South Asia Tribune

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Year 1

Issue 25

Thursday, 05.01.12

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Stephen Lawrence murder

‘Racist, Evil’ Killers Jailed For Life At last a measure of justice

Gary Dobson

David Norris

Stephen Lawrence’s family

Judge condemns ‘racist, evil’ crime as he sentences Gary Dobson and David Norris.

Two men were finally jailed today for the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence nearly 19 years ago.

Gary Dobson and David Norris have been jailed for a minimum of 15 years and two months and 14 years and three months respectively over the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence. The judge ordered the Metropolitan police to continue with its investigation into the murder and praised Detective Chief Inspector Clive Driscoll, the senior investigating officer in the latest investigation.

The pair were sentenced at the Old Bailey after being found guilty of the 1993 killing on Tuesday.

Mr Justice Treacey had to sentence the men as juveniles, because of their ages at the time they committed the crime.

Michael Mansfield QC, who Continued on page 2 >>

Price: 90p

Anuj Bidve killing

Kiaran ‘Psycho’ Stapleton remanded Anuj Bidve’s killer “laughed” as he fled.

Anuj Bidve

killer Kiaran Stapleton

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man describing himself as “Psycho Stapleton” has appeared in court charged with murdering student Anuj Bidve who was shot dead on Boxing Day. Full story on page 5 >>

Iran threatens to take action

EU have reached a preliminary agreement to ban imports of Iranian crude Army chief says Tehran will not issue warning to Americans more than once, after Iran monitored U.S. aircraft carrier near a strategic waterway in the Gulf.

The United States and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to resolve the Islamic state’s nuclear row with the West. “The Islamic Republic of Iran will not repeat its warning,” stressed the army chief while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the military march held

in Iran’s southern waters.

The US carrier, patroling the area of naval drills, was identified by an Iranian warplane.

Tehran ratcheted up tension with the west on Tuesday after the country’s army chief Continued on page 6 >>

NEWS

2 << Continued from page 1 represented Lawrence’s parents at his inquest, speaking to BBC said that “it is a very important landmark that race has to be considered within the context of crime”. Mansfield points out that after Dobson and Norris have served their minimum sentences, they may not be immediately released – it may be felt that they are not eligible for parole at this point. “I suspect they will serve more than the minimum.”

Gary Dobson must serve a minimum of 15 years and two months before he is eligible for parole.

David Norris must serve a minimum of 14 years and three months before he is eligible for parole.

Scotland Yard Commissioner Bernard

Hogan-Howe welcomed the convictions of David Norris and Gary Dobson for 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 05 January 2012

‘Racist, Evil’ Killers Jailed For Life the racist murder.

Bernard Hogan-Howe said “the other people involved in the murder of Stephen Lawrence should not rest easily in their beds”.Speaking before this morning’s sentencing, he made an appeal to possible witnesses: “Anything you know, please tell us ... We can make a difference in this case still.”

The Metropolitan police “are actively reviewing the consequences of what opportunities might be presented”, Hogan-Howe said. When asked about allegations that the Metropolitan Police was still institutionally racist, Mr Hogan-Howe said: “I hope we are not but it is a bit like asking someone if they are a nice person. Are we the best people to ask?”

He said the force was “hugely different from where we were” at the time of Mr Lawrence’s death.

The landmark case exposed what Lord Macpherson described in his subsequent inquiry into the case as “institutional racism” in the Metropolitan Police force.

The general feeling seems to be that the sentences are too short, although this seems to be tempered by relief that Dobson and Norris have at least been convicted, 19 years after the murder.

The Verdict In the taut silence of an Old Bailey courtroom tuesday, Doreen Lawrence shed a single tear. Almost 19 years after her eldest son was knifed to death by a racist gang, the foreman of a jury had handed her – at last – some measure of justice. STEPHEN Lawrence’s mother last night expressed both “relief and anger” after two men were finally convicted of the racist murder of her teenage son, but emphasised she could not celebrate the verdict because detectives “failed miserably” to bring his killers to justice 18 years years ago.

After one public inquiry, five Metropolitan

Police commissioners and a fundamental change in the British criminal justice system that had been found woefully lacking, two of the 18-year-old’s killers were served with their retribution at 2.36pm tuesday. As Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty of murder.

Police revealed that nine other men – all members of the gang headed by Norris and his friend Neil Acourt – remain under suspicion for being part of the murder.

Scotland Yard sources say that the nine include three of the men who have previously been accused of the murder – Neil Acourt, his younger brother Jamie and Luke Knight – and six other people who had ties to the gang.

Sixteen suspects were arrested during the course of the inquiry since 1993.

But Alison Saunders, the chief crown prosecutor for London, said: “The only evidence at the moment where there was a realistic prospect of conviction is with Dobson and Norris.”

Stephen Lawrence’s best friend Duwayne Brooks welcomes verdict The best friend of Stephen Lawrence, who watched the teenager die, gave a simple and stark welcome to yesterday’s guilty verdicts.

Duwayne Brooks, 18 at the time of the attack, posted on Twitter: ‘Some JUSTICE at last.’

He was with Stephen when they were targeted by a racist mob at a bus stop in south east London in April 1993.

Though he managed to sprint clear, Stephen collapsed after running for about 200m, ‘never to get up again’.

Mr Brooks wept in court last month as he described how the pair were racially taunted and threatened with a metal bar before Stephen was stabbed.

Mr Brooks said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph that the day his friend Stephen was killed would stay with him for the rest of his life and described him as the kind of son any parents would be proud of.

“He was brought up the right way, well respected throughout the school.

Friends with everybody, no enemies, no arguments, no fights.”

Recounting the incident that took place at a bus stop in Eltham on April 22 1993, Mr Brooks said he felt like he was in a battle with police to convince them that himself and Stephen Lawrence were innocent.

“The relationship wasn’t the best between me and the police. the treatment was appalling. For me it was the constant questions around my integrity and Steve’s integrity. There was a disbelief that we were innocent.” Mr. Brook said.

“You don’t expect prejudices to get in the way of any type of investigation,” he added.

The 1997 Daily Mail front page, mocked up by editor Paul Dacre, which accused the five suspects of murder the Daily Mail declared that five men who were acquitted of the murder of Stephen Lawrence were in fact his killers. They challenged the men to sue them, and they never did.

David Cameron said in the wake of the verdict yesterday that the Lawrence family’s quest for justice had been “helped by the campaigning journalism of the Daily Mail, which put this issue front and centre”.

Labour leader Ed Miliband told the Mail: “At a time when the reputation of the newspaper industry is at an alltime low, it is important to recognise when campaigning journalism makes a difference. That includes the honourable role the Daily Mail has played over almost two decades in helping bring the killers of Stephen Lawrence to justice.”

Thirteen years on, the three men who were not on trial with David Norris and Gary Dobson at the Old Bailey have lost none of their swagger. So what has happened to Neil Acourt, Jamie Acourt and Luke Knight - the men who, in the eyes of many, have ‘got away with murder’?

The verdicts yesterday came after nine hours of deliberation by a jury of eight men and four women, who decided that what defence lawyers described as “less than a teaspoon” of forensic evidence had proven the guilt of the two defendants.

Cameron accused over fare increases

David Cameron was personally blamed for higher fares today when he was depicted as The Fat Controller by a coalition of transport unions and green protesters in London.

Placards showing the Prime Minister as the Thomas the Tank Engine character greeted returning commuters on their first day back at work after being hit by an average 6 per cent fare increase.

The day of action at London’s busy St Pancras International station was planned by rail unions and passenger groups.

Campaigners distributed leaflets and urged commuters to write to ministers demanding they scrap plans to raise fares by 3 per cent above the retail price index (RPI) in 2013 and 2014.

TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes warned that this could see a 20 per cent jump in fares over the next three years.

“The £4,000 annual season ticket is now commonplace in south east London. By 2015, the £5,000 annual

season ticket will be commonplace as well,” he said.

Rail union RMT general secretary Bob Crow said the “daylight robbery on

The blow to passengers also comes amid complaints of overcrowding and just before the Christmas getaway in which passengers face replacement bus

transport union, said: ‘Once again we have the private train operators defying all economic logic and increasing the squeeze on passengers during a

the tracks” would continue to fill the coffers of train privateers “while the public pay through the nose to travel on creaking and overcrowded cattle trucks.” The government insists fare rises are necessary to sustain muchneeded investment in the Tube and main line railway.

services to cover engineering works.

Sophie Allain, of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: ‘Another New Year approaches and yet another round of eye-watering train fare hikes looms. We still have the highest fares in Europe.’

Manuel Cortes, leader of the TSSA

recession.’

The union accused train companies of trying to ‘bury bad news’ by hiding big fare rises among the millions that had been announced. It said a return saver with Virgin from Euston to Nuneaton would rise 9.2 per cent from £35.80 to £39.10.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 05 January 2012

NEWS

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UK’s secret plots for Syria British Foreign Secretary William Hague (middle) in a recent meeting with Syrian human rights activists Bassam Ishak and Catherine alTalli in London.

Revelations have surfaced about the presence of British spies in Syria as the UK government draws secret plans for a NATO-backed no-fly zone over the country.

A British security official has revealed that Britain’s Ministry of Defence has been drawing up secret plots to secure a NATOsponsored no-fly zone over Syria as intelligence agents from MI6 and the CIA are examining the situation on the ground in the country, reported the Daily Star.

“MI6 and the CIA are in Syria to infiltrate,” revealed the newspaper.

The revelations come as the

Western media has launched a campaign to criticise the presence of the Arab League observers in Syria calling on them to return so that their governments would be able to draw up plots for military

Iran President Ahmadinejad condemns US banking sanctions.

Tehran has called this an act of war

intervention based on fabricated evidence.

However, independent analysts have seriously questioned the West’s media hype over the usefulness of the Arab League

observers’ presence in Syria, as they assert the West is using the Arab League as an NGO. “[The Arab League] has been one of the most pathetic organizations in the Arab World for a long, long time, doing nothing on Palestine, doing nothing to prevent the war on Iraq. And, now it’s being used as an NGO by the West,” said Tariq Ali, editor of London-based New Left Review.

Furthermore, Ali warned against the Western intervention in Syria saying “we need a negotiated settlement in Syria.”

“We do not want a Western intervention as in Libya which with each passing day the information coming out of Libya shows the disaster,” said Ali in an interview with Russia’s English news channel

Russia Today.

The Daily Star also reported that the Western intervention in Syria “is all going like Libya but this will be bigger and bloodier.”

Furthermore, the British newspaper revealed that the British government’s “highest priority” while drawing up its secret plots would be Israel’s security saying “Syria supports Hezbollah. That threatens Israel.”

Pointing out that Western intervention in Syria has already started, Ali said: “I don’t know why they [foreign nations] seem reluctant to [acknowledging armed opposition extremists operating in Syria] because most the nations which seem reluctant to notice that are the ones who’re supplying the weaponry.”

Police forces confess 944 officers have a criminal record

Iran currency plunges 10% as US strengthens sanctions

Riyal falls to record low after Obama administration blacklists Tehran’s central bank Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has hit back at the US, after Washington introduced new sanctions against Iran’s central bank. The riyal lurched to as low as 16,800 to the dollar, down from 15,200 at the end of last week. It was valued at 10,500 just a year ago.

The slump was blamed on US sanctions which target the Iranian central bank. The White House move to blacklist any company or institution that trades with the Central Bank of Iran aims to make it harder for Iran to sell its oil.

On the last day of 2011, US President Barack Obama Saturday signed into law measures penalizing foreign financial institutions doing business with Iran’s central bank, Bank Markazi - the toughest sanctions imposed yet over Iran’s development of a nuclear weapon.

In recent weeks Tehran has repeatedly warned that it would deem the signing of this measure an act of war and respond with drastic steps including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The bill targeting anyone dealing with Iran’s central bank seeks to force other countries to choose

between buying oil from Iran or being shut out of transactions with US financial institutions and banks.

The new sanctions will begin taking effect in 60 days – the toughest not for at least six months, giving Tehran some space to cooperate with international demands to call off its nuclear weapon program. The president will have some flexibility in applying the measure. The president is hoping the sanctions will inhibit Tehran’s ability to fund its nuclear program, though his administration is wary that the sanctions will lead to an increase in global oil prices, especially for U.S. allies that import oil from Iran.

The U.N. and the European Union have already imposed their own sanctions against Iran’s central bank.

Iranian sources report signs that rather than using this leeway to back down, Tehran appears bent on heading for a collision with the United States and its opponents in the Persian Gulf and Middle East.

The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research in an article warned the US-led West against imposing sanctions on Iranian oil supplies, saying that the move would have dire repercussions for the entire world.

Freedom of information requests reveal police with convictions ranging from burglary to perverting the course of justice More than 900 serving police officers and community support officers have a criminal record, official figures show.

Most are for traffic offences but there are also convictions for burglary, drug supplying, causing death by careless driving, robbery and domestic violence.

Senior officers include two detective chief inspectors and a chief inspector, all from the Metropolitan Police.

The figures were released by 33 of the 43 forces in England and Wales after Freedom of Information requests.

Dangerous dog The statistics, obtained by the Press Association, show that at least 944 serving officers have a conviction, with some forces unable to provide figures for offences committed before joining the police.

Cambridgeshire, City of London, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire, South Wales, West Yorkshire, Warwickshire and

Wiltshire did not provide figures on the grounds of cost.

Cleveland did not reply to the request and Durham only provided partial information.

Britain’s largest force, the Metropolitan Police, has more than 34,000 police and community support officers. It said 356 officers and 41 support officers had convictions.

It was followed by Kent (49 convictions), Devon and Cornwall (44), Essex (42), South Yorkshire (35), Hampshire (31) and West Midlands (27).

The convictions include: • Devon and Cornwall - Pc convicted of burglary as a teenager • Essex - Special constable convicted of stealing car number plates, putting them on another vehicle and obtaining petrol without paying • Hertfordshire - Sergeant convicted of dangerous driving • Kent - Pc convicted of perverting the course of justice in 1998 • Merseyside - Five officers convicted of assault • Norfolk - Pc convicted of causing death by careless driving

• North Wales - Officer convicted of forgery • Staffordshire - Pc convicted of keeping a dangerous dog • Surrey - Detective constable convicted of obstructing police officers obstructing police officers; a Pc convicted of wounding; a Pc convicted of drink driving in 1988 and resisting arrest a decade later, and a Pc convicted of animal suffering in 2006.

Most of the convictions are for traffic offences such as speeding and drink-driving, but the records also include a South Yorkshire Police officer convicted of fishing without a licence.

Home Office guidelines issued in 2003 say police officers should have “proven integrity” because they are vulnerable to pressure from criminals to reveal information.

The guidance says forces should reject potential recruits with convictions for serious offences - including causing actual bodily harm, burglary, dangerous driving and supplying drugs - unless there are “exceptionally compelling circumstances”.

NEWS

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EDITORIAL British society is dripping in racism, but no one is prepared to admit it.

The killing of Stephen Lawrence ended Britain’s denial about racism. Justice at last - but this chapter in our history is not closed. It would be tempting to conclude that now justice has been done, the Lawrence family can remember their son in peace and the country can put the whole sickening business behind it. But justice is not complete. Even now, this case may not be over.

And, quite beyond the strictly judicial elements, there are good reasons why it should not be consigned so readily to history. The shooting of an Indian student on Boxing Day, in a crime Manchester police are treating as perhaps racially motivated, is only the latest sign that racial difference is, for a very few sick souls, a reason to end a life. A further consequence might be the far greater recognition that exists today of the real menace represented not just by racist violence, but by racist attitudes in general.

Thanks to the family’s incredible persistence, the world eventually saw, not only the failure of the police, but also the greater wrong that had been done to the Lawrences and to black people in general.

It was the first time that black people with a grievance had been vindicated in such a way.

Amidst anger and grief over the unprovoked killing of Indian student Anuj Bidve in Salford in the UK, another Asian man has suffered group assault and racial abuse in the city. The Manchester Police said the unidentified Asian, 24, was assaulted and racially abused during an attempted robbery in Salford early on Tuesday. They have chosen not to reveal the victim’s identity. Police Constable Mark Cole said, “The primary motivation for this incident appears to be robbery, but the victim was also subjected to racial abuse by one of his attackers and we are doing all we can to identify them”.

While no one doubts that some people in Britain harbour racist views, this is not an especially racist country. No one likes to admit they are racist or bear prejudices.

Nor do they even like to be open and honest when they witness racist behaviour.

This is a case that – thanks to the Macpherson inquiry – put Britain’s attitude to race in the spotlight. The police failed the Lawrence family for no other reason than that they are black.

Had they treated this terrible crime with the seriousness it deserved Gary Dobson and David Norris would have been locked up years ago. In the end it was the family’s sheer determination which finally brought the killers to justice, matched with remarkable developments in forensic science and – fortuitously– the scrapping of the legal principle of double jeopardy which meant that now individuals could be tried twice for the same crime.

This is not the end. There will now be pressure to re-open the files on Dobson and Norris’s three associates. Doreen Lawrence will still not permit herself the luxury of grief while so many questions remain unanswered.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 05 January 2012

Clashes in China over demolished mosque HUNDREDS of Muslims fought with armed police who demolished a mosque in north China with several people injured in the “riot”, police and a human rights group said.

The violence between local Muslims and roughly 1000 armed police began after police declared

and used knives and batons to beat back ethnic Hui Muslim protesters in Taoshan village, Hexi township, the rights group said, citing villagers.

Hexi township police denied any deaths when contacted.

A policeman surnamed Ma confirmed that the mosque was torn

telephone that on December 30 an official had shouted “(the mosque) is illegal” and ordered the armed police to tear it down.

“Clashes happened and more than 100 people went missing,” Jin Haitao told AFP. He said many villagers’ injuries were caused by police using a high-pressure water

money to build the mosque.

Jin said it was first built in 1987 and refurbished last year.

China’s communist government monitors religious activity closely and must approve the building of all mosques, churches and other places of worship as a way to prevent their becoming centres for

illegal a newly renovated mosque in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and moved to destroy it, the Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, in Hong Kong, said.

The Hui are one of several Muslim minority groups in China.

Two people were killed and 50 injured after police fired tear gas

down. He told AFP a “riot” occurred in Hexi on Saturday afternoon.

“Two police officers and two villagers got injured and several villagers were taken away by the police, but I don’t know how many,” Ma said.

One Taoshan local, who was away when the violence occurred, said his relatives had told him over the

cannon to disperse those trying to stop destruction of the mosque.

“Now I can’t reach anyone there,” Jin said, speaking from north China’s Hebei province near Beijing.

The Hong Kong-based rights group said in a fax that Muslims from Ningxia and the neighbouring province of Gansu had donated

anti-government organising.

China in recent years has seen several outbreaks of ethnic violence involving Muslims, mostly as the mainly Muslim Uighurs of the northwest Xinjiang region bridle under what they regard as government oppression and the unwanted immigration of majority ethnic Han Chinese.

France says mission in Syria Assad to be toppled within weeks: needs to be clarified amid Ehud Barak reports of army withdrawal

The Arab League called Tuesday for an emergency meeting to discuss whether to withdraw the group’s monitors from Syria.

The meeting will take place Saturday in Cairo, where the Arab League is based.

The Arab League’s deputy secretarygeneral, Ahmed Bin Heli, said the meeting on Saturday will look into the first report by the head of the monitoring mission, which began Dec. 27.

There are about 100 Arab League monitors in Syria, dispatched to verify the regime’s compliance with an Arab League plan to stop its crackdown on a 9-monthold uprising. Syria agreed to the plan on Dec. 19.

But activists say hundreds have been slain in the week since the observers started work.

Arab League Secretary General Nabil alAraby said on Monday that Syria’s military had now withdrawn from residential areas and was on the outskirts of the cities, but gunfire continued and snipers were still a threat.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Tuesday the Arab observer mission in Syria needed to be “clarified” and complained that Russia was blocking any U.N. condemnation of the Damascus regime. The Syrian opposition, meanwhile, denied the Arab League reports about withdrawal of troops and military vehicles from the Syrian cities.

“The conditions under which this observer mission is operating should be clarified,” Juppe told French television I-Tele, adding that he was “skeptical” about its progress.

Juppe questioned whether the observers really had free access to information, but said he would await their report, expected in the coming days, adding: “But I do not consider the battle is already lost.”

He also insisted again that the U.N. Security Council “cannot stay silent” on the situation in Syria, and said he regretted that permanent Council member Russia “continues to block” any condemnation of the regime by the U.N.

Defense minister says increased international pressure is unlikely to stop Iran’s nuclear program.

Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime will be toppled within weeks, Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday.

Barak said there is a deepening lack of unity and an increasing amount of defectors from the Syrian Army that will lead to Assad’s downfall. He also explained that it is difficult to predict what will happen after Assad falls from power, but the expected anarchy that will follow may affect the security of the Golan Heights.

According to Barak, Iran is uncomfortable with the upheaval in the Middle East, and is sending aid to Syria and Assad’s family, in an attempt to protect its strategic ties with Damascus.

Iran is also facing increasing pressure from an international community that recognizes Tehran’s efforts to “protest and deceive” the world as it tries to obtain nuclear weapons, Barak said.

Therefore, the defense minister explained, there is a new opportunity to pressure Iran through diplomatic means, and Israel and the US see eye-to eye on this matter more than ever before.

NEWS

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 05 January 2012

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Anuj Bidve killing: Kiaran ‘Psycho’ Stapleton remanded

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man describing himself as “Psycho Stapleton” has appeared in court charged with murdering student Anuj Bidve who was shot dead on Boxing Day. Kiaran Stapleton, 20, of Salford, was remanded in custody by Manchester magistrates over the death of the 23year-old in Ordsall Lane, Salford.

There was no application for bail and the case has now been sent to the Manchester Crown Court.

Asked to confirm his name and address as per normal procedure in court, the suspect said his name was “Psycho. Psycho Stapleton”.

At his home in Pune, two officers from the Greater Manchester Police have visited Anuj’s family.

Assistant Chief Constable Dawn Copley, who has overall command for the case, said, “We need to explain to them in person where we are up to in the investigation and what we are doing to ensure Anuj’s body is released to them as soon as

possible.

Having this conversation face-to-face is absolutely the right thing to do.

We know the family are extremely distressed that Anuj has not yet been returned to them.”

The Bidve family will have to wait a little longer to perform his last rites.”

The defence team has the right to apply for a second post mortem,” Mr Copley explained.

Anuj Bidve murder: Family want body returned to India In an e interview, with Daily Telegraph

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reater Manchester Police has apologised to the family of Anuj Bidve, the Indian student shot dead in Salford on Boxing Day, who learned of their son’s death through the social networking site Facebook.

UK police is carrying out the second post mortem of Indian student Anuj Bidve, who was shot dead in an unprovoked attack in Salford. The second post mortem will pave the way for his body to be taken back to India.

Officers of the Manchester Police, who visited the Bidve family in Pune, said in a statement: “Anuj’s family are very understandably keen to have Anuj returned to them.

Five people have so far been arrested by police in connection with the inquiry. Three teenagers, one aged 16 and two aged 17, have been released on bail.

A 19-year-old man has had his bail “cancelled”, police said.

UK the family of Anuj Bidve, ask why the streets of Britain are no longer welcoming “This was a sadistic attack,” says Mother.

