Lighting The Nuclear Fire
An Indian summer
By Edward Luce
Published: July 1 2002 20:59 | Last Updated: July 1 2002 20:59
American diplomacy has averted the imminent threat of war between India and Pakistan. But senior members of the Bush administration know that it is only a matter of time before military tensions flare up again between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
The prospects of renewed tension were underlined at the weekend with the appointment of L. K Advani as India`s deputy prime minister. Although Mr Advani was already seen as the successor to Atal Behari Vajpayee, the prime minister, his new title is a timely reminder of the hardline, anti-Pakistani elements that surround the ageing - and increasingly frail - prime minister.
``It might be three months, it might be nine months, but we all know that India and Pakistan will go back to the brink again,`` says a senior US official in Washington. ``Maybe next time they will go over the brink.``
Until now, the US has consistently respected India`s adamant refusal of third-party mediation on its core dispute with Pakistan over the divided state of Kashmir. But having sweated through the latest and most intense bout of nuclear brinksmanship, the US and its allies are quietly revising their long-held position.
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1025534365666&p=1012571727282
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Jul 4, 2002 01:30 pm
An Indian summer
By Edward Luce
Published: July 1 2002 20:59 | Last Updated: July 1 2002 20:59
American diplomacy has averted the imminent threat of war between India and Pakistan. But senior members of the Bush administration know that it is only a matter of time before military tensions flare up again between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
The prospects of renewed tension were underlined at the weekend with the appointment of L. K Advani as India`s deputy prime minister. Although Mr Advani was already seen as the successor to Atal Behari Vajpayee, the prime minister, his new title is a timely reminder of the hardline, anti-Pakistani elements that surround the ageing - and increasingly frail - prime minister.
``It might be three months, it might be nine months, but we all know that India and Pakistan will go back to the brink again,`` says a senior US official in Washington. ``Maybe next time they will go over the brink.``
Until now, the US has consistently respected India`s adamant refusal of third-party mediation on its core dispute with Pakistan over the divided state of Kashmir. But having sweated through the latest and most intense bout of nuclear brinksmanship, the US and its allies are quietly revising their long-held position.
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1025534365666&p=1012571727282
Of Violent Birth and Peaceful Death
An Indian summer
By Edward Luce
Published: July 1 2002 20:59 | Last Updated: July 1 2002 20:59
American diplomacy has averted the imminent threat of war between India and Pakistan. But senior members of the Bush administration know that it is only a matter of time before military tensions flare up again between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
The prospects of renewed tension were underlined at the weekend with the appointment of L. K Advani as India`s deputy prime minister. Although Mr Advani was already seen as the successor to Atal Behari Vajpayee, the prime minister, his new title is a timely reminder of the hardline, anti-Pakistani elements that surround the ageing - and increasingly frail - prime minister.
``It might be three months, it might be nine months, but we all know that India and Pakistan will go back to the brink again,`` says a senior US official in Washington. ``Maybe next time they will go over the brink.``
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1025534365666&p=1012571727282
Posted by
cutandpaste
Jul 4, 2002 01:30 pm
An Indian summer
By Edward Luce
Published: July 1 2002 20:59 | Last Updated: July 1 2002 20:59
American diplomacy has averted the imminent threat of war between India and Pakistan. But senior members of the Bush administration know that it is only a matter of time before military tensions flare up again between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
The prospects of renewed tension were underlined at the weekend with the appointment of L. K Advani as India`s deputy prime minister. Although Mr Advani was already seen as the successor to Atal Behari Vajpayee, the prime minister, his new title is a timely reminder of the hardline, anti-Pakistani elements that surround the ageing - and increasingly frail - prime minister.
``It might be three months, it might be nine months, but we all know that India and Pakistan will go back to the brink again,`` says a senior US official in Washington. ``Maybe next time they will go over the brink.``
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1025534365666&p=1012571727282
Kashmir: What Next?
from the July 02, 2002 edition
Al Qaeda thriving in Pakistani Kashmir
Sheltered by Pakistani intelligence, officially banned Islamic militants are moving freely near the Indian border.
By Philip Smucker | Special to The Christian Science Monitor
TARSHING, KASHMIR – Nasir Ali, a wiry jeep driver, says Al Qaeda fighters from Afghanistan have arrived here in large numbers. He should know, he says, because he was the one who gave them a lift in from northern Pakistan after their escape from Afghanistan. ``I, myself, drove three Arab fighters into the center of Kashmir,`` says Ali. ``I carried them only part way in and their own jeeps met us and drove them the rest of the way. Hundreds have entered Kashmir in the last several months.``
Mr. Ali, an employee for a private transport company, described in detail subsequent meetings with Middle Eastern fighters he admires. Ali`s account, and several others gathered this week, of how groups of Al Qaeda fighters have infiltrated Kashmir present a harrowing prospect for Washington. Strategic analysts have long warned that Osama bin Laden`s Al Qaeda network is keen to exploit tensions between the two nuclear powers of India and Pakistan, whose governments both claim full rights to divided Kashmir.
Posted by
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Jul 2, 2002 07:02 pm
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0702/p01s02-wosc.htmlfrom the July 02, 2002 edition
Al Qaeda thriving in Pakistani Kashmir
Sheltered by Pakistani intelligence, officially banned Islamic militants are moving freely near the Indian border.
By Philip Smucker | Special to The Christian Science Monitor
TARSHING, KASHMIR – Nasir Ali, a wiry jeep driver, says Al Qaeda fighters from Afghanistan have arrived here in large numbers. He should know, he says, because he was the one who gave them a lift in from northern Pakistan after their escape from Afghanistan. ``I, myself, drove three Arab fighters into the center of Kashmir,`` says Ali. ``I carried them only part way in and their own jeeps met us and drove them the rest of the way. Hundreds have entered Kashmir in the last several months.``
Mr. Ali, an employee for a private transport company, described in detail subsequent meetings with Middle Eastern fighters he admires. Ali`s account, and several others gathered this week, of how groups of Al Qaeda fighters have infiltrated Kashmir present a harrowing prospect for Washington. Strategic analysts have long warned that Osama bin Laden`s Al Qaeda network is keen to exploit tensions between the two nuclear powers of India and Pakistan, whose governments both claim full rights to divided Kashmir.
The Lonely Road
from the July 02, 2002 edition
Al Qaeda thriving in Pakistani Kashmir
Sheltered by Pakistani intelligence, officially banned Islamic militants are moving freely near the Indian border.
By Philip Smucker | Special to The Christian Science Monitor
TARSHING, KASHMIR – Nasir Ali, a wiry jeep driver, says Al Qaeda fighters from Afghanistan have arrived here in large numbers. He should know, he says, because he was the one who gave them a lift in from northern Pakistan after their escape from Afghanistan. ``I, myself, drove three Arab fighters into the center of Kashmir,`` says Ali. ``I carried them only part way in and their own jeeps met us and drove them the rest of the way. Hundreds have entered Kashmir in the last several months.``
Mr. Ali, an employee for a private transport company, described in detail subsequent meetings with Middle Eastern fighters he admires. Ali`s account, and several others gathered this week, of how groups of Al Qaeda fighters have infiltrated Kashmir present a harrowing prospect for Washington. Strategic analysts have long warned that Osama bin Laden`s Al Qaeda network is keen to exploit tensions between the two nuclear powers of India and Pakistan, whose governments both claim full rights to divided Kashmir.
Posted by
cutandpaste
Jul 2, 2002 07:02 pm
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0702/p01s02-wosc.htmlfrom the July 02, 2002 edition
Al Qaeda thriving in Pakistani Kashmir
Sheltered by Pakistani intelligence, officially banned Islamic militants are moving freely near the Indian border.
By Philip Smucker | Special to The Christian Science Monitor
TARSHING, KASHMIR – Nasir Ali, a wiry jeep driver, says Al Qaeda fighters from Afghanistan have arrived here in large numbers. He should know, he says, because he was the one who gave them a lift in from northern Pakistan after their escape from Afghanistan. ``I, myself, drove three Arab fighters into the center of Kashmir,`` says Ali. ``I carried them only part way in and their own jeeps met us and drove them the rest of the way. Hundreds have entered Kashmir in the last several months.``
Mr. Ali, an employee for a private transport company, described in detail subsequent meetings with Middle Eastern fighters he admires. Ali`s account, and several others gathered this week, of how groups of Al Qaeda fighters have infiltrated Kashmir present a harrowing prospect for Washington. Strategic analysts have long warned that Osama bin Laden`s Al Qaeda network is keen to exploit tensions between the two nuclear powers of India and Pakistan, whose governments both claim full rights to divided Kashmir.
Shadowlines (Part I)
By Bharat Dogra
TILONIA, India - If the recent pogrom against Muslims in India`s western state of Gujarat does not spill into adjoining Rajasthan, it will be in large measure due to the initiative taken at a colorful but determined women`s jamboree in this village last week.
More than a thousand women from across northern India gathered in this remote village in Rajasthan`s Ajmer district - famed as the final resting place of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, a Sufi saint who died in 1235 and is venerated by Hindus and Muslims alike - and pledged to do everything possible to contain any possible spread in the violence.
``The influence of communal elements has spread rapidly in the southern parts of Rajasthan and some right-wing politicians have threatened to create a Gujarat-type situation here,`` explained Kavita Srivastava, secretary of the Rajasthan branch of the People`s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL), one of India`s top rights groups.
For three days, from June 23-25, the brightly colored marquees, set up in the campus of the voluntary organization Social Work and Research Center (SWRC), rang to the sound and sight of women dressed in traditionally bright Rajasthani costumes singing, making speeches and coining slogans against a new political trend toward communalism they say is being exported from Gujarat.
Rights activist and former career bureaucrat Aruna Roy says efforts are being made by fundamentalist politicians to ``disrupt Rajasthan`s rich tradition of communal harmony``. She said that although she was confident that the tradition of harmony remains strong in Rajasthan`s villages, many feel there is a need for women leaders to meet and take a pledge of peace and work out strategies to check ``the spread of communalism``.
