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India: Whither justice for atrocities in Punjab
Investigate and prosecute perpetrators of 'disappearances' and killings, demands Human Rights Watch
The Indian government must take concrete steps to hold accountable members of its security forces who killed, "disappeared," and tortured thousands of Sikhs during its counterinsurgency campaign in the Punjab, Human Rights Watch and Ensaaf said in a new report.
In order to end the institutional defects that foster impunity in Punjab and elsewhere in the country, the government should take new legal and practical steps, including the establishment of a commission of inquiry, a special prosecutor's office, and an extensive reparations programme.
The 123-page report, Protecting the Killers: A Policy of Impunity in Punjab, India, examines the challenges faced by victims and their relatives in pursuing legal avenues for accountability for the human rights abuses perpetrated during the government's counterinsurgency campaign. The report describes the impunity enjoyed by officials responsible for violations and the near total failure of India's judicial and state institutions, from the National Human Rights Commission to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to provide justice for victims' families.
Beginning in the 1980s, Sikh separatists in Punjab committed serious human rights abuses, including the massacre of civilians, attacks upon Hindu minorities in the state, and indiscriminate bomb attacks in crowded places. In its counterinsurgency operations in Punjab from 1984 to 1995, Indian security forces committed serious human rights abuses against tens of thousands of Sikhs. None of the key architects of this counterinsurgency strategy who bear substantial responsibility for these atrocities have been brought to justice.
"Impunity in India has been rampant in Punjab, where security forces committed large-scale human rights violations without any accountability," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "No one disputes that the militants were guilty of numerous human rights abuses, but the government should have acted within the law instead of sanctioning the killing, 'disappearance,' and torture of individuals accused of supporting the militants."
A key case discussed in detail in the report is the Punjab "mass cremations case," in which the security services are implicated in thousands of killings and secret cremations throughout Punjab to hide the evidence of wrongdoing. The case is currently before the National Human Rights Commission, a body specially empowered by the Supreme Court to address this case. However, the commission has narrowed its efforts to merely establishing the identity of the individuals who were secretly cremated in three crematoria in just one district of Punjab. It has rejected cases from other districts and has ignored the intentional violations of human rights perpetrated by India's security forces. For more than a decade, the commission has failed to independently investigate a single case and explicitly refuses to identify any responsible officials.
"The National Human Rights Commission has inexplicably failed in its duties to investigate and establish exactly what happened in Punjab," said Adams. "We still hold out hope that it will change course and bring justice to victims and their families."
The report discusses the case of Jaswant Singh Khalra, a leading human rights defender in Punjab who was abducted and then murdered in October 1995 by government officials after being held in illegal detention for almost two months. Despite credible eyewitness testimony that police chief KPS Gill was directly involved in interrogating Khalra in illegal detention just days prior to Khalra's murder, the Central Bureau of Investigation has thus far refused to investigate or prosecute Gill. In September 2006, Khalra's widow, Paramjit Kaur, filed a petition in the Punjab & Haryana High Court calling on the CBI to take action against Gill. More than a year later, she is still waiting for a hearing on the merits.
"Delivering justice in Punjab could set precedents throughout India for the redress of mass state crimes and superior responsibility," said Jaskaran Kaur, co-director of Ensaaf. "Indians and the rest of the world are watching to see if the current Indian government can muster the political will to do the right thing. It if fails, then the only conclusion that can be reached is that the state's institutions cannot or will not take on the security establishment. This has grave implications for Indian democracy."
Victims and their families seeking justice face severe challenges, including prolonged trials, biased prosecutors, an unresponsive judiciary, police intimidation and harassment of witnesses, and the failure to charge senior government officials despite evidence of their role in the abuses.
Tarlochan Singh described the hurdles he has faced in his now 18-year struggle before Indian courts for justice for the killing of his son, Kulwinder Singh:
"I used to receive threatening phone calls. The caller would say that they had killed thousands of boys and thrown them into canals, and they would also do that to Kulwinder Singh's wife, kid, or me and my wife...
"The trial has been proceeding ... with very little evidence being recorded at each hearing, and with two to three months between hearings. During this time, key witnesses have died."
After Mohinder Singh's son Jugraj Singh was killed in an alleged faked armed encounter between security forces and separatists in January 1995, he pursued numerous avenues of justice. He brought his case before the Punjab & Haryana High Court and the CBI Special Court, but no police officer was charged. A CBI investigation found that Jugraj Singh had been killed and cremated by the police. However, 11 years and a few inquiry reports later, the CBI court ended Mohinder Singh's pursuit for accountability by dismissing his case in 2006. Mohinder Singh describes his interactions with the CBI:
"On one occasion when [the officer] from the CBI came to my house, he told me that I wasn't going to get anything out of this. Not justice and not even compensation. He further said that: 'I see you running around pursuing your case. But you shouldn't get into a confrontation with the police. You have to live here and they can pick you up at any time.' He was indirectly threatening me."
