BeyondHeadlines News Desk

New Delhi: In a welcome development the Court of Appeals in Phillipines issued a writ of Kalikasan(a constitutional provision for a citizen’s right to safe environment), ordering the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other concerned government agencies in Philippines to stop field trials of Genetically Modified Bt Brinjal. The court took this decision keeping in mind the constitutional right of every Filipino citizen to a healthy and balanced ecology. Greenpeace South East Asia (Philippines) along with leading civil society organisations in Philippines had filed a petition last year as they argued that the field trials of Bt Brinjal were violating this constitutional right.

Bt Brinjal has been developed by Maharashtra based Indian company Mahyco with propreitory gene of Monsanto. Its commercialisation was put under an indefinite moratorium in India after a widespread public consultation. After their failure to get Bt Brinjal approved in India they had been pushing for its approval in Philippines. It was doing the field trials along with University of Philippines, Losbanos as a step towards that.

“The Philippines court decision to stop field trials of GM crops is a victory of public right to safe food and environment not just in that country but across the world” said Neha Saigal, Sustainable Agriculture campaign, Greenpeace India. She further stated that “It is high time that Indian government also take the cue from the rejection of GM crops from various parts of the world and stop any open release of such risky technologies.”

The GM debate in India has reached a new level with Indian govt sidestepping all opposition to GM crops to bring in a new regulatory system for GMOs called Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI). The legislation for this, BRAI Bill, 2013 has been introduced in the parliament last month amidst wide spread opposition both inside and outside the parliament. The BRAI will become a centralised, non-transparent,  single window clearance system which will lower the bar of GM crop approval in the country. The bill has now been referred to a parliamentary standing committee on Science and Technology and Environment for review and recommendations.

Greenpeace India urges the Members of the Parliamentary standing committee on Science and Technology and Environment to uphold the interests of our citizens and recommend the  withdrawal of the BRAI Bill, 2013. What is needed is a Biosafety Protection legislation to safeguard the health of our citizens, our biodiversity and farm livelihoods against risky technologies like GM crops. This is also inline with India’s commitment to International agreements like the Cartagena protocol on Biosafety.

BeyondHeadlines News Desk

New Delhi: Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) in its report, “2013 Proposed Elections in Nepal: An agenda for international community” (http://www.achrweb.org/briefingpapers/BPNepal-01-2013.pdf) released today stated that the continuance of Mr. Khil Raj Regmi as the Chief Justice of Nepal is harming independence of judiciary, which is indispensable to conduct free and fair elections, and called upon the international community to provide all the necessary assistance to Nepal to enable it to conduct free and fair elections.

“The consequences of not holding or not being able to hold elections are more anarchy. The impatience with Khil Raj Regmi government including by four big political parties will grow while Regmi’s tenure as Chief Justice will expire in June 2014. If elections cannot be held, direct rule by President Ram Baran Yadav might be within the realm of possibilities but President Yadav must avoid any temptation or trepidation for direct governance.” – stated Mr Suhas Chakma, Director of Asian Centre for Human Rights.

Outlining the obstacles for holding elections, ACHR stated Interim Election Council (IEC) faces many challenges to conduct free and fair elections including questionable mandate of the four big political parties in the light of the vehement opposition by 33 political parties led by Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) led by Mohan Vaidya; credibility of the IEC itself in the light of writ petitions pending before the Supreme Court of Nepal on the appointment of Justice Regmi as the Chairman of the IEC; spectre of violence looming large over Nepal; 1% threshold for proportional representation by the political parties; registration of all the eligible voters;  delimitation of constituenciesm, and the question of accountability.

“Despite the existence of High Level Political Mechanism, the spectre of violence especially in the rural areas shall remain the most critical challenge for holding free and fair elections. Further, access to illegal funds by the political leaders and use of the same to determine outcome of the CA-Parliament elections remains another obstacle to holding free and fair elections.” – asserted Asian Centre for Human Rights.

