SACW | 8 March 2006 | Sri Lanka Dealing with Conflict; Voices on March 8, Womens Day; Riots in Goa; Indo US Nuclear deal ignores ordinary people

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 8 March, 2006 | Dispatch No. 2228

Contents:

[1] Sri Lanka: no hope for enduring peace (Ayesha Siddiqa)
[2] Pakistan: Tahira Mazhar Ali Khan and 56 years of women’s rights activism
[3] US-Pakistan: Women say ‘no’ to war and violence (Zubeida Mustafa)
[4] A Queer Protest Against Bush's Visit To India
[5] India: Communal Riots in Goa - Open Edit (Sujay Gupta)
[6] India Deal Ignores Another Energy Need: Food (Paul Watson)
[7] Himal Southasian - March-April 2006
[8] Sex Workers March for Rights in Delhi (March 8, 2006)

____________________________________


[1]

Daily Times
March 08, 2006 	

Sri Lanka: NO HOPE FOR ENDURING PEACE

by Dr Ayesha Siddiqa

Enduring peace requires renegotiating Sri Lanka’s political framework.
The only option is to undo the state’s post-colonial character and
replace it with a more representative polity. Unfortunately, some key
players lack the capacity for imaginative thinking and will continue to
insist on an unworkable political option until the country becomes
completely ungovernable

Recent talks in Geneva between representatives of the government of Sri
Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) (February
22-23, 2006) failed to raise hopes of an early end to the conflict. The
only positive outcome perhaps was that both sides agreed to uphold the
ceasefire agreement (CFA) of 2002 and to meet again in April. The GOSL
also agreed to apprehend and disarm paramilitary groups attacking the
LTTE, President Mahinda Rajapakse’s claim of ignorance of their
existence notwithstanding.

The talks, the first since the CFA was signed four years ago, were
doomed perhaps by the excitement on both sides. Given that no side
appeared to be ready to make any concessions — the LTTE reiterated its
commitment to a homeland for the Tamils and the GOSL to a unitary state
controlled by the Sinhalese — the hype had made people dread war rather
than imagine peace.

Interestingly, there was little expectation of an agreement. A major
breakthrough, in any case, was impossible due to the fact that the major
players, especially on the government side were not prepared to review
their historical positions. Someone in Colombo described the situation
as “a psychological stalemate”. Although Colombo is not eager to start a
war, mainly because it cannot launch a major military operation, the key
players are keen — if they can be sure of their capability — to fight
and sort out the issue militarily.

The war that the Tamil and Sinhalese have been fighting since 1983-84
peaked in 2002 when the LTTE carried out successful strikes at the
country’s main airport and an adjoining airbase in the capital. Besides
civilian as well as military aircraft, Colombo lost its tourist trade.
The Tigers had crossed a threshold. Decline in tourism did not bode well
for the government, the country and the key players. That was when
serious efforts were made to start talks with the LTTE and the CFA was
signed.

Unfortunately, the talks represent only a tactical rather than a
strategic shift in policy. As far as the Sri Lankan state is concerned,
Buddhist monks and Sinhalese leaders have a limited imagination. They
are simply not willing to look at alternatives despite the fact that
there are signs of change in the LTTE position. Villupillai Prabhakaran,
militant leader and LTTE head, understands that the geo-political
situation does not favour the establishment of a separate homeland for
the Tamils.

India, which provided strategic respite to Tamil militants and
politicians, is not eager to see Sri Lanka divided into two. In fact,
New Delhi had never seriously thought of helping establish a Tamil
state. The best bet for the LTTE, therefore, is to seek some political
concessions from Colombo, primarily in the form of a federal structure
based on regional autonomy.

The Tigers laid out their political vision in October 2003 in the form
of proposals for an interim-self governing authority (ISGL) for the
North-East, the area where the Tamils propose a separate state. The ISGL
proposal is the only documentary evidence so far of the LTTE considering
an alternative short of dissolution of the Sri Lankan state.

The proposed federal structure is interesting for Sri Lanka as well as
the rest of South Asia. It holds the blueprint of a political system
that could end the intra-state conflict and violence in the entire
region. All South Asian states are post-colonial structures driven by a
top-down power-political mechanism.

The ISGL plan proposes two autonomous regions in Sri Lanka. The
interim-self government in North East — like a similar arrangement in
the rest of the country — is to independently hold elections, raise
funds and control natural resources.

The LTTE appears keen, particularly after the tsunami, to stick to the
ISGL blueprint. The catastrophe was a reminder to the LTTE leadership of
their inability to provide services other than security to their people.
The organisation, which has grown as a fascist force, can so far only
offer protection against an equally fascist Sinhalese military. The
self-governance proposal aims at allowing it to develop infrastructure
and manage funds provided by international donors.

