SACW - 26 May 2013 / Sri Lanka: Privatisation of education / Pakistan Elections & courting Taliban / Bangladesh: Hefazat & Rana Plaza / Afghan women & post 2014 / Burma Genocide? / India: Zakia Jafri; Ranbaxy; Asbestos; Kudankulam; Maruti; Adivasis and Citizenship / USA: Boston bombing and jihad / Russia Blasphemy Law / A new europe

Sat May 25 17:51:40 EDT 2013

South Asia Citizens Wire - 26 May 2013 - No. 2783
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Contents:
1. Karima Bennoune: 40 days after Boston bombing: we must stop radical jihad
2. Sunila Abeysekera from Sri Lanka to receive Nirmala Deshpande South Asian Peace and Justice Award
3. India: No clear reason in the Kudankulam judgment (Praful Bidwai)
4. On Nuclear Modernisation in Pakistan - 2012 (Zia Mian)
5. Japanese Auto Giant Maruti Suzuki India: Reeling in Profits, Violating Workers Rights says PUDR report
6. Afghan Women’s Network and Civil Society’s Statement on the Scrutiny of the Law on Elimination of Violence Against Women
7. India: The Importance of Zakia Jafri’s Protest Petition (Teesta Setalvad)
8. Russian parliament passes a religious offense law
9. Dirty medicine: Inside story of long-term criminal fraud at Ranbaxy, the Indian drug company
10. James Surowiecki: After Rana Plaza
11. India: Public Interest Litigation against temples and other religious structures inside government premises in Orissa
12. India: Continued Repression of Maruti Workers - MSWU Press Release, 20 May 2013
13. Book Review: Interpreting fascism, one fascist at a time (Javed Anand)
14. India: Stop the Police Brutality Against Maruti Suzuki Workers - Joint Press Statement
15. Anger as Afghan MPs halt women’s bill debate
16. India: Delhi University to dumb history down into a utility toolkit
17. India: Letter to PM & Sonia Gandhi on why white chrysotile asbestos is a hazardous substance
18. India: Video Clip - Remembering Asghar Bhai (1939 - 2013)
19. Etienne Balibar: A new Europe can only come from the bottom up
20. Nazes Afroz: Afghanistan after 2014
21. India: A tribute to Asghar Ali Engineer - Farewell dear friend (Ram Puniyani)
22. India: Petition by Concerned Scientists Regarding Safety at Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant
23. Sri Lanka: Privatisation of education for the rich - What’s next to sell?
24. Pakistan elections: how Nawaz Sharif beat Imran Khan and what happens next
25. India: The Supreme Court’s decision on Koodankulam fails to address concerns about nuclear energy (Editorial, Economic and Political Weekly)
26. India: Atheist Siddaramaiah and God’s changing role in politics
27. Burma: Lest we don’t see, a genocide is in the making (Bonojit Hussain)
28. Hefazat-e-Jamaat, Nothing Else ! : On the Recent Developments in Bangladesh (Subhash Gatade)
29. Bangladesh: Dhaka Women’s Rally Against Demands by Fundamentalists of Hefajat-e Islam - Selected News Reports
30. Bangladesh: Where’s the justice? - Dhaka Tribune Editorial
31. Pakistan: Friends and foes (Editorial, The Express Tribune)
32 Bangladesh: 32. HRW for independent probe of Hefazat casualty: HRW also said the claims of 'genocide' by Hefazat are unfounded
33. India: Recent Posts On Communalism Watch 
- India: Jamaat e Islami propaganda continues in solidarity with the Bangladesh Islamists 
- India: NCERT drops 'objectionable' references from school history textbooks 
- Massive Police bias and misconduct unearthed by Ashish Khetan: Appeal to Citizens of Mumbai and India 
- India: Rising Communal Chashes and Religious polarisation in Uttar Pradesh of the Samajwadi Party (Jamal Kidwai)
- India - UP: Hindutva Lawyers attack Khalid Mujahid’s lawyer in Faizabad 
- In Mumbai, a quiet blow against hate speech 
- India: RSS Man heads Madhya Pradesh BJP for 2013 assembly elections strategy
- Make CBI enquiry into the Custodial Killing of Khalid Mujahid Time-bound - Press Release 
- India: How Varun Gandhi silenced the system - After the hate speeches, a shocking subversion of the law 
- India: The Tamil extremist Naam Thamilar Katchi (NTK or We Tamils Party) promotes communalism in Tamil Nadu
- Maharashtra: Verdict against Sena's provocative speech
- Javed Anand: Contrast between conscientious and delinquent IPS officers forms part of the Protest Petition by Zakia Jafri 

