SACW | May 3-4, 2008 / Afghanistan: Depleted Uranium / Sri Lanka: How Many Deaths? / Pakistan blasphemy laws / UK: Faith threatens women's rights / India's Hawks on Nepal ; Hindutva in Goa / Bangladesh: women's rights

Harsh Kapoor aiindex at gmail.com
Sat May 3 22:14:40 CDT 2008


South Asia Citizens Wire | May 3-4, 2008 | Dispatch No. 2511 - Year 10 running

[1]  Afghanistan: Afghan 'health link' to uranium (Dawood Azami)
[2]  Sri Lanka: How Many Deaths Will It Take? (Rohini Hensman)
[3]  Undo Nepal's Polls: India's Hawks (J. Sri Raman)
[4]  Pakistan:
   (i) An open letter to General Kayani (Irfan Husain)
   (ii) A killing that has sparked debate on blasphemy laws in 
Pakistan (Nirupama Subramanian)
[5]  Bangladesh: Worries on women's rights (A.N.M. Nurul Haque)
[6]  India: Religion or politics? - The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti in 
Goa (Vidyadhar Gadgil)
[7] UK:
      (i) When state pushes religious interests, it threatens women's 
rights: the case of Asian women in UK (Pragna Patel)
      (ii) Representing ourselves better - secular democracy is the 
way forward  (Imran Ahmad)
[8] An International Day of Solidarity Action For Binayak Sen on May 13, 2008

______


[1]  [Those reading the below report should call for the media to 
investigate as to whether the national military forces of the South 
Asian countries possess weapons containing depleted uranium (DU) 
-SACW editor]

BBC News
April 30, 2008

AFGHAN 'HEALTH LINK' TO URANIUM

by Dawood Azami
One Planet, BBC World Service

Doctors in Afghanistan say rates of some health problems affecting 
children have doubled in the last two years.

Some scientists say the rise is linked to use of weapons containing 
depleted uranium (DU) by the US-led coalition that invaded the 
country in 2001.

A Canadian research group found very high levels of uranium in 
Afghans during tests just after the invasion.

A US forces spokesman denied its weapons were affecting the health of 
Afghans or the country's environment.

But claims made in the BBC World Service One Planet programme suggest 
the invasion may have left an unwelcome legacy for the country's 
environment and the health of its people.


Doctors in Kabul and Kandahar showed data indicating that the 
incidence of a number of health conditions, including birth defects, 
has doubled in under two years.

"We have premature births and malformations," said one doctor, who 
wished to remain anonymous, in one of the main maternity and 
neo-natal hospitals in the country.

"Malformations include neural tube defects and malformation of limbs; 
for example, the head is smaller than normal, or the head is larger 
than normal, or there is a big mass on the back of the baby.

"We don't know what is the cause of these malformations."

Heavy metal

The Canada-based Uranium Medical Research Centre (UMRC) believes the 
cause might be depleted uranium.

In 2002 and 2003 the group ran programmes analysing urine from Afghans.

In some, it found levels of uranium hundreds of times greater than in 
Gulf War veterans.

Dawood Azami and villagers near Tora Bora. Image: BBC
Villagers near Tora Bora spoke of their concerns over US weaponry

Asaf Durakovic, URMC's president and a former US army adviser, 
believes that exposure to DU weapons may have brought a rise in birth 
defects as well as "symptoms of muscular-skeletal pains, immune 
system disorders, lung disease, and eventually cancer".

Depleted uranium and natural uranium contain different ratios of two 
isotopes of the metal.

So scientists can tell whether a person has been exposed to the 
natural form, or to DU.

DU is used in armour-piercing shells because its density means it can 
penetrate further than other metals.

Dr Durakovic said his research showed that in Afghanistan, coalition 
forces had also used DU in "bunker buster" bombs, which can penetrate 
tens of metres into the soil.

"In Afghanistan it has to be... a weapon that destroys not only 
bunkers or caves, but also penetrates through the soil and through 
the fragile environment of the mountains."

Strange fruit

Villagers near the Tora Bora mountains, scene of a massive coalition 
attack in 2001 aimed at forcing Osama bin Laden out of a cave complex 
where he was believed to be hiding, suspect the bombs brought an 
increase in diseases and other problems.

"There was a strange smell, and most of the trees here did not yield 
fruit," recounted Yusuf Khan.

Another villager, Bakhtawar, said: "There were three or four babies 
born in our area whose arms and legs and faces were not normal; they 
were malformed."

But Faizullah Kakar, Afghanistan's deputy health minister, countered: 
"Health defects are common in Afghanistan.

"We want to find out if it is nutritional deficiency or environmental 
contamination with certain radiation that is doing it."

Disputed claims

The US military rejects claims that it used DU-containing bunker 
busters in Afghanistan.

It also denies allegations that the weapons it used in Afghanistan 
are affecting health and the environment.

"We don't use depleted uranium in Afghanistan; we don't have a 
requirement to use that," said Major Chris Belcher, spokesman for the 
coalition forces.

Chris Belcher and Dawood Azami. Image: BBC
The coalition acknowledges DU may have been used here in the past

But he said such weapons might have been used in the past.

"I don't have any knowledge of what might have been used in 2001 and 
2002. If there was an armour threat, the DU rounds would have been 
used to counter that threat."

Dr C Ross Anthony from the Rand Corporation, the US think-tank, 
suggested use of DU ordnance would have been light in Afghanistan.

"With very few of them (DU weapons) being used, it is hard for me to 
imagine that much of a real environmental problem exists," he said.

What next?

Some scientific experts suggested performing further research into 
the alleged damage caused by weapons used in the country.

But officials in Afghanistan's newly established National 
Environmental Protection Agency said they did not have the necessary 
equipment or expertise to investigate properly.

And Chris Alexander from the United Nations Assistance Mission for 
Afghanistan (UNAMA) acknowledged it was a concern, but said: "We have 
no idea what the scale is, nor do we have special knowledge about 
environmental implications."

Asaf Durakovic would prefer that concrete measures be taken now.

"The best thing is to relocate the population; people have to be 
moved from the areas that have been highly contaminated to safe areas 
to provide medical testing and medical care."

Following the use of DU weapons in Iraq and the Balkans, the World 
Health Organization (WHO) researched the impact on health and the 
environment.

It concluded, as did a 2001 European Union enquiry into the Balkans 
conflict, that DU posed little threat.

A senior WHO official told One Planet it had not received any request 
from Afghan authorities to investigate the current situation.



______


[2]

South Asia Peace Wire
http://tinyurl.com/4oxz3v


HOW MANY DEATHS WILL IT TAKE?

by Rohini Hensman
(in The Island, April 30, 2008)

Who is Responsible?

There can be little doubt that the bus bomb which killed 26 and 
injured many more at Piliyandala last Friday, as well as the earlier 
suicide attack at Weliweriya, were the work of the LTTE. Its leaders 
keep reminding us that their strategy of seeking a military solution 
backed up by acts of terrorism and war crimes remains unchanged. 
While it is true that Tamils in Sri Lanka have suffered injustice and 
violence at the hands of the state, this does not justify or excuse 
acts of terrorism aimed at civilians. And while it is true that there 
is an ongoing war between the Sri Lankan state and the LTTE, such 
attacks are defined in international law as crimes even when 
committed during a war. Apart from terrorist attacks in the South, 
the LTTE has killed and ethnically cleansed Muslim and Sinhalese 
civilians from areas of the North and East when it occupied them. All 
these actions are war crimes and crimes against humanity: no struggle 
for self-determination, no matter how brutal the opposing power, can 
justify them.