Despite the fact that it has consistently used the ‘threat of war’ to
extract concessions from GOSL, the LTTE is clearly keen to talk peace.
For Colombo, one of the considerations is the LTTE’s ability to bring
war to the capital and other Sinhalese-controlled areas. Some hardliners
argue that the CFA has benefited Tamils more than the government. The
four-year respite, they say, has allowed the LTTE to regroup and prepare
for launching an attack. If the talks break down now and the conflict
resumes it can inflict serious damage. For its part, the Tamil
leadership realises the advantage of encouraging such a perception; it
strengthens its position in the talks.

The LTTE has also built its military capacity in terms of conventional
capability of air, naval and land forces. Over the past four years the
Tigers have built an airstrip and acquired a few small, short-range
aircraft. Unfortunately, a number of people in Colombo see this as a
sigh of the LTTE having transformed into a conventional military that
has to be ‘deterred’. There is much talk of beefing up the Sri Lankan
armed forces and improving professional standards to counter this new
threat. Nothing could be farther from fact.

The LTTE is essentially a guerrilla force with only limited conventional
capability, which it can easily trade for some political dividends. For
instance, once the ISGL is established, the LTTE would have to be
integrated into the Sri Lankan defence forces and made responsible for
the defence of the North East. The Tamil-controlled military will
ultimately be a part of the broad political solution.

One of the other reasons, the LTTE is keen on the ISGL proposal rather
than a protracted war is the fear of factionalism in its military
machine. The threat became evident with the breakaway of its eastern
commander Col Karuna who fell out with Prabhakaran over distribution of
resources. The break-up, a direct result of four years of peace, can be
seen as the cost of peace.

Sadly, most Sinhalese leaders and the Rajapakse government see the
Karuna factor as something they can exploit to weaken the LTTE and
thereby avoid rethinking political arrangements. The military commanders
are already talking of a separation between the north and the east. The
idea is to thwart the establishment of the ISGL by driving a wedge
between the Tamil and the Muslim population living primarily in the east
and destroy the Tamil plan for an autonomous region.

Such politics has turned the country into a predatory state like Nepal
and Pakistan. These states are characterised by a leadership driven by
short-term gains and the absence of institutions and a political game
plan. Enduring peace requires renegotiating Sri Lanka’s political
framework. The only option is to undo the state’s post-colonial
character and replace it with a more representative polity.
Unfortunately, some key players lack the capacity for imaginative
thinking and will continue to insist on an unworkable political option
until the country becomes completely ungovernable. A frequent traveller
to Sri Lanka can already smell and feel the difference caused by years
of bad politics and governance.

Dr Ayesha Siddiqa is a military analyst and a freelance writer



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[2]

Daily Times
March 08, 2006 	

56 YEARS OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS ACTIVISM

- Tahira Mazhar Ali Khan talks to Daily Times on Women’s Day

By Ali Waqar

LAHORE: Prominent women’s rights icon and political activist Tahira
Mazhar Ali Khan stressed the importance of education, revival of
political activism and equality of rights for the country to progress in
an exclusive interview with Daily Times to commemorate the Women’s Day.

Recalling the history of women’s rights in Pakistan, she said right
after independence there was the All Pakistan Women’s Association, which
was close to the establishment, and Young Women’s Christian Association.
“We formed the Democratic Women’s Association (DWA) in 1950, the
country’s first independent women’s organisation.”

She said the association observed the International Women’s Day in
Pakistan for the first time and protested against the Vietnam War.
“Women have always been on the forefront against war. They did not want
their sons and husbands to die.” She said Alice Faiz, Hajira Masroor,
Khadija Omer, Khadija Mastoor, Kaniz Fatima, wives of journalists and
workers and working women from Northern Lahore participated in the
protest. Tahira said there was a need for information about what was
going on in the world and gatherings should be arranged not in five star
hotels but at public places.

She said there could be no progress without equal rights and the
association struggled not only for women’s issues but also for trade
union rights.

Ayub Khan banned the organisation for its resistance to dictatorship,
she recalled, and restricted the members’ movement. She said Bhutto
allowed more freedom of movement, assembly and expression, but recalled
that the Bhutto government stopped the DWA from inviting Indian women
activists to celebrate International Women Day in Pakistan. “We wanted
closer ties with India and invited the activists without the
government’s permission.”

After restrictions on the association in Ziaul Haq’s dictatorship, the
Women Action Forum (WAF) was formed, she said, adding that the new
resistance movement had more diverse membership.

She said the situation of human rights in general and women’s rights in
particular had improved, but no specific laws had been made to address
women’s issues. “Women’s rights are more than just constitutional,” she
said. “Despite the improvement, women do not have an equal status – not
even in Europe and America.” She commended the law of reserved seats for
women in the assemblies, but warned against “retrogressive elements”.
She held religious groups responsible for denial of women’s rights and
said there was a need to fight against them.