“The guy who shot him laughed at him before he ran off,” says Rakesh father of Anuj, shaking his head in disbelief.

Anuj father further said “But we were a bit hesitant in terms of sending him to the UK and, unfortunately, our concerns proved to be correct. In my opinion, the atmosphere in the UK is one where Indians are probably not welcomed easily.

“Are we accepted there? This is the question coming again and again to our minds, and I think we have got the answer with what has happened to Anuj.” The family found out he was dead later that day, but only through Facebook. Frantically, they tracked down numbers for Manchester police, calling the control four or five times.

“They had no idea what I was talking about,” recalls Rakesh. “All they could tell me was that Manchester was a large place and I needed to give them more details.”

Finally, a policewoman rang back to

confirm Anuj was dead.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: “We made contact with a family representative as soon as we could, in line with our standard procedures for informing next of kin.”

He added the family had been told by 09:00 GMT on Boxing Day. Police are trying to trace the murder weapon - believed to be a small handgun. Mr Bidve was in a group of nine Indian students visiting Greater Manchester during the holidays.

Police said the students, who had not been drinking, were walking from their hotel towards the city centre when the gunman approached them from the other side of the road.

He had a short conversation with Mr Bidve before producing a gun and shooting him at close range to the side of the head.

The gunman then ran back across the street before he and another male fled on foot towards Asgard Drive and the Ordsall housing estate.

MP Keith Vaz wants report on killing

MP Keith Vaz was on wednesday due to meet the parents of an Indian student who was shot dead in Greater Manchester. Speaking yesterday, Mr Vaz said: “The family wrote

to me and asked me for help and support and I agreed to give it to them.

“The police have acted very swiftly but we need a full and frank report that could help us in the future.

“We have a lot of overseas students in this country, especially in Leicester, and we need to be seen to be as supportive as possible and reassure foreign students that Britain is a great place to live and study.”

Mr Vaz was among the hundreds of mourners who attended a candle-lit vigil in honour of the micro-electronics student on Monday night.

Last week, Mr Vaz, the chairman of the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, also said he would seek a full

report into the circumstances surrounding the attack.

Federation of Muslim Organisations spokesman Suleman Nagdi offered his

condolences to the student’s family.

He said: “The senseless shooting of Anuj Bidve, which police believe was a hate crime motivated by race, reflects terribly upon the UK.

Iran raises tension with missile test Tehran says fires long-range missile in Gulf drill

Iran makes first nuclear fuel rod

Iran announced on Sunday that scientists there have produced the country’s first nuclear fuel rod.

That came a day after US President Barack Obama signed into law a defense bill that imposes sanctions on financial institutions dealing with Iran’s central bank.

It also came after Iran had said it has been compelled to manufacture fuel rods on its own since international sanctions have banned Teheran from buying them on foreign markets.

The European Union expects to reach a decision by the end of January on expanding sanctions against Iran, a EU spokesman said on Sunday.

The head of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Mohammad Nahavandian, rejected the move as “unjustifiable”, saying such sanctions would have reciprocal consequences.

“The Iranian nation and those involved in trade and economic activities will find other alternatives,” said Nahavandian.

He said European countries should not miss the investment opportunity in an

domestically made rod has already been inserted into the core of Teheran’s research nuclear reactor.

It is unclear if the rod contained pellets or if it was inserted as part of a test and it was empty.

The West fears Iran’s uranium enrichment program is meant to make atomic weapons - a charge Teheran denies.

Iran Tests Naval Cruise Missile

emerging market like Iran.

Both the European Union and the United States have said they are willing to hold talks with Iran on its controversial nuclear program, provided they are meaningful and without preconditions.

So far talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - plus Germany have been stalled for a year.

Nuclear fuel rods contain pellets of enriched uranium that provide fuel for nuclear power plants.

Iran’s atomic energy agency’s website said the first

Iran announced on Monday that it had successfully test fired a cruise missile during naval exercises near the Strait of Hormuz that have heightened tensions in a diplomatic standoff over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. The state news agency IRNA said the missile test was carried out on Monday, the final day of 10 days of maneuvers near the strait, the vital oil-exporting waterway. IRNA quoted Adm. Mahmoud Mousavi, a spokesman for the exercises, as saying the surface-to-sea missile, known as the Qader, struck its targets with precision and destroyed them.

Iran had previously announced that it intended

to test a missile during the exercises, raising fears that it might try to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for tougher international sanctions.

The Qader missile was unveiled in August. It was said to be capable of striking warships at a range of about 125 miles, a distance that would include some American forces in the Gulf region.

Despite threats from some Iranian officials to disrupt shipping through the narrow passage, Admiral Mousavi was quoted as saying on Sunday: “We won’t disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. We are not after this.”

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NEWS

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 05 January 2012

US arms sale to Saudis sends message to Iran

The US government signs an agreement with Saudi Arabia to sell nearly $30 billion worth of F-15 fighter jets amid escalating tensions between Iran and the US. The United States has signed a $30 billion deal to sell 84 new F-15 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia in a long-expected move that the Obama administration said Dec. 29 would boost Gulf security amid mounting tension with Iran.

The deal was formally sealed by Saudi Arabia on Dec. 24, days before Iran repeated threats to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to mounting U.S. and European economic sanctions over its disputed nuclear program.

Administration officials described the advanced F-15s as designed to bolster overall Saudi defenses in an uncertain region.

It sends “a strong message to countries in the region that the United States is committed to stability in the Gulf and broader Middle East,” Andrew Shapiro, assistant U.S. secretary of state for political-military affairs, told a news briefing. “Clearly one of the threats that they face, as well as other countries in the region, is Iran,” he said. But the sale was “not solely directed” toward Iran, Shapiro said. “This is directed toward meeting our partner Saudi

Arabia’s defense needs,” he said.

Saudi Arabia said it has signed a deal to maximize its defense capabilities in order to protect the oil-rich kingdom. The deal the United States said is worth $30 billion “ensures the kingdom receives the highest possible defense capabilities to protect its people and land,” state news agency SPA quoted a Defense Ministry spokesman as saying.

The sale includes the 84 advanced Boeing F-15SA fighters with cutting-edge Raytheon Co radar equipment and digital electronic warfare systems for which BAE Systems Plc is the key supplier.

Also included are upgrades that will bring Saudi Arabia’s 70 older F-15s up to the new standard, as well as HARM AGM-88 AntiRadiation Missiles, Laser JDAM and Enhanced Paveway munitions and related equipment and services.

Reassurance to Israel The first new F-15s are expected to be delivered to Saudi Arabia in early 2015, an administration release said. A White House spokesman said the deal would

Iran threatens to take action

<< Continued from page 1 threatened a US aircraft carrier, sending oil prices to the highest level in three weeks.

The new Iranian threat followed increased sanctions from Western countries to limit the amount of oil that Iran can export. In particular, the U.S. government tightened restrictions on companies that provide Iran with equipment and expertise necessary to run its oil and chemical industries.

The European Union is considering following the United States in banning importsof Iranian crude oil.

U.S. President Barack Obama signed new sanctions against Iran into law on Saturday, stepping up the pressure by adding sanctions on financial institutions that deal with Iran’s central bank.

Mean while in another report The Israel Defense Forces said 8,000 rockets, missiles could hit Israel if war erupts IDF assesses hundreds Israelis could be killed if war breaks out this year; a war in 2017 would likely include 15,000 rockets, missiles fired into Israeli cities, greater devastation.

Israel is likely to come under fire from 8,000 rockets and missiles if a war breaks out in the coming year, according to updated IDF intelligence. Regarding the capabilities in the hands of it enemies, according to the assessment, it is possible that hundreds Israelis would be killed in such a war.

Based on these assessments and the growing arsenals of Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran, a war in 2017 would likely include the firing of 15,000 rockets and missiles into Israeli cities, causing greater devastation and more casualties. The IDF believes that most of the rockets will be short-range and another 5,500 will have a range over 70 km. According to the IDF, under the NIS 50 billion budget proposed by the government the IDF is still missing close to NIS 7

Strait of Hormuz without incident despite Iranian threats to close the strategic oil route, the U.S. Navy said Dec. 29. The aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis and the guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay “conducted a preplanned, routine transit through the Strait of Hormuz” on Dec. 27, said Fifth Fleet spokeswoman

down the vital strait if the West went ahead with more punitive sanctions over its suspect nuclear program.

Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi warned this week that “not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz” if the West followed through with planned additional sanctions against Iran

Lt. Rebecca Rebarich. The U.S. military reported no friction with Iran’s naval forces after Iranian leaders warned of possibly shutting

over its nuclear program. Navy commander Adm. Habibollah Sayari backed that up by saying it would be “really easy” to close the strait.

give the U.S. economy a $3.5 billion annual boost and bolster exports and 50,000 jobs. U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia often raise concern in Israel, but Shapiro said the Obama administration believed the new advanced warplanes would do nothing to curtail Israel’s comparative military advantage in the region.

U.S. Warships Cross Hormuz Despite Iran Threats

Meanwhile, two American warships have crossed through the

billion needed for training its forces, procuring new capabilities and adequately countering the growing threats in the region. Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh recently appeared before the government and proposed that the IDF receive NIS 5 billion and find within its budget the remaining NIS 2 billion.

European Union governments have reached a preliminary agreement to ban imports of Iranian crude to the EU but have yet to decide when such an embargo would be put in place, EU diplomats said on Wednesday.

The agreement, news of which sent crude oil prices higher, followed talks in the last days of December between EU envoys, diplomats said. Objections to the idea, notably from Greece, were dropped during the talks, they said. “A lot of progress has been made,” one EU diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The principle of an oil embargo is agreed. It is not being debated anymore.”

Iran has alternatives in place to let it cope with a threatened European Union embargo on its oil and increased U.S. pressure, and plans to keep up exports of some 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, a senior Iranian oil official said Meanwhile The White House has dismissed Iran’s threat to take action against a US aircraft carrier in the Gulf as a sign the regime is under pressure from new sanctions.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said the threat was “confirmation that Tehran is under increasing pressure for its continued failure to live up to its international obligations”.

“Iran is isolated and is seeking to divert attention from its behaviour and domestic problems,” he said.

The European Union is expected to impose new sanctions by the end of this month.

US seals $3.48B missiles, technology sale to UAE THE United States has reached a deal to sell $US3.48 billion worth of missiles and related technology to the United Arab Emirates, a close Mideast ally, as part of a massive buildup of defense technology among friendly Mideast nations near Iran.

Pentagon spokesman George Little announced the Christmas Day sale on Friday night.

He noted that the U.S. and U.A.E. have a strong defense relationship and are both interested in “a secure and stable” Persian Gulf region.

The deal includes 96 missiles, along with supporting technology and training support that Little says will bolster the nation’s missile defense capacity.

The deal includes a contract with Lockheed Martin to produce the highly sophisticated Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, weapon system for the U.A.E. Tom McGrath, vice president and program manager for Lockheed Martin’s THAAD program in Dallas, said in a statement it was the first foreign military sale of the THAAD system.

THAAD interceptors are produced

at Lockheed Martin’s Pike County Facility in Troy, Ala. The launchers and fire control units are produced at the company’s Camden, Ark., facility.

Wary of Iran, the U.S. has been building up missile defenses of its allies, including a $1.7 billion deal to upgrade Saudi Arabia’s Patriot missiles and the sale of 209 Patriot missiles to Kuwait, valued at about $900 million.

All the sales are part of a larger U.S. effort to realign its defense policies in the Persian Gulf to keep Iran in check.

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 05 January 2012

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Syria: invasion of terrorist elements sponsored by the west Huge pro-government rallies remain unreported Official U.S. intelligence is the true leader of the “Syrian Free Army” The Muslim Brotherhood party, is calling for military intervention...

Turkey against Syria, has a militia trained by the U.S. The Egyptian newspaper al-Arabi said on Friday that a colonel in the U.S. with the last name Cleveland is overseeing the operations of training and weaponry, and is the real leader of the “Syrian Free Army.” The publication says that Cleveland is moving between the fields of training his organization.

The colonel in charge of creating an army consisting of armed men opposed to the Syrian government, called “Syrian Free Army,” said the U.S. had created training bases in Turkey to the north, in eastern Lebanon, and Arbil in Iraq.

The Muslim Brotherhood party, which is demanding Turkey’s military intervention against Syria, has a militia trained by the U.S. and their intelligence services. They

are providing data and technical equipment to them.

The newspaper added that the intelligence services that are funding and arming mercenaries to fight the army of Syria require that all armed groups call themselves “free army.”

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood admitted to being behind the protests in the province of Daraa in the south and Jisr al-Shughour in the north, and that they intend to form buffer zones

as a prologue to military intervention.

The article states that the page “Syrian revolution” on Facebook is managed by an intelligence network from Brussels, which had formed even before the events in Syria.

Free Syrian Army comments on Arab observer mission Colonel Riyadh al-Asaad, who heads the Free Syrian Army, told Asharq

al Awsat newspaper in an interview carried on Saturday that if the Arab observers’ report on the Syrian situation was “not professional, then we will resume our defense operations.”

The Free Syrian Army chief criticized the Arab League mission leader General Mohammad Ahmad Mustafa al-Dabi for his evaluation of the situation in Syria, particularly in Homs.

Britain bans halal meat at Westminster

Lord Ahmed of Rotherham said: ‘I did feel misled.

I think a halal option should be made available.’

We won’t eat halal meat, say MPs and peers who reject demands to serve it at Westminster.

The British government has turned down demands to serve halal meat at its Westminster Palace for Muslim members of parliament (MPs) and Muslim members of the House of Lords.

The Palace of Westminster told Muslim MPs and peers that it cannot have meat slaughtered in line with Islamic tradition because the method - slitting an animal’s throat without first stunning it - is offensive to many of their non-Muslim colleagues, the Daily Mail reported.

Muslim parliamentarians have so far been assured that they were being served halal meat at the Palace’s 23 restaurants and cafes and the new revelation has infuriated them, according to the report.

“I did feel misled. I think a halal option should be made available”, said Lord Ahmed

of Rotherham.

In 2010, The Mail on Sunday revealed schools, hospitals and restaurants were serving halal meat to unwitting customers across Britain.

“It’s a bit hypocritical that the Houses of Parliament, which have allowed other people to provide halal food, have ruled it out on their own premises”, said Alison Ruoff, a member of the Church of England.

• Some parliamentarians have eaten meat at Westminster having been assured it was halal • The Palace of Westminster has rejected demands to serve halal meat in its restaurants.

• Muslim MPs and peers have been told they cannot have meat slaughtered in line with Islamic tradition because the method – slitting an animal’s throat without first stunning it – is offensive to many of their

non-Muslim colleagues.

• The stance has infuriated some parliamentarians who have eaten meat in the Palace’s 23 restaurants and cafes, having been assured that it was halal.

• Lord Ahmed of Rotherham said: ‘I did feel misled. I think a halal option should be made available.’

• In 2010, the Mail on Sunday revealed schools, hospitals and restaurants were serving halal meat to unwitting customers.

• Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Somerfield and the Co-op all said they stocked meat slaughtered according to Islamic tradition without letting customers know.

• Fast-food chains including Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, KFC, ¬Nando’s and Subway are also using halal meat without ¬telling customers, it was revealed.

Members of the Church of England have complained that the spread of halal meat was ‘effectively spreading Sharia law’ across Britain.

However, a spokesman for the House of Lords and the House of Commons confirmed that it was not served in their restaurants.

Alison Ruoff, a member of the Church of England, said: ‘It’s a bit hypocritical that the Houses of Parliament, which have allowed other people to provide halal food, have ruled it out on their own premises.’

Diab said earlier this week that the visit to Homs had been “good”, and that more observers would join the mission, which now numbers 66 people. Asaad added that the Syrian Free Army has not yet met any of the Arab observers.

He said that the Syrian Free Army is “still present in all Syrian areas, among them Damascus, Edleb, Hama and Deir al-Zour in addition to others.”

Danish company implicated in banned Israel-Iran trade Israeli company allegedly used Danish middleman to sell spyware to Iranian customer Bloomberg alleges that the Iranian buyer of spyware program re-sold by a Danish distributor may be using it to locate and punish Iranian democratic activists, like these Egyptian protesters whose real-time blogging contributed to the success of the Egyptian revolution An Israeli communications company stands accused of illegally trading with Israel’s sworn enemy, Iran, using a Danish distributor as its middleman.

For years, the Israeli company Allott Communications, Ltd. sold NetEnforcer, a “deep packet inspection” software program to Danish IT company, RanTek A/S, in Randers. RanTek then removed the labels and packaging, repackaged it, and resold it to a customer in Iran, all with the foreknowledge of the Israeli company, reports the news agency Bloomberg.

Israeli law prohibits Israeli companies from trading with Iran, which is seen as its enemy. Iranian leaders have previously called for the annihilation of Israel. Human rights organisations claim that the governments of Iran, Bahrain, Syria and Tunisia have used such internet surveillance software – also known as spyware – to track, locate and convict democratic political protestors.

“Stopping this trade is a shared responsibility across government and business,” Meg Roggensack, a senior advisor to Human Rights First, told Bloomberg. “It is extremely urgent. This is playing out in real time with real consequences for real people.”

Such software can also be used to optimize internet traffic and drive customers to a company’s website – which is what Allot Communications’ CEO Rami Hadar said NetEnforcer is intended for.

He told Bloomberg he had no knowledge that RanTek was repackaging and reselling NetEnforcer to an Iranian client. Bloomberg journalist Ben Elgin claims, however, that three former Allot Communications employees confirmed that it was common knowledge among employees at the Israeli company that the spyware was being resold to Iran.

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NEWS

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 05 January 2012

Multi-faceted genius Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary

Multifarious celebrations marking the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore dominated the art and culture calendar in 2011 .

If it was Tagore this year, it will be the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of 19th century In India, luminary Swami Vivekananda and former Congress presidents Motilal Nehru and Madan Mohan Malviya in 2012 as plans are afoot to mark the events in a grand manner.

Yet, while Tagore’s creative achievements reflect the contradictions of the fox, he longed for the certainties of the hedgehog. In his ideals of “World Peace”, “Internationalism”, “The Religion of Man” and his lectures on “Nationalism”, he is a writer assuming the role of World Teacher, in which he truly believes that “an abstract religion of Man will somehow rescue the world from its tragic divisions”. A documentary film that depicts the life and times of Rabindranath Tagore and recital of poems penned by the Nobel Laureate in Hindi and Bengali by the likes of Aparna Sen will be held in Unesco headquarters in Paris on Monday at an event to commemorate his 150th birth anniversary.

Remembering Tagore, the cultural programme hosted by India at the Unesco, will also include violin recitation of Tagore’s poems and Bengali rendition by renowned

artists from neighbouring Bangladesh.

A three-day Rabindra Utsav began in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka marking the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.

Music school Shurer Dhara, run by eminent Rabindrasangeet singer Rezwana Chowdhury Banya, organised the festival.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated

the festival at Bangabandhu International Convention Centre in the afternoon.

On the occasion, Shurer Dhara has released an album series of 2,222 songs, dance drama and opera in 22 DVDs. Eminent economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen unveiled the DVDs titled ‘Shruti Geetabitan’.

The programme was followed by a stirring rendition of one thousand singers of Tagore songs at a single stage.

The rendition titled “Shahashro Kanthey Rabindranath (Rabindranath in the voice of thousand) was directed by Indian music director and composer Dev Jyoti Mishra.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the gala event, the premier said that her government has taken an initiative to establish a Rabindra University for expansion of Rabindra thoughts and ideals.

“It is a great satisfaction for us that now

we can sing the songs of Rabindranath and practise his literary works in a free atmosphere for which the Bengali nation had to struggle for a long time,” the premier said.

Hasina said Kobiguru Rabindranath and Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman dreamt of such a society where Bengalis would live with dignity keeping their heads high.

The government would also preserve the poet’s memories in Patisar and Shahzadpur, she said, adding, “As long as Bangladesh is alive, Bangla language and its culture will remain, and Rabindranath will live in the hearts of all Bangladeshis.”

Unveiling the Shruti Geetabitan, Amartya Sen said, “Nothing can be more creative and outstanding than the work Rezwana has done”.

The collection of songs will uphold the spirit of Tagore’s literary works, especially while practising his songs authentically, he hoped.

Noted poet of India Shanka Ghosh, noted citizens of the country and thousands of Rabindra admirers attended the inaugural function at the open space in front of the convention centre.

Professor Emeritus Dr Anisuzzaman, Rezwana Chowdhury Banya, among others, spoke on the occasion.

South Asia Tribune just wants to take this opportunity to wish a

No more kissing – just hard and fast CPR to the Bee Gees

Untrained bystanders should give the kiss a miss during CPR and concentrate on giving just chest compressions to the beat of Stayin’ Alive.

We have become the first organisation in the UK to actively promote Hands-only Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).

Backed by Resuscitation Council UK, we say anyone who doesn’t have CPR training should now ignore the kiss of life in favour of “hard and fast” compressions in the centre of the chest.

Our poll showed nearly half of people are put off helping because of a lack of knowledge about CPR. A fifth of respondents worried specifically about the thought of the kiss of life or catching an infectious disease.

So a national campaign, including a new TV advert featuring

Hollywood hard man Vinnie Jones, will help show how simple Hands-only CPR can be, encouraging more people to help if somebody is in cardiac arrest. We’re even urging people to hum the Bee Gees classic Stayin’ Alive to get the tempo of chest compressions right. The UK-wide survey also revealed four in ten people feared they’d be sued if they did something wrong, despite the fact there’s never been a successful case of that kind in the UK. Without CPR of some kind there is a very small chance of someone surviving cardiac arrest.

Chest compressions with rescue breaths will continue to be part of gold standard CPR and taught during formal training, including on our Heartstart courses.

Ellen Mason, our Senior Cardiac Nurse, said: “The kiss of life can often be daunting for untrained bystanders who want to help when someone has collapsed with a cardiac arrest. The TV advert, showing throughout January, will reveal a compassionate side to Vinnie Jones as he performs Hands-only CPR to Stayin’ Alive in a deserted warehouse, flanked by two dancing henchmen.

Former Chelsea footballer Jones said: “There really shouldn’t be any messing about when it comes to CPR. If you’re worried about the kiss of life just forget it and push hard and fast in the centre of the chest to Stayin’ Alive.

“Hands-only CPR should give have-a-go heroes the confidence to step in and help when somebody is in cardiac arrest.”

Happy 100th Birthday to you Born 7th January 1912

Dr Mohammed Sharif Air Commodore and Brigadier (Retired) SQA. Dsc (Hons) M. B, B.S. (Bom), FRCS (Eng)

At your age...You’ve seen it all...You’ve heard it all...

You’ve done it all...You just can’t remember it all...

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aarc S

Saarc international I Thursday 05 January 2012

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international

Thursday, 05.01.12

Detained Indian traders released, The silent on way to Shanghai: SM Krishna majority Indian traders released after days of detention in Yiwu

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna on Wednesday tried to downplay the furore over the torture of two Indian businessmen - Deepak Raheja and Shyam Sunder Aggrawal - in China’s Yiwu city.

After meeting the Chinese envoy in New Delhi, Zhang Yan, Krishna said the matter should be looked at objectively and not blown out of proportion. He said the safety of the two Indians has been discussed with the envoy and the duo was being escorted to Shanghai.

