was operating legally as a charitable body under the Gongmeng company. “Gongmeng had to be registered as a company because when we went to register as an NGO, the civil affairs bureau didn’t allow us to do it,” he said.

Xu said there had been a small delay in paying taxes, but they had paid the full amount and yet the heaviest fine was levied. “There is a reason they gave us a big fine and shut us down. It is because we have offended certain ‘black’ [shady] powers,” he said. “We will continue our work and will act according to our consciences.”

Another of the founders, Teng Biao, wrote in a text message: “Suppressing civil society in this way is illegal and stupid. Maybe it is the dark before the dawn? Anyhow, our ideals and actions in pursuit of freedom won’t change.”

Neither the tax bureau nor the civil affairs bureau responded to faxed questions regarding the shutdown.

The Associated Press reported yesterday that authorities had cancelled the licences of 53 Beijing-based lawyers, effectively banning them from working. It cited a notice on the Beijing justice bureau’s website, which said the lawyers had been penalised because they did not pass an assessment by their firms or failed to register with the bureau.

Li Heping said he had not been notified personally but had been told he was disbarred. When he previously asked why his licence renewal was delayed, officials said it was because he had been involved in sensitive cases.

What have we done that failed to meet their standards? They don’t give any details,” he said. “What happened is not totally unexpected. In China, any strange or ridiculous thing can happen.”

Human rights groups responded angrily to both developments.

“The shutdown of the Gongmeng law research centre sends a strong signal that the government will continue to tighten control over civil society in every respect – to sweep up, so to speak – in preparation for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in October,” said Sharon Hom, executive director of the US-based organisation Human Rights in China.

Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, warned: “The attack on OCI [Gongmeng] marks a new low in the Chinese government’s campaign against human rights defenders. This is precisely the kind of organisation whose work the government should value, as it helps ease grievances and minimise unres

About 75 men and women religious took part in the conference, including missionaries from the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), Xaverian brothers and sisters of the Order of Our Lady of Missions and guests from other congregations.

PIME Superior General Fr Gianbattista Zanchi, PIME regional Superior General for Bangladesh Fr Francesco Rapaccioli, and Fr Fabrizio Tosolini, a Xaverian missionary in Taiwan (pictured during mass), were among the invited guests called to speak at the meeting.

At the end of the year dedicated to the Apostle of Nations and the start of the Year for Priests, the Church in Bangladesh was invited once again to reflect on the mission as witnessed by Saint Paul.

In a country of 140 million people, where Muslims represent 85 per cent of the population, Christians are but a minority of 3 per cent.

For them mission does not simply refer to specific pastoral activities, but is about their everyday life in light of the Gospel.

Father Marino told the 75 people at the seminar that “in the contest of Bangladesh, sharing cannot always occur through words, but must happen, and this is important, through our witness of unselfish love to others.”

During the ad limina visit of the country’s bishops just a few days before the start of the Pauline Year, Benedict XVI told them: “Like the first Christians, you live as a small community among a large non-Christian population. Your presence is a sign that the preaching of the Gospel, which began in Jerusalem and Judea, continues to spread to the ends of the earth in accordance with the universal destination the Lord willed for it.”

For Bangladesh’s Christian community the Pauline Year was an opportunity not only to renew its missionary zeal inside the country but also to look beyond its borders.

Fr Francesco Rapaccioli said that priests from Bangladesh could be sent to other Asian countries, a possibility that Fr Fabrizio Tosolini said was a sign that “we are united in Christ, in one and universal Catholic faith.”

Pope Benedict

A series of attacks on the Christian minority in Baghdad, Iraq, from Saturday 11 July to Sunday 12 July left four people dead and approximately 32 wounded. Several of the church bombings occurred as worshippers were leaving Mass, in an explicit attempt to harm Christian faithful. The worst of these was the explosion of a car bomb on Sunday afternoon in front of a Chaldean church in eastern Baghdad, which led to the four deaths as well as 21 of the weekend’s injuries.

Upon hearing of the recent violence, the Holy Father sent a Message of condolence signed by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State and dated 13 July to Cardinal Emmanuel iii Delly, Patriarch of Babylon for Chaldeans, Iraq. In it, he expresses “assurances of his prayers and spiritual closeness to the city’s Catholic and Orthodox community at this time”.

The Pope also “prays for a change of heart among the perpetrators of violence and he encourages all those in positions of authority to do everything in their power to promote the just and harmonious coexistence of all sectors of the Iraqi population”.

This series of attacks comes less than two weeks after the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraqi cities. While there has been an appreciable decrease in violence in the past months, assaults of this kind remain a daily reality, especially for those residing in Baghdad, Mossul and Kirkuk, the cities in which the majority of Christians is found. Sunday’s attacks, however, constitute what appears to have been one of the largest single coordinated assaults against Christians in Baghdad.

A minister of the Sri Lankan government has publicly claimed responsibility for the assassination of slain newspaper editor Lasantha Wickrematunge and for the serious injuries caused to another well known journalist, Poddala Jayantha. Yet no action has been taken against him.