“Being liberal does not mean being obscene,” she said. “People must
understand that liberty does not mean taking clothes off. It means we
should have our rights. Women should not be killed for honour and should
not be treated as chattel, and this must be reflected in the country’s
laws and policies.”

She said despite an increase in awareness of people on women’s rights,
the civil society has been weak. “We have been talking of the Iraq war
and the role of Muslims. There were anti-war protests in London, Rome,
New York, and other parts of the world, but in Lahore there were only
1,200 protestors.”

She said the Pakistan Army, the American Central Intelligence Agency and
Benazir Bhutto’s government supported Taliban. She said Osama Bin Laden
and his companions were America’s friends and Pakistan had opted for
America’s slavery.

“What were the people promised at the time of partition?” she asked. “It
was said that the country would be a paradise for Muslims and
minorities, but it has almost become a hell. Now it seems that the
Ideology of Pakistan was to be hungry and uneducated and giving no human
rights. It seems like the ideology of Pakistan was that the poor will
become poorer and the rich will become richer.

She was unhappy with the role of young people. “What are young people
doing?” she asked. “Are they siding with their mothers, daughters,
sisters, and female friends? There will be no progress unless people
begin thinking and speaking of women’s rights, there are debates on
women’s issues in the assemblies and the country’s criminal and social
justice system progresses.” She blamed the poor education during 12
years of Zia’s dictatorship for young people’s “failure”. She said young
people must think about political issues and should prefer actions to
drawing room politics.

“Religion is a private matter. You will not get a lawyer to defend
yourself on the day of judgment,” she said, “So do not impose
restrictions in the name of Islam.”

She stressed the importance of efforts to promote education, literacy,
equal distribution of wealth and equality of rights for all classes and
sexes. She said only women’s effort was not enough. “Let everyone speak
and learn principals of politics.”

She said she visited women in far-flung areas in all provinces during
the previous elections and women told her they wanted more schools, but
the government had given everything to the private sector. “Education
and health are the state’s responsibility,” she said adding that all
governments had failed to fulfil the responsibility and were keeping
people uneducated despite heavy loans from international donors. She
said the curriculum should be improved and religion should be focused on
only in the religious studies syllabus. Tahira said there was no
democracy in the country’s political parties, and she condemned
horse-trading, corruption and bribery. She said there was need for
political education and activism in the country.

She said Pakistan’s leaders were made by the army, including Bhutto.
“Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto could have delivered,” she said, “but he failed
because he turned away from people, and that is why he was hanged.” She
said Bhutto was hanged over a petty and false issue and called it the
most wicked judgment she had ever seen. She said only women protested
against Bhutto’s hanging.

In a special message, she said the world was changing very fast, and
structures, people and relationships were changing with it. “In this
perspective, there is a need for friendship with neighbours and a battle
against wars.”

She said young women should demand more schools and educate themselves
to have careers and become economically independent so that men could
not dominate them.



____


[3]

Dawn (Pakistan)
March 8, 2006

WOMEN SAY ‘NO’ TO WAR AND VIOLENCE

By Zubeida Mustafa

MARCH 8 is International Women’s Day which is generally an occasion for
stock taking on the status of women. As the world has moved towards a
violent future and governments have focused more on what they term
national security in the military context, they have lost sight of the
issues that actually form the basis of true security — human rights,
social justice, education, liberty, health care and the quality of life
provided to the people. As such the women’s cause has also come to be
overwritten by security issues.

As a result women’s movements worldwide have undergone a shift in
paradigm and they have taken up causes which are not really
gender-specific. They are now fighting for issues that affect men and
women equally. If women are in the lead it is because they are mobilized
and have developed the art of protesting in such a way as to make the
maximum impact. At no stage have women tried to exclude men who have
always been invited to join hands with them to struggle for a cause that
is of concern to both.

On women’s day 2006, the focus is on peace. This is not surprising,
given the numerous wars that are being waged in different parts of the
world today and the violence that has destabilized many states and
threatens to devastate mankind itself. Women are now mobilizing for
peace and since this is just the beginning one cannot say if they will
succeed. A significant effort has been made by a group in the United
States calling itself Codepink which has launched the “Women Say No to
War” campaign. The war in Iraq and the American military presence in
that country that has taken 32,000 lives in the last three years has had
a profound impact on women not just in Iraq but also in the US.

Codepink, which was set up in November 2002, says it is bringing over a
delegation of Iraqi women to the United States for women’s day to talk
of the destruction war causes. All these women have been affected by the
war unleashed by the US. Ironically, two women whose families were shot
dead by American soldiers have been denied visas on the ground that they
do not have enough family members in Iraq to ensure that they would
return home. Codepink is also collecting signatures for an appeal in
which women from the United States, Iraq, and all over the world declare
that they “have had enough of the senseless war in Iraq and the cruel
attacks on civilians around the world.” They go on to say, “We’ve buried
too many of our loved ones. We’ve seen too many lives crippled forever
by physical and mental wounds. We’ve watched in horror as our precious
resources are poured into war while our families’ basic needs of food,
shelter, education and health care go unmet. We’ve had enough of living
in constant fear of violence and seeing the growing cancer of hatred and
intolerance seep into our homes and communities.”