Human Rights Watch and Ensaaf expressed concern that the Indian government continues to cite the counterinsurgency operations in Punjab as a model for preserving national integrity.
"The government's illegal and inhuman policies in the name of security have allowed a culture of impunity to prevail that has brutalized its police and security forces," said Kaur.
The report suggests a comprehensive framework to address the institutionalized impunity that has prevented accountability in Punjab. The detailed recommendations include establishing a commission of inquiry, a special prosecutor's office, and an extensive reparations programme.
"The Indian government needs to send a clear message to its security services, courts, prosecutors, and civil servants that it neither tolerates nor condones gross human rights violations under any circumstances," said Adams. "This requires a comprehensive and credible process of accountability that delivers truth, justice, and reparations to its victims, who demand nothing more than their rights guaranteed by India's constitution and international law."
The Human Rights Watch report, "Protecting the Killers: A Policy of Impunity in Punjab, India," is available at: http://hrw.org/reports/2007/india1007/. For broadcast-quality video interviews of those featured in the report, please visit: http://hrw.org/video/2007/india10/. For more information, please contact: In California, Jaskaran Kaur, Ensaaf (English, Punjabi): +1-857-205-3849 (mobile) In Delhi, Meenakshi Ganguly, Human Rights Watch (Bengali, English, Hindi): +91-98-200-36032
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KABUL EXECUTES 15 AFTER FLAWED TRIALS
'Karzai punishes weak criminals, appoints powerful ones to govt. posts': Afghan editor
Hafizullah Gardesh in Kabul
Government officials are defending last month's execution of 15 prisoners, in spite of claims that convictions were unsafe and that the operation was a roadside slaughter.
The authorities have been severely criticised for the escape of Afghanistan's most notorious criminal Timor Shah, who was sentenced to death for kidnapping, rape and murder. It is not clear how Timor Shah managed to avoid the October 7 execution, which reportedly took place at 9:30 pm by the side of a road on the outskirts of Kabul.
General Abdul Salam Esmat, head of Afghanistan's prisons, was evasive about the circumstances of the escape.
"It is said that Timor Shah was taken to the execution hall but disappeared because of technical reasons," he told IWPR. "Investigators are questioning those present on the scene."
A senior prosecutor, Sarbeland, told The Times of London that he was charged with observing the execution, and described a chaotic scene. As some of the shackled prisoners tried to run when Timor Shah jumped over a wall and fled, it took between five and 10 minutes for a firing squad to mow them down and finish them off, he said.
Even before details emerged, the incident drew criticism from human rights groups and foreign diplomats. But Afghan officials remain unrepentant, despite the controversy and an ongoing investigation.
"[Afghanistan] has full authority to implement its civil and Islamic laws," said the president's spokesman Humayun Hamidzada in an interview. "As long as Afghanistan's laws allow for execution, the government will implement it and will not be pressured by anyone."
A panel of judges and prosecutors appointed by President Hamid Karzai spent a year reviewing the prisoners' files, he added.
But Lal Gul, head of the Afghanistan Human Rights Organisation, said the process was flawed.
"We have looked at the files of some of those executed. Deficiencies can be seen in the investigations," he said, claiming that some of the convicts had no access to a lawyer, and were imprisoned as a result of ethnic and tribal discrimination.
He says his organisation supplied this information to the death penalty panel.
"The government needs to investigate those prosecutors and judges who ordered the executions, because innocent people have been killed and we can prove this," said Lal Gul, picking up a large file and threw it down on his desk.
"Haji Mohammad Hussain [who was one of those executed] was arrested because of a personal enmity," he claimed. "The regional district chief, the provincial governor, members of parliament from Farah province, regional people, district and provincial councils and the head of the Solidarity Programme, Sebghatullah Mujadeddi, all gave us documents that proved his innocence. But the prosecutors and judges gave him the death sentence."
While some analysts have suggested Karzai allowed the executions in part to bolster his popularity, Hamidzada denied such accusations.
"The executions took place to ensure justice is done, and not for political reasons," he said.
Still, the decision may have worked in Karzai's favour by convincing some that the government is getting tough on crime.
"If these criminals and thieves are not executed, conditions will become worse," said Kabul resident Gul Ahmad. "Every criminal should be executed, whether wearing police or military uniform or travelling in ministry vehicles with tinted windows. Everyone is equal under the law."