The two Indian traders who have been held up in a hotel in southern Chinese trading town of Yiwu and facing threats to their lives were released on Wednesday evening, after more than two weeks of forced detention following a bitter trade dispute with local Chinese businessmen.

Officials from the Indian Consulate in Shanghai escorted the two Indians, Deepak Raheja and Shyamsunder Agrewal, away from the Yiwu hotel amid heavy police security, taking them to Shanghai, which

is 250 km away from this city.

Throughout the day on Wednesday, groups of Chinese businessmen and hired plainclothes thugs stood watch over the entrance to the Korgan Hotel, preventing Indians from entering the hotel.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in Beijing on Wednesday that “local police have taken measures to ensure their security”.

“Public Security officials of Yiwu have adopted criminal enforcement measures against five suspects who were involved in illegal detention, and the relevant case is due for investigation,” spokesperson Hong Lei said at a briefing.

But even on Wednesday morning, thugs broke into the Indian traders’ room and tried to kidnap them.

Mr. Raheja, along with Mr. Agerwal, was taken captive by Chinese businessmen on December 14, 2011 after the owner of the company they worked for, thought to be from Yemen, fled Yiwu, owing Chinese businessmen more than 10 million RMB ($1.58 million). They were denied food and drink and assaulted during their captivity, and taken into police protection following a court hearing on December 31, 2011.

System runs on Constitution, not military courts: CJ Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, hearing the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto reference case on Wednesday, said that the system does not run according to military courts, it runs on the Constitution, Express News reported.

He added that till the judiciary follows the Constitution, the Constitution will remain supreme in the country. He added that the court had also terminated military court’s law in the Liaquat Hussain case in the past.

Sindh’s advocate general complained that the framer of the Constitution, that is former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was hanged and the case requires that

justice be done. He said that the court had expanded its jurisdiction in the Nawaz Sharif case and heard the case even after years; however, the chief justice replied that the case was not related to Article 186 of the Constitution.

Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmani also responded to advocate general’s statement by saying that the law stands the same for everyone.

The chief justice remarked that the case should be assisted on lawful and constitutional grounds, rather than on emotional ones, and whatever decision is taken by the court, it will set a precedent in the future.

It was on 4th January last year, when a 26year-old Mumtaz Qadri killed the very man he was meant to protect. Twenty seven bullets to silence Salman Taseer and to make sure that the debate on misuse of blasphemy laws is shunned for good. It was this day last year that I realised that this might be the end of it all, the end of hope, the end for tolerance, the end of any show of courage, bravery or rational debate on the blasphemy laws or anything for that matter.

Some of us had already witnessed the vengeance before, the ‘either you are with us or against us’ mentality. It was made to look like it was our word against God’s. We had witnessed people jubilant over murder too and witnessed the transition of a murderer to a martyr. The reactions that followed the attack on Ahmadi’s in Lahore were the first signs that humanity had stooped down and been reduced to convoluted assumptions of faith and piety.

4th January marks the day when former governor of Punjab Salman Taseer was gunned by his own bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri.

The former governor was walking back to his car after lunch at a restaurant in Islamabad when Qadri, an elite police force member, shot 27 bullets into him on January 4, 2011.

Mumtaz Qadri said he killed the former governor because he wanted to change the blasphemy law.

Treated by many as a celebrity, Qadri was showered with roses when he made his first appearance in court, so much so that hundreds of lawyers even pledged to defend him.

No cleric could be found to lead Taseer’s funeral out of fear of extremists some of whom

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Saarc international I Thursday 05 January 2012

India, Pakistan exchange nuclear facilities lists

India and Pakistan on Sunday exchanged a list of their nuclear installations under a two-decade-old pact, a statement said.

Exchange of nuclear lists is customary since 1992. But, for the last two decades both the countries were under a pact prohibiting attack on each other’s nuclear assets. The exchange of lists comes a week after the two sides held a two-day expert-level meeting on conventional and nuclear Confidence Building Measures (CBMs).

The “Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations between India and Pakistan,” was signed on December 31, 1988. Under the 1988 agreement, the nuclear-armed neighbours are required to submit the lists of all their respective nuclear installations and facilities — civilian and military — on January 1 every year and it came into force on January 27, 1991. This is the 21st consecutive exchange of such lists, the first one having taken place on January 1, 1992.

In accordance with the aforesaid agreement, a list of requisite facilities in Pakistan was given to the Indian High Commission official at the Foreign Office today at 11.30 PST. The Indian side also handed over its list to the Pakistan High Commission Official at the

Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi at 1200 hours IST. The list, exchanged through diplomatic channels simultaneously in New Delhi and Islamabad, shows the installations

Gilani announces complete support for Seraiki province

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, when addressing the National Assembly on Tuesday, said that he is in complete support of the formation of the Seraiki province.

Gilani refuted popular claims that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was restricted to Sindhis and family members only. He said that he was a Seraiki himself and the elected prime minister by the PPP, which is the biggest example of the respect the party gives to Seraikis.

Gilani

further added that now was the perfect time to give identity to the Seraikis as they are demanding. Nothing could be more

ironic than a Seraiki prime minister ignoring the demand of the Seraikis for their own province, he said.

The Prime Minister further added that if provincial autonomy had been given to the provinces earlier, Pakistan wouldn’t have lost East Pakistan in 1971.

Gilani also said that the people of Pakistan should not worry about Pakistan becoming weak. Giving provincial identity to Seraikis will not weaken Pakistan, in fact it will strengthen it, and the PPP had no hidden motive behind the approval of this appeal, he said.

Yousaf Raza Gilani also indirectly referenced Nawaz Sharif’s statement from yesterday’s gathering in Karachi, where the PML-N chief said that seeking the army’s assistance under a democratic supervision was completely justified if its purpose was to protect the citizens and bring peace in the city. Gilani responded by saying that this practice counts as mixing democracy with dictatorship, which was unacceptable in a democratic setup.

and facilities covered under the pact, the External Affairs Ministry said here.

India and Pakistan also exchanged lists of prisoners in jails in both countries, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said in Islamabad.

The prisoners’ lists are exchanged twice a year.

With Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal a matter of growing global concern, India had, at the expert-level meeting held in Islamabad Dec 26 and 27 last year, pressed Pakistan to enunciate its nuclear doctrine and asked it to join global efforts for concluding the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT).

New Delhi had also politely spurned Pakistan’s proposal for bilateral cooperation on nuclear safety and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, saying it will have to wait till there is adequate trust and confidence between the two countries.

The Indian side was led at the talks on conventional and nuclear CBMs by MEA Joint Secretary (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran) YK Sinha and Joint Secretary (Disarmament) DB Venkatesh Varma respectively. The Pakistani delegation was headed by Munawar Saeed Bhatti, additional secretary in Pakistan’s Foreign Office.

Developed world failing on climate funds pledge, says Bangladeshi minister Dipu Moni criticises ‘dismal’ efforts to deliver billions of pounds in aid to help poorer countries cope with environmental change Efforts by developed countries to redistribute promised funds to help poorer parts of the world avoid environmental disasters have been described as “dismal” by the foreign minister of Bangladesh.

Dipu Moni said wealthier nations must begin immediately delivering billions of pounds’ worth of aid they have earmarked for climate change projects. “Our achievements – social, economic, environmental – of the past decades will be reversed if [rich countries] take away the funds promised for adapting to climate change,” she said in an interview. “The disbursement of the financing has been dismal so far. We are not seeing the funds.”

A total of $30bn has been promised by the end of this year but, after three years of delays in channelling promised money, only about $2.4bn has been made available.

Dr Moni said the world’s most vulnerable countries were being “marginalised”, even while the danger of disasters related to global warming was increasing rapidly. Bangladesh is among countries most at risk from climate change, as its low-lying lands and agriculture-dependent people are already frequently prey to devastating floods and storm surges.

She said it was essential for developed countries to make good on their funding promises if their commitments made at recent UN climate change talks in Durban were to be believed: “This is the litmus test for the big emitters, the developed

countries, the test of whether they mean it.”

First, however, said Dr Moni, rich countries must make good on their well-publicised commitments to provide financing to vulnerable nations. Unless the remainder of the promised $30bn is rapidly made available, poor countries could be severely disadvantaged and made more vulnerable to the impact of potential disasters such as storms and floods, Dr Moni said. Dr Moni emphasised that poor countries were already taking many steps to protect themselves, and investing in research and development that would help them cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to global warming. For instance, she pointed to Bangladesh’s efforts to develop crops resistant to salinity, which could be vital in protecting agriculture from the increasing threat of rising sea levels.

But these efforts would be greatly boosted if the funds promised were released, she said. “We have to make these investments now,” she said.

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF AFGHANISTAN NEWS

Al-Qaida, Taliban seek Pakistani militants’ help

P

rominent al-Qaida and Afghan Taliban fighters asked Pakistani militants in a pair of rare meetings to set aside their differences and step up support for the battle against U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, militant commanders said Monday.

The meetings were held in Pakistan’s tribal region in November and December at the request of the Afghan Taliban’s leadership council. They could indicate the militants are struggling in Afghanistan, or conversely, that they want to make sure they hit U.S. forces hard as the Americans accelerate their withdrawal this year.

That could give the Taliban additional leverage in any peace negotiations.

“For God’s sake, forget all your differences and give us fighters to boost the battle against America in Afghanistan,” senior al-Qaida commander Abu Yahya alLibi told Pakistani fighters at a meeting on Dec. 11, according to a militant who attended.

Pakistani militants have long been split over where they should focus their fighting. The Pakistani Taliban have concentrated on toppling their own government, although they have sent some fighters to Afghanistan. Other Pakistani groups based in the tribal region have almost exclusively directed their attacks against foreign forces in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani Taliban, an

umbrella organization set up in 2007 to represent roughly 40 insurgent groups, has also been split by infighting over turf and leadership positions after commanders were killed by the Pakistani military and U.S. drone strikes.

The group has fractured into more than 100 smaller factions, a process that some analysts have suggested would take a toll on militants fighting in Afghanistan by making it increasingly difficult for them to find recruits, as well as restricting territory in Pakistan available to them.

Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud attended the two meetings on Nov. 27 in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, and Dec. 11 in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan, Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told The Associated Press.

NATO to pull $30B in gear from Afghanistan As the pace of the drawdown of U.S. troops from Afghanistan picks up in 2012, military planners are trying to figure out how to ship huge quantities of alliance vehicles, weapons and other equipment out of the mountainous, landlocked country. The operation requires the removal of $30 billion worth of state-of-the-art military gear by the end of 2014, when U.S. and other coalition troops are to end their combat role, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday.

Most of the American equipment will be shipped to military depots in the United States for refurbishment and then redistributed to bases around

the country. Some assets will go to bases in Europe, primarily Germany, or in Asian nations like South Korea.

“The stuff we have here is the very best the U.S. has ever produced,” the official said. “It’s better than anything available (to military units) in the United States.”

He spoke on condition of anonymity because the planning for the equipment pullout is still in its initial stages.

Aside from the armored vehicles and trucks, other gear that will be shipped out includes large quantities of armor, communications and optical equipment, as well as large crewserved artillery systems.

Other prominent Pakistani militant leaders who attended included Mehsud’s deputy, Waliur Rehman, and two commanders who have focused on fighting in Afghanistan, Maulvi Nazir and Gul Bahadur, Ehsan said. Also there was Sirajuddin Haqqani, an Afghan militant based in North

Waziristan who leads one of the most feared groups fighting in Afghanistan.

The Afghan Taliban fighters at the meetings included Zabiullah Mujahid, a well-known spokesman, and Maulvi Sangin, who claims to have custody of U.S. Army Pvt. Bowe R. Bergdahl, captured in Afghanistan in 2009.

The four Pakistani commanders and Haqqani agreed to form a council to resolve differences, said two Pakistani Taliban commanders who attended the meetings. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

A pamphlet handed out in North Waziristan over the past two days announced the formation of the five-member committee, saying it was established in consultation with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the name given to the country by the Taliban. It

called on Pakistani militants to coordinate with each other and “avoid unwarranted killings and kidnappings for ransom.”

“If any holy warrior is found involved in an unjustified murder or crime, he will be answerable to the committee and could face Islamic punishment,” said the pamphlet, a copy of which was obtained by the AP. Al-Libi, the al-Qaida commander, asked the Pakistani militants to provide additional fighters to the Afghan Taliban in March, when the snow melts from the passes connecting Pakistan and Afghanistan and the spring fighting season begins.

Ehsan, the Pakistani Taliban spokesman, said the militants agreed, but that did not mean the group would end its fight against the Pakistani government.

“We will continue our jihad against Pakistani security forces,” Ehsan pledged.

Afghan girl, 15, ‘locked in toilet’ by husband’s family for months, say officials A 15-year-old Afghan girl brutally tortured and locked in a toilet for months by her husband’s family has been visited by a health minister after being freed last week.

Afghan girl’s ‘horrifying abuse’ exposed by video

A video given to the BBC shows the extent of the injuries suffered by a 15 year-old Afghan child bride who was locked up and tortured by her husband.

The girl was left starving after being detained by him and his family for several months.

The case came to light this week when police rescued the teenager, Sahar Gul, who had been locked up in the basement of her in-laws’ house.

Police say that she had had her nails and clumps of hair pulled out.

In addition they say she had chunks of flesh cut out with pliers.

Windowless room Sahar Gul was married off to a 30year-old man around seven months ago, when she was just 14 years old.

Her parents contacted police after not being able to see her for several months.

She was rescued from a dark,

windowless room in her in-laws’ house, according to Baghlan police official Jawid Basharat.

In the video, as Sahar is taken to hospital in a wheelchair, she is asked who beat her. She names her fatherin-law, her husband, her sister-inlaw, her brother-in-law and her mother-in-law. The 15-year-old says her hair and her nails were pulled out by her mother-in-law.

The authorities in the northern Baghlan province said they were aware of reports that the girl was tortured after she refused to be forced into prostitution, but could not confirm that was the case.

Rahima Zarifi, director of the Women’s Affairs Department in Baghlan, said Sahar had been severely tortured, both physically and mentally, and that the psychological scars were likely to endure.

The police have managed to arrest Sahar’s in-laws, but her husband had already fled.

Women in many parts of Afghanistan continue to suffer domestic abuse, often at the hands of their own family or in-laws.

Human rights activists worry that the plight of many women here, especially in rural areas, is being sidelined as the international community focuses on its military drawdown, and puts less emphasis and less pressure on the Afghan authorities over human rights.

In the second quarter of this year alone, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission registered 1,026 cases of violence against women, compared with a total last year of 2,700.

Those are only the cases that come to light.

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF BANGLADESH NEWS

Bangladesh signs $300 million 51 people disappeared last year loan deal with Asian Development Bank to improve power supply Bangladesh has signed a $300 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank to help the energy-starved nation improve power supplies to its factories.

The loan will be used mainly to install new generators in Bangladesh’s aging power plants, while new facilities will be built for renewable energy. The agreement was signed Wednesday in the capital, Dhaka.

Only 49 percent of Bangladesh’s 150 million people

have access to electricity. The nation’s efforts to improve economic growth and cut the poverty rate are significantly hampered by the lack of electricity.

The Asian Development Bank said aging thermal plants, inadequate natural gas supplies and a lack of diverse power sources have left Bangladesh with a large gap between electricity supply and demand.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Remittance inflow in Dec hits record UNB, Dhaka: The remittance inflow set a record in last December with the country receiving over $1.1 billion despite the global economic crisis, according to Bangladesh Bank data.

“This is the highest remittance Bangladesh received in a month in its history,” AFM Asaduzzaman, General Manger at the Bangladesh Bank’s Governor Secretariat, told UNB on Monday.

He said the previous highest record was $1102.98 million in March, 2011.

The remittance earned in December 2011 was US$ 1144.38m, which is 25.92 percent higher than November of the same year and 18.09 percent higher than December 2009, the BB official said.

The total remittance during the first half of the current fiscal stood at $6 billion ($6065.56m) while the total amount of remittance in the year 2011 was $12 billion or $12,165.25 million, according to the central bank data.

The amount earned through remittance in the year 2011 ($12,165.25 million) was 10.55 percent higher than that of the year 2010 ($11004.73 million).

The remittance inflow crossed $11 billion ($11650.31m) mark in fiscal 2010-2011.

The country received remittance worth $1015.58 million in July, $1101.79mn in August, $855.44mn in September, $1039.48mn in October, $908.79mn in November and $1144.38mn in December this year.

The data show that the lowest remittance inflow was recorded in September with only $855.44mn.

According to a central bank report titled the ‘Achievement in the banking sector in the last three years of the present government’, the remittance received in the last three years was about $31.8 billion against $9.6 billion that came

Be alert to secret killings: PM Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged people Saturday to remain alert to what she said BNP’s plot to foil war criminals’ trial, alleging that the party has resorted to killings and kidnapping to fulfil its political mission.

She said no force in the country would be able to halt the war criminals’ trial and all incidents of secret killing and disappearance would be investigated and the culprits brought to book.

Addressing a mammoth public meeting at Sheikh Kamal Stadium in Gopalganj in the afternoon, the prime minister said, “It’s Ziaur Rahman who is the pioneer of politics of killing in Bangladesh.”

“Zia is the first man who betrayed with the freedom fighters and killed scores of freedom fighters in Bangladesh including Col Taher and Maj Haider,” she said.

“Zia is the first and prime patron of anti-liberation forces who freed around

11,000 rajakars and al-badrs from the jail and his wife rehabilitated the antiliberation elements in politics,” she said.

Hasina said Awami League is devoted to people’s welfare, and whenever the party has got opportunity, it has tried its best to carry out its duties for welfare of the common people.

AL presidium member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, MP and Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, MP, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Faruk Khan, PM’s advisor Dr Syed Modasser Ali were among others who addressed the meeting organised by Gopalganj district unit of AL.

during 2002-2004, posting a 332 percent growth.

The foreign currency reserve stood at $10.91 billion in fiscal 2010-11 while it was $2.71 billion during fiscal 2003-04.

Economists said the money sent by the expatriates played a major role in alleviating poverty.

Inward remittance rebounded in October on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha, as it increased by 23 percent from a month ago, according to data provided by the central bank. Remittance inflow dropped significantly in September compared to that of August last year.

In the first four months of the current fiscal year, remittance inflow marked a rise by 11.72 percent to $4 billion over the same period of the previous fiscal year, according to the central bank data.

The number of mysterious disappearances and secret killings saw an alarming rise in 2011 compared to the previous years, shows a report of rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK).

Fifty-one people vanished last year, with 15 bodies being recovered later, according to the report published yesterday.

Allegations are that members of law enforcement agencies, particularly those of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), were involved in those incidents, ASK Executive Director Sultana Kamal said sharing the findings of the report at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity.

“People simply disappeared and, in some cases, their decomposed bodies with their hands and legs tied were found floating in the river or in some water bodies or beside the roads later,” she said, expressing concern.

According to Odhikar, another rights group, 18 people disappeared in 2010, 14 of them being allegedly picked up

by Rab, two by police and two by the detectives.

Though relatives of such victims often blamed law enforcement agencies, the agencies neither proved their innocence nor arrested anyone in connection with those disappearances and the subsequent killings, added Sultana, also a former caretaker government adviser.

“Instead of ensuring people’s security, the police and the Rab remain under the control of some influential quarters,”

she noted, without specifying who those influential quarters were.

And even as the number of such incidents continues to mount, the government is taking no effective measures to stop those. Instead, she added, top government officials and law enforcers were issuing contradictory statements.

The ruling Awami League in its 2008 electoral manifesto pledged to stop extrajudicial killings and try those involved in such killings, said ASK Director (investigation and information) Nur Khan.

But during the tenure of the current government, he added, there have been allegations of extrajudicial killing against Rab. Between January and December last year, 92 people were killed in “crossfire” with law enforcers, mostly Rab members, while 116 died in the custody of various law enforcement agencies, said the ASK report titled “Bangladesh Human Rights Situation Review-2011”.

During the same period, 134 people were killed in mob beating while 206 journalists were repressed in the hands of the law enforcers and the ruling party men. These incidents demonstrate gross violation of law and worsening law and order, the report says.

Thirty-three women committed suicide failing to stand sexual harassment by stalkers and 23 others were killed by the perpetrators for protesting such harassment, while 1,346 women fell victim to rape and acid attacks.

86 BNP men granted bail in assault case Eighty-six leaders and activists of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Lalmonirhat district units have been granted bail in a case for assault on Awami League (AL) men in the town on November 13.

Senior Judicial Magistrate Raju Ahmed granted them bail until January 31, 2012. The BNP men appeared before the court yesterday on expiry of their bail earlier granted by the High Court in the case.

Zohurul Haque Mamun, publicity secretary of Lalmonirhat district AL, filed the case against 86 BNP men, including district unit President Asadul Habib Dulu, with Lalmonirhat Sadar Police station on 13 November this year on charge of assaulting some AL men in Haribhanga area of the town.

The accused BNP men appeared before the High Court that granted them bail until December 29.

As per order of the High Court, they surrendered to the Senior Judicial Magistrate’s Court yesterday and sought bail, court sources said.

Asadul Habib Dulu said, local AL unit filed the case only to harass them. BNP men were not involved in

assaulting the AL men at Haribhanga in the town. The AL men were assaulted by their rivals in the party, he added.

He alleged that AL men set Mohendronagar union BNP office afire and vandalised shops and houses of BNP men at a bazaar in the union on the day.

Following the court order, BNP activists and supporters brought out a procession on LalmonirhatBurimari highway.

Saarc international I Thursday 05 January 2012

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF BHUTAN NEWS

Almost a case of involuntary manslaughter: minister The recent incident in Orong higher secondary school, where two students died of complications arising from chronic nutritional deficiencies.

“For students’ safety, and to avoid such embarrassing situations, it’s vital for the ministry, dzongkhag education officials, principals, teachers and parents to work together and ensure to provide better feeding and nutritional foods to every student,” the education minister said.

He urged the of school feeding program division, the agriculture club of schools, the dzongkhag administration and the public health to work cooperatively and find out the availability of food (vegetable) items in the district, based on the nutrition value, and circulate them with immediate effect to schools.

Some principals told Kuensel that to coordinate and take care of fresh

feeding items for a huge number of boarding students in the midst of heavy teaching schedule is no easy task. “Managing informal boarders was a huge burden, as parents leave everything up to the school management and never show up for months on end,” another

Women in LG, a mere drop in ocean

principal said.

Presenting the school feeding and nutrition report, the chief program officer, Chador Wangdi, said that, because of the limited availability of food commodities in remote schools, feeding often lacks essential macronutrients and other

nutritional requirements, whereby resulting in monotonous diet.

“Lack of adequate storage is a major concern, especially for perishable items, such as vegetables, meat and eggs, which could further result in health hazards,” he said.

In some case, schools outsource the catering of food commodities, whereby the contractors, for their convenience, supply a month’s stock at one go. In such cases, he said, the food items either get rotten, or become likely to cause food poisoning. “Therefore, if catering is outsourced, contractors should be closely monitored by school authorities,” Chador Wangdi said.

He also said that, despite providing agricultural training to 20 teachers annually, none of the female staff initiate programmes or participate as mess in-charge, except for one female teacher in Sarpang.