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1. KARIMA BENNOUNE: 40 DAYS AFTER BOSTON BOMBING: WE MUST STOP RADICAL JIHAD
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We must stop trying to make excuses for the Tsarnaev brothers or jihad. It is wrong. Let’s support peaceful Muslims around world
http://www.sacw.net/article4594.html

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2. SUNILA ABEYSEKERA FROM SRI LANKA TO RECEIVE NIRMALA DESHPANDE SOUTH ASIAN PEACE AND JUSTICE AWARD
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The Jury appointed by Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) to decide the nominations for first Didi Nirmala Deshpande South Asian Peace and Justice Award for 2013 announced on Friday to confer the award on Ms. Sunila Abeysekera, a leading women’s human rights defender in Sri Lanka and South Asia, and a major player in the global women’s movement.
http://www.sacw.net/article4588.html

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3. INDIA: NO CLEAR REASON IN THE KUDANKULAM JUDGMENT
by Praful Bidwai
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in a judgment giving the green light to the Kudankulam nuclear project, our Supreme Court tells citizens, without a hint of irony, that they must put up with “minor inconveniences” such as exposure to radiation, which causes cancer or genetic damage and is always harmful, because enormous “economic scientific benefits” (sic) will come from nuclear power, which “remains as an important element in India’s energy mix”. “Minor inconveniences”? Tell that to the families of the estimated 34,000 people who died from Chernobyl, to the mothers of thousands of babies which have early thyroid disorders thanks to the Fukushima disaster, to the 80% plus French people who oppose new reactors, or to the countless protestors against Indian nuclear projects, including Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu), Jaitapur (Maharashtra), Mithi Virdi (Gujarat), Kovvada (Andhra Pradesh), Fatehabad (Haryana) and Chutka (Madhya Pradesh). The assertion that nuclear power is important to “India’s energy mix” but renewable sources only provide “a small share” couldn’t be more ludicrous; their respective shares in our primary energy supply are 0.8% and 18%.
http://www.sacw.net/article4585.html

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4. ON NUCLEAR MODERNISATION IN PAKISTAN - 2012
by Zia Mian
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Since its nuclear tests in May 1998, Pakistan has been rapidly developing and expanding its nuclear arsenal. It is producing highly enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium—the key ingredients for nuclear weapons—and is increasing its capacity to produce plutonium by building new production reactors. It is also testing and deploying a diverse array of nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles, with ranges from 60 km to 2000 km.
http://www.sacw.net/article4584.html

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5. JAPANESE AUTO GIANT MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA: REELING IN PROFITS, VIOLATING WORKERS RIGHTS SAYS PUDR REPORT
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On 23 May 2013 in Chandigarh the Delhi based human rights organisation People’s Union For Democratic rights released its detailed report on the rights violations committed at Maruti Suzuki India’s Manesar plant in Haryana while also documenting the struggle of workers.
http://www.sacw.net/article4581.html

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6. Afghan Women’s Network and Civil Society’s Statement on the Scrutiny of the Law on Elimination of Violence Against Women
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We call on Afghan President and Government to safeguard the important achievement of its time. The implementation of the EVAW law and protection of women’s rights is among the key indicators of Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework (2012). While Afghanistan has too much to prove on good governance and eliminating corruption front, EVAW law remains as one of few landmark achievement to bring pride to this nation to avert all the images of past brutality and medieval treatment of women in the country.
http://www.sacw.net/article4575.html

