[sacw] SACW #2 | 22 Feb. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire - Dispatch #2 | 22 February 2002

[INTERRUPTION NOTICE: Please note, there will be no SACW posts on=20
20th & 21st Feb 2002]

------------------------------------------

#1. Peace in South Asia: Pipe-Dream or Real Possibility? [Part II]=20
(Rohini Hensman)
#2. India is meekly tailing America in its cowboy-style war against a=20
fair global order (Praful Bidwai)
#3. Jihadis and their Murder of Daniel Peal (M B Naqvi)

________________________

#1.

PEACE IN SOUTH ASIA: PIPE-DREAM OR REAL POSSIBILITY? [Part II]

Rohini Hensman

Of course, the Norwegian government has told us that the LTTE appear=20
to be willing to give up the goal of Eelam, but with all due respect,=20
I would prefer to hear that from the lips of the Supremo himself, in=20
case there has been some mistake in translation, since Tamil members=20
and supporters of the LTTE have been promised, on the contrary, that=20
Eelam is imminent. Members of the 'peace' lobby, like the National=20
Peace Council, the Centre for Policy Alternatives and its offshoot=20
the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence, and the Movement for=20
Inter-Racial Justice and Equality may also deny that they are in=20
favour of partition. But what, then, is their formula for peace? The=20
only solution which would satisfy justifiable Tamil concerns is a new=20
constitution guaranteeing equal treatment and opportunities for all=20
citizens, and substantial devolution of power, but apparently these=20
NGOs opposed this package when it was proposed by the previous PA=20
government. In the absence of any statement to the contrary, we can=20
only assume that they favour partition, with its guarantee of=20
permanent war.

Self-determination or determination by others?
Does opposition to partition entail opposing self-determination for=20
Tamils? Absolutely not! On the contrary, at a time when Ariel Sharon=20
is using the rhetoric of the so-called 'war against terrorism' to=20
crush the Palestinian liberation struggle, and the Indian government=20
uses the same rhetoric to outlaw demands for democratic rights in=20
Kashmir, it is all the more necessary to affirm support for the right=20
of all people, including the Tamil-speaking people of Sri Lanka, to=20
self-determination. But in order to do that, we first need to be=20
clear what we mean by 'self-determination'. Literally, it means the=20
ability to determine one's self, and therefore includes, among other=20
things, freedom from violence and physical coercion, freedom of=20
movement, freedom of expression and association, equal rights for=20
all, and control over decisions affecting oneself, which implies=20
self-government; it is, in fact, another name for human rights and=20
democracy.

What is crucially important in cases where self-determination is used=20
rhetorically in a struggle is to examine the actual aim of the=20
struggle and the means used to achieve that goal. For example, a new=20
initiative to fight for a secular, democratic Palestinian state by=20
non-violent means deserves all-out support from the international=20
community. Similarly, in the present context of highly communalised=20
societies in both India and Pakistan, non-violent struggle for a=20
democratic, secular Kashmir should be supported. On the other hand,=20
an Islamic Palestine and Islamic Kashmir will rule out the=20
possibility of self-determination for Jews, Christians, Buddhists,=20
Hindus, non-believers and secular Muslims within their boundaries.=20
Nor can we endorse terrorist methods - the threat or use of violence=20
against unarmed civilians - in either of these situations.

What we need to do, then, is to examine the goal of Tamil Eelam and=20
the means used by the LTTE to achieve it, and ask: do they contribute=20
in any way to the self-determination of Tamils? Is Tamil Eelam a goal=20
which is compatible with human rights and democracy?