Among others, Asian Centre for Human Rights recommended the Interim Election Council and the Election Commission to (i) hold elections in five phases for five development region of Nepal; deployment of Nepal Armed Police and Nepal Army to ensure free and fair elections; (ii) provide that all civil officers and security forces drafted for election duty at the time of elections stand deputed to the Election Commission of Nepal and they come under the EC’s superintendence, direction and control for all purposes; (iii) issue Guidelines by the Election Commission of Nepal to ensure respect and compliance with instructions regarding maintenance of law and order, execution of non-bailable warrants, seizure of illegal arms, surrender of licensed weapons, enforcement of excise law, action against bootleggers, restriction on use of vehicles, instruction regarding prior permission for campaign vehicles, ban on use of any vehicle for transporting voters on the day of poll by the political parties etc; (iv) conduct vulnerability mapping to identify sensitive and vulnerable areas including the number of police stations affected by highly pronounced rivalry between political parties in every district, number of police stations which are highly politically sensitive, number of police stations affected by pronounced presence of criminals, number of police stations affected by communal tension, number of police station affected by inter ethnic or caste based tension; (v) ensure that nomination form, inter alia, provides for declaration of income tax return filed by the candidates and information as to whether any case of corruption or human rights violations pending before the Courts, Ant-Corruption Commission and/or National Human Rights Commission with the condition that submission of false information shall be a ground for disqualification; (vi) develop and notify code of conduct on the political parties that shall come into force 120 days prior to holding of elections; (vii) develop “Election Expenditure Monitoring Mechanism” including monitoring day to day expenses to control abuse of money and power; (viii) develop dedicated Flying Squads in each Assembly Constituency for tracking illegal cash transactions or any distribution of liquor or any other items suspected of being used for bribing the voters and Static Surveillance Team to put check posts and keep watch on movement of large quantities of cash, illegal liquor, any suspicious item or arms being carried in their area; (ix) develop measures for prevention of intimidation to the voters of vulnerable sections of electorate; (x) develop 24×7 Complaint Monitoring Control Room and Call Centre at district level to operate from the date of announcement of election and these numbers be widely publicized for the public to inform corrupt practices related to election; and (xi) issue guidelines on the vehicles to be used for campaign purpose by candidates and political parties during the Constituent Assembly elections to provide that vehicles for the campaign purpose may ply only with the prior approval of the Returning Officers and must display the permit issued in original (not photocopy) prominently on the windscreen with sufficient dimension and further bearing the number of the vehicle and name of the candidate in whose favour it is issued.

Asian Centre for Human Rights recommended to international community to provide all necessary assistance to Nepal for holding phase-wise elections and movement of the security forces prior to the elections.

Raziqueh Hussain for BeyondHeadlines

Iraq erupted into a nightmare of sectarian hatred unleashed by the fall of Saddam Hussein’s suffocating dictatorship. An estimated 104,000 to 113,000 Iraqi civilians died, according to the Iraq Body Count website, most of them killed by other Iraqis.

Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki signaled on Monday - one of the deadliest days in months – that he was poised to make changes to his security team, after a month of unrest that has killed 370 people. “We are about to make changes in the high and middle positions of those responsible for security, and the security strategy,” he told reporters. Changes were already understood to have been put in place on Tuesday evening.

Ten years after the US-led invasion of Iraq, tensions fester between the Shia-led government of al-Maliki and the Sunni Arab minority.

Seyyed Musa Khoie, an expert on Shia affairs from Iraq believes the West has become adept in creating differences amongst Muslims and working according to careful plans. He added that adopting a logical position regarding the large number of Shia killings is necessary and not enough has been done about the Shia genocides. He says, ”It seems that in Iraq the West intends to inflame the Shia /Sunni issue. In 1900 when Britain entered Iraq, Shias were a majority. Then they installed a Sunni regime which eventually ended with Saddam. Now they are provoking Sunnis in Iraq to claim that Iraq and Baghdad belong to them. But they know that the majority in Iraq comprises Shias. The Shia killings are happening daily in Iraq and this is a very dangerous move which can be described as genocide.”

Journalist Rafiq A. Tschannen, a Swiss national who converted to Islam at the age of 15 who was stationed in Iraq until recently reveals, “My feeling and experience in working in Iraq from 2003 until 2011 is that the so-called Sunni-Shia divide is mostly political and the religious part is really not very important. Iran supporting the Shia government and Saudi Arabia the Sunni opposition? What is that? Power play and not religion.”

Mumbai-based jeweler, Abu Talib Rizvi agrees that politics plays a main role. He says, “I condemn Shia genocide because it is as old as the religion of Islam. The Shias have always been at the gunpoint of political agenda. The victims of this genocide have mainly been the children of Prophet Mohammad, right from his daughter Fatima and grandsons Hasan and Hussain to several Sayyed of his progeny. History only repeats and re-repeats itself for the migrated, exiled, banished and dispersed Shias.”

Mohsen Rizvi, of Shia International, a global Shia movement started in the US wrote an open letter to The United Nations against Shia killings. In that he states, “In the light of the ongoing atrocities against the innocent Shias around the world, particularly in Pakistan, Bahrain and Iraq, the growing question that surrounds our conscience is: What can we do to stop the atrocities? Every time we hear about another incident of Shias being killed in Pakistan, Bahrain or Iraq, our conscience is agitated, our doctrinal principles alerts us to act. The foundation of our beliefs on which we have established the structure of faith dictates that ignoring injustice or remaining silent over injustice is in itself injustice.” Talib Rizvi too feels that this problem needs media attention and recognition on an international level. “The United Nations Organization, Human Rights and other World bodies need to address this issue on a priority basis. The funders, middlemen, the terrorist networks and organization need to be banned for good and brought to justice,” he says.

For Pakistan, this reality is closer home, so the Shias feel for their Iraqi counterparts. Ghulam Haider, a professor with Karachi University, who lost his son in the 2010 Ashura bombing says, “Given the current level of systematic violence against the Shia Muslims, genocide is being silently allowed to happen in the world, be it Iraq or Pakistan. The recent attacks in Baghdad, where people including women and children were moving about their business, were targeted shows that it is a well-thought-out plan by extremists but the authorities have done nothing about it.”

