South Asia Tribune

Tribune South Asia

A Zionist Fake Love Story See page 30

Year 2

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Issue 11

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Thursday, 27.09.12

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Stop Extradition

Babar Ahmad & Talha Ahsan Babar Ahmad And Talha Ahsan Should Be Tried In UK Say Legal Experts

“We now call on the home secretary to immediately undertake to halt any extradition until the Director of Public Prosecutions makes a decision on this material that been in his possession for several months.”: Baber Ahmed Family

Sadiq Khan MP writes to Director of Public Prosecutions at the CPS The family of one of the terror suspects who lost a last-ditch bid to avoid extradition to the US has called the decision “inhumane” as human rights lawyers question why they cannot be tried in the UK. Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan had lost their bid for appeal at the Grand Chamber of the European

Hamja Ahsan, calls “inhumane“. He told the Huffington Post UK he is worried his 33-year-old brother, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, will be “vulnerable” in a US ‘supermax’ prison. “This is very disturbing and devastating for the family. The last six years of detention without trial has been a psychological hell.

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Islamophobia and Blasphemy

German satire magazine ‘Titanic’ is set to publish an Islam issue in October.

Following on the heels of the French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo, the German publication Titanic in now also planning a Muhammad cover this month.

As if the outrage against the anti-Muslim film “Innocence of Muslims” wasn’t enough, the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday published an issue containing several caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. The move seems likely to further inflame passions incited earlier this month in the Muslim world by the release of a trailer for a strikingly Islamophobic film in the US. On the right-hand-side a bearded man wearing a turban outstretches his right hand, a

dagger in his grip; in his left hand he’s holding Bettina Wulff, the wife of Germany’s former president.

This photomontage will appear Continued on page 2 >>

UK prepare for flood chaos

Accused ... l-r, Abu Hamza, Khalid Al Fawwaz, Adel Abdul Bary and Haroon Aswat Ahmad Court of Human Rights on Monday, along with three others, including the radical cleric Abu Hamza - paving the way for extradition to the US within weeks.

It was a decision that Talha’s brother, art curator

Downpours cause chaos across parts of UK

The European Court of Human Rights has given its final approval for the extradition of five major terrorism suspects from the UK to the US. The court’s highest judges said they would not reopen the cases of Babar Ahmad, Abu Hamza al-

Continued on page 12 >>

Commuters have been hit by flooding on railways and roads, with warnings of more floods to come as some parts of the UK face up to three inches of rain in the next 24 hours.

Heavy rain overnight in the South West led to the flooding of around 15 properties in Somerset and disruption to rail services between Exeter and Continued on page 4 >>

NEWS

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 27 September 2012

French Editor Receives Death Threats Over Topless Kate Pictures

The editor of French Closer magazine has received death threats after printing topless pictures of Kate, Duchess of Cambridge as a YouGov poll found that one in five Brits have looked at the snaps.

Despite looking them up online or finding them in foreign magazines - UK newspapers refused to publish the pictures - the printing of the images taken at a private villa in Provence proved overwhelmingly unpopular with Britons according to a similar poll last week.

French Closer told Sky News Australia that they had received “more than 300 insulting emails of which several contain death threats,” following the publication of the shots.

It said 14 of the messages were so “menacing” they had to involve the police.

According to the Mirror, one of the threats warned editor Laurence Pieau that “instead of a long Publisher Salah Bu Khamas (UAE) Sabha Khan (UK) UK Office 10 Courtenay Road, Wembley, Middlesex, HA9 7ND UK Phone: +44 20 8904 0619 Fax: +44 20 8181 7575 info@satribune.co.uk India Office Satya Infomedia Pvt. Ltd. C/O Satya Group.

1st Floor, Avenue Appt., Near Sheth. R. J. J. High School, Tithal Road, Valsad - 396001 Gujarat, India United Arab Emirates Office S.K. Group of Companies P.O. Box 9021, Karama Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 4 2659970, 3359929; Fax: +971 4 2659971, 3341609 www.sk-groupofcompanies.com Managing Editor & CEO Mohammad Shahid Khan Group Editorial Managers Gulzar Khan (India) Abdul Khalique (Pakistan) Editorial Board UK Frances Brunner FYI Tribune team Adrian Fellar Misbah Khan Reema Shah Rohma Khan Keziah-Ann Abakah Marketing & Sales Andrew Klugman (Manager) Art Department UK Ali Ansar (Art Director) Mohammad Reazul Islam

lens, we’ll get you in the sights of something a bit more powerful.”

The grainy shots of Kate sunbathing were taken with a long lens camera more than 600m from the villa in Provence. The royal couple have already won a civil case against Closer in the French courts, which granted an injunction banning media

from re-publishing the photos. The magazine was ordered to hand over all the images in 24 hours, and fined €10,000 for every extra day it takes to comply, according to the ruling from the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Nanterre, Paris.

A separate criminal investigation into charges that Closer and a

photographer breached the privacy of the Duke and Duchess by

publishing the topless photos has also been launched.

Council tax hike on the Deal on Syria Unlikely at UN cards for £1m home owners

Lib Dems press for new council tax bands to take into account leap in value of most expensive houses.

People with homes worth more than £1m face a rise in their council tax bills as the Coalition Government considers new taxes on wealth.

The idea will be pushed by the Liberal Democrats when George Osborne, the Chancellor, tables his demands for more spending cuts.

Nick Clegg will demand two or three new council tax bands at the top

of the scale as an alternative to the Liberal Democrats’ favoured mansion tax on homes worth more than £2m, which David Cameron has blocked.

The eight bands on which council tax is based in England – from Band A (up to £40,000) to Band H (over £320,000) – have not changed since 1991 even though property prices have risen sharply. This means that all homes worth more than £320,000 in 1991 pay the same council tax in their local authority area.

The Deputy Prime Minister said yesterday: “I don’t think it’s right that someone in a £4m palace in the middle of London pays the same council tax as someone in a four-bedroom family home elsewhere in London.”

Diplomats aren’t expecting any breakthroughs on the deadlock over Syria this week at the UN General Assembly, despite a number of sideline meetings starting Monday.

The new UN-Arab League envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, will brief the UN Security Council behind closed doors Monday on his recent talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad and other leaders in the region.

Islamophobia and Blasphemy

Continued from page 01 >> one week from Friday in the October edition of the German satirical magazine “Titanic”. Its title, “The West in turmoil. Bettina Wulff shoots film about Muhammad!” The Editor Fischer said he is unsure if the Prophet Muhammad is pictured in the “Titanic” photo collage.

Not to be outdone, Germany’s leading satire magazine Titanic is likewise jumping into the fray with an Islam issue of its own, set for publication later this month. The cover story imagines what it might look like if Germany’s embattled former first lady, Bettina Wulff, were to make a Muhammad film of her own. Many are concerned that the publication could make Germany even more of a target of Muslim anger than it already is.

Titanic presented the front page of its October edition showing a photo montage of Bettina Wulff -- wife of former German president Christian Wulff -- being embraced by a Muslim fighter wearing a turban and brandishing a dagger.

The headline says: “West Rises Up: Bettina Wulff Makes Film About Mohammed.”

The magazine, which prints 100,000 copies a month, comes out on September 28.

Editor Leo Fischer said in an interview with weekly Der Spiegel: “Now Mohammed is on everybody’s lips and we are reacting.”

Bettina Wulff, who does not shy away from media attention, has been in the news over the past few days after the publication of her autobiography, in which she denies stories that have swirled about an alleged previous life in which she worked as call girl under the pseudonym “Lady Viktoria”.

Titanic gave its backing to French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, but decided not to publish the caricatures.

Meanwhile, police said several German cities will host protests against the amateurish US-made anti-Islam film “The Innocence of Muslims” on Friday and over the weekend.

Around 800 people are expected to demonstrate Friday at Freiburg im Breisgau, in the southwest; up to 500 in the northern city of Hanover on Sunday; and others in the northern city of Cuxhaven over the weekend, police told AFP.

The Syrian conflict has bitterly divided the most powerful members of the Security Council, paralyzing the only UN body that can impose global sanctions and authorize military action.

Russia, Syria’s key protector, and China have vetoed three Western-backed resolutions aimed at pressuring Assad to stop the violence and start political talks with his opponents.

Police are acting on the basis that these will be peaceful protests but were ready for any possible trouble, they said.

An opinion poll carried out by the N24-Emnid institute said Thursday that 72 percent of Germans were against the film being shown in public, with just 21 percent being for it. The poll was taken among 1,000 people on Wednesday.

The German interior ministry meanwhile announced that a government poster campaign against the radicalisation of some young Muslims had been delayed.

Following federal police warnings “about the current dangers” the start of the campaign, scheduled for Friday, had been put off and no new date had been set, the ministry said.

Potential for violent escalation The president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the German Constitution, Hans-Georg Maassen, said he was concerned about the development. Although there has not been a “concrete danger” within Germany, the potential for violent escalation does exist, he said.

“What would happen if the film were to be shown here, if Muhammad caricatures were to be shown in German newspapers? It is possible that acts of violence could take place in Germany or German interests abroad,” Massen told DW.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 27 September 2012

NEWS

“Attack on Iran Would Bring Israel to Its End”

Iran’s Revolution Guards Corps Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari assured Saturday that an attack on Iran would bring the Israeli entity to its end, emphasizing the importance of removing this “cancerous body present among the Islamic countries”.

Speaking on the sidelines of an exhibition on IRGC capabilities, Jafari underlined the Islamic Republic’s readiness to respond to any probable war against the country.

“Nobody dares to wage an attack on

Iran,” he said, indicating that “war will eventually happen but nobody knows where and when”.

“Time is passing and the situation is extremely changing and if war happens Iran would not be as suppressed as it was during the eight-year imposed war,” he added.

“Israel wants a war with Iran … but it’s timing is unknown, now they think the only way to confront us is by waging a war, but they are so foolish and their masters should prevent them from such an act,” Jafari further stressed.

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“If they start anything it will be their destruction point and the end of their story,” ISNA quoted the Iranian commander as saying.

“This will eventually happen because they can’t stand the revolution with its rapid acceleration towards its goals.”

Jafari pointed out that “if the enemy acted in sanity,no problem will fall,” adding that “the problem lies in the fact that their sanity cannot be guarenteed, that’s why we should stay ready for any possible confrontation.”

Salman Rushdie is set to make millions from book on his life as a fugitive from the fatwa.

Salman Rushdie dismisses latest death threat

Salman Rushdie is dismissing the latest threat against his life as just talk. Salman Rushdie says “climate of fear” would make it difficult to publish controversial book The Satanic Verses The Satanic Verses author Sir Salman Rushdie said it would be “difficult” to publish the book now because of the “climate of fear” that exists.

The book is bound to sell well, but nothing like The Satanic Verses, his huge 250,000-word novel that many found unreadable and sold only a few hundred copies in 1988 until its notoriety following the Ayatollah’s fatwa sent sales into the stratosphere.

“This was essentially one priest in Iran looking for a headline,” the author of “The Satanic Verses” said last night as he spoke at a Barnes & Noble in Union Square, New York before about 400 people, many of whom would have been children when Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 declared Rushdie’s novel was blasphemous and called for his death.

Iran’s government has long since distanced itself from Khomeini’s decree, his fatwa, but anti-Rushdie sentiment remains. A semi-official Iranian religious foundation headed by Ayatollah Hassan Saneii has raised the bounty for Rushdie from $2.8 million (£1.7 million) to $3.3 million after recent protests against an anti-Islamic film that helped lead to riots around the Middle East. But Rushdie, who called the movie “the worst video on YouTube,” says Saneii has long

offered a bounty and few people have taken him seriously.

Salman Rushdie said that living

for a decade under threat of death for having written a book deemed blasphemous of the Prophet Mohammad was like being “plunged into a spy novel,” and that “The Satanic Verses” - which prompted the hatred of Iran’s leading religious leader 23 years ago - was of an entirely different order than the anti-Muslim film currently inflaming protests around the world.

Not long after “The Satanic Verses” was published in 1988, author Salman Rushdie had to go into hiding and lived the next decade under police protection due to a fatwa issued against him

by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini,

leader of Iran, on Valentine’s Day 1989. He recently published a book about the ordeal.

The book is called “Joseph Anton,” the alias that Rushdie chose for himself when he went into

hiding. It is a conflation of Joseph Conrad and Anton Chekhov, two of Rushdie’s favorite authors.

Rushdie’s new book is based on journals he kept while in hiding.

“I wrote so that I would be able to remember. The events were so powerful, and everything happened so quickly, that I knew that I wouldn’t be able to remember what had happened, When asked about “Innocence of Muslims,” a low-budget film produced in the U.S. that denigrates the prophet Mohammad (and whose director is said to have made it specifically to inspire anger in Muslims), Rushdie replied, “I think it’s a serious function of art to ask difficult questions and to make people have conversations that they don’t want to have necessarily; that’s one thing. This film, which clearly is sort of a piece of garbage, was clearly made in order to upset people. And I think he got what he wanted in spades.

NEWS

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EDITORIAL

“There must be British justice for British citizens.”

Justice for innocent Babar & Talha

No regrets over the departure of Abu Hamza or Aswat, But do not extradite Babar Ahmad and Syed Talha Ahsan, In the last nine years Ahmad has been locked up without charge who are accused of supporting terrorism through a London jihadist site and whose supporters are campaigning for the suspect to receive a fair trial in the UK. Ahmad was arrested in 2004. Ahsan was arrested in 2006. All four men have been held, without charges or trial, ever since.

In fact, in 2004 that the CPS concluded that there was insufficient evidence to charge him in UK, they were also concluding that there was insufficient evidence to charge any police officer for assaulting him. That decision was reversed some years later. The European Court of Human Rights was worried, too.

Two years ago, it told the British courts that he couldn’t be sent to the US, to face charges that he helped al-Qai’da, and set up a terrorist training camp, because of his “human rights”. It wasn’t sure, it said, that he would be “treated humanely”.

But now it’s decided that he will.

In March 2009, in a civil case, the Met admitted liability and paid Ahmad substantial damages of £60,000 for his injuries. In a BBC interview early this year Ahmad’s words from prison were an unforgettable indictment of the British system that has failed him, through incompetence and Islamophobia.

He said “Eight years without trial is like living on death row. It’s like you are living every day for a tomorrow that might or might not come. And it has been very, very difficult… Detention without trial is the most unimaginable type of psychological torture.”

The sister of Baber Ahmed , Dr Amna Ahmad, asked the Home Secretary to halt her brother’s extradition until the Director of Public Prosecutions decides whether private prosecution can go ahead. She said “We believe it should never have got to this stage in the first place. This evidence was nine years ago, they could have examined it and put him on trial in the UK courts. “They bypassed it and sent it to America. This is an abuse of due process, he should be prosecuted for crimes in the UK. She said “We are calling on the Home Secretary to not extradite until decision about private prosecution is made. “In all honesty the fight goes on and it won’t stop until we see justice.” “There must be British justice for British citizens.”

The indictment that was filed in Connecticut, where one of the servers of the website Babar Ahmad and Syed Talha Ahsan were supposed to be running was based. The indictment said that Ahmad had “helped create, operate and maintain” websites that were intended to “recruit mujahideen” and “raise funds for violent jihad”. One can think say that if someone had been

involved in running websites like that, it surely couldn’t be that hard to show they did.

Talha Ahsan from south London, is in a case linked to the same website as Ahmad.

Talha Ahsan’s brother Hamja spoke after the court decision. “The European Court judgement is disturbing,” he said.

“It gives the green light to extradite Talha and place him in pre-trial solitary confinement. It’s been a horrifying psychological ordeal for the family and for him”.

Talha won the poetry prize in this year’s Koestler awards. His poem Grieving is projected on a wall at the Festival Hall in central London until 25 November as part of the winners’ exhibition. Hamja said, “I find it poignant and painful that he could be gone before the exhibition finishes.”

Hamza is worried about the treatment his brother would receive in the US. “Talha has Asperger’s syndrome. He could wait three years before coming to trial. If he is convicted he could be held for life in solitary in a Supermax prison.

“I’ve looked into isolation since the case started. A lot of people don’t realise that solitary confinement is a form of torture.

It is unfair and abusive”.

MP Sadiq Khan, who has been campaigning against the extradition of the pair, said: “Many local residents, as well as the family, friends and campaigners of these two men will be disappointed that Babar Ahmad and Syed Talha Ahsan have not been granted a final appeal by the European Court of Human Rights.

“The charges they face are serious, and they should face a trial, but this issue has always been about where the trial should be held - in Britain or in America.

“There is still the outstanding issue of the private prosecution which Karl Watkins is bringing against them.

“There is no point in a decision being made once these two men have been extradited.”

Ahmad has never been charged with an offence in the UK and denies the accusations.

“Today it is them. Tomorrow it could be me” Said Karl Watkin who, is waiting to hear if the director of public prosecutions (DPP) will allow him to bring a private prosecution against Ahmad and Ahsan, who face “discretionary” life sentences if found guilty.

If he refuses to do this, Mr Watkin told Channel 4 News he would seek a judicial review.

He drew a distinction between Abu Hamza - “a convicted terrorist” - and Ahmad, who has never been been tried.

We say the prison is meant to be for people who are found guilty, and guilt is meant to be based on evidence.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 27 September 2012

Obama warns Iran on nuclear bid

Obama UN Speech Challenges World Leaders To Confront Intolerance At Home US President Barack Obama has urged global leaders to rally against extremism in an address to the UN General Assembly in New York.

Mr Obama said it was the obligation of all leaders to speak out forcefully against violence and extremism, as he framed his speech with references to the US ambassador murdered in Libya.

Unrest across the Middle East is set to dominate discussion at the summit.

Mr Obama also again stressed the US would not allow Iran nuclear weapons.

He said the US would “do what we must” to stop Tehran acquiring nuclear arms. Six weeks before the US election, the president said a nuclear-armed Iran was “not a challenge that can be contained”.

The US president condemned the violence that erupted over the “disgusting” anti-Islam video as “an attack on UN ideals”.

President Barack Obama declared today the United States will “do what we must” to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned against threatening attacks whose consequences would be devastating.

Taking the podium at the United Nations six weeks before the US presidential election, Mr Obama sought to counter criticism of his foreign record by Republican rival Mitt Romney, who has accused him of mishandling the Arab Spring uprisings, damaging ties with Israel and not being tough enough on Iran.

He also challenged world leaders to stand united against anti-American violence that has swept many Muslim countries in recent weeks and to

promote tolerance amid anger over a crudely made video that offended Islam. “There are no words that excuse the killing of innocents,” he said.

Seeking to step up pressure on Iran, Mr Obama told the UN General Assembly that there is still time for a diplomacy but that “time is not unlimited.”

he said. “It would threaten the elimination of Israel, the security of Gulf nations and the stability of the global economy.”

“The United States will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”

In an apparent allusion to recent comments by US, Israeli and Iranian officials, Mr Ban opened the annual UN General Assembly by warning states against threatening to attack one another and sounded a pessimistic note about Arab-Israeli peace.

“I also reject both the language of delegitimization and threats of potential military action by one state against another,” Mr Ban said. “Any such attacks would be devastating.”

US officials have repeatedly said that all options are on the table against Iran - code for a possible military

His tough talk appeared aimed at easing Israeli concerns about US resolve to curb Tehran’s nuclear drive, as he reasserted before the world body that he would never let Iran develop an atomic bomb and then simply contain the problem.

But he stopped short of meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand to set a specific “red line” that Iran must not cross if it is to avoid military action, and did not go much farther in his rhetoric than previously.

“A nuclear-armed Iran is not a challenge that can be contained,”

strike - while Israel’s Netanyahu has called for a US ultimatum to Iran.

But Obama did not repeat that line in his speech.

Yesterday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel has no roots in the Middle East and would be “eliminated.” The White House dismissed his comments as “disgusting.”

Without naming Mr Ahmadinejad, Mr Obama took a veiled swipe at him on Tuesday, saying the world must “leave behind” those who deny the Holocaust or reject Israel’s right to exist.

UK prepare for flood chaos Bristol, while flooding is delaying trains between Chester and north Wales Dozens of people are evacuated from their homes in Morpeth, Northumberland, as the river there breaks its banks. Elsewhere, floods cause disruption on railways and roads across the north of England.

There are currently 17 flood warnings and 37 flood alerts in place across the north west, the Environment Agency said. Forecasters say the Pennines are likely to receive the heaviest rain, leading to an increased risk of flooding for communities around the rivers Aire and Calder.

Strong winds are also expected to batter parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland, with gusts of up to 70mph along coastal areas. In Morpeth, Northumberland, some people were evacuated from their homes as floodwater rose. A Northumbria police spokeswoman said: “Residents in an area of Morpeth are being evacuated as a precaution.

“We are working with the local authority to take them to an alternative location.” The Environment Agency said parts of Yorkshire and the north east had experienced a month’s rain in just 24 hours.

Alternative transport

Continued from page 01 >> The east coast main line is closed south of Darlington, Network Rail said. Staff were at the scene of the flooding and will assess when it is safe to reopen the line.

A Network Rail spokesman said: “Our engineers are on site at several locations and are working to get lines reopened as soon as possible. “Where lines remain closed, we are working with train operators to divert services where we can, and alternative transport is also being provided. However, flooding to roads in some areas is making this difficult.

“Passengers are advised to check with their train operator or National Rail enquiries before travelling for the latest service information.” Ten people were taken to safety on inflatable rafts by firefighters after flooding near their homes in St Helens. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service was called to Blackbrook Road, St Helens, on Monday after water flowed over a nearby brook’s banks following heavy rain. Around 1ft (30.5cm) of water had risen near houses in the road.

In Scotland, high winds swept forced foam from the North Sea onto the beach and inland in Aberdeen. It left cars, streets and houses covered in white froth.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 27 September 2012

NEWS

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Gaddafi’s extraordinary U.N. speech of Sept. 23rd 2009.

And they Killed Gaddafi Although the west influenced press made Gaddafi appear to be an unlikely person to unite Africans, the Western powers were not hesitating to chop him down, and finally they did. The reason for their opposition to Gaddafi showed up in high relief in Gaddafi’s extraordinary U.N. speech of Sept. 23, 2009.

I will fight till death & die a martyr: Gaddafi Muammar al-Gaddafi, killed October 20, 2011, Sirte ‘Gaddafi had heroic last stand’

Muammar Gaddafi could have escaped and fled to another country, but he stood and fought to the last breath exactly as he’d promised, believes Jordan-based professor, Ibrahim Alloush. ¬“What we have here is a heroic last stand and defense of Libya against a NATO-led invasion,” he said, adding that Gaddafi’s death would be a good example to thousands of his followers who reject NATO’s intervention in Libya.

