Heroes' welcome for Slumdog stars
Rahman dedicates Oscars to Indian artistes
Revolt in BDR over pay hike ends; 50 dead
Scams and controversies marked 14th Lok Sabha
Obama budget has $634 billion health fund: official
Media guidelines only after widest possible consultation: Govt
Site of royal massacre opens as museum in Nepal
Excerpts from interview with Netanyahu adviser Dore Gold
Cops want shop owners to be aware of moral police
Pakistan evasive on 'army link' to Mumbai attacks
Textile cos call for duty drawback, upset with Trade policy
Tata Motors to launch 'Nano' on March 23
Rupee has support at 50.1/50.20: Commtrendz Research
BUT RANBAXY and all the BANNED CHEMICALS and DRUGS have the FREE KILLING fields in this Subcontinent. We are used as GUINIEPIGS to escalate CORPORATE and MNC MARKET!We are PREDESTINED to be INJECTED POISON or VACCINATED DEATH!
The decision will benefit 41 lakh government employees and another 38 lakh pensioners. Although revision of DA is done every six months, the quantum of the hike is being viewed as another poll sop doled out by the government with an eye on the forthcoming general elections. Following Thursday’s decision. the DA component in the salaries and pensions will increase from the 16 to 22 per cent. While the financial implication of the move on the salary component will be Rs 4,100 crore, the implication on the pension component will be around Rs 1,920 crore. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said that the hike will be effective from January 1 and will be payable from March 1 this year.
Inflation declined to about a 15-month low of 3.36 per cent mainly due to fall in the prices food articles like fruit and vegetables, pulses, and some manufactured items, raising hopes of cuts in the key policy rates by the RBI. Wholesale price based inflation declined by 0.56 percentage points during the week ended February 14 against 3.92 per cent in the previous week.
Eyewitness: Bangladesh mutiny
Speaker hopes Bangladesh turmoil will end soon
BDR troops surrender en masse to Bangladesh army
PRESS DIGEST - BANGLADESH - Feb 25
Developments in Bangladesh, Pakistan internal matter: India
Fresh exchange of gunfire takes place in Bangladesh's capital
Bangladesh unlikely to import rice this yr -official
Bangladesh shuts down cellphone networks
Bangladesh's rebel soldiers to lay down all arms by 2 pm
Country Profile: Bangladesh
America's Central Intelligence Agency chief Leon Panetta has said that the US drone attacks against al-Qaeda and the Taliban targets inside Pakistan would continue.
"Nothing has changed our efforts to go after terrorists, and nothing will change those efforts," Panetta was quoted as saying by 'The Washington Post'.
The drone attack, against which there has been public backlash inside Pakistan, has been highly successful, the CIA chief said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's foreign minister has vowed that his government would not tolerate Al-Qaeda in its Swat Valley despite accepting a peace deal that includes imposition of Islamic sharia law.
The West has voiced fears that the scenic valley, just 160 kilometers from Pakistan's capital, will turn into a safe haven for militants much like nearby Afghanistan during the 1996-2001 reign of the Taliban.
But Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in Washington for a three-way strategy review with the United States and Afghanistan, said the presence of Al-Qaeda in the Swat Valley was "negligible if any."
"The Taliban will not be in charge. The government of Pakistan will be in charge there. We are not compromising with the Taliban," Qureshi told PBS public television on Wednesday.
"We have pushed Al-Qaeda out ... of Swat and we are going to drive them out of the tribal belt," he said.
The Pakistani government has accepted the ceasefire with Islamic militants in the Swat Valley who waged a bloody two-year campaign that included forcibly shutting girls' schools and curbing entertainment.
Qureshi said Pakistan wanted girls' schools to reopen but stood by his stance that the sharia deal was a local agreement aimed at better administering justice.
"What people have not understood is that we have taken the wind out of the sail of extremists," Qureshi said.
Mutinous members of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in Dhaka surrendered their weapons on Thursday as tanks surrounded their headquarters after a second day of gunfire in a mutiny that killed about 50 people.
A government official said the mutiny in Dhaka was under control and urged members of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) border guards who had also mutinied over pay and command elsewhere in the country to lay down their arms.
Gunfire gradually subsided and stopped in the capital after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina warned of tough action in a national broadcast, a day after offering the mutineers an amnesty.
"All the rebel troops have surrendered with their arms and the process has been completed," Hasina's media spokesman Abul Kalam Azad said of the BDR troops in the capital.
At least six government tanks and 10 armoured personnel carriers were in position around the BDR headquarters in Dhaka, where violence on Wednesday killed nearly 50 people.
"The situation is now under complete control of the government and those who broke discipline to create violence outside the capital have been asked to surrender as well," Azad said.
The turmoil underscores the challenges faced by Hasina, who took office only last month after winning parliamentary elections in December that returned Bangladesh to democracy after nearly two years of army-backed Emergency rule.
The mutiny began on Wednesday at the BDR's Dhaka headquarters and shooting there and in the immediate vicinity accounted for the known deaths so far.
Shooting incidents involving BDR troops erupted in more than a dozen other towns on Thursday, local police said, but Reuters reporters later said calm was gradually returning.
Mobile phone services were ordered cut by the government to stem rumours and misinformation, one operator said, making it difficult to find out what was happening around the impoverished South Asian nation. Coverage resumed later on Thursday.
"Lay down your guns immediately and go back to barracks. Do not force me to take tough actions or push my patience beyond tolerable limits," Hasina warned restive BDR troops in her national broadcast on Thursday afternoon.
"Give democracy and the economy a chance to develop."
DESERTED
Dhaka streets were largely deserted and residents were tense as they waited to see what happened next.
Bangladesh, home to more than 140 million people, has had several military coups since independence in 1971, but this week's mutinies are over pay, benefits and command structure, officials and local media said, not politics.
Traditionally the BDR is led by army officers. Some BDR troops want commanders drawn from their own ranks.
Hasina said she was prepared to do as much a she could to meet their demands gradually but said they must first surrender to authorities.
The main duty of the BDR troops is guarding the country's borders, but they often back up the army and police in meeting other defence and security requirements.
As the government worked to restore order in Dhaka on Thursday, shooting began from BDR units scattered across the country. A Reuters reporter in Sylhet in the northeast said BDR troops were ‘coming on the street holding up guns and shooting’.
BDR members barricaded a highway linking two districts in the southern region while they took over camps from army commanders at several places, local officials said. There were no immediate reports of casualties in those actions.
The unrest is a blow to hopes Hasina's government could bring stability that would attract much-needed investors and boost development to Bangladesh, where around 40 per cent of the populace live below the poverty line.
Analysts said the mutinies pose a major challenge for Hasina in keeping together the powerful defence forces -- which have often intervened in the country's politics -- and in tackling their grievances without risking further discord.
"This poses a huge challenge for the Prime Minister and her government, who need to be tactful in trying to resolve it," said retired Major General Azizur Rahman, a former BDR chief.
Giving in to the BDR demands could spur others in Bangladesh to use violence to achieve their ends.
Soldiers’ 50 major grievances
The Bangladesh Rifles personnel on Wednesday distributed to journalists a leaflet containing their problems and grievances accumulating over the years.
In their letter submitted to the prime minister, they appealed for immediate government measures to address some of their major grievances.
The soldiers said the paramilitary border guards that evolved into Bangladesh Rifles from the erstwhile East Pakistan Rifles, had a glorious role in the country’s war of independence which had been imprinted in the hearts of the people.
This force, which had given its arms and ammunition to other forces to fight the independence war and laid down their lives at different times to protect the borders and sovereignty of the country, has itself become subject to oppression, the letter added.
It said that for the BDR Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had appointed 23 officers in 1973 but they had been transferred elsewhere by the military junta of Ziaur Rahman through conspiracy. Today, this force is being oppressed by the army in such a manner which was not done even by the Pakistanis.
In the letter, they said that the 50 demands they were placing were among hundreds of problems they were facing. The 50 demands and grievances are:
Recruiting officers for the BDR through BCS examinations for its modernisation, and withdrawing all officers of the army deputed to the BDR which a major demand of BDR soldiers.
No steps have been taken, so far, to provide full rationing for the members of this 200-year old paramilitary force. There is neither any ration for its retired soldiers.
Members of all forces and agencies, including the Ansars and VDP are being sent to UN peacekeeping missions but no step has been taken, so far, to send BDR personnel overseas. The pledges, made time and again in this regard, remain unfulfilled.
Steps have not been expedited to put an end to discrimination in salary structures and promotion procedures.
BDR is being run by the Army’s black law. Punitive measures are been taken under the law of 1984.
A policy has been formulated to punish and deprive educated and capable persons of promotion.
It is only the BDR which is regularly facing war-like situation on the borders but the Army is enjoying the defence allowance sitting back in the barracks.
The Army officers have sent many BDR soldiers home showing different excuses during the Operation Dal-Bhat. In fact, Army officers were responsible for the faults.
The Army officers also have distributed among themselves the DA meant for the BDR soldiers.
All the forces and agencies, except the BDR, had received allowances for duty during the parliamentary and upazila elections. There is a tug of war between the officers for share of the money.
In the name of BDR welfare, retired army officers are running 18 shops in different parts of the capital. These shops do not have any BDR personnel.
The vehicles bought in the name of BDR’s welfare are being used by the Army officers for their private purposes.
The schools inside the BDR headquarters have only a few students from the BDR families. Most of the students are children of the Army officers and their relatives. It is unfortunate that being in the BDR we have to send our children to outside schools.
Our children are not allowed to take admission to the BDR schools and the excuse is that they lack merit although the schools were built to help our children overcome their deficiency. [When the schools were built, we were told they were meant for our children and for that our predecessors gave their labour..]
The wife of the present [BDR] DG was appointed to the post above the principal of the school. A teacher in name only she draws Taka 60,000 as honorarium per month without taking any class.
There is a dairy farm inside the BDR and only a few people get its milk and eggs. The milk and eggs, given to the 50 members from the Army, are much more than that given to the 8,000 members of BDR.
BDR members do not receive good treatment at the BDR hospital. Only their (army) parents and relatives and people from their villages receive treatment. The BDR members are supplied with cheaper medicines while army officers receive expensive drugs.
The BDR Durbar Hall has been leased out to the wife of the present DG for an amount which is one-twentieth of its annual income. All the lakes/ponds of the Pilkhana and other property, including ‘Pushpita Simanta’, worth crores of taka were leased out in her name or fictitious names for 99 years.
