SACW | 27 Sept. 2003

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire  |  27 September,  2003

PUBLIC NOTICE: In view of the ongoing censorship 
of the Internet in India. All readers based in 
India can may access the SACW archive mirrored 
at: http://sacw.insaf.net  and related list 
archives can be  consulted via the following URLs:
http://www.citizenlab.org/cgi-bin/nph-groups.cgi/001010A/ 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SAAN_
http://www.citizenlab.org/cgi-bin/nph-groups.cgi/001010A/ 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IPARMW/
http://www.citizenlab.org/cgi-bin/nph-groups.cgi/001010A/ 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LNSA/

--

[1] Human security: Sri Lanka (Excerpts from the address of Ian Martin)
[2] Pakistan: Preventing love from turning into a feud (Shaikh Aziz)
[3] Dalai Lama Marginalizes Gay Buddhists (Steve Peskind)
[4]  The Politics of 'National Security' in India:
  - Fallout of Nuclear War Planning - Spectre of Armageddon (N.D. Jayaprakash)
- Intelligence - An Inside Story (Virendra Sahai Verma)
[5] Resist Internet Censorship in India Now
[6] India: Upcoming event:  Feminist workshop in Varanasi (2-5 October 2003 )
[7] Appeal to South Asian Diaspora for volunteering at the WSF 2004 (Bombay)
[8] India: Snakes & Leaders (Edit, The Times of India)
[9] India: RSS holds key to 'tribal treasury' (Akshaya Mukul)
[10] India: Saffronisation Of Goa


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


[1.]


HUMAN SECURITY: SRI LANKA
Excerpts from the address of Ian Martin, Vice President, International
Center for Transitional Justice at the Federal Department of Foreign
Affairs, Switzerland, Political Affairs Division IV, Annual Conference, held
in Bern, September 9.

Children of the North-East - an insecure group
You will often hear from human rights NGOs the reminder that violations of
human rights and humanitarian law serve to intensify conflicts, and that
even if a peace agreement is reached, peace will not be sustainable without
respect for human rights. You will also hear from peace negotiators, whose
priority is to bring an end to the bloodshed, that the most fundamental
human right of all is to live in peace, and that respect for human rights
depends first upon security.
Both perspectives are entirely valid, and both can be amply illustrated from
the bitter history of Sri Lanka. In exploring the relationship between them,
I want to suggest that it has three aspects. Two of these aspects are, I
think, uncontroversial in principle, even if they post difficult issues of
implementation in practice.
The first is that commitments to respect human rights and humanitarian
principles by parties to a conflict, and the verification that they are
being fulfilled in practice, can help to create the climate for an eventual
peace agreement. The second is that once an agreement has been reached, its
sustainability requires the reform or creation of institutions to protect
and promote the human rights of those on both or all sides of the former
conflict.
The third aspect of the relationship is more controversial and may pose
dilemmas, or tensions, some would argue, between peace and justice: how
should the legacy of past violations be addressed, having regard to the
claims of victims and the accountability of perpetrators?
First, then, it is not just a theoretical proposition to say that
commitments to respect human rights and humanitarian principles by parties
to a conflict, and the verification that they are being fulfilled in
practice, can help to create the climate for an eventual peace agreement: it
is one which has been proved in practice. In both EL Salvador and Guatemala,
a first major step towards the end of long and bitter civil wars was the
commitment that both government and rebel forces would fully respect
humanitarian and human rights principles: not just a rhetorical commitment,
but a mutual signing of detailed undertakings, and an invitation to
international verification of the respect of these undertakings in practice.

The presence of human rights observers then helped to ensure that the
undertakings were increasingly respected and reduced the suffering of
civilians, while enhancing the confidence of each side to the conflict that
the mutual commitment was being sustained by the other. It should be noted,
too, that the role of civil society in demanding such undertakings, and in
helping to shape the human rights aspects of the agreements and to insist
upon their implementation was a crucial one. It was in this increasingly
positive context that negotiations progressed, in each of these two
countries, towards an eventual comprehensive peace settlement.
The second unambiguous relationship is that the sustainability of peace will
be enhanced by the respect for the human rights of all sectors of the
population after armed conflict has come to an end - indeed it depends upon
it. It is for this reason that it is now well recognised - certainly by the
United Nations Secretary General, in his guidance to his Special
Representatives - that human rights guarantees and the institutional
arrangements necessary to sustain them should be an explicit part of peace
agreements.
It is correspondingly recognised that one of the highest priorities in
post-conflict peace-building is the restoration or creation of the
institutions essential to the rule of law: an impartial judiciary; a
civilian police force drawn from the local population whom it is to police,
trained in the respect for human rights and able to maintain order while the
military remain in their barracks; decent detention facilities in which the
human rights of inmates are respected.
So in these two respects the positive synergy between promoting human rights
and promoting peace is clear. When however one turns to consider the legacy
of past violations, one encounters real dilemmas in the simultaneous pursuit
of peace and respect for human rights. To what extent may it be necessary
and justifiable, at least in the short-term, to compromise human rights
principles of accountability in order to negotiate a peaceful solution to a
conflict? And once conflict has been halted, how far may it be necessary to
compromise human rights principles to preserve peace and bring about
reconciliation? Does the pursuit of justice threaten or sustain the peace?
What are the complex relationships among justice, truth and reconciliation?
When the ceasefire agreement was signed in Sri Lanka at the beginning of
2002, it was of course greeted with overwhelming relief. It was primarily an
agreement to cease military hostilities, not a human rights agreement, but
the parties also committed themselves to rapid improvements in human rights.