A state which is identified with any particular ethnic or religious=20
group cannot, by definition, be democratic, because those who belong=20
to other groups cannot be equal in such a nation; at best they will=20
be discriminated against, at worst they may be 'ethnically cleansed',=20
i.e. driven out and/or exterminated. Moreover, even those who share=20
the same religion or ethnicity as the rulers will not be free to=20
define their own identity, but will be forced to conform to the=20
definition imposed by their rulers. This has been the experience in=20
all such cases: Nazi ('Aryan') Germany, White (apartheid) South=20
Africa, Zionist (Jewish) Israel, Islamic countries like Pakistan,=20
Saudi Arabia and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, Sinhala Buddhist Sri=20
Lanka and so on. There is ample evidence that Tamil Eelam is no=20
different. Sinhalese were hounded out of areas of the North held by=20
the LTTE, and in 1990, all Muslims were expelled. While the same=20
degree of ethnic cleansing has not yet been achieved in the East,=20
there have been massacres of Sinhalese and Muslims which appear to be=20
directed at terrorising them to leave.=20

The LTTE definition of 'Tamilness' has been imposed on Tamils with=20
equally terrorist methods. As is usual in such cases, a dress code is=20
imposed on civilian women, who are required to wear 'traditional=20
dress', meaning sari and pottu. On the other hand, women fighters=20
'are predominantly low-caste Tamil women who join between the ages of=20
11 and 13. The presumably "expendable" low-caste Tamil women=20
recruited for suicide bombings come from this group=8A One female=20
Tiger, who identified herself as "Mariana",..said that even her=20
sister cadres "take no prisoners," but deal with any captured or=20
injured soldiers by killing them on the spot. Tiger treatment of=20
security forces personnel has been independently confirmed by the=20
International Committee of the Red Cross=8A The female Tigers, like=20
their male counterparts, accept without question the harsh discipline=20
needed to carry out the LTTE's brutal strategies, including suicide=20
attacks. "If we're needed to explode, we'll explode," said Mariana.'=20
However, this definition of Tamil womanhood has no place for women=20
who claim the right to think and express themselves freely; such=20
women - for example, doctor, feminist and human rights activist=20
Rajani Thiranagama, poet Selvy (Thiagarajah Selvanity) and popular=20
mayor of Jaffna Sarojini Yogeswaran - have to be executed.

While Tamil men are not required to observe a dress code, the demand=20
for complete obedience to the LTTE Supreme Leader is just as=20
absolute, and the punishments for dissidents and rivals are torture=20
and death. The list of those 'eliminated' in this way is too long to=20
cite here; we can just mention that they include dozens of cadres of=20
TELO, TULF leaders Amirthalingam and Yogeswaran, and Neelan=20
Thiruchelvam, parliamentarian, scholar, and founder of the=20
International Centre of Ethnic Studies and Law and Society Trust.=20
The numerous instances where elected representatives of the Tamil=20
people have been killed by the LTTE are not only a violation of the=20
human rights of those individuals, but also of the democratic right=20
of the Tamil people to elect their own representatives. Perhaps the=20
most disturbing of all have been reports of forced conscription of=20
child soldiers, many of them just eleven or twelve years old, and the=20
youngest, reportedly, just nine.

The inescapable conclusion is that the goal of Tamil Eelam does not=20
mean self-determination for Tamils but the very opposite. Moreover,=20
the totalitarian character of the LTTE regime has been very evident=20
even after the so-called 'peace' process was initiated by the UNF=20
government. In the East, there have been numerous reports of=20
extortion of very large sums of money, as well as other belongings,=20
mainly from Muslims but also from Tamils; kidnapping of adults for=20
ransom; political killings of Tamils seen as a threat to the LTTE,=20
including elected representatives; leaflets distributed reiterating=20
the need for a dress code for women; above all, there have been=20
numerous reports of accelerated conscription of child soldiers, in=20
some cases through blackmailing their families (for example, with=20
destruction of their homes if they refuse), in other cases through=20
outright abduction. On February 5, the President expressed deep=20
concern about UNICEF reports of forcible child conscription, and=20
stated that the peace process could succeed only if human rights in=20
general and children's rights in particular are safeguarded. In the=20
light of LTTE spokesman Balasingham's denial on February 6th that=20
forcible conscription of children is taking place, it is worth=20
looking at some of the other reports of forcible conscription apart=20
from those cited above.