The cooks and sweepers of BDR are working at their [army officers] homes and residences of their relations. The BDR troopers have to clean all the streets of Pilkhana before dawn. They work at their [army officers] homes. Even the naik havildars are doing it regularly. The cooks are taken to prepare foods at functions at their relations’ homes.
20. The soldiers generally receive lesser amount of ration. But the savings from the allocations for different messes are taken to the homes of army officers and their relations.
21. The soldiers have to care for all the trees of the unit. But the fruits of the trees are sent to their [army officers] homes.
No vehicles are purchased for the BDR troopers now. But expensive vehicles like Pajeros are bought, which are mostly used them [army officers] and their relations.
The army officers living in Pilkhana must have quarters. But the BDR soldiers or officers are residing out of Pilkhana. After the beginning of the construction of a residential quarter for the soldiers near the farm, a plan was taken for a quarter for army officers. Although they are living in their quarter, not a single floor has been completed in the soldiers’ quarters.
The soldiers are subjected to harassment over their leave. They are sent to the borders but have to take leave after coming back to the battalion, which is totally inhuman. BDR soldiers have to work on the borders but their families cannot live there. They are not even granted two months’ leave. We cannot enjoy recreation leave although employees in all organisations enjoy it [In 2001 Deshnetri Sheikh Hasina announced two months’ leave for BDR personnel after considering their problems. But the army officers stopped it through machinations].
They [army officers] come to this organisation with a small trunk but leave with 2/3 trunks.
They carry out all the contractors’ jobs with their own people.
Poor quality food is supplied to the BDR. If we protest, they threaten us with termination of our jobs.
The posts designated for officers of BDR are not given properly. Although a few are made officers, they are not given ration/housing and other facilities. They are subjected to harassment.
In all services and organisations special emphasis is given on education but in this organisation there no such system. Rather those who are a bit more educated, efforts are made to throw them out of it.
If statistics of dismissals from different services and other organisations since the independence of the country are taken, it would be evident that dismissals from services without reason are rare in other organisations.
More than 400 officers from the army deputed to the BDR consider its 46,000 members their slaves. An officer needs four to five people for cooking his food. Two [BDR men] are needed for work at the residences of their [Army officers] relations. They are treated like African slaves.
In the case of problems on the borders, the Indian border guards generally have a meeting with an army officer in command [of the BDR troops.] It often turns out that the officer either leaves for a UN mission or is transferred elsewhere. This results in further complication of the problem.
The army covertly makes sure that the BDR does not progress in sports (for example, when the army achieves successes in sports it gets good coverage but the BDR wins go almost unnoticed).
The BDR athletes and sportsmen are k
ept heavily involved in administrative and other activities so that they cannot perform well.
It is also made sure that the morales of BDR sportsmen and athletes are low. They are given minor awards for their achievements but at those occasions the arrangement for army officers makes it seem as if the prime minister is due to attend.
The director general of the BDR has smuggled Tk 30 crore to his mother-in-law’s account in the United States.
22 army officers have embezzled Tk 2 crore of Operation Dal-Bhat through bank signatures of BDR personnel.
Twenty-two army officers have also embezzled Tk 60 crore from the profits of Operation Dal-Bhat.
A relative of the DG went missing with Tk 50 crore of Nur Mohammad Rifles Public School, but the matter was never investigated. [Former] director general Rezaqul Haider Chowdhury took away Tk 40 crore and that incident was not investigated either.
It was only because of the greed of some army officers that rice worth Tk 18 per kilogram was sold at Tk 40 per kg, and cooking oil worth Tk 56 was sold at Tk 120 per kg through syndication at the cost of the people’s sufferings.
Army officers receive 30 per cent extra allowance for being deputed to the BDR, which is sheer wastage of national resources..
They do not want to do anything worthwhile for the BDR for it does not bring them [army officers] any benefits. Instead, they are concerned with the army’s interests.
They use BDR carpenters and tailors for their personal requirements. They not only use BDR’s trees for furnishing their homes but even distribute the timber among their neighbours.
Runners/drivers are kept busy even beyond the official duty hours. This results in high consumption of fuel (if it is needed to go a distance of 40 kilometres to buy a button, the army officers make them do that).
Although there are a number of human rights organisations in the country, no one talks about our rights which are being violated all the time. (The army officers are careful not to give any hint of it).
Those who are a little intelligent in the BDR, are sent to the mental ward on the BDR hospital’s third floor, which is used like a prison. The medical board there disqualifies the BDR men as unfit for service.
The officers deputed to the BDR are mostly of low calibre with little hope for further promotion. So they run their charges at their whims.
We are governed by military rules but our benefits are like those of the ansars/civilians.
At combined drills and parades, the BDR contingent outperforms other forces all the time. But to undermine the BDR performance, they are trained by inefficient retired captains.
The whole nation knows about the contribution of the BDR in the liberation of this country. But army officers appear to have become desperate to erase the name of this organisation from history.
http://www.newagebd.com/2009/feb/26/front.html
Wars/Depressions are Illuminati staged for Extortion of the Populace
by Henry Makow Ph.D
henry@henrymakow.com
hmakow@gmail.com
“Woe unto those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness”… Isaiah 5:20
“The individual is handicapped by coming face-to-face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists.” J. Edgar Hoover
At the end of the 19th Century, the Catholic Church organized massive resistance to Illuminati Jewish domination of national life. The Illuminati instigated World War One partly to crush and punish a recalcitrant Europe.
Lenin defined “peace” as the end of all forms of resistance to Communist (i.e. Illuminati Jewish) despotism.
After WWI and WWII, the League of Nations and the UN both promised world government to prevent war. Indeed, Illuminati globalists always promise this–but we don’t realize they are blackmailing us. They start the wars in the first place.
The Elders of Zion vowed to harass the nations with corruption and strife until they accepted their “Superstate” (i.e. world government tyranny.)
“The recognition of our despot may also come …when the peoples, utterly wearied by the irregularities and incompetence - a matter which we shall arrange for - of their rulers, will clamor: “Away with them and give us one king over all the earth who will unite us and annihilate the causes of disorders - frontiers, nationalities, religions, State debts - who will give us peace and quiet which we cannot find under our rulers and representatives.” (emphasis mine, Protocols of Zion, 10-18)
Of course, this also applies to the current economic depression. Right on cue, Henry Kissinger, CEO of the NWO, tells us: “the alternative to a new international order is chaos.” The “E” in CEO stands for Extortion. “Please Mr. Kissinger, give back our prosperity. We’ll agree to anything.”
We are in the eighth inning of a long term conspiracy and must shake off our complacency. This is not another recession; it is a final life-and-death power grab. A satanic cult, the Illuminati, has subverted all nations and religions and now is moving to consolidate its power. Our “leaders” (including Obama) belong to this cult. From their past record (in Russia & China), it is possible to predict the future: Conditions will deteriorate. There will be civil unrest. An assassination or some other contrived terror will result in war or martial law. Anyone who has expressed opposition to their agenda, — patriots, Christians, “anti Semites” — will be put into concentration camps and possibly murdered. The war and suffering will be such that the masses will accept the Illuminati’s sugar coated tyranny. I hope I am wrong.
The Illuminati were founded by Cabalistic Jewish bankers like the Rothschilds who used “anti Semitism” to brainwash and empower other Jews as their agents. But, as we have seen, they will sacrifice these Jews to achieve their aims.
They are Freemasons –both Jews and non-Jews– who want to hog all the world’s wealth, cull the human race, enslave it mentally and spiritually, if not physically. They have been conspiring for thousands of years and we have the honor of seeing their final victory. They are a hydra headed monster-operating under many facades but today the main ones are socialism, communism, liberalism, feminism, zionism and neo conservatism.
THE CHURCH’S STRUGGLE WITH SATANISM
For centuries, until after World War Two, the Catholic Church was the bastion of Western civilization and main obstacle to Illuminati world control.
Recently, the Vatican opened their secret archives and revealed their centuries-long struggle to arrest the Illuminati (i.e. Masonic) Jewish stranglehold on European politics and culture. Jewish historian David Kertzer documents this struggle in his book “Popes Against the Jews” (2001) which of course he spins as the church’s role in creating anti Semitism..
Nevertheless the book is a treasure trove of valuable information including a graphic account of the 1840 “Damascus Affair,” the most famous instance of satanic Jewish human ritual sacrifice. (pp.86 ff.)
The salient points are 1. a prominent Italian Capuchin monk, father Tommaso was ritually slaughtered (and blood drained) by prominent cabalist Jews. 2. They confessed and led authorities to his identifiable remains and clothing. 3. The Rothschilds sent a delegation of prominent English Jews to Damascus and pressured all concerned to say the confessions were extracted by torture. 4. The Pope, Gregory XVI, had reliable intelligence and refused to knuckle under. Nor did any future Pope. They also had the testimony of a Moldavian priest, a former Jewish rabbi, who described and explained all the rituals, including the use of Christian blood in Passover matzoh. (92)
When a new ritual murder was reported in Hungary in 1899, the official Vatican newspaper L’Observatore Romano issued this warning “not to all Jews but to certain Jews in particular: Don’t throw oil on the fire…Content yourself with the Christian’s money, but stop shedding and sucking their blood.” (163)
Obviously these instances of human ritual sacrifice are relatively rare. The masses of Jews are not satanic and genuinely want assimilation. Only satanists among them engage in this practice. Nonetheless, all Jews are implicated by denials and cries of “blood libel.” Satanists –Jewish or not–engage in human ritual sacrifice. The Illuminati do it regularly. In addition, they have been doing it to the human race for centuries by virtue of war.
While Jews are not satanists, their leadership, the Illuminati bankers are. In 1913, Illuminati bankers went to great length to whitewash the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Atlanta Georgia by Leo Frank, the head of the local B’nai Brith lodge. They even bribed the jury and the governor. (See the account in Michael Jones, The Jewish Revolutionary Spirit, p. 707-729)
For these Illuminati Jews, lying and deception are the norm, what they call “magic.” They have convinced their fellow Jews that anti Semitism is a sickness of the gentile mind, a delusion, when in fact it is resistance to the satanic Illuminati agenda. Ordinary Jews will be sacrificed when the going gets tough unless they take a stand against their “leaders.”