Zakia, a university student in Kabul, also applauded the decision, but urged the president to extend the policy to alleged criminals within the government.
"Execution of criminals is fine, but can Karzai execute those who are his accomplices?" she asked. "When he is able to do so, I will call him a man."
Kabul security chief Alishah Paktiawal said he was confident the executions would send a clear message to would-be criminals.
"I say this clearly - the crime rate will decrease dramatically after this execution," he said in a telephone interview.
Others, however, have condemned the use of the death penalty.
Fazel Rahman Oria, chief editor of Erada, said Afghanistan's legal system is too corrupt to justify sentencing criminals to death.
"This is an unforgivable crime and murder," he said "This is Karzai's biggest mistake and it will have bad consequences."
He claimed that Karzai was punishing weak criminals while appointing powerful ones to government posts.
Political affairs analyst Daad Mohammad Noorani also accused Karzai of handing down arbitrary punishments.
"I don't think the executions were just," he said. "Local people are killed by the Americans and French, and bombed by the Coalition forces. Isn't that crime? Each human being costs 2,000 dollars [compensation] to them. Who has questioned and prosecuted them?"
He accused Karzai of refusing to go after more powerful criminals, who he claimed have links to Afghan and foreign governments.
"Those who were executed were mere leaves from a bigger tree," said Noorani. "Why cut the leaves, and not chop the tree down at its roots?"
The day after the executions, the Taliban issued a statement referring to the prisoners as "martyrs" and calling on "those working for human rights to ban this action by the government".
Meanwhile, Timor Shah's whereabouts are still unknown, and officials refuse to divulge details on the nature of the manhunt.
"We are trying to arrest Timor but cannot say anything more in this regard," said Interior Ministry spokesman Zmarai Bashari over the phone.
Hamidzada promised that investigators will get to the bottom of what happened.
"After the completion of the investigation, the perpetrators will be punished," he said, adding that some officials have already been fired.
Afghanistan's Attorney-General is also looking into claims that some of those scheduled for execution had paid bribes for other prisoners to be forced to take their places.
Timor Shah was not the only one on the list to escape death that night. Another convicted murderer, Khayoum, managed to avoid being taken away from the Pol-e-Charki prison when fellow inmates refused to give him up. He apparently remains in an ungovernable section of the prison.
Farooq Meranay, a parliamentarian who recently visited the prison, said 110 inmates went on a ten-day hunger strike in support of Khayoum, and to force officials to listen to their demands.
"The first one is that political prisoners should not be executed; and the second is that files with long imprisonment terms should be reviewed; that the commander of the prison should be replaced; and that a Tolo TV reporter arrested by national security on charges of showing pictures of the prisoners should be freed," said Meranay.
Authorities say there are currently 175 people on death row. A panel is reviewing their cases.
Hafizullah Gardesh is IWPR's editor in Kabul.
- Institute of Peace and War Reporting
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President Sarkozy plays 'Tony Blair of France' during Washington visit
Barrister Harun ur Rashid
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarkozy de Nagy-Bocsa (Nicolas Sarkozy,) 52, the Conservative French President, is born of Hungarian father and Greek -born French mother. For an immigrant to be elected as the French President is a rare and outstanding achievement. He has been trained as a lawyer.
President Sarkozy visited Washington for 26 hours on 6th November, and charmed everyone in the Bush administration including the Congress members. Washington has does not have a better friend than Sarkozy in France and it has been a long wait for it.
During the visit, the French President asked the US to embrace him as a "friend". It seems that the Bush administration has found a new "Tony Blair" in France as the new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has distanced himself from the Bush administration.
Although President Bush met Sarkozy several times, this brief official visit was a vehicle for consolidation of US-French relations. At a dinner in his honour at the White House, he said "I come to Washington to bear a very simple message on behalf of all Frenchmen. I want to re-conquer the heart of America."
He said that he could never understand why France had to fight with America on Iraq issue, though he too, was opposed to Washington's Iraq invasion. It is noted France under President Chirac opposed the Iraqi war and threatened to veto in the Security Council.
He came with several women cabinet minister to Washington to demonstrate the diversity of his cabinet, reflecting New France. They included Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, a former chairman of a law firm based in Chicago, Justice Minister Rachida Dati, who has a Moroccan father and an Algerian mother and the Senegalese-born deputy-minister of foreign affairs whom he calls "Condi Rice."
On 7th November, President Sarkozy was given the rare honour to address the joint session of the Congress. He said what the Congress men and women wanted to hear.