“The fact that he was caught wounded, drenched in blood, and was assassinated after that – this is a heavy crime against a wounded man.”

“Things should be put into perspective. This is a political fight against NATO invasion in Libya and the world, especially the Arab world, has no more doubts that what we have in Libya are not revolutionaries but NATO stooges,” Alloush said.

“Today is a very sad day for all the people who oppose foreign hegemony and imperialism,” he concluded.

“When you nationalize your oil, when you redistribute your wealth, build your country up to be with the highest living standards in Africa, inevitably, those forces which are against that development, both internally and internationally, will oppose you. Libyan rebel factions have always been in alliance with the EU powers against Gaddafi”, the journalist said.

The basic reason is simple. Gaddafi confronted their power. He confronted the status quo of the Empire. He demanded greater power for Africa and the African Union. He demanded greater power for smaller countries in the United Nations. Gaddafi calls for investigations of past wars. He called for a new way forward that reduces the powers of any one or a few countries to dominate the world. Why then has the West done an about face after the period of good relations? Why Gaddafi’s worst fears have came to pass after a rather brief period of friendship?

After Gaddafi’s most friendly embrace and adoption of Obama as his African son, why has Obama turned against Gaddafi? Why they killed him in a most disgraceful manner?

It was not because Gaddafi met rebellion with force. It was not because the West had humanitarian concerns. The West has done

nothing against the force used by Saudi Arabia in Bahrain and the force being used by the government in Syria against Syrians in rebellion.

It was not because of a concern for democracy.

In fact, Gaddafi proposed a radical form of

and the local state-owned energy group. It was penned during a ground-breaking visit by the then prime minister, Tony Blair, and was followed up by meetings during July between Shell and foreign minister Baroness Symons and then the foreign secretary at the time,

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi Delivers a Scolding in U.N. Debut on September 23, 2009 General Assembly president Ali Abdussalam Treki, a former Libyan foreign minister, held his head in his hands. Col Gaddafi’s translator broke down after 90 minutes. social democracy that the Libyan government rejected. He proposed to nationalize and distribute oil revenues directly to Libyans. That placed Gaddafi at odds with members of his own state bureaucracy and with the Libyan National Oil Company. This friction between Gaddafi and the government was one of the factors that brought about a civil war.

There are two reasons why the West uprooted Gaddafi. The first is oil contracts. In the negotiations in which Gaddafi gave up his nuclear program and compensated the families of bombing victims, Gaddafi held out the prospect of oil concessions going to Western oil companies. As early as March 25, 2004, a deal was done: “A deal was signed by Shell on 25 March 2004 covering the establishment of a ‘long-term strategic partnership’ between the oil company

Jack Straw.” In January of 2009, prompted by a crash to low oil prices, Gaddafi made known that he was considering nationalizing the foreign oil companies in Libya. During the oil price runup to $150 in 2008, Gaddafi had put in place infrastructure projects that depended on a high oil price. By June of 2009, Libya had renegotiated its contract with France’s leading oil company. It had already renegotiated with other international oil companies. This public threat to nationalize may have been a bargaining ploy, but combined with the renegotiated contracts, it was bound to cause the oil companies and their government friends to become somewhat uneasy about what Gaddafi’s next moves would be. Furthermore, Gaddafi had another bargaining chip, which was the prospect of utilizing Russian, Chinese and Indian oil companies. He could expand their interests in

Libyan oil. In fact, during the current period of hostilities, he invited them to make up for lost production. This leads into and was connected with the second reason for the West’s desire to remove Gaddafi, which was his bid to organize African nations politically so as to have greater power as against the major powers in the world, East and West. Under new conditions, the world was unfolding another chapter in the rivalries over African resources, reminiscent of earlier colonial-imperial rivalries. In this case, the West is still interested in controlling these resources, but it is facing competition from nations from the East. Although the west influenced press made Gaddafi appear to be an unlikely person to unite Africans, the Western powers were not hesitating to chop him down, and finally they did. The reason for their opposition to Gaddafi showed up in high relief in Gaddafi’s extraordinary U.N. speech of Sept. 23, 2009.

After being introduced in the General Assembly Hall as the “leader of the revolution, the president of the African Union, the king of kings of Africa,” Colonel Qaddafi shattered protocol by giving a rambling speech that stretched for 90 minutes instead of the allotted 15. “It should not be called the Security Council, it should be called the terror council,” he added. “Permanent is something for Allah only. We are not fools to give the power of veto to great powers so they can use us and treat us as second-class citizens.”

He tore up a copy of the UN charter in front of startled delegates, accused the security council of being an al-Qaida like terrorist body, He then turned his wrath on to America, Britain, France, Russia and China - the permanent members of the security council, or “terror council” as he renamed it. Their veto was tantamount to terrorism. “This is terrorism, like the terrorism of al-Qaida. Terrorism is not just al-Qaida, it takes many forms.” called for George Bush and Tony Blair to be put on trial for the Iraq war, demanded $7.7tn in compensation for the ravages of colonialism on Africa, and wondered whether swine flu was a biological weapon created in a military laboratory.

Colonel Qaddafi — dressed in a brown Continued on page 7 >>

NEWS

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 27 September 2012

Ahmadinejad Urges UN to Intensify Cooperation with NAM

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attached special importance to the role of the NonAligned Movement (NAM) on the international scene, and called on the UN to boost cooperation with NAM. Ahmadinejad made the remarks in a meeting with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sunday.

During the meeting, Ahmadinejad called for closer cooperation between the NAM and the United Nations, and said that effective measures should be taken to establish sustainable peace throughout the world.

Tehran hosted the 16th NAM summit from August 26 to 31, including two days of talks among deputy foreign ministers followed by a two-day meeting of the NAM foreign ministers and eventually two days of talks among NAM leaders.

During the heads-of-state summit meeting on August 30-31, Iran inherited the three-year leadership of the Non-Aligned bloc, a platform for anti-Western sentiments and grievances over big-power domination. Ahmadinejad and his accompanying delegation left Tehran for New York at the head of a delegation on Saturday in a bid

to attend a the 67th UN General Assembly meeting and hold talks with senior heads of state who will participate in the meeting.

including two ministers, Iran’s Fars news agency reported on Saturday.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a regular at the assembly since he took office in

down, Fars said.

It gave no reason, but many Iranian officials are subject to travel bans under sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program.

U.S. stops 20 Iran officials attending U.N. assembly

2005, will give his final speech there on Wednesday and will address a meeting on the “rule of law” on Monday.

But of the 160-or-so visas requested by the Iranian delegation two months ago, about 20 were turned

Pre-emptive strike on Israel ‘possible’ Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force General Amir Ali Hajizadeh warned the US and the Zionist regime that an attack on

The United States has denied visas to about 20 Iranian government officials hoping to attend next week’s United Nations General Assembly,

Woman killed as gales lash Britain

A WOMAN was killed by a falling tree branch in London’s Kew Gardens during rain and gusts of wind close to 30mph.

forecaster with MeteoGroup, said.

Her death came as communities around the country braced themselves for wind speeds of up to

The woman, believed to be aged about 30, was pronounced dead at the scene on Sunday afternoon on a day when strong winds and rain began to lash southern parts of the country.

Wind speeds in the area around the Royal Botanical Gardens reached a peak of 30mph on Sunday and were likely to be close to that at the time of the woman’s death, Tom Tobler,

70mph and rainfall of up to 60mm in some regions over the next 24 hours. The Environment Agency has issued has 56 flood alerts - 31 in the south-west, 19 in the northeast and six in the Midlands.

Mr Tobler said north-east Scotland could be hit with the strongest winds, with gales of up to 70mph possible.

He said northern areas of England and parts of southern Scotland

could see 60mm of rain fall in the next 24 hours - three quarters of a whole month’s average rainfall (80mm) for September in England and Wales.

It is a stark change from earlier in the month, when parts of Britain basked in warm temperatures in the mid-20s, a welcome break from the rain and wind which dogged much of July and August.

The Environment Agency has warned people to be prepared for significant disruption. iirector of operations, David Jordan, said: “We are expecting flooding across the country from this evening (Sunday) and in to Monday and Tuesday.

“We strongly urge people to sign up to flood warnings, keep a close eye on local weather forecasts and be prepared for the possibility of flooding. We also ask that people stay safe, by staying away from swollen rivers and not attempting to drive through floodwater.”

Iran will likely trigger World War III. Speaking to the Arabic news network, Al-Alam on Sunday, General Hajizadeh said the US and the Israeli regime may not enter war with Iran “independent from each other, meaning that either one of these two starts the war, it will be joined by the other one”.

On Saturday, IRGC’s top Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said an enemy invasion of Iran is possible, but such a war would put an end to the life of the Zionist regime of Israel. Later yesterday, his deputy, Brigadier General Hossein Salami, cautioned that any possible attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Zionist regime would provide an opportunity for Tehran to wipe the regime off the earth.

Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel if it was sure the Jewish state was preparing to attack it, a senior commander of its elite Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying yesterday.

Brig Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh made the comments to state-run al-Alam television. “Iran will not start any war but it could launch a preemptive attack if it was sure that the enemies are putting the final touches to attack it,” al-Alam said, paraphrasing the commander.

Maldives: Estimated budget deficit will exceed by MVR3 billion: Minister

Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad yesterday said the estimated budget deficit for this year would exceed by MVR3 billion.

During the Parliament’s Finance Committee meeting, Minister said that the budget deficit would be close to MVR6 billion by the end of the year. The estimated budget deficit had been MVR3.08 billion.

Minister added that the total State

expenditure would be close to MVR26 billion by the end of the year.

“But this figure might be more or even less,” Jihad said.

As reasons for the increased budget deficit, Minister explained the decrease in revenue, the loans not received to plug the budget and the payable bills carried forward from last year. On that note, Minister revealed that unpaid bills worth MVR2 billion had been carried forward this year, while MVR800 million had been paid out from this year’s budget.

Jihad further said that there were several issues with the present budget structure and added that next year’s budget will be proposed in a different manner.

The total expenditure of the budget is MVR14.6 billion while the expected revenue is 11.5 billion.

So far this year the State expenses amount to MVR9 billion when the revenue received is MVR7 billion, Jihad said.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 27 September 2012

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NEWS

Foreign Jihadists are escalating conflict in Syria, UN warns UN confirms existence of foreign militants in Syria

Chairman of UN panel investigating human rights abuses in Syria, Paulo Pinheiro, says some are fighting alongside the rebels, while others were operating independently.

Crimes performed by these elements such as kidnappings, torture and mistreatment of captured government soldiers also were repudiated by the UN High Commissioner A team of UN experts confirmed on Monday the existence of aliens within the armed opposition groups in Syria, who commit war crimes.

Foreign extremists are escalating the conflict in Syria by joining the fighting in growing numbers, the UN commission investigating human rights abuses in the country warned Monday.

- There are reasonable grounds to

believe that antigovernment forces in that country perpetrate killings, extrajudicial executions and torture - said Paulo Pinheiro, head of an independent international panel investigating the situation in Syria.

In an interactive dialogue with the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, the expert also denounced

the use of children under 18 years of age by armed opposition groups.

- These forces do not identify its members with real uniforms or insignia to distinguish them from civilians - he added. Crimes performed by these elements such as kidnappings, torture and mistreatment of captured government

And they Killed Gaddafi

Continued from page 5 >> traditional Libyan robe, embroidered vest and shirt, with a black pin of the African continent pinned to his chest — took about 17 minutes to get to the main point of his speech, which was

investigation of the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. And he repeated his longstanding proposal that Israel and the Palestinian territories be combined into one state called

council,” he added. “Permanent is something for God only. We are not fools to give the power of veto to great powers so they can use us and treat us as second-class citizens.”

At one point in his speech, Colonel

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi lives up to his reputation during his first visit to America a demand for an African seat on the Security Council.

He also emphasized that those who caused “mass murder” in Iraq be tried; defended the right of the Taliban to establish an Islamic emirate; wondered whether swine flu was cooked up in a laboratory as a weapon; and demanded a thorough

Isratine.

The Security Council “is political feudalism for those who have a permanent seat,” Colonel Qaddafi said, speaking in Arabic and riffling through various documents on the hall’s green marble podium.

“It should not be called the Security Council, it should be called the terror

Qaddafi waved aloft a copy of the United Nations charter and seemed to tear it, saying he did not recognize the authority of the document.

Speaking later in the day from the same podium, Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain said, “I stand here to reaffirm the United Nations charter, not to tear it up.”

soldiers also were repudiated by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay.

Pinheiro also criticized the government for carrying out indiscriminate attacks such as air strikes and artillery shelling of residential areas. like air raids and bombings of

artilhariao to residential areas.

He also spoke out against the imposition of sanctions against Syria, by constituting a denial of fundamental rights to the people of that country, where, according to the UN, there are 2.5 million people in need of humanitarian aid. The expert reiterated the need for a political solution in Syria and stressed that there is no possibility of a military solution.

He has called on the international community to support the efforts of the Special Representative of the UN and the Arab League to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, to end violence and start a dialogue for a lasting solution to the crisis. “The conflict could spread to other countries in the region and threaten regional stability and security,” he said.

Chocolate has same effect on the brain as opium

CHOCOLATE has an effect on the brain similar to opium, a study has shown. The discovery may explain why the tempting treat is so hard to resist.

A natural brain chemical called enkephalin surged as rats began to eat M&M chocolate sweets.

When a drug was used to stimulate the dorsal neostriatum -- the brain region releasing the chemical -- it more than doubled the number of M&Ms they ate.

Enkephalin is an endorphin with similar properties to opium. It binds to molecular “receptors” sensitive to opiate chemicals to reduce pain and produce pleasurable feelings. The US findings are published in the journal ‘Current Biology’.

Previous research has mostly linked the dorsal neostriatum to movement. Recent work suggested it also plays a role in

reward-driven behaviour.

“This means that the brain has more extensive systems to make individuals overconsume rewards than previously thought,” said study leader Dr Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, from the University of Michigan.

“The same brain area tested here is active when obese people see foods and when drug addicts see drug scenes. It seems likely our enkephalin findings in rats mean this neurotransmitter may drive some forms of overconsumption and addiction in people.”

In their paper, the scientists concluded: “Opioid circuitry could in this way participate in normal motivations and perhaps even in generating intense pathological levels of motivation to overconsume rewards in addiction and related compulsive pursuits.”

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 27 September 2012

No evidence found against blasphemy accused Rimsha: police

In a startling development on Saturday, the Islamabad police claims to have found no evidence or witness to prove that blasphemy accused girl Rimsha Masih was seen desecrating holy papers, according to a copy of the revised charge sheet available with Dawn.com In the charge sheet, the police claim that the cleric of a nearby mosque, Mohammad Khalid Chishti, was guilty of tampering with evidence by adding holy pages into a shopping bag the girl had been carrying. The police claim the investigation proves the holy papers had also been burnt.

The evidence is now being sent to a forensic science laboratory in Lahore for further examination.

The Islamabad police submitted the charge sheet today in the court of district and sessions judge Islamabad Raja Jawad Abbas.

The case could not be heard as civil judge, Amir Aziz Khan, who had been hearing the case, had gone on leave.

The district attorney moreover raised objections on certain

reality, it was Rimsha’s six year old younger sister Savera who had come to throw the garbage in front of the house of one Maqbool Ahmed. This account has been testified by two witnesses.

The police are also accusing the complainant of hiding the actual facts from the police.

The police report further claims that Rimsha, a minor Christian girl, is illiterate and her mental age is not according to her actual age, which is 14.

The case has gained huge attention because of the girl’s age

and questions about her mental capacity. It is also a rare instance where someone has been held responsible for an apparently false accusation of blasphemy.

Earlier on Sept 7, the additional district and sessions court of

Islamabad had granted bail to the girl. Later on Sept 8, Rimsha was airlifted from Adiyala jail to an unspecified location within Islamabad under the protective custody of police after completion of legal formalities by her lawyers.

The girl belonging to the Christian community is said to be suffering from Down’s Syndrome. She had been arrested on Aug 16 under Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws, prompting concern from Western governments, the Vatican, and rights groups.

The girl’s arrest had also triggered an exodus of several hundred Christians from her poor neighbourhood on the edge of Islamabad.

Blasphemy is an extremely sensitive subject in Pakistan, where 97 per cent of the 180 million population are Muslims, and allegations of desecrating the holy Quran or insulting Islam often provoke public fury.

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points in the charge sheet. He later signed the charge sheet along with his note of objections.

An order pertaining the case’s hearing in the concerned court is expected to be issued later by the judge.

The district attorney observed: “Had Khalid Chishti burnt the Holy Quran, prior to adding them in the evidence, he could be declared accused under 196 PPC.” According to the charge sheet, no witness has as yet identified the place where Rimsha was alleged to have burnt the holy papers.

The police also claim that, in

The police investigation further states that the burnt holy papers were first seen by Mehreen Noor, Maqbool’s daughter, who had told the same to her mother. The burnt pile of papers was then sent to the cleric Mohammad Khalid Chishti through Mehreen Noor.

The police also says that Chishti is “an educated person and knows religion and the sanctity of the Holy Quran.”

Moreover, the police accuse Chishti of deliberately tearing two papers from the Holy Quran to add them into the pile of burnt papers, and preparing a false testimony. Chishti had also signed the testimony as a witness.

To advertise call 020 8904 0619

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 27 September 2012

NEWS

09

Paedophile Gang Members Jailed for 35 Years over Child Rape and Bestiality Parties at Secluded Wiltshire Farmhouse

Five victims involved but up to 15 girls may have been targeted in 2009/10 This is the shocking moment a man was caught on CCTV leading two young girls into a hotel for sex.

The appalling video was shown during the trial of eight men who were yesterday jailed in Derby for a total of 42 years for preying on girls aged 13 to 15, picked up from care homes and the streets.

The vile men, aged between 35 and 60, slept with the girls in exchange for as little as £5, cigarettes, drugs, mobile phones and treats - including a child’s toy and rides on a farmer’s tractor. Anthony Lambert, 51, Stefan Godfrey, 44, John Shaw, 55, Ijaz Ahmed, 35, and Mark Adaoui, 40, Colin Simpson, 55, David Shardlow, 56, and Ian Yeoman, 60, were jailed for a series of sex offences.

The problem of teen prostitution in the city suburbs of Normanton and Pear Tree was so rife, one girl distressingly said that she thought taking money for sex simply ‘must be part of growing up’.

A group of paedophiles including a soldier, a scout leader and a sheep farmer have been jailed for a combined minimum total of 35 years.

Reading crown court heard that the group raped children as young as eight and met up for abuse and bestiality parties at a secluded farm before police were alerted to their activities.

Farmer Nicholas Cordery, who owned the farm where the parties took place, was jailed for 11 years.

Similar sentences were handed out to scoutmaster Peter Malpas and IT trainer Anthony Flack, whose arrest played a key role in busting the ring.

Fellow gang member Simon Davies,

a serving soldier who boasted about being bisexual and craving sex with dogs, will be sentenced in October, after admitting to 22 counts of child rape.

The court heard that the gang groomed victims and filmed sexual assaults on them. On one occasion, 63-year-old Cordery tipped off Davies about a girl he had groomed, before Davies, 37,

raped the child and sent his friend a video of the attack. He then took her to a gathering at Cordery’s farm in Wiltshire.

Sentencing, Judge Stephen John said: “Two central figures were at the heart of the enterprise.

“The first was Simon Davies, who is to be sentenced at a later date, who repeatedly raped a nine-year-old girl,

distributed images of his rape and offered her for further rape directly through Cordery, including to Flack and Malpas.

“The second was Cordery, living in a secluded farm and providing facilities there for sexual activity involving offences with animals and children.”

The judge also said that, given the age of the victims at the time of the attacks, “the physicial and, particularly, psycholological attacks are difficult to imagine”.

All three sentences are open-ended, and the three men will only be returned to society if they are deemed to pose no further threat to children.

The two-year investigation which preceded the convictions started when Derbyshire Police grew concerned for the safety of teenage girls seen on the city’s streets.

The court heard some of the girls had been picked up off streets in Derby while others had become involved through friends.

Gifts offered to the girls included cannabis, cuddly toys, vodka and takeaway food.

This is how racism takes root

The different ways the media covered two cases of men grooming children for sex show how shockingly easy it is to demonise a whole community

Joseph Harker Published in The Guardian,

By now surely everyone knows the case of the eight men convicted of picking vulnerable underage girls off the streets, then plying them with drink and drugs before having sex with them. A shocking story. But maybe you haven’t heard.

Because these sex assaults did not take place in Rochdale, where a similar story led the news for days in May, but in Derby earlier this month. Fifteen girls aged 13 to 15, many of them in care, were preyed on by the men. And though they were not working as a gang, their methods were similar – often targeting children in care and luring them with, among other things, cuddly toys. But this time, of the eight predators, seven were white, not Asian. And the story made barely a ripple in the national media.

Of the daily papers, only the Guardian and the Times reported it. There was no commentary anywhere on how these crimes shine a light on British

culture, or how middle-aged white men have to confront the deep flaws in their religious and ethnic identity. Yet that’s exactly what played out following the conviction in May of the “Asian sex gang” in Rochdale, which made the front page of every national newspaper. Though analysis of the case focused on how big a factor was race, religion and culture, the unreported story is of how politicians and the media have created a new racial scapegoat. In fact, if anyone wants to study how racism begins, and creeps into the consciousness of an entire nation, they need look no further.

Imagine you were living in a town of 20,000 people – the size of, say, Penzance in Cornwall – and one day it was discovered that one of its residents had been involved in a sex crime. Would it be reasonable to say that the whole town had a cultural problem, that it needed to address the scourge – that anyone not doing so was part of a “conspiracy of silence”? But the intense interest in the Rochdale story arose from a January 2011 Times “scoop” that was based on the conviction of at most 50 British Pakistanis out of a total UK population of 1.2 million, just one in 24,000: one person per Penzance.

Make no mistake, the Rochdale crimes were vile, and those convicted deserve every year of their sentences. But where, amid all the commentary, was the evidence that this is a racial issue; that there’s something inherently perverted about Muslim or Asian culture?

Even the Child Protection and Online Protection Centre (Ceop), which has also studied potential offenders who have not been convicted, has only identified

41 Asian gangs (of 230 in total) and 240 Asian individuals – and they are spread across the country. But, despite this, a new stereotype has taken hold: that a significant proportion of Asian men are groomers (and the rest of their communities know of it and keep silent).

