[sacw] SACW #1 | 6 Dec. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire #1 | 6 December 2002

[Ten years ago, on December 6 1992, the Babri Mosque was demolished by
the peddlers of hate in India. Speak up for peace and secularism and=20
join citizens Groups in different cities of India who are organising=20
events on the 6th of December to raise their voices against Communal=20
politics. ]

'THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE OF HATE: IDRF AND THE AMERICAN FUNDING OF HINDUTVA'.
by Sabrang Communications (India) and South Asia Citizens Web (France)
20 November 2002
A detailed investigative report on the use of American corporate=20
funds by the US based India Development and Relief Fund to promote=20
the projects of Hindu supremacist groups in India.

The online report is available at:
Sabrang Communications (India) http://www.sabrang.com
South Asia Citizens Web (France) http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/

__________________________

#1. Pakistan / India: The final partition (Irfan Husain)
#2.Pakistan: Turbans galore at Governor's House (Ismail Khan)
#3. The Enemy System (Dilip Simeon)
#4. Kashmir Film Screening: Paradise on a River of Hell a film by=20
Meenu Gaur & Abir Bazaz (New Delhi, 7 Dec.)
#5. - "Kashmir: The Way forward": an article by Firdaus Ahmad:
- "India's Human Rights Record in J&K": by Akhila Raman
#6. India: Impunity 10 years after Mumbai riots -- is this the lesson=20
Gujarat should learn? (Amnesty International Press Release)
#7. Bangladesh: Letter to the Editor from Reporters Sans Fronti=E8res=20
(Robert M=E9nard)
#8. Latest Issue of India Pakistan Arms Race & Militarisation Watch=20
(IPARMW) # 105
[5 December 2002]

__________________________

#1.