The naivete of Jewish intellectuals is well illustrated by Kertzer himself. He portrays Vatican opposition to Masonic Jewish control as an old reflex born of prejudice, envy and fear of change. Yet, he relates that both Bismark and Metternick, the Austrian Chancellor, were in the Rothschilds’ pocket. Metternick depended on them for loans to keep his government afloat as well as “when members of his own family needed financial help.” (80)
Kertzer quotes voluminously from Catholic newspapers: “The Jews will be Satan’s preferred nation and his preferred instrument…The Jew Freemasons govern the world…in Prussia of 642 bankers, 550 are Jews and in Germany, in Austria and in some parts of the Orient, the word invasion is no exaggeration to express their number, their audacity and their near-irresistible power.” (172-3)
Wherever they live “the Jews form a state within a state,” an Italian monk wrote in 1825. Unless Christians act quickly, the Jews will finally succeed in reducing the Christians to be their slaves. Woe to us if we close out eyes! The Jews’ domination will be hard, inflexible, tyrannical…” (65)
In 1865 the editor of Civilta Cattolica warned of secular Jews joining Masonic secret societies “which threaten the ruin and extermination of all Christian society.” Such sects “express that anger, that vendetta, and that satanic hate that the Jew harbors against those who–unjustly he believes–deprive him of that absolute dominion over the entire universe that he Jewishly believes God gave him.” (139)
In 1922, the Vienna correspondent for Civilta Cattolica wrote that if present trends continue, “Vienna will be nothing but a Judaic city; property and houses will all be theirs, the Jews will be the bosses and gentlemen and the Christians will be their servants.” (273)
JEWS’ BLINDNESS TO LEGITIMATE CAUSES OF ANTI SEMITISM
Like most Jewish intellectuals, Kertzer is incapable of seeing the viewpoint of people his masters wish to despoil. He treats Catholic grievances as delusions and naively argues that Freemasonry was just a way of “providing satisfying social interaction.” (p.174) His book was partly sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation.
Americans eventually will figure out that the Rothschilds and their agents are responsible for the Depression and Obama is their creation and puppet. They will discover that the Illuminati has waged war on humanity for centuries and the US media and education system are a farce. They will recognize the out sized role played by Jews in enacting this diabolical agenda.
That’s when Illuminati Jews may again turn ordinary Jews, loyal American citizens, into their scapegoats.Hopefully, people will also see the huge role played by non-Jewish satanists. For example, the Illuminati Skull and Bones was founded at Yale in 1832 but didn’t admit Jews until the 1950’s. Their members undermined American life from inception.
Now is the time for people to decide where they stand, with the Illuminati and the “peace” of slaves, or with their fellow citizens and freedom.
As Leonard Cohen wrote in his song, “The Future”–“I’ve seen the future baby and it is murder.”
Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has declared general amnesty to the revolting troops of Bangladesh Rifles [BDR], who virtually captivated the entire Head Quarters of the paramilitary troops of the country, assigned mainly to guard the bordering areas and combat cross-border terrorism. According to press reports, State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanak, who attended the meeting between the Prime Minister and BDR representatives that the mutineers were granted amnesty Wednesday evening. The prime minister also urged the BDR members to surrender their arms and return to barrack.
A 14-soldier BDR team went to the prime minister’s official residence Jamuna for talks.Mutinous BDR members earlier said they would call a ceasefire after holding talks with the prime minister and Home Minister Sahara Khatun.
Nanak said the prime minister would hold a video conference with the BDR jawans at Pilkhana in a bid to calm the situation.
The BDR is a paramilitary force guarding the country's long border line of 4,427 km with India and Myanmar. The BDR is headed by a Director General with the rank of Major General of the army.
Its total manpower is 67,000, organized into a central headquarters and various sectors, battalions and border outposts, mainly along the frontiers. Its headquarters is located in capital Dhaka. The British had first organized the Ramgarh Local Battalion in 1795 by recruiting the native population. The battalion was succeeded by the Eastern Frontier Rifles, which guarded the frontier from 1891 to 1920, when it was disbanded.
Border duties were assumed by the East Pakistan Rifles before Bangladesh's independence in 1971 and later the force was renamed as Bangladesh Rifles.
Apart from its primary task of protecting the borders, the members of Bangladesh Rifles have taken part in other military operations. This force was vested with the additional task of checking smuggling in 1958.
Its members took up arms in an organized manner against the Pakistan Army during the liberation war of 1971 and several members earned gallantry awards.
But when Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, wanted to merge the Bangladesh Rifles with the national militia named Rakkhi Bahini, the BDR stiffly opposed the move. But that was the first and last time the border force witnessed a situation close to mutiny.
Earlier heavy gun battle erupted February 24 morning between army and paramilitary border security forces in the congested capital of Bangladesh, less than two months after the country returned to civilian rule and security forces prepared to return to barracks.
The gunfight began around 10 a.m. local time, after members of the paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles took an unknown number of army officers hostage inside their headquarters. Army troops, along with members of Rapid Action Battalion [RAB], took up positions in the narrow residential lanes surrounding the building.
Around midday, two army helicopters approaching the building were fired on and they swiftly retreated. Three hours into the firefight, the army had not been able to penetrate the border force’s Head Quarters.
Police told reporters a local rickshaw puller was killed in the gun fight.
The mutinous BDR men were expressing anger and grief on the officers of the forces, who are deputed from Bangladesh Army. They [the mutinous troops] used abusive words against the Director General of Bangladesh Rifles, Major General Shakil Ahmed Chowdhury and other senior officers. They rose complains about everyday issues like the quality of their accommodations and salaries.
Meanwhile two leaders of the ruling party, named Jahangir Kabir Nanak [leader of the youth front] and a state minister for Local Government Ministry and Mirza Azam [another youth leader and brother-in-law of Islamist militancy group named Jamaatul Mujahedin kingpin Shaikh Abdur Rahman] went to the Bangladesh Rifles Head Quarters to meet the mutinous troops for a dialogue.. It was questioned by many that in such a crucial situation, why the government decided to send two of its leaders, who are infamous for instigating various forms of political agitations in the country. Although mutinous members of BDR were refusing to talk to members of media and even were firing at them, these two leaders from Awami League were virtually welcomed inside their Head Quarters by the mutinous troops and in less than 30 minutes, 14 members of their representatives even accompanied the two leaders of the ruling party to the official residence of the Prime Minister. The entire episode of meeting took place beyond the coverage of the media. But, Jahangir Kabir Nanak confessed to the press that, the representatives of the mutinous troops were ‘emotional’ in expressing their anger and demands to the Prime Minister.
Right after the hours long ‘meeting’ there had been official announcement of amnesty from the Prime Minister towards all the mutinous troops of Bangladesh Rifles. Prime Minister has also assured them to accepting all other demands in phases. One of the prominent demands from Bangladesh Rifles is to stop sending members of Armed Forces on deputation to BDR in official positions.
The gunfight came on a day when hundreds of the 42,000 Bangladesh Rifles forces gathered inside their headquarters for an annual conference. Their leaders, all serving army officers, were also present.
The rebellion erupted during a 'Darbar' or meeting between seniors officers and soldiers, where sources said the lower-rank troops got agitated alleging that the top brass had not taken up their grievances relating to pay hike, promotions and to make the paramilitary force an autonomous body with Premier Sheikh Hasina when she visited the headquarters a day earlier.
Earlier, a number of mutinous BDR men gave interviews to a number of private television channels. They expressed anger and uttered abusive words about the officers of BDR, who were deputed from army.
Interestingly, almost all the mutinous members of BDR, who appeared before the media hail from the Southern part of the country, which is considered to be a strong vote bank of Bangladesh Awami League. Many of them were speaking like politicians or politically motivated elements.
What impact Wednesday’s clashes will have on a still fragile civilian government depends on how the mutinous members and Bangladesh Rifles will behave in the next coming weeks.
Political analysts believe that the revolt won’t be a threat to the stability of the state, but it’s certainly a serious threat to the security forces and their standing, their place in the structure of the state. They said, “This is a fragile time, and this could be a very destabilizing factor.”
Wednesday meeting of the representative of the mutinous troops of Bangladesh Rifles with the Prime Minister and the general amnesty will surely leave a long-standing impact on the very discipline of this extremely important institution of the republic.
There is yet to be exact picture on the degree of casualties during the day-long gun battle within the huge compound of the Bangladesh Rifles. According to various sources, a large number of officers on deputation from Army, who were present in the Head Quarter might have been seriously injured or killed by the mutinous troops of Bangladesh Rifle. At least two dead bodies of BDR members [their jackets and badges were removed to suppress identity] were recovered from a nearby area in the city. BDR men pushed the dead bodies inside a manhole, wherefrom the dead bodies moved to the nearby opening point at Buriganga River. It is believed that the dead bodies might have been of the officers from Bangladesh Army, who were on deputation in BDR.
There is even rumor centering the Director General of Bangladesh Rifles, Major General Shakil Ahmed Chowdhury, who was inside the BDR Head Quarters during the incident. It is assumed that, General Shakil might have been either seriously injured or killed by the mutinous troops of the border security forces. The present BDR chief, Shakil Ahmed, who is said to have been attacked by his irate troops on Wednesday, has promised to work closely with India countering terrorist groups active along the borders. Indian Border Security Force officials talk of him as a "very friendly person always willing to co-operate."
The entire episode of BDR mutiny is a clear confrontation between the paramilitary forces and army. No one should try to play with such extreme sensitive issue. There is no way either to undermine any justified demand of BDR men, but on the other hand to put a bad name of the entire armed forces. The way mutinous BDR troops were saying many people may misunderstand thinking; army in Bangladesh is generally corrupt. But, this is not true! Armed Forces are certainly the tested patriots who guard the very sovereignty of Bangladesh.
http://www.weeklyblitz.net/index.php?id=421
From: V. Suresh and D. Nagasaila [rightstn@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2009 6:28 PM
To:
Subject: [righttowater] Subject: HOLOCAUST IMMINENT - WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? PLEASE CIRCULATE
Please circulate amongst human rights groups. The situation in Sri Lanka is grim. We are trying to see what support we can gather in Delhi from MPs on a single point agenda, for the moment: how can we stop the impending massacre. Delhi is deaf and unbothered that a lah to 1.5 lakh people are threatened. SL Govt and Delhi will claim that these people were `combtants' who did not heed the `generous' invitation of the army to come out to their camps - even when HRW has documented how the camps are hell holes because deaths, abductions etc take place IF any person goes tothecamp. Please read the Human Rights Watch Report. Pressure from throughout the world has to be put.
