[sacw] sacw dispatch #2 (3 dec.99)

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch #2
3 December 1999
---------------------------------------
#1. Trying Pakistani War Criminals of 1971
#2. India's All-round Failure in Kashmir
#3. Indo-Pak Musicians at "Music for Peace"
#4. Medha Patkar in solidarity with Victims of Bhopal
#5. NGOs [In Gujarat, India] Will Not Be Allowed Free Hand
#6. Screening of Film on sex trade in India of Nepali women
---------------------------------------
#1.
[Excerpts from a long article]

News from Bangladesh | 3 December 1999
Commentary

WHAT IS TO BE DONE ABOUT THE PAKISTANI WAR CRIMINALS & COLLABORATORS
By: Ahmed Ziauddin

The issues of war criminals and collaborators refuse to go away in
Bangladesh even after years of independence.

With the assumption in power of Awami League in 1996, various demands
about war criminals and collaborators receded for essentially two reasons;
that party that led the liberation war in 1971, being back at the helm of
the affair, would take decisive decision on its own volition about the
criminals and collaborators. Other reason was, as the Awami League had to
trade on very thin line to come back to power after so many years, that
many chose not to rock the boat at the very outset.
In many ways, the issues of liberation war and spirits and aspirations of
independence were seen exclusively of Awami League matters. The two major
parties that alternatively ruled the country, BNP and Jatiya Party freely
included within their folds persons with serious questionable roles in the
liberation war. This and other policies to change basic ideals of
independence alienated both these parties. The responsibility, thus, have
fallen on Awami League, whether right or wrongly.

However, as best part of the Awami League's term in office has passed, and
the government has not even uttered a word, there are again increasing
talks about the war criminals and collaborators.
It, however, must be accepted that matters of war criminals and
collaborators are not on the top of the agenda of the general mass in
Bangladesh, who are pre-occupied with problems relating to mere survival
and to meet bare necessities. To them, prices of daily commodities,
insecurity etc, are far more important now, and obviously so.
=46or the principal opposition, priority now is not the country or its
economy, but chaos and hartals to make way to back to power. Moreover, for
them, cohabiting as they are with Jammat-e-Islam and Islamic Alliance,
issues of war criminals and collaborators, will never be taken-up by them
once back in power. For some, war criminals and collaborators are mere
history and have no bearing today.

PINOCHET, SKELETONS AND INTERNET:
Pinochet has now become an international symbol of justice after' of
immune perpetrators. His arrest has changed the fabric of international
law once and for all. Regardless of whether he is now returned to his
country or not, a precedent has been set that perpetrators of genocide,
war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture etc, are no longer secure or
immune, except perhaps in their respective countries. Foreign trips for
former dictators and criminals are no longer safe.

States, one after another, are incorporating international laws of war
crimes, torture and crimes against humanity.
Recently, United States Senate has adopted a legislation titled "Denying
Safe Havens to International and War Criminals Act of 1999" where it has,
for the first time, empowered the Attorney General, amongst others, to
transfer international criminals in custody for prosecution, the
Immigration and Naturalisation Service to deny admission or remove aliens
who have committed torture abroad.
Belgium has adopted in February this year, law on crimes. Empowered by new
legislation, this week (22 November 1999), a Brussels engineer has filed a
case seeking extradition to Belgium of Morocco's recently sacked interior
minister.
Mohamed El Battiui, who holds joint Moroccan and Belgian citizenship,
accuses former minister Driss Basri of being responsible for the torture
he was subjected to in a Moroccan prison. El Battiui, 37, came to Belgium
in 1984 after his release from prison. He claims he was tortured for 20
days and drugged after being arrested as a student activist at the
University of Oujda. He was imprisoned for three months.
In addition to his own complaint, El Battiui cites numerous other offences
committed by strongman Basri under the regime of the late King Hassan II,
including the kidnapping in Paris and subsequent murder of Moroccan
opposition leader Mehdi Ben Barka in 1965.

Also, Truth Commission in South Africa, apologies of British and Dutch
Queens, prosecution of senior official of French collaborator government
Pappon, agitate minds across, especially those from country's like
Bangladesh, which was subjected to periods of atrocities.

