109 Issue: Worldwide Events e-Newspaper | 03-09 Feb, 2013

Foundation of the Vietnamese Communist Party Vietnam - F e b 0 3

The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) (Vietnamese: Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam), formally established in 1930, is the governing party of the nation of Vietnam. It is today the only legal political party in that country. Describing itself as Marxist-Leninist, the CPV is the directing component of a broader group of organizations known as the Vietnamese Fatherland Front. In Vietnam, it is commonly referred to as "Đảng" (the Party) or "Đảng ta" (our Party).

The CPV is formally directed by a National Congress held every five years. In practical terms the organization is lead by a 160 member Central Committee, which selects a Political Bureau (Politburo) headed by a General Secretary. The current General Secretary of the CPV is Nguyễn Phú Trọng.

Organizational history The forerunner, Thanh Nien:

Today's Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) traces its origins back to 1925. It was in the spring of that year that a young man born Nguyen Sinh Cung — then using the pseudonym Nguyễn Ái Quốc (Nguyen the Patriot) but best known today by a later party-name, Ho Chi Minh (Ho the Enlightened One) — established a Communist political organization called the Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth Association (Vietnamese:Việt Nam Thanh Niên Kách Mệnh Hội — commonly: "Thanh Niên").

Thanh Nien was an organization which sought to make use of patriotism in an effort to bring the colonial occupation of the country by Franceto an end. The group sought political and social objectives — both national independence and the redistribution of land to working peasants.

The establishment of Thanh Nien was preceded by the arrival of Communist International functionary Ho Chi Minh in Canton, China from Moscow in December 1924. Ho was ostensibly sent to China to work as a secretary and interpreter to Mikhail Borodin, but he actually set to work almost immediately attempting to transform the existing Vietnamese patriotic movement towards revolutionary ends. Ho managed to convert a small group of emigré intellectuals called Tam Tam Xa (Heart-to-Heart Association) to revolutionary socialism, and Thanh Nien was born.

The headquarters of the Thanh Nien organization in Canton was made the directing center for the underground revolutionary movement in Vietnam. All important decisions regarding the strategy and tactics of the fledgling Vietnamese anti-colonial revolutionary movement during this interval were made in Canton.

Thanh Nien was designed to prepare the ground for an armed struggle against the French colonial occupation. Three phases were envisioned by Ho Chi Minh and his compatriots. In the first phase, an external center was to be established as a training center, source of unified political propaganda, and headquarters for strategic decision-making and the maintenance of organizational and ideological discipline.

Secret revolutionary grouplets called "cells" were to be trained in Canton and re- French Indochina included the administrative regions turned to Vietnam proper to conduct activ- of Tonkin in the North, Annam along the Central coast, ity.

In the second phase, activity would move and Cochinchina in the South. into a "semi-secret" phase, in which Thanh Nien cadres would initiate political and economic activities, including strike action, boycotts, and protests, which might include conscious acts of political violence as a means of mobilizing the masses. This would be a third phase, one of insurrection, in which the unified organization would attempt to rise up and overthrow the established political regime by force of arms, establishing a new centralized revolutionary government.

Thanh Nien was conceived of as a relatively open mass organization, with the most trusted members part of a directing center called the Communist Youth Corps (CYC). At the time of the Thanh Nien's dissolution in 1929, the CYC is believed to have consisted of just 24 members. In addition to Thanh Nien, this small inner circle also directed two other mass organizations, Nong Hoi ("Peasants' Association") and Cong Hoi ("Workers' Association").

The CYC and Thanh Nien published pamphlets and newspapers, including a guidebook of revolutionary theory and practical techniques calledThe Road to Revolution, as well as four newspapers — Thanh Nien ("Youth") from June 1925 to May 1930; Bao cong nong ("Worker-Peasant") from December 1926 to early 1928; Linh kach menh ("Revolutionary Soldier") from early 1927 to early 1928; and Viet Nam tien phong ("Vanguard of Vietnam") in 1927.

Factional split of 1929:

In 1928 the headquarters of the Thanh Nien organization in Canton were forced underground by forces of the Chinese Nationalists, the Kuomintang (KMT).

The center which issued directions to the cells inside Vietnam had to be moved repeatedly to avoid repression — first to Wu-Chou and then to Hong Kong. Making matters worse, top leader Ho Chi Minh departed from Canton in May 1927 and was incommunicado with the Vietnamese movement. The lack of contacts with a unified headquarters proved the start of an organizational split, with radicals in the movement beginning to take instructions from the Comintern via the Communist Party of France and others following a different path.

In September 1928 the radical Bac Ky Regional Committee of Thanh Nien held a conference at which it affirmed the Comintern's new Third Period analysis, positing a new revolutionary upsurge around the world. Noting the growth of the organization among intellectuals in urban centers, the conference determined to send its largely petty bourgeois membership into the countryside and to urban factories in an attempt to bring communist ideas to the poor peasantry and the numerically tiny working class. In a letter to the Comintern, the Thanh Nien itself estimated that approximately 90 percent of its membership consisted of intellectuals; a full-scale offensive to win mass support was desired.

The Central Committee of Thanh Nien called a National Congress of the organization, slated to begin on May Day of 1929. This gathering, held 1-9 May 1929 and attended by 17 delegates from each of the three main administrative districts of Vietnam, plus Hong Kong and Siam, would prove the occasion for a split between those who placed primary emphasis on the so-called "national question" (independence from colonialism) and those who sought a more radical movement placing emphasis on social revolution.

Ho Chi Minh was not in attendance, still missing from the scene. The conclave was chaired by Nguyen Cong Vien, making use of the pseudonym Lam Duc Thu, who summarily ruled the question of formation Võ Nguyên Giáp (left) and Hồ Chí Minh in Hà of a proper Communist party out of order, prompting Nội, October 1945. a walkout of three members of the northern delegation, leaving only an informer working on behalf of the French secret police at the session as the representative of Tonkin.

The radical Northern delegates who walked out of the Congress were sharply critical of those who refused to split, charging the remaining Thanh Nien leaders were "false revolutionaries" and "petit-bourgeois intellectuals" who were attempting to build bridges with the "anti-revolutionary and anti-worker" Kuomintang. On 17 June 1929 more than 20 delegates from cells throughout the Tonkin region held a conference in Hanoi, where they declared the dissolution of Thanh Nien and the establishment of a new organization called the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP).

The new Northern party published pamphlets detailing its organizational rules based upon the Comintern's "Model Statutes for a Communist Party" as well as the International program approved by the Sixth World Congress of the Comintern in 1928. Three new periodicals were also launched — the newspaper Co do ("Red Flag"), the theoretical journal Bua liem ("Hammer and Sickle"), and the trade union publicationCong hoi do ("Red Trade Union").

The other faction of Thanh Nien, based in the central and southern administrative districts of the country, were to rename themselves the Communist Party of Annam in the fall of 1929. The two organizations spent the rest of 1929 engaged in polemics against one another in an attempt to gain a position of hegemony over the radical Vietnamese liberation movement.

Adding to the complexity of the factional situation, a third Vietnamese Communist Party emerged around this time, a group unconnected with Thanh Nien called the League of Indochinese Communists (Vietnamese: Đông Dương Cộng sản Liên Đoàn). This group had its roots in another national liberation group which had existed in parallel to Thanh Nien, with the two groups seeing themselves as rivals.

The party unification of 1930:

The two warring offspring of Thanh Nien joined with individual members of a third Marxist group founded by Phan Boi Chau at a "Unification Conference" held in Hong Kong from 3-7 February 1930. Ho Chi Minh, back in direct activity in the Vietnamese movement, was responsible for brokering the peace between the warring factions as well as writing the initial manifesto and statement of tactics of the group. The new party was named the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV).

The Hong Kong conference (held in Kowloon City) elected a nine-member Provisional Central Committee consisting of 3 members from Tonkin in the North, 2 from the central region of Annam, 2 from the southern district Cochinchina, and 2 from the emigré Vietnamese community in China. The latter group had previously been organized within the South Seas Communist Party.

The Comintern was sharply critical of the way in which the organization was unified, decrying the Vietnamese's party's failure to eliminate so-called "heterogeneous elements" from the organization. The organization's declared emphasis upon national liberation under the slogan"An Independent Viet Nam" was criticized as a manifestation of nationalism, while the party's emphasis of its place in the international communist movement was deemed insufficient.

A new conference was demanded, remembered to history as the "First Plenum of the Central Committee." The session was held in Hong Kong in October 1930 and renamed the organization the Indochinese Communist Party (Vietnamese: Đông Dương Cộng sản Đảng) (ICP) to mark the Comintern's imposed changes.

At the time it formally came into being, the ICP could claim to be a vanguard of only a microscopically small working class — a mere 221,000 people in a country of 17 million. Even of this minority, the lives of many was far removed from the workplaces of modern industry, with fully one-third of these employed in various capacities on rubber plantations and the like. The working class in the North was semi-peasant in nature, leaving work in the mines and factories for the Tết festival that marked the start of the new year, often not returning.Working conditions were poor and labor turnover high.

During its first five years of existence the ICP attained a membership of about 1500, plus a large additional contingent of sympathizers.Despite the group's small size, it exerted an influence in a turbulent Vietnamese social climate.

Back-to-back bad harvests in 1929 and 1930 combined with an onerous burden of debt served to radicalize many peasants. In the industrial city of Vinh May Day demonstrations were organized by ICP activists, which gained critical mass when the families of the semi-peasant workers joined the demonstrations as a means of venting their dissatisfaction with the economic circumstances which faced them.

As three May Day marches grew into mass rallies, French colonial authorities moved in the squelch what they perceived to be dangerous speasant revolts. Government forces fired upon the assembled crowd, killing dozens of participants and inflaming the population. In response local councils sprung up in various villages in an effort to govern themselves locally as the revolt spread. The inevitable attempt at repression by colonial authorities began in the fall, with some 1300 people eventually killed by the French and many times more imprisoned or deported as government authority was reasserted. While the ICP was effectively wiped out in the region, popular memory lived on.

The Popular Front period (1935-1939):

The First National Party Congress was held in secret in Macau in 1935. At the same time, a Comintern congress in Moscow adopted a policy towards a popular front against fascism and directed Communist movements around the world to collaborate with anti-fascist forces regardless of their orientation towards socialism. This required the ICP to regard all nationalist parties in Indochina as potential allies.

World War II:

The Second World War drastically weakened the grasp of France on its colonial possession of Indochina. The fall of France to Nazi Germany in May 1940 and the subsequent collaboration of the Vichy France with the Axis powers of Germany and Japan served to delegitimize French claims to ownership. Preoccupation with the European war made colonial governance from France impossible and the country was occupied by the forces of imperial Japan.

Upon the eruption of war, the Indochinese Communist Party instructed its members to take to the rural regions of the country and to go into hiding as an underground organization. Despite this preventative measure, more than 2,000 members of the party were rounded up and arrested, including many key leaders. Party activists were particularly hard hit in the southern region ofCochinchina, where the previously strong organization was wiped out by arrests and killings.

Following the elimination of the old leadership by the authorities, a new party leadership emerged, which included Truong Chinh, Pham Van Dong, and Vo Nguyen Giap — individuals who together with Ho Chi Minh would provide a unified leadership over the ensuing four decades.

Party leader Ho Chi Minh returned to Vietnam in February 1941 and established a military organization known as the League for the Independence of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Việt Nam Ðộc Lập Ðồng Minh Hội, commonly "Viet Minh"). The Viet Minh originally downplayed their social objectives, painting themselves as patriotic organization battling for national independence in order to garner maximum public support against the Japanese military occupation. As the most uncompromising fighting force against the occupation, the Viet Minh gained popular recognition and legitimacy in an environment that would develop into a political vacuum.

Ho Chi Minh's personal fate was not an easy one. With his organization underarmed and its bases isolated, Ho traveled to China in August 1942 in an effort to win Allied military aid. Ho was arrested by the Nationalist Chinese government and subjected to 14 months of brutal imprisonment, followed by another year of restricted movement. Ho was unable to return to Vietnam until September 1944. The Communist Party and its Viet Minh offshoot managed to survive and prosper without him.

Despite its position as the core of the Viet Minh organization, the Indochinese Communist Party remained a very small organization through the war years, with an estimated membership of between 2,000 and 3,000 in 1944.

1945 dissolution and reformation:

The Indochinese Communist Party was formally dissolved in 1945 in order to hide its Communist affiliation and its activities were folded into the Marxism Research Association and the Viet Minh, which had been founded four years earlier as a common front for national liberation.

The Party was re-founded as the Workers Party of Vietnam (Đảng lao động Việt Nam) at the Second National Party Congress in Tuyen Quang in 1951. The Congress was held on territory in north Vietnam controlled by the Viet Minh during the First Indochina War. The Third National Congress, held in Hanoi in 1960, formalized the tasks of constructing socialism in what was by then North Vietnam, or the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) and committed the party to carrying out the revolution of liberation in the South. At the Fourth National Party Congress, held in 1976, the Workers Party of North Vietnam was merged with the People's Revolutionary Party of South Vietnam to form the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Heroes' Day Mozambique - F e b 0 3

Mozambique celebrates Heroe’s Day yearly every 3rd day of February. It was instituted to commemorate the lives of fallen soldiers who fought bravely for the country’s independence in 1975 specifically to the assassinated leader of Mozambican independence movement political party, Eduardo Mondlane.

History When Mozambique was still under Portuguese rule,

a guerrilla group called Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO), a political party formed in 1962 under the leadership of Eduardo Mondlane, initiated a campaign to fight for the country’s independence. This war, later called Portuguese Colonial War, lasted from 1961–1974.

Initially, Portuguese concentrated their control on urban centers while the FRELIMO guerrillas took control of rural and tribal areas in the northern and western part of Mozambique. To receive local support for the liberation of Mozambique, FRELIMO began conducting social and economic improvement on the lives of the people on the controlled territory in the northern portion of the country. In one unfortunate event, Mondlane was assassinated in his office in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania by Portuguese secret police. Through the resistance and persistence to achieve independence of the ensuing FRELIMO leadership, the country achieved its independence from Portugal on June 25, 1975.

customs and activities Traditions, Mozambique’s Heroes’ Day official name is Dia dos Heróis Moçambicanos. Heroes’ Day is a public holiday celebrated

with parades and with speeches from various political groups aiming to support an equal or Marxist way of life for all Mozambique citizens.

Mozambican Heroes’ Day reminds all Mozambique citizens to pay homage to the sacrifices given by FRELIMO leader Eduardo Mondlane in bringing independence to the country’s more than four century colonial rule from Portugal, Samora Machel, the first president of Mozambique and other organizations who aimed for the liberation of the country for foreign rule.

Liberty Heroes Day - F e b 0 3 Sao Tome & Principe

Just like any other countries, Sao Tome and Principe celebrates their yearly National Heroes’ Day held every 3rd of February. This yearly celebration serves as the country’s formal day to remember the remarkable bravery of their countrymen who battled to achieve their independence from Portugal on July 12, 1975.

History

Sao Tome is Sao Tome and Principe’s capital city. The name is of Portuguese origin which means Saint Thomas, since it was founded by Portugal in 1485.

When Portugal first came across Sao Tome and Principe on 1472, it was transformed by the Portuguese rulers into a large plantation of sugar thus enslaving the natives. Fifty years after the discovery of Portugal on Sao Tome and Principe, on 1522, the country was declared as under the Portuguese colony. Followed by the colonization was the declaration of Portuguese colonies to become Portugal’s overseas province.

Because of the ruthless treatment that Sao Tome and Principe underwent with the ruling power of Portugal, the citizens attempted to establish several liberalization movements however, failed several times.

On the attempt to gain independence, the natives of Sao Tome established the Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe (MLSTP) and from then, the Portuguese government made an agreement for the termination of its overseas colonies.

On July 12 1975, Sao Tome and Principe was finally freed from the Portuguese regime electing Manuel Pinto da Costa as the country’s first president.

Traditions, customs and activities To date, the Sao Tomeans continue to look up to the heroes’ which made their independence possible. Yearly during

this event, a lot of non-governmental organizations are organizing events and rallies as one way of giving respect and devotion to their national heroes.

San Blaise Paraguay - Feb 03

Saint Blaise (Armenian: Սուրբ Բարսեղ, Sourb Barsegh; Greek: Άγιος Βλάσιος, Agios Vlasios; Turkish: Aziz Vlas) was a physician, and bishop of Sebastea in historical Armenia (modern Sivas, Turkey). According to Acta Sanctorum, he was martyred by being beaten, attacked with iron carding combs, and beheaded.