These included restoration of freedom of movement, an end to arrests under
the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and a key commitment which I quote: "The
parties shall in accordance with international law abstain from hostile acts
against the civilian population, including such acts as torture,
intimidation, abduction, extortion and harassment." Under the agreement a
mission was established to monitor its observance by the parties - the Sri
Lanka Monitoring Mission, led by Norway and composed of monitors from Nordic
countries.
The human rights community in Colombo shared the general joy at the
ceasefire, but urged that the parties should make more detailed human rights
commitments, perhaps in the form of a separate human rights agreement such
as the one reached at the beginning of the El Salvador peace process, with
an effective mechanism for monitoring compliance.
As talks began, they and international NGOs argued that human rights should
be given early and specific attention. It was Amnesty International which
specifically suggested that a human rights adviser be invited to participate
in the process, and after each of the parties agreed in principle to his, I
was invited to participate for the first time as the fifth session in
February this year.
The first request to me was that I draw up what was referred to as a
"roadmap" for human rights issues relating to the peace process. This should
include substantive human rights activities and commitments to be
implemented throughout the negotiating process; effective mechanisms for the
monitoring of human rights; training of LTTE cadres and Government of Sri
Lanka officials in human rights and humanitarian law; and training of police
and prison officers.
Some of the improvements in respect for human rights required by tbe
ceasefire agreement were rapidly seen in practice, but in other respects
human rights violations continued or took on a different character. Before
my own involvement, the parties had already discussed within the peace talks
several issues with major human rights dimensions.
First, they had determined that an immediate priority was to accelerate the
resettlement and rehabilitation of internally displaced persons. Second,
they had discussed the status and release of Tamil prisoners held under the
Prevention of Terrorism Act. Third, they had acknowledged the need to ensure
that the priorities and needs of women are taken into account in all aspects
of the peace process, and had established a Sub-Committee on Gender Issues,
which first met in early March.
Fourth, they had stressed the need to improve the situation for children
affected by the armed conflict, and the LTTE had engaged in a partnership
with UNICEF to draw up an action plan for restoring normally to the lives of
children of the North and East affected by war, including redressing the
problem of under-age recruitment. Fifth, they had recognized the need for
efforts to clarify wherever possible the fate of persons missing in action
and involuntary disappearances.
In the last session of talks which took place before the LTTE suspended its
participation, at Hakone, Japan, in March, I presented as requested a
suggested roadmap. The parties had already expressed their commitment to
pursuing the five issues I have just referred to. They have also
consistently expressed an interest in human rights training for LTTE cadres
and Government of Sri Lanka personnel, and for police and prison officials
of both parties.
They have recognized that the new constitutional arrangements to be the
final outcome of the negotiations should fully reflect Sri Lanka's
international human rights commitments, and should provide firm foundations
for institutions to protect human rights effectively in a federal structure
within a united Sri Lanka. This should include:
* Entrenchment of human rights standards in the constitution and federal and
local law;
* Legislative reform to ensure consistency with these standards;
* Ensuring effective protection for those who are in a minority situation;
* Ensuring that institutions which will promote and protect human rights
have a clear place in the new arrangements, and that their operation covers
all levels of government;
* Arrangements for policing which is accountable, representative, responsive
to local needs and trained in human rights standards; and
* A judiciary which is representative, trained in human rights, and with
guarantees of independence.
But in the immediate, stabilization stage of the Sri Lanka process, perhaps
the most crucial issue is the commitment to human rights and humanitarian
standards, and to their effective monitoring, in the period before these can
be enshrined in such new permanent arrangements.
At Hakone the parties asked me to draft a Declaration of Human Rights and
Humanitarian Principles, which would reflect aspects of fundamental human
rights and humanitarian standards, which both parties would undertake to
ensure are respected in practice by their personnel, pending the full
entrenchment of human rights standards in the eventual constitutional
arrangements and in federal and local law.
They had an initial discussion of monitoring arrangements, and asked me to
develop proposals for the strengthening of the Human Rights Commission of
Sri Lanka to enable it to develop the capacity for increasingly effective
monitoring throughout the country.
These proposals, they agreed, would involve international advice and
assistance to the Human Rights Commission from the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other sources, and close
coordination with the roles of UNICEF in relation to child protection, UNHCR
in relation to the protection of returning internally displaced persons and
refugees, and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in relation to acts against
the civilian population.
I stand ready to present such proposals, if still requested to do so, when
the talks resume, as we must all hope they will do in the near future. You
will understand that, as an adviser to the parties in a confidential
process, my advice must first be offered to them, rather than expressed
publicly.
But I want to reaffirm my conviction that a principled and effective
approach to human rights issues will be critical to the outcome of the Sri
Lanka peace process, as it has been to other peace processes, and that
conversely the process will be imperiled if they are not addressed.
The conflict in Sri Lanka has its roots in the violation of human rights of
Tamils within the Sri Lankan State. Its bitterness has been reflected in the
abuses against non-combatants committed by both parties during the conflict,
and the bitterness has been perpetuated by these abuses.
Tens of thousands of victims and relative of victims have been traumatized.
Emergency legislation has violated the rights of other. The economic and
social rights of all Sri Lankans, but particularly the population of the
most directly war-affected areas, have been diminished or denied. As in all
conflicts, children and women have been among those most seriously affected.

We have seen and are seeing that support for the peace process of different
sectors in different parts of the island depends crucially on issues of
human rights which extend beyond the cessation of hostilities. The
frustration of internally displaced persons still unable to return in safety
to their homes. The insecurity of the Muslim population and others who find
themselves as local minorities. The wave of assassinations which has
targeted members of Tamil political groups and people connected with the
security forces. The continuing detention of people who have not been fairly
convicted. The agony of those who still do not know the fate of their loved
ones.
When I first had the opportunity to address the parties at the talks, I said
that few things could give me greater satisfaction than to make even small
contribution to sustained peace and enjoyment of human rights for all the
people of Sri Lanka. I know that it goes for the Government of Switzerland.
I am sure it goes for all of us here at this conference, and that today will
enable us to strengthen our commitment and capacity to do what each of us
can towards that end.