Child abuse and slavery
'Reports from eastern Sri Lanka say Tamil Tiger rebels there are=20
taking advantage of the current ceasefire with the government to step=20
up forced recruitment of teenagers for their war effort=8A Community=20
leaders say that the Tamil Tigers are forcibly conscripting young=20
boys and girls who look fit enough to fight' (BBC News Online, 1=20
February 2002).
'There has been much alarm about reports that Tamil Tiger rebels have=20
been taking advantage of the lull in the fighting to come into=20
villages in the eastern district of Batticaloa to try to take away=20
teenagers - many of whose families had fled rebel territory in order=20
to avoid conscription=8AMeanwhile there are some reports from northern=20
Sri Lanka of rebel cadre in Mannar district demanding both money and=20
children for the war effort from civilians in government areas=8A In=20
the North it is not clear whether these reports represent a marked=20
increase in rebel activity. But in the East of Sri Lanka local people=20
say the degree of harassment had shot up since the ceasefire came=20
into effect' (BBC report by Frances Harrison). 'In the Batticaloa=20
District, the LTTE has rounded up certain villages and has forcibly=20
taken away a number of children for arms training=8AThe LTTE has even=20
taken letters of consent from parents to the effect that they would=20
hand over their children who are now below eight years, when they=20
reach the age for arms training' (Movement for Alternative Tamil=20
Opinion and Democracy, 1 February 2002).

There are many more such reports, but perhaps the most chilling is=20
this one: 'Kanthan's mother knew why the Tigers had come for her=20
15-year-old son, Aruna. In rebel-controlled areas of Sri Lanka, every=20
Tamil family is required to give up a child, girl or boy, to join the=20
fight for a Tamil homeland. She had not done so. Now the Tigers were=20
coming to take the new recruit by force. "The Tigers pulled her hands=20
away from my brother so roughly that they broke all her fingers. She=20
was screaming in pain," Kanthan said. "My sister was still holding=20
onto Aruna then the Tiger girls descended on her and started=20
strangling her and tearing her dress until she let go." The fight=20
went on for an hour before the Tigers disappeared into the night,=20
taking Aruna with them. The next morning, on January 12, the=20
villagers gathered and pieced together what had happened. In all,=20
four teenagers, two girls and two boys, had been carried off to a=20
jungle training camp run by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam=20
(LTTE)=8AMore than 40 families with teenagers fled the government-held=20
Kirin district after the Tigers swept into town and carried off six=20
children at gunpoint. Their homes were burnt as a warning to other=20
families of their duty to contribute a child to the cause. One=20
couple, grief-stricken at the loss of their only child, committed=20
suicide with the same cyanide capsules used by captured Tiger=20
fighters=8A Kanthan smiled wryly at the Tigers' claim that all recruits=20
go willingly. "The other boy taken with my brother bit the Tiger's=20
hand so hard he had to have stitches," he said. "I don't think he was=20
going willingly."'

Can anyone who has ever loved and cared for a child read that report=20
without weeping for the terrified abducted children, the mother whose=20
fingers had to be broken and sister who had to be strangled, the=20
parents who committed suicide, all the families whose children were=20
dragged away? One is reminded strongly of Toni Morrison's novel=20
Beloved, in which the slave mother, Sethe, kills her own beloved=20
daughter because she cannot bear to think of her enslaved and abused.=20
Slave mothers were not supposed to love their children, just as the=20
Tamil mothers in proto-Eelam are not supposed to love theirs, and to=20
Sethe, freedom meant the right to love. The right to love was also a=20
basic demand of the mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina,=20
risking their own lives in the search for their disappeared children,=20
and one can understand why: without this fundamental right, society=20
itself would disintegrate.

