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Year 1 Issue 21 Thursday, 08.12.11

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English rioters warn of more to come Police face years of public disorder, former Met chief warns Lord Stevens launches independent commission on future of policing with warning that officers face rising disorder on streets Lord Stevens made his warning at the launch of an independent commission into the future of policing, which has been set up by Labour as it tries to outflank the government on law and order. A senior police source told the Guardian that Stevens’s warning was shared by most police chiefs and Scotland Yard said: “We anticipate the potential for the increased demands of both peaceful protest and greater criminal disorder threats from a minority continuing into 2012. Our resourcing levels and tactics will reflect lessons learned from 2011.”

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J Dey murder case

Jigna Vora, Chhota Rajan aide in police custody till Dec 9

A special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court on Monday extended the police custody of journalist Jigna Vora, and another accused Paulson Joseph — arrested in connection with the murder of MiD-Day journalist J Dey — till December 9. Opposes bail The prosecution opposed bail for Ms. Vora on the ground of emergence of fresh evidence. Special Public Prosecutor Dilip Shah said a friend of Ms. Vora surrendered a mobile phone belonging to her. Furthermore, the police had to trace her original mobile phone. This phone was different from the three mobile phones

Continued on page 24 >>

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Student Mundill Mahil lured Sikh TV executive to his death’ Gagandip Singh, 21, was found in the boot of a burnt out car in Blackheath Mundill Mahil, a petite medical student, lured a “besotted” TV executive into a honeytrap before he was bundled into a car and burned alive, a court has heard. A medical student ordered two ‘gangster friends’ to kill a ‘besotted’ television executive in revenge after he tried to rape her, a court heard.

Mundill Mahil, 20, lured millionaire Gagandip Singh to her house, where he was beaten unconscious then bundled into the boot of a car and burned alive, the jury was told. She allegedly told friends she wanted Mr Singh dead – and, the court heard, persuaded another man who was infatuated with her to murder him.

Mr Singh, 21, was killed in February, after the ‘intelligent and attractive young woman’ convinced him, through a series of text messages, to come to her student digs in Brighton at 11pm, the jury was told. But when he walked into her bedroom, carrying a teddy bear and ﬂowers, he found Harvinder Continued on page 4 >>

NEWS

China’s president tells navy to prepare for combat to safeguard national security BEIJING – Chinese President Hu Jintao Tuesday urged the navy to prepare for military combat amid growing regional tensions over maritime disputes and a U.S. campaign to assert itself as a Pacific power. The navy should “accelerate its transformation and modernization in a sturdy way, and make extended preparations for military combat in order to make greater contributions to safeguard national security,” he said. Addressing the powerful Central Military Commission, Hu said: “Our work must closely encircle the main theme of national defense and military building.” His remarks, which were posted on a statement on a government website, come amid growing U.S. and regional concerns over China’s naval ambitions, particularly in the South China Publisher Salah Bu Khamas (UAE) Sabha Khan (UK) UK Office 10 Courtenay Road, Wembley, Middlesex, HA9 7ND UK Phone: +44 20 8904 0617 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 Phone +91 2632 222209 / 222211 Fax: +91 2632 222212 Post Box No. 98 /108 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 Art Department UK Ali Ansar (Art Director) Md. Reazul Islam

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 08 December 2011

Bangladesh at 40 12th- 18th Dec 2011, The BBC Asian Network

The BBC Asian Network celebrates Bangladesh’s war of Liberation as the country marks 40 years of Independence. Don’t miss Asian Network Reports special with Konnie Huq, live coverage of the celebrations plus two Bengali programmes live from Dhaka.

Sea. China claims all of the maritime area, as does Taiwan, while four Southeast Asian countries declare ownership of parts of it, with Vietnam and the Philippines accusing Chinese forces of increasing aggression there. In a translation of Hu’s comments, the ofﬁcial Xinhua

The Rape Victim: Ferdousi Priobhashini says she suffered terribly during the war - she told us how she was repeatedly raped by Pakistani soldiers. She is now a celebrated Bangladeshi sculptor and Asian Network’s Konnie Huq spoke to her surrounded by her work at home in Dhaka.

news agency quoted the president as saying China’s navy should “make extended preparations for warfare.” But the Pentagon on Tuesday downplayed Hu’s speech, saying that Beijing had the right to develop its military, although it should do so transparently.

A Disappointing Landslide Poor Election Showing Weakens Putin; United Russia Wins Less Than 50% It may have won by a huge margin, but the results of Sunday’s Duma election in Russia are still disappointing for Vladimir Putin’s United Russia. The party won just under half of the vote, a massive decline compared to the 2007 election. The result reveals growing discontent with Putin among the Russian population. Poll results gave United Russia a disappointing 49.5 percent of the vote by Monday morning after State Duma elections that took place amid an unprecedented series of detentions, threats and attacks against the independent media, election observers and opposition activists. Poll results gave United Russia slightly less than 50 percent of the vote by Monday morning after State Duma elections that took place amid an unprecedented series of detentions, threats and attacks against the independent media, election observers and opposition activists. With 95 percent of ballots counted, the ruling party had garnered 49.5 percent, the Central Elections Commission said on its website. Preliminary results on Sunday night ranging from 46 percent to 49 percent were in line with two exit polls, both of which showed United Russia with less

than 50 percent. As the elections commission continued to update results throughout the night, the ﬁgure for United Russia ticked higher. It will ﬂuctuate until all of the ballots have been counted. Yet the results already indicate that the party, which has crushingly dominated the country’s politics for years, is on track to lose its twothirds majority in the Duma. In the 2007 elections for State Duma, United Russia got 64 percent of the vote. On Monday morning, the Communist Party was placing second, with about 19.2 percent, up from 11.6 percent in 2007, the elections commission reported. The Communists were followed by A Just Russia, with 13.2 percent (up from 7.7 percent), and the nationalist Liberal Democratic

Party, with about 11.7 percent (up from 8.1 percent). No other parties cleared the 7 percent threshold. Voter turnout was 60.2 percent, according to the Central Election Commission’s website. In 2007, it was 63.7 percent. It was unclear what a less than 50 percent showing for United Russia might mean for President Dmitry Medvedev, who led the party’s ticket. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is expected to return to the Kremlin in the presidential election next year, has said he would make Medvedev his prime minister if United Russia performed well Sunday. Speaking before the ﬁnal results were announced, Medvedev praised United Russia’s showing, saying at the party’s campaign headquarters that they showed the party had a

“moral right” to continue to pursue its pro-Kremlin course. “Based on this result, we can ensure the stable development of our state,” Putin said, speaking at the same venue late Sunday night, Interfax reported. “Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this result.” Election day kicked off with a series of denial-of- service attacks that brought down the web sites of major liberal media outlets, including the Ekho Moskvy radio, the Kommersant daily, the New Times weekly and the Slon.ru business news portal. In 2012, Putin wants to return to the position of Russian president. The parliamentary elections were therefore a kind of litmus test for the incumbent prime minister ahead of the presidential elections in March. After United Russia’s poor result, the future of the Putin-Medvedev duo looks in doubt, argues Alexei Mukhin of the Center for Political Information, a Moscow-based research institute. Medvedev is supposed to become prime minister next year, swapping positions with Putin. “Now, Putin might be tempted to sacriﬁce Medvedev,” Mukhin says, thereby shaking off the taint of the disappointing parliamentary elections.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 08 December 2011

NEWS

Germany and France Agree Sarkozy and Merkel conﬁrm EU WILL need a new treaty but Cameron says Britain STILL won’t get a referendum

Eurozone debt crisis: safeguard the City or I’ll veto new EU treaty, warns David Cameron David Cameron has threatened to veto a far-reaching deal to save the euro unless he wins safeguards for the City of London and the European single market. British PM says he will not sign any new deal that doesn’t safeguard Britain’s financial services • Pair agree on series of reforms to address eurozone sovereign debt crisis • Proposals will be presented to EU President on Wednesday • They include a modified EU treaty, ideally for all 27 EU members, but prepared to cut down to 17 eurozone members if needed • They want automatic sanctions on countries failing to meet 3% deficit rule • Eurozone leaders should meet once a month until crisis is sorted • They agreed Eurobonds is NOT a solution to the problem • Cameron: New treaty will not trigger referendum • Shares gain as markets remain optimistic on fiscal union Germany and France have agreed a common position on tackling the euro-zone debt crisis by pushing for a new EU treaty to enforce budget discipline through automatic sanctions. They plan to bring forward the permanent euro bailout mechanism to 2012 from 2013 -- and both remain opposed to euro bonds. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave a crucial show of unity in the euro crisis on Monday, announcing after a meeting in Paris that they will push for a new treaty, either among all 27 EU members or just the 17 countries in the euro zone, to force member states to adhere to tighter budget discipline in the future. The two leaders also agreed to bring forward the establishment of the permanent bailout fund, or European Stability Mechanism, for ailing member states to next year from the original launch date of 2013. They plan to submit their proposals to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy on Wednesday ahead of what is being billed as a make-orbreak summit on the euro crisis on Thursday and Friday. “Things cannot continue as they have done up until today,” Sarkozy told a joint news conference with Merkel after the meeting. “Our preference is for a treaty among the 27 (EU members), so that nobody feels excluded, but we are open to a treaty among the 17 (euro members), open to any state that wants to join us.” Automatic Sanctions and BalancedBudget Rules Sarkozy said the treaty would enshrine automatic sanctions on countries that breach the EU’s budget deficit ceiling of 3 percent of GDP, and would also contain a “golden

rule” under which member states would declare balanced budgets as a requirement in their national constitutions. Both leaders were at pains to quell rumors of behind-the-scenes

brakes, which can be veriﬁed by the European Court of Justice.” ECB Could Step in to Calm Markets Even if Merkel and Sarkozy can secure agreement for treaty changes at the EU summit, the moves will

disagreements on how to tackle the crisis. “In this extremely worrying period and serious crisis, France believes that the alliance and understanding with Germany are of strategic importance,” Sarkozy said. “Risking a disagreement would be risking the euro zone exploding.” Merkel said: “ “It is very important that we work as closely together as possible... We are in a difﬁcult situation and we need to regain trust, as the belief that we can be taken at our word has suffered. “That is why at the summit we need to regain some of this conﬁdence and trust in our word. We want structural changes which go beyond agreements. We need binding debt

take months to implement. The European Central Bank could step in to stabilize markets in the meantime through bond-buying and interest rate cuts. The ECB last week signalled ﬂexibility if leaders made progress on ﬁscal integration. The two leaders also agreed that the rules of the permanent rescue fund, called the European Stability Mechanism, are to be changed so that it will no longer be possible for an individual member state to veto decisions. Decisions on ESM moves will only require 85 percent approval, rather than the originally envisaged 100 percent, to go through, they said. Both Sarkozy and Merkel also

reiterated their opposition to euro bonds, or jointly issued debt, an idea that had been aired by EU ofﬁcials as a way to contain the crisis by reducing the borrowing costs of highdebt nations. Both also said they had settled differences on the involvement of private sector creditors in future sovereign defaults. Merkel said the creditors would be involved in accordance with the rules of the International Monetary Fund. She said there would be no “Lex Europa” that would treat investors in Europe worse than investors elsewhere in the world. British Prime Minister David Cameron made

a referendum, suggesting that the issue of whether or not to call one will not arise. He added: ‘I have always said that if there is treaty change in Europe then we will make sure that Britain gets something in order to enhance, protect, defend and promote our national interest in Europe. I think that is absolutely the key... ‘If there is treaty change at the level of 27, then Britain has its desires and requests to make sure our relationship with Europe is properly managed.’ Downing Street has insisted that any new treaty would not involve a transfer of powers from Westminster

clear that a new treaty to sort out the eurozone crisis would not necessarily trigger a referendum in the UK. Answering questions following a speech in London, he said: ‘Clearly, there are negotiations going on in Europe. I will be part of those negotiations on Thursday and Friday. ‘If there is a treaty at the level of 27, and if that passed powers from Britain to Brussels, there would be a referendum. ‘If it didn’t pass powers from Britain to Brussels, I would still want to make sure that British interests are pursued. Mr Cameron indicated that he does not expect any treaty change signiﬁcant enough to require

to Brussels. The Prime Minister will argue treaty changes will affect only the 17 countries in the eurozone. But last night a senior minister told the Daily Mail: ‘I don’t think it’s possible to have a significant move towards fiscal union without a significant renegotiation of our relationship with the eurozone. ‘It’s inconceivable that we don’t do something about that. To claim that it will only affect the eurozone is unsustainable.’ Another senior Tory warned Mr Cameron that he risks a bigger rebellion than the 81 MPs who demanded a referendum on pulling out of the EU in October.

NEWS

EDITORIAL

Mr Cameron’s threats are mere hot air

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 08 December 2011

Nasrallah makes rare public appearance, says group better armed

Lisbon Treaty may be altered without need for referendum Mr Cameron said he was heading to the European Council summit “to defend and promote British interests”. Asked if he was prepared to reject a treaty that would save the single currency, Mr Cameron said: “To save the single currency you need more than a treaty, you need to address the competitiveness problem, the deficit problem, you need to take action to convince the markets that you are serious. In an article for The Times Mr Cameron insisted Britain’s demands would be “practical and focused” but warned EU leaders not to mistake that pledge for a “lack of steel”. He said the most “credible” way of pushing Europe forward was with treaty change involving the 27 EU members. The move sparked renewed calls from increasingly disgruntled Conservative backbenchers for a referendum on any new treaty. “What is happening today with the Lisbon Treaty?” “It was simply forgotten. Within the last two years the European Union has changed a great deal. Could you compare Russia of 1989 and Russia of early 1992? The situation is the same with Europe.” “In 2012 it is unlikely to be effective. Actually, next year could be critical for the EU, the most difficult in all the years of its existence. Germany and France will try to negotiate a new treaty involving greater centralization in financial matters. Yet, it is hard to predict whether they will be successful.” Alexander Rahr, German political scientist, Director of the Center of Berthold Beitz of the German Council on Foreign Relations shared his thought in an interview. BRUSSELS IS working on a plan to avoid a referendum, in Ireland or elsewhere, by adopting a special procedure to meet German demands for changes to the Lisbon Treaty. With Europe under intensive pressure to calm the debt emergency, European Council president Herman Van Rompuy will urge leaders at a dinner in Brussels tomorrow night to support a limited change to the treaty which can be approved by a unanimous vote of heads of state and government. On the other hand Some analyst say Cameron’s threat to veto treaty change is just hot air, as David Cameron pretends to be playing tough by threatening to veto treaty change for the European Union, but actually this is little more than theatrics designed to placate his eurosceptic wing. What he’s demanding isn’t really an issue for Merkel and Sarkozy, and if anything amounts to a retreat from what the UK was hoping to get out of treaty change just a few weeks back. The bottom line is that at this stage, Mr Cameron is not going to stand in the way of what Europeans want to do. The UK Government’s primary objective remains that of limiting the immediate damage the eurozone crisis is inflicting on the UK economy. All else is secondary.

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said his group was increasing its weapons stockpiles shortly after he made a rare public appearance at a Beirut Ashura procession Tuesday. “Our power has increased and so have our arms day after day,” Nasrallah said in a video link on the occasion of Ashura, the tenth day of Muharram – the ﬁrst month of the Muslim lunar calendar. “This resistance and its weapons will continue to exist and your conspiracies as well as your psychological, political and intelligence wars will not destroy us,” Nasrallah told crowds at a packed stadium in the southern suburbs of Beirut less than half an hour after making a rare public appearance at the venue. Thousands of men dressed in black applauded as Nasrallah yelled: “The resistance in Lebanon, with Continued from page 01 >>

its weapons and mujahedeen, God willing, will continue to exist. We will hold onto our arms ... our weapons do not rust. They are being renewed.” During his brief public appearance, Nasrallah, speaking from a openair podium, told cheering crowd: “I wanted to be with you for a few minutes ... to renew our pledge with al-Hussein who stood at this day alone in the face of 30,000 individuals.” “We tell all those who bet on scaring us or threatening us that we are the companions of Imam Hussein, who says he will never be humiliated,” Nasrallah added before he was whisked out of al-Rai Stadium in the southern suburbs of the capital. During his televised speech, Nasrallah touched on both local and regional matters. On the “Arab Spring,” Nasrallah reiterated accusations that the U.S.

was steering the uprisings in the Arab world and urged people to be aware of “this conspiracy.” “We must alert, remind and warn everybody that the real threat to this nation and all its peoples is the U.S.Israeli project,” Nasrallah said via a video link. He said the U.S. administration had revived its “new Middle East project” after attempts by Washington were thwarted by resistance operations in the region and by rejectionist countries with Iran and Syria at the forefront. The U.S. “now woke up to reactivate the new Middle East project by igniting sectarian strife.” A good section of his speech was devoted to Syria, saying that while he supported reforms he would “stand by a regime that has stood by the resistance for a long time.” Nasrallah said the United States aimed to destroy Syria.

Jigna Vora, Chhota Rajan aide

and a memory card given to the police by one Murtuza Diwan. He claimed that they all belonged to Ms. Vora, who had given them to him for safekeeping. The prosecution claimed that two witnesses had accused Mr. Paulson of destroying certain SIM cards. Hence, the custody of Ms. Vora and Mr. Paulson was sought for further interrogation. He also said that Ms Vora was not cooperating with the investigation. Ms Vora, Deputy Chief of Bureau of Asian Age, was recently arrested under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) on charges of supplying licence plate number of the motorcycle and address of the slain journalist to Rajan. According to the police, Chhota Rajan was upset with two articles written by Mr Dey which portrayed him in bad light and hence ordered him to be killed;

he wanted to send a message to the media that those who write against him would be killed. The police also say that Ms Jigna had instigated Rajan to kill Mr Dey due to professional rivalry. Vora’s police custody was extended after public prosecutor Dilip Shah argued that new material had come to light in the last few days and this needed to be probed. He also said that Vora was not cooperating in investigation. Shah said a lady who was known to Vora had given the police a mobile phone saying it belonged to the journalist while one more cell phone of Vora was yet to be recovered. Besides, two more witnesses have come forward to give their statements in the case. Paulson, charged with giving Rs 5 lakh contract money to killers on the instructions of Chhota Rajan, was also produced before the special court which remanded him in police custody. Earlier, Paulson was in judicial custody and police wanted him in their custody to confront him with Vora. Dey, 56, was shot dead by assailants on motorcycles in broad daylight in Powai, a Mumbai suburb. He was believed to have been investigating the alleged nexus between the underworld, police and oil maﬁa.

“There are some who don’t want civil peace or stability and want to destroy Syria. There are some who want to make up for their defeat in Iraq and their inevitable loss in any change in the situation in Syria for the benefit of Israel,” Nasrallah told the packed stadium. On local matters, Nasrallah touched on the issue of “false witnesses” in the case of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Nasrallah said the issue had caused tensions in ties between Lebanon and Syria and called on the government to address the divisive topic. “There is a need to resolve the issue of ‘false witnesses’ and that of the four officers who were jailed,” Nasrallah said, referring to the four generals who were held without charge for nearly four years before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing Hariri’s assassination ordered their release.

Student Mundill Mahil lured Continued from page 01 >> Shoker – who was also in love with Mahil – and ‘hired muscle’ Darren Peters waiting for him, the court heard. During the beating Mr Singh – the owner of a new broadcasting service called Sikh TV – screamed Mahil’s name and begged for help, it was claimed. The two men, both 20, wrapped the victim in Mahil’s duvet and bundled him into the boot of the Mercedes he arrived in, then drove to a quiet street in Blackheath, south-east London, doused the car in petrol and set it alight, the Old Bailey was told. A post mortem examination revealed Mr Singh was still alive when the ﬁre was started. Medical student Mundill Mahil, 20, invited Sikh TV chief Gagandip Singh, 21, to visit her six months after the alleged attack. Two men were waiting for him at her home in Brighton where they beat him up and dumped him in the boot of his car, jurors were told. They drove to Blackheath, South East London where they set it alight with him inside. Aftab Jafferjee QC, prosecuting, told the Old Bailey: “He was still alive at this point.” Mr Singh had months earlier got into Mahil’s bed uninvited. Both later described it as attempted rape, the court heard. Mahil told friends her “gangster” pals wanted revenge. Darren Peters, 20, of Blackheath, Harvinder Shoker, 20, of Greenwich, South East London, and Mahil of Chatham, Kent, deny murder. Trial continues

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 09 December 2011

NEWS

Syria: UN human rights chief calls for action rebuffed by China and Russia The United Nations’ human rights chief has urged world powers to take action to protect civilians in Syria from “ruthless repression”, but her call was rebuffed by China and Russia.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for military intervention in Syria to bring down the ruling regime as sanctions continue to be piled on Damascus. But political activist Franklin Lamb has doubts on how effective they can be. ¬According to Commissioner Navi Pillay, more than 4,000 people, including 307 children, have been killed in the last nine months of clashes between the government forces of President Bashar al-Assad and armed opposition.

After she spoke, envoys from Russia and China, which both have oil projects in Syria, took the ﬂoor to warn against foreign interference in Syria in the name of human rights. Russia has delivered anti-ship cruise missiles to Syria, the Interfax news agency cited an unnamed military source as saying on Thursday, days after a UN commission of inquiry called for an arms embargo on Damascus. China’s envoy He Yafei said that although China was deeply

concerned, views on how to resolve the situation differed widely. “Member states of the United Nations should follow the principles and purposes of the UN and refrain from resolving differences through force or threat of force,” he said. Syria, which does not allow access to most foreign journalists, says it is ﬁghting an insurgency by armed groups supported from abroad, who have attacked its troops trying to defend the peace.

2012: No Geomagnetic Reversal Apparently, on December 21st 2012, our planet will experience a powerful event. This time we’re not talking about Planet X, Nibiru or a “killer” solar flare, this event will originate deep within the core of our planet, forcing a catastrophic change in our protective magnetic field. Not only will we notice a rapid reduction in magnetic field strength, we’ll also see the magnetic poles rapidly reverse polarity (i.e. the north magnetic pole will be located over the South Pole and vice versa). So what does this mean to us? If we are to believe the doomsayers, we’ll be exposed to the vast quantities

of radiation blasting from the Sun; with a reversing magnetic field comes a weakening in the Earth’s ability to deflect cosmic rays. Our armada of communication and military satellites will drop from orbit, adding to the chaos on the ground. There will be social unrest, warfare, famine and economic collapse. Without GPS, our airliners will also plough into the ground. In conclusion: • Geomagnetic reversal is chaotic in nature. There is no way we can predict it. • Simply because the magnetic field

of the Earth is weakening does not mean it is near collapse. Geomagnetic ﬁeld strength is “above average” if we compare today’s measurements with the last few million years. • The magnetic poles are not set in geographical locations, they move (at varying speeds) and have done ever since measurements began. • There is no evidence to suggest external forcing of internal geomagnetic dynamics of the Earth. Therefore there is no evidence of the solar cyclegeomagnetic shift connection. Don’t get me started on Planet X.

At Friday’s summit, Syria’s ambassador Faysal Khabbaz Hamoui gave an angry speech that won support from Russia, China and Cuba. “The Syrian problem is one that can be resolved only by Syrians. It is only a domestic, national solution that is possible,” he said, referring to reforms promised for 2012. “The solution cannot come from the corridors of the international community,” he said. “It is only resolutions trying to put more oil on the ﬁre.”