“Lack of female staff participants,

sanitation and hygiene in kitchen and surrounding areas were some of causes of health problems, education officials said, adding that school feeding should be set as an integral part of education sector policy.

Meanwhile education officials reminded the teachers that “boarding isn’t a choice but a necessity, therefore, the hostel seats should be fixed, based on the number of students who could comfortably fit, and the admission should be given to students, whose parents reside outside an hour’s walking distance from school.

Principals and teachers requested the ministry to revise the monthly stipend rate to Nu 1,000 from Nu 700 a student. They also asked for a separate transportation charge and an additional Nu 300 a student a month to buy vegetables, meat and eggs.

Dr. Avtar Lit

Asif Ghazali

CEO Litt Corporation Ltd

Kismat Radio

• Tune in on 1035 AM in Greater London Only 101 local government officials are women although Bhutan has more women than men After two rounds of elections, 1,407 people have been elected into various local government (LG) posts. But 67 posts still remain vacant. All the 205 gewogs now have a gup and a mangmi each.

Out of 2,185 candidates who contested the first round of LG elections on June 27 this year, 1,104 were elected, but 371 posts across 17 dzongkhags remained vacant.

On December 26, out of 422 candidates who contested the second round of elections, 303 got elected and 17 candidates could not make it. Fifty demkhongs could not field a single tshogpa candidate even in the second round.

The chief election commissioner, Dasho Kunzang Wangdi, said a decision for the vacant posts will be made after consulting the people in those demkhongs. “If there are no capable people, it would be useless to do re-elections,” he said.

Dasho Kunzang said the vacant posts are

not a big concern because all the gewogs have a gup and a mangmi each who will take up the responsibility of the missing tshogpas.

A re-election will be called for the tshogpa election in Shokang-Tagtagpa demkhong of Yangnyer Gewog in Trashigang because the result was a tie. In case of Dangkhar-Trong demkhong of Trong Gewog in Zhemgang, where there were equal number of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ votes, the candidate will be deemed not elected because he did not win a simple majority of ‘yes’ votes.

The election petition period started on December 27 and will end on January 5.

Voter turn-out This time, the voter turnout was as low as 27 percent with only 25,777 out of 96,716 registered voters casting their votes. 25,716 people cast their votes at the polling stations, while 61 voted through postal ballots.

Some 144 eligible voters applied for postal ballots, out of which 100 were eligible.

• DAB Digital Radio in West Yorkshire • Nationally on Sky 0173 • Listen live at www.kismatradio.com Launched in February 2005, Kismat Radio is the UK’s only 24 hour Asian talk radio station. We provide the UK’s Asian community with a platform for discussion and debate on all sorts of issues.

We bring educational and informative programming specifically tailored to the needs of the Asian community, as well as playing the best range of music for the discerning listener.

Our listeners know and trust the Kismat name and brand, which gives us a loyal, involved, and growing audience.

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Saarc international I Thursday 05 January 2012

Major surprises’ expected in talks with militants, ISI tells senators Some “major surprises” are expected in Islamabad’s peace talks with the Taliban, the agency said during the briefing at the ISI headquarters in Islamabad on Thursday, according to sources.

In an unusual three-hour meeting behind closed doors, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Shuja Pasha and his deputies briefed a Senate panel on the country’s war against terror policy, which they claimed is going through a “holistic review” to correspond with changes in the United States’ plans in Afghanistan.

Around five members of the Senate’s standing committee on defence, headed by former ISI chief Lt General (Retd) Javed Ashraf Qazi, were briefed on the ISI’s role, particularly in terms of the war against terrorism.

Declining from attending the briefing, Senator Raza Rabbani of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Professor Khurshid Ahmed of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) were of the view that the agency should have come to the parliament for this meeting.

Senate Deputy Chairman Jan Jamali and Senator Tariq Azim were out of the country, whereas Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani was unable to turn up due to his health condition, a participant of the briefing said.

Members who did attend the meeting shared very little

information of the in-camera session that went on from 10 am to 1 pm.

“After the ISI officials briefed the participants about the functions of their agency, members posed various questions before the agency officials to clarify the myths and

reality associated with the ISI,” a participant said.

Some of the participants were curious about the agency’s modus operandi in terms of the country’s

political affairs; however, sources said, the spy chief opted to skip such questions.

The ISI official denied that the agency plays any role in the country’s political affairs, a participant said, while another claimed that Pasha admitted to

the agency’s involvement but said that the ISI simply does what is asked of it by the government, be it civilian or military.

“They [ISI officials] said ‘we have

been doing what the government of the time asks us to do … these days there are no such directions from this civilian government’,” a senator said.

During the briefing the ISI chief and his deputies confirmed that talks with the Taliban, mainly

homegrown militants, were at an advanced stage and some major breakthrough was expected over the next few months.

The ISI officials were confident

that there would be some “big surprises” on this front, the senator said, adding that according to the ISI officials, the overall dimension of the Afghan situation is rapidly changing. “We continue to review our policy with a holistic approach to correspond with changes in the policy of the major players,” another senator quoted the spy agency’s officials as saying.

To a question regarding the Osama bin Laden debacle, the senator said the ISI feels the episode was not solely the agency’s failure but was also a failure on the CIA’s part and that of top spy agencies of other allied countries.

There was no discussion, however, on the Memogate affair, the participants claimed.

One participant from a military background said he was not only satisfied with the briefing, but also

paid accolades to the ISI. “The ISI is the best spy agency in the world. It has been succeeding in its mission. Bashing of the ISI and the army by the people of Pakistan is unfortunate … they do not know the real functions of this agency,” he said.

Professor Khurshid Ahmed who boycotted the briefing said he and a few other colleagues of his believed that every institution, including the armed forces, should come before the parliament to give such briefings – unless there is something that they cannot divulge before the house.

Supreme Court sets deadline for NRO verdict implementation T

he Supreme Court said on Tuesday that it will take action against all relevant institutions if the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) verdict passed last year is not implemented by January 10, report.

The five-member bench, headed

by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, expressed disappointment over the non-implementation of the court’s judgement during the hearing of the case today.

Attorney General Maulvi

Anwarul Haq and prosecutor general National Accountability Bureau (NAB) also attended the hearing; however, the law secretary was absent. The court said that the law secretary should

be present in the next hearing to brief the court about the case.

The court also ordered Secretary Interior Raja Ahsan to appear before the court for concealing Ahmed Riaz Sheikh’s conviction in

corruption cases to promote him.

The hearing has been adjourned till January 10.

On November 24, a 17-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad

Chaudhry, had dismissed a review petition of the federation against the NRO and had directed it to comply with its decision without any delay.

The NRO implementation case has mainly revolved around writing a letter to the Swiss authorities for re-opening graft cases against President Zardari.

The chief justice also emphasised upon retrieving $60 million from the Swiss banks, which was seized after the case began in Switzerland.

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF INDIA NEWS

Manmohan for hike in spending on scientific research Noting that India’s position in the field of science has been overtaken by China, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought an increase in spending on scientific research to at least two per cent of GDP and enhanced contribution from industry.

“As far as resources are concerned, the fraction of the GDP spent on R&D in India has been too low and stagnant,” he said inaugurating the 99th Indian Science Congress at the sprawling KIIT campus in Bhubaneshwar.

“Over the past few decades, India’s position in the world of science had been declining and we have been overtaken by countries like China. Things are changing but we cannot be satisfied with what has been achieved. We need to do much more to change the fate of

Indian science,” Dr. Singh said.

He said the aim should be to increase the total R&D spending as a percentage of the GDP to two per cent by the end of the 12th Plan period from the current level of about 0.9 per cent.

“This can only be achieved if industry, which contributes about one third of the total R&D expenditure today, increases its contribution. I believe public sector undertakings especially in the engineering sector should play a major role in this expansion,” he said.

In a bid to push research in niche areas, the Prime Minister said the government was examining a proposal to build national capacity and capability in supercomputing which will be implemented by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore at an estimated cost

of Rs 5,000 crore.

He said there is another proposal for setting up a Neutrino Observatory at Theni in Tamil Nadu at a cost of Rs

No fast, andolan for a month: doctor tells Anna

After abruptly ending three-day fast in Mumbai within two days owing to failing health, anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare might not even be able to undertake his tour of five election-bound States within the next one month, as doctor has advised him.

K.H, Sancheti, who is attending on Mr. Hazare, said that given his age, Mr. Hazare should take at least a month’s rest.

Pakistan allows vegetables import from India by truck The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) allows import of 16 types of vegetables by trucks through land route from India by making amendments in the Import Policy Order 2009. The MoC also amended the Export Policy Order 2009 to allow organic brown sugar’s export.

The MoC also made amendments in the Export Policy Order 2009 through which organic brown sugar is eligible for export.

The MoC notified about the amendments in Strategic Trade Policy Framework 2009-12 by making amendments in the Import Policy Order 2009 and Export Policy Order 2009. Earlier, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet had accorded approval to these amendments and later the federal cabinet had also enforced these amendments.

“He is strictly being advised not to undertake any kind of travel for the next one month. No andolans and no physical or mental stress,” he told The Hindu on Sunday evening.

“He should allow himself to recoup; he should recognise the aging process and accept it, giving due respect to nature.”

Dr. Sancheti had said on Saturday that Mr. Hazare was advised not to go on fast anymore as his “age and resistance levels do not permit it.”

Mr. Hazare was scheduled to tour the poll-bound States of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa after the future course of action was decided at Team Anna’s Core Committee meeting planned for January 2 and 3 at Ralegan Siddhi. The meeting has also been cancelled. His health and inability to undertake what he has called the “fight against the Congress” will be a cause of concern for Team Anna.

Mr. Hazare was admitted to Sancheti Hospital here late on Saturday evening on Dr. Sancheti’s suggestion. After being under observation all the day, he had shown “improvement,” Dr. Sancheti said. Though he ruled out pneumonia which was a cause for concern, Dr. Sancheti said he suffered from bronchitis.

1350 crore to study the fundamental particles that form the universe.

Noting that publicly funded R&D was skewed in favour of fundamental research rather than applied research, Dr. Singh said .

“It is easier to attract industrial funds into applied research areas and a set of principles should be formulated to push such funding and to drive publicprivate-partnerships in R&D.” “While research generates new knowledge, we need innovation to use this knowledge productively for social benefit.We need to give practical

meaning to innovation so that it does not end up being just a buzz word,” he said.

Congratulating the Science Congress for highlighting the role of women in science, the Prime Minister lauded the women scientists for making a mark in traditionally male bastions and decisively breaking the glass ceiling.

He noted that the country’s Agni Missile programme has a women scientist -- Tessy Thomas at the helm and for the first time last year three women scientists received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize as compared to total 11 women awardees for all the years since 1958 upto last year.

However, the Prime Minister noted that nearly 60 per cent of the 2000 Indian women PhDs in science were unemployed and the main reason cited by them was lack of job opportunities.

A very small section cited family reasons for unemployment, he said.

The Prime Minister also gave away awards to scientists for their achievements and tribals of Koraput region for the global recognition they received for conservation of bio-diversity and developing climate resilient farming systems.

21 female terrorists readying to sneak into India The Lashkar-e-Toiba is raising a group of 21 female terrorists at its training camps in Pakistan- Kashmir for carrying out sabotage activities in India, Army sources said on Tuesday. “We have confirmed reports that LeT is imparting training to 21 selected female terrorists at its training facilities in Muzaffarabad in PaK for carrying out terrorist activities in India,” an Army official said here.

They said the new group, named as Dukhtareen-e-Toiba, is planned to be made active in the Kashmir Valley by the LeT. In the recent past also, reports have suggested presence of female terrorists operatives in the 42 active terror training camps in PaK. The women terrorists are planned to be infiltrated into India through routes in Uri sector or using the aerial route through some other country.

Lokpal will be brought in budget session: Govt Putting up a brave front after it failed to muster the numbers in the Rajya Sabha, the United Progressive Alliance government on Friday said the Lokpal Bill will “definitely” be brought before the Rajya Sabha during the budget session.

Even as Congress leader Digvijay Singh defended the move saying extension of the House on Thursday night was not possible.

“Definitely we will bring it in March in the Budget session...we have to study the 187 amendments brought by Opposition parties as most are overlapping. Some amendments relate to only a part of a clause and not the entire clause, some demand removing the entire part of the Bill,” Minister of State for Personnel V Narayanasamy said here.

He said after going through the amendments, the government will take a call on what to accept and what to reject

and get back to the Opposition parties.

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh tweeted this morning saying “187 Amendments given till 6 pm on the day of debate and those too contradictory to each other. Extension of the House was not within powers of RS (Rajya Sabha).”

He also said, now that government

has time, it must “try and bring about consensus and pass a strong implementable Lokpal Bill.”

Referring to the amendments moved by key UPA partner Trinamool Congress on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Narayanasamy said its reservations are regarding the appointment of

Lokayuktas in the states and “they have no grievances against Lokpal.”

But at the same time the minister said Trinamool was part of the Cabinet decision to clear the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill introduced in Lok Sabha a few days ago.

The Congress said it was the government’s prerogative on how to take forward the Bill, which had been passed by the Lok Sabha.

Sinha calls Manmohan mauni baba The BJP’s Yashwant Sinha targeted Prime Minister Manmohan Sinha calling him “mauni baba” for remaining silent and failing to respond to his party colleague Mr. Jaitley’s suggestion in the Rajya Sabha that the House should sit beyond midnight to take up voting on the Bill.

“It is a bad day for democracy,” Mr. Sinha said, adding the developments were unfortunate.

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 05 January 2012

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

The Falcon of Pakistan Verdict passed cannot ZAB reference case

Pakistan first democratically elected Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto wasexecuted at the age of fifty by a military dictator. The constitution wassuspended and a reign of terror unleashed. Young men were tied to stakes andwhipped. Others were hanged.

Still others tortured. Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the Father of the Pakistani Constitution, founded the Pakistan Peoples Party in 1967. a charismatic, intelligent and popular leader, he gave the people hope and dignity. He saved the country in 1971 after it disintegrated following the genocidal policies of military dictator General Yahya Khan Known as Quaid-e-Awam, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was a world states person. His vision, will and presence inspired a generation of political and diplomatic leaders across the the world.

Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party swept to power after winning alandshide victory in then West Pakistan. Such was his popularity and program, that unknown personalities toppled political giants. Under the PPP tricolors flag, his message of “Roti, Kapra Aur Makan” galvanized the people.

It frightened the power brokers and the elite. His policies of nationalization broke the monopoly of a group of 22 capital barons who exploited the land and its resources. It enabled the building of Pakistan’s infrastructure as well as opened the doors to a middle class. Modern Pakistan was built

by Bhutto. He reduced land holdings to about150 acres to abolish feudalism and Jagirdari system. He introduced the article pertaining to Habeous Corpus in the Constitution. He emancipated women, gave job guarantee and workers welfare to labour. The right of universal passport came with him. He was a nationalistic Pan Islamic leader who tirelessly tried to unite the Muslim world. He was the father of Pakistan’s nuclear program, the first in the Islamic world. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto governed from December 1971 to July 1977.He saved Pakistan from General Manekshaw’s threat of further

division. He was a strong supporter of the Kashmiri people and a fearless fighter againstcolonialism who wrote the book, “Myth of Independence”. His other works include “The Great Tragedy” which began as a letter written to his daughter. His third book was “My Dearest Daughter” written from prison.

His other writings are found in judicial documents as well as prestigious magazines of the world. He captivated the international audience with his powerful intellect and his unmatchable ortaroy. His speeches in the United Nations were listened to in spellbound wonder. Bhutto was imprisoned many times. He was held at Kot Lakhpat Jail,Mianwali Jail, Sukkur Jail, Rawalpindi District Jail, and Karachi Jail. He was killed in the Rawalpindi jail. The whole world mourned his murder with heads of state and government openly condoling with the Bhutto family. Many had sent delegations to General Zia to spare the life of a man who united the Muslim Ummah and was the pride of the Muslim world and the developing nations.

General Zia offered the PPP that he would work with it if it agreed to his minus Zulfikar Ali Bhutto formula. The PPP refused South Asia then witnessed its most barbaric period. Young men were lashed for shouting “long liveBhutto” by military courts. They were tortured by the Inter Services Intelligence which Zia used as his political party. Many were sentenced in summary military courts to death by hanging.

The case of Martyr

Naser Baloch, because a clear case of murder when it was revealed that the death sentence was approved by General Zia before it was announced by a military court. Many young men burned themselves alive in front of main business centers to protest the arrest and murder of the great Quaid-e-Awam. It is said that South Asia never witnessed such a brilliant and charismatic leader before nor would it witness it again. Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was murdered on April 4, 1979 after General Zia refused to comply with an unanimous Supreme Court request that the death sentence be commuted. Shaheed Bhutto refused to plead for his life even as the hour of the gallows approached. He said that he was afraid of God and no one else. After his martyrdom, Shaheed Bhutto loomed over Pakistan’s political destiny. Young men took up arms to fight General Zia and military rule. The situation was defused to the election of Shaheed Bhutto’s daughter Benazir. Both of Shaheed Bhutto’s sons were killed. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was the son of Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto, the prime minister of Junagadh and the man who separated Bombay from Sindh therebypaving the way for Pakistan. His Mother was Lady Khursheed Bhutto.Zulfikar Ali Bhutto graduated from the University of California at Berkeley as well as from Oxford. He was called to the Bar from Lincoln’s Inn in London and taught Law at

Southampton University for a while. He was the youngest delegate to the United Nations for his time as well as the youngest cabinet minister and youngest elected chief of state. He was admired by leading members of the world community including the philospher Bertrand Russell,

President Bush Senior, Dr.Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, President Giscard of France, Saudi Arabia’s ShahFaisal and many others.

Prime Minister Zulfikar ali Bhutto was described as the best dressed man of his time. The young people in particular supported him. His struggle began from the halls of students in colleges and universities across the country. Whenhe was killed, the whole world mourned him. Even the troops in Kharian, then the leading military corp, did not eat food for three days despite the fact thatZia came from that corp.On April 4, the name of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto reverberates throughout the world. His martyrdom is commemorated across Pakistan, theGulf, Europe and America. His supporters still shout, “Zinda Hai Bhutto, Zinda Hai”. And indeed he is.

By BENAZIR BHUTTO April 4, 2002 (Killed on 27th December 2007)

be revised, says CJ

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, hearing the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) reference case on Tuesday, remarked that any case whose verdict has been passed cannot be revised by the court, report .

Federation’s Lawyer Babar Awan said that a decision should be redressed lawfully and morally if it is prejudiced against a person. The Supreme Court replied that more than 300 people were given death sentences only in the province of Sindh and it is not possible to review every single one of them.

The chief justice said that the court’s liability is limited

in the case and it can only give its opinion, adding that the court only wants to see whether a case can be reopened through a reference or not.

Advocate General Punjab also remarked that a case can neither be reopened nor reviewed through references.

The case has been adjourned till Wednesday.

Last year in November, President Asif Ali Zardari revived the presidential reference to reopen the case relating to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s death. The government had asked the Supreme Court to take up the case at the earliest opportunity.

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Saarc international I Thursday 05 January 2012

41 suicide attacks kill 606 in Pakistan in 2011 At least 606 people were killed and over 1,000 others injured in a total of 41 suicide attacks carried out by 51 suicide bombers in Pakistan in 2011, an official report said on Sunday.

According to a report issued by the Pakistan’s Conflict Monitoring Center (CMC), among all the killed in such attacks, 358 people or 59 percent were innocent civilians and the number of innocent people injured in these attacks accounted for 85 percent, or 856 people out of the total ,002.

Army lost 33 of its soldiers while 100 personnel of Frontier Corp (FC), a paramilitary force in Pakistan, and 54 policemen lost their lives in these suicide attacks, said the report.

Fifty-one suicide bombers were used to carry out 41 suicide attacks because in some strikes more than one human bomber was used, said the Islamabad-based center in its report.

Among the injured were 44 army soldiers, 31 FC personnel and 71 policemen. The northwestern Khyber

Pakhtunekha Province (KPK) saw the highest number of suicide attacks and subsequent deaths, said the CMC’s report.

after KPK, where militants carried out 9 suicide attacks, killing 76 people.

It said that 18 people were killed

months of the year 2011 were more bloody and highest number of suicide attacks in a single month was observed in March when militants

Giving the area-wise causalities in the suicide attacks, the report added that 406 people were killed in 22 suicide attacks in KPK Province.

Tribal regions known as Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) was the second most affected region

in 5 suicide attacks in southern Sindh province. In southwestern Baluchistan 44 people were killed in 3 suicide attacks while eastern Punjab province observed two such attacks in which 61 people were killed.

The report also analyzed that certain

carried out 6 suicide attacks, killing 92 people.

The report said “Deadliest single month of the year was May when 144 people died in 4 suicide attacks.

Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden was killed in May and it is believed that

several revenge attacks were carried out after his death in a US military raid.

The report however said that in 2011 the number of deaths in suicide attacks declined by 48 percent as compared with the previous year.

Comparing situation of such attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the report calculated that the number of suicide attacks in Afghanistan was 2.5 times higher than Pakistan in 2011.

Militants carried out 102 suicide attacks in Afghanistan in which 675 people were killed.

CMC’s analysis shows a downward trend in number of suicide attacks during the previous two years. After successful military operations in Swat and South Waziristan, militants’ capabilities to carry out high profile attacks against army installations have significantly reduced, it said.

19 journalists killed in South Asia in 2011: SAMC report The year 2011 was bad for journalists working in South Asia as threat, from both non-state and state elements to their safety, especially in the conflict areas, kept taking its toll on them.

According to the South Asia Media Commission (SAMC) report launched on Friday, working conditions for journalists in Pakistan were more risky against the backdrop of ongoing conflicts in the vast north and south western regions of the country. While militants target them with impunity, fingers are also raised at the role of security agencies in their kidnapping and killing. The total number of journalists

killed in South Asia was 17, of which 12 were Pakistanis. In India three and in Afghanistan two deaths were recorded, the report said.

It was also informed in the report that the impunity index of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has ranked Pakistan as the 10th most dangerous country in the world for journalists where the chances of getting away with murders are extremely high.

In 2010, the South Asia Media Monitor reported

killings of 19 journalists and one media-worker in South Asia, most of them in the conflictridden regions. Pakistan was among the top in the list of the “most dangerous countries”.

the Urdu-language Daily Tawar have become victims of targeted killing, suicide bombing and the wrath of intelligence agencies.

It has not been ascertained whether llyas Nazar,

The report revealed that eight killings had had a direct link to their work as journalists. Wali Khan Babar from the Geo News TV, Nasrullah Afridi from PTV/Urdu daily Mashriq, Saleem Shahzad from Asia Times Online, Asfandyar Khan from Akhbar-e-Khyber, Shafiullah Khan from The News, Muneer Shakir working for the Online News Network and a television channel Sabzbaat, Faisal Qureshi, and Javed Naseer Rind, a senior sub-editor and columnist with

a reporter with the Baloch-language magazine Darwanth, Abdost Rind from Daily Eagle, Rehmatullah Shaheen and Zaman Ibrahim, crime reporter with vernacular Daily Extra News, were targeted due to their journalistic work, the report said.

It said journalists were in increasing danger in the region with repression and violence directed at media workers.