Human rights and democracy as conditions for peace
So who is responsible for this situation where Tamil children, women=20
and men are being subjected to such an outrageous denial of their=20
human rights? First and foremost, of course, the LTTE and its=20
supporters, whose power depends on the perpetuation of war, and who=20
need, therefore, to conscript their army, regardless of the cost to=20
Tamil society, knowing that they would not survive for a single day=20
if there were peace and self-determination for Tamils. Secondly, the=20
UNP-TNA-SLMC-CWC government, which, after having sabotaged the only=20
chance of a political solution to the ethnic conflict by opposing=20
devolution with equal rights, then used the slogan of 'peace' in=20
order to get into power, with no regard for the consequences to=20
Tamils and Muslims in the North and East. They cannot, however, evade=20
responsibility for what is happening: both constitutionally and as a=20
party to the UN Covenant on the Rights of the Child, the government=20
is legally obliged to protect the rights of its citizens, which=20
includes rescuing the children who have been abducted and preventing=20
further criminal abductions. If they cannot carry out this=20
obligation, they should resign; alternatively, if they have agreed to=20
hand over part of the country to the LTTE, then the electorate has a=20
right to know about this agreement.

The Norwegian government shares the blame, since the leaked draft of=20
its ceasefire MoU reportedly allowed for human rights violations of=20
civilians. Its previous attempt at mediation was not a spectacular=20
success: the current havoc going on in the Middle East is in no small=20
measure due to the failure of the Oslo Agreement to tackle the=20
central issues of the occupation of Palestine by Israel and the right=20
of Palestinian refugees to return. If a similar fiasco is to be=20
avoided in Sri Lanka, they will need to ensure that the human and=20
democratic rights of Tamils and others are adequately protected. The=20
former PA government too has some responsibility for the situation.=20
By failing to punish instances of corruption, thuggery and violence=20
among its own members sufficiently severely, and failing to make an=20
all-out attempt to push through constitutional changes which would=20
satisfy the overwhelming majority of Tamils, they squandered much of=20
the goodwill which had brought them to power. NGOs and civil society=20
leaders, including religious ones, who have supported Sinhala and=20
Tamil communal politics, are also to blame.

It is surely not coincidental that Dr Daya Somasundaram, a=20
psychiatrist who has treated both victims and perpetrators of=20
violence in the war, comes to approximately the same conclusion as=20
Tagore: 'The fundamental problem of the war in Sri Lanka is of an=20
exclusive ethnic consciousness=8AIn the present world, national=20
boundaries are fast losing their relevance and it may be more germane=20
to consider rethinking on these basic demarcations, or, better still,=20
to accept the interdependence and unity of the whole world=8A'=20

Returning, then, to the question we started out with: What are the=20
prospects for peace in South Asia? The answer, I feel, depends on all=20
of us: especially those of us who live in the sub-continent, but also=20
the rest of the international community. Real peace can only be built=20
on the affirmation of universal human and democratic rights, and=20
there is a material basis for doing this. What, after all, is the one=20
truly universal experience, shared by everyone who has ever lived? It=20
is the experience of infancy: of complete vulnerability, utter=20
helplessness, total dependence on others for our very survival. This=20
is the experience which defines us as citizens of the world, and=20
enables us to identify with anyone, anywhere, who is in a similar=20
position of vulnerability, whose humanity is violated or abused.=20
Conversely, the inbuilt exclusivism and supremacism which define=20
nationalism and patriotism, especially in their ethnic or religious=20
forms, develops by crushing this most fundamental facet of our=20
humanity, and therefore results in psychological disease and=20
spiritual death.

If we wish for peace, therefore, we must do everything in our power=20
to find out and inform people about the crimes being committed in the=20
name of various nationalisms, combat the mutilation of humanity=20
brought about by all forms of national exclusivism, and actively=20
propagate universal human rights, democracy, and friendship between=20
peoples. Every one of us can do this in some capacity: as parents,=20
grandparents, uncles and aunts, educators and scholars, journalists=20
and writers, members of neighbourhoods, religious communities, trade=20
unions or women's groups, politicians or voters. Silence and=20
passivity are not an option.