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7. INDIA: THE IMPORTANCE OF ZAKIA JAFRI’S PROTEST PETITION
by Teesta Setalvad
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It is not often that the battle against aggressive communalism gets sustained and validated through courts of law. This communalism is not just visible in instances of violence but encompasses the sustained mobilisation that precedes the violence, it includes hate speech and writing, as well as the deliberate debilitation of preventive measures of law and order to prevent such violence and protect the lives and properties of citizens. In the south Asian context, majoritarian communalism, fed in an insidious manner by its minority prototype, has the proclivity to deteriorate into authoritarianism, even fascism. Events, past and present, in Sri Lanka, Pakistan or India are testimony to this. In the cases of all countries of the region, communalists of the majority find ready partners with their mirror-images among the minority. For over four decades now, aggressive communalism has made deep inroads into the pillars of the Indian republic, executive, legislature and even the judiciary.
http://www.sacw.net/article4574.html

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8. RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES A RELIGIOUS OFFENSE LAW
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The Russian Duma has passed a second reading of a religious offense law that has provoked a firestorm of controversy. . “An offense to religious sensibilities is a term that defies definition. A radical believer could find offense in expressions of other people’s faith, or atheism,” said Communist deputy Oleg Smolin, whose party, the second largest in the Duma, voted for the law as a bloc.
http://www.sacw.net/article4573.html

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9. DIRTY MEDICINE: INSIDE STORY OF LONG-TERM CRIMINAL FRAUD AT RANBAXY, THE INDIAN DRUG COMPANY
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Fortune’s investigation yields the first comprehensive picture of how one under-policed and far-flung generics company operated. It is not a tale of cutting corners or lax manufacturing practices but one of outright fraud, in which the company knowingly sold substandard drugs around the world — including in the U.S. — while working to deceive regulators. The impact on patients will likely never be known. But it is clear that millions of people worldwide got medicine of dubious quality from Ranbaxy.
http://www.sacw.net/article4564.html

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10. JAMES SUROWIECKI: AFTER RANA PLAZA
(From alaldulal)
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The collapse of the Rana Plaza factory complex, in Bangladesh, last month is now the deadliest accident in the history of the garment industry, and one of the worst industrial accidents ever. Coming after a string of South Asian factory fires last fall that killed hundreds of workers, it provides painful evidence that, two decades since big Western companies started adopting codes of conduct for their suppliers, too little has changed. The problem isn’t so much evil factory owners as a system that’s great at getting Western consumers what they want but leaves developing-world workers toiling in misery.
http://www.sacw.net/article4542.html

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11. INDIA: PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION AGAINST TEMPLES AND OTHER RELIGIOUS STRUCTURES INSIDE GOVERNMENT PREMISES IN ORISSA
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The PIL has been filed by a social worker Abhiram Mallick alleging that the Constitution clearly states that the state shall have no religion of its own and the state agencies and instrumentalities shall not preach any religion in their public life and also not allow any religion to flourish or be propagated directly or indirectly, but government officials are violating it. Even the highest office of the state, the Secretariat, is no exception. The petitioner has alleged that India is a secular state and constitutionally it should not promote any particular religion but authorities intentionally have been encouraging nefarious activities by constructing temples and other religious structures inside government premises.
http://www.sacw.net/article4561.html

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12. INDIA: CONTINUED REPRESSION OF MARUTI WORKERS - MSWU PRESS RELEASE, 20 MAY 2013
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We are facing one of the most brutal repression by the government on our movement. While we have adopted the democratic and peaceful means available to demand the release of arrested 147 workers, withdrawal of non-bailable arrest warrants from 66 workers and reinstatement of terminated 546 permanent and 1800 contract workers, the government has only responded with force and malice and in collusion with the Maruti Suzuki company management.
http://www.sacw.net/article4559.html

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13. BOOK REVIEW: INTERPRETING FASCISM, ONE FASCIST AT A TIME
by Javed Anand
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In the past two decades or so, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the sangh parivar as a whole and its ideological affiliates have frequently been dubbed as “fascist forces”. Protagonists of Hindutva denounce the claim as “malicious canard”.
http://www.sacw.net/article4556.html

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14. INDIA: STOP THE POLICE BRUTALITY AGAINST MARUTI SUZUKI WORKERS - JOINT PRESS STATEMENT
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The Haryana Government yet again in a brazen and outright cowardly manner has sought to protect the interest of capital and particularly the management of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd by refusing to allow the victimised workers and their families to undertake a peaceful demonstration planned for today which was expected to draw in ten thousand people from across the state.
http://www.sacw.net/article4557.html