Women took the brunt of violence unleashed by Hindu fanatics on Muslims in Gujarat after the torching of a train near Godhra station on February 27. That resulted in the deaths of 58 people, most of them Hindus returning from the temple town of Ayodhya in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
Hindu members of the fundamentalist Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP, or World Hindu Forum) from Gujarat have been at the forefront of a campaign to build a temple on the site of a 16th-century mosque that they demolished at Ayodhya 10 years ago.
In reprisals for the killings, members of the VHP, supported by its affiliate, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which rules the state and the central government, systematically attacked Muslims in their homes and establishments in the months after February 27. More than a thousand people have been killed, and another 100,000 reduced to the status of refugees.
Despite condemnation of the open support for the VHP activists by the state government, leading human-rights groups and even the National Human Rights Commission, the BJP-led government at the center refused to intervene on behalf of the helpless Muslims.
The Gujarat state government led by Chief Minister Narendra Modi failed even to record - much less act on - hundreds of cases of mass rape and sexual abuse of Muslim women that women`s-rights and human-rights groups have documented.
An important delegation to the Tilonia meeting consisted of about 25 female victims of the communal violence in Gujarat, who recounted what they were put through in the dark days of the pogrom to an audience that listened with rapt attention and sympathy.
Without exception, the participants expressed solidarity with the women from Gujarat. ``Before coming here I was completely misinformed and thought that the attacks on Muslims were justified. But now I know the reality about the great injustice done to innocent people and I`ll take back this message to my village,`` said a woman named Ramkanwar.
Other women spoke of better understanding gained at the conference and which would help them to check communalism in their villages. Babita, a teenager from Barah district, said she now understood the ``need to challenge those who want to divide the two communities and disturb peace``.
For their part, the female victims from Gujarat were overwhelmed by the affection and sympathy they got from their sisters in neighboring Rajasthan. ``We felt we were among our own people,`` Bilqis said. ``Such love and affection I`ve seldom experienced before. My hope and faith in humanity is restored and I wish there are more meetings like this.``
The Muslim victims from Gujarat spoke about their experiences, without rancor or desire for revenge. Instead they talked about how it could be possible for the two communities to build a peaceful future together.
Similarly, when Aarti Sahni, who belongs to a Hindu family displaced from Muslim-majority Kashmir, spoke about her family`s shattering experience, it was without ill-feeling. ``We should listen to what the ordinary people of Kashmir have to say to sort out the problems there,`` she said.
Anger, if any, was directed against the ``masculine`` attitude and approach of the government and its insensitivity to the problems of women and children.
Suhana, a victim from Gujarat, said women were deeply concerned by the sufferings of their children in times of communal violence, but the government did not seem concerned. ``I thought true religion included care and compassion for the hungry and the suffering, but it seems only concerned with rituals and temple-building.``
Uma Chakravarti, a senior academician from Delhi, drew attention to the links between various types of violence and discrimination and pointed out that when religion approves of discrimination against dalits (lower-caste Hindus), it creates conditions in society conducive to discrimination against other groups. She suggested that men who participated in communal violence were also likely to have a tendency to be violent within their own families too - and again the victims were women.
Roy emphasized practical aspects of resisting communalism, such as checking the accumulation of weapons and challenging the distribution of provocative literature, a major feature of the pogrom in Gujarat. She led the gathering in pledging that the distribution of inflammatory literature, accumulation of weapons and provocative statements of politicians, would be challenged and checked.
She also said Hindus and Muslims should be encouraged to take part in each other`s festivals and share their joys and sufferings, as before the advent of communal politics. Many women here sported colorful ghagras (wide, billowing, colorful skirts) and cholis (blouses) worn by women in this desert state, but dispensed with the ghungats (veils) as part of the new assertiveness that led them to speak freely.
``We all have to die one day and it is better to die practicing human values instead of surrendering to inhumanity,`` declared Kesar Bua, a saathin (female social activist).
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/DG03Df06.html
Posted by
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Jul 2, 2002 07:02 pm
Women vow to stop spread of Gujarat pogromBy Bharat Dogra
TILONIA, India - If the recent pogrom against Muslims in India`s western state of Gujarat does not spill into adjoining Rajasthan, it will be in large measure due to the initiative taken at a colorful but determined women`s jamboree in this village last week.
More than a thousand women from across northern India gathered in this remote village in Rajasthan`s Ajmer district - famed as the final resting place of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, a Sufi saint who died in 1235 and is venerated by Hindus and Muslims alike - and pledged to do everything possible to contain any possible spread in the violence.
``The influence of communal elements has spread rapidly in the southern parts of Rajasthan and some right-wing politicians have threatened to create a Gujarat-type situation here,`` explained Kavita Srivastava, secretary of the Rajasthan branch of the People`s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL), one of India`s top rights groups.
For three days, from June 23-25, the brightly colored marquees, set up in the campus of the voluntary organization Social Work and Research Center (SWRC), rang to the sound and sight of women dressed in traditionally bright Rajasthani costumes singing, making speeches and coining slogans against a new political trend toward communalism they say is being exported from Gujarat.
Rights activist and former career bureaucrat Aruna Roy says efforts are being made by fundamentalist politicians to ``disrupt Rajasthan`s rich tradition of communal harmony``. She said that although she was confident that the tradition of harmony remains strong in Rajasthan`s villages, many feel there is a need for women leaders to meet and take a pledge of peace and work out strategies to check ``the spread of communalism``.
Women took the brunt of violence unleashed by Hindu fanatics on Muslims in Gujarat after the torching of a train near Godhra station on February 27. That resulted in the deaths of 58 people, most of them Hindus returning from the temple town of Ayodhya in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
Hindu members of the fundamentalist Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP, or World Hindu Forum) from Gujarat have been at the forefront of a campaign to build a temple on the site of a 16th-century mosque that they demolished at Ayodhya 10 years ago.
In reprisals for the killings, members of the VHP, supported by its affiliate, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which rules the state and the central government, systematically attacked Muslims in their homes and establishments in the months after February 27. More than a thousand people have been killed, and another 100,000 reduced to the status of refugees.
Despite condemnation of the open support for the VHP activists by the state government, leading human-rights groups and even the National Human Rights Commission, the BJP-led government at the center refused to intervene on behalf of the helpless Muslims.
The Gujarat state government led by Chief Minister Narendra Modi failed even to record - much less act on - hundreds of cases of mass rape and sexual abuse of Muslim women that women`s-rights and human-rights groups have documented.
An important delegation to the Tilonia meeting consisted of about 25 female victims of the communal violence in Gujarat, who recounted what they were put through in the dark days of the pogrom to an audience that listened with rapt attention and sympathy.
Without exception, the participants expressed solidarity with the women from Gujarat. ``Before coming here I was completely misinformed and thought that the attacks on Muslims were justified. But now I know the reality about the great injustice done to innocent people and I`ll take back this message to my village,`` said a woman named Ramkanwar.
Other women spoke of better understanding gained at the conference and which would help them to check communalism in their villages. Babita, a teenager from Barah district, said she now understood the ``need to challenge those who want to divide the two communities and disturb peace``.
For their part, the female victims from Gujarat were overwhelmed by the affection and sympathy they got from their sisters in neighboring Rajasthan. ``We felt we were among our own people,`` Bilqis said. ``Such love and affection I`ve seldom experienced before. My hope and faith in humanity is restored and I wish there are more meetings like this.``
The Muslim victims from Gujarat spoke about their experiences, without rancor or desire for revenge. Instead they talked about how it could be possible for the two communities to build a peaceful future together.
Similarly, when Aarti Sahni, who belongs to a Hindu family displaced from Muslim-majority Kashmir, spoke about her family`s shattering experience, it was without ill-feeling. ``We should listen to what the ordinary people of Kashmir have to say to sort out the problems there,`` she said.
Anger, if any, was directed against the ``masculine`` attitude and approach of the government and its insensitivity to the problems of women and children.
Suhana, a victim from Gujarat, said women were deeply concerned by the sufferings of their children in times of communal violence, but the government did not seem concerned. ``I thought true religion included care and compassion for the hungry and the suffering, but it seems only concerned with rituals and temple-building.``
Uma Chakravarti, a senior academician from Delhi, drew attention to the links between various types of violence and discrimination and pointed out that when religion approves of discrimination against dalits (lower-caste Hindus), it creates conditions in society conducive to discrimination against other groups. She suggested that men who participated in communal violence were also likely to have a tendency to be violent within their own families too - and again the victims were women.
Roy emphasized practical aspects of resisting communalism, such as checking the accumulation of weapons and challenging the distribution of provocative literature, a major feature of the pogrom in Gujarat. She led the gathering in pledging that the distribution of inflammatory literature, accumulation of weapons and provocative statements of politicians, would be challenged and checked.
She also said Hindus and Muslims should be encouraged to take part in each other`s festivals and share their joys and sufferings, as before the advent of communal politics. Many women here sported colorful ghagras (wide, billowing, colorful skirts) and cholis (blouses) worn by women in this desert state, but dispensed with the ghungats (veils) as part of the new assertiveness that led them to speak freely.
``We all have to die one day and it is better to die practicing human values instead of surrendering to inhumanity,`` declared Kesar Bua, a saathin (female social activist).
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/DG03Df06.html
Shadowlines (Part I)
from the July 02, 2002 edition
Al Qaeda thriving in Pakistani Kashmir
Sheltered by Pakistani intelligence, officially banned Islamic militants are moving freely near the Indian border.