The UN also condemned Assad’s rule, but a resolution that could have paved the way for intervention was blocked by Russia and China. They believe the UN continues to ignore reports of atrocities committed by opposition ﬁghters – and warn that foreign meddling may worsen the situation. Franklin Lamb says the regime is extremely nationalistic to be brought down by Western interference in the form of sanctions as the majority of population will strongly oppose them. “The history going back to Iraq and before teaches us that sanctions are not really effective in changing the behavior of the regime – they are dramatic for local consumption,” Lamb claims, saying the US Congress’ thrills of sanctions against Syria and Iran will bring no fruit in real political terms. “Both sides have got to ﬁnd another way to defuse the situation,” he maintains.

Cornwall earthquake shakes homes An earthquake has hit the Bodmin area of Cornwall. According to reports from the British Geological Survey (BGS), the 2.2-magnitude tremor hit at 02:40 GMT and lasted for a few seconds. The quake could have been felt as far as St Austell, Liskeard and Padstow, but there were no reports of damage. Sue Dibble, from St Tudy, said: “It was very loud, like a whooshing and the house and

bed were shaking. I thought I’d imagined it.” Between 20 to 30 earthquakes are felt by people each year in the UK, but most of these are very small and cause no damage, the BGS said. The largest known British earthquake occurred 60 miles offshore near the Dogger Bank in 1931, with a magnitude of 6.1. It was powerful enough to cause minor damage to buildings on the east coast of England.

China must protect Iran even with WWIII A

professor from the Chinese National Defense University says if Iran is attacked, China will not hesitate to protect the Islamic Republic even by launching the Third World War. Major General Zhang Zhaozhong said, “China will not hesitate to protect Iran even with a third World War.” The United States and Israel have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the “option” of a

military strike, based on the allegation that Iran’s nuclear program may consist of a covert military agenda. Iran has refuted the allegations, saying that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA, it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Over the past weeks, Israel has renewed its aggressive rhetoric against Iran. On November 21,

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that “time has come” to deal with Iran. Israeli President Shimon Peres also threatened on November 6 that an attack against Iran is becoming “more and more likely.” Iranian ofﬁcials have promised a crushing response to any military strike against the country, warning that any such measure could result in a war that would spread beyond the Middle East.

NEWS

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 09 December 2011

Arab League issues Syria new deadline T the violence, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim said. “We are awaiting an answer from them,” he told the Qatar news agency Saturday. The league met in the Qatari capital of Doha. The deadline was announced the same day the league released more information on Syrian sanctions issued last month, including freezing the assets of 19 top ofﬁcials linked to

he Arab League issued Syria a Sunday deadline to sign an initiative to end the bloody crackdown on antigovernment protesters, Qatar state media reported. League officials responded to requests by Damascus for some clarifications to the initiative, but did not make any key changes, according to Qatar’s foreign minister. It is now up to the Syrian regime officials to sign the paperwork agreeing to end

President Bashar al-Assad. The officials include Maher al-Assad, the president’s brother. The sanctions also include banning the officials from traveling to Arab countries and reducing flights in and out of Syria by 50%, the news agency said. Ahmed Hamoudi, general coordinator of the Egypt-based Syrian Revolution Coordination, expressed skepticism about whether the sanctions would help end al-Assad’s 11-year rule.

Amnesty International calls for arrest of George W. Bush

U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Blames Israel for Anti-Semitism

Zambia: Red Carpet Reception For Bush Despite Calls To Arrest Him

conflict between Israel and the Palestinians,” report. Gutman was a Washington D.C. attorney and major fundraiser for President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. Obama nominated Gutman to his post in 2009. The Obama administration sought to distance itself from Gutman’s remarks Sunday, with White House spokesman Tommy Vietor telling ABC News, “We condemn anti-Semitism in all its forms and believe there is never any justification for prejudice against the Jewish people or Israel.” Gutman, who is Jewish , issued his own statement apologizing if his comments were taken the wrong way. “I strongly condemn anti-Semitism in all its forms. I deeply regret if my comments were taken the wrong way. My own personal history and that of my family is testimony to the salience of this issue and my continued commitment to combating antiSemitism,” Gutman said. Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich reacted to Gutman’s remarks in a message on Twitter Saturday, writing “Pres Obama should fire his ambassador to Brussels for being so wrong about anti-semitism.” This week the Anti-Defamation League, a US hate monitor, criticised US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta for placing “disproportionate responsibility on Israel for the campaign of hostility against her” in a speech to the 2011 Saban Forum, a US and Israeli policy conference. Mr Panetta said Israel should end the “isolation” in the Middle East and insinuated that Israel was responsible for its tense relationship with Turkey, Egypt and the Palestinians.

Amnesty International has called for several African nations to arrest and detain former President George W. Bush for authorizing the use of waterboarding and other forms of torture. Mr. Bush is visiting Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia this week to raise awareness about cervical and breast cancer and HIV/AIDS. The international human rights group’s written statement recognizes the value those goals, but says it “cannot lessen the damage to the ﬁght against torture caused by allowing someone who has admitted to authorizing waterboarding to travel without facing the consequences prescribed by law.” The organization called for the governments of Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia to arrest Mr. Bush

and “to secure his presence during the investigation” of “his alleged involvement in and responsibility for torture.” It is not the ﬁrst time human rights groups have called for Mr. Bush’s arrest. Amnesty called for his arrest in October during a visit to Canada and the former president canceled a visit to Switzerland in February on fears that he may have faced legal action there. Mr. Bush wrote in his memoir, “Decision Points,” that he personally approved the use of waterboarding, an interrogation technique that simulates drowning, for alleged September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed. New York Rep. Peter King called Amnesty’s action misguided. “”If Amnesty International had

any intellectual honesty, it would give President Bush a medal to honor him for liberating so many oppressed Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan and for assisting millions of AIDS victims in Africa,” said the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

The U.S. ambassador to Belgium is under ﬁre for comments he made appearing to blame Israel for antiSemitism among Muslims. Howard Gutman made the remarks Wednesday at a Jewish conference on anti-Semitism, reportedly apologizing to the audience in advance if his words were not to their liking, according to reports. Gutman said “a distinction should be made between traditional anti-Semitism, which should be condemned, and Muslim hatred for Jews, which stems from the ongoing

Julian Assange wins last chance to ﬁght, but chance of success ‘extraordinarily slim’ ULIAN Assange last night won a ﬁnal chance to battle his extradition to Sweden to face sex allegations when Britain’s High Court allowed a hearing that will keep him in the country until next year. Mr Assange was given

permission to take his case to the British Supreme Court, but High Court judge John Thomas dampened any optimism among the Assange supporters by saying he believed the Australian’s chances of success at the hearing were “extraordinarily slim”.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 08 December 2011

NEWS

THE ROBOTS HAVE LANDED Adrian Felaar Robots once ranked amongst the preserves of science-fiction writers, such as the infamous Isaac Asimov. The concept of automated and mechanical machines with human attributes, when gestating in the “Broca’s” area of pioneering sci-fi writers, seemed as farfetched as the notion of life forms, aliens, in existence beyond our the boundaries of our solar system (which coincidentally must have occupied the “Broca’s” area of the same writers). However, in as much as the latest discovery of Kepler-22b (a planet outside our solar system which is eerily similar to Earth) is helping to win the argument for space scientists who contest that “we are not alone” out here, the exponential rate of technological advancement is helping to reinforce the inevitability of life with the addition of robots. No longer is the family of robots positronic i.e. they are no longer fictional technology as Asimov described them. No longer can this species be confined to bookends, silver screen productions or to the abstract thoughts of a minority. Gradually and ever-so surreptitiously, robots have infiltrated our society in so far as much as to form part and parcel of our social fabric; they have become continuous with life and are now accepted in the same way as Newton’s law on gravity. Reflect on the definition of robots – automated machines – and the validity of the preceding point on robots’ ubiquity is undeniable. Indeed robots are everywhere: from our living rooms to the newly installed checkouts at

Marisa Paulson [Previously: ...My skin looked off, like I was sick, quite pale even, I looked really ill...I didn’t have a good sleep...a nightmare...my left arm... nothing was there...I didn’t know whether it was real or I simply dreamt it...there was nothing now...perhaps it was all a ﬁgment of my imagination... Still...] Forcedly I ﬂung my head out of the basin, gasping, hyperventilating, consuming air around me. Water splashed everywhere as I’d done so. A fringe of hair fell across my eyes. I hastily whipped them away from...eyes...widened as I gawked upon myself in the

supermarkets. There is no doubting the useful qualities and beneﬁts to be exploited from our mechanical friends. Humanity, along its evolution and across time differences, has always desired helpmates, albeit in the conventional forms of canines or homing pigeons. Or at least such is the accepted theory behind the genesis and ideology of robots. Whether robots were conceptualised

and technological discoveries are after all mistakes or to be found in times of boredom. I mean, it could only have been boredom which drove Sir Isaac Newton to sit beneath an apple tree. Nonetheless who of us have not enjoyed swooping past the queues of masses at self-checkouts of the local Tesco to have our shopping scanned by a robot (yes, that self-checkout can be classiﬁed as a robot)? Furthermore

helped to reduce recovery times but it has its limitations. Yet with time, the number of people which need to be present to perform a surgical operation will be decreased. This may not be such a desired consequence but if hospitals wish to use robots, it is unavoidable that this will be a disadvantage to professions such as nursing. Following the usefulness of robots, it is frightening to consider

because of our inherent laziness, which we euphemistically term “convenience”, or just for the sake of relieving boredom is a matter of personal preference. Most scientiﬁc

robots have been developed which are enabled to conduct surgical procedures such as the “da Vinci Surgical System”. Undeniably, the introduction of robotic surgery has

how machines are transforming the way in which we interact. We no longer rely on Carol from the Met Ofﬁce to relay to us the topsy-turvy weather forecast as many now have

SORRY FOR YOURSELF mirror...the mirror and the person behind my reﬂection. That man, his teeth bared fangs, his reﬂection was pushing out! His hand was near. An ominous force daggered his roaring screech into my cheeks. I yelled. His teeth, they sunk in, in deep, I felt droplets of blood, sizzling hot like in a fryer pan. I saw the arm, and the bone, and the blood, the blood...the blood. I knew...that this...was REAL. I was walking halfway through the morning, a point when birds were present in all the sky, cars were quite alive roaring down some nearby street,

occasional footsteps or aroma of exhaled smoke from others, and then me, not walking with them but just in their vista. All of a sudden I saw a dead crow...it smelt really badly – obviously – but I just found it weird that it was there. Anyway, I couldn’t help to stare, and stare, and stare. My stomach rumbled. I continued to stare, and stare...and stare. It rumbled again. Clenching my hand on my stomach, I proceeded over towards the death; my mouth salivated as if I was a conditioned dog of Pavlov, ready to eat. I was hungry, even though I already

ate breakfast (a big one), I was hungry. Now a few bloods a part, I stepped. “Whoa!” Shang slewed his bike between the two of us: separating us, and smiled. I half smiled and ambled across the rest of bend with him until we reached his house, he invited me in. Even with Shang, I could see so brilliantly the crow perched dead on the ground with all the feathers and blood and, what am I doing? I shook my head and took a mouthful of the chicken burger his mom brought us. It was...okay. About an hour later Vace came round as well, he met us

Siri at hand. Robots are increasingly being adapted to have more humanlike features. Overtime, as robots enter into the mainstream of life, they may be entrusted with the education of children and the care of the elderly. Yet this is some time away from happening as the majority of people still dislike robots which appear to similar to homosapiens. The new streams of robots are imbued with skills once only shared by living things such as animals. The thought of being served by a robotic waitress scares me. The image of an elderly version of me having an in-depth conversation with a robot about the current developments in stem cell research raises the hackles on my neck. Scientists are in danger of overstepping the line drawn in the sand. Robots with human characteristics go far beyond natural laws. Instead of bettering ourselves in quest of the ideal of perfection, we are once again becoming too dependent on our tools. Some supporters of the innovations in robotics argue that robots are the next version of man’s best friend – they are to be our companions of the future. Whatever the future holds for the robotic world, no matter how lifelike these machines are they are no substitute to the touch of another human being; a smile from a robot will never be inspired by sincerity. Scientists should arrest their research now before complicating this world further. Notwithstanding their new human features, robots will forever be what they are: lifeless, scrap metal.

in Shang’s room, playing video games, of course. The day was late, a near ending Saturday, 4:37pm. Since my whole incident with Worthall Anderson eleven days had passed, and within that passing, strange things had been announcing. I’d remember that day like no other, the day I just stared and stared and stared, the day my spine twisted back and forth and snapped, the day my blood boiled hot, sizzling hot in a fryer pan, and that day, the day my tip of my tongue tasted death. That pain was hell, excruciating, I longed to have swallowed the death becoming me whole. Luckily I lived, living and now alive.

NEWS

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 08 December 2011

ENTERTAINMENT

Gklih{l

Ignorance is Bliss Keziah-Ann Abakah It’s amazing in fact I dare to say it is astounding how blissful ignorance is. The Ignorant speak before they think, they point ﬁngers before they look and they state opinions instead of facts. To me it seems that the Ignorant have found what we have all failed to acquire, for they posses happiness, freedom of speech and superior knowledge to us all. If it’s a common known fact that ignorance is bliss quite simply I ask...Why aren’t we all ignorant? If you put aside the fact that most people will make attempts on your life. Overlook the knowledge that you will be a source of repulsion and pay no notice to the fact that people like you are the reason we have

Genocide the short falls of being ignorant are minor. Who cares if you inspire people to act as if one race is superior to another? Who cares if those who work just as hard as you and sometimes even harder are subjected to snide comments about their ancestral origin? And who cares if young children are exposed to these one sided views that are often coated in a layer of colourful language surely not the ignorant. It’s not important to remember that most if not all high end brands are made in countries outside of Britain by an assortment of ethnic groups, look no further than the sole of your shoes, the tag of your jacket or even the interior of your gloves to have this fact proved. It’s not important to remember that Mc Donald’s, Kebab,

Pizza Hut and Chinese take out were not invented by the British but still provide excellent food on those days when we can’t be bothered to cook and lastly It’s not important to acknowledge the fact that a large majority of tax payers are British citizen but aren’t one racial colour. In the mind of the ignorant these facts are negligible. The Ignorant live an uninformed and unconcerned life where they can be as incompetent as they please and they demonstrate this incompetence at any time and any place. They disregard the implications of their words and actions, they bear little to no factual content and they act as a prime example of why certain aspects of society have not changed so why oh why aren’t we all... Ignorant?

FASHION

ADVICE

A Different print very season, it’s never ending! But I am here to the rescue, ok well not rescue, but to update you on the prints hitting the high-street this season. From Aztec to monochrome, here are some items that will surely make you a trend setter...

Dress- £48.00; www.topshop.com

Kimono- £45.00; www.houseoffraser.co.uk

Dress- £32.00; www.topshop.com Jumper- £45.00; www.oasis-stores.com

Top- £20.00; www.bankfashion.co.uk

Cheering squad paid to greet the hollywood star at airport’s vip exit. Some of them did not even know who the actor was, ‘but 300 for an hour is easy money’ A hired crowd is better. It behaves itself and listens to us,” said a security ofﬁcer . Organizers denied any knowledge of a ‘paid’ arrangement.

Dear Miss R, I was never really popular throughout primary school and it has never been easy for me to make friends. I am in year 10 and even now I have very few friends and find it difficult to socialise with kids in my school and around my age. My mum is constantly nagging me, telling me to get out more and hang out with people my own age. So, recently a new girl joined our school and started talking to me which made me feel great and not like such an outcast as she’s very nice and looks like a model. However, the first time she spoke to me she offered me a cigarette and I didn’t know what to do so I accepted and I absolutely hated it. But now she thinks I like to smoke and probably drink too. I am not sure whether to tell her or not I don’t actually smoke but I’m worried she might not want to be friends with me and think I’m not mature enough to be her friend. But it does feel great to have a friend I can talk to and hang out with. Amelia Dear Amelia It’s great that you have made a new friend and feel as though you are fitting in however it is on the wrong terms and you are giving into peer pressure. First of all, smoking is an awful habit and you should definitely not do it, especially if you do not like it. I am sure you’ve learnt all about the effects of smoking and how it can cause lung cancer etc so do not give in at all to the pressure. You should simply tell your friend you don’t like it and she should accept that and also appreciate that you are a strong person who can stand up for what they want. Also, friendship is based on the truth so your friend will accept that you do not smoke and respect that around you. Who knows you may be able to help her quit too? Your mum is right

aarc S

Saarc international I Thursday 08 December 2011

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international

Thursday, 08.12.11

Al-Qaida linked group claims Kabul suicide attack on Shia pilgrims Karzai to confront Pakistan over Kabul attack

fghanistan’s president vowed Wednesday to confront the government in Islamabad over a devastating suicide bombing against a Shiite shrine in Kabul that he said originated on Pakistani soil. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al Almi, an obscure Pakistani extremist group claims responsibility for attack that killed at least 55 people A Western diplomat in

Islamabad concurred with the official’s assessment, saying “there is enough evidence to tell us of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi’s involvement. I can’t get in to the specifics of intelligence information, but there were warnings floating around recently of a big attack in the pipeline, and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi was a key suspect.” President Hamid Karzai said he believed this claim, although he did not elaborate. “We are investigating this

issue and we are going to talk to the Pakistan government about it,” Karzai told reporters as he visited a hospital where scores of people wounded in the attack were being treated. He said the attack was not just an act of hate against Muslims, but against mankind. “Afghanistan cannot ignore the blood of all the victims of this incident, especially the children,” he added. Pakistani military spokesman Gen. Athar Abbas dismissed

any suggestions that the violent sectarian group has links to the country’s intelligence agencies. The unprecedented sectarian attack which killed 55 Shia worshippers in Kabul is likely to have been the work of al-Qaida or a group closely associated with it, security sources and analysts believe. A spokesman for an obscure Pakistani extremist group called Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al Almi claimed responsibility in a phone call to Radio Mashaal – a

Pashto language radio station. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al Almi is a small faction based in Pakistan’s tribal area and is considered an even more radical offshoot of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, (LeJ), a murderous anti-Shia group founded in 1996. Both groups act as surrogates for alQaida. The Taliban was quick to distance itself from Tuesday’s bombing and the Afghan Taliban has generally avoided sectarian violence.

Zardari ‘out of danger’, and stable Dubai’s ruler paid a visit to Pakistan’s president at a hospital Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari is “out of danger” and his condition is stable, according to reports President Asif Ali Zardari had a minor heart attack and is undergoing treatment in a Dubai hospital fueling rumors he may resign. “The president went to Dubai following symptoms related to his pre-existing heart condition, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza

Gilani’s media ofﬁce said in a statement. Pakistan People’s Party’s Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, met with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Islamabad on Wednesday . During the meeting, Bilawal expressed satisfaction over the health of President Asif Ali Zardari. He Continued on page 10 >>

NEWS

Zardari ‘out of danger’, and stable Continued from page 9 >>

said after initial medical inspection, the doctors in Dubai said the president’s health was satisfactory. Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed al-Maktoum, paid a visit to Pakistan’s president at a hospital in the emirate after he suffered a minor heart attack, state media reported on Wednesday. Sheikh Mohammad, also vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, wished Zardari a “speedy recovery,” the ofﬁcial WAM news agency reported, without giving any further details. “The president will remain under observation and return to resume his normal functions as advised by the doctors.” said Mian Munir Hans. “He walked to his car in the airport and was not on any ambulance,” adding that he was accompanied by his

doctor and petroleum minister Asim Hussain. Zardari was taken straight to the American Hospital in Dubai, said Hans. He also said that President Zardari will travel back to Pakistan following a few days of rest in Dubai. Hans, however, rubbished media reports that the Pakistani president had any brain hemorrhage attack after the hearth attack. Earlier a minister conﬁrmed that Zardari suffered a “minor heart attack” and was in Dubai for a small operation and said that he will return to Islamabad on Thursday as he was in good health. On Wednesday, a US magazine had reported that President Zardari might resign due to ill-health. The report quoted a former US government ofﬁcial saying that when US President Barack Obama spoke to Zardari regarding the Nato attack,

Zardari was ‘incoherent’. Other media reports had stated that Zardari was rushed to the hospital after suffering a ‘minor heart attack’ and was undergoing angioplasty after reaching Dubai via an air ambulance. In September 2011 Presdient Asif Zardari visited London for his medical checkups and had angioplasty as well, at that time Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar told the reporters that the visit had been planned much in advance in view of medical appointments already made for Zardari. President Zardari is having cardiology health problem for the past ﬁve years. He was earlier due to heart attack in also admitted for 17 days in a Dubai hospital for the treatment and angioplasty as well. At that time he was in a critical condition, doctors advised immediate operation.

BD seeks to import gas, electricity from Myanmar

Hasina said gas could be imported from Myanmar’s block no. A-2 and block no. L.She sought cooperation from Myanmar to stop smuggling of illicit drugs into Bangladesh. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has emphasized on importing electricity and gas from Myanmar to meet Bangladesh’s deﬁcit. There is also need for direct road and air links between the two countries to boost bilateral trade and investment, she said when Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin met with her at Hotel Myat Taw Win this (Monday) afternoon. During the meeting, issues relating to the repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh and trade and investment were discussed. Referring to bilateral trade, the Prime Minister said Myanmar can import RMG, knitwear, pharmaceuticals, ceramics and jute goods from Bangladesh. She said Myanmar’s investors can also make investment in Bangladesh’s potential sectors by taking advantage of the incentives offered by her government for overseas investors. About tourism, Hasina favored signing of a MoU in the future to promote tourism between the two close neighbors. In response, the Foreign Minister of Myanman said his country is

functioning as a bridge among the South Asian countries. He said Myanmar is gradually moving towards market economy. Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, Ambassador at-Large Mohammad Ziauddin, Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes and PM’s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad were present. Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was given a red carpet reception as she arrived in the new capital of Myanmar this afternoon on a three-day official visit. A special flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying Sheikh Hasina and members of her entourage landed at Nay Pyi Taw airport at 4 pm local time. Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Wunna Maung Lwin and Bangladesh Ambassador to Myanmar Anup Kumar Chakma received the Prime Minister at the airport. A tiny tot presented a flower bouquet to the Prime Minister. After the airport ceremony, Sheikh Hasina in a motorcade was taken to Hotel Myat Taw Win, where she will stay during her visit. The roads and road islands were decorated with Bangladesh and Myanmar national flags and banners welcoming Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Large billboards with the

photographs of Sheikh Hasina and Myanmar President Thein Sein were set up on two sides of the roads. Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni, Ambassador-At-Large M Ziauddin, Principal Secretary Sheikh M Wahid Uz Zaman, Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes, PM’s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad and a business delegation led by FBCCI President AK Azad are accompanying the Prime Minister. On the second leg of her visit, the Prime Minister will leave for Bali, Indonesia on December 7. mSheikh Hasina is scheduled to return home on December 9. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has favoured “freer trade” between Bangladesh and Myanmar, saying that the border trade could be boosted by removing impediments through discussions. Speaking at a business dinner here, she said Bangladesh’s current demand for power, energy, and raw materials for industries as well as, at times of shortage, rice, beans and pulses could come from Myanmar. In turn, Hasina said Bangladesh could provide Myanmar with readymade garments, knitwear, pharmaceuticals, ceramics, jute goods and other products which are considered of world standard and have found markets in Europe and Northern America. “Bangladesh and Myanmar could particularly complement each other in trade and commerce,” said the Prime Minister who arrived here Monday afternoon to begin a twoday visit to Myanmar.

Saarc international I Thursday 08 December 2011

Afghans bury Ashura dead Casualties of the Kabul Ashura shrine attack are buried as Afghans blame Pakistan for the bloodshed.

