SACW | August 6-9, 2007
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex at mnet.fr
Wed Aug 8 22:03:50 CDT 2007
South Asia Citizens Wire | August 6-9, 2007 | Dispatch No. 2432 - Year 9
[1] Pakistan: Mad Mullahs are bad for health
(i) Anti-polio campaign (edit, The News)
(ii) Pakistan polio drive is suspended -
Islamic hardliners say the vaccine is part of a
Western plot (BBC)
[2] US-India Nuke Deal May Spark Asian Arms Race (Thalif Deen)
[3] Can The Government of Sri Lanka Consolidate Its Gains? (Rohini Hensman)
[4] Bangladesh: Protecting Rights as Vital as
Ending Corruption (A letter from Human Rights
Watch)
[5] India: Online Petition - Punish the Guilty of
the 1992-1993 Anti Muslim Pogrom in Bombay
[6] India: What about the '93 rioters ? (Ram Punyani)
[7] India: A Special Experience of Protest (Lalita Ramdas)
[8] A migrants fight for survival (Sanjib Baruah)
[9] Announcements:
(i) A Public Discussion: Communal Violence Bill (Ahmedabad, 9 August 2007)
(ii) Native Women of South India : Manners and
Customs by Pushpamala N & Clare Arni
(iii) Call for photos and correspondence for the
P.C. Joshi Birth Centenary Celebrations Exhibition
______
(i)
The News
August 09, 2007
Editorial
ANTI-POLIO CAMPAIGN
Not a day goes by these days without news of
extremist violence emanating from some corner of
the country. On Tuesday night, to take just one
of the incidents of this kind, a police check
post was destroyed in a bombing in Bannu;
fortunately, the only casualties were the three
people hurt in the blast. In the Chamang area of
Bajaur Agency, meanwhile, 12 health workers were
taken captive and beaten up, for visiting the
place to dispense anti-polio drops to children.
In fact, the team was doubly guilty of the sin -
for their campaign is "un-Islamic," according to
local clerics, and intended to keep the local
population in check -- because its members dared
to go to Chamang despite warnings in advance from
the clerics. Tuesday's detention and beatings of
the team resulted in the anti-polio drive being
suspended in the Agency. For only a while, let's
hope, because the effort in Chamang was part of a
countrywide campaign against the crippling and
often fatal disease. At last, polio is on the way
out in the world.
After Dr Marwat's assassination and the shock
waves it sent across Pakistan, the government had
pledged to provide every possible security to
anti-polio health workers in the tribal areas and
elsewhere in the NWFP. While this may not be the
easiest thing to do in that wild region, the ease
with which the criminals appear to have kidnapped
the workers shows the local authorities could
have done far more to keep that promise than they
actually did. Apart from the aspect of probable
negligence, there's the element of possible
politics. It would be naive to assume that the
incident was solely the result of clerical
bigotry. It's not unlikely that it was another
facet of the religious extremists' campaign of
destabilisation of the province, of keeping Lal
Masjid alive.
o o o
(ii)
BBC News
8 August 2007
PAKISTAN POLIO DRIVE IS SUSPENDED
A child in neighbouring India receiving the polio vaccine
Islamic hardliners say the vaccine is part of a Western plot
A polio vaccination programme in a remote
Pakistani tribal region has been suspended after
villagers threatened health workers, officials
say.
Hardline clerics in the area are against the
programme, saying it is a US conspiracy to render
people incapable of producing children.
Officials say that up to 4,000 children in two
villages in the Bajaur tribal region were due to
be vaccinated.
Pakistan is one of only five countries where the polio virus still exists.
Eleven new cases have been reported so far this year.
Hotbed
"We have stopped vaccination programme after
tribesmen threatened our workers and broke their
equipment in Sarkari Killa and Kotgi Charmang
villages on Tuesday," Dr Cherag Hussain told the
Reuters news agency.
"They have threatened to kill health workers if they visit again."
On Tuesday officials said that armed men abducted
and beat 11 health workers sent to Bajaur to
administer polio vaccinations.
They said that health workers were held for four
hours as their captors smashed vaccination kits.
Dr Hussain said that the work in Bajaur was part
of a national drive this year to immunise 32
million children aged under five-years-old.
The campaign in the Bajaur region - part of North
West Frontier Province (NWFP) - was also
suspended early this year after a doctor and a
health worker were killed in a roadside blast.