By Philip Smucker | Special to The Christian Science Monitor
TARSHING, KASHMIR – Nasir Ali, a wiry jeep driver, says Al Qaeda fighters from Afghanistan have arrived here in large numbers. He should know, he says, because he was the one who gave them a lift in from northern Pakistan after their escape from Afghanistan. ``I, myself, drove three Arab fighters into the center of Kashmir,`` says Ali. ``I carried them only part way in and their own jeeps met us and drove them the rest of the way. Hundreds have entered Kashmir in the last several months.``
Mr. Ali, an employee for a private transport company, described in detail subsequent meetings with Middle Eastern fighters he admires. Ali`s account, and several others gathered this week, of how groups of Al Qaeda fighters have infiltrated Kashmir present a harrowing prospect for Washington. Strategic analysts have long warned that Osama bin Laden`s Al Qaeda network is keen to exploit tensions between the two nuclear powers of India and Pakistan, whose governments both claim full rights to divided Kashmir.
Posted by
cutandpaste
Jul 2, 2002 07:02 pm
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0702/p01s02-wosc.htmlfrom the July 02, 2002 edition
Al Qaeda thriving in Pakistani Kashmir
Sheltered by Pakistani intelligence, officially banned Islamic militants are moving freely near the Indian border.
By Philip Smucker | Special to The Christian Science Monitor
TARSHING, KASHMIR – Nasir Ali, a wiry jeep driver, says Al Qaeda fighters from Afghanistan have arrived here in large numbers. He should know, he says, because he was the one who gave them a lift in from northern Pakistan after their escape from Afghanistan. ``I, myself, drove three Arab fighters into the center of Kashmir,`` says Ali. ``I carried them only part way in and their own jeeps met us and drove them the rest of the way. Hundreds have entered Kashmir in the last several months.``
Mr. Ali, an employee for a private transport company, described in detail subsequent meetings with Middle Eastern fighters he admires. Ali`s account, and several others gathered this week, of how groups of Al Qaeda fighters have infiltrated Kashmir present a harrowing prospect for Washington. Strategic analysts have long warned that Osama bin Laden`s Al Qaeda network is keen to exploit tensions between the two nuclear powers of India and Pakistan, whose governments both claim full rights to divided Kashmir.
Coney Al Jazeera
By: Khaled Ahmed
July 2,2002
Where foreign pressure is extreme, two obstinately separate views develop in parallel. In Yugoslavia, the Serb mind simply refused to accept the reality as it existed in Bosnia and Kosovo, including the new ‘facts’ created by foreign military intervention. Sometimes the blinkered thinking of the Serbs was shocking. There was an evil man called Milosevic who actually led this ‘nationalism’ to its final doom. In Pakistan, we mercifully lack a Milosevic on top, but there are many such leaders in public who would like to defy reality and international ‘facts’ and lead Pakistani nationalism in the direction of disaster.
Award-winning columnist Javed Chaudhry writing in Jang (25 June 2002) stated that under the Taliban there was peace in Afghanistan from Amu to Torkham. Thieves had their hands cut, fornicators were stoned to death, and shopkeepers guilty of fiddling with the scales were lashed. There was hunger and famine but a goldsmith could carry his bag of gold safely from Termez to Chaman. In the Afghanistan of Taliban there was zero crime and hundred per cent justice. There was tolerance, self-sacrifice, hospitality and modesty. But the West did not tolerate it. It killed the Taliban and said let there be murder, rape and theft, no veil, but a lot of prostitution. The Taliban were declared terrorists and replaced with liberal modern and educated bachas (children) of America and Europe. The liberals of the world celebrated. Now women are raped and men abducted and released on ransom, and there is poppy cultivation which the Taliban had got rid of. The Dostam militia in Mazar Sharif is broadcasting songs from the mosque loudspeakers. Women are without modesty. A BBC film on Mazar Sharif shown to the German parliament made the members cry. There is a club of homosexuals in Kandahar and there are obscene pictures being sold in Mazar Sharif. The West hated the beard of the Taliban but it can’t smell the stench rising from the corpse that Afghanistan has become after the Taliban.
http://www.chalomumbai.com/asp/article.asp?cat_id=30&art_id=26286&cat_code=2F574841545F535F4F4E5F4D554D4241492F434F4C554D4E53
Posted by
cutandpaste
Jul 2, 2002 07:02 pm
A partial view of reality from PakistanBy: Khaled Ahmed
July 2,2002
Where foreign pressure is extreme, two obstinately separate views develop in parallel. In Yugoslavia, the Serb mind simply refused to accept the reality as it existed in Bosnia and Kosovo, including the new ‘facts’ created by foreign military intervention. Sometimes the blinkered thinking of the Serbs was shocking. There was an evil man called Milosevic who actually led this ‘nationalism’ to its final doom. In Pakistan, we mercifully lack a Milosevic on top, but there are many such leaders in public who would like to defy reality and international ‘facts’ and lead Pakistani nationalism in the direction of disaster.
Award-winning columnist Javed Chaudhry writing in Jang (25 June 2002) stated that under the Taliban there was peace in Afghanistan from Amu to Torkham. Thieves had their hands cut, fornicators were stoned to death, and shopkeepers guilty of fiddling with the scales were lashed. There was hunger and famine but a goldsmith could carry his bag of gold safely from Termez to Chaman. In the Afghanistan of Taliban there was zero crime and hundred per cent justice. There was tolerance, self-sacrifice, hospitality and modesty. But the West did not tolerate it. It killed the Taliban and said let there be murder, rape and theft, no veil, but a lot of prostitution. The Taliban were declared terrorists and replaced with liberal modern and educated bachas (children) of America and Europe. The liberals of the world celebrated. Now women are raped and men abducted and released on ransom, and there is poppy cultivation which the Taliban had got rid of. The Dostam militia in Mazar Sharif is broadcasting songs from the mosque loudspeakers. Women are without modesty. A BBC film on Mazar Sharif shown to the German parliament made the members cry. There is a club of homosexuals in Kandahar and there are obscene pictures being sold in Mazar Sharif. The West hated the beard of the Taliban but it can’t smell the stench rising from the corpse that Afghanistan has become after the Taliban.
http://www.chalomumbai.com/asp/article.asp?cat_id=30&art_id=26286&cat_code=2F574841545F535F4F4E5F4D554D4241492F434F4C554D4E53
Of Errant Politicians And The Kashmir Cause
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-southasia-kashmir-pakistan.html
Rebels Aim to Hit Indian Kashmir`s Chief Minister
By REUTERS
Filed at 8:35 a.m. ET
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - A pro-Pakistan militant group battling Indian rule in disputed Kashmir said on Tuesday it had set up a ``death squad`` to eliminate Indian-held Kashmir`s chief minister, his son and top aides.
``Our prime target is puppet chief minister Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah and ministers of his government,`` Ghulam Rasool, Pakistan-based chief of the radical Jamiat-e-Mujahideen (JM) group told Reuters.
JM is one of the two rebel groups India banned in April under its controversial anti-terror laws and is also a member of the main anti-India United Jihad Council (UJC) guerrilla alliance.
Omar Abdullah is junior external affairs minister in Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee`s cabinet and has recently replaced his father as head of their National Conference party.
Posted by
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Jul 2, 2002 07:02 pm
New York Timeshttp://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-southasia-kashmir-pakistan.html
Rebels Aim to Hit Indian Kashmir`s Chief Minister
By REUTERS
Filed at 8:35 a.m. ET
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - A pro-Pakistan militant group battling Indian rule in disputed Kashmir said on Tuesday it had set up a ``death squad`` to eliminate Indian-held Kashmir`s chief minister, his son and top aides.
``Our prime target is puppet chief minister Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah and ministers of his government,`` Ghulam Rasool, Pakistan-based chief of the radical Jamiat-e-Mujahideen (JM) group told Reuters.
JM is one of the two rebel groups India banned in April under its controversial anti-terror laws and is also a member of the main anti-India United Jihad Council (UJC) guerrilla alliance.
Omar Abdullah is junior external affairs minister in Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee`s cabinet and has recently replaced his father as head of their National Conference party.
Kashmir Fatigue
from the July 02, 2002 edition
Al Qaeda thriving in Pakistani Kashmir
Sheltered by Pakistani intelligence, officially banned Islamic militants are moving freely near the Indian border.
By Philip Smucker | Special to The Christian Science Monitor
TARSHING, KASHMIR – Nasir Ali, a wiry jeep driver, says Al Qaeda fighters from Afghanistan have arrived here in large numbers. He should know, he says, because he was the one who gave them a lift in from northern Pakistan after their escape from Afghanistan. ``I, myself, drove three Arab fighters into the center of Kashmir,`` says Ali. ``I carried them only part way in and their own jeeps met us and drove them the rest of the way. Hundreds have entered Kashmir in the last several months.``
Mr. Ali, an employee for a private transport company, described in detail subsequent meetings with Middle Eastern fighters he admires. Ali`s account, and several others gathered this week, of how groups of Al Qaeda fighters have infiltrated Kashmir present a harrowing prospect for Washington. Strategic analysts have long warned that Osama bin Laden`s Al Qaeda network is keen to exploit tensions between the two nuclear powers of India and Pakistan, whose governments both claim full rights to divided Kashmir.
Posted by
cutandpaste
Jul 2, 2002 07:02 pm
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0702/p01s02-wosc.htmlfrom the July 02, 2002 edition
Al Qaeda thriving in Pakistani Kashmir
Sheltered by Pakistani intelligence, officially banned Islamic militants are moving freely near the Indian border.
By Philip Smucker | Special to The Christian Science Monitor
TARSHING, KASHMIR – Nasir Ali, a wiry jeep driver, says Al Qaeda fighters from Afghanistan have arrived here in large numbers. He should know, he says, because he was the one who gave them a lift in from northern Pakistan after their escape from Afghanistan. ``I, myself, drove three Arab fighters into the center of Kashmir,`` says Ali. ``I carried them only part way in and their own jeeps met us and drove them the rest of the way. Hundreds have entered Kashmir in the last several months.``
Mr. Ali, an employee for a private transport company, described in detail subsequent meetings with Middle Eastern fighters he admires. Ali`s account, and several others gathered this week, of how groups of Al Qaeda fighters have infiltrated Kashmir present a harrowing prospect for Washington. Strategic analysts have long warned that Osama bin Laden`s Al Qaeda network is keen to exploit tensions between the two nuclear powers of India and Pakistan, whose governments both claim full rights to divided Kashmir.