Suresh, President, PUCL-Tamil Nadu/Puducherry
Nazi-type Holocaust
imminent in Sri Lanka- Mass Mobilisation for Massacre by
Sri Lankan Armed Forces (SLAF)
New Yorkbased ‘Human
Rights Watch’ (HRW) has said in a report released yesterday that "Sri
Lankan forces are shelling hospitals and so-called safe zones and slaughtering
the civilians there." James Ross, legal and policy director at Human
Rights Watch added: “Sri Lankan forces have repeatedly and indiscriminately shelled
areas crowded with displaced persons. This includes numerous reported
bombardments of government-declared "safe zones" and of the remaining
hospitals in the region.”
The HRW report says Sri Lankan government forces have repeatedly and
indiscriminately shelled areas crowded with Tamil civilians and casualties have
skyrocketed in the past two months. Noting that civilian casualties “have risen
dramatically since the LTTE retreated to a roughly 100-square-kilometer area in
northeastern Mullaitivu district, HRW said Sri Lankan military attacks on
civilians include “numerous reported bombardments of government-declared
"safe zones" and the remaining hospitals in region.”
HRW places total civilian casualties at 7,000, with 2,000 deaths, in two /
three weeks adding “information from other sources supports these findings.”
“Added to this are the dire hardships faced by the displaced-insufficient food,
medical care, and shelter, whether in the combat zone or government-run
‘welfare villages’,” HRW said.
“The Sri Lankan government
has indicated that the ethnic Tamil population trapped in the war zone can be
presumed to be siding with the LTTE and treated as combatants, effectively
sanctioning unlawful attacks,” HRW said.
This is a
devious and frightening proposition. There are reliable reports that SLAF is
planning a holocaust of Sri Lankan Tamils. The devious ploy appears to be to
down-play the number of civilians ‘trapped in the war zone’. Despite several
estimates put out by International Agencies and Humanitarian groups that IDPs
trapped in the ‘war zone’ number over 250,000, GoSL is deliberately
under-playing it by putting the numbers at 70,000. India’s External Affairs Minister has
endorsed this figure without verifying facts.
The Sri
Lankan ploy appears to be as below. GoSL has stated that about 35,000 IDPs have
already escaped the war zone. In the next few days they will claim that all the
70,000 has got away from the war zone leaving only the LTTE there. GoSL would
then ‘sanction the unlawful attacks’ as predicted by HRW. Actually there would
be over 200,000 Tamils in the 100-square-kilometer strip.
This attack will be carried out by the massive force of over 60,000 Sri Lankan troops supported by Artillery, Tanks and Air Force. Result would be a human carnage of unimaginable proportions that could number over 100,000! This is not based on imaginary fear, but conveyed by independent and reliable sources who have first-hand knowledge of the situation obtaining in North Sri Lanka. And this holocaust is imminent.
If this happens it will be the most horrendous human tragedy ever witnessed. The question is whether Government of India is a willing
party to this horror of horrors or will they use all means to prevent this holocaust? Indians in general and Tamils in particular need an immediate answer before it is too late. The Human Rights community around the world also needs to step in and prevent this terrible blood bath. Forceful intervention by world citizens made a difference in Gaza. Sri Lankan war and the suffering of 240-280,000 Tamilians caught in north Sri Lanka has not even merited passing interest. the fate of hundreds of thousands is now our responsibility. Please act.
Please sign and pass on:
please see the mail!
We have been following the events with great anxiety... In spite of
Government's clear intentions I think the army is planning a strong
role. I just listened to PM's speech and it had a strong tone from
the army's perspective.
I think the speech of PM should have come earlier and now the
problems may travel across the country...
I think civilians should begin to advise the PM.. She seems to be
advised by the army...
I believe force is the last option and perhaps should not be even
considered... The issues of corruption by the BDR Army high command
and other issues of inequity must be reflected on behalf of GOB.
I also believe the foreign ministry and foreign minister should have
a press release so that foreign media advertently or inadvertently
do not turn our national issue into something bad for the country...
While the PM has announced general pardon, a serious discussion on
the issue must be taken up in the parliament where all political
parties should participate. The issue of moving BDR and cantoonment
outside metropolitan cities must be considered seriously.
Ziaur Rahman
IITM
Dhaka
Analysis: A Mutiny in Bangladesh
A mutiny took place in Dhaka today. The Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), the paramilitary border guards, mutinied against the Army, who they say discriminate against the paramilitary forces. The statement, made by an unnamed BDR officer to BBC Bengali Service, said that the BDR has nothing against the government and they expect that the government will be humane. The latest reports indicate that the Prime Minister, along with her cabinet colleagues, met the representatives of the mutineers, and offered a general amnesty to mutineers in exchange of laying down of arms and release of the officers held hostage. Dhaka had a tense day - with visible military action on the streets, general panic and fear that this will snowball into something more sinister. Hopefully, it won't get there and normalcy will be restored soon. However, in my mind, this mutiny indicates how difficult it is to govern Bangladesh now and how urgent is the need for action to restore the faith in democracy and fair governance.
It is interesting to note that a general amnesty of mutineers is being offered. This is an extremely difficult decision and possibly made with short term considerations. This breaks down the gold standard of discipline in the armed forces and politicizes its operations. It also sets a precedence, both inside the forces and in the eyes of general public, and this is where the danger lies. Bangladesh has a history of coups, and an amnesty for the mutineers is indeed a dangerous thing in the context. It is almost besides the point that this mutiny was against the army. One can not mutiny against the army - it breaks the law of the land, so by implication, it is against the government.. If an unit takes its commanders hostage, it becomes un-commandable, and therefore, useless. But, in the context of Bangladesh, such a story has an interesting sub-plot. It is almost as if the mutineers are addressing their grievances from the period before the last election - when the army ran the country. It is 'revenge' when things have changed and the army has relinquished power. On the same note, the army is unlikely to take this generously. The army took the power a couple of years back and recently handed it back to a democratically elected government, but they will be less than willing to cooperate if this new government undermines their position in the society. And, that's exactly what the government may end up doing by being soft on the mutineers. By design or default, this will undermine the authority of the army overall, and let people on the street laugh at them.
I spoke to friends in Bangladesh today and they assured me that the situation is well under control. They saw little chances of a snowballing of this incident. However, that's because there still seems to be some faith in the newly elected government. If the same incident happened before the election, it would have had explosive consequences. If the government does not deliver on the promises and meet the high expectation bestowed on them, a similar incident some months later will destabilize the country and undermine the balance in the region.
So, it is imperative that the government delivers, soon. The general economic climate is getting worse. The gloom in Dubai will hit Bangladeshis hard - several of them will return home and many of them will not be able to go. The most dangerous moment in the history of Bangladesh is now - when hope may dwindle and faith may fail. It is in everyone's interest in the region not to let that happen. The mutiny has been a wake up call - let us not sleep any more.
http://sundayposts.blogspot.com/2009/02/mutiny-in-bangladesh.html
Tata Motors to launch 'Nano' on March 23
Tata Motors said it will launch 'Nano', touted as the world's cheapest family car, on March 23 in Mumbai and bookings will start from April this year.
The car was unveiled at the auto expo in Delhi in January 2008 and a function on March 23 would mark the car's commercial launch.
"The cars will be on display at Tata Motors dealerships from the first week of April 2009. Bookings will commence from the second week of April 2009," the company said in a statement.
The company said that the booking process and other details of the Rs one lakh car would be announced on the day of launch.
"Tata Motors is making arrangements for the widest possible network to book the car, so that prospective customers can conveniently avail of booking facilities at their locations, across the length and breadth of India," the statement said.
The company had also displayed the Nano at the Geneva Motor Show last year and had triggered competition, including Nissan-Renault, to announce plans for building low-cost family cars. The economic crisis has, however, forced them to put the plans on hold.
Nano was originally to be launched in the second half of 2008, but was delayed after the company was forced to shift the manufacturing base from Singur in West Bengal to Sanand in Gujarat.
The company's website featuring Nano has registered 30 million hits or visits since the car, with a base-price tag of Rs 1,00,000, was first unveiled.
The hatchback car features a 624-cc petrol engine and boasts of a mileage of 20 km per litre. Its engine is located on the rear and the boot space in the front.
Tata Motors chief Ratan Tata had last year said that he would retain the price tag at Rs 1,00,000 (for the base model) despite input costs shooting up. But since then, steel prices have plunged by up to 40 per cent from early 2008-levels and overall demand in the economy too has witnessed a slump.
The company had announced the low-cost car project in 2006.
On the other hand, Accusing the UPA government of handling Pakistan with kid gloves post Mumbai attacks, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has said the neighbouring country must be taught a lesson in a language it understands.
"Unless you reply to Pakistan in the language it understands, terrorism will not be wiped out from this country and the UPA is incapable of doing this," he said addressing a public meeting in Pimpalgaon near in Nashik on Wednesday.
Modi said 26/11 happened because of the UPA's "ineffectiveness". The government compromised on national security because of their vote bank politics, he added.
He said, "26/11 was a war on India, but our government sends letters to Pakistan and Pakistan has the audacity to respond with 30 questions."
"Give me those questions and I will teach the government how to respond," he said.
Questioning Manmohan Singh's leadership capabilities, he claimed that not a single Congressman in the country says that Manmohan Singh is their leader.
"They take somebody else's name. Have you seen such a situation where the PM of the country is not accepted as the leader by his own party. How can he run the country?" he asked.
DHAKA:Mutinous members of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) have completed laying down their weapons at their headquarters in the capital Dhaka after an uprising that began on Wednesday, a government official said on Thursday.
"All the rebel troops have surrendered with their arms and the process has been completed," Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's media spokesman Abul Kalam Azad said after Hasina told the men in a national broadcast to go back to their barracks.
Islamabad: Several people were feared injured in a major fire that broke out at the luxury Marriott Hotel in the capital, five months after it was devastated by a suicide attack. Paramedics were seen removing the injured from the hotel and rushing them to near by hospitals. The cause of the fire that reportedly broke out at the kitchen could not be immediately ascertained.
Firefighters were tackling the blaze, witnesses said, adding that large plumes of smoke were seen billowing from a section of the second floor of the hotel, which is frequented by businessmen, diplomats and top politicians.
More than 50 people were killed and several injured in the attack that took place on September 20 last year at the hotel.
The hotel reopened in December last.