He spoke his love for American dream and cultural icons of the 20th century, from Elvis Presley to Ernest Hemingway. He expressed admiration of American values and for Martin Luther King. He thanked the US for saving France twice in two world wars, rebuilding Europe with the Marshall Plan and fighting Communism during the Cold War.
Sarkozy did not mention Iraq because he also opposed the war, like his predecessor President Chirac. He expressed sympathy for US soldiers fighting and dying around the world, saying it reminded him of American soldiers' sacrifice for France.
He said: "Every time whenever an American soldier falls somewhere in the world, I think of what the American army did for France. I think of them and I am sad as one is saddened to lose a member of one's family."
Sarkozy managed to get a few applauses from the members of the Congress and the Congress found a new friend in Europe.
On foreign policy, both the US and France are close. The two countries see eye to eye on policy in Afghanistan, where France has its troops, on Israel and Iran's nuclear weapons programme (he however supports Iran's development of peaceful nuclear energy). France also supports Washington's position on Kosovo's independence from Serbia.
President Bush said that "I have a partner in peace, somebody who has a clear vision, basic values who is willing to take tough positions to achieve peace." The Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrat Tom Lantos of California said: "I expect a spectacular renaissance in French-American relations."
The angry mood of 2003 of Americans against France has gone. Anti-French feelings were so high in 2003 that the word "French" was removed from the menus of cafeterias in the House of Representatives. "Freedom fries" and "Freedom toast" replaced French fries and French toast. There were also initiatives to boycott French products.
With the visit, Sarkozy has been able to a path of new trajectory of stable and friendly relations with the US. He has become a strong partner with the US against terrorism and he pledged to keep French troops in Afghanistan as long as needed.
However Sarkozy has been clever enough not to reveal his policy difference with the US on climate change, on Iraq, Russia, and China. He has been pro-European Union and wants that EU should build its defence force and not rely on American forces.
The writer is a former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva.
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AFGHAN SCENARIO
'Criminals are in power today' says Loya Jirga delegate
Am Johal in Vancouver
Malalai Joya was four years old when her family fled Afghanistan in 1982 to the refugee camps of Iran and later Pakistan. Her father was a medical student who lost a foot during the Soviet invasion. Joya returned to Afghanistan in 1998 during the Taliban's reign. During that time she founded an orphanage and health clinic, and became a vocal opponent of the Taliban.
Joya gained international attention in December 2003 when, as an elected delegate to the Loya Jirga convened to ratify the Afghan Constitution, she spoke out publicly against what she termed the domination of warlords. In response, Sibghatullah Mujadidi, chief of the Loya Jirga, called her an "infidel" and "communist". Since then, she has survived four assassination attempts, and travels in Afghanistan under a burqa and with armed guards.
Joya is currently director of the Organisation for Promoting Afghan Women's Capabilities. She sat down with Am Johal at the Metropolitan Hotel in Vancouver. Excerpts from the interview follow.
IPS: What are your views of Canada's role in Kandahar and Afghanistan today?
MJ: Canada has followed the US and its so-called "war on terror". I'm here to talk about the reality. The main message of this for Canada, after the 9-11 tragedy, they followed the last six years in the footsteps of the US position, which was a mockery of democracy, a mockery of the war on terror. They have replaced the fundamentalists of the Taliban with the fundamentalists of the Northern Alliance warlords and killers.
We must fight against fundamentalists in our country. With the U.N., these countries must put pressure on Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia and those others who support the Taliban and Northern Alliance killers. This is my main message. The Canadian government should pressure the US and other governments to support real democracy in Afghanistan rather than choose between these fundamentalists who make the situation worse.
IPS: What has changed since Canada's increased role in Afghanistan?
MJ: It is shocking news, a catastrophic situation for women in our country. I moved back to Afghanistan to be a social activist on women's issues. Many women have been kidnapped, many are raped, according to official statements, there have been 250 cases of rape in the west of Afghanistan in the first six months of 2007. Every 28 minutes, an Afghani woman dies from childbirth. The conditions are worse than ever for women.
Despite the billions of dollars that Afghanistan receives in aid, only 2 per cent [of the people] have access to electricity. Today in Afghanistan, 60 per cent are staying jobless. [But] the most pressing problem of our people is security. Even in the capital, for activist women, the situation is even worse. Recently a TV journalist was killed in front of her children. And another 25-year-old woman journalist. Another social activist. Many, many others. Too many to mention since 2001.
IPS: Do you feel with this narrowly defined peace and security agenda, some are arguing that there is not enough money being invested in development and human rights for the population outside of the elite?