The LTTE has made its stand on a democratic political solution to the 
conflict absolutely clear by killing - or trying to kill - every 
single Tamil of any standing who was working towards such a solution. 
Rajani Thiranagama, Neelan Thiruchelvan, Lakshman Kadirgamar, 
T.Subathiran, Kethesh Loganathan and many others have paid with their 
lives for seeking a political solution compatible with respect for 
human rights and democratic principles. Others have managed to 
survive only by fleeing Sri Lanka or putting themselves under the 
protection of the government: courses which rob them of a large part 
of their freedom of action in their struggle for justice. Tamils in 
the areas under LTTE control are likewise subjected to appalling 
oppression, including child conscription and use as human shields 
(both war crimes), forcible conscription of adults, complete denial 
of freedom of expression and association, torture, and killings.

Given these characterisics of the LTTE, what options are there in 
dealing with them?

War Crimes by the State

The suicide attack at Weliweriya took place against the backdrop of a 
sensational report released by University Teachers for Human Rights 
(Jaffna), naming state security personnel responsible for the murder 
of five students in Trincomalee in January 2006 and seventeen 
humanitarian workers of Action Contre la Faim in Mutur in August of 
that year. It is useful to recall at this point that UTHR(J) is high 
on the hitlist of the LTTE, which has killed one of its leading 
members and issued death threats against others and their relatives. 
It would therefore be absurd in the extreme to accuse them of wishing 
to whitewash the LTTE in any way, especially given their fearless 
criticism of that group all along. Indeed, their unbiased reporting 
of human rights violations was one of the reasons why they were 
awarded the prestigious Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights 
Defenders. The other reason was the meticulous character of their 
investigations and reporting. We therefore have every reason to take 
their Special Report No. 30 
(http://www.uthr.org/SpecialReports/Spreport30.htm) seriously, and it 
certainly carries conviction.

These two cases are particularly important because they were 
cold-blooded killings which cannot be explained as 'collateral 
damage' or 'being caught in the crossfire'. Nor were they committed 
by government allies like the TMVP, but by the government's own 
security forces. In other words, just like the killings at 
Piliyandala and Weliweriya, they were terrorist attacks on unarmed 
civilians, identified in international law as war crimes, which 
cannot be excused by the fact that the state is waging a war against 
a ruthless terrorist group. The fact that the state tried 
(unsuccessfully in these cases) to blackmail the families of the 
victims into lying that the victims were LTTE operatives suggests 
that there are many more cases of state terrorism passed off as 
killings of LTTE members.

These war crimes were compounded by the involvement of various 
branches of the state at all levels - the police and STF, the 
judiciary, the armed forces and Defence Ministry - in the crimes 
themselves, and in attempts to cover them up. The reason why a human 
rights group could solve the mystery while the state could not 
becomes evident when we find that there has been systematic 
intimidation (in some cases murder) of family members and witnesses, 
while others have been forced to flee the country due to 
death-threats. No wonder no progress was made when the criminals were 
assigned the task of investigating the crimes! And no wonder the 
government objects so strongly to UN human rights monitoring, when it 
has so much to hide! The failure of even the Commission of Inquiry to 
solve these cases confirms the International Independent Group of 
Eminent Persons' criticisms of it, and underscores the fact that the 
CoI is in no way a substitute for UN human rights monitoring. If 
there is still no indictment of the perpetrators of these vile and 
despicable crimes after the excellent detective work done by those 
who provided information for the UTHR(J) report, we can conclude that 
the government is using the CoI as yet another figleaf to cover up 
its human rights violations.

Is this the way to fight the LTTE? Most emphatically not! The absence 
of genuine criminal investigation and of the rule of law, which 
allows the state to commit war crimes with impunity, also allows the 
LTTE to get away with murder. And the hatred generated by the state's 
abuse of human rights and perversion of justice can be used by the 
LTTE to recruit suicide bombers for its own criminal purposes. Given 
the radical undermining of the rule of law by the government, the 
only way to break this vicious circle is to invite a UN human rights 
monitoring mission to help with the task of investigating both crimes 
by the LTTE and crimes by the state, and bring the perpetrators to 
justice.

Is There a Military Solution?

Suppose we grant that war crimes by the state engender war crimes by 
the LTTE and ought to be stopped, isn't it still the case that the 
LTTE, given the kind of group it is, has to be defeated militarily? 
This is a question that requires serious scrutiny.

There are hardliners within the LTTE who will never give up; these 
people may need to be fought militarily. But they first need to be 
isolated. A large section of the LTTE's fighting force consists of 
conscripts, both children and adults. The heart-breaking story of 
Jenny, a young girl forcibly conscripted by the LTTE, desperate to 
rejoin her family but killed by the Sri Lankan Army before she could 
do so, is typical of this section (see 
http://www.asiantribune.com/?q=node/9659 ). These people would gladly 
leave the LTTE if they could; they are hostages, and the aim should 
be rescue them, not kill them. If they knew the government was trying 
to rescue them, many more would try to escape the LTTE, thus 
weakening it militarily.

Then there are voluntary fighters who join the LTTE because they are 
so bitter about six decades of oppression of Tamils by the Sri Lankan 
state, beginning with the assault on the citizenship and franchise of 
hillcountry Tamils, and ending with crimes like those against the ACF 
workers. Ending war crimes by the state will go some way towards 
convincing these people that the government is not as bad as the 
LTTE, but it is not enough. Most of them would not leave the LTTE 
unless they are convinced that their democratic rights would be 
protected by the Sri Lankan government.

This is where a credible political solution to the conflict becomes 
critically important, and it looked as if the government was serious 
about finding such a solution when it set up the All Party 
Representative Committee. The majority report of its panel of 
advisors, and Chairman Tissa Vitharana's report, marked significant 
progress. If the process had continued to completion, most of these 
voluntary fighters would have left the LTTE, isolating the hardcore. 
Instead, there was sabotage of the process by some elements in the 
government and outside, who could not reconcile themselves to the 
idea of democratic rights for minority communities, and were even 
willing to retain the present system of dictatorship - which is what 
the executive presidency really is - in order to avoid granting them. 
The process ended in a fiasco earlier this year, when the President 
forced the APRC to present a watered-down version of the 
twenty-year-old 13th Amendment, which was already part of the 
Constitution, instead of their own report.

Subsequently, Mahinda Rajapakse announced at the Independence Day 
celebrations that 'The practical solution is to bring the provincial 
administration closer to the people within the framework of the 
Constitution,' making it clear that so far as he was concerned, the 
APRC process, premised on proposals for a new constitution, was dead 
and buried. Its members were sent on foreign trips at the expense of 
the taxpayer to study devolution in other countries, but it had 
already been decided that any proposals that went beyond the existing 
constitution - which was part of the problem, not of the solution - 
would be ruled out.

It is true that the hardliners in the LTTE will never give up their 
violent campaign for a totalitarian Tamil Eelam unless forced to do 
so; but they will never be defeated militarily until their supporters 
have been weaned away by a government that respects the human rights 
of Tamils and offers them a democratic political solution. From this 
perspective, it becomes clear that the present government can never 
defeat the LTTE. It is clear, too, that the LTTE alone is not 
responsible for the atrocities at Weliweriya and Piliyandala. The 
government is also responsible, because such attacks are a 
foreseeable and inevitable result of the strategy it has chosen: a 
purely military solution with impunity for war crimes.