______


[2.]

Dawn, September 26, 2003

PREVENTING LOVE FROM TURNING INTO A FEUD

By Shaikh Aziz

For the last one week, Shaista Almani and her 
husband, Balkh Sher Mahar, have been looking for 
a safe place to avoid the wrath of their 
communities. Their only fault: they loved each 
other and after all efforts to get married in the 
traditional manner, they married according to 
Islamic injunctions.
The scene is Pano Aqil, a National Highway town 
in Sindh. News of the marriage between Shaista 
and Balkh fell heavily on both families. The 
Almanis began immediately collecting their 
private armies. The Mahar families have fled 
town. Sensing the growing tension between the two 
tribes, notables and self-styled sardars began 
moving swiftly, especially the Sindh chief 
minister, who happens to be a Mahar and has a 
large number of his community in the vicinity.
At present, the Almanis have allowed time till 
Sept 29 for the return of Shaista, now staying at 
a safe place in Karachi, as is her husband. Pano 
Aqil has become a hub of activities, where one 
party wants the return of the girl while the 
other is preparing for 'paland', revenge - a 
tradition deeply rooted in the tribalism of Sindh 
and other parts of Pakistan. If things are not 
settled peacefully, a long feud may ensue, taking 
the lives of innocent people whose only fault is 
to be either a Mahar or an Almani.
The people of the country are not unfamiliar with 
incidents where a simple love affair has flared 
up into a bloody feud lasting years, even 
generations. The Shaikh-Soomra, Mahar-Jatoi, and 
the Jagirani-Issani feuds can be mentioned in 
this context. A number of couples who married of 
their own choice have been kidnapped from outside 
courts, Darul Amans and in some cases even killed 
years later. This all happens owing to tribal 
customs and blind belief in the superiority of 
one race or tribe over another.
Every time an incident like this takes place, 
debates ensue, human rights activists appear and 
legal interpretations are made but without any 
positive outcome. Overwhelmed by tribalism, we 
know that illiteracy and feudalism are the 
nurseries that breed such attitudes. We also know 
that a large number of feudals and self-imposed 
chieftains retain their position and power.
They control people's livelihood, and individuals 
are not even allowed to lead their personal lives 
according to their simple wishes.Whoever defies 
the feudal system faces the anger of these 
warlords. Hundreds of lives have been sacrificed 
at the altar of honour killings and yet we have 
failed to stop the practice.
Shaista and Balkh Sher were not illiterate. They 
knew what they wanted. They wanted to follow 
family customs, but the marriage proposal was 
rejected. They opted to secure legal relief, 
which the country's fragile law and insecure 
social system do not offer. Let the keepers of 
our law ensure that the two are allowed to live a 
secure life and the incident is not permitted to 
flare up into a prolonged tribal war.

______


[3]


Dalai Lama Marginalizes Gay Buddhists

by Steve Peskind

(Steve Peskind is Coordinator of the Buddhist AIDS
Project in San Francisco http://www.buddhistaidsproject.org )


The full text is at
http://www.365gay.com/opinion/Releases/Releases.htm

I am very happy that the Dalai Lama is teaching in the
United States this month, and sharing his wisdom and liberating laugh with
us once again. However, I find it unfortunate that the author of "The Art of
Happiness" and "Imagine All the People", in 2003, apparently cannot imagine gay
and lesbian Buddhists and other sexual men and women of good faith leading
fulfulling, happy, and "ethical" sexual lives.

While saying that no real love between people can be
condemned and that any discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation
must end, the Dalai Lama nevertheless persists in considering the natural
sexual expressions of sexual minority orientation -- men with men, women with
women, and manual, oral, and anal sex, "wrong", "unwholesome", "bad
action" and "vices" -- not conducive to 
enlightenment and liberation, according to
THE (?) Buddhist teaching. Recently he articulated this view in the
French magazine Dimanche. The last three years, he has clearly stated his same
position in Newsweek, the London Observer, and the Orange County Register, to
name four venues of which I am aware.

In an interview with the French magazine Dimanche,
January, 2001, the Dalai Lama says of homosexuality:

"It's part of what we Buddhists call "bad sexual
conduct. Sexual organs were created for 
reproduction between the male element and
the female element -- and everything that deviates from that is not acceptable
from a Buddhist point of view."

In the same interview, he specifically said he was
"for" (heterosexual) sex with condoms or the pill. That is, it's fine for
heterosexuals to have non-
procreative sex, recreational sex -- as long as they go
"straight" for it, with no foreplay involving the "hands," "mouth" or "anus."

As a gay Buddhist activist who personally met with and
questioned the Dalai Lama in 1997 about his reiteration of "traditional"
Buddhist sexual misconduct ethics, I read sadly 
in Newsweek's "Lama to the Globe"
(August 16,1999) that "Although he has affirmed the dignity and rights
of gays and lesbians, he has condemned homosexual acts as contrary to Buddhist
ethics." Unfortunately, in the past decade, he has repeatedly stated in
publications, in public talks, and in 
international press interviews that non-vaginal
sex including masturbation is "wrong and against Buddhist ethics" for
any human being "of good faith", not just homosexual Buddhists.