Mumbai The 26/11 terror attacks would not have been possible without the inputs and assistance provided by the two Indian accused, Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin, according to the chargesheet filed in the case.
Faheem and Sabauddin have been arrested for conducting recce of the city prior to the November 26 attacks and giving information, including maps, to the operatives of Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).
The two were first arrested by Uttar Pradesh Police for a terror attack on a CRPF camp in January 2008.
The 11,280 page-chargesheet was filed by Mumbai Police in a Mumbai court on Wednesday.
According to the document, Faheem conducted detailed reconnaissance of the targeted locations and submitted information and maps to Sabauddin, ‘a very important’ functionary of the LeT in India.
Sabauddin, in turn, got in touch with LeT commanders and wanted accused in the case, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Abu Kaahfa and passed on the information, it said.
"During the last phase of training of the ten terrorists in Pakistan, Kaahfa had shown them the maps of the locations. On being questioned about the authenticity and accuracy of the maps, Kaahfa informed them that the maps had been meticulously prepared by Faheem and Sabauddin," the bulky chargesheet said.
It further said Lakhvi handed over the maps of the targeted locations to the attackers before they left Karachi for Mumbai.
"It was these maps and directions which enabled lone surviving terrorist, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, and the nine dead terrorists to arrive with absolute precision at the targeted locations and comprehend the topography and lay out of the targets."
Faheem and Sabauddin had been arrested in January 2008 for the attack on CRPF camp at Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. The duo's custody was taken by the Mumbai Crime Branch in December 2008 in the terror attack here. They are currently in judicial custody.
Kasab, Faheem and Sabauddin are the arrested accused named in the chargesheet which is dominated by names of LeT operatives. Thirty-five Pakistan nationals have been shown as wanted accused.
The terrorists had targeted locations like Chhatrapti Shivaji Terminus (CST), Hotels Taj and Trident, Nariman House and Cafe Leopold during the three-day mayhem.
As many as 166 persons, including nearly two dozen foreigners, were killed in the strikes.
Die with us, Tigers tell Lankan refugees
Reuters
Posted: Feb 26, 2009 at 0929 hrs IST
Vavuniya The Tamil Tigers gave V Rasamalar no choice in how she would die - the separatist rebels told her she would die alongside them in Sri Lanka's war zone.
But the mother of two escaped heavy fighting and fled to an army-controlled area. She and her children are now living with about 1,000 other refugees in a military-run transit camp in the northern city of Vavuniya.
"The organisation said we were going to die anyway if we crossed to the army-controlled area and told us to die with them," said 48-year-old Rasamalar, who fled the northern town of Udayarkattu when soldiers fought their way into it.
More than 36,000 Tamils since Jan. 1 have fled to government-controlled areas, running from the final battles of a 25-year-old war and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels who tried to force them to stay.
"After a long time, at least me and my two children are relieved from hearing the sound of shells and life in a bunker," she said at a school converted into one of 15 temporary homes for Tamil refugees.
On the run for weeks or months, refugees say they faced the wrath of the rebels, constant combat, perpetual fear and little food or water.
"There is scarce food. Even 15-year-old youth are being forcibly recruited by the LTTE. We were not allowed to leave the war zone. This is the situation of over 200,000 Tamils in that area," S. Selvekumar said.
Formerly a security guard for an international aid agency, Selvekumar escaped at night in a boat that was rescued by the Sri Lankan navy. But he left his sister behind and still does not know now where she is.
"DON'T KNOW THEIR FATE"
Aid agencies estimate that 200,000 Tamils are now squeezed into a 12-km long stretch of land on the northeastern coast which the army has declared as a no-fire zone. The government says there are no more than 70,000 people there, along with the LTTE.
Soldiers are less than 5 km (2 miles) away, and commanders expect they will face a final showdown with the Tigers there -- one in which they will have to fight carefully to prevent any civilian casualties.
Ariyakutti Velayutham, a 72-year former manager of a Hindu temple who escaped on a Red Cross ship bringing out sick and wounded people, now spends his days fearing for the safety of his children and grandchildren.
"I do not know the fate of my two sons, a daughter, and a grandson who had been hiding from being forcibly recruited by the LTTE," he said in the presence of government officers.
He said the LTTE had fired artillery from populated areas, "compelling the army to target us". The military denies targeting civilians, but has acknowledged some may have been killed.
"There were radio messages by the LTTE saying that once we got into government-controlled areas, females would be raped and males would be tortured, but nothing has happened," he said.
Some refugees complained that life in the refugee camp is just as hard as life in LTTE territory.
"I sometimes feel that we are now imprisoned in this refugee camp, after being held as prisoners by LTTE for a long time," 42-year-old S. Babu said.
At one camp, Reuters saw more than 100 refugees trying to speak to relatives over a camp wall.
The government says the restrictions are temporary, to give them time to weed out LTTE infiltrators and to ensure the rebels do not try to repeat a suicide attack that killed 30 people on Feb 9 at a refugee registration centre.
The government plans to transfer most refugees to temporary villages with schools and other facilities, with homes for each family. The government says people will be placed with others from their home areas.
This poem was written by a terminally ill young girl in a New York Hospital.
It was sent by a medical doctor - Make sure to read what is in the closing statement AFTER THE POEM.
SLOW DANCE
Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask How are you?
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say,'Hi'
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift..
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.
Dear All:
PLEASE pass this mail on to everyone you know - even to those you don't know! It is the request of a special girl who will soon leave this world due to cancer.
This young girl has 6 months left to live, and as her dying wish, she wanted to send a letter telling everyone to live their life to the fullest, since she never will.
She'll never make it to prom, graduate from high school, or get married and have a family of her own.
By sending this to as many people as possible, you can give her and her family a little hope, because with every name that this is sent to, The American Cancer Society will donate 3 cents per name to her treatment and recovery plan.. One guy sent this to 500 people! So I know that we can at least send it to 5 or 6. It's not even your money, just your time!
Arna Seal, Ph.D.
'Megh-Muluk'
E 11 New Garia Development Cooperative Housing Society
Kolkata 700094
West Bengal
INDIA
Phone: 91 33 24325052
Cell: 9830056114
Dear All,
Greetings !!
MEETING TO FORM :
"MUMBAI TERROR ATTACK 26/11 - FACT FINDING COMMITTEE"
Venue: National Railway Mazdoor Union (NRMU), next to Dadar Railway Stn (East), Mumbai.
Date: March 3, 2009 (Tuesday) / 7-9pm.
The 26/11 Mumbai terror attack has created a tectonic shift in Indian politics with global ramifications.
Yet inspite of the enormity of the attack, no organized Human Rights group is willing to delve into the details, ask the questions or rather undertake a comprehensive FACT FINDING exercise.
It appears as if the on the issue of terror, we are willing to accept the version as propounded by the state and the corporate media.
Those of us who do not have thus decided to create a Fact Finding committe to probe into the 26/11 terror attacks.
This team will include lawyers, activists, writers, journalists et all from both Mumbai and across the country.
The idea is to compile a report and release the same prior to the general elections, at a national conference that we plan to organize in Delhi in the first week of April - 5th to be more precise.
This report that we will have to compile in March will only be the first report and more will follow.
But it is very imporatnt that we issue the report as the ensuing elections are being fought on the issues of terror, war and national security as the core issue.
We have spoken to most concerned and will speak to the rest as to wether they would agree to be part of this effort:
Sanober K, Monica Sakhrani, Chetna Birje, Reshma Jagtap, Ram Puniyani, Feroze Mithiborwala, Kishore Jagtap, Shahid Azmi, Farhana Shah, Pratima Joshi, Shyam Sonar, Bhanu Dhuri, Yogesh Kamble, Varsha V V, Chitra, Haridas, Munawar Khan, Aslam Ghazi, Mukta, Simpreet, Munawar Azad, Afaq Azad, Ghazala Azad, Rehana, Shadab, Avinash Kadam, Subodh More, Adv. Yusuf Muchala, Justice Suresh, Sagar Sarhadi, Danish Reyaz, Saeed Khan, Wasim Khan, Sarfaruz Arzu, Sunil Khobragade, Diwakar Shejwal, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mulniwasi Mala, Maj. Barve.
Lata PM - Aseem Sarvodaya - Dr. Ramesh Awasthi - Sachin Godambe -Pune
Anand Swaroop Verma - Gautam Navlakha, Anil Chaudhary - SQR Ilyas, Subash Gatade - Com Javed - Rakesh Rafique - Gopal Rai - Delhi
Mukul Sinha - Gujarat
Most of the people concerned have been spoken to and some we will be soon discuusing the matter.
Those who are interested in being part of this complex task are requested to contact us as would have missed some of the names.
The members concerned are free to invite more people to be part of this team with prior intimation with the team in Mumbai.
The Fact Finding team in our estimation needs to be a national effort as the threads do lead into complex directions across the entire maze.
The team in Mumbai will focus on:
a) The CST - CAMA HOSPITAL - leading to the killings of the entire ATS team et All.
b) The TAJ
c) The Oberoi
d) The Nariman House
e) The other bomb attacks as well.
Thus the two major tasks would entail
1) Recoding of the statements of the various witnesses, police, etc
2) Information that is available in the media and that would entail rigorous documentaion across all the languages and print and electronic media
Then we will have to put all the information together and arrive at the conclusions.
DO NOTE THAT WITH THE TIME CONSTRAINTS, THIS WOULD AT BEST BE A PRELIMINARY REPORT, BUT YET VERY IMPORTANT.
We will need special help from our friends in Delhi. The fact of the matter is that, is it possible to get access to the reports that the RAW had submitted to the state ?? Need some guidance here.
Even the story today into the TOI is telling. The simple question is that why weren't the communication system of the terrorists in the TAJ, OBEROI and the NARIMAN HSE J A M M E D !!
This is standard practise isn't it ??
The terrorists continued to get unhindered instructions from their handlers in Pakistan and yet that was allowed.
Strange, one must say. Though not really. The Mumbai police have refused to comment on this seeming lapse.
In anycase the meeting is on and it is imperative that we proceed with this extremely important mission.
A well documented report that exposes the Mumbai 26/11 terror attack will pose a grave challenge to the Imperialists and their allies across India and Pakistan & empower the PEOPLE to fight & expose the politics of terror.
And lastly Rohiniji, please email me Jairus Banaji's tel / mbl contacts so that he could be part of this team. We do need him here.
Warm Regards
In Solidarity
Arun Velaskar, Feroze Mithiborwala, Sudhir Dhawale, Kishore Jagtap, Shyam Sonar, Varsha V V & Chetna Birje.