The First Time as Tragedy, the Second as Farce

So who can defeat the LTTE if the current president and political 
leaders are incapable of doing so? The UNP leadership has once again 
demonstrated its opportunism by failing to declare firm support for a 
democratic political solution, while the TNA too remains ambivalent 
about its support for such a solution. There are minority parties 
willing to support a democratic constitution in defiance of both the 
president and the LTTE, but their leaders are understandably afraid 
of exposing themselves to assassination by alienating both sides at 
the same time; moreover, it would be impossible for them to change 
the constitution by themselves, or even lead a campaign for doing so. 
So it seems unrealistic to expect any change within the lifetime of 
the current government and presidency. But the next parliamentary 
elections could provide a window of opportunity for defeating the 
LTTE and ending the war, provided preparations begin immediately.

In this context, the Left could play a critical role, acting as a 
pole of attraction for politicians from all parties who support a 
democratic political solution to the civil war, and making the next 
election a referendum on this issue. It is disappointing indeed that 
it has failed so far. The old Left - the LSSP and CP - must be 
familiar with Marx's aphorism that history repeats itself, the first 
time as tragedy, the second as farce; yet they appear to be proving 
it true in their own conduct. The first time - when the same Colvin 
R. de Silva who had predicted that 'Sinhala Only' would lead to two 
nations presided over the 1972 Constitution, which entrenched a 
Sinhala Buddhist unitary state without protection for the rights of 
minorities - was tragic indeed, leading to a civil war that has 
claimed close to 70,000 lives. The second time - when instead of 
presenting the interim APRC proposals, Tissa Vitharana handed back to 
President Rajapaksa a mutilated copy of the 13th Amendment which the 
president had just handed to him - was pure farce. Unless the old 
Left is able to break with this tradition of abandoning their 
principles in order to form governments with Sinhala nationalists, it 
will continue to be marginalised.

The parties that broke away from the LSSP and CP due to their 
betrayal of the rights of minorities could also be potential members 
of an alternative pole. Unfortunately, many of them have illusions in 
the LTTE's agenda for a totalitarian Tamil Eelam, because of their 
doctrinal acceptance of Stalin's definition of a 'nation' combined 
with Lenin's arguments for the right of nations to 
self-determination. Unless they are able to examine these articles of 
faith critically, and conclude that the LTTE's agenda has to be 
rejected completely, they will falter in their support for a truly 
democratic solution to the civil war. As for the JVP (which is now in 
disarray), its 'Leftism' is so completely drowned out by its Sinhala 
nationalism that it is hard to see any support for democracy emerging 
from it. But some of the elements who broke away from it after the 
last insurrection could be part of an emerging force for democracy.

The next elections may seem a long way off, but unless preparations 
for them begin soon, they will be upon us before we know where we 
are, and it will be too late to create a democratic alternative to 
the totalitarian politics tearing Sri Lanka apart. Bob Dylan asked, 
how many deaths will it take till we know that too many people have 
died? Let's not leave the answer blowing in the wind any longer.

______


[3]

www.truthout.org
2 May 2008

UNDO NEPAL'S POLLS: INDIA'S HAWKS

by J. Sri Raman

Nepal has belied prophecies of a post-election upheaval. All sections 
of the Himalayan nation and its political spectrum would appear to 
have accepted the Maoist victory in the polls to the Constituent 
Assembly (CA). None has rejected the results - not even the royal 
camp - at least in public.

This, however, cannot be said of some quarters in India. Demands have 
been raised within Nepal's proudly democratic neighbor for action by 
New Delhi to undo the outcome of the CA elections.

The most outrageous demand is one for covert official support for a 
military coup in Nepal. And it has come from a security expert who 
can be presumed to speak for influential sections in India's 
intelligence establishment as well.
B. Raman was the additional secretary at the Research and Analysis 
Wing (RAW), India's external espionage agency, and headed the 
counterterrorism division at RAW for more than a decade until his 
retirement in 1994. We need say no more. Now he is the director of 
the Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai (formerly Madras), one of 
the many "think-tanks" providing grist to the mill of India's 
militarism.

On April 27, Raman wrote: "As a successful democracy, India cannot 
support a military coup in any country.... But sometimes, in our 
national interest, we may have to close our eyes to a military 
takeover or to the evils of a military rule in a neighboring 
country." India may have to do so, he added, as "we have been doing 
in the case of Myanmar for over a decade now" and as "we did in 
Bangladesh last year when chronic political instability seemed to be 
pushing the country into the hands of jihadi terrorists of various 
hues and ... vintages."

Raman went on to argue: "We may be well-advised to do so if the Royal 
Nepalese Army (RNA) decides to prevent the Communist Party of Nepal 
(Maoists) led by Prachanda, which has emerged as the leading party in 
the recent elections, from using its position as the leader of the 
Government to convert the RNA with its glorious traditions into the 
People's Liberation Army (PLA) of Nepal patterned after the PLA of 
China and North Korea and after the Cuban Army." The Royal Nepalese 
Army shed its prefix and became the Nepal Army on May 18, 2006, but 
loyal Raman and the like-minded do not recognize the change. They 
might have read some of the numerous reports by human rights agencies 
and others about the war crimes and rights abuses by the RNA (and to 
a lesser extent by the Maoists), but this has made little difference 
to their loyalty.

Raman continued: "In his statements and interviews before the 
elections, Prachanda (Maoist chief) has given clear indications of 
(his and) their priorities if the Maoists came to power.

First, have the monarchy abolished and proclaim Nepal as a republic 
with a presidential style of government.

Second, assume office as the president of Nepal.

Third, abrogate all existing agreements with India and renegotiate 
those which are considered to be in Nepal's interests.

Fourth, merge the armed cadres of the Maoists into the RNA to convert 
a royalist army into a people's army." No way could he and other 
Indians, with an idea of "national interest" that had nothing in 
common with Nepal's, forgive the Maoists for their fourth major 
objective. Integration of the People's Liberation Army of the Maoists 
with the Nepal Army, as a sequel to the surrender of the former's 
arms under a United Nations-supervised arrangement, may be part of 
the pact that brought the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) into the 
political mainstream. That, however, did not mean that the Ramans of 
India could not dream of the restoration of a hated monarchy in Nepal 
after a military coup.

The Ramans are not alone. Royalists in Nepal share their dream. In an 
earlier report, I quoted a well-known royalist as talking of a 
religious crusade against the Maoists. Maj.-Gen. Bharat Keshwer 
Simha, known for proximity to the palace, had then said: "If the 
Maoists can take up arms and come to power, Hindus will also take up 
arms. It will be worse than the Maoists' war." The far right in India 
fully shares the sentiment. The main opposition Bharatiya Janata 
Party (BJP) has refrained from calling for a military coup, but 
warned the Indian government that Maoists' victory in Nepal polls 
could lead to the growth of the extreme-left menace in the country, 
causing serious internal security problems.

"If Indian government could declare Indian Maoists and Naxalites as 
terrorists, why are Maoists in Nepal not declared a terrorist 
outfit?" Yogi Adityanath, a BJP member, asked in the Lok Sabha (the 
Lower House of India's parliament) the other day. He saw a "red 
danger" for India following the former rebels' win in the CA election 
and the imminent abolition of monarchy in Nepal.
No one is asking for direct military intervention by India, of 
course. At the peak of the Maoists' armed struggle, their supporters 
claimed that the India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, 1950, 
contained secret annexures, covering mutual assistance in case of an 
emergency such as their rebellion.  Sections of Nepal's media 
reported in February 2005 that Gen. Pyar Jung Thapa, chief of the 
Royal Nepalese Army, had hinted at King Gyanandra invoking the 
provisions of the treaty and seeking Indian military support against 
the Maoists. This did not prove possible then and is unlikely to do 
so in the days ahead.

If Raman wants India only to encourage a military coup in Nepal, some 
others in the country's anti-Maoist camp are asking New Delhi to 
organize sabotage inside Nepal. Another well-known security expert, 
not without admirers in the establishment, Brahma Chellaney, 
professor of strategic studies at New Delhi's Center for Policy 
Research, has argued for manipulation of a minority of Indian origin 
in Nepal for this purpose.