Lobbyists claim to write President’s war speech

Senior executives at Bell Pottinger told undercover reporters that they were so inﬂuential that they had written a key speech given by the Sri Lankan President to the United Nations. During the address by President Mahinda Rajapaksa last year, which the company said was used in preference to one prepared by the Sri Lankan foreign ministry, the President suggested rules governing the humanitarian conduct of war should be re-examined. He also described his troops’ action against Tamil Tiger separatists as humanitarian. President Rajapaksa also claimed in the speech that a Commission established by the government to look into the last years of the civil war, was giving “full expression to the principles of accountability”. The Commission has been heavily criticised by human rights groups including Amnesty International because it does not have a mandate to hold individuals to account for war crimes. “We had a team working in the President’s ofﬁce. We wrote the

President’s speech to the UN last year which was very well received... it went a long way to taking the country where it needed to go,” David Wilson, the chairman of Bell Pottinger Public Relations, said during the meeting with undercover reporters. But during the meeting Mr Wilson seemed to agree with Amnesty, describing the Commission as having a “fundamental ﬂaw in its remit in investigating what has gone on in the past, to try to bury the past”. The company also attended a meeting of Tamil dissidents in London, the British Tamils Forum (BTF) said. Days before President Rajapaksa’s arrival in London in December 2010, Tim Ryan, the chairman of Bell Pottinger International, and a colleague attended an open political meeting in Harrow organised by the BTF and the Nava Sama Samaja [New Social Equality] Party. Gobi Ratnam, a Tamil journalist who chaired the event said the pair stood out as the only white people present. They said they were from Bell Pottinger. “They said they wanted to listen to our problems, to learn and help the Sri Lankan people,” Mr Ratnam said. “A lot of people were talking to them.” Dr Wickremabahu Karunaratne, the Sinhalese general secretary of the NSS Party who ran for president in 2010, gave a speech at the meeting in which he called for Tamil forces to join a new alliance of opposition members and breakaway groups to challenge the government – comments that were widely reported. There is no suggestion that Bell Pottinger did anything illegal in its dealings with the Sri Lankan government.

Saarc international I Thursday 08 December 2011

WEEKLY REVIEW OF AFGHANISTAN NEWS

Afghanistan allies pledge to stay for long haul A major conference in German city of Bonn on Afghanistan’s future after Nato combat troops leave in 2014 pledges sustained support for another decade, in exchange for clear progress on good governance. Participants including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon vowed to stand by Afghanistan as it struggles to establish security and stability. “This renewed partnership between Afghanistan and the international community entails firm mutual commitments in the areas of governance, security, the peace process, economic and social development, and regional cooperation,” the conference’s final conclusions said. “The protection of civilians, strengthening the rule of law and the fight against corruption in all its forms remain key priorities.” President Hamid Karzai told around 1,000 delegates gathered in the western German city of Bonn for the one-day meeting that his government needed long-term international backing. “will need your steadfast support for at least another decade” after the troops pull out, he said. The meeting came 10 years after another conference here put an interim Afghan government under Karzai in place after US-led troops ousted the Taliban in the wake of the September 11 attacks. However, Pakistan and the Taliban –

both seen as pivotal to any end to the bloody strife in Afghanistan a decade on – decided to stay away from Bonn, dampening already modest hopes for real progress. Some 140,000 international troops are in Afghanistan, and all Nato-led combat forces are due to leave by the end of 2014, when Kabul will assume responsibility for the country’s security. The event’s host, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, insisted there would be no rush to the exit, even as a looming global recession threatens to distract the West from the enormous challenges facing the strife-wracked nation. “We send a clear message to the people of Afghanistan: we will not leave you alone, you will not be abandoned,” he said, pledging help in comments echoed by Merkel in a brief address. Clinton announced the United States

was ending a freeze on hundreds of millions of dollars in development funds due to financial reforms by Kabul. Officials said Washington took its cue from the International Monetary Fund’s decision last month to approve a new loan for Afghanistan after a year of difficult talks stalled by the massive Kabul Bank scandal. Rage over an air strike late last month by Nato troops stationed in Afghanistan that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers led Islamabad to snub the gathering. Clinton lamented the boycott in her speech to the conference. “The entire region has a stake in Afghanistan’s future and much to lose if the country again becomes a source of terrorism and instability – and that is why we would of course have benefited from Pakistan’s contribution to this conference,” she

Gold Worth $1 Trillion Buried in Afghanistan Mountains

A trillion dollars’ worth of gold under the hills of war-torn Afghanistan is set to be mined, as the Afghan government starts its tendering process. The Afghan Ministry of Mines has four separate projects up for grabs, to let global companies mine both gold and copper across the troubled country. The four projects are in Badakshan, Zarkashan, Balkhab and Shaida. While the exact size and value of the metal reserves are unknown, the ministry is conﬁdent that there is at least $1trillion worth available - good news for potential investors. Gold may start being produced as early as 2013, as contracts are hoped to have been ﬁnalised by July 2012. Revenues from the mined precious metals will give a

signiﬁcant boost to the country’s desperate economy. At the moment Afghanistan is heavily reliant on international aid hand-outs. Wahidullah Shahrani, Afghanistan’s minister for mining, wants the country’s natural resources to make up half of the country’s GDP by 2024. It’s thought that companies looking not only to mine, but to also set up their reﬁning and smelting operations in the country, will be favoured. “The advantage of the mineral [projects] is that it will create more jobs,” Shahrani told The Times in an interview. There’s still a large amount of unrest in Afghanistan. Western military intervention continues and they face tough resistance from Taleban forces. Any businesses looking to win one of the four contracts will have to take numerous security issues into account. In a message on the Ministry of Mines website, Shahrani said that Afghanistan is “endowed with vast quantities of natural resources”. “Unique to Afghanistan, these resources have remained untouched and undeveloped. “Generations of instability have resulted in little exploration, minor development attempts and an inadequate infrastructure for development and transportation of these resources.”

said. “We continue to believe that Pakistan has a crucial role to play,” she told reporters later, adding that she was encouraged by remarks by a Pakistani government ofﬁcial that it will continue cooperation, including in the ﬁght against terrorism. In a conciliatory gesture, the conference made special note of the strain on Pakistan and Iran in dealing with refugees from the war-ravaged country. “We acknowledge the burden of Afghanistan’s neighbours, in particular Pakistan and Iran, in

providing temporary refuge to millions of Afghans in difﬁcult times and are committed to further work towards their voluntary, safe and orderly return,” the conclusions said. The Taliban, leaders of the country’s brutal, decade-long insurgency, also stayed away from Bonn, saying the meeting would “further ensnare Afghanistan into the ﬂames of occupation”. National reconciliation, along with the transition to Afghan sovereignty and international engagement after 2014, had originally topped the conference’s agenda. But such hopes soured after tentative contacts collapsed and the September assassination of Karzai’s peace envoy, former president Burhanuddin Rabbani, which was blamed on the Taliban, derailed any prospects of progress. Karzai insisted he remained open to talks. “The political process will continue to be inclusive, open to Taliban and other militants who denounce violence, break ties with international terrorism, accept the Afghan constitution and defend peaceful life,” he said.

Taliban absence looms over Bonn meet The Taliban’s boycott of the Bonn conference on Afghanistan, 10 years after they were absent from its precursor, raises grave doubts about what progress it can make towards peace, say experts say. The leaders of the decade-long insurgency will not attend Monday’s much-heralded international talks in Germany, saying the meeting will “further ensnare Afghanistan into

negotiating table due to its historic ties to the militia and claims that elements in its military still support the insurgency to offset the might of arch-rival India. The absence of two major players has dampened expectations of progress on reconciliation among ordinary Afghans as well as ofﬁcials. Fazal Rahim, a 37-year-old money exchanger in Kabul, said:

the ﬂames of occupation”. Pakistan is also boycotting the event after an air strike by NATO troops stationed in Afghanistan killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last week. Islamabad is considered key to bringing the Taliban to the

“The Afghan government and the international backers should encourage the Taliban to take part in this conference because the Taliban are part of this land and without their participation, the Bonn conference will not give positive results.”

Saarc international I Thursday 08 December 2011

WEEKLY REVIEW OF BANGLADESH NEWS

Kader steps in as Abul loses communications Suranjit Sen Gupta MP now heads the newly created Railways Ministry and Obaidul Kader is the Minister for Communications, which includes the roads, highways and bridge division. In a major cabinet reshufﬂe, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given portfolios to two newly inducted ministers, Suranjit Sen Gupta and Obaidul Kader. Before departing for Myanmar and Indonesia on a ﬁve day visit starting Monday, the prime minister also changed the portfolios of four ministers -- Lt Col Md Faruk Khan (retd), GM Quader, Syed Abul Hossain and Yeafesh Osman. Commerce Minister Lt Col Md Faruk Khan (retd) replaces Gholam Mohammad Quader as Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister, as the former was made Commerce Minister. Commerce Minister Quader is also a Jatiya Party presidium member and the brother of former president, Hussein Muhammad Ershad. Communications Minister Syed Abul Hosain was transferred to

the newly created information and communication technology (ICT) ministry, while the state minister for ICT and science and communication ministry, architect Yeafesh Osman, remains with the science and technology ministry. The cabinet division issued a gazette notiﬁcation in this regard on Monday morning. Suranjit and Kader were inducted to the council of ministers on

November 28. On December 4, the government formed two new ministries— the railways ministry and the ICT ministry, by splitting the Communications Ministry and the Ministry of Science, Information and Communication Technology. A highly placed source hinted that after the prime minister returns to Dhaka, another reshufﬂe is on the cards, due to the poor performance

of certain ministers. Seven new faces are likely to be inducted and additional portfolios may be reshuffled. This is the fourth Cabinet reshuffle to occur since AL’s 32-member cabinet was formed on 6 January 2009. The first reshuffle took place 18 days after assuming office, when the Prime Minister added six new faces to the Cabinet. On July 31, six more ministers and state ministers were added and the portfolios of four ministers were reshuffled. Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, has admitted that her cabinet is ‘corrupt’ and ‘incompetent,’ said BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday. “Reshuffling the cabinet, Sheikh Hasina proved that her cabinet is corrupt,” he said while addressing a press briefing on Monday. The BNP acting secretary general alleged that the Awami League- led government failed in every sector. “It seems impossible to salvage the AL- led government from the verge of collapse,” he said adding reshuffling the cabinet or creating

new ministries would no more help. BNP standing committee member Dr. Abdul Moeen Khan claimed that Syed Abul Hossain, the communications minister, was removed from his post accepting World Bank’s allegation of corruption in Padma Bridge project. “The list of corruption will not end up even if all the ministers are replaced,” he observed. He was addressing a human chain in front of the National Press Club on Monday morning.

US eyes strategic partnership with Bangladesh: Mozena

18 lakh electricity connections HSBC, Star honour climate heroes to villages by 2015

The Rural Electriﬁcation Board (REB) is expected to launch a project to provide 18 lakh new connections in next four years as part of a massive government campaign to cover all

the villages under the government’s Vision 2021 programme. “We are doing necessary ground work and preparation for providing 18 lakh new connections under the project by 2015,” REB chairman Moin Uddin told the news agency yesterday. He said the infrastructures to bring 18 lakh people under electricity coverage would be built through all the REBs nationwide 70 Palli Biddyut Samity areas while the development was expected to boost rural economy and poverty elimination.

From left, Hishamuddin B Saleh, managing director of Bengal Glass Works Ltd, AKM Zakaria, joint director of Rural Development Academy in Bogra, Mosﬁqua Haque, director of Radio Today, Tore Johnsen, CEO of Grameenphone, and Md Nurul Aktar, CEO of Energypac Electronics Ltd, pose with HSBC-The Daily Star Climate Awards at Radisson Hotel in the capital yesterday.

A city divided: Bangladeshi police violently disperse strike

Batons and teargas canisters ﬂew through the air as Bangladeshi police violently dispersed a general strike in the capital Dhaka. A local ofﬁcial claimed eight people have been injured in the dawn clashes.

¬Some 13,000 police ofﬁcers were deployed throughout the city, as schools and business had all but shut down amid Sunday’s strife. “Protesters became unruly as they pelted bricks and stones

at police and torched a police van and motorcycle. We ﬁred teargas to prevent vandalism,” deputy commissioner of Dhaka police Khorshed Alam told the AFP news agency. The strike was carried out at

the behest of main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) who are ﬁercely opposed to the government’s decision to split the 400-year-old capital into two administrative zones. According to the opposition, the plan is intended to out the opposition-backed mayor, a senior BNP ofﬁcial who was detained during the unrest, but later released. The government however, claims the division of the city would greatly improve the administration of services to the city’s 15 million residents.

US Ambassador in Dhaka Dan W Mozena addresses a press conference at the American Club in the capital on Thursday. US Ambassador in Dhaka Dan W Mozena said on Thursday that his country plans to reach a strategic partnership with Bangladesh during Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Dhaka. “This is my goal, this is my dream,” he said at his maiden press conference at the American Club in the capital. He, however, did not mention any speciﬁc timetable for Clinton’s visit. He said he would work hard and work with Bangladesh government to make the visit happen. Asked about the strategic partnership, Mozena said it would be creating a forum to discuss issues like countering terrorism, food security, global climate change and energy. In reply to a question about political standoff over the next general election, the US ambassador, who had a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Thursday, said US supports strong democratic process and democratic institution. “We hope all political players will work together to create a productive democratic process for the interest of the people of Bangladesh.”

Saarc international I Thursday 08 December 2011

WEEKLY REVIEW OF BHUTAN NEWS

Selling dollars to solve crisis The government on Thursday night struck a deal to sell USD 200M to address the country’s dire Indian rupee (INR) position, which according to the governor of the central bank, Daw Tenzin, ‘is driving the economy crazy’. The sale would fetch INR 10.3B at the present exchange rate of INR 51.5 a dollar, almost equal to the amount of rupee borrowed so far from India to pay for imports, and on which the country is paying an interest of Nu 2M a day. This will pay off all outstanding borrowings from the State Bank of India, which today stands at INR 8B at an interest rate of 10 percent. The balance will be utilised in servicing the loans taken to build Tala and Kurichhu hydropower projects, which amount to Nu 2.8B for this year, and is due for payment next month. The proceeds from selling dollars would also go into paying off a certain amount of interest on the rupee borrowings from the government of India credit facility that has a ceiling of INR 3B and an interest rate of five percent. The sale of USD 200M has been possible because convertible currency reserves were USD 902M, which according to the central bank can finance 17 months of essential imports, five months more than the constitutional requirement. With the sale, the reserve stands at USD 702M, which will still be able to

finance more than 13 months essential imports. He also said growth in merchandise imports will continue to increase while domestic supply will be more than domestic demand. However, trade and current account deficits will be offset and financed by net inflows through official grants and loans, thereby resulting in a projected positive overall balance of payments. For the 2012-2013 fiscal year, gross international reserves is forecast to be sufficient to finance 14 to 15 months of merchandise imports. “We had to be prudent, while considering this option, because our reserves are mostly made up of grants

Two new routes from next summer

Drukair will operate two flights each to Singapore and the Indian city of Mumbai, according to its summer schedule (May to December 2012) to be released this weekend. National airline Drukair has added two new routes for its summer schedule 2012. Drukair commercial manager, Tshering Penjor, did not reveal airfare specifics on the two new routes. He said that the airfare to Singapore would be “marginally higher” than its Paro-Bangkok route. Bhutanese are currently charged Nu 25,546 for a full fare round trip to Bangkok, and Nu 12,487 for a oneway journey. Tshering Penjor claimed that the Drukair airfare for Singapore would be cheaper than stopping over in Bangkok and flying to the city state.

The flight time from Paro to Singapore will be four hours, which includes a stopover in Kolkata, India. For Mumbai, Drukair is looking to charge an airfare close to what it charges for its Paro-Bangkok sector. The flight time will be three hours and 20 minutes, and will not include stopovers. Tshering Penjor reiterated that operationalisation of the two new routes is still subject to Drukair acquiring a third airbus jet. While Druk Holding and Investments has not yet approved the acquisition, Tshering Penjor said that, as far as Drukair is concerned, it is looking at introducing a third jet by the end of April, and expanding its routes thereafter. But with new airbus jets not expected to be available until 2013-14, the national airline is expected to lease its third jet aircraft on a long term basis. On passenger traffic on the new routes, Tshering Penjor said Drukair’s primary role is to increase gateways to the country and increase capacity. He said that the Singapore route would be a channel for the China market, also including countries like

and aids, and small inﬂows from tourism and exports,” Daw Tenzin said yesterday in Thimphu at the annual conference with the ﬁnancial institutions. Grants and aid make up 80 percent of the country’s foreign currency reserve. But the governor made it clear that selling dollars was only a short-term measure, and the economy might again start borrowing from SBI by next year-end. “We don’t expect substantial

inflows and the rupee crunch can’t be addressed unless major corrections are made on the fiscal front,” he said. The option, however, had to be taken, Daw Tenzin said. If dollars were not sold, the government would have to default on its loan repayment on hydropower, since the rupee borrowing limit was already exhausted, and there were no alternatives before the loan repayment to earn any rupees. The present rupee borrowings to pay for import amounts to INR 10.8B. For a GDP size of Nu 72B, the debt is too much, he said. Between 2010-11, debt service payments on SBI borrowings alone amounted to Nu 13.3B. Daw Tenzin said the pressure for rupee keeps rising because of growth in credit driven by housing boom, inflation and the government’s fiscal expansion, which is leading to external imbalances and ballooning debt. Rupee, he said, is more important than dollar since most of Bhutan’s trade is with India. While it has been forecast that commissioning of major hydropower projects would ease the rupee crunch, Daw Tenzin said rupee

expenditure as of now is growing 15fold. “In this way we’re creating future debts,” he said. “If the same trend continues, major hydropower projects wouldn’t spell boon to the economy. Therefore there’s a need to address the issue from the fiscal front.” Meanwhile, the housing boom is also contributing to the crunch with financial institutions lending to the sector averaging 50 percent annually. Last year financial institutions lending to the sector amounted 40.6B. Daw Tenzin said, pension and insurance companies are also involved in lending since there are limited investment avenues and this is exacerbating the crunch. The government and the central bank has also explored other options, such as enhancement of limit on the GoI line of credit by an additional INR 3B, and rupee swap arrangements with the reserve bank of India. Cabinet ministers, central bank and chief executives of the financial institutions met at the banquet hall yesterday for the central bank’s annual conference.

NEWS

Saarc international I Thursday 08 December 2011

Corruption in India major challenge for Swedish companies: Survey Swedish companies operating in the country rate India as “very poor” in terms of corruption and bureaucracy, a survey said. The survey conducted on 138 companies said “bureaucracy and corruption are rated very poor” on the scale of 1-10 (10 being very favourable). The two problems are listed on the ﬁrst and second positions. However, a majority of them still remain positive about investing in India. “...96 per cent of the companies are planning to increase their activites in India in the next three years,” a joint survey conducted by Swedish Embassy, Swedish Trade Council and

Swedish Chamber of Commerce India said. Despite these issues, the Swedish firms like Alfa Laval, Tetra Pak and Scania have lined up investment plans for the country. The other bottlenecks faced by the Swedish companies are related to acquisition of land for commercial use, registration as a legal entity, financial challenges and difficulty in finding business partners. “These are the obstacles, Indian government is focusing on corruption...I hope that there are some results in the right direction,” Swedish Trade Commissioner Anders Malmstrom said while releasing the

No justiﬁcation for taking memo case to SC: PM Addressing a meeting of PPP parliamentarians in the Punjab Assembly at the Governor’s House, he said that he was ready to face the result of the memo scandal inquiry. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Saturday that there was no justiﬁcation for taking the memo case to the Supreme Court. He claimed that President Zardari had no involvement with the inquiry and that conspiracies were being hatched against him to involve him in the scandal. The PM said that the government could not be destabilised through

undemocratic means, adding that such conspiracies were being hatched against the government for the last four years and that such conspiracies could not succeed at any cost. He observed that both the government and parliament were strong and that they could not be affected by any conspiracy, adding that the democratic process was not established in one day and that many sacriﬁces had been rendered to initiate this it. He held that the betterment of the nation lay in the smooth running of the democratic process. The prime minister said that that the sovereignty and territorial

integrity of Pakistan would be protected at all costs. Gilani said that PPP founder Zulﬁkar Ali Bhutto had laid down the foundation

of Pakistan’s nuclear programme and that the incumbent democratic government would ensure its security. He said that credit for the country’s missile technology, which had made its defence impregnable, went to Benazir Bhutto. The prime minister said that the government being in place despite several undemocratic attempts to dislodge bore evidence of a strong democratic system. He claimed that conspirators were now hopelessly trying to destabilise the government by pushing for general polls before the Senate elections.

Pakistan’s support to terror has diminished: India

Pakistan has not delivered on its promise to bring the 26/11 perpetrators to justice, Home MinisterP Chidambaram has said, adding that Islamabad’s overt support to state and non-state actors involved in cross-border terror has diminished. In an interview to Doordarshan, Chidambaram said Pakistani ministers had promised him that seven people whose names had been handed over in connection with the 26/11 attack would be arrested and their voice samples delivered. “They have not delivered on the promise. The trial has not started. The judge has been changed four or, may be, ﬁve times. Now what do I conclude - that

Pakistan is not serious about bringing to justice real perpetrators behind 26/11,” Chidambaram said. “I think they have realised that any overt support to state actors or non-state actors, if that is discovered, they will pay a heavy price. So I think overt support has certainly diminished. Covert support, I really can’t make an assessment,” Chidambaram said. On reports about facilities provided to Haﬁz Sayeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi - accused in the 26/11 conspiracy - Chidambaram said Pakistan’s attitude is there for all to see and diminishes its credibility. “If this one guy (Lakhvi) is treated with with such kindness, generosity what does say about the

credibility of Pakisan’s justice system? It is not only I (who) read about Lakhvi having access to cell phones, the whole world is reading it...I think they should introspect themselves.” Chidambaram denied there were different voices in the government on Pakistan. He said on issues like liberalisation of the visa regime, exchange of prisoners and ﬁshermen detained on both sides and crossborder trade, India can move the extra mile. “But on terror-related issues I don’t think we can do anything but remain ﬁrm and make sure that Pakistan delivers.” While supporting the dialogue process, Chidambaram ruled out any immediate possibility of a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik. Chidambaram said the country has to be vigilant about militants in Arunachal Pradesh and those that have sanctuary in China. “We have to be vigilant about militant groups operating out of Arunachal. We also know that a number of leaders and militant groups have sanctuaries in China. We know there is an armed bazaar on the border of Myanmar and China and Chinese weapons are smuggled through Myanmar into India,” he said. On Maoist violence, the minister said more people were killed by the ultra leftwing rebels than in attacks by terrorists. He said 30 people, including three securitymen and 27 civilians, were killed in attacks by Maoists in November. He said Maoists as a group were more “anti-poor than the worst capitalists”.

survey. “Complicated formalities, cumbersome decision-making, attempts at corruption or fear from individuals to make major decisions are issues reported by Swedish firms in India,” the survey said. Besides the shortage of skilled professionals is another problem faced by the Swedish companies. They also find lack of transparency, labour regulations and import duties to be high. All in all, the advice to the Swedish businessmen from the findings is “doing business in India can be tougher than most markets plan establishment in phases and bring patience and perseverance.”

Why sell uranium only to India, Pakistan asks Australia

A day after Australia’s ruling Labor Party approved uranium sale to India, Pakistan has demanded it be allowed to buy the nuclear raw material if the Gillard administration proceeds with sales of yellowcake to New Delhi. Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Australia, Abdul Malik Abdullah, said if Australia is willing to export uranium to India then it should sell it to Pakistan as well. “If Australia is going to lift the ban on a country which has not signed NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) it is much hoped that will also apply to Pakistan the same way,” Abdullah was quoted as saying by ‘The Australian’ newspaper today. Labor Party yesterday voted to overturn a decades-old ban on uranium sale to India, paving the way for Canberra to supply yellowcake to a nation outside the NPT. Abdullah said Pakistan has not made a request to buy Australian uranium but this could change in the future. “In that case we will hope that we will also be treated at par with other non-NPT signatories,” he said. Interestingly, Julia Gillard had recently asked Pakistan to do more to combat terrorism and extremism.