Labor Minister Mervin Silva publically stated the following at a meeting in Hunupitiya, Kelaniya on July 9: “Lasantha from the Leader paper went overboard. I took care of him. Poddala agitated and his leg was broken. Now a fellow in my electorate is trying to stand against me. I now tell him in his own hometown, I will give him only seven more days. If he does not resign as chairman of the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha, don’t blame me later on. You’ll don’t find fault with me. If this fellow goes against what I say, I will send him to the place where I sent Lasantha.”

The assassination of Lasantha Wickrematunge and the serious assault on Poddala Jayantha generated global publicity. These two cases are among the most high-profile crimes reported recently. The police authorities questioned by the media and international organizations claimed that they have been unable to trace the perpetrators.

The widely held suspicion is that the government itself was behind these crimes, and now a minister has come forward to claim that he had a hand in them. The natural reaction in a country where the rule of law is respected would have been for the police to immediately question the minister and for the government to call for an explanation and to disassociate itself from the minister. However, no action of any sort has followed the statement.

In another incident, the Ministry of Defense website named five lawyers as “traitors” for appearing in a case against Secretary of Defense Gotabhaya Rajapakse. All are well-known lawyers who have appeared for numerous clients and provided their professional services within the best traditions of the legal profession.

This accusation was condemned by the Sri Lankan Bar Association. The International Bar Association Human Rights Institute also expressed alarm about this online posting, which is an attack on the legal profession itself.

Both the Sri Lankan Bar Association and the IBAHRI condemned a similar publication a few months ago where lawyers appearing for persons who were charged as suspected terrorists under anti-terrorism laws were named as terrorists themselves. Despite the protests, the publication was not withdrawn and no action was taken against those responsible.

As lawyers are officers of the court, any obstruction preventing them from carrying out their professional work would constitute contempt of court. Besides which, freedom to practice one’s profession independently is guaranteed under the country’s Constitution and the violation of this would amount to the breach of fundamental rights. Under the Constitution the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has the power to adjudicate on any complaint of a breach of fundamental rights.

In yet another incident, the Paris-based Reporters without Borders condemned the blocking of a website which published a news item on the president’s eldest son. “No one should be immune from press criticism, including members of the president’s family,” the group said. The website published a report stating that it had been banned after carrying this item. Media watchdogs have characterized the ban as a further addition to the ongoing attacks against the media.

Meanwhile the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into Serious Violations of Human Rights published an incomplete report exonerating the military with regard to the killing of 17 employees of the French charity, Action Contre la Faim, in 2006. This incomplete report was the result of a completely flawed investigation which the International Group of Eminent Persons had earlier condemned as lacking impartiality.

It is well known that due to the fear of reprisals many persons refused to come before the commission. A proposal to provide witness protection was brought before the Parliament, due to international pressure, but was thereafter swept under the carpet.

All these incidents demonstrate that the commission has a license to commit blatant crimes under the guise of national security. The system is completely blind to complaints relating to such actions. The four incidents mentioned above are just the tip of the iceberg.

Throughout the country people are unwilling to complain about crimes committed by the police or other government agencies due to an embedded perception that justice will not be done in such cases.

An ingrained feeling of the absence of justice in a country will be exploited by those who wish to abuse power, and this is likely to become worse as time goes by. Once this situation spreads it is worse than an epidemic. When lawlessness reaches epidemic proportions there is nothing within society to generate resistance. Against such a background much worse catastrophes can happen.

Nineteenth century Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky, having noted the lowest depths his country had reached in his lifetime, predicted that terrible events beyond imagination might occur in the future. Later observers interpreted his remarks as a prediction of the period under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. The lawlessness currently allowed within Sri Lanka by the government carries the possibility of such tragic developments in the future.

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(Basil Fernando is director of the Asian Human Rights Commission based in Hong Kong. He is a Sri Lankan lawyer who has also been a senior U.N. human rights officer in Cambodia. He has published several books and written extensively on human rights issues in Asia. His blog can be read at http://srilanka-lawlessness.com.)

Ban Ki Moon

By Zin Linn

U.N. Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari visited Burma for two days last week to prepare for a trip by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the ruling junta’s state media reported. State television reported on June 27 that Gambari met with Foreign Minister Nyan Win in the capital of Naypyitaw and discussed preparations for the visit.

“The secretary-general looks forward to returning to Burma to address directly with the senior leadership a broad range of issues, including longstanding concerns to the United Nations and to the international community,” a spokesperson told reporters at the daily press briefing held at U.N. headquarters in New York on Monday.

Ban arrived in Japan on Tuesday for a three-day visit, during which he planned to meet Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone to discuss the trial of Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Ban told reporters at U.N. headquarters in early June that he was prepared to visit Myanmar (Burma). “Promoting democratization, including the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, has been one of my top priorities and it will continue to be my top priority,” Ban said.