Chellaney wrote on April 28: "New Delhi ought not to shy away from 
employing the immense leverage it holds: Nepal's topography, with 
mountainous terrain sliding southward into plains, shapes its 
economic dependence on India. The ethnic Madhesis who populate the 
Terai, Nepal's food bowl, are India's natural constituency, and that 
card is begging to be exercised."

The US is reportedly undecided as yet about removing the "terrorist" 
tag it had put on the Maoists in recognition of the election results. 
George W.  Bush, however, told a gathering of Indian Americans in 
Washington on May 2: "We're working with India to promote democracy 
and the peace it yields throughout the continent. We're working 
together to extend the hope of liberty throughout Asia." Are Raman 
and Chellaney spelling out what the US president had in mind for 
Nepal?

______


[4]

(i)

Dawn
April 8, 2008

AN OPEN LETTER TO GENERAL KAYANI

By Irfan Husain

Dear General Kayani,

As a Pakistani, I have no doubt that you are as delighted with the 
way the recent elections were conducted as I am. Some of the credit 
must go to your officers and troops for having assisted in 
maintaining law and order. But of even greater significance was your 
decision not to involve the Army in any other aspect of the 
elections. All of us remember all too well the negative role played 
by Military Intelligence (MI) and the Inter-Services Intelligence 
(ISI) in past polls.

As democracy finally returns to our deeply troubled country, and a 
new government takes shape in Islamabad, I have a few suggestions on 
how you can help the political system find its feet, and to mix a 
metaphor, put down roots. I would also like to share a few thoughts 
on a new partnership between elected governments and the Pakistan 
Army.

You are well aware of the widespread perception that the Army has 
meddled in politics long enough. Indeed, this feeling has been 
vociferously expressed by the public and the media over the last 
year, particularly during the crisis over the fate of the Chief 
Justice. A crisis, I might add, that was precipitated entirely by 
your predecessor, and one that brought great discredit to the service 
you now head.

You and your colleagues must have noted with concern and dismay the 
growing gulf between the people of Pakistan and their Army. I am sure 
you will agree that this is a very unhealthy tendency, and one that 
should be corrected as soon as possible.

By and large, all Pakistanis are proud of their Army, and have 
sacrificed much to support it over the years. But of late, a 
perception has developed that the Army is an occupying force bent on 
plundering the country for its own benefit. Repeated coups against 
legitimate governments have only added to this perception.

I am sure that as a professional soldier, you would like to restore 
the Army's badly tarnished image. For the difficult tasks that lie 
ahead, you will need public support and a smooth working relationship 
with the new government.

Firstly, a consensus needs to be evolved within the Army that 
henceforth it will not intervene in politics. I know this is easier 
said than done as all too often, defeated politicians are prone to 
invite the Army to help dismiss elected governments. This temptation 
needs to be resisted, and politicians discouraged from making a 
beeline to GHQ every time there is a political crisis.

Currently, I realise you are caught in a quandary as Mr Musharraf 
anointed you as his successor on the assumption that you would 
support him. But surely the oath you took on being inducted into the 
Army to uphold the Constitution must take precedence over personal 
and service loyalty. Given your predecessor's determination to hang 
on to the presidency despite the humiliating defeat his PML(Q) 
suffered in the recent elections, it would be in the national 
interest for him to step down rather than be at the centre of an 
unnecessary political battle. You can help to focus his mind, and 
encourage him to resign. Clearly, the major task before the Army is 
to fight the scourge of Islamic terrorism that has made such deep 
inroads into Pakistan under your predecessor's watch. Presently, the 
Pakistan Army has been trained in conventional warfare, with India 
being seen as our biggest threat. But now, it is the Taliban and the 
many home-grown gangs of Islamic militants that are the source of the 
biggest danger to Pakistan.

Your task in fighting them has been made easier by the rejection of 
their allies in the MMA by the people of the NWFP. With a secular 
coalition government in Peshawar, the sanctuary enjoyed by these 
groups over the last five years will end. Indeed, this is one reason 
they have opposed the democratic process so violently. In the event, 
their biggest nightmare has come true, and at one stroke, they have 
lost their allies in the MMA and the PML(Q).

This is the power of the ballot, and is yet another reason for you to 
support the democratic process. It is true that all too often, 
democracy is a messy business. But in the end, it delivers far more 
effectively than any dictatorship can. You have only to look across 
the border to India. Despite its size and many divisions and 
problems, the system has helped to transform the country within a 
decade. Pakistan has the potential to do as well, provided there is a 
degree of stability.

One way you can help the regeneration of democracy in Pakistan is to 
end the political role that the ISI and Military Intelligence have 
played. In fact, the political wings of both outfits could be 
disbanded to demonstrate your intentions. This would send out a clear 
signal to both your fellow officers and to politicians that the Army 
is no longer a player in the game of power politics.

Any general's worst nightmare is to have to fight on two fronts. 
Although tension over Kashmir has subsided, the peace process that 
was suspended during the recent political crisis needs to be resumed. 
The leaders of all the major parties now voted into Parliament 
support the normalisation of ties with our neighbour. You must assure 
them they have the Army's support. Earlier, your predecessors 
sabotaged attempts by both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to build 
bridges with India.

Pakistan needs to rapidly upgrade its social infrastructure if it is 
to become competitive in an era of globalisation. Education and 
health have long been neglected. Many of these problems are due to 
the paucity of resources available for education as well as other 
public welfare programmes. At the same time, the defence budget has 
been increasing over the years. I am sure you will take a hard look 
at the numbers, and cut some of the unnecessary expenditure being 
incurred by the Army. In this context, the decision to build a vast 
new headquarters in Islamabad must be reviewed.

But these details pale into insignificance before the immediate task 
of building bridges with the people and their elected leaders. For 
far too long has the Pakistan Army been viewed as a necessary evil. 
You have it in your power to set a new direction and a new example.

I wish you luck in your efforts to change the Army's orientation, and 
with it, the country's fortunes.


o o o

(ii)

The Hindu
May 03, 2008

A KILLING THAT HAS SPARKED DEBATE ON BLASPHEMY LAWS IN PAKISTAN

by Nirupama Subramanian

Over 4,000 blasphemy cases have been registered since the law came 
into existence.

Blasphemy is an offence punishable by death in Pakistan, but Jagdeesh 
Kumar's co-workers did not allow him the luxury of a court hearing 
even under this infamous law. Instead, the 20-year-old Hindu youth 
was simply lynched by his co-workers in the factory where he was 
employed for allegedly making blasphemous remarks against Prophet 
Muhammad.

The April 8 incident has once again spurred debate in Pakistan on the 
levels of religious intolerance in the country and on sections 295-B 
and 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code, together known as the blasphemy 
laws.

A Human Rights Commission of Pakistan fact-finding team that visited 
the leather factory in Karachi's Korangi Industrial Area the day 
after the macabre incident has recorded that Jagdeesh was lynched in 
the presence of several policemen who did nothing to prevent the 
incident.

According to Abdul Hai of the Sindh chapter of the HRCP who was in 
the fact-finding team, the altercation between Jagdish Kumar and his 
co-workers began at 10 a.m. , and was first settled by a factory 
supervisor within a few minutes. The HRCP says a personal dispute was 
the reason for the fight.

An hour or so later, the workers attacked him again, alleging that he 
had made blasphemous comments. At this point, the factory's security 
guards rescued Jagdeesh, taking him to the guard room, where he 
remained under their protection. Meanwhile, the factory called the 
police. But despite the presence of a number of policemen in the 
premises, and outside, a massive mob of workers collected at the 
guardroom, and eventually broke down its doors and lynched Jagdeesh 
Kumar.