But if it really is an “Asian” thing, how come Indians don’t do it? If it’s a “Pakistani” thing, how come an Afghan was convicted in the Rochdale case?

And if it’s a “Muslim” thing, how come it doesn’t seem to involve anyone of African or Middle Eastern origin? The standard response to anyone who questions this is: face the facts, all those convicted in Rochdale were Muslim. Well, if one case is enough to make such a generalisation, how about if all the members of a gang of armed robbers were white; or cybercriminals; or child traffickers? (All three of these have happened.) Would we be so keen to “face the facts” and make it a problem the whole white community has to deal with? Would we have articles examining what it is about Britishness or Christianity or Europeanness, that makes people so capable of such things?

In fact, Penzance had not just one paedophile, but a gang of four. They abused 28 girls, some as young as five, and were finally convicted two years ago. All were white. And last month, at a home affairs select committee, deputy children’s commissioner Sue Berelowitz quoted a police officer who had told her that “there isn’t a town, village or hamlet in which children are not being sexually exploited”.

Whatever the case, we know that abuse of white girls is not a cultural or religious issue because there is no longstanding

history of it taking place in Asia or the Muslim world.

How did middle-aged Asian men from tight-knit communities even come into contact with white teenage girls in Rochdale? The main cultural relevance in this story is that vulnerable, often disturbed, young girls, regularly out late at night, often end up in late-closing restaurants and minicab offices, staffed almost exclusively by men. After a while, relationships build up, with the men offering free lifts and/or food. For those with a predatory instinct, sexual exploitation is an easy next step. This is an issue of what men can do when away from their own families and in a position of power over badly damaged young people.

It’s a story repeated across Britain, by white and other ethnic groups: where the opportunity arises, some men will take advantage. The precise method, and whether it’s an individual or group crime, depends on the particular setting – be they priests, youth workers or networks on the web.

Despite all we know about racism, genocide and ethnic cleansing, the Rochdale case showed how shockingly easy it is to demonise a community.

Before long, the wider public will believe the problem is endemic within that race/ religion, and that anyone within that group who rebuts the claims is denying this basic truth. Normally, one would expect a counter-argument to force its way into the discussion. But in this case the crimes were so horrific that rightthinking people were naturally wary of being seen to condone them. In fact, the reason I am writing this is that I am

neither Asian nor Muslim nor Pakistani, so I cannot be accused of being in denial or trying to hide a painful truth. But I am black, and I know how racism works; and, more than that, I have a background in maths and science, so I know you can’t extrapolate a tiny, flawed set of data and use it to make a sweeping generalisation.

I am also certain that, if the tables were turned and the victims were Asian or Muslim, we would have been subjected to equally skewed “expert” commentary asking: what is wrong with how Muslims raise girls? Why are so many of them on the streets at night? Shouldn’t the community face up to its shocking moral breakdown?

While our media continue to exclude minority voices in general, such lazy racial generalisations are likely to continue. Even the story of a single Asian man acting alone in a sex case made the headlines. As in Derby this month, countless similar cases involving white men go unreported.

We have been here before, of course: in the 1950s, West Indian men were labelled pimps, luring innocent young white girls into prostitution. By the 1970s and 80s they were vilified as muggers and looters.

And two years ago, Channel 4 ran stories, again based on a tiny set of data, claiming there was an endemic culture of gang rape in black communities. The victims weren’t white, though, so media interest soon faded. It seems that these stories need to strike terror in the heart of white people for them to really take off.

What is also at play here is the inability of people, when learning about a different culture or race, to distinguish between Continued on page 13 >>

NEWS

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 27 September 2012

No Justice for Sabra

Shatila Massacre Victims 30 Years on

The Sabra-Shatila Massacre: it seems like a dozen weeks, not 30 years ago.

This year American citizens received messages to stay away from Beirut and the annual commemoration of the Israeli facilitated Massacre at SabraShatila from their State Department and Beirut Embassy. The latter’s staff on 9/19/12 completed destroying sensitive documents and packing all non-essential items. The French government too told its citizens not to come to Beirut or participate in “mass gatherings because of concerns over sudden random violence”.

But they came. Despite the wellmeaning admonitions from their governments, they came in numbers greater than ever before. They came to bear witness with the survivors and their families to the horror of this crime against Palestinians and to plead for justice.

One elderly lady from Haifa, Palestine said bitterly, as foreign delegations paid their respects at Shatila’s Martyr’s cemetery, “At least God is punishing Sharon!” She was referring to the coma the architect of the massacre went into six years ago and who is being sustained in a vegetative mass at the cost of $ 400,000 annually, partly paid for by American

replied to a recent New York Times article on the massacre by reminding us this week that “Ha’aretz recounted

beginning with Beirut.” Shone and Schoenman remind us that the London Sunday Times reported on

the camps was called Moah Barzel (Iron Brain); the plan was familiar to Sharon and Begin and was part of

on September 26, 1982 the high level planning that preceded the invasion

the same day: “This carefully preplanned military operation (to send

Sharon’s larger plan discussed by the Israeli cabinet on July 17.”

taxpayers. She lamented, that not one person has ever been arrested, no one tried, or convicted and Israel has refused to open its file on the events surrounding the slaughter.

Nor has the American government ever demanded that Israel do so. The Lebanese government has never even investigated the massacre as a crime.

Authors, photo-chroniclers and historians of the 1982 massacre, Mya Shone and Ralph Schoenman,

in service to “the long term objective aimed at the expulsion of the whole Palestinian population of Lebanon

Israeli selected militia into Shatila while the IDF sealed the camp to prevent possible escape) to ‘purge’

Each year, local or regional events impact the annual Shatila commemoration events differently.

This year during some of the five days of events that took foreign visitors to Palestinian camps including Shatila and Mar Elias camps in Beirut, Burj Shemali and Al-Buss camps in the south and up north to Nahr al Bared (Cold River) which was destroyed by the Lebanese army in 2007 during the Fateh al Islam events, there were discussions at meetings and on the buses of the arrival back into Shatila camp and the other 11 camps of approximately 10, 000 Palestinian refugees from Syria. They are being received as honored guests by fellow Palestinians but they urgently need help.

Arriving refugees tell of how there are some splits in their community over the Syrian chaos the same as in the Shia, Sunni, Christian, and Druze communities. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), which was ejected five weeks ago from Yarmouk camp by other Palestinians, is claiming that Palestinians who do not endorse President Assad 100 percent are with Al Qaeda and the FSA (Free Syrian Army). On the other hand, the FSA claim that Palestinians who refuse to join them are with Ahmad Jabril, the PFLP-GC leader. Yamouk

camp residents pay the price from both sides. Most Palestinians want nothing to do with the politics of the Syrian crisis but only to live in peace.

Most of those who were recently forced out of Yarmouk camp in Damascus and back into Shatila had never visited the locus of the slaughter they miraculously survived 30 years ago. Some expressed deep emotions on returning and observing Continued on page 11 >>

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 27 September 2012

NEWS

No Justice for Sabra

Continued from page 10 >> parts of the camp that remain much the same as they were following the nearly 50 hours of butchery between September 16-18, 1982.

One gentleman from Yarmouk camp, a Christian, who in 1976 was driven out of Tel A Zaatar Palestinian camp as it was destroyed by Christian militia, and who was living in Shatila

at the time of the 1982 massacre, expressed his shock of how the current residents are living at such low heath, nutrition, and socialeconomic standards. He expressed surprise to a visiting American delegation at finding no right to work or ability to own a home. Both of which, he explained, plus many more rights are enjoyed by Palestinian refugees in Syria. All the Palestinian refugees arriving from Syria, who were interviewed by this observer, found conditions in Shatila to be

much worse today than at the time of the massacre, 30 years ago.

Most of the Palestinians arriving from Syria are temporarily staying with friends or relatives in Lebanon’s 12 camps. 500 families are temporality lodged in Saida, 30 miles south of Beirut, with 350 families sardinecanned in Ein el Helwe camp, already extremely densely populated with

approximately 20,000 refugees.

Roughly 500 Palestinian families, refugees once more, are housed temporarily in the Bekaa valley bordering Syria, including 250 families staying at Jilil (Wavell) camp.

Scores or other Syrian Palestinian refugees are being housed in Bedawi camp near Tripoli. A major problem in all the camps is that the severe overcrowding and limited water and electricity are creating extended family tensions.

To date not much organized aid has

been distributed. UNWRA is still in the process of making lists of the arriving refugees from Syria, reminding one of the time it took for that UN agency to access the needs of the Nahr al Bared displaced refugees in 2007. The UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, whose mandate does not include Palestinians, is also studying the problem.

But the need for aid is now and urgent.

Meeting with individuals on 9/20/12 from the Palestinian camp committees and the local and international NGO community, three urgent needs were identified facing the refugees from

worried about the difference in curriculum in UNWRA schools in Lebanon and Syria schools where Palestinians are educated. UNWRA does not operate schools in Syria. But the afternoon of 9/20/12 a solution was announced and a curriculum has been agreed on. One of the problems was that Syrian school teaches the Nakba and Palestinian history but UNWRA schools are forbidden to teach anything about Palestine lest its funding be cut by the US government under pressure from the Zionist lobby.

So far the medical needs of the arriving

it cannot absorb more refugees. Yet the figure of 10,000 more expected Palestinians may easily double.

For Palestinians who have been in Lebanon since 1948, many are reaching their limits of tolerance of the conditions they are forced to live in without elementary civil rights.

There is general agreement here that while ‘photo-op’ one time NGO aid distributions help and are much appreciated, the way they tend to be unorganized so far is resulting in refugee families being herded like cattle from place to place to receive various forms of limited aid and they

Syria, whose numbers swell following each Palestinian killed in Syria. On 9/19/20, 18 more Palestinians were killed and so the numbers coming to Lebanon will swell over the next few days.

Among the three most urgent problems facing the arriving Palestinians from Syria are Social problems ranging from finding places to live, food, education and preventing youth from joining local Lebanese militia who offer $100 per day to Palestinian youth to work as hired guns. A few do fight on both sides of the Syrian conflict while their mothers and fathers are urging them to ‘stay off the streets.”

UNWRA has the capacity to help with elementary and secondary schooling in its 52 schools in Lebanon. Hoda al Turki, the hard working spokesperson for UNWRA in Lebanon has been

refugees are being met at UNWRA facilities.

Some are proposing housing the refugees in schools, as was done following the Nahr al Bared fighting, but the schools are needed for classes.

One very important Lebanese governmental humanitarian gesture was announced today ( 9/20/12) and it is that Lebanese General Security, in charge of visa and immigration matters, has waived all fees for arriving and departing Palestinian refugees. Permission to remain, previously granted for only 7 days, will be granted indefinitely without Kafkaesque applications and interview processes. This is a major boon for the refugees since they have been ruthlessly exploited on both sides of Maznaa Lebanon-Syria border crossing, with demands for bribes and per head “transit fees” which quickly stripped many families of the limited cash they had.

One example: While trying to cross into Lebanon two weeks ago, Um Ahmad was confronted by a security guard who barked: “if there is no phone number in Lebanon you need to go back to where you came from in Syria”. She replied to the security officer, “Sir, you should show us some mercy please. You know that we are running away from war, we are not here on a vacation.” He replied coldly:” no phone number, no entry!”

A request for a bribe was delivered.

The government of Lebanon deserves praise for its humanitarian action.

Hopefully the Syrian government will follow suit and facilitate the departure and hopeful return of Palestinian refugees.”

The main economic problem is that the arriving refugees, like all Palestinians in Lebanon will not be allowed to work.

The third problem is with security issues. Lebanon has announced that

are being stripped of their dignity.

Sometimes refugees are forced to sit in the sun until the TV crews arranged by the donors arrive to film this “act of charity in solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

To its credit, Hezbollah have been helping some. The Syrian refugees whether Sunni, Christian or Druze have received some aid from a center near Saida. Hezbollah Social Work Committee member Alhaji Mohammed al-Haj said Hezbollah was assisting our “Syrian brothers as part of the duty to return the favor for what they did for us in the July war and out of a moral and national obligation of the resistance.”

What is required without further delay is for an urgent stakeholders meeting to be convened. Including the PLO factions, local and international NGO’s, Donors, the Palestine Red Crescent Society, UNRWA, EU and UN groups as well as local political parties in order quickly produce an executable plan avoiding duplications, to address these needs.

On December 16, 1982, the United Nations General Assembly condemned the massacre and declared it to be an act of genocide. The voting record on section D of Resolution 37/123, which “resolves that the massacre was an act of genocide”, was: yes: 123; no: 0; abstentions: 22; non-voting: 12. The abstentions were: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany (Federal Republic), Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, United Kingdom, U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Israel,Ivory Coast, Papua New Guinea, Barbados and Dominican Republic.

Shatila camp residents, on this 30th anniversary of one of their darkest hours, are planning to lead this call with a unified, strong, sustained Palestinian voice to help their sisters and brothers from Syria.

398 Unescorted Nigerian women held in Saudi Arabia

SOKOTO, Nigeria: Nigerian officials say 398 Muslim women pilgrims traveling to Mecca were temporarily held at a Saudi Arabian airport for traveling without male relatives.

11

A spokesman for Nigeria’s National Hajj Commission said Saudi authorities held the Nigerian women between Thursday and Monday at King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah.

Spokesman Uba Mana said the women were allowed to proceed with their pilgrimage Monday following diplomatic intervention.

He said Saudi authorities held them for not traveling with a male relative due to a “communication gap.”

He said an agreement between the countries exempts Nigerian women from requiring a male relative to escort them during the Hajj pilgrimage, which costs about $4,000 per person.

All able-bodied Muslims who can afford it are expected to perform Hajj at least once in their lives.

According to some Muslims scholars, a woman is allowed to travel for hajj without a mahram if she travels in the company of trustworthy women and men with whom she will be secure regarding her life, honor, faith and property.

12 Continued from page 01 >> Masri, and others.

The decision means that the extradition of the men, wanted for years by the US, is likely to happen within weeks. The case of Babar Ahmad - who, with coaccused Syed Talha Ahsan, is alleged to have run a jihadist website in London that provided support to terrorists - is not as clear cut.

Among those who will now face extradition alongside him is Babar Ahmad, a 36-year-old computer expert who has been in a UK prison without trial for nearly eight years. He has been refused bail since his arrest in August 2004 on a US extradition warrant.

The Home Office said Hamza and Babar Ahmad, with Seyla Talha Ahsan, Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled AlFawwaz, would be “handed over to the US authorities as quickly as possible”.

The men had argued they would face inhumane treatment in the United States if they were sent there.

Sadiq Khan MP, who has been campaigning on behalf of both Babar Ahmad and Syed Talha Ahsan since they were first arrested, said: “Many local residents, as well as the family, friends and campaigners of these two men, will be disappointed that Babar Ahmad and Syed Talha Ahsan have not been granted a final appeal by the European Court of Human Rights.

The charges they face are serious, and they should face a trial, but this issue has always been about where the trial should be held – in the Britain or in America.

“Both Babar Ahmad and Syed Talha Ahsan are British-born Tooting residents, and as their Member of Parliament I have made numerous efforts to have the evidence against them reconsidered by the British authorities and a trial held in Britain.

“There is still the outstanding issue of the private prosecution which Karl Watkins is bringing against them.

I wrote to the Director of Public Prosecution again last week, asking him to review the evidence against Babar Ahmad and Syed Talha Ahsan and if need be retrieve from the American authorities any evidence they may have. I have written again today to the Director of Public Prosecutions asking for an update in light of the possibility of their extradition. There is no point in a decision being made once these two men have been extradited.”

NEWS

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 27 September 2012

Stop Extradition

Affairs Select Committee, warned that extradition to the US was “a complicated business”.

Vaz said: “I welcome the decision on Abu Hamza, his case has taken far too long to resolve.”

Abu Hamza is accused of planning a terror training camp in the US and assisting hostage-taking in Yemen.

The Queen voiced concerns to the previous government about the inability of UK authorities to arrest Abu Hamza al-Masri, it has emerged.

According to BBC the Queen had been upset that there was no way to arrest the radical cleric and spoke to the then home secretary to ask why somebody who appeared to be inciting violence and hatred was still at large.

“Like anybody, she was upset that her country and its subjects were being denigrated by this man,” said our correspondent, who stressed that the monarch was not lobbying but “merely voicing the views that many have”.

It is rare for the Queen to express opinions on such matters. The BBC has apologised for revealing the Queen once raised concerns with the government about why radical cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri had not been arrested.

The apology comes after security correspondent Frank Gardner told BBC Radio 4 details of a private conversation he had with the Queen.

Within hours, the BBC issued a statement saying it and Gardner were sorry for the “breach of confidence”.

The US says that Mr Ahmad and his co-accused, Syed Talha Ahsan, ran a jihadist website in London that provided material support for terrorism.

Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled alFawwaz are accused of being aides to Osama bin Laden in London.

In a statement, the Strasbourg court said: “On 10 April 2012 the European Court of Human Rights held, in the case of Babar Ahmad and Others v. the United Kingdom, that there would be no violation of the applicants’ rights if extradited to stand trial in the United States.

judgment of 10 April 2012 is now final.”

Earlier a British court has ruled that intelligence asset Haroon Rashid Aswat will not be extradited to the United States to face terrorism charges. According to The Telegraph, a deportation appeal was adjourned because of concerns over Aswat’s mental health. He is said to be suffering from schizophrenia and is currently interned at the Broadmoor Hospital, a high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire, England. According to daily Mail The human rights court said that it has not decided on the case of a sixth suspect, Haroon Rashid Aswat, who was accused of being Al-Masri’s coconspirator in attempting to set up the camp in Oregon. The court said it needed to consider more information about his case.

Former prosecuter for the justice department said on FOX news that

not wanted in connection with events of 77, but was wanted in the US for setting up an “al Qaeda” camp in Oregon.

Aswat has been awaiting extradition since August 2005.

Loftus also revealed Aswat boss was Abu Hamza Aswat attended militant training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He recruited al-Qaeda fighters for the covert U.S. and NATO efforts to destabilize Bosnia and Chechnya.

In the late 1990s, he became a “highly public aide” to London Finsbury Park mosque imam Abu Hamza al-Masri, who worked as an informer for the Special Branch of the British police and MI5.

The other four men said that they faced an inhumane regime of solitary confinement in a special “supermax” prison.

A Home Office spokesman said: “The Home Secretary welcomes

after the London bombings, this Aswat was wanted by the CIA and the British police but MI6 was doing everything to hide him. He’s now into custody. But it’s too obvious: British secret services involvement in the bombings. Acording to John Loftus, Haroon Aswat was the alleged mastermind of the 77 bombings that came to attention of the British police investigators who were investigating the 77 terrorist atrocity.

According to reports the phone of Haroon Aswat was used to make phone calls to the alleged 77 suicide bombers and numerous times on the morning of the attacks. Also Aswat’s movement and timing were suspicious as he had come into the UK through the port of Felixstowe in late June 2005, but he left on the morning of the 77 attacks from Heathrow to Pakistan.

Aswat was eventually traced to

today’s decision not to refer the cases of Abu Hamza and four others to the Grand Chamber.

This follows the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights on April 10 to allow the extradition of these five terrorism suspects to the US. “We will work to ensure that the individuals are handed over to the US authorities as quickly as possible.”

Baber Ahmad’s family said: “The decision of the Grand Chamber is largely irrelevant to us as this Anjum Chaudhry

Omer Bakry

Labour MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons Home

Abu Hamza and MI6 asset and London Bombing mastermind Haroon Aswat (right) in London cab “On 9/10 July 2012, five of the South Africa and watched by applicants lodged a request for authorities till he tried to enter referral of the case to the Grand Zambia, on July 20, 2005 where he Chamber. Today the Grand Chamber was eventually arrested and sent to Panel decided to reject the request. UK. According to John Loftus the This means that the Chamber British intelligence said he was

matter should never have come to this stage had the British police done their job almost nine years ago and provided the material seized from Babar’s

home to the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service), rather than secretly passing it to their US counterparts.”

Babar Ahmed’s father said he should be prosecuted in the UK, and claimed the Crown Prosecution Service had not considered significant parts of the evidence against him when it decided he should not face charges in Britain . Babar’s fa¬ther about the Eu¬ro¬pean Court’s de¬ci¬sion, said a strange de¬ci¬sion as the UK’s own laws pre¬vent peo¬ple being de¬port-ed to coun¬tries that practice the death penal¬ty and / or tor¬ture, and the USA does both.

Fahad Ansari: “The fight will never be over until Babar (Ahmad) is back home with his family” They said the CPS had all the information that was the basis for the US accusations and Mr Ahmad should immediately be prosecuted in the UK for conduct allegedly committed in the country.

“Moreover, a British businessman Karl Watkins has recently commenced his own private prosecution of Babar based on the principle of the matter.

“We now call on the home secretary to immediately undertake to halt any extradition until the Director of Public Prosecutions makes a decision on this material that been in his possession for

several months.”

Campaigners for Mr Ahmad say the battle to keep him in the UK will continue.

His supporters say he should stand trial in the UK because the alleged offences occurred here.

Earlier this month, a businessman began the process of launching a private prosecution, saying that British suspects should be tried in the UK, not abroad Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled al-Fawwaz are accused of being aides to former al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in London.

They said that they faced an inhumane regime of solitary confinement in a special “supermax” prison.

NEWS

Saarc international I Thursday 27 September 2012

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Channel 4 News

‘Terror and stress’ in the shadow of the drones

Civilians in north west Pakistan are suffering “24-hour mental stress” because of the threat of drone strikes, drawing comparisons to the mood after the 9/11 attacks in the US. A detailed report into the human impact of US drone activity in rural Pakistan found that the aircraft “terrorise” men, women and children “24-hours a day” causing “substantial levels of fear and stress”.

The study states that “these fears are not without a legitimate basis, as drones have reportedly struck schools in the past, resulting in...the deaths of dozens of children.”

The campaign is “damaging and counterproductive,” and neither politicians nor the public can “continue to ignore evidence of the civilian harm” it causes, according to academics of Stanford Law School and New York University’s School of Law. “I know a lot of people, girls and boys, whose families have stopped them from getting an education because of drone attacks,” one Pakistani father told researchers.

The findings echo an investigation by Channel 4 News which found women and children living in a state of panic and fear on a daily basis, with villages and public buildings in Waziristan in the firing line.

Precision killing?

US officials state that drone warfare is their most “precise” weapon in the fight against al-Qaeda terrorists. They insist that civilian deaths are kept to a minimum.

On Monday, Pakistani intelligence officials reported the latest drone attack had killed five militants.