MJ: There are criminals who are in power in Afghanistan right now. This government is not democratic. The [US-led forces] want to have a situation like this, it seems, to make a kind of excuse to stay longer in Afghanistan. They should [only] stay more in Afghanistan if they will build a real democracy and be independent in their foreign policy. The US is not helping organisations to change the situation in Afghanistan, especially for women.
IPS: Heroin and poppy growing remains a major part of the economy in Afghanistan and now there are glorified CNN stories with security officials spraying these fields. What is really happening and who is being affected?
MJ: The government is full of drug lords and they are undemocratic -- they are trying to get the farmers to stop planting opium. Is it possible to stop planting opium when most people are poor? The farmers, they do it because of the poverty, the warlords do it because of this dirty business -- it is their business. If these drug lords are in power, this will not change. People want to plant food, they want to plant flowers and make a living for their families. My people are like horses for these drug lords who are using them for profits.
IPS: What is your message to Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai and the international community?
MJ: Today my people are sandwiched by the fundamentalists of the Northern Alliance and the Taliban. The Northern Alliance are a photocopy of the Taliban in power. This situation is not better for women. I do not agree with this. Our people hate the Taliban and the Northern Alliance killers and do not support this system. It is the U.S. policy. There's no need to give more chances to see it or make it better with the people who are there right now, especially for women. Due to the strong support of the people day in and day out, I understand how much I'm right.
If I was not right, if they don't believe in a world of human rights and women's rights, I could not be elected and have a position to speak from. The leadership is anti-freedom of speech. There is strong support from our people but the international community has to listen. Also the parliament needs the strong support of our people. But this parliament is no better than animals. An entire country is living in the shadow of warlords and gang lords who have money from this drug selling. How can we have democracy in this situation?
IPS: How is your safety in Afghanistan?
MJ: Since I gave a speech in 2003, things have been very difficult. I can't live with my husband, see my family. It is more difficult for me because I am a woman and I will not compromise with the warlords. We need the helping hand of the international community to support the future of Afghanistan to fight the fundamentalism of the Taliban and the Northern Alliance.
I want to say to people around the world that some people think Karzai is elected when he is not. I want to tell you he compromised with these warlords and criminals and fundamentalists. He promised to compromise. But unfortunately, he made more and more compromises. Others will face him and take him to the court. My message is don't support these criminals and warlords backed by Karzai. It is not good for Afghanistan.
Today, I'm a candidate for my people. It is better for me to be there even if I'm alone. We have fascist fundamentalists that are like Hitler, Khomeini and Pinochet here in Afghanistan. They will be candidates and will be in power, fully supported by the US "war on terror".
Today I'm not sure of my life, I'm not sure of tomorrow. When I go outside of my house I don't know if I will make it back. For my people, most people don't have security, especially the women of my country. I am young, I want to be alive. If people wanted me to continue, I have support from democratic people and I also have a large responsibility on my shoulders to remove the masks of these warlords and drug lords who are in power in Afghanistan today, supported by this so-called US "war on terror".
-Inter Press Service
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NEWS NOTES FROM SYDNEY
Fazle Rashid
Pakistan makes giant stride
Notwithstanding the fact that power drunk military dictator allowing his cronies in the army to dip their fingers in all the pies Pakistan has made astounding strides in economic development.
Musharraf,s comrades in the army control 15 to 20 per cent of $43 billion economy of Pakistan. There is hardly a sector where army does not have a commanding presence. Military is the biggest stakeholder in Pakistan's booming economy.
There is barely a business sector where there is no army presence. The army generals control property, tourism, construction, transport and telecommunications business. The generals even own a popular cereal brand, bakeries, petrol stations, farms, banks and companies listed in Karachi's soaring stock exchange, Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The average net worth of a general is $2 million. Besides giving a major share of the economy to the generals, Musharraf has provided cushy and plum civilian jobs to army.
Despite all these Pakistan has enjoyed an economic boom only comparable to China and India during the past few years under the stewardship of Shaukat Aziz who was widely tipped to be the CEO of American banking behemoth Citigroup before he became the prime minister Sydney Morning Herald said in a report.
Pakistan has been one of the world's most booming economies this decade. There is even a thriving Bangalore type outsourcing industry. Infrastructure, freeways, airports electric supply would be a revelation in most parts of India. And it is all good for military the paper said.
Pakistan,s economy is now five times bigger than it was during the tenure of Benazir Bhutto who is making a bid to return to power with the blessings of Washington. President Bush in a blunt reminder to Musharraf has said that he cannot be both president and the chief of army.
Musharraf relented under global pressure and has pledged to hold polls by Jan 15 but has set no deadline for the withdrawal of the state of emergency. He has revised the army law providing for the trial of the civilian by the army courts.