DAWN
23 November 2002

The final partition
By Irfan Husain

When Mr Jinnah contemplated the new country he had been pivotal in=20
creating 55 years ago, he did not sell his property in India as he=20
could not visualize a future in which travel between the two=20
neighbours would become extremely difficult.
The mass killings and the vast migration that accompanied partition=20
on both sides of the border must have been a heavy weight on his=20
conscience.
He could not have foreseen the bloody consequences of the division of=20
the subcontinent. Indeed, being a rational and secular person, he=20
probably did not fathom the capacity for hatred and violence=20
concealed in so many human hearts.
Gandhi, a leader of an altogether different mould, went on hunger=20
strike to protest against the Congress government's delaying tactics=20
in transferring Pakistan's share of the divisible cash resources, and=20
as a result, he was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic.
Many people who fled the violence in both countries left their=20
property and possessions in the expectation that they would be able=20
to return to their homes once the madness had faded. Indians and=20
Pakistanis of that generation still speak nostalgically of growing up=20
in cities that have suddenly become enemy territory. But despite the=20
magnitude of their loss, they are not bitter about their old friends=20
and neighbours; indeed, they retain nothing but fond memories of=20
their childhood. Their anger is focused on the leadership of both=20
countries that have made travel between the two such a nightmare.
Despite the political gulf that opened up with partition and the=20
still-festering Kashmir dispute that erupted immediately afterwards,=20
the cultural and personal affinities between the two countries=20
remained largely intact for some time. Until the 1965 war, travel was=20
relatively simple and people thought little of going across the=20
border to attend a wedding or watch a Test match.
In short, the slogans and shrill rhetoric that emanated from the=20
leaders and propaganda machines had not infected the minds of=20
ordinary citizens who continued to make a distinction between=20
politicians and people. In short, the demonization of the two=20
countries had not yet begun in the popular imagination.
During the 1965 war that began in Kashmir (where else?), pilots of=20
both air forces took great care to avoid civilian targets. Similarly,=20
artillery fire was directed at military targets only, and the little=20
activity that the two navies were engaged in did not include=20
commercial shipping. Although the propaganda war was probably more=20
fierce than actual combat, most Pakistanis did not consider ordinary=20
Indians to be their enemies.
Meeting Indians after the war, one did not get the impression that=20
they felt any differently. Officers from the opposing armies who met=20
after the end of hostilities did not harbour any personal animosity=20
either.
Although the 1971 war evoked far greater bitterness, it was largely=20
confined to the eastern theatre. In West Pakistan, the fighting was=20
more of a defensive nature. But despite the air superiority the=20
Indian air force enjoyed over Pakistani skies, it did not engage in=20
deliberate attacks on civilian targets. I was in Lahore then and=20
remember watching an Indian jet attacking the radar installation at=20
the old airfield in Gulberg (which, incidentally has been taken over=20
by our air force for officers' housing colony). Despite the target=20
being close to so many private residences, I do not recall any=20
reports of civilian casualties.
It was in the seventies that travel became more and more difficult.=20
An entire generation of Pakistanis and Indians grew up with no=20
personal knowledge of each other, their minds poisoned by jingoistic=20
textbooks and official propaganda. More and more young people on both=20
sides of the border began to harbour a personal animus without really=20
knowing very much of the cultural ties that still existed. Even=20
though Pakistanis watched (and continue to watch) Bollywood=20
blockbusters and Indians were enthralled by Pakistani TV soap operas,=20
the gulf between the two countries grew. Popular music, cricket and=20
hockey supplied just about the only glue to the relationship.
Over 30 years have passed since the 1971 war, and apart from Kargil,=20
we have not engaged in any major conflicts. But Kargil was a=20
watershed in many ways. For the first time, there were allegations of=20
uncivilized conduct when infiltrators from this side were accused of=20
having mutilated the bodies of Indian soldiers.
Right or wrong, ordinary Indians were shocked and outraged that the=20
peace moves initiated by their government had been answered by an act=20
of perceived aggression. Being mostly unaware of the hold the=20
military has on decision-making even when a civilian is nominally in=20
power, they saw the infiltration as an act of treachery. More than=20
that, they became convinced for the first time that Pakistan was not=20
interested in peace.
Coming as it did after a decade of escalating violence in Kashmir,=20
for many Indians, Kargil was the proverbial last straw. A hit movie=20
was soon churned out showing Pakistanis as brutal killers; a computer=20
game carried the same message. On our side, the official media and=20
many private newspapers spared no effort in showing Indians in the=20
same light.
Similarly, when General Musharraf travelled to Agra last year, many=20
of us in Pakistan wished him to succeed, and were bitterly=20
disappointed when the talks were broken off when they seemed so close=20
to success. The general perception was that the hawks in India had=20
succeeded in derailing the negotiations just when there was promise=20
of a breakthrough.
Whatever the reality, the fact is that relations between the two=20
nations have never been worse. Despite the economic, cultural and=20
geographic imperatives, we are further away from normality than ever=20
before. Whenever I have written about the urgent need for peace, I=20
have been tauntingly reminded of Kargil by Indian readers who have=20
also gratuitously informed me that their country is far ahead of=20
Pakistan and does not need us. Several of them gloatingly sent me=20
reports of the successful visit of Microsoft's Bill Gates to India.=20
Pakistani detractors, on the other hand, go on at length about the=20
rights and wrongs of the Kashmir issue and advise me to return to=20
India if I am unhappy about the state of affairs in Pakistan.
Irrespective of whose fault it is, the fact is that we have succeeded=20
in partitioning the subcontinent far more thoroughly than was=20
originally visualized for we have achieved a division of a shared=20
culture and a shared past.

______

#2.