Shadowlines (Part I)
USA Today
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — In a dramatic about-face, the most influential and hardline Islamic political party in Indian-controlled Kashmir announced on Sunday it was not seeking Kashmir`s merger into Pakistan.
The Jama`at-e-Islami also said it had no links with Islamic militants staging terror attacks and strikes on military targets since 1989 and hinted that it could break ranks with other Kashmiri separatists and consider participation in elections.
The announcement was described as a significant development ahead of state elections in Kashmir. The Himalayan region has been the cause of five decades of tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan and two wars. India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring the 12-year insurgency, which has left more than 60,000 people dead. Islamabad denies the allegation.
For five decades, Jama`at has struggled politically for a merger of Jammu-Kashmir, India`s only Muslim-majority state, into Islamic Pakistan.
However, Jama`at`s president Ghulam Mohammad Bhat said Sunday that there is no mention of merging with Pakistan in the party`s constitution. ``We didn`t ever even pass a resolution demanding accession since we have been working here,`` he told reporters.
The Jama`at is the only one of the hard-line Islamic parties in Jammu-Kashmir that has an organized, disciplined, region-wide network and thousands of members spread across the Kashmir Valley.
Bhat also said he wants to ``make it clear that we have no connection with the militants or militancy, particularly with the Hezb-ul-Mujahedeen,`` the biggest of a dozen militant groups fighting India.
Many Jama`at members have been arrested or detained over the decade on suspicion they were working secretly for Hezb-ul Mujahedeen.
Jama`at also expressed differences with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a group of 24 Muslim religious and political groups in Kashmir to which it belongs. The Conference, which opposes Indian control of the region, boycotted the last elections in the Indian state of Jammu-Kashmir.
Indian officials have for months asked Kashmiri separatist parties to take part in the elections planned for September or October if they want to prove that they are the true representatives of Kashmiris.
Bhat said that ``right now`` Jama`at has ``no plans of participating in the polls, but anything can happen in the future.`` He added that his party would not call for a boycott of the elections, which he said would be ``unlawful.``
The ramifications of Bhat`s announcement were unclear. In the past, groups or leaders in Kashmir have made announcements, only to reverse them later. At other times, new factions have formed.
Indian political scientist Haseeb Ahmad described Bhat`s comment as ``the biggest gain for the government of India since the onset of the militancy.``
``This is a clear indication that the Jama`at wants to reaccept ... the basic framework of the Indian democratic setup in Kashmir,`` he said.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/06/30/kashmir.htm
Posted by
cutandpaste
Jul 1, 2002 06:54 pm
Muslims in Kashmir not seeking Pakistan mergerUSA Today
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — In a dramatic about-face, the most influential and hardline Islamic political party in Indian-controlled Kashmir announced on Sunday it was not seeking Kashmir`s merger into Pakistan.
The Jama`at-e-Islami also said it had no links with Islamic militants staging terror attacks and strikes on military targets since 1989 and hinted that it could break ranks with other Kashmiri separatists and consider participation in elections.
The announcement was described as a significant development ahead of state elections in Kashmir. The Himalayan region has been the cause of five decades of tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan and two wars. India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring the 12-year insurgency, which has left more than 60,000 people dead. Islamabad denies the allegation.
For five decades, Jama`at has struggled politically for a merger of Jammu-Kashmir, India`s only Muslim-majority state, into Islamic Pakistan.
However, Jama`at`s president Ghulam Mohammad Bhat said Sunday that there is no mention of merging with Pakistan in the party`s constitution. ``We didn`t ever even pass a resolution demanding accession since we have been working here,`` he told reporters.
The Jama`at is the only one of the hard-line Islamic parties in Jammu-Kashmir that has an organized, disciplined, region-wide network and thousands of members spread across the Kashmir Valley.
Bhat also said he wants to ``make it clear that we have no connection with the militants or militancy, particularly with the Hezb-ul-Mujahedeen,`` the biggest of a dozen militant groups fighting India.
Many Jama`at members have been arrested or detained over the decade on suspicion they were working secretly for Hezb-ul Mujahedeen.
Jama`at also expressed differences with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a group of 24 Muslim religious and political groups in Kashmir to which it belongs. The Conference, which opposes Indian control of the region, boycotted the last elections in the Indian state of Jammu-Kashmir.
Indian officials have for months asked Kashmiri separatist parties to take part in the elections planned for September or October if they want to prove that they are the true representatives of Kashmiris.
Bhat said that ``right now`` Jama`at has ``no plans of participating in the polls, but anything can happen in the future.`` He added that his party would not call for a boycott of the elections, which he said would be ``unlawful.``
The ramifications of Bhat`s announcement were unclear. In the past, groups or leaders in Kashmir have made announcements, only to reverse them later. At other times, new factions have formed.
Indian political scientist Haseeb Ahmad described Bhat`s comment as ``the biggest gain for the government of India since the onset of the militancy.``
``This is a clear indication that the Jama`at wants to reaccept ... the basic framework of the Indian democratic setup in Kashmir,`` he said.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/06/30/kashmir.htm
Of Errant Politicians And The Kashmir Cause
USA Today
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — In a dramatic about-face, the most influential and hardline Islamic political party in Indian-controlled Kashmir announced on Sunday it was not seeking Kashmir`s merger into Pakistan.
The Jama`at-e-Islami also said it had no links with Islamic militants staging terror attacks and strikes on military targets since 1989 and hinted that it could break ranks with other Kashmiri separatists and consider participation in elections.
The announcement was described as a significant development ahead of state elections in Kashmir. The Himalayan region has been the cause of five decades of tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan and two wars. India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring the 12-year insurgency, which has left more than 60,000 people dead. Islamabad denies the allegation.
For five decades, Jama`at has struggled politically for a merger of Jammu-Kashmir, India`s only Muslim-majority state, into Islamic Pakistan.
However, Jama`at`s president Ghulam Mohammad Bhat said Sunday that there is no mention of merging with Pakistan in the party`s constitution. ``We didn`t ever even pass a resolution demanding accession since we have been working here,`` he told reporters.
The Jama`at is the only one of the hard-line Islamic parties in Jammu-Kashmir that has an organized, disciplined, region-wide network and thousands of members spread across the Kashmir Valley.
Bhat also said he wants to ``make it clear that we have no connection with the militants or militancy, particularly with the Hezb-ul-Mujahedeen,`` the biggest of a dozen militant groups fighting India.
Many Jama`at members have been arrested or detained over the decade on suspicion they were working secretly for Hezb-ul Mujahedeen.
Jama`at also expressed differences with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a group of 24 Muslim religious and political groups in Kashmir to which it belongs. The Conference, which opposes Indian control of the region, boycotted the last elections in the Indian state of Jammu-Kashmir.
Indian officials have for months asked Kashmiri separatist parties to take part in the elections planned for September or October if they want to prove that they are the true representatives of Kashmiris.
Bhat said that ``right now`` Jama`at has ``no plans of participating in the polls, but anything can happen in the future.`` He added that his party would not call for a boycott of the elections, which he said would be ``unlawful.``
The ramifications of Bhat`s announcement were unclear. In the past, groups or leaders in Kashmir have made announcements, only to reverse them later. At other times, new factions have formed.
Indian political scientist Haseeb Ahmad described Bhat`s comment as ``the biggest gain for the government of India since the onset of the militancy.``
``This is a clear indication that the Jama`at wants to reaccept ... the basic framework of the Indian democratic setup in Kashmir,`` he said.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/06/30/kashmir.htm
Posted by
cutandpaste
Jul 1, 2002 06:54 pm
Muslims in Kashmir not seeking Pakistan mergerUSA Today
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — In a dramatic about-face, the most influential and hardline Islamic political party in Indian-controlled Kashmir announced on Sunday it was not seeking Kashmir`s merger into Pakistan.
The Jama`at-e-Islami also said it had no links with Islamic militants staging terror attacks and strikes on military targets since 1989 and hinted that it could break ranks with other Kashmiri separatists and consider participation in elections.
The announcement was described as a significant development ahead of state elections in Kashmir. The Himalayan region has been the cause of five decades of tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan and two wars. India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring the 12-year insurgency, which has left more than 60,000 people dead. Islamabad denies the allegation.
For five decades, Jama`at has struggled politically for a merger of Jammu-Kashmir, India`s only Muslim-majority state, into Islamic Pakistan.
However, Jama`at`s president Ghulam Mohammad Bhat said Sunday that there is no mention of merging with Pakistan in the party`s constitution. ``We didn`t ever even pass a resolution demanding accession since we have been working here,`` he told reporters.
The Jama`at is the only one of the hard-line Islamic parties in Jammu-Kashmir that has an organized, disciplined, region-wide network and thousands of members spread across the Kashmir Valley.
Bhat also said he wants to ``make it clear that we have no connection with the militants or militancy, particularly with the Hezb-ul-Mujahedeen,`` the biggest of a dozen militant groups fighting India.
Many Jama`at members have been arrested or detained over the decade on suspicion they were working secretly for Hezb-ul Mujahedeen.
Jama`at also expressed differences with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a group of 24 Muslim religious and political groups in Kashmir to which it belongs. The Conference, which opposes Indian control of the region, boycotted the last elections in the Indian state of Jammu-Kashmir.
Indian officials have for months asked Kashmiri separatist parties to take part in the elections planned for September or October if they want to prove that they are the true representatives of Kashmiris.
Bhat said that ``right now`` Jama`at has ``no plans of participating in the polls, but anything can happen in the future.`` He added that his party would not call for a boycott of the elections, which he said would be ``unlawful.``
The ramifications of Bhat`s announcement were unclear. In the past, groups or leaders in Kashmir have made announcements, only to reverse them later. At other times, new factions have formed.