My BDR contacts fear there might be a major battle brewing. Feel
Hasina should intervene directly rather than leaving it to
intermediaries. Still hearing machine gun bullets.
Videos and stills as well as message from Shireen and Rahnuma at:
http://shahidul.wordpress.com/breaking-news/
Watch out for updates.
_______________________________________________
shahidulnews mailing list
shahidulnews@drik-amsterdam-01.drik.net
http://drik-amsterdam-01.drik.net/mailman/listinfo/shahidulnews
The BDR Revolt and Role of Bangladesh Intelligence Agencies
Dr. Abdul Momen
Today’s revolt in the BDR HQ in Dhaka is an eye-opener. Due to revolt, reportedly 50 lives were lost. Many civilian also died owing to stray bullets. Whatever the causes of the revolt, it is a fact that there has been a serious lapse of intelligence failure and secondly the death of civilians, closure of schools and postponement of exam demands a serious debate on the merits of keeping headquarters of security forces or cantonments inside crowded localities of the nation’s capital.
In USA, the forefathers of its independence nearly 230 years ago decided not to allow heavy weapons within the borders of capital i. e. Washington D. C or the District of Columbia. However, it allowed individual citizen to bear arms for their self protection. In the case of Bangladesh given its history of coups and counter coups, it may be necessary to forbid heavy weapons within 50 miles radius of the capital city of Dhaka. The recent BDR revolt and especially killing of innocent civilians and bystanders once again reminded the Bangladeshi nationals to seriously discuss this issue of relocating both the Dhaka cantonment and the BDR HQ away from the city limit.
If the BDR Headquarters would have been outside Dhaka away from Pilkhana, an overcrowded area of civilian population surrounded by schools and shops, such casualties could be minimized. Therefore, it may be recommended to relocate BDR HQ away from capital city.
Similarly, there is hardly any rationale to have Army Cantonment within the capital city. This may be relocated 50 miles away from the capital city to a remote locality.. In that case, prime and expensive lands will be made available for growth and expansion of Dhaka city. Moreover, fear and tension of revolt within the cantonment causing disruption of normal life would be lessened.
In Dhaka, civilian vehicles are not allowed to go through the cantonment area and such is an additional cause for bumper-to-bumper hour-long traffic jams on the VIP road. If the Cantonment is relocated away from its current location, such horrendous traffic congestion could be lessened. Bangladesh Army is a part of Bangladesh society and it desires to improve quality of life of its countrymen. In spite of this, it is unfortunate that they have not opened up their roads to the general public yet on their own initiative. Since army fails to open them up on its own, it may be necessary to relocate Dhaka cantonment for the good of the nation.
The BDR Revolt that occurred following Prime Minister’s trip to the BDR HQ is mind boggling. If this would happened during Prime Minister’s visit, it could have created a national crisis. Naturally, serious questions could be raised as regards the efficiency of the Bangladesh intelligence agencies. According to many, the focus of the Bangladesh Intelligence Agencies both the DGFI and the NSI have been basically pivots around finding and codifying information regarding civilian opinion leaders and political leadership. The rationale for secretly recording phone, fax and mobile calls of politicians, journalists, opinion leaders and talk-show participants in Bangladesh in addition to lawyers and businessmen has been designed with a view to collect information about civilian activities. Even their everyday activities and mobility are being watched in the name of nation’s interest.
Unfortunately, such appears to be uncommon in the area of security forces. No wonder, Bangladesh Intelligence Agencies miserably failed in protecting its founder President Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman or founder of the BNP party, General Ziaur Rahman. It even failed to provide intelligence information regarding the terrorist bombing attack of a public rally of Sheikh Hasina on August 21, 2004 in which 23 people were killed including the wife of current President of Bangladesh, Zillur Rahman and nearly 370 were wounded or maimed for life. It failed to provide intelligence information regarding grenade attacks on the former Finance Minister ASM Kibria or on British High Commissioner Anwar Chowdhury. It also failed to furnish intelligence information regarding jehadi bombings in 493 towns and cities of Bangladesh simultaneously.
In fact, the performance record of Bangladesh Intelligence Agencies till to-date is very poor. It gets an F grade. The recent BDR revolt is a case in point
Bangladesh Intelligence Agencies are mostly headed by military personnel unlike industrialized countries. Most of the heads of the DGFI and the NSI in Bangladesh have been active duty military officials. In contrast, most of the heads of U. S. and the British Intelligence Agencies, for example, FBI, CIA, or MI5 (British) are non-military personnel.
The current FBI Director is Robert Mueller. He has been a lawyer. The current CIA Chief is Leon Panetta, a former congressman and a head of a Public Policy Institute at the California University. He was formerly Chief of Staff of President Clinton.
If we investigate the personal history of the heads of FBI for the last quarter century, one will be surprised that most of the intelligence heads were lawyers or judges. For example, there has been a total of 7 FBI Directors from February 23, 1978 till to-date of which three were Acting Directors. All four Directors were lawyers/judges, and among the Acting Directors, two were career intelligence officers and one was an accountant. William Webster (1978-87), William Sessions (1987-93), Louis Freeh (1993-2001) and Robert Mueller (2001-current) were Directors and all of them were lawyers/judges. The Acting ones; John Otto (26/5/87-2/11/87) and Floyd Clarke (19/7/93-1/9/93) were special FBI agents, and Thomas Pickard (25/6/01-4/9/01) was a CPA.
Given the limitations, the performance record of FBI and the CIA that are mostly run by civilian authority is much superior to that our DGFI or the NSI which are mostly headed by active-duty military officials.
Take the case of the British Intelligence Agencies. The British Military Intelligence Section 5 known as MI-5 or its agencies like SIS, MI-6, QCHQ or DIS are again mostly headed by civilian officials unlike Bangladesh. For example, the current head of MI5 is Mr. Jonathan Evans, a career intelligence officer. Prior to him Baroness Manningham-Buller (2002-07), a former school teacher headed it for 5 years. During 2000-02, Sir Stephen Lander, a PhD in History was its head. Prior to him, Dame Stella Rimington (1992-96), a diplomat’s wife headed the British intelligence organization. It may surprise Bangladeshi military leaders that a well known football player, Sir Patrick Walker headed MI-5 from 1988 through 1991.
There is no denying that the Intelligence Agencies of USA and UK are superior to that of Bangladesh. Admittedly they have more resources and superior information technology vis-à-vis Bangladesh. However, they have also more restrictions as they have to work within many legal limitations and restrictions unlike Bangladesh. Instead of this, their performance record is superior.
This raises a valid question. Should we stop appointing active-duty military personnel in the intelligence agencies that mainly focus their attention on political or civil leaderships? Instead should we follow that of the USA and UK for the greater interest of the country?
It is a fact that in Bangladesh, two of its Presidents were assassinated not by their political supporters or by any public citizen. They were assassinated by members of active-duty security forces. It is unfortunate, and it looks odd when in the name of security, a head of the government for example, Sheikh Hasina is kept at a distance from public thus denying her from mingling with her electorates in Bangladesh. This was true in the case of Khaleda Zia as well. In addition, it looks odd when security personnel stand next to the head of the government in all public events. This custom must be done away with to improve nation’s image both home and abroad. Remember, such practice is not common in civilized countries like USA, UK, France, Italy, Switzerland, Finland and the like.
Remember, their heads of governments in no way, less exposed to security risk. The custom in USA is that once a person is allowed to enter the premises through checking, he/she is allowed to meet the President freely. The security forces stay at a distance unlike Bangladesh. The way the Bangladeshi security forces behave is deplorable. They literally keep the Prime Minister away from the public. It is a disgrace in the name of security. When the Prime Minister is surrounded by security officers overlooking her shoulder, it lowers our image in the free world. Such basically shows that the political leadership of Bangladesh is still under military subjugation or control in spite of a free, fair, transparent and credible election. Under such aggressive security guardianship, it can neither improve its image nor can attract increasing FDI.
· Abdul Momen is a professor of economics and business in Boston, USA
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Jammu Sending out a tough message that his government will not tolerate human rights violations, J-K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Thursday that he has taken up with the Central government the violation of a procedure by the army in the state which lays down sharing of intelligence inputs with the local police to launch anti-militancy operations.
Replying to the adjournment motion by the opposition, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), over the continued rights violations in the state and the killing of two persons at Bomia in Sopore Chief Minister said that he has taken up the matter of violation of operating procedure for launching anti-militancy operations with the Union Home Minister.
Chief Minister however asked the PDP to distance from doing any politics over the killings of people asking the party that it shouldn’t dub the murders of the people as the violation of human rights. “The killing of a youth from Habbakadal was only a murder while the source on whose information army launched the operation at Bomai is in police custody,” he said.
Omar said during the PDP rule there were more incidents of the violation of human rights, but the party didn’t raise the demand for the withdrawal of security forces from the state.
“Police has replaced as a first rung force in Srinagar,’’ Chief Minister said, adding that, “my government was creating the conditions conducive for the withdrawal of armed forces special powers act from the state.”
Earlier PDP created pandemonium in the house after the Speaker of the Assembly, Akbar Lone, didn’t concede to their demand of first taking up the adjournment motion in the house instead of transacting the other business. PDP legislators rose up and created noisy scenes in the assembly. House proceedings were disrupted for nearly fifteen minutes in the assembly.
PDP legislative party leader, Mehbooba Mufti, accused the government for its failure to respect the human rights of people when they have turned out in large number to exercise their right to vote. Mufti asked the government not to look towards New Delhi to get vacated the armed forces special powers act and disturbed area act from the state.
“Government should make a beginning by removing the disturbed area act from Srinagar,” she said.
She even charged the BJP of double speak saying that the party has signed on the working group reports which called for withdrawal of special powers to armed forces. However, BJP’s legislative party leader, Chaman Lal Gupta, said that Mufti was resorting to lies.
After the din in the assembly due to the continued obstruction of business by the PDP members, those from the treasury bench asked the PDP to desist from misleading the house and doing politics over the blood letting of people. Senior NC leader and Rural Development Minister, Ali Mohammad Sagar, said, “PDP was only fostering its agenda while disrupting the proceedings of the house and the government has already initiated the probe on the Sopur killings.”
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that during the PDP rule Chairman of the State Human Rights Commission had been on record saying that the purpose for which the commission was set up couldn’t be served.