DAWN
05 December 2002

Turbans galore at Governor's House

Ismail Khan

Never before was there an oath-taking of this magnitude in the NWFP.=20
The sprawling green lawn of the Governor's House was teeming with=20
hundreds of people. Turbans and the trademark Jamaat-i-Islami white=20
caps were in abundance. In fact, the gathering resembled more a=20
public meeting of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal than the swearing-in=20
ceremony of its chief minister-designate Akram Khan Durrani.
It was a strange sight. Qazi Hussain Ahmad was sitting in the front=20
row with other JI leaders. In the distance, Maulana Fazlur Rehman,=20
draped in his brown robe, was seen alighting from the stairs of the=20
lawn, like a breeze. Even the most optimistic among them would not=20
have dreamt of seeing this day. Cynics say that everything is=20
possible in cartoons and Pakistan but even the most pessimists would=20
vouch they had not imagined the clerics forming a government one day.
Much to the chagrin of President Gen Pervez Musharraf, things are=20
changing rapidly. Lady luck is on the side of the MMA. Like it or=20
not, after the dramatic exit of the MQM, the six-party religious=20
alliance is back into the game.
So far the MMA has played its cards well. In Islamabad, the MMA=20
leaders bargained hard, putting tough conditions to the powers that=20
be, although behind the charade of this tough-talking, they were=20
willing to bargain, ready to give up most of their demands, only if=20
allowed to form a government at the centre.
Consider the statements of Qazi Hussain Ahmad and Maulana Fazlur=20
Rehman after their two-hour long parleys with Prime Minister Mir=20
Zafarullah Jamali in Peshawar on Saturday. Did they talk about the=20
presence of American bases or the hunt for Al Qaeda and Taliban in=20
Pakistan? No. Forget about what the MMA did or did not say about the=20
American presence in Pakistan. Ask any MMA MP, even Chief Minister=20
Akram Durrani, and they would start beating about the bush. Not=20
President George W Bush.
Even, Maulana Tajul Amin Jabal, the MMA MP from Mardan, who fought=20
alongside the Taliban, collected blood donation and charity for them,=20
is lost for words when asked about the American forces in Pakistan.=20
"They are our guests; they may stay here for as long as they wish to.=20
I only ask them not to suspect every bearded person for an Al Qaeda=20
or Taliban link."
As for the constitutional matters, the least said the better. There=20
are glaring contradictions. They took their oath under a constitution=20
amended by President Musharraf in his sole discretion. Their women=20
MPs elected on reserved seats took their oath under the same=20
constitution. The leader of the house was ascertained through a=20
Presidential Order rather than the relevant article of the=20
constitution.
And as far as the scrapping of the National Security Council is=20
concerned, President Musharraf has ceased his powers to amend the=20
constitution. Any change in the constitution henceforth will have to=20
be brought about through a two-third majority of parliament. But=20
having said this, Prime Minister Jamali and his principal backer, Gen=20
Pervez Musharraf, seem to have fewer choices. Out of the power game=20
at the centre, the MMA has little to lose. Jamali's government is=20
shaky. Willy-nilly, Musharraf will have to make concessions to rope=20
in the MMA and save the system he tailored for this country.
And one of the bargains may be the changing of weekly holiday from=20
Sunday to Friday. If Jamali's statement is anything to go by, it is=20
only a matter of days when the country will revert back to observing=20
Friday as the weekly holiday. Lest this should cause surprise, a=20
cursory look back at Gen Musharraf's three-year rule give plenty an=20
evidence of one-step-forward and two-steps-back policy being pursued.
As for the MMA, it has nothing else to offer to their voters anyway.=20
Indeed, its leadership will take pride in the fact that they reverted=20
the weekly holiday from Sunday to Friday, but is this all? Does their=20
programme of Islamisation end here? Chief Minister Akram Durrani has=20
proved he knows how to play gimmicks - banning alcohol and gambling,=20
the two vices already banned in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and=20
putting a ban on playing of audio and video cassettes in commercial=20
transport, something already prohibited under the Motor Vehicle=20
Registration Ordinance, 1969. If this is not plain gimmick, what is=20
it?
We have no reason to doubt Durrani's sincerity in enforcing Islamic=20
laws in the NWFP only if he could tell us if liquor and gambling were=20
not already prohibited under the law.
Imagine two thousand vehicles coming to a stop in Peshawar city to=20
allow passengers to offer their prayers five times a day. Lest we=20
forget, the late Gen Ziaul Haq had attempted to do the same thing.=20
Was it not he who had established the Nizam-i-Salat and special=20
prayer break in government offices. Do we have to 'enforce'=20
everything. Is Islam only about prohibition? What about social=20
justice and the rights of the people.
The Taliban had done the same thing: 'enforcing' everything and=20
making themselves the laughing stock of the world. Are we going to=20
end the same way.
The chief minister better think of something else instead of=20
resorting to cosmetic measures. His policy speech to the assembly=20
upon his election as the Leader of the House lacked clarity, purpose=20
and vision. He was the chief minister-designate for over a month and=20
he has remained a member of the assembly twice in the past. One=20
expected him to do better.
How long can the MMA choose to ignore the real problems of the people=20
and indulge in cosmetics? Sooner or later they will have to get down=20
to the nitty-gritty of it and start thinking of generating jobs to=20
overcome growing unemployment and address other pressing problems.=20
The beginning of the government did not inspire much hope and it is=20
to be seen how it fares in the months ahead.