Gouri Chouduri, Ritu Dewan, Manimala and Sheba Chhachhi, Women's=20
Testimonies from Kashmir: "The Green of the Valley is Khakhi",=20
Women's Initiative, 1994
Reported in many human rights reports, including several by Indian=20
groups like the report quoted from above. See also Gautam Navlakha,=20
'It's Never Too Late to Do the Right Thing', Economic and Political=20
Weekly, 29 July 2001 and Informative Missive, the newsletter of the=20
Public Commission on Human Rights, Jammu and Kashmir
E.g. Balraj Puri, 'Time for Alternatives to Violence in Kashmir,'=20
Economic and Political Weekly, 13 May 2000; "Islam is just a fa=E7ade=20
for Pakistan", excerpts from website of Jammu Kashmir Democratic=20
Freedom Party, Communalism Combat, July 1999
E.g. Zaffar Abbas, 'Pakistan at gunpoint,' Communalism Combat, May=20
1998; K.Mumtaz and F.Shaheed, Women of Pakistan: Two Steps Forward,=20
One Step Back?' Zed Books, 1987
We or Our Nationhood Defined, 1939, quoted in Sitaram Yechury,=20
'What is Hindu Rashtra?' Frontline, 12 March 1993; T.Basu et al.,=20
Khaki Shorts, Saffron Flags, Orient Longman 1993
E.g. Teesta Setalvad, 'Denying generations their history,'=20
Communalism Combat, December 2001
The People's Verdict, The Indian People's Human Rights Commission, 1993
'Stop the "Talibanisation" of India', and Teesta Setalvad,=20
'Hindutva targets the hinterland', in Communalism Combat, October 2001
Nationalism, London 1917, quoted by Sajal Nag, who adds, 'nations=20
have always been concerned about "us" against "them"=8AIn fact a nation=20
can be defined as an unending process of othering,' ('Nationhood and=20
Displacement in the Indian Subcontinent,' Economic and Political=20
Weekly, 22 December 2001). I feel that nationalism and patriotism,=20
which involve uncritical support of the state or would-be state, are=20
very different from love of one's country. We can love our country in=20
the same way that we love our home, neighbourhood, city, town or=20
village: because we have grown up or lived in it for a long time, are=20
familiar with it, and associate it with loved ones and pleasant=20
memories. Far from setting us apart, this love can bind us to people=20
from other countries who feel the same way for their country. Such=20
love would make us oppose all oppressive state power, whether of our=20
own or other nations.
Praful Bidwai and Achin Vanaik, South Asia on a Short Fuse, Oxford=20
University Press, 1999, page x.
Interview with Fr. Oswald Firth, Sunday Leader, 6 August 2000
Edward Said, 'Emerging Alternatives in Palestine,' Al-Ahram Weekly=20
Online, 10-16 January 2002
University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna), Report No.5 (1990);=20
Rohini Hensman, Journey Without a Destination, British Refugee=20
Council, London and Colombo, 1993
Sitralega Maunaguru, 'Gendering Tamil Nationalism: The Construction=20
of the "Woman" in projects of Protest and Control', in Pradeep=20
Jeganathan and Qadri Ismail (eds), Unmaking the Nation, Social=20
Scientists Association, Colombo, 1995
'LTTE admits to atrocities and rights abuses,' Daily Mirror, 27=20
April 2000, based on interviews conducted by reporters of the French=20
magazine Le Point in the Batticaloa jungles.
UTHR(J) Report No.9,(1992); UTHR(J) Special Report No.11: A Tamil=20
Heroine Unmourned and the Sociology of Obfuscation (1998); Neloufer=20
de Mel, Women and the Nation's Narrative, Social Scientists'=20
Association, Colombo, 2001
Rajan Hoole, Daya Somasundaram, K.Sritharan and Rajani Thiranagama,=20
The Broken Palmyrah, The Sri Lanka Studies Institute, Claremont (CA),=20
1990; UTHR(J) Report No.9, 1992; Tributes to Neelan, Pravada,Vol.6=20
No.5
Amnesty International, Children in South Asia: Securing their=20
Rights, 1998; UTHR(J) Information Bulletin No.27, The LTTE, Child=20
Soldiers and Serial Disasters, October 2001; Coalition to Stop the=20
Use of Child Soldiers (including international agencies like Amnesty=20
International and Human Rights Watch), World Report 2001, Sri Lanka=20
section, available on www.child-soldiers.org
For example, UTHR(J) Information Bulletin No.28, In the Name of=20
Peace: Terror Stalks the North-East, February 2002; 'Muslims protest=20
Tiger extortion despite truce,' The Island, Sunday Edition, 3=20
February 2002; 'UNICEF slams Tigers: Child recruitment continuing=20
under cover of ceasefire,' The Sunday Times, 3 February 2002;=20
Thinakural,7 February 2002; 'SLMC leader condemns harassment of=20
Muslims,' Sunday Observer,17 February 2002; Faraza Farook and Tania=20
Fernando, 'East not so optimistic,' and Iqbal Athas, 'Tigers smuggle=20
in supplies while Navy is busy with parades,' The Sunday Times, 17=20
February, 2002, and many other reports.
Catherine Philip, reporting from Batticaloa, 'Children kidnapped to=20
fight for Tamil army,' www.thetimes.co.uk 13 February, 2002
Rohini Hensman, 'The Role of Women in the Resistance to Political=20
Authoritarianism in Latin America and South Asia,' in Haleh Afshar=20
(ed), Women and Politics in the Third World, Routledge, 1996
See Nayana's excellent Legal Watch column in the Sunday Island, 10=20
February 2002, 'Child conscription and the appalling silence of the=20
good,' for a lucid exposition of the legal position.
Scarred Minds: The Psychological Impact of War on Sri Lankan=20
Tamils, Colombo, 1998, pp.308-309