The Dalai Lama is not a "Buddhist Pope,'" makes no
claims to infallibility based on his position or any "Divinely revealed
scripture," and as one Tibetan Buddhist teacher, 
cannot speak authoritatively for
other Buddhist teaching lineages, such as Theravada and Zen. He also makes no
claim to being a "Living Buddha", nor to having the spiritual or political
authority to make any unilateral decisions for changing Buddhist traditional
teachings. Nevertheless, he is perhaps the most well-known Buddhist in the
world, and he may well be the most prolific 
Buddhist author, given the number of
publications issued yearly under his name. He 
frequently comments internationally
on world issues from the perspective of "the Buddhist teachings", unfortunately
sometimes with no historical qualifications for the Tibetan Buddhist or
Indian cultural context of his remarks. He often speaks "for himself beyond
tradition", and his mostly wise and skillful public statements worldwide are
highly regarded and believed, without question, 
by a worldwide audience -- That's
part of the problem: "without question." The Dalai Lama is also a
devoted lifelong Buddhist monk . When one ordains as a Tibetan Buddhist monk or
nun, one renounces engaging in all personal sexual behavior and
wholeheartedly upholds vows of sexual celibacy 
for the sake of spiritual practice and
awakening.

As the political leader of the Tibetan
Government-In-Exile, deeply practicing restraint, 
non-violence, and compassion toward the
brutal Chinese occupiers of his country, the Dalai Lama received the 1989 Nobel
Peace Prize. The Dalai Lama is a pre-eminent 
spokesman for peace and non-violence
in this very violent world. Unfortunately, he cannot apparently personally
support the joy and intimacy of diverse human sexual expression, including
loving, non-harmful and creative gay and lesbian sex, in light of his
traditional upholding and advocacy of the ethical 
doctrines of often patriarchal,
mysogynist Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. The relative Buddhist guidelines on sexual
conduct, with the clear goal of attaining freedom from all mental cravings and
sorrow in the realization of true peace of mind, do not consider
attachment to vaginally focused heterosexual sex, lust, and grasping in the
same condemnatory light as other forms of sexual expression for lay Buddhist
practitioners and other people. The sexual misconduct teachings on wrong organs
may not be discriminatory in their wording between "gay" and
"straight", but they are discriminatory in their impact on gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender Buddhists and other sexual minorities.

As an example of the double sexual standard for lay
Buddhist practioners and others -- When in 1997, Jose Cabezon, a gay Tibetan
Buddhist scholar, personally asked the Dalai Lama to comment on the lack
of Buddhist teaching restrictions on vaginal sex, the Dalai Lama stated no
traditional objection to several orgasms -- "up to five consecutive orgasms (!)
in one night" -- for heterosexual vaginal sex partners. However, homosexual
lovers and partners are not permitted to share one mutual orgasm ever under the
sexual misconduct restrictions. With his characteristic hearty chuckle,
the Dalai Lama did acknowledge that the question about the discrepancy in
the teachings was a good one.

Clearly, safeguarding and advocating for the
traditional cultural rights, spiritual teachings, 
and human rights of one oppressed
people, the Tibetans, while continuing to put forth a Buddhist party-line
which spiritually, psychologically and socially oppresses sexual
minorities and others, is neither skillful, kind, 
nor compassionate in this writer's
opinion. Painfully mindful of traditional Tibetan Buddhist sexual ethics, most
sexual minority Tibetan Buddhists in Tibet and India do not dare to "come out
of the closet" for fear of social ostracism and cultural rejection by friends,
family, and community.

The Dalai Lama has said repeatedly that "The Buddha is
the historical reference for Buddhists" -- for daily practice and international
discussion of Buddhist issues. Yet, when I personally asked him in 1997, "When
and where did the Buddha give teachings prohibiting same sex partners?",
he replied, "I don't know." When Lourdes Arguelles, a respected lesbian
professor of education, asked, "When and where did Buddha give teachings on
inappropriate organs to use during sex?", he again honestly replied, "I don't
know." And he still doesn't know because there is no record of the Buddha, "the
ultimate historical reference", ever giving such teachings. Later prominent
teachers in the Dalai Lama's Indo-Tibetan Buddhist lineage did make such
ethical pronouncements.

Not knowing when, where or even if these teachings came
directly from the Buddha, the Dalai Lama's persistent "wrong sex"
teachings marginalize the behavior and full humanity of sexual minorities and
others and contribute to the worldwide atmosphere of permission for harmful
psychological, spiritual, and social violence against them. The fundamentalist
Christian Right in the United States is already quoting the Dalai Lama's
sexual misconduct statements in their literature opposing gay civil unions,
partnership rights, and marriage. This atmosphere of permission also leads to
acts of ongoing and often horrific physical violence against the world's sexual
minorities, including murder -- all the farthest results from the Dalai
Lama's genuinely deep good intentions for all beings.

The Dalai Lama is a kind and profoundly spiritual man
who was raised as a monastic in a partly medieval theocracy. In this
relatively imperfect world, he is not "perfect", 
"omniscient" or "always right" as the
sometimes cultish behavior of some of his followers would have us
believe. Information reaching him is heavily 
screened. The Dalai Lama was reportedly
oblivious, for example, to the oppressive institutional discrimination of
Tibetan Buddhism toward women and nuns until 
recently when Buddhist women finally
spoke out. It is important for all of us 
mindfully practicing Buddhists and people
of good faith to speak relative truth to relatively incorrect and misguided
power, in this case the person and institution of the Dalai Lama on "sexual
ethics for the next millennium." As one gay acquaintance who was
considering Buddhist practice remarked in 
response to the Newsweek article, "Why
would I want to join a club that doesn't want all 
of me as a member?" It is not at
all compassionate for gay people living and dying with HIV/AIDS to read or
hear that the Dalai Lama "condemns all gay sex."

The Buddha strongly encouraged Buddhist practitioners
to "be a lamp until yourself" -- to really test the truth and validity of
teachings for one's own heart and life. Fortunately many other Tibetan Lamas
and Buddhist teachers have recognized some of 
these "wrong sex" teachings as the
culturally relative antiques that they are and they have said so. And, at
least two formally recognized reincarnate Tibetan Lamas are openly gay
Western men. One highly ranked Tibetan Buddhist Lama, Dzongsar Khyentse
Rinpoche, not a monk, recently publicly stated 
with no hint of judgment that he is a
happily sexual active bisexual man.