Indian political scientist Haseeb Ahmad described Bhat`s comment as ``the biggest gain for the government of India since the onset of the militancy.``
``This is a clear indication that the Jama`at wants to reaccept ... the basic framework of the Indian democratic setup in Kashmir,`` he said.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/06/30/kashmir.htm
Of Errant Politicians And The Kashmir Cause
The displaced people of Kashmir are suffering from the brutal suppression of Indian and Pakistani security forces, Terrorism of fundamentalist militant outfits, constant torture of local police and unspeakable horrors in the hands of ISI. International rights groups must intervene and extend their assistance to these unfortunate people. This was stated in a report on the violations of rights in Kashmir, here in Toronto.
The report was issued by Carmen Miranda, Co-ordinator, Council of Advocates international. Explaining the background of the report the Council of Advocates international said that in March, it received complaints of massive human rights violations from the refugees and displaced People of Kashmir living in Azad Kashmir and Pakistan. The refugees stated their Plight and said that they were displaced because of cross border shelling between Indian and Pakistan`s military, terrorism and violence.
Most of them were misguided and in some cases forced by the fundamentalist outfits to leave their homes and cross the border. Once they crossed the border to Azad Kashmir, they became Hostage in the hands of ISI and fundamentalist Militant outfits. They were forced to live in those camps with their women and children in horrific and unspeakable situation. These camps were built as showcases for international delegations and fact-finding missions to highlight the Indian atrocities. The fundamentalist militants used these camps for recruitment, shelters for foreign mercenaries, safe-houses and arm Storage. Refugees From the camps are forced to transport arms across the border and most of the times are killed by Security forces. They are unlawfully arrested, tortured and suffer from the gross violations of human rights.
In response, The Council of Advocates International formed a committee, which investigated and prepared this report. Council secretary general Hamid Bashani expressed his deep concern over the situation and said`` the government of India and Pakistan is constitutionally obligated to ensure the safety and security of the people and protect their rights. Their failure to resolve the issue has catastrophic impact and with the passage of time may worsen the situation. Following is the summary of the report: On February 7,2002, Mushtaq Ali and Naseer Khawaja were contacted by a group of Muzaffrabad based militant leaders. During the lengthy meeting they were asked to transport arms across the border. The duo refused to comply and were threatened with dire consequences.
The next day they were arrested by ISI and were transported blindfolded in a house where they were held incommunicado for ten days. They were brutally tortured and humiliated. Every single day, They were severely beaten and kicked with boots. After their release the local police started visiting them frequently and threatened to charge them with theft, arms trading and other criminal acts. During each visit, The police would beat them and ask them for money. They left Muzaffrabad and are now hiding in Pakistan.
Two elderly refugee men and a woman testify that two of their young relatives, Javeed Abu, 23 and Sameer Shaik 19, were contacted by the militants and ISI personnel and them same method was applied to recruit them to transport Arm across the border. After two weeks they received news that they were killed by security forces in an encounter while crossing the border.
Two Kashmiri refugee women testified that over the period of the last four months the local police and other intelligence agencies personnel`s have visited them on regular basis or asked them to go to the safe houses for investigation. Under the pretext of this investigation they were taken to different Places and were sexually assaulted and repeatedly raped. No case was ever registered against them, but they were threatened to charge with criminal offences. They also testified that they knew some other women who went through more brutal situations but never spoke because of the stigma attached to rape and Sexual assault cases Mansoor Butt, a 31-year-old displaced Kashmir reported that he was arrested by the Army (ISI) and accused of spying for Indians Intelligence agencies.
He was beaten with rifle Butts, Punched and kicked in the face. His only crime was that he refused to accompany a group of militants as a Guide to cross the border. He was kept in a Safe-House for one week during which time he was beaten every day. He was released after the promise of full co-operation Muhammad Deen, a fifty one year old refugee, tried to cross the border to go to his home with his wife and 16 year old son. He was shot deadby Pakistani army personnel without any warning or chance to return
http://www.kashmir-hr.net/mainfile.php/articles/111/
Posted by
cutandpaste
Jul 1, 2002 06:54 pm
Report on Rights Violations in Kashmir by Council of Advocates International - 2002-05-23 The displaced people of Kashmir are suffering from the brutal suppression of Indian and Pakistani security forces, Terrorism of fundamentalist militant outfits, constant torture of local police and unspeakable horrors in the hands of ISI. International rights groups must intervene and extend their assistance to these unfortunate people. This was stated in a report on the violations of rights in Kashmir, here in Toronto.
The report was issued by Carmen Miranda, Co-ordinator, Council of Advocates international. Explaining the background of the report the Council of Advocates international said that in March, it received complaints of massive human rights violations from the refugees and displaced People of Kashmir living in Azad Kashmir and Pakistan. The refugees stated their Plight and said that they were displaced because of cross border shelling between Indian and Pakistan`s military, terrorism and violence.
Most of them were misguided and in some cases forced by the fundamentalist outfits to leave their homes and cross the border. Once they crossed the border to Azad Kashmir, they became Hostage in the hands of ISI and fundamentalist Militant outfits. They were forced to live in those camps with their women and children in horrific and unspeakable situation. These camps were built as showcases for international delegations and fact-finding missions to highlight the Indian atrocities. The fundamentalist militants used these camps for recruitment, shelters for foreign mercenaries, safe-houses and arm Storage. Refugees From the camps are forced to transport arms across the border and most of the times are killed by Security forces. They are unlawfully arrested, tortured and suffer from the gross violations of human rights.
In response, The Council of Advocates International formed a committee, which investigated and prepared this report. Council secretary general Hamid Bashani expressed his deep concern over the situation and said`` the government of India and Pakistan is constitutionally obligated to ensure the safety and security of the people and protect their rights. Their failure to resolve the issue has catastrophic impact and with the passage of time may worsen the situation. Following is the summary of the report: On February 7,2002, Mushtaq Ali and Naseer Khawaja were contacted by a group of Muzaffrabad based militant leaders. During the lengthy meeting they were asked to transport arms across the border. The duo refused to comply and were threatened with dire consequences.
The next day they were arrested by ISI and were transported blindfolded in a house where they were held incommunicado for ten days. They were brutally tortured and humiliated. Every single day, They were severely beaten and kicked with boots. After their release the local police started visiting them frequently and threatened to charge them with theft, arms trading and other criminal acts. During each visit, The police would beat them and ask them for money. They left Muzaffrabad and are now hiding in Pakistan.
Two elderly refugee men and a woman testify that two of their young relatives, Javeed Abu, 23 and Sameer Shaik 19, were contacted by the militants and ISI personnel and them same method was applied to recruit them to transport Arm across the border. After two weeks they received news that they were killed by security forces in an encounter while crossing the border.
Two Kashmiri refugee women testified that over the period of the last four months the local police and other intelligence agencies personnel`s have visited them on regular basis or asked them to go to the safe houses for investigation. Under the pretext of this investigation they were taken to different Places and were sexually assaulted and repeatedly raped. No case was ever registered against them, but they were threatened to charge with criminal offences. They also testified that they knew some other women who went through more brutal situations but never spoke because of the stigma attached to rape and Sexual assault cases Mansoor Butt, a 31-year-old displaced Kashmir reported that he was arrested by the Army (ISI) and accused of spying for Indians Intelligence agencies.
He was beaten with rifle Butts, Punched and kicked in the face. His only crime was that he refused to accompany a group of militants as a Guide to cross the border. He was kept in a Safe-House for one week during which time he was beaten every day. He was released after the promise of full co-operation Muhammad Deen, a fifty one year old refugee, tried to cross the border to go to his home with his wife and 16 year old son. He was shot deadby Pakistani army personnel without any warning or chance to return
http://www.kashmir-hr.net/mainfile.php/articles/111/
Kashmir Fatigue
USA Today
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — In a dramatic about-face, the most influential and hardline Islamic political party in Indian-controlled Kashmir announced on Sunday it was not seeking Kashmir`s merger into Pakistan.
The Jama`at-e-Islami also said it had no links with Islamic militants staging terror attacks and strikes on military targets since 1989 and hinted that it could break ranks with other Kashmiri separatists and consider participation in elections.
The announcement was described as a significant development ahead of state elections in Kashmir. The Himalayan region has been the cause of five decades of tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan and two wars. India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring the 12-year insurgency, which has left more than 60,000 people dead. Islamabad denies the allegation.
For five decades, Jama`at has struggled politically for a merger of Jammu-Kashmir, India`s only Muslim-majority state, into Islamic Pakistan.
However, Jama`at`s president Ghulam Mohammad Bhat said Sunday that there is no mention of merging with Pakistan in the party`s constitution. ``We didn`t ever even pass a resolution demanding accession since we have been working here,`` he told reporters.
The Jama`at is the only one of the hard-line Islamic parties in Jammu-Kashmir that has an organized, disciplined, region-wide network and thousands of members spread across the Kashmir Valley.
Bhat also said he wants to ``make it clear that we have no connection with the militants or militancy, particularly with the Hezb-ul-Mujahedeen,`` the biggest of a dozen militant groups fighting India.
Many Jama`at members have been arrested or detained over the decade on suspicion they were working secretly for Hezb-ul Mujahedeen.
Jama`at also expressed differences with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a group of 24 Muslim religious and political groups in Kashmir to which it belongs. The Conference, which opposes Indian control of the region, boycotted the last elections in the Indian state of Jammu-Kashmir.
Indian officials have for months asked Kashmiri separatist parties to take part in the elections planned for September or October if they want to prove that they are the true representatives of Kashmiris.
Bhat said that ``right now`` Jama`at has ``no plans of participating in the polls, but anything can happen in the future.`` He added that his party would not call for a boycott of the elections, which he said would be ``unlawful.``
The ramifications of Bhat`s announcement were unclear. In the past, groups or leaders in Kashmir have made announcements, only to reverse them later. At other times, new factions have formed.