[continued from SACW #1 | 22 Feb 2002]

______

#2.

"The Hindustan Times", New Delhi, February 22, 2002

India is meekly tailing America in its cowboy-style war against a=20
fair global order

Praxis Of Evil

By PRAFUL BIDWAI

As India=92s largest-ever but wanton military build-up enters the third=20
month, claiming scores of crores each day, our policy-shaping elite=20
becomes increasingly insular and self-obsessed. A sign of the=20
insularity, and of the narrowing of our public discourse, is the=20
complete absence of debate for three weeks on President Bush=92s State=20
of the Union address. The only part of that martial oration our media=20
highlighted was the statement that =93America is working with Russia=20
and China and India, in ways we have never before=85=94

In fact, Bush was outlining an extraordinarily belligerent new policy=20
orientation, with two paradigm-shifts of far-reaching consequence for=20
global--and India=92s--security. The first pertains to mass-destruction=20
weapons.

Here, Bush set out to undermine what writer Jonathan Schell calls the=20
strong consensus among scientists, politicians and soldiers that has=20
held right since the birth of the Nuclear Age. The consensus is that=20
the unlimited destructive power of nuclear weapons changes the very=20
character of war. And yet, science being public, the nuclear danger=20
is liable to spread. It can only be contained by political=20
means--through agreements and treaties--not war. Nuclear war, as even=20
Ronald Reagan said, =93cannot be won and must never be fought.=94

Following this logic, Eisenhower rejected a proposal for =93preventive=20
war=94 against the USSR during the short window of vulnerability=20
between 1945 and the Soviet acquisition of the Bomb in 1949. The same=20
logic has impelled nuclear weapons-states to pull back from the brink=20
on countless occasions. Only one de facto nuclear power has ever used=20
military means to prevent another state from acquiring nuclear=20
weapons: Israel in 1981 bombed and destroyed a nuclear reactor Iraq=20
was building--a deplorable act of international brigandage.

Barring this exception, all states, however powerful, have tried to=20
resolve the nuclear dilemma (i.e. prevent the spread of nuclear=20
weapons) by diplomatic-political means. Nehru=92s 1954 Comprehensive=20
Test Ban proposal, the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty,=20
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and the SALT and START (strategic arms=20
limitation/reduction) processes have followed the same logic.