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15. ANGER AS AFGHAN MPS HALT WOMEN’S BILL DEBATE
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KABUL — The Afghan parliament on Saturday cut short a debate on a bill to protect women from violence after complaints from some traditionalist MPs that it was against Islamic teaching.
http://www.sacw.net/article4549.html

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16. INDIA: DELHI UNIVERSITY TO DUMB HISTORY DOWN INTO A UTILITY TOOLKIT
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After reading the ’Indian History and Culture’ course that has just been approved by the academic and executive councils of the University of Delhi, it becomes clear that . . . if this document is implemented, it will not simply trample on history, it will throw every vestige of the entire discipline out of the window.
http://www.sacw.net/article4548.html

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17. INDIA: LETTER TO PM & MRS GANDHI ON WHY WHITE CHRYSOTILE ASBESTOS IS A HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE
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This is to draw your attention towards the volte face in matter of hazardous white chrysotile asbestos by the Indian delegation at the sixth meeting on UN’s Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade which concluded on May 10, 2013. In a bizarre act the delegation claimed that the domestic studies by National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), Ahmedabad show no hazards from white chrysotile asbestos. I had written a letter to the head of the Indian delegation arguing why India needs to support inclusion of white asbestos in the UN list of hazardous substances.
http://www.sacw.net/article4558.html

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18. VIDEO CLIP: REMEMBERING ASGHAR BHAI (1939 - 2013)
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This clip is from "Father, Son and Holy War" (1995). It captures Asghar bhai during the bloody communal riots of 1992-93. The Ekta (unity) rally for communal harmony led by him marched for two days through the riot stricken streets and by-lanes of Bombay.
http://www.sacw.net/article4546.html

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19. ETIENNE BALIBAR: A NEW EUROPE CAN ONLY COME FROM THE BOTTOM UP
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Red alert, yet again. The old French-German ’couple’ - the engine or the brakes on Europe-making, depending on one’s views - is about to autodestruct. Should we tell a few home truths to our German neighbours, who might become our masters, or start cleaning up our own backyard and accept the compromises that may escape the worst? Better, I believe, to understand what is happening by considering the European ensemble as a whole, all of whose components will either sink or save themselves simultaneously. Europe-making has stalled on budgetary constraint. It has become discredited in the eyes of the public. But that doesn’t rule out a unique political system staggering on - one which is neither national nor federal, but an amalgam of the negative effects of both and one which henceforth will mandate everything. This has become all the clearer in the light of recent developments in Italy and France.
http://www.sacw.net/article4538.html

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20. NAZES AFROZ: AFGHANISTAN AFTER 2014
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Just about a year is left before the next presidential election takes place in Afghanistan. It will be the third such election and Afghans will vote for a new president about six months ahead of the scheduled departure of NATO troops stationed in the country for the past 12 years.
http://www.sacw.net/article4534.html

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21. INDIA: A TRIBUTE TO ASGHAR ALI ENGINEER - FAREWELL DEAR FRIEND
by Ram Puniyani
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The events of last over two decades have shown us, more than before that the efforts of dividing the nation by communal forces have been a major obstacle to social peace and process of development. In India while the communal violence began with the Jabalpur riot of 1961, it is from last couple of decades especially from 1980s that the divisive politics has tried to drive a wedge between different communities along religious lines. The regret is that it is only few social workers and scholars who took this issue in all its seriousness and Asghar Ali Engineer can be counted amongst those few. He also spent major part of his social efforts to fight against the ideology and machinations which led to communal violence and the victimization of minorities, time and over again, year after year.
http://www.sacw.net/article4531.html

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22. India: Petition by Concerned Scientists Regarding Safety at Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant
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The Koodankulam safety petition by many of India’s highly respected scientists was sent on 13 May 2013 to the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and to The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) 
http://www.sacw.net/article4524.html

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23. SRI LANKA: PRIVATISATION OF EDUCATION FOR THE RICH - WHAT’S NEXT TO SELL?
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A massive protest was organised by the Medical Faculty Students’ Union of the Colombo Medical College, in front of the Faculty last week, against the intake of unqualified local and foreign students into local universities for the academic year 2011/2012, for LKR 7.5 million per head. The second appeal to the Government was to withdraw the students of the Kothalawala Defence Academy which is run under the Ministry of Defence and in the process of privatisation, from hospitals attached to local universities which are maintained under the Ministry of Higher Education, when receiving clinical training.
http://www.sacw.net/article4523.html