Indian political scientist Haseeb Ahmad described Bhat`s comment as ``the biggest gain for the government of India since the onset of the militancy.``
``This is a clear indication that the Jama`at wants to reaccept ... the basic framework of the Indian democratic setup in Kashmir,`` he said.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/06/30/kashmir.htm
Posted by
cutandpaste
Jul 1, 2002 06:54 pm
Muslims in Kashmir not seeking Pakistan mergerUSA Today
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — In a dramatic about-face, the most influential and hardline Islamic political party in Indian-controlled Kashmir announced on Sunday it was not seeking Kashmir`s merger into Pakistan.
The Jama`at-e-Islami also said it had no links with Islamic militants staging terror attacks and strikes on military targets since 1989 and hinted that it could break ranks with other Kashmiri separatists and consider participation in elections.
The announcement was described as a significant development ahead of state elections in Kashmir. The Himalayan region has been the cause of five decades of tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan and two wars. India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring the 12-year insurgency, which has left more than 60,000 people dead. Islamabad denies the allegation.
For five decades, Jama`at has struggled politically for a merger of Jammu-Kashmir, India`s only Muslim-majority state, into Islamic Pakistan.
However, Jama`at`s president Ghulam Mohammad Bhat said Sunday that there is no mention of merging with Pakistan in the party`s constitution. ``We didn`t ever even pass a resolution demanding accession since we have been working here,`` he told reporters.
The Jama`at is the only one of the hard-line Islamic parties in Jammu-Kashmir that has an organized, disciplined, region-wide network and thousands of members spread across the Kashmir Valley.
Bhat also said he wants to ``make it clear that we have no connection with the militants or militancy, particularly with the Hezb-ul-Mujahedeen,`` the biggest of a dozen militant groups fighting India.
Many Jama`at members have been arrested or detained over the decade on suspicion they were working secretly for Hezb-ul Mujahedeen.
Jama`at also expressed differences with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a group of 24 Muslim religious and political groups in Kashmir to which it belongs. The Conference, which opposes Indian control of the region, boycotted the last elections in the Indian state of Jammu-Kashmir.
Indian officials have for months asked Kashmiri separatist parties to take part in the elections planned for September or October if they want to prove that they are the true representatives of Kashmiris.
Bhat said that ``right now`` Jama`at has ``no plans of participating in the polls, but anything can happen in the future.`` He added that his party would not call for a boycott of the elections, which he said would be ``unlawful.``
The ramifications of Bhat`s announcement were unclear. In the past, groups or leaders in Kashmir have made announcements, only to reverse them later. At other times, new factions have formed.
Indian political scientist Haseeb Ahmad described Bhat`s comment as ``the biggest gain for the government of India since the onset of the militancy.``
``This is a clear indication that the Jama`at wants to reaccept ... the basic framework of the Indian democratic setup in Kashmir,`` he said.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/06/30/kashmir.htm
Kashmir Fatigue
--
Report on Rights Violations in Kashmir by Council of Advocates International - 2002-05-23
The displaced people of Kashmir are suffering from the brutal suppression of Indian and Pakistani security forces, Terrorism of fundamentalist militant outfits, constant torture of local police and unspeakable horrors in the hands of ISI. International rights groups must intervene and extend their assistance to these unfortunate people. This was stated in a report on the violations of rights in Kashmir, here in Toronto.
The report was issued by Carmen Miranda, Co-ordinator, Council of Advocates international. Explaining the background of the report the Council of Advocates international said that in March, it received complaints of massive human rights violations from the refugees and displaced People of Kashmir living in Azad Kashmir and Pakistan. The refugees stated their Plight and said that they were displaced because of cross border shelling between Indian and Pakistan`s military, terrorism and violence.
Most of them were misguided and in some cases forced by the fundamentalist outfits to leave their homes and cross the border. Once they crossed the border to Azad Kashmir, they became Hostage in the hands of ISI and fundamentalist Militant outfits. They were forced to live in those camps with their women and children in horrific and unspeakable situation. These camps were built as showcases for international delegations and fact-finding missions to highlight the Indian atrocities. The fundamentalist militants used these camps for recruitment, shelters for foreign mercenaries, safe-houses and arm Storage. Refugees From the camps are forced to transport arms across the border and most of the times are killed by Security forces. They are unlawfully arrested, tortured and suffer from the gross violations of human rights.
In response, The Council of Advocates International formed a committee, which investigated and prepared this report. Council secretary general Hamid Bashani expressed his deep concern over the situation and said`` the government of India and Pakistan is constitutionally obligated to ensure the safety and security of the people and protect their rights. Their failure to resolve the issue has catastrophic impact and with the passage of time may worsen the situation. Following is the summary of the report: On February 7,2002, Mushtaq Ali and Naseer Khawaja were contacted by a group of Muzaffrabad based militant leaders. During the lengthy meeting they were asked to transport arms across the border. The duo refused to comply and were threatened with dire consequences.
The next day they were arrested by ISI and were transported blindfolded in a house where they were held incommunicado for ten days. They were brutally tortured and humiliated. Every single day, They were severely beaten and kicked with boots. After their release the local police started visiting them frequently and threatened to charge them with theft, arms trading and other criminal acts. During each visit, The police would beat them and ask them for money. They left Muzaffrabad and are now hiding in Pakistan.
Two elderly refugee men and a woman testify that two of their young relatives, Javeed Abu, 23 and Sameer Shaik 19, were contacted by the militants and ISI personnel and them same method was applied to recruit them to transport Arm across the border. After two weeks they received news that they were killed by security forces in an encounter while crossing the border.
Two Kashmiri refugee women testified that over the period of the last four months the local police and other intelligence agencies personnel`s have visited them on regular basis or asked them to go to the safe houses for investigation. Under the pretext of this investigation they were taken to different Places and were sexually assaulted and repeatedly raped. No case was ever registered against them, but they were threatened to charge with criminal offences. They also testified that they knew some other women who went through more brutal situations but never spoke because of the stigma attached to rape and Sexual assault cases Mansoor Butt, a 31-year-old displaced Kashmir reported that he was arrested by the Army (ISI) and accused of spying for Indians Intelligence agencies.
He was beaten with rifle Butts, Punched and kicked in the face. His only crime was that he refused to accompany a group of militants as a Guide to cross the border. He was kept in a Safe-House for one week during which time he was beaten every day. He was released after the promise of full co-operation Muhammad Deen, a fifty one year old refugee, tried to cross the border to go to his home with his wife and 16 year old son. He was shot deadby Pakistani army personnel without any warning or chance to return
http://www.kashmir-hr.net/mainfile.php/articles/111/
Posted by
cutandpaste
Jul 1, 2002 06:54 pm
Council of Advocates International based in Toronto has released a report on Human Right violations in Kashmir. This includes human right violations by Pakistani army, security forces and it`s spy intelligence agency ISI.--
Report on Rights Violations in Kashmir by Council of Advocates International - 2002-05-23
The displaced people of Kashmir are suffering from the brutal suppression of Indian and Pakistani security forces, Terrorism of fundamentalist militant outfits, constant torture of local police and unspeakable horrors in the hands of ISI. International rights groups must intervene and extend their assistance to these unfortunate people. This was stated in a report on the violations of rights in Kashmir, here in Toronto.
The report was issued by Carmen Miranda, Co-ordinator, Council of Advocates international. Explaining the background of the report the Council of Advocates international said that in March, it received complaints of massive human rights violations from the refugees and displaced People of Kashmir living in Azad Kashmir and Pakistan. The refugees stated their Plight and said that they were displaced because of cross border shelling between Indian and Pakistan`s military, terrorism and violence.
Most of them were misguided and in some cases forced by the fundamentalist outfits to leave their homes and cross the border. Once they crossed the border to Azad Kashmir, they became Hostage in the hands of ISI and fundamentalist Militant outfits. They were forced to live in those camps with their women and children in horrific and unspeakable situation. These camps were built as showcases for international delegations and fact-finding missions to highlight the Indian atrocities. The fundamentalist militants used these camps for recruitment, shelters for foreign mercenaries, safe-houses and arm Storage. Refugees From the camps are forced to transport arms across the border and most of the times are killed by Security forces. They are unlawfully arrested, tortured and suffer from the gross violations of human rights.
In response, The Council of Advocates International formed a committee, which investigated and prepared this report. Council secretary general Hamid Bashani expressed his deep concern over the situation and said`` the government of India and Pakistan is constitutionally obligated to ensure the safety and security of the people and protect their rights. Their failure to resolve the issue has catastrophic impact and with the passage of time may worsen the situation. Following is the summary of the report: On February 7,2002, Mushtaq Ali and Naseer Khawaja were contacted by a group of Muzaffrabad based militant leaders. During the lengthy meeting they were asked to transport arms across the border. The duo refused to comply and were threatened with dire consequences.
The next day they were arrested by ISI and were transported blindfolded in a house where they were held incommunicado for ten days. They were brutally tortured and humiliated. Every single day, They were severely beaten and kicked with boots. After their release the local police started visiting them frequently and threatened to charge them with theft, arms trading and other criminal acts. During each visit, The police would beat them and ask them for money. They left Muzaffrabad and are now hiding in Pakistan.
Two elderly refugee men and a woman testify that two of their young relatives, Javeed Abu, 23 and Sameer Shaik 19, were contacted by the militants and ISI personnel and them same method was applied to recruit them to transport Arm across the border. After two weeks they received news that they were killed by security forces in an encounter while crossing the border.
Two Kashmiri refugee women testified that over the period of the last four months the local police and other intelligence agencies personnel`s have visited them on regular basis or asked them to go to the safe houses for investigation. Under the pretext of this investigation they were taken to different Places and were sexually assaulted and repeatedly raped. No case was ever registered against them, but they were threatened to charge with criminal offences. They also testified that they knew some other women who went through more brutal situations but never spoke because of the stigma attached to rape and Sexual assault cases Mansoor Butt, a 31-year-old displaced Kashmir reported that he was arrested by the Army (ISI) and accused of spying for Indians Intelligence agencies.