King Carlos, President Chavez in verbal duel
King Carlos of Spain and President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela burst into angry exchange of words after Venezuelan President described former prime minister of Spain Maria Anzar as a fascist. A fascist is not a human and a snake is more human than a fascist, Chavez.said. This prompted King Carlos to say ' why dont you shut up'.
Chevez used the four letter word f*** repeatedly. The dispute brought to a dramatic end the 17th meeting of the head of states and governments Spain, Portugal and the Spanish and Portugese speaking countries of Latin America. Chevez also attacked US and the Pope. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega stood behind Chavez.
Global Warming
With prehistoric Antarctica ice sheet melting under his feet, UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon called for urgent political action to tackle global warming.
Satellite pictures show that Antarctica ice sheet is thinning and could collapse any time causing sea levels to rise and thus inundating human habitats. It need political answer. This is an emergency situation and we need emergency action, the secretary general said after a visit to Antarctica.
A UN sponsored meeting on climate change is due in Bali, Indonesia next month.
Finland Gunman
A teenage gunman in Finland sprayed bullet on eight people killing them instantaneously. He said in a note "miserable, arrogant and selfish human race" deserve no sympathy. He promised to eliminate all such people and said "I am prepared to fight and die for my cause"
Churches, Clergies under watch
Luxury cars, corporate jets, huge salaries and ocean side houses used by the clergies of six churches in the US will come under scrutiny by a US senate committee. The Senate Finance Committee will start enquiry into financial working of six churches after concerns were expressed about the lavish lifestyle of the clergies.
Arms race surfaces again
The arms race that ended after the cold war has resurfaced once again. Britain will pursue its nuclear submarine programme, US intends to develop new standard nuclear weapon, China is modernising its armed forces and developed its space ambitions, Russia is operating long distance flights with nuclear planes and Iran is enriching its uranium.
But interdependence is growing thus blunting the fearsome prospects of friction. China sits on more US bonds than anyone else, but is dependent on world market for its booming economy, Europe needs energy from Russia, and Russia needs investment from Europe.
Nevertheless the incipient arms race that are taking place are worrisome, wrote Hans Blix, former UN chief inspector of weapons. "My central message is that in order to move further on the path of peace that opened up at the end of the cold war, the US and other nuclear states should take initiatives to resume detente and disarmament Hans," Blix emphasised.
Tail piece
Every country has an army and (in case of Pakistan) army has a country (2). The UN will not take us to heaven but it might help us to avoid hell, said Dag Hammarskjöld, UN secretary general who died in a plane crash while in office (3) Women should be kept in cages, wrote famous US author Norman Mailer who died on Nov 10.The author of the Naked and the Dead, the Armies of the Night and the Executioner married six wives and they together bore him nine children.
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ISLAMABAD DIARY
Jonaid Iqbal
It is a good combination. Secretary Anwar Mahmood and Information Secretary to the President Maj. Gen. Rashid Qureshi probably acted in concert to use information and intelligence cleverly, advising the government more or less to take unwanted TV channels off the air minutes before a major action taken, as announced, to 'protect' the country (read, to prolong stay in the seat of power).
After 6 p.m. on November 3, all the popular news channels such as Aaj, ARY and Geo have become unavailable to the public who are cut off from news sources. Cable owners have been persuaded to stop access to all foreign news TV channels including Al-Jazeera, BBC, and CNN. The in-thing now to transmit political information is via the SMS or the Internet.
A new ordinance prohibiting publication and dissemination of unsavoury comment was promulgated the same evening and it is now drawing daily flaks from journalists, as well as lawyers. The two communities are out in the streets every day in protest.
But, then, the government has just sat back, close its eyes and remain oblivious to the public outcry.
As for forestalling unpleasant repercussion the government can float credible information about a few would-be suicide bombers trying to enter a city in pursuit of prominent opposition politicians, then lock provocatively menacing ones, and say you did it for his/her own welfare, to protect that person from harm's way.
This information spread far and wide, the street power of the politician, if he/she has any, can have the desired effect of fending off party workers at least to the point that they might come out in droves, and in hundreds or thousands.
You could also make a count and say only a few hundreds of his/hers followers responded to the call and illustrate this to show that the graph of that person's popularity has come down.
This happened with Pakistan People Party chairperson, Benazir Bhutto, after she showed determination to address a public meeting at Rawalpindi last Saturday. Not that she was successful.
She was put under a brief house arrest, and released the same evening after the venue of the public meeting was cordoned off, and no one was allowed to go in since Section 144 was in force. A few diehard PPP worker who picked up courage to march to the venue of the public address were arrested.