Saarc international I Thursday 08 December 2011

WEEKLY REVIEW OF INDIA NEWS

Akali Sarpanch booked for slapping woman teacher in Punjab A teacher was slapped by a sarpanch belonging to the ruling Akali Dal during a function in the Muktsar district in Punjab. The woman teacher, Barinder Pal Kaur, wanted to submit a memo demanding permanent jobs to Harsimrat Kaur Badal, an MP and the daughter-in-law of Punjab’s chief minister. Balwinder Singh, the sarpanch of Daula, was among those trying to force a group of teachers to leave the function. “All of a sudden he hit me. There was no provocation,” said Barinder. An FIR has been registered against Mr Singh for assaulting Ms Kaur. “The sarpanch still says he hasn’t

committed any mistake and has not apologised to me,” she later told NDTV. Harsimrat Kaur promised action against the sarpanch. “I condemn the incident. It happened before I came there. There can be no reason to hit a woman. I will

speak with the Superintendent of Police as well that action should be taken,” said Mrs Badal. “With the support I’m getting, I hope I’ll get justice,” Barinder told NDTV. The police says it is investigating the

assault, but dozens of policemen were looking on when the sarpanch attacked the hapless teacher. “The SSP, DSP and the SHO-level ofﬁcers were standing there but no one came forward to help me; they didn’t even take any action,” the teacher said. The incident has evoked strong reactions. Shah Rukh Khan tweeted, “Just saw a male sarpanch slap and rough up a woman teacher on TV...disgusting & should be punished for sure...” The Congress says this just shows how insensitive the state administration is. And with assembly elections just a few months away, the Akali Dal could have done without such a dent in its image.

Parliamentary panel seeks more India asks social websites time to submit report on Lokpal to censor user content

The Parliamentary committtee examining the Lokpal Bill has sought one more week to submit its report on the subject. The Committee, which was to submit its report on December 7, has sought the additional time apparently to hold another round of

meeting to ﬁnalise the report to be presented to Parliament. Rajya Sabha Chairman Mohd Hamid Ansari has called the committee’s head Abhishek Singhvi on Tuesday to explain the necessity for seeking extension of time.

One more meeting of the committee is likely for final adoption and giving an opportunity to members to give their dissent notes which BJP and other opposition parties have planned. At a meeting last week, the committee had finalised the draft report on the Bill which excludes Group C officials out of the Lokpal’s ambit but BJP and Left parties objected to some of the recommendations. The initial draft report of the committee excludes the Prime Minister and the judiciary from the ambit of the Lokpal.

Rahul may be behind it, says Anna

The Parliamentary Standing Committee’s decision to exclude the lower bureaucracy from the ambit of the Lokpal Bill came after Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s intervention, anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare alleged on Friday. At a press conference in his native town of Ralegan Siddhi, he said the government was lacking in coordination. “The government works as per the instructions of Rahul Gandhi. I think that after the earlier decision was taken, he instructed them not to include Class 3 and 4 employees under the Lokpal.” Asked whether he had any evidence to prove Mr. Gandhi’s intervention, he said: “This is my guess. There cannot be any smoke without ﬁre.” “The corruption affecting the poor will come down only when

the Class 3 and 4 employees, with whom the poor have to interact, are brought within the Lokpal. Corrupt politicians work hand in glove with these employees. How will the poor get justice? If the government does not include these categories of employees under the Lokpal, the public will teach [it] a lesson,” he said. Mr. Hazare reiterated that the Standing committee’s U-turn amounted to betrayal of the “promise” given by the Prime Minister, and Parliament’s resolution. “In his letter to me, the Prime Minister says he agrees with me fully on bringing in a strong Lokpal Bill. He says we have the same objective, but there might be some differences over the way of achieving the goal. But if he had agreed with the … inclusion of the citizens’ charter and the lower bureaucracy in the Lokpal and … a Lokayukta Act for the States, what is the need to go back on the decision?” However, Mr. Hazare agreed with Mr. Gandhi’s earlier proposal to make the Lokpal a constitutional body. “But it should be protected from government interference.” ‘FDI debate’ Mr. Hazare said the government was delaying the debate on its decision to allow foreign equity in retail to avoid passing the Lokpal Bill. The government had no will to take decisions; this was the reason for the impasse in Parliament for nine days. Asked whether the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is opposing the decision, was responsible for the logjam, he said: “Why are you blaming the BJP for this?”

Communications Minister Kapil Sibal takes strong exception to the uploading of disparaging and defamatory content, particularly those related to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on some social networking sites, and asked these websites to remove all such content or face action. Mr. Sibal, who met senior functionaries of these websites, including those from Facebook, Google, YouTube and Yahoo, asked them to evolve a mechanism to filter such “inflammatory” and “defamatory” content that could create social tension. Besides referring to uploading of pictures and videos having morphed images of popular leaders, he mentioned the use of material that could hurt people’s religious sentiments. “These websites have been told to be more vigilant towards such content and ensure that such objectionable matter is not used on the Internet. They have been asked to inform the government of such controversial matter so that immediate remedial measures could be taken. We have asked them to actively screen and filter all such material before they are uploaded,” a senior official of the Department of Telecommunications said. It is learnt that the Centre, Mr. Sibal in particular, took a strong view on the use of morphed images of Ms. Gandhi and

Dr. Singh on Facebook. Mr. Sibal even warned of “stern action” against these firms if they failed to act. He also pointed to the safety concerns expressed by Indian intelligence agencies which want to monitor these websites for security reasons. The functionaries of social networking websites have expressed their helplessness on pre-screening of content due to the large amount of content being uploaded, besides the server being located in foreign locations, particularly the U.S. They are also averse to the government’s attempt to monitor and control the Internet. India today has over 10-crore Internet users, third largest in the world after China and the U.S., which is likely to more than double by 2015. India also has over 2.8-crore Facebook users and is the fifth largest Facebook user base in the world and is expected to become second largest by the end of 2012. The websites, however, offered their support in prosecuting such elements found misusing the Internet. “We have told the government that we will cooperate with the government in penalising those found guilty of uploading objectionable content … we have urged them to prosecute such elements under relevant Acts by filing cases against them,” said a senior official of a social networking website.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 08 December 2011

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In inwhere ��. ��, In he waswhere sus��, he was su the Holy Qur’an. Of of the copies he has of worked Islam, and Islamic children’s books. Over �� lavishl He hosts huge Islam. public Heelection hosts events huge public he December events speaks on he speaks o jaf, Iraq—one jaf, theCountry: Iraq—one twoofmost of important two seats most important learnseats learn- Islam. of moderation and tolerance, the Saudi king’s balanced policies ofPrinting Syria Alover Maktoum Qur’an Recitor pended from Parliament pended from for � Parliament months. for � months. Political on, �� million have been distributed and are conproudced books, which have been internationally distrib the subject, highlighting the subject, misconceptions highlighting and misconceptions promotand promo ing in Twelver Shi’ism. ing in Twelver Fayadh Shi’ism. is known Fayadh for his is quietknown for his quietwhich support global peace and security have made the Kingdom Born: 1934 (age 77) outside of Aleppo, Country: Turkey Saudi Arabia Country: tinually sought by students the Qur’an and especially Muslims ing understanding uted [often famously his challenge The Atla ingabout understanding thefree-of-charge], faith. Naik aboutalso themost challenges faith. Naik also ist approach istPolitical approach and politics andofisespecially well-respected Syriaistowell-respected an important partner in global decision-making process, the to politics Born:210 Feb1956 1960 (age 51) Country: Saudi Arabia Born: Feb (age 55) of thousands of copies of th Country: UAE across the globe. of Creation in which tens leaders in other faiths leaders to in public other debates faiths to that public are broadcast debates that are broadca amongst the Shi‘a amongst population the of Shi‘a South population Asia. of South Asia. in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia report said. in Feb Ankara, Born: 12 July 1949 (age 62) Born: 10 1960Turkey (age 51) Country: UAE book were delivered to schools, scholars and research in around the world around on Peace the ��—a world on satellite Peace channel ��—a satellite that channel tha in Dubai, Trucial States “King Abdullah has a sharp vision and insight and is very keen on in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Al Sudais is thestitutes chief ofisthroughout the Imams at the Grand Mosque Born: 12 July 1949 (age 62) Europe and the United States. He i he helped to found. he helped He also to found. the founder He is of also the the Islamic founder of the Islam reinforcing solidarity between Muslim countries,” theyUthman added. Taha Sheikh is an Mohammed internationally acclaimed Arabic Writing under penabout name Harun Yahya, Ok-suchIslamic bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the Ruler of Mecca. Hethe memorized the Qur’an at the ageIslamic ofAdnan ��, andAid. in Dubai, Trucial States vocal his stance against concepts as Darwin Research Foundation, Research which Foundation, runs United which runs United Ai “He also supports the expectations and ambitions of the Muslim After Dr Tariq Ramadan calligrapher. training with the world’s top and calligraof Dubai as well as the Vice President Prime MinisTariq Ramadan Mir-Hossein Mousavi Al is Shari‘a the chief ofthe the Imams at the Grand Mosque Mir-Hossein Mousavi studied at Dr Riyadh University, Imam Muhammad tarSudais has gained international prominence asmost a spokesperism and materialism and is outspoken the implemen He was listed as one He of was listed most aspowerful one of the Indians powerful in ��.onIndians in �� ter ofworking the Rashid United Emirates.copies After taking a heavy hit Sheikh Mohammed bin Al Maktoum is the Ruler bin Saud Islamic University, and Umm al Qura Univernation.” phers, Taha began onArab producing of the of Mecca. He memorized the Qur’an at the age of ��, and son for creationism but also garners influence from his Scholarly Scholarly Political Political tation of his ideas in the West. the finanacial Dubai is wellfor back sity. Shari‘a Al and Sudais also popular for his sermons and stance of Dubaiorasmushafs wellduring as the Vice President Prime MinisQur’an, with the King crisis, Fahdand Complex theon its way studied atisRiyadh University, Imam Muhammad numerous extensively distributed publications about to recovery, and still stands out as a leader of vision and on peaceful conflict-resolution. ter of theofUnited Arab Emirates. After taking a heavy hit 33. Dr Aaidh Al Qarni 16. Hajji Mohammed Abdal Wahhab Printing the Holy Qur’an. Of the copies he has worked bin Saud Islamic University, and Umm al Qura UniverIslam, and Islamic children’s books. Over �� lavishly practice in theIran region. Country: Al Maktoum Country: Switzerland Country: Switzerland Iran is a well-respected Country: during the�� finanacial crisis, is well back on its way Saudi Scholar Amir of Tablighi Jamaat, Pakistan on, over million have been distributed and are con- multisity. Al Sudais is also popular for his sermons and distribstance proudced books, which have been internationally in Dubai the Middle East. He has1942 launched �� politician Born:(age 26 August Born: 26 August 1962 49) 1962 (age 49) Born: 2 March (age 69) Born: 2 March 1942 (age 69) 34. Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah 17. Dr. K.H. Said Aqil Siradj to recovery, andple stillcharity stands out as from aQur’an leader of vision and Cares’ tinually sought by students of the and Muslims on peaceful initiatives Dubai, such as ‘Dubai uted [often conflict-resolution. free-of-charge], most famously his The Switzerland Atlas in Geneva, in Geneva, Switzerland in Khameneh, Iran in Khameneh, Iran Queen of Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Chairman of Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama which hasAl donated over �� to youth education practice inglobe. the region. Maktoum is amillion well-respected across the of Creation in which tens of thousands of copies of the impoverished since its inception 18. His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed 35. Sheikh Mohammad Ali Al Sabouni politician in theinitiatives MiddleinEast. He has countries launched multibook were delivered to schools, scholars and research inin ��. Scholar of Tafsir bin Zayed Al Nahyan ple charity initiativesUthman from Dubai, such as ‘Dubai Cares’ stitutes throughout Adnan Europe and theDr United States. He is Taha Oktar Timothy Winter Drto Mir-Hossein Mousavi isMuhammad an Iranian political figure who vocal Ramadan is Europe’s preeminent Muslim intellectua Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme 36. H.E. President Mahmoud Abbas Mir-Hossein Mousavi an Iranian political figure whoTahir Ramadan ishisEurope’s preeminent Muslim intellectual which has donated over is�� million youth education about stance against concepts such as Darwin& countries Culture (Harun Yahya) President of the Palestinian National Authority Commander of the UAE Armed Forces heldArts positions such assince Prime Ministerofand Minister of ism writing about Islam in public life. He is a professor o held positions such as Prime Minister anditsMinister writing about Islam in public life. He is a professor of (Sheikh Abdal-Hakim Al Qadri initiatives in impoverished inception and materialismDr andZakir is outspoken on the implemenAbdul Drand Zakir Karim Abdul Naik Karim Nai H.E. Grand H.E. Ayatollah Grand Ayatollah “Money is��s like water, 37. Habib Umar bin Hafiz 19. Sheikh Salman Al-Ouda Affairs in the before he ran as a primary tation Islamic Studies at Oxford University and formerly a vi in the ��s before he ran as a primary Islamic Studies at Oxford University formerly a visScience & Technology inForeign ��. Affairs Foreign of his ideas in the West. Murad) Scholarly block flowFayadh Country: SyriaIranian Director of Dar Al Mustafa, Tarim, Yemen Saudi Scholar and Educator Preacher Preacher Mohammad Ishaq Ishaq Fayadhelec- iting professor atiting opposition leader inMohammad theits �� Iranian presidential professor the Erasmus University in Rotterdam opposition leader in the �� presidential electhe Erasmus at University in Rotterdam. and it will stagnate.” Scholarly 38. Her Highness Sheikha Mozah 20. Sheikh Dr M Sa’id Ramadan Al Bouti Born: 1934 (age 77) outside of Aleppo, “Where is my Vote?” became the slogan of the He is the president of the European Muslim Networ tions.Bint “Where tions. is my Vote?” became the slogan of the He is the president of the European Muslim Network Country: Turkey Scholarly Scholarly Country: —Sheikh Al Pakistan Maktoum SyriaMohammed Nasser Al Missned Leading Islamic Scholar in Syria ‘Green thatingained speed inofthe aftermath of think tank based think tank based in Brussels and is an advisor to the Eu ‘Green Movement’ thatMovement’ gained speed the aftermath inBorn: Brussels and is an advisor to the EuCountry: India Country: India 2 Feb 1956 (age 55) Born: 19 Feb 1951 (age 60) isloss likeinwater, Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation Mousavvi’s loss Mousavvi’s 21. Dr Amr Khaled H.E. Prof. Necmettin Usama Bin Ladin Country: UK the presidential campaign. Millions of ropean ropean Union on religion. Ramadan has written in“Money the presidential campaign. Millions of Union on religion. Ramadan has written �� books in Ankara, Turkey Born: 18 October Born: 1965 18 (age October 45) in 1965 (age 45)�� in book in Jhang, Country:its Iraq Country: Iraq Pakistan Radicals 39. Khaled Mashaal flow Preacher and Social Activist Born: 1960 51) Since inbar London, England Mumbai, Mumbai, India Maharashtra, India out to call for a recount and and Erbakan and produced overMaharashtra, �� recordings. a six-year ba protesters went protesters out toblock the went streets to to callthe forstreets a recount and produced over �� recordings. Since a (age six-year Born: 1930 (age 81) Born: in Jaghori, 1930 (age Ghazni, 81) in Jaghori, Ghazni, Political 22. His Royal Highness Shah Karim Al Leader of Hamas and itinternationally stagnate.” ignited awill violent confrontation with the Basij forces— on entrance to the ��, Ramadan made his first public ap ignited violent confrontation with the Basij forces— on entrance to the ��, Ramadan made his first public apUthmana Taha is an acclaimed Arabic Country: Saudi Arabia Writing under the pen name Harun Yahya, Adnan OkAfghanistan Al Qadri Afghanistan is a professor and the founder of Minhaj ul Winter is Britain’s leading Muslim scholar and one of th 40. Professor Dr M Din Syamsuddin Hussayni —Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum Born: 10 Mar. 1957 under theGuard. Revolutionary Guard. pearance in New York in April �� under the Revolutionary pearance in New York in April �� calligrapher. After training with the world’s top calligraCountry: Turkey tar has gained international prominence as a spokesperDrwell-respected TimothyAdnan Winter DrUsama Muhammad Tahir Qur’an International Worldwide, and the Minhaj Welmost WesternOktar theologians in the Muslim in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Taha Bin Ladin H.E. Prof. Necmettin Chairman of Muhammadiyya, Indonesia The Aga Khan IV, 49th Imam of Ismaili Muslims Uthman Born: 29 Oct. 1926 in Sinop, Turkey phers, Taha began working on 2producing copies of the Died: May 2011from (age 54) son forAbdul-Karim creationism but also garners influence from his Zakir Zakir Naik Abdul-Karim is a renowned Naik public is a renowned intellecpublic intelle Grand Fayadh, Ayatollah originally Fayadh, originally Afghanistan, from Afghanistan, Radicals Erbakan fare Foundation. Al Qadri has authored some �� pubWorld. He has written on various topics including Britis Died: 27 Feb. 2011 (age 84) 41. Maulana Mahmood Madani Grand Ayatollah 23. Seyyed Hasan Nasrallah (Sheikh Abdal-Hakim Al Qadri in Abbottabad, Pakistan Arts & Culture (Harun Yahya) Qur’an, orthe mushafs with the King Fahd Complex for the in Ankara, Turkey numerous and extensively distributed publications about Political tual who has made tual it who his mission has made to it teach his mission the world to teach about the world teach abou is one of four is one marjas of the of the four Hawza marjas Seminary of the Hawza in NaSeminary in NalishedCountry: works and given more than Muslim history and theological discourse. Winter Influence: Most famous figurehead for �,�� lectures on Leader and Executive Member of Jamiat Ulema-eSecretary General of Hezbollah Saudi Arabia Influence: Early leaderMurad) of a Muslim Scholarly Muslim radicals he has worked Printing of the Holy Qur’an. Of the copies Islam, and Islamic children’s books. Over �� lavishly Science & Technology Islam. He hosts Islam. huge He public hosts events huge where public he events speaks where on he speaks o jaf, Iraq—one of jaf, the Iraq—one two most of important the two most seats important of learnseats of learnpolitical party in modern Turkey various subjects which are aired on international satellite es theology at Cambridge University and is the directo Born: 10 Mar. 1957 Dr Tariq Ramadan Hind, India 24. Her Eminence Sheikha Munira Qubeysi Mir-Hossein Mousavi Country: Turkey �� promo in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on, �� million have been distributed andhis are con- (legal Country: Syria proudced books, which have been internationally distribBorn: 29 Oct. 1926 in Sinop, Turkey Scholarly the subject, highlighting the subject, misconceptions highlighting misconceptions and promotand ing over in Twelver ing Shi’ism. in Twelver Fayadh Shi’ism. is known Fayadh for is known quietfor his quietchannels. He also served as a jurist consult advisor) of Studies in Theology at Wolfson College in Cambridg 42. Habib Ali Zain Al Abideen Al-Jifri Leader of the Qubeysi Movement The son ofDied: a wealthy Saudi Osama bin Scholarly 2 May 2011 (age businessman 54) Political ErbakanDied: was27a uted former prime of Turkey (��Feb. 2011[often (age 84)minister tinually sought by students of the Qur’an and Muslims Born: 1934 (age 77) outside Country: Pakistan in Abbottabad, Pakistan free-of-charge], famously hisfaith. TheinAtlas Laden was the ideological leader of Al Qaeda was ing understanding ing about understanding themost faith. about Naik the also challenges Naik also challenge istUAE approach toon ist politics approach and to isfor well-respected politics and isand especially well-respected especially Islamic law the Supreme Court and of theAleppo, Federal He established a Muslim College Cambridge and i 25. His Royal Eminence Amirul Mu’minin Director General of the Tabah Foundation, Country: Turkey Ankara, Turkey ��) and theinfounder of the National View movement Influence: Most famous figurehead for for manyBorn: years considered the most wanted man internaSyria across the globe. Influence: Early leader of a Muslim 19 Feb 1951 (age 60) of Creation in which tens of thousands of copies of the from which theleaders current prime minister and president in other leaders faiths to in public other faiths debates to that public are debates broadcast that are broadca Shi‘a amongst population the Shi‘a ofCountry: South population Asia. of South Asia. as a specialMuslim radicals Shari‘ah Court of Pakistan and has worked working on building a model eco-mosque in Cambridg Sheikh as Sultan Muhammadu Sa’adu 43. Sheikh Hamza Yusuf Hanson amongst the tionally Country: Switzerland Country: UK Born: 2 Feb 1956 (age 55) Iran for several terrorist attacks—the largest of which political party in modern Turkey hail. Erbakan’s election to prime minister was the in Jhang, Pakistan H.E. Sheikh Dr Nuh Aliwere book toPeace schools, scholars and research in-“Muslim Nasser Al Kharafi wereist theadviser September �� attacks that not only resulted in Born: 26 August 1962 (age 49) in Ankara, Turkey around thedelivered world around on the world ��—a on satellite Peace ��—a channel satellite that channel th Born: 2 March 1942 (age Founder of Zaytuna Institute, USA on Islamic curricula for 69) the Federal Ministry He began afirst Muslim Choir and published Song Abubakar IIISultan of Sokoto Born: time an Islamic party, the Welfare Party, had been 1960 elected(age 51) in London, England The son the of adeaths wealthy Saudi civilians businessman Osama bin of �,�� in thein �� but also served as in Geneva, Switzerland Salman al-�udah Khameneh, Iran Philanthropy stitutes throughout Europe and the United States. He is isofworking Erbakan was a former prime minister of Turkey (��H.E. Sheikh Dr Nuh Ali Nasser Al Kharafi he helped to found. he helped He is to also found. the founder He is also of the the Islamic founder the Islam 26. His Eminence Sheikh Ahmad Tijani Ali 44. His Eminence Sheikh Professor Dr govern in modern Turkish history.of Hethe has advocated of Education of In March Qadri toissued British Isles”. He also founded and o Laden was ideological leader of wars AlPakistan. Qaeda and was thethe pretext for two major in Afghanistan and Iraq ��, and thea founder ofrelationship the Nationalbetween View movement Scholarly Salman al-�udah Philanthropy stronger Turkey and theTariq Muslim Al Qadri is athat professor and the of Minhaj ul ��) and Winter is Britain’s leading Muslim scholar and one of the for many years considered the most wanted maninternationally interna• • vocal about his“Travelling stance against concepts such as DarwinH.E. Prof. Usama Bin Ladin The H.E. Prof. Necmettin Usama Bin Ladin Dr Ramadan Mir-Hossein Mousavi Research Foundation, Research which Foundation, runs United which Islamic runs United Aid. Islamic Ai Mustafa Ceric Cisse, resulted in the death and displacment of millions terrorists as acclaimed Taha is founder an Arabic Light” which is Kharafi aNecmettin ��-episode lecture serie aUthman ��-page fatwa, which declared Country: Kuwait from H.E. which suicide the current prime minister and president Writing under the pen name Harun Yahya, Adnan O Sheikh Dr Nuh Ali Nasser Al world, which much of the Turkish electorate supports tionally for several terrorist attacks—the largest of which Scholarlymost well-respected Western theologians Radicals Erbakan well as the huge increase in theand �� military industry thatWel-hail. Erbakan’s International Worldwide, the The Minhaj in the Muslim Radicals Erbakan Born: 17 June 1943 election to prime minister was theasHe first andwell-known materialism and ismost outspoken on the implemenSalman al-�udah Grand Mufti of Bosnia and HerzegovinaQur’an were Leader of the Tijaniyya Sufi Order He was listed He one ofthe the listed asinternational one powerful of the Indians most powerful in ��.which Indians in �� Country: Country: Kuwait calligrapher. After training with��the world’s top calligrabombers to be unbelievers. State Department deiswas director ofPhilanthropy the Sunnah project, has pub the September �� attacks that not only resulted in HeJordan was one of ism the most and admired Turktar has gained prominence as a spokespe Scholarly Political in Kuwait City, Kuwait hasMir-Hossein occured since �/��. timewho an Islamic party, the Welfare Party, had been elected Political Mousavi is an Iranian political figure Ramadan is Europe’s preeminent Muslim intellectual Born: 17Political June British 1943 Born: 1939 in Country: Ayn Janna, Jordan Scholarly fare Foundation. Al Qadri has authored some �� pubWorld. He has written on various topics including the deaths of �,�� civilians in the �� but also served as Jordan ish politicians in the Muslim World. tation of his ideas in the West. 45. His Excellency Professor Dr Ekmelledin 27. His Excellency President Abdullah Gül Died: 17 Apr. 2011 (age 67)City, phers, Taha began working on producing copies of the clared the fatwa to be significant and that it takes back lished the foremost scholarly Arabic editions of the majo Country: Saudi Arabia history. in Kuwait Kuwait to govern in modern Turkish He has advocated Country: Kuwait son for creationism but also garners influence from h Country: Saudi Arabia Died: 19 Dec. Born: 2010 (age 193971) in Aynwriting Janna, Jordan the pretext for twopositions major wars in Afghanistan and Minister Iraq held such as Prime and Minister of Born: about and Islamtheological in public life. He isinaCairo, professor of Egypt Born: 17 June 1943 10 Mar. Born: 1957 lished works and given more than �,�� lectures on Muslim history discourse. Winter teach17 Apr. 2011 (age 67) a stronger relationship between Turkey and the Muslim Country: Jordan Influence: Grand Mufti of 10Jordan Mar. Ihsanoglu President of the Republic of Turkey Country:Died: Turkey Died: 19 Dec. 20101957 (age 71) Qur’an, or mushafs with the King Fahd Complex for the Islam from terrorists. The think-tank “United States InSunni Hadith collections. that resultedForeign in the death and displacment of millions as Country: Turkey in Kuwait City, Kuwait numerous and extensively distributed publications abou Influence: Billionaire businessman in Cairo, Egypt in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Affairs in the ��s before he ran as a primary Islamic Studies Oxford University and 29formerly aSinop, vis-Turkey 1939 in Ayn Jordan Switzerland in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia world,Born: which much ofJanna, the Turkish electorate supportsatCountry: Country: Iran Influence: Grand Mufti of Jordan Born: Oct. 1926 in director Died: 17 Apr. (age 67) well as the huge increase the �� military industry that subjects which are aired on international satellite es theology at Cambridge University and is2011 the Born: 29 Oct. 1926 in Sinop, Turkey and active philanthropist. Colonel Influence: Billionaire businessman the Islamic 28. Mufti Akhtar Raza Khan Qaadiri Al- Secretary General of the Organization ofvarious 2 May 2011 (age 54) Died: 19 Dec. 2010 (age H.E. Haxhi Dede Printing the Holy Qur’an. Of copies has worked stitute ofinof Peace” invited Qadri tothe speak about his struggle Hehe was oneDied: of the most well-known and admired TurkDied: 271) May 2011 (age 54) in Cairo, Egypt in theMuammar �� Iranian presidential eleciting professor atBorn: the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Islam, and Islamic children’s books. Over �� lavish Died:(age 27 Feb. 2011 (age 84) andDied: active has occured opposition sinceBorn: �/��. 2 leader Influence: Grand Mufti of Jordan 26 August 1962 49) in Abbottabad, Pakistan 27philanthropist. Feb. 2011 (age 84) March 1942 (age 69) in Abbottabad, Pakistan Influence: Billionaire businessman served as a jurist consult (legal advisor) Studies in Theology at Wolfson College in Cambridge. in Ankara, Turkey ishofpoliticians in the Muslimof World. Gaddafi Conference Azhari Reshat Bardhi �� channels. He �� also in Ankara, Turkey tions. “Where is my Vote?” became the slogan the He is the president of the European Muslim Network on, overradicalism million have been distributed andInfluence: are against in Iran Islam in light of this fatwa. In conAuMost famous figurehead for and active been philanthropist. proudced books, which have internationally distri in Geneva, Switzerland in�� Khameneh, Influence: Most famous figurehead for Influence: Early leader of a Muslim Nasser College Al Kharafi—one of the richest people inisleader the of a Muslim Sheikh al Qudah was the former grand mufti ofestablished Jordan Muslim radicals Influence: Political on Islamic law ‘Green for the Supreme Court and thein Federal He a Muslim in Cambridge andEarly 46. His Holiness Dr Syedna Mohammad Barelwi Leader and Spiritual Guide Movement’ gained speed theQur’an aftermath think based in [often Brussels and isAlan advisor to the EuScholarly Muslim radicals party in modern Nasser Kharafi—one of& the richest people in theThe Atla Sheikh alof Qudah was former grand muftitank of Jordan tinually sought by students of the and Muslims gust, he held thethat first anti-terror camp for Muslim youth world—was the president ofpolitical Kharafi Sons, one Turkey of the inhis where he had great influence in legalthe and religious circles. uted free-of-charge], most famously political party modern Turkey thewritten president of Kharafi & Sons, one of the where heof hadformer great influence inworking legal religious circles.on religion. Nasser Alworld—was Kharafi—one of the richest in the Sheikh al Qudah was the grand mufti ofand Jordan Colonel Muammar in the presidential Millions ropean Union Ramadan has �� books Shari‘ah Court Mousavvi’s of Pakistan and has worked campaign. aswhere a specialon building aworld—was model eco-mosque in Cambridge. 29. His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Burhannuddin Saheb largest Middle companies an people estimated capH.E. Haxhi Dede He held other positions in the past including The son of notable aheld wealthy Saudi businessman Osama binincluding across theloss globe. at the University ofLibya Warwick. H.E. Sheikh Dr Nuh Ali of Kharafi & of Sons, one the he had great influence legal and religious circles. Nasser Al Kharafi largest Middle Eastern companies with an of estimated capHe other positions in the past intheEastern which tens ofwith thousands of copies of th Erbakan was a president former prime minister Turkey (��The son of in anotable wealthy businessman Osamaof binCreation Country: Albania ital ofrecordings. �� billion. Hebillion. was awarded the Lifetime AchieveChief Islamic Justice ofpositions Jordan and ambassador to Iran. Gaddafi protesters wentCountry: out to the streets to call for a recount and produced over �� Since a six-year bar Laden was the and ideological leader of Saudi Al Qaeda and was largest Middle Eastern companies with an estimated capHe held other notable in the past including Reshat Bardhi adviser on Islamic curricula for the Federal Ministry He began a Muslim Choir and published “Muslim Songs Erbakan was a former prime minister of Turkey (��ital of �� He was awarded the Lifetime AchieveThe 52nd Da‘i l-Mutlaq of the Dawoodiist Bohras Chief Islamic Justice of Jordan and ambassador to Iran. Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah Born: 7 June 1942 Salman al-�udah ��) and the founder of the National View movement Philanthropy Laden was the ideological leader of Al Qaeda and was Born: 4 March 1935 ment Award by H.M. King Abdullah �� of Jordan in �� He was also a religious leader in the Jordanian army with book were delivered to schools, scholars and research i ital of �� billion. He was awarded the Lifetime AchieveChief Islamic Justice of Jordan and ambassador to Iran. for many He years considered the most wanted man internament Award by H.M. King Abdullah �� of Jordan in �� was also a religious leader in the Jordanian army with ignited a violent confrontation with the Basij forces— ��) and the founder of the National View movement on entrance to the ��, Ramadan made his first public apPolitical in Sirte, Libya which the current prime and president for many years considered the most wanted interna47. Professor Dr Seyyed Hossein Mir-Hossein Nasr Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam of EducationMousavi of Pakistan. Marchpolitical ��, Qadri issued of British Isles”. He also founded and isminister working on is anInIranian figure who isman Europe’s preeminent Muslim intellectual ment Award by King Abdullah ��and of Jordan inrelief ��to relief Died: 2 April 2011 (age Dr 76) He also religious leader the. Scholarly Jordanian army forfrom his philanthropic efforts and contributions to thewas rank of aMajor General inin �� Scholarly tionally for terrorist attacks—the largest ofwith which Timothy Winter for hisH.M. philanthropic efforts contributions theseveral rank of Major General in Ramadan �� . the Tahir from which the current prime minister and president stitutes throughout Europe and the United States. He Died: 20 Oct. 2011 (age 69) the rank of Major underDr the Muhammad Revolutionary Guard. pearance in New York in April �� hail. Erbakan’s election to prime minister was the first for his philanthropic Country: efforts and contributions to relief General ��. terrorist tionally for several attacks—the largest of which Kuwait agencies. Influence: Leader of 7 million were the ��inattacks that notwriting only resulted in Light” agencies. 30. His Eminence Mohammad bin Islamic Philosopher hail. Erbakan’s to prime minister was the first “Travelling isIslamic a life. ��-episode lecture series. a ��-page fatwa, declared terrorists and suicide held positions suchwhich asCountry: Prime and Minister of September about Islam inagencies. public He is aelection professor of in Sirte, Libya LibyaMinister time an party, the Welfare had been elected Country: Albania were the September �� attacks thatserved not only inwhich Baktashis Born: 17 JuneParty, 1943concepts the deaths of �,�� civilians in the but also as resulted vocal about his stance against such as Darwi Country: Jordan (Sheikh Abdal-Hakim Al Qadri time anTurkish Islamic party,City, the Welfare Party, had been elected Influence: Leader of Libya for nearly Born: 7 June 1942 to govern in modern history. He hasaadvocated in Kuwait Kuwait Born: 4 March 1935 48. Sheikh Mehmet Nazim Adil Foreign Al-Qubrusi Mohammad Al Mansour the deaths of �,�� civilians in the �� but also served as bombersAffairs to be unbelievers. 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Muslim ism and materialism and is outspoken on the Died: 17 Apr. 2011 (age Died: 2 April 2011 (age 76) the pretext for two major wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that resulted in theDied: death19and as Dec.displacment 2010 (age 71)of millions Murad) Al-Haqqani Scholarly Imam of the Zaidi Sect of Shi‘a Muslims Died: 20 Oct. 2011 (age 69) that a stronger relationship between Turkey and the Muslim clared the fatwa to be significant and it takes back lished the foremost scholarly Arabic editions of the major opposition leader in the �� Iranian presidential eleciting professor at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. world, which much of theinTurkish electorate supports Cairo, Egypt Influence: of 7that million Colonel Gaddafi,inruler ofLibya Libya since his �� overthrowthat resulted in the the death and displacment of millions as leader well as the huge increase in �� military industry Influence: Grand Mufti ofLeader Jordan Haxhi Dede Reshat Bardhi the world tation of of histheone ideas the West. 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Ramadan has written �� people booksin the yanin revolutionaries, brought to of a(age conclusion the Sheikh eightNasser Al Kharafi—one of the richest alof Qudah was the former had grand mufti of Jordan Born: Feb 1951 60)fatwa. which him forUnion nine years and then sentenced Colonel Muammar Arts &Dede Culture ing of King Idris, died from19 gunshot wounds while trying H.E. Country: UKthe president Country: USA/Yemen Bektashi community, a jailed seven-million-member-strong Arts &ofHaxhi Culture Born: 17 June 1943 Country: USA/Yemen world—was Kharafi & Sons, one of the where he had great influence in legal and religious circles. month-long revolution against his regime. 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Hussain Baktashis (Sheikh Abdal-Hakim Al Qadri tion. He then returned to the ��, where he gained an engreat influence over generations of artists in the country. lished Obama, worksSarkozy and given more than �,�� lectures on Muslim history and theological discourse. Winter teachworld—was the president of Kharafi & Sons, one of the where he had great influence in legal and religious circles. �� Died: 20 Oct. 2011 (age 69) and other worldfor leaders in �� ad- many state Yemen inInfluence: �� until he�� finished his secondary educaLeader of Libyareturned for nearly widely regarded as the “Picasso of India”who where he as ‘the king of kings’ bothand having helped recognized for active role in interfaith coopLeader of 7wielded million Al Awlakidegree. wastotionally born New Mexico in M.F. 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King Abdullah has topped the list, which also includes Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan An annual list of the world’s 500 most influential Muslims has appeared, putting focus on the Muslim world in the light of the Arab Spring. “The achievements of a lifetime are given more weight than achievements within the current year,” the book chief editor Abdallah Schleifer, professor emeritus at the American University in Cairo, wrote in his introduction to the report, Reuters reported. “This means that our lists of names will change gradually, rather than dramatically, year-on-year.” The Muslim 500: The 500 Most Influential Muslims 2011, the third list in this series started in 2009 by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Amman. The report is issued annually in cooperation with Prince AlWaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at George Town University in the United States. Topping the list as the most influential Muslim in the world is Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdelaziz, the custodian of the two Holy Mosques. He was followed by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI as No.2. The report said the Arab Spring had no impact on Abdullah’s influence, had boosted Mohammed’s and had no effect on Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan who came in third place. Fourth and fifth places in the list went to Jordan’s King Abdullah and Iran’s Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei. Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Sheikh AlAzhar Dr. Ahmad Al-Tayeb, and prominent Islamic scholar Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi who is President of Global Association of Muslim Scholars, also made it to the top 10 ranks.