Sadness is one response to the Dalai Lama's statements
on "wrong sex." Compassion for ourselves and for this international
teacher of compassion is another. He has said that he will pay attention to the
international discussion of Buddhists, scientists and others on this issue. I
haven't given up on the Dalai Lama seeing human sexuality more clearly and
hopefully stopping his harmful behavior as he continues to step beyond the
boundaries of his sometimes medieval monastic 
male tradition and into 21st Century
Buddhism.

©365Gay.com Ltd® 2003


______


[4.]

From the South Asians Against Nukes Mailing List [26. Sept., 2003]

- Fallout of Nuclear War Planning -
SPECTRE OF ARMAGEDDON

by N.D. Jayaprakash

The writing on the wall is loud and clear for the 
fifteen-million or more residents of Delhi and 
its surrounding areas (and for many more millions 
in other cities across India as well). A 
horrendous death is awaiting them in the not too 
distant future. This doomsday scenario is not a 
figment of imagination but is a crucial factor 
that is shaping India's State policy!
From the manner in which the Government of India is unfolding its nuclear
war strategy it is now becoming increasingly 
certain that the fate of millions of Indians has 
already been sealed. Recognising that there would 
be massive destruction and colossal loss of lives 
if Delhi became a target of a nuclear attack, 
steps are being taken to safeguard the lives of 
the members of the Union Cabinet while leaving 
millions of hapless Delhiites and others 
completely at the mercy of the forces of 
annihilation. [...]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SAAN_/message/641
or
http://www.citizenlab.org/cgi-bin/nph-groups.cgi/001010A/SAAN_/message/641


See Also:

IPARMW, No.138   [26 September 2003]

INTELLIGENCE - AN INSIDE STORY

by Virendra Sahai Verma

There is less untruth in saying that much of
what World's intelligence agencies submit or
prohibit is to suit the establishment plans which
have been already made. Similarly there is more
truth in the statement that most of what they
provide and mark secret "for your eyes only" is
already available with experts or open media and
all of this is free. In the times of the
internet, access to such information has become
much more easier.

It is a fact that most of state secrets are
not worth keeping them as "for your eyes only."
John F Kennedy once said " There are no secrets
except a few things I need to know." What is
being argued in this article is whether even
what the decision makers need to know and are
provided ( or not provided ) is true and in the
national interest. [...]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IPARMW/message/149
or
http://www.citizenlab.org/cgi-bin/nph-groups.cgi/ 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IPARMW/message/149


______



[5.]


Blocking of Yahoo groups continues . . .
RESIST INTERNET CENSORSHIP IN INDIA NOW
Update  [26 September 2003]

Thanks to the Govt. of India's agency CERT-in and most Indian ISP's,
the content on groups.yahoo.com still remains 
blocked off for thousands of users in India.

This measure to block internet content, is the 
most serious case of censorship and control of 
the internet in India. Human rights groups in 
India, South Asia and around the world need to 
take note and express concern.

Addresses of the officials and bodies to whom 
people may write to protest or to seek their 
intervention re Internet censorship in India:

Arun Shourie
(Minister  of Communications & Information Technology & Disinvestment)
Email : ashourie at nic.in

Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad
(Minister of Information and Broadcasting)
E-Mail: ravis at sansad.nic.in
Phone: (91) 23384340, 23384782 Fax : (91) 23782118

Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In)
www.mit.gov.in/cert/

India's Department of Telecom
www.dotindia.com/
ddgir at sancharnet.in

The Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI)
www.ispai.com/


[* India's Official Human rights watch dog]
National Human Rights Commission(NHRC)
nhrc.nic.in/contact.htm


Please repeatedly write to any or all of the 
above; write to the press and push human rights 
groups and in particular to the National Campaign 
for the Right to Information, to take this up. 
The silence of human rights groups re this 
worrying.

BEAT THE BAN:
All public spirited citizens in India with 
Internet access are invited to openly  violate / 
or evade the ban daily by using proxy servers 
that allow you to bypass the servers of your ISPs.

Here is how to beat the ban:

http://www.citizenlab.org/cgi-bin/nph-groups.cgi/001010A/http/groups.yahoo.com/

* at the request of SACW this proxy has been 
specially set up by Citizen Lab in solidarity 
with users in India, use to. Please publicise the 
existence of this proxy to other users in india.

Please keep up the pressure, a fine occasion for us to

Harsh Kapoor
(South Asia Citizens Web)
E-mail: <aiindex at mnet.fr>


______


[6.]

Dated 28 th September 2003

Invitation
Dear Madam/ Sir
This is to cordially invite you for the inaugural 
open session of the fourth yearly workshop  of 
Stree Adhikar Sangathan. You might be aware that 
Stree Adhikar Sangathan ( W.R.O.) is organising 
its yearly workshop in Varanasi from 2 to 5 th 
October 2003. The idea behind this yearly venture 
is to theoretically consolidate the activists of 
the organisation who are at different levels of 
understanding and committment and make them aware 
of the new challenges which confront the women's 
movement.
It need be told that this is the fourth 
consecutive year in which we are organising our 
workshop. The earlier three workshops were held 
at Allahabad, Delhi and Lucknow during which we 
focussed ourselves on socialisation process and 
its analysis, Patriarchy , Gender and Theory 
respectively.This year we plan to focus our 
attention on "Women's Movement : Theory, Practice 
and Future". A few leading women's activists and 
scholars have already given us their consent to 
be the resource person for this proposed workshop.
The inaugural session on 2nd October would be an 
open session and the topic for the proposed 
seminar is "Women and Religion". The idea behind 
choosing this topic is basically to comprehend 
for ourselves the role religion has played in the 
subjugation of women and think it afresh about 
the alternatives before us. Definitely the 
growing onslaught of the Hindutva Brigade in all 
walks of life has been a prime consideration for 
us to take up this topic.
The timing and venue for the proposed inaugural 
session are given below. We will be happy if you 
can send your representative to cover the 
programme.
Time : Thursday, 2nd October, 4 p.m. ,
Venue : Bal Bharati School, Lohatia, Near Kabir Chaura, Varanasi [INDIA]

Yours sincerely
Stree Adhikar Sangthan

______


[7.]