There were widespread protests against Shia genocide (in Pakistan) the world over, but there doesn’t seem to be a stop there apart from some self-satisfaction to have raised a voice. Mohsen Rizvi further states, “The protests and the petitions only provided us with a feeling of contentment and self-satisfaction that we spoke against the injustice while the families of the victims continued with their normal lives with the dust from the graves of their beloved ones still smeared on their faces.  We continued our life grappling with our wits, hoping not to hear the news of Shia killings while knowing subconsciously that we cannot quantify the results of our protest and our attempts to resolve the issue through diplomatic means. All we know is that the killings have intensified and our attempts to stop it have essentially failed.”

“The world does not realize that Shia Genocide is the world’s longest standing genocide with a 1400 year history. A genocide that by all means is more serious than the holocaust and other major mass murders that have tarnished the face of humanity over the years. From the murder of the Prophet’s daughter, Lady Fatima, just a few days after his death to the assassination of his grandson, Imam Hussain, in the blood stained fields of Karbala, this bloodshed ceases to end,” concludes Talib Rizvi.

In Iraqi culture in which neighbours refer to each other as brothers, the parables of Cain and Abel from the Old Testament are still being played out in this ancient land of prophets.

(Author is associated with a Sweden-based digital paper as an editor.)

When the Obama administration released its 2013 Drug Control Strategy recently, drug czar Gil Kerlikowske called it a “21^stcentury” approach to drug policy. “It should be a public health issue, not just a criminal justice issue,” he said.

The latest plan builds on Obama’s initial strategy outlined in 2010. Obama said then the U.S. needed “a new direction in drug policy,” and that “a well-crafted strategy is only as successful as its implementation.” Many reform advocates were hopeful the appointment of former Seattle Police Chief Kerlikowske as head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy signaled a shift in the long-lasting “war on drugs.”

Pakistan is known to outside world as the “land of ironies” where it is quite difficult to witness back to back cheerful moments. However, one cannot completely rule out the possibility either. After the successful completion of a full five year term, for the first time in the history, by the National Assembly of Pakistan, the country witnessed another milestone on 11 May 2013 in the form of 10^th general elections. What makes this event even more important is the fact that the elections were held under a civilian caretaker set up led by Justice (retd.) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso. This is nothing less than a watershed or a rarest in the rare event in the history of Pakistan. For a country which has been under military boots, almost half of the time since its inception, general elections can be considered a great relief and a significant achievement in itself. The happiness grows manifold because of the fact that people came out, amid repeated warnings and direct life threats from the dreaded terrorist outfits like Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and voted in large numbers. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) around 60 percent of the total 86 million registered voters exercised their voting rights and decided the fate of 4,671 candidates who were in the fray for 272 National Assembly seats. There may be some irregularities and rigging at some place, as claimed by Imran Khan, but one should not worry about these petty things as it will disappear with the passes of time.

Predicting anything about Pakistan has always been difficult. Election results are no exception. Political pundits were very much sure that Pakistan Peoples Party would be voted out and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) would manage to be the single largest party after the elections but none had hoped that PPP would almost be decimated. Many of these pundits had claimed, on the basis of the traditional wisdom, that there would be no significant change in the voting pattern (dominated by clan and biradari connections) and the main contest would take place between PML-N and PPP. Going by this logic, it was expected that Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N would get around 90 to 100 seats followed by PPP with around 60 to 70 seats. Apart from it, there was a lot of discussion in media about the youth bulge (around 25 million registered voters) going with cricketer turned politician Imran Khan and making Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) a significant player in Pakistani politics. However, there were people like Prof. Waseem Mohammad of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) who had serious reservations over the issue. Prof. Waseem had rightly pointed out that only urban youth were attracted to Imran Khan and made their presence visible through the modern means of communications but there was no sign of rural youths going the same way, as the voting is also “territory-bound and constituency bound.”

In the end, it is the people of Pakistan who emerged victorious and gave a strong message to anti-democratic forces of the country. It is a mandate for democracy, stability, peace and hope for development. Pakistanis preferred Tazurba (experience) over Tabdeeli (change) and gave Nawaz Sharif a clear edge over Imran Khan. As per the latest reports, PML-N had won 125 seats followed by the ruling PPP which bagged 32 seats, while the PTI got an impressive 31 seats and MQM managed to win 17 seats.

There is a need to carefully analyse the election results. The very first things which comes to mind is an unfortunate reality and the fact that the playground was not level at all as far as all the political parties and stakeholders are concerned. Terrorist organisations had a one point agenda of targeting secular parties and discourage their candidates from canvassing, campaigning and addressing election rallies. TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan, on various occasions, justified attacking secular parties and claimed that these parties were primarily responsible for the “displacement of millions of people, the plight of the Pakhtun, for abandoned villages and destroyed mosques”. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), and Awami National Party (ANP) suffered a lot because of the targeted attacks by TTP. As per the media reports, TTP successfully organised more than 40 attacks, since 1 April 2013, which resulted in the death of 140 people and left over 500 injured. Asad Munir, Brigadier (retd.) of Pakistan Army, reported to have said that “the most effective campaign is being run by the Taliban” and “they are holding the state of Pakistan hostage, and doing their activities as they want.” This explains the ground situation in Pakistan.