Former Pakistan cricket captain

Imran Khan, who will lead a “peace march” march in Waziristan on 7 October, told Channel 4 News: “If the strikes are as accurate as being suggested, the identities of the

Yemen. But it is rural, mountainous north west Pakistan - close to the Afghan border - which has remained a relentless hunting ground with nearly 300 strikes in three years.

way to win this war is to isolate the terrorists and win hearts and minds of the people.”

‘Double-tap’ strikes The latest report also described the

victims should be disclosed for the world to see the efficacy of the drones in eliminating terrorists.

“We believe that these strikes are killing people indiscriminately.”

America’s drone campaign, which is led by the CIA but never publicly

Mr Khan said: “The people of Waziristan stand isolated, infrastructure has been destroyed, people have been displaced, their children haven’t gone to schools in years and economic activities stand paralysed.

acknowledged, has widened extensively under the Obama administration. It has expanded into the Horn of Africa - targeting al-Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and

“We believe that continued reliance on military strategy will push the people of the region towards the terrorists.

We want to give hope to the people of region and show the world that the

“significant evidence” that exists for the practice of “double-tap” strikes, in which rescuers arriving at the scene are also targeted by follow-up attacks.

Interviewees “explained that the secondary strikes have discouraged average civilians from coming to one another’s rescue, and even inhibited the provision of emergency medical assistance from humanitarian workers.”

“Once there has been a drone strike, people have gone in for rescue missions, and five or 10 minutes after the drone attack, they attack the rescuers who are there,” local journalist Noor Behram said.

‘Continuous tension’ The report said the presence of drones overhead has led to mental health problems in the civilian communities below.

A local taxi driver said: “Whether we are driving a car, or we are working on a farm, or we are sitting at home playing cards - no matter what we

are doing we are always thinking the drone will strike us. So we are scared to do anything, no matter what.”

And a humanitarian worker who has worked in areas affected by drones drew parallels with the US after 11 September 2001. “I was in New York on 9/11... People were afraid about what might happen next...This is what it is like. It is a continuous tension.”

Legal fight Legal challenges involving the use of drones are under way in both Pakistan and Britain, with the US to follow.

Reprieve, which commissioned the Stanford report, is currently bringing a case on behalf of Noor Khan, who lost his father, a local tribal elder, in a strike on a “jirga” - a council used to resolve disputes. Noor is asking the British government to clarify what its policy is on helping the CIA’s drone campaign. This judicial review is due to be heard in court on 23-24 October.

Reprieve’s legal director Clive Stafford-Smith said: “We are also bringing a series of other cases (four to date) in different venues in Pakistan and Europe and, in the end, the US.” Lawyer Shahzad Akbar, who is representing some of the families of drone victims, told Channel 4 News: “We are making progress, one case in Peshawar high court is making real headway... on how is it determined who is militant and who is not.

“I think compensation is a long way from here but people have started seeing some justice when at least the corridors of power are asked some serious question. This is the beginning of a long-awaited process for justice.”

This is how racism takes root

Continued from page 9 the aberrations of a tiny minority within that group, and the normal behaviour of a significant section.

Some examples are small in number but can be the tip of a much wider problem: eg, knife crime, which is literally the sharp end of a host of problems affecting black communities ranging from family breakdown, to poverty, to low school achievement and social exclusion.

But in Asia, Pakistan or Islam there is no culture of grooming or sex abuse – any more than there is anywhere else in the world – so the tiny number of cases have no cultural significance. Which means those who believe it, or perpetuate it, are succumbing to racism, much as they may protest.

Exactly the same mistake was made after 9/11, when the actions of a tiny number of fanatics were used to cast aspersions against a 1.5 billion-strong community worldwide. Motives were questioned: are you with us or the terrorists? How fundamental

are your beliefs? Can we trust you?

Imagine if, after Anders Breivik’s carnage in Norway last year, which he claimed to be in defence of the Christian world, British people were repeatedly asked whether they supported him? Lumped together in the same white religious group as the killer and constantly told they must renounce him, or explain why we should believe that their type of Christianity – even if they were non-believers – is different from his. “It’s nothing to do with me”, most people would say. But somehow that answer was never good enough when given by Muslims over al-Qaida. And this hectoring was self-defeating because it caused only greater alienaton and resentment towards the west and, in particular, its foreign policies.

Ultimately, the urge to vilify groups of whom we know little may be very human, and helps us bond with those we feel are “like us”. But if we are going to deal with the world as it is, and not as a

cosy fantasyland where our group is racially and culturally supreme, we have to recognise when sweeping statements are false.

And if we truly care about the sexual exploitation of girls, we need to know that we must look at all communities, across the whole country, and not just at those that play to a smug sense of superiority about ourselves.

Convictions and sentences Mark Adaoui, 40, of Carlton Road, Derby, was found guilty of twocounts of paying for the sexual services of a child and one count of supplying cannabis.

Ijaz Ahmed 35, of Becher Street, Derby, was found guilty of three counts of paying for the sexual services of a child.

John Shaw 55, of Kniveton, was charged with two counts of paying for the sexual services of a child. He was found guilty of both offences. He was found not guilty of assault.

Anthony Lambert 51, of Warren Street, Derby, was charged with two counts of paying for the sexual services of a child. He was found guilty of both offences.

Stefan Godfrey 44, of George Street, Pinxton was charged with two counts of paying for the sexual services of a child. He was found guilty of both offences.

Ian Yeoman, 60, from Moseley Street, Birmingham, formerly of Mortimer Street, Derby, admitted 12 counts including paying for the sexual services of a child, sexual activity with a child and possessing indecent images.

Colin Simpson, 55, from Old School Lane, Creswell, pleaded guilty to six counts of paying for the sexual services of a child.

David Shardlow, 56, from Charlbury Close, Derby, admitted to nine counts of paying for the sexual services of a child and possessing indecent images of children.

NEWS

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 27 September 2012

India’s 7,730 super rich collectively own $925 bn Indians account for 22% of Britain’s ultra-rich club

India is home to as many as 7,730 ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals whose combined wealth amounts to a whopping USD 925 billion, says a study.

According to the world ultra wealth report 2012-13, by Wealth X, a global wealth intelligence and prospecting company, India has 7,730 UHNW individuals, of which 109 are billionaires.

Super-rich Indians account for more than 20% of the wealth of ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals in Britain, a new list showed on Tuesday. As a national group, they are second only to expat Russians. .

The list, published by the Singapore-based Wealth-X group, places steel magnate and ArcelorMittal chairman Lakshmi Mittal at second place with a fortune of $15.8 billion.

Mittal was pushed to the second spot this year by Russian Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov, who is part owner of the English football club Arsenal and is worth $16.4 billion.

“Mittal has seen his net worth estimate decline along with the stock price of ArcelorMittal, losing at least $30 billion in recent years,” the report said.

The two other Indians on the top 15 list are the Hinduja brothers — Srichand at number 9 with a net worth of $7.6 billion and Gopichand at 12th with $6 billion.

Taken together, the wealth of the three Indian-origin industrialists makes up 22%

of the top 15 total of $133.3 billion.

Apart from Usmanov, the two other Russians in the list include Roman Abramovich

(at number 3, $12.1 billion) and Leonard Blavatnik (Number 5, $9.5 billion).

According to Wealth-X estimates, there are 10,760 individuals residents in Britain worth $30 million or more, with at least 310 new individuals joining the ranks of the ultra wealthy. On an average, Britain has added one UHNW individual every day since 2011. The combined wealth of the UHNW in Britain stands at an estimated $1.3 trillion.

“The wealth composition of the United Kingdom, London in particular, is diverse,” said David Lincoln, Director of Research at Wealth-X. “This is reflected in our data showing that 31% of the UHNW population in the United Kingdom is considered nondomiciled, with non-resident Indians and West Asian UHNWIs making up a significant proportion of these.”

Rich Indians might have fast-track lanes at Heathrow As Indian companies increasingly set up offices

in the UK or takeover British companies, the plan might take off After facing embarrassment over long delays at immigration at Heathrow before the Olympics, Britain is working on plans for fasttrack passport lanes for high-value individuals from India and other countries to convey the message that London is “open for business”.

Brian Moore, the head of UK Border Force, told the Home Affairs Select Committee today that his officials were working on the plans for high-value business individuals not only from the old Commonwealth countries such as Australia, but from all countries.

He told senior Labour Keith Vaz, chairman of the committee: “It is an idea that officials are discussing with port operators. It will then go back to ministers for them to consider whether and how it is going to be progressed.

It is an idea that is being pursued.”

As Indian companies increasingly set up offices in the UK or takeover British companies, top business executives from the country travel to London on a regular basis.

Vaz termed such individuals as “the super rich”, but Moore preferred to call them ‘highvalue’ business individuals.

Moore said such fast-track lanes were already in operation in several countries, and having them at Heathrow would help convey the message that Britain was open for business.

Long waiting times at Heathrow before the Olympics due to shortage of immigration staff caused by funding cuts led to much criticism and embarrassment for the David Cameron government, which put in place extra staff and mobile teams to cope with the Olympics rush.

The special measures helped reduce waiting times at immigration counters during the Olympics season.

The official target time for passengers arriving from outside the European Union to progress through immigration is 45 minutes at Heathrow.

Filmmaker’s $100,000 bounty call ‘emotional outburst’

A $100,000 reward offer for the murder of the maker of a film insulting the Prophet Mohammed was ‘an emotional outburst’, according to the Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK. It came after Pakistan’s railways minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour invited the Taliban and al Qaeda to help kill the filmmaker behind Innocence of Muslims, which sparked violent protests around the world.

He told reporters in the northwestern city of Peshawar: “I announce today that this blasphemer who has abused the holy prophet, if somebody will kill him, I will give that person a prize of $100,000.

“I also invite Taliban and al

Qaeda brothers to be partners in this noble deed.

“I also announce that if the government hands this person over to me, my heart says I will finish him with my own hands and then they can hang me.”

However a spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister said the government “absolutely disassociated” itself from the minister’s statement.

Speaking to Channel 4 News, Pakistani High Commissioner to the UK, Wajid Shamsul Hasan attempted to distance the Pakistani government from the outburst.

He said: “The minister’s comment is a consequence of countrywide protests against the blasphemy act.

“The (Pakistan) prime minister does not subscribe to these views.

“You must understand the gravity of the situation.

“Every Muslim country is on fire

at the moment. You are catching one phrase of a minister who’s one of the many ministers we

have.

“An individual outburst. You’re interpretating it as the expression of a whole government, a whole nation. “ He also rejected claims the minister in question should

be sacked: “Why should he be sacked? He didn’t call anyone pleb,” referring to alleged comments made by Tory Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell.

On Friday the Sun newspaper reported that Mitchell swore at police officers in Downing Street and described them as “plebs”.

The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has called for an investigation into the Downing Street incident in which Andrew Mitchell, the government chief whip, has admitted to swearing at police officers.

Cooper has written to Sir Jeremy Heywood, the cabinet secretary, calling on the government to release in full what Mitchell said to the officers.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 27 September 2012

NEWS

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Closer China-Afghanistan ties will stem Pak-based terror

The formal establishment of a liaison relationship between China and Afghanistan would enable the two countries to exchange intelligence regarding the activities of the extremist organisations in the Xinjiang province of China and the Central Asian Republics, notes B Raman.

The internal security services of China and Afghanistan signed a formal agreement at Kabul on Saturday to have a liaison relationship between them. The agreement, inter alia, provides for exchange of securityrelated intelligence, counterterrorism co-operation and training of Afghan police officers by China.

The agreement was signed by officials of the two countries during an unannounced four-hour hush-hush visit to Kabul by Zhou Yongkang, a member of the standing committee of the politburo of the Communist Party of China, who is also the minister for public security.

The ministry of public security is responsible for internal intelligence and security. In addition, it also supervises the work of the police and the criminal justice system all over China. Counter-terrorism, counterinsurgency and counter-intelligence are among its responsibilities. The external intelligence service of China is called the ministry of state security.

Officials in charge of internal security and counter-terrorism in the two countries have been in informal touch with each other

in the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, of which Afghanistan is an observer. An agreement to formalise and upgrade this relationship was taken during a visit of President Hamid Karzai to Beijing in June to attend an SCO summit.

The formal establishment of a liaison

control centres in North Waziristan in the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan and their terrorists often transit through Afghan territory on their way to Xinjiang in China and the Central Asian Republics.

While the level of extremist activity by the Uighurs in the Xinjiang province of China from their sanctuaries in North

relationship would enable the two services to exchange intelligence regarding the activities of the extremist organisations of the Xinjiang province of China and the Central Asian Republics.

There has been close co-operation among the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Islamic Jihad Group (also from Uzbekistan), the Islamic Movement of East Turkestan (of Xinjiang) and Al Qaeda All these organisations have their command and

Waziristan has remained high, there has been a decrease in the activities of the Uzbek groups and Al Qaeda in the CARs. Despite this, Chinese concerns over the remnants of the Uzbek groups and Al Qaeda operating from Pakistani territory remain high due to the threats that they could pose to energy supplies from the CARs through pipelines to China.

While Chinese officials outwardly speak highly of the co-operation from

the Pakistani intelligence for dealing with threats from these groups, they have not been quite satisfied in reality.

All terrorist incidents in Xinjiang have had a Pakistani link either in the form of training, or sanctuaries or recruitment.

Recently, the Pakistan government has terminated the contract given by it to a Singapore company for the running of the Gwadar port on the Mekran coast in Balochistan constructed with Chinese assistance. This port, which was meant to meet the external trade requirements of Western China, Afghanistan and the CARs, in addition to that of Pakistan, has not got going due to various teething troubles.

There have been reports in sections of the Pakistani media that Islamabad has been pressing a Chinese company to take over the responsibility for the running of the Gwadar port.

While the port is very well equipped from the point of view of modern installations, its security cover is weak due to the disturbed situation in Balochistan and the activities of antiBeijing Uighur and Uzbek elements in that area. If the Chinese take over the responsibility for the maintenance of the port, its security will be a matter of major concern to them.

Since the co-operation of the Pakistani intelligence agencies may not be satisfactory in this regard, they may have to depend on the Afghan intelligence services for the necessary flow of intelligence.

It is interesting and significant that Zhou flew secretly to Kabul

after a two-day visit to Singapore where considerable information will be available with the local port management experts regarding the kind of difficulties the Singapore company faced in Gwadar before it decided to pull out.

Zhou seems to have gone directly to Kabul from Singapore and not through Pakistan. It is not known whether he stopped over in Pakistan on his way back.

According to media reports, during the talks in Kabul, Zhou signed agreements on increased security and economic cooperation, including a deal to help “train, fund and equip the Afghan police”.

The Xinhua news agency of China quoted him as saying, “It is in line with the fundamental interests of the two nations for China and Afghanistan to strengthen a strategic and cooperative partnership which is also conducive to regional peace, stability and development.”

No details regarding the economic cooperation agreement signed during the visit are available. The Chinese state-owned company called the China Metallurgical Group operates a $3 billion (about Rs 16,800 crore) copper mine in the eastern Logar province. The project was expected to go into production in 2013, but there has reportedly been a delay due to security reasons.

This is the first time since 1966 that a senior Chinese party and government leader visited Kabul. In 1966, then President Liu Shaoqi visited Kabul.

Zardari, Karzai and Cameron to hold talks on Afghanistan

President Asif Ali Zardari will discuss ways Pakistan can help restore peace and stability to Afghanistan during a trilateral exchange at the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Foreign Office sources said on Friday.

Requesting anonymity, the source said that the summit –the second extended trilateral talks in the past three months — will focus on how Pakistan can help facilitate peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban and will also be attended by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

The meeting, like the earlier July summit, is being hosted by Cameron who has taken upon himself the mantle of “honest broker”, and is looking to mend fences between Kabul and Islamabad after several cross border attacks against Pakistani

security forces dented relations during the past few months.

The process of finding a mechanism for starting negotiations for a peaceful settlement of the Afghan conflict reached some consensus during the July summit when Afghan media reported that Prime Minister

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf assured Karzai and Cameron that Pakistan would help arrange meetings between the Afghan government and Taliban representatives for formal peace talks.

During the summit, the British prime minister had lauded the

efforts of Pakistan during the war on terror and termed Pakistan’s role in regional stability “significant”.

Prime Minister Ashraf had earlier assured his counterparts that Pakistan would continue to play its role for regional stability and during his interaction with reporters at the Kabul garden palace Ashraf had added that “Pakistan is playing the role of a facilitator. If Pakistan can facilitate in any manner, we will do it.”

Foreign Office sources confirmed that following the day long talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in July, the two countries had agreed to resume meetings of the two-track Peace Commission which had ended abruptly after the death of Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani, head of the Afghan Council for Peace.

As a result, an Afghan peace delegation headed by Salahuddin

Rabbani had been scheduled to visit Islamabad. The visit was aimed at finalizing modalities of peace talks with the Afghan Taliban with Pakistan playing the role of a facilitator. However, an increase in cross border attacks had delayed the visit and stalled the peace process.

Meanwhile, another source at the foreign ministry revealed to The Express Tribune that President Asif Ali Zardari would highlight Pakistan’s efforts for regional stability particularly towards finding a solution for the Afghan conflict during his address to the United Nations General Assembly.

The trilateral dialogue and the effort to fix relations between Kabul and Islamabad, if successful, will play an important part in finding a permanent solution to the Afghan conflict through peaceful negotiations.

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Saarc international I Thursday 27 September 2012

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Saarc international I Thursday 27 September 2012

Muslim nations swept by anti-West rallies over film

Western missions shut in Pakistan, as across the Islamic world, fearing further escalation of a 10-day violent backlash over the low-budget film “Innocence of Muslims” which insults Islam and the Prophet Muhammad and was spread via a video clip on YouTube. France, where the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo this week published a series of cartoons mocking the Prophet, shut diplomatic missions and schools in 20 Muslim countries.

Clashes broke out in Pakistan’s five largest cities, killing at least 15 people and wounding more than 100 others, Agence France-Presse reported. Witnesses estimated that nationwide rallies mobilized more than 45,000. Arsonists and looters attacked cinemas, banks, shops and restaurants in Karachi.

In Karachi, 12 people died, including a policeman who was shot by unknown people near the U.S. consulate, and three people were killed in Peshawar. The government had declared Sept. 21 a national holiday, naming it as “the day of the love for the prophet,” but for hours shut down mobile telephone networks for “security reasons.”

There were demonstrations across Asia in Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and Bangladesh, where about 10,000 took to the streets of Dhaka to condemn the film and the French cartoons.

In Tehran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the repeated insistence of U.S. officials that the administration had nothing to do with the low-budget movie.

In Iraq, about 3,000 people protested against the film and caricatures in the southern city of Basra. Lebanese Muslims took part in protests

to vent their anger over the film and French cartoons.

Hundreds of Yemenis also protested, chanting “Death to America, death to Israel,” as they tried to march on the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, but security forces used armored vehicles and water cannon to stop them. The protesters demanded “the departure of the U.S. ambassador and foreign forces in Yemen,” in reference to 50 Marines sent last week to protect the embassy.

Some 200 Moroccans protested outside a mosque in Rabat’s twin city of Sale after

threat to the country’s freedoms and security.

“Each time that parties or groups overstep our freedoms in a flagrant manner, we have to be tough, clamp down and insist on public order,” Ennahda chief Rached Ghannouchi told Agence France-Presse in an interview.

“These people pose a threat not only to Ennahda but to the country’s freedoms and security.”

Ghannouchi denied that the Ennahda-led coalition government had been lax in its failure so far to arrest Salafi leader Seif Allah ibn Hussein, suspected of organizing the violent

anti-Islamic film and cartoons President Zardari to move UN over profane film Pakistan minister announces $100,000 bounty on anti-Islam film maker President Asif Ali Zardari is to arrive in New York on Sunday to lead the Pakistani delegation at the 67th session of the UN General Assembly in which over 120 world leaders are expected to participate.

The President will raise Pakistan’s concerns at the United Nations over the profane film disrespecting the Holy Prophet (PBUH),

American film “Innocence of Muslims” disrespecting the Holy Prophet (PBUH), report .

Speaking here at a press conference on Saturday, the Federal Minister for Railways Ghulam Ahmed Bilour said that he was aware that it was a crime to instigate the people for murder, but he was ready to commit the crime.

He added that there was no way to instill fear among blasphemers other than taking this step.

THOUSANDS of activists in Pakistan staged new demonstrations against a US-made anti-

hundreds of women, chanting, “We love our Holy Prophet’’ and “Punishment for those who humiliated our Prophet’’.

Some 500 people from the hardline Islamist group Jamaat-ud-Dawa staged a protest in front of the US consulate in the eastern city of Lahore, chanting, “The US deserves only one remedy - jihad, jihad’’.

The protests were peaceful, in contrast to the previous day’s demonstrations.

Religious groups said they were also planning demonstrations in Karachi, the scene of the worst violence on Friday, after the funerals of

the streets across Asia and the Middle East Friday as Western missions closed amid fears of violence.

Anger has also been stoked by the publication in a French magazine of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

The violence on Friday was worst in Pakistan.

Witnesses estimated that nationwide rallies mobilised more than 45,000, mainly members of right-wing religious parties and supporters of banned terror groups. The numbers were relatively small, though. Pakistan’s population is 180 million.

Fifteen people were killed in Karachi, the country’s largest city, and six in the northwestern city of Peshawar, health department officials said. The combined total of wounded in Karachi, Peshawar and in the capital Islamabad was 229.

“The total death toll from the anti-Islam film protests reached 15 in Karachi as three more succumbed to their injuries overnight,’’ Sagheer Ahmed, provincial health minister in southern Sindh province, told AFP. Mukhtiar Khan, a senior doctor at the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar said that one

weekly prayers, chanting anti-U.S. slogans and denouncing U.S. President Barack Obama.

Ghannouchi vows to crack down on hard-line Salafis Meanwhile, the veteran leader of Tunisia’s ruling Islamist party said the authorities would crack down on hard-line Salafis after deadly violence around the U.S. embassy, saying they posed a

protest on Sept. 14 at the U.S. embassy and adjacent American school in Tunis.

Ibn Hussein, who heads the extremist Ansar al-Sharia movement, preached at the al-Fatah mosque in the heart of the capital on Sept. 17 surrounded by his followers before leaving.

Pakistan bears brunt of demonstrations on

senior Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and Governor Punjab Sardar Latif Khan Khosa told reporters on Saturday.

President Zardari will address the 193-member assembly on Tuesday when the high-level debate begins.

A Pakistani federal minister has announced a bounty of $100,000 on the maker of the

Islam film, as the death toll from the previous day’s violence rose to 23.