______

#3.

The Hindustan Times (New Delhi)
December 6, 2002
Op-Ed.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/printedition/061202/detIDE01.shtml

The Enemy System

Dilip Simeon

He (Pontius Pilate) took water and washed his hands before the crowd,=20
saying =8CI am innocent of the blood of this man, see to it=20
yourselves.. And all the people answered, =8C His blood be on us and on=20
our children=B9! "(Bible, Mathew=B9s Gospel)

"No law in the world punishes a son for the crime committed by his=20
father. How can we justify the killing of a 5-year old in Ahmedabad=20
for a crime committed in Godhra?" - upper-caste shopkeeper in=20
Ahmedabad.

The shopkeeper was wrong. For centuries, the Catholic Church (and its=20
Protestant offshoots) did indeed justify the punishment of Jews for=20
their mythical role in the murder of Jesus Christ. The myth=20
originated in the Biblical accounts of the life of Jesus, and was=20
perpetuated by Christianity=B9s greatest intellects, including Paul,=20
Aquinas, Martin Luther and Calvin, not to mention the Papacy. The=20
story was that the Jews took upon themselves and all their children=20
the onus of this crime. For centuries Jews were condemned as the=20
devil=B9s offspring, sensual, money-worshipers who deserved to be=20
enslaved, their property confiscated, their synagogues burnt, their=20
homes destroyed. They were to live separately, forbidden from owning=20
land, from marrying Christians. They were held responsible for the=20
Black Death in the 14th century, they were the special targets of the=20
Spanish Inquisition. This tradition attained its apogee in the Nazi=20
genocide of six million European Jews between 1941 and 1945.=20
Significantly, in a conversation with senior Church functionaries in=20
1933, Hitler is reported to have assured them that "he will take no=20
steps against the Jews that the Church has not taken in 1500 years".=20
In the end, it was only a matter of degree, of elevating murder into=20
an industry, that marked the difference between Nazism and the hoary=20
traditions of Christian anti-Semitism. The thundering silence of Pope=20
Pius XII in the 1940's, despite evidence of mass murder and repeated=20
appeals by ordinary Catholics, Allied governments and Jewish=20
organisations was a logical outcome of this theologically ordained=20
=8Cenemy system=B9. It is equally significant that after the Russian=20
Revolution, a section of the Church began to see a link between=20
Judaism and Communism - Hitler=B9s favorite theme. The man who acquired=20
the informal title of being =8CHitler=B9s Pope=B9, is currently in process=
=20
of being made a saint. Meanwhile, the burden of Christianity=B9s sins=20
against the Jews has conveniently been transferred to the shoulders=20
of Palestinians.