One can realise the gravity of threat posed by TTP with the fact that Asfandyar Wali Khan, Chief of ANP, couldn’t campaign in the election freely and was forced to confine himself in a house in Islamabad—far away from his base in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). He bitterly complained by saying “where is the level playing field when three parties are on the hit-list and four parties have been given a free hand.” He even mocked ECP by referring Hakimullah Mehsud, TTP Chief, as the referee of the electoral exercise. More or less the same story has been with MQM and PPP. Both of these parties fought the election without their leaders. PPP went into elections without its main leader. Bilawal Bhutto, Chairman of PPP, couldn’t lead the campaign because of the threat posed by the Taliban. He even did not cast his vote in the election. Kidnapping of Ali Haider, a PPP candidate and former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s son, justifies Bilawal’s absence from the scene.

Given the violent situation on the ground, it is hard to believe that the elections were technically free and fair. All other political parties, except secular and targeted ones, did not criticise Taliban openly. Be it Nawaz Sharif or Imran Khan. PML-N got the benefit of not speaking publicly against the rightwing and extremist forces. There are enough evidences to suggest that Nawaz Sharif’s party has had a tacit understanding with the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), a Sunni sectarian outfit, and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a militant organisation also known as Punjabi Taliban. These connections have somewhat helped PML-N consolidate its position in the elections.

Although Nawaz Sharif is set to be the Prime Minister of Pakistan but it is not going to be an easy task for him. Civil-military relations is one area where Nawaz will have to be patient. Recently, in an interview with the Karan Thapar of CNN IBN, he gave the impression that if he comes to power, he will be the boss of the army. There is little doubt that the credibility of Pakistan Army has been declined in recent years, especially after the US secret operation in Abbottabad, but it is still very much holding the key areas tightly and have the capacity to strike back in case of its institutional interests are threatened. One should not forget the fact that PPP government survived because it did not challenge the interests of the Pakistan Army. One should also remember that army had ousted Nawaz Sharif from power, even at a time when he had a strong two thirds majority in the National Assembly. This time he is not having that kind of majority. Apart from it, now Imran Khan, also known as Taliban Khan, will most likely sit in opposition and probably do the betting of the army.

(Author is Ph.D. Candidate, South Asian Studies, School of International Studies in JNU, New Delhi.) 

Raziqueh Hussain for BeyondHeadlines

Democracy, reform, freedom and toppling the dictator, what a joke! Can anyone show me the last time when Al Qaida, the US, Israel or Saudi have brought democracy, peace or stability to any country, questioned a friend when news of the desecration of the grave of Prophet’s companion Hujr ibn Adi in Syria spread. “Aren’t they themselves the greatest oppressors and allies of dictators and head-choppers?”

This attack is an end of revolution for democracy in Syria, with a total massacre of minorities in mind.

According to sources, an attack has been confirmed upon the gravesite of one of the Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad and Imam Ali, named Hujr ibn Adi wherein the tomb was destroyed in an explosion, and the perpetrators of the attack removed the body from the ground and fled with it. Jubhatul Nusra, recognised as a terror outfit by the US, has claimed responsibility.

This attack is considered particularly offensive to Muslims of both the Sunni and Shias. Both revere Hujr ibn Adi as a laudable and important companion of Prophet Muhammad, and view the desecration of his grave as a terrible offense. Lady Zainab is the granddaughter of the Prophet, and an attack upon her tomb would quash any hope for stability in the Middle East, or a resolution to the crisis in Syria.

The attack took place in the city of Marj Adra, Syria, once a predominantly Christian suburb on the outskirts of Damascus, in broad daylight. The city is named in reference to the Virgin Mary, a figure revered by Christianity and Islam.

Hujr – led the army of Muslims to victory in several crucial battles. He and his sons finally fell victim to their loyalty to Imam Ali and were murdered on the orders of the Umayyad Caliph Muawiyah in the year 660 CE.

To condemn this act, Indian Muslims poured onto the streets in various cities across the country in lieu of “Black Friday,” a call raised by Maulana Kalbe Jawad Naqvi in New Delhi to protest against the desecration of the shrine.

On Wednesday, hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Srinagar, Kashmir too and several other towns of the valley.

In Pakistan, the Majlis-e-Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen on Sunday held a demonstration outside the Press Club in Lahore. Women and children took part in the protest and the speakers said that the current situation of Syria, which is in no way comparable with the situation of other Arab revolutions. The violence in Syria is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a large number of the insurgents are foreign nationals. The West and its regional allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are supporting the armed groups.

Iranian and Syrian university students gathered in front of the United Nations office in Tehran on Monday to denounce the acts by foreign-backed militants against the grave of Hujr ibn Adi in the Damascus suburb of Adra.