In iconography, Blaise is often shown with the instruments of his martyrdom, steel combs. He blessed throats and effected many miracles according to his hagiography. The similarity of these instruments of torture to wool combs led to his adoption as the patron saint of wool combers in particular, and the wool trade in general. He may also be depicted with cro ssed candles. Such crossed candles are used for the blessing of throats on his feast day, which falls on 3 February, the day after Candlemas on the Roman Catholic calendar of saints. Blaise is traditionally believed to intercede in cases of throat illnesses, especially for fish-bones stuck in the throat.

Indeed, the first reference we have to him is in manuscripts of the medical writings of Aëtius Amidenus, a court physician of the very end of the 5th or the beginning of the 6th century; there his aid is invoked in treating objects stuck in the throat. He cured animals and lived in a cave. Before being killed, he spoke to a wolf and told it to release a pig it was harming.

The wolf did so. Blaise was going to be starved but the owner of the pig secretly gave him food in order to survive. After a while, he was tortured because of his Christian faith but did not give up his beliefs. He died in the year 316.

Marco Polo reported the place where "Meeser Saint Blaise obtained the glorious crown of martyrdom", Sebastea; the shrine near the citadel mount was mentioned by William of Rubruck in 1253. However, it appears to no longer exist.

Cult of Saint Blaise

His cult became widespread in Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries. St. Blaise is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers or Auxiliary Saints and his legend is recounted in the 14th-century Legenda Aurea. Saint Blaise is the saint of the wild beast.

He is the patron of the Armenian Order of Saint Blaise. In Italy he is known as San Biagio. In Spanish-speaking countries, he is known as San Blas, and has lent his name to many places (see San Blas).

In Italy, Saint Blaise's remains rest at the Basilica over the town of Maratea, shipwrecked there duringLeo III the Isaurian's iconoclastic persecutions.

Many German churches, including the former Abbey of St. Blasius in the Black Forest and the church of Balve are dedicated to Saint Blaise/Blasius.

In Great Britain:

In Cornwall the village of St Blazey derives from his name, where the parish church is still dedicated to Saint Blaise.

Indeed, the council of Oxford in 1222 forbade all work on his festival. There is a church dedicated to Saint Blaise in the Devonhamlet of Haccombe, near Newton Abbot (Also one at Shanklin on the Isle of Wight and another at Milton near Abingdon in Oxfordshire), one of the country's smallest churches. It is located next to Haccombe house which is the family home of the Carew family, descendants of the vice admiral on board the Mary Rose at the time of her sinking. One curious fact associated with this church is that its "vicar" goes by the title of "archpriest".

There is a St. Blaise's Well In Bromley, Kent where the water was considered to have medicinal virtues.

St Blaise is also associated with Stretford in Lancashire. A Blessing of the Throats ceremony is held on February 3 at St Etheldreda's Church in London and in Balve, Germany.

In Croatia:

Saint Blaise (Croatian: Sveti Vlaho or Sveti Blaž) is the patron saint of the city of Dubrovnik and formerly the protector of the independent Republic of Ragusa. At Dubrovnik his feast is celebrated yearly on 3 February, when relics of the saint, his head, a bit of bone from his throat, his right hand and his left, are paraded in reliquaries. The festivities begin the previous day,Candlemas, when white doves are released. Chroniclers of Dubrovnik such as Rastic andRanjina attribute his veneration there to a vision in 971 to warn the inhabitants of an impending attack by the Venetians, whose galleys had dropped anchor in Gruž and near Lokrum, ostensibly to resupply their water but furtively to spy out the city's defenses. St. Blaise (Blasius) revealed their pernicious plan to Stojko, a canon of St. Stephen's Cathedral. The Senate summoned Stojko, who told them in detail how St. Blaise had appeared before him as an old man with a long beard and a bishop's mitre and staff. In this form the effigy of Blaise remained on Dubrovnik's state seal and coinage until the Napoleonic era.

Blaise and Blasius for Jersey:

In England in the 18th and 19th centuries Blaise was adopted as mascot of woolworkers' pageants, particularly in Essex, Yorkshire,Wiltshire and Norwich. The popular enthusiasm for the saint is explained by the belief that Blaise had brought prosperity (as symbolised by the Woolsack) to England by teaching the English to comb wool. According to the tradition as recorded in printed broadsheets, Blaise came from Jersey, Channel Islands. Jersey was certainly a centre of export of woollen goods (as witnessed by the name jerseyfor the woollen textile). However, this legend is probably the result of confusion with a different saint, Blasius of Caesarea (Caesareabeing also the Latin name of Jersey).

Chama Cha Mapinduzi Day Tanzania - F e b 0 5

The Chama cha Mapinduzi (Party of the Revolution in Swahili) is the ruling political party of Tanzania.

History

The party was created February 5, 1977, under the leadership of Julius Nyerere as the merger of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), the then ruling party in Tanganyika, and the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP), the then ruling party in Zanzibar.

TANU/CCM has dominated the politics of Tanzania since the independence of Tanganyika in 1962. Due to the merger with the ASP, from 1977 it has been also the ruling party in Zanzibar, though there its grip on power has been more contested by the Civic United Front(CUF). It was the only legal party until July 1, 1992, when amendments to the national Constitution and a number of laws permitting and regulating the formation and operations of more than one political party were enacted by the National Assembly or Bunge.

Día de la Constitución Mexico - F e b 0 5

The Political Constitution of the United Mexican States (Spanish: Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos) is the current constitution of Mexico. It was drafted in Santiago de Querétaro, in the State of Querétaro, by a constitutional convention, during the Mexican Revolution. It was approved by the Constitutional Congress on February 5, 1917. It is the successor to the Constitution of 1857, and earlier Mexican constitutions.

The current Constitution of 1917 is the first such document in the world to set out social rights, serving as a model for the Weimar Constitution of 1919 and the Russian Constitution of 1918. Some of the most important provision are Articles 3, 27, and 123; these display profound changes in Mexican political philosophy that helped frame the political and social backdrop for Mexico in the twentieth century. Article 3 forbids the setting up of a list of prohibited books and establishes the bases for a free, mandatory, and lay education; article 27 led the foundation for land reforms; and article 123 was designed to empower the labor sector.

Articles 3, 5, 24, 27, and 130 were originally redacted with sections that restricted the power of theCatholic Church as a consequence of the support given by the Mexican Church's Hierarchy to the Dictator Victoriano Huerta. Attempts to enforce the articles strictly by President Plutarco Elías Calles in 1926 led to the civil war known as the Cristero War.

Liberation of the Republic from the Alberoni Occupation SanMarino- Feb 05

Liberation of the Republic from the Alberoni Occupation Anniversary is February 5th. He age of 21 he follow the judge Ignazio Gardini. During the spanish war time Alberoni laid the political success. After that Alberoni was appointed as a consular agent at Philip's court. San Marino celebrated February 5th as Saint Agatha day and also Liberation of the Republic from the Alberoni Occupation Anniversary. Saint Agatha was lovely and of noble birth. Saint Agatha day is also February 5th, it was a feast day. After her death that city of people did St. Agatha's prayers. In 1911 she was established St. Agatha Mission.

Independence Day Sri Lanka - F e b 0 4

Sri Lanka officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the Maldives.

As a result of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia. It was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road. Sri Lanka has also been a center of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times and is one of the few remaining abodes of Buddhism in South Asia along with Ladakh,Bhutan and the Chittagong hill tracts.

The Sinhalese community forms the majority of the population; Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, form the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs, Malays and the aboriginal Vedda people.

Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state which is governed by a semi-presidential system with its official seat of government in Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte, the capital. The country is famous for the production and export of tea, coffee, coconuts, rubber and cinnamon, the last of which is native to the country. The natural beauty of Sri Lanka has led to the title The Pearl of the Indian Ocean. The island is laden with lush tropical forests, white beaches and diverse landscapes with rich biodiversity. The country lays claim to a long and colorful history of over three thousand years, having one of the longest documented histories in the world. Sri Lanka's rich culture can be attributed to the many different communities on the island.

Sri Lanka is a founding member state of SAARC and a member United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, G77 and Non-Aligned Movement. As of 2010, Sri Lanka was one of the fastest growing economies of the world. Its stock exchange was Asia's best performing stock market during 2009 and 2010.

History

Pre-historic Sri Lanka:

The pre-history of Sri Lanka dates back over 125,000 years Before Present (BP) and possibly even as early as 500,000 BP. The era spans the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and early Iron ages. Among the Paleolithic (Homo Erectus) human settlements discovered in Sri Lanka, Pahiyangala (named after the Chinese traveler monk Fa-Hsien), which dates back to 37,000 BP, Batadombalena (28,500 BP) and Belilena (12,000 BP) are the most important. The remains of Balangoda Man, an anatomically modern human, found inside these caves, suggests that they may have engaged in agriculture and kept domestic dogs for driving game.

One of the first written references to the island is found in the Indian epic Ramayana, which provides details of a kingdom named Lanka that had been created by the divine sculptor Vishwakarma, forKubera, the lord of wealth. It is said that Kubera was overthrown by his demon stepbrother Ravana, the powerful Emperor who built a mythical flying machine named Dandu Monara. The modern city of Frescos on the Sigiriya rock fortress in Wariyapola is described as Ravana's airport.

Matale District, 5th century Ravana belonged to the tribe Raksha, which lived alongside four Hela tribes named Yaksha, Deva,Naga and Gandharva. These early inhabitants of Sri Lanka were probably the ancestors of the Vedda people, an indigenous community living in modern-day Sri Lanka, which numbers approximately 2,500. Irish historian James Emerson Tennent theorised Galle, a southern city in Sri Lanka, was the ancient seaport of Tarshish, from which King Solomon is said to have drawn ivory, peacocks and other valuables. Early inhabitats of the country spoke the Elu language, which is considered the early form of the modern Sinhala language.

Ancient Sri Lanka:

According to the Mahāvamsa, a chronicle written in Pāli language, the ancient period of Sri Lanka begins in 543 BC with the landing of Vijaya, a semi-legendary king who arrived in the country with 700 followers from the southwest coast of what is now the Rarh region of West Bengal. He established the Kingdom of Tambapanni, near modern day Mannar. Vijaya is the first of the approximately 189 native monarchs of Sri Lanka, the chronicles like Dipavamsa, Mahāvamsa,Chulavamsa and Rājāvaliya describe. (see List of Sri Lankan monarchs) Sri Lankan dynasty spanned over a period of 2359 years, from 543 BC to 1815 AD, until it came under the rule of British Empire.

The Kingdom of Sri Lanka moved to Anuradhapura in 380 BC, during the reign of Pandukabhaya. Since then, Anuradhapura served as the capital of the country for nearly 1400 years. Ancient Sri Lankans excelled invarious constructions such as tanks, dagobas and palaces. The society underwent a major transformation during the reign of Devanampiya Tissa, with the arrival of Buddhism from India.

In 250 BC, bhikkhu Mahinda, the son of the Mauryan EmperorAshoka arrived in Mihintale, carrying the message of Buddhism. His mission won over the monarch, who embraced the faith and propagated it throughout theSinhalese population. The succeeding kingdoms of Sri Lanka would maintain a large number of Buddhist schools and monasteries, and support the propagation of Buddhism into other countries in Southeast Asia as well. In 245 BC, bhikkhuni Sangamitta arrived with the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree, which is considered to be a sapling from the historical Bodhi tree under which Gautama Buddha became enlightened. It is considered the oldest tree in the world, with a continuous historical record. (Bodhivamsa) Sri Lanka experienced the first foreign invasion during the reign of Suratissa, who was defeated by two horse traders named Sena and Guttika from South India. The next invasion came immediately in 205 BC by a Chola king named Elara, who overthrew Asela and ruled the country for 44 years. Dutugemunu, the eldest son of the southern regional sub-king, Kavan Tissa, defeated Elara in the Battle of Vijithapura. He builtRuwanwelisaya, the second stupa in ancient Sri Lanka, and the Lovamahapaya. During its two and half millenias of existence, kingdom of Sri Lanka was invaded at least 8 times by neighbouring South Asian dy- A Buddhist statue in the ancient capital nastys such as Chola, Pandya, Chera and Pallava. There city of Polonnaruwa, 12th century had also been incursions by the kingdoms of Kalinga (modern Orissa) and from Malay Peninsula as well. Kala Wewa and the Avukana Buddha statuewere built during the reign of Dhatusena.

Sri Lanka was the first Asian country to have a female ruler; Queen Anula who reigned from 47–42 BC. Sri Lankan monarchs have attained some remarkable construction achievements likeSigiriya, the so-called "Fortress in the Sky". It was a constructed during the reign of Kashyapa I. Sigiriya is a rock fortress surrounded by an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs, and other structures. The 5th century palace is also renowned for frescos on the rock the surface. It has been declared by the UNESCO as the 8th Wonder of the world. Among the other constructions, large reservoirs, important for conserving water in a climate that alternates rainy seasons with dry times, and elaborate aqueducts, some with a slope as finely calibrated as one inch to the mile are dominant. Biso Kotuwa, a peculiar construction inside a dam, is a technological marvel based on precise mathematics, allowing water to flow outside the dam keeping the pressure to a minimum. Ancient Sri Lanka was the first country in the world to have established a dedicated hospital; in Mihintale in the 4th century. It was also the leading exporter of cinnamon in the ancient world, and has maintained close ties with European civilizations including the Roman Empire. For example, King Bhatikabhaya (BC 22 - 7 AD) had sent an embassy to Rome and got down coral for a net to be cast over the Ruwanwelisaya. Bhikkhuni Devasāra and ten other fully ordained bhikkhunis from Sri Lanka had went to China and established the bhikkhuni sāsana there in 429 AD.

Bob Marley Day Jamaica - F e b 0 6

Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers (1963–1981). Marley remains the most widely known and revered performer of reggae music, and is credited with helping spread both Jamaican music and the Rastafari movement to a worldwide audience.

Marley's music was heavily influenced by the social issues of his homeland, and he is considered to have given voice to the specific political and cultural nexus of Jamaica. His best-known hits include "I Shot the Sheriff", "No Woman, No Cry", "Could You Be Loved", "Stir It Up", "Jamming", "Redemption Song", "One Love" and, "Three Little Birds", as well as the posthumous releases "Buffalo Soldier" and "Iron Lion Zion". The compilation album Legend(1984), released three years after his death, is reggae's best-selling album, going ten times Platinum which is also one Diamond in the U.S., and selling 25 million copies worldwide.

Early life and career

Bob Marley was born in the village of Nine Mile in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica as Nesta Robert Marley. A Jamaican passport official would later swap his first and middle names. His father, Norval Sinclair Marley, was a white Jamaican of mixed and English descent whose family came from Essex, England. Norval was a captain in the Royal Marines, as well as a plantation overseer, when he married Cedella Booker, an Afro-Jamaican then 18 years old. Norval provided financial support for his wife and child, but seldom saw them, as he was often away on trips. In 1955, when Marley was 10 years old, his father died of a heart attack at age 70.Marley faced questions about his own racial identity throughout his life. He once reflected: I don't have prejudice against meself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me halfcaste or whatever. Me don't dip on nobody's side. Me don't dip on the black man's side nor the white man's side. Me dip on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white.

Bob Marley was born in the village of Nine Mile in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica as Nesta Robert Marley. A Jamaican passport official would later swap his first and middle names. His father, Norval Sinclair Marley, was a white Jamaican of mixed and English descent whose family came from Essex, England. Norval was a captain in the Royal Marines, as well as a plantation overseer, when he married Cedella Booker, an Afro-Jamaican then 18 years old. Norval provided financial support for his wife and child, but seldom saw them, as he was often away on trips. In 1955, when Marley was 10 years old, his father died of a heart attack at age 70.Marley faced questions about his own racial identity throughout his life. He once reflected: I don't have prejudice against meself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me halfcaste or whatever. Me don't dip on nobody's side. Me don't dip on the black man's side nor the white man's side. Me dip on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white.