Suu Kyi’s trial has outraged her local and international supporters, who say the military regime is using the story of John Yettaw – the uninvited American who swam across a lake to her home, allegedly breaking the rules of her house arrest – as a pretext to keep her in custody through elections scheduled for 2010.

This will be Burma’s first election since the one Suu Kyi’s party won in 1990. It is widely believed that the junta wishes her off the political stage during the run-up to the polls.

Suu Kyi’s trial, conducted at a special court set up in Insein Prison, is scheduled to resume on July 3, the same day Ban arrives, according to a National League for Democracy source.

After his talks with Nakasone, Ban told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday that he was aware of concerns about his July 3-4 visit coinciding with the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, the main opposition leader, who has been under house arrest for several years.

“It may be the case that the trial happens during my visit to Myanmar (Burma). I am very much conscious of that,” Ban told reporters. “I consider that three of the most important issues for Myanmar cannot be left unaddressed at this juncture,” he said.

According to Ban, the first issue on his agenda will be the release of all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi. The other two points are the resumption of dialogue between the military rulers and the opposition and the creation of conditions favorable to a trustworthy election.

For Burma, there can be no proper democratic system while the Lady and some 2,100 fellow political leaders languish in the junta’s prisons. It is ironic that Suu Kyi, the freedom icon of our generation, is put through such inhumane treatment while the autocratic military talks of democracy to the world and to its citizens.

Burma’s pro-democracy movement has urged the international community to have responsible plans in place if the situation boils over in the approaching days. The area around the prison compound is heavily guarded and roads have been blocked off, as the military regime fortifies itself for a possible protest at the treatment of the democracy icon and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Around 70 Burmese were killed and hundreds were imprisoned following the last major public demonstrations, known as the Saffron Revolution, in September 2007. Currently there are over 2,100 political prisoners – including student leaders, ethnic leaders, members of Parliament, influential monks and many intellectuals – in various prisons in the military-ruled country.

The people of Burma have been asking for a concerted effort from major powers like India, China, the United States and the European Union, as well as regional bodies like ASEAN, to work together to find a solution to this unsustainable situation.

First, the United Nations should provide the most effective means of solving this crisis. It must work to defuse current tensions and secure the release of all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi.

Secondly, an emergency session of the Security Council should be convened without delay to discuss the situation in Burma and to decide upon what collective action can be taken in an effective manner.

This is precisely the time that the United Nations must lead, rally all powers, and show the world it is not organized to sit absentmindedly by while extensive injustice is perpetrated on the people of Burma.

The United Nations, the European Union and ASEAN ought to collaborate to convince China to cooperate in finding a solution for the crisis in Burma. Regional players should urge the military regime to abandon its recalcitrant policies in the interests of dialogue and reconciliation.

Burma’s generals must take into account the immediate release of the Lady and all political prisoners if it seeks peaceful settlement and reconciliation. It is a rare confluence of views that have seen the international community from the U.N. Security Council, the United States, the European Union and ASEAN taking the same view on the question of Aung San Suu Kyi.

To create a win-win equation, the military must recognize Suu Kyi as the ideal – indeed, the only relevant – dialogue partner for national reconciliation in Burma. If the generals continue their anti-dialogue stance, the poverty-stricken people of Burma will face further socioeconomic problems. This could cause a strong reaction against the 2010 elections, seen as a charade.

Besides, as long as Suu Kyi is in confinement, her popularity – which gave her a sweeping victory in the 1990 election – will not fade, it will only grow stronger. The fact is that people already know the process of the junta’s general election next year has almost nothing to do with democracy.

Nyan Win, the spokesman for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy and a member of her legal team, told the media that his party welcomes Ban’s visit.

“His visit will focus on three main things: to release all political prisoners, to start dialogue and also to ensure free and fair elections in 2010. Regarding these three things, he needs to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi,” Nyan Win said.

Therefore Ban must cautiously handle the sensitive question of Burma during his July 3-4 trip, not only to keep his own promise, but also to produce a fruitful solution to a half-century-long political conflict.

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(Zin Linn is a freelance Burmese journalist living in exile in Thailand. he is working at the NCGUB East Office as an information director and is vice-president of Burma Media Association, which is affiliated with the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers. He can be contacted at uzinlinn@gmail.com. ©Copyright Zin Linn.)

On Saturday Arifur was on his way to home with two other friends in his motorcycle, said locals

The Hijackers tried to snatch Arifur’s motor cycle near Ramagarhi on the Lalpur-Banparha highway at around 10:30pm. As they resisted the hijackers stabbed them with sharp arms, killing Arifur and injured others, said locals

Two injured colleagues were admitted to Banparha Patwary Hospital.Arifur’s deady body was send to Natore Sadar Hospital on Sunday , said police official

Police is trying to identify the people behind this killing ,said police officials

The students and teachers of Begum Khaleda Zia College demanded to arrest the people who killed Arifur Rahman as soon as possible.