Also on Monday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the enemies were seeking to fan the flames of hostility between the Shia and Sunni Muslims by desecrating the holy shrine. “Muslims, especially elites and scientific, political and religious figures in the Muslim world should fulfill their duty towards this evil mindset and prevent the spread of sedition [between Muslims],” he said.

As a cultural move to respond to the blasphemous move by the armed insurgents in Syria, Isfahan’s Ghaemiyeh Cyber Research Center has released a free ebook online about Hujr ibn Adi al-Kindi.

Entitled as Getting to know about Hujr ibn Adi, the book is available at http://www.ghaemiyeh.com in various formats is accessible in cell phones and PCs.

Also, the Iranian channel iFilm plans to release a new series narrating the life of Hujr Bin Ad. iFilm TV channel will air the Hujr Bin Adi series in both Persian and Arabic language at 22:30 local time for twelve consecutive nights, and replay it at 6:30 and 14:30 the next day.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah Media Relations expressed its pain after hearing the news.

“What we expected and feared, and what Hezbollah Secretary General, his Eminence Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, warned of two days ago, regarding the assault on sanctums, and the violation of religious sanctities, has happened,” the statement said.

“The shrine of the great companion, Hujr Ibn Adi, is one of the most important shrines for all Muslims, and violating and digging his grave in this way reveals a terrorist and criminal mentality that does not respect neither Muslim nor Christian sanctities,” it added.

The statement indicated that “this crime raises one big question: Where is the Syrian opposition which claimed it wanted to protect sanctities and pledged to defend shrines and religious centers?” it said, expressing concern over safeguarding religious centres in Syria.

Sheikh Mansour Mandoor, a member of Egypt’s Al-Azhar talking to Al-Alam Network condemned exhumation of the grave of Hujr. He said Al-Azhar is against such actions and consider it Haram (forbidden) especially in the case of Hujr who met the Prophet and his lofty position is known to all.

Khaled Abdulwahab Molla the Head of Iraqi Sunni Associations declared condemnation of all Iraqi Sunnis for barbaric actions of terrorist groups in Syria which led to exhumation of the grave of Hujr and asked all international organisations to support the sanctity and respect of all shrines and graveyards around the world. This is one of the most indecent acts in order to insult highly respected Muslim personalities, said the statement.

Syria has been experiencing a deadly unrest since March 2011, and many people have been killed in the chaos. In an interview recently broadcast on Turkish television, Assad said that if the militants take power in Syria, they could destabilize the entire Middle East region for decades. “If the unrest in Syria leads to the partitioning of the country, or if the terrorist forces take control… the situation will inevitably spill over into neighbouring countries and create a domino effect throughout the Middle East and beyond,” he stated.

And if such attacks continue in the world’s oldest inhabited city, it won’t be long before all historical treasures are buried.

(Author is associated with a Sweden-based digital paper as an editor.)

]]> http://beyondheadlines.in/2013/05/damascene-desecration/feed/ 2 http://beyondheadlines.in/2013/04/boston-bombings/ http://beyondheadlines.in/2013/04/boston-bombings/#comments Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:38:06 +0000 admin http://beyondheadlines.in/?p=15757 Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh

At first I thought I should not comment on the Boston bombings as it is obvious that we in Palestine, under siege and regular bombardment would clearly sympathize with the victims. But then I saw the usual pundits on mainstream media trying to spin the tragedy to serve racism.  The Israeli Consul-General in Boston told the Jerusalem Post that “Boston is a very quiet and calm place, especially when we come from Israel…..Still, the Jewish community and the consulate are on alert and security has been increased”.  He speaks as if he represents Jews of Boston (and only them) and insinuates as usual that problems in Palestine (‘Israel’) are because of the native “Arabs” not because of the Zionist colonization.  CNN gave extensive time to the Zionist ex-congresswoman Jane Harman who claimed this terrorist attack is likely linked to AlQaeda Islamists while trying to connect herself to victims when she supports terrorism herself. Besides her appalling record in voting for more weapons and money to Israel to kill Palestinians, she was unashamedly more pro-Israel to the point of challenging US interests on several occasions.  In October 2006, Time magazine stated that Harman had agreed to lobby the US Department of Justice to reduce espionage charges against Steve J. Rosen and Keith Weissman, two officials at the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). In exchange, Time said there was a quid pro quo in which AIPAC would lobby then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to appoint Harman as chair of the House Intelligence Committee! Then came Wolf Blitzer, another Zionist who now poses as the serious looking global “reporter” for CNN.   Here is Norman Finkelstein speaking the truth while Blitzer in defends racism/Zionism and shows where his loyalties stand in a public debate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-8aTGnjHnI But if you thought his CNN appointment made him moderate his stance, you would be mistaken.  He continues to use all opportunities (including this tragedy) to use smoke and mirrors to hide facts.  Many Zionist pundits appeared in mainstream media spinning the same web.