The Top 50 1. His Majesty King Abdullah bin ‘Abd Al ‘Aziz Al Saud King of Saudi Arabia, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques 2. His Majesty King Mohammed VI King of Morocco 3. His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdogan Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey 4. His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan 5. His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Hajj Sayyid Ali Khamenei Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran 6. His Highness Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Emir of Qatar 7. His Eminence Professor Dr Sheikh Ahmad Muhammad Al Tayyeb Grand Sheikh of the Al Azhar University, Grand Imam of the Al Azhar Mosque 8. Dr. Mohammed Badie Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood 9. His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Sa’id Aal Sa’id Sultan of Oman 10. His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hussein Sistani Marja of the Hawza, Najaf, Iraq 11. His Excellency President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono President of Indonesia 12. His Eminence Sheikh Dr Ali Goma’a Grand Mufti of the Arab Republic of Egypt 13. Sheikh Dr Yusuf Al Qaradawi Head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars 14. His Eminence Sheikh Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdullah Aal Al Sheikh Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 15. Hodjaefendi Fethullah Gülen Turkish Muslim Preacher

� Honorable �

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NEWS

Saarc international I Thursday 08 December 2011

Assad denies responsibility in Syrian crackdown Syrian president tells ABC news acts of violence have been committed by individuals, not ordered by gov’t; “No gov’t in the world kills its people, unless it’s led by a crazy person” Assad says. Syrian President Bashar Assad told ABC News in an interview aired Wednesday that he is not directly responsible for acts of violence committed by his security forces since an uprising against the Alawite president began in Syria in March of this year, and denied reports of torture by the Syrian army. Speaking with Barbara Walters, Assad said that “There is a difference between a deliberate policy of repression, and the presence of some errors committed by some ofﬁcials. There is a great difference,” Assad reportedly said, adding that acts of violence were carried out by “individuals,” and not ordered by the Syrian government. He said of the army: “I don’t own them. I’m president. I don’t own the country, so they’re

not my forces.” He denied there was any order to kill protesters, saying: “no government in the world kills its people”. He also said he

did not feel guilty about attacks on protesters because he had done his best. Responding to questions from veteran

presenter Barbara Walters about the brutality of the crackdown, Mr Assad said he did not feel any guilt. “I did my best to protect the people, so I cannot feel guilty,” he said. “You feel sorry for the lives that has [sic] been lost. But you don’t feel guilty - when you don’t kill people.” “We don’t kill our people… no government in the world kills its people, unless it’s led by a crazy person,” he added. The security forces were not his, nor did he command them, the Syrian president said. “There was no command, to kill or to be brutal,” he said. “I don’t own them, I am president, I don’t own the country so they are not my forces.” e support of his own people.

Qatar slaps Russia in the face Russia’s Foreign Ministry has lowered the level of diplomatic relations with Qatar. This became Moscow’s response to the attack committed against Russia’s Ambassador to Qatar, Vladimir Titorenko. The head of the Russian diplomatic mission was returning from his business trip to Jordan when he was attacked at Doha’s International Airport. The official was attacked by the officers of customs and security services. The officers tried to withdraw diplomatic mail from the ambassador. Two other Russian diplomats, who were meeting Titorenko at the airport, also suffered in the incident. On November 30, Russia’s Foreign Ministry sent a note of protest to Qatar. The Russian officials demanded Qatar should apologize and punish the culprits. Qatar showed no reaction to the note. On December 4, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov notified the Qatari administration about the decision to lower the level of diplomatic ties between the countries until Qatar fully meets the requirements of the Russian side. Sources at the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation said that Vladimir Titorenko would leave Qatar immediately after the course of medical treatment. What caused the incident? The Russian ambassador stated afterwards that he would like to hope that the attack had not been planned in advance. He only hoped that it happened just because the airport employees did not know the international laws. According to Titorenko, the conflict occurred after the Qatari officers decided to X-ray the Russian diplomatic mail. In accordance with regulations of the Vienna Convention, diplomatic correspondence is not supposed to be inspected or X-rayed.

The Russian ambassador said that he had an additional permission from the Qatari Foreign Ministry to carry diplomatic documents without inspections. Thus, the version about the “erroneous attack” does not withstand any criticism. It appears that the actions of the Qatari servicemen had been preliminary approved by authorities. At least, Qatar had ﬁve days to correct the mistake. It did not happen. To put it in a nutshell, such a tiny country as Qatar may have masterminded such a blatant act as an attack against the head of the Russian diplomatic mission in the country. The tiny country attacks the world’s largest. It is not the ﬁrst time, when Qatar demonstrates its anti-Russian stance. The Qatar-based Al-Jazeera TV channel broadcast fraudulent reports about the war in the Caucasus in 2008. Moreover, some terrorist leaders took shelter in Qatar after the second Chechen war. One of those Chechen terrorists, Zelimkhan Yandarbiev, was destroyed on the territory of Qatar.

It was said after the incident in Qatar that the anti-Russian action was directly connected with Russia’s position on Syria. It was particularly said that the Qatari administration was unhappy about Russia’s intention to defend Bashar Assad’s regime. Sergei Demidenko, a specialist for Arab countries, does not think that the incident at the airport could be purely incidental. “I am not sure, though, that the attack against the Russian ambassador was caused with Russia’s views on Syria.

Indeed, the Qatari administration wants Assad to go, but beating up the Russian ambassador would not be a form of revenge. That would be ridiculous. Qatar has many other opportunities to get at Russia from this point of view. “It would be much more interesting to take a look at the relations between Qatar and Russia during the recent ten years. Russia and Qatar are serious competitors in the gas industry. Several years ago, Qatari officials put forward a suggestion to establish the gas OPEC. Several years have passed, but the idea has not received any development. The relations with Russia were put to a standstill. “The reason for that is the difference of the interests. Qatar was originally building its gas strategy on the sales of liquefied gas. Russia was paying first priority to pipeline gas. There was a period of time when the Russian gas was cheaper than that of Qatar. That was bad news for Qatar, because the country was going to expand its natural gas shipments. Not so long ago, Russia became Qatar’s competitor in the field of liquefied gas too. We have already

launched the production of liquefied gas in Sakhalin. “This may only mean that the relations between Russia and Qatar have been worsening. The market of natural gas is not so broad as the oil market. For example, world’s second gas power after Russia - Iran - has not entered the market properly. The Asian countries are not using their capacities in full either. When it happens, the competition in the field of natural gas will only get stronger,” the expert said. We would like to add here that according to Western analysts, Qatar’s export of liquefied natural gas to Western Europe has grown 25.5 times during the recent eight years. Qatar can only expand its presence on the market in the future. In this connection, Europe may finally loosen its dependence on the Russian fuel. It will not be possible for Russia to avoid competition with Qatar. It is quite possible that the incident with the Russian ambassador at the airport was only a sign of imminent changes in the relations with Qatar.

Saarc international I Thursday 08 December 2011

NEWS

Journey to the heart of Islam under spotlight at Britain’s Haj exhibition 26 January – 15 April 2012 The British Museum in London is to mount the first major exhibition dedicated to the Haj. “Haj: Journey to the Heart of Islam” will open Jan. 26 and run until April 15, 2012. Venetia Porter, curator of the museum’s Islamic and Contemporary Middle East Department, said the exhibition would examine the significance of Haj as one of the five pillars of Islam, exploring its importance for Muslims and looking at how this spiritual journey has evolved throughout history. “The exhibition is about a journey and life-changing experience, a journey that has one purpose only — to reach the heart of Islam. We want people to understand what this experience has meant,” she said. “The exhibition will talk about why the Kaaba is important. I think it is important that non-Muslims realize that Abraham is the key to the three monotheistic religions.” It will bring together a wealth of objects from a number of different collections

the present day with a sense of pilgrims coming from everywhere and particularly from the UK and then go back in time and focus on four main journeys, each of which has a gathering point whence pilgrims set off and at an appointed time, including

that acted as the gathering place for pilgrims from the Middle East and West. The third hub is

Damascus — the longest

including important historic pieces as well as new contemporary artworks that reveal the enduring impact of Haj around the globe and across the centuries. Three key strands make up the exhibition, including the pilgrim’s journey with an emphasis on the major routes used through history — those from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East; the Haj today, its associated rituals and what the experience means to the pilgrim; and Makkah, the ﬁnal destination of Haj, its origins and importance. The journey element will start with

Kufah, Cairo, Damascus and Jeddah. The essence of the routes to Makkah section is the incredible effort needed to make the Haj in early times. “In a sense the groups are chronological but are from several hubs. The ﬁrst we show is across Arabia Darb Zubayda from Kufah to Makkah,” she explained. Named after Zubayda, the wife of the Abbasid Caliph Harun Rashid who endowed the route with 54 way stations, hostels, forts and watering places, the route led from Kufah in southern Iraq to Makkah. The second route shown is from Cairo

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route in the exhibition. “The Ottomans took their responsibilities looking after the pilgrims incredibly seriously,” said Porter. They called it the sürra — the purse — not only because the caravan organizers had to pay off the Bedouin tribes but also because of the money they provided for the refurbishment of Makkah. “All the way through we were trying to communicate the arduousness of the trip,” she said. Pilgrims took months to accomplish this and to travel from Damascus to Makkah cost the Haji the price of an average house in the city. “We’ll show the landscape as well. One of the features of the exhibition is that we are not only going to show objects but a lot of contextual images to give a sense of place.” The exhibition also examines the journey and arrival from India, Indonesia and as far East as China. Of particular interest is the story during the British Colonial era — Thomas Cook for example taking charge of pilgrim ships. In 1886 the Indian government appointed Thomas Cook and Son to be the sole agent for transport of pilgrims from India to the Hijaz. The British government afﬁrmed that it had special obligations to protect the stream of “Muhammadan pilgrims

Venetia Porter, curator of the British Museum’s Islamic and Contemporary Middle East Department that will mount starting January 2012 the biggest exhibition ever devoted to Haj

going to the sacred places at Makkah.” On display is a ticket from one of the Haj ships, a Hajproxy certiﬁcate issued to those who are unable to perform the pilgrimage and have asked friends or family to perform it on their behalf, and pilgrims’ diaries. Porter said that she wanted to show the logistics of the task of catering for the huge numbers of pilgrims. “It is really incredible. We shall show how well it works and what it involves,” she said, adding that the journeys were but one part of the whole but they are to the heart of Islam. “Even though the journey nowadays is much easier, it is still arduous and life changing.” Qaisra Khan, project curator in the department of the Middle East section at the museum, said that a section on

elements of Haj from the first to the last day. “It’s very important that people understand what these rituals mean to people, why they do them and what their origin was,” Porter explained. Augmenting the film of the rituals is a section examining the rituals through objects, photographs, manuscripts, Zam Zam water bottles and the like. In this section is a display on the history, significance and crafting of the kiswa, the black cover of the Kaaba.