Correspondents say that Bajaur is considered a
hotbed of support for Islamic militants.
Health officials in the area have been trying to
dispel rumours - sometimes spread by radio
stations and mosques - that the polio campaign is
a Western conspiracy to reduce Muslim populations.
The disease has been eliminated in developed
nations but persists in parts of India, Nigeria,
Afghanistan and Pakistan.
______
[2]
Inter Press Service
1 August 2007
DISARMAMENT: US-INDIA NUKE DEAL MAY SPARK ASIAN ARMS RACE
by Thalif Deen, UN Bureau Chief, Inter Press Service
NEW YORK (IPS) - The U.S. decision last week to
proceed with a controversial civilian nuclear
deal with India has triggered strong negative
responses from peace activists, disarmament
experts and anti-nuclear groups.
"The development of a nuclear/strategic alliance
between the United States and India may promote
arms racing between India and Pakistan, and
(between) India and China," says John Burroughs,
executive director of the New York-based Lawyers'
Committee on Nuclear Policy.
The deal, he told IPS, also undermines prospects
for global agreements on nuclear restraint and
disarmament.
An equally negative reaction came from former UN
Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs
Jayantha Dhanapala: "It has the dangerous
potential of triggering a nuclear arms race among
India, Pakistan and China, with disastrous
consequences for Asian peace and stability and
Asia's emerging economic boom."
But the Indian government argues that the nuclear
agreement would neither destabilise the region
nor prompt an arms race.
Nor will it trigger a "copycat deal" between
Pakistan and China, India's national security
adviser N.K. Narayanan told reporters last week.
"This agreement was not an excuse to enhance our
strategic capabilities," he told a press briefing
in New Delhi.
Zia Mian of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public
and International Affairs at Princeton University
says the United States sees strategic and
economic benefits in the nuclear deal with India.
"But the people of India and Pakistan will pay
the price, since the nuclear deal will fuel the
India-Pakistan nuclear arms race," he added.
The deal will allow India to increase its
capacity to make nuclear weapons materiel, and
Pakistan has already said it will do whatever it
can to keep up with India.
"This means nuclear establishments in both
countries will become more powerful, drain even
greater resources away from social development,
and increase the nuclear danger in South Asia,"
Mian told IPS.
Nicholas Burns, the U.S. undersecretary of state
who led the negotiations, denied the deal was a
clear example of political double standards by an
administration which has been trying to punish
Iran for its nuclear ambitions but gives its
blessings to India.
"This agreement sends a message to outlaw regimes
such as Iran that if you behave responsibly, you
will not be penalised," he told reporters last
week.
India -- along with Pakistan and Israel -- has
refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT), but Iran has.
Called the "123 agreement", last week's nuclear
deal will help create a civil nuclear enrichment
facility in India, mostly with U.S.-made reactors
and expertise.
Still, in a major speech in February 2004, U.S.
President George W. Bush said that "enrichment
and reprocessing are not necessary for nations
seeking to harness nuclear energy for peaceful
purposes."
"The details of the so-called '123 agreement' are
still shrouded in secrecy but, on the basis of
what has been disclosed, it is clear that the
U.S.-India nuclear cooperation deal is an example
of crude realpolitik trumping nuclear
nonproliferation principles in total disregard of
the NPT," Dhanapala told IPS.
He warned that it sends "a bad signal to the
overwhelming majority of NPT parties who have
faithfully abided by their treaty obligations."
Last week Burns told reporters that the deal
would not act as an incentive for other countries
to develop nuclear weapons outside the NPT.
Burroughs said that India made it clear when the
NPT was negotiated that it could not accept a
world divided into nuclear haves and nuclear
have-nots, and stayed out of the treaty.
"The problem with the deal is not that it
acknowledges that India has nuclear weapons,"
Burroughs told IPS. "The problem is that both
India and the United States are showing no signs
of working towards the elimination of their
arsenals together with other states possessing
nuclear weapons."
Under the deal, neither country agrees to ratify
the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
"And while India agrees to work with the United
States towards a treaty banning production of
fissile materials for nuclear weapons, India is
not required to stop producing materials for
weapons now or to refrain from building
additional weapons from existing material," he
added.
Nor does India assume the obligation the United
States has under the NPT, to negotiate in good
faith cessation of the nuclear arms race at an
early date and the elimination of nuclear
arsenals.