There is no mention by those with “Israel first” mentality of the billions of taxpayer dollars given to Israel annually because of the Zionist lobby and how many innocent people are killed or displaced by it.  There is no mention of past false flag operations by the Israeli Mossad (for example in Egypt against US and British interests and in Iraq against Jewish institutions to drive Jews to migrate to colonize Palestine).  There is no mention of billions made by investors with inside knowledge; no mainstream media tried to investigate the short selling and the US stock market collapse that happened hours BEFORE the bombings (who profited?).  And while most western media had hours of continuous coverage of this bombing that killed three individuals, they rarely mention the daily bombings and killings of hundreds and thousands of innocent civilians especially by US drones in places like Yemen, Pakistan, and Afghanistan (where there are no first class medical facilities as exists in Boston).  Nor do they care to mention killing by proxy of hundreds of civilians monthly by US puppet dictators from Bahrain to Saudi Arabia or by the US supported racist apartheid regime of Israel or of western funded Islamist groups in Syria.  Alas, Blitzer and Harman and hundreds like them assume their audience is stupid to buy their Zionist spin.  Let us hope that US citizens will finally challenge the staggering cost of Israeli apartheid and Israel-firsters in their midst. Let us hope that someone in the FBI is smart enough to look more carefully at the clues in Boston and find the real culprits behind these bombings instead of buying the Zionist spin.

The Staggering Cost of Israel to Americans By Pamela Olson.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34485.htm?utm_source=ICH%3A+9%2F11%3A+Illegitimacy+of+US+Government&utm_campaign=FIRST&utm_medium=email

US Aid to Israel Jumps to $11 Million Dollars Per Day as US States, Counties and Cities go Bankrupt!

http://america-hijacked.com/2013/04/13/us-aid-to-israel-jumps-to-11-million-dollars-per-day/

AIPAC’s legislative agenda dividing members of Congress

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/292069-aipacs-legislative-agenda-dividing-members-of-congress?+Analysis

A response from Dave Evans to this information:

The billions of dollars Congress sends in direct aid to Israel pales in comparison to the TRILLIONS of dollars spent on wars the US undertakes for Israel. ($4 to 6 trillion for two wars alone: http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/03/iraq-afghanistan-wars-will-cost-u-s-4-6-trillion-dollars-report/  ), not counting funding mercs in Syria and other dark wars for Israel; wars that are planned and executed by these people:  http://www.erichufschmid.net/TFC/FromOthers/list-of-neocons-for-Iraq-war.htm 

to fulfill this Israeli agenda: http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/articles/article0005345.html

Consider this that gets little press:

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/03/14/iran-north-koreas-axis-of-evil-revived-by-new-nuclear-ties/

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/02/israel-fears-north-korea-become-a-nuke-supplier-middle-east.html

The bombings in Boston were painful to see since we lived nearby in Connecticut and our son went to school in Boston and we visited regularly. Our deepest sympathies to the victims and their families. Knowing the local community there, I know they have strength and resilience and goodness that can overcome this evil.

(Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh teaches and does research at Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities in occupied Palestine. He serves as chairman of the board of the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between People and coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Beit Sahour He is author of “Sharing the Land of Canaan: Human rights and the Israeli/Palestinian Struggle” and “Popular Resistance in Palestine: A history of Hope and Empowerment”)

The forefathers of our most troubled neighbour had assumed that Pakistan would be a homeland for the Muslims of Indian subcontinent where their identity, interests, rights, cultural and civilisational values would no longer be threatened by a majority community. More than sixty five years have been passed, since the creation of Pakistan in 1947, but their expectations remain unfulfilled and dreams unrealised. There are many who believe that the “Idea of Pakistan” was stronger than the “State of Pakistan.” There are others who not only question the validity of the very idea itself but out rightly reject it for being faulty and based on a communal “Two Nation Theory”. The debate over the identity of the state is still unresolved and according to a number of scholars, including Western and Pakistanis, is the root cause of most of the problems of contemporary Pakistan.

Peace and Democracy are the two chants that dominate the present century and will hopefully continue to drive people crazy in centuries to come. The power of democracy is as such that even iron handed military juntas claim to be democratic at heart and justify their actions and activities in the name of strengthening democracy and advancing the agenda of peace internally as well as externally. Why is democracy dominating the agenda of every statesman? Fareed Zakaria suggested in his book The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad that we live in a democratic age and majority of the people in the world believe that democracy is the sole surviving source of political legitimacy. Rajni Kothari, an eminent Indian scholar, in his famous work Rethinking Democracy points out the fact that it is difficult to realise the long cherished ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity—the undisputed characteristics of a democratic and just society—in present phase of human history.

At a time when democracy is indisputably the best form of government, people of our neighbouring country are striving to witness a peaceful transfer of power from one elected civilian regime to another elected civilian regime. Pakistan, where army has been the de-facto ruler since the first military coup in 1958, has recently made history when Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government completed a full five year term. Elections are due to take place on 11 May 2013 under the caretaker government led by Mir Hazar Khan Khoso—a former Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court. Initially there were rumours that the caretaker setup may long lost. However, Justice (retd) Khoso not only rejected the wrong perception but promised that election would be held on time (11 May) and he will quit the office of caretaker Prime Minister, if he fails to deliver on time.