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24. PAKISTAN ELECTIONS: HOW NAWAZ SHARIF BEAT IMRAN KHAN AND WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
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The results of the Pakistan elections are in – but how did a former exile win the vote? By promising airports to people who can’t afford bicycles, says novelist Mohammed Hanif
http://www.sacw.net/article4522.html

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25. INDIA: THE SUPREME COURT’S DECISION ON KOODANKULAM FAILS TO ADDRESS CONCERNS ABOUT NUCLEAR ENERGY
Editorial in Economic and Political Weekly, 18 May 2013
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The decision by the Supreme Court (SC) to allow commissioning of the Koodankulam nuclear power plants might have been expected but is still disappointing. The disappointment comes not from the decision in and of itself, but in the logic that has been used to justify it.
http://www.sacw.net/article4519.html

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26. INDIA: ATHEIST SIDDARAMAIAH AND GOD’S CHANGING ROLE IN POLITICS
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K. Siddaramaiah, a rare Indian politician who wears his atheism on his sleeve, took the oath as the next chief minister of Karnataka on Monday by solemnly affirming to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India.
http://www.sacw.net/article4516.html

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27. BURMA: LEST WE DON’T SEE, A GENOCIDE IS IN THE MAKING
by Bonojit Hussain
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Since the summer of 2012 Burma has seen pogroms, massacres, riots of unprecedented scale against religious minorities, the latest being on the 30th April. Few hundreds have been killed and few hundred thousands have been rendered homeless.
http://www.sacw.net/article4509.html

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28. HEFAZAT-E-JAMAAT, NOTHING ELSE ! : ON THE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN BANGLADESH
by Subhash Gatade
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While people of Bangladesh were seem to reinvigorating the spirit of its four decade old war of liberation, the campaign launched by youth activists and bloggers demanding exemplary punishment to war criminals was gaining further momentum, with tens of thousands of men and women congregating at Shahbagh square, and Bangladesh’s largest religious-political outfit, Jamaat-e-Islami was further finding itself in a tight spot since the war crimes trials began, as many of its leading activists stood convicted for their crimes against humanity during 1971, came the news that Hefazat-e-Islam, a relatively new group based in Chittagong, bursting out on the centre stage of the nation’s politics with its demands which were at complete variance with this new mood. While the overwhelming demand was to ban ’politics based on religion’, the Hefazat brigade was seeking the exact opposite.
http://www.sacw.net/article4508.html

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29. BANGLADESH: DHAKA WOMEN’S RALLY AGAINST DEMANDS BY FUNDAMENTALISTS OF HEFAJAT-E ISLAM - SELECTED NEWS REPORTS
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Women call for halt to religion-based politics
Women from all walks of life join a rally in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka on Saturday, demanding protection of rights of all citizens, irrespective of gender, race or faith.
http://www.sacw.net/article4507.html

FULL TEXT:
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30. BANGLADESH: WHERE’S THE JUSTICE? - TRIBUNE EDITORIAL
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(Dhaka Tribune, May 19, 2013)
That credible allegations of both ruling and opposition party activist involvement in the attack on Buddhist temples and homes in Ramu eight months ago have been tabled raises serious questions of the government.

Only recently has the judicial probe report on the Ramu atrocities been submitted to the High Court. It has not yet been made public, but from what the media has uncovered thus far, and rights activities have made the same claims, there are credible allegations of activists of the BNP-Jamaat and ruling AL party involvement. The first question therefore is whether the probe report will be made public so that these matters can be brought to light.

Further, that very little was done for such a large-scale attack in these eight months – excepting the home ministry’s report last November which was then challenged in court, hence the formation of the probe committee – is a legitimate issue.

The government has not yet clearly identified and charged the culprits involved. Why is there a delay? We have certainly seen the government act swiftly in smaller cases, and justice has been served as well through the speedy trial tribunals, but not in this case.

For the government to claim to support minority communities and then seemingly delay justice for the Ramu attack raises legitimate concerns as to its actual commitment.