Personal life Religion:

Bob Marley was a member of the Rastafari movement, whose culture was a key element in the development Bob Marley performing in concert, circa 1980. of reggae. Bob Marley became an ardent proponent of Rastafari, taking their music out of the socially deprived areas of Jamaica and onto the international music scene. He once gave the following response, which was typical, to a question put to him during a recorded interview: • Interviewer: "Can you tell the people what it means being a Rastafarian?"

• Bob: "I would say to the people, Be still, and know that His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is the Almighty. Now, the Bible seh so, Babylon newspaper seh so, and I and I the children seh so. Yunno?

So I don't see how much more reveal our people want. Wha' dem want? a white God, well God come black. True true."

Observant of the Rastafari practice Ital, a diet that shuns meat, Marley was a vegetarian. According to his biographers, he affiliated with the Twelve Tribes Mansion. He was in the denomination known as "Tribe of Joseph", because he was born in February (each of the twelve sects being composed of members born in a different month). He signified this in his album liner notes, quoting the portion from Genesis that includes Jacob's blessing to his son Joseph. Marley was baptised by the Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Kingston, Jamaica, on 4 November 1980.

Family:

Bob Marley had a number of children: three with his wife Rita, two adopted from Rita's previous relationships, and several others with different women. The Bob Marley official website acknowledges eleven children.

Those listed on the official site are: • Sharon, born 23 November 1964, to Rita in previous relationship • Cedella born 23 August 1967, to Rita • David "Ziggy", born 17 October 1968, to Rita • Stephen, born 20 April 1972, to Rita • Robert "Robbie", born 16 May 1972, to Pat Williams • Rohan, born 19 May 1972, to Janet Hunt • Karen, born 1973 to Janet Bowen • Stephanie, born 17 August 1974; according to Cedella Booker she was the daughter of Rita and a man called Ital with whom Rita had an affair; nonetheless she was acknowledged as Bob's daughter • Julian, born 4 June 1975, to Lucy Pounder • Ky-Mani, born 26 February 1976, to Anita Belnavis • Damian, born 21 July 1978, to Cindy Breakspeare Makeda was born on 30 May 1981, to Yvette Crichton, after Marley's death. Meredith Dixon's book lists her as Marley's child, but she is not listed as such on the Bob Marley official website.

Various websites, for example, also list Imani Carole, born 22 May 1963 to Cheryl Murray; but she does not appear on the official Bob Marley website.

Final years and death

Medieval Sri Lanka:

In July 1977, Marley was found to have a type of malignant melanoma under the nail of one of his toes. Contrary to urban legend, this lesion was not primarily caused by an injury during a football match in that year, but was instead a symptom of the already existing cancer. Marley turned down doctors' advice to have his toe amputated, citing his religious beliefs. Despite his illness, he continued touring and was in the process of scheduling a world tour in 1980. The intention was for Inner Circle to be his opening act on the tour but after their lead singer Jacob Miller died in Jamaica in March 1980 after returning from a scouting mission in Brazil this was no longer mentioned.

The album Uprising was released in May 1980 (produced by Chris Blackwell), on which "Redemption Song" is particularly considered to be about Marley coming to terms with his mortality.

The band completed a major tour of Europe, where they played their biggest concert, to a hundred thousand people in Milan. After the tour Marley went to America, where he performed two shows at Madison Square Garden as part of the Uprising Tour.

The final concert of Bob Marley's career was held September 23, 1980 at the Stanley Theater (now called The Bene- The Bob Marley House in Nine Mile is a home that he dum Center For The Performing Arts) in shared with his mother during his youth Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The audio recording of that concert is now available on CD, vinyl, and digital music services.

Shortly after, Marley's health deteriorated and he became very ill; the cancer had spread throughout his body. The rest of the tour was cancelled and Marley sought treatment at the Bavarian clinic of Josef Issels, where he received a controversial type of cancer therapy (Issels treatment) partly based on avoidance of certain foods, drinks, and other substances. After fighting the cancer without success for eight months, Marley boarded a plane for his home in Jamaica.

While flying home from Germany to Jamaica, Marley's vital functions worsened. After landing in Miami, Florida, he was taken to the hospital for immediate medical attention. He died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami (now University of Miami Hospital) on the morning of May 11, 1981, at the age of 36. The spread of melanoma to his lungs and brain caused his death. His final words to his son Ziggy were "Money can't buy life". Marley received a state funeral in Jamaica on 21 May 1981, which combined elements of Ethiopian Orthodoxy and Rastafari tradition. He was buried in a chapel near his birthplace with his red Gibson Les Paul (some accounts say it was a Fender Stratocaster).

On 21 May 1981, Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga delivered the final funeral eulogy to Marley, declaring: His voice was an omnipresent cry in our electronic world. His sharp features, majestic looks, and prancing style a vivid etching on the landscape of our minds. Bob Marley was never seen. He was an experience which left an indelible imprint with each encounter. Such a man cannot be erased from the mind. He is part of the collective consciousness of the nation.

Early modern Sri Lanka:

Bob Marley was the Third World's first pop superstar. He was the man who introduced the world to the mystic power of reggae. He was a true rocker at heart, and as a songwriter, he brought the lyrical force of Bob Dylan, the personal charisma of John Lennon, and the essential vocal stylings of Smokey Robinson into one voice.

— Jann Wenner, at Marley’s 1994 posthumous introduction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame In 1999 Time magazine chose Bob Marley & The Wailers' Exodus as the greatest album of the 20th century. In 2001, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and a feature-length documentary about his life, Rebel Music, won various awards at theGrammys. With contributions from Rita, The Wailers, and Marley's lovers and children, it also tells much of the story in his own words. A statue was inaugurated, next to the national stadium on Arthur Wint Drive in Kingston to commemorate him. In 2006, the State of New York renamed a portion of Church Avenue from Remsen Avenue to East 98th Street in the East Flatbush section ofBrooklyn "Bob Marley Boulevard". In 2008, a statue of Marley was inaugurated in Banatski Sokolac, Serbia.

Internationally, Marley’s message also continues to reverberate amongst various indigenous communities. For instance, the Aboriginal people of Australia continue to burn a sacred flame to honor his memory in Sydney’s Victoria Park, while members of the Native American Hopi and Havasupai tribe revere his work. There are also many tributes to Bob Marley throughout India, including restaurants, hotels, and cultural festivals.

Marley has also evolved into a global symbol, which has been endlessly merchandised through a variety of mediums. In light of this, author Dave Thompson in his book Reggae and Caribbean Music, laments what he perceives to be the commercialized pacification of Marley's more militant edge, stating: Bob Marley ranks among both the most popular and the most misunderstood figures in modern culture ... That the machine has utterly emasculated Marley is beyond doubt. Gone from the public record is the ghetto kid who dreamed of Che Guevara and the Black Panthers, and pinned their posters up in the Wailers Soul Shack record store; who believed in freedom; and the fighting which it necessitated, and dressed the part on an early album sleeve; whose heroes were James Brown and Muhammad Ali; whose God was Ras Tafari and whose sacrament was marijuana. Instead, the Bob Marley who surveys his kingdom today is smiling benevolence, a shining sun, a waving palm tree, and a string of hits which tumble out of polite radio like candy from a gumball machine. Of course it has assured his immortality. But it has also demeaned him beyond recognition. Bob Marley was worth far more.

The medieval period of Sri Lanka begins with the fall of Anuradhapura. In 993 AD, the invasion ofChola emperor Rajaraja I forced the then Sri Lankan ruler Mahinda V to flee to the southern part of the country. Taking advantage of this situation, Rajendra I son of Rajaraja I, launched a large invasion in 1017 AD. Mahinda V was captured and taken to India, and the Cholas sacked the city of Anuradhapura. Subsequently, they moved the capital to Polonnaruwa. This marked the end of the two great houses of dynasties of ancient Sri Lanka, Moriya and the Lambakanna. Following a seventeen year long campaign, Vijayabahu I successfully drove the Chola out of Sri Lanka in 1070, reuniting the country for the first time in over a century. Upon his request, ordained monks were sent from Burma to Sri Lanka to re-establish Buddhism which had almost disappeared from the country during the Chola reign.

During the medieval period, Sri Lanka was divided to three Kuttam Pokuna or the Twin Ponds, Anuradhapura, 8th century sub-territories, namely Ruhunu, Pihiti and Maya.

Sri Lanka's irrigation system was extensively expanded during the reign of Parākramabāhu the Great (1153–1186 AD). This period is considered as a time when Sri Lanka was at the height of its power. He built 1470 reservoirs - highest number by any ruler in the history, repaired 165 dams, 3910 canals, 163 major reservoirs, and 2376 mini reservoirs. His famous construction is the Parakrama Samudra, the largest irrigation project of medieval Sri Lanka. Parākramabāhu's reign is memorable for two major campaigns — in the south of India as part of a Pandyan war of succession, and a punitive strike against the kings of Ramanna (Myanmar) for various perceived insults to Sri Lanka.

After his demise, Sri Lanka gradually decayed in power. In 1215 AD, Kalinga Magha, a South Indian with uncertain origins, invaded and captured the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa with a 24,000 strong army from Kalinga. Unlike the previous invaders, he looted, ransacked and destroyed everything in the ancient Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa Kingdoms beyond recovery. His priorities in ruling were to extract as much as possible from the land and overturn as many of the traditions of Rajarata as possible. His reign saw the massive migration of nativeSinhalese people to the south and west of Sri Lanka, and into the mountainous interior, in a bid to escape his power. Sri Lanka never really recovered from the impact of Kalinga Magha's invasion. King Vijayabâhu III, who led the resistance, brought the kingdom to Dambadeniya. The north, in the meanwhile, eventually evolved into the Jaffna kingdom. Jaffna kingdom never came under the rule of the kingdom of south except on one occasion; in 1450, following the conquest led by king Parâkramabâhu VI's adopted son, Prince Sapumal. He ruled the North from 1450 to 1467 AD. The next three centuries stating from 1215 were marked by kaleidoscopically shifting collection of kingdoms in south and central Sri Lanka, including Dambadeniya, Yapahuwa, Gampola, Raigama, Kotte, Sitawaka and finally, Kandy.

The early modern period of Sri Lanka begins with the arrival of Portuguese soldier and explorer Lorenzo de Almeida, the son of Francisco de Almeida in 1505. The Portuguese founded a fort at the port city of Colombo in 1517 and gradually extended their control over the coastal areas. In 1592 Vimaladharmasuriya I moved the kingdom to the inland city of Kandy, a location more secure against an attack from western invaders. Intermittent warfare continued through the 16th century. In 1619, due to the attacks of Portuguese, independent existence of Jaffna kingdom, came to an end.

During the reign of the Rajasinghe II, Dutch explorers arrived in the island.

In 1638, the king signed a treaty with the Dutch East India Company to get rid of Portuguese who ruled most of the coastal areas. The following Dutch– Portuguese War resulted in Dutch victory, with Colombo falling into Dutch hands by 1656. Dutch remained in the areas they captured, violating the treaty. An ethnic group named Burgher people integrated into the Sri Lankan society as a result of Dutch rule. The Kingdom of Kandy was the last independent monarchy of Sri Lanka. In 1595, Vimaladharmasurya brought the sacred Tooth Relic - the traditional symbol of royal and religious authority amongst the Sinhalese - to Kandy, and built the Temple of the Colonial Coat of arms of Tooth. Even with intermittent warfare with Europeans, the kingdom was able British Ceylon to survive. A succession crisis emerged in Kandy, upon king Vira Narendrasinha's death in 1739. He was married to aTelugu-speaking Nayakkar princess from South India and was childless by them. Eventually, with the support of bhikku Weliwita Sarankara, the crown passed to the brother of one of Narendrasinha's princess, overlooking the right of "Unambuwe Bandara", Narendrasinha's own son by a Sinhalese concubine. The new king was crowned Sri Vijaya Rajasinha later that year. Kings of Nayakkar dynasty, launched several attacks on Dutch controlled areas, which proved to be unsuccessful.

During the Napoleonic Wars, fearing that French control of the Netherlands might deliver Sri Lanka to the French, Great Britain occupied the coastal areas of the island (which they called Ceylon) with little difficulty in 1796. Two years later, in 1798, Rajadhi Rajasinha, 3rd of the four Nayakkar kings of Sri Lanka died of a fever. Following the death, a nephew of Rajadhi Rajasinha, 18-year-old Konnasami was crowned. The new king, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha faced a British invasion in 1803, but was able to retaliate successfully. By then, the entire coastal area was under the British East India Company, as a result of the Treaty of Amiens. But on 14 February 1815, Kandy was occupied by the British, in the second Kandyan War, finally ending Sri Lanka's independence. Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, the last native monarch of Sri Lanka was exiled to India. Kandyan convention formally ceded the entire country to the British Empire. Attempts of Sri Lankan noblemen to undermine the British power in 1818 during the Uva Rebellion were thwarted by Governor Robert Brownrigg.

Modern Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka under the British rule:

The beginning of the modern period of Sri Lanka is marked by the Colebrooke-Cameron reforms of 1833. They introduced a utilitarian and liberal political culture to the country based on the rule of law and amalgamated the Kandyan and maritime provinces as a single unit of government. An Executive Council and a Legislative Council were established, later becoming the foundation of representative legislature in the country. By this time, experiments with coffee plantation were largely successful. Soon it grew to become the primary commodity export of the country. The falling coffee prices as a result of the depression of 1847 stalled economic development and prompted the governor to introduce a series of taxes on firearms, dogs, shops, boats, etc., and reintroduce a form of rajakariya, requiring six days free labour on roads or payment of a cash equivalent. These harsh measures antagonized the locals, and another rebellion broke out in 1848. A devastating leaf disease, Hemileia vastatrix, struck the coffee plantations in 1869, destroying the entire industry within 15 years. The British officials desperately searched for a substitute, and the promising replacement they found was tea. Production of tea in Sri Lankathrived within the decades to come.

By the end of the 19th century, a new educated social class which transcended the divisions of race and caste was emerging as a result of British attempts to nurture a range of professionals for the Ceylon Civil Service and for the legal, educational, and medical professions. The country's new leaders represented the various ethnic groups of the population in the Ceylon Legislative Council on a communal basis. In the meantime, attempts were underway for Buddhist and Hindu revivalism and to react against Christian missionary activities on the island.The first two decades in the 20th century are distinguished for the harmony that prevailed among Sinhalese and Tamil political leadership, which has not been the case ever since. In 1919, major Sinhalese and Tamil political organizations united to form the Ceylon National Congress, under the leadership of Ponnambalam Arunachalam. It kept pressing the colonial masters for more constitutional reforms. But due to its failure to appeal to the masses and the governor's encouragement for "communal representation" by creating a "Colombo seat" that dangled between Sinhalese and Tamils, the Congress lost its momentum towards the mid 1920s. The Donoughmore reforms of 1931 repudiated the communal representation and introduced universal adult franchise (the franchise stood at 4% before the reforms).

This step was strongly criticized by the Tamil political leadership, who realized that they would be reduced to a minority in the newly created State Council of Ceylon, which succeeded the legislative council. In 1937, Tamil leader G. G. Ponnambalam demanded a 50-50 representation (50% for the Sinhalese and 50% for other ethnic groups) in the State Council. However, this demand was not met by the Soulbury reforms of 1944/45.

Post independence Sri Lanka:

The Soulbury constitution ushered the Dominion status for Ceylon, delivering it independence on 4 February 1948.

The office of Prime Minister of Ceylon was created in advance of independence, on 14 October 1947, D. S. Senanayake being the first prime minister. Prominent Tamil leaders like Ponnambalam and A. Mahadeva joined his cabinet. Although the country gained independence in 1948, the British Royal Navy stationed at Trincomalee remained until 1956. 1953 hartal, against the withdrawal of the rice ration, resulted in the resignation of the then prime minister, Dudley Senanayake. With the election of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike to the prime ministership in 1956, Ceylon began moving towards better relations with the communist bloc. Bandaranaike's 3 year rule had a profound impact on the direction of the country. He emerged as the "defender of the besieged Sinhalese culture" and promised radical changes in the system.He introduced the controversial Sinhala Only Act, recognising Sinhala as the sole official language of the government. Although it was partially reversed in 1958, the bill posed a grave concern for the Tamil community, which perceived their language and culture were threatened. The Federal Party (FP) launched satyagraha against the move, which prompted Bandaranaike to reach an agreement (Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact) with S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, leader of the FP, to resolve the looming ethnic conflict. However the pact was not carried out due to protests by opposition and the Buddhist clergy. The bill, together with various government colonisation schemes, contributed much towards the political rancour between Sinhalese and Tamil political leaders.

