TASK DEFINITION: Your task is to extract the thesis of an opinionated news article by selecting some of its text segments. The thesis is a summarization of what the author wants to persuade the reader of. Your answer should consist of segments of the given text. Note that you are not allowed to combine different sentences.
PROBLEM: The Indian government won't stop my fight to save Mahan's forests. Mahan in Madhya Pradesh is one of the oldest and largest sal forests in Asia . The local communities are dependent on the forest for their livelihoods and it is also home to several rare and endangered species . But a portion of this reserve is earmarked for open cast coal mining by Essar, a British company registered in London . In order to mine for coal, they would need to cut down the forest and displace those who live there . Essar would destroy more than 1,000 hectares of pristine forests and the biodiversity that it supports, affecting 54 villages . It would also impact on the livelihoods of thousands more who depend on forest produce, and the wildlife, water and air in the region . For the last three years I have been helping villagers in Mahan to assert their rights, protect their forest, and prevent the open-cast coalmine development . Unfortunately, during this time, I have experienced a wide range of intimidation tactics . I have received anonymous phone calls threatening violence and been followed by a car without a number plate as I travelled to village meetings . Last year I discovered that a forged letter bearing my signature had been given to local media . It called on villagers to resort to violence while protesting against the mine . And Greenpeace India is currently appealing against a decision by the home ministry to freeze all its overseas funding, some 40% of its income . But Sunday marked a new low . I was due to travel to London to address British parliamentarians about my work with local Mahan communities , but I was not allowed to board my flight despite having valid travel documents . My passport was stamped with "offloaded" at the airport and I was asked to go home . The only explanation offered was that this was being done by the orders of the government of India . Since then, I have consulted lawyers and written to government agencies . I've had no official response , but some newspapers reported that I have been put on a "blacklist" or "lookout list" preventing me from leaving the country . Such lists are usually for those with criminal convictions and I don't have one . Refusing my travel to speak to British MPs with no legal reason to do so is an infringement on my fundamental rights, and a shocking blow to the strength and freedom of civil society in India . My travel was legitimate . Essar is based in London and I was invited by a British all-party parliamentary group to talk about my work and to present the social and environmental impacts of the project - otherwise known as freedom of speech . We are equally engaged with all major parties and relevant politicians and administrators in India on this issue . The fight in Mahan is about the rights of those people who live there and depend on the forest for their livelihoods . The local community is only asking that due process is followed : under Indian law there must be a local referendum and consent from the local community . But these laws have been bypassed , and now the government is reviewing major environmental laws, including the Forest Rights Act, that have been key in protecting forest dwellers . This is why a fight such as Mahan in India is critical . It's symptomatic of how India will act when it comes to making important decisions about forests, conservation, community rights and a sustainable way of development . The act of engaging all relevant stakeholders is part of my work as a Greenpeace member and indeed the responsibility of any vibrant civil society in any functional democracy . Travelling to London to meet British MPs was neither an attack on the Indian government, nor a violation of the laws of our country . Internationally, India is under a lot of pressure to make strong commitments to tackling climate change , yet it is drawn to the cheap and immediate gains of coal despite the high social and environmental cost . Groups such as Greenpeace are a vital check on the power of corporations and politicians . We fight for Indian values promoting empowered local communities and a clean environment for the next generation . And our campaigns, such as the push to get pesticides out of our tea, have been successful . That's why we're being attacked . In a week's time, Greenpeace India will find out if its appeal against the Indian government freezing its funding is successful . If not, other campaign groups will be next . Whatever the outcome, I will continue to support the rights of communities using all the democratic rights available to me . I will also continue to seek answers as to why I was blacklisted . One thing is clear ; without a legal basis to justify my detention, the government is on thin ice . As I write this, it is busy shifting blame from one department to another . As we say in Mahan, we will fight and we will win .