He was beaten with rifle Butts, Punched and kicked in the face. His only crime was that he refused to accompany a group of militants as a Guide to cross the border. He was kept in a Safe-House for one week during which time he was beaten every day. He was released after the promise of full co-operation Muhammad Deen, a fifty one year old refugee, tried to cross the border to go to his home with his wife and 16 year old son. He was shot deadby Pakistani army personnel without any warning or chance to return
http://www.kashmir-hr.net/mainfile.php/articles/111/
Kashmir: What Next?
--
Hard-line Islamic political party in Kashmir breaks links with Pakistan, militants in political shock
Sun Jun 30, 1:41 PM ET
By MUJTABA ALI AHMAD, Associated Press Writer
SRINAGAR, India - The most influential and hardline Islamic political party in Indian-controlled Kashmir ( news - web sites) announced on Sunday it had severed ties with Muslim militants and Pakistan, into which it has long proposed a merger of the Himalayan region.
Analysts described the announcement as one of the most significant political developments in years in Kashmir — the cause of five decades of tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan and two wars. It was also a major win for New Delhi.
The reason behind the dramatic turnaround by the Jama`at-e-Islami party was not immediately apparent.
``I want to make it clear that we have no connection with the militants or militancy, particularly with the Hezb-ul-Mujahedeen,`` Jama`at`s president, Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, told The Associated Press.
The Hezb-ul Mujahedeen is the biggest of the dozen militant groups which have been fighting India`s military since 1989 to separate Kashmir, or merge it with Pakistan, which also controls part of Kashmir.
An Indian intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Sunday that Jama`at has had close links in the past with the Hezb-ul Mujahedeen, and was suspected of being the militant group`s political face. Many Jama`at members have been arrested or detained over the decade on the suspicion that they were working secretly for the Hezb, the official said.
Jama`at also expressed differences with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a group of 24 Muslim religious and political groups in Kashmir to which it belongs. The Conference, which opposes Indian control of the region, has boycotted the last elections in the Indian state of Jammu-Kashmir and called for voters to resist going to the polls.
Indian officials have for months asked Kashmiri separatist parties to take part in the elections planned for September or October if they want to prove that they are the true representatives of Kashmiris.
Hurriyat has said it will boycott the upcoming elections, and its leader was not available to comment on Bhat`s announcement.
Bhat said that ``right now`` Jama`at has ``no plans of participating in the polls, but anything can happen in the future.``
He added that his party would not call for a boycott of the elections, which he said would be ``unlawful.``
For five decades, Jama`at has struggled politically for a merger of Jammu-Kashmir, India`s only Muslim-majority state, into Islamic Pakistan.
The Jama`at is the only one of the hard-line Islamic parties in Jammu-Kashmir that has an organized, disciplined, region-wide network and thousands of members spread across the Kashmir Valley.
Its announcement Sunday appeared to reverse all that the party has stood for, for five decades.
One of the group`s longtime senior leaders, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, has publicly described himself as a ``proud Pakistani.``
However, on Sunday in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu-Kashmir state, Bhat seemed to dismiss the party`s links with Pakistan.
``There is no mention of Kashmir`s accession to Pakistan in our party constitution. We didn`t ever even pass a resolution demanding accession since we have been working here,`` he told reporters.
The ramifications of Bhat`s announcement were unclear. Geelani is in a prison in the eastern Indian city of Ranchi, charged under a tough anti-terrorism law.
In the past, groups or leaders in Kashmir have made announcements, only to reverse them later, sometime the next day. At other times, new factions have formed, or other leaders have said the announcement did not reflect the view of the whole organization.
If Jama`at holds to Bhat`s announcement, it would be a blow to militant groups in the Kashmir Valley, and raise the possibility of the participation by some separatists in the state elections — a huge public relations victory for India.
India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring the 12-year insurgency, which has left more than 60,000 people dead. Islamabad denies the allegation.
Referring to Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf`s regime, Bhat said: ``There is no dictatorship (allowed) in Islam. The people of Pakistan are trying to install a democratic government in the country.``
Musharraf recently proposed changing Pakistan`s constitution to grant himself sweeping additional powers.
Indian political scientist Haseeb Ahmad described the news as ``the biggest gain for the government of India since the onset of the militancy.``
``This is a clear indication that the Jama`at wants to reaccept ... the basic framework of the Indian democratic setup in Kashmir,`` he told The Associated Press. ``This has shaken the edifice on which the secessionist movement rests and is bound to cause more than ripples in the political scenario of Kashmir.``
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020630/ap_wo_en_po/kashmir_political_surprise_2
Posted by
cutandpaste
Jul 1, 2002 03:52 am
A setback for Pakistan`s position on Kashmir. It will extremely difficult for Pakistan to sponsor more terrorism in Indian Kashmir.--
Hard-line Islamic political party in Kashmir breaks links with Pakistan, militants in political shock
Sun Jun 30, 1:41 PM ET
By MUJTABA ALI AHMAD, Associated Press Writer
SRINAGAR, India - The most influential and hardline Islamic political party in Indian-controlled Kashmir ( news - web sites) announced on Sunday it had severed ties with Muslim militants and Pakistan, into which it has long proposed a merger of the Himalayan region.
Analysts described the announcement as one of the most significant political developments in years in Kashmir — the cause of five decades of tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan and two wars. It was also a major win for New Delhi.
The reason behind the dramatic turnaround by the Jama`at-e-Islami party was not immediately apparent.
``I want to make it clear that we have no connection with the militants or militancy, particularly with the Hezb-ul-Mujahedeen,`` Jama`at`s president, Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, told The Associated Press.
The Hezb-ul Mujahedeen is the biggest of the dozen militant groups which have been fighting India`s military since 1989 to separate Kashmir, or merge it with Pakistan, which also controls part of Kashmir.
An Indian intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Sunday that Jama`at has had close links in the past with the Hezb-ul Mujahedeen, and was suspected of being the militant group`s political face. Many Jama`at members have been arrested or detained over the decade on the suspicion that they were working secretly for the Hezb, the official said.
Jama`at also expressed differences with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a group of 24 Muslim religious and political groups in Kashmir to which it belongs. The Conference, which opposes Indian control of the region, has boycotted the last elections in the Indian state of Jammu-Kashmir and called for voters to resist going to the polls.
Indian officials have for months asked Kashmiri separatist parties to take part in the elections planned for September or October if they want to prove that they are the true representatives of Kashmiris.
Hurriyat has said it will boycott the upcoming elections, and its leader was not available to comment on Bhat`s announcement.
Bhat said that ``right now`` Jama`at has ``no plans of participating in the polls, but anything can happen in the future.``
He added that his party would not call for a boycott of the elections, which he said would be ``unlawful.``
For five decades, Jama`at has struggled politically for a merger of Jammu-Kashmir, India`s only Muslim-majority state, into Islamic Pakistan.
The Jama`at is the only one of the hard-line Islamic parties in Jammu-Kashmir that has an organized, disciplined, region-wide network and thousands of members spread across the Kashmir Valley.
Its announcement Sunday appeared to reverse all that the party has stood for, for five decades.
One of the group`s longtime senior leaders, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, has publicly described himself as a ``proud Pakistani.``
However, on Sunday in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu-Kashmir state, Bhat seemed to dismiss the party`s links with Pakistan.
``There is no mention of Kashmir`s accession to Pakistan in our party constitution. We didn`t ever even pass a resolution demanding accession since we have been working here,`` he told reporters.
The ramifications of Bhat`s announcement were unclear. Geelani is in a prison in the eastern Indian city of Ranchi, charged under a tough anti-terrorism law.
In the past, groups or leaders in Kashmir have made announcements, only to reverse them later, sometime the next day. At other times, new factions have formed, or other leaders have said the announcement did not reflect the view of the whole organization.
If Jama`at holds to Bhat`s announcement, it would be a blow to militant groups in the Kashmir Valley, and raise the possibility of the participation by some separatists in the state elections — a huge public relations victory for India.
India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring the 12-year insurgency, which has left more than 60,000 people dead. Islamabad denies the allegation.
Referring to Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf`s regime, Bhat said: ``There is no dictatorship (allowed) in Islam. The people of Pakistan are trying to install a democratic government in the country.``
Musharraf recently proposed changing Pakistan`s constitution to grant himself sweeping additional powers.
Indian political scientist Haseeb Ahmad described the news as ``the biggest gain for the government of India since the onset of the militancy.``
``This is a clear indication that the Jama`at wants to reaccept ... the basic framework of the Indian democratic setup in Kashmir,`` he told The Associated Press. ``This has shaken the edifice on which the secessionist movement rests and is bound to cause more than ripples in the political scenario of Kashmir.``
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020630/ap_wo_en_po/kashmir_political_surprise_2
The Place of Debate
In the most religiously diverse country in the world, why should God get the only plug?
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist Friday, June 28, 2002
To hell with the separation of church and state. Forget the Pledge of Allegiance and ``under God`` and all this bipartisan puling about prayer in schools. Maybe we`ve had it wrong all along.
Let`s try this instead: Maybe there should be no such separation at the school level. Maybe God and Vishnu and Kali and Astarte and Dionysus and Allah and Zarathushtra and Lao-Tzu have not only a vital place in the educational system, but also a fervent need to be heard and felt and imbibed, just like cafeteria Coke and meatloaf and badly written textbooks and nonexistent sex-ed and the capitals of all 50 states.
Maybe barring religious practice from our national places of learning is just about as ignorant and small-minded and spiritually degenerative as, say, bombing another country over oil or land or power or ego. Let`s just say.
Ah, but maybe you agree with Dubya that America is Christian country and its ``rights were derived from God.`` Maybe you think the current, adorably hypocritical separation of church and state, with its sanctimonious mentions of a patriarchal Christian God everywhere, is the righteous path, the common wisdom, the properly loving sentiment expressed by many a fervent patriot as we drop our bombs and thump our Bibles and let God sort `em out.