Thus, when General Pinochet is arrested for torture and other crimes,
questions are raised about Pakistani Generals; when International
Tribunals put some one on trial, questions are asked, why not try
Paristani war criminals, or when US legislates no sanctuary law, voices
then get united to focus attention on criminals and collaborators living
in safe heavens in USA and Canada.

In Bangladesh, recent discoveries of mass graves at Mirpur have forced the
discourse to fore. First came the Muslim Bazar, where mosque extension
brought out grisly past. Country's pioneer institution, Liberation War
Museum, immediately went into action to excavate and reveal the truth.
Gradually, the Museum succeeded in exhuming remains of victims of 1971
genocide. After Muslim Bazar, the Museum excavated nearby Jalladkhana
(slaughterhouse), with the help of Bangladesh Army and recovered 70 skulls
and 5.392 various human bones.

The remains of the victims of genocide at Mirpur have been an "eye opener"
for many, which is manifested in number of visitors to the sites.
According to Museum's Director, "Most of those who have come forth in the
actual work of excavation and exhuming and extended their support in many
ways belong to the generation either have not seen the liberation war or
they were very young at the time. The Army personnel's that participated
mostly belonged to that generation."
In fact, after the symbolic trial of Jammat chief Golam Azam on 25th
anniversary of country's independence on 26 March 1992, which "triggered
the nation wide movement demanding the trials of war criminals of 1971",
Mirpur had been massive reawakening of national consciousness on
Bangladesh genocide. The bones and other effects hidden so long have come
up to force their successors to re-visit history and conclude chapters on
the war criminals and collaborators. [...]

Internet also has offered possibilities to transmit and transact
information freely and fast, which has brought almost literally, all kinds
of people together. Expatriate Bangalees now communicate and contribute in
ways never known before. In dailies and weeklies publicised in Bangladesh,
expatriates regularly contribute adding to the knowledge of the readers.
They also update news on Bangladesh daily through web-based Bangladesh and
other newspapers.
This also has facilitated forming of groups with special interest with
people living far apart. Naturally, war crimes and collaborators often
feature prominently in their discussion.

WHAT WAS DONE:
There is no evidence to suggest that the government in exile, which was
leading the war of liberation, put any serious thought about what would be
its policy regarding war criminals and collaborators. Though, from
virtually the day one, the leaderships had clear ideas about Pakistan's
genocidal plans, and in its Declaration to form new government on 17 April
1971; they based their claims and referred to ongoing genocide as many as
four times in the Declaration.

As a result, after liberation on 16 December 1971, the new leadership was
seen lacking any credible strategy to deal with the war criminals. What
happened first was manifestation of mob anger, inherently
indiscriminately, which picked up alleged collaborators, and meted out
instant rough justice, which on occasions, resulted even in killings.
The new government tried to calm passion by repeated public announcements
on radio not to take law in hand, which was largely ignored. The Biharis,
which by and large, aliened their fates with Pakistani soldiers, too faced
public wrath.

The new government after initial settlement issued executive orders to
arrest the collaborators. The Pakistani military, by then, went under
Indian command and taken as Prisoners of War. The local people, who then
handed them over to the Police, were later placed under formal arrest, and
they carried out most of the arrests of the collaborators. Police arrested
members of the collaborator civilian government that aided the Pakistani
genocidal army.
Even at this stage, we do not find any evidence of a well thought out plan
to deal with the war criminals, and when it came, the strategy had a fatal
flaw. The government separated between local collaborators' and the
Pakistani Army', though both carried the genocide out in unison.

=46irstly, the government promulgated a law was, Bangladesh Collaborators
(Special Tribunals) Order, 1972, which provided only a new forum, but was
asked to deal with the aftermath of a revolutionary situation with
peacetime prevailing legal norms, totally unsuitable for such an
extra-ordinary situation.
The law also did not provide any other forms of punishment, other than
imprisonment or death, like deprivation of civil and political rights. Not
every collaborator actively carried out criminal acts of genocide, but was
engaged in activities that ought to have forfeited their future political
rights, like voting or participation in political activities.

Much later on, in July 1973, the Parliament legislated International
Crimes (Tribunals) Acts, 1973, targeted largely to the members of the
armed forces of Pakistan. The Act envisioned setting up Special Tribunal,
which however, never materialised.
The government's other attempts to rehabilitate the victims, to recognise
their suffering, financial compensations, psychological helps, building up
memorials etc too were totally unorganised. The victims were cheated
twice. Even the government's final policy of pardon and clemency was
misplaced, as the victims were not involved in the process.

