[sacw] [ACT] sacw dispatch (11 Feb 00)

Harsh Kapoor act@egroups.com
Fri, 11 Feb 2000 22:11:24 +0100


South Asia Citizens Web - Dispatch
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex
11 Feb 2000
________________________

#1. India, Pakistan Crossfire Continues To Kill Civilians in Kashmir
#2. Pakistan: General Musharaf packs authoritarian punch
#3. India: Delhi Feminist groups letter re disruption of the film Water
#4. India: Lure of office pushes out ideology
#5. India: BJP cautious over RSS issue
________________________

#1.

Voice of America

INDIA, PAKISTAN CROSSFIRE CONTINUES TO KILL CIVILIANS IN KASHMIR

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, February 11, 2000 (VOA): In recent weeks there has
been a noticeable rise in tensions along the so-called "Line of Control,"
which divides the disputed State of Jammu & Kashmir between India and
Pakistan. Shelling and mortar fire by both Indian and Pakistani troops on
opposite sides of the Line of Control (LOC) is an almost daily occurrence.
This has meant increased hardship for the people who inhabit the mountain
valleys of Kashmir that are divided by the Line of Control. VOA's Jim
Teeple has visited such a village on the Pakistani side of the LOC where he
reports people go about their lives with the knowledge that every day could
be their last.

Storekeepers close their shutters early in the small village of Chakothi.
There are few customers, shopping at the handful of stores that line
Chakothi's one muddy, potholed street. The street runs through the center
of the village up to a Pakistani military barrier adorned with a large
skull and crossbones. Beyond the barrier, just 800 meters away is another
military barrier-but one manned by Indian troops. In between the two
barriers lies the Line of Control," which for a generation (52 years) has
divided Kashmir.

Chakothi lies in just one of the many beautiful valleys of Kashmir. On
either side are steep forests and snowcapped mountains. Concealed in the
forests overlooking Chakothi from the Indian-Occupied side of the valley
are artillery and mortar pieces that rain down death and destruction on
Chakothi.

The story is the same for villages on the Indian-Held side of the Line of
Control. In recent weeks scores of civilians have been killed on both sides
as Pakistan and India have traded artillery and mortar fire back and forth.
Khursheed, a schoolteacher in the village who declines to give his last
name, says just three days earlier more than 600 mortar shells landed in
and around the village. Standing in front of a row of shops destroyed by
shelling he says the people of Chakothi have had their lives disrupted by
the shelling.

KHURSHEED: "Due to firing they cannot go here and there. People live in
their houses, they cannot go to the market to buy essential things for
their lives. The people who live on the front lines cannot go into their
fields- they cannot cut their crops. The Indian Army fire has damaged many
houses."

Tensions are always high on the Line of Control, but have increased
recently in the wake of the hijacking of an Indian airlines plane in
December 1999. India says Pakistan was involved in the hijacking-a charge
Pakistan vehemently denies. The accusations and counter-accusations are
punctuated by artillery and mortar shells crashing into villages like
Chakothi on both sides of the Line of Control. The shelling takes its toll.
On average about 20 people are killed every year in and around Chakothi
from the firing.

Anyone who can, leaves Chakothi. Many of the village men have migrated to
Saudi Arabia or the Gulf States to work as laborers. Others travel the 58
kilometers to Muzafarabad, the capital of Pakistan's part of Kashmir (Azad
Kashmir) or to other parts of Pakistan.

Roshan Mughal is a local reporter in Muzafarabad who travels back to see
his remaining family members in Chakothi about twice a month. Recently he
had to bring his mother and some nieces and nephews to Muzafarabad to stay
with him when shelling became too intense and too dangerous for them to
stay in Chakothi. Showing a visitor his family's homemade bunker he says
Chakothi's residents pay close attention to where the shells are falling
before moving into their bunkers.

MUGHAL: "When there is firing between Pakistan and India on the Line of
Control, people do not go into their bunkers. But when firing shifts to the
local population-when the Indian firing starts to hit some houses then
people take refuge in these bunkers."

