[sacw] SACW | 9 Feb. 02

Harsh Kapoor aiindex@mnet.fr
Sat, 9 Feb 2002 02:40:52 +0100


South Asia Citizens Wire - Dispatch | 9 February 2002

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

#1. Colombo High Court sentences two Air Forces officers to nine=20
years in prison for attack on journalist
#2. Vigil for Peace in South Asia (Princeton, USA, 9 Feb)
#3. India Pakistan Arms Race & Militarisation Watch (IPARMW) # 65 | 09 Feb =
2002
#4. South Asian Dialog Now Web site
#5. Kashmir: The Dirty War (Prabhu Ghate)
#6. India: ICHR move to review manuscripts criticised
#7. Professor Hari Sharma's correspondence with the American Museum=20
of Natural History Re: Anand Patwardhan's films

________________________

#1.

***NEWS FROM THE COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

New York, February 8, 2002---The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
welcomes yesterday's decision by a Colombo High Court judge to sentence two
Air Forces officers to nine years in prison for their role in a nighttime
raid on the home of Iqbal Athas, the award-winning defense correspondent fo=
r
The Sunday Times. The raid, which occurred on February 12, 1998, was
intended to silence Athas after he had written a series of expos=E9s on
corruption within the military.

"Iqbal Athas not only dared to expose the truth about abuses by members of
the armed forces, he took a great risk by publicly challenging his
assailants and resolutely pursuing their prosecution in the courts," said
CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. "His victory is a triumph for justice in
Sri Lanka, and sends an encouraging message to journalists around the
world."

Athas, who received CPJ's International Press Freedom Award in 1994 for his
courageous reporting on Sri Lanka's civil war, said he felt vindicated by
yesterday's judgement.

Judge Sarath Ambepitiya, in his ruling, said, "In a democratic country like
Sri Lanka, newspapers have a right to expose the corruption of anyone."
Noting that violent attacks against journalists undermine press freedom, th=
e
judge added that, "If crime is used to suppress [this right], then stern
action should be taken."

Attacks against the press have been common in Sri Lanka, in part because
such crimes are typically committed with impunity.

Athas's case stemmed from an incident four years ago, when five armed men
forcibly entered his residence and threatened him, his wife, and young
daughter at gunpoint. The intruders were backed by around 25 armed men who
waited outside the house, according to neighbors. The intruders eventually
left without inflicting serious injuries, but the raid was apparently
designed to intimidate Athas.

Two Sri Lankan Air Force officers, squadron leaders H.M. Rukman Herath and
D.S. Prasanna Kannangara, were eventually indicted on charges of unlawful
entry, criminal trespass, and criminal intimidation, but their trial was
postponed repeatedly. Trial proceeding began in earnest in May 2001, after
CPJ sent letters protesting the delays to Sri Lanka's attorney general and
justice minister.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is a New York-based, nonpartisan
organization dedicated to the defense of press freedom around the world. Fo=
r
more information on press conditions in Sri Lanka, please visit our Web
site: www.cpj.org.

______

#2.

Vigil for Peace in South Asia
Saturday, February 9
Palmer Square, 12-1pm. [Princeton, USA]

Join the Princeton Peace Network, the Coalition for Peace Action,
Princeton South Asian Students Association, Manavi and the International

South Asia Forum at a silent vigil to demand that India and Pakistan
end their month-long border confrontation and begin peace talks.

______

#3.

India Pakistan Arms Race & Militarisation Watch (IPARMW) # 65
09 February 2002

[information & news for peace activists on arms sales to the region,
defence budget figures, acquisitions & updgrades of weapons systems,
development and deployment of new weapons, implications of militarisation
(of the state & of non-state actors); the developments on the
Nuclearisation front and the doings of the 'intelligence' agencies.
Bringing such information to wide public knowledge is our goal here. No to
secretive & exclusive control of this information by technocrats, planners
who plot national security hidden from public scrutiny. Please help us in
the information gathering work for wide public dissemination in South Asia.
Send Information via e-mail for IPARMW series to: aiindex@m... for
inclusion in the Emailings.]

The complete IPARMW archive is available at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IPARMW/messages

______

#4.

Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 17:10:39 -0800
From: rashmi sinha <rashmi_sinha@y...>
Subject: South Asian Dialog

Hi,
I would like to share with you our efforts to create direct dialog
between the people of India and Pakistan.

DialogNow (www.dialognow.org) is an open online community devoted to
discussion of India-Pakistan relations. It has both Indian and
Pakistani members who discuss their (often conflicing) viewpoints
about various issues including Kashmir. ANyone can join the community
and post comments / articles. All viewpoints are welcome, the only
rule is civility.