One feature must be noticed that victims even did not forcefully and in
any organised way demand answers to find answers out and asked for
justice. Why there was no victims organisation immediately after
independence still remains a mystery.
By the time the Awami League government was overthrown in a bloody
military coup in 1975, the issues of war criminals and the collaborators
were virtually settled. All the Pakistani POWs were returned and local
collaborators received unilateral amnesty without any corresponding
commitment.

Until around 1990, the voices of the victims did not get any platform. A
formidable lady and mother of a victim son, Jahanara Imam, took the
responsibility onto herself. In her words, "Prompted by our commitment to
the values of the liberation war and love for our country and aggrieved by
the failure of the government to try the war criminals", formed the
National Co-ordinating Committee for Realisation of Bangladesh Liberation
War Ideals and Trial of Bangladesh War Criminals of 1971. Under its
auspices, the symbolic public trial of Golam Azam was held.
The Co-ordinating Committee decided to unearth "evidence of complicity of
all collaborators in war crimes, crimes against humanity, killings and
other activities". It set up an investigative body, National People's
Enquiry Commission, to probe against selected individuals. The Commission
published two reports on sixteen criminals and collaborators, and by 26
March 1996, was supposed to publish report on another seven persons, which
was never done.
Even the qualities of the Commission's reports were disappointing, and
lacked details for any possible criminal prosecution.
An institution, Liberation War Museum was set up by some dedicated
individuals to preserve the history of liberation. This has now turned
into an excellent centre on Bangladesh liberation war.
With limited resources but for the same goals, a number of other
organisations have campaigned to put the war criminals and collaborators
on trial. They mounted high profile campaigns when Pakistani government
leaders visited Bangladesh or players came to play. One such organisation
is the Movement for the Trail of War Criminals of 1971.

Again, what is seen here is incoherent, piecemeal and largely individual
activism, which is probably going to lead the issues to nowhere. There are
not even any effective networking between various activists and
organisations.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE:
Mrs.Jahanara Imam's frustration still persists today. The government
headed by the party which led the liberation war continues to fail to
resolve the past, either by holding trials of the war criminals or
otherwise.
[...]
Thus, it's again the non-government actors to continue and invigorate the
moves, but first of all, appropriate strategy has to be devised to achieve
any meaningful success. And sine qua non for such a strategy is wide
consultation between the organisations and individuals involved in the
process. Only through extensive consultation could we possibly expect to
proceed ahead in a significant way.
[...]
=A7 Desirable and achievable:
In an ideal world, all the Pakistani soldiers, those who surrendered and
others, who participated in genocide but left before December, and all the
local collaborators, ought to have been judged and punished. That would
have been highly desirable but equally unrealistic. Putting on hundreds
and thousands on some form of trial was not possible then nor is it now.
Thus the strategy, first of all, should be achievable. For example, in
respect of putting war criminals on trial is still possible to put some on
trial. The job then would be to identify the principal perpetrators and
collaborators, concentrate on hard work to bring them justice, either in
national, foreign or international forums.

=A7 Facts and Facts:
=46ull facts of Bangladesh genocide has not come out even after about thirt=
y
years. We only have partial view of what happened. We must find out full
facts about who did what, when and how. However, I am mindful of the fact
that all facts, in its minute details, will never be known. But then
again, there are others, which we ought to have known but do not.
The government has caused volumes of documents on liberation to be
published, a worthwhile project in deed. But the volumes raise more
questions that it answers.

The government should come out with all documents it got hold of after the
Pakistani army surrendered relating to planning and execution of its
genocidal plans. It should also release dossiers on war criminals.
=46rom international archives, informations are filtering out. One such
notable contribution has been the research work carried out by Professor
Rahim at Nixon Library, where he discovered new documents including other
documents revealing extent of US knowledge, and roles of some leaders like
Mushtaque Ahmed. His findings were serialised by the Daily Independent.
Victim's stories, on the other hand, have not come out in numbers and in
ways to make a difference. Many have not concentrated on factual bits,
necessary for building the blocks of history. Others are in nature not
hugely helpful for any prosecution, where standards of evidences are
rather high.