Bandaranaike was assassinatedby an extremist Buddhist monk in 1959.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the widow of late S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, took office as prime minister in 1960, but faced an attempted coup d'état in 1962. During the second term as prime minister, her government instituted socialist economic polices, further strengthening ties with the Soviet Union and later China, while promoting a policy of nonalignment. However in 1971, Ceylon experienced a Marxist insurrection, which was quickly suppressed. In 1972, with the adoption of a new constitution, the country became a republic, repudiating the Dominion status and changing its name to Sri Lanka. Prolonged minority grievances and the use of communal emotionalism as an election campaign weapon by both Sinhalese and Tamil leaders abetted a fledgling Tamil militancy in the north, during 1970s.

The policy of standardization by Sirimavo government to rectify disparities created in university enrollment, which was in essence an affirmative action to assist geographically disadvantaged students to gain tertiary education, in turn reducing the number of Tamil students within the Sri Lankan university student populace; acted as the immediate catalyst for the rise of militancy. Assassination of Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duraiyappah in 1975 marked an important turn of the events.

The Government of J. R. Jayawardene swept to power in 1977, defeating the largely unpopular United Front government, towards its final years. Jayawardene introduced a new constitution, together with a powerful executive presidency modelled after France, and a free market economy. It made Sri Lanka the first South Asian country to liberalise its economy. However from 1983, ethnic tensions blew into on-and-off insurgency (see Sri Lankan Civil War) against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers), a militant group emerged in early 1970s. Following the riots in July 1983, more than 150,000 Tamil civilians fled the island, seeking asylum in other countries. Lapses in foreign policy resulted in neighbouring India strengthening the Tigers by providing arms and training. In 1987, the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord was signed and Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was deployed in northern Sri Lanka to stabilize the region by neutralising the LTTE. The same year, the JVP launched its second insurrection in Southern Sri Lanka. As their efforts did not become successful, IPKF was called back in 1990.

Sri Lanka was affected by the devastating 2004 Asian tsunami, which left at least 35,000 people dead. From 1985 to 2006, Sri Lankan government and Tamil insurgents held 4 rounds of peace-talks, none of them helping a peaceful resolution of the conflict. In 2009, under thePresidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa the Sri Lanka Armed Forces defeated the LTTE, and re-established control of the entire country under the Sri Lankan Government. The 26 year war caused up to 100,000 deaths. Following the LTTE's defeat, Tamil National Alliance, the largest political party in Sri Lanka dropped its demand for a separate state, in favour of a federal solution. The final stages of the war left some 294,000 people displaced. According to the Ministry of Resettlement, most of the displaced persons had been released or returned to their places of origin, leaving only 6,651 in the camps as of December 2011. Sri Lanka, emerging after a 26 year war, has become one of the fastest growing economies of the world.

Setsubun Japan - F e b 0 3

Setsubun (節分, Bean-Throwing Festival or Bean-Throwing Ceremony) is the day before the beginning of spring in Japan. The name literally means "seasonal division", but usually the term refers to the spring Setsubun, properly called Risshun (立春) celebrated yearly on February 3 as part of the Spring Festival (春祭 haru matsuri). In its association with the Lunar New Year, Spring Setsubun can be and was previously thought of as a sort of New Year's Eve, and so was accompanied by a special ritual to cleanse away all the evil of the former year and drive away disease-bringing evil spirits for the year to come. This special ritual is called mamemaki (豆 撒 き ) (literally "bean throwing"). Setsubun has its origins intsuina (追儺), a Chinese custom introduced to Japan in the eighth century.

New Zealand Day/Waitangi Day New Zealand, Niue - Feb 06

Waitangi Day commemorates a significant day in the history of New Zealand. It is a public holiday held each year on 6 February to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document, on that date in 1840.

History

The Treaty of Waitangi was signed on 6 February 1840, in a marquee erected in the grounds of James Busby's house (now known as the Treaty house) at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands. The Treaty made New Zealand a part of the British Empire, guaranteed Māori rights to their land and gave Māori the rights of British subjects. There are differences between the Māori and English language versions of the Treaty, and virtually since 1840 this has led to debate over exactly what was agreed to at Waitangi. Māori have generally seen the Treaty as a sacred pact, while for many years Pākehā (the Māori word for New Zealanders of predominantly European ancestry) ignored it. By the early twentieth century, however, some Pākehā were beginning to see the Treaty as their nation's founding document and a symbol of Britishhumanitarianism. Unlike Māori, Pākehā have generally not seen the Treaty as a document with binding power over the country and its inhabitants. In 1877 Chief Justice James Prendergast declared it to be a 'legal nullity', and it still has limited standing in New Zealand law.

Early celebrations:

The signing of the treaty was not commemorated until 1934. Prior to that date, most celebrations of New Zealand's founding as a colony were marked on 29 January, the date on which William Hobson arrived in the Bay of Islands. In 1932, GovernorGeneral Lord Bledisloe and his wife had purchased and presented to the nation the run-down house of James Busby, where the treaty was signed. The Treaty house and grounds were made a public reserve, which was dedicated on 6 February 1934. This event is considered by some to be the first Waitangi Day, although celebrations were not yet held annually. At the time, it was the most representative meeting of Māori ever held.

Attendees included the Maori King and thousands of Pākehā. Some Māori may have also been commemorating the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand, but there is little evidence of this.

In 1940, another major event was held at the grounds, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the treaty signing.

This was less well attended, partially because of the outbreak of World War II and partially because the government had recently offended the Māori King. However the event was still a success and helped raise the profile of the treaty.

Annual celebrations:

Annual commemorations of the treaty signing began in 1947. The 1947 event was a Royal New Zealand Navy ceremony centering on a flagpole which the Navy had paid to erect in the grounds.

The ceremony was brief and featured no Māori. The following year, a Māori speaker was added to the line-up, and subsequent additions to the ceremony were made nearly every year. From 1952, the Governor General attended, and from 1958 the Prime Minister also attended, although not every year. From the mid-1950s, a Māori cultural performance was usually given as part of the ceremony. Many of these early features remain a part of Traditional Maori Waitangi Day celebrations at Waitangi, Bay of IsWaitangi Day ceremonies, lands. including a naval salute, the Māori cultural performance (now usually a ceremonial welcome), and speeches from a range of Māori and Pākehā dignitaries.

Public holiday:

Waitangi Day was proposed as a public holiday by the New Zealand Labour Party in their 1957 party manifesto. After Labour won the election they were reluctant to create a new public holiday, so the Waitangi Day Act was passed in 1960 making it possible for a locality to substitute Waitangi Day as an alternative to an existing public holiday. In 1963, after a change in government, Waitangi Day was substituted forAuckland Anniversary Day as the provincial holiday in Northland.

New Zealand Day:

In 1971 the Labour shadow minister of Māori Affairs, Matiu Rata, introduced a private member's bill to make Waitangi Day a national holiday, to be called New Zealand Day. This was not passed into law. After the 1972 election of the third Labour government under Norman Kirk, it was announced that from 1974 Waitangi Day would be a national holiday known as New Zealand Day. The New Zealand Day Act 1973 was passed in 1973.

For Norman Kirk, the change was simply an acceptance that New Zealand was ready to move towards a broader concept of nationhood. Diplomatic posts had for some years marked the day, and it seemed timely in view of the country's increasing role on the international stage that the national day be known as New Zealand Day. At the 1974 celebrations, the Flag of New Zealand was flown for the first time at the top of the flagstaff at Waitangi, rather than the Union Flag, and a replica of the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand was also flown.

The election of the third National government in 1975 led to the day being renamed Waitangi Day because the new Prime Minister, Robert Muldoon, did not like the name "New Zealand Day" and many Māori felt the new name debased the Treaty of Waitangi. Another Waitangi Day Act was passed in 1976 to change the name of the day back to Waitangi Day.

Controversy and protest

Recent protests:

Mamemaki

Other practices

At Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines all over the country, there are celebrations for Setsubun. Priests and invited guests will throw roasted soy beans (some wrapped in gold or silver foil), small envelopes with money, sweets, candies and other prizes. In some bigger shrines, even celebrities and sumo wrestlers will be invited; these events are televised nationally. Many people come, and the event turns wild, with everyone pushing and shoving to get the gifts tossed from above.

It is customary now to eat uncut makizushi called Eho-Maki (恵方巻) (lit. "lucky direction roll") in silence on Setsubun while facing the yearly lucky compass direction, determined by the zodiac symbol of that year. Charts are published and occasionally packaged with uncutmakizushi during February. Some families put up small decorations of sardine heads and holly leaves on their house entrances so that bad spirits will not enter. Ginger sake (生姜酒 shōgazake) is customarily drunk at Setsubun, much like how egg nog is common at Christmas in Western cultures.

Historical practices The new year was felt to be a time when

Regional variations

Film adaptation(s):

In February 2008, director Martin Scorsese announced his intention to produce a documentary movie on Marley. The film was set to be released on 6 February 2010, on what would have been Marley's 65th birthday. Recently, however, Scorsese dropped out due to scheduling problems. He is being replaced by Jonathan Demme.

In March 2008, The Weinstein Company announced its plans to produce a biopic of Bob Marley, based on the book No Woman No Cry: My Life With Bob Marley by Rita Marley. Rudy Langlais will produce the script by Lizzie Borden and Rita Marley will be executive producer.

Although this is New Zealand's national day, the commemoration has often been the focus of protest by Māori activists and is often marred by controversy. From 1971, Waitangi and Waitangi Day became a focus of protest concerning treaty injustices, with Nga Tamatoa leading early protests. Activists initially called for greater recognition of the Treaty, but by the early 1980s, protest groups were more likely to argue that the treaty was a 'fraud' with which Pākehā had conned Māori out of their land. Attempts were made by groups including the Waitangi Action Committee to halt the celebrations. This led to major confrontations between police and protesters, sometimes resulting in dozens of arrests.

When the treaty gained greater official recognition in the mid 1980s, emphasis switched back to calls to honour the treaty, and protesters generally returned to the aim of raising awareness of the treaty and what they saw as its neglect by the state.

Many people, both Māori and Pākehā, feel that the treaty itself is being overshadowed by media coverage of protests, especially where political leaders are involved or caught in the crossfire. In particular Ngapuhi, whose ancestors were the main treaty signatories at Waitangi, have often been antagonistic towards protesters and have sought to keep Waitangi Day as peaceful and uncontroversial as possible.

Some people have felt that Waitangi Day is too divisive to be a national day and have sought to replace it with Anzac Day or revive Dominion Day. Others, for example the United Future Party's Peter Dunne, have suggested that the name of the day be changed back to New Zealand Day. Others see these as moves to disregard the treaty. Some New Zealanders of neither Māori nor British ancestry view the day as being relevant only to those two groups.

The custom of Mamemaki first appeared in the Muromachi period. It is usually performed by the toshiotoko (年男) of the household (the male who was born on the corresponding animal year on the Chinese zodiac), or else the male head of the household. Roasted soybeans(called "fortune beans" (福豆 fuku mame)) are thrown either out the door or at a member of the family wearing an Oni (demon or ogre) mask, while the people say "Demons out! Luck in!" (鬼は外! 福は内! Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!) and slam the door, although this is not common practice in households anymore and most people will attend a shrine or temple's spring festival where this is done.:120 The beans are thought to symbolically purify the home by driving away the evil spirits that bring misfortune and bad health with them. Then, as part of bringing luck in, it is customary to eat roasted soybeans, one for each year of one's life, and in some areas, one for each year of one's life plus one more for bringing good luck for the year to come.

The gestures of mamemaki look similar to the Western custom of throwing rice at newly married couples after a wedding.

the spirit world became close to the physical world, thus the need to perform mamemaki to drive away any wandering spirits that might happen too close to one's home. Other customs during this time included religious dance, fasting, and bringing tools inside the house that might normally be left outside, to prevent the spirits from harming them.

Because Setsubun was also considered to be apart from normal time, people might also practice role reversal. Such customs included young girls doing their hair in the styles of older women and vice versa, wearing disguises, and cross-dressing.

This custom is still practiced among geisha and their clients when entertaining on Setsubun.

Traveling entertainers (旅芸人 tabi geinin), who were normally shunned during the year because they were considered vagrants, were welcomed on Setsubun to perform morality plays. Their vagrancy worked to their advantage in these cases because they could take the spirits with them.

Legacy

Several hundred protesters often gather at Waitangi. Although not part of the official celebrations, Māori separatist activists (they refer to themselves as Māori sovereignty activists) often attempt to fly the Māori separatist flag from the flagstaff. These protests are generally contained by the police, though a few arrests are normally made. Attempts at vandalism of the flagstaff are often an objective of these protests, carrying on a tradition that dates from the 19th century when Hone Heke chopped down the British flagstaff in nearby Russell. In 2004, protesters succeeded in flying the Māori separatist flag above the other flags on the flagstaff by flying it from the top of a nearby tree.

Some commentators described this gesture as audacious and bold.

Because of the level of protest that had previously occurred at Waitangi, the previous Prime Minister Helen Clark did not attend in 2000. The official celebrations were shifted from Waitangi to Wellington in 2001. Some Māori felt that this was an insult to Prime Minister Helen Clark being welcomed onto them and to the Treaty. In 2003 and 2004, the anniversary was again officially commemorated at Hoani Waititi Marae, in West Auckland, Waitangi the Treaty house at Waitangi. In 2004 Leader of Day 2006 the Opposition Don Brash was hit with mud as he entered the marae.

On 5 February 2009, the day before Waitangi Day, as current Prime Minister John Key was being escorted onto a marae, he was accosted by Wikitana and John Junior Popata, nephews of Maori Party MP Hone Harawira. Both admitted to assault and were sentenced to 100 hours of community service. In 2011 Wikitana and John again heckled Key as he entered the marae.

Celebrations At Waitangi:

Celebrations at Waitangi often commence the previous day, 5 February, at the Ngapuhi Te Tii marae, where political dignitaries are welcomed onto the marae and hear speeches from the local iwi. These speeches often deal with the issues of the day, and vigorous and robust debate occurs.

At dawn on Waitangi Day, the Royal New Zealand Navy raises the New Zealand Flag, Union Flag and White Ensign on the flagstaff in the treaty grounds. The ceremonies during the day generally include a church service and cultural displays such as dance and song. Several waka and a navy ship also re-enact the calling ashore of Governor Hobson to sign the treaty. The day closes with the flags being lowered by the Navy in a traditional ceremony.

Elsewhere in New Zealand:

In recent years, communities throughout New Zealand have been celebrating Waitangi Day in a variety of ways. These often take the form of public concerts and festivals. Some marae use the day as an open day and an educational experience for their local communities, giving them the opportunity to experience Māori culture and protocol. Other marae use the day as an opportunity to explain where they see Māori are and the way forward for Māori in New Zealand. Another popular way of celebrating the day is at concerts held around the country. Since the day is alsoBob Marley's birthday, reggae music is especially popular. Wellington has a long running "One Love" festival that celebrates peace and unity. Another such event is "Groove in the Park", held in the Auckland Domain before 2007 and at Western Springs subsequently. Celebrations are largely muted in comparison to those seen on the national days of most countries.

There are no mass parades, nor truly widespread celebrations. As the day is a public holiday, and happens during the warmest part of the New Zealand summer, many people take the opportunity to spend the day at the beach - an important part of both the Māori and Pākehā cultures.

Elsewhere in the world:

Celebrities throw roasted beans in Ikuta Shrine, Kobe

While the practice of eating makizushi on Setsubun is historically only associated with the Kansai area of Japan, the practice has become popular nationwide due largely to marketing efforts by grocery and convenience stores.

In the Tohoku area of Japan, the head of the household (traditionally the father) would take roasted beans in his hand, pray at the family shrine, and then toss the sanctified beans out the door.

Nowadays peanuts (either raw or coated in a sweet, crunchy batter) are sometimes used in place of soybeans.

There are many variations on the famous Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi chant. In the Nihonmatsu area of Fukushima Prefecture, the chant is shortened to "鬼 外! 福は内!" (Oni soto! Fuku wa uchi!). And in the city of Aizuwakamatsu, people chant "鬼の目玉ぶっつぶせっ！" (Oni no medama buttsubuse!), lit. "Blind the demons' eyes!".