Right to information and Internet activists

reporting in blogs, on Facebook or via Twitter increasingly attracted the attention of authorities and of groups tending to violence.

The report said in the outgoing year, many incidents of violence and intimidation of journalists had been reported, involving police, Rangers and various other agencies which sent a message to the media that they better toe the line drawn by the extremists.

Media organisations were not spared from the anger and wrath of many non-state actors.

Offices of private TV channels, Multan Press Club and Karachi Press Club were attacked

and copies of national dailies were burnt, but no preventive steps were taken to end the violence against media organizations, it was alleged in the report.

Journalists in conflict areas were more vulnerable and exposed to the law enforcement agencies, militant groups and other non-state actors. No proper steps were taken to provide security, insurance and risk coverage by the media houses.

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Memo affair

The nine-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) hearing the memogate case has unanimously ruled the other day that the petitions are maintainable and has set up a three-member judicial commission to investigate the affair and report back in a month. The commission will be headed by the Chief Justice (CJ) of the Balochistan High Court Qazi Faez Isa and include the CJs of the Islamabad and Sindh High Courts.

The SC bench has also reiterated its order of December 1 directing former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani not to leave the country without the court’s permission. It may be recalled that the counsel for Mr Haqqani, Asma Jahangir, had argued before the SC that the petitions were not maintainable on

grounds of the issue being a political one, and had cited case law from foreign and Pakistani jurisprudence in support of her arguments, apart from questioning the appropriateness of the issue being agitated at a judicial forum when parliament was already seized of the matter. She had also questioned the order of December 1 against her client, stressing that he had been ‘condemned’ unheard and this was a violation of Mr Haqqani’s fundamental rights. That order has been questioned also on the grounds of being tantamount to giving relief to the petitioner/s that they had not even asked for. No wonder then that the latest ruling visibly upset Asma Jahangir, who criticised the ruling as being ‘establishment-minded’, having

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put the civilian government under the military’s command and prioritised national security above fundamental rights. She was of the view that the order was not in accordance with the rule of law. She characterised the occasion as a dark day for the judiciary, questioning whether the judiciary restored through the lawyers’ movement was a judiciary of the people or the establishment. Reluctantly accepting the ruling, as is expected of a senior lawyer, she nevertheless reserved the right to file a review petition against the ruling once the

decided to summon Husain Haqqani, DG ISI General Pasha and the main character in the whole brouhaha, Mansoor Ijaz, to appear before it. We are in therefore for an embarrassing scenario where two of the highest forums of the state, parliament and the judiciary, would be dealing with the same matter at the same time. On this count, many senior jurists, including Justice (retd) Tariq Mehmood, have added their voices to the criticism of the SC in admitting the petitions for hearing at such a juncture. A possible, bruising outcome could be

history of supine judgements of the superior judiciary in our past, especially where validation of military coups has consistently been in evidence. Although CJ Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has repeatedly said there is no question of repeating that bad track record, the doctrine of necessity on which such past validations were based having been buried, the present case does arouse concerns that the court may be giving more weightage to the views of COAS General Kayani and General Pasha, whose affidavits before the SC seem to be at odds with their nominal ‘bosses’,

detailed order was available. She also cautioned the petitioners, particularly the PML-N, that the court’s order would come back to haunt them in future.

As validation of Ms Jahangir’s contention, the parliamentary committee on national security has

that the judiciary and parliament rule contradictorily on the issue, sparking a division and perhaps a clash between the two highest state institutions.

The independence of the judiciary has been proclaimed repeatedly since its restoration. That is of course a desirable outcome, given the sorry

the federal government. In cases of such political and constitutional import, the SC in its own interests must ensure that justice is not only done, but is seen to have been done, without giving critics the slightest opportunity to accuse it of bias, since this would be deleterious for the respect and dignity of the judiciary.

It’s a dark day for judiciary: Asma

“This is a black day. This is very disappointing judgment,” said Asma and added “I think that this is one of the darkest days in history for the judiciary.“

Asma steps down as Haqqani’s lawyer in memo case

* SCBA former president says she has neither any expectation from the commission formed to investigate memogate nor from the judges of Supreme Court * Court went much forward from the relief demanded by the applicants ISLAMABAD: Asma Jahangir, the counsel for Husain Haqqani in the memo case, has refused to appear before the judicial commission investigating the controversy, expressing lack of confidence in the apex court’s judges as well as the commission. The commission starts its proceedings today (Monday).

Advocate Muhammad Idrees, who is an associate of Asma in the memo case, told Daily Times that Asma had refused to appear before the commission, and added that they had still not decided about filing a review petition against the court’s December 30 order in the case. Asma has expressed apprehension that ISI might force the judicial commission to give a verdict against her client, Husain Haqqani. She stated that he had no trust in the commission.

Asma said she was knew what the findings of the judicial commission will be; therefore she would not appear before it. She termed as unfortunate the Supreme Court’s decision to declare memo case as maintainable. She had already expressed her disappointment over the court’s December 30 judgement, saying it was a dark day for the

judiciary, and that the decision had placed civilian authority under the army.

Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa has summoned the first meeting of the judicial commission today (Monday). The commission, which has been is constituted by the apex court to probe the memo scandal, has issued notices to seven persons, including DG ISI Shuja Pasha, Husain Haqqani, former US national security adviser General (r) James Jones and foreign affairs secretary. The commission will hold its first meeting in the building of Islamabad High

Court and submit the report in the Supreme Court within one month.

While speaking to Online on Sunday, Asma said she had no expectation from the commission or the judges of the high courts. She asked how is it possible that not a single judge of the ninemember bench wrote down any note of descent.

“The lawyers have given so many sacrifices for the independence of judiciary, which went waste.

Judges had made their mind earlier. The court went much forward from the relief demanded by the applicants,” she observed.

Asma said that the Supreme Court did not fulfil the requirement of justice, and confiscated the basic rights her client. “I doubt that the judges will take statement of my client according to their will, as they are working under establishment. He was also threatened at the time of ‘arrest’. I told the court but it did not pay any heed towards it”, she added. She said that the intelligence agencies always try to befool the civilian government and people. “A piece of paper was made a matter of national security, whereas they cannot see the problem of Balochistan and Abbottabad incident

as the matter of national security,” she said.

Asma Jahangir, the counsel for Husain Haqqani, while expressing her disappointment over the court’s decision to declare the petitions on memo scandal as maintainable on Friday, said that civilian authority had come under the military institutions.

Talking to media men at Supreme Court building, she said it was a dark day for the judiciary and she was forced to think that whether it was the judiciary of the people or the judiciary of the establishment. She also warned in future this decision would haunt the petitioners and they would remember her statement. ‘I was expecting at least one dissenting voice against the judgment, but I did not see any ray of hope in the court today,’ she added.

Expressing disappointment over her struggle for the restoration of judiciary, Asma said the court’s decision had compromised a person’s right to justice. ‘It is sad the superior judiciary has done it and if saying this is a contempt of court, then I am ready to go to jail for the implementation of the rule of law’, she said.

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Saarc international I Thursday 05 January 2012

WEEKLY REVIEW OF PAKISTAN NEWS

Gas price hike, shortage cripple life Life in major cities of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the capital Islamabad remained crippled on Monday as most of the public transport remained off the roads, industrialists took to the street and factory workers protested against gas loadshedding.

Life in major cities of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the capital Islamabad remained crippled on Monday as most of the public transport remained off the roads, industrialists took to the street and factory workers protested against gas loadshedding.

To make matters worse, the Lahore police booked around 35 industrialists and traders,

including Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, when they held a demonstration outside the Governor`s House.

The Punjab businessmen warned the government of `civil disobedience` unless it

ended, what they called, `discrimination` in the supply of gas to industry in the province.

The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association has decided to hold a series of protests against suspension of gas supply to textile mills from Wednesday if the federal government did not

end discrimination in gas distribution. The owners of CNG stations also joined protests when, over and above the already declared loadshedding schedule, they closed their stations, prolonging woes of the people and forcing them off roads. The most affected

part of the province was GT Road, which was blocked by the protesters at five points, keeping commuters struck for several hours between Lahore and Rawalpindi.

In Lahore, mini-bus and wagon owners, which take bulk of city commuters, blocked Lahore-Multan Road, set tyres on fire and kept the road closed for better part of the day.

The Lahore roads had thin traffic as scarcity of gas and violent protests kept people at home. In Faisalabad, the SNGPL teams kept removing gas meters of different industrial units as it suspended supplies to over 95 per cent of industry in the province.

Pakistan would have been prosperous if Zardari had accepted my agenda’ PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, while addressing a large gathering of supporters in Karachi, said that if Zardri had accepted the agenda of the Charter of Democracy, it would have worked wonders for the country’s prosperity.

The nation is very worried about the current government’s actions, he said. If PPP had accepted that agenda, the state of the country would have been much more prosperous, and nothing could have made him happier than a flourishing Pakistan, Nawaz added.

The PML-N chief also added that if by following the aforementioned agenda, Zardari succeeded in improving the condition of Pakistan, and was elected into office again, that would make Nawaz Sharif the happiest person in the country since his only priority was a prosperous Pakistan.

He said that Pakistan was an extremely blessed

Pakistan says it gets due share of Indus water

“Pakistan is getting its due share of river water under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960,” Pakistan’s Water and Power Minister Syed Naveed Qamar said on Friday.

In a written reply submitted in the National Assembly, he said the treaty allocated waters of the eastern rivers — Sutlej, Beas and Ravi — to India and those of the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — to Pakistan, except for certain specified uses.

In the past, Islamabad had said its share was being diverted by dams in Jammu and Kashmir, though New Delhi has denied the charge.

country and had everything from coal and water to agricultural resources. The real problem of the country was that nobody had attempted to run it accurately in the past 64 years, he added.

Sharif said that the world had gone to new heights like stepping on the moon in the past 64 years, but Pakistan was still stuck with problems like lack of clean water. Talking about the recent flood crises, he said that he had personally visited the affected areas and witnessed people living without camps, their homes and livestock destroyed in the catastrophe. The PML- N chief vowed that he would change the condition of the people of Sindh and eradicate poverty and starvation from the province.

Nawaz Sharif posed a question to the politicians of Sindh, asking them what was it that they were doing for the very same people who had voted for them. Nawaz said that the poor and troubled of the province were drowning in the floods, unable to feed themselves and their children, but their elected leaders were not coming to their rescue.

The PML-N chief said that nothing was more important to him than employment for the youngsters of Pakistan. He roused the crowd by asking them if Pakistan should still have poverty, load shedding and unemployment after 64 years of independence.

The crowd responded by chanting ‘No, No’. Nawaz reminded the people of Sindh how his party, when in power, had eradicated robbery and kidnappings from Sindh and set up an army court in the civilian set up. He further added that seeking the army’s assistance under a democratic supervision was completely justified as its purpose was to protect the citizens and bring peace in the city.

Nawaz Sharif stressed that the most important thing for the people of Pakistan at the moment was security and peace within the country. He said things needed to change in the country so that people stopped living in a constant state of fright.

Third force’: Gilani warns Nawaz that both lose if govt falls The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has again sent a message to its rival, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, that when it comes to defending democracy, the two parties are ‘in this together’.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani admitted on Sunday that a ‘third force’ could come to power if his government collapsed, but warned PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif that he stood little chance of taking the helm.

Referring to corruption charges against the government, he said that every democratic administration in the past was removed on charges of corruption. In a dig at his political opponent, Gilani said that Nawaz should know that corruption charges against the government would not result in Nawaz attaining power.

The comments also appear to lend weight to recent murmurs that the two parties were considering shows of unity in the face of a rising Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf – what they, insiders say, perceive as a security- backed ‘third force’.

Speaking at a function in Lahore,

Gilani said that conspiracies were afoot to block the Senate elections, a private TV channel reported. He warned against such moves, saying a serious blow to democracy would bring the country to a standstill and insisting the Senate elections would go ahead as planned in May. The PM also reiterated his certainty that the PPP would win the Senate elections.

The frequent stream of corruption allegations, from one political party to the other, was criticised by the PM, who termed them a fad. “If we have done corruption, an institution is there to take account of that,” he

said, asking those with proof against his party to take the matter up in the courts.

On the issue of creating a Seraiki province, the PM said efforts were continuing and that all political parties were united on the issue.

Gilani emphasised that constitutional means would be used to bring the Seraiki province into being.

Gilani also declared that the load-shedding problem would be tackled within a year. He dismissed providing subsidies on tariffs as a possible remedy for the issue, stating that electricity and gas tariffs were linked to world markets and

therefore such subsidies would be largely irrelevant.

The PM announced that a special cabinet meeting would be held on Tuesday to tackle the energy shortages.

Broaching Pakistan-US ties, he said the relationship should be in line with the will of the people. “No war can be waged without the people’s power,” he said. “All decisions about ties with the US will be taken in parliament by keeping the people’s interests uppermost,” he told PTV. Gilani also presided over a party meeting at which the PPP decided to launch a mass awareness campaign across Punjab. The PM will, apparently, use speeches and public gatherings to shore up support.

“The PPP, in its first phase, would arrange the public gatherings in six divisions of the Punjab. The first public gathering would be held on January 21 at Sargodha where Gilani will address the PPP rally,” said PPP Punjab Deputy General Secretary Usman Malick. He said that after two weeks the PPP would hold its second public gathering in Kasur.

Saarc international I Thursday 05 January 2012

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF MALDIVE NEWS

MATI sues as government seeks Supreme Court legal counsel on spas, pork and alcohol The announcements were made in response to five demands made during a demonstration organised by a coalition of NGOs and opposition parties on December 23 to ‘Defend Islam.’

Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) meanwhile filed a case at the Civil Court yesterday challenging the Tourism Ministry’s order to shut down massage parlors and health spas in resorts.

The government has asked the Supreme Court for a “consultative opinion” on the legality of spa operations and sale of pork and alcohol in resorts, claiming that legal clarity is needed to properly address the current controversy involving Islam and the tourism industry.

The government last week ordered resorts to shut down their spa operations, and announced it was considering a ban on pork and alcohol.

Speaking to local media, Attorney General Abdulla Muiz said, “We believe that the people have expressed genuine concerns over the circular issued by the Tourism Ministry ordering resorts to close down their spas.

“Investors will have confidence when they are clear of the judiciary’s position on these issues.”

The Attorney General was unavailable for comment at time of press.

Maldives bans spas after Religious freedom gathering a ‘warning’: CJ ‘prostitution’ protests

Luxury spas in the Maldives archipelago along with massage parlours in places like the capital Male must close, the government ordered on Saturday, bowing to pressure from opposition parties in a move that may imperil the mainstay tourism sector.

Pristine white sand beaches and turquoise waters attract honeymooners and celebrities from around the world to the Indian Ocean nation, pumping in $1.5 billion to

the economy, or 30 percent of GDP, annually by travellers willing to spend as much as $1,000 a night at hideaway resorts.

The country’s president issued the decree, saying the idea came from opposition parties who claimed widespread sales of pork and alcohol in the mainly Sunni Muslim nation of more than 1,200 atolls housing a population of 400,000 were offensive.

“The government has decided to close massage parlors and spas in the Maldives, following an opposition-led religious protest last week calling for their closure,” President Mohamed Nasheed’s office said in a statement.

“Ironically, the same opposition leaders who railed against spas and the selling of alcohol and pork to tourists are some of the country’s biggest resort owners.”

Calling for religious freedom in the Maldives proved the weakening Islamic faith among the people, Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussein said today, describing the recent gathering that called for religious freedom a “warning” to the country.

Speaking at the ceremony held to inaugurate the religious scholars’ conference, Hussein said the gathering held on December 10 “shocked the nation” as “children born to a Maldivian father and mother called for religious freedom in this country.”

“It was a warning that showed us the increased role religious scholars are required to play and the work they need to do,” he said.

Hussein highlighted the need to work on strengthening Islamic faith rather than debating on controversial issues.

The chief justice further stressed

2012 will be year of economic instability: Yaameen

In a press conference held at the office of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), the half brother of the former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Yaameen said that the inflation will rise and will have a big impact on the economy.

Mulaku MP Abdullah Yaameen has said that the year 2012 will be an year of economic instability for the people of Maldives.

In a press conference held at the office of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), the half brother of the former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Yaameen said that the inflation will rise and will have a big impact on the economy.

Yaameen said that the increase of Goods and

Services Tax (GST) from 3.5% to 6% with the beginning of 2012 would raise the price of goods.

Yaameen said that the duties would still be taken from imported commodities although the government promised that the budget for this year is a duty free budget. He said that the accounting records of the government shows that the government will continue to take duties from the imported commodities.

He said that the traders would not lower the prices since they have to pay the increased GST which was replaced in place of the percentage that is cut from the duties.

Yaameen said that the dollar shortage would be the biggest draw back in the deteriorating economy of the country in 2012. He predicted that the current exchange rate of dollars, i.e. MRF 17, would increase because of the expansion of the black market. He said that this in turn would force the government to further devalue the local currency.

Furthermore, Mulaku MP said that the government would also have to take additional loans to balance the budget deficit, which would be an additional economical downside for the country.

the importance of making necessary changes to the national curriculum and educating lawmakers about Sharia punishments.

“It’s the responsibility of the religious scholars to tell others the significance of Islamic Sharia in a Muslim society.

This conference will bring it to light.

I also ask you to show the [right] path

to lawmakers,” he added.

A group of about 30 Maldivians gathered at the Artificial Beach on December 10 calling for religious freedom in the Maldives but was attacked with stones.

Controversial blogger Ismail Hilath Rasheed received a fracture on his head and was treated at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

Religious conservative Adhaalath Party and NGO Jamiyyathu Salaf asked the police to investigate and take actions against all those who participated in the gathering.

London-based rights group Amnesty International, meanwhile, declared Hilath a prisoner of conscience and called for his “immediate and unconditional” release.

The organisation called on authorities to provide Hilath with compensation “for his unlawful detention and ensure his safety and security”.

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Saarc international I Thursday 05 January 2012

WEEKLY REVIEW OF NEPAL NEWS

Indian tourists grew by 39 per cent in Nepal The number of Indian tourists coming to Nepal by air has increased by 39 per cent to 145,338 during last year.

The number of foreign tourist arrival by air to Nepal has also witnessed an increase of 21.4 per cent over the 2010 figure of 448,769 visitors, official sources have said.

However, Nepal’’s Tourism Board (NTB) has admitted that it has failed to meet the set target of attracting 1,000,000 tourists during the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 campaign as the year witnessed only 544,985 foreign visitors by air including 145,338 Indians.

The arrival of less than expected tourists can be attributed to a number of factors such as shortage of aircrafts of the Nepal Airlines, the national flag carrier, and economic slowdown in Europe, said Sarad Pradhan, media advisor of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).

However, if we add the arrivals by land route, we can arrive at a total of 750,000 tourists from January

to December 2011, he said.

Even after adding the land figure the number of tourist arrival could not suffice the targeted one million figure.

The Indian tourists arrival witnessed a significant growth of 39 per cent this year as compared to the last year’’s arrival figure of 104,470 by air. The number of Chinese visitors also witnessed 77.6 per cent growth registering

45,400 arrivals this year, according to the NTB. Besides lack of effective promotional campaign by Nepal’’s tourism authority abroad political instability, the frequently observed shut downs and strikes have also contributed to the slowdown in tourism sector, they pointed out.

According to a survey there were more than 50 days of general strikes and shut downs in the year

Maoist CC: Reflections over incompatible proposals on The Central Committee (CC) meeting of the UCPN-Maoist has resumed today also, wherein the CC members, Maoist standing committee members and the politburo members are busy in making observations and remarks on the proposals floated by the party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and the Maoist vice-chairman Mohan Baidhya over peace, statute, power-sharing, people’s revolt and struggle.

Inside the 146-member central committee, 65 CC members have already forwarded their impression on the proposals, most of them calling for the ideological unity between the establishment faction and the dissenting Maoist faction.

Today’s CC, at the party headquarters in perisdanda, Koteshwor, will witness the remaining CC members reflecting on the two incompatible proposals, sources confirmed.

If Dahal’s political document has prioritized on the peace and statute as the immediate needs of hour, Baidhya has emphaised on the urgent need of people’s revolt and struggle in his political document.

Within the 146-member CC, Baidhya has the support of only 45 CC members while Dahal enjoys the majority.

“So far only 65 leaders have spoken in the ongoing CC meet and only 1820 leaders have supported Baidhya’s political document until Sunday,”

confirmed a source privy to the Maoist.

At the today’s CC , leaders aligned to Dahal and Baidhya are all set to lock horns over the issues including: a. Return of seized properties, and scientific land reforms, b. Idea of abandoning the term “ People’s War” in the new statute, c. Numbers of combatants to be integrated , d. Financial irregularities inside the party, e. Bilateral Investment Protection and Preservation Agreement (BIPPA)inked with India, among others.

Leaders aligned to the Maoist hardline faction led by Vice-chairman Mohan Baidhya — General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa, Secretary CP Gajurel and standing committee members Dev Prasad Gurung and Netra Bikram Chand — have already criticised Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal for leading the party towards ‘rightist opportunism’.

Whereas Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, one of the vice-chairmen,

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha, also a vice-chairman, Energy Minister Post Bahadur Bogati, and the standing committee member Krishna Bahadur Mahara have stood in support of Dahal’s document.

Baidhya, who presented his 12-page document during the second session of the ongoing CC meet, sees no alternative to immediate people’s revolt and made a claim that opting for the peace and constitution will bear no fruits at this bleak state of affairs, where people’s hopes and aspirations have been already kept at bay.” Pro-people constitution is impossible,” according to Baidhya.

But, Dahal has prioritised peace and statute and not the capture of state power in his political document presented during the first session of the CC. Dahal has also presented offer to patch up intra-party differences through the general convention and on the majority basis.

Meanwhile, Baidhya’s document has accused establishment faction led by Dahal of trying to divert all attempts for the preparation of people’s revolt.

Dissenting Maoists have been ranting condemnations against the establishment faction for abandoning the ‘line of revolt’ which was adopted by the party’s sixth plenum at Palungtar in Gorkha last year.

2011 despite the pledge made by leaders of some 20 political parties last year not to launch any strike or

agitation affecting tourism sector during the NTY 2011.

Last year two of the eight casinos of Kathmandu were closed down due to labour problems and failure to pay government royalties on time.

Casino Nepal, the oldest casino of Nepal, was shut down six months ago after failing to pay government revenue and Casino Shangrila was shut down last week due to row between two leftist trade unions.

The casinos of Nepal mainly target Indian tourists. The Maoist affiliated trade union had shut down half a dozen hotels in Kathmandu last year to exert pressure on the management to fulfill their “unrealistic” demands.

Government employees up in arms Different civil servants’ unions including Nepal Civil Servants’ Association, Nepal Civil Servants’ Madhesi Forum, Nepal Civil Servants’ Union, in Sunsari have halted all government services indefinitely from today demanding release of Nunulal Urab, chief of Jhumka-based Soil Laboratory Office.

Urab was arrested on December 22

for recommending citizenship for notorious Indian criminal Nirajan Hojai in the name of Nirmal Rai five years ago.

Devi Khanal, chief of Nepal Civil Servants’ Union, Sunsari, charged that Urab was being kept in police custody illegally and was being tortured. “The court is the legal mechanism for dealing with his case,” he said.