On January 29, Bush destroyed that long-standing consensus by=20
declaring he would resolve the nuclear dilemma through war. He said:=20
=93I will not wait on events while dangers gather. I will not stand by=20
as peril draws closer and closer. The US will not permit the world=92s=20
most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world=92s most=20
destructive weapons.=94

Clearly, Phase II of the =93war on terrorism=94 is not the mere expansion=20
of the Afghanistan operation. Rather, it will involve a series of=20
larger wars against proliferation. This replaces the=20
non-proliferation approach, based on peace (treaty-making politics)=20
with aggressive counter-proliferation, based on war.

This extremely dangerous development violates the elementary=20
principle that Gandhi espoused: =93You cannot fight the Bomb with=20
another Bomb=94. This shift is linked to the aggressive campaign=20
America has mounted against arms control since 1999, tearing up=20
treaty after treaty, including the CTBT and ABM, opposing a=20
reasonable biological-weapons verification protocol, and announcing=20
that whatever nuclear arms reduction it effects will be outside the=20
START process. The ABM treaty=92s destruction will pave the way for a=20
Second Nuclear Age through Missile Defence.

Bush has now ordered the development of new-generation nuclear=20
armaments and delivery systems, including a nuclear-tipped=20
earth-penetrating weapon. He has authorised a study to examine the=20
development of an intercontinental ballistic missile to be=20
operational in 2020, a new submarine-launched missile by 2020, and a=20
new heavy bomber by 2040. Unbelievably, the US is expanding its giant=20
uranium enrichment plant at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

This means the US is bidding good-bye to nuclear disarmament, to=20
which America =93solemnly=94 committed itself at the NPT review=20
conference in May 2000.

Bush=92s second paradigm-shift lay in reducing all complex issues of=20
global peace and security to terrorism, and then advocating a single=20
formula to combat it--war. His speech drew widespread criticism not=20
just from the sober Western media--The Guardian called it =93Hate of=20
the Union=94 address--but also from the European Union=92s external=20
affairs commissioner Chris Patten, French premier Lionel Jospin, and=20
the Russian and German foreign ministers.

Patten called it =93profoundly misguided=94, and Jospin said: =93one cannot=
=20
reduce the problems of the world to the single dimension of the fight=20
against terrorism--however vital that might be=94. With unilateral=20
cowboy arrogance, Bush has attacked the very conception of building a=20
balanced international community, and a safer and fairer world.

The US now threatens a virtually unending unilateral war on=20
terrorism. It says Al-Quaida has a presence in 70 countries. This war=20
will comprehensively violate the principle of peaceful settlement of=20
disputes through diplomacy, and legitimise the rule of brute force in=20
world affairs. It will burn to a cinder every principle of=20
international relations which India has stood for--not just during=20
Nehru=92s =93idealistic=94 period, but even under more =93pragmatic=94=20
(cynical?) leaders like Narasimha Rao and I.K. Gujaral.

It is with such a unilateralist imperious Hyperpower that India is=20
now mindlessly building a =93strategic partnership=94--largely out of=20
parochial considerations like isolating Pakistan and stalling any=20
negotiations on Kashmir. New Delhi has not even let out a squeak on=20
the =93Hate of the Union=94 address, nor on the violation of the Geneva=20
Conventions in the unspeakably barbaric treatment of PoWs at=20
Guantanamo Bay.

India uncritically supported the war in Afghanistan, violating its=20
own strong commitment to multilateralism and the UN. Worse, it was=20
more loyal than many US allies in welcoming Bush=92s Missile Defence=20
plans. It shows no recognition of the US=92 plans to violently reshape=20
the world order to ensure its total domination--unparalleled in=20
history.

India has made no public statement on the furious preparations for=20
what looks like an imminent war against Iraq with 200,000 ground=20
troops, nor commented on Bush=92s maligning of democratising Iran by=20
including it in the =93Axis of Evil=94. This totally ludicrous concept=20
lumps together states which have no coordination with one another,=20
and two of which remain bitter rivals. New Delhi has good relations=20
with both. (With Iran, it has coordinated its Afghan policy for over=20
five years).