In short, the deal seems to certify India as a
member of a permanent nuclear weapons club,
Burroughs declared.
Mian of Princeton University pointed out that the
deal is also a clear violation of UN Security
Council Resolution 1172, adopted on 6 June 1998,
which was passed unanimously, and called upon
India and Pakistan "immediately to stop their
nuclear weapon development programmes, to refrain
from weaponisation or from the deployment of
nuclear weapons, to cease development of
ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear
weapons and any further production of fissile
material for nuclear weapons."
That resolution also encouraged all States to
"prevent the export of equipment, materials or
technology that could in any way assist programs
in India or Pakistan for nuclear weapons," said
Mian who along with M. V. Ramana co-authored
"Wrong Ends, Means, and Needs: Behind the U.S.
Nuclear Deal With India", in the January/February
2006 issue of Arms Control Today. (END)
______
[3]
CAN THE GOVERNMENT OF SRI LANKA CONSOLIDATE ITS GAINS?
by Rohini Hensman
The elimination of LTTE bases from the Eastern
Province could be a prelude to its defeat.
Alternatively, it could just be a temporary
setback, from which the LTTE will recover: it
has, after all, lost the East to the government
in the past, and re-established itself there
subsequently. The final outcome depends on what
steps the government takes in the next few
months. The strategy proposed by the LTTE and the
brutal strategy currently being imposed by
Sinhala nationalists with Karuna's complicity
would both end in disaster for the whole of Sri
Lanka, not just the North and East. It is vitally
important that the people of Sri Lanka press for
the third alternative outlined below.
The LTTE Proposal
LTTE spokesman S.P. Thamilchelvan has demanded a
return to the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) of 2002
as the only basis for a return to peace talks.
This would, of course, be a bonanza for the LTTE,
but would benefit no one else. Fatal flaws in the
2002 CFA and the peace process' based on it are
directly responsible for the dirty war that
engulfs the island today. The absence of any
agreement on protection of human rights, as well
as recognition of the LTTE as the sole
representative of the Tamils in Sri Lanka,
allowed the LTTE to kill its critics and
political opponents one by one and persist in the
abhorrent practice of child conscription, thus
tightening its totalitarian control over Tamils
and building up its army. International
legitimacy and funding from the Norwegian
government enabled it to step up intimidation of
Tamils abroad and escalate its levels of
extortion from them, and also to equip its armed
forces, including its new Air Wing.
The impunity with which the LTTE was able to
violate human rights strengthened the hand of
Sinhala chauvinists in the South enormously. When
the LTTE launched Eelam War IV, they felt
justified in responding in a manner that violated
human rights just as egregiously, and there was
nothing anyone could do about it because human
rights were not part of the peace process. It is
also notable that not a single serious proposal
for a political solution was put forward during
the ceasefire. The ISGA proposal of the LTTE was
the only one to be presented: a thinly-veiled
demand for a Tamil state under their own
totalitarian rule. Appeasement of the Tigers by
domestic NGOs as well as international actors was
used by Sinhala nationalists to label ALL
interventions by NGOs and the international
community as 'pro-Tiger', even when this was
patently untrue.
Going back to the CFA of 2002 would simply allow
the LTTE to regain lost territory and legitimacy,
re-arm, regroup and launch Eelam War V. It would
benefit no one else, least of all the embattled
people of the North and East. And it would mean
that all those who have lost their lives fighting
the LTTE whether politically or militarily
would have died for nothing.
The Sinhala Nationalist Strategy
A broad spectrum of Sinhala nationalists, ranging
from those in the JVP and JHU to leaders of the
SLFP, seem to think the next step should be an
assault on the LTTE in the North. They should
think again. The last time the LTTE was cleared
out of the East was in 1994. But shortly
afterwards, the LTTE returned in full strength.
The reason was that troops were withdrawn from
the East for Operation Jaya Sikurui in the North.
More than two years later, after thousands of
lives had been lost and large quantities of
military equipment had been captured by the LTTE,
that operation was abandoned. Not only was the
Northern campaign a failure, but it also led to
the recapture of the East by the LTTE.
Attacking the Northern stronghold now would
almost certainly have the same consequences.
Several factors which aided the government
earlier would not be available to it. Most
importantly, the assistance of Karuna's forces,
which played a crucial role in the East, would
not be available in the North. The split weakened
the LTTE considerably in the East, but their
military power in the North remains undamaged.