Saarc international I Thursday 05 January 2012

SAARC

23

WEEKLY REVIEW OF SRILANKA NEWS

Sri Lanka calls French Ambassador on publishing LTTE stamps by French mail service Sri Lanka’s Minister of External Affairs, Prof. G.L. Peiris has called in the Ambassador of France to Sri Lanka Christine Robichon to express Sri Lanka’s concern over the issue of four stamps by the French mail service La Poste depicting images of the banned Tamil Tiger terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Minister Peiris has notified the Ambassador that although the issue of stamps is not facilitated by the French government, it is the government’s responsibility to ensure publication of such images of a banned terrorist group should not have happened and urged the French government to cancel the circulation of the stamps with immediate effect.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry, Minister Peiris has

protested in the strongest possible terms, and urged the French Ambassador for her government to take immediate action for the noncirculation of the stamps.

Emphasizing that this action by an LTTE front organization would harm the reputation of the French government globally, the Minister expressed confidence that the government of France would take immediate action not to give credence to such moves by a terrorist

Sri Lanka is one of the top five destinations to watch this year, according to the world’s leading and most discerning and trusted monthly travel magazine in Britain, Conde Nast Traveller.

The magazine’s travel experts have predicted that Sri Lanka will be among the hottest new holiday destinations for travellers this year. Unveiling the list of destinations, the magazine reveals that: “One of the great joys of travel is the feeling you’ve discovered somewhere special, somewhere that’s all yours, for the first time - before the developers move in and the crowds descend. It could be a new and unexplored region, like the Arctic Circle, or an entire country such as Sri Lanka and Burma.”

France has been forced to apologise to the Sri Lankan government after its post office issued “personalised” stamps supporting the armed separatist Tamil Tiger group, which is banned in France.

Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister GL Peiris summoned French ambassador Christine Robichon on Tuesday to protest after local media revealed that stamps calling for Tamil Eelam – an independent Tamil homeland – had been arriving from France.

front.

Professor Peiris has pointed out that when governments, especially in the West allow the pro-LTTE groups to operate in such a manner, the Sri Lankan public will question those countries’ bona-fides and the Sri Lankan government has to consider the public opinion since the proLTTE groups overseas are still seeking to achieve their objectives through different means.

Responding to Minister’s concerns, the French Ambassador has said that French Embassy in Colombo has issued a statement stating that these are neither a part of the official philatelic programme of France nor on sale in the French Post Office.

Ms. Robichon has explained that the individuals through the La Poste’s online services could order

personalized stamps and La Poste had failed to detect the violations of the conditions and had printed the stamps by mistake.

The French Ambassador has confirmed the publication of 360 stamps by La Poste.

However, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed La Poste that LTTE is a terrorist group banned by the EU in 2006, the mail service has assured that no such stamps will be printed further.

The Minister has pointed out that this is a devious manner the LTTE is raising funds and underlined the need to halt such activities.

Sri Lankan government to unite opposition France apologises to Sri Lanka SL ‘hottest’ new destination over Tamil Tiger stamps this year: Report

State sector geared for optimum output: President The government has strengthened and streamlined the state services to obtain the maximum benefit for the country, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.

‘The state service therefore has to come forward with the true aim of serving the nation, fulfilling the aspirations of people, shedding its lethargic attitudes and work patterns which have hitherto drawn the ire of the public, the President said.

The President was addressing a ceremony, at Temple Trees yesterday to hand over appointment letters to 296 officers to the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS) under the theme “Ensuring an excellent public service through sound national and regional administrative systems with competent human resources.”

Addressing the gathering, President Rajapaksa said 15,000 graduates will be recruited to the state service in the near future.

The District Secretaries would undertake the recruiting process. The government has also taken measures to hold placement examinations annually to fill the vacancies in the SLAS. “State servants should not neglect the vital and pivotal role and responsibilities that come with their duty. Public servants are duty bound to serve the public since they are paid by the public,” he said.

Highlighting the value of state services, the President added that people, who come to public

institutions to get their work done need more consideration and kind attention since these are helpless people with problems. “Therefore, the government servants should accord the utmost priority to serve the public, who are badly in need of kindness, care and attention”.

President Rajapaksa also recalled how at one time, on the advice of World Bank and IMF, steps were taken to bring down the number of public servants from 800,000 to 300,0000.

“During that time no vacancy was

filled even though vacancies were available. But, this government took measures to fill these vacancies, even amidst the global economic crisis. As a result of this, the number of employees in the state sector had increased to 1.3 million,” the President said.

The President also said that in the past many public entities including several profit making ventures were privatized.

Of these privatised entities certain institutions were taken back by this people friendly government, such as, the SriLankan Airlines and Shell Gas company. Most of these entities, that were taken back have now become profit making ventures, President noted.

The President also stressed the need for government servants to fulfil public aspirations. “Fulfil your duty that you are bound to do first. Then, you, your village and your country will develop,” the President advised.

Disaster Management Minister of Sri Lanka Mahinda Amaraweera says the government has to commence a special operation to unite the main opposition in the country.

Amaraweera has told the media in Dambulla that the opposition today was not working against the government, but against the country. He has noted that the United National Party (UNP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) have split and the UNP leadership is keener on protecting the party leadership than the country’s opposition.

Minister Amaraweera has observed that there were many conflicts in the opposition political parties and the President would have to launch a special operation to unite the opposition parties.

According to the Minister, the opposition opposes the development work carried out by the government without realizing their benefit to the country and people.

24

SPECIAL FEATURE

Saarc international I Thursday 05 January 2012

“The decision to attack Syria was made at a Camp David meeting on 15 September 2001”

by Chérif Abdedaïm Featured below is the interview that Thierry Meyssan gave to the Algerian daily newspaper the La Nouvelle République. The interview was given front page billing.

Thierry Meyssan (born 18 May 1957) is a French journalist and political activist.

He is the author of investigations into the extreme right wing (particularly about the National Front Militias, which are the object of a parliamentary investigation and caused a separation of the extreme right wing party), as well as into the Catholic Church (Opus Dei, for example).

Meyssan is best known for his controversial book 9/11: The Big Lie (L’Effroyable imposture), in which he challenges the official account of events of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

La Nouvelle République: You have been in Syria. What is your assessment?

Does the reality on the ground tally with Western media reports concerning mass demonstrations, the live bullets fired into the crowd that left at least 5,000 dead, the formation of a “free Syrian army” already 1500 men strong and the beginning of a “civil war” with 1.5 million entrapped Syrians allegedly suffering from hunger?

Thierry Meyssan: According to a French saying, “when you want to get rid of your dog, you accuse it of having rabies.” In this case, when the Western powers want to invade a state, their media mouthpieces claim that it is a barbaric dictatorship, that their armies can protect civilians and that they should overthrow the regime and bring democracy. We witnessed the truth in Iraq and Libya: the colonial powers couldn’t be less interested in the fate of the populations; they go in to devastate and plunder the country. There have never been any mass protests against the Syrian regime, therefore no live bullets could have been used to quell them. In recent months, there have been around 1 500 deaths, but not in the reported circumstances. There is indeed a “Free Syrian Army”, but it is based in Turkey and Lebanon, and it is made up of a few hundred soldiers at the most, that are paraded before the cameras.

Finally, Syria is self-sufficient in food production and, despite distribution difficulties, there is no problem of scarcity. The version peddled by the Western media is pure fiction. The reality on the ground is that Western countries have unleashed a non-conventional war against Syria. They sent in Pashtun and Arab fighters, recruited by Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan and trained

by French and German special forces.

These fighters first attempted to

establish Islamic emirates, then they started laying ambushes on Syrian military convoys. Today, they answer to an Al Qaeda emir, the Libyan Abdel Hakim Belhaj. They moved away from major operations and currently conduct commando assaults in the heart of the cities to spread terror in the hope of causing a sectarian civil war. Their latest feat is the double bombing in Damascus.

La Nouvelle République: In one of your articles, you question the accusations propagated by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in London, that institutions such as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights accredit without verification. In your opinion, what game are these UN bodies playing?

Thierry Meyssan: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) appeared on the media scene suddenly.

This association has no significant track record and only one of its members is known. He is a Syrian Muslim Brotherhood official, holder of three passports, Syrian, British and Swedish.

This gentleman announces daily the number of “repression victims,” without ever substantiating his claims. His assertions are unverifiable and therefore worthless. Yet, they are taken up by all those whose interests they serve.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights appointed three commissioners to investigate the events in Syria. Their mission oversteps the competence of the UN, that provides for regular inspections to which Syria submits in accordance with the relevant treaties.

As in the Hariri case, the United Nations goes on the assumption that the local authorities (Lebanese or Syrian) are either incapable or dishonest and must be replaced by foreign investigators.

Under such conditions, it can not reasonably expect the local authorities to cooperate. The UN has therefore worked from Switzerland and Turkey.

The appointment of the three commissioners is no guarantee of impartiality, as all three originate from States which advocate military action against Syria. Their method is equally unacceptable: under pressure from the Turkish commissioner, who is an activist committed to the fight against violence against women, the Committee considered that the testimonies of prosecution witnesses did not need to be cross-checked and verified. It would be for the accused to demonstrate their innocence when brought before a court.

This inquisitorial procedure allows for anyone to be accused of just about anything, but proves nothing.

Investigators have heard from more than 200 people who claimed to have information and sometimes to have witnessed or been the victims of abuse.

In accordance with the procedure, the names of the witnesses are kept secret

at this stage of the investigation. But contrary to the procedure, so are the names of the victims.

The High Commissioner stated authoritatively that there are over 5 000 repression victims, but advanced only two names. Unfortunately for her, these two cases, which were widely publicized

by Al Jazeera, have undergone numerous investigations. The first is a child killed in the street by unknown gunmen in a runaway car and the second is a teenager who was recruited by an armed gang to participate in an attack on a military barracks and died with a Kalashnikov in his hand. Neither bears the hallmarks of a bloody crackdown against a peaceful protest. We therefore expect the High Commissioner to publish the names of the victims so we can verify the validity of her allegations.

Many UN bodies have lost credibility.

In the first place, responsibilities should not be entrusted to experts who do not have the status of international civil servants, but are national officials seconded by their governments. Anyone who is accountable to his national hierarchy should not be permitted to act on behalf of the UN. La Nouvelle République: In Syria as in Libya, some observers argue that the rebels are in fact death squads, foreign mercenaries. What is your take on that?

Thierry Meyssan: In both cases, there are nationals involved in the armed struggle, but they are largely outnumbered by foreign fighters. In Libya, groups from specific tribes joined the foreign mercenaries for the secession of Cyrenaica. But they

refused to participate in the fight for the overthrow of Gaddafi in Tripoli. AlQaeda troops had to be deployed, and 5 000 commandos were shipped in and incorporated into the regular Qatari army to engage in the ground battle.

In the final throes of the Jamahiriya, the tribe of Misrata joined NATO and entered Tripoli after the bombing and the ground hostilities had already stopped.

The only Libyans who fought against the regime from start to finish are the members of Al Qaeda, plus a group of soldiers who had defected with General Abdel Fatah Younes. However, General Younes had previously been ordered by Colonel Gaddafi to crush the Al-Qaeda rebellion. Hence, he was ultimately killed in reprisal by al-Qaeda affiliates when they no longer had any use for him.

In Syria, the insurgents are the Muslim Brotherhood and the Takfiris. But there are mainly foreign fighters who hire local thugs and pay them handsomely to kill their fellow citizens. NATO’s dilemma is that, unlike Libya, Syria is a historic nation. There is no regional divide as between Cyrenaica and Tripolitania. The only possible division is on a confessional basis, but it’s not working for now, although a few clashes of this type were witnessed in Banyias and Homs. The official arrival of the Libyans to set up headquarters in Turkey and to bring in Syrian deserters into the operation has brought things to completion.

La Nouvelle République: The Syrian National Council was formed under the

aegis of France in Paris. What should one make of this? Will France take center stage as in Libya, including her “emissary” BHL, or opt for another strategy?

Thierry Meyssan: First, everyone can see that French institutions are partly driven by illegitimate personalities, such as Bernard Henry Levy, who exercise responsibilities without rights or title. Second, certain elected officials, like President Sarkozy, do not serve the national interests but those of the US empire. Under their authority, France was already engaged in a conflict in Ivory Coast that served the interests of a few French multinationals, before engaging in Libya with the aim of extending the neo-Conservative dream of remodeling the “greater Middle East” to North Africa.

There are no disputes between France and Syria, as demonstrated by President Al-Assad’s reception in Paris, at the summit of the Mediterranean Union.

At a pinch, one could consider that the old 1980’s conflict (including the assassination of the French ambassador in Beirut) was written off without really having been settled, and could be revived. But I’m not at all sure that in this case, the faults on the French side are not more important than Syria’s.

In short, Paris has no reason to attack Damascus.

We all know that the real issue lies elsewhere: the domination and exploitation of the region hinges on the alliance between the United States and Israel on the one hand, with Turkey and the oil monarchies, on the other hand. This alliance is up against a line of resistance, including Hamas, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran, backed by Russia and China. Regionally, two poles were formed, one is exclusively Sunni, the other is multi-confessional (and not Shia as claimed by the neo-conservatives to spur a fitna).

France has become the “proxy” of the United States. She could at any time go to war against Syria. However, she does not have the capacity on her own, not even with Great Britain. And the summit of December 2, which was to establish a three-way alliance with Germany, was canceled for lack of a financial agreement. In the midst of the Euro crisis, Europeans can not afford to pay the price of their imperialism.

La Nouvelle République: The Arab League, in an unexpected move, decided to suspend Syria from all its institutions, even before the 15-day expiry date granted to the Syrian leadership to implement the Arab plan for resolving the crisis. What evaluation can be made of a decision that is contrary to the AL statutes, which call for a unanimous vote for this type of measure?

Thierry Meyssan: International organizations, whether the Arab League Continued on page 28 >>

Saarc international I Thursday 05 January 2012

ENTERTAINMENT

25

Salman, Shahrukh, Aamir Khan:

Who will 2012 belong to?

As a brand new year dawns, it’s time to put 2011 behind us and look forward to what 2012 has in store. Here are some hopes for Bollywood’s top stars, including the four Khans Shahrukh Khan – 2011 proved with RA.One and Don 2 that the Badshah’s India base is slowly eroding while his overseas market remains robust. Yes, both of those films made some money, but they were surrounded by carping detractors and naysayers simply because the final released products did not match the King’s high and exacting standards.

Here’s hoping that his leading role in Yash Chopra’s comeback film brings back the old magic. Cineswami knows that SRK is making a conscious effort to break new ground with each film, but sometimes all the fans want is old wine in a new bottle.

Salman Khan – The man had a humongous 2011 with Ready and Bodyguard, but unlike SRK, in Salman’s case it’s too much of old wine in an old bottle. Sure, the fans are lapping it up, but he owes it to them to try something new. Thankfully, he has the hatke Kabir Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger for YRF due in 2012 that also reunites him with old flame Katrina. There’s also Dabangg 2 due, but without Abhinav Kashyap’s scripting and directing acumen it’s going to be nowhere near the first one’s smartness, wit and humour.

Aamir Khan – What can we say? The perfectionist continues to astound us.

It was a low key 2011 for India’s surest box office draw, but he made his mark in wife Kiran Rao’s Dhobi Ghat and shepherded Delhi Belly to being one of

the standout hits of the year. His police procedural Talaash is keenly awaited.

No other star would even touch a risky subject like a thriller without songs, but Aamir can and will make it work. And Reema Kagti is no slouch as a director as Honeymoon Travels proved.

Saif Ali Khan – Like Aamir, Saif too had a subdued 2011 with just a trifling appearance in the trifling film that

Sanjay Dutt to play a mad scientist role

Director Nitish Roy is bringing together Sanjay Dutt and Bipasha Basu in a Hindi remake of Bengali film.

Titled Gehra Paani film will have Dutt play a mad scientist who creates a genetically evolved crocodile with individual intelligence but becomes a target of a gang of hunters wanting to capture the unique reptile for their lucrative business.

The film’s producer Avik Bagchi reveals the actors are expected to shoot at a film city in the Maoistinfested Jungel mahal area of West Midnapore district, where a giant 100 foot long crocodile has been created using pyrotechnics and CGI. Buzz is the film will have lots of action and stunts most of which will be performed by Dutt and Basu.

was Aarakshan. But 2012 will see him in James Bond mode with the long delayed and keenly anticipated Agent Vinod, besides the Race sequel. With some luck Homi Adajania’s Cocktail that reunites the Chhote Nawab with Deepika Padukone should also be released in 2012.

Abhishek Bachchan – Simply put, the man needs a hit. Badly. Dum Maaro

Dum and Game didn’t do anything for him in 2011. Players isn’t carrying much buzz, already being equated with Game. If it works, then it’ll be a shot in the arm for both Abhishek and Neil Nitin Mukesh. There’s hitmaker Rohit Shetty’s remake of the original Golmaal – Bol Bachchan – where Aby’s baby will have the added crutch of Ajay Devgn’s presence.

Ajay Devgn – He’ll want to forget Rascals in a hurry, as will Sanjay Dutt.

However, he’ll carry fond memories of Singham. Priyadarshan’s Tezz is due in 2012, but let’s not hold our breath for that.

Hrithik Roshan – He tasted success with Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara in 2011 but he’ll be hoping for a solid solo hit with the Agneepath remake that rests solely on his sinewy shoulders, Sanjay Dutt’s Kancha Cheena notwithstanding.

It’s unlikely that the Krrish sequel will be released in 2012, but we live in hope.

Akshay Kumar – The poor man has seen a steady drop in his popularity thanks to his poor choice of films like Patiala House and Thank You in 2011.

While there always will be a market for his brand of brain-dead, infantile humour, he can’t carry it off with the pizzazz of say, Salman. 2012 will be a make or break year for him with crores riding on Joker, Housefull 2 and Rowdy Rathore that all cater to his core lowbrow market. But the film that should be his salvation in 2012 is Once Upon a Time Again.

Of the rest, Emraan Hashmi will continue ploughing his lonely yet successful Bhatt furrow, Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan no doubt regale the youth segment and the audience will give the cold shoulder to John Abraham.

As for the rest, do we really care.

After hand-painting the poster of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Rowdy Rathore, the street painters hired by the filmmakers have now created a portrait of the film’s lead cast Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha.

According to an insider from the film set, the actors had to spend almost four hours standing still in the same position, so the artists could create the piece flawlessly.

“Four painters were hired for the job and they all worked simultaneously and presented four versions, all of which will be unveiled in due course of time,” says the insider. The first poster of the film, which was also hand-painted, was released around Diwali. The latest one marks the onset of the New Year.

“They are choosing different occasions to unveil the looks,” adds the insider.

Jointly produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Bhansali and directed by the South Indian dancing icon, Rowdy Rathore is an out-an-out action film with a touch of comedy. The makers have wrapped up the first two shooting schedules of the

film and are now preparing to shoot in Karnataka next.

Akshay, who last sported a moustache in his 1995 hit Sabse Bada Khiladi, will be seen bringing the style back with this film. “It’s essential for the character,” says Akshay.

Rowdy Rathore is an upcoming Bollywood action film directed by Prabhu Deva starring Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha in the lead roles.

Produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ronnie Screwvala, the filming started on 10 August 2011. It is the third remake of the Telugu film Vikramarkudu.

Rowdy Rathore started filming on 10 August 2011, and is scheduled to complete in early 2012. Akshay Kumar, who plays an IPS police officer is learning a special technique Combat Karate for

his character . The theatrical poster of Rowdy Rathore was released on Kumar’s Facebook page on 15 August 2011.

The 43-year-old actor, who is extremely fitness conscious, will soon be heading to an undisclosed location for two months to train in this form of martial art.

“The movie will introduce to audiences a new kind of sport and being the professional that he is, Akshay has decided to take two months off to train intensively in combat karate,” said a source.

COMMENT

26

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 05 January 2012

Islam and Constitutional Democracy

Dr. Morgan Job has questioned our continuing failure, as Muslims, to establish constitutional democracy in the Muslim world (Conference on Constitutional Reform, November 28th 2004). But modern political democracy originated in modern secular western civilization, and required the adoption of political secularism as the basis for the establishment of polity and state.

Political secularism, however, like all other applications of secularism, denied religion any significant role in the public order. This, in turn, facilitated the decline of religion and of absolute moral values, and has led, around the world, to the emergence of ever-changing materialistic values and, eventually, to an essentially godless way of life.

Let us recall that when the British colonized countries such as India they found Muslims with a political culture derived basically from Islam.

British colonial rule imposed European political secularism ‘at the point of the sword’ as the alternative to Islam.

Both Hindus and Muslims eventually challenged the new European religion of ‘secularism’, and sought to restore and preserve their own indigenous political culture. This led eventually, and alarmingly so for the British, to an ominous political alliance of Muslims and Hindus in what was called the Khilafat Movement — a struggle to preserve the institution of the Islamic Caliphate located at the very heart of Muslim political culture. Gandhi himself forged the alliance with the Muslim Khilafat Movement since he, also, wanted to restore (for Hindus) indigenous Hindu political culture and

a Hindu model of a state.

The Khilafat Movement threatened to topple the entire system of European political secularism and constitutional democracy that the colonial West was forcing upon the non-white world.

And so a British strategy was devised, in collaboration with Mustafa Kamal’s newly emerging secular Republic

Shiekh Imran Hossein

Tribune Comment of Turkey, to abolish the Turkish Caliphate and, in so doing, to sabotage and to bring about the collapse of the Khilafat Movement with its alarming Hindu-Muslim alliance.

The strategy succeeded. The Caliphate was abolished in Turkey in March 1924.

By the end of that same year the old Indian Muslim leadership, comprised of men who knew and lived Islam, went into irreversible decline. They were replaced by the secularly inclined ‘All India Muslim League’, led by men who hardly knew or lived Islam. They presided over the cleverly disguised passage from Islam as the basis of political culture, to the new European political secularism. It was deceptively empowered by way of religious nationalism, and emerged as a curious

creature named ‘Muslim nationalism’.

The passage from the one to the other was so cleverly disguised that it is still not discernible to many Muslims in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The turbulent history of European constitutional democracy in the Muslim world cannot be understood without a recognition of the fundamental change in political culture from Islam to the European model of political secularism. Indeed the passage from the one to the other has not as yet been accomplished in any final way, even in Pakistan or Turkey. Time and again the religious beliefs of the Muslim peoples in Africa, the Arab world, South and South-East Asia, etc., have impacted on politics in such wise that the West has been forced to continuously resort to devious means, including brute force and barbarism in present-day Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan, to thwart the effort to restore Islam as the basis of polity.

• THE ISLAMIC MODEL OF A STATE (KHILAFAH) Will Muslim society be secularized, and secular constitutional democracy finally established in the Muslim world? Or, will destiny witness the restoration indeginous Muslim political culture and the Islamic model of a state (Khilafat)? Before we attempt to answer that fascinating question which lies at the very heart of political discourse on contemporary international affairs, let us briefly describe the Khilafat or the (Sunni) Islamic model of polity and state.

It would surely surprise some of our readers to learn that Islam has never claimed to be a new religion. Rather

it has consistently proclaimed that it is the original religion of Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, and Jesus (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all). It was therefore natural that Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) should have preserved in the Islamic State of Madina the essential model of a polity and state that was established by the ProphetKings, David and Solomon (‘alaihima al-Salam) in the Holy State of Israel.