New Delhi=92s narrow Pakistan-obsessed orientation is duly reciprocated=20
in Islamabad. Both states are competitively courting the US at the=20
expense of their own capacity for autonomous action. This is being=20
translated into a vicious arms race, including preparations for the=20
full deployment of nuclear weapons.

India and Pakistan are about to raise their already bloated military=20
budgets by 15 percent or so--with disastrous consequences for their=20
social-sector spending. They will do well to look at the=20
Mahbul-ul-Haq Centre=92s just-released report on =93Human Development in=20
South Asia=94. This documents their abysmal performance in education,=20
health and sanitation, coupled with their gigantic military budgets.

It is an utter disgrace that India has four soldiers for every=20
doctor, and Pakistan has nine. Defence expenditure as a percentage of=20
spending on education and health is 57 in India; in Pakistan, 181.=20
There is a strong case for pruning our military budgets by cutting=20
flab, inefficiency and corruption. Nearly a third of our defence=20
capital budget remains unspent. There could be no more eloquent=20
comment on this region=92s gravely mistaken priorities.--end--

______

#3.

Jihadis and their Murder of Daniel Peal

by M B Naqvi

Karachi February 22:

Musharraf Administration finally disclosed on February 20 that the Wall
Street Journalist Daniel Pearl is dead who had disappeared from Karachi on
January 23, two days after he arrived in Pakistan. He was working on a
story about the precise working and potential of Jihadi organisations in
Pakistan. What seemed credible evidence of his death, in the absence of his
dead body, is a video cassette that authorities received late on Feb 20. It
showed his head being severed ostensibly some days earlier.

The news naturally shocked everybody from US President George W. Bush and
Pakistani strongman Gen. Pervez Musharraf down to the official spokesman
and establishment figures in Pakistan. Everyone who is anyone is rushing to
condemn the dastardly act especially the gruesome manner in which his
captors took his life. This particular aspect is truly disturbing. The
killers were obviously well organised people with enough resources to have
stayed ahead of all Pakistani police forces and uncountable intelligence
agencies of many countries. The question arises: supposing this well-funded
group had decided to kill Daniel, why did he have to have his head severed.

Obviously someone wanted to make a horrible example of Daniel for deterring
other journalists, mainly western investigative journalists. The purpose
could only be scare them away from doing whatever Daniel was trying to
piece together. The supposition is natural that Daniel was someone who was
known to Islamic Jihadi groups in Pakistan, although he was only two days
in the country. But he was based in India, as the head of his paper's India
Bureau. He must have made some progress in the story he was writing before
he arrived in Karachi from India necessarily by some circuitous route
because there were no direct flights between India and Pakistan.

A further supposition can be made. It would appear that links somehow exist
between Pakistan extremist groups and similar ones in India, whether or not
they are connected with Osama's Al-Qaeda. This would be the only basis for
Daniel to have made some progress in India which might have alarmed the
concerned groups. No one apparently has tried to establish what precise
story about Jihadi groups Daniel was working on. That might still provide a
vital clue to the people for whom Daniel's captors were working or to whose
organisation these captors belonged. The incomplete story may lead to many
other stories.

It seems likely that one or more Jihadi groups is sending a sharp and
ominous message to President Musharraf that American support might not be
enough for him in the post-Jan 12 period. We are powerful enough to kidnap
and kill an American journalist in Karachi and all the paraphernalia of
Pakistani state, with a notable degree of support from American CIA and
FBI, notwithstanding. It is true enough that the Musharraf government has
not been able to get at the apex or main conspirators, all disclosures of
Shaikh Omar Saeed here and the Al-Qaeda man in India being neither decisive
nor too illuminating. In the process two ex ISI men were also nabbed but
there is no knowing what role, if any, they played in this affair or
stories connected with the abduction and murder of Daniel.

It does seem as if the Daniel murder is a shot fired Musharraf's bows. Its
full significance might take a long time to become clear.

______

#5.

______

#6.

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

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--=20