From: India Resource Center <indiaresource at igc.org>
Subject: World Social Forum, India, Jan 16-21, '04

Dear Friends from the South Asian Diaspora:

I am writing to inform and invite you to a unique 
event taking place in Mumbai, India- the World 
Social Forum- from January 16-21, 2004.  The 
Forum is a crucial event, especially given the 
turbulent times today, that aims to strengthen 
social movements globally to realize that Another 
World is Possible.

The World Social Forum (WSF) <www.wsfindia.org> 
is "
an open meeting place for reflective 
thinking, democratic debate of ideas, formulation 
of proposals, free exchange of experiences and 
inter-linking for effective action, by groups and 
movements of civil society that are opposed to 
neo- liberalism and to domination of the world by 
capital and any form of imperialism, and are 
committed to building a society centred on the 
human person".(From the WSF Charter of 
Principles).

The WSF has been held for the last three years in 
Porto Alegre, Brazil and the next one is being 
held in Mumbai, India in order to make the 
process more inclusive of peoples from Asia and 
Africa.  The last WSF in Brazil drew nearly 
100,000 people and we expect large numbers in 
Mumbai, including over 10,000 international 
delegates.  There will be a variety of events- 
plenaries, workshops, testimonies, film 
festivals, exhibitions, music, dance, arts, 
marches, rallies, etc.

The WSF in Mumbai offers people from the South 
Asian diaspora a unique opportunity to engage 
with social movements from South Asia - some of 
the most vibrant in the world.  It is especially 
important that we engage with social movements 
from the South in order to forge a unified 
platform that rejects the militaristic, 
neo-liberal agenda of the North and builds an 
alternative world centered on the human person. 
And finally, the WSF would not be complete 
without the representation of the significant 
political, social and cultural work done by South 
Asians in the ever increasing South Asian 
diaspora- ranging from the US, Canada, Guyana and 
Surinam to Trinidad, UK, South Africa and Fiji, 
to name a few.

We, at the India Resource Center and Global 
Resistance, are working to ensure a strong 
delegation from the South Asian diaspora at the 
WSF in Mumbai.  Some of us will be moving to 
Mumbai in November in order to assist with the 
organizing.  I hope you will join us as we embark 
upon this extremely important initiative.

There are a variety of ways in which you can 
assist us in making the WSF successful.

Contact Us:  If you are attending the WSF or 
would like to, please let us know by sending an 
email to indiaresource at igc.org  We are planning 
workshops geared specifically towards activists 
from the South Asian diaspora and we would like 
you to be involved.  Also let us know if you have 
any questions.

Volunteer:  Let us know if you would like to 
volunteer your time in organizing the WSF. 
Volunteers are needed in India and we also need 
volunteers to help outreach to the South Asian 
community globally as well as raise resources.

Fundraising:  We, along with many others, are 
raising resources to ensure a balanced 
representation at the WSF- both from India and 
internationally.  Let us know if you are 
interested in assisting us in this area, or if 
you would like to donate. 

Outreach:  We would like to get this invitation 
to as many activists from the South Asian 
diaspora as possible, please forward freely.

Program and Logistics:  Once we set up base in 
Mumbai, we will be able to give you a much better 
idea of the logistics and WSF programming.  If 
there are certain issues that you want to explore 
in India, do let us know and we will try to link 
you with groups in India. 

We look forward to hearing from you.

In solidarity,

Amit Srivastava
India Resource Center, a project of Global Resistance
E:  indiaresource at igc.org
W:  www.IndiaResource.org

______


[8.]

The Times of India, September 27, 2003
EDITORIAL

Snakes & Leaders
[ SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2003 12:00:02 AM ]

Union minister of state for human resource 
development Sanjay Paswan must be commended for 
his dedication to the cause of politics. The 
minister, after a vigorous swing around the floor 
with a chorus line of exorcists and ojhas, 
followed by a walk on a bed of fire, appeared 
before the press with two cobras draped around 
his neck.
 
It was his endeavour, he said, to include tantric 
arts and exorcism in school curricula so as to 
impart to students knowledge of these ancient 
arts. While at first glance, such a pathshala of 
the paranormal might seem designed for local Hari 
Potters in search of a swadeshi Hogwarts School 
of Magic, aspiring politicians could profitably 
flock to it.  [...].
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com:80/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=204035


______


[9.]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=204485

The Times of India, September 27, 2003

RSS holds key to 'tribal treasury'
AKSHAYA MUKUL
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2003 03:15:31 AM ]

NEW DELHI: The tribal ministry has devised a 
novel method of disbursing the nearly Rs 40 crore 
it provides to NGOs annually. Last year, in an 
unprecedented move, it created a project 
clearance committee consisting of a majority of 
RSS members to dole out lakhs of rupees to NGOs 
working among tribals.
 
The tribals are seen as a 'growth area' by the 
RSS with a number of Sangh-affiliated NGOs active 
in 'Hinduising' adivasis around the country. But 
to give the screening committee legitimacy, it is 
headed by a ministry official who is forced to 
put his stamp of approval to grants cleared by 
the non-official members. Result: complaints of 
high-handedness in selecting NGOs are mounting.
 