The tried and tested skill was repeated last Tuesday when, after Benazir's Rawalpindi meeting was botched up, she tried to lead a protest long march from Lahore to Islamabad. There were threats of quite a few young suicide bombers on way to blow up, and so instead of catching these would be suicide bombers BB was locked up at the Khosa House in Lahore where she was staying as guest, for her own safety. A seven-day detention order was also served on her.
That spoiled her effort to lead the long match. Yet, according to reports a long march minus Benazir with about 100 vehicles in the procession, led by Punjab PPP President Mahmud Qureshi, was on way to Islamabad via a small border town of Kasur, home of the late Madame Noorjehan the melody queen.
After these two botched efforts Benazir has upped her demands, now asking President Musharraf to give up on being the President. Until now she demanded that Musharaf should leave his post as the chief of the army, but that has progressed to what Nawaz Sharif had proposed in the Charter of Democracy both she and Nawaz had signed at London, until she was drafted both by Britain and the USA to enter into power-sharing agreement with President Musharraf. Then she ditched NS, and returned to Karachi, riding at the head of an ecstatic 3 million welcoming crowd.
Her recent turnaround in posting the new demand on President Musharraf is winning friends from a number of hitherto bitter opponents such as Nawaz Sharif, Qazi Ahmad Husain and Imran Khan, who have promised to be on her side in this new campaign, provided the turf is settled. Again, the leadership game is on.
But the President has put the opposition side in quandary by promising election before January 9, 2008, hardly two months from now. The opposition has been caught in surprise. With all the noise they are making they find themselves unprepared, since the Election Commission [now still short of two Members from two provinces of Balochistan and Sindh] will give them a short campaign time, of about 45 days.
According to Punjab Chief Minister, the Opposition may not have time to find and field suitable candidates for the election. It would be the ruling side that would win. But does the ruling party need an election to win? They have the Zila Nazims who would win the lections for them any day.
But the real battle is about the judiciary. A number of judges either refused to swear on the new Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO). Every political party is claiming to have the ousted judges, and the media is also clamouring to have them back. However, it may not lead to any success on this count.
Even the Americans, who raised enough voice against ruffling the judges in the week before have now settled down to only one demand: President Musharraf rescind the emergency because an election under emergency rule would not sound credible. Musharaf would not be inclined to oblige, once he obtains the eligibility endorsement from the Supreme Court likely to rule on this matter this week.
Tailpiece
Imran Khan, Pakistan's former cricket captain, who brought World Cup to Pakistan, and now a politician (Chairman-Pakistan Tekhrik Insaf) was arrested Wednesday afternoon. He has been n hiding since the evening of emergency (Nov. 3) but suddenly appeared in the afternoon at the Punjab University campus at Lahore to lead students' protest, he said, on the invitation of Jamat Islami students faction the Islami Jamaat Tulaba (IJT). But the IJT manhandled him, pushed him in a van, and handed him to the police waiting outside the University Campus gate. He was taken to three police station, but now no one knows in which police station he has been lodged.
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Global attention needed to address human suffering
Jehan Perera in Colombo
A dramatic escalation in the civil war in Sri Lanka between government forces and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has resulted in over 4,000 deaths and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people since mid-2006. [www.internaldisplacement.org/8025708F004CE90B/(httpCountries)/0BB9CBD990450F5F802570A7004C148F?OpenDocument as retrieved on 10 Nov 2007]. The recent phase of the 24-year conflict has also prolonged the misery of large numbers of civilians already displaced by the conflict between 1983 and 2002.
At the end of 2006, at least 520,000 people in Sri Lanka were victims of conflict-induced displacement in a country of 20 million, making up one of the largest displacement crises in Asia in absolute terms and particularly in terms of the proportion of the population displaced.
Bleakest feature
One of the bleakest features of the present crisis in Sri Lanka is the virtual impunity with which some can abuse the human rights of others, and even kill them, and get away with it. The law enforcement mechanism in the country is at a low ebb and operate with a high degree of political interference. The ethnic polarization that exists in society and in the decision-making apparatus of the state make the problem even more resistant to a solution by internal means alone. The sense of national paralysis that has accompanied the rise in human rights violations has prompted the growing calls for a greater international role in restraining the abuses of human rights in the country.
Violent actions that cause suffering to innocent people are occurring in different parts of the country. The common feature in them is the culprits are rarely if ever apprehended or charged for the crime. Most often there is doubt as to who the perpetrators are, with the government saying one thing, and assorted non-governmental groups another. Recently, for instance, there have been several killings of hapless Sinhalese villagers in the southernmost Hambantota district from which President Mahinda Rajapaksa comes. On the other hand, in the northern Vavuniya district, five Tamil youth were recently found killed. The initial suspicion has fallen on the LTTE, but there are also strong indications that the culprits may be different.