Roshan Mughal says some people are reluctant to use the bunkers-afraid that
a direct hit might cause them to collapse. Despite their almost daily bouts
of terror he says most people in Chakothi have gotten used to the shelling.
Roshan Mughal says even his nieces and nephews don't mind it too
much-except when the shells get so close their bunker starts to shake.

_________

#2.

Index on censorship
Latest Censorship News
Updated: 2 February 2000

PAKISTAN
GENERAL MUSHARAF PACKS AUTHORITARIAN PUNCH
by Arif Azad

Only a few days before the Supreme Court was to consider the hearing on
the dismissal of the Nawaz Sharif government, the new military ruler of
Pakistan, General Musharaf, acted on January 26 to strengthen his lock
grip on the judicial system.

In a move that took the legal profession and international community by
surprise, General Musharaf asked the judges of the higher courts to
renew their oath of office under the new Provisional Constitution Order
(PCO). More than half (six) judges of the Supreme Court, including Chief
Justice Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui, preferred to step down rather than
pledge their allegiance to the military regime. Seven other judges of
the lower courts either refused to take the oath or were not invited to
take it - in anticipation of their non-compliance.

In another deviation from judicial protocol - unseen even in the worst
days of Zia-ul-Haq's dictatorship - the Punjab law minister, Khalid
Ranjha, was drafted in to administer a new oath to the judges at the
Multan bench of the Lahore High Court. One judge of the court, Justice
Jawad S. Khawaja, initially refused to be administered the oath on the
grounds that it represented the supremacy of the executive over the
judiciary. The normal practice is that the chief justice administers the
oath to the judges of the lower courts.

Chief Justice Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui put his refusal to take the oath
down to his well-known position on the preservation of the 1973
constitution and judicial freedom. Hard on the heels of the snub from
the judges, the military set about attacking the integrity of the chief
justice by accusing him of corrupt practices - a tactic so far reserved
exclusively for politicians. Military guards cordoned off his residence
immediately before the swearing-in ceremony of the assenting judges.

In 1998, Siddiqui was elevated to the post of chief justice following a
bitter confrontation between then Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and the
ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Muslim League government, once
again over constitutional issues.

The timing of the latest PCO coincides with the hearing date of the
petition presented by the Muslim League challenging the 12 October coup.
Chief Justice Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui had already constituted the full
bench of the Supreme Court to hear the petition on 31 January. The PCO
was hastily promulgated to forestall the likelihood of any adverse
verdict from the superior judiciary.

At a fundamental level, the new oath forbids the superior courts from
admitting petitions challenging the legitimacy of the government and
yokes the newly-sworn judges to the new constitutional order promulgated
by the military regime. Put bluntly, this means the supremacy of rule of
martial law ordinances over those of constitutional provisions. From now
on all the PCO-anointed judges will bow before the altar of the military
executive, rather than the constitution of Pakistan.

General Musharaf's trashing of the superior judiciary drew instant
opposition from all sections of civil society. All major bar
associations denounced the promulgation of the dusted-down version of
1981-PCO. Multan High court bar association cancelled a pre-scheduled
dinner with the chief justice of the Lahore High Court, Justice Rashid
Aziz Khan, apparently in displeasure over his signing up to the PCO.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) statement encapsulated
the situation: '[The PCO] has dealt a blow even at the appearance of the
judiciary's independence. The latter has now, by its swearing of a new
allegiance, become a creature not of the constitution but of the chief
of the army acting as the country's self-proclaimed chief executive.'
HRCP

The latest PCO is a carbon copy of one promulgated by the last military
dictator General Zia-ul-Haq (1977-88) on 24 March 1981. The then-PCO was
sprung upon an unwary judiciary in similar circumstances when the
Supreme Court had admitted a petition challenging some of the
extra-constitutional actions of the General Zial-ul Haq military junta.
By reviving the black document of Pakistan's constitutional history
General Musharaf has stifled judicial freedom. This carries grave
implications for the health of basic human freedoms in Pakistan.

The promulgation of the PCO exposes the inherent illegality of the
military regime. It is now becoming manifest that the new military
regime have doffed the gloves and is beginning to lean on ham-fisted
solutions. The next blow is most likely to land on the press, which has
so far maintained some sort of critical stance.

__________

#3.