With the announcement of elections, political temperature has gone on record height and various players are trying hard to get an edge over their potential rivals. Amid such politically charged environment, dictator’s love for democracy and his country forced him to come and participate in the electoral process. Riding on the wave of pre-arrival protective bail of Sindh High Court, on 24 March 2014, Uncle Sam’s blue-eyed boy, during 2001 to 2008, General Pervez Musharraf landed in Karachi with an agenda of “Saving Pakistan” and leading his All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) in the elections. Referring to the threat of Taliban, he claimed, during his short interaction with media at the Karachi airport, that “I’ve put my life in serious danger and come back to save Pakistan…Those who are giving me life threats, I want to tell them that I am a Syed, a soldier and a staunch Muslim. I don’t fear death. I am a more devoted Muslim than those who are threatening me.”  He sounded like a staunch patriot and blamed the Zardari and PPP government for the precarious condition of the state and stated that poverty and unemployment have broken the back of the people. After this he promised the people of Pakistan to get them back the same Pakistan he had left behind four years ago. It is no secret in which (pathetic) condition he left Pakistan in 2008. The “dictator turned democrat” was trying to shoot various targets with his first speech in Pakistan—an act in which political leaders claim to be specialised. The poor turnout of his supporters at the Karachi airport is a clear indication that people of Pakistan are not interested to give him another chance to mess with the things in the country.

Musharraf received his first set back on 5^th of April when his nomination papers for Kasur (NA-139) was rejected by the Returning Officer (RO) who declared that Musharraf did not meet the definition of Sadiq and Ameen as prescribed in article 62 and 63 of the Pakistani Constitution. Merely two days after his nomination papers for Islamabad (NA-48) and Karachi (NA-250) were also rejected by the respective ROs on the ground of article 62 and 63 of the constitution for his alleged violation of the constitution and imposition of emergency in November 2007. Although his papers for Chitral (NA-32) has been accepted by the RO on the ground that former president has not been convicted for the case, however, this does not solve his problem as lawyers have decided to challenge the decision in the High Court.

Apart from this, a number of petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan to try Musharraf for treason and stop him taking part in the electoral process of the country. Two-judge bench headed by Justice Jawad S Khwaza, which is hearing petitions on treason charges on Musharraf, directed the government to take steps to prevent Musharraf from leaving the country. As per the latest reports, Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing till 15^th April so that Musharraf’s lawyers could prepare a response on the charges levelled against him.

It is no secret that Musharraf is guilty of treason and he will be convicted if a fair trial takes place. Now the question, being frequently asked in Pakistan and abroad, is what would be the fate of Musharraf? Given the chequered history and developments, predicting things in Pakistan has always been a difficult task. Former President, at the moment, is undoubtedly in a tight corner.  However, since army is the de-facto power in Pakistan, there exists every possibility of Musharraf escaping unhurt. Those who are betting on the rising judiciary, evolving democracy and adverse public opinion should not forget that army behaves institutionally. Musharraf may not be at the helm of affairs, presently, but he is the man who gave the military a permanent role in the decision making of Pakistan by establishing National Security Council. He is the man who made Uncle Sam happy and brought enormous amounts in terms of military and civilian aid to Pakistan and strengthened the institution of military in Pakistan. General Ashfaq Pervez Kayan, Chef of Army Staff (COAS), will not let his predecessor down because it will adversely hurt the image of the army. There is a strong possibility of army influencing (not intervening and taking over) the outcome at a right time.

(Author is Ph.D. Candidate, South Asian Studies, School of International Studies in JNU, New Delhi.) 

After a decade, Iraq is struggling between conflict and coexistence. The land of ancient Mesopotamian Civilisation has been paying the price of having a vast reserve of petroleum oil beneath its feet. Indeed, from the very beginning it has been a point of belligerence between different rival empires such as Omayyads, Abbasids, Ottomans, Mongols, Persians and others. On April 9, 2003, when the world was watching on their television sets with the help of ‘embedded journalists’ as U.S. Marines toppling the bronze statue of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in Baghdad’s Firdous Square, symbolically ending the Ba’ath reign of terror it was certainly a continuance of that geopolitical contestation.

The toppling of that statue symbolized the removal of the ruthless dictator who had dominated Iraq in particular and West Asia in general. There has been a wider implication of US invasion codenamed ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’ which was started on March 20, 2003 with the staggering fire power of US military machine. After defying the opinion and categorical opposition of international community US hawks went alone under the ‘Coalition of Willing.’ US President George W. Bush and his neoconservative cabal comprising of Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, Paul Wolfowitz, Condoleeza Rice etc, manipulated the theory of Weapons of Mass Destruction for war mobilisation which later proved as sheer lie. It is an open secret that the whole war had been waged for nothing but oil on the pretext of chemical weapons as well as Saddam-Al Qaeda nexus. Iraq had paid the price for having oil to the energy-hungry capitalist economy of the West.