Demanding an end to the bloodshed and the destruction in Iraq that is
perpetuating an endless cycle of violence, they call “for a shift from
the military model to a conflict-resolution model” that includes the
withdrawal of all foreign troops and foreign fighters from Iraq,
negotiations to reincorporate fully disenfranchised Iraqis into Iraqi
society, the full representation of women in the peacemaking process,
Iraqi control of its oil and other resources, a massive reconstruction
effort that prioritizes Iraqi contractors, and draws upon financial
resources of the countries responsible for the invasion and occupation
of Iraq, and the consideration of a temporary international peacekeeping
force for Iraq that is truly multilateral.

Is this to be the beginning of a new peace movement, albeit this time
with international dimensions? Communication technology has made this
possible. Although the desire for peace recognises no borders and
embraces many generations, races, ethnicities, religions and political
persuasions, in the final analysis every society will have to pressure
its own government to act and negotiate a political settlement with its
adversaries.

This is not an easy assignment. Take the case of Pakistan. The conflict
that has devoured this country in the last few years has created
paradoxes for the peace activists, with mainly women in the forefront.
Considering the suffering war has caused and how its impact has been
felt by women, one feels that the demand for peace should have been
stronger, louder and universal. It has not been. Just before America
invaded Iraq in March 2003 and a peace movement took the world by storm,
male and female voices were raised in Pakistan for peace in Iraq. Vigils
were held and demonstrations staged against the war. But after the
invasion when violence became endemic in Iraq, attention drifted and
Iraq was forgotten.

The following year the India-Pakistan composite dialogue was launched
and this front became the focus of attention. This was important because
the dialogue owes a lot to second track diplomacy that women along with
men from both countries had conducted for nearly a decade. But the fact
is that the women’s movement in Pakistan failed to make that impact on
peace that it was capable of making.

Women played a significant political role in the 1980s, when a ruthless
and misogynist military dictator ruled the roost. Their movement appears
to have run out of steam. Initially, it was strongly focused on women’s
rights issues, its aim being to raise the status of women in the country
and safeguard their legal, economic and family interests. But gradually
the struggle was broadened to include in its scope wider issues which
affect women as well as men.

It was at this stage that the struggle for women’s rights began to lose
its momentum. Many of the activists moved on to focus on issues that had
a bearing on women but were quite diverse such as human rights, economic
imperialism, democracy and peace. This had its advantages but with the
shift in focus the women’s rights agenda has remained incomplete. Since
many serious problems that have been recognised as being of a
fundamental nature in respect of the status of women have remained
unresolved, women have not been truly empowered. Neither has the
consciousness been created in women that peace and the struggle against
violence has a direct bearing on their life. If the primacy of this had
been generally recognised women would not have been divided on the peace
agenda.

In Pakistan, peace is perceived in two contexts. One is its
international dimension, notably, normalising relations with India,
resolving the Kashmir problem and conciliating the parties confronting
each other across the Durand Line. All these have a bearing for the
lives of the people in Pakistan because these are issues that can bring
about radical changes in the politics and economics of the country. It
may be recalled how the Soviet intervention and the civil war in
Afghanistan and the jihad waged from Pakistan’s soil transformed life in
this country.

The second dimension of peace is in the domestic context. The emergence
of the Islamist parties and their willingness to resort to violence and
bloodshed to achieve their goals have far reaching implications for our
society. It is beyond belief that the gravity of these developments has
not been understood by women generally. In fact, many of them are
willing to support parties which as a matter of policy take recourse to
violence. Hence the deep polarisation in our society on the issue of peace.

While peace in this context has an ideological aspect, no one should
hesitate to condemn violence per se. Take for example domestic violence
which is a manifestation of an undesirable pattern of behaviour “rooted
in the structural relationships of power, domination and privilege which
exist between women and men” (to quote Miranda Davies in Women and
Violence).

On this issue too which is so widely prevalent there is no consensus.
Although it can lead to injury and death, yet it has not been possible
for the National Assembly to adopt the Prevention of Domestic Violence
Bill, 2004 that seeks to provide a legal remedy to women victims of
domestic violence. It is over a year that it was introduced in the
National Assembly. We still have a long way to go before our men and
women will understand the importance of peace.