Government members have also made strong arguments that in a time of war with a foe as formidable and vicious as the LTTE it is difficult to safeguard human rights in the manner that international law requires. They have pointed out that human rights are violated in other conflicts as well, most particularly Iraq, and that these are the inevitable accompaniments of a war that has been forced upon the government by the LTTE. The implied message that comes from the government is that victory in war demands sacrifice, and that no price is too high to pay to defeat the LTTE once and forever. The present government in particular appears determined not to permit considerations of human rights block its march to victory.
Past lessons
Indeed, it may be argued that never before has Sri Lanka had such a strong-willed government leadership that is prepared to defy international opinion to the degree that the present government has. President Rajapaksa's readiness to visit Iran to boost trade in goods and weapons on concessionary terms is only one manifestation of the government's readiness to displease the western countries, and even the sole superpower, to achieve the government's own objectives. So far the government has walked this tightrope but the danger exists of over reaching.
The government is balancing global politics that pits the West on one side and the newly emerging world powers such as China and Iran on the other. The manner in which it is achieving its own strategic objectives has won the praise from nationalists who uphold the sovereignty of the state as the highest good, and denounce any appeal to the international community as an act of treachery. However, it is doubtful whether a relatively small and aid-dependent country like Sri Lanka can continue for long in a balancing act between the world's most powerful blocs of nations.
At this juncture it might be appropriate to go back to the past, to another era when President Ranasinghe Premadasa was at the helm of Sri Lankan affairs and strode like a colossus over the political arena. He too attempted to defy the international community and strived hard to uphold the sovereignty of the Sri Lankan state in the period 1989-93. However, he lacked two advantages that the present government enjoys. The first is that there was no global war against terrorism that his government could align itself to. Second, the dynamic new economic powers of Asia, China, India and Iran had not yet made their presence felt as economic actors on the global arena.
President Premadasa had to give in to Western pressure to sustain the economic aid his government required. He accepted a set of over thirty human rights conditions that were placed on his government by one of the the world's leading human rights organizations, Amnesty International. Partly as a result, the human rights situation in the country turned around, and the era of suffering and terror in the south of the country that accompanied the JVP insurrection of the preceding two years came to an end. The question is what can bring the era of suffering and terror in the north and east of the country to an end today.
Present developments
The value of international pressure in countering human rights abuses has been highlighted recently in the case concerning Sri Lankan peace keepers in Haiti. It appears that a handful of them have engaged in sexual abuse of under age Haitian girls on a commercial basis. The Sri Lankan government's positive response to this charge stands in marked contrast to its position with regard to human rights violations that take place within Sri Lanka itself. As the UN is itself involved in this case, the government did not simply deny the allegation and try to get away with it, as it tends to do in the case of locally reported violations. The fact that the government decided to cooperate fully with the investigation suggests the value of international linkages in the investigation and prevention of human rights violations.
Arrest of Karuna
The arrest of Karuna by the UK government on immigration charges in London earlier this month is another example of how the international community can play a positive role in investigating and preventing human rights violations. Some groups have been looking into the legal possibilities of petitioning the UK government to try him for war crimes and other international offences in what could be a test case of western commitment to the practice of human rights in Sri Lanka. On the one hand, Karuna's immigration offences are not very serious and he might merely be deported back to Sri Lanka.
On the other hand, the United Kingdom is a signatory to many international conventions, including those that outlaw torture, that permit the UK government to try such people from any country who come within its jurisdiction. If he is tried by British courts, it is possible that Karuna's deeds when he was with the LTTE and also his actions after he broke away from them will be brought to light. Those who are concerned about the present state of impunity in Sri Lanka may see both the Haiti incident and Karuna's arrest as opportunities to set an example to perpetrators of human rights violations in Sri Lanka and to demonstrate that they cannot commit such abuses and remain untouched by international human rights law.
The government, LTTE and other paramilitary groups must realize that a time of reckoning is bound to come to them all, and accordingly they must carry out their wars in accordance with international norms. A no-holds barred war, must become costly not only to the victims, but to the perpetrators as well. As a former champion of human rights when he was in the opposition who lobbied the international community in Geneva, President Mahinda Rajapaksa cannot fail to be aware of the implications of these latest developments. It is difficult to imagine that a person who acted with such commitment to the protection of human rights in the bad times of the past should not be equally concerned today.
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