Ten years after, there had been a wider implication of US-led invasion on the region of overthrowing its long time and closest ally Saddam Hussein. The beleaguered nation of Iraq still grapples with the legacy of war. The decades of crippling sanctions and war-torn economy are haunting over Iraq today which happens to be a trailblazer of the Arab world. The violence and insurgency are still a common phenomenon in Iraq. The sectarian strife and ethnic division has become as rampant as the killings and bombings are frequent, although not more than few years back when the upsurge of violence was at its peak. And, the Syrian quagmire much added fuel to this fire. It would be very hard to mend the cleavages in near future.

The Sunni minority hasn’t come out of their collective stigma and they are in no position to accept the Shi’ite dominated political reality. The oil-rich Gulf Arab states and exponents of hardline Islamic ideology are striving hard to give a new lease of life to the bêtes noires of Shia-dominated dispensation in Baghdad.  Inevitably, into this mess, they are lynching Iran for no reasons, after creating the hoax of a ‘Shi’ite Crescent’ in the region which would begin from Iran to Lebanon via Iraq and Saudi Arabia’s eastern oil-rich Shi’ite dominated Al Hasa province. Arguably, the Iranian influence in Iraq must be understood in the background of their centuries old historical relationship and social cohesion and the contemporary ideological unanimity. All the present Islamist organizations which are at the helm of power in Iraq had a long strategic and ideological linkage with Iran including Prime Minister Nouri Kamil al Maliki’s Hizbud’ Dawat’al Islamiyah. They took shelter in Iran after the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the subsequent outbreak of Iran-Iraq war and the Saddam’s purge to his political opponents.

Since the ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’ began with ‘shock and awe’ airstrikes, this major Arab country which is struggling for survival and remains a challenge before the international community because the UN became a mute spectator as if it has been playing similarly as a toothless body of its earlier avatar of League of Nations. Nevertheless, it took challenges head on and creeping towards a better end. The whole traumatized populace is thriving themselves up in reconstruction of the country despite huge constraints looking for a new dawn of peace and prosperity. In this effort of rejuvenation the Third World countries are playing a positive role by engaging themselves in infrastructure development in war devastated nation.

The appraisal of war can be seen in figures given by researchers. By the time the complete withdrawal of US military from Iraq in December 2011, according to The Lancet, a reputed journal, at least 116,000 Iraqi civilians and 4,800 coalition troops have been killed after the onslaught in 2003. In this Iraqi adventure about $3 trillion could be the eventual cost which was levied on the coffers of American people. Many top Iraqi leaders were assassinated in bomb blasts and shootouts.  Ayatollah Baqir al Hakim, the scion of reputed Al Hakim family and founder of Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) and its armed wing Badr Brigade, was killed in a car bomb blast outside the Imam Ali shrine in the holy city of Najaf. The Interim Governing Council member Izzedine Salim, the other leader of Al Da’wa and an intellectual was also killed in Baghdad. The Iraqi damage could not be ascertained as there would have been worth of billions of billions plundered and devastated. The Baghdad museum of ancient artefacts was one of them.

Despite sectarian clashes which led to the emotional outburst of people the ulemas played a very conscientious role as they were instrumental in regressing the aroused public indignation. Most revered Shia cleric of Iraq and Marja-i taqlid (Source of Emulation) Grand Ayatollah Syed Ali Sistani’s far-sighted actions were noteworthy in downgrading the spiral rounds of blood shedding. Across the border in Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei often stressed on shunning out the violence in Iraq. The only survived son of Ayatollah Sadiq Al Sadr and nephew of renowned intellectual and founder of Al Da’wa Party Ayatollah Baqir Al Sadr, and leader of Sadrist Trend and Mahdi Army chief, young Sayyid Moqtada Al Sadr, whose militia fought US troops two times in 2004, is now emerging as a new pragmatist leader on the horizon of Iraqi politics. Last year he had return from holy city of Qom in Iran after pursuing higher religious training from Hawza-i Ilmiyyah (Religious Seminary). He envisages a policy of nationalistic and united Iraq in which all the sectarian and ethnic persuasions can be live side by side. Recently he visited a church in central Baghdad where a bomb attack had occurred and reassured the minority Christian citizens that this country is as of theirs as it has belonged to the Muslims.

After a vicious cycle of unabated violence perpetrated either by Americans & Co. or terrorists, Iraq seems heralding a new era of peace and stability as people have their voice to be raised in a nascent democracy in the post-US occupation. Now the role of a civil society has become crucial in strengthening the democracy of beleaguered Iraq. But the time will prove this anticipation in near future. The present Barack Obama administration should take the boomeranged lessons of Iraq war for pulling out from Afghanistan and not to bully any country on false charges, going alone for invasion despite domestic and international opinion. Iran is too far to be imagined.

(The writer is a Research Scholar at Centre for West Asian Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and recently returned back from Iraq.)

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