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[4]


(Text of a leaflet Circulated at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University
around the visit to India by George Bush)

A QUEER PROTEST AGAINST BUSH'S VISIT TO INDIA – II
A CRITIQUE OF BUSH'S DOMESTIC & INTERNATIONAL POLICIES FROM A QUEER
PERSPECTIVE

While on the one hand, George W Bush has waged bloody and tortuous
wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which has led to much international
condemnation and protest, the more insidious ideology governing his
presidency which has often manifested itself in religious
fundamentalist, patriarchal and homophobic policies in the United
States and the world has received significantly lesser international
attention, let alone condemnation. In 2003, George W Bush signed a law
that put several restrictions on the use of US funds internationally.
Organizations using US funds were made to take a loyalty oath by which
they were not allowed to 'promote' or 'advocate' the practice of
prostitution. The law made HIV/AIDS funding conditional on the equal
promotion of abstinence and faithfulness strategies with condom usage
and promotion, and shifted funding away from condom distribution. It
also instituted a global gag rule by which organizations providing
abortion services or even providing information about abortion
services could not receive US funding.

These rules have had horrifying implications for organizations and
countries working to promote health and human rights worldwide.
Several organizations that accept sex work as a legitimate form of
work have therefore been denied any US funding, to detrimental
results. Empowering sex workers and helping them organize and form
labour unions often helps ensure the maintenance of their rights. Sex
workers' labour unions in places like Sangli, Maharashtra and
Sonagachi, Kolkata have been more instrumental in preventing the entry
of underage women and men into sex work than the violent and brutal
'rescue' policies promoted by the Indian and US governments.
Organizations promoting the use of condoms to prevent the spread of
HIV/AIDS among sex workers therefore have been doubly hit by the
recent US policy because it makes their work incumbent upon condemning
sex work, and because they then have to promote 'abstinence' from sex
to sex workers, something that they organizationally, ethically and
ideologically cannot stand up for. What such a policy ironically adds
up to is asking sex workers to take a position against themselves.

Brazil in May 2005 chose to turn away $ 40 million in US funding
rather than sign such discriminatory clauses. However, not all
countries have been able to stand up to such adverse US policies.
Uganda, which has the reputation of having some measure of success in
the battle against HIV/AIDS, and which instituted a highly progressive
sex education and HIV/AIDS curriculum which among other things
focussed on condom usage, saying 'no' to sex, avoiding sexual violence
and maintaining sexual hygiene in its primary schools is now promoting
abstinence-only strategies in its primary schools under the weight of
US pressure. Abstinence-only strategies assume that people, and
especially marginalized communities may always have the capacity to
say 'yes' or 'no' to sex, and deny the importance of condoms in
preventing sexually transmitted illnesses. Furthermore they emerge
from a highly moralistic and religious fundamentalist ideology that
uses religion to dictate heteronormative strictures to people. Even
beyond the developing world, in the US itself, school and college
students are being asked to take virginity pledges, often wearing
virginity rings as a sign of their commitment. Problematically, should
the urge to have sex arise among people who have no recourse to
information about safer sex, there is a huge possibility of them
living unhealthy lives with adverse effects for themselves and for
others involved.

Even more ironically, while George W Bush has condemned Iran as being
part of the 'Axis of Evil' and is now preparing to wage war against
it, the US and Iran are firmly united in the promotion of their
patriarchal and homophobic policies. In January this year, the US
voted in favour of an Iranian-backed resolution that sought to prevent
the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) and another queer
organization from participating in the United Nations' Economic and
Social Council. The US thus joined Iran and other overtly homophobic
countries such as Zimbabwe in winning the resolution, even as India
chose to abstain from the vote. In 2004, George W Bush also passed the
Federal Marriage Amendment, an amendment to the US Constitution which
defined marriage only as a union between one man and one woman and
nullified same-sex marriages that had earlier taken place in
Massachusetts. Also the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy of the US Army,
whereby soldiers may be fired from the Army if they reveal that they
are lesbian, gay or bisexual, promotes silence around the sexual abuse
of lesbian, gay and bisexual soldiers in the Army. This policy still
remains on the statute books. George W Bush has through his Christian
fundamentalist, patriarchal and homophobic policies helped in the
spread of HIV/AIDS and wounded heavily the sex workers' movement
across the world, besides denying basic rights to lesbian, gay and
bisexual people. Therefore from a queer perspective which is an
outlook that seeks to question existing norms around gender and
sexuality in society and challenge institutionalized and compulsory
heteronormativity, we stand up strongly against George W Bush's visit
to India.

NO TO BUSH! NO TO US FUNDING! NO TO SILENCE AROUND SEXUALITY!


____


[5]

Gomantak Times (India)
March 7, 2006

OPEN EDIT

Sujay Gupta

A leopard never changes his spots, so let's destroy his jungle  "You
never ceased proclaiming that Islam spread by the sword You have not
designed to tell us what the gun has spread" -poet Akbar Allahabadi

  Hindu propagandists have conjured up the image of Muslims as a
community  outside the national mainstream. The familiar representation
of Indian  Muslims was as aggressive fundamentalists, the descendants of
depraved and  tyrannical medieval rulers who demolished temples and
forcibly converted  Hindus to Islam. They were also portrayed as being
tied to Muslim countries  through the common Islamic bond. They were
moreover demonished as  'separatists' and indicted for portioning the
country in 1947.