The first regret we have is the fact that the new government of Bangladesh
did not seriously commission any committee to investigate facts relating
to genocide. On the other hand, in Pakistan, though a committee was set-up
under Hamudoor Rahman, the report was not made public. From General
Niazi's book, we guess, the Committee had limited reference, and
essentially he was blamed.
In an ironical way, Niazi has called for setting up of a new investigation
commission to determine real reasons for the fall of Dhaka. He said,
"History has been deliberately distorted and needs to be corrected, and
people should be informed about historical truth". He challenged that he
was ready to appear before a tribunal and speak the truth. If the whole
facts are not known, or at least as much facts as possible, then it would
never be possible to decide how best to approach.

=A7 Collection and preservation:
What are almost unavailable are documents on genocide, and successive
governments have failed to establish a national archive on genocide. The
Liberation War Museum has tried to do the job, and a mere visit to
National Museum in Dhaka exposes how inadequate the collections are.
In absence of a national archive, the government did not even encourage
universities and other institutions to preserve the records.

When the National People's Enquiry Commission conducted investigation
against the named war criminals, it "discovered a great deal of document
dating to the genocide period had been destroyed." Although the Enquiry
Commission failed to mention the nature or kinds of documents so
destroyed, papers in government offices are believed to have been
destroyed either deliberately or by negligence.
[...]
=A7 Documentation and Accessibility:
A number of organisations have been working on oral history of 1971
genocidal period. They are documenting the history and evidences. Even the
National People's Enquiry Commission relied heavily on "the information
gathered from documents of war period, authoritative books written on the
war and genocide, newspaper reports of the period, and written statements
sent by witnesses".

Bangladesh genocide has been one of the most undocumented genocide of this
century, which has given rise to concoction and denial. For example, only
major documentation book still is the one published in 1988 on whereabouts
of killers and collaborators.
Thus, the need of the hour is massive effort to document Bangladesh
genocide, to preserve these for the generations to come. Documents should
also be made accessible to general readers and others. Information
technology, it is hoped, will greatly help to document history of
Bangladesh genocide. American archives are gradually opening up, and two
most important sources yet to open; archives in India and Pakistan. India
has no reason not to open up its archive, and in case of Pakistan, the
pressure has to come from within.
[...]
=A7 Identification and Reconstruction:
The Liberation War Museum has exhumed numerous skulls and other human
remains recently. Neither the Museum nor others have any clue about number
of other mass graves scattered through out the country. The Museum is busy
in identifying the exhumed remains. This will, without doubt, be a huge
and difficult task. However, this must be done.
[...]
=A7 Expose and Profiles:
Like the genocide, we really have no idea about number of perpetrators,
local and Pakistan army varieties. How many Razakars( a para-military
force established by law), Al-Badars, Al-Shams or members of Shanti
Committee were there? How many Pakistani soldiers carried out genocide in
Bangladesh? Different figures are put out about the number of Pakistanis
taken as Prisoners of War, but what about others, who left before them?
In my recent article, 200 named war criminals of Pakistan Army, Air Force
and Navy, who planned and prosecuted genocide in Bangladesh in 1971, were
exposed.

The list included one Lieutenant General, five Major Generals, twenty
Brigadiers, five colonels, thirty-nine Lieutenant Colonels, eighty-one
Majors, forty-one Captains, two lieutenants, one Air Commodore and Rear
Admirals, among others. Also published was the summery of accusations and
charges against some of them.
The publication was almost greeted as revelation. After so many years, the
names of the accused war criminal Prisoners of Wars appeared in public
domain.
What has to done now is to prepare individual profile of all the war
criminals and top collaborators, and gather and compile as much
information about them as possible. Only when individual profile is
complete that next step should be considered.

=A7 Prosecution and Punishment:
The world is a changed place now, following the end of the cold war. The
global communication has developed so much so that prosecution of a war
criminal, though very hard, is still possible. In the case of Pakistani
war criminals and collaborators, many of that are already being naturally
extinct, prosecuting them either at national or foreign forums, are
possible.
If General Pinochet could be detained, there is no reason why General
Niazi, though 83 now, cannot be questioned about Bangladesh, when he
visits next time in US or Europe.
[...] .
The writer teaches law at Brussels Catholic University and heads
Bangladesh Centre for Genocide Studies. (His e-mail is:
Zia@k...)

