people pretty close to the road first of all ownership of. possessions or rather of community services or opportunity to live through for. you. this is d w news asia coming up with the program the catholic church under fire in india allegations of sexual abuse with the country's catholic community d.w. speaks to a nun who is refusing to stay silent also on the show and many wanted sri lanka is recruiting executioners as part of its war on drugs a hardline policy inspired by the philippines but will it also come with the territory style justice.

i'm melissa chan thank you for joining the program it's good to have you with us india is home to about twenty million christians it's a place where the catholic faith is growing but last year a nun in the southern state of carola accused a powerful bishop of raping her it sparked rare public protests by nuns and led to the arrest of the bishop he's now out on bail he received a hero's welcome in his diocese after his release the case has drawn huge attention in the country. as the vatican convenes a meeting later this week on sex abuse and transparency our india correspondent sonia found a car traveled to why and not in corrales state to meet a nun who's been speaking out she sent us this report. it's early morning in kerala the church here has always been a powerful institution but in recent months its foundations have been shaken by sex

scandal last september a nun in care of the accused an influential bishop of repeated rape when officials believe to actually a group of nuns rallied around the victim and held unprecedented public protests. one of those who joined those potus was sister lucy. she cravat from a home here in the district of why not to support the alleged victim. the nun is wary about being filmed public she chooses an empty auditorium to speak in the thirty six years that she's been a nun she's come across many instances of sexual abuse by the clergy. sex abuse in the charts by treats to that now as it's happening but it is silent a lot of story i have all day. got shared by the sisters and i don't how do three experiences like that prompting me them to me to

their own ambition and they're trying. to sit with them that a lot of mistakes and say that hurts but they're not ready to. do. this for. instead of that or they're covering up all this. the catholic church in india has largely stayed silent on the allegations against the bishop who was arrested last year following the protests and then grill east on bail even jordan why not officials were unwilling to speak one priest who did agree sort to downplay the issue but my position is in my remember. this over sixty years. brought. there just brought up in the public discussion so that's our answer that speaking

out against the powerful catholic church and drawing attention to sexual abuse is never easy especially in a conservative state like. nuns who are dead to break the culture of silence faith ridicule isolation and even disciplinary action from their congregations says. apart from joining protests sister lucy has written articles criticizing the church silence on sexual abuse she's received warning letters from her congregation ordering her to stop speaking out she's been accused of causing harm to the church and belittling the catholic leadership. like their last anybody can speak freely frankly. to the world if i am the saw there now that can be me tell them that so many are coming to the site many many are coming openly.

to that society today to talk there is not if there is no guilt that we had all the slave. and. despite the warnings the nun has no plans of backing away what i had to do i must. say i think i stopped me like that. is that the little scandal will shine a light on the chutzpah and make some much needed reforms. earlier we spoke to run john a kumari she's an active campaigner for women's rights we asked her if there is support for the nuns among the broader community. absolutely absolutely there is a general environment which is changing that is a cultural a shift in india which is taking place where women's right with dignity at walk is really getting institutionalize it is through the law by them and that themselves

and by the action of the lodge of goodness woman support that we are trying to really push for this and catholic church has to come up with some kind of a solution they cannot just covered it up because this is not this is one is better none spoke and god bites aboard the support of the state know all kinds of political groups also in the state and that is why they have been able to stand the ground and in spite of all the critics that the church just had no business or curtain the nuns but they declared that none bishops have come together and they have taken the nuns know what he's talking nobody see this senior from the church is talking about it at all they're not going to make a statement but that doesn't matter the crime has taken place we have a law to protect the big men on this sexual assault case will be really i investigated and there has to be some kind of for it all by this mentor the bishop . now to an interesting employment opportunity in sri lanka if your mailing can prove quote an excellent moral character this position may be for you sri lankan

prison officials are looking to hire two hangmen after the president announced. a new crackdown on drug smuggling. sri lanka needs to hang men but don't apply on less you're a man between eighteen and forty five years old and can prove mental strength sri lanka's president might for a palace era center wants to authorize the death penalty soon for those jailed on drug charges it's feared the country has become a smuggling hub no executions have taken place there since. the six but president sarah center has been inspired by the philippines hardline drug policy he visited the philippines leader last month thousands of suspects have been killed since president deter say took office in twenty sixteen rights groups denounce the killings as extrajudicial executions and they say there's no evidence the death penalty deters drug use or trafficking but the idea of getting tough on drugs seems