What was that model?

Firstly, political culture in Holy Israel tolerated no secular separation of politics from religion. In both David and Solomon, the religious/spiritual head of the community (i.e., the Prophet), was also, himself, king or head of state. Secondly, the polity and state recognized God as Sovereign (al-Malik), and to Him belonged the Kingdom (al-Mulk), and hence Holy Israel was the Kingdom of God on earth. Thirdly, God’s authority and law were both supreme in this model of a state.

In the secular European model, on the other hand, sovereignty was taken away from God and vested in the polity and state. That was blasphemy (Shirk). God was further stripped of supreme authority and law and these, also, were vested in the people and the state, and were institutionalized in secular government (administration, judiciary and legislature). That, also, was blasphemy (Shirk). The people not only assumed supreme authority and installed their own man-made law as supreme law, they even went on, and recklessly so, to make legally permissible that which God Himself

had prohibited. Such was the case, for example, with the divine prohibition of ‘lending money on interest’, gambling and lottery. The Qur’an has described all these efforts to ‘play God’ as blasphemy (Shirk), which is the one sin that Allah Most High has warned that He would never forgive. I guess that someone would respond by accusing God of being fundamentalist.

When a people turn away from God, as they most certainly do in political secularism and in the secular state, the Qur’an has warned that they would eventually forget Him and would pay the price of forgetting themselves (i.e., their human status). Their conduct would eventually become worse than that of wild beasts. Prophet Muhammad prophesied that they would eventually “engage in sexual intercourse in public like donkeys”.

Trinidad’s Carnival confirms, year after year, that mainstream society in this ‘progressive’ country is heading down that road and is already approaching the fulfillment of the prophecy of preference for sex in public.

The Islamic Khilafat differs in no way whatsoever from the model of the Holy State of Israel except that Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet/head of state, was recognized as servant of Allah rather than king! Prophet Muhammad has prophesied that the Islamic Khilafat would be restored at that time when Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salam) returns. We may not have to wait more than a few decades to witness the return of Jesus and the restoration of the Islamic model of a state (Khilafat).

My book ‘Jerusalem in the Qur’an’ has explained the subject.

This is a fascinating book and is free online. I have repeatedly asserted that Muslim terrorism has its roots in Illuminist western intelligence agencies. This book provides some of the history behind it.

David Livingstone

Terrorism and The Illuminati

A Three Thousand Year History!

About the Book Contrary to myth being fabricated, Islam does not pose a threat to the West. Rather, Islamic “terrorist” organizations have been created to serve Western imperialistic objectives. These groups are intertwined with Western power through a network of occult secret societies. This relationship dates back to sixth century BC, and the birth of the Kabbalah, in Babylon; a plot to seek world

domination through the use of magic and deception.

Herod the Great incepted a series of cooperative dynastic relationships.

Their first conspiracy: to corrupt the emerging Christian movement, imposed upon the Roman Empire as Catholicism, with which they would struggle ever since for supremacy over Western civilization.

During the Crusades, these dynastic families associated with their counterparts

in the East, members o ft h e

heretical Ismaili Muslims of Egypt, known as the Assassins.

Templars were believed to

have “rescued” a number of these “Eastern Mystics”, and brought them to Scotland, being the basis Scottish Rite Freemasonry.

The legend also led to the formation of the “Asiatic Brethren”, founded by followers of the infamous Jewish false-messiah, Shebbetae Zevi. The Asiatic Brethren then became the successors of the Illuminati, and became involved in the development of Egyptian Rite Freemasonry.

With Napoleon’s conquest of Egypt, Freemasons in his army reconnected with their brethren in Egypt, sparking a relationship that was pivotal to the development of the Occult Revival of the late nineteenth century.

Continued on page 29 >>

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 05 January 2012

BUSINESS

27

Germany and Europe Expect a Tough 2012 Global stock markets were buoyant Tuesday after a run of solid economic news, notably out of the U.S., helped keep concerns over the European debt crisis at bay.

The euro also bounced back, trading 0.7 percent higher at $1.3041. Last week, it hit a 15-month dollar low of $1.2857 on worries that the European debt crisis will escalate this year and envelop Italy, the thirdlargest economy in the 17-nation eurozone. Greece warned Tuesday that it would have to ditch the euro if it fails to finalize the second, €130 billion ($169 billion) international bailout. Government spokesman Pantelis Kapsis said negotiations over the next three or four months with international debt monitors will “determine everything,” including whether Greece escapes a disastrous bankruptcy.

Europe’s ongoing battle to contain a debt crisis that’s threatening the future of the euro currency is likely to return to the forefront of investors’ attention.

Both France and Germany will be tapping bond markets this week for fairly large amounts of money, testing market confidence. Next Monday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be holding their first meeting of the new year.

The year 2011 was a bad one for Europe. But 2012, Angela Merkel believes, could even be worse -- for her country at least. Both the German chancellor and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble believe the euro crisis will finally make itself felt in Germany. The outlook isn’t any rosier elsewhere on the Continent. Most in the country, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, believe that

2012 will be the year when Germany finally begins to feel the effects of the euro-zone crisis which chewed its way through much of the 17-member currency union in 2011.

“Germany is doing well,” Merkel said in her annual New Year’s eve speech on Saturday, “even if next year will be without a doubt more difficult than this one.”

Schäuble, for his part, told the tabloid Bild that “2012 will likely be more

difficult than 2011, but the German economy is well positioned. ... I hope that at the end of this year, if nothing unforeseen happens, we will be in a position to look to the next year with confidence.”

Against the yen, the euro dropped to its lowest mark in a decade on the last trading day of the year. And with investors continuing to look skeptically at European Union efforts to prop up the euro, the trend is unlikely to reverse itself anytime soon.

The exchange rate, though, is perhaps the least significant problem. Much more worrisome to a Continent burdened with high state debt, stubborn budget deficits and newly imposed austerity programs from Portugal to Greece, is a lack of economic growth. The euro-zone economy as a whole is expected to remain in the doldrums this year.

Pakistan, India to start power, petro trade India and Pakistan are strengthening business links, with the stage set to start trading in electricity and petroleum products. Pakistan is expected to end allowing trade in only around 2,000 products and replace the positive list with a negative list.

Officials from the two countries have decided to trade in electricity through a specially-built high voltage direct current link between Amritsar and Lahore. The plan is to transfer 500MW through the Punjab border with the tariff linked to the market rate.

The proposal is awaiting a clearance from the Indian defence ministry before an agreement is signed.

In addition, talks will start in the second week

of January on a 200-km pipeline originating from the Bathinda refinery to move surplus diesel from India to Pakistan. Sources said discussions at the commerce secretary level have taken place, and now specialists from the two countries would thrash out the details,

Gold price increase 0.15 % to Rs 27,369 in future trades

The gold prices in India increased by Rs 40, or 0.15 %, to Rs 27,369 per 10 grams in futures trade on Monday.

The demand increased as speculators boosted sales and due to the fall of the rupee. The gold for delivery in February rose by Rs 40, or 0.15 %, to Rs 27,369 per 10 grams at the Multi Commodity Exchange counter. It recorded a business volume of 1,254 lots The gold for delivery in April rose Rs 34, or 0.12 %, to Rs 27,696 per 10 grams. The business volume for April delivery stood at 60 lots.

Analysts say that fall in the value of rupee, which plays an important role

in cost of the dollar-traded metal, is the reason for the increased price. The price is expected to increase doe to decline in rupee and as most overseas metals markets were closed. The gold for February delivery ended at 27,329 rupees per 10 grams on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).

In the beginning of 2012, Gold will remain in range of Rs. 26000 and Rs. 28000 per 10 grams, according to analysts. The Institute for Supply Management is set to release a report on manufacturing in the month of December, something which will be closely watched by the investors.

when a delegation from across the border visits the country.

The Guru Gobind Singh Refinery Project being jointly built by Hindustan Petroleum and LN Mittal’s Mittal Energy Investment Pvt Ltd Singapore - is expected to go on stream shortly and add to the country’s surplus refining capacity. In contrast, Pakistan faces scarcity and will have quicker access to fuel.

Officials said that HPCL-Mittal Energy will gain as the cost of transporting fuel through a pipeline will work out be much less than shipping it.

The contours of the deal are expected to be finalized over the next few weeks, and may be announced when commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma visits Pakistan in mid-

February with a business delegation. Apart from minister-level and business-to-business talks, the government has also lined up an India Show to strengthen the recent bonhomie on the trade front.

In February, Pakistan is expected to end allowing trade in only around 2,000 products and replace the positive list with a negative list. India is pushing for a small negative list of around 200 items where trade will be restricted.

By October even this list is going to be phased out, and Pakistan will move to a World Trade Organization-compliant mechanism and grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) to India, almost 16 years after New Delhi granted the benefit to Islamabad.

India lifts restrictions on foreign investors

India has moved to attract more foreign capital into its equity market by allowing individual overseas investors to put cash directly into Indian stocks.

The finance ministry said the move, which will come into effect on January 15, was designed to deepen India’s under-developed capital markets and reduce market turbulence.

Foreign nationals were previously restricted to investing in India’s equity market through mutual funds or other institutional channels. The move was announced over the weekend.

The changes are expected to come into effect from 15 January.

India’s stock market has been under pressure with the main Sensex index losing 25% of its value last year amid economic concerns.

The government is keen to stabilise the market and make it more attractive to investors.

Implementing this new rule will “widen the class of investors, attract more foreign funds and

reduce market volatility and deepen the Indian capital market”, the government said in a statement.

The change is being overseen by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, and Reserve Bank of India.

Limits Previously, foreigners interested in investing in India did not have direct access to the market except via mutual funds.

Following the rule change, foreign investors will be able to directly buy and sell shares in the market.

There will, however, be some

restrictions: • an individual and aggregate investment limit of 5% and 10% respectively of the paid up capital of an Indian company • they will have to trade via one account held at a “registered qualified depositary participant” The relaxation of the rules will give investors greater scope for buying into one of the world’s fastestgrowing economies. According to Ernst & Young, India’s economy has been growing an average of 8.6% over the past five years.

ADVERTISEMENT

28

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 05 January 2012

10th Anniversary Magazine of

Masjidun Noor We need advertisement for the Magazine Unquestionably reader would gain knowledge of the history of SLMCC and find thought provoking materials & analysis from prominent scholars.

SLMCC (UK) is making arrangements to publish a magazine to mark the 10th Anniversary of its Masjid (Masjidun Noor in Harrow).

This will contain valuable articles in English and Tamil from various professional scholars on important Islamic subjects and on Muslim issues. This will also include vital information and messages from prominent scholars and leaders of communities and few important people.

Around 2000 magazines will be published and Insha Allah this magazine will reach more than 5000 people. This will remain as a memorable souvenir and remembered lifelong by many people.

We would be very much grateful if you could please provide your advertisement to publish in this Magazine which would enable us to promote your business. All proceeds of this will go to Masjidun-Noor.

Management, Masjidun Noor, SLMCC(UK)

• How to Live a Healthy Life By Dr. Muzakir Majeed -Practicing GP • Sex and Relationship Education in State Schools

By Yusuf Patel - Association of Muslim Governors-AMG • Some Reflections on Challenges Muslim Youth Facing in the West

By Shaikh Rafeek Naleemi,- PhD Candidate (Muslim Minority Law) at Portsmouth University, Arabic Qualified Muslim Chaplain • Instilling an Islamic Personality in our children By Ms Fowzia Reddy - Head Teacher Ash-Shaksiyyah alIslaamiyah School • Some Tenets of Muslim Believes From Imam Tahawi’s Creed By Mufti Ibrahim Teymori • Education of Women in Islam

By Prof: Dr. Al Haj Moulavi. H. Salahudeen (Bari) • The objective of Islamic Finance

By Ash-Sheik Moulavi Murshid (Humaidi) - Consultant Islamic Finance to Amana Takaful

• SLMCC & Its Contributions to the Sri Lankan Muslim Community in the UK

By Dr. Rifai PhD University of London • Massage from As Sheik M.I.M Rizvi Mifthy President of All Ceylon Jamiathul Ulama, one of the pioneer scholars in Sri Lanka • Sri Lankan Muslims History By Ash Sheik Al Hafiz Moulavi M. J. Abdu Khaliq - vice president of ACJU Sri Lanka • Guard your tongue to enter the paradise By Ash - Sheikh Athaur Rahman • How I became a Muslim? By Revert Sister Wahidah Duenas • British Muslims of Sri Lankan Origin MCIOB, CEnv.,Arch.Licen(S.L),Int’l Assoc.AIA • Dhawa is an Amana...

By Amanaths - President of Daruth Thaqwa Girls Arabic College Sri Lanka • Towards Hereafter... (TAMIL) By As Sheik Moulavi Yahya - Member of Fathwa committee ACJU Sri Lanka • Beautiful life style of Prophet

Muhammad (Pbuh) (TAMIL) By As Sheik Mafaz Mufthy -Principal of Ibnu umar Arabic College Sri Lanka) • Sex at a glance... (TAMIL) AS Sheik. A. C. Agar Muhammad -Deputy Director of Jamia NaleemiaSri Lanka • Islamic Brothehood (TAMIL) By As Sheikh A.A. M Kamil (mufthy)Senior Lecturer of Al Hashimia Arabic College -Sri Lanka • Jummua Sermon By AshSheik Moulavi Anas Cassim - Chief imam Of Masjidu Noor - London

Messages & Wishes From • President of SLMCC - J.M. Mubarak • Harrow Council Mayor • Conservatries MP • Labour MP • Sri Lankan High Commissioner UK • Secretary of SLMCC - Dr. Jawahir • Treasurer of SLMCC - M. C. M Mansoor

• The President of Al Falah Education centre – S.M. Raseen • The principal of Al Falah Education Centre – Al-Hafiz M.J. Monawar • Dawah Centre • Sri Lanka Islamic Forum UK • Sri Lankan Muslim Community - East London • Sri Lankan Muslim Association –Slough • Crowley Sri Lankan Association • Association of Sri Lankan Muslims – Reading • Milton Keynes Sri Lankan Community • Sri Lankan Integrated Cultural Association – Manchester • Leicester Sri Lankan • Hamel Hampstead Sri Lankan Community • Pakistan community • Indian Community • Libyan community • Somali community • Afghan community

Contact: Amanulla Kamaldin, The Editor - 078 858 757 78, Mohamed Namees, Editor - 07949 180 982, Bakir - 07838 164 661

Continued on page 24 >> or the UN, are not controlled by the states that compose them but by those that finance them. The League has become a toy in the hands of the oil monarchies.

People who do not even have a Constitution at home do not think of respecting the statutes of the organizations they have bought. Beyond this, the League’s decision to apply crippling sanctions against Syria’s economy does not correspond to a fault committed, but to the beginning of a conventional war.

La Nouvelle République: The same Libyan scenario is again unfolding. Are we going to witness similar events also in Syria, where the context is different, or could we see another situation take shape?

Thierry Meyssan: The context and the actors are different. Libya was an isolated state. Colonel Gaddafi had raised great hopes but was also a great disappointment.

He was an anti-imperialist, but multiplied his secret deals with Washington and Tel Aviv. He was everyone’s ally but neglected or betrayed them all. His country had no diplomacy, nor an alliance policy, except for his investments in favor of African development. Libya was left alone against NATO. Syria, on the contrary, is an ancient nation which has always cultivated its alliances, including its stance of resistance alongside the Palestinians, Lebanese, Iraqis and Iranians. Syria’s diplomacy is so strong that, in a matter of days, she obtained the Russian and Chinese double veto at the Security Council. Any war against Syria may be expected to spread to the entire region and even to escalate into a World War if Iran or Russia intervene directly. In addition, the Libyans are 5 million while the Syrians are 23 million.

Libya had no military experience other than the war with Chad, whereas Syria has lived in a permanent war zone for 60 years. Experts of the pro-war lobby in Washington claim that the Syrian army is poorly equipped and poorly trained. They pledge that an international intervention

will be a walkover. It’s funny because in 2006 the same experts deemed that Israel should avoid a new war with Syria, since it would have been too dangerous.

La Nouvelle République: Some argue that what is happening in Syria is simply an extension of the “Arab revolution”, when Syria has been on the US agenda since the Bush era, as reported by General Wesley Clark.

In your opinion, how can Bashar Al-Assad avert this conspiracy?

Thierry Meyssan: As you just recalled, the decision to attack Syria was made at a meeting at Camp David, on 15 September 2001, just after the attacks in New York and Washington. The Bush administration had planned a series of wars: Afghanistan and Iraq, Libya and Syria, Sudan and Somalia, and ultimately Iran.

In 2003, just after the fall of Baghdad, the US Congress passed the Syrian Acountability Act which instructs the President of the United States to wage a war against Syria as soon as possible. What President Bush did not have time to do is now being accomplished by his successor Barack Obama.

General Wesley Clark decided to reveal this strategy several years ago to be in a better position to oppose it. He played a very important role during the Libyan War, that he tried unsuccessfully to stop with the help of several active duty generals. Together they represent a significant faction of senior officers who refuse to see their men die in foreign adventures that do not serve the interests of the United States, but those of some ideologues close to Israel. They will therefore do everything in their power to prevent a war in Syria and they have more leverage than is generally believed to influence world politics.

President Bashar al-Assad is not like his father. He is not an autocrat. He governs with a team. His government’s strategy is two-fold: to preserve civil peace in the face of destabilization attempts and threats of religious conflicts, and to strengthen its alliances, especially with Iran, Russia and China.

La Nouvelle République: An inescapable observation in the tumultuous context of the Arab world today, whether in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria, concerns the “reconciliation” between the West and the Islamic movement, their erstwhile enemy. In your opinion, what are the ins and outs of this new Western game?

Thierry Meyssan: I don’t think the West has ever regarded the Islamists as enemies. Historically, all empires have used them to curb national resistance movements. This was the case with the Ottomans, as with the French and the British. Don’t forget that France never applied the law of separation between church and state (1905) in Algeria. Instead, it leaned on the mosques to establish its authority. The AngloSaxons have always done the same.

Furthermore, the United States established Islamic movements in the 80’s in the hope of provoking a clash of civilizations between Islam and the Soviet Union.

This was the strategy conceived by Bernard Lewis, implemented by Zbigniew Brzezinski, and theorized

by Samuel Huntington for public consumption. This gave rise to Al-Qaeda. These people have defended the interests of the US empire in Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Chechnya, and more recently in Iraq, Libya and now Syria.

Abdel Hakim Belhaj, who was appointed by Ayman AlZawahiri as Al-Qaeda’s number three man when the Islamic Fighting Group in Libya was absorbed by AlQaeda, is now the military governor of Tripoli and the commander of the Free Syrian Army. He nonchalantly introduces himself as NATO’s man and demands retribution from the MI6 for having tortured him in the past.

As for the Muslim Brotherhood which Washington has brought to power in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, and would like to install in Syria, they are historically linked to MI6. They were conceived by Hassan AlBanna for the purpose of fighting the British, but they were instead used by the British to fight Nasser. Today,

they are swimming in grants from the Gulf Cooperation Council, which is hardly a sign of independence.

La Nouvelle République: If tomorrow the regime of Bashar al-Assad were to fall, what would be the impact on the Tehran-Hamas-Hezbollah axis of resistance?

Thierry Meyssan: The United States makes no secret of the fact that, if they succeed in destroying Syria - I mean “destroying Syria” because the resistance issue goes far beyond the person of President Al-Assad - they will continue the war by attacking Iran immediately.

Therefore, the fall of Syria would open a period of instability that could escalate into a global conflict.

La Nouvelle République: In the context of this war with Syria, Turkey has fully aligned itself with the views of the pro-Western Syrian opposition... by banishing the Syrian regime, claiming it is killing its people, refusing to acknowledge the demonstrations in support of the Syrian President, disparaging the military dimension of the protests, and even refusing to recognize the opponents inside the country as representatives of the Syrian people and reserving that status for the Syrian National Council. In your opinion, why such a turnaround?

Thierry Meyssan: We seem to forget that Turkey is a member of NATO. The Turkish army is auxiliary to that of the United States. In the past, it even saved the United States in Korea. Turkey is home to U.S. bases and has just accepted that the Pentagon install on its territory the NATO bases that are currently stationed in Spain, as well as a new radar system designed to monitor Iran.

For centuries, Turkish leaders have accumulated political errors. Erdogan hopes to become the policeman of the region as Shah Reza Pahlavi and Saddam Hussein before him. History has shown how the United States treat those who serve them: they use them, then eliminate them.

Chérif Abdedaïm

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 05 January 2012

NEWS

29

Russia exposes true colors of the West For the first time in many years, Russia’s Foreign Ministry published an extensive report about the state of affairs in the field of human rights in the United States of America, Canada, EU, NATO members and Georgia. The report from the ministry also touched upon Libya, where NATO’s incursion has led to the bloody change of power. The document is not flawless. However, it clearly shows that democracy in the West is not as perfect as it is painted.

For a long time the monopoly on the publication of such reports belonged to the United States. The Americans tend to present certain countries as outcasts.

Year after year Russia is highlighted in the reports of the State Department.

According to them, Russia has issues with the elections, freedom of speech and religious minorities. Something similar is published by the European Union. At one time, Chinese Foreign Ministry published a report on human rights in the United States.

Russian foreign policy was clearly defensive. Russia always had to justify itself, responding to attacks from the West. And then, finally, Russia published a nearly 100-page document describing human rights violations in the United States, Canada, EU and NATO, as well as allied Georgia. The actions of the West during the war in Libya have not been overlooked in the report either. Each region is assigned a separatThe largest section is devoted to the U.S. - the country which has declared itself “the standard of democracy.” “The situation there is far from the ideals proclaimed by Washington. The main unresolved issue is an odious prison at Guantanamo Bay ... President Obama has legalized indefinite terms without trial... The current administration continues to use most of the methods of social control and interference with the privacy of Americans,” the document says.

“There are continued violations of international humanitarian law in armed conflict and during anti-terrorist operations. Chronic systemic problems in the American society are getting more acute, including racial discrimination, xenophobia, overcrowding in jails, unreasonable use of the death penalty ... The U.S. has one of the weakest in the West security systems for workers’ rights for Collective Bargaining”, stated Russian diplomats.

“The extraterritorial application of the American law does the greatest harm in terms of US-Russian relations. It leads to a violation of fundamental rights and

freedoms of Russian citizens, including arbitrary arrests and abductions from third countries (the most obvious examples are the cases of Viktor Bout and K. Yaroshenko),” says the report.

The authors also note “a very acute problem of violence against adopted children from Russia in American families.”

Further the report lists such things as violation of the rights of prisoners in CIA prisons, the problems with freedom of expression and harassment of employees and the founder of the website WikiLeaks, the death of at least 111,000 Iraqis and 14 thousands of Afghans in the wars unleashed by the United States. There is racial discrimination of blacks and Hispanics, and religious discrimination against American Muslims.

Not everything is well in the U.S. with human rights, freedom of speech and racism, and especially with the wars.

Of course, one can parry that in Russia the labor laws are less than perfect, and there are problems with the media, and national relationships are not perfect as well. However, Russia is not instructing the world how to live, and does not throw bombs on other countries. The presence of problems in Russia does not change the fact that the U.S. is far from ideal.