---------------------------------------
#2.
Economic and Political Weekly | November 6, 1999=20
Commentary

KASHMIR: ALL-ROUND FAILURE
by Gautam Navlakha

IF a war over 340 sq kms of the Kargil sector of the line of control can
be termed a great victory by the government of India, then the low turnout
of voters in the two constituencies of the Kashmir valley signals a
defeat. And if people matter more than the inhospitable disputed territory
acquired in 1971, the 12 per cent turnout in the elections in Srinagar and
the 27 per cent turnout in Baramula are a chilling reminder of the
alienation of the Kashmiris. Even this low poll was accompanied by
allegations, reported widely in the press, of the security forces forcing
people to vote. Chief minister Farooq Abdullah had himself declared on
September 15: "militants are threatening you not to cast your vote. I will
do the same to make you vote". Even as election rhetoric, this statement
raises inconvenient questions. Are 2,000-3,000 militants capable of
holding lakhs of people who desire to vote to ransom in a place which has
more than three lakh [1 Lakh =3D 100,000] Indian security personnel? Was th=
e
government lying when it claimed as recently as in April this year that
militancy had been contained? If we accept for the sake of argument that
elections were 'free and fair' in 1996 and 1998 with 40 and 30 per cent
voting, respectively, does it mean that there has been a sharp
deterioration in the last 18 months? Whatever be the answer, this is
clinching proof of the failure of the government's 11 years old
militaristic approach and the now-on-the-rise, now-in-decline claims about
militancy as a matter of political expediency.

The current situation approximates that in 1989 when elections were
boycotted by more than 93 per cent of voters. Then as now, refusal to
recognise the movement as a material force compounded the problem. Because
even then the onus was placed on the fear of the militants, although they
did not number more than 300! In this sense, the government is a victim of
its own making. First militancy was privileged over the popular movement.
Then militancy was projected as 'Pakistan inspired'. Subsequently,
militancy has been dubbed as a 'proxy war' by Pakistan. Now fear of
Taliban-like forces haunts the Indian government. And since 'jehadists'
are said to have hijacked popular aspirations, saving the Kashmiris from
the 'mujahideen' even through coercion is justified. The 'victory' in
Kargil came in handy to reinforce the demand that the Kashmiris have to
reconcile themselves to remaining a part of India. No wonder the
government failed to notice that while there was resentment against
Pakistan for undermining and discrediting the movement through their act
of adventure in Kargil, there was no commensurate enhancement of
confidence in India.

Before the elections, the EC had declared that more than 70 per cent of
6,511 polling stations in J and K were sensitive or hypersensitive; this
included 85-90 per cent in the valley's three and 50 per cent in Jammu's
two Lok Sabha constituencies. The category of sensitive or hypersensitive
polling stations ordinarily means areas where there is threat of rigging
or voter intimidation. In the context of Jammu and Kashmir where there has
been a decade long movement demanding the right of self-determination,
this acquires another slant. It should be read to mean that the people
want to cast their votes but the presence of armed militants acts as a
deterrent. This justifies the use of force against the voters 'in order to
save them from the wrath of the militants'. Although the popular mood was
plain enough long before the date of the election. In a telling comment on
the National Conference, at a rally in Farooq Abdullah's assembly
constituency, Ganderbal, on August 30 hardly anyone turned up. Media has
also reported use of force to create crowds for election meetings. This
exposes the hiatus between an estranged people and an insensitive
government which dismisses the need to regain their confidence and engages
instead in imposing its authority.