"My boy went to Karachi so he could bring in some rupees to feed the 
family," said his father Prabhu Lal, a 65-year-old former beedi 
roller in Mirpur Khas, a district in the Thar desert with a sizeable 
Hindu population near Pakistan's border with Rajasthan. "But we got 
his body instead. This is the biggest injustice that could have been 
done to my son and to me and my family."

The Karachi police have since arrested three workers from the factory 
where Jagdish was done to death. But the victim's family believes 
that in order to be let off or treated with lenience, the killers are 
using the blasphemy accusation to justify a murder committed for 
other reasons.

"We don't know enough about our own religion to talk about, how can 
we dare to talk about another religion? It is impossible that 
Jagdeesh would have said anything against Islam," said Ashok Kumar, a 
neighbour of the family.

The family fear that unless the police expose the "real" motive 
behind his killing, the blasphemy charge against Jagdish could 
"stain" and endanger the lives of the entire family.

Some see a direct link between Jagdeesh's killing and Pakistan's 
blasphemy laws that were added on to the Pakistan Penal Code section 
relating to "offences against religion" between 1982 and 1986. Sub 
section 295-B of 1982 prescribes life imprisonment for defiling or 
desecrating the Koran. Sub section 295-C of 1986 lays down that 
"whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible 
representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, 
directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy prophet 
Muhammad (PBUH) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for 
life, and shall also be liable to fine".

Vague complexity of the law

According to one analyst writing in Dawn, "the explanation for 
[Jagdeesh's] co-workers' criminal conduct is to be found in the vague 
complexity of the law which leaves every individual free to view the 
'imputation, innuendo or insinuation, directly or indirectly' in the 
light of his own conviction or as indoctrinated by the mullah."

More than 4,000 blasphemy cases have been registered since the law 
came into existence. Convictions are rare, and no one has yet been 
hanged for it, but in dozens of instances, the accused have been 
killed by mobs.

In 2005, a mob in the town of Spin Kakh gave chase to Ashiq Nabi for 
alleged blasphemy and shot him dead as he tried to escape by climbing 
up a tree. His wife had reportedly held up a Koran for protection 
during a fight with Nabi, and when he pushed her, the book fell on 
the floor. A local maulvi filed charges of blasphemy against Nabi, 
but instead of waiting for the police to arrest him, incited 
townspeople over the loudspeaker of the local mosque to go after him.

Very often, the law is used to target members of the minority 
community, and several time, has also been used by Muslims against 
each other to settle personal scores. The 2008 annual report of the 
non-government Human Rights Commission of Pakistan details several 
cases in which people have been charged with the offence on the basis 
of flimsy evidence.

In most cases, the accused languish in prison until their cases are 
decided, but even behind bars, they live in fear of violence against 
them by other inmates. The fears of being set upon only increase 
after acquittal and release. The Dawn article cited an instance in 
which four brothers were found by a court to have been falsely 
accused of blasphemy by a village rival. By the time the case was 
decided, they had spent six years in jail. Fearing retaliation after 
their release, the four soon fled Pakistan.

In its 2008 annual report, the HRCP comments that a growing number of 
Muslims in Pakistan had begun to feel that the only true version of 
Islam is the one they practise, and as the State had failed in its 
duty to protect the interests of the religion "that it is their 
religious duty to enforce it on all and sundry by deploying all 
possible means, including the use of force against those who do not 
fall in line".

The report said this was also one reason for the unchecked growth of 
extremism and militancy in Pakistan.

Human rights activists believe that the failure of the government to 
take exemplary action against vigilantism in the name of religion 
encourages people to take the law into their hands, or misuse it with 
impunity.
Unable to counter

"The kind of extremism that has been displayed in [the Jagdeesh 
Kumar] case, there are likely to be many more such sad incidents 
because governments are unable to counter it firmly," said HRCP 
director I.A. Rehman.

Mr. Rehman said it would take Pakistan "a long time" to rectify the 
situation because no government was prepared to antagonise 
conservative elements in the country.

In 2000, President Pervez Musharraf tried to make changes to the 
implementation of the blasphemy law so that the complaint could be 
made only to a senior police officer, but he had to back down in the 
face of opposition from religious hardliners.

Mr. Rehman said the HRCP did not include the repeal of the blasphemy 
laws in the 16-point programme that it forwarded to the new 
government as "Pakistan is not yet ready for this". But the rights 
group has demanded the abolition of the death penalty, which will 
indirectly bring changes to the blasphemy law.

Moderate and progressive voices in the electronic and print media are 
urging Pakistan's new government to come down heavily on those who 
were responsible for Jagdeesh's killing in order to send out an 
unequivocal message that religious vigilantism will not be tolerated.

A few days after Jagdeesh's killing, the Sindh chief minister sent a 
Hindu member of the Provincial Assembly to Mirpur Khas to meet the 
family and assure them that justice would be done. But the family is 
too scared to follow up on that assurance and ensure that Jagdeesh's 
killers were brought to book.

"Some people have been saying to me that I should go to Karachi and 
demand justice. But I'm frightened of the consequences," Prabhu Lal 
said. The only course of action open to him, the bereaved father 
said, was to keep his head down and hope for the best.


______


[5]

The Daily Star
May 4, 2008

WORRIES ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS

by A.N.M. Nurul Haque

THE pitched battles that some radical Islamist groups fought recently 
with the police for two consecutive days around the Baitul Mukarram 
national mosque to protest against certain provisions of giving women 
equal rights in the National Women Development Policy (NWDP), have 
engendered a deep sense of concern among the conscious people.

Hundreds of radical Islamists armed with bamboo sticks clashed with 
police for hours and beat them up. A huge number of students from 
madrasas across the city participated in pitched battles with the 
police. They acted on instructions from their teachers who were 
staying inside the mosque.

Hundreds of madrasa students also went on the rampage and stormed 
Hathazari Police Station in Chittagong on April 11 over rumours that 
an imam was killed earlier in clashes between police and religious 
activists in Dhaka.

Khelafat Majlish and Islami Shashontantra Andolan recently formed the 
Anti-Quran Law Resistance Committee to protest against the NWDP 2008, 
approved by the advisers' council on March 8. These radical groups 
have been claiming that the policy gives equal inheritance rights to 
men and women despite the government affirmation that there is no 
such provision in the policy.

In an effort to scotch the discontent, four advisers of the caretaker 
government met Islamic leaders on March 27 and formed a 20- member 
review committee headed by the acting Khatib of Baitul Mukarram 
mosque. The committee placed a 15-point suggestion to scrap major 
provisions of the policy aimed at women empowerment.

Around two dozens of Islamic groups launched violent street agitation 
using different names. A prominent political leader even threatened 
the government saying: "If our demands are not met, the fire ignited 
today will spread like wildfire across the country."

This is however, not for the first time that the radical Islamist 
political groups have gone rampant or defied the state of emergency. 
Many of them brought out a procession in the city, almost without any 
resistance, to protest against the Sector Commanders Forum's move for 
trail of war criminals.

The radical Islamist groups have now shifted their wrath to a more 
sensitive issue, the NWDP, claiming that the policy contains 
provisions against Islamic principles. It is of course true that 
there is nothing repugnant to Islamic principles in the NWDP. The 
policy says in Article 9(13) that women's right to retain their 
earned properties will be ensured. The policy does not contain the 
issue of women's inheritance rights.

A section of Islamic scholars said, the review committee could not 
pinpoint in its recommendations any verse in the Quran that the NWDP 
contradicts. Considering the policy as a good document for 
establishing rights of every human being, the scholars said, those 
who are violating laws and threatening the government with greater 
movements, have vested interests and should be brought under trial.