“In 2005, 54 civilians died in cross fire, in 2004 the number was 75 and in 2003 it was 111. From 2002-05 the number of custodial killings was 24 and PDP never talked of demilitarization at that time,” Omar said.
However PDP President, Mehbooba Mufti, said, “We put our government at stake and made the defence minister to set up a committee to review the troops level in the state."
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced amnesty for the mutineers of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR)
A long 10 hour standoff ended late Wednesday evening after prime minister Sheikh Hasina declared general pardon for revolting BDR men and pledged to meet their demands in phases, a state minister said. The mutineers had agreed to surrender their arms after a meeting with the prime minister at her official residence, state minister for local government Jahangir Kabir Nanak told reporters. The prime minister also urged the BDR members to surrender their arms and return to barrack.
State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanak, who attended the meeting between the prime minister and BDR representatives, told reporters that the mutineers were granted amnesty this evening.
Following the meeting, BDR Deputy Assistant Director Touhid told reporters that they would surrender arms and go back to barrack."We had talks with the prime minister and we agreed to return to barracks," Touhid said.
A 14-soldier BDR team went to the prime minister’s official residence Jamuna for talks.Mutinous BDR members earlier said they would call a ceasefire after holding talks with the prime minister and Home Minister Sahara Khatun.
Nanak said the prime minister would hold a video conference with the BDR jawans at Pilkhana in a bid to calm the situation.
At least one civilian was confirmed dead and 7 were wounded as heavy gunfire erupted in and around Bangladesh Rifles Headquarters in the morning. A number of top BDR officers were killed inside the compound, several soldiers and officers were wonded sources said.
http://newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=248964
A mutiny broke out in the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) as angry soldiers demanding pay hike took their senior officers, including the Director General, hostage after opening fire inside the headquarters of the border force in Dhaka, leaving three people dead and 13 wounded. The dead were a BDR officer, a soldier and a rickshaw-puller who was felled by stray bullets close to the BDR headquarters located at Pilkhana area in the heart of the capital city, official sources said.
Unconfirmed reports put the death toll as high as six.
In India, Expressing concern over the rebellion in Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in Dhaka, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Wednesday said he was hopeful that the matter would be resolved peacefully soon!
The revolt in the BDR headquarters and barracks housing 20,000 troops sent shock waves across the impoverished country, which since independence in 1971 has had a history of political violence, coups and counter-coups.
The rebellion erupted during a 'Darbar' or meeting between seniors officers and soldiers, where sources said the lower-rank troops got agitated alleging that the top brass had not taken up their grievances relating to pay hike, promotions and to make the paramilitary force an autonomous body with Premier Sheikh Hasina when she visited the headquarters a day earlier.
Intermittent gunfire rang out at the headquarters for hours as hundreds of army troops and specialised police forces moved to encircle the area and Air Force helicopters hovered overhead monitoring the situation.
Bangladesh's first line of defence
Bangladeshi border guards have mutinied at their headquarters in the capital, Dhaka. Local media have speculated that the revolt is over pay and working conditions. The BBC's Subir Bhaumik reports on the origins of the force.
Bangladesh border guards complain of low pay and status
The Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) is said to be the country's first line of defence. It is meant to patrol the borders, check smuggling and cross-border crime and establish the government's authority in remote areas.
In times of war, it is supposed to provide support to the army.
The Bangladesh Rifles originated from the East Pakistan Rifles - a force set up in undivided Pakistan - and came into existence shortly after the country's independence in 1972.
The original batch of 9,000 troops were mostly East Pakistan Rifles deserters who revolted against the Pakistani officers. But when Bangladesh's founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, wanted to merge the Bangladesh Rifles with the national militia Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini, the BDR stiffly opposed the move.
But that was the first and last time the border force witnessed a situation close to mutiny. "Though the Bangladesh army has a turbulent history of mutinies and revolts, specially between 1975 and 1984, the BDR has been remarkably free from indiscipline," says Bangladesh security analyst, retired major Shamsul Arefin.
"Its soldiers have severe resentment about pay and perks and they have angrily represented them from time to time, but they have never revolted.
"So it has to be seen whether there's a conspiracy to use the disaffection to destabilise the new government," he said, referring to Wednesday's mutiny at the BDR's Dhaka headquarters.
Major role
By 1973 a vigorous recruiting campaign had swelled the Bangladesh Rifles ranks to about 20,000 personnel. Its current strength is around 70,000.
The BDR is under the Home Ministry, but the army plays a major role in staffing, training and directing the force. Most Bangladesh Rifles officers are seconded from the regular army.
Disputes over pay could have laid to the mutiny
For instance, the army chief of staff, Lt Gen Atiqur Rahman, served as director general of the Bangladesh Rifles for four and a half years before taking over as army chief.
In addition, retired junior commissioned officers and those below them are often assigned to the Bangladesh Rifles in recognition of long years of service.
"That's the problem. The army fellows don't take up our cause. We are paid very poorly," one BDR soldier, who did not want to be named, told the BBC.
Although Bangladesh Rifles units can be called upon to assist the police in putting down domestic disturbances, their primary role is to guard the nation's frontiers.
The force is organised into battalions along military lines.
During war time or national emergencies, the president as commander in chief can authorise the military to assume direct control over all paramilitary and police forces.
The present BDR chief, Shakil Ahmed, who is said to have been attacked by his irate troops on Wednesday, has promised to work closely with India countering terrorist groups active along the borders. Indian Border Security Force officials talk of him as a "very friendly person always willing to co-operate".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7909596.stm
This article, part 1 will be published in Pakistan link Opinion section on February 27, 2009
--------------------------
In the Shadow of Shariah
Swat: the Past, Present and Future
- - By Dr. Mohammad Taqi
The rout of the secular forces in Swat is now complete. Pashtun nationalist leader, Khan Abdul Wali had once described the infamous Shariat Bill, presented in the Pakistani parliament, as Shararat Bill (mischief bill).Unfortunately, a much more perverse version of the Shariat or Islamic jurisprudence is being implemented in Swat, on the watch of Wali Khan’s son, Asfandyar Wali Khan.
Asfandyar Khan has joined the ilk of Jama’t e Islami and Imran Khan in dismissing the condemnation heaped on his Awami National Party (ANP), for imposing Shariat, as criticism by the nam nihad (so-called) liberals. Apparently the younger Khan has forgotten that most of these so-called liberals have remained associated with his father and his illustrious grandfather for the better part of Pakistan ’s checkered history.
The right-wing political forces in Pakistan have gone blue in the face highlighting how fair, swift and in sync with Islam, the pre-1974 judicial system in Swat was. They however, are not the only ones responsible for selling this figment of their imagination as a bonafide judicial thesis to their fellow Pakistanis and the West.
The leaders of the pro-judiciary movement in Pakistan have chosen to conveniently ignore addressing this issue even in passing, and by their omission are aiding and abetting the mutilation of the legal system being attempted in Swat. The deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Chaudhry and his lawyer lieutenants have been shirking their duty to explain and critique this fantastic story about the history and mechanizations of the judicial system of the princely State of Swat .
We find it relevant to the future of Swat, the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan (NWFP) and indeed the whole of Pakistan , to survey the history of Swat and its administrative and judicial system.
The story of the Swat State begins with a young Talib – a student of an Islamic seminary – named Abdul Ghafoor, who had immigrated to the plains of Peshawar , from Jabrai in Swat. Abdul Ghafoor was born into the Safi branch of the Mohmand tribe. He later returned to Saidu in Swat and became known as the Akhund (the holy man) of Swat and was appointed as Sheikh ul Islam or the chief religious leader by the Loya Jirgah – grand assembly – of the local Swatis, who predominantly belonged to the Yousafzai tribe.
Akhund of Swat also led military campaigns against the British but never took a political office. His two sons Abdul Hannan and Abdul Khalique succeeded the Akhund upon his demise circa 1877. The sons carried the honorific Miangul, with connotations being an admixture of a term of endearment and some religious appeal. Abdul Hannan did pursue the temporal power and was involved in local politics of the time, without landing a major success. Abdul Khalique carried on with the religious mantel of the Akhund. The two brothers were survived by two sons each, upon their death. Said Badshah, a son of Hannan, was killed by his brother Mir Badshah and his cousins. Mir Badshah was subsequently shot dead by his cousin and son of Khalique, Gulshahzada Abdul Wadud.
Gulshahzada and his brother Abdul Mannan aka Shirin Jan, after finishing off the rival branch of the family set out against each other. However, around 1915 were forced to forge unity in the face of other rivals, most notably Abdul Jabar Shah of Amb. Jabar Shah had previously been designated a king by the Swatis and had led a campaign against the British alongside the Akhund.
The Miangul brothers swiftly switched sides to enter into an alliance with another rival, the Nawab of the neighboring Dir State . However, Jabar Shah was shunned by the Swatis for being an Ahmedi and because of a lack of tangible gains under his leadership and the Mianguls were invited back in. Miangul Gulshahzada then dislodged the Nawab of Dir from the territories which later constituted the State of Swat, reined in the local chieftains and consolidated his power as far south as Buner and up north till Kalam. He however, was unable to annex Kalam and settled for a British brokered peace with the ruler of Chitral declaring Kalam as a buffer zone of sorts.
The British finally recognized Miangul Gulshahzada Sir Abdul Wadud as the Wa’li or ‘hereditary’ ruler of Swat in 1926. The capital of Swat State became Saidu Sharif – Saidu the exalted - and there being no major city, Mingora was its largest population center.
The illiterate Wa’li ruled Swat autocratically and had divided the State in four administrative provinces, which were then sub-divided in eleven districts or Tehsils. His eldest son Miangul Jehanzeb, a graduate of Islamia College , Peshawar , was designated the heir-apparent or Vali Ehd in 1926. The heir-apparent dealt with the financial matters and along with the Vizier, assisted the ruler in administrative and judicial matters.
The judicial system implemented in the Swat of was a combination of Rivaj – the tribal custom, nominal Islam and the pleasure of the Wa’li. As the Wa’li captured new territories he would ask the tribal elders to put their Rivaj on record and the cases of petty crimes and offences of local nature were decided according to this custom. Major offences, acts against public welfare and crimes against the State were decided by the Wa’li himself at his discretion and the case merits.
In this quasi-feudal system of justice, no guarantees existed regarding fundamental human rights, inheritance, role of evidence and the due process. Shariat, as is understood in the context of Islamic law, has its own set of rules regarding all these matters but was never adopted to be the system for dispensing justice in the princely State of Swat .