Also ignored were some other subtle signs of change, namely, the rise in
credibility of All-Party Hurriyat Conference. The APHC had come under a
cloud for neither being able to control the militants nor willing to
distance itself from them. Some of its leaders came out in support of the
intruders in Kargil only to realise that their call for public support
received no response. Once it became clear that the intruders had been
sent by the Pakistani army, the APHC realised its folly and faced
isolation from the public it claimed to represent. At the first
opportunity the APHC distanced itself from the ban announced by Harkat ul
Mujahideen against the Amarnath 'yatra', launched a campaign to highlight
the cost to India of fighting militancy and the Kargil 'war' and, most
recently, condemned the call for jehad by Osama bin Laden by asserting
that theirs is a political movement and not a religious war. This is an
attempt to demarcate itself from the armed groups, to reach out to the
Indian public, and to regain the trust of the people. Therefore, in the
wake of Kargil it gained in credibility even as the National Conference
has been politically decimated and confidence in the Indian government has
reached its lowest point. The poll boycott campaign of APHC was sought to
be countered by detention, arrest and restrictions on movement. In the
name of combating militants, demonstrations and processions by APHC were
banned. The Election Commission had clarified that a person has the right
to boycott as well as campaign for election. Yet on August 27 the state
government prevented APHC from holding an anti-election rally at
Sher-e-Kashmir park in Civil Lines area of Srinagar and detained its
leaders. In fact APHC was prevented from holding meetings elsewhere in the
valley too. Bu t the crackdown could not stop it from undertaking
door-to-door campaigns for poll boycott which requires, in the conditions
prevailing in Kashmir, a large number of volunteers. It was effective
precisely because the campaign converged with the mood of the people who,
caught between the Indian security forces and the mujahideen and between
the two obdurate and irresponsible governments of India and Pakistan,
wanted to express their desire for a solution that addresses their
concerns and aspirations. This galvanised the APHC which was then able to
organise itself well enough to hold a press conference an hour after polls
closed with reports, video presentation, etc, whereas the Chief Electoral
Officer not only cancelled his press conference but the EC ruled that
there would be no polling day press conferences in the state.

What has sustained the alienation is the record of the Indian security
forces. The brief given to the armed forces is to suppress the movement
for right of self-determination. The hours of duty are long, facilities
for soldiers are minimal, salary and perks are low. All this is designed
to make them a trigger-happy force. And since the bulk of the
counter-insurgency operations takes place among unarmed civilians, they
behave as an alien force amidst an 'enemy' population. Such a force is
designed to instil fear, not inspire confidence. If 'foreigners' rule the
roost, how come the security forces kill more Kashmiris than foreigners? A
perceptive report in The Statesman (September 23) points out that between
January 1997 and August 1998 out of the 1,562 so-called militants killed,
1,134 were locals and only 328 were foreigners. Similarly, between January
and August 1999 out of 305 alleged militants killed, 260 were local and 45
were foreigners. These figures suggest that either the government's claim
about a 'proxy war' is misleading or that killing of non-combatant locals
is being passed off as that of militants to avoid charges of atrocities.

Besides the trend of attacks on the army posts raises doubts about the
government's claims that militancy is being run by 'mercenaries'.
Generally in such attacks attackers outnumber the target by 2:1. But in
Kupwara's Chak Natusa RR camp which came under militant fire on August 6
and 7 for two days 30 militants struck at 90 soldiers in the camp, a
reversed ratio of 1:3. (In the first half of August there were five
attacks on security forces' camps.) Mercenaries would be averse to
undertaking suicidal missions. In a recent interview even the director
general of BSF was constrained to say, "I think it is wrong to call them
mercenaries". To the acts of ommission or commission are added internecine
bickering among the security forces. During 'Operation Vijay II' corps
commanders were replaced with director general of Rashtriya Rifles to head
the unified headquarters in J and K without anyone bothering to inform the
state government. Now the corps commanders are back as security advisors
but heads of other 'armed forces of the union' demanded that they will
take orders on deployment of troops from the army only if the orders are
in writing. Indeed each force wanted independent command to be given to it
for one area or the other. The fringe benefits that accompany
'independent' charge obviously outweigh 'national security' concerns. This
has been accompanied by a breakdown in command and discipline. On July 14
the National Security Guards razed a building after firing rockets for
four hours to rescue hostages from a single militant at Bandipore. Army
commandos "rescued five hostages" on September 4 who were, according to
the DG of BSF, not "actually held hostage". More ludicrous was the
exchange of fire on August 17 between the Punjab police of Batala district
and J and K police of Kathua district over credit for recovery of 20 kg
RDX and two AK-47 rifles. On July 19 in the Akhnoor sector of the Jammu
region an army patrol came under BSF gunfire which killed an army officer
and two soldiers. To make matters worse, the army and BSF are fighting
over who is to conduct the inquiry. All this is a fallout of deploying a
large force for over 11 years without fear of prosecution for crimes and
often fighting among themselves over credit, rewards and protocol.