Presidents Day - F e b 0 5 Congo (Republic of)

The Democratic Republic of Congo or sometimes known as Congo Brazzaville celebrates February 5 as a yearly commemoration of President’s Day.

History

The President is considered as the highest ruling power of the Republic of Congo and has long been implemented since the Fundamental Law of 1960 which was the country’s first constitution. The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo holds several powers and capabilities; however it has been constantly varied over the years. In the past, the country has been ruled over with a shared power of a prime minister and the executive branch. Now it is under the sole dictatorship of the President of the State in which the president has the power to choose the prime minister.

This kind of constitution that Congo is implementing is based actually from the French structure. According to their 2006 constitution, the elected president should take the seat as the highest official of the country for a five-year term and renewable only once. And under the Democratic Republic of Congo, the election process must use a two-round system of voting which means that the elected president should always have the majority of the votes.

Traditions, customs and activities

The celebration of the country’s President’s day is a nation-wide event where people of the nation gather together to hold special parades and activities dedicated to their head of state. It is also a perfect time for the people, especially the young generations to learn and appreciate the most vital lessons about the nation’s history, the president and its government.

Unity Day Burundi - Feb 05

In the late 1950s, Burundi sought to separate itself from Belgium. During the independence movement, members of the Hutu and Tutsi tribes clashed in neighboring Rwanda, spilling over into Burundi. This sparked decades of large-scale conflict between members of the two tribes. With focus on a new constitution of unity in 1992, Unity Day was born in Burundi and celebrated for the first time with hopes of finally bringing the tribal conflict to an end.

History

The people of Burundi wanted independence from Belgium, and in 1959, then leader Mwami Mwambutsa IV championed the movement. Yet late in the year, violence was sparked with a disagreement between Hutu teachers and Tutsi military personnel. Both Tutsi and Hutu in both Burundi and Rwanda fled across borders but were caught in the crossfire as Hutu in Rwanda killed Tutsi and Tutsi took vengeance on Hutus in Burundi.

The country went on to claim independence on July 1, 1962, setting up equal representation in the new government between Hutu and Tutsi. Yet the violence spread farther as Hutu forces took control of the country, forcing out Tutsi representation for fear of death through ethnic persecution.

After the king, Mwami Mwambutsa IV, refused to recognize the new Hutu prime minister in 1965, tensions spread.

A series of coup attempts, assassinations, and military takeovers shifted power back and forth between the two groups over the next two decades, leading to the death of tens of thousands of Hutu and Tutsi. In 1987, Major Pierre Buyoya, a Tutsi, overthrew the military regime and slowly set about to rectify a number of issues within the government.

This culminated in the form of a new constitution on March 13, 1992 with a strong focus on national unity but with the recognition of the great cultural and ethnic diversity found within the Burundian population. Under the new constitution, registration for political parties was allowed but without any identification with ethnic, religious, or gender groups, a move made to strip some of the inherent biases and discrimination found at the time.

This sense of national unity found during the creation of the constitution led to the celebration of the first Unity Day in 1992. With 88 percent of people voting for a referendum that would abolish hatred along ethnic lines, Buyoya declared every February 5 then on to be celebrated as Unity Day.

Traditions, customs and activities

Opinions vary among the citizens of Burundi regarding the effectiveness of Unity Day and attempts to bring Hutu and Tutsi together. Unity Day in 2009 held specific relevancy, however, after a peace deal was brokered between the government and the final active rebel group Forces for National Liberation on December 4, 2008, marking a tentative end to a long period of conflict.

Sandrine Irankunda, a Burundian vendor, told Reuters on 2009’s Unity Day: “I can see that things have changed compared to the last few years, because there were divisions between Burundians. But now, there is more unity.”

But businesswoman Abiba Nduwimana disagreed, telling Reuters: “Ethnic hate between people has reduced; that’s the only thing I can say that has changed. But otherwise, we still have the same problems.”

In London, United Kingdom, which has one of the largest New Zealand expatriate populations, the occasion is celebrated by the Waitangi Day Ball, held by the New Zealand Society UK. The focus of the event is a celebration of New Zealand's unity and diversity as a nation. The Ball also hosts the annual UK New Zealander of the Year awards, cultural entertainment from London based Māori group Ngati Ranana and fine wine and cuisine from New Zealand.

Another tradition has arisen in recent years to celebrate Waitangi Day. On the closest Saturday to 6 February, Kiwis participate in a pub crawl using the London Underground's Circle Line. Although the stated aim is to consume one drink at each of the 27 stops, most participants stop at a handful of stations, usually beginning at Paddington and moving anti-clockwise towards Temple. At 4 p.m., a large-scale haka is performed at Parliament Square as Big Ben marks the hour. Participants wear costumes and sing songs such as "God Defend New Zealand", all of which is in stark contrast to the much more subdued observance of the day in New Zealand itself.

In many other countries with a New Zealand expatriate population, Waitangi Day is celebrated privately. The day is officially celebrated by all New Zealand embassies and High Commissions.

For Waitangi Day 2007, Air New Zealand commissioned a number of New Zealanders living in Los Angeles and Southern California to create a sand sculpture of a silver fern on the Santa Monica Beach creating a stir in the surrounding area.

At the Kingston Butter Factory in Kingston, Queensland, Australia, Te Korowai Aroha (Cloak of Love) Association have been holding Waitangi Day Celebrations since 2002, with an excess of 10,000 expats, Logan City Council representatives and Indigenous Australianscoming together to commemorate in a peaceful alcohol and drug free occasion.

On the Gold Coast, in Australia, where there is a large New Zealand expatriate population, Waitangi Day is celebrated by around 10,000 people at Carrara Stadium. Its called the "Waitangi Day and Pacific Islands Festival". It not only embraces Waitangi day, but Pacific Islander culture. In 2009, iconic Kiwi bands Herbs and Ardijah featured, as well as local singers and performers.

Sami National Day - F e b 0 6 Finland, Norway, Sweden

The Sami National Day falls on February 6 as this date was when the first Sámi congress was held in 1917 in Trondheim, Norway. This congress was the first time that Norwegian and Swedish Sámi came together across their national borders to work together to find solutions for common problems.

In 1992, at the 15th Sámi Conference in Helsinki, a resolution was passed that Sámi National Day should be celebrated on February 6 to commemorate the 1st Sámi congress in 1917. Sami National Day is for all Sámi, regardless of where they live and on that day the Sámi flag should be flown and the Song of the Sami People is sung in the local Sámi language. The first time Sami National Day was celebrated was in 1993, when the International Year of Indigenous People was proclaimed open in Jokkmokk, Sweden by the United Nations.

Since then, celebrating the day has become increasingly popular. In Norway it is compulsory for municipal administrative buildings to fly the Norwegian flag, and optionally also the Sami flag, on February 6. Particularly notable is the celebration in Norway's capital Oslo, where the bells in the highest tower of Oslo City Hall play the Sámi soga lávlla as the flags go up. Some larger places have taken to arranging festivities also in the week around the Sami National Day. Through pure synchronicity, this date also happened to be when representatives of the Sámi of the Kola Peninsula used to gather annually, meeting with Russian bureucrats to debate and decide on issues of relevance to them. This organ, called the Koladak Sobbar, has been dubbed the 'first Sámi Parliament' by the researcher Johan Albert Kalstad. This did not influence the choice of the date as the Sámi People's Day, since the people present did not know about it - the Koladak Sobbar only existed during the late 19th century, and was only 'rediscovered' by Kalstad in the current Millennium.

Boy Scout Day U.S. - F e b 0 8

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions. Since its founding in 1910 as part of the international Scout Movement, more than 110 million Americans have been members of the BSA. The BSA goal is to train youth in responsible citizenship, character development, and self-reliance through participation in a wide range of outdoor activities, educational programs, and, at older age levels, career-oriented programs in partnership with community organizations.

For younger members, the Scout method is part of the program to inculcate typical Scouting values such as trustworthiness, good citizenship, and outdoors skills, through a variety of activities such as camping, aquatics, and hiking.

The BSA is a constituent member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. The traditional Scouting divisions are Cub Scouting for boys ages 7 to 10½ years, Boy Scouting for boys ages 10 1/2 to 18 and Venturing for young men and women ages 14 (or 13 and have completed the 8th grade) through 21. Learning for Life is a non-traditional subsidiary that provides in-school and career education. The BSA operates traditional Scouting locally through units sponsored and operated by churches, clubs, civic associations, educational organizations and the like. Units are led entirely by volunteers who are supported by local councils using both paid professionals and volunteers.

The influence of Scouting on American society is frequently cited by both its advocates and critics. Critics have called the BSA's membership obligations unfair, resulting in litigation in various state and federal courts. However, the Supreme Court has affirmed that, as a private, expressive association, the BSA can set its own membership standards under the Constitutional right to freedom of association.

HUNGARY Independence Day Grenada - F e b 0 7

It cannot occur that the state does not protect its citizens

Further reductions of utility prices now possible

Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" due to the production of nutmeg and macecrops of which Grenada is one of the world's largest exporters. Its size is 344 square kilometres (133 sq mi), with an estimated population of 110,000. Its capital is St. George's. The national bird of Grenada is the critically endangered Grenada Dove.

History

Pre-history and early European contacts:

Grenada was first sighted by Europeans in 1498 during the 3rd voyage of Columbus to the new world. At the time the indigenous Island Caribs (Kalinago) who lived there called it Camahogne. The Spaniards did not permanently settle on Camahogne. The English failed in their attempt at settlement in 1609.

French colony (1649–1763):

On March 17, 1649 a French expedition of 203 men from Martinique, led by Jacques du Parquet founded a permanent settlement on Grenada. Within months this led to conflict with the local islanders which lasted until 1654 when the Island was completely subjugated by the French. Those indigineous islanders who survived either left for neighbouring islands or retreated to remoter parts of Grenada where they were marginalised – the last distinct communities disappeared during the eighteenth century. Warfare did continue during the seventeenth century between the French on Grenada and the Caribs of present day Dominica and The capital St. George's.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The French named the new French colony La Grenade and the economy was initially based on sugar and indigo. The French established a capital known as Fort Royal (later St. George). To shelter from hurricanes the French navy would often take refuges in the capital's natural harbour, as no nearby French islands had a natural harbour to compare with that of Fort Royal.

The British captured Grenada during the Seven Years' War in 1762.

British colony (1763–1950):

Grenada was formally ceded to Britain by the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The French re-captured the island during the American War of Independence, after Comte d'Estaing won the bloody land and naval Battle of Grenada in July 1779. However the island was restored to Britain with the Treaty of Versailles in 1783. Britain was hard pressed to overcome a pro-French revolt in 1795–1796 led by Julien Fedon. Nutmeg was introduced to Grenada in 1843 when a merchant ship called in on its way to England from the East Indies. The ship had a small quantity of nutmeg trees on board which they left in Grenada and this was the beginning of Grenada's nutmeg industry that now supplies nearly forty percent of the world's annual crop. In 1877 Grenada was made a Crown Colony. Theophilus A. Marryshow founded the Representative Government Association (RGA) in 1917 to agitate for a new and participative constitutional dispensation for the Grenadian people. Partly as a result of Marryshow`s lobbying the Wood Commission of 1921–1922 concluded that Grenada was ready for constitutional reform in the form of a 'modified' Crown Colony government. This modification granted Grenadians from 1925 the right to elect 5 of the 15 members of the Legislative Council, on a restricted property franchise enabling the wealthiest 4% of adult Grenadians to vote.

Towards independence (1950–1974):

In 1950 Eric Gairy founded the Grenada United Labour Party, initially as a trades union, which led the 1951 general strike for better working conditions, this sparked great unrest – so many buildings were set ablaze that the disturbances became known as the 'red sky' days – and the British authorities had to call in military reinforcements to help regain control of the situation. On October 10, 1951 Grenada held its first general elections on the basis of universal adult suffrage- Eric Gairy's Grenada United Labour Party won 6 of the 8 seats contested. From 1958 to 1962 Grenada was part of the Federation of the West Indies.

On March 3, 1967 Grenada was granted full autonomy over its internal affairs as an Associated State. Herbert Blaize was the first Premier of the Associated State of Grenada fom March to August 1967. Eric Gairy served as Premier from August 1967 until February 1974.

Independence and revolution (1974–1983):

Independence was granted in 1974 under the leadership of the then Premier, Sir Eric Matthew Gairy, who became the first Prime Minister of Grenada.

Civil conflict gradually broke out between Eric Gairy’s government and some opposition parties including the New Jewel Movement (NJM). Gairy’s party won elections in 1976 but the opposition did not accept the result, accusing it of fraud. In 1979, the New Jewel Movement under Maurice Bishop launched a paramilitary attack on the government resulting in its overthrow.

The constitution was suspended and Bishop's "People's Revolutionary Government" ruled subsequently by decree.

Cuban doctors, teachers, and technicians were invited in to help develop health, literacy, and agriculture over the next few years. Agrarian reforms started by the Gairy government were continued and greatly expanded under the revolutionary government of Maurice Bishop.

Invasion of Grenada by the U.S. and OECS military (1983):

Some years later a dispute developed between Bishop and certain high-ranking members of the NJM. Though Bishop cooperated with Cuba and the USSR on various trade and foreign policy issues, he sought to maintain a "non-aligned" status. Bishop had been taking his time making Grenada wholly socialist, encouraging private-sector development in an attempt to make the island a popular tourist destination. Hardline Marxist party members, including Communist Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard, deemed Bishop insufficiently revolutionary and demanded that he either step down or enter into a power-sharing arrangement.

On October 19, 1983, Bernard Coard and his wife Phyllis, backed by the Grenadian Army, led a coup against the government of Maurice Bishop and placed Bishop under house arrest. These actions led to street demonstrations in various parts of the island. Bishop had enough support from the population that he was Members of the Eastern Caribbean Defence eventually freed after a demonstration in the capital. Force during the Invasion of Grenada When Bishop attempted to resume power, he was captured and executed by soldiers along with seven others, including government cabinet ministers. The Coard regime then put the island under martial law.

After the execution of Bishop, the People's Revolutionary Army formed a military government with General Hudson Austin as chairman. The army declared a four-day total curfew, during which (it said) anyone leaving their home without approval would be shot on sight.

The overthrow of a moderate government by one which was strongly pro-communist worried U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Particularly concerning was the presence of Cuban construction workers and military personnel who were building a 10,000-foot (3,000 m) airstrip on Grenada. Bishop had stated the purpose of the airstrip was to allow commercial jets to land, but U.S. military analysts argued that the only reason for constructing such a long and reinforced runway was so that it could be used by heavy military transport planes. The contractors, American and European companies, and the EEC, which provided partial funding, all claimed the airstrip did not have military capabilities.Reagan was worried that Cuba – under the direction of the Soviet Union – would use Grenada as a refueling stop for Cuban and Soviet airplanes loaded with weapons destined for Central American communist insurgents.

On October 25 combined forces from the United States and from the Regional Security System (RSS) based in Barbados invaded Grenada in an operation codenamed Operation Urgent Fury. The U.S. stated this was done at the behest of Dame Eugenia Charles, of Dominica. While the Governor-General, Sir Paul Scoon, later stated that he had also requested the invasion, it was highly criticised by head of state HM Queen Elizabeth II and the governments of Britain, Trinidad and Tobago and Canada. The United Nations General Assemblycondemned it as "a flagrant violation of international law" by a vote of 108 in favor to 9, with 27 abstentions. The United Nations Security Council considered a similar resolution, which failed to pass when vetoed by the United States.

After the invasion of the island nation, the pre-revolutionary Grenadian constitution came into operation once again.

Eighteen members of the PRG and the PRA (army) were arrested after the invasion on charges related to the murder of Maurice Bishop and seven others. The eighteen included the top political leadership of Grenada at the time of the execution as well as the entire military chain of command directly responsible for the operation that led to the executions. Fourteen were sentenced to death, one was found not guilty and three were sentenced to forty-five years in prison. The death sentences were eventually commuted to terms of imprisonment. Those in prison have become known as the Grenada 17.

Grenada since 1983:

When US troops withdrew from Grenada in December 1983 Nicholas Brathwaite of the National Democratic Congress was appointed Prime Minister of an interim administration by the Governor General Sir Paul Scoon until elections could be organized. The first democratic elections since 1976 were held in December 1984 and were won by the Grenada National Party under Herbert Blaize who served as Prime Minister until his death in December 1989.