The cruel doctrine that guilt passes from one generation to the next=20
has ancient lineage but is alive and well in modern India. It is the=20
fulcrum of the world-view of our communalists. All Muslim citizens of=20
independent India are supposedly responsible for the actions (real=20
and imaginary) of Muslim rulers in the 16th century. They are also=20
deemed to bear the guilt of Partition. The same logic was applied to=20
justify the carnage of Sikhs in the aftermath of Mrs Gandhi=B9s=20
assassination, and in Bangladesh in 1993, where the Hindu population=20
was blamed for the destruction of the Babri Masjid. Connected to the=20
doctrine of collective guilt is the encouragement given to=20
extra-legal punitive action. Mobs led by groups of well-organised=20
hooligans =8Cpunish=B9 ordinary people whose guilt was established prior=20
to their being born. Revenge and retaliation have been made=20
instruments of state policy, hence, our ultra-nationalist Lok Sabha=20
could pay silent homage to the victims of 9/11, but cannot pass a=20
condolence resolution for victims of communal violence in India
.
How could this happen? Article 21 of the Constitution grants every=20
Indian the right to life and liberty unless deprived of them by=20
process of law. After the gruesome events in Godhra in February,=20
state officials in Gujarat withdrew these protections from a section=20
of Indian citizens. The entire Muslim community was held responsible=20
for the actions of a few. The killing of innocents was justified on=20
the grounds of collective guilt. Meanwhile the VHP attacked the=20
legislative assembly in Bhubhaneshwar on March 16, confident in its=20
links with the Union Government. Contemporary events have shown that=20
a section of India=B9s ruling establishment is tolerant of mob=20
violence, as long as it is directed at ordinary citizens and=20
channelled along religious lines. Indeed, it mobilises and prepares=20
such violence, while it criticises Naxalite violence for being=20
mindless and anti-national. Senior retired bureaucrats and policemen=20
have supported this endeavour, along with industrialists, wealthy=20
NRI=B9s and some religious leaders. The violence of the Bajrang Dal and=20
VHP is =8Cnationalism=B9, that of anyone outside the =8Cfamilial=B9 ambit o=
f=20
the RSS is lawlessness and terror. This hypocrisy has been=20
transformed into the common sense of our elite, for whom terrorism is=20
a language spoken exclusively by Muslims.

All this is not a matter of the whims of demented persons. It is part=20
of a systematic project to undermine constitutional democracy, which,=20
for all its flaws, remains a major institutional resource for the=20
working peoples struggle for a better life. The "enemy system", as=20
described by John Mack, Harvard psychiatrist, is an instrument by=20
which political leaders sustain popular hostility towards imagined=20
adversaries as a means of maintaining power. It thrives on lies,=20
intolerance and ignorance, the demonisation of other peoples, the=20
surrender of personal responsibility to =8Cgreat men=B9. In extreme form,=20
it appeals to the most destructive and exclusivist aspects of the=20
human mind. And it glorifies brutality as a =8Cselfless=B9 form of=20
violence.

The destruction of the Babri Masjid was a foundation stone of the new=20
political order being constructed by a section of India=B9s ruling=20
establishment. We are witness to an ongoing =8Cconstitutional=B9 coup=20
d=B9etat. By acts of deliberate deception, (such as the arguments in=20
favour of the VHP by the Attorney General and the acceptance of a=20
=8Csacred=B9 brick in Ayodhya by an official), the government supported=20
the fraudulent claim of the VHP to represent all Hindus. By so doing,=20
the swayamsevaks in high office undermined the status of Parliament,=20
which has been elected by millions of citizens, including a large=20
proportion of Hindus. A parallel system of representation is being=20
forced upon the Indian public.