Moreover, with their backs against the wall, they
can be expected to fight ferociously. As in the
case of Operation Jaya Sikurui, thousands of
soldiers could be killed in a battle that ends in
stalemate.
Worse still, with the security forces shifted
North, the LTTE could easily stage a comeback in
the East. As several skirmishes and the
assassination of a top government official
demonstrate, they are still active in the East.
Nor have they lost excessive numbers of cadres or
military hardware. It is a staple of guerrilla
strategy to retreat when attacked, and that is
what they did. But this leaves them free to move
back when government forces move North. Such a
return would be facilitated by the brutal
oppression imposed by Karuna and the government's
security forces in the East.
Concentrating on a military solution, the
government would almost surely continue to
condone human rights violations by its forces,
and fail to pursue a political solution
acceptable to Muslims and moderate Tamils. This
would antagonise foreign governments. As a result
of an unremitting campaign waged by anti-LTTE
Tamils, criticising the LTTE's human rights
violations and refuting their claim to represent
the Tamils of Sri Lanka, several countries not
only declared the LTTE a terrorist organisation,
but also took action to cut off its sources of
funding and armaments. More recently, however,
with the spurt in human rights violations by
government forces, some of these countries have
cut aid to the GOSL. More aid could be cut in
future, especially if it appears that Tamils and
Muslims are being displaced from their homes in
the East in order to facilitate Sinhalese
colonisation drives. This would have an adverse
impact on the government's development plans for
the East, not to mention its international
legitimacy.
In the South, the euphoria over Thoppigala is
likely to evaporate rapidly when the war
continues, prices keep rising, and soldiers keep
dying. The JVP is now egging on the government to
attack the North, but would have no compunctions
about exploiting dissatisfaction in the South as
the war continues. And the war WILL continue. No
government can defeat a guerrilla force unless
the people are with it, and the GOSL is no
exception; even the most powerful military
machine in the world, that of the US, was
defeated in Vietnam, and is currently unable to
win the war in Iraq. It is not that the people of
the North and East support the LTTE: far from it.
They have made it clear that their preferred
option is peace. But the worst option, for them,
is being crushed under the jackboots of either
Sinhala or Tamil fascists. Even war is preferable
to that. Therefore they will not support the
government so long as it is dominated by Sinhala
nationalists. And without their support, the
government cannot win.
The Third Alternative
THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE TO BOTH THE LTTE AND GOSL
STRATEGIES. It would involve, first and foremost,
the government consolidating its position by
clamping down heavily on human rights violations,
calling in a UN monitoring mission to verify that
it is doing so. Secondly, it would have to
provide maximum assistance to all displaced
people from the East to return to their original
homes and rebuild their lives there. At present,
the GOSL seems to have a conception of security'
which resembles that of a military dictatorship:
the ability of the state to crush the people.
That is why it wants to displace people
permanently in order to establish High Security
Zones. But a democratic conception of security
would be the ability of the state to PROTECT the
people, and that would entail the security forces
moving among the people rather than isolating
themselves in HSZs. Even from a military point of
view, this would make far more sense, helping to
ensure that the LTTE does not infiltrate the East
again.
If normality and security were restored, the East
could be a showpiece demonstrating the viability
of a united Sri Lanka. This would also be a
precondition for elections and a referendum.
Unless people have settled back in their homes,
and a neutral agency like the UN confirms that
their human and democratic rights are being
respected, any elections would quite correctly be
regarded as fraudulent. An important element of
this programme would be ensuring that every
government and police official in the East has a
working knowledge of Tamil; even rank-and-file
soldiers should be given a crash course in Tamil
so that they can at least communicate effectively
in the language, otherwise they will be regarded
as an army of occupation. The majority of the
population in the Eastern Province is
Tamil-speaking, and that should be the language
of administration. With an astonishing lack of
sense and sensitivity, the development programme
for the East has been called Nagenahira
Navodaya'; this could be its subtitle, but
certainly not its title. Until we have Tamil
titles for programmes in Tamil-majority areas,
suspicions of a Sinhala-supremacist agenda will
persist.