[A LETTER FROM JAGORI, A DELHI BASED FEMINIST GROUP]

11 February 2000

Dear Friends

By disrupting the shooting of the film Water, yet another incident of
fundamentalist violence has come to the fore, threatening the already
disintegrating climate in which we have difficulty in expressing ourselves
freely. And those take this risk are silenced with mindless outrage in the
name of protecting our "Moral and Social" fabric. The Centre's official
clearence of the film script, which is the final authority on scripts
submited by foriegn film productions, is being violated with impunity.

In protest to this we are organising a peacful demonstartion on 14th
=46ebruary 2000, monday at 4:00 pm near Akashwani Bhawan.

As concerned citizens we demand:
1. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Central Goverment's
sanction for shooting the film be enforced without further violence and
obstacles.
2. Immediate punitive action be taken against the perpetrators of violence.

In Solidarity

Jagori Group
Jagori [New Delhi]
__________

#4.

The Hindu
11 Feb 2000
Op-Ed.

LURE OF OFFICE PUSHES OUT IDEOLOGY
By Kuldip Nayar

It is ironical that the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee's
statement that the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh is a cultural
organisation has been challenged by the former Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister, Mr. Kalyan Singh, an insider till recently. Neither Mr. Ram
Vilas Paswan, nor Mr. Sharad Yadav, nor Mr. George Fernandes claiming to
possess secular credentials, has said a word in protest. They are all
Ministers in the National Democratic Alliance Government. The Home
Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, has gone a step further to say that no party
of the NDA - as many as 24 of them - has spoken against the formulation
that the RSS is a cultural outfit.

It is a case of lure of office pushing out ideology. And this is perhaps
the worst example. Now that the cat is out of the bag, all the parties
in the NDA stand in the dock. The reported volte face of the Telugu
Desam and its leader, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, is the unkindest cut of
all. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr. M. Karunanidhi, has corrected
himself but he has yet to tell whether the DMK would stay as part of the
NDA

Mr. Kalyan Singh is frank because he has no RSS leader like Mr.
Govindacharya to placate. He did that for many years when he wanted to
stay in power. Now he is a free man. He was candid enough to admit at a
press conference two days ago: ``I have spent a greater part of my life
in this organisation (RSS) and I can say that right from the
distribution of election ticket to selecting Cabinet Ministers, it is
only the RSS which calls the shots. What else is political activity?''

Not that anyone, including those in the BJP, had any doubts about it.
Ninety per cent of the BJP Ministers at the Centre are of RSS origin and
they still go out of the way to stay on the right side of sangchalaks or
others who count in the RSS hierarchy. Mr. Madan Lal Khurana got hurt
while trying to cross swords with the RSS two years ago. He is still
licking his wounds.

How the Home Ministry has changed after Mr. L. K. Advani has taken over
can be judged from the fact that the Government's reports, including
those by intelligence agencies, used to discuss the RSS under the
heading of communal organisations and compare it with the
Jamaat-i-Islami. Now such references have been deleted and the emphasis
is on the Left-wing extremist organisations.

Since the RSS is now a ``cultural'' organisation, the two large BJP-run
States, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, are encouraging Government employees
to join it.

In a way, it has made little difference. The middle and upper levels of
bureaucrats were already in sympathy with the RSS. But the freedom to
join the RSS is changing the very culture of civil services in the
States. It is not only saffronising the atmosphere but communalising it.

Mr. Advani's statement that the same point was being considered for
Central Government employees is ominous. It will end the objectivity
that Government employees have been trained to inculcate. The gauntlet
has been thrown down to political parties. They should not be slow in
picking it up.

Once the Muslim League in Kerala, with which the Congress and the
Communists had alliance at one time or the other was not considered the
Muslim League of pre-partition days it was described as a cultural body.
Political parties are now chary of it because they are beginning to see
it in its true colours.

The manner in which the Sangh Parivar outfits like the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad are spelling out culture makes one wonder if there will be any
free expression of creativity. First, the painter, Mr. M. F. Hussain's
paintings were taken up. Then the attention was focussed on some books.
Now, films are the target. The stoppage of Water's shooting at Varanasi
is nothing but vandalism. And all the guilty have gone scot free. Who
has made the VHP, or, for that matter, the RSS the custodian of Hindu
culture? They are spoiling its pluralistic character and the
accommodative spirit.