The Quran has made equal social rights of both men and women, the 
basis for their inheritance rights and it never says that women as 
human beings cannot have rights as men. The Quranic rule ensuring 
women's rights to inheritance was revolutionary at the time when 
women did not have any dignity in the then Arab society and a man's 
status was determined by the number of their wives and maids, said 
the eminent Islamic thinkers.

The Constitution of Bangladesh in Article 28(2) has clearly 
instructed the state to ensure equality of women in all spheres of 
life. The Chief Justice of the country has univocally said that 
progress and democracy cannot be ensured by denying half of the 
population their rights as enshrined in the Constitution. Former 
chief adviser Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman has also said on April 
30 to change our traditional attitudes towards women.

The radical Islamist groups also opposed formulation of the Muslim 
Family Law Ordinance in 1961 restricting child marriage and 
discouraging polygamy. They tried to instigate people against it. But 
the then government with dealt them with strong hands.

Most of the Muslim countries have moved away from the traditional 
provisions of women rights over the ages for women's development. 
Morocco ensured equal rights to women in every sphere of life, 
enacting the Family Act in 2004.

The radical Islamist political groups, who are vehemently opposing 
the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the female citizens of the 
country, were all along been inimical to women. The issue of NWDP, of 
course, is not Islamic but political use of religion. In fact, they 
have been looking for a pretext under the guise of a religious issue 
to divert public attention from the increasing demands of trial of 
the war criminals, side by side to instill fear in the society. Now 
they have got one.

A number of Islamic scholars have made it clear for the nation that 
the review committee has failed to say exactly how the provisions of 
the NWDP contradict the Holy Quran. It is indeed a significant 
development towards implementation of the NWDP. Islam does not 
discriminate between man and women and throws away the argument of 
men's superiority. There are reasons to believe that correct 
interpretation of the Holy Quran would allow equal rights to women in 
every sphere of life.

The women in Bangladesh, who are socially weaker, have the serious 
causes of repudiation of equal rights in terms of earned property by 
their husbands and parental inheritance by their male siblings. They 
are also vulnerable to many social repressions including dowry. 
Therefore, it is a dire need for the government to implement the NWDP 
for social security of the women without giving in to any pressure.

The recent rampage by the radical Islamists multiplies the need for 
correcting all the faults so far done by the immediate past 
government in tackling these elements. The government must not show a 
subservient attitude in tackling them. These elements have got no 
appeal to the great mass of people, as they always hide behind 
religion to achieve their nefarious political agenda. The caretaker 
government can deal them severely as it has no obligation to any vote 
bank.

Islam offers ample opportunities for deliberation and discussion as 
for resolving any issue. One really fails to understand as to what 
sort of Islamic edicts these radical groups want to introduce by 
resorting to violence.

A.N.M. Nurul Haque is a columnist of The Daily Star.

______


[6]

[The below article raises the question of constant obfuscation 
undertaken by the hindu right by setting up umpteen front operations 
and an platforms  - some of these pretend to be 'simply' delving in 
the 'authentic' religious, cultural action and environmental and 
peace education. The Hindutva circuit seems to have perfected the art 
of spreading their word at all levels in society. It is the job of 
secular activists to systematically make the ordinary people see thru 
the smokescreen.

Now an example from outside India. How they set up events and manage 
to get social legitimation. A conference on 'Peace and Reconciliation 
in South Asia' was recently organised in Norway under the aegis of 
(iahv.org) a sister operation run by the high flying evangelist Sri 
Sri Ravi Shankar - of the Art of Living with Hindutva fame, in 
company of Hindutva performer Francois Gautier (creator of the FACT 
exhibit shown in Goa among other places), and one of India's top 
hawks Mr B Chellaney, Home minister and 'Salwajudam' militia driver 
of the Chattisgarh govt. The event was organised with cooperation 
from 'club of budapest'.

That the event organisers also managed to hustle their way by 
obtaining co-sponsorship 'cooperation' of Women's International 
League for Peace and Freedom and that among the umpteen speakers 
listed, figures the name of prominent peace activist and Secretary 
General, International Peace Bureau, Switzerland is a matter of 
concern and should set people thinking about what's all goes on in 
the name of 'Peace' events. When war mongers talk of about a 'peace 
of the graveyard', hopefully the established peace activists see 
thru. Peace activists around the world should be told to have some 
scruples and not to rub shoulders with shady operators who wear 
Hindutva [and its politico-religious equivalents elsewhere] under 
their pants, propagate hate and war against minorities etc. -SACW 
editor.]

o o o

Herald, Panjim, 2 May 2008

RELIGION OR POLITICS? (THE HINDU JANAJAGRUTI SAMITI IN GOA)

by Vidyadhar Gadgil

The recent controversy over the denial of permission to the Hindu 
Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) to organise a Dharma Jagruti Sabha on the 
grounds of the Government Engineering College in Farmagudi raised 
some interesting questions about the separation of religion and 
politics. Responding to an appeal to disassociate from the programme, 
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) leader Sudin Dhavlikar is quoted 
as having said, "Religion and politics are two different issues... 
Nobody can stop me from participating in my dharm."

It's an unexceptionable statement - it is evident that religion and 
politics must be kept separate in any healthy society, and that 
Dhavlikar or anybody else is free to practice their faith.  But the 
real question here is, was the proposed Dharma Jagruti Sabha about 
religion or was it about politics?

The pamphlet circulated for the Sabha makes a call to 'Hindu 
brethren' to unite against assaults on the Hindu religion. 
Christians and Muslims are identified as those who have assaulted 
Hinduism. Hindus influenced by the 'Western education system' and 
'so-called secular ideology' are identified as major threats to 
Hinduism. The pamphlet asks for mobilisation against the proposed Ram 
Setu project, not on environmental or economic grounds, but for 
religious reasons. The government is accused of being part of a 
conspiracy to destroy Hinduism. An example of such a conspiracy, 
against which the pamphlet calls for action, is the Maharashtra 
government's proposed Anti-Superstition Act.

The meeting was moved to the Madkai Panchayat grounds after the 
organisers were denied permission to have the Sabha on the Government 
Engineering College grounds. The HJS saw this as another assault on 
the Hindu religion. HJS convenor in Goa Dr Manoj Solanki has defended 
the Dharma Jagruti Sabhas, saying they are "meant to educate Hindus 
about their religion and guide them about their day-to-day religious 
practices". He justifies HJS rhetoric saying that "the incidences of 
religious conversions are going on in a large scale in Goa... there 
has been a steep rise in the incidences of Hindu temple 
destruction..."

Is this 'education of Hindus', which the HJS says it has been doing 
in Goa in the recent past? Or is it mobilisation of people as part of 
the political agenda of Hindutva?

The HJS is a relatively recent front, set up, according to its own 
literature, in October 2002, "by initiative of seekers of Sanatan 
Sanstha". In Goa, it appears to have taken over many of the 
activities of the Sanatan Sanstha (SS); many of the office-bearers of 
these two organisations are the same. Besides, both these 
organisations seem to operate mainly in Maharashtra.

In Goa, the HJS appears to be consciously disassociating itself from 
the SS in people's minds. This might be because the SS has made 
itself unpopular in Goa, after its activists started laying down 
their own 'rules' (allegedly based on their reading of the 
scriptures) regarding the proper depiction of deities and the way 
rituals should be performed. Unsurprisingly, this imposition of a 
doctrinaire, Brahminical regime has been resisted by most Hindus, who 
are attached to their own traditional folk forms of worship.  This 
underlines the difference between Hinduism, which is a wide, liberal 
religion unfettered by narrow rules, and Hindutva, which seeks to use 
the name of Hinduism to advance a political agenda by imposing 
uniformity on a religion that essentially thrives owing to its 
enormous diversity.