Ben Jones succeeded Blaize as Prime Minister and served until the March 1990 election, which was won by the National Democratic Congress under Nicholas Brathwaite who returned as Prime Minister for a second time until he resigned in February 1995. He was succeeded as Prime Minister by George Brizan who served until the June 1995 election which was won by the New National Party under Keith Mitchell who went on to win the 1999 and 2003 elections and served as Prime Minister for a record 13 years until 2008.

In 2000–2002, much of the controversy of the late 1970s and early 1980s was once again brought into the public consciousness with the opening of the truth and reconciliation commission. The commission was chaired by a Roman Catholic priest, Father Mark Haynes, and was tasked with uncovering injustices arising from the PRA, Bishop’s regime, and before. It held a number of hearings around the country. Brother Robert Fanovich, head of Presentation Brothers’ College (PBC) in St. George’s tasked some of his senior students with conducting a research project into the era and specifically into the fact that Maurice Bishop’s body was never discovered. See Maurice Paterson's book, published before this event, called Big Sky Little Bullet. Paterson also uncovered that there was still a lot of resentment in Grenadian society resulting from the era, and a feeling that there were many injustices still unaddressed.

In 2004, after being hurricane-free for forty-nine years, the island was directly hit by Hurricane Ivan (September 7).

Ivan struck as a Category 3 hurricane and caused 90 percent of the homes to be damaged or destroyed. The following year, 2005, Hurricane Emily (July 14), a Category 1 hurricane at the time, struck the northern part of the island with 80-knot (150 km/h; 92 mph) winds, causing an estimated USD $110 million (EC$ 297 million) worth of damage.

This was much less damage than Ivan had caused. Grenada recovered due to both domestic labor and financing from the world at large, and the work done by the New National Party Administration of Dr. Keith Mitchell and his team. By December 2005, 96% of all hotel rooms were to be open for business and to have been upgraded in facilities and strengthened to an improved building code. The agricultural industry and in particular the nutmeg industry suffered serious losses, but that event has begun changes in crop management and it is hoped that as new nutmeg trees gradually mature, the industry will return to its pre-Ivan position as a major supplier in the Western world.

In April 2007, Grenada jointly hosted (along with several other Caribbean nations) the 2007 Cricket World Cup. The island's then Prime Minister was at the time CARICOM Representative on cricket and was instrumental in having the World Cup Games brought to the region. After Hurricane Ivan, the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) paid for the new $40 million national stadium, and provided the aid of over 300 laborers to build and repair it.

During the opening ceremony, the anthem of the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) was accidentally played instead of the PRC's anthem, leading to the firing of top officials.

The 2008 election was won by the National Democratic Congress under Tillman Thomas.

AIDS Awareness Day U.S. - F e b 0 7

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day was founded by five national organizations funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1999 to provide capacity building assistance to Black communities and organizations. The initiative begin in 2000 with these five key organizations: Concerned Black Men, Inc. of Philadelphia; Health Watch Information and Promotion Services, Inc.; Jackson State University - Mississippi Urban Research Center; National Black Alcoholism and Addictions Council; and National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS. National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day has been and always will be a grass roots effort, that is shaped around the needs of those communities that work hard each and every year to make it a success. Each year, almost 20,000 Blacks in the United States test positive for HIV, that is an alarming amount if you multiply it times the last five years alone - that's 100,000 Blacks who are now living with HIV or may have died from AIDS related complications. It's time for us to do something different that inspires young and old, gay and straight, religious and non-religious, etc. to get on board with realizing the value and worth of Black life and acting accordingly.

February 7, 2012 marks the 12th year for National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a national HIV testing and treatment community mobilization initiative targeted at Blacks in the United States and the Diaspora. There are four specific focal points: education, testing, involvement, and treatment. Educationally, the focus is to get Blacks educated about the basics of HIV/AIDS in their local communities. Testing is at the core of this initiative, as it is hoped that Blacks will mark February 7th of every year as their annual or biannual day to get tested for HIV. This is vital for those who are sexually active and those at high risk of contracting HIV. When it comes to community and organization leadership, getting Blacks involved to serve is another key focus. We need Black People from all walks of life, economic classes, literacy levels, shades and tones as well as communities (large and small) to get connected to the work happening on the ground in their local areas. And lastly, for those living with HIV or newly testing positive for the virus, getting them connected to treatment and care services becomes paramount. We have learned that you can't lead Black people towards HIV/AIDS education, prevention, testing, leadership or treatment unless you love them. And, we can't save Black people from an epidemic unless we serve Black people.

Regardless of where we stand on sexual orientation, religious beliefs/values, age, income, education or otherwise; Black Life is worth saving and working for the betterment of our survival has to become our paramount objective and goal. "I believe the things that are wrong with Black communities, can be fixed by those things that are right with Black communities." says, LaMont "Montee" Evans, NBHAAD Annual Chairperson.

For 2012, the structure and dynamics of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day was shattered as the support and resources dwindled causing many organizations to reconsider their commitment and ability to manage and direct the initiative as in the past. So, Healthy Black Communities, Inc. with its experience in overseeing the initiative and serving as the lead opted to incorporate it into its organization structure and continue mobilizing Black communities around HIV/AIDS. In addition, the organization is rebuilding the structure to develop a national planning body, regional planning bodies and local planning groups to assist with reigniting the fire within Black community stakeholders to make it a success.

Healthy Black Communities (HBC) will continue to serve as the lead organization, responsible for overseeing the initiative and coordinating communication via email, and regular mail; HBC develops the imagery of the initiative annually; designs and maintains the website; and ensures that orders and registrations are received and processed accordingly. HBC has been in this role since 2006 and CEO Evans led the initiative while serving as Executive Director of Concerned Black Men, Inc. of Philadelphia. February 7, 2012 will make the ninth year CEO Evans has overseen NBHAAD either overall or through national partnership.

This initiative has had an array of national spokespersons: congressional leaders, faith based leaders, entertainers, actors, actresses, authors, radio personalities, and the list goes on and on. Some of the most notable spokespersons have been: President Barack Obama during his term in the Illinois Senate, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Bishop TD Jakes, Radio Personality Tom Joyner, former NAACP President and CEO Kwesi Mfume, Congressman Elijah Cummings, Actor/Author Harper Hill, Screenwriter Patrik Ian Polk, and the list goes on.

We are now asking those who are concerned about HIV/AIDS in the Black community to step up and become a leader, a spokesperson, a local community organizer and help us raise the awareness of HIV/AIDS in Black communities, both domestically and internationally. Together, we can ensure that future generations will not have to bury as many or watch as many struggle with this epidemic.

Youth Day - Feb 08 Congo (Republic of)

Republic of Congo, or simply the Congo, celebrates Youth Day every 8th of February each year. The Youth Day is celebrated to recognize the role of the youth in nation building and serves as a reminder for the government in their responsibility to securing the safety of children and in making sure that their rights are not violated.

Republic of Congo’s Youth Day also helps build awareness on the cultural and legal issues surrounding the youth particularly within the region.

Photo: Mária Krasznai-Nehrebeczky (Online 30 Jan) Never again can it happen that somebody is excluded, deprived of all properties and murdered because of his or her religion or descent. Never again can it occur that the thousand-year-old Hungarian state cannot protect its citizens – Csaba Hende said at a commemoration held on the occasion of the Holocaust Remembrance Day in Uránia National Cinema.

Speaking at the event organized by the “March of the Living” Foundation, the Minister of Defence stressed that it must be understood what the nation and Europe lost with “our Jewish compatriots”, and what a shame it is that “we were not able to protect them”. That is why we must remember the Holocaust, this great European tragedy, part of which “belongs to us, Hungarians”, he said. This commemoration also shows that “we have the courage to face our history”, and to get to know and learn the lesson that “it teaches us”, the Minister added.

Csaba Hende pointed out that we must get acquainted with the life of the Jews, who “lived with us”, having been part of the life of the nation, and fought for the Hungarian homeland in the wars. Besides the victims,

we have to remember the murderers as well, whose deeds remain forever inexcusable, and the heroes who remained human even in the hardest times, the Minister said. He stressed that the government does its best to make sure that tragedies like the Holocaust can never happen again.

For this reason, it set up a memorial committee on the anniversary of the deportations.

Ilan Mor, Israel’s ambassador to Budapest emphasized that we must remember and remind because soon there will not be any living witnesses who could tell us about the Holocaust, which is needed as there are some who have forgotten the horrors while others do not even know what happened. We have to warn people that anti-Semitism is still alive and keeps spreading in the 21st century too, he added. He reminded his audience that the United Nations took a historic step by declaring January 27 a remembrance day upon Israel’s proposal, so that every year the world can remember the tragedy that struck the Jewish people, the six million victims who were murdered out of hatred on the basis of a racist ideology, and those who survived the horrors but cannot blot out their ter-

rible memories to the present day.

At the end of the commemoration, among others Csaba Hende, Gusztáv Zoltai, the managing director of the Association of Hungarian Jewish Religious Communities and the Budapest Jewish Community (MAZSIHISZ-BZSH) as well as film director and cameraman Lajos Koltai lit candles to pay tribute to the victims. Several members of the diplomatic corps were present at the event.

During the commemoration the song entitled “Rosenberg Dani” by composer Tamás Pajor was premiered.

This song tells the story of a friendship between a Hungarian and a Jewish boy and the Hungarian boy’s self-sacrifice for his Jewish friend.

Lajos Koltai directed the pictorial accompaniment to the song by using the film “Fateless”. Among others, the performers of the song included Zsuzsa Koncz, Ferenc Demjén, János Bródy, Tamás Somló and László “Cipő” Bódi.

In 2005, the United Nations designated January 27 as the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. January 27 is the anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps in Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Hungary’s defence sector has received a favorable international placing (Online 30 Jan) Corruption risks are moderate in Hungary’s defence sector – this is the result of a survey conducted by the London office of Transparency International, which was published after the analysis of the armed forces in 82 countries.

Only nine countries are placed higher than Hungary in the Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index, and our country is in the moderate band together with other 16 nations.

The survey is based on the detailed analysis of 77 different criteria which cover the policy, finance, personnel and operation of the defence sector as well as defence procurements.

Together with the Czech Republic, France, Japan, Poland and Latvia among others, Hungary was placed in Band C (“moderate risk”).

The analysis points out that Hungary’s placing is due to the relatively extensive control. For example, the Parliament’s Defence and Internal Security Committee “has formal powers of scrutiny of defence policy”, and professional public consultations are characteristic of the sector as well. The budget of the Hungarian Defence Forces is part of the country’s budget, which means that Hungary’s defence spending is transparent. The analysis also high-

lights the fact that the new defence policy has been subject to public consultation, and debate on the sector has involved academics and think-tanks.

The London office of Transparency International analyzed a total of 82 countries. Based on the corruption risk level, the defence corruption index places countries in seven bands ranging from A (very low risk) to F (critical risk). This result was calculated on the basis of the chances of the actual occurrence of corruption and the frequency of the citizens’ facing it.

Negotiations have started on handover of Hungarian camp

Photo: Attila Kovács, MTI (Online 01 Feb) In public Kossuth Radio's morning show “180 minutes”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán spoke about the purchase of E.ON’s gas business in Hungary, the latest developments in the IMF talks as well as his meeting with the President of the European Commission. The new Governor of the National Bank and the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Moscow were also discussed.

The Prime Minister noted that Hungary had purchased E.ON’s gas business in Hungary for well under the maximum price set previously by the Government. The Hungarian Electricity Works (MVM) reached an agreement with E.ON on Thursday and only technical details remain to be worked out before the contract is signed. The acquisition includes four gas storage facilities as well as Hungary’s contract for gas deliveries from Russia. Viktor Orbán highlighted that in such a significant issue with regard to the Hungarian economy, a Hungarian stakeholder is necessary. Thanks to the agreement, the Government will

have the opportunity to further reduce utility prices; the cabinet is aiming to bring them down to at least the European average.

Commenting on developments in IMF talks, Viktor Orbán said that Hungary had asked for an as yet unapproved flexible credit line, not a loan. He indicated, however, that negotiations are not over yet as Hungary is still awaiting a final decision from the IMF with regard to receiving the safety net. The prospects of Hungary receiving a flexible credit-line are good, as the country’s financial situation has improved significantly over the past year. He mentioned that last year Hungary had been able to pay off its earlier debts without taking on further loans, adding that the quantity of Hungarian government securities held by Hungarians had almost doubled.

In response to questions about the next head of the National Bank, the Prime Minister stressed that in providing public services, certain rules must be complied with, and accordingly, the next Governor shall certainly not

be involved in offshore businesses.

He added that as he does not want to expose Hungary to speculation, he is planning to nominate the new leader of the Central Bank just one day prior to the deadline.

Asked about the negotiations held with President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso in Brussels, the Prime Minister said that disputed issues have been reviewed and Hungary’s economic situation, which according to the Prime Minister does not justify the EU maintaining an excessive deficit procedure against the country, was also evaluated.

Speaking about his recent visit to Moscow, Viktor Orbán said that Hungary is part of the Western alliance but also has a vital interest in maintaining the best possible relations with Russia. Regarding energy cooperation, he noted that Hungary would like to achieve energy independence as well as maintain security of supply with the help of Russia.

Unemployment up in the EU but trend continues down in Hungary (Online 01 Feb) The euro-zone unemployment data for December 2012 published by the Eurostat were more favourable at 11.7 percent than the consensus estimate of Reuter’s analysts (11.9 percent). As of June 2010 the unemployment rate in Hungary has declined -- albeit slowly but steadily -- altogether by 0.4 percent, whereas the corresponding EU rate which was initially lower has continued to rise.

The unemployment rate for the EU 27 (10.7 percent) almost reached the

Hungarian figure, and that of the euro-zone already exceeded it at the beginning of 2012 and it is currently almost 1 percentage point higher.

With regard to data of the region it can be concluded that the unemployment rate in Hungary has been steadily declining, whereas in the other countries the number of unemployed has been on the rise. With the exception of the Czech Republic (7.4 percent) and Poland (10.6 percent) unemployment indicators are all higher than in Hungary (10.9 percent

in October 2012). In the past couple of months an unambiguous upward trend can be observed in Poland and it has only a narrow gap of some tenths of a percentage point with the gradually declining Hungarian rate.

In the region the unemployment rate is the highest in Slovakia (14.5 percent) which is 3.6 percentage points higher than the Hungarian figure; the Bulgarian rate is 1.5 percentage points more than the Hungarian and that of Poland is almost on a par with it.

The 60 percent of EU funds to be spent on economic development (Online 01 Feb) In the 2014-2020 fiscal period of the European Union Hungary will allocate the 60 percent of EU resources to stimulating growth and the development of the economy, according to the decision of the Government of Hungary. In the fiscal period ending in 2013 only the 16 percent of EU funds were utilized for this goal, said Minister of State at the Ministry for National Economy Zoltán Cséfalvay at a Budapest conference organized by the Hungarian Economic Association on Thursday.

Zoltán Cséfalvay said, the Government intends to spend the remaining 40 percent on development projects related to human resources, environmental protection and energy efficiency.

He added that the Government also made the decision to entrust the relevant ministries with the management of operative programmes as of 2014, and thus strategies, relevant policies and execution will be more optimally coordinated.

The concrete amounts of funds for individual development projects cannot be defined yet, the EU heads of state

and prime ministers are about to decide on these soon.

The EU has identified five key objectives for the countries receiving development funds with regard to the next EU fiscal period, he said. Among these he mentioned that by 2020 the 2 percent of EU GDP shall be invested in research and development (R&D) and the rate of employment shall reach 75 percent among those aged 20-64 years. Substantial measures shall be implemented in the field of climate protection, such as, for example, increasing to 20 percent the share of renewable energies by 2020, energy efficiency shall be improved by 20 percent and greenhouse gas emissions shall be cut by 20 percent compared to the levels of the 1990s.

The Minister of State also added that by 2020 the school drop-out rate shall be reduced to below 10 percent and it has to be achieved that at least the 40 percent of people aged 30-34 years shall have tertiary education attainment. In addition, poverty and social exclusion shall be combated and it has to be achieved that the number

of those living in extreme poverty shall decrease by 20 million by the end of the fiscal period.