Mr. Vajpayee should have condemned those who have taken upon themselves
to interpret Hindu culture. He has not criticised the vandalism at
Varanasi. His silence is ominous. What does he want to convey when he
says that the RSS is a cultural body?

In contrast, India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who, under
the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, won us Independence, said; ``What they
(the RSS organisers) say in public is entirely opposed to what they do
in private. Every Provincial Government has had plenty of experience of
their activities. One does not mind, or, at any rate, accepts an
opponent. But it is distressing that any organisation consisting of
large numbers of young men, should be so utterly little-minded and
lacking in not only vision but in common sense or common understanding.
The RSS is typical in this respect of the type of organisation that grew
up in various parts of Europe in support of Fascism. It attracts people,
essentially from the lower middle class, many of them frustrated, many
of them with vague ideas and little thought behind them.''
__________

#5.

The Hindu
12 Feb 2000

BJP CAUTIOUS OVER RSS ISSUE
By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI, FEB. 11. The Bharatiya Janata Party today decided to take a
step back in caution and lower the rising political temperature in the
ongoing controversy on allowing Government servants to get membership
and participate in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS). But, at the same time, the RSS chief himself came out with the
view that except for personnel in the police and the judiciary, all
other Government servants should be allowed to participate in RSS
activities.

Senior party leader and spokesperson, Mr. J.P. Mathur, today indicated
that ``the issue will be discussed by the BJP leaders in the Government
with the leaders of the allies,'' and ``it will not be allowed to create
a rift in the National Democratic Alliance,'' even as separately, at an
award function organised by Panchjanya, the RSS mouthpiece, Mr. Rajendra
Singh, the RSS Sarsanghchalak, was reported as having said that ``except
for the police and the judiciary'', Government servants should be
allowed to participate in RSS activities. The Prime Minister, Mr. A.B.
Vajpayee, who was present at the function, declined to comment on the
controversy.

Mr. Mathur was responding to questions in relation to the letter written
to the Prime Minister by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader,
Mr. M. Karunanidhi, on this question. Mr. Karunanidhi has said that if
political parties were to start their ``cultural'' and ``social'' wings
and Government servants were freely allowed to participate in these
activities, it would open a ``Pandora's box'' and employees affiliated
to rival organisations would come into conflict destroying the
apolitical functioning of the administrative machinery.

(A PTI report quoted Mr. Vajpayee as saying: ``I do not want to say
anything on the matter.'')

The BJP's view is that senior party leaders in the Government - Mr.
Vajpayee, Mr. L.K. Advani and others - were naturally expected to
discuss the issue with the leaders of allied parties in the wake of Mr.
Karunanidhi's letter. He was sure that ``this issue will not be allowed
to create a rift in the NDA''.

=46or the last one week, senior BJP leaders at the party headquarters have
been strongly defending the Gujarat Government's action in withdrawing
the order that prohibits Government servants from taking part in RSS
activities, saying ``there was nothing wrong in this'' since ``the RSS
was a patriotic and cultural organisation''.

But the impression now is that the BJP would not like this controversy
to get out of hand and become the cause of instability in the otherwise
stable Vajpayee Government. Of course, Mr. Mathur admitted, that if
Government servants were allowed to participate in RSS activities, the
BJP would welcome it. ``If people realise that the RSS is not a
political organisation, and therefore restrictions on Government
servants are lifted, I will be happy.'' But it was for the Government to
consider the matter.

Privately, some BJP leaders have said that the recent statements of the
Prime Minister and the Home Minister - suggesting that the Centre was
about to initiate a move to withdraw the restrictions on Government
servants - were aimed at ``facilitating'' the entry into Government
service of those who have been actively associated with the RSS.

The party leaders were also questioned on how the BJP Chief Minister of
Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Ram Prakash Gupta, could go on record suggesting that
even if there were notifications forbidding Government servants from
participating in RSS activities, he would simply ignore these and not
comply. The answer was that a notification was not a ``law'', implying
that it was not binding.
__________

#4.

__________________________________________
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