Please take a look. We welcome your participation.
Cheers,
Rashmi

Rashmi Sinha
UC Berkeley, CA

______

#5.

Economic and Political Weekly
January 26, 2002

Kashmir: The Dirty War

If the jails are full in Kashmir, it is not because of preventive=20
detention. The number of detainees is reported by official sources to=20
be less than 500, and by non-official sources as about 1,500. These=20
are very small numbers considering that 35,000 people have been=20
arrested since January 1990 (official figure). When I pointed this=20
out to someone, the answer seemed pretty obvious to him. He asked=20
"how can the number of detainees increase if instead of being=20
detained, people are deliberately killed?" In the context of Kashmir,=20
if this is the only choice, detention, for all its abuses, seems=20
positively benign. Indeed it could be argued that in Kashmir the=20
immediate task of human rights groups should be to focus attention on=20
preventing custodial deaths, even if in the short term this means=20
accepting greater use of detention.
Prabhu Ghate

This is an account of my impressions and the perceptions of people I=20
met on a recent one-week trip to Srinagar. I was there after the=20
events of September 11 but just before the bomb-blast outside the=20
assembly on October 1. I met the usual mix of people journalists meet=20
on these trips: local journalists, Hurriyat leaders, lawyers, human=20
rights activists, university people, government officials, and of=20
course the man on the street (scooter and taxi drivers, shikarawalas,=20
etc). I should start with the disclaimer therefore that with the=20
exception of the last two categories the views reported here are=20
primarily those of the disaffected urban intelligentsia, and are not=20
representative even of the city, let alone the rural areas. I was=20
given this warning by a very liberal and secular civil servant friend=20
who claimed that Farooq enjoys much more support in the countryside,=20
although, in one of the many paradoxes seemingly presented by=20
Kashmir, nearly everyone else I met in Srinagar said the sense of=20
oppressiveness is much worse in the rural areas and border districts=20
where there is no countervailing media presence to act as a=20
constraint on abuses by the security forces. [...].

http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=3D2002&leaf=3D01&filename=3D402=
3&filetype=3Dhtml

_____

#6.

The Hindu
Saturday, Feb 09, 2002

ICHR move to review manuscripts criticised
By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, FEB. 8. Two renowned scholars and historians _ K.N.=20
Panikkar and Sumit Sarkar _ today denounced the Indian Council for=20
Historical Research's (ICHR) step to review their manuscripts on=20
``Towards Freedom'' for the years 1940 and 1946.

Speaking to presspersons here, the two historians, who as a part of=20
the ICHR's project _ ``Towards Freedom'' _ wrote the manuscripts and=20
in 1995 submitted it to the project's general editor, S. Gopal, for=20
review, said it had to come to their notice through newspaper reports=20
that a three-member committee had been formed to review their=20
manuscripts.

Stating that this step was a violation of their special rights as=20
authors, the two scholars said, ``No alterations by way of deletion=20
or incorporation or any other change suggested by the committee were=20
totally unacceptable to them.''

Expressing dismay over the ICHR's ``mysterious step'', Prof. Sarkar=20
and Prof. Panikkar, who have also forwarded a protest letter to the=20
ICHR, said they had been earlier informed that the manuscripts had=20
been sent to the Oxford University Press for publication. ``We are=20
surprised that the ICHR has not published the volumes even after=20
seven years of its submission.''

Alleging that the reviewing of the manuscripts was against the=20
understanding reached between them and the ICHR when they had=20
undertaken the assignment, the historians said, ``The ICHR has kept=20
us in the dark about the steps they have been taking in this matter.=20
We were neither informed nor consulted when the ICHR withdrew the=20
manuscripts from the Oxford University Press,'' they said, adding=20
that the review of their manuscripts by any such committee was not=20
acceptable to them.

Claiming that they hold the copyright of the manuscripts, the=20
historians said they were seriously thinking of withdrawing their=20
volumes in protest against the grave violation of writers' freedom=20
and for challenging their ``academic judgment''.

_____

#7.

Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 12:25:16 -0800
From: Hari Sharma <sharma@s...>
Subject: Re: Anand Patwardhan's films
Status:=20=20

Dear friends:

I do not know if you are aware of the controversy regarding the=20
screening of two of Anand Patwardhan's films at the American Museum=20
of Natural History in New York. As a part of its planned exhibition=20
on Hindu religious practices, the Museum had decided to screen "Ram=20
ke Naam" and "We are Not Your Monkeys".

The Hindutava lobby in the USA mounted a massive campaign to stop the=20
screening of the films. And it seems that the Museum, despite its=20
earlier boldness, has finally succumbed to the pressure.

I append below my correspondence with the Museum in this connection.