More than 5000 protesters marched towards the parliament in Islamabad, including

some of those killed during the protests.

Protests against the film Innocence of Muslims, which mocks Islam, have erupted across the Muslim world and tens of thousands took to

Four more people died overnight from wounds they received during the protests, taking the number killed across Pakistan in the day of demonstrations to 21.

more person died from his wounds in hospital, taking the total killed in the city to six.

Overall, 23 people have been killed in Pakistan during protests over the past week.

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Saarc international I Thursday 27 September 2012

Q&A With Akshay Kumar

How would you explain your equation with God? My equation with God like many is purely on a respectful and extremely humble level. I respect all decisions made under ‘Gods’ roof, I do not argue with ‘God’’, I only argue with some people that mistreat Gods’ creation and existence on this planet. For example: When did God ever say you had to pay to believe? After making this film, in all honesty I have changed my perception of how I worship God. For me ‘God’ is everywhere, why am I paying Lakhs for me and my family to fly to India’s most prestigious religious places in the hope

has already provided us, I would just want people to understand this is not our planet to misuse, we are all here on a rental basis, we’re born, we pay our way, we worship our God in thanks of our life, and then we pass away. I would want everyone to remember that we all come from the same place, the sooner we unite, the sooner practically all problems the world over will be solved… But that’s just me!

The toughest part is living up to the nation’s expectations and perceptions. What my vision might be is someone else’s opinion, so to be true to my vision and respectful to the rest of the world’s lifetime of worshipping, is not an easy task. But really all I had to do was release myself from all negative and impure thoughts and actions, and just be the very being of what I have been praying to for all my years. Was it easy?! No! Was it extraordinary? very much so!

How would you classify this film and why should we watch it?

It’s a people’s film - it’s educational, spiritual, eye-opening and it will be life changing for some people. The whole experience was for me. See it’s a film with a message, but the message will be different for different people. You walk out of this film either enlightened, confused, or opinionated.

I can imagine many coming out wanting to have a full-blown discussion about how the film made them feel. It’s an intriguing journey into the life of religion and how people use religion in India. But it’s all in good taste, sorry faith ;o).

Despite being the son-in-law of the first

God will acknowledge my love and devotion more.

If God really is who I believe he is, then why am I paying to worship him when I can give that money to helpless children? I would feel 10 times closer to his heart than I would by spending the money on him, hopelessly! Remember, what does Mandir in Hindi really mean? ‘Man’ means inside, ‘Dir’ means heart, God is inside me always, my heart is where my temple is…

Please remember this is just my views, I’m not preaching, it’s just an example of the characteristics you will find in this beautiful comedy I call ‘OMG’.

Since you go to temples as well as Gurudwaras, besides visiting a mosque in Muscat recently, is it more about the faith than just the religion for you?

For me it is absolutely all about the faith rather than the religion. Remember I’m in love with ‘God’, not the people who speak for him. I purely respect them for their devoted nature. I visit all kinds of religious temples, churches, mosques, Gurudwaras, rocks, caves and cliffs all over the world in search of enlightenment, but really I’m just fascinated by our need to prove our devotion. For me, the best thing I love about all these places is, when I go to visit I do feel pure, pure because I know I’m safe, surrounded by people who have come to pray and not to fight.

I get to sit down quietly and take in the faithful beauty around me, but my all time favourite place to pray, is at the bottom of my garden, sitting on my wall, looking out at God’s gracious sea, with my family sleeping peacefully behind me. That is when I feel God’s love and protection the most - that is when I feel I’m a good, happy devoted human being.

The rest of my time I try to spend helping those less fortunate than myself, to make up for all the time I cannot devote to God’ himself...

Has there been any time/s or phase in life when you lost trust or came close to losing trust in God? Never… Not even when my father died! My losing faith in God would be my weakness, not his… That is what I love so dearly about my country, even the saddest, most lonely starving person will feed his God before he feeds himself or herself. It’s not

about what God gives us, who’s lucky, or who’s had it the hardest. In India, no-one gives up their Faith because of circumstance, and that, my friends, is what makes India so special. We put faith before ourselves, which is why we have the most loved country in the world. People’s hearts can never leave India only their bodies leave…

Have there been ‘Oh My God’ moments in your life?

If yes, please explain some.

Many! Passing exams. Never having my nose broken when I took up karate. Completing seven Khiladi movies (about to be 8) with my life intact.

Marrying the woman of my dreams ‘OMG’ ;o) Being a father when I still see myself trying to be the best son. Making a film on ‘man vs God, Oh My God I can see my father’s face now, he’d love it with all his heart. There are ‘OMG’ moments everyday in all of our lives – it’s whether you acknowledge them, that is the beauty…

You play Bhagwan/Lord Krishna (God) in OMG: Oh My God. What prompted you to take on such a role?

This is my first film under my new production company ‘Grazing Goat’, so the meaning behind this film is more than most can imagine. Probably because this is one film I would be so proud to show my father. Despite the fact that the script is extremely close to both mine and Pareshji’s heart, it truly is a beautiful, once in ‘my life time’, screen play.

Everyone involved wanted me to play this role, to be honest I would never dream of portraying a ‘God’ of any kind, anyone that knows me understands my humble shyness to play such an almighty character or in this case, India’s almighty Lord Krishna. But when you have a vision (and a good shove from Pareshji himself) you just can’t turn your back on such an opportunity out of fear of being judged by ‘some’ negative parties in this world. This film has opened my eyes and my heart more than I thought possible, as an actor and as a devotee to God...

What was the toughest part about playing Lord Krishna?

Keeping in mind the theme of the film, if you could play God for a day. What would you do during that day, and whom would you meet and bless with your presence. Anything you would do in this current life if you could play God? It’s a tough question to ask, yet easy if you answer what one should obviously answer. Of course I would want to ‘heal the world, end all war, crime, poverty, starvation and disease’. But would that really be blessing the world, or would mankind come up with something else to destroy our sacred planet! On a more realistic note, I think all Gods just want people to feel that God is in everyone’s heart, let every single individual feel God’s hand on their shoulder. Rather than changing what God

superstar of the country, the late Rajesh Khanna, you never really spoke about it.

Only recently has the close relationship between the two of you become known to people. Could you share some memories that you cherish with him?

You will never really hear about any relationship I share with anyone, especially a family member.

Remember I was his son-in-law, but I was a struggling actor. I never wanted either him or any of the people thinking I would ever dream of reaping any form of success off my father-in-law’s stardom.

We kept our respect and admiration for each other very personal and very quiet, exactly how it should have been. People may only be seeing it now, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t there.

Sheema Kirmani :Best Actress Award at the Hawler International Theatre Festival- in Erbil, Kurdistan/ Iraq After the success of the first one the International Theater Festival in Hawler (that’s the Kurdish name for Erbil in Iraq) takes place for the second time from 18th till 24th

group who performed so well, I am so proud of you all!

Sheema Kermani, who wrote and directed the Pakistani show as well as playing and dancing in it, is a well known

September. After reciving Award Sheema Kirmani said : I am humbled by being given the c- this was a competition between many International groups from Germany, Italy, Spain, Egypt, Iran, Uganda, Iraq, Turkey and Kurdistan.

Thank you Hawler/Erbil and thank you Tehrik-e-Niswan

activist for women’s rights. The play, a multimedia performance, used old and modern texts to explore the suffering of women in present day Pakistan. When she performed it in her home country Sheema Kermani was threatened by some Islamist groups.

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Saarc international I Thursday 27 September 2012

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Thursday, 27.09.12

international

President Zardari tells UN to act against blasphemers

Manmohan Singh turns 80 on Wednesday

“Kashmir a symbol of UN system’s failure” “Do not ask Pakistan to do more on terror”

Pakistan wants trade, not aid

* President says world should stop ‘do more’ mantra, look for win-win solutions to all issues * Pakistan always went beyond call of duty in fulfilling international responsibilities

Addressing the UN General Assembly late on Tuesday, President Asif Ali Zardari stressed that Pakistan sought trade rather than aid, thanking the European Union member states for recognising the value of trade to Pakistan.

“By granting trade concession to Pakistan, the EU has sent a positive message. The trade concessions will help us revive the economy and fight terrorism,” he added.

President Zardari started his speech by expressing strong condemnation “for the acts of incitement of hate against the faith of Muslims of the world and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)”.

He said the international community must not become silent observers and should criminalise acts that destroy the peace of

the world and endanger world security by misusing freedom of expression. Urging the world community to refrain from the ‘do more’ mantra, the president said no country and its people had suffered more in the struggle against terrorism than Pakistan.

He said drone strikes and civilian casualties added to complexity in Pakistan’s battle for hearts and minds through the struggle.

“To those who say we have not done enough, I say in all humility: please do not insult the memory of our dead, and the pain of our living. Do not ask of my people, what no one has ever asked of any other peoples. Do not demonise the innocent women, and children of Pakistan. And please, stop this refrain to do more.”

He said the growing regional pivot in Pakistan’s

foreign policy reflected its democratic policymaking. By normalising trade relations, he said, “we want to create a regional South Asian narrative. This narrative will provide an environment that will mutually benefit the countries of our region. One of them is the tendency to respond to failure through blame. Pakistan does not blame others for the challenges it faces. We believe we should look for win-win solutions. Regional cooperation and connectivity will bring us closer and bind us together”.

He said Pakistan’s hosting of a quadrilateral summit next month and signing of the Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement were proof of its commitment to regional connectivity.

Zardari said further there were enormous challenges globally. He said, “We must work to end poverty, protect the planet, and mitigate climate change, ensure equal rights to all peoples, and protect the weak and vulnerable, pursue justice and fairness for all people, pursue the peaceful settlement of international disputes, save our current and future generations from the horrors of war.”

He added Pakistan was proud of going above and beyond the call of duty in fulfilling its international responsibilities.

On the Palestine issue, the president said Pakistan supports the rights of the Palestinian people and an independent Palestinian state, adding, “We also favour the admission of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations.”

Speaking on terrorism, President Zardari said Pakistan had lost over 7,000 soldiers Continued on page 20 >>

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, turned 80 on Wednesday.

Dr. Singh, who has so far shied away from birthday celebrations, has a busy schedule on Wednesday as he is attending a function where he would give away the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar awards and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) awards on the organisation’s 70th Foundation Day function.

A workaholic Prime Minister is, however, faced with intense pressure from the opposition parties over a slew of reforms announced by the UPA Government led by him.

Dr. Singh has also lost the support of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has withdraws its support over the move to allow FDI in multi-brand retail, a cap on the number of LPG gas and diesel price hike.

A confident Prime Minister last week justified the recent economic reforms, saying no government likes to impose burdens on the Dr. Singh said the UPA Government has been voted to office twice to protect the interests of the ‘aam admi’.

“At the same time, it is the responsibility of the government to defend the national interest, and protect the long term future of our people. This means that we must ensure that the economy Continued on page 20 >>

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Saarc international I Thursday 27 September 2012

Get ready for snap polls: Gadkari

With Trinamool Congress walking out of the ruling UPA and NCP threatening to follow suit, BJP top brass on Wednesday asked party leaders to stand united and remain battle-ready as the prospects of early polls loom large in the current political scenario.

In his inaugural address at BJP national executive here, party president Nitin Gadkari asked his party to prepare for polls as the Congress-led UPA government is a “sinking ship” and the people have lost all love for it.

“The national President conveyed in his speech the uncertain current political scenario...He said the nation

is on the verge of change. Elections can be held anytime,” BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters.

Significantly, Mr. Gadkari asked his party leaders to show “largeheartedness, be united and make all efforts to meet the target (of coming to power)“. The main opposition party has several senior leaders vying to become BJP’s prime ministerial candidate.

“Gadkari discussed the current political scenario. This government is in the state of uncertainty. If the government falls of its own, BJP will not come to save this government,” Mr. Prasad said.

Asked if the BJP is ready to face polls,

Mr. Prasad asserted, “BJP is ready for polls. If polls are held within one month, we are ready.”

Mr. Prasad said in view of the current

India agrees to shorten by 30 pc restrictive Pakistan trade list

While India will prune its sensitive list under the South Asian Free Trade Area (Safta) pact of Pakistani items to 100 by April 2013, Pakistan will do the same by 2017, the two nations say in a joint statement.

India has agreed to further shorten its Pakistan-specific restrictive trade list by 30%, removing a major obstacle to complete trade normalisation between the two countries, expected to take place by the end of this year.

Besides signing three agreements, which will largely address Islamabad’s concerns

regarding non-tariff barriers (NTBs), both nations also explored a proposal set forth by an Indian firm for setting up power plants of up to 2,000 megawatts generation capacity in Pakistan.

Furthermore, at the conclusion of round seven of bilateral talks between Islamabad and New Delhi, significant progress has been reported on all issues: including trade through land routes; connecting New Delhi and Islamabad via an air route; removal of NTBs; and

cooperation in the telecommunication sector. The next round of talks will be held in New Delhi in April next year.

Customs officials from India and Pakistan signed the Redressal of Trade Grievances Agreement, the Mutual Recognitions Agreement, and the Customs Cooperation Agreement.

“The talks are progressing according to Pakistan’s needs and programme, which is manifested in the gradual removal of trade bottlenecks,” said Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim, who witnessed the signing

ceremony of the three trade pacts.

Commerce secretaries of India and Pakistan also signed the joint declaration, setting up a clear road map for the implementation of all decisions taken during the two-day parleys.

While addressing a press conference, Pakistan’s Commerce Secretary Munir Qureshi said that to provide a level playing field to Pakistani exporters, India has agreed to bring down its Sensitive List – maintained under the

South Asia Free Trade Agreement – by 30%. He said the decision will be implemented before the end of this year, and will pave the way for Islamabad to confer the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India. He stressed that India will exclude all restricted items in consultation with Pakistan.

India recently reduced its Pakistanspecific sensitive list by 30%, but Pakistani officials had complained that products where the country enjoyed a competitive advantage were not omitted from the list.

Under Safta, India has maintained a 614 item list of goods Pakistan cannot export across its eastern border. After the negotiations, India will now bring down the list to only 100 items by April next year. Pakistan has also maintained a sensitive list comprising 936 tariff lines, which it will bring down to 100 in the next five years, according to the joint statement.

However, according to the joint declaration, India will reduce the list by 30% only after Pakistan notifies the removal of all restrictions on trade through the Wagah-Attari land route.

Indian Commerce Secretary SR Rao has said that “India has been assured that by the end of October, Pakistan will significantly expand the list of goods that can be traded across the Wagah border.” He said both countries have also decided that Wagah route will remain operational for seven days a week, as against six days a week at present.

NDA will form next govt, Sukhbir

Sukhbir Singh Badal, on Sunday ruled out the participation of the party in any third front and reiterated his party’s commitment to continue with the NDA which, he asserted, would form the next govt at the Centre.

Mr. Badal, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister, sought to clarify all speculations about his meeting with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav in Delhi. He said his family had

old relations with the families of Mr. Yadav as well as Om Prakash Chautala, who heads the Indian National Lok Dal. He emphasised that nothing political should be attributed to his meeting with Mr. Yadav, as they used social occasions “to exchange notes.”

Mr. Badal made the clarification while talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function to mark the death anniversary of veteran Communist Party of India

(Marxist) leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet at Bundala, the latter’s native village in Jalandhar district.

“Third front unlikely” Mr. Badal said the days of the present government at the Centre were limited, Mr. Badal said people had decided to removed the country’s most corrupt government and bring back the NDA to the helm. There was also no scope for setting up a third front, he added.

situation the BJP president asked partymen to motivate themselves together towards the “big goal” of coming up to the expectations of the

people, as the nation was “standing on the verge of change“.

Mr. Gadkari appealed to all partymen to strengthen the party and stand united in a bid to achieve the goal of wresting power from the UPA. The BJP president termed Congress as a “sinking ship“.

BJP alleged that there has been an “institutionalisation of corruption” in the UPA government along with subversion of democratic and Constitutional institutions like the PAC and the JPC. On the Congress president’s allegation that BJP was spreading canards, the BJP spokesperson said, “We reject it with contempt.”

Continued from page 19 >>

President Zardari tells UN

and policemen, and over 37,000 civilians in fight against the menace. He also spoke about the assassinations of minority affairs minister Shahbaz Bhatti and Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer (whom he called his friend), as well as former premier Benazir Bhutto, saying Pakistan had lost them all to the extremist mindset. He said terrorism and extremism had destroyed human lives, torn social fabric, and devastated the economy. Zardari said terrorist activities within the region and around the world were funded and fuelled by the unrestricted production and sale of illegal drugs, adding Pakistan had pursued an ambitious agenda to control the menace. Talking about South Asia, Zardari spoke about the ever-strengthening ties between Pakistan and China, and engagements to deepen friendship with Afghanistan. “A brighter Afghan future will only be possible when the search for peace is Afghan-owned, Afghan-driven and Afghan-led.

Pakistan will support in every way possible, any process that reflects Afghan national consensus.” Zardari also said Pakistan would continue to support the right of the people of Kashmir to peacefully choose their destiny in accordance with UN resolutions.

Manmohan Singh turns 80 on Wednesday

grows rapidly, and that this generates enough productive jobs for the youth of our country,” said Dr. Singh in his address to the nation.

“Rapid growth is also necessary to raise the revenues we need to finance our programmes in education, health care, housing and rural employment,” he added.

Dr. Singh said the price of diesel was raised by just Rs. 5 per litre instead of the Rs 17 that was needed to cut all losses on diesel.

“Much of diesel is used by big cars and SUVs owned by the rich and by factories and businesses. Should government run large fiscal deficits to subsidise them? We reduced taxes on petrol by Rs. 5 per litre to prevent a rise in petrol prices. We did this so that the crores of middle class people who drive scooters and motorcycles are not hit further,” said Dr. Singh.

“On LPG, we put a cap of 6 subsidised cylinders per year. Almost half of our people, who need our help the most, actually use only 6 cylinders or less. We have ensured they are not affected. Others will still get 6 subsidised cylinders, but they must pay a higher price for more. We did not touch the price of kerosene, which is consumed by the poor,” he added.

The Prime Minister also defended the UPA Government’s move to allow foreign direct investment in retail, saying it would not hurt the small traders. “Organised, modern retailing is already present in our country and is growing. All our major cities have large retail chains. Our national capital, Delhi, has many new shopping centres. But it has also seen a three-fold increase in small shops in recent years,” said Dr. Singh.

“In a growing economy, there is enough space for big and small to grow. The fear that small retailers will be wiped out is completely baseless,” he added.

Asserting that the opening of organised retail to foreign investment will benefit the farmers, Dr. Singh said: “ According to the regulations we have introduced, those who bring FDI have to invest 50 percent of their money in building new warehouses, cold-storages, and modern transport systems.”

“This will help to ensure that a third of our fruits and vegetables, which at present are wasted because of storage and transit losses, actually reach the consumer.

Wastage will go down; prices paid to farmers will go up; and prices paid by consumers will go down,” he added.

The Prime Minister also said the growth of organised retail would also create millions of good new jobs.

Born on September 26, 1932, Dr. Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. A renowned economist, he is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term, and the first Sikh to hold the office.

Saarc international I Thursday 27 September 2012

SAARC

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF AFGHANISTAN NEWS

ISAF says militants attacks reduced by 9% in Afghanistan

Militants attacks have reduced by 9% during the month of August this year as compared on the same period in 2011, NATO-led International Security Assistance Force announced on Monday.

ISAF said defeat of the militants, forcing militants out of the major cities and increased capabilities of the Afghan security forces are the main reasons behind a reduction in militants attacks.

Brigadier General Günter Katz, ISAF Spokesman said there have been 9% reduction in militants attack during the month of August

this year as compared to August 2011 and 30% reduction compared to August 2010.

He also said there has been a reduction in militants attack in central regional command from

January to August this year however he did not specify the regions which are included in the central regional command.

General Günter said militants are still using improvised explosive device to target Afghan and coalition security forces which normally leads to civilians casualties and more than 60% civilians casualties are as a result of militants bombings.

In parts of his speech he said there might have been some increase in militants attacks in parts of the country despite an overall

reduction.

This comes as NATO senior civilian representative in Afghanistan recently said militants will not be defeated until 2014 however Simon Gass whose mission ended in Afghanistan said militants will also not be able to topple down the Afghan government.

There are concerns of growing civil war in Afghanistan after 2014 when all NATO troops leave Afghanistan but US officials emphasized to cooperate Afghan security forces in fight with the militants and terrorist networks beyond 2014.

Top Chinese official makes August ‘second deadliest month’ for Afghan civilians: UN landmark Afghan visit A total of 374 civilians were killed and 581 injured in August as a result of the war in Afghanistan, making it the second deadliest month for civilians since 2007, the United Nations said Friday.

The UN’s special representative in Afghanistan, Jan Kubis, said that although fatalities were down in the first half of the year, the summer months had been particularly bloody.

“Civilian casualties have decreased overall through the first eight months of the year compared year on year. However, this trend began reversing during this summer with a greater number of civilian deaths and injuries occurring in July and August than in the same period

last year,” he said.

“In fact, August was the second deadliest month for civilians since Unama (UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) began recording civilian casualties, with 374

civilians killed and 581 injured.”

He said anti-government forces were responsible for 85 per cent of the deaths over the summer period

and the number of civilians killed during the holy month of Ramazan, between July and August, was more than double last year.

August 14 was the bloodiest day since December 2011, with 50

people killed in attacks across the country, including a suicide bombing in the southwestern province of Nimroz.

UN figures released last month showed that the number of Afghan civilian casualties fell for the first time in at least five years in the first six months of 2012, dropping by 15 per cent compared with the same period last year.

A total of 1,145 Afghan noncombatants lost their lives in violence, mostly insurgent attacks, between January 1 and June 30 compared with 1,510 in 2011, the UN said.

In total, nearly 13,400 civilians have died in the conflict in the past five years.

Despite the presence of about 112,000 Isaf soldiers and 352,000 Afghan soldiers and police, the coalition has failed after 11 years of fighting to put down the Taliban insurgency as foreign forces prepare to withdraw all combat troops by the end of 2014.

China’s top security official has made the first high-level trip to Afghanistan by a senior Chinese leader in nearly half a century, meeting President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, state media said Sunday.

Zhou Yongkang made the fourhour visit on Saturday, in a secretive trip aimed at shoring up ties between the neighbours, Xinhua news agency reported.

The visit was not previously announced due to security concerns, the report said. Late president Liu Shaoqi, the last senior Chinese official to visit

with its central position in a volatile region having shaped its history for centuries.