You would be wrong.
Because America is also the most religiously diverse country in the world. America is teeming with saris and yarmulkes and monk`s robes and funky prayer beads and glorious ornate temples of every shape and size. There are more Muslims in the U.S. now, for example, than there are Jews or Episcopalians. America, spiritually speaking, is not what most people think it is.
A quick look inside any apartment building in any major city outside of, say, Vermont or maybe Montana reveals a veritable kaleidoscope of faith and divinity: Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Jew, Atheist, Wiccan, Pagan, Sikh, Atheist and Buddhist, living side by side and borrowing cups of sugar or sticks of Nag Champa from each other, stealing each other`s newspaper and bootlegging each other`s cable TV. It`s a beautiful thing, really.
But nowhere is religious funk and spiritual diversity more prevalent and visible than in the classroom, which since the mid-`60s has seen an explosion of immigrant cultures and beliefs, a dazzling and unprecedented intermixing of faiths and backgrounds and languages and deities and kids with names that give your tongue a workout.
And hence it would seem to require negligible rationale or subtlety of mind to see that ``under God`` is really rather inane and exclusionary and insulting to a vast and increasing chunk of the soon-to-be-voting populace.
Alas, Conservatives still believe little Johnny should be kneeling in school and praising Jesus (and no one else) for the glory that is his math quiz every day, whereas Liberals believe he should keep that sort of thing in the church or risk warping his little mind.
Meanwhile little Daniel and Sunjat and Tenzin and Amir and Uma Das Gupta and Moonstarr and Ling Tso sit idly by, rolling their eyes and sighing sadly and wondering why there`s so much intolerance and misunderstanding in the Land of the Free.
So maybe there should be prayer in schools. A lot of prayer. Say a half hour a day, every religion allowed its rituals and practices, quirks and screams and chants and head-bobbings and blood sacrifices to the great Lord Zorkon.
Immediately followed by a class on religious appreciation and diversity, with each kid talking about his/her beliefs and traditions and occasionally uptight dogmas and beautiful similarities and why the hell they have to wear that funny thing on their head and can`t eat bananas on Tuesdays.
Maybe every major religion gets one week during the school year where the kid and the kid`s family and their rabbi or priest or guru or teacher come in and share stories and teach everyone their traditions, and everyone eats that culture`s food and recites that faith`s prayers and everyone learns to tie a turban and decorate a robe and dances and laughs and learns.
It`s what famed author and Harvard professor Diana Eck, in her book ``New Religious America: How a `Christian Country` Has Become the World`s Most Religiously Diverse Nation,`` termed ``religious pluralism`` -- more than mere tolerance and acceptance of other`s religious beliefs, an active and dynamic engagement in the public sphere, classrooms and workplaces and fetish dungeons, an ongoing dialogue, a spiritual exchange.
It`s messy and complicated and imperfect; we are trained to be suspicious, we resist change, we fear the unknown and erect walls and barriers of all kinds to keep foreigners and strange people out. Anxiety is our cultural modus operandi, and many spiritually uptight believers -- Christians in particular -- are loath to allow their kids to be ``tainted`` by exposure to other beliefs.
But this is the only way it will ever work. People of all religions must intermix and communicate and share ideas and find common ground, and there is no one better to take us there than children, as yet untainted by their parent`s prejudices, their government`s ideologies.
Lack of such integration and communication means cultural stasis, social breakdown, prejudice, ignorance, hatred, violence, zealotry, terrorism, war, increased and inexplicable proliferation of the Bush clan. Not necessarily in that order.
It means situations like the Middle East, full of checkpoints and barriers and razor wire and children being trained in hate, without ever learning the viewpoint of the other side.
It means we continue like we are right now, segregating ourselves and living in relative ignorance of who lives down the hall, looking over our shoulder suspiciously at the guy in the silk gown or the woman in the head wrap, wondering what crazy thing they`re always chanting about.
So yes. Dump the inane ``under God`` provision of the Pledge. And maybe replace it with ``One nation, under whatever noble and/or beautiful belief system you want, or maybe nothing at all, or maybe a little of this and that, just don`t be a freak about it, because this is America and we`re nothing if not about religious freedom, even though that may be difficult to believe right now, but just bear with us, indivisible....``
Sure it`s a little verbose. But it sure beats the religious status quo.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2002/06/28/notes062802.DTL
Posted by
cutandpaste
Jul 1, 2002 03:52 am
Nation, Under Vishnu In the most religiously diverse country in the world, why should God get the only plug?
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist Friday, June 28, 2002
To hell with the separation of church and state. Forget the Pledge of Allegiance and ``under God`` and all this bipartisan puling about prayer in schools. Maybe we`ve had it wrong all along.
Let`s try this instead: Maybe there should be no such separation at the school level. Maybe God and Vishnu and Kali and Astarte and Dionysus and Allah and Zarathushtra and Lao-Tzu have not only a vital place in the educational system, but also a fervent need to be heard and felt and imbibed, just like cafeteria Coke and meatloaf and badly written textbooks and nonexistent sex-ed and the capitals of all 50 states.
Maybe barring religious practice from our national places of learning is just about as ignorant and small-minded and spiritually degenerative as, say, bombing another country over oil or land or power or ego. Let`s just say.
Ah, but maybe you agree with Dubya that America is Christian country and its ``rights were derived from God.`` Maybe you think the current, adorably hypocritical separation of church and state, with its sanctimonious mentions of a patriarchal Christian God everywhere, is the righteous path, the common wisdom, the properly loving sentiment expressed by many a fervent patriot as we drop our bombs and thump our Bibles and let God sort `em out.
You would be wrong.
Because America is also the most religiously diverse country in the world. America is teeming with saris and yarmulkes and monk`s robes and funky prayer beads and glorious ornate temples of every shape and size. There are more Muslims in the U.S. now, for example, than there are Jews or Episcopalians. America, spiritually speaking, is not what most people think it is.
A quick look inside any apartment building in any major city outside of, say, Vermont or maybe Montana reveals a veritable kaleidoscope of faith and divinity: Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Jew, Atheist, Wiccan, Pagan, Sikh, Atheist and Buddhist, living side by side and borrowing cups of sugar or sticks of Nag Champa from each other, stealing each other`s newspaper and bootlegging each other`s cable TV. It`s a beautiful thing, really.
But nowhere is religious funk and spiritual diversity more prevalent and visible than in the classroom, which since the mid-`60s has seen an explosion of immigrant cultures and beliefs, a dazzling and unprecedented intermixing of faiths and backgrounds and languages and deities and kids with names that give your tongue a workout.
And hence it would seem to require negligible rationale or subtlety of mind to see that ``under God`` is really rather inane and exclusionary and insulting to a vast and increasing chunk of the soon-to-be-voting populace.
Alas, Conservatives still believe little Johnny should be kneeling in school and praising Jesus (and no one else) for the glory that is his math quiz every day, whereas Liberals believe he should keep that sort of thing in the church or risk warping his little mind.
Meanwhile little Daniel and Sunjat and Tenzin and Amir and Uma Das Gupta and Moonstarr and Ling Tso sit idly by, rolling their eyes and sighing sadly and wondering why there`s so much intolerance and misunderstanding in the Land of the Free.
So maybe there should be prayer in schools. A lot of prayer. Say a half hour a day, every religion allowed its rituals and practices, quirks and screams and chants and head-bobbings and blood sacrifices to the great Lord Zorkon.
Immediately followed by a class on religious appreciation and diversity, with each kid talking about his/her beliefs and traditions and occasionally uptight dogmas and beautiful similarities and why the hell they have to wear that funny thing on their head and can`t eat bananas on Tuesdays.
Maybe every major religion gets one week during the school year where the kid and the kid`s family and their rabbi or priest or guru or teacher come in and share stories and teach everyone their traditions, and everyone eats that culture`s food and recites that faith`s prayers and everyone learns to tie a turban and decorate a robe and dances and laughs and learns.
It`s what famed author and Harvard professor Diana Eck, in her book ``New Religious America: How a `Christian Country` Has Become the World`s Most Religiously Diverse Nation,`` termed ``religious pluralism`` -- more than mere tolerance and acceptance of other`s religious beliefs, an active and dynamic engagement in the public sphere, classrooms and workplaces and fetish dungeons, an ongoing dialogue, a spiritual exchange.
It`s messy and complicated and imperfect; we are trained to be suspicious, we resist change, we fear the unknown and erect walls and barriers of all kinds to keep foreigners and strange people out. Anxiety is our cultural modus operandi, and many spiritually uptight believers -- Christians in particular -- are loath to allow their kids to be ``tainted`` by exposure to other beliefs.
But this is the only way it will ever work. People of all religions must intermix and communicate and share ideas and find common ground, and there is no one better to take us there than children, as yet untainted by their parent`s prejudices, their government`s ideologies.
Lack of such integration and communication means cultural stasis, social breakdown, prejudice, ignorance, hatred, violence, zealotry, terrorism, war, increased and inexplicable proliferation of the Bush clan. Not necessarily in that order.
It means situations like the Middle East, full of checkpoints and barriers and razor wire and children being trained in hate, without ever learning the viewpoint of the other side.
It means we continue like we are right now, segregating ourselves and living in relative ignorance of who lives down the hall, looking over our shoulder suspiciously at the guy in the silk gown or the woman in the head wrap, wondering what crazy thing they`re always chanting about.
So yes. Dump the inane ``under God`` provision of the Pledge. And maybe replace it with ``One nation, under whatever noble and/or beautiful belief system you want, or maybe nothing at all, or maybe a little of this and that, just don`t be a freak about it, because this is America and we`re nothing if not about religious freedom, even though that may be difficult to believe right now, but just bear with us, indivisible....``
Sure it`s a little verbose. But it sure beats the religious status quo.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2002/06/28/notes062802.DTL
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