The Swat State acceded to Pakistan on July 28, 1969 and along with the States of Dir and Chitral was incorporated into the Malakand Division of the NWFP, but its traditional legal system remained in place till 1974 , when finally the courts were established there, in accordance with the 1973 constitution of Pakistan. Also, the 1973 constitution recognized, under its article 246(b) the former princely states of Dir, Swat, Chitral and Amb as the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) and distinct from the FATA.
The article 247(4) of the constitution states : “Notwithstanding anything contained in the Constitution, the President may, with respect to any matter within the legislative competence of the Parliament and the Governor of a Province, with the prior approval of the President, may, with respect to any matter within the legislative competence of the Provincial Assembly make regulations for the peace and good government of a Provincially Administered Tribal Area or any part thereof, situated in the Province ”. In simple words the president – for the sake of peace and prosperity – can sign as a regulation something, which otherwise would have required an act of parliament. The Shariah being imposed in Swat is apparently going to be implemented under these constitutional powers vested in the President. However, a gross generalization has been made in interpreting the legislative competence of the parliament and the powers that be, have pushed the envelope.
The article 8 of the constitution of Pakistan – which deals with the fundamental rights of the citizenry - voids any “laws inconsistent with or in derogation of fundamental rights”. The section 2 of article 8 further clarifies that “The State shall not make any law which takes away or abridges the rights so conferred and any law made in contravention of this clause shall, to the extent of such contravention, be void “. In other words, the president, parliament, Governor or the provincial assembly cannot give away in compromise, what is constitutionally not theirs to begin with.
Amazingly, all those supporting the implementation of Shariah in Swat have also been calling for extending the writ of the Pakistani State into its Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), including full implementation of the 1973 constitution along with the Political Parties Act. Full-throated sloganeering is going on for establishing the rule of law – British Law that is, in preparation of the long march to restore the deposed CJP. No one has bothered to explain to the common man as to why the 1973 constitution and the courts resulting from it are great for rest of the Pakistan and even for FATA but horrible for Swat.
To its credit the English press in Pakistan has devoted its op-ed pages to raising awareness about the rising specter of the Taliban Shariah but the vernacular print and electronic media has come out strongly in support of the obscurantist forces. The spin-masters of the federal and provincial governments are hard at work presenting the breakdown in their authority as the great breakthrough.
- To be concluded - (author practices and teaches medicine at the University of Florida and can be reached at taqimd@gmail.com )
Dr. Syed Ehtisham
(607) 776-3336
Blog syedehtisham.blogspot.com
Feudalism, militarism, fundamentalism and bureaucrats constitute the evil Quad in Pakistan.
by BAR executive editor Glen Ford
"Obama has consistently spoken and acted in lockstep with George Bush on Zimbabwe sanctions."
An "Open Letter to the People of Zimbabwe," widely circulated on the Internet in February, demands "the U.S., British and other imperialist governments" end economic sanctions against that nation and otherwise keep their "hands off Zimbabwe!" Although honest progressives may differ on the political character of Robert Mugabe's regime - now joined in a power-sharing relationship with the opposition, whose leader's allegiances are likewise subject to dispute - there can be no equivocation about the Zimbabwean people's "right to self-determination and sovereignty without any imperialist interference."
Washington's blatant and longstanding campaign for regime-change must be denounced and resisted in all its manifestations - no ifs, ands or buts. The economic sanctions are, as the letter describes them, "collective punishment of the Zimbabwean people." The signers correctly and "unequivocally denounce these sanctions as war crimes and the officials who initiated them as war criminals."
Well said - but there's a great disconnect between the words and some of the names listed as endorsing the letter. A number of the signers are full-throated, religious-like followers of Barack Obama, one of the "war criminals" that has supported and, as president, extended U.S. sanctions against Zimbabwe.
These unabashed Obamites, several of whom I debated at a large forum in Harlem, in December, make a great noise about "imperialists" in general while pledging undying "solidarity" in the struggle against such "criminals," yet in their daily practice labor mightily to absolve President Obama of culpability for his crimes. It requires rivers of obfuscation and oceans of purposeful omission to separate the Commander-in-Chief and President of the United States from the crimes planned and carried out in his office. The perpetrators of this bizarre fantasy - that the "imperialists" are out to get Mugabe, but Obama isn't one of them - deepen confusion among the public, especially African Americans, and make a mockery of true solidarity. In the light of ever-unfolding events, they make themselves and progressive politics appear ridiculous, as they tip-toe around the mountainous facts of Barack Obama's actual presidency - not the wishful one they have invented.
"They labor mightily to absolve President Obama of culpability for his crimes."
Obama's implacable hostility to Zimbabwean independence and sovereignty is undeniable. He has consistently spoken and acted in lockstep with George Bush on the subject, and as president is preparing new ground for aggression against that country and elsewhere in Africa and the developing world.
On June 24, 2008, following a U.S.-UK-led United Nations Security Council resolution declaring that violence fostered by Mugabe's government had made fair runoff elections "impossible," candidate Obama took South Africa to task for failure "to pressure the Zimbabwean government to stop its repressive behavior." The U.S., he said, should tighten its economic sanctions. Obama told the press: "If fresh elections prove impossible, regional leaders backed by the international community should pursue an enforceable, negotiated political transition in Zimbabwe that would end repressive rule and enable genuine democracy to take root." That's regime-change.
Obama's behavior was in perfect synch with the Bush Administration, and with Republican presidential candidate John McCain's statements on the issue.
At the United Nations on July 10, Russia and China vetoed punitive American and British sanctions against Zimbabwe. Frustrated and outraged, Bush used his executive powers to expand U.S. sanctions, joined by Britain and the European Union.
"The U.S., Obama said, should tighten its economic sanctions."
On January 15 of this year, days before Obama took the oath of office, his nominee for Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, told a confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill it was still possible that Russia and China might be persuaded to change their votes on Zimbabwe sanctions. There can be no doubt she was speaking for the incoming administration, which looked forward to winning sanctions where George Bush had failed.
On January 26, Mugabe and the opposition agreed to form a unity government, threatening to derail the U.S.-British strategy to further isolate and then topple Mugabe. When the unity talks briefly fell apart, Obama, now president, let it be known that he hoped the opposition would remain out of government, so that momentum toward UN sanctions might be revived. That would be Susan Rice's job. "Susan is extremely aware of what is going on in Zimbabwe and she feels very strongly that there is a tremendous miscarriage of justice in that country and that it has to end," an Obama foreign policy aide told The Times-UK. "Once she has her feet on the ground she is going to turn her attention to this issue." The January 28 story was titled, "President Obama leads US drive to topple Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe."
When, a few days later, unity talks successfully resumed with the support of African organizations, the Obama administration reacted with bitterness and frustration. "Mugabe is not getting a reprieve from President Obama," said an aide. For the time being, however, UN sanctions were off the table, and the momentum of American aggression was spent.
But not necessarily for long. Susan Rice, an ardent supporter of AFRICOM, like her boss, is a leading advocate of "humanitarian" military intervention, the doctrine that big powers have a duty to intervene when a government fails to protect its people from...whatever. In the run-up to unity talks, the Brits and Americans appeared to be trial-ballooning Zimbabwe's cholera outbreak as a pretext for intervention - but in Africa, a "humanitarian" rationale for imperial interference can always be found, or invented.
"Obama let it be known that he hoped the opposition would remain out of government, so that momentum toward UN sanctions might be revived."
It is beyond dispute that Obama, as candidate and president, has been a fierce proponent of sanctions against Zimbabwe. George Bush's sanctions by executive order are now Barack Obama's sanctions - fully qualifying the new president as a "war criminal," as defined by the signers of the recent "Open Letter to the People of Zimbabwe." Yet some of the signers are apparently capable of compartmentalizing facts as it suits them, in order to avoid painful confrontation with the truth: Obama is not only our first Black president, but also our first Black war criminal president.
Who are these deeply conflicted persons? I am specifically referring to five signatories of the Open Letter, whose irrational Obama-Love I have personally witnessed in the context of debate over Obama's foreign and domestic policies, the first four at Harlem's Great Debate in December, the last encounter at Audubon Ballroom, Harlem, in early 2008.
Prof. Dr. Leonard Jeffries, City College CUNY. Dr. Jeffries refuses to present any substantive critique of Obama's actual policies on Africa or any other issue. He proclaims that every Black person should study "Obama-ology," meaning "how Obama does things."
Dr. James McIntosh, Committee to Eliminate Media Offensive to African People (CEMOTAP). Dr. McIntosh tells audiences to look out for Obama's "winks" - those confidential messages meant especially for Black folks. The rest is just Obama doing what he has to do.
Viola Plummer, December 12th Movement. Ms. Plummer has the uncanny ability to call for revolution and declare the near-divinity of Obama in the same breath.
Atty. Malik Zulu Shabazz, New Black Panther Party. Atty. Shabazz and his party bear no resemblance to the original. His evaluation of Obama: "He is a good father and husband."
Amiri Baraka, playwright & poet. The one-time Prince of Schisms now pillories Cynthia McKinney for failing to get on the Obama-wagon. His capacity for both insult and reason appears to be failing.
Not one of these five people, all prolific speakers with followings in their own arenas, would call President Barack Obama a war criminal in the usual course of their political work. Instead, to varying degrees, they publicly praise and even express adoration for him. Yet they sign an Open Letter affirming solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe in the face of sanctions by "war criminals" - like Obama. Such solidarity is worthless on its face, because it means less than nothing in their actual domestic practice, which is filled with expressions of love for the war criminal and endless excuses and rationales for his behavior.
One line of the Open Letter is especially poignant in light of the contradictions personified by the Five Obamists: "We face the same enemies at home as do the people of Zimbabwe--the worldwide clique of bankers and bosses who put their greed for profits before meeting people's needs."
The Obamites are fully capable of damning the banksters till midnight, all the while pretending that Barack is not Wall Street's protector and co-conspirator. Resisting reality, they spread further confusion.
It is past time to call them out - not just the five signatories but all the "Left" representatives of Obamite contradiction who are misleading our people at this critical juncture in history. Preparations are under way on both coasts for a series of REAL debates on how to deal with the Obama presidential experience - a challenge like none other in American - especially African American - history.
We challenge the "Left" Obamites to attend. BYOR (Bring Your Own Reality) is not permitted.
BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1033&Itemid=1
Arundhati Roy
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