SOLUTION: The fight in Mahan is about the rights of those people who live there and depend on the forest for their livelihoods It's symptomatic of how India will act when it comes to making important decisions about forests, conservation, community rights and a sustainable way of development

PROBLEM: Let's see Turkey for what it really is. How times have changed . In the 18th century, Russian meddling in Crimea and Syria would have likely led to war with Turkey . Today, Russia's actions in the former Ottoman world mean a state visit for Russian President Vladimir Putin, discounted natural gas, and lucrative trade deals . Turkey's recent coziness with Russia, and its reluctance to take on the ISIL, have left many politicians in the West confused and frustrated . However , to understand Turkish foreign policy one must first look at US and European foreign policy . The lack of any coherent US-Middle East policy has made Turkey reluctant to respond to ISIL in any meaningful way . US President Barack Obama's disinterest in the region began with his hell-bent desire to remove all US forces from Iraq, no matter what the security situation was like . As far as Ankara was concerned, the US left behind unfinished business in Iraq . Next came the US response to the so-called Arab Spring , which amounted to telling regional autocrats that they had to go , and when they did not leave, the US failed to do anything about it . Perhaps the biggest failure of Obama's Middle East policy was drawing a "red line", and then failing to enforce it when Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against his own people . Pushing Turkey away . Since Turkey does not believe the US will see through to the completion of its mission to take on ISIL and force Assad out of power , understandably, Ankara has been reluctant to come on board . As far as Ankara is concerned, US creditability in the Middle East is bankrupt . It is not just US foreign policy pushing Turkey away from the West . This week, the EU's new foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, visited Ankara and told a group of journalists that the EU's "top priority will be Turkey's EU accession process" . After years of delays by Brussels, it is not likely anyone in Turkey will believe these words - nor should they . Europe's empty promises of EU membership, and its weak response over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has forced Turkey to hedge its bets that closer ties with Moscow are preferable to those with Brussels . Making a bad situation worse is the degree of European xenophobia lurking inside the debate around Turkish membership of the EU . Make no mistake ; Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not been the easiest leader for the West to work with . Apart from some of his more ridiculous, but harmless statements -"Muslim sailors reached the American continent 314 years before Columbus, in 1178" - many in the West have been put off by his crackdown on political dissent, limitations on press freedom, and his drive to bring a more conservative brand of Islam into what is still a largely secular society . Leaders in the West would be wise not to dismiss Turkey altogether because of Erdogan's ironfisted leadership style . Turkey is a parliamentary democracy , but as the president, Erdogan derives his extensive powers because his Justice and Development Party (AKP) currently controls parliament . Without an AKP majority in parliament, the centre of power in Turkish politics is likely to shift back to the prime minister's office . In June, Turkey will hold its next parliamentary elections - and if the elections are anything like Turkey's 2014 presidential elections , the race will be close . If the AKP does not get a majority, or if they have to form a coalition , Erdogan's power and influence will be significantly curtailed . Turkey is situated in a dangerous neighbourhood . It has land borders with Syria, Iraq, and Iran . Its border with Armenia is closed . A recent investigation uncovered a terror organisation operating inside Turkey with links to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps . ISIL controls huge swaths of land along the Turkish border with Syria and Iran . The threat from Assad is so great that NATO currently provides air defence units to protect Turkish airspace . It is clear that foreign policy decisions taken by the US and Europe have left Turkey feeling exposed . Short-sighted leaders in the West need to open their eyes and see Turkey for what it really is: a valued NATO partner, a secular state (at least for now) bridging Europe and the Islamic world, a developing economy and a major player in the energy market . What a tragedy it would be if broken promises from Europe, combined with a lack of US leadership and strategy in the Middle East, results in a Turkey that becomes more fundamentalist, anti-western, and pro- Russian .