-----------------------------
#3.
PAKISTANI & INDIAN MUSICIANS IN CONCERT AT "MUSIC FOR PEACE"

November 14, Paris, France: The acclaimed South Indian singer K. J.
Yesudas teamed up with Pakistani supergroup Junoon at the historic
millennium concert "Music for Peace" at UNESCO, at the Empire Theater.
"Look," Yesudas had commented earlier, "Pakistanis are our brotherly
people. Only with music can we connect our feelings." The concert included
presentations by other people from countries that do not like each other,
like music by a Croatian-Yugoslavian, Israeli-Palestinian, Greek-Turkish,
and Korean-Japanese teams of musicians. The concert's opening piece was by
the Moscow Great Hall Symphony Orchestra led by Zubin Mehta. Source:India
West <www.indiawest.com> [Reprinted in: ACHA Bulletin 12/1/99]
-----------------------------
#4.
MEDHA PATKAR'S STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE VICTIMS OF THE BHOPAL GAS
TRAGEDY
The uncomparably brutal man-made tragedy of Bhopal continues to be the
force behind the fight against any toxic plan or project that can destroy
our land, forestry, aquatic wealth, our lives and livelihood. Union Carbide
the first culprit responsible for killing 7000 and poisoning the lives of
thousands of others who continue to suffer, has absconded from the court of
law. It has, while avoiding justice, exhibited the arrogance of a
multinational corporation, as also the destructive power of the toxic
chemicals that continue to acquire critical position in our lifestyle. We
cannott accept this, and we cannot forgive them! We can't but be a part of
the struggle of the thousands for justice.

With the fifteenth anniversary of the greatest gas tragedy, December 3rd
1984, approaching us, with a majority of the affected not yet compensated,
the grim reality of the powerless State and its callousness towards the
victims of development is once again exposed. The judiciary too hasn't been
able to make the corporate powers to bow down and pay up! They can't bring
back life but the Union Carbide, with its escalated profits and plans to
merge with Dow Chemicals, has not even showed the courtesy and courage to
appear in the cases filed by none other than the suffering people. The now
organised and empowered people are however ready to fight and continue to
do so on every front since last 15 years. Their brave actions right till
the new federal class action lawsuit filed in the US district court on
November 15, 1999 is a living and guiding example of people's power. The
perseverant struggle such as of the Bhopal Gas Pideet, especially the women
at the forefront, has always given courage to the struggles such as that in
the Narmada valley and other people's movements. We salute them on this
occasion when they would gather in Bhopal and remember their beloved ones,
those who give their lives. This, to remain alive in the persistent fight
against all kinds of destruction and injustice.

We, on behalf of the Narmada Bachao Andolan and National Alliance of
People's Movements express our solidarity with the various programmes at
many places whether in Anjad (Madhya Pradesh, India) or in Seattle (USA)
that would be challenging all the MNCs including Union Carbide, their
designs, their technology, money and markets derived from power, from the
village to the World Trade Organisation. We owe this to you, my
gas-affected sisters and brothers, we owe this to all the downtrodden and
to life all around that no doubt, is under threat of destruction.

Medha Patkar
December 1 1999
--------------------------------
#5.
NGOS [IN GUJARAT INDIA] WILL NOT BE ALLOWED FREE HAND

Statesman New Service
GANDHINAGAR, Nov. 25.-Non-government organisations and voluntary agencies
will no longer be allowed by the state government to work independently in
Gujarat.
If NGOs are to undertake development activities in the state, they will
have to work in collaboration with panchayats and zilla parishads.

This is what the state government has decided.

The government's decision is being viewed as a blow to the functional
freedom of NGOs and a step towards ultimate control of all voluntary
agencies by the state machinery.
Some BJP stalwarts had earlier advocated the need for reining in voluntary
agencies. The state government decision is being viewed as a reflection of
that wish.

This throws up the possibility of work conducted by NGOs being claimed as
that done by the panchayats and zilla parishads. Needless to say the BJP
will get the edge in the run-up to Assembly polls in 2001 as most rural
bodies are controlled by the party.