With regard to the European Union, the Russian Foreign Ministry has supported human rights criticism from Human Rights Watch on the rights of immigrants from Asia and Africa and the anti-Muslim rhetoric. “The

main conclusion is the overall growth of xenophobia and intolerance in the EU, promotion of far-right rhetoric ... European governments do not try to fight it, but, rather, vice versa, use the trend in domestic purposes,” the Russian diplomats said.

“According to the AOHR (EU Agency for Fundamental Human Rights - Ed.) in 2009 more than any others the following nationalities were discriminated at work: North Africans in Italy (30 percent), Roma in Greece (29 percent), Roma in the Czech Republic (27 percent), Africans in Malta (27 percent), Africans in Ireland (26 percent), Roma in Hungary (25 percent), Brazilians in Portugal (24 percent), Turks in Denmark (22 percent), Roma in Poland (22 percent),” the report says.

It is important that Russia described the problem that the EU remained silent about for years. They say that they do not have problems with the Muslims or Roma. They do have them, however, and last year they demonstrated it by the shooting in Norway or the influx of refugees from North Africa. Yet, there is another side to the issue: can Muslims or blacks demand the same rights as the indigenous people? Can they pointedly ignore laws and customs accepted in Europe? Would Roma themselves be willing to adapt to a normal society?

Therefore, complaints to the authorities of European countries are still excessive.

Sections on Germany, France, Britain and Sweden, report on the growth of xenophobia and the issues of Muslims.

Terrorism and The Illuminati Continued from page 26 >> These associations were part of a grand strategy, as outlined by Albert Pike, who originally devised a plot for three world wars, culminating in a third against the Muslim world. However, because the Islamic world had been successfully dismantled, both through the instigations of the West, and by way of their own corruption, they were incapable of mobilizing any kind of

threat. It therefore had to be contrived.

This was the agenda of the Oxford Movement, to spread Scottish Rite Freemasonry in the Middle East, headed

by Lord Palmerston, Benjamin Disraeli and Edward Bullwer-Lytton, a leading occult figure, as head of the SRIA, or English Rosicrucians, which evolved directly from the Asiatic Brethren. The agent of this strategy was a notorious impostor by the name of Jamal ud Din al Afghani, who became the founder of what is called the

Swedes, among other things, are accused of supporting the Chechen rebels.

Finland is also mentioned in connection with the endless stories about taking children away from Russian mothers. In the case of Hungary there is a mention of an attempt to revise the results of the Second World War. Poland, Bulgaria and Romania “only” suffer from inadequate legislation.

A separate section is devoted to the Baltic. “The discriminatory policy of the authorities of the Baltic states against the Russian minority living there remains nearly unchanged. Of particular concern is the unresolved problem of mass statelessness in Latvia (nearly 330 thousand “aliens”) and Estonia (nearly 100 thousand “aliens”) and consequent violation of the rights of Russian-speaking minorities in these countries,” stated the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“Reduction of the Russian-language news and cultural and educational space, as well as the persecution of World War II veterans and law enforcement agencies of the former USSR is also observed in Lithuania. Of particular concern is the continuation of the trend to rewrite the history of the Second World War Baltic states,” Russian diplomat said.

Problems in Georgia were very clearly outlined in the report. There are a lot of cases when Russian citizens (including ethnic Georgians) fell victims of provocations of local security forces.

Attention is drawn to the dispersal of the protests. Particularly highlighted is the largest violation of the rights of

Salafi “reform” movement of Islam. According to K. Paul Johnson, it was Afghani, as head of the occult Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor, or HB of L, who was responsible for teaching Helena Blavatsky her central doctrines.

Helena P. Blavatsky, the famous medium and mystic, was the godmother of the New Age movement, whose books are considered the “bibles” of Freemasonry. Numerous other leading occultists affiliated with the English Rosicrucians and Egyptian Rite Freemasonry travelled to Egypt at the time, and on their return, established branches of the HB of L, out of which emerged the Ordo

national minorities of the country - the Armenian and Azerbaijani.

“Armenian-populated region of Samtskhe-Javakheti (in Armenian Javakheti) is in dire socio-economic situation ... Administrative positions in local government are occupied predominantly by Georgian. The Georgian authorities have deliberately carried out a discriminatory policy against Azerbaijanis. Resettlement of Azerbaijanis in neighboring Azerbaijan is becoming mass in nature,” the Russian diplomats stated.

The next section of the report is on Canada. The country was berated for the brutality against the demonstrators, for the oppression of Indians and Eskimos, and lack of security of Canadian citizens abroad. However, there is not a single word in the report about endless military exercises in the Arctic and threats of Canadian authorities to Russia.

The last section is devoted to NATO operations in Libya. “NATO leaders officially deny the facts of civilian deaths as a result of air strikes by coalition forces, indirect victims, which was the reason for the blockade of the western regions of Libya, the destruction of civilian infrastructure,” the diplomat said.

Then follows a list of deaths of civilians from NATO attacks and atrocities of Western-backed rebels. The highlights are “extrajudicial execution of the representatives of the former regime and its supporters with the tacit consent of NATO members,” numerous cases of “crimes of the former Libyan armed opposition.”

The document is not without drawbacks.

Thus, it has no foreword or conclusion.

Sections on the United States, the Baltic States, Georgia, Libya, and the largest countries in Europe are very detailed.

However, the sections of the smaller European countries, as well as the entire EU and Canada raise questions and seem to be rather “raw”. The publication of the report seems untimely. During Christmas and New Year holidays even the politicians are not particularly into policy.

However, the first attempt was pretty good. Russia has shown that it will not always have to justify its behavior after publication of the American and European reports. It can provide preemptive strikes in its foreign policy.

Hopefully, such reports from the Foreign Ministry of Russia will become commonplace and improve with time.

Vadim Trukhacheve section.

Templi Orientis (OTO), the most notorious member of which was Aleister Crowley.

The Nazis were the result of a merging of the O.T.O of Crowley and the Thule Gesselschaft of Germany. It is presumably for this reason that Hitler, when he wished to create an arm of German Intelligence in Egypt, contacted a leading Salafi and Freemason, named Hasan al Banna. With the demise of the Nazis following WWII, control of the organization was transferred to the CIA. It was its eventual head, Allen Dulles who spearheaded the move to hire ex-Nazis to train the terrorists.

30

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 05 January 2012

2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won’t End? Countdown begins for Mayan prophesy?

Contrary to what many believed, year 2012 will not mark the end of the world but will just be a start of a new calendar, according to Mayan timekeeper.

Many consider it a joke although others are scared we might never live to see next year thanks to the Mayan calendar’s ‘apocalyptic’ prediction. But Mayan expert Leonzo Barreno, of Saskatchewan, Canada, has asserted that the ‘apocalypse’ concept is a false interpretation of the Long Count calendar.

The University of Regina journalism professor said Mayan elders told him that December 21 this year simply marks the beginning of a new calendar.

Barreno, who immigrated to Canada from Guatemala 23 years ago, was trained by Mayan elders to read the calendars.

“There are two sides to the story,” he told CBC News.

“The one that we know is this apocalyptic meaning that has been given to the Long Count.”

“The other side of the story is the Mayan side, which you rarely see on media articles, because they never interview my own people.”

He revealed that Mayan people are featured for just five seconds of the film ‘2012’, starring John Cusack, which is somewhat based on their ‘predictions’.

IN the southern Mexican town of Tapachula, a clock counts the minutes until the last day of the Mayan calendar.

Falling on December 21 this year, it is a date with which viewers of the apocalypse film 2012 will be familiar - bringing the destruction of the world as we know it - and hysteria from some who believe it to herald the end of time.

In Tulum, on the Mayan Riviera, a secretive group of Italians has been constructing an underground bunker, which they claim is capable of withstanding a tsunami or atomic bomb.

To quell the doomsday forecasts, fuelled by disaster films and online postings, the National Institute of Anthropological History in Mexico (Inah) has launched an awareness campaign and is holding a conference at the Mayan site of Palenque in the southern state of Chiapas this month.

The apocalypse theories stem from a stone tablet which describes the end of a 5,126-year cycle, bringing the return of Bolon Yokte, a god associated with war and creation. Carved 1,300 years ago, the stone is now cracked, rendering the end of the passage illegible.

But in his 1987 book The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology, the American author Jose Arguelles called the date “the ending of time as we know it”, and spawned an army of end-of-time theorists.

Doomsday predictions have bred online, fed by a receptive audience: the film 2012 grossed pounds $A696 million to become one of the top 40 box-office hits of all time.

Speculation has also increased after the recent discovery of a second reference to the date, on a brick at the archaeological site of Comalcalco.

However, Inah says that out of 15,000 registered glyphic Mayan texts discovered, these are the only two that mention 2012 - scant references for an event of such supposed magnitude.

Sven Gronemeyer, a researcher of Mayan codes at La Trobe University in Australia, who has been decoding the calendar, said the ancient civilisation simply viewed the god as overseeing the transition from one era to the next.

“Because Bolon Yokte was present at the day of creation ... it just seemed natural for the Mayan that Bolon Yokte will again be present,” he said.

In Tapachula, officials overseeing the countdown said they did not believe the world would end on the winter solstice but thought it signified a new beginning - at least for the town’s financial prospects.

Manolo Alfonso Pinot, the regional director of tourism in Chiapas, said he hoped it would attract visitors. “If people are interested, we have to take advantage of this,” he said.

At the Mayan ruins of Tulum the fear of impending doom has not damaged tourism.

“I’m unconcerned,” said Andrea Marcos, a 22-yearold student from Mexico City.

“A lot of earthquakes and natural disasters have

happened [recently] and in 2012 I wouldn’t be surprised if something else happens, but I think it’s going to be for the good.”

Islam and Doomsday 2012 as end of the world Islamic view ”Surely, knowledge of the Hour is with Allah alone. ” (Holy Qur’an 31:34) The knowledge of time of Qiyamah (End of the world) has not been given to any angel, man or being. The exact time of the Doomsday is given neither in Qur’an nor in Hadith. It is something that only Allah knows -

as mentioned in the above Quranic verse.

Much like Y2K, 2012 has been analyzed and the science of the end of the Earth thoroughly studied.

Contrary to some of the common beliefs out there, the science behind the end of the world quickly unravels when pinned down to the 2012 timeline. Below, NASA Scientists answer several questions that we’re frequently asked regarding 2012.

Nothing bad will happen to the Earth in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.

Islam and Doomsday Islam believes in Doomsday - a day when the entire world will be destroyed. This day is called “Day of judgment.”

Holy Quran has explicitly stated this “Verily, Allah!

With Him (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour“(Surah Luqman 31/34).

So there is no indication in Quran or the saying of the prophet Muhammad (SA) that 2012 is the end of the world - according to what projected by the mayan calender, and as potrayed by the movies.

The term ‘Last Day’ in reality stands for the ‘Last Age’, or the age which would culminate in the end of history—when the true Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary (not son of God), would return to rule the world from Jerusalem with justice and ‘eternal’ rule. It would be ‘eternal’ in the sense that history would end with that event. Life on earth beyond that event, and after Jesus dies a human death and is buried next to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon them both) in Madinah, would not qualify as history. This would be so since the modern secular rope would have reached its predictable end in total godlessness, and with such a consequent collapse of morals, and of moral consciousness, that people would forget their human status and “would engage in sexual intercourse in public like donkeys”. Already it is quite clear (particularly at the time of Trinidad’s Carnival) that we are quite close to the fulfillment of that ominous prophecy made by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) prophesied of the Last Age that: • “People would follow a way of life other than mine, and give guidance other than mine”…“I fear for my people only the leaders who lead men astray”…

“Before the Last Hour there will be great liars, so beware of them”…“When the most wicked member of a tribe becomes its ruler, and the most worthless member of a community becomes its leader, and a man is respected through fear of the evil he may do, and leadership is given to people who are unworthy of

it, expect the Last Hour”.

The ten major Signs of the Last Day as prophesied by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him): • Dajjal — the false Messiah or Anti-Christ, • Gog and Magog, • Smoke, • The beast of the earth or land (most likely the holy land), • The sun would rise from the west, • Three sinkings of the earth • one in the east • One in the west • and One in Arabia, • A fire would come out of Yemen and would drive people to their place of assembly (for judgment), • The son of Mary would descend. Although these signs were not given by the blessed Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) in their chronological order of occurrence I have made an effort to put them in that order, with the ones that have not as yet occurred at the bottom of the list. How did I arrive at the above order? We know from the prophecies of the blessed Prophet that the third major ‘sinking of the earth’, i.e., the one that would occur in Arabia, would swallow an army that would be heading south to Makkah. That army would be on its way to attack Imam al-Mahdi, the descendent of Prophet Muhammad (peace

and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him). It was prophesied that he would restore the Islamic Caliphate (or Islamic model of a state) in the Arabian peninsula.

It is after that sign has occurred (i.e., the third major earthquake) that the son of Mary would descend from the sky with his hands resting on the wings of two angels, and would kill Dajjal the False Messiah or Anti-Christ. The Qur’an itself has described Jesus (i.e., the return of Jesus) as the ‘ilm (which here means the very key to the subject) of the Last Hour: “And he (i.e., Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment): therefore have no doubt about the (Hour), but follow Me: this is a Straight Way.” (Qur’an, Zukhruf, 43:61) It follows that his return must come chronologically at the end of the list. We also know that the ‘fire’ from Yemen would follow the third earthquake. And so now that it appears that the major earthquake in the East has occurred, we await four more major signs that still remain to occur.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 05 January 2012

SPORTS

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Pakistan Supreme Court stumps Zardari

By M Rama Rao Pakistan Supreme Court’s decision on December 30 to order a probe into the Memogate as the secret memo scandal is known, is not unexpected. It signals that a countdown has begun for President Asif Ali Zardari with the real power centre, the army, in a vindictive mood. And it is a public rebuke of his plans to reward Hussain Haqqani, the villain of the piece, according to the General Kayani and co., with a Senate berth; and a snub to his moves to deny further extension to General Kayani and. his Sancho Panza, ISI chief, Lt Gen Shuja Pasha.

President Zardari could have shown a little difference towards the judiciary; he did not. His prime minister, dapper Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani could have avoided targeting the judiciary; he did not.

So much so Zardari-Gilani cry that their detractors in the judiciary, military and political scene are using Memogate to topple the civilian government is neither here nor there. Historically speaking, no civilian government has ever completed its five-year term in Pakistan in the 60+ years of its existence as an Islamic Republic.

The Memogate has its origins in May when President Zardari sent a SOS to Washington to deliver a pep talk to Gen Kayani and stop him from staging a coup. Journalist turned diplomat Hussain Haqqani was the author of the draft, notwithstanding his denials. Mansoor Ijaz, a US-based Pakistani businessman delivered the memo to the Admiral Mike Mullen, the then chairman of the US joints chiefs of staff. Why Ijaz was chosen to be the courier remains unclear since good credentials is not his forte. He belongs to the tribe of boastful wheeler -dealers who willingly

cover the extra mile for a price with no concern for the colour of the currency.

The authors of the Memo failed to factor in the reality that Washington doesn’t enjoy any special leverage with Rawalpindi after Operation Geronimo which had smoked out Osama bin Laden from his Abbottabad lair. And that Gen Kayani and his GHQ Shura have scripted a new equation with Pentagon by cashing in on the American concerns and vulnerabilities in what is essentially an election year for President Obama. That is why Gen Kayani and his Sancho Panza are outraged and forced the defence ministry to admit under oath that the army and ISI are not under its control. Also they were able to go before the Supreme Court with injured innocence and supported the Supreme Court’s investigation.

It is too early to say that opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, himself a creation of the ‘establishment’ as the military is known in Pakistan, will stand to benefit from the Supreme Court’s decision. He is one of the politician -petitioners in the case and his PML-N has made the Memogate a big stick to beat the PPP. The fact that the chief justice of Baluchistan high court, Qazi Faez Isa will head the probe commission is significant. Nawaz has just had a meeting with Baloch leader Attaullah Mengal and though he is a Punjabi, and the Balochs have nothing but hatred for Punjab and Punjab dominated Pakistan army, he emerged as the most acceptable Punjab face to them.

Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and Sindh High Court Chief Justice Mushir Alam are the other members of the commission which is free to avail services of lawyers

Continued from page 32 >>

England announces squad Jan 07-09: ICC Combined XI v England XI, Dubai, Jan 11-13: PCB XI v England XI, Dubai, Jan 17-21: 1ST TEST, PAKISTAN v ENGLAND, Dubai Jan 25-29: 2ND TEST, PAKISTAN v ENGLAND, Abu Dhabi, Feb 03-07: 3RD TEST, PAKISTAN v ENGLAND, Dubai Feb 10: England XI v England Lions, Abu Dhabi, Feb 13: 1ST ODI, PAKISTAN v

ENGLAND, Abu Dhabi, Feb 15: 2ND ODI, PAKISTAN v ENGLAND, Abu Dhabi, Feb 18: 3RD ODI, PAKISTAN v ENGLAND, Dubai, Feb 21: 4TH ODI, PAKISTAN v ENGLAND, Dubai, Feb 23: 1ST T20, PAKISTAN v ENGLAND, Dubai, Feb 25: 2ND T20, PAKISTAN v ENGLAND, Dubai, Feb 27: 3RD T20, PAKISTAN v ENGLAND, Abu Dhabi

Australia on top as Ponting and Clarke

Australia’s run onslaught exacted full toll on India’s mediocre 191 firstinnings total, leaving the tourists with a massive task just to get the home side to bat a second time in the match.

Clarke and Ponting came together with Australia at a shaky 37 for three and put the home team in an impregnable position to force a result.

Hussey carried on his form from his 89 in Melbourne with a flourishing halfcentury, with his 50 coming off 70 balls and featuring one straight-hit six off spinner Ravi Ashwin. India have never won a Test series in Australia.

and experts of forensic science and cyber crimes. Foreign Secretary and all other federal secretaries, the chiefs various investigative agencies including the Federal Investigation Agency and the police chiefs of all provinces are asked to render assistance unto the Commission besides the envoys to the US, UK and Canada.

The nine-judge bench, which passed the order asked Attorney General Maulvi Anwar ul Haq to secure the most important piece of evidence, namely confirmation on the authenticity of the messages allegedly exchanged between Haqqani and Mansoor Ijaz on their Blackberry phones. Canadian company, Research In Motion (RIM) is the maker of Blackberry smart phone.

The Gilani government is expected to provide logistical support in

what is certainly a case of inquiry against itself. Will the government comply? This is a rhetorical question. But fact of the matter is it has no option except to fall inline.

One interesting thing about the probe is that one of three-judge panel, Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman is the son of a judge who had delivered a stinging verdict against the army for its abject surrender in the Eastern theatre of the 1971 war that resulted in the emergence of Bangladesh as a free country.

Hamoodur Rahman Senior was a highly respected chief justice of Pakistan and the then Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto asked him to conduct the probe.

The Hamoodur Rehman Commission report, as the findings are known, is yet to be made public officially. Now, 41 years later, the

fate of Bhutto’s son-in-law is very much in the hands of Hamoodur Junior, in a manner of speaking.

Qazi Faez Isa commission is given four weeks to complete the probe into Memo-gate. It means that its report can be expected by the first week of February. The Senate elections are slated for March. So once the Senate elections are over, President Zardari will be toppled and it will be done democratically with Gen Kayani remaining true to his public professions of not interfering in power politics.

There is already a talk of a silent deal between Nawaz and army generals that assemblies would be dissolved after Senate election.

The ensuing general election may see an old army creation and a new army creation as contenders for the thrown but both may end up as a part of the new triad.

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

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 05 January 2012

Sri Lanka ‘wants to host IPL matches’ Sri Lanka is in negotiations to host Indian Premier League (IPL) matches to raise money for its financially-strapped cricket board, the Cricinfo website reported Wednesday.

Upali Dharmadasa, the newly-elected president of Sri Lanka Cricket, told the website he had

approached the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to schedule some of the glitzy Twenty20 league’s games on the island. “I would request the Indian board, and we have already started talking, why not play a couple of matches in Sri Lanka?,” Dharmadasa was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.

Dharmadasa said the short distances between India and Sri Lanka would not pose any scheduling problems.

SAT

Sports

Australia on top as Ponting and Clarke break through Michael Clarke hit the highest score by an Australian at the Sydney Cricket Ground and Ricky Ponting struck his first Test century in two years as the hosts pounded India in the second Test Wednesday.

Captain Clarke scored an unbeaten double-century and Ponting broke through for his first hundred in 34 Test innings in dramatic style to put Australia a commanding 291 runs in front with six wickets left and three days to go.

The pair shared the biggest partnership — 288 runs — for any wicket against India to leave the dispirited tourists with a mountain to climb to save the four-Test series after going down by 122 runs in last week’s opening Test in Melbourne.

At the close on the second day, Australia were 482 for four with Clarke unconquered on 251 off 342 balls and Mike Hussey on 55. The pair had put on an unfinished

157 for the fifth wicket.

Ponting, 37, gave the perfect riposte to those calling for his retirement with a dogged 134, while Clarke basked in the adulation of his home crowd by surpassing Doug Walters’ previous highest SCG score by an Australian of 242 set in 1969.

The Australians, trailing by 75 at the start of the day, lost only one wicket in a dominant day’s cricket after the helter-skelter of 13 wickets tumbling on Tuesday.

While the first day’s play was all about wickets, Wednesday’s action was purely about runs as Australia set about building a massive lead to go after a 2-0 series lead.

Clarke brought up his 18th Test century and fourth against India with a glorious cover drive off Ishant Sharma in the last over before lunch.

He went on with the job of surpassing his previous Test

best 168 against New Zealand in March 2010 and offered only one chance to the attack, when he was on 182, that Sharma failed to take advantage of.

Ponting meanwhile scampered off for a single on 99 to mid-on and flung himself full-length to make his ground as Zaheer Khan’s throw whistled past the stumps at the bowler’s end 20 minutes after lunch.

The former skipper clambered off the ground, his shirt coated in dirt, smiling broadly and with his bat raised to mark his first hundred in 34 Test innings — his last being 209 against Pakistan in January 2010.

It was his 40th Test century and sixth at the SCG, where he is also the leading all-time Test run-getter with 1,480.

Ponting was finally out shortly before tea when he sliced to Sachin Tendulkar in the gully off Sharma. He batted for 335 minutes, faced 225 balls and hit 14 fours.

England announces squad for Pakistan tests For upcoming cricket series between England Vs Pakistan so England has announced its squad for three –Test match series on Tuesday in the United Arab Emirates against Pakistan.

The England squad are consist of these players, Andrew Strauss(capt), Kevin pietersen, Ian Bell, Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Matt Prior(wkt), Stuart Broad, Chris Tremlett, Steven Davies(wkt) Graeme Swann, Tim Bresnan, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Monty Panesar, Ravi Bopara.

The playing Schedule you can see below.

Jan 03: England arrive Continued on page 31 >> Published by Saarc International Ltd, Suite 101, 10 Courtenay Road, London HA9 7ND. UK Telephone:020 8904 0619 Fax: 020 8181 7575 E-mail: info@satribune.co.uk www.satribune.co.uk, www.saarc.co.uk. Printed at Webprint UK Ltd, Unit B1 Eastern Approach, Alfred Way, Barking, IG11 0AG