Makkah talks about the sanctuary and its history going back to the time of Abraham and then goes into the finer points of the rituals themselves through film, manuscript and photographs where the rituals are explained in detail, for example the tawaf (circumambulation of the Kaaba) and the standing at Arafat and why this is such a pivotal moment. A short film will detail all the ritual

“We also want to convey what Haj feels like and has been viewed by artists,” said Khan, noting that there were works by contemporary and traditional artists on display. “There is also a wall of quotes about what the spiritual journey has meant to them. We hope that our visitors will leave the exhibition uplifted.” For more information: http://www. britishmuseum.org/Haj

Saarc international I Thursday 08 December 2011

WEEKLY REVIEW OF PAKISTAN NEWS

US lawmaker urges tying Pakistan aid to cooperation An inﬂuential Republican lawmaker said Sunday that the United States should link its military aid to Pakistan’s cooperation on security, amid a crisis between the two countries over a Nato air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Senator John McCain, a leading Republican voice on security issues, charged that Pakistani intelligence continues to support a militant group that kills Americans, and he noted that Pakistani troops in the past have ﬁred across the poorly marked Afghan border.

“This is a fog of war situation. Investigation is going on,” McCain said on CNN’s State of the Union program, referring to

the November 26 air strikes on a Pakistani border post that plunged relations between the two erstwhile allies into crisis.

“But also the fact is that the ISI, the intelligence arm of the Pakistani army, is still supporting the Haqqani network which is killing Americans. That is unacceptable,” he said. He said materials in roadside bombs that have killed US forces in neighboring Afghanistan have been traced to two fertilizer factories in Pakistan. Since the air strikes, a furious Pakistan has cut off the movement of supplies to US forces through Pakistan and ordered the closure of US drone operations at a Pakistani air base. Asked how the United

States should proceed, McCain said a complete break with Pakistan had been tried in the past for a ten year period and it did not work. “But we have to address it in a realistic fashion and aid has to be gauged on the degree of cooperation that they are showing us in helping us prevent the needless deaths of young Americans,” he said. “So I would gauge our aid, particularly military aid, and we’ve given many billions, as you know, directly related to the degree of cooperation they show us, and we have to explore all alternatives.”

Tariq Khosa refuses to head Pakistan wants those responsible commission on memogate for attack punished

SLAMABAD: Former DirectorGeneral of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Tariq Khosa has refused to head a one-man commission to investigate the memo scandal, DawnNews reported on Saturday. The commission was set up by the Supreme Court. Khosa, who has also served as inspector general of Balochistan police, is a brother of Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and Punjab Chief Secretary Nasir Khosa.

Earlier, former law minister Babar Awan had questioned Khosa’s nomination at a press conference by saying that he was a brother of the Punjab chief secretary and a judge of the Supreme Court. But those who worked with Khosa called him an ‘upright’ man and a ‘clean’ government ofﬁcer. The scandal erupted when US citizen of Pakistani origin, Mansoor Ijaz, accused Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, of masterminding an alleged memo sent to a senior US military ofﬁcial asking for help to rein in the Pakistani military after the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad in May. Haqqani denied the allegation and resigned from his position of ambassador in the wake of the controversy.

Setting terms for renewal of ties with the United States, Pakistan has sought ‘punishment’ for and an ‘apology’ from those responsible for Saturday’s deadly Nato attack on two of its border posts. The demand, military sources say, was made through a letter sent to Washington earlier this week. “Nothing short of this will be acceptable,” a senior ofﬁcial said in a background interview with Dawn, adding that Pakistan would otherwise be constrained to “reconsider its partnership in the war on terror”. Even as the inquiry initiated by the US military is yet to identify who, if anyone, is culpable, a Pakistani general at a media brieﬁng on Tuesday said that International Security Assistance Force chief Gen John Allen was ultimately responsible in his capacity as commander. However,

military ofﬁcials would not explicitly say if they would like to see his (Gen Allen’s) exit. Moreover, the US has been asked to clarify why its helicopters returned to attack the post after they had disengaged following contacts between senior Pakistani and Isaf commanders. Civilian and military leaderships from

Ijaz claims Zardari, Haqqani knew about Abbottabad operation The main character of the controversial memogate scandal, Mansoor Ijaz on Saturday came up with new allegations against the government of Pakistan, claimed that President Zardari and Hussain Haqqani were aware of May 02 operation in Abbottabad before hand, DawnNews reported. The Pakistani born US businessman, in his fresh article for “Newsweek”, unearthed that the former ambassador to US Hussain Haqqani assured him about approval of the boss (Zardari) prior to delivering the controversial memo to Admiral Mike Mullen. Haqqani also assured him that the memo was backed up by the top political leadership in Islamabad,

wrote Ijaz. Ijaz also claimed that Haqqani had been trying to divert attention from President Zardari in the scandal. Ijaz wrote that Haqqani only chose him to deliver the memo because he knew how unpopular Ijaz were to the majority of Islamabad leadership and it would be easier to deny chargeslater, if the matter become public. Haqqani changed his “BlackBerry” Handset

three times since May to hide its messages record, wrote Ijaz. However original messages from him were still saved and can be produced as evidence, he added. Mansoor Ijaz further wrote that the President Zardari was the architect of the whole memogate episode. He said Haqqani received pat on the back from the president when he reached Islamabad after completing the

job successfully on May 12. Haqqani denies Ijaz’s fresh claims In a letter written by Husain Haqqani to the “Newseek” magazine, the former ambassador denied allegations made by Ijaz in his Saturday’s article. Haqqani wrote “In the strongest terms possible, I categorically reject as reckless, baseless and false the allegations levied against me by Mr Mansoor Ijaz about prior knowledge of US plans for a raid in Abbottabad in violation of Pakistani sovereignty to eliminate Osama bin Laden as well as his earlier charges about my role in a memo he wrote and sent to the US Chairman Joint Chiefs.” Haqqani threatened to initiate legal action against the magazine unless the article written by Mansoor Ijaz was retracted.

both sides have been interacting quite regularly to find the way forward, but the mood in Islamabad and Rawalpindi suggests that no progress is likely until the Americans come up with a ‘tangible response’ to Pakistani demands. Robert Raines, a spokesman for the US Embassy, said discussions were taking place. However, he refused to confirm or deny if any specific demands had been made. A Pakistani diplomat at the Foreign Office confirmed the demand and said Washington had been categorically told to “stop treating Pakistan as a client state”. Relations between Pakistan and the US have been on a downward spiral since the start of this year, but the most recent incident has made the much talked about likely breakdown in bilateral ties more imminent.

Certain elements trying to divide nation: PM ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday said that certain elements were trying to divide the nation on the issues of the Nato attack and memogate scandal, DawnNews reported. After a meeting of the Pakistan People’s Party – Punjab’s parliamentary party, PPP – Punjab president Imtiaz Safdar Warraich told media representatives that during the gathering, the prime minister stated that the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) was trying to create the impression that President Asif Ali Zardari was a threat to the country’s nuclear program. The prime minister said the political parties’ lack of conﬁdence on the president was saddening, Warraich said.

Saarc international I Thursday 08 December 2011

WEEKLY REVIEW OF MALDIVE NEWS

No country can beat us in corruption- Mustafa Maldives is the most corrupt country in the world and no other country could beat Maldives when it comes to corruption, says Thimarafushi MP Mohamed Mustafa. Speaking at the Peoples’ Majlis yesterday, Mustafa said that he would not stop voicing against corruption even if he is beaten on account of it. He said that the accusations thrown against him claiming that he is trying to sow discord within the ruling party would not weaken his ﬁght against corruption. “I am not the least worried, nor am I scared or shy to speak out against corruption,” he said.

Mustafa earlier alleged that the government was importing cheap medical products from China and selling them at high prices claiming that they were imported from

Germany. He also said that some senior members of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) were granted a loan of MRF12 million to import medicine but not a single tablet has been imported so far. Meanwhile, President Mohamed Nasheed expressed concern over the allegations of corruption against the government. President’s Ofﬁce’s Chief of Staff, Ahmed Mausoom sent a letter addressed to Hoarafushi MP Ahmed Rasheed, Thimarafushi MP Mohamed Mustafa, FuahMulaku MP Shifag Mufeed mentioning the concern of the President over their claims of corruption against the government.

Govt ﬁrmed to buildup religious faith: Nasheed President Mohamed Nasheed has said that the government always aims at strengthening religious faith among the people, and that strong faith is crucial to implement better national development in the country. The President made this remark speaking at the foundation laying ceremony of Haa Alifu Maarandhoo Friday Mosque. In his speech, the President assured that the government will never make use of religion as a political tool, and that all religious affairs were carried out according to the guidance provided by religious scholars. In view of the SAARC monuments placed in Addu City which sparked controversy, President said that they were monuments placed to represent

the SAARC member countries and are not polytheistic idols. He underscored the importance of seeking proper knowledge before speaking in the affairs of the religion. President Nasheed assured the people of Maldives that his government would always uphold the religion of Islam.

Maldives cites “crimes against humanity” in Syria Maldives yesterday joined the EU, US and Arab League in convening a UN Emergency Session on the human rights situation in Syria. The meeting, at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, heard the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria which uncovered widespread evidence of gross and systematic human rights violations in the country. The conclusion of the Commission of Inquiry is that these violations amount to crimes against humanity, and thus

necessitate referral to the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court. The Maldives, which is a member of the 47-member Human Rights Council, played a leading role in convening the session following the killing of thousands of Muslim civilians by the Syria security forces since the outbreak of protests earlier in 2011. In her statement at the session, Ambassador Iruthisham Adam said that the Government of President

Nasheed ready to investigate corruption charges against govt

President’s Ofﬁce’s Chief of Staff, Ahmed Mausoom sent a letter addressed to Hoarafushi MP Ahmed Rasheed, Thimarafushi MP Mohamed Mustafa, FuahMulaku MP Shifag Mufeed mentioning concern of the President over their claims of corruption against the govt. President Mohamed Nasheed has expressed concern over the allegations of corruption against the government.

President’s Ofﬁce revealed that President Nasheed requested the three members of the Peoples’ Majlis to provide detailed proofs and documents to back their allegations against the government as soon as possible. He said that the government is in dire need of the full cooperation of the three MPs. Mustafa who is from the ruling party recently alleged that the government was importing cheap medical products from China and selling them at high prices claiming that they were imported from Germany. He also said that some senior members of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) were granted a loan of MRF12 million to import medicine but not a single tablet has been imported so far. Shifag expressed concern over the many allegations of corruption against the government. He said that top ofﬁcials of MDP, who are charged with corruption, have even been taken to account. Hoarafushi MP Ahmed Rasheed also recently said that corruption is rampant in the government and that nothing has been done to stop it.

Bashar al-Assad had missed numerous opportunities to respond to the protests with dialogue and reform. Instead the Government had chosen the path of repression. Moreover, the Syrian authorities have, she said, spurned numerous international efforts to mediate, including by the United Nations and the Arab League. Ambassador Adam argued that, because of the gravity of the crimes committed, which amount to crimes against humanity, it is necessary for

the international community to scaleup its efforts to protect the civilian population. In this regard, the Maldives expressed its full support to ongoing efforts by the Arab League. The UN Emergency Session ended with the adoption of a new resolution which will signiﬁcantly increase international pressure on Syria by citing crimes against humanity, referring the matter to relevant UN bodies in New York, and establishing a UN Special Rapporteur on Syria.

Saarc international I Thursday 08 December 2011

WEEKLY REVIEW OF NEPAL NEWS

19‚000 teachers promoted at one go A total of 19,000 teachers of public schools have got promotion and around 16,000 more are set to get elevated within a couple of weeks. With this bulk promotion, the ﬁrst step of its kind after the introduction of the new education system in 1971, the Teachers’ Service Commission hopes to motivate teachers and create a proper learning in all 31,989 schools of the country that have 1,09,098 permanent teachers. “The

promotion is expected to motivate teachers in the classroom,” said Udaya Raj Soti, newly-appointed chairman of the TSC. We have promoted teachers based in 46 districts, while promotion of teachers in other districts will take place soon, Soti said. In terms of pay, one grade promotion is equal to the promotion of one level of civil servants. Performance in the classroom

Parties mulling over consensus govt A meeting of major political parties held here today entrusted the responsibility of finding a consensus candidate for leading the national unity government to the four top leaders of the Unified CPN-Maoist, Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and United Democratic Madhesi Front. Sources said UCPN-M Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Vicechairman Mohan Baidhya and UML have almost agreed to pick the new PM from NC. However, PM Dr Baburam Bhattarai and some Madhesi leaders have been insisting that the incumbent government should be turned into national unity one. Maoist Chairman Dahal, NC President Sushil Koirala, CPN-UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal and Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum (Democratic) Chairman Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar representing the UDMF have been entrusted with the responsibility to find the consensus prime ministerial

candidate, said UCPN-M vicechairman and Deputy PM Narayan Kaji Shrestha. Hardline leader of UCPN-M CP Gajurel claimed the consensus candidate for PM would be ﬁnalised soon. “The top leaders will do the groundwork to chalk out the programmes and modality of the new government and ﬁnd a consensus candidate at the earliest,” said NC

Disabled PLAs warn of stir

Injured and disabled combatants at the Fifth Division have threatened to launch protests if the state does not address their demands. The physically challenged combatants issued the warning at a programme in Dirgha Memorial Brigade, Sangram. They said around 500 combatants were wither wounded or disabled. They have demanded pension, free education to their offspring and free health facility. ‘’We will stage

sit-ins in front of the PM’s ofﬁce if the government does not address our demands by December 7,’’ said Khushi Ram Chaudhari, brigade assistant commander. “We feel bad that the government kept us in the same category as the able-bodied ﬁghters,” Chaudhari added. He said they have formed a struggle committee, a talk team and an advisory committee to make the government address their demands.

leader Ram Chandra Paudel. “Since settling the issues of federalism, bringing laws to implement it and holding new general elections as per the new constitution are the major

responsibilities before the nation, formation of unity government is a must. The programmes of the unity government will be based on these issues,” said UML leader Bhim Rawal. Khanal said the incumbent government could not be turned into a consensus one. The parties have already agreed to form a unity government by midDecember. The meeting decided to appoint Dr Madan Pariyar as the member of State Restructuring Commission representing the Dalit community. With his induction, the SRC will be a nine-member body.

Int’l conference on Lumbini in March The Lumbini Development National Steering Committee led by UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has begun preparations to hold an international meeting on Lumbini in March next year. The committee has decided to invite heads of state or governments from 16 Buddhist countries and other international Buddhist dignitaries to attend the meeting which is expected to reshufﬂe the International Committee on Lumbini Development. The date for the meeting will be ﬁxed after consultations with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. The committee plans to hold the meeting to consolidate international

support for the broader development of Lumbini, the birth place of Gautam Buddha. Nepali Congress leader Minendra Rijal, who is a member of the steering committee, said, “For now, our focus is on developing a masterplan and not immediate investment. This is likely to take a year and a half,” he said. The committee is planning to prepare a new master plan covering three districts--Kapilvastu, Rupandehi and Nawalparasi. UN sources said Ban will attend the meeting only if it coincides with the ﬁnalisation of the ﬁrst draft of the constitution as committed by the political parties in Nepal.

and research for motivating backbenchers are among the factors that are taken into account while promoting teachers. The teachers had not got promotion for long due to the absence of seats at the higher level. The promotion is expected to motivate the teachers and create a conducive learning environment, Baburam Adhikari, chairman of the Nepal National Teachers Association, said.

SRC members not to talk to media

According to SRC Spokesman Krishna Hachhethu, no member would attend any programme concerning federalism owing to time constraints and for attention to the job at hand. A meeting of the State Restructuring Commission (SRC) on Monday decided that none of the commissioners would share their opinion on sensitive matters of state restructuring with media. He also clarified that the commission would work towards actualisation of the earlier commitment to not being influenced by a political party or an ethnic group. Hachhethu added the meeting also reviewed the work done till date and decided to hold intensive discussions on the preliminary findings of the four panels formed by the commission to look into various aspects of state restructuring. The meeting was chaired by Ramesh Dhungel. The commission is scheduled to meet next Monday.

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Saarc international I Thursday 08 December 2011

WEEKLY REVIEW OF SRILANKA NEWS

UNP rebels throw down the gauntlet to Ranil In the wake of latest crossover of yet another opposition MP to the government last week, the UNP rebels yesterday asked its Co – Deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya to take over the party leadership to protect the country’s biggest party. UNP Monegarala District MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara told The Island last night that according to the party constitution, the working committee and parliamentary group elected the party leader once a year at the national convention. He said that the posts of the Leader, two deputy leaders, Chairman and national organizer of the UNP would be decided by vote or through consensus of the party’s WC and parliamentart group. Accusing the present leader of being a dictator, the irate MP said that

Hambantota District MP Sajith Premadasa compromised and set aside his effort to become party leader for the sake of party unity at the most controversial working committee meeting on April 12. “We appointed Gampaha District MP

Karu Jayasuriya and Sajith Premadasa as Co – Deputy leaders at the controversial working committee meeting in April,” he said adding Premadasa made that sacriﬁce for the party’s unity which was the wish of party membership countrywide. However, Maddumabandara said that Wickremesinghe’s dictatorship hijacked the National Organiser post and those who proposed him (Maddumabandara) to the post, Imitiyaz Bakeer Maker and Dunesh Gankanda were sacked from the Working Committee for proposing him. He said that under WIckremesinghe’s leadership, the UNP lost four of ﬁve general elections and two presidential elections in 1994, 2000, 2004, 2010 and 1999, 2005 respectively. “Wickremesinghe could not face the 2010 Presidential election as he was politically

bankrupt and the country’s biggest party supported an outside candidate,” Madduma Bandara said. Unfortunately, 63 hardcore UNP MPs had already crossed over to the SLFP under the leadership of Wickremesinghe, the MP said. He said that the party membership and supporters expected party’s unity immediately and the only way for that to happen was to appoint Karu Jayasuriya as the leader. The rebels had already informed their decision to Jayasuriya and he agreed, Maddumabandara said adding that it would be decided in the very ﬁrst working committee meeting as the majority of party MPs, Provincial Council members and local government representatives were with the reformists.

Any talks doomed to fail Lanka named among six best without Muslim dimension SLMC Leader and Minister of Justice Rauff Hakeem said that if the TNA is shunning the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), a new mechanism should be proposed where Muslims also could play a positive role. It should not on the sidelines in the form of a bilateral discussion with the TNA as had been happening for several years now with no end in sight , he said. “It must be a collective exercise involving all stakeholders which is what the SLMC wants. This must be a forum where their grievances can be best addressed as simple bilateral discussions with one party alone cannot solve a multi dimensional problem”, Hakeem suggested. Meanwhile, Government sources said

that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had consented to speak to TNA leader R. Sampanthan, MP, to impress upon him the view that the party’s participation in the PSC sittings would have a positive impact on the outcome of the process

to ﬁnd a solution to longstanding ethnic issue question. “For Muslims, the PSC is the best forum because we ﬁnd that all shades of political opinion which have an exclusive mandate from different ethnicities will have a place”, Hakeem said in an interview with The Sunday Island. For the TNA to refuse to participate in the PSC and moreover, not even permit a tri-partite discussion involving the SLMC, I feel is unfortunate and I must once again reiterate here while it is TNA’s right to participate or not to participate, as far as the Muslims are concerned, we welcome the PSC because we feel it is a forum where issues concerning our dimension can be addressed”, he noted.

Election rigged, alleges UNP An Election to pick the chief incumbent for the Sri Pada Viharaya had been rigged and several Buddhist monks eligible to vote were not allowed to cast their ballots due to the inﬂuence of a certain Minister, Parliament was told yesterday. UNP Kurunegala District MP Dayasiri Jayasekara, participating in the committee stage of the Budget estimates on the Ministry of Buddhasasana and Religious Affairs, said the election, which was held last week, had been rigged at the behest of the Minister who claimed to be a descendent of King Dutugemunu. MPJayasekeara alleged that goons of this particular Minister had threatened a number of Bhikkhus who were eligible to vote at that election. “Even Chief Minister Maheepala Herath had offered ﬁnancial enticements to temples

in the Sabaragamuwa province to inﬂuence the vote of the monks there,” Jayasekara said.UNP Vice President Gamini Jayawickrama Perera, joining in the debate, criticised the Secretary to Buddhasasana Ministry. He told Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne: “I know you are helpless. But, if you can pluch up courage and take action against this ofﬁcial, people will hold you in high esteem. That is more

joyous than being in ofﬁce as Prime Minister, which was one of your dreams.” Noting that there were temples in rural areas with no facilities and ability to even provide alms to the resident bhikkus, Perera urged the government to come up with a mechanism to grant at least a Rs. 5,000 each to those temples monthly. JayawickremaPerera said: “It is sad that no one has taken notice of the increasing number of Buddhist monks leaving the Sasana. For instance, 940 samaneras have disrobed in 2010 alone. This particular ministry secretary wasted millions of rupees in the name of Sambuddathwa Jayanthi celebrations. Why cannot the Ministry take steps to help develop poor temples in the country without wasting money?”

National Geographic Traveler magazine has named Sri Lanka among its top six destinations for world travelers in 2012, lauding the island nation’s heritage sites, wildlife, lush landscapes and pristine beaches. Sri Lanka, Traveler writes in its November/December issue, means resplendent isle, and the natural charms of this pear-shaped island in the Indian Ocean that nearly kisses the southeast tip of India are indeed splendid. Sri Lanka’s hill country features stunning scenery, tea plantations, and ancient Buddhist temples. Nat Geographic Traveler magazine also mentions Sri Lanka’s many heritage sites and its colonial history: The Portuguese and the Dutch once waged proxy wars here; by 1802 the island was a British colony. And it notes the successful conclusion of the most recent conﬂict, against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which ended with the terrorist group’s defeat in 2009, opening the door to increased tourism. Today peace

prevails, Traveler reported. Sri Lanka tourism has grown impressively, with a 52 percent increase in 2010 compared to 2009. An even larger increase is expected for all of 2011. With those increases, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority has outlined a plan to reach a 30,000 hotel-room capacity by 2015, when the total number of annual tourists is expected to reach 2.5 million. Special focus has also been put on increasing the level of service in tourist-related industries. Recently, top hotel chains such as Starwood (Sheraton), Marriott, Shangri La and Taj have announced plans for new construction in Sri Lanka. A number of existing hotels are also undergoing renovation. Sri Lanka offers visitors a wide variety of unique venues, from broad white beaches to mountain vistas, wildlife parks teeming with elephants, leopards and more, rolling tea plantations, spas, adventure tourism, surﬁng and ancient UNESCO World Heritage sites.