In the past one year or so, the HJS has stepped up the tempo of its 
activities in Goa. It has organised shows of an exhibition prepared 
by the French Hindutva supporter Francois Gautier. This exhibition, 
on the sufferings of the Kashmiri Pandits, presents issue of their 
displacement in an explicitly communalised framework. It tries to 
paint all Muslims with a 'terrorist' brush, and to unite Hindus 
against them. The HJS has shown this exhibition all over Goa, 
including in the government-controlled Kala Academy, and made it the 
centrepiece of its mobilisation programme for Hindus.

The HJS has also been organising Dharma Jagruti Sabhas. After 
Farmagudi, the most recent one was in Margao, in collaboration with, 
among others, the Bajrang Dal. The Sabha did have some religious 
content, in the shape of a 'pravachan' (sermon) by the pontiff of the 
Tapobhumi Mutt at Kundaim. But it also had a number of incendiary 
speeches that had little to do with religion and more to do with 
propagating hate. Jayesh Naik, South Goa chief of the Bajrang Dal, 
openly 'challenged' Margao's Muslims to attack the Hindus and 
promised a fitting reply. This is the kind of rabble rousing that 
dominates these Sabhas, which are prominently attended by members and 
office-bearers of other Sangh Parivar outfits, including the RSS, the 
VHP, the Bajrang Dal and the BJP.

The website of the HJS at hindujagruti.org is extremely interesting. 
It takes on anything and everything that it sees as an attack on 
Hinduism. At present, the main issues that the HJS sees as 
'anti-Hindu' offensives are the Bollywood film Jodhaa-Akbar, Artist M 
F Husain's paintings and the 'Ram Setu' project. The website calls 
for direct action to counter these 'threats to Hinduism'. Incitement 
to violence is common. The moderated comments include calls to bury 
alive alleged offenders against Hinduism, to execute them, kill them, 
hang them, and shoot them.
The website carries detailed stories about the success of the FACT 
exhibition and the Dharma Jagruti Sabhas. Former Chief Minister 
Pratapsingh Rane is pilloried for selecting a painting that allegedly 
denigrates Shiva for an exhibition at the Kala Academy.  If one 
believes the website, desecration and vandalisation of temples is 
something of a cottage industry in Goa; apart, of course, from 
conversions. A message from Jayant Athavale, founder of the Sanatan 
Sanstha, exhorts Hindus to 'embrace the aggressive path'.

Clearly, the HJS and its activities are about politics rather than 
dharm. Religion, to the extent that it comes into the activities of 
HJS, is there only for three purposes: to leverage Hinduism as a base 
for identity politics and communal mobilisation; to give a veneer of 
respectability to an essentially divisive agenda; and to lay down a 
strict Brahminical line of ritual observance, without due respect for 
the natural, organic, and popular variations within Hindu religious 
practices.

Obviously, Sudin Dhavlikar is being disingenuous when he claims that 
the Dharma Jagruti Sabha at Ponda was related to dharm rather than 
politics. And he is not alone in flirting with the dangerous agenda 
of the HJS. It is a sign of the soft communalism that is creeping 
into our society that the HJS has even succeeded in persuading some 
environmentalists, intellectuals and social activists to participate 
in its sabhas. But let no one be under any illusions. The agendas of 
the HJS and its Dharma Jagruti Sabhas have very little to do with 
dharm, either in the sense of pure religion or in the sense that 
Mahatma Gandhi used 'dharm' -as a moral, ethical order independent of 
organised religion - and everything to do with 'politics'.


______


[7]  UK:

www.sacw.net - May 2, 2008

(i)  WHEN STATE PANDERS TO RELIGIOUS INTERESTS, IT THREATENS WOMENS 
RIGHTS: THE CASE OF ASIAN WOMEN IN UK

by Pragna Patel

Introduction

This article draws on the experiences of predominantly South Asian 
women who approach Southall Black Sisters, whose lives encapsulate 
the contradictions facing many black and minority women in their 
struggle for survival and freedom in the U.K. The struggle for the 
rights of black and minority women in the U.K. is inextricably linked 
to the practice of multiculturalism. Indeed, it is impossible to 
discuss the one without discussing the other. A focus on 
multiculturalism also provides a useful means of understanding the 
complexities, tensions and dilemmas with which Asian and other 
minority women in the U.K. have grappled, in their quest for human 
rights. The key question is whether the state's approach to race 
relations and minority communities has hindered or enhanced their 
struggle for rights, particularly in relation to the family where 
they are most vulnerable to abuse, violence and unequal treatment. 
Experience shows that at its worst, multiculturalism has colluded in 
the silencing of women's voices. But now, an even greater danger 
looms: the government promotion of the faith agenda (a Blairite 
initiative) and the drift from multiculturalism to "multi-faithism" 
provides an opportunity for fundamentalists and religionists to set 
an agenda that poses a major threat to the human rights of Asian and 
other minority women. The need for vigilance and activism is now more 
urgent than ever.

[. . .].

READ FULL TEXT AT:
http://www.sacw.net/Wmov/ppatelApril08.html

o o o

(ii)

The Guardian
May 1, 2008

REPRESENTING OURSELVES BETTER

The debate on Islam in Britain has been polarised as a 'clash of 
civilisations'. But most British Muslims wish to feel at home in a 
secular democracy

by Imran Ahmad


Growing up in the 1960s and 70s, I longed to be a hero; no, not a 
jihadi, but a Doctor Who assistant perhaps (male and darkie - what 
were the odds?). Then I wanted to be like Simon Templar with a Jaguar 
XJS, as in Return of the Saint - brave and handsome, loved by 
beautiful women. That was what I aspired to be. And when I was 
selected for the honoured of position of prefect at my school, I felt 
that at last I had become part of the establishment, integrated into 
the fabric of English society.

In short, I just wanted to belong. The reason this was so important 
was that, in those days, Britain was hideously racist. Racism was so 
normal, one simply accepted it. I never imagined the country as it is 
now: in just half a lifetime, Britain has evolved to the extent that 
racism is now generally unacceptable.

In the sub-continent, discrimination and hatred are on the basis of 
village, clan, family, sect, province, class, money, gender, and even 
(bizarrely) shade of skin. And everyone just accepts this as normal. 
Britain was never as bad, and I was usually an optimist about life. 
(If you're interested, I've told my story in Unimagined.)

On the day of July 7 2005, as the news painfully unfolded, I thought: 
"Please God, let it be some Arabs or North Africans who slipped in 
pretending to be asylum seekers, bloody foreigners." But it was as 
bad as it could be. Three of the suicide bombers were British-born 
young men of Pakistani origin.

Now, suddenly, our society seemed to be sliding backwards into ugly 
stereotypes and cheap generalisations - on both sides of the alleged 
"clash of civilisations". Muslims were barbarians and terrorists; the 
west was imperialist and wanted to destroy Islam.

I shook my head in despair, at every idiotic blunder by every 
so-called spokesman for so-called Islam. They seemed to overlook the 
freedom, human rights and opportunities we have in the west, 
subscribing to the victim mentality that tribalism brings, and 
forsaking their right to bring about positive change.

When I heard Yasmin Alibhai-Brown on the television talking about 
forming British Muslims for Secular Democracy, I decided I wanted to 
be part of this. I joined the board of this fledgling organisation. 
We aim to represent the voice of the unheard democratic Muslims. 
Recent research which we've undertaken shows that the majority of 
Muslims in Britain believe in democracy, and that it's the minority 
of our faith who are not supporters.