Xinhua provided few details about the visit, other than quoting Zhou as saying: “It is in line with the fundamental interests of the two peoples for China and Afghanistan to strengthen a strategic and cooperative partnership… conducive to regional peace, stability and development.”

Zhou, ranked ninth in China’s ruling Communist Party hierarchy, is China’s top security official and oversees a crackdown on

Afghanistan, visited in 1966, Xinhua said.

Beijing has stepped up diplomacy with Afghanistan in recent months as the 2014 deadline for the withdrawal of US and Nato troops approaches.

China, which shares a 76-kilometre border with Afghanistan’s far northeast, has already secured major oil and copper mining concessions in Afghanistan, which is believed to have more than $1 trillion worth of minerals.

The scramble for influence in Afghanistan is expected to intensify in the run-up to 2014,

religious extremism, terrorism and separatism in his nation’s Muslim-populated Xinjiang region, which borders Central Asia and Afghanistan.

Zhou’s appearance in Kabul comes after Karzai pledged to work with China to fight terrorism and extremism in the region during a visit to Beijing in June, where he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting.

The grouping, which is led by China and Russia and was set up to counterbalance US and Nato influence, granted Afghanistan observer status at the meeting.

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Saarc international I Thursday 27 September 2012

WEEKLY REVIEW OF BANGLADESH NEWS

Bangladesh nationwide strike over anti-Islam film

Most schools, shops and offices were closed in Bangladesh on Sunday as opposition parties enforced a nationwide strike to protest against the anti-Islam film.

Thousands of police patrolled the capital Dhaka and roads were quiet across the country on what is normally a business day in the Muslim-majority country of 153 million people.

About 40 activists were briefly detained after they tried to barricade a main road and threw bricks at police, local Dhaka police chief Abul Kashem told AFP. In Chittagong, Bangladesh’s second

largest city and only port, protesters torched a bus and damaged a police van, police said, adding that three students had been arrested.

Several Islamic parties that are allied with the main opposition party called the strike to protest over the Internet film about the

Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and caricatures of him printed by a French magazine. They also demonstrated against the secular government’s scrapping of “absolute faith in Allah” as one of the four pillars of the constitution.

Police said about 10,000 police and elite Rapid Action Battalion forces were deployed in Dhaka, including in the diplomatic area.

On Saturday, hundreds of activists clashed with police as they rallied in defiance of a ban on protests in central Dhaka.

Police fired tear gas on protesters who pelted officers with stones

and torched several police vehicles.

Local media said more than 50 people were injured.

The Bangladesh government has condemned the Internet film and blocked video-sharing website YouTube in an effort to calm tensions.

On Friday, some 10,000 Bangladeshis took to the streets of Dhaka to demonstrate against the low-budget film outside the country’s largest mosque.

Protests have erupted across the Muslim world, leading to more than 50 deaths since the first demonstrations on September 11.

PM flies to NY to Unconstitutional demand can’t attend 67th UNGA be realised from AL: Hanif

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Saturday left Dhaka for New York on a nine-day official visit to the United States to attend the 67th United Nations General Assembly.

The prime minister will attend several high-profile events during her stay in New York. She will deliver her speech at the 67th UNGA on September 27.

An Emirates flight carrying the prime minister and members of her entourage took off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 9:30pm. The flight is expected to reach John F Kennedy International Airport in New York on Sunday morning. The prime minister is expected to return on October 2.

Foreign minister Dipu Moni, environment and forest minister Hasan Mahmud, ambassador-atlarge M Ziauddin, principal secretary to the prime minister Shaikh Md Wahid-uz-Zaman and press secretary Abul Kalam Azad, among others, are accompanying Hasina.

A business delegation led by Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry president AK Azad is also accompanying the prime minister.

Hasina will attend an event on ‘rule of law’ on September 24 at the General Assembly Hall. On the same day, she will join a reception to be hosted by US president Barak Obama and first lady Michelle Obama.

The prime minister will also attend a reception to be hosted by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon and his wife on September 25.

The prime minister will chair a highlevel meeting on ‘Peace building: a way forward towards sustainable peace and security’.

The prime minister will launch an event titled ‘2nd edition of the Climate Vulnerability Monitor’ on September 26. The presidents of Tanzania, Ethiopia, Costa Rica and the Maldives are expected to attend the function.

The Awami League joint general secretary, Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif, has said his party would not concede to any unconstitutional demand.

‘No unconstitutional and unjust demand can be realised from the Awami League.

The days of threats and warnings have ended much earlier,’ he said while speaking at a crowded press conference at the political office of the Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, at Dhanmondi in the city on Monday.

The ruling Awami League organised the press conference to give reply to BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s allegations brought against the party at her Sunday’s public rally in Dinajur district headquarters.

Urging the opposition to place their proposal, if there is any, in the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament), Hanif said, ‘Prime

minister Sheikh Hasina, by this time, has suggested an interim government to take the opposition into trust.

The door for talks on the issue is still open. They can submit any framework on the interim government in the house.’

The special assistant to prime minister replied in the negative when asked whether the Awami League is thinking of holding early election saying, ‘The parliamentary election will be held as per schedule and in the light with the

constitution.’

Hanif said that the BNP chairperson and leaders of her party were hurt and became frustrated as the World Bank reconsidered its decision to finance in the Padma Multipurpose Bridge.

‘It can be clearly felt from the expression in their faces. They (BNP leaders) thought that they would do politics on the issue if the World Bank did not change its decision in financing the project,’ he added.

The Awami League leader said Khaleda tried to create anarchy in the country by instigating the pious Muslims using provocative statements. On the contrary, he said Hasina strongly protested and condemned the American film producer for producing an anti-Islamic movie and urged the United States authorities to immediately impose a ban on screening of the film.

Khaleda embarks on mass contact tour

Several thousand leaders, activists and supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party greeted the party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, when she arrived in Bogra on Saturday on her way to Dinajpur.

She will address a public meeting at Gora Shaheed ground in Dinajpur town this afternoon to kick off her mass contact tour.

The local unit of the BNP-led ‘18party’ alliance has organised the rally.

Khaleda embarked on the mass contact tour to mobilise the people for holding of the next general elections under a ‘non-party neutral’ caretaker government.

The BNP chief is scheduled to stay overnight at Bogra circuit house and start for Dinajpur this morning.

A large number of leaders and activists of BNP and its front and associate organisations lined

the road at different points and greeted the opposition leader as her motorcade passed by. Khaleda from her white jeep waved to the party supporters.

The party activists chanted welcome

slogans and showered petals at Uttara, Tongi, Joydevpur, Konabari, Mouchak, Shafipur, Chandra and Kaliakoir of Gazipur district, Gorai, Mirzapur, Delduar, Basail, Karatia, Nagarjalfy, Elenga and Ibrahimabad of Tangail, Saidabad, Kodda and Hatikumrul of Sirajganj and Chandaikona, Sherpur and Majhira of Bogra district.

Many carried portraits of BNP’s founder Ziaur Rahman, Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman as well as local leaders who are aspirants for party nomination for contesting the next elections.

The BNP chief left her Gulshan house at 4:15pm for Dinajpur.

Saarc international I Thursday 27 September 2012

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF BHUTAN NEWS

Nepal to ask Bhutan to take back refugees Nepal is asking Bhutan to repatriate Bhutanese refugees, who declined third-country resettlements, to amicably resolve the over twodecade long refugees problem.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha, who left for New York leading the Nepalese delegation to attend the 67th session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Saturday, will make the request during his meeting with Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigme Y. Thinley on the sideline of the UNGA. “I will make a request with Bhutan to help amicably resolve the issue of Bhutanese refugees,” Shrestha

Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, and Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Professor G.L. Peiris on the sideline of the UNGA. During his meeting with the leaders from the SAARC countries, Minister Shrestha will informally propose to defer for few months the 18th Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) earlier scheduled to be held in May, 2013 in view of the decision made by major parties to go for fresh CA election around the same time.

“We will convey our inability to hold the Summit in the stipulated

told Republica before his departure to New York.

Some 14,000 of original 108,000 Bhutanese refugees have declined third-country resettlements, demanding that they be repatriated to Bhutan with dignity.

“The bilateral relation [between Nepal and Bhutan] that has a huge prospect is now at a standstill situation due to longstanding refugee problem. This needs to be resolved amicably,” he said.

Bhutan is scheduled to make official request to Nepal to support its bid for non-permanent member of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) during the meeting. Nepal is likely to positively respond to Bhutan´s request if Bhutanese side agrees to help resolve the protracted refugee problem that has remained the only irritating factor between the relation of the two countries, sources said.

Bhutan is contending for a nonpermanent seat for 2013-14 term, elections for which are scheduled for October.

Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha is also holding separate meetings with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Indian

date in view of the parties´ decision to go for the fresh CA election by April,” said a foreign ministry source familiar with the development.

The source also cited Nepal´s political uncertainty and lack of adequate preparations to hold the summit behind the decision. The issue of deferral of the Summit, which Nepal had unofficially proposed to host before May, will also feature during a meeting of SAARC Council of Ministers on the sideline of the UNGA. The Council of Ministers comprises foreign ministers of all SAARC countries.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in his capacity of the head of Nepalese delegation is also scheduled to hold meeting with head of the government and foreign ministers from various countries including President of Swiss Confederation Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf And UK´s Foreign Minister on the sideline of the UNGA. “We believe the meetings will be more important to advance our bilateral relations with various countries,” said a senior foreign ministry official.

Public dismay over the OAG report

The Office of the Attorney General’s ‘opinion’ that there is no legal basis to pursue the matter through the court and that no laws were broken in the Gyelpozhing case has provoked a strong public reaction.

The Acting Prime Minister Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba said,” They (OAG) are the legal experts and they know best, since this is a legal issue we’ve to abide by it” Minister for Home and cultural affairs, Lyonpo Minjur also named in the report said, “We have to leave up to them (OAG)”.

Political Parties say it was conflict of interest While the government and those involved in the case may believe that OAG knows best the vast majority of people that talked to The Bhutanese have a different view.

Political parties all felt that the OAG had not done its job.

The Druk Nyamprup Tshogpa spokesperson Dr.Tandin said,” The OAG’s decision or the report is not a surprise as the OAG being the government’s legal arm was expected to give such a report.”

He said that there was a systematic flaw in the appointment of the OAG through the PM’s recommendation.

He said as a result there is a conflict of interest between the OAG and the government. “It also shows the character of the individuals who head these institutions and their ability to tackle issues and do their job correctly irrespective of who they come across. They have failed to do this”.

Dasho Penjor Dorji of Druk Mitsher Tshogpa party said, “There definitely is government influence on the OAG’s decision”. He said that the OAG which was the legal arm of the government cannot be expected to prosecute or charge sheet the government.

Opposition leader Tshering Tobgay said, “I had foreseen the OAG not wanting to prosecute. It is unfortunate as the ACC had put in more then a year’s worth of thorough investigation, met many people, and concluded that the allotments were illegal.”

He said, “The next step is that probably and hopefully ACC will take up the prosecution in keeping with the ACC Act. This is not the end of the Gyelpozhing case and theses are important times for our democracy and rule of law. We will wait for ACC’s action and see what happens.”

The Bhutan Kuen-Ngyam party spokes person Sonam Tobgay said.

“Truth must prevail irrespective of personalities but again people must

be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt”.

Dasho Penjor Dorji also said that under Section 128(3) of the ACC act the ACC can take over the prosecution

Chencho Nidup, 32 said, “This is outrageous. Democracy it seems is meant to serve only the influential.”

Social Media reactions to the OAG report

process from the OAG. Dr Tandin Dorji said, “We should now ensure that the new government in the future should not influence institutions such as the ACC, OAG.” He said that the country being a young democracy should learn from these incidents and allow the due process of law to take place.

Ordinary citizens share their views Meanwhile there was noticeable anger from ordinary citizens that the paper talked to.

Rinzin Namgyel a shopkeeper in Thimphu said, “Small people like us have to follow so many laws and rules but there are none for the powerful.”

A mother of two and a working professional Sonam Dechen said, “Looking at this case I get a feeling as if we are still in the time of Penlops and warlords where might is right.”

Tashi Tshering 17, a student said, “The youth are always blamed for gangs and causing trouble but it is sad that leaders who are our role models are showing such a bad example.”

Norbu a taxi driver in town said, “I am quite shocked that ordinary people lost their plots in such a way and that they will not be getting it back.”

A corporate employee Karma said, “Why blame only the OAG when the top people in the political, legal and bureaucratic system are all related or have links.” A senior official with the Labor ministry said, “After a long investigation from the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) and reports in the media how can the OAG find is no legal basis”.

A final year student from Sherubtse College Tashi Tshering said “It’s boring to live when the aristocracy still dominates Bhutan.”

A PGDPA student from Royal institute of Management (RIM) Semtokha said “I was eagerly waiting to know how the OAG, as a government representative, would take up the case but am disappointed with the outcome.”

Phuntsho Dema a private employee said, “It has now become very clear.

The rich and powerful can engage in corrupt practices but there will be no consequences and the law will in fact protect them.”

The Social Media was abuzz with people on Twitter and Facebook discussing the OAG report with mainly a strong sense of outrage.

On Facebook’s Social Democracy page Tshering Dorji wrote, “The reader of this report gets a feeling that the primary aim of the OAG team was to refute every allegation made by ACC/ Media.” On another site Lhendup Kalden wrote, “As always the bigger fishes got away.”

Sherab Jamtsho opined, “Our societies are not destroyed so much by the activities of bad people but by the inactivity of the good people.”

Tshering Wangchuk said, “That is the problem in our country. When it comes to high profile people there is no law to sue them. When it comes to ordinary people the law is very strong and rigid. It seems laws are applicable only for ordinary people.

I wish i was a high profile person so that I don’t have to follow the laws of the country.”

Twitter was also active with non-stop tweets on the issue. Lekey Wangdi tweeted, “The Gyelpozhing case can be prosecuted even after decades, in my opinion.”

Tashi Gyeltshen wrote, “In GNH country land grab is “administrative lapses as well as alleged ethical impropriety.”

Pelkhil School’s official twitter account tweeted, “If you ever get into a legal fix, make sure u get the OAG to prosecute you! Their compassion is limitless!”

Jigs news a popular anonymous account tweeted, “OAG says there is no legal basis to forward the case to court. I say try the ‘illegal basis’ angle.”

When this paper tried to contact individuals involved, most of them refused to comment while some were outside the country.

The only person who spoke was Lyonpo Minjur. He said, “During my whole career, I’ve served with all my commitment and dedication maintaining the welfare of the people.

Even when it comes to land allotment at Gyelpozhing, during my stint as a Dzongda, I did not manipulate anything, going strictly by the laws in force”.

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Saarc international I Thursday 27 September 2012

WEEKLY REVIEW OF INDIA NEWS

Congress quits Mamata Ministry A day after Ministers of the Trinamool Congress resigned from the Union Council of Ministers, six Ministers of the Congress in the W Bengal handed over their resignations to CM Mamata at the State Secretariat here on Saturday.

This was followed by senior State Congress leaders meeting Governor M.K. Narayanan and submitting a letter to him, stating the party’s withdrawal of support to the State government headed by Ms. Banerjee.

Senior Congress leader and former Minister in the government, Manas Ranjan Bhunia, described the developments here as a “sequel” of the Trinamool Congress withdrawing support from the United Progressive

Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre in a “complex political situation.”

Describing the Trinamool Congress’ decision of snapping three-yearold ties with the Congress as “unfortunate,” he said the Congress

has “sacrificed a lot and endured much humiliation [from the Trinamool Congress]”, to ensure that the anti-Left forces could come together in the State.

“The Congress cannot be a silent onlooker in such a situation. Every attempt was made by the Trinamool Congress to humiliate the Congress leadership and liquidate the party in West Bengal,” Mr. Bhunia said.

He accused the Trinamool Congress

leadership of ignoring the interest of the State and taking the decision to withdraw support from the UPA government only in party interest.

“The Congress will not wait for a minute to declare a war against the State government if it does anything against the interest of people,” Mr. Bhunia said.

He, however, added that Ms. Banerjee appreciated the Ministers for their efforts in running the government and urged them to contact her on any issue concerning the people.

With the withdrawal of support, the Congress has become the largest party in the Opposition in the Assembly with 42 MLAs. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has 38 MLAs, while the Left Front has the support of 61 MLAs. The Trinamool has the support of 185 members in the Assembly, which has 294 seats.

Asked whether the party would stake its claim for the post of Leader of the Opposition, State Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya said a final decision was yet to be taken.

“The party high command has asked us to discuss the matter within the party. We will have a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party on October 12 and take a final decision,” he said.

BJP threatening foreign investors

Sinha and the party’s refusal to cooperate with the government in Parliament, the Congress hopes to present the saffronites as being wedded to politics of opportunism.

Making the point, Tewari said a 2002 note dealing with the views of the NDA cabinet supported FDI.

The Congress on Monday sharply criticized the BJP for “threatening” foreign investors over FDI in multi-brand retail, saying the main opposition was not being mindful of the interests of the Indian economy at a time when it was vulnerable.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari suggested the BJP was not in tune with public sentiment anxious for a turnaround in the economy and its harsh language was intended to deter foreign investors. “BJP is warning investors that the government may change and with it the policy,” he said.

Tewari said the BJP had adopted an intolerant approach, denying the government’s right to framing policy and pointed out that the election was still 20 months away.

Along with criticizing the BJP, Tewari also lashed out at the Comptroller and Auditor General over Coalgate, saying, “Kisi ko zero laga ke hero banne ki aadat hai (some have a habit of adding zeros to become heroes)” in a reference to the CAG’s Rs 1.86 lakh crore loss figure.

The Congress’s attack on the BJP is intended to play on fault lines between the saffron party’s protrader position on FDI in retail and a middle class constituency the opposition party is keen to woo.

Positioning itself in a liberalizing mode, the Congress would like to project itself as a party moving - even if belatedly - to address middle India’s concern over a slowing economy.

Latching onto the tough language used by BJP leaders like Yashwant

2G, Coalgate are trees of money for Congress: Narendra Modi

Continuing his onslaught against central government, chief minister Narendra Modi targeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the Swami Vivekananda Youth Convention in Dahod on Saturday.

This time around the PM’s remark ‘Money does not grow on trees’ fuelled Modi’s rhetoric.

Modi said he had not expected an economist of his level to explain things to the nation in such a language. “The country knows that money does not grow on trees.

We also know that for you 2G and coalgate are trees of money,” Modi said referring to the series of scams.

He said Congress had found these trees of money even as the country was being ruined.

Modi’s address in Dahod was hardly a reflection of the speeches that he had been giving so far since he started addressing the conventions.

The rhetoric was devoid of his signature style.

Other than the comment on Singh, the only other time when he targeted the Congress top brass was when he said Congress has mocked at him when he said he would give a package of Rs 15,000 under Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana for tribal areas in the state. Modi

said he managed to give a package of Rs 18,000 crore then and Rs 40,000 crore now. “Their mouths have Italian locks on them now,” Modi said.

Speaking about development in tribal belt of the state, Modi said this green corridor from Umargam to Ambaji will become the golden corridor of development during the next decade. Modi said education and health are high priority areas for the region.

Listing the development works that would help Dahod, Modi spoke about the proposed Rs 3,500 crore project of drawing surplus water from Narmada project and supplying it to the tribal areas of Vadodara, Panchmahal and Dahod districts.

Modi said 700 villages would benefit from the scheme and 2 lakh acres of land will be irrigated.

Modi announced that for the welfare of construction workers working outside Dahod, special anganwadis and schools will be started for their children. He added that night shelters will also be started so that they do not spend nights on footpaths. Modi said an institute to teach construction technology will also be started for capacity building of construction workers.

Saarc international I Thursday 27 September 2012

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF PAKISTAN NEWS

New York rendezvous: Pakistan peace tied to Afghan In meeting with Clinton, stability: Zardari tells US Zardari takes up film row

Amidst seething anger at home, President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday took up the issue of the anti-Islam movie with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying “Pakistanis are deeply dismayed at the film”.

“One or two insane persons should not be allowed to endanger world peace in the garb of freedom of expression,” he told the US foreign policy chief in an hour-long meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session.

Secretary Clinton greeted Zardari as ‘my friend’ and introduced him to the new US ambassador to Pakistan, Richard Olson, whom she said had just been sworn in so he could attend their talks. She thanked the president for his country’s handling of several days of violent anti-US protests. “We very much appreciate the strong response of your government,” she said, at the start of their meeting in a New York hotel.

Pakistan has been rocked by days of violent protests in its major cities as demonstrations have swept Muslim countries in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia over the antiIslam film.

Friday’s protests in Pakistan left 21 dead, and more than 200 injured as police fought back to disperse crowds around US diplomatic missions.

At Monday’s meeting, the two leaders discussed the situation

in Afghanistan, according to a statement issued by the Pakistan Embassy in Washington.

The president told Secretary Clinton how Pakistan and the United States could cooperate in helping restore peace and stability in the warravaged country.

“The president assured Secretary Clinton that Pakistan was prepared to do everything in its power to help an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led reconciliation process in Afghanistan,” according to the statement. “He also conveyed that peace and stability in Pakistan were tied to peace and stability in Afghanistan.”

President Zardari said, “No country has paid a higher price for the conflict in Afghanistan than Pakistan.”

The two leaders also discussed the Pak-US relationship.

“We should build on the positive momentum,” said the president. He thanked Secretary Clinton for her country’s assistance to Pakistan, and called for focusing on larger projects, and greater access for Pakistani products to the US market. “Pakistan would rather do trade than depend on aid.”

President Zardari also invited the United States to partner with Pakistan in the Diamir Bhasha dam project, saying “this will dispel the impression that the US only works to its own priorities in Pakistan”.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari as the two nation’s inch towards repairing vital ties severely damaged by a series of crises.

“I would certainly say that they are moving upwards, in a positive direction,” a senior State Department official said, asked about how relations between the two nations were doing after several high-level meetings.

“I don’t want to overestimate or oversell what’s occurred,” he added.

“I think we’ve been working in a very diligent, disciplined, workman-like manner over the course of these last 18 months which have been very difficult, and especially over the last several months… to get this back on track.”

Ties between Washington and Islamabad plunged to new lows after the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a US commando raid deep inside Pakistan in May 2011 and after the deaths of 24 Pakistani troops in a US airstrike in November.

The US official said the two sides were moving forward by focusing on “specific, incremental steps” to pursue their common interests.