The judicial probe committee has laid blame on local administrators, intelligence officers and law enforcement for failing to act, as well as the lack of control over social media, but this last is a red herring.

It makes it appear as if the government is merely looking for an excuse to control social media. Blaming social media – a Facebook page in this instance – makes as much sense as blaming printing presses in general for an inflammatory flyer. Trying to focus on the medium makes it seem like the government is trying to minimise its own shortcomings and deflect culpability from those who were guilty of the arson and other crimes.

Attacks on minorities have happened before the existence of social media, and they will continue, unless the root of the problem is addressed, and unless the government takes responsibility for any role its party people might have played in Ramu to say nothing of its responsibility to maintain law and order – and takes serious steps to bring those guilty to justice, whoever they might be.

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31. PAKISTAN: FRIENDS AND FOES (EDITORIAL, THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE)
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May 20, 2013

In K-P peace is a priority but a policy of appeasement to achieve it could prove dangerous. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE

Speaking at his first major press conference in Peshawar, the man nominated by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf as its chief minister for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Pervaiz Khattak, has said the party will begin a process of “re-negotiation” with the Taliban. He has also said that his party had “no fight” with the group, and was, therefore, quite willing to open up a process of dialogue with it.

In the first place, in the light of Mr Khattak’s words, we must say that we, as citizens, do indeed have a fight with the Taliban. This is not because of ideological differences but because of the crimes they have committed against the people of our country, slaughtering and butchering thousands in bomb blasts, targeted killings or other acts of terrorism. Many more have died in such attacks than in US drone strikes, which the PTI has in the past said much about. They include women and children slain in bazaars, people targeted in other public places and health workers shot dead simply because they were working to protect children against disease. In other places, such as Swat before the 2009 military operation, they have spread mayhem and terror of the worst kind, beheading people in public, flogging those they wished to punish and taking terrible revenge against those they see as enemies. Teenager Malala Yousufzai is one example. The scores of dead ANP workers another. In places like the Kurram and Khyber agencies, the process of terrorising tribes people who oppose the militants continues. Thousands of families have, as a result, had to flee their homes.

In these circumstances, it is hard to say how any responsible individual can claim to have no enmity with an outfit responsible for the most atrocious crimes. All of us, on principle, have an enmity with the Taliban. This is something the PTI must not forget, and it must then consider if it is wise to say that it has no enmity with the TTP instead of than punishing them for the terrible suffering they have inflicted on innocent people all over the country. Yes, in K-P peace is a priority — but a policy of appeasement to achieve it could prove counterproductive and very dangerous.

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32. HRW FOR INDEPENDENT BODY TO PROBE HEFAZAT CASUALTY: HRW ALSO SAID THE CLAIMS OF 'GENOCIDE' BY HEFAZAT ARE UNFOUNDED
Tribune Online Report Bangladesh
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(Dhaka Tribune - May 12, 2013)
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the Bangladesh government to set up an independent probe into the deaths and injuries that may have occurred during Hefazat-e-Islam’s rally in Dhaka on May 5-6 and the subsequent protests elsewhere.

HRW, a New York-based international rights organisation, said in a statement on Saturday the commission should also investigate the violence that killed dozens in February, March and April following the announcement of verdicts by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).

The exact number of deaths during the May 5-6 protest remains unclear with figures ranging from the official government figure of 11 to Hefazat’s estimate of thousands.

Independent news sources put the figure at approximately 50, with others succumbing to injuries later. The dead include several security personnel.

“Bangladesh will see a plethora of demonstrations this year in response to additional verdicts from the ICT and in the run-up-to the national elections,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“Without an independent investigation, accountability and improved policing methods, we could see serial bloodbaths.”

The opposition parties, including Hefazat, have already announced several protests scheduled over the next week. A flashpoint could be the reaction to the May 9 death penalty handed down by the ICT against Mohamed Kamaruzzaman, a leading official of the Jamaat-e-Islami.

Past war crimes verdicts have been a catalyst for protests and violence throughout Bangladesh, the statement said.

Human Rights Watch called on the opposition parties such as the BNP and Jamaat as well as independent organisations such as Hefazat to take steps to deter their supporters from carrying out attacks on law enforcement officers or members of the public with different political views.

Human Rights Watch called on the government to publicly order the security forces to follow the United Nations basic principles on the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials, which state that security forces shall “apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms.”