What is the purpose of such a project? Nearly thirty crore Indians=20
belong to families working in the informal sector of the economy.=20
Savarna-capitalism uses a hierarchical caste structure, the constant=20
threat of corporal punishment, and oppressive customs to keep wages=20
abysmally low, neglect social security systems, and undermine the=20
social-democratic potential of modern state institutions. What we=20
have in place of a duly regulated work-process, is an=20
institutionalised Social Darwinism. Ultimately, it is political=20
authority that regulates markets and wage relations and stabilises=20
economic systems. Hence governance must be examined for patterns of=20
regularity. Why is there a gap between official regulations=20
(regarding working conditions, minimum wages), and their=20
implementation? Why is the status of citizen effectively denied to=20
millions of workers? Why does the zone of informality drain away the=20
rights that arise from the zone of formality? Why do the reigning=20
authorities periodically suspend the right of citizens to remain=20
alive, by instigating mass murder in the guise of communal or caste=20
=8Criots=B9, for whose duration the police apparatus is suspended and the=20
judicial conscience stricken by amnesia? Is it not true that their=20
main victims are the labouring poor and self-employed artisans?
Communal and caste violence has become the preferred mode of=20
governance of the Indian ruling classes, the mode by which they have=20
negotiated their discomforts with democracy. The periodic outbreaks=20
of mass murder that we call =8Criots=B9 can no longer be explained away=20
as unfortunate tangents in an otherwise steady course of India=B9s=20
development. They are the very face of Indian modernity. Unl enemy=20
system, we will transfer its burden to our children. And that will be=20
a crime which will not wash easily.

(Dilip Simeon is a Delhi-based historian)

______

#4.

Paradise on a River of Hell a film
by Meenu Gaur & Abir Bazaz

The violence Kashmir witnessed in the 1990s shattered human dignity=20
and changed everyday life beyond recognition. Years of insurgency and=20
counterinsurgency not only interrupted the continuity of Kashmiri=20
lives but forced Kashmiris into roles in which they no longer=20
recognize themselves. Not attempting to situate the 1990s in this or=20
that event, person, space or time, the film=92s mappings of personal=20
and collective memories bears witness to Kashmir=92s historical=20
solitude. We invite you to the screening of our film, Paradise on a=20
River of Hell at THE AUDITORIUM, INDIA HABITAT CENTRE on SATURDAY,=20
DECEMBER 7TH at 7:00 PM. There=92d be readings from Kashmiri poetry=20
before the screening. Please forward the invitation to those of your=20
friends in Delhi who might be interested in the film.
Thanks. Warmly, Meenu Gaur Abir Bazaz

______

#5.

"Kashmir: The Way forward": an article by Firdaus Ahmad:
http://www.indiatogether.org/opinions/fahmed/fa1102.htm
It's time for a review of the 'hard line' says Firdaus Ahmed.

This is accompanied by an article which compiles the
evidence for human right violations in Kashmir with references;
Details the Chattisinghpora massacre and subsequent cover-up and
the magnitude of the problem of renegade militants in Kashmir:
"India's Human Rights Record in J&K": by Akhila Raman
http://www.indiatogether.org/peace/kashmir/articles/indhr.htm

_____

#6.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE

December 06, 2002

AI Index: ASA 20/023/2002 (Public)
News Service No: 224

India: Impunity 10 years after Mumbai riots -- is this the lesson=20
Gujarat should learn?

"How much longer will the victims have to wait until justice is=20
done for the massacres in Mumbai in 1992," Amnesty International=20
asked today (6 December) remembering the tragic bloodshed of the=20
Mumbai riots 10 years ago.

Following the destruction of the Babri Masjid (mosque) in
Ayodhya on 6 December 1992, widespread riots hit Mumbai, leaving at=20
least 1,788 people dead. Soon after the riots, the Srikrishna=20
Commission of Enquiry was established to identify causes and=20
responsibilities in the violence.

"More than four years after the publication of the Commission's
report in 1998, no significant steps have been taken by the=20
Government of Maharashtra to implement its recommendations,"=20
Amnesty International stressed.

Whereas the previous Shiv Sena Bharatiya-Janata Party
government in the state tried to disband the Commission itself in=20
1996, the present Congress-led government has simply buried the=20
report with silence. Amnesty International believes that the=20
recommendations of the Srikrishna Commission should be fully=20
implemented, so that the conditions which allowed the riots to=20
take place can be eradicated and similar abuses prevented from=20
happening again.