First, the non-official but powerful members. 
Santosh Paranjape of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, 
Chunnilal Ghurasia, BJP leader and former tribal 
minister, Rajasthan, Wing Commander Vijay Kumar 
Prusty of Bhubaneswar, Vishnu Kumar of Bhopal and 
Anil Holsamudarkar, one time pracharak-in-charge 
of Madhya Pradesh who now runs Gram Bharati in 
Pune. Ghurasia explained the importance of the 
committee: ''The minister has given us all the 
power to select NGOs. We visit areas where NGOs 
work and then decide on the grant.'' But who 
gives the final approval? ''After five members 
sign, it is almost final to which the official, a 
joint-secretary level officer merely concurs,'' 
Ghurasia explains.
 
Proud of his 40-year association with the Sangh 
and BJP, Ghurasia feels there is nothing wrong 
with the new system. ''From our experience with 
tribals, we know who is doing genuine work which 
officials would not be able to judge,'' he 
explains. Paranjape agrees and says it is a 
''good system'' though he regrets that no meeting 
has taken place in this financial year so far. A 
member also explained how committee members 
please each other while selecting NGOs. ''Before 
the meeting, members know who is batting for 
which NGOs and accordingly grants are decided,'' 
the member said.
 
But so big is the pie that cracks have now 
started showing, leading to the ouster of 
Holsamudarkar from the reconstituted committee. 
Though Holsamudarkar refuses to comment on why he 
was asked to leave, one committee member reveals, 
''He was not happy with the way NGOs were being 
selected and repeatedly raised objections.'' 
Tribal minister Jual Oram has another theory: 
''We received a lot of complaints against him and 
had to leave him out.''

______


[10.]