In accordance with the five key priorities, said Zoltán Cséfalvay, Hungary undertook to increase the share of R&D spending as of GDP from 1.2 percent in 2011 to 1.8 percent, up the rate of employment from 60.7 percent last year to 75 percent by 2020 and boost the share of those with tertiary education attainment from 28.1 percent last year to 30.3 percent. Speaking of the latter topic the Minister of State underlined that the Government intends to cut the number of schooldropouts to 10 percent from 11.2 percent in 2011 and reduce the number of those living in poverty by 5 percent.

He also added that Hungary wants to increase the share of renewable energies from 8.79 percent last year to 14.65 percent by 2020.

The ultimate goal for the Government is that Hungary shall have sustainable economic growth which is based on production of high added value and which can add new jobs in the coming EU fiscal period, he concluded.

Government decides on establishment of Roma Affairs Council (photo: MH PRT) (Online 28 Jan) The official negotiations on handing over Camp Pannonia in Pol-e Khomri, Afghanistan have started on January 23. “We have reached another stage in handing over responsibility for security, which is nothing else but the fourth phase of transition”, Commander Col. Antal Sipos stressed at the press conference.At the negotiation, Hungary was represented by a committee led by Col. Antal Sipos, the commander of the 13th rotation of the HDF Provincial Reconstruction Team (HUN PRT-13) as well as by Dr. József Nyerki, the ambassador of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On the Afghan side, a nine-member body led by Said Basir Ahmad, the president of Baghlan Province Audit Office was present, which included several high-ranking office heads.

During the two-hour negotiation the

partners discussed the tasks related to the handover of the camp, which is due in the spring of 2013. They reached an agreement on maintaining regular contact and on the details of cooperation. After the overview of several items on the agenda, they made a tour of the camp.

At 2:30 p.m. local time, a press conference was held in the PRT camp, at which Col. Antal Sipos announced three important events to the representatives of the local media. He told them that the HUN PRT would hand over its tasks related to the security and development of Baghlan Province to the provincial government and the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) stationed in the province. “We have reached another stage in handing over responsibility for security, which is nothing else but the fourth phase of transition”, the

commander stressed.

Antal Sipos added that “of course, on finishing our job here we must take care of the fate of the camp too, so you are the ones who will make a decision about it, which I will respect.

I have started negotiations with the designated committee in the province. The people of Andarab Valley submitted a request to the PRT for building two bridges in the valley; we naturally supported it, and have implemented it together with the US CERP CAT team”, the commander of the PRT stressed among other things.

“I would like to take this opportunity to hand over the just mentioned bridges to Mr. Abdul Kadim, the deputy governor of the province”, Col. Antal Sipos added.

H unga r y c onde m ns the s uic ide bom bing in A nk a r a (Online 02 Feb) Hungary condemns in the strongest possible terms the suicide bombing perpetrated against the Embassy of the Unites States in Ankara, Turkey, on February 1,

2013, and wishes to extend its condolences to the innocent victims and their families.

Nothing can justify arbitrary violence and acts of terror. Hungary supports

by all democratic means the fight against terrorism and stands with is allies, the United States and Turkey.

D e put y Pr im e M inis t e r c om ple t e s v is it t o Is r a e l a nd Pa le s t ine (Online 01 Feb) Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén paid his respects to the memories of to Raoul Wallenberg and the Hungarian victims of the Holocaust at Israel's official memorial to the Holocaust on Friday.

The Deputy Prime Minister laid a wreath in the name of the Hungarian Government at the Yad Vashem memorial, where he also viewed documentation on former Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. The gesture marked the end of Deputy Prime Minister Semjén's official visit to the Middle East.

In addition to developments in world politics, the spiritual background of the Holy Land is also of great importance, said the Deputy Prime Minister in a telephone interview, adding that his meetings with religious leaders in both Israel and Palestinian Authority territory reflected this significance.

"Historically, there have been direct links between Hungary and the Holy Land since the time of St. Stephen…

Many Hungarian pilgrims still arrive each year, and this is also a reason why relations should be in order and Hungarians may receive a warm welcome everywhere", the Deputy Prime Minister told Hungarian news agency MTI. On Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister

Semjén was received by Palestinian Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church Fouad Twal, Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem Theophilos III, and the recently elected 97th Armenian Apostolic Patriarch of Jerusalem Nurhan Manougian.

During his meeting with Yona Metzger, Deputy Prime Minister Semjén invited the Chief Rabbi of Israel to visit Hungary, "which the Chief Rabbi gladly accepted".

In Bethlehem, the Deputy Prime Minister held talks with Ziad Al-Bandak, Advisor on Christian Affairs to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is also Ministerial Commissioner for the renovation of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Hungary was the first to contribute to the renovation of the temple complex, with construction beginning after other countries had also joined the project. "After one-thousand fivehundred years, it's time for some repairs, and this is the subject of our discussions. We would like to enable Hungarian craftsmen to take par tin the renovation work", the Deputy Prime Minister said.

While in Bethlehem, Deputy Prime Minister Semjén also presented awards to the Honorary Consul to Bethlehem Dr. Nassar Khamis, who

played an important role in developing Hungarian-Palestinian relations and completed his university studies in Hungary decades ago, to Hania Souda Sabbara, the Conductor and Director of the Magnificat Choir in Jerusalem, which maintains close relations with the Saint Angela Choir in Budapest, and to the Franciscan priest Armando Pierucci, founder and current chairman of the institute.

With relation to Hungarian-Palestinian relations, the Deputy Prime Minister acknowledged twinning of Bethlehem with the Hungarian city of Kalocsa, the gifts from Kalocsa that are offered to charity during Bethlehem's Christmas Fair, and the joint charity drives that the two settlements regularly organise.

Speaking to MTI, Deputy Prime Minister Semjén declared Hungary's pursuit of balance between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. "Perhaps the word balance best describes the Hungary's political standpoint that we also represent within the European Union. In our opinion, Palestine has the right to its own state, while Israel has the right to full security. The parties must reach a consensus through negotiations, to which Hungary shall provide assistance to the best of its abilities", he sated.

Hungary to export mineral water to Saudi Arabia (Online 01 Feb) Hungarian mineral water producer Szentkirályi is to begin exporting its products to Saudi Arabia; an agreement was signed in Budapest on Thursday by Export-Import Manager of Szentkirályi Mineral Water Ltd. Tamás Tóth and a Saudi partner company.

Gyuda Budai, the Ministry of Rural Development's Parliamentary State Secretary, was also present at the signing of the agreement, stating that the Government strengthened its ties to Saudi Arabia in 2011, in the spirit of its "opening towards the East" policy. A delegation of Hungarian businessmen lead by the Prime Minister, including the Owner of Szentkirályi, Levente Balogh, travelled to Riyadh in October 2011.

After continued negotiations, this is the first cooperation agreement successfully concluded as a direct result of that business meeting, he added.

Tamás Tóth explained that Saudi Arabia is a 23 million strong market, and the first consignment of ten containers – 134 thousand litres – would be shipped to the Near East in March, hopefully followed by several times that amount.

Gyula Budai told reporters that the agreement was an important milestone in the Hungarian Government's policy of opening towards the East, the most important message of which is that in addition to European Union markets, Hungarian products are also entering the markets of countries which have been good partners to Hungary in the past.

Saudi relations were rekindled with great enthusiasm in 2011, the State Secretary stressed, adding that kashkaval cheese is very popular in Saudi Arabia, with imports from Hungary increasing by 20 percent in 2011 compared to the previous year.

Tamás Tóth also emphasised the importance of the Riyadh business meeting in 2011 in relation to the conclusion of the new agreement.

He also told the press that the company is already present on several Near Eastern markets including Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia will be the 45th country to which the mineral water and related products will be exported. he company has recently begun exporting its products to the island of Saint Martin and

Panama, he added.

The company plans to ship 1 million litres of natural spring water to the Near East, including Saudi Arabia.

Tamás Tóth explained that the majority of people in the Arab nations drink purified, desalinated sea water, and this ratio is around 70 percent in Saudi Arabia. However, premium quality mineral waters from Europe are gaining extensive ground.

Representing the Saudi partner, Hyatt Ettaghy said that Hungary was full of natural treasures; his company had spoken with several enterprises in several countries and Szentkirályi was the most suited to their requirements.

According to the press materials published for the event, Szentkirályi's capacity will reach 500 million litres per year in 2013, thanks to continuous investment and development. The majority of turnover is generated within Hungary, but exports as also increasing continuously; the company exported twice as much mineral water in 2012 as it had in 2011. Szentkirályi increased its revenue by 13 percent to HUF 6.05 billion in 2011.

(Online 01 Feb) At a meeting on 29 January, the Government decided on the establishment of a Roma Affairs Council, bringing the issue of social inclusion to a higher level. The main tasks of the Council will be the elaboration of proposals regarding social inclusion and Roma affairs policy strategy, and the monitoring of implementation.

The establishment of the Roma Affairs Council makes it possible to review the realisation of the implementation of previously introduced measures at the highest level of the government structure and with the involvement of the ministers and operators involved if required, within the framework of direct feedback, and

to determine the further measures that may be required to facilitate the inclusion of Roma people.

The Council will make recommendations to the Government regarding social inclusion policy and Roma affairs policy, will closely monitor the realisation of the goals determined in the framework agreement concluded between the Government and the National Roma Self-Government, and will review and provide its opinion on the reports prepared by the ministers involved in the realisation of the framework agreement and by the National Roma Self-Government.

The Chairman of the Council shall be the Prime Minister, the Co-President shall be the President of the National

Roma Self-Government, and the further members of the Council shall be the Minister of Human Resources, the Interior Minister, the Minister of National Economy and the State Secretary in charge of the Prime Minister's Office. The Council will hold sessions on at least a quarterly basis.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also held talks with the leaders of the National Roma Self-Government during the course of the series of consultations he began on 16 June, 2012. Following the meeting, the Prime Minister announced his intent to establish a body to discuss Roma issues at the highest level of government.

Hungary excels in globalization ranking (Online 31 Jan) Ernst&Young published its annual report on globalization last week which included its Globalization Index 2012 for the 60 largest economies of the world. The index analyzes the drivers of globalization on the basis of five sub-indices: openness to trade, capital movements, exchange of technology

and ideas, labour movements and cultural integration.

The Globalization Index gauges the openness of countries by 23 various indicators. For determining scores of the categories its qualitative sub indicators (information based on surveying company chief executives – soft data) and quantitative sub indicators

(information from international databases – hard data) were weighted differently. For the calculation of final scores the weighting of individual pillars also varied. Thus, the main index is basically composed of 5 sub-indices which are made up by indicators.

Vik t or Or bá n m e t with the Pr e s ide nt of t he Eur ope a n C om m is s ion (Online 30 Jan) Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso on Wednesday in Brussels.

After the meeting, the Hungarian Prime Minister stated that for Hungary it is a moral issue, rather than a political or economic one, that the excessive deficit procedure launched against the country since it joined the EU is ended.

He pointed out that Hungary's budget deficit was below the 3% target both in 2011 and 2012 and will remain so in 2013, adding that "Hungary and the Hungarians have done everything to see that the excessive deficit procedure against the country is lifted".

Hungary has been under excessive deficit proceedings since 2004 the Prime Minister reminded, adding that he hoped that "if the evidence proves convincing", the excessive deficit procedure against Hungary would be lifted in 2013.

"We would like to free ourselves from the past and its shadow. We wish to re-join the company of reliable, predictable and respected countries also when it comes to budget management", he emphasised.

Prime Minister Orbán also spoke of the fact that he supports closer economic cooperation and coordination, because in his view this is the only way to combat the crisis within the Eurozone. He also announced that in March, Hungary would be publishing the schedule which would take the country closer to certain elements of the plan for a banking union.

At the press conference in Brussels, Prime Minister Orbán emphasised that Hungary would not just like to manage the crisis, but is also preparing for the period following the crisis.

He reiterated that life for the Hungarian people during the past three years had not been difficult because of austerity measures, but because the Government was working on the total reorganisation and renewal of the country.

In reply to questions from members of the Hungarian press with relation to the state of negotiations with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Prime Minister said that the negotiations had been going on for some time, all parties knew everything about the others and there were no circumstances that required further clarification. Hungary is capable of financing itself from the market and would have liked to acquire a so-called flexible credit line from the IMF, which would have served as a safety net, but which it

has not yet received. "We require nothing more. We don't need a loan", the Prime Minister stressed. The standpoints have not converged, but until the EU and the IMF reject Hungary's request, it will remain valid, he added.

The Prime Minister told reporters that a year ago they had agreed with the President of the Commission that they would try to resolve the issues that were causing conflict between Hungary and the Commission within a year. These sources of conflict included reservations with regard to the independence of the national bank, and objections from Brussels relating to the retirement of judges and the restructuring of the office of the data protection ombudsman. In the opinion of Prime Minister Orbán, there were issues, such as that of the Central Bank, which were successfully resolved relatively quickly, and there were others with regard to which Hungary was determined to defend its standpoint and therefore left the decision to the European Commission. He noted that this is "the European way to resolve differences of opinion".

Prime Minister Orbán stated that he was unable to bring Hungary’s position closer to the Commission’s in every case, referring to the fact that in November the European Commission had decided that the law on the retirement of judges was discriminatory.

After one year it may be stated however that one way or another, through agreement, court proceedings or via decisions, every conflicting issue had been or could be resolved, the Prime minister added.

Prime Minister Orbán also reassured José Manuel Barroso that the Hungarian people have a European consciousness, identity and commitment, and that the Hungarians' only request is that they receive fair treatment.

The Prime Minister also held a lecture at Brussels-based think tank The Bruegel Institute, where he stated that Hungary has become a European success story and fair treatment dictates that the country should be abrogated from the excessive deficit procedure. Please see the full speech here.

The presentation was followed by a Q&A session during which the Prime Minister answered questions and comments regarding the welfare state system, the European banking union, the independence and new governor of the National Bank of Hungary and the economic importance of Central Europe.

In connection with welfare services,

he explained that too many people are dependent on entitlements, pointing out that the Central European approach needs to be changed in a way that people’s understanding of existence shifts from outside support that is taken for granted to merits and results. He concluded that the future lies in a labour-based society, a socalled workfare state.

With regard to the banking union, the Prime Minister stated that Hungary considers it a joint institution that will be required in future. He added that because of the common currency, eurozone states have limited freedom to work out a fiscal position and the union is not avoidable for them, whereas states outside the eurozone have wider space to create a proper mixture of economic policies. Hungary’s attitude is positive about joining the system of central banking supervision, but its possibilities and entitlements need to be considered.

He also said that he regards Hungary as a success story. We have to acknowledge the risks ahead of us, but at the same time, we have the capacity and resources to find the right solution to avoid them.

He highlighted that during his first premiership, the country's public debt was reduced to 53 per cent of GDP. Coming back to power in 2010, it was 85 per cent and now it is decreasing again year by year. Taking his two terms into account, he concluded that the Government was able to lower both public debt and the budget deficit for seven consecutive years. This is another reason why the excessive deficit procedure should be lifted.

The independence of the national bank was also a subject of discussion. First, Viktor Orbán underlined that the independence of the national bank is untouchable and the Government respects the Constitution and the Hungarian legal system which declare the independence of the bank.

Nevertheless, a new President has to be nominated when the present governor’s mandate expires.

The Prime Minister, with the intent of defending Hungarian interests, will propose the next governor of the central bank just one day prior to the deadline in order to avoid debate about the candidate.

Finally, Viktor Orbán emphasized the importance of Central Europe within the European Union, stating that the eurozone cannot survive without incorporating the potential Central European countries bear with them.

The Roundtable on higher education established

H u n g a r y, R u s s i a s i g n a c c o r d on energy cooperation

History The never ending strife in all African regions urged the

United Nations and other concerned youth organizations and governments across Africa to form Youth’s Day to create a Youth Day for each African country with hopes of sensitizing each government to prioritize the protection of the youth against slavery, discrimination, and violence. The Congo’s Youth day also supports the youth’s continued education and to engage them in decision making in hopes of building a better youth that will lead the future African generation.

The empowerment of the youth within the African continent is a battle cry among concerned youth and youth organizations across Africa. Republic of Congo’s Youth Day is used to reflect on the nation’s progress in providing the youth the necessary aid they need to empower themselves and help them become an active contributor to peace and progress in the country.

Traditions, customs and activities The celebration of Youth Day in Republic of Congo is similar to how other nations celebrate Youth Day. State-spon-

sored concerts, cultural events, and workshops take place around Republic of Congo’s capital. Small cities and communities around the country with the participation of private and public agencies and youth organizations and individuals conduct concerts, games and other exciting activities in support of the holiday.