The demolition of Goa's secular psyche, at Sanvordem, has been done at
the  hands of the same propagandists, led, guided, controlled and
orchestrated  by two BJP MLAs, Vinay Tendulkar and Ramarao Desai with
the covert but  obvious backing of Manohar Parrikar. A leopard never
changes his spots.  Much as Parrikar tries to proclaim himself as an
able and efficient  administrator, his communal cloak emerges from his
closet. It's a pity that  an obviously intelligent leader misuses his
intellect to parade in the  jungle of hatred and divide. We must destroy
his jungle.  While the collaboration and support of the police in this
mayhem needs to  be elaborated and condemned, let us not fall into the
trap of  fundamentalists to divert attention only towards issues like
the  administration granting permission for a peaceful rally by Muslims
and so  on. These are peripheral issues, not critical to a crucial basic
fact.

The critical fact -and let there be no confusion or ambiguity in this-
is  that the BJP and its satellites, unleashed an unprovoked,
cold-blooded  assault on the lives, liberties and dignity of Muslims in
Sanvordem,  without guilt and fear of retribution. They further fuelled
this hate by  spreading the same rumours of Muslims arriving from
Bhatkal with swords and  threatening to wipe off Hindus (this
demonisation of Muslims is exactly  what Akbar Allahabadi, the poet
whose work is compiled in Kuliyat-e- Akbar,  one of Islam's most
prominent texts said). Mr Parrrikar and the two MLAs claim that they
pleaded with the police to  release those arrested to prevent further
violence. But these are the men  who perpetrated the violence. So why
should they have been released? And if  the MLAs and Mr Parrikar himself
claim that they are representatives of the  people, why did they not go
to a single Muslim home, comfort them and  assure them that their lives,
properties and livelihoods would be  protected? Why did a Muslim mother
have to flee from her rented house with  her sick four year old
daughter? Why was the bag containing live saving  drugs for her child
snatched and thrown away?

It's a travesty of justice, that a former Chief  Minister asks for the
release of men who were clearly on the side of the rioters and does not
  utter a single word in support of  the victims. Mr Parrikar, the boys
whose  release became such a big issue have lost nothing. But the people
they and  your party's supporters attacked, have lost their shops, cars,
homes and  most importantly their sense of safety and peace, which no
insurance  company can give back. Where is your voice of support for
them? What have  innocent Muslim men, women and children done to you and
your party to  deserve this kind of a backlash? One strong word from you
would have  quelled the violence. If a clear-cut warning had been issued
that no  attacks should be made, these attacks would have stopped. Right
there.  Those who infuriate mobs also have the power to control them. If
they want to.  This is a strange war where there aren't two groups
fighting each other.  There is one assaulter-the Hindu fundamentalists
co-opted into the BJP, and  one assaulted-the community of Muslims. Let
us in fact look at the BJP  theory that the riots in Savordem broke out
because the police gave  permission to Muslim groups to take out a
rally. The fact is that no such  rally happened, just a congregation of
people who grouped together  peacefully, with placards proclaiming peace
and brotherhood. This  congregation did not shout provocative slogans or
create a situation that  would have logically provoked a Hindu backlash.
Given the manner in which  things unfolded, the attack on the Muslims
was pre-meditated.

The disputed  structure was demolished by a Hindu mob who had no
jurisdiction over a  disputed structure. They are not the "authority",
the police is. This was  the first real attack.  How can the majority
community which has initiated the task of affecting  violence, have the
gumption or gall to blame the minorities or the police  for the violence?

The police are really to be blamed for behaving like scared children,
terrified to take action against the BJP marauders and at times even
tacitly participating in the loot and attack on Muslims. They need to
hanged for selling their conscience and not for the non existent reason
  that they gave permission for the Muslim rally.  Yes, Mr Parrikar, the
police is to be blamed. But not for the reasons you  want to sell. We
don't buy those. What we do buy is that the police should  be blamed for
not arresting your MLAs Vinay Tendulkar and Ramarao Desai and  all the
goons who were pelting stones, damaging a petrol pump, openly  boasting
that they would not let a single Muslim live and do business,  burning
cars and destroying shops, right in the open.

Civilised societies like the ones most of us live in or at least hope to
  live in, believe in the rule of law, the strength of authority and the
  evidence of equality and fair play. This fabric was torn apart during
  Parrikar's tenure as Chief Minister, when policemen were forced to
worship  just one God. The Chief Minister. And one pantheon-the BJP. The
force of  this indoctrination was no profuse that even after a regime
change, the  virus of this indoctrination persists.  How can a police
force-consisting of lower constabulary who owe their jobs  and
employment securities to a regime that embraced them-albeit for their
own designs, as evident now- stand up and see their masters, eye to eye,
  and stop them in the name of the law?  Hence, the operation Muslim
wipe out happened at two levels.