NEWS

Saarc international I Thursday 08 December 2011

Distrust, anger and frustration with police were the key reasons for the August riots across England, according to the biggest study into their cause. A survey of 270 rioters carried out by The London School of Economics (LSE) and The Guardian also found opportunism was a contributing factor. But of those questioned, 85% said policing was an “important” or “very important” factor in why the riots happened. It was second only to poverty, which saw 86% of rioters class it as one of the main causes of the four consecutive nights of unrest during the summer. Unlike in the 1980s, when there was genuine grounds for grievance between the community and the police in lots of inner-city areas, relations between the police and the community in places like Tottenham have improved greatly. Andrew Gilligan, London editor of The Daily Telegraph LSE appointed experts analysed 1.3 million words from ﬁrst-person accounts of rioters who took part in the disturbances, as part of the project called Reading the Riots. The research also included analysis of over two and half million riot-related tweets. Although antipathy towards police was found to be the key force behind the riots which began on August 6 this year, the study revealed a complex mix of political, social and economic grievances also contributed to the unprecedented trouble. According to the data, 80% of rioters said government policy was an “important” or “very important” cause of the riots, with unemployment scoring 79%, the

shooting of Mark Duggan scoring 75% and social media - which is believed to have helped facilitate the spread of the trouble across the UK’s cities - scoring 74%. Many of those questioned admitted opportunism, or a chance to get hold of “free stuff” spurred their involvement. Others

cited a sense of injustice, describing the riots as a chance to get back at police - some 70% of interviewees said they had been stopped and searched in the past year. Those involved in the riots were mainly young males but from a cross-section of local communities, the study found. Just

under half of those interviewed in the study were students. Of those who were not in education and were of working age, 59% were unemployed. Although half of those interviewed were black, people who took part in the disorder did not consider these “race riots”. Poor parenting and gangs were also said to be an important cause of the trouble, which led to the deaths of ﬁve people and saw more than 4,000 arrested. Analysts said the view that the police were “the biggest gang out there” was a reoccurring theme among rioters. The riots broke out in Tottenham, north London, on August 6, following the fatal shooting by police of Mr Duggan, 29. It then spread to other parts of the capital and other

English cities including Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham, Manchester and Salford. But critics say sour relations between police and the public is an out-of-date excuse. Andrew Gilligan, London editor of The Daily Telegraph, said: “Unlike in the 1980s, when there was genuine grounds for grievance between the community and the police in lots of inner-city areas, relations between the police and the community in places like Tottenham have improved greatly. “I don’t think anyone can or should deny that. And I think a lot of the time this is just an excuse. “Now, if people are complaining that they’re being stopped and searched, well, if they’re criminals and rioters perhaps they deserve to be stopped and searched.”

English rioters warn of more to come Four out of ﬁve participants in summer unrest think there will be a repeat, with most believing poverty to be a factor An overwhelming majority of people interviewed about their involvement in this summer’s riots believe they will be repeated and one in three said they would take part in any future disorder, a study by the Guardian and the London School of Economics shows. Of the 270 questioned in the Reading the Riots study, 81% said they believed the disturbances that spread across England in August “would happen again”. Two-thirds predicted there would be more riots before the end of 2014. Only 51% of rioters interviewed by the Guardian/LSE said they

felt “part of British society” – compared with 92% of the wider population. Many said they were angry about perceived social and economic injustice, complaining about lack of jobs,

beneﬁts cuts and the closure of youth services. Just under half of those interviewed were students, and younger interviewees often expressed frustration over the increase in tuition fees and the scrapping

of the education maintenance allowance. Last week it emerged there are now more than a million unemployed young people in the UK. Youth unemployment – deﬁned as the number of 16 to

24-year-olds not in education, employment or training – currently stands at 21%. Fifty-nine percent of the rioters interviewed in the study who were of working age and not in education were unemployed.

Saarc international I Thursday 08 December 2011

ENTERTAINMENT

Bollywood legend Dev Anand dies at 88 in London

Legendary Bollywood actor-director Dev Anand has died in London of a heart attack, aged 88, family

members say. Anand, who produced and acted in dozens of films, was unwell and had gone to London for a check up. He was known as the Adonis of Indian cinema for his good looks and the ease with which he played romantic roles. He films included Guide, Paying Guest and Jewel Thief. He continued to direct almost until the end, releasing his last film, Chargesheet, in September. In his 65-year career, which began in 1946, Anand became one of India’s iconic actor-directors. “An era has come to an end. Dev Anand leaves a void never perhaps to be filled again. He never gave up belief, his joy of life,” tweeted Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan. Mr Bachchan wrote that he had met Anand at a film premier recently. “He was weak but full of spirit,” he tweeted.

RIP Dev Anand: Twitter reﬂects an India in shock Dev Anand is the latest in a long line of celebrities to have passed away this year, and the news of his death has caused a furore in India. And as seems to be the trend these days, many Indians (both famous and ordinary) have taken to Twitter to express their sorrow. “So I guess 2011 is the real Jewel Thief. R.I.P. dad’s favourite actor. #devanand”, tweeted Shakeel Sobhan. Many of Bollywood’s glitterati also used the micro blogging site to express their shock that the ‘evergreen’ actor was also mortal. Unsurprisingly, Dev Anand was also the topmost trending tag on Twitter.

The “Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol” star is preparing for the world premiere of his ﬁlm on Wednesday

NEW DELHI — Hollywood star Tom Cruise says his visit to India this week follows a lifelong desire to see the country. He said while touring the iconic, white-marble Taj Mahal mausoleum in Agra that he is “very excited” about being in the country for a fan screening of his latest action-thriller, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, days ahead of its world premiere on Wednesday. Cruise joins Bollywood star Anil Kapoor for the red-carpet screening Sunday in Mumbai. The film sees Cruise reprise his role as secret agent Ethan Hunt, while Kapoor plays an Indian business tycoon. Cruise told reporters , “I wanted to come to India my whole life, so I am very excited.” Cruise met with co-star Anil Kapoor and the two headed straight for the Taj Mahal, much to the surprise of onlookers. The Mission Impossible star later took to a special red-carpet screening of the film, where he revealed he wouldn’t say no to starring in a Bollywood film. ‘I love watching Hindi movies. There are many Hindi movies that come out... but I do watch a few of them. [If offered a Bollywood film] I would never say no,’ he said. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is due for its global release this week.

Veena Malik naked FHM cover causes uproar amid ‘fake’ claims in Pakistan Veena Malik, a Pakistani actress, model and comedienne, has denied posing nude for after an alleged photo of her appeared on the Indian online edition of FHM. Veena Malik, a Pakistani actress who posed in the nude for an Indian magazine with the initials of Pakistan’s intelligence agency on her arm, has triggered fury across this conservative nation. The photo on the website of FHM India, in advance of its publication in the magazine’s December issue, has been lighting up social network website Facebook and Twitter since earlier this week. Many here anticipate a backlash. Malik has broken Pakistani social and national taboos in the past. She is a target for conservative ire and a heroine to some Pakistani liberals. Conservative cleric Maulana Abdul Qawi declared on Aaj TV on Saturday that the latest controversy was a ”shame for all Muslims.” Farzana Naz, interviewed by the same channel on the streets of Lahore, said that the actress had ”bowed all us women in shame.” Twitter commentator Umair Javed however called on Pakistanis to ”make copies of the picture and bury it in your backyard. This way, our grandkids will know

Veena Malik - 2nd Nude Picture for FHM Magazine FHM India 2nd Cover Option with Veena Malik

there were some amongst us who lived free!” Asked by reporters whether Pakistan would ”pursue the matter” legally, the country’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Saturday, ”First, let us see whether it is real or fake.” Malik for her part says that the photo at the root of the current uproar was published in violation of her agreement with FHM India. In an interview with Pakistani Geo television

broadcast Saturday, Malik acknowledged having been photographed for a ”bold but not nude shot.” She said the editor of the magazine had promised that he would cover most of the photo with the ISI initials. Malik said that the photo was intended to poke fun at the Indian fear of Pakistani spies: ”Whatever happens (in India), people say ISI is behind that.” Malik said she would ”probably” take a legal action

against the magazine for violating terms and condition. Magazine editor Kabeer Sharma said Malik did all with her full consent. ”We have all the record(s),” he told the Pakistani television station. ”Veena was very excited about that ISI idea.” “The photo shoot was done in Mumbai on November 22. We have a video of the photo shoot.” “I also have an email from Veena in which she says she has seen the photos and is happy with them, and that she’s looking forward to seeing the cover.” Malik does most of her work in India. The entertainment sector there is booming, while Pakistan’s is relatively moribund. Her ties to India have landed her in controversy in the past. As reported Veena’s PR manager Sohail Rashid conﬁrmed to one newspaper that these pictures are faked. Veena knows her limits. I know we have done quite bold stuff/shoots, those which are available on our website, but she knows her parameters. Yes we need to be bold for international magazines, but she won’t cross her limits.

COMMENT

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 08 December 2011

MI6 Funded Muslim Brotherhood and Their “Day of Rage” Coming! Islamic parties and the ruling military council are the biggest winners of the ﬁrst stage of legislative elections as the results start to come in, As expected, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) made progress in the ﬁrst stage of the elections for the People’s Assembly -- Egypt’s lower house of parliament. This is contrary to earlier predictions that a huge turnout of Egyptians at polling stations -- expected to exceed 70 per cent -- would make a difference

necessary in order to abolish the heretic system that opposed Islam – meaning the Western Christian, democratic culture and their allies in the Muslim World. Many political commentators agree that if the election in Egypt would be free and secret the Muslim Brotherhood could win the majority in parliament. The organization has, still, a great inﬂuence on the young generation all over the Muslim World and especially in the Arab World in

organizations... “According to CIA agent Miles Copeland, the Americans began looking for a Muslim Billy Graham around 1955... When ﬁnding or creating a Muslim Billy Graham proved elusive, the CIA began to cooperate with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Muslim mass organization founded in Egypt but with followers throughout the Arab Middle East... This signalled the beginning of an alliance between the traditional regimes and mass Islamic

government at the city of Hamma that resulted in 20,000 casualties. In the aftermath Syria’s President Asad revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood forces were armed with US-made equipment... Israel, forever inclined to back divisive movements, surfaced as another supporter of Islam and began to fund the Muslim Brotherhood and the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas.” Dr. John Coleman, a former British

based at the religious city of Qom. Dr. Coleman relates that Radio Free Iran claimed that while at Qom Khomeini received a “monthly stipend from the British, and he is in constant contact with his masters, the British.” It would seem that the UK and US military like governments to be fundamentalist because then things are easier to control. US Alliance With Muslim Brotherhood Goes Way Back The major papers reported in Feb

and that Islamists would face stiff competition from new “revolutionary” faces. Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, emerging as the biggest winner in the first round of parliamentary elections, is seeking to reassure Egyptians that it will not sacrifice personal freedoms in promoting Islamic law. The deputy head of the Brotherhood’s new political party, Essam el-Erian, told in an interview on Saturday that the group is not interested in imposing Islamic values on Egypt. “We represent a moderate and fair party,” el-Erian said of his Freedom and Justice Party. “We want to apply the basics of Shariah law in a fair way that respects human rights and personal rights,” he said, referring to Islamic law. The slogan of the Muslim Brotherhood was and still is – “Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. Qur’an is our law”. The final ultimate goal of the Muslim Brotherhood is the recreation of a new Caliphate, unified Muslim state in the Middle East. The Muslim Brotherhood, in the beginning, opposed violent means to achieve its goals. Later events in the Middle East, such as the creation of Israel in 1948, the Socialist Arab regimes in the Middle East that oppressed Islamic political organizations, especially the Baath party in Syria and Iraq, and the ongoing Western interference in the Middle East promoted a change. Sayyid Qutb, a famous Islamic writer and the most prominent ideologist figure in the Muslim Brotherhood, wrote that physical power is sometime

the Middle East. The use of the Muslim Brotherhood by MI6 and the CIA in Egypt, Syria and Iran The Chicago Sun-Times reported, 28 November 2005: Egypt, the world’s most populous Arab country, is suddenly roiling with a wide-open, combative election that seems certain to end with the country’s main Islamic group, the banned Muslim Brotherhood, as a big winner. The country’s rulers, longtime American allies, are starting to show signs of panic: Police have barred voters from polls and thugs have attacked Brotherhood supporters in recent days in an apparent effort to blunt the group’s growing momentum. Even before the final round of voting Thursday, Brotherhood loyalists have increased their seats in parliament fivefold. That’s not enough to unseat the ruling party, but is still seen as a slap to President Hosni Mubarak. Prior to World War II British Intelligence cultivated ties with the Brotherhood through agent Freya Stark, the British adventurer and writer (1). These covert connections were used to keep track of the growing German presence in North Africa and to stay informed of the many different political movements that were springing up. The Muslim Brotherhood spread throughout the Muslim world and has evolved into something like a Muslim equivalent of the West’s Masonic brotherhood. It became one of the first Islamic Fundamentalist terror

movements against Nasser and other secular forces.” The CIA was following the example of British Intelligence and sought to use Islam to further its goals. They wanted to find a charismatic religious leader that they could promote and control and they began to cooperate with groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood. With the rise of Nasser the Brotherhood was also courted more seriously by the pro-Western Arab regimes of Saudi Arabia and Jordan. They needed all the popular support that they could muster against the rise of Nasser-inspired Arab nationalism to keep their regimes intact. The Muslim Brotherhood was an obvious ally against Nasser, because he had abolished it from Egypt after it was involved in a failed assassination attempt on his life in 1954. The Brotherhood rejected Nasser’s policy that, for the most part, kept religion out of politics. Officially the Brotherhood was an outlawed organization, but it remained influential and active within Egypt working against the secular regime, often hand-in-hand with British Intelligence. In June of 1955 MI6 was already approaching the Brotherhood in Syria to agitate against the new government that showed strong left-wing tendencies and a desire to merge with Egypt (2). The Brotherhood became an even more important asset after Nasser announced the Egyptian takeover of the Suez... In Syria, in 1982, there was a major conflict between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Syrian

Intelligence agent... states in his report on Iran’s Islamic Revolution (11) that the Muslim Brotherhood was created by “the great names of British Middle East intelligence” ...and that their mission was to “keep the Middle East backward so that its natural resource, oil, could continue to be looted...” Dr. Coleman writes that in 1980 the broadcasts of Radio Free Iran divided the enemies of the Shah into four categories: 1. Iranian politicians bought by the Israeli Shin Bet, 2. The CIA’s network of agents, 3. The feudal landowners, 4. The Freemasons and the Muslim Brotherhood (viewed as the same enemy). In his report Dr. Coleman writes that in Iran, “At one time there was even a joke about the mullahs being stamped ‘made in Britain.’” When the Shah introduced his plan for modernization in 1963 the Ayatollah Khomeini emerged as the leader of the religious opposition. Up until his exile from Iran in 1964, Khomeini was

2011 that the Muslim Brotherhood has reversed course and announced that it will send representatives to “begin talks about a government transition.” Ian Johnson reports on his blog at The New York Review of Books, that the US has been doing business with the Muslim Brotherhood for a very long time and, for some reason, the Muslim Brotherhood always seems to do quite well in those business dealings. Johnson reports: Since the 1950s, the United States has secretly struck up alliances with the Brotherhood or its offshoots on issues as diverse as ﬁghting communism and calming tensions among European Muslims. And if we look to history, we can see a familiar pattern: each time, US leaders have decided that the Brotherhood could be useful and tried to bend it to America’s goals, and each time, maybe not surprisingly, the only party that clearly has beneﬁted has been the Brotherhood.

Muhammad Ali recovers after collapse Continued from page 32 >> out in the car and when they got him into the house he fell unconscious,” a Paradise Valley Police spokesman said. “The 911 tape was ﬁlled with details of prescriptions and medical details about the victim who was suffering from an on-going medical condition.” However, a spokesman for Ali later insisted that reports of his ill health were “blown out of proportion”. A spokesman for the legendary boxer said: “While Muhammad Ali was treated

for dehydration on November 19, he is currently at home, well, happy and carrying on with his daily routine. Early reports were blown out of proportion.” A newspaper said it spoke to Ali’s close friend John Ramsey who said Ali was “home and well” after a scare last month when his wife called for an ambulance to take him to the hospital. “I don’t think he stayed very long,” Ramsey said. “He may not be going in the direction you or I like but no one is on the alert.”

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 08 December 2011

NEWS

Indian industry plans $10b investment in Afghanistan U

nveiling India’s plans for Afghanistan, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said Indian industry plans to spend over $10 billion developing mines and building a steel plant in the war-torn nation. Krishna made this announcement at a global conference where representatives of over 100 countries are meeting to chart the course for Afghanistan after U.S.-led NATO troops pull out in 2014. India pitched for something like a Marshall Plan to rebuild Afghanistan which faces at least four deficits -- a security deficit, a governance deficit, a development deficit, and an investment deficit. “Afghanistan needs time, development assistance, preferential access to world markets, foreign investment and a clear end-

state and strategy to make sure that it does not once again plunge into lawlessness, civil war, and externally sponsored extremism and terrorism,” Krishna said.

“Conceptually there is need for something like a ‘Marshall Plan’ for Afghanistan, involving all the major stakeholders,” he said, referring to the strategy devised by the U.S. to provide monetary support to Europe to help rebuild after the end of World War II and to combat the spread of Soviet communism. Indian companies were willing to invest up to $10 billion in mining, setting up a steel plant, and related infrastructure in Afghanistan, he said. “I am happy to announce that the Indian consortium has been awarded the bid for three blocks of the Hajigak iron ore reserves by the Government of Afghanistan,” Krishna said. Highlighting India’s plans, Krishna said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has

pledged $500 million in addition to the $1.5 billion committed to its development effort for Afghanistan until the period 2014. “The Strategic Partnership Agreement signed in October this year commits us to all-round assistance to Afghanistan well into the future,” the External Affairs Minister said. India was also assisting Afghanistan in building an Agricultural University to tap the potential in Agriculture in Afghanistan, he said. India has extended our assistance to Afghanistan for capacity building; increased the number of civil scholarships offered to enable more students get requisite training in art, culture and technology among other areas to further the process of nation building, Krishna said.

Emirates resumes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh remittances top uplift aid operations to Maldives

India, Pakistan, Bangladesh are among top 10 countries receiving top remittances this year . Despite a global economic crisis, worsening employment prospects for immigrants and hardening views on immigration in the U.S. and Europe, migrant workers are sending more money home, according to a World Bank report on global remittances released Wednesday. According to the Migration and Development Brief, released at the fifth meeting for the Global Forum on Migration and Development in Geneva, global remittances to developing countries will reach 351 billion dollars in 2011, and remittances to all countries will total 406 billion dollars. Countries receiving top remittances this year are India, China, Mexico and the Philippines. Other top recipients include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Vietnam, Egypt and Lebanon. “Remittance flows to developing countries have remained resilient,” said Hans Timmer, director of the Bank’s Development Prospects Group. “Remittance flows to all developing regions have grown this year, for the

first time since the financial crisis.” The World Bank also cited “higherthan-expected” growth in remittances to four out of six World Bankdesignated developing regions. Part of that growth can be attributed to exchange rates, it said. When foreign currencies weaken against the currency in worker destination countries - against U.S. dollars, for example - workers such as those working in the U.S. can send more money home, Merrell TuckPrimdahl, a communications officer with the World Bank, told IPS. “That is certainly one of the factors behind the flows and why they picked up.” The report also noted that remittance flows to Latin America and the Caribbean grew this year for the first time since the financial crisis began, although that growth was lower than the World Bank expected because of “continuing weaknesses in the U.S. economy”. The report underscored that “persistent unemployment in Europe and the U.S. is affecting employment prospects of existing migrants and hardening political attitudes toward

new immigration”. Destination countries: Sources of remittances According to the report, the growth in remittances can also be attributed to the fact that some countries are sending migrant workers to a diversifying group of destinations to work. For example, while the U.S. and Europe saw a decline in Filipino workers, more Filipino workers went to the Middle East, mainly to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to Asian countries like Hong Kong and Singapore, and to Africa. In the U.S., a steep fall in new housing construction, a sector that has traditionally employed Latin American migrants, in 2006 “appears to have stabilised”, but migrant employment in construction “remains well below pre-ﬁnancial crisis levels”, according to the report. The U.S. and Spain are the main sources of remittances for developing countries in Latin America, while six Gulf countries account for a signiﬁcant portion of remittances to South Asia and one third of remittances for Europe and Central Asia originate in developing countries such as Russia. The report also noted that the socalled Arab Spring has had an effect on migrant workers and remittances migrant workers in Libya have returned home, but “migrants from many other Sub-Saharan African countries, often unskilled and illegal, have been stuck and vulnerable to abuse in Libya”. Development aid uncertain Remittances have a variety of positive effects, the report said. They can reduce poverty, help people accumulate wealth, lead to more spending on health and education and reduce child labour, to name a few.

Emirates has resumed operations to the Maldives after the tires of the landing gear of the airline’s flight from Colombo burst on landing at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport Friday evening. An official of India’s GMR, which manages the airport, said the problem was resolved and the aircraft flew off from the Maldives yesterday. “The flight left the Maldives this [yesterday] morning with the passengers it was carrying. EK [Emirates] has resumed normal operations to the Maldives and no further problems were found,” the official said last evening. The tyres of the Boeing 777-300

aircraft burst after it landed at the airport around 10.30pm, causing the airport to halt operations and significant delays in the flights of Singapore Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines, and Malaysian Airlines. The stationary aircraft was towed to the apron and operations resumed around 7am yesterday. An Emirates spokesperson said yesterday that the EK-653 flight from Colombo to Dubai via Male sustained damage to two tyres of the left hand main landing gear. The EK-653 flight was also on schedule for 10.30pm last evening. Civil Aviation Department, meanwhile, launched an investigation into the incident.

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COMMENT

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 08 December 2011

Islam, Murabaha and Fixed Deposits Islam has declared war on the moneylender who demands interest. It did so in the very last divine revelation (al-Baqarah, 2:279) to come down in the Holy Qur’an. Here is that last revelation: “O ye who believe! Fear Allah, and give up what remains of your demand for usury (i.e., the interest due on a fixed deposit, or on any other loan on interest), if ye are indeed believers.” If ye do it not (i.e. if you persist in your claim or demand for the interest due to you), then take notice of (a declaration of) war from Allah and His Messenger: but if ye turn away (from such claim or demand), then you are entitled to the return of your capital sum (placed in the fixed deposit or otherwise lent); do not enter into (such) unjust transactions, nor allow yourselves to be subjected to such. If (you forgo the interest due to you and then find) the debtor in a difficulty (in respect of returning the capital sum that was lent to him on interest), grant him time till it is easy for him to repay. But if ye remit it by way of charity, that is best for you if ye only knew. And (in this matter in particular, i.e., lending money on interest) fear the Day when ye shall be brought back to Allah. Then shall every soul be paid what it earned, and none shall be dealt with unjustly.’ (Qur’an, alBaqarah, 2:278-281) Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) declared that the consumption of even a Dirham (a silver coin worth a few dollars) of Riba (usury) was equivalent to “committing adultery 36 times”. He also declared that Riba was comprised of 70 parts and that the smallest part (was so bad that) it was equivalent to “a man marrying his own mother”. Indeed “he cursed all four, and declared that they were all equally guilty—the one who took Riba (i.e., the money-lender), the one who gave Riba (i.e., while paying interst on a loan), the one who recorded the transaction (hence bank personnel), and the two witnesses.” Fifty years ago my own Muslim community of Trinidad and Tobago was led by Haji Ruknuddin (may Allah have mercy on him). He was a leader who both ‘knew’ and ‘lived’ Islam. At that time a Muslim moneylender appeared on the scene and the leader of our community made every effort to get that man to give up his money-lending. When he failed in that effort

he responded by prohibiting Muslims from even having a meal in the moneylender’s home. The Muslim community obeyed the command of its leader.