“I’m very comfortable with the direction that this is headed, but… we want to be realistic and cleareyed.” Clinton greeted Zardari as “my friend” and introduced him to the new US ambassador to Pakistan, Richard Olson, whom she said she had just been sworn in so he could

OIC meeting, for effectively tackling such sensitive issues in future. Kaira said that President Asif Ali Zardari would highlight the issue in his address at the UN forum and convey sentiments of all the Pakistanis in this regard.

Moreover, he expressed his dismay over the recent violent protests against the anti-Islam film, saying such acts undermined the government’s efforts to send a strong collective message

the film “Innocence of Muslims” was denounced by the Pakistani leadership at the talks.

“As part of the delegation today was the leader of the party, the ANP, which the railways minister is part of, who also very explicitly disassociated his party from those statements,” the US official said.

He said the party would meet soon “to decide what to do with that minister” as part of an internal process on how to deal with the situation, adding both delegations had echoed “that anyone who provokes violence cannot be tolerated.”

Clinton and Zardari also discussed the situation in Afghanistan, and how to cooperate in achieving stability there.

Peace and stability in Pakistan were tied to peace and stability in Afghanistan, Zardari insisted.

“No country has paid a higher price for the conflict in Afghanistan than Pakistan,” he said, in the statement.

Pakistani appointed to high-level UN panel Homi Kharas of Pakistan has been appointed as lead author and executive secretary for a high-level panel by Ban Ki-moon. Kharas will advise on the global development agenda beyond 2015, according to a communique from the UN. Poverty alleviation, gender equality, child and maternal health, environmental stability, HIV/Aids reduction and a global partnership

Int’l law needs to block sacrilegious films: Kaira Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira on Monday underlined the need for making an international law to prevent sacrilegious films.

Talking to a private channel, Qamar Zaman Kaira said that Pakistan was the first country that registered protest at national level against the provocative film. He also said that the government had condemned the film at all forums and given the call for an

attend their talks.

She also thanked him for Pakistan’s handling of several days of violent anti-US protests, triggered by an amateur anti-Islam film made in the United States.

“We very much appreciate the strong response of your government,” she said.

Zardari said it had been “a difficult time for all of us.” Pakistan was rocked by days of protests in its major cities as demonstrations have swept Muslim countries in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia over the film.

“One or two insane persons should not be allowed to endanger world peace in the garb of freedom of expression,” Zardari said in the meeting, according to a statement from the Pakistan embassy.

US officials said the offer of a $100,000 bounty by Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour for the killing of the maker of

against the film. Replying to a question, the minister said it was unfortunate that the Punjab government showed lukewarm response and did not take action against the violent protesters.

Furthermore, he added that Punjab government was involved in points scoring even on sensitive matters to win support of rightist voters.

Kaira said that policy of compromise in dealing with violent protestors had undermined the state institutions.

for development are listed under the Millennium Development Goals, which are a set of specific targets, agreed on by world leaders at a UN Summit in 2000. The year 2015 is the target date to achieve the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Kharas is currently a senior fellow and deputy director for the Global Economy and Development program of the Brookings Institution, an independent think tank in Washington, DC. He currently studies policies and trends influencing developing countries, including aid to poor countries, the emergence of a middle class, the food crisis and global governance and the

G-20. He formerly served as a chief economist in the East Asia and Pacific region of the World Bank.

Kharas will be responsible for the report of the high-level panel, tasked with providing recommendations on a global post-2015 agenda with shared responsibilities for all countries with the fight against poverty and sustainable development at its core.

In addition to its 23 members, the panel’s three co-chairs are President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, and Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom. In addition, the secretary-general’s special adviser on post-2015 development planning, Amina J Mohammed, will serve on the panel in an ex-officio capacity.

The panel will hold its first meeting on September 25 on the sidelines of the annual high-level debate of the UN General Assembly. Its report is expected to be submitted to the secretary-general

by May 31, 2013.

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Saarc international I Thursday 27 September 2012

WEEKLY REVIEW OF MALDIVE NEWS

Nasheed’s statement is a threat to national security: Home Minister Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed labeled the claims of former President Mohamed Nasheed that through the influence of “religious extremists” there was a potential risk of an attack by AlQaeda in the Maldives, as a threat to national security.

Minister while condemning Nasheed’s statement in the strongest terms, stressed that such sensational claims would have a negative impact on the Maldives’ economy. On that note, he pointed out that the recently publicized national defence and security policy also declared actions that have adverse effects on the country’s economy as a national security threat.

“The statement in its nature is a threat to national security. It will strike fear in the hearts of people over Maldives. The economy will be endangered because of it. The recently publicized document also entails actions that are deemed as a threat to national security,” Minister said.

When asked whether Nasheed will be penalized for making a statement that has been alleged as a threat to national security, Jameel said a decision for immediate action against the former President has not been made and at present will focus efforts to reveal the truth behind Nasheed’s claims to the people and saving the image of Maldives in the international community.

In an interview with UK’s The Independent Nasheed had said Maldivian citizens had already been found to be involved in Al-Qaeda attacks in Pakistan and India, and he had had regular meetings with Western intelligence agencies during his tenure as president.

But he said he feared that antiWestern feeling had dramatically increased recently within the country – fuelled by political instability – with the potential for attacks. “I don’t know why they haven’t blown up anything in the Maldives,” he said. “Right now

[maybe] they are thinking that strategically it isn’t good for them to do anything in the Maldives.

Maybe they are using our national accounts. Maybe they are using our banks. Maybe it is a good place for recruitment,” Nasheed said according to the newspaper.

However, the Home Minister was quick to reject Nasheed’s claim by stressing that no intelligence information had been received indicated that there was a danger of an attack in the Maldives by AlQaeda.

“There is no basis to Nasheed’s claims. The Maldivian Security Forces are working round the clock with international agencies.

The Police receive up to date intelligence information from those agencies. There is no information thus far of any danger to the Maldives from an Al-Qaeda attack,” Jameel explained.

Jameel also insisted that Nasheed was trying to cloud the image of the country as he had now lost all political leverage, while labeling the actions of the former President as “desperate.” To that end, he added that especially after the release of the Commission of National’s Inquiry’s (CNI) report, the real truth behind Nasheed’s claims have been revealed to the world which explains the fresh attempts to ruin the image of the Maldives.

“The truth is all the claims being made by Nasheed have been exposed. So now he’s trying to grab the headlines by making such sensational claims,” Jameel said.

“During former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s administration and the 2008 SAARC Summit there had been information that extremists were trying to act on their views. It includes prominent members of Nasheed’s government.”

Nasheed meets the British Foreign Secretary Former President Mohamed Nasheed has met with the British Foreign Secretary William Hague

Maldives CMAG removal will come with conditions: Dr Shaheed

during his private visit to the country.

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has revealed that Nasheed had conveyed to Hague the main points made in the report of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) and said

that international assistance is needed to implement the recommendations made in the CNI report.

The party cited Foreign Secretary Hague as having assured that the UK is ready to assist the Maldives in implementing reforms and had welcomed the country’s aim to progress along the lines of democracy.

Prior to his departure to the UK Nasheed had revealed to reporters that he is scheduled to meet leaders of the UK government, private organizations and media and that he would convey the current situation of the country during his trip.

He also revealed that he had been given a chance to address the Commonwealth Royal Society and meet the Secretary General of the Commonwealth as well.

Dr Ahmed Shaheed has said that the removal of Maldives from the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) will come with the assurances that former President Mohamed Nasheed will not be tried in court.

Shaheed who served as the Foreign Minister said that there would be additional conditions at the CMAG meeting scheduled for later this week besides an agreement not to take any action against Nasheed. He said that these conditions include establishing a stable environment to recommence the currently suspended Parliament sessions and to agree not to take legal action against Parliamentarians.

“A country is placed on the CMAG agenda if there are questionable circumstances in the transfer of power or if the country has constitutional issues. Reflecting on the CNI report we know that some people need to be charged under it.

CMAG wants assurance that it will be done. The assurance or an indication that action will be taken, CMAG won’t do it unless this happens,” Shaheed said speaking from UK. President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik on Friday said that he would be representing the Maldives in the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) sit-down scheduled

for the coming Friday and Saturday in New York where the Group will make a decision on the removal of Maldives from its agenda.

During the press conference held earlier on Friday prior to departing to New York to partake in the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, President Waheed said that he is confident that the CMAG will remove Maldives from its agenda.

Dr Shaheed said that the participation of President Waheed at the CMAG meeting is a good thing and that it would give CMAG the necessary assurances directly from the President himself.

“I believe that Waheed attending the meeting is a good thing. Then he can make personal promises can’t he? I believe that the CMAG would remove Maldives from its agenda if Waheed assures to follow its conditions. Otherwise an indication would suffice,” Shaheed said.

While the issue of the removal of Maldives from CMAG is tense, former President Mohamed Nasheed is advocating against the removal of Maldives from the CMAG agenda. On his ongoing visit to the UK, speaking at the Commonwealth Royal Society, Nasheed said that the removal of Maldives from the CMAG will hinder rival political expression.

Court orders former President Nasheed be confined to Male

A Maldivian court has slapped a travel ban on former president Mohamed Nasheed pending a hearing over allegations of abuse of power during his tenure.

The notice was issued in connection with an upcoming hearing of a case concerning his detention of Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed while in office.

“This detention is politically motivated, aimed solely at preventing President Nasheed from campaigning ahead of next year’s elections” said MDP spokesperson Hamid Abdul Gafoor.

He said that Nasheed was due to visit the southern atolls as part of the MDP’s preparations for those elections. The court order was served on late Tuesday soon after Nasheed returned from Britain, sources close to Nasheed said.

“The court has issued a notice which says that under no circumstances should he leave Male,” a source said.

In July, the same court refused to try Nasheed saying it had no jurisdiction, but a higher court ruled it could hear allegations that he ordered the illegal arrest of a judge in January.

Nasheed ordered senior judge Abdullah Mohamed’s arrest in January over corruption allegations in a move that triggered weeks of protests that finally led to his resignation.

The charge of wrongful arrest of a judge carries up to three years in prison or exile to a remote island. Nasheed became the first democratically elected president of the atoll nation after winning its first multi-party elections in 2008.

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF NEPAL NEWS

Nine climbers killed in Nepal avalanche: officials

An avalanche in Nepal killed at least nine climbers including a group of French mountaineers trying to scale one of the world’s most deadly peaks, officials said on Sunday.

Around 25 people were near the top of the 8,156-metre Manaslu when they were hit by a wall of snow on Saturday night in one of the worst tragedies in Himalayan mountaineering in recent years.

“Most of the dead people are French,” said Ang Tshering Sherpa, vice-president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, after speaking to expedition members at the base camp of Manaslu by satellite telephone.

“One or two are Spanish, one Italian, one (Nepali) Sherpa and one German.”Three climbers were thought to still be missing when rescue operations were called off for the night.

“So far, 13 people have been rescued alive, of whom five have been airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment,” Basanta Bahadur Kunwar, the local deputy superintendent of police, told AFP by telephone.

France’s national union of mountain guides (SNGM) said four French climbers were killed and three others

were reported missing.

“According to information from the base camp, there were seven French victims. The four dead have been identified by their photos and three

to Manaslu’s summit.

“This avalanche happened at around 7,400 metres and carried away part of camp three at 6,800 metres,” said Trommsdorff.

are missing, as well as two injured who have been evacuated by helicopter to Kathmandu,” SNGM vice-president Christian Trommsdorff told AFP. He described the French victims as three mountain guides from the Chamonix area in the Alps and four of their clients, who were part of two expeditions.

Based on information the group has received, the avalanche happened Saturday night on the normal path for climbing

‘Tents disappeared’ Among those reported missing was a doctor from the French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec, cardiologist Dominique Ouimet, the man’s sister said.

“The tents seem to have disappeared because the avalanche came by,”Isabelle Ouimet told Radio Canada, adding that her brother was at camp number three when the avalanche struck.

Police said several injured climbers

Hunt for seven climbers after deadly Nepal avalanche Rescuers in Nepal searched Monday for seven missing climbers after an avalanche swept away their tents and killed nine others ahead of a final push on one of the world’s highest and deadliest mountains.

Police said the group were near the peak of the 8,156-meter (26,759-foot) Manaslu when they were hit by a wall of snow as they were sleeping at 4:00 am on Sunday (2215 GMT, Saturday).

Four of the dead and three of the missing are French, France’s national union of mountain guides (SNGM) told AFP while mountaineering officials in Nepal said an Italian, a German, at least one Spaniard and a Nepali Sherpa had died.

“Seven climbers are missing. The rescue efforts were hampered due to bad weather yesterday. They will resume this morning,” ministry spokesman Gyanendra Shrestha told AFP. Rescuers were hopeful of finding survivors alive, the ministry said, with the weather improving early Monday.

“The missing may have survived because climbers have survived for up to three days in the past,” said Mohan Sapkota, another official in the ministry.

Basanta Bahadur Kunwar, the local deputy superintendent of police, told

AFP by telephone that 13 people had so far been rescued alive.

Meanwhile harrowing accounts of the avalanche began to emerge from survivors being treated in Kathmandu.

“All of a sudden, there was darkness.

I could imagine that we were buried under an avalanche,” Andreas Reiter, 26, of Germany, was quoted as telling the Himalayan Times from his hospital bed in the capital.

“I witnessed one of the team members die.”

SNGM vice-president Christian Trommsdorff described the French victims as three mountain guides from the Chamonix area in the Alps and four of their clients, who were part of two expeditions.

“The four dead have been identified by their photos and three are missing, as well as two injured who have been evacuated by helicopter to Kathmandu,” he said.

The avalanche happened at around 7,400 meters and carried away part of camp number three at 6,800 meters, Trommsdorff told AFP. Among those reported missing was a doctor from the French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec, cardiologist Dominique Ouimet, the man’s sister said.

were stuck at base camp because rescue helicopters could not fly due to poor visibility.

The tourism ministry had earlier said that a German and Spanish man had died alongside a male local guide. The gender of the other dead and injured was unclear by Sunday evening.

But a German foreign ministry spokesman said there was no official confirmation that a German national had been killed.

Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain in the world, is considered one of the most dangerous, with scores of deaths in recent years and just a few hundred successful ascents.

Laxmi Dhakal, head of the home ministry’s disaster response division, confirmed the avalanche had hit camp three and said it had created “a flood of snow”.

Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 peaks over 8,000 metres, including the world’s highest, Mount Everest, and attracts thousands of mountaineers every year.

Most come in the spring, when Himalayan conditions are at their best, but there is also a short climbing season in late September and October after the monsoon rains end.

Nepal’s worst-ever climbing disaster happened in 1995 when a huge avalanche struck the camp of a Japanese trekking group in the Mount Everest region, killing 42 people including 13 Japanese.

In 2005 a powder-snow avalanche ploughed into a French expedition’s base camp, on Kang Guru, in the Manang region of central Nepal, sweeping all seven members of the team as well as 11 Nepalese staff to their deaths.

Manaslu saw its worst disaster when a South Korean expedition was buried by snow while attempting to climb the northeast face in 1972. The 15 dead included 10 Sherpas and the Korean expedition leader.

Anish Gupta, manager of the Kathmandu-based firm ChoOyu Trekking, said 14 foreign mountaineers were attempting to climb the Manaslu peak through his agency at the time of the avalanche, including nine Italians, two French and three Ecuadorans.

“Of them, a Sherpa guide died in the avalanche at camp three and one Italian climber, Alberto Magliano, is still missing. Others all have returned back to the base camp and are safe,” Gupta said.

Nepal’s deal with China may hit India

China is trying to extract significant concessions from Nepal in a bilateral investment protection agreement, which is being negotiated.

If it goes through, sources said, it would put a similar agreement signed between India and Nepal in the shade. The IndiaNepal BIPPA was signed almost a year ago.

For instance, the Chinese agreement seeks to protect government bonds and debt, by designating them as “investment”. Investments by Chinese companies in Nepal or other Nepalese companies, even third country companies owned or controlled by Chinese are sought to be similarly covered. Nepal has objected to these clauses, but given the prospect of huge Chinese investments, it may not be able to withstand.

The Indian agreement is prospective in its application, but China wants all previous investments to be covered. The Chinese pact has asked for full protection and police security for investors and investment. If Kathmandu agrees to it, Nepal would have to spend a lot more on physical protection of Chinese investments. Indian investments are not similarly covered, and in the recent past

Indian-owned companies have come under attack by Maoist cadres etc.

Nepal has recently signed its biggest investment with China — the $0.6 billion West Seti Hydropower Project in western Nepal that was earlier supposed to sell power to India. Indianowned power projects in Nepal are not progressing. Both Upper Karnali and Arun III are still stalled. Maoist cadres have also attacked the GMR-owned hydropower project in Nepal.

Almost a year after the Nepal-India BIPPA pact, foreign investment in Nepal is down by over 30%. Security concerns, political instability have added to investor shyness. There is a clear distinction between Indian and Chinese investments in Nepal.

While Indian investors are private sector players, who all need a stable, predictable political-security atmosphere, Chinese companies are all state-owned enterprises and are naturally free of such considerations.

This puts Indian private enterprises at a disadvantage.

Nepal is in the middle of a full-blown political crisis and all indications are that elections would have to be held before the end of this year.

Nepal is the head of SAARC this year, and the next SAARC summit was supposed to be held in Kathmandu in April, 2013. However, the Nepalese government will formally notify the delay, and the next summit is unlikely to be held before September, 2013.

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Saarc international I Thursday 20 September 2012

WEEKLY REVIEW OF SRILANKA NEWS

Striking university academics to launch three protest marches today

The trade union of Sri Lankan university academics, Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) and the Inter University Students Federation (IUSF) will start three protest marches today.

The FUTA will start one protest

march from Getambe in Kandy and the other march from Galle Fort. The marches will proceed towards Colombo.

They are to reach Colombo on September 28 and a protest rally will be held in Colombo Hyde Park.

September 28 has been declared as a protest day.

Another 26 trade unions and civil society organizations have also expressed solidarity with the FUTA and will participate in the marches.

Meanwhile, the IUSF will commence a protest march today from Kandy which will reach Colombo on the same day.

Both organizations demand the government to guarantee education rights of the people and allocate more funds for education.

Sri Lanka, which has a high literacy rate thanks to the free education system from grade school through universities, has spent less than 2 percent of GDP for education in recent years and the sector is in a dire state with lack of facilities at all levels.

Sri Lanka Army has no plans to acquire civilian lands to set up camps, UN team told Sri Lanka Army has no plans to take over lands belonging to civilians in Jaffna, the major city of the Northern Province as some parties have claimed, the visiting UN team was told.

Commander Security Forces Jaffna (SF-J) Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe has told the visiting United Nations Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights

(OHCHR) team that the Army has already handed back a majority of the land to their owners and the owners of other houses the military currently occupying are paid rent until they are released in future.

“We have no plan of acquiring civilians’ lands to establish military camps in Jaffna. Army has already earmarked

government lands for that purpose,” he has said “However, the government will acquire some lands needed for the expansion of the Palaly airport and the Kankasanthurai Harbor after paying compensation to legitimate owners,” he has added.

When the UN team led by Hanny Megally, Chief Asia Pacific, Middle

East and North Africa Branch of OHCHR called on the Commander on Monday (17), he has apprised them of the profile of Jaffna, history of the separatist conflict and devastation caused by the LTTE to the lives and property.

Speaking of reducing troop presence in the peninsula, General Hathurusinghe

has said that a large number of soldiers recruited for the Army to fight the three-decade long war have to be housed in the country and Jaffna is also a part of the country.

Nevertheless, the number of troops present in Jaffna is much lesser comparing to some districts in the southern part of the island, he has noted.

He has told the OHCHR officials that the Army has launched a number of community welfare programs soon after the country was liberated.

Livelihood activities for Ex-LTTE combatants, housing project for destitute families, scholarships for students from low-income families are a few among them.

Megally has expressed his appreciation to the SF-J Commander for educating them with a comprehensive presentation on the present situation in Jaffna and for their commitment to achieve a sustainable peace.

The team is to offer advice and technical assistance to the government on implementing the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) as required by the US-sponsored UN resolution adopted at the 19th session of UNHRC on March 22 this year.

The UN team has also met Jaffna Bishop Most Rev. Fr. Dr. Thomas Saundaranayagam and the Government Agent S. Arumainayagam during their stay in Jaffna.

The Sri Lankan High Commission in Chennai refutes reports of attack

The Deputy high commissioner of Sri Lanka in Chennai Anura Rajakaruna told the SLBC that there is no truth in the reports being published about an attack being carried out in the Sri Lankan High commissioners office in Chennai.

The activities of the mission are being carried out normally.

However, a minority group has held a demonstration in Chennai against President Mahinda Rajapakse’s Sanchi visit. Mr. Rajakaruna further said that about 150 persons including the pro-tiger terrorist politician Thirumawalan has been taken in to custody by the police in Chennai.

Mr. Rajakaruna in a special statement to the SLBC said that certain fringe groups are carrying out false propaganda against Sri Lanka.

However, majority of the people neither support nor provide encouragement to these groups.

He said that after the incident against the Sri Lankan pilgrims in Chennai no other major incident has been reported so far. He said that the situation in Chennai is becoming normal and the Sri Lankan High Commission in Chennai is very vigilant about the activities there and the minor incidents will not make any impact on the situation.

Govt will abide by court ruling says Yapa

The Economic Development Ministry in compliance with the Supreme Court order, will obtain the consent of all Provincial Councils to pass the Divi Neguma Department Bill, Economic Development Deputy Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said.

He said certain sections were trying to create the impression that the government was challenging the court decision.

“The government always respects the courts and will not go against court orders,” he said. “Certain elements, some NGOs and trade unions are trying to show that

there is a conflict between the government and the judiciary.

The government will always abide by the court verdict,” he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Abeywardena commenced a programme to educate Samurdhi officers at district level about the Bill.

Awareness programmes have been conducted in Colombo, Galle, Matara, Ratnapura and Kegalle.

Awareness programmes are also to be held in Moneragala and Hambantota under the direction of the Economic Development Ministry, Abeywardena said.

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India, Pakistan likely to have another road link

India and Pakistan may soon open a road link between the two countries via Munabao in Rajasthan to Khokharapar in Sindh. The step would be a milestone in promoting this region’s business and tourist activities.

The 7th round of India-Pakistan talks on commercial and economic cooperation was held on September 20-21 in Islamabad between the commerce secretaries of the two countries. The Indian delegation was led by S R Rao, commerce secretary and Pakistan was led by Munir Qureshi, secretary, commerce. Both sides expressed satisfaction with the progress made in the bilateral trade relationship, since last round of talks in New Delhi in November 2011.

On exploring the possibilities of opening new land routes for trade, Pakistan informed that a working group on Munabao (near Barmer) to Khokharapar (Pakistan) Road Link has been constituted.