According to the state government decision, all state-and district-level
voluntary agencies who fulfil the eligibility criteria "and are interested
to work in collaboration with the panchayat bodies" may enroll themselves
as members with the state and district level coordination committees.
These coordination committees are going to be set up by the state
panchayats and rural development department at the state level and zilla
parishads at the district level. And what will the NGOs do?

They will have to attend workshops hosted by zilla parishads for "initial
assessment of the areas, activities and specialisations, mode of working
and human resources of voluntary agencies".
All these are for what the state government describes as the "purpose of
forging a collaborative linkage between panchayat bodies and voluntary
agencies".

According to some NGOs, the manner in which the organisations are being
gagged could be evident from the requirements they are to fulfil to conduct
development work in the state and districts.
=46or example, the state and district level coordination committees of
voluntary agencies are going to have representatives of the panchayats and
rural development department and zilla parishads-both in the general body
and managing committees-meaning that every work done by voluntary agencies
will be closely monitored by government functionaries and hence the ruling
party.

They will have virtually no freedom in choosing projects independently.
And what are they required to do for embarking on development projects with
their own funds?
The voluntary agencies "should disclose the source of their funds and the
manner in which the fund received by them is utilised. They should also
give an undertaking to publicly disclose all income and expenditure".

Similarly, NGOs are required to have "one or more operating bank or post
office accounts for the past three years".
It has also been clearly spelled out by the state government that the
voluntary agencies should intimate their future plans of action to the
state or district level coordination committees and "should also be
agreeable to effect such modification as may be necessary for proper
coordination of activities and optimum utilisation of resources".
To ensure strict monitoring of NGO activities the state government has also
come up with a proposal of setting up an "interface cell" for coordinating
the "collaboration between panchayat bodies and voluntary agencies".
----------------------------
#6.
DR RAMANADHAM MEMORIAL MEETING ON SCIENCE, STATE AND DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS

Date: Saturday, 4Th December 1999 | Venue: Dy. Chairman Hall, Constitution
Club, Rafi Marg, New Delhi | Time: 3.00 P. M.
Speakers:
DR. ANIL SADGOPAL Central Institute of Education, Delhi University
DR BHANU DAS Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore

Organised by PEOPLES UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS, DELHI
------------------------------
#7.
=46ilm Screening in Washington, DC by Asia Near East Bureau / USAID and the
Policy Project / The
=46utures Group at BROWNBAG on Friday, December 10, 1999, 11:30-12:45 at
USAID, RRB, Room
2.9D/E

Preview excerpts from the commercial film "Chameli", and meet its
writer-director-producer Mr. Ravi Baral. Following the preview, the
audience will have an opportunity to discuss the film with Ravi - the
reasons for making it, how it was made, and how its message can be spread.

"Chameli", a full-length movie on girl trafficking and HIV/AIDS, was
produced by the NGO Media Alert and Relief Foundation with private funds
and with support from the Government of Nepal, the USAID/Nepal Mission,
UNIFEM and ANE/USAID. Filmed on location in Nepal's Annapurnas and Terai,
Bombay and the Indo-Nepal borders,

"Chameli" tells the story of the betrayal of a 15-year old girl from a
remote Himalayan village, who was forced into prostitution in Bombay, and
later tragically returns to her village after contracting HIV. The film was
made to sensitize Nepali communities and to challenge the government to
confront the girl trafficking problem. Still to be premiered in Kathmandu
and in the villages of Nepal, the film is also an attempt to bring to the
attention of the general public the plight of young, innocent Nepali girls
victimized by this illicit and contemptible practice. Each year, from
6-7,000 Nepali girls are either sold. tricked or abducted into prostitution
in Indian brothels. Reportedly, up to 200,000 girls, some as young as 12,
have suffered this fate.

Ravi set up his film company in 1990, has written and directed
documentary,promotional and developmental films. Media Alert, which he
founded, aims at grassroots-level awareness in Nepal of health, environment
and human rights issues through the audio-visual medium.

Please RSVP by 12:00 December 9 to Molly Strachan of The Futures Group,
Tel. No. 202-775-9694, or by email (m.strachan@t...)
____________________________________________
SOUTH ASIA CITIZENS WEB DISPATCH is an informal, independent &
non-profit citizens wire service run by South Asia Citizens Web
(http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex) since1996.