SOLUTION: Turkey's recent coziness with Russia, and its reluctance to take on the ISIL, have left many politicians in the West confused and frustrated

PROBLEM: Fearmongering in Sydney. Australians turning on their televisions Monday morning to watch breakfast and cooking shows were instead greeted with news channels beaming minute-to-minute fearmongering of the ongoing siege at a chocolate shop in Sydney . When customers and employees were taken hostage by a lone gunman , and a flag with"There is only one God" inscription in Arabic was held in the window , it was enough to hold the rest of the country hostage to their fears and TV screens . Should it be that way and what should an appropriate response look like? First ,  consider what this violent thug had designed our reaction to be . The site of the siege was likely no afterthought - located in the heart of the Sydney CBD and directly opposite a major television station, the shop had made it ideal for the media to report on . Streets were cordoned off , public transport diverted , and a strong contingent of police sent to the Opera House . All made for good visuals of the incident and terror in an otherwise peaceful city . Even the most left-leaning and progressive members of parliament, like Greens MP Adam Bandt, who have repeatedly defended the Muslim community from unjust discrimination and generalisation, tweeted to their followers in the first hours of the siege that it was "terrifying" . Was it really? Was it at all terrifying for you personally, Adam? If it was , I'd hate to know what the hostages experienced, including the two who were murdered . A strike in the public's dark . For once, Prime Minister Tony Abbott had a more mature response than his colleagues on the opposite side . Such a situation can "scare people out of being themselves", he said in his first press briefing, before urging all Australians to go about their business as usual . Although he told the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the authorities , he said so with calm and caution . Vitally, he avoided using the t-word at this early stage, or any formulation thereof . No doubt we have since learnt a lot more about this deranged outsider and his motives , and it is clear he had terrorist intent . His website, which was shut down during the final hours of the siege, had a message dated December 14, which described why Muslims "fight against the oppression and terrorism" of the US and its allies, including the UK and Australia . The rampant speculation before this was unnecessary and unhelpful, however , and letting the siege sow fear, enough so to publicly describe it as "terrifying", was handing a victory to an extremist . With the hot Australian summer setting in, many people's minds turn to beer, barbeques, family, and Christmas presents, not the possibility of "politically motivated violence", as Abbott wisely phrased it . Intriguingly, Australians fear terrorism more than a foreign invasion, despite many believing we'd have no hope of fending off the latter and despite us never directly experiencing the former . Given the opportunity to attribute a complexly motivated act to terrorism , it's no wonder this all-too-easy escape mechanism which avoids rigorous thought or objective analysis was adopted en masse . The most noted incidents in Australia's experience of terrorism have been mostly foreign tragedies, like the Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005, or the 2004 Australian embassy bombing in Jakarta . Although the September raids and arrests of suspected domestic terrorists in Sydney and Brisbane set a new landscape and brought the thought of an attack to our own shores , they merely raised the thought, not the authentic actuality . The raids sparked limited local backlash against peaceful Muslims at the time , and this was both unwarranted and unwanted . Though it only goes to further support my thesis ; Australians just aren't used to this sort of thing and thus are unpractised in their response . That said , it hasn't stopped thousands on social media to show solidarity with minorities through the #IllRideWithYou campaign . When the Abbott government raised the domestic terrorism threat level to high before the September raids , many local commentators criticised what they branded as political theatre (both before and after the arrests) . To consider this is to suggest an even baser type of political animal than is presently expected by even the most cynical of observers . Would any rational actor toy with people's lives for short-term political ends in what was an unimportant political week? What end does that even achieve? Plainly, none, and it is sensationally conspiratorialist to suggest otherwise . To protest against such raids and continue looking at them through a political lens was just as unwarranted and unwanted as the racial-profiling and racial- hatred which events like these have sparked . Terrorism isn't something that we should let foster, anywhere , and the public reactions to the raids were unjustifiably sceptical in comparison to the response to the Sydney siege . Even so ,  the authorities' heed for caution may have come too late for some . Slipshod media reports that the flag held in the shop window was an ISIL flag - when it was not- may have already fuelled the imaginations of too many . Whatever the outcome of the full investigation, one thing remains clear : This was a tragic learning experience for the Australian media, public, and politicians . Keep calm and carry on, though pay a thought or two to how we ought to respond to events like these in the future .

SOLUTION:
Even the most left-leaning and progressive members of parliament, like Greens MP Adam Bandt, who have repeatedly defended the Muslim community from unjust discrimination and generalisation, tweeted to their followers in the first hours of the siege that it was "terrifying"