The Commission recommended -- in addition to longer term
preventive measures meant to avoid the recurrence of communal=20
violence -- that action be taken against 31 policemen responsible=20
for killing innocent people, acting in a communal manner, being=20
negligent or themselves rioting. Seventeen of these officers were=20
formally charged in mid-2001, but none of them has been tried or=20
convicted as yet and all are presently free. Some of them have=20
reportedly been promoted to higher posts. Others were subject only=20
to internal disciplinary action.

"Ten years of impunity for those responsible for the Mumbai
riots send a deeply disturbing message to the nation and shatter=20
public confidence in justice," Amnesty International said.

"The authorities' inaction in Maharashtra is especially disheartening=20
for the victims of the recent massacres in Gujarat, who are=20
presently seeking justice for that violence: Mumbai sends the message=20
to Gujarat that even when those responsible are identified,=20
they are allowed to go unpunished," the organization added.

"The Government of Maharashtra must urgently take all necessary
steps to reverse the trend to impunity for the Mumbai riots, to=20
restore credibility in the justice system and thus send a powerful=20
signal to those seeking justice in Gujarat", the organization added.

Background :

On 6 December 1992, after months of political mobilisation by=20
right wing Hindu parties, about 2,000 people marched to the Babri=20
Masjid in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, and demolished the mosque, in=20
the presence of large contingents of security forces who=20
remained inactive. After the event, a number of communal incidents=20
were reported throughout India.

When on 7 December some Muslim groups in Mumbai protested
violently against the demolition, right wing Hindu groups,=20
and in particular the Shiv Sena, used the situation to mobilise=20
the Hindus to "teach Muslims a lesson". The situation escalated to=20
full scale riots which calmed down only in the second half of January=20
1993.

The Srikrishna Commission, while unsparing of acts of violence
by Muslims and Hindus, clearly identified and blamed right wing=20
Hindu groups for their preplanned targeting of Muslim life and=20
property in Mumbai. It also indicted the Maharashtra state=20
government for its confused response to the violence and sections of=20
the police for their inaction and even active participation in it.

A petition filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of Mumbai=20
residents challenged the inaction of the authorities with respect=20
to the police officers indicted by the Srikrishna Commission.=20
The petition is scheduled for final hearing in the second week of=20
January 2003.

_____

#7.

The Daily Star (Dhaka)
Thu. December 05, 2002

Letter from Reporters Sans Fronti=E8res

Robert M=E9nard *

Bangladesh has the good fortune to have a government elected by its=20
people. Yet recent violations of certain human rights, especially=20
press freedom, raise fears that the country's image abroad is being=20
rapidly tarnished.

The crackdown by the authorities on the team from Channel 4, one of=20
the world's most respected TV stations, and on our local=20
correspondent, Saleem Samad, suggest that the government, notably the=20
security services, are trying to hide something that is plain for all=20
to see. That security and freedom are shrinking in Bangladesh.

Reporters Without Borders has been pointing in recent months to the=20
government's lack of willingness to put an end to violence and=20
political intolerance, especially where journalists are the target.=20
This time, the government is trying to forcibly silence those whose=20
job it is to inform the world about a chaotic situation where all=20
manner of political militants, thugs and Islamic fundamentalists are=20
allowed to call the tune.

Hundreds of journalists work all over the world every year without=20
special visas. This might seem shocking but it is perfectly=20
justified. Why should journalists have to have different visas from=20
other visitors? Why must they be registered, watched or even guided=20
around by government officials when they are reporting in a country?=20
The journalist's visa is a practice left over from the police states=20
of the last century. The Bangladesh authorities simply want to keep=20
the visiting journalists under their control.