Other youth organizations also conducts various social and community services such as cleaning the city streets, conducting education and awareness campaign on certain social and environmental issues affecting the youth and other valuable social voluntary work.

Photo: Károly Árvai

Prešeren's Day (Culture Day) Slovenia - Feb 08

The Prešeren Day, the full name being Prešeren Day, the Slovene Cultural Holiday (Slovene: Prešernov dan, slovenski kulturni praznik), is a public holiday celebrated in Slovenia on 8 February. It is marking the anniversary of the death of the Slovene national poet France Prešeren on 8 February 1849 and is the celebration of the Slovenian culture. It was established in 1945 to raise the cultural consciousness and the self-confidence of the Slovene nation, and declared a work-free day in 1991. On February 7, the eve of the holiday, the Prešeren Awards and the Prešeren Fund Awards, the highest Slovenian recognitions for cultural achievements, are conferred. Prešeren Day continues to be one of the most widely celebrated Slovene holidays. It is not only celebrated in Slovenia, but by the Slovene communities all around the world.

Photo: Szilárd Koszticsák , MTI

History

The anniversary of Prešeren's death first became a prominent date during World War II in 1941, when 7 February was celebrated as the day of all-Slavic unity. The proposal to celebrate 8 February as the Slovene cultural holiday was put forward in January 1945, duringWorld War II, in Črnomelj by the Slovene Liberation Front's cultural worker Bogomil Gerlanc. It was officially proclaimed a cultural holiday with a decree passed by the Presidency of the Slovene National Liberation Council on 28 January 1945 and published in the Slovenski poročevalec newspaper on 1 February 1945. It remained a public holiday during the era of the Socialist Republic of Sloveniawithin the SFR Yugoslavia and was celebrated also by the Carinthian Slovenes and the Slovenes in Italy. It was marked with many cultural festivals and remembrances and with school excursions to culturally significant institutions.

The declaration of the Prešeren Day as a work-free day in 1991 was opposed by many, claiming it would bring the banalisation of a holiday designed to be dedicated to cultural events. As a result, 3 December, the anniversary of the poet's birth, has also become widely celebrated as an alternative holiday. Today both days are almost equally celebrated, with no antagonism between the two, although only Prešeren Day in February is officially recognized as a national holiday. Since it became a work-free day, it has become even more highly valued.

Feast of St. Maron Lebanon - F e b 0 9

St. Maron is a public holiday in Lebanon.

Lebanon celebrate St. Maron’s Feast Day on every 9th of February each year. St. Maron led a spiritual movement in Syria and Lebanon which sprung a different branch of Catholicism which is now called The Maronite Catholic Church. St. Maron gained loyal supporters during his time and still enjoys followers until today.

History

Maron, or St. Maron is a Christian missionary who lived around 350 – 410 AD. He established a Christian movement where he converted most of non-Christians in Lebanon and encouraged them to discover the Christian faith.

He spent most of life doing missionary both to Christians and non-Christians of his time. He was known in his performance of healing rituals, miracles, and taught non-believers to follow an ascetic way of life. Because of this, he attracted many people to follow his footstep and from there he established what we now call Maronite Catholic Church.

It was believed that St. Maron stayed in a mountain in Syria in a place called “Kefar-Nabo” where the movement started. The spread of Christianity in Lebanon is accounted to the works of Abraham of Cyrrhus, one of St. Maron’s disciples which is now known as the “Apostle of Lebanon.” Abraham of Cyrrhus began converting people of Lebanon into Christianity when he started introducing the Maron’s way of life. Through this discipline, he had successfully converted a great number of people in the country to become catholic and subsequently follow Maron’s teachings.

St. Maron became popular when he converted a temple in the mountain in Syria into a Christian Church that then laid the foundation for the spread of Christianity to Lebanon. His death in 410 did not end St. Maron’s missionary work. Just like Jesus Christ, his followers carried on the values and teachings of St. Maron and continued his preaching until today. So far, the Maronite Catholic Church has produced more than 20 saints where three or four of them are women.

(Online 31 Jan) It is in Hungary's fundamental interest to pursue good relations and close cooperation with Russia, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said when he met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today.

The Prime Minister stressed Russia’s importance and apart from its economic power, he also praised the richness of Russian culture. He pointed out that Hungary has always regarded Russia as a great nation with a great future. Hungary therefore would like to encourage Russian investments as well as maintain bilateral cooperation on energy, and it relies on Russia’s “excellent professional credentials and world-ranking technology.” Viktor Orbán expressed his hope that Hungary will also be able to increase its exports

to Russia.

Hungary is unquestionably Russia’s priority partner in the Eastern European region, Vladimir Putin said, adding that bilateral relations are developing in a promising manner. According to the President, Russia is Hungary’s second most important trading partner after Germany: trade the two countries between amounted to 11 billion dollars in 2011. He also mentioned that over the past three years the volume of joint investments has eased, and so there is room for further cooperation in this field.

President Putin noted that Russia plays a leading role in supplying crude oil, natural gas and electricity to Hungary; and it also supplies nuclear heating materials for Hungary’s

sole nuclear plant in Paks. He also said Russian companies are ready to participate in Hungarian energy projects, such as renovating power plants and building new ones.

Putin was thankful to Hungary because it supported the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline project, the realisation of which will mean investments worth EUR 610 million to the Hungarian economy. In addition, transit fees will generate further revenues and gas supplies will improve as well.

Putin added that several Hungarian companies, mainly pharmaceutical firms, are performing very successfully on the Russian market.

The brief statements were followed by a plenary discussion in the Kremlin.

(Online 31 Jan) The roundtable on higher education has been established and will begin work in three workgroups, Minister of Human Resources Zoltán Balog announced at a press conference after the Roundtable's first session on Thursday.

Representatives of the Government, students and teachers in higher education, as well as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will discuss higher education financing and the rights and obligations of students, in addition to structural aspects of the system.

The Minister stated that the participants had agreed to set up three workgroups. The first is responsible for analysing current financing problems and preparing possible solutions, as well as agreeing on how to make use of an extra 47 billion forints

allocated to the system. The second group is to survey student contracts, while the third will focus on changes in the structure of higher education including the issues of admissions, institutional autonomy and the election of rectors.

The groups will meet next week, with another plenary session to follow in a fortnight, Minister Balog said, adding that possible legal amendments would be submitted to the Government and Parliament during its spring session.

The Minister pointed out that after initial differences on the composition of the Roundtable, the parties agreed that every participant should have the opportunity to contribute opinions from their own side. He added the parties are in unison about the necessity of transparency and efficiency

that regarding the system’s financing.

Speaking on behalf of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference (MRT), József Bódis welcomed the setting up of the Roundtable. He said he hoped the new forum would find "reassuring and sustainable" solutions to the financial problems of universities.

Dávid Kiss, a board member of student federation HÖOK, voiced support for an appeal by the trade union of higher education teachers (FDSZ) to be included in the roundtable.

László Parragh, head of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK), referred to the exceptionally high number of young, unemployed graduates in recent years, and welcomed that the need for changes based on social consensus has been recognised.

Yo u n g f a r m e r s c a n e x p e c t further support

Deputy PM Semjén meets new Armenian Patriarch (Online 31 Jan) Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén met with recently elected 97th Armenian Apostolic Patriarch of Jerusalem Nurhan Manougian during his visit to Jerusalem on Thursday. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the fact that he was the first secular foreign dignitary to be received by the Patriarch since his election on January 24 is a notable gesture.

The parties discussed ArmenianHungarian relations and the background behind the extradition of convicted murderer Ramil Safarov.

Following the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Semjén told Hungarian news agency MTI by telephone

that he had informed the Armenian Apostolic Patriarch that Hungary always extradites people in similar cases, and the Azerbaijan party had made assurances that Safarov would serve his prison sentence. He stressed that Hungary would like to settle its relationship with Armenia and the Armenian people.

According to Deputy Prime Minister’s statement, the Patriarch said that "what's done is done", adding that the historically excellent relationship between Hungary and Armenia must be further developed in a positive direction.

Deputy Prime Minister Semjén began a four-day official visit to Is-

rael and Bethlehem, in Palestine Authority territory, on Wednesday. He will meet with Chief Rabbi of Israel Yona Metzger, visit the Yad Vashem Museum and lay a wreath at the memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.

In Jerusalem, he will meet with Palestinian Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church Fouad Twal and Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem Theophilos III. In Bethlehem, Zsolt Semjén will meet with local and national Palestinian leaders and will be presenting state awards to individuals who have achieved outstanding merit in bilateral relations.

Sándor Fazekas meets U.S. Ambassador

Traditions, customs and activities

During the holiday, government establishments are closed and only few private establishments are open as a sign of observance to this special day. Maronites celebrate The Feast of St. Maron in their respective churches with special luncheon services and various entertainment activities. During luncheon, traditional Lebanese food such as Tabbouleh, Kibbe Nayye, and salad with various are served but food are not limited the ones stated.

Photo: Gergely Botár (Online 30 Jan) The Minister received United States Ambassador to Hungary Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis at the Ministry of Rural Development. During their meeting, Sándor Fazekas and his team of experts briefed the Ambassador Kounalakis on the country's National Rural Development Strategy and presented the agriculture ministry's plans for the future.

In addition to the proposal for new legislation on the regulation of land purchasing following 2014, the Ambassador was also made aware of the main directions determined by

the National Rural development Strategy, to which the Ministry of Rural Development wishes to link the cornerstones of its rural development policy following the reform of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy.

Sándor Fazekas stated that slow change would to the achievement of the new rural development and estate policy goals: the retention of the rural populations, assuring those living in rural areas access to fair incomes, and increasing local employment. The Minister specifically identified the fact that since

2010 Hungarian farmers may directly distribute the foods they process, an excellent example of which is the Vidék Mustra farmers' show market organised under the arcades of the Ministry every Friday.

Sándor Fazekas also invited his American negotiating partner and her colleagues to visit the OMÉK national agriculture and food industry trade fair, which will be held in September of this year, and where in addition to the various agriculture sectors they may also become familiar with excellent quality, small industry Hungarian food products.

Photo: Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development (Online 31 Jan) "Young farmers can expect to receive further support during the upcoming European Union budget period of 2014-2020, so that as many as possible choose farming and agricultural activities as their was of life", stated the Ministry or Rural Development's State Secretary for Rural Development Zsolt V. Németh at a press conference on Wednesday in Budapest.

The State Secretary stressed that increasing the ratio of young farmers is of fundamental importance for the future of Hungarian agriculture. The long-term objectives set out for the Hungarian agrarian sector can only be achieved through a generational transition; this is how Hungarian agriculture can become more innovative and more modern, and so the Ministry is handling increasing the ratio of young farmers in agriculture as a priority.

Only around 6-7 percent of farmers in Hungary are under the age of 40, he told reporters.

Young farmers in Hungary – about 3300 of them – have received some HUF 36 billion in so-called young farmers' support in recent years, Zsolt V. Németh said.

Supporting young farmers is also one of the priority programmes of the European Union, he emphasised. To further facilitate this goal, in addition to the average 45 percent funding that they currently receive for development and purchasing various machines and equipment, young farmers may also receive a further 20 percent in funding in the next budget cycle, according to plans. As another example, the State Secretary mentioned that those farmers who receive funding for the realisation of objectives included in their business plan and who are confirmed to have achieved these goals may also receive a maximum of a further EUR 70 thousand for another five-year period.

The Ministry of Rural Development is also launching thematic sub-programmes to help young farmers, he

said, including among others the Short Food Chain Project and the Young Farmer Sub-Programme.

Executive Chairman of the Hungarian Association of Young Farmers' AGRYA Lajos Mikula told the press that a wide-reaching partnership developed last year with the mediation of the Association between state institutions, the private sector and professional organisations with a view to facilitating the generational transition in agriculture. It was in this spirit that a cooperation agreement was signed during the press conference between AGRYA and Syngenta Ltd. AGRYA's Executive Chairman reminded those present that the organisation he heads had initiated the Vidék Kaland ("Rural Adventure") Programme and the Vesd Bele Magad! ("Get Involved!") drive, with the goal of helping young people become acquainted with work in agriculture and life in the country.

Hungary offers 260,000 dollars to help Syrians in need (Online 31 Jan) Hungary has offered to donate 260,000 dollars in aid to help civilians in Syria at a UN-sponsored international donors' conference held in Kuwait City, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy State Secretary for Global Affairs, Szabolcs Takács said on Thursday.

Speaking to Hungarian News Agency MTI over the phone, Deputy State Secretary Takács said the aid would be used to

purchase food supplies and cover the cost of medical treatment, which would be provided in Hungary for children injured seriously in the Syrian conflict and living now in refugee camps in Turkey.

The conference was organised to solicit support to help refugees, living mostly in camps in neighbouring Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, and many others who are internally

displaced, Deputy State Secretary Takács said. He stated it was "Hungary's moral duty" to help the refugees.

Hungary advocated a political settlement to the crisis and the cessation of violence as soon as possible, the Hungarian official added.

Independence Day Message From His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka We Sri Lankans who have sacrificed immensely to ensure the sovereignty of the nation, celebrate this 65th National Independence Day with utmost pride.

The nation has embarked on a path of development which has made freedom really meaningful. This is a very difficult and challenging task, the fulfillment of which would bring both justice and prosperity to the nation. The time has now dawned when you and your children need not to think with fear and suspicion about the future.

We have acted with a firm commitment to defeat local and foreign forces ranged against the country. Even when the leadership is faced with difficult and challenging situations we have a principled commitment not to betray the country. In doing so, we derive immense strength from the enormous cooperation we receive from the people.

Unity among communities and religious harmony are vital factors for the development of the country. Divisions among us will strengthen various hostile forces seeking to deny us our freedom. When all communities rise in unity, the forces hostile to the country will be weakened and freedom further strengthened. We celebrate the 65th anniversary of independence with firm determination and clear commitment to national unity.

We salute and pay our homage to all patriots who have made the supreme sacrifice to safeguard the freedom and sovereignty of the nation.

Independence Day Message from H.E. Air Chief Marshal Jayalath Weerakkody (R) It is with great expectation that we look forward to celebrate the 65th Anniversary of Independence on 04th of February 2013. On this occasion I would like to extend the government and people of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, greeting and best wishes of H.E. Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka, the Government and the people of Sri Lanka. From almost the beginning of our independence Pakistan has been a very close, cordial and cooperative friend, always ready to assist in times of need. After independence, our bilateral relationship has been a comprehensive, multifaceted and all embracing relationship extending to the entire government of socio, economic, political, cultural, education and defense spheres. It has proved that during the last year Sri Lanka Pakistan relationship developed further when H.E. the President, Mahinda Rajapaksa paid a three day state visit to Pakistan. During the visit Sri Lanka and Pakistan signed three MoU’s to promote cooperation in the fields of trade, technical education and media.

Frequent and regular contacts through high level visits and regular discussion between the leaders of the two countries helped in renewing and reinforcing the relationship further. Sri Lanka and Pakistan have been trading partners from historical times. The trend continued after Pakistan was created and Sri Lanka became independent, and was given a boost in 2005, when Pakistan signed its first Free Trade Agreement with Sri Lanka. Marked increase was shown in trade between the countries consequent to the free trade agreement. Two ways trade has continued to register considerable growth. This increase as continued steadily and during the year 2012 bilateral trade between two countries was increased rapidly.

Sri Lanka Pakistan relationship has not been limited only to trade and a special mention must be made about the assistance given by the Government of Pakistan to Sri Lanka on the defense field. It is no secret to any Sri Lankan that the assistance given by Pakistan is what has contributed mostly to eradicate the terrorism in Sri Lanka.

If you look back in the 65th Independent Day what have been achieved is remarkable after eliminating terrorism totally in 2009, country had taken a steady path of progress, the economy had been growing steadily and continues to do so. Resettlement of the people who were displaced by the war is almost complete. Sri Lanka has become popular destination to the tourists around the world. The growth in tourist arrival had been continuing steadily since 2009.

Sri Lanka now is looking forward to achieve a further progress in all fields especially in the field of trade, economic, tourism, technology and services.

On this National Day, I look forward to work closely with the Government and people of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Sri Lankan community residing in Pakistan to further develop and strengthening the friendly relations existing between our two countries and peoples.