Indian side has already conveyed constitution of the working group.

It was agreed that a meeting on Munabhao-Khokhrapar would be held in the fourth week of October, 2012 at New Delhi.

link will start plying and Munabao would become a huge commercial centre.

With plying of road link between

dry fruits, slippers, threads, leather items etc will take place from Pakistan.

At present, there is a heavy demand

It may be mentioned here that the rail link between two countries was revived when Thar Express started its regular ferry between Munabao and Khokharapar in February 2006.

Once the road link is revived trade links can be strengthened and more visitors can come to tourist and religious locations like Jaisalmer and Ajmer Sharif.

Source said that soon a time will come that Rajasthan-Sindh road

Pakistan and India, western part of Rajasthan will benefit. The revenue of the centre and state governments would increase, while the economic situation of people will strengthen and employment opportunities will increase. And Sojat’s henna, limestone of Jaisalmer, stainless steel utensils of Jodhpur, bhujia, papad, rasgulla, galia of Bikaner, handicrafts of Barmer etc will go to Pakistan, while trade of textiles,

for Jodhpur’s mawa kachori, laddu of Gadra and ghotuon of Jaisalmer in Pakistan. Passengers going by Thar Express especially take these three items for their relatives. There is also a heavy demand for Assam’s beetle nuts.

Prior to Indo-Pak war in 1965, goods trains used to ply between Jodhpur and Karachi. There were strong business relations between Sindh and Marwar. After the war, the

Indian Punjab seeks greater border trade with Pakistan

With trade between India and Pakistan growing steadily since 2007 when trucks from either side were allowed restricted access to the other country, Punjab now wants to open up border trade with its neighbours in a big way.

Traders in Indian Punjab and Pakistani Punjab want greater flexibility, particularly through the land route.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has also been batting for more trade through the Attari-Wagah land route, besides supporting opening of more trade routes like Hussainiwala and Fazilka and people-to-people exchange programmes.

This week, Punjab Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh in fact accompanied an Indian delegation to Pakistan that was headed by Commerce Secretary S.R. Rao. “If the trade is expanded through the land route, it will herald a new era of economic development. Opening of these border trade routes is the need of the hour,” Badal recently said.

The 553-km-long border between India and Pakistan has been fenced with barbed wire and electrified to keep at bay terrorists and smugglers allegedly

supported by Pakistan.

The Attari-Wagah border gate is the only point in Punjab where restricted movement of people and goods is allowed by both the countries.

The opening of an integrated check post (ICP) by India in April at Attari has raised the expectation of the trading community that the trade between the two countries would increase in coming times.

Pakistan has already announced that India would be granted most favoured nation (MFN) status by the end of this year.

At present, 137 items, including fruits, vegetables, livestock, cement, gypsum, dry fruits and paper are being traded through the land route - far smaller compared to the 6,000 items allowed to be traded between the two countries through the Mumbai-Karachi sea route.

“If trade of other items is allowed through the land route, which is much cheaper and financially viable, it will benefit the people on both sides,” Amritsar-based trader Sukhwinder Singh said.

The new ICP, spread over nearly 120 acres and built at a cost of about Rs.150 crore, has state-of-the-art facilities with dedicated terminals for cargo and passengers. The ICP has integrated the services of immigration, customs, cargo and handling of trucks.

Trade between India and Pakistan is nearly $2.5 billion and is expected to go up 10 times with Pakistan initiating the process to accord MFN status to India.

As it is, India-Paksitan trade via third countries is estimated at $10 billion.

rail tracks were uprooted between Munabao and Khokharapar and this rail route was closed. The Thar Express started plying on this route from February 18, 2006 and since then it has been demanded to start a goods train on this route. Three years ago, a delegation of chamber of commerce had come to Jodhpur to find out the possibilities of starting business through Munabao route.

Later, in September last year, when the commerce minister of Pakistan Fahim had come to Ajmer, that time too, he was asked to start goods trains. Official sources from custom said the Central government looking at the possibilities of starting goods train on this route had reserved land at Jaisinder village near Munabao.

Later on the request of custom officers, the land was shifted to Gadra railway station near Munabao.

Sources said that the Centre would allot budget for construction of building for customs on decision of opening the rail route for trade and commerce between Munabao and Sindh.

Floods affect 748,000 people in Balochistan

Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has released the initial report over the devastation caused by torrential rains in Balochistan and 682 villages were completely destroyed while 5000 livestock were swept away.

According to the PDMA report, 748,000 people of fifteen districts were affected, private news channel reported.

The districts include Zhob, Lora Lai, Qila, Saifullah, Harnai, Lasbela, Khazdar, Jaffarabad, Dera Bugti.

Crops over 300,000 acres of land has been destroyed. According to an estimate, 51 people were killed due to torrential rains and flood.

The lawmakers in the Balochistan Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution that flood-stricken districts of the province be declared calamity-hit areas. The assembly session started with Deputy Speaker Syed Matiullah Agha in chair. The movers of the resolution, including Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mir Abdul Rehman Jamali, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) MPA Sheikh Jaffar Mandokhel and MPA Tariq Bugti, said that heavy torrential rains and flash floods had devastated standing crops on over 700,000 acres of land in Nasirabad, Jaffarabad, Dera Bugti, Jhal Magsi and Musakhel districts. They further said that flash floods had washed away several villages and cattle of the local people. The resolution urged the government to declare these districts as calamity-hit areas besides compensating

the flood-affected people. Delivering his speech, Jamali appreciated Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf for visiting the flood-hit eastern parts of Balochistan and announcing Rs 2.6 billion relief package for the area. He also thanked the Pakistan Army for carrying out rescue operation in the flood-stricken areas. He said that thousands of people were still marooned in floodwater.

Tariq Bugti demanded the government to write off the loans of farmers, citing large scale devastation; while senior minister Maulana Abdul Wasey urged the government to pledge Rs15 billion for rehabilitation work in Balochistan.

Floods, landslides displace 1 million in India; 33 dead Floods and landslides caused by relentless rain in northeast India have killed at least 33 people and displaced more than a million over the past week, officials said on Monday.

At least 21 people were killed in landslides and another eight were missing in the

mountainous state of Sikkim, said state government spokesman A.S. Tobgay.

Nearly 1.5 million people have been forced to leave their homes by floods in the north-eastern state of Assam, officials say.

Eleven people have died in separate incidents of drowning in the past week, disaster management officials said in a statement.

Eighteen of 27 districts have been inundated by flood waters.

In July floods in Assam killed more than 100 people and forced over five million people to leave their homes.

The state government had said the July floods were the worst in the state since 1998.

Heavy monsoon rains have been again battering Assam for the past week and led to a second round of massive flooding.

Rescue officials said over 2,000 villagers had been inundated by water overflowing from the main Brahmaputra river.

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Saarc international I Thursday 27 September 2012

Man behind Fake story: Love affair of Billawal Bhutto and Hina Khar “I am a Zionist and a friend of Israel,” -Salah Uddin

A Bangladeshi Newspaper came up with lies and we followed him to disgrace Pakistani Political leaders . No one even tried to know the source or back ground of a Bogus story. Billawal Bhutto and Hina Rabbani Khar so called affair as disclosed or revealed by Bangladeshi Blitz is Bogus and nothing but to gain attention of all those who are anti or pro Bhutto or PPP. Not only on social media also main stream media like ZEE , India Today and Daily Bhaskar, Jagran and many web based news out lets published this news as Blitz according to western media sources. Yet no one tried to find out the reality of western based media or back ground of Blitz editor who is a pro Israeli and self claimed Zion in need of world attention at any cost. Salah Uddin Soaib is a fame hungry person and he can even come up another film or cartoon or anti Islam story. But most unfortunate was all the so called Pakistani specially anti Bhutto social media contributors are busy defaming Pakistan in the name of being Bhutto enemy. None bothered to check if it was RAW, MOSSAD or MI6 or CIA creating disinformation, yet they were happy to be part of a conspiracy which can defame current Pakistan leadership.

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury sat at the cafe of the five-star Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in downtown Dhaka — capital of the third-largest Muslim nation on Earth — stridently proclaiming his love for Israel and the Jewish people.

“I am a Zionist and a friend of Israel,” he told Israel News JTA in a voice loud enough to be heard by hotel guests and local businessmen sipping their afternoon tea at nearby tables.

But nobody paid any attention. That in itself, said Choudhury, represented enormous progress in the impoverished People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

‘Before 2003, you could not utter the word Israel in this country’ “Before 2003, you could not utter the word Israel in this country,” the devout Muslim said during a lengthy interview.

“Now we celebrate Rosh Hashanah, and all the Jewish community in Dhaka participates. Even in some Bangladeshi media, they now allow positive articles on Israel. And I am more vocal than ever before.”

Choudhury, 46, is publisher of the Englishlanguage Weekly Blitz — one of hundreds of newspapers in this overcrowded, predominantly Muslim nation of 160 million. He’s also a fraud, according to

some Jews in the United States and Israel who once supported him.

On November 29, 2003, half a year after he began publishing his anti-jihadist tabloid, the media mogul and father of two was arrested at Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport as he was about to board a flight to Bangkok with connections to Tel Aviv.

“I was tortured with electric shocks.

They put nails in my ear. They broke my kneecap with a hockey stick. I was interrogated for 15 days and not allowed to bathe,” he said. “They told me, ‘confess you’re a Zionist spy. Otherwise, why do you support Judaism?’ I said that I’m a good Muslim, and a good Muslim must trust the Jews and Christians. And I’m proud of that.”

On January 24, 2004, barely two months after his initial arrest, Choudhury was charged with sedition, treason and blasphemy. Eventually the sedition charge was dropped, and he was freed on bail in April 2005. His office was later firebombed, he was beaten by mobs and at one point briefly kidnapped by members of Bangladesh’s feared Rapid Action Battalion.

Richard Belkin, a Chicago doctor and Jewish activist, heard about Choudhury’s plight and petitioned US Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) to intervene on the journalist’s behalf. In February 2007, a resolution cosponsored by Kirk and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) demanding that Bangladesh drop all remaining charges against Choudhury passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 409 to 1.

Brenda West, writing in the online New English Review, noted that “many newspapers and institutions sang his praises with weekly articles. The Wall

Zion Link behind Billawal Bhutto and Khar Affair

by Bangladeshi Jew Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury.

Zionist or secret agent? Publisher or extortionist?

A Bangladeshi pro-Israel journalist pushes on amid charges of fraud Salah Uddin Shoaib who made headlines with so called Romance story of Billawal Bhutto and Hina Rabbani Khar .

Street Journal carried admiring articles about him, as did many other newspapers, and bloggers flooded the Internet with their awe-stricken appreciation of what looked like Choudhury’s dedication to Western humanistic principles.”

Yet soon after his release on bail, allegations began surfacing that Choudhury was a ruthless con artist with a criminal past — and a pseudojournalist guilty of plagiarism who had

very involved in counter-jihad work after 9/11,” told JTA that “subsequent research, easily available to anyone who bothered to do a little bit of reading, showed that he was a total fraud with criminal ties. He had swindled not just two ardent Jewish supporters but everyone in the Zionist and counter-jihad movement who believed in

the Weekly Blitz; it sells for 5 taka, the equivalent of 7 US cents. He boasted that his newspaper — he says it’s “the most influential in the Muslim world” — was the first in Bangladesh to write about Islamic nongovernmental organizations operating in the country under the patronage of alQaeda.

strong Islamist connections before he inexplicably became an anti-Islamist.

Other Jews who had stood up for Choudhury are less kind.

In March 2011, Aryeh Yosef Gallin, founder and president of the Root and Branch Association — a nonprofit group that promotes cooperation between Israel and other nations — expelled Choudhury from its Islam-Israel Fellowship after reports surfaced that the Bangladeshi had bilked “emotionally vulnerable single Jewish ladies” out of tens of thousands of dollars.

‘He had swindled not just two ardent Jewish supporters but everyone in the Zionist and counter-jihad movement who believed in him’ Brenda West, a self-described “Jewish woman and patriotic American who became

him.”

Some claims that Choudhury made in the interview did appear to be farfetched. For example, he insisted that his country has at least 5,000 Jews. Nearly all references speak of a Jewish community numbering no more than a few hundred.

Choudhury also said, “You can now find Torahs in every bookstore in Bangladesh,” and that the 2,200-square-foot building facing Purana Paltan Street that supposedly housed Dhaka’s only synagogue sits on land now worth $10 million.

A plaque on the aging structure clearly identifies it as a Masonic lodge built in 1910. Nowhere are Hebrew inscriptions, Stars of David or anything remotely Jewish visible from either the outside or inside.

Choudhury prints 25,000 copies of

‘Not a single article of ours has ever been protested by the government. This means we have total credibility’ “Not a single article of ours has ever been protested by the government,” he said.

“This means we have total credibility.”

Despite Choudhury’s insistence that his detractors’ accusations are all false, it does not appear that his legal troubles will disappear soon. He is still facing blasphemy and treason claims.

“The court continues to postpone my trial, so I have to go to court every month, then they give me a new date,” he said. “They don’t have any evidence, so they can’t continue the trial. But they won’t drop the charges either because the government fears that would annoy the Islamists and anti-Semites in this country.”

T20 WC: ‘Watergate’? Players with stomach bug

Continued from page 32 >>

with a locally-produced American branded mineral water during training Tuesday.

LAUGFS Aqua System said they had asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) for samples of suspect bottles of water, but got no immediate response except a statement that their product was off the table.

“We have done our own tests and confirmed that there is nothing wrong with our water,” LAUGFS general manager Chaminda Wijesinghe said. “We asked the ICC to give us water samples but we have got no response yet.”

He said players and officials may also have consumed bottles from other suppliers rather than LAUGFS mineral water while

staying at Sri Lankan hotels.

“We don’t know what caused the problem but I can tell you it is not our water,” Wijesinghe said. “I am drinking it all the time.”

Among players who went down with gastro trouble over the past two weeks were New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori, Mitchell Starc and Brad Hogg of Australia, and Paul Stirling and George Dockrell of Ireland.

As many as 15 players have fallen severely ill, while Southee’s diagnosis was a lot more serious — hospitalised at the end of the match against Pakistan on Saturday.

World Twenty20 organisers have changed the bottled water supplier and called in food inspectors to check the spread of suspected gastro virus at the tournament, officials said on Monday.

Saarc international I Thursday 27 September 2012

SAARC

31

Iran : boycott the 2013 Oscars’ foreign film category over anti-Islam film Culture Ministry demands academy denounce U.S.-made amateur film. As it attacks the religion of more than 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide.

Iran has blocked access to Google’s mail service in protest of a U.S.-made antiIslam video, a report said Monday, while the government also announced that the country may boycott the Oscars if organizers failed to condemn it.

The Gmail service has been blocked since Sunday night, the Mehr news agency reported. A government spokesman said the action was taken at the request of citizens upset about the film Innocence of Muslims, which was posted on Google’s YouTube website.

While YouTube has been blocked before, Google and its mail service have been accessible and popular in Iran. Gmail is said to be used by millions of Iranians, including government officials. Iran meanwhile also said it that it may skip next year’s Oscars

because of the 14-minute amateur film that sparked protests across the Muslim world.

Deputy Culture Minister Javad Shamgadri said because the religion of more than 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide was attacked by the film, the award ceremony’s organizers should clearly denounce it .

“We have already nominated our film, but I still suggest that until the academy shows a suitable reaction to this insulting film, there should be no Iranian attendance at this event,” Shamqadri said in a statement.

Iran is said to have submitted the film Ye habeh Qand (One Piece of Cube Sugar) by Reza Mirkarami to the Oscars in the category of Best Foreign Language Film.

Iran won the 2012 foreign language film award for The Separation by Asghar Farhadi.

It was the first-ever Oscar awarded to a film from Iran.

Rabbi Instructs Followers To Burn “Evil” iPhones

An influential ultra-Orthodox Israeli rabbi

The religious Yated Neeman newspaper published the ban on its front page this week, as mainstream Israeli newspapers were gushing about Apple Inc.’s eagerly anticipated new smartphone, the iPhone 5.

ordered his followers this week to burn their iPhones, the latest move in a campaign by

According to this pashkevil, Rav Chaim Kanievsky said that the allowance for davening with transgressors does not apply to people carrying non-kosher phones. It actually reads: The words of Rav Chaim Kanievsky regarding those who hold iPhones and similar: While jews are allowed to daven with the transgressors, it is still better to daven in a minyan that does not have anyone breaching the fence who holds these impure devices, for when he is present the prayer is less accepted

the insular community to encourage its members to keep the outside world — and specifically the Internet — at bay.

The decree by Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, 84, came ahead of Judaism’s holiest day, Yom Kippur, which begins Tuesday. It said that it was forbidden to own the smartphone, and those who already had one must burn theirs.

(as brought in the Tzlach in Brachos 8a).” the Tzlach does not seem to differentiate between types of sins, with iphones being among the worst.

Israel’s growing ultra-Orthodox minority tenaciously guards its traditional way of life against the influence of the secular majority. Many shun TVs and computers to avoid images that break their standards of

modesty and values.

The iPhone prohibition comes amid a push in recent months by ultra-religious Jewish leaders around the world to steer their flock away from the temptations of the Internet.

Tens of thousands of black-suited Jewish men gathered in a New York stadium in May to hear some of the community’s most famed rabbis lecture on the dangers of what they deemed immoral content accessible via computers and smartphone. The rally was broadcast live to other crowds in stadiums in London and Jerusalem.

After this week’s decree, large posters sprang up throughout Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, calling iPhones “an abomination 24 hours a day.” They called on community members to kick iPhone owners out of religious seminaries, and warned them to keep their children away from the children of iPhone users.

Ultra-Orthodox rabbis have stepped up their campaigns against smartphones in the lead-up to Yom Kippur, a period of religious introspection.

At the entrance to Jerusalem’s outdoor vegetable market, a group of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men in traditional long black coats and black fedoras showed off their “kosher” cell phones — simple devices with Internet access and video capabilities blocked, stamped with a seal of approval by a rabbinical council. They said iPhones are dangerous.

“It takes over your life. It takes over your mind,” said Yitzhak Kabalo, 46, a telemarketer for ultra-Orthodox charities.

The ‘Turbanator’returns

Continued from page 32 >> “I would have even been happy had he got two for 24 but I believe he can bowl better,” he added. England captain Stuart Broad believes ICC World Twenty20 starts now ahead of their opening Super Eight match against the West Indies.

Andy Flower’s squad qualified for the second phase of the tournament courtesy of a comprehensive victory over Afghanistan, although they ended Group A with a 90-run defeat to India.

The chance to retain their title is five matches away, although Broad is not looking at the bigger picture - simply taking things one game at a time.

Steven Finn has labelled West Indies “dangerous opponents” ahead of Thursday’s ICC World Twenty20 Super Eights fixture With one win and a loss in their respective group games in the league stage, both Sri Lanka and New Zealand would look to sort out their weaknesses quickly and get off to a winning start when they clash in the first Super Eight match

of the ICC World Twenty20 on Thursday.

Sri Lanka were runners-up to South Africa in Group C, while New Zealand finished second to Pakistan in Group D after both of teams lost to strong opponents on their way to the Super Eight stage.

New Zealand, on the other hand, entered the knock-out stage after posting a 59-run win over Bangladesh, riding on Brendon McCullum’s superb 123 off 58 balls. They lost to Pakistan by 13 runs in the next match but the result had no bearing on their chances, as the net run rate

was healthy enough for the Kiwis to emerge from their group.

Thus, there is very little to choose between the two sides ahead of Thursday’s contest at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.

In fact, out of the nine T20 Internationals the two teams played so far, New Zealand won five and Sri Lanka four.

Interestingly, two out of nine of those ties were staged in Sri Lanka and the Black Caps managed to win both the matches at the RPS Colombo in 2009.

32

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 27 September 2012

The ‘Turbanator’returns

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has backed Harbhajan Singh to continue his good show, after he bagged four wickets to help India crush England by 90 runs in their ICC World T20 match.

“I believe I have seen Harbhajan bowl better but under current circumstances, it was a brilliant

performance. He was making a comeback and got a chance to prove that he is good and under these conditions, one tends to get desperate,” Dhoni told mediapersons during the post-match interaction after India thrashed the English by 90 runs.

Continued on page 31 >>

SAT

Sports

An Asian team will win the World T20 2012:Russel Arnold West Indies among favourites for the World T20, : Alec Stewart

Super 8s, Group of Death

Super Sunday clash could point to eventual winner Russel Arnold, the former Sri Lankan cricketer, has tipped one of the Asian teams to win the ICC World T20 2012, which is being played in the Island, and believes that spinners will play a huge role

favourites of the on-going ICC World T20 2012.

As India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have already qualified for the Super 8 stage. England will face another examination against spin

in the tournament’s outcome.

The former left-handed batsman thinks that the three major Asian teams have the services of quality spinners, who can make a huge impact on a T20 game, especially if the pitches are offering some spin and bounce.

“Saeed Ajmal, Ajantha Mendis and R Ashwin are there to deliver for the subcontinent teams and they are the favourites to win the title,” said the former Sri Lankan cricketer. Alec Stewart, the former England captain and wicketkeeper/batsman, believes that West Indies, despite not starting too well, are one of the

in their first World Twenty20 Super Eights tie against West Indies in Pallakele on Thursday.

Pakistan has more than one match-winner. Against Bangladesh, however, they played as team and showed that when they do, they are even more dangerous than just the individual brilliance they bring to the T20 format. Pakistan came out with guns blazing to qualify for the Super Eights, but Bangladesh gave them some food for thought after nearly achieving their objective of setting them a stiff target at Pallekelle on Tuesday night.

Bangladesh needed victory by a margin of at least 36 runs to knock out Pakistan from Group D in the World Twenty20 extravaganza.

Bracing himself for the Super Eights in which they are in the Group of Death’ along with

Australia, South Africa and India, Hafeez was quietly confident they were primed for the task ahead.

Asked which team he would rate as the toughest in the Super Eights group, Hafeez replied: “We know the next three teams

in our group are one of the best in the world.”

“We have to really work hard to win all the matches.

India needs to very careful to maintain their record of never having lost a world cup game to Pakistan in any format.

T20 WC: ‘Watergate’?

Players with stomach bug

Several players from New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa and Australia have reportedly been treated for stomach bugs since their arrival in Sri Lanka, with Kiwi Tim Southee even requiring hospital treatment for dehydration.

An ICC spokesman said on Monday that the brand of bottled water used by players and officials had been replaced. Players were supplied Continued on page 31 >>

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