---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <newsletter@5thpillar.org>
Date: Mon, Sep 20, 2010 at 9:52 AM
Subject: Change: The 5Th Pillar News Letter
To: palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
From: <newsletter@5thpillar.org>
Date: Mon, Sep 20, 2010 at 9:52 AM
Subject: Change: The 5Th Pillar News Letter
To: palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
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| September 19th, 2010 | 5th Pillar Homepage Donate Now! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Whistleblowers Act Fails to Save This Life Vaidyalingam Balasubramanyam, a hand-loom weaver turned whistleblower who had been fighting corruption in the local weavers' cooperative for the past three years was found murdered, his body dumped beside a road in Nayakanpettai recently. According to his son, Shanmugan Vel., 25, his father spent a lot of time investigating the office files for corrupt practices, and had sent dozens of complaints to top officials and leaders. Balasubramanyam had collected hundreds of official documents indicating that a single family held a monopoly over the cooperative management, according to Vel, who showed a reporter photocopies of the documents. The files also showed evidence of embezzlement. For example, the government had sent compensation money last year to the hand-loom weavers of the district because they had run losses due to heavy rainfall. However, none of the weavers received any of it. It was all diverted by their managers. Although Vaidyalingam Balasubramanyam had been wa rned of the risks he was running, he was determined to reveal the documents that he said contained the explosive truth that would clean up the system. Not surprisingly, the folder containing all the documents is also missing. Hundreds of people have been harassed or threatened for similar anti-corruption crusades. Although the Government of India recently passed the much awaited Whistleblowers Act, the act falls far short of protecting individuals such as Vaidyalingam who attempt to fight corruption at a regional level. It also doesn't cover the military or corporate sector. Furthermore, what is required is swift guaranteed investigation and action rather than simply legal protection of the whistleblower. | Upcoming Events Calendar . RTI Training at Chennai Office. 25.09.2010 and 02.10.2010 at 4 PM. All are welcome. To register your names for the FREE training, call 9445164555 or 044 6527 3056 or email info@5thpillar.org. . RTI Training at Coimbatore Office. 26.09.2010 and 03.10.2010 at 4:30 PM. All are welcome. To register your names for the FREE training, call 94438 41602 or email cbe@5thpillar.org. Please note current address: 15 Sreji Apartment, East Periyasamy Road, Road, R.S. Puram, CBE-2. Near Brindavan Lodge and Priya Kunj Hall. . 26.09.2010: RTI Training in Kanchipuram Village. . 26.09.2010: RTI Training for Elected Officials and Functionaries in Pondicherry. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Awareness Campaign for Retired Government Employees in Sankagiri Taluk Salem 5th Pillar Chapter coordinator, Mr. Rajamanickam was invited by the Retired Government Employees Association of Sankagiri Taluk on 12th September for their annual day celebration. Mr. Rajamanickam addressed the participants for 30 minutes about 5th Pillar and our field activities. Zero Rupee Notes were distributed to all the participants and they were encouraged to approach our offices for any help when faced with corruption. Retired officials encounter corruption when they apply for their pension and other benefits. We believe that empowering everyone with the necessary attributes will encourage them to confront the situation. | Global Integrity Report: Media This graph shows the strength of civil society and the media in combating corruption for various countries. Some factors include civil society organizations working on anti-corruption issues (such as 5th Pillar), media reporting on corruption, and public access to information. The data comes from the Global Integrity Report, which synthesizes data on government corruption around the world. To see more data from the Global Integrity Report, go to http://report.globalintegrity.org/globalindex/charts.cfm. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RTI Training Session for the All India RPF Association, Southern Railways, Chennai 5th Pillar conducted RTI training for the members of the Sourashtra Chamber of Commerce, Madurai on 11th September. Madurai district coordinator of 5th Pillar, Mr. Balaji, conducted the RTI training for the members, and went in detail on every step of the RTI filing process. RTI pamphlet was distributed to the participants and sample RTI petitions for different scenarios were compiled. The members of this organization were eager to start an RTI clinic. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Awareness Campaign for Young Film Directors in Chennai 5th Pillar was invited by the Tamizh Studio, (group of young film directors) for an awareness campaign on corruption. Mr. Subramani from 5th Pillar addressed the young directors about corruption and the activities of 5th Pillar in combating corruption. The film directors who are full of ideas had many interesting questions about this social curse. The RTI Act was explained as an asset to a common man in ascertaining his rights. The main goal of this event was to sensitize the youth about the current impending national problem, and once the program started, it was very clear that they had a strong belief in anti-corruption movement and were willing to take part in our mission. Media is a vital portal for disseminating the message and as directors they would be able to portray the negativities of corruption. | RTI Training Session at Sourashtra Chamber of Commerce, Madurai An RTI training program was conducted for the All India RPF Association, Chennai Division, Southern Railway on 2nd September at YMCA Hall at Yellagiri Hills near Jolarpettai. 120 members of AIRPFA from various cities took part in the training session conducted by our organization. Mr. Binoy Antony, President of AIRPFA welcomed everyone and initiated the event. Mr. Subramani, Director of Operations, 5th Pillar conducted the training and answered all the queries relating to corruption. RTI Act was explained in detail, and sample RTI petitions were devised to help understand the procedure in filing a petition. A kit containing the Zero Rupee Notes, copies of Maattram magazine and RTI pamphlets was distributed to all the participants. RTI training was very useful for them and hence they requested us to conduct such training sessions in other regions of their division. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other Recent Events . 28.08.2010 - 5.09.2010: Information desk at Vellore Book Fair. Click here to see pictures. . 29.08.2010: RTI training for the agriculturists in Erode District. . 29.08.2010: Awareness campaign at FEDCOP, Madurai. . 29.08.2010 - 30.08.2010: Information desk at a Wedding in Salem. . 2.09.2010: Mr. Vijay Anand spoke on the topic "Freedom from Corruption" at SRM University. Read more or see pictures. . 3.09.2010: Executive Director of 5th Pillar was interviewed on All India Radio. . 4.09.2010: Information desk at Hotel Grand Palace, Yercaud. Click here to see pictures. . 5.09.2010: RTI training for the Retired Government Employees of Cuddalore District. . 11.09.2010: RTI training at Sourashtra Chamber of Commerce, Madurai. . 12.09.2010 & 29.08.2010: President of 5th Pillar, Mr. Vijay Anand participates at the Electoral Integrity Reforms Discussion. Click here for more information. . 16.09.2010: RTI and Freedom from Corruption campaign for Lions Club of Park Town, Chennai at Benz Park Hotel, Chennai. Click here to see pictures. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Corruption Hindering Millenium Development Goals Transparency International has released a new warning to governments around the world that their failure to address corruption sufficiently is threatening the fulfillment of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs). TI called on governments and NGO's alike to adopt anti-corruption measures in all their MDGs action plans in order to reach the goals in the next five years. For example, in their analysis of access to potable drinking water in 48 countries, their data suggested that lower levels of bribery translate to improved availability of clean water. Similarly countries with good anti-corruption legislation showed reduced rates of maternal mortality. Correlations between public access to information and higher literacy rates are also well documented. TI called on governments to take the first step to tackling corruption by implementing the UN Convention against Corruptioin - currently the most comprehensive global legal framework for combating corruption, which has specif ic articles that can advance pro-MDG policies. It remains to be seem how many governments including our own will respond. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher and Editor in Chief: Vijay Anand Managing Editor: Anita Roychowdhury Contributing Authors: Anitha Ramalingam, Puneet Anand, Srimathi Sridhar, A. Subramani, and Shobila Kali Copyright © 2010 by 5th Pillar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/
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