If you wish to know more about the background and the latest=20
developments, you can go to:=20
http://www.ektaonline.org/patwardhan/petition/index.htm

For those of us upholding the values of secularism and democracy,=20
this one more episode shows how far the tentacles of the enemy have=20
reached. It also shows the challenges we face.

hari sharma
president, SANSAD and INSAF
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

(letter sent today, Feb. 8)
Ms. Laurel Kendall
Curator of Hinduism Exhibit
Anthropology Dept.
American Museum of Natural History
79th St. at Central Park West
New York, NY 10024 USA

with copy to :
(1) Ms. Elaine Charnov
Director, Public Programs and Artistic Director
Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival

(2) Ms. Melonie Kent
Managing Director
Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival

Dear Ms. Laurel Kendall:

Remember the note (appended below) you wrote to me on Jan. 24?

And now it seems that despite your earlier brave and principled=20
stand, the Museum has finally succumbed to the threat of terrorists.=20
And I use the term very seriously.

Tomorrow, February 9, was the day two of Anand Patwardhan's films=20
were scheduled to be screened on the premises of the American Museum=20
of Natural History. I now understand that a decision has been made to=20
reschedule the date and location for the screenings. Some suspect=20
that you may not show the films at all.

In this season of "terror" and the American President's global "war=20
on terrorism", it is a pity that America's own Museum of Natural=20
History has chosen the path of appeasement and surrender.

I do not know if you will change your decision between now and=20
tomorrow, and courageously show the films as scheduled originally.=20
But it is my sincere hope that in your sober moments you will try to=20
listen to the voices of Muslims of India. The voices of Christians of=20
India. Of the Dalits and the Tribals of India. Of the women of India.=20
And also the voices of vast numbers of even Hindus of India who are=20
standing up against the agenda of VHP/RSS/Bajrang Dal/Shiv Sena etc.=20
(and their political party BJP) to destroy the centuries old mosaic=20
of Indian society and its composite civilization, by turning India=20
into a Hindu Nation. And a pure "Aryan Nation" at that. If you=20
listened carefully you will find that it is this combine - in state=20
power or outside - which has been terrorizing the whole of India, in=20
the name of religion and culture. In not one but a myriad way, it has=20
been showing its true fascist character.

I sincerely hope that whatever definition of "terrorism" you use, it=20
includes the Nazis of Germany. In the quest of purity of Aryan race=20
they terrorized the whole society, and pushed millions into death=20
chambers. Plenty of appeasement was there too.

The Hindutava fanatics of India not only looked upon Hitler (and also=20
Mussolini) as their role models, but have been trying, step by step,=20
to apply that model.

I appeal to you, and through you to the artistic, literary, cultural=20
and intellectual community of the USA, that please do not look at the=20
world through the extremely confining blinders which George Bush has=20
strategically planted around his eyes. Let that be his presidential=20
prerogative. After all he has a constituency and an agenda. But=20
please do not let his vision be imposed upon the thinking, caring=20
people of the USA.

Yours sincerely

Hari Sharma, Ph.D.
****************

>Dear Mr. Sharma: Thank you for expressing your concern. The films=20
>will be screened as scheduled, and as with all such public programs,=20
>there will be contextualizing discussion.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Laurel Kendall
>(1/24/02)
>
>At 06:29 PM 1/21/02 -0800, you wrote:
>>Dear Elaine Charnow
>> American Museum of Natural History
>> (with a copy to Ms. Laurel Kendaall, Curator of Hinduism Exhibit=
)
>>
>>It has come to my notice that in your planned exhibition on=20
>>Hinduism you have plans to show two documentary films by Anand=20
>>Patwardhan.
>>
>>It has also come to my notice that some organized groups have been=20
>>lobbying with you to prevent their showing; that, there is some=20
>>controversy about it.
>>
>>Could you kindly tell me what the real story is. It is of utmost=20
>>importance for me to know about it.
>>
>>I hope to receive some information right away.
>>
>>Hari Sharma
>>president, International South Asia Forum
>>
>>--
>>Hari P. Sharma, Ph.D.
>>Professor Emeritus of Sociology
>>Simon Fraser University
>>---------------------------------------
>>Mailing address (residence) :
>> 8027 Government Road
>> Burnaby, B.C., Canada, V5A 2E1
>>
>> phone : (604) 420-2972
>> fax : (604) 420-2970
>>
>>e-mail: sharma@s...
>
>Laurel Kendall
>Curator, Asian Ethnographic Collections
>Anthropology Dept, AMNH
>Central Park West at 79th St.
>New York, NY 10024 USA
>phone: 1 212 769-5892
fax: 1 212 769-5334

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