At one level,  the blame game against the police was only a front,
initiated to divert  attention from the fact that the police actually
aided and abetted the  marauders. It's a pathetic farce that the BJP
blames the police for letting  the situation go out of hand, when those
responsible for the situation  taking a turn for the worse are their own
supporters, including MLAs.

May I very humbly share a conversation I had with a group of young men
inside the premises of  a completely damaged petrol pump that shares its
  boundary wall with the Curchorem police station, in the full presence
of  policemen who stood watching:

Me : Who damaged this petrol pump?

Boy: Who the hell are you?
Me: I am a journalist?
Boy: Ask the police.. well what will you ask the police, I'll tell you,
we  damaged it, so?
Me: Why?
Another boy: (sidestepping my question): Go and see what all we have
destroyed, 15 shops… khatam kar diya salo ko (we finished them). There
will  not be a single Muslim shop in the market, nor will we let them
live here.
First boy: We will finish them, kaat denge(we'll butcher them). Those
ba.***, they came with swords and threatened to cut us. We have taught
them  a lesson.

Me: But you are breaking the law.

Boy: What law? Our MLAs are with us. And our leader Parrikar is with us.
  That is the law. And you better not be recording this or it won't be
good,  we are warning you.  Amen!

This is precisely what we have been talking about. Portray the Muslims
as  outside the mainstream and cleverly convert this into the favourite
  outsider-insider issue to widen the scope of the opposition against
them  and get the support of the Christians. This is a dangerous
divisive ploy  that will break Goa.

At the risk of sounding provocative, we say this with responsibility.
This  charade has gone on too far. When it is clear that a particular
group and  community has attacked another with not a single blow from
the other side  (where are the so-called sword brandishers from Bhatkal
who threatened to  kill? Do you think they would have fled or been
silent spectators to the  assault on their people if they were really
here?); please arrest the gang  of villains. And do not hesitate to
include Ramarao Desai and Vinay  Tendulkar. Ask the leader of the
opposition to go and give an assurance to  the Muslims that they will
not be harmed and that they should return to  their homes.  These are
real issues.

A failed police, an equally guilty, weak and scared  Congress and the
absence of a clear leadership are other brush strokes in  this communal
canvas. But first things first. Get those Muslim families who  speak
Konkani and are more Goan than you think, back home. And arrest the
cowards who have dared to mess with innocent lives. And the peace of
Goa.


____


[6]

Los Angeles Times
March 7, 2006

SOME SAY INDIA DEAL IGNORES ANOTHER ENERGY NEED: FOOD
By Paul Watson, Times Staff Writer

NEW DELHI — A nuclear cooperation deal reached last week between the
U.S. and India has added fuel to the debate over whether the South Asian
nation can afford a multibillion-dollar push to become a regional
military power.

As President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shook hands on the
landmark pact Thursday, the World Bank released a study showing that
almost 40% of the world's malnourished children live in India.

Bush administration officials say the nuclear accord, which must be
approved by Congress, is partly aimed at strengthening India so it can
serve as a counterbalance to neighboring China. However, development
experts here said the strategy ignores the plight of several hundred
million Indians mired in poverty.

"I think the Western world, and perhaps more so the United States of
America, has a feeling that India is a highly developed country," said
Babu Mathew, India director of the development agency ActionAid. "So
they are reluctant to face the reality of the other side of India, which
is millions of people living in poverty."

An estimated 300 million of India's 1.1 billion people live below the
official poverty line of less than $1 a day. The number of poor is
actually much higher because the government underestimates the daily
minimum of calories each Indian needs when measuring poverty, Mathew and
other experts say.

Although the right to adequate nutrition is enshrined in the Indian
Constitution, more than 38% of the nation's children are undernourished,
compared with 26% in sub-Saharan Africa, the World Bank study found.

Singh's government raised defense spending 7% in its budget announced
last week, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which leads a
left-wing alliance that keeps the coalition government in power, said
the budget didn't provide enough for agriculture, health, education and
job creation.

The budget "has failed to address many of the vital problems of the
common people, particularly the peasantry and the unemployed," the party
said in a statement.

Bush said U.S. aid to India's civilian nuclear program would strengthen
the country's economy by helping it meet rapidly growing demand for
electricity. India gets 56% of its electricity from coal-fired plants
and just 3% from nuclear reactors. A quarter of its power supply comes
from hydroelectric dams.

Just over half of Indian homes are connected to the power grid. Many
suffer frequent blackouts because India doesn't generate enough
electricity to meet demand. The power shortage slows industries and
businesses, sapping economic growth.

But Mathew argued that more nuclear power plants wouldn't meet the needs
of the poor.