to be going down well interim. president says he will implement the death penalty that is a good thing because there are too many crimes in this country. there is a lot of corruption and other illegal activities because of drugs. but first the hangman have to be recruited and that may not be so simple because last time man quit in twenty fourteen without ever executing anyone he cited stress after seeing the gallows for the first time. there's definitely more to this story joining me now is international crisis group's alan keenan allen a behind the headline what's what's really going on here. well i think a number of things are going on i mean one serious cena is increasingly unpopular politically so i think he's looking around for issues he thinks might resonate with

the public and might tell him how can win back a bit of. bit of popularity and this is your report suggests it is sort of on the surface quite popular but he's going to have trouble i think in in part dealing with the buddhist clergy which traditionally has been quite out of opposed to the death penalty and previous attempts or previous sort of rhetorical gestures or promises by by politicians to bring it back have been blocked by what is the opposition so we'll have to see really how far this goes and is there really a drug problem in sri lanka. i think there's two drug problems yes there's definitely drug problem i mean drugs are easily available smuggling networks are very strong. and there is a need to address it no question and there is some evidence although these districts are very reliable. that it's been growing worse but the other drugs problem are the deep links between the big drug kingpins and the politicians and there's

a lot of evidence and it's you know widely believed across sri lanka that these links are deep so the question is you know that the death penalty won't do anything to address those links and there's no sign that serious sane or any other important politicians are really committed to breaking their ties with the drug dealers and really holding well in accountable now a few months ago there was quite a bit of political turmoil in sri lanka in terms of the leadership can you sort of place this story in the context of all the things that's been going on in that country. well that would take more time than the average think but yeah i think it's i'm going back to my earlier point i think this is serious cena looking around for an issue that might win him some support he's trying to persuade his former rival former president rajapaksa who he defeated in twenty fifteen and whom he tried to bring back in his prime minister through illegal means last year he's trying to convince him that he sirius cena will be should be a their candidate for

a project artist party for the presidential election later this year so he's trying to show that he's a powerful popular politician in this is one way he's trying to do it i don't think it's going to succeed in improving his popularity significantly but it's clearly part of the political plan i think why do you think it's not going to succeed. well i don't think is going to win him back that many that many popularity points and that the disenchantment with him is so deep i think he's really from between two stools he he came in on a liberal reformist platform which after making some initial progress on in the first year or so he's really failed to deliver on and in fact is now actively campaigning against his greatest achievement the nineteenth amendment to the constitution but he's not he's not every going to be as nationalist and as authoritarian as rajapaksa and those linked directions including russia parts his brother who have a much stronger claim to do that to that mantle and will win those sorts of voters

in ways that i think seriously that can't l. and i know we have limited time so it's a very complex political topic to talk about but you did a very good job thank you reactions are coming in over social media to allegations by chinese activist artist ai wei wei that his contribution to the new star studded film anthology berlin i love you was cut and that it had to do with fear of china the artist also said his involvement was a problem for the film's entry into the berlin film festival on twitter one user said quote considering how awful the final product was i may have ultimately come out ahead still the censorship is indefensible fair enough though i'd say that's not the point d.d. kiersten tatler tweeted germany wake up you don't have to do the bidding of the chinese communist party you are a mature western democracy though you don't always feel like it and i way way himself tweeted quote surprise but no surprise you can see our full interview with

. youtube page as well as on d w dot com. that's our show leave you with china's blanchard festival which is being celebrated today we'll see you next time. sometimes books more exciting than real life. to. call. what if there's no escape. list. german must treat.

my city. tomorrow today. w. . why china venezuela beijing's unwavering support for socialist president maduro is not just politically motivated money plays a role too sixty billion dollars to be precise. and while ways chief executive is hitting back at the u.s. he says there's no way the u.s. can crush the world's needs to qualify well doesn't relate to. the new trade deal between the prime and the e.u.

is showing its ugly assault since to export cost to europe tariff free clothes and so european factory. cost. u.k. three thousand five hundred jobs. this is business asia. so will china shift its position on venezuela the country is one of the key backers of nicolas maduro socialist government even as fifty other countries recognize the venezuela venezuela's opposition leader legitimacy president beijing has more than twenty billion dollars in investments in the oil rich states but with venezuela's economy collapsing china and russia seem to be closing ranks moscow is sending three hundred tons of medicine and groceries which will be flown to the capital caracas tomorrow because.