“The Bangladeshi government has a responsibility to victims, whether protesters, bystanders or police, to ensure that an effective investigation is carried out into each death,” Adams said.

HRW also said the claims of “genocide” by Hefazat and other opposition parties are unfounded and have only served to heighten tensions.

“The toxic swirl of rumour and rhetoric surrounding the protest of May 5-6 will only get worse unless the government acts quickly in a transparent manner.” Adams said.

The rights watchdog expressed concern that Hefazat recruited boys from madrasas to participate in the “siege.”
Many of the boys were unaware of the risks of marching into Dhaka. Independent journalists told HRW after the protests were broken up they encountered groups of boys who had never been to Dhaka before and were terrified by the experience of seeing dead bodies and large-scale violence.

The boys asked journalists for directions to bus stations so they could go home. They were no longer accompanied by adults.

“Putting children in harm’s way is extremely irresponsible,” Adams said. “Hefazat can’t credibly claim that it didn’t understand the risks.”

“The government’s claims to be the most open and democratic in Bangladesh’s history are undermined by censorship of critical voices,” Adams said. “The government can take reasonable steps to pre-empt incitement to violence, but it is not necessary to close TV stations to do this.” 

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33. INDIA: RECENT POSTS ON COMMUNALISM WATCH 
http://communalism.blogspot.in/
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- INDIA: JAMAAT E ISLAMI PROPAGANDA CONTINUES IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE BANGLADESH ISLAMISTS 
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2013/05/india-jamaat-e-islami-propaganda.html
- INDIA: NCERT DROPS 'OBJECTIONABLE' REFERENCES FROM SCHOOL HISTORY TEXTBOOKS 
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2013/05/india-ncert-drops-objectionable.html
- MASSIVE POLICE BIAS AND MISCONDUCT UNEARTHED BY ASHISH KHETAN: APPEAL TO CITIZENS OF MUMBAI AND INDIA 
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2013/05/massive-police-bias-and-misconduct.html
- INDIA: RISING COMMUNAL CHASHES AND RELIGIOUS POLARISATION IN UTTAR PRADESH OF THE SAMAJWADI PARTY (JAMAL KIDWAI)
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2013/05/india-rising-communal-chashes-and.html
- INDIA - UP: HINDUTVA LAWYERS ATTACK KHALID MUJAHID’S LAWYER IN FAIZABAD 
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2013/05/india-up-hindutva-lawyers-attack-khalid.html
- IN MUMBAI, A QUIET BLOW AGAINST HATE SPEECH 
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2013/05/in-mumbai-quiet-blow-against-hate-speech.html
- INDIA: RSS MAN HEADS MADHYA PRADESH BJP FOR 2013 ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS STRATEGY
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2013/05/india-rss-man-head-madhya-pradesh-bjp.html
- MAKE CBI ENQUIRY INTO THE CUSTODIAL KILLING OF KHALID MUJAHID TIME-BOUND - PRESS RELEASE 
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2013/05/make-cbi-enquiry-into-custodial-killing.html
- INDIA: HOW VARUN GANDHI SILENCED THE SYSTEM - AFTER THE HATE SPEECHES, A SHOCKING SUBVERSION OF THE LAW 
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2013/05/india-how-varun-gandhi-silenced-system.html
- INDIA: THE TAMIL EXTREMIST NAAM THAMILAR KATCHI (NTK OR WE TAMILS PARTY) PROMOTES COMMUNALISM IN TAMIL NADU
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2013/05/india-tamil-extremist-naam-thamilar.html
- MAHARASHTRA: VERDICT AGAINST SENA'S PROVOCATIVE SPEECH
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2013/05/maharashtra-verdict-against-senas.html
- JAVED ANAND: CONTRAST BETWEEN CONSCIENTIOUS AND DELINQUENT IPS OFFICERS FORMS PART OF THE PROTEST PETITION BY ZAKIA JAFRI 
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2013/05/javed-anand-contrast-between.html

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South Asia Citizens Wire
Buzz for secularism, on the dangers of fundamentalism(s), on
matters of peace and democratisation in South
Asia. Newsletter of South Asia Citizens Web: 
www.sacw.net/

DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.
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