"People who don't have land, people who don't have employment, people
who don't have housing can hardly use electricity," he said. "The
'trickle-down' model of development has been prescribed for India for 50
years, and 50% of India's population has not received the benefits of it."

Under Thursday's deal, India agreed to allow United Nations inspectors
to monitor 14 of 22 nuclear reactors it will have built by 2014. The
other eight will be closed military facilities, free to produce
weapons-grade material to expand India's nuclear arsenal even though the
nation refuses to sign the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

The U.S. tentatively promised to sell advanced civilian nuclear
technology and nuclear fuel to India. Analysts say the U.S. sales could
help India increase its weapons production by freeing up domestic
uranium sources.

But nuclear power is unlikely to make much difference to India's needs,
said Kamal Mitra Chenoy, a professor of international studies at
Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.

"Even our nuclear scientists are saying that in 20 years, perhaps
nuclear energy could meet 5% of India's energy needs," he said.

Last year, Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam called on Parliament to
boost the share of India's power produced from renewable energy sources,
such as the sun, wind, oceans and biogas, from the current 5% to at
least 20%.

Kalam, an aeronautical engineer who played a leading role in India's
missile and nuclear weapons programs, also argued that India should
develop thorium-based reactors because the country has an abundant
source of the raw material.

But building nuclear plants and disposing of their waste is expensive,
"so this idea that it's a cheap fuel, or a clean fuel after [accidents
at] Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, are highly questionable
assumptions," Chenoy said.

India's government would do more for the economy by doubling education
spending from the current 3% of gross domestic product, Mathew said.
India's healthcare system needs even more help because it receives less
than 1% of GDP, he added.

India surpassed China to become the biggest buyer on the world arms
market in 2004, when it agreed to buy $5.7 billion in weaponry,
according to a U.S. congressional study. China's arms contracts totaled
$2.9 billion that year.

India's arms contracts that year included a $1.4-billion deal for a used
Russian aircraft carrier and a lease on two Russian nuclear-powered
submarines, acquisitions seen as a move toward countering China's
growing naval strength.

India is also shopping for 126 fighter jets. After reaching the nuclear
deal, the U.S. announced it was willing to sell New Delhi advanced F-16s
and F-18s worth up to $6.9 billion.

The countries insist their new partnership will not spark a regional
arms race.

"We have no territorial ambition and will not join any arms race, but
will procure arms as per requirements for defense preparedness," Defense
Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Saturday.

That is a common "argument for legitimizing military expenditures in a
poor country where thousands of farmers are committing suicide because
of debt," Chenoy said.

____


[7]

Himal Southasian - March-April 2006

In the cover feature of the Himal Southasian March - April 2006 issue,
we have charted the course of two forms of extremism in Nepal,
scrutinising the continuing warfare and sudden democracy deficit in the
country where we are based.

We also present articles on Darjeeling/Sikkim, Balochistan, remittance
trends, regional cinema and much more. For in-depth analyses,
thought-provoking reflections, and stories that do not stop at
international borders, visit www.himalmag.com

_____


[8]


ONLY RIGHTS CAN STOP THE WRONGS
SEX WORKERS MARCH FOR RIGHTS
8TH MARCH, 2006, New Delhi


·        PROTESTING THE CRIMINALISATION OF THEIR LIVES AND LIVELIHOODS
UNDER THE IMMORAL TRAFFIC (PREVENTION) ACT, 1956


·        OPPOSING THE CRIMINALISATION OF CLIENTS UNDER SECTION 5C OF
THE IMMORAL TRAFFIC (PREVENTION) AMENDMENT BILL, 2005


·        DEMANDING RESPECT, RECOGNITION AND RIGHTS FOR THEIR ROLE IN
PREVENTING HIV AND AIDS


·        SEEKING INCLUSION AS ALLIES IN ANTI- TRAFFICKING EFFORTS


·        CALLING ON THE GOVERNMENT TO REVIEW ITS ANTI-PROSTITUTION
POLICY AND RECOGNISE SEX WORK AS WORK

OVER 4,000 SEX WORKERS FROM 16 STATES
ARE CONGREGATING IN DELHI ON 8TH MARCH, WOMEN'S DAY.


JOIN US IN SOLIDARITY AT RAMLILA MAIDAN (GATE No.1 /VIP GATE) AT 11.00 A.M
TO MARCH TOWARDS JANTAR MANTAR.

   National Network of Sex Workers

Local Contact:
Mitra: 9899189226
Kundu: 9899748078
Camp: Bharat Scouts & Guides, Nizammudin
(Near Humanyun's Tomb)
New Delhi



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Buzz on the perils of fundamentalist politics, on
matters of peace and democratisation in South
Asia. SACW is an independent & non-profit
citizens wire service run since 1998 by South
Asia Citizens Web: www.sacw.net/
SACW archive is available at: bridget.jatol.com/pipermail/sacw_insaf.net/

DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.