Our aim is to drive a more balanced view of Muslims in this country, 
to help solve Muslim-related issues such as religious extremism and 
racism against Muslims, and to promote democracy through an education 
programme among Muslim communities. Slowly, we are beginning to gain 
some momentum, but being noticed as a force representing democratic 
Muslims is a challenge - because we don't say outrageous and 
hysterical things. Now, we have achieved charitable status, earned 
some funding and are launching on Thursday May 1 with a debate at the 
RSA on "The secular state - the best option for Muslims?"

We are not saying that society itself must be secular, or that people 
should not hold religious values. But we believe the machinery of 
government should be secular; it should be driven by reason and 
common values, rather than by any prevailing theology or cultural 
traditions. And everyone should have the right to participate on 
equal terms.

It's hard for many people to believe that Muslims are mostly quite at 
ease in Britain. We want to mow our lawns and wash our cars and lead 
peaceful, responsible lives, building up some financial security and 
pursuing our leisure interests. The reality is that we are no 
different from anyone else. But there are some sinister forces, with 
their own agendas, trying to drive a wedge between us. We want to 
play our part to help put a stop to this.


______



[8] Announcements:

(i)

AN INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY ACTION FOR BINAYAK SEN ON MAY 13, 2008

Dear Friends,

Please find below and attached an appeal for organizations to endorse 
an international day of solidarity action for Binayak Sen on May 13, 
marking one year of his unjust imprisonment. We are a broad coalition 
of organizations and individuals based in different countries and 
hope to put up a massive collective effort aimed at the embassies as 
well as the press to exert pressure for his release. His trial begins 
on the 30th. There is a lot being planned in India as well.

As you may know, one of the contacts for Indian
coordination : Satya Sivaraman - satyasagar[AT]gmail.com

APPEAL TO OBSERVE ONE YEAR OF DR. BINAYAK SEN'S UNJUST DETENTION

On May 13th/14th, 2008 Dr. Binayak Sen, an activist with a lifelong 
commitment to the issues of community health and human rights, will 
complete his first year of unjust imprisonment at the Raipur Central 
jail in Chhattisgarh. Organizations across the globe will be holding 
events on the evening of May 13th, 2008 to mark one year of his 
imprisonment. We appeal to your organization to hold rallies, 
candlelight vigils or lectures against his unconstitutional 
detention. Please let us know at freebsen at gmail. com if your 
organization would endorse this appeal.

Dr. Sen's life has been focused on providing healthcare to the most 
marginalized sections of the society. By setting up the unique 
Shaheed Hospital, the community-driven work of Rupantar and his 
broader involvement with Jan Swasthya Abhiyan - the Indian circle of 
the People's Health Movement, Dr. Sen has made healthcare available 
to people who have been ignored by government or private systems.
As the State Secretary of People's Union for Civil Liberties of 
Chhattisgarh and the national Vice President, Dr. Sen has uncovered 
human rights violations by the state and other armed groups. He has 
highlighted starvation deaths, dysentery epidemics, poor conditions 
of under trial prisoners, custodial deaths and extra judicial 
killings. Dr. Sen has also worked on the issues of right to food, 
work, health and education. He has been amongst the most vocal 
opponents of Salwa Judum, a private militia movement armed by the 
Chhattisgarh Government to combat Maoist insurgency - that has 
contributed to a spiraling increase in violence and displacement of 
thousands of tribals. Even the Supreme Court of India has issued a 
strong disapproval of the Salwa Judum, citing concerns similar to 
those raised by Dr. Sen.

On May 14th, 2007 Dr. Sen was arrested in Raipur under the repressive 
Chhattisgarsh Special Public Security Act, 2005 (CSPSA) and the 
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 2004 (UAPA) on charges of 
sedition, conspiracy to wage war against the state and conspiracy to 
commit other offences. The continuing detention of an activist 
committed to non-violence and social justice is a mockery of justice 
itself. He now remains imprisoned for a year without trial or bail, 
including a cruel spell of solitary confinement.

Dr. Sen is victim to an increasing trend of arresting human rights 
activists in India for challenging state authority. Lachit Bordoloi, 
a human rights activist from Assam; Prashant Rahi, journalist from 
Uttarakhand; Govindan Kutty, editor of People's March in Kerala; 
Praful Jha, a journalist from Chhattisgarh; Vernon Gonsalves, an 
activist from Nasik; Arun Ferreira, Ashok Reddy, Dhanendra Bhurule, 
Naresh Bansode, activists from Vidarbha have all been charged under 
the UAPA and kept under prolonged detention without bail.

We appeal to the international community to speak out against the 
stifling of pro-poor and democratic voices such as Dr. Binayak Sen's. 
The international community has already shown its appreciation by 
bestowing the Jonathan Mann award for public health and human rights 
on him. In addition, the UAPA and the CSPSA must be repealed, and the 
Chhattisgarh government should stop its support for Salwa Judum.

Endorsed by:

     * Association of India's Development (www.aidindia.org)
     * Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia, MIT 
(www.alliancesouthasia.org)
     * Friends of South Asia: FOSA (www.friendsofsouthasia.org)
     * International South Asia Forum: INSAF, NYC (www.insaf.net)
     * Peoples Health Movement, USA (http://www.phmovement.org/cms)
     * Campaign to Stop Funding Hate: CSFH (www.stopfundinghate.org)
     * Sanhati (http://sanhati.com)

For more information, please see:
- A petition to free Dr. Sen: 
http://www.petitiononline.com/Binayak/petition.html
- Statement of solidarity with Dr. Sen from internationally renowned 
intellectuals: http://monthlyreview.org/0607sen. htm
- Announcement of the Jonathan Mann Award for Dr. Sen:
http://www.globalhealth.org/ news/article/ 9833
- Statement by Human Rights Watch 
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/29/ india18681. htm
- Resources on Dr. Sen and the status of the trial:

     o http://www.freebinayaksen.org/
     o http://www.savebinayak.ukaid.org.uk/index. html

- An article on Dr. Sen's imprisonment in the context of the 
political economy of Chhattisgarh: 
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/amr140607.html
- Medico Friend Circle Brochure on Dr. Binayak Sen:
http://www.mail-archive.com/ greenyouth at googlegroups.com/msg03256. html
- An analysis of Dr. Sen's case from the PUCL website: 
http://www.pucl.org/Topics/ Human-rights/2007/sen- case-analysis. html
- Background information on the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security 
Act, 2006 http://oldcontent.newswatch. 
in/newsanalyses/attacksonscribes/3893.html
- Background information on the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 
2004 from Human Rights Features: http://www.hrdc. net/sahrdc/ 
hrfeatures/HRF106.htm
- Information on other activists under the UAPA,
2004:

     o Amnesty International on journalists Prashant Rahi, Govindan 
Kutty and Praful Jha:
     http://www.amnestyusa.org/document. 
php?lang=e&id=ENGASA200032008o Frontline Defenders on Lachit Bordoloi 
of MASS: http://www.frontlinedefenders. org/node/ 1360

     o Background on the arrest of Vernon Gonsalves, Shridhar 
Shrinivasan and Adv KD Rao:
     http://www.lawyerscollective. org/content/ letters-0

     o Background on Arun Ferreira
 
http://in.news.yahoo.com/hindustantimes/20080411/r_t_ht_nl_general/tnl-naxalprisoners-protest-torture- 
in-n-7244580. htmlInformation about Salwa Judum: When the State Makes 
War on its Own People-A report from human rights organizations in 
India, 2006 http://www.pucl.org/Topics/ Human-rights/2006/slawajudum. 
htm



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Buzz for secularism, on the dangers of fundamentalism(s), on
matters of peace and democratisation in South
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