Reporters Without Borders has always maintained that while reporters=20
who work with a tourist visa could in theory be prosecuted, they=20
actually have a moral right to investigate what they want without=20
being watched and harassed by the authorities.

Our organisation supports those who do thorough and independent=20
investigative journalism and refuse to bend to the pressures of the=20
state. The world would have known nothing about the tragedies in=20
Ramallah and Jenin if courageous reporters had not refused, at risk=20
of their lives, to obey the Israeli army's orders to leave those=20
cities. This is also why we defended French reporter Michel Peyrard,=20
who was jailed by the Taliban for entering Afghanistan under cover.

Is the Bangladesh government trying to imitate the military regime in=20
Burma or the North Korea of Kim Jong-il where it accuses foreign=20
journalists and their assistants of being 'conspirators'?

The authorities talk of a 'conspiracy' to present Bangladesh as a=20
country moving toward Islamic fundamentalism. But foreign journalists=20
who come to Bangladesh seek only to understand the situation and tell=20
the world about it. That is not a conspiracy.

Our local correspondent, Saleem Samad, who has been unjustly and=20
illegally thrown into prison, has always insisted that Bangladesh is=20
a tolerant place. I have known him for several years and I know how=20
much he loves his country and its hard-won freedom. Earlier this=20
year, he told me it was not a land of fanatics but that some=20
political and religious groups were trying to exploit current=20
international tensions to revive communal hatreds.

The Bangladesh government is making a serious mistake by preventing=20
foreign journalists from working in the country.

The arrest of the Channel 4 journalists has been widely reported by=20
the major foreign media. Bangladesh is a country that depends on=20
foreign assistance. What if the international community, especially=20
the European Union, decides to impose political and economic=20
sanctions on Bangladesh because of serious human rights violations,=20
especially of press freedom?

The government of Begum Khaleda Zia should do all it can to steer=20
clear of the path taken by Burma, an outcast state whose leaders are=20
banned from travelling to Europe and which receives no foreign aid.=20
This neighbour of Bangladesh is also a country where journalists are=20
imprisoned and foreign reporters are forced to work under cover of=20
tourist visas.

( * Secretary-General of Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Fronti=
=E8res),
Paris.)

______

#8.

India Pakistan Arms Race & Militarisation Watch (IPARMW) # 105
5 December 2002

[1.] Siachen disengagement (Najmuddin A Shaikh)
[2.] Beyond Admiral Gorshkov (Fasih Bokhari)
[3.] Reckless challenges (M V Ramana)
[4.] Ethnic Group Recruitment in the Indian Army:
The Contrasting Cases of Sikhs, Muslims, Gurkhas and others (Omar Khalidi)
[5.] Aero India 2003
[6.] Rosoboronexport expands cooperation with India
[7.] Icing on Gorshkov Cake For India: A Nuclear Submarine
[8.] [Rss Man] Governor Malkani calls for separate dept. for Defence studie=
s
[9.] India strings along Russian, Western defence suppliers
[10.] Report: India To Lease Nuclear Sub (Rajesh Mahapatra)
[11.] Malaysian court rules in favour of Italian in Bofors scandal
[12.] India Preferred Over China For Russian Defence Supplies=20
(Vladimir Radyuhin)
[13.] Tehelka Probe: Justice Denied (Sayantan Chakravarty with Rajeev=20
Deshpande)
[14.] It's Who You Know (Dan Mcdougall)
[15.] India=B9s war rhetoric bodes ill for peace (Amit Baruah)
[16.] My initiation by fire =8B well, sort of (Asim Ghani)
[17.] Pakistan: 12 men of banned groups freed
[18.] Terror in J&K (Balraj Puri )
[19.] Pakistan: Haqiqi driven underground by numbers game (Farhan Reza)
[20.] Manufacturing terror (Luke Harding)
[21.] Putin brings offer of nuclear-tipped arms deal to India (Phil Reeves)
[22.] Stumbling into foreign perils (M B Naqvi)

Full text at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IPARMW/message/116

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