http://www.oherald.com/newherald/newsEDN.asp?qId=1205&qSec=EDN&qNType=R

Saffronisation Of Goa

A decade ago the Bharatiya Janata Party was a 
non-entity. The only visible face of the 
Bharatiya Janata Party was G Y Bhandare. We are 
not sure
in retrospect whether his high media profile was 
due to what he said or the excellent batatawadas 
he used to serve at his press conferences. The 
only visible or active cadres of the Bharatiya 
Janata Party a decade ago were the Dhond family 
or rather Madhav Dhond. The Dhond family had an 
old Mercedes like many old families in Goa have 
which used to serve as the Rath Yatra or the vhan 
for senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party 
who used to make occasional visits to Goa. A 
frequent visitor of course was the present Deputy 
Prime Minister, L K Advani who used to then as 
now wax eloquent about pseudo secularism. No one 
outside of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Sangh 
Parivar circles had heard of the RSS IITian 
Manohar Parrikar. Though by Manohar Parrikar’s 
own admission a group of hardcore saffronites 
including the Govindacharya of Goa, Satish Dhond 
used to meet regularly in a flat in Panjim to 
plot and plan how the BJP could improve its 
presence and increase its influence in Goa. When 
Manohar Parrikar entered the Assembly in 1994, 
Goa was suffering from acute political fatigue. 
Since the beginning of the nineties, it was so 
many defections and counter defections that the 
political class has a whole had become totally 
discredited. Manohar Parrikar with his talk of 
political integrity and good governance seemed 
like a breath of fresh air in the fetid, putrid 
political atmosphere prevailing then. And our 
Manohar bab was very clever. Actually crafty 
would be a more appropriate expression. Parrikar 
was conscious of the very dominant role of the 
church and the minority community in Goan 
politics. So he was very careful about projecting 
a moderate Vajpayee like image. When the Vishwa 
Hindu Parishad organised a yatra starting from 
Divar to New Delhi to demand an apology for the 
excesses committed by the Portuguese during the 
Inquisition, Parrikar distanced himself. He even 
went to the extent of giving the Catholic church 
in Goa a clean chit. Parrikar also swore that he 
and his party would not engage in toppling games 
and would be committed to value-based politics. 
But in retrospect it is clear that all this was 
part of a carefully thought out strategy. A 
strategy based on infiltrating the system and 
taking it over. We need not remind you that Adolf 
Hitler was elected president or Chancellor of 
Germany by a significant majority by those who 
failed to realise what a rabid lunatic he was. 
Fortunately for Manohar Parrikar who divided 
splintered warring senior leaders of the 
Congress, particularly the christao leaders made 
his task of capturing power much simpler. In fact 
as we will demonstrate the warring Congress 
leaders handed over power to Manohar Parrikar on 
a platter. It was the good doctor, or rather the 
devious doctor from Saligao who let the fox into 
the chicken coop. Dr Wilfred D’Souza as the 
political history of Goa reveals as always put 
his personal interest above that of the party. 
Enraged by the fact that though as the president 
of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee he had led 
the Congress party to victory, he had been 
deprived of the top post because of the 
backstabbing engaged in by the gang of four 
comprising of Luizinho Faleiro, Dayanand 
Narvekar, Somnath Zuwarkar and Mauvin Godinho who 
installed Pratapsing Raoji Rane as the Chief 
Minister. As he had done once before in the 
eighties, Dr Wilfred de Souza broke away and 
formed the government and did not probably 
realise that he was a fly walking into the 
spider’s parlour. The spider of course being 
Manohar Parrikar.
Manohar Parrikar extended support to Dr Wilfred 
de Souza but was crafty enough to stay out of the 
government. Because his long-term goal was to 
capture power for the Bharatiya Janata Party. And 
years of RSS training and discipline had taught 
him the virtues of patience. Presumably Parrikar 
who has proved to be the shrewdest politician Goa 
has produced was aware that the Wilfred D’Souza 
government would not last. And as expected Dr 
Wilfred de Souza managed to displease everyone 
including his deputy, Dayanand Narvekar. Luizinho 
Faleiro had no problems about toppling the 
Wilfred D’Souza government. Never mind that at 
one time Luizinho Faleiro used to consider Dr 
Wilfred D’Souza his mentor and hang around his 
coat tails. But soon enough given the rank 
opportunism that had corroded Goan politicians 
the Luizinho Faleiro government in turn collapsed 
and President’s rule was declared. A time which 
Goans unanimously believed was the happiest 
period for Goa.
But all good things come to an end and 
President’s Rule was revoked. Elections were held 
again The Congress was returned to power and 
Luizinho Faleiro became the chief minister again. 
By then Luizinho Faleiro had begun to distrust 
his Congress colleagues. So to strengthen his 
position Luizinho Faleiro split the 
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and the United 
Goan Democratic Party and increased the strength 
of the Congress legislature party to 26. But more 
is not neccesarily good in politics. It can cause 
acute indigestion. Luizinho Faleiro who in power 
has been even more despotic than Dr Wilfred 
D’Souza or Manohar Parrikar sidelined senior 
Congress leaders like Francisco Sardinha. And 
consequently in the banana republic that Goa had 
by then become there was another coup. This time 
around of course Francisco Sardinha who would not 
know the difference between fundamentalism and 
secularism invited the Bharatiya Janata Party 
headed by Manohar Parrikar into his wide 
outstretched embrace. And Manohar Parrikar did a 
Shivaji on Afzal Khan Sardinha. Which resulted in 
the collapse of the Sardinha ministry. A major 
contributory factor was that the Congress man 
left behind, all sixteen of them of them were 
very restive when Sardinha toppled Luizinho 
Faleiro and became the chief minister. Without 
power, Congressmen like fish out of water cannot 
breathe. So Parrikar waited till by twos and 
threes various Congress leaders joined Sardinha. 
And then he delivered the coup de grace by 
withdrawing support to Francisco Sardinha.
Since the Congress was so hopelessly splintered 
the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the largest 
group in the Assembly. Seeing the writing on the 
wall, a host of senior Congress leader were only 
too anxious to extend support to Manohar Parrikar 
to form the government. But Parrikar by then was 
aware of the perils of coalition governments. So 
Parrikar insisted that if they wanted power they 
had to join the BJP. So all the Khalaps and the 
Ravi Naiks and even Shaikh Hassan happily 
exchanged their Adidas and Nike shorts for khakhi 
cheddis. There was, however, one major problem. 
Parrikar had been talking too much about good 
governance. Whereas the Congressmen who joined 
the BJP believed that politics was purely a 
vehicle for private aggrandisement. Over a period 
of time denied the opportunity to loot and 
plunder on the scale they were accustomed the neo 
saffronites became restive. And unlike his 
Congress predecessors Parrikar took pre-emptive 
action and dissolved the Assembly prematurely. In 
the hope or perhaps the confidence that the BJP 
would be able to win a majority on its own.
In the last elections if the Congress had shown 
the slightest instincts of self preservation, 
they could have inflicted a humiliating defeat on 
the Bharatiya Janata Party. Unfortunately for the 
Congress the High Command observer sent to Goa 
Ramesh Chennithala was even more rapacious and 
greedy and self-centered than the local sharks. 
So against all advise and even common sense 
tickets were given to tainted MLAs. Worse still 
under the direct orders of the High Command 
tickets were given to last minute defectors like 
Ravi Naik and Ramakhant Khalap. This did not 
exactly endear the Congress to the electorate. 
But even so the Congress could still have kept 
the BJP out if they had struck a deal with Dr 
Wilfred de Souza.The results proved that because 
of a Kramer vs Kramer kind of situation the 
Congress lost at least four seats. If there had 
been a seat adjustment betweent he Congress and 
the nationalist Congress the combine would have 
got a clear majority. As it happened the election 
virtually threw up a hung Assembly. The Congress 
got 16 seats and the BJP got 17 seats. The United 
Goans Party got three seats and the MGP got two 
seats. The United Goans at least were quite 
willing to join the Congress to form the 
government provided of course they got their 
pound of flesh. The tragedy was that at a time 
when the Congress should have been engaged in 
some hectic horse trading they were busy 
quarreling among themselves as to who should be 
the boss of the stable. So it was the Congress 
party particularly the christao leaders in the 
Congress party who have handed over the State to 
the saffron brigade on a platter.
The BJP unlike the Congress has used its period 
in power very effectively to widen its base. And 
spread its tentacles to every part of Goa.Jobs 
were distributed like confetti to saffronites and 
those who were willing to embrace saffron. 
Parrikar systematically ensured that all goodies 
went to those who could be expected to support 
the BJP. When the Congress particularly under 
christao chief ministers also distributed jobs 
and the goodies of office. But they did not do so 
with the view to strengthening the party. 
Congress leaders ever always preferred hard cash. 
If you leave the land fallow it is overwhelmed by 
Congress grass. But since the Congress had lost 
all its roots it was a saffron grass which took 
root and has overwhelmed the political scenario 
in Goa. A decade ago the Bharatiya Janata Party 
could not attract even 500 people for its 
political rallies. The Bharatiya Janata Party 
expects 25,000 people to attend the installation 
ceremony of the new State president of the party 
and if the Congress and all those who still are a 
little literate about secularism do not resist 
the saffronisation of Goa, Goa will in the 
foreseeable future not only become saffronised 
but completely Moditvised.


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

Buzz on the perils of fundamentalist politics, on 
matters of peace and democratisation in South 
Asia. SACW is an independent & non-profit 
citizens wire service run since 1998 by South 
Asia Citizens Web (www.mnet.fr/aiindex).
The complete SACW archive is available at: http://sacw.insaf.net

DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
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