Shiekh Imran Hossein

Tribune Comment But times have since changed, and our Muslim community is now led, with but few exceptions, by men who neither ‘know’ nor ‘live’ Islam, and by scholars who betray Islam. We even have Muslim leaders here in Trinidad who are consummate moneylenders, placing their money in highest yielding ﬁxed-deposits in the international money market. They then use their bloated check-books that drip with the blood of the masses they have exploited, to bribe their way into winning elections and assuming posts of President-General of Islamic organizations. Those with the intellectual acumen of cattle then legitimize such (checkbook) leaders. Even Islamic scholars have fallen by the wayside so badly that when a Trinidadian (money-lending) bank organizes a function to commemorate Eid al-Fitr, an Imam who is described as a Maulana accepts an invitation to deliver a feature address at the function. Then his photograft appears in the daily newspaper posing with bank ofﬁcials. And so, there is both widespread ignorance of the divine law pertaining to the prohibition of Riba, and, worse, wanton violation of that law. In this essay we direct attention to ‘Fixed Deposits’ as well as to so-called Murabaha transactions in an attempt to explain such to be ‘moneylending’ transactions. At the heart of the Islamic prohibition of usury (Riba) is the maxim that if you do not plant, you cannot reap. This constitutes a rejection of the false claim to a ‘time-value’ of money. Money by itself cannot increase over time without any input of labor, or without the risk (of loss or of gain) inherent in an authentic business transaction. The blessed Prophet declared that any transaction involving an exchange of ‘money’ for ‘money’

must be an equal exchange, i.e., with no difference in amount of money exchanged. He declared that an unequal exchange (that would open the door for money to increase over time) would be Riba. Islam also insists that all business transactions must involve risk – and hence ‘proﬁt’ or ‘loss’. Allah Most High can then intervene to distribute and redistribute wealth by taking from some and giving to others. In this way the rich would not remain permanently rich, and the poor would not be imprisoned in permanent poverty In his masterpiece entitled ‘Merchant of Venice’, William Shakespeare likened Riba or usury to a ‘pound of ﬂesh’. And in a dream Prophet Muhammad saw the moneylender exposed as a ‘bloodsucker’ since he was standing in a river of blood. We noted earlier that the Prophet cursed “all four”, and declared that “they were all equally guilty—the ones who ‘took’ Riba, ‘gave’ Riba, ‘recorded

must also be recognized that he has not entered into a ‘business’ transaction since he is guaranteed the return of his money plus an additional amount. There is no risk. There is no possibility of loss. And hence that is not business! In fact, in making a ‘Fixed Deposit’, he has lent his money on interest (Riba), and has hence become a cursed moneylender. Those (Muslims, Christians, Hindus, etc.) who read this essay and, in consequence of fear of Allah’s eternal punishment, promptly respond by breaking their ‘Fixed Deposits’, would want to know what they could do with their Riba money. They can neither use it themselves, nor can they give it to others as charity. BACK-DOOR RIBA Islamic Banks and other Islamic ﬁnancial institutions are today lending money on interest through the back-door by disguising a loan as a sale on credit. They call it murabaha! But it is most certainly not murabaha! It is Riba! What the

Islamic Banks and other Islamic financial institutions are today lending money on interest through the back-door by disguising a loan as a sale on credit. the transaction’, and ‘the two witnesses’.” Whoever dies with the curse of a Prophet upon him can never escape the hellfire. The Qur’an itself declared that the moneylender would be punished with eternal hellfire: “Those who devour usury will not stand (before their Lord for Judgment) except as stands one whom Satan by his touch hath driven to madness.That is because they claim that: ‘Business is like lending on interest,’ but Allah hath permitted business and forbidden usury. Those who after receiving direction from their Lord, desist, shall be pardoned for the past; their case is for Allah (to judge); but those who persist (in claiming the interest due from fixed deposits or other such loans on interest) are Companions of the Hellfire; they will abide therein (forever).” (Qur’an, al-Baqarah, 2:275) What, then, is the status of someone who makes a ‘Fixed Deposit’ with his money in a bank or any other financial institution? It should firstly be clear that he has not gifted the money. It

bank does is to offer an item on sale in a credit transaction with a price substantially higher than the cash price. While credit transactions are Halal, since the blessed Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) himself engaged in such transactions, there is no evidence that the credit price in such transactions was ever higher than the cash price. When credit price is higher than cash price then the implication would be that time has value. And the essence of Riba is that money grows over time. When a client wishes to purchase something, but does not possess the cash with which to purchase it, the socalled Islamic bank enters into the ﬁction of purchasing the item at its cash price and then selling it to the client on credit. The interest charges are added to the selling price thus making a credit price for the item substantially higher than the cash price. In fact the bank never actually purchases the item. Rather, it writes out a check to the client who then purchases the item in his name with the

bank holding a lien on the item until the sale price is eventually paid to the bank. The bank therefore sold something that it never actually owned – and that is Haram! In actual fact the ‘sale’, also, was entirely fictitious. What the bank actually did was to ‘lend’ a specific sum of money on interest over a specific period of time and to then denominate the ‘loan’ in the amount of a final total that included the total interest payments as money due on a ‘sale’. It is when the client defaults on payment of installments of money due to the bank that one is treated to ridiculous and utterly scandalous financial gymnastics. Consider the following: a client entered into a so-called murabaha transaction with an unnamed Islamic Bank to purchase a house with a market price of $500,000. The bank wrote out the check to him for $500,000. with which he then purchased the house in his name. He thus became legal owner of the house. The bank then transacted with him a fictitious sale agreement to sell to him on credit a house that the bank never owned (and hence could not sell) for a total of $1 million. The difference between the credit and cash prices was thus $500,000. One month after entering into the agreement the client defaulted on his payments. The bank then repossessed the house and sold it on the open market for $500,000. But the bank went on to sue the client for an outstanding balance of almost $500,000. The court, however, dismissed the claim and ruled that the bank was entitled to nothing more than the interest payment for the actual duration of the contract (i.e., the amount of time it took the bank to recover its $500,000.) We have a stern warning to deliver to those scholars of Islam who persist in defending the socalled murabaha transactions of Islamic Banks today. They defend the transaction with Fatwas (fatawa) that are as invalid as the Fatwas (fatawa) which today blindly declare paper money of the modern world to be Halal, and would equally blindly declare tomorrow’s ‘electronic money’ to be Halal. If they obstinately persist in their defense of today’s so-called Murabaha transactions, and then learn in Allah’s court that it was not Murabaha but Riba, at that time they cannot plead for mercy from Allah for they will have misguided people, nor can they say “I did not know”.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 08 December 2011

NEWS

Least corrupt place; New Zealand, Worst? Somalia, North Korea, But Pakistan on (2.5)134th & India (3.1) 95th. 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index: Alarming results in Asia

By Rukshana Nanayakkara Asia’s leading economies may be experiencing high levels of growth, but a lack of anti-corruption measures threatens fair distribution of wealth. Rukshana Nanayakkara, Transparency International’s Senior Programme Coordinator for South Asia, looks at the corruption challenges facing Asia’s emerging economies. The 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index results are a clear message to governments in Asia Paciﬁc for stringent action to counter corruption. If the 21st century is to truly be Asia’s as predicted, comprehensive actions are needed to increase integrity and structural equality throughout the region. But to do this, governments and civil society must work together to

counter corruption effectively. The release of the index reveals an alarming level of corruption in the Asia Paciﬁc region’s public sector. The index, which covers 183 states, scores countries on a scale from 0- highly corrupt, to 10- very clean. The majority of countries in the region score lower than ﬁve, denoting a serious corruption problem. Of these countries, quite a number appear at the tail end of the ranks. Although few countries, such as New Zealand, Singapore and Australia, secure places in the top 10, 16 countries in the region score below three. Among others, countries include Vietnam (2.9), Bangladesh (2.7), Philippines (2.6), Pakistan (2.5) and Papua New Guinea (2.2). Afghanistan, Myanmar and

Seminar on ‘Protecting your savings and investment’ held by ETHOS UK

‘Protecting your savings and investment’. Seminar Sponsored by Redbridge Council and Big Lottery and orginised by ETHOS UK. Fund main speaker Mr Md Azizur Rahman said, we invest our spare money, the money that we leave aside after spending for living. Every body does it. Some save more, some less. On a personal level, it is the surplus of household income over expenditure. This saving is done on a voluntary basis. You save because you want to leave aside some money for rainy days or old ages. There is a semi mandatory saving practiced now a days. Every one is required to save for his pension. Often those are taken direct from your income and put in pension a fund. Whether the money is left aside by you or taken into a pension fund, the trouble starts from the very moment this money is ear marked for savings. It means that you are not spending it now, but will do so at a later time, say 30 or 40 years later. That brings the issue that money must be kept somewhere where it

must hold its vale and /or grow in value over these years until you start taking it out. Under the present economic environment, where inﬂation and unemployment is very high all kinds of saving investment policy including stock and share market investment looks like unsafe except investment in Gold or Silver. Gold is the most popular precious metal in which people invest. It is a safe-haven against any economic, political, social or currencybased crises, such as: investment market declines, currency failure, inﬂation, war and social unrest. Gold is unlike a bond. Gold pays no interest. But, Gold cannot become worthless like a bond can. The values of both rise and fall in free market trading…………. In the discussion session among others notables participants are Mr Mujibur Rahman, Mrs Ruma Ishaque and Mr Souket Ali. The seminar was chaired by Dr H M Wasiul Islam and declared closed at 3.30 pm.

North Korea rank bottom globally, with scores of 1.5, 1.5 and 1 respectively. The emerging economic giants in the region, China and India, rank 75th and 95th. This indicates a lower level of competitiveness in countering corruption in comparison to their economic rivals in northern developed countries such as Germany, Japan Canada and the United States. In China, greater economic freedom has failed to bring along a framework that hinders corruption, posing a serious challenge to sustained economic growth in the country. For example, recent research by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences states that since 1990, a number of high ranking government ofﬁcials and senior managers of state-owned enterprises have ﬂed the country with stolen assets worth US $123 billion. Although India boasts a larger

democratic space for public activism in countering corruption and opacity, little commitment has been delivered on the government’s part for substantive eradication. The scores reﬂect these inadequacies, and call on a comprehensive approach for counter measures. According to ﬁgures from the International Monetary Fund, a number of other countries in the region such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Maldives, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri

Lanka, Timor-Leste and Vietnam will see signiﬁcant economic growth by the end of 2011. Nevertheless, these countries’ poor scores signify clear risks of corruption, resulting in unequal distribution of wealth and potentially lower investors’ conﬁdence in the long run. If this pattern continues, the costs of corruption shall persist, leaving the possibility of both social and political unrest in the region becoming an ever increasing likelihood.

Media and Entertainment Sector in India Prime for Investment

Growing digitization, media consumption and improving demographics are leading drivers for industry growth The Indian Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry registered revenues of US$16.3 billion in 2010 and is expected to be in excess of US$25 billion in the next four years, according to Ernst & Young’s report - ‘Spotlight on India’s Entertainment Economy’. The study released today shows that India’s growing digital media consumption and favorable demographics are key drivers for the media and entertainment industry’s future growth. Enticed by economic liberalization, near double-digit annual growth, a fastgrowing middle class and a huge volume of demand for leisure and entertainment, there has been a surge in investment by global media companies in India. The Indian media and entertainment industry now ﬁnds itself at a new turning point digital media. A surge in mass broadband adoption is expected, led by the launch of 3G and 4G services. By 2015, 90% of India’s projected 187 million broadband subscribers will access the net through wireless devices. This presents global M&E

companies with exciting opportunities to develop ‘”anytime, anywhere”’ content that caters to a new generation of Indian digital consumers. “The M&E industry in India has been, and will continue to be, one of the biggest beneﬁciaries of India’s favorable demographics,” said Farokh Balsara, Ernst & Young’s media and entertainment leader for Europe, Middle East, India and Africa. “Having one of the world’s youngest populations, high volumes of content consumption, a favorable regulatory framework and growing digital adoption, makes India an attractive investment destination for global media and entertainment companies.” Key ﬁndings from the report include: -- India’s increasing per capita income, growing middle class and working population are generating huge domestic demand for leisure and

entertainment. The country has more than 600 television channels, 100 million pay-television households, 70,000 newspapers and produces more than 1,000 ﬁlms annually. -- India has diverse regional markets with distinct cultures, languages and content preferences. These markets provide global media and entertainment companies with a variety of opportunities to deliver localized content. -- India’s favorable regulations and reforms are creating investment opportunities for global media and entertainment companies. -- The newspaper industry, which is facing declining readership in many international markets, continues to thrive in India, driven by increasing literacy rates, consumer spending and the growth of regional markets and specialty newspapers. Newspapers account for 42% of all advertising spend in India, the most of any medium. -- The mandatory digitization of India’s television distribution infrastructure is driving growth of digital cable and DTH and creating a need for these companies to fund expansion.

Special Feature

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 08 December 2011

UAE better than most in face of global crises: Mohammed Tells CNN that Dubai completed major projects When the ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum sat down for an interview with CNN, the subject of the UAE5 was brought up; where 5 Emirati bloggers were sentenced because of remarks they had written which were considered a direct offense on the UAE government. They were later pardoned on the UAE’s 40th National Day. The idea of Emirates is different, you have accomplished things that others have not but yet you are not a democracy, explain how that works, asked Burnett of CNN. Below is an excerpt quoted from the interview between Burnett of CNN and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum. ‘So, what’s your view of what happened and whether it’s OK to say something like that here?” HH Bin Rashid: If you are a criminal then you go to court. You know, not everybody is

are still learning. We are trying to do our job right and we’re trying to help our own people… We have our own democracy. You cannot transport your democracy to us — we are different. For example, our democracy comes from the Koran. As long as journalists don’t step on somebody else, then you are free do what you like. Evidently, Journalistic freedom in the United Arab

The topic of Emiratisation and whether the worry of the nationals becoming complacent was a thought that rested within the Ruler’s mind, Sheikh Mohammed dismissed the worry stating that what the Nationals receive from their country may be a basic yet comfortable living, but people seek more. There is free education, healthcare and no taxes but people search for a better life. perfect. And we are not perfect. We’re doing a lot for our people. There’s still more to do. So, we hope these ﬁve will become better citizens for their own good and their people. Burnett: It just leads to the question of one thing over the years covering the UAE. People will say the press isn’t totally free. People can’t really say everything that they really think. Do you think that’s part of how, in this society, you need to govern? HH Bin Rashid: As long as they don’t say something wrong about a person or whatever it is, they can say whatever they want. As I told you, we are not perfect. We

Emirates is still as the Ruler stated, a growing procedure where the country is focusing more on helping its own nationals but it can be boiled down to one basic excerpt that we were all taught as children. “If you don’t have anything nice to say about someone, don’t say anything at all.” When His Highness was asked about the state of the Arab Spring he commented that an event like this is sometimes bound to happen every once in a while but everyone must be careful. “The Gulf States are safe from it now; for the time being,” he added.

The topic of Emiratisation and whether the worry of the

nationals becoming complacent was a thought that rested within the Ruler’s mind, Sheikh Mohammed dismissed the worry stating that what the Nationals receive from their country may be a basic yet comfortable living, but people seek more. There is free education, healthcare and no taxes but people search for a better life. “Don’t stop when somebody doubts you, that is what we believe. I am not looking at the last term I am looking at the next term,” His Highness concluded. Since the real estate and global economy crash in 2008, Dubai still remains strong among its

Gulf State neighbors with hopes and visions to push through. It is home to the world’s tallest tower, an Atlantis, a Palm Island but yet it is difﬁcult to not feel the crash. During the CNN interview, Sheikh Mohammed was also asked whether his ambitions of Dubai have changed since the real estate crisis. “I don’t call it a crisis, it is a challenge. Any leader can be good when everything is alright, but it takes a good leader during difﬁcult times.” Material/Excerpts from CNN interview

The city of Dubai is built on foundations that are steeped in history and tradition. From the evocative Dubai Museum to the spectacular Jumeirah Mosque, and from the breathtaking Bastakiya to the imperious Heritage Village. There are many mysteries waiting to be unravelled. Explore Dubai at your pace and relive great traditions from day gone by.

DEFINITELYDUBAI.COM

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 08 December 2011

SPORTS

Wembley Stadium to host Muslim women sports awards Muslim women in Britain don’t always get positive coverage in the news. But one pioneering organisation which has been attempting to motivate the Muslim community to get more active and involved is hoping to highlight positivity and progression. The Muslim Women’s Sports Foundation (MWSF) celebrated a decade of leading the way in encouraging, supporting and developing the involvement in physical activity of women from BME communities, particularly focusing on the cultural and religious sensitivities of Muslim women.

In April 2012, MWSF will be hosting their inaugural Ambassadors Awards in April 2012 at the home of football, Wembley Stadium. Aiming to highlight the contribution of individuals and organisations to the unique area of minority ethnic sports, the awards will recognise and honour outstanding achievements

across seven different categories – UK Sportswoman of the Year, International Sportswoman of the Year, UK Coach of the Year, Community Award, Volunteer of the Year, Outstanding Contribution and the Lifetime Achievement Award. Chair of the Board of Trustees, Rimla Akhtar, said, “For over 10 years the MWSF has

grown into a body representing the sporting needs and requirements of Muslims in the UK. The MWSF has developed a reputation nationally and internationally for its extensive work in the ﬁeld of women’s sport and we are proud to be pioneering the establishment of ambassadors from within this unique community.”

Chief Executive of the MWSF, Ayesha Abdeen, added, “What an exciting project, I’m so proud of everyone involved who will be providing much needed inspiration to younger generations. We are very honoured to be hosting this event and are sure that Muslim women’s participation in sport will beneﬁt a great deal.”

West Indies beat London 2012 Olympic ceremonies budget doubled India in third ODI

The government has doubled the budget for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies to more than £80m after David Cameron saw the plans. The prime minister gave the goahead for an increase of £41m above the £40m already budgeted for the opening and closing nights’ shows. The extra money comes from within the £9.3bn Olympic public funding package. The venue security allocation has also risen by £271m to £553m after the number of security guards was revised. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said it now estimated 23,700 security staff would be required at Olympic and Paralympic venues next summer, more than double the original estimate of 10,000. Funding for the venue security budget is likely to rise from £282m to £553m but the government said the increase in numbers of security guards was “not in response to any speciﬁc security threat”. Following a review of security arrangements in 2010 it said it was conﬁdent the core safety and security programme could be delivered within the £475m announced in the

December 2010 Spending Review. However, it said further funding was being made available to support Olympic organisers, Locog, in delivering security at all 2012 venues by funding extra security staff as well as specialist search and screening equipment. Mr Robertson said: “The government and Locog have now undertaken detailed analysis of the numbers of security staff required to protect the more than 100 Olympic venues. The Olympics is set to be one of the UK’s biggest security tests - a 64-day operation, from when the Olympic village opens on 13 July to the time the Paralympic village closes on 12 September, covering 34

venues across Britain. Last month Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said ground-to-air missiles would be deployed to protect the 2012 Olympics if deemed operationally necessary, after reports emerged the US was unhappy with the UK’s security plans. The Guardian had claimed the US was furious with security plans and wanted to send up to 1,000 of its own people, including 500 FBI agents, although the US Embassy’s Charge d’Affaires later rejected the story and said she had “the utmost conﬁdence in the British government’s arrangements to ensure safety and security for the Games”.

Ravi Rampaul and debutant Sunil Narine shared six wickets to bowl the West Indies to a crucial 16-run victory over India in the third oneday international on Monday. Fast bowler Rampaul ﬁnished with 4-57 and off-spinner Narine with 2-34 as the West Indies bowled India out for 244 despite Rohit Sharma’s solid 95 after posting a challenging 260-5 in the must-win match in Ahmedabad. India now lead 2-1 in the ﬁve-match series following their victories in the opening two games, with Monday’s defeat also ending their

Row over Dow’s Olympics sponsorship: Govt steps in With the issue of Dow Chemicals sponsoring next year’s London Olympics ﬂaring up, the Ministry of External Affairs has stepped in. In a letter dated December 3, the ministry says that Dow sponsorship of the Olympics is a very sensitive issue and there is strong public opinion against it. The London Organising Committee

has also been asked for a report. The issue has received diplomatic

attention because of India’s desire to bid for 2020 Olympics. But with Dow around as a sponsor, India can’t make a bid for the Games. The Sports Ministry has already written to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in this regard. The IOA has decided to take up the matter with the International Olympic Committee.

11-match winning streak in oneday internationals at home. India earlier looked like restricting the West Indies to a modest total when the tourists reached 167-4 after 43 overs, but Darren Sammy (41 not out) and Andre Russell (40) plundered 79 off the last 34 balls. The hosts were reeling at 105-6 but Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin (31) rallied their team with a 91-run stand for the seventh wicket before Narine struck a vital blow when he trapped Ashwin leg-before. The West Indies also let off the Indian pair during the early stages of their stand, with Sammy dropping Ashwin off Narine and then Sharma off paceman Kemar Roach. The dangerous-looking stand was ﬁnally broken by debutant Sunil Narine (2/34) when he had Ashwin LBW in the 40th over. And then Sharma was brilliantly by run out West Indies skipper Darren Sammy with a direct hit four overs later to tilt the balance of the match.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 08 December 2011

SAT

Sports

Muhammad Ali recovers after collapse Former heavyweight world champion Muhammad Ali has recovered in hospital after falling unconscious at home, just days after attending the funeral of great

rival Joe Frazier. The 69-year-old was taken to Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center after collapsing on the return to his home in Paradise

Valley, Arizona, following the funeral for Frazier - who he fought three times during a glittering career - on November 14. “The victim started to pass Continued on page 26 >>

Hafeez jumps to second spot in ICC rankings for bowlers Pakistan players now occupy the top two positions in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers after a strong performance from off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez in the recent three-match series in Bangladesh. The 31-year-old gains six places in the latest rankings and now sits just 19 ratings points behind team-mate Saeed Ajmal, who heads the list. Hafeez took six wickets in the series at an average of just 8.16 and an economy-rate of less than two runs per over making him the pick of an impressive bunch. Ajmal did enough to stay top of the world rankings with series figures of 4-52. There were also gains for Umar Gul, who rose three places to 26th position, and Shoaib Malik, who gained 35 places to 82nd in the world. Hafeez’s bowling, coupled with some good support with the bat down the order, has earned him one place on the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders and he now occupies second position, having overtaken Australia’s Shane Watson. He is just 13 ratings points behind leader Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh. Despite losing the series 3-0, Shakib was his usual competitive self and his series figures of 4-90 earned him three places on the bowling rankings as he moves to seventh overall. For India, R Ashwin has broken into the top 20 of the bowling charts for the first time in his career. With two matches remaining in the ongoing series with the West Indies, the 25year-old from Chennai has gained three places and moves up to 18th position in the rankings. There is also good progress for Ravi Rampaul in the bowling rankings (up one place to 13th), while in the batting list those moving up include Lendl Simmons (up five spots to 25th), Darren Bravo (up 15 to 54th) and Andre Russell (up 34 to 76th). For India, Virat Kohli (up one place to fourth) and Rohit Sharma (up 21 places to 35th) also improve. However, Gautam Gambhir loses seven places in the latest rankings to 19th position and is now level with South Africa’s JP Duminy.

London 2012 Olympic ceremonies budget doubled

Continued on page 31 >>

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