Thirdly, the government would have to present as
soon as possible a political solution that in its
broad outlines is acceptable to the minorities
(not the LTTE). This was achieved months ago by
the Majority Report of the panel of experts and
Tissa Vitharana's proposals; while these would
still need to be elaborated, they constitute the
basis for a viable solution. Setting up the All
Party Representative Committee and initiating a
debate on a political solution was one of the
best things done under the Rajapakse persidency,
and one would have expected the SLFP to make
political capital out of it. Normally it is the
opposition party that sabotages such efforts;
this is the first time that the ruling party has
performed the acrobatic feat of stabbing itself
in the back by presenting proposals that, if
accepted, would ensure the failure of its own
initiative! The SLFP would be well advised to
withdraw its proposals in order to ensure the
success of the APRC process.
If, in addition, efforts are made to ease the
humanitarian crisis in the Jaffna peninsula by
ensuring adequate supplies of essential
commodities at the same prices that prevail in
the South, both Tamils and the international
community would put heavy pressure on the LTTE to
agree to the political solution and lay down
their arms, stepping up sanctions against it if
its leaders refused. Unilaterally declaring a
ceasefire, while reserving the right of security
forces to defend themselves if attacked, would
send out a clear message that the GOSL does not
wish to kill LTTE conscripts, many of whom are
children. Instead of attacking the LTTE's
stronghold, the security forces could lay siege
to it instead, allowing food to move in freely
but enforcing a strict embargo on arms,
ammunition and any fuel that could be used for
its combat vehicles, especially its aircraft.
Starved of ammunition, its guns would eventually
fall silent, and it would either be forced to
surrender, or, if its leaders wished to fight to
the last, it could be defeated with minimal
casualties.
A Critical Juncture
What happens in the next few months is critically
important for Sri Lanka's future. If the
government consolidates the gains in the East as
outlined above, the end of the war could be in
sight. If, on the other hand, it pursues a
military assault on the LTTE stronghold in the
North, it would be inviting political and
military disaster. President Rajapakse could be
remembered as the president who ended the war
during his term in office, or he could go down
ignominiously as the leader who snatched defeat
out of the jaws of victory.
It would not be an exaggeration to describe the
LTTE leadership as psychopaths, sending thousands
of people, including their own cadres, to their
deaths with no remorse whatsoever. But the
Sinhala nationalists, no less psychopathic, have
also sent tens of thousands to their deaths
without any remorse. Despite paying lip-service
to the Buddha, they treat the first of his five
precepts to abstain from taking life' with
utter contempt. None of these leaders, Sinhalese
or Tamil, can be trusted to make humane decisions.
If it were mandatory for those who back an
offensive strategy to go to the battlefront
immediately, or, if they are too old, to send
their children there, we could be sure that steps
would be taken to end the war. Unfortunately, it
is not the political leaders who suffer the
consequences of war; it is not they or their
children who get killed or crippled, and they
continue to live in luxury while ordinary working
people go hungry. This is why the decisions
should not be left to them. If Sri Lanka is a
democracy, it is the people who should choose
between a military strategy that leaves thousands
dead and ends in stalemate, or a political
strategy that defeats the LTTE and ends the war.
______
[4]
BANGLADESH: PROTECTING RIGHTS AS VITAL AS ENDING CORRUPTION
August 1, 2007
Mr. Fakhruddin Ahmed
Chief Advisor
Government of Bangladesh
Dhaka
Re: Human Rights Situation in Bangladesh
Dear Chief Advisor:
When your caretaker government was established in
Bangladesh on January 11, 2007, many Bangladeshis
and international actors were reassured by the
appointment of apparently non-partisan and
competent officials. The initiative largely had
the support of Bangladesh's influential civil
society as well as the international community.
Many had despaired at the state of near political
anarchy, widespread corruption, and severe human
rights abuses that had emerged in the country in
recent years. The promise of free and fair
elections in the light of attempts to rig
elections was also welcomed.
Your government has taken some strong initiatives
to clean up corruption and hold political and
business leaders accountable for their actions.
Measures to reform the civil service and
bureaucracy have been welcomed by many
Bangladeshis, though we caution that due process
for civil servants must be observed. And, unlike
the previous government, you have made it clear
that you will not tolerate or condone the actions
of violent militants.
However, we are deeply concerned that the
laudable goals of fighting corruption and
reforming the political system are not being
matched by efforts to protect human rights.
Serious and systemic human rights abuses are
taking place on your watch. Many of these, such
as torture and feigned "crossfire killings," were
serious problems before you took office and
continue today. Others, such as emergency rules
that do not respect basic due process rights, or
the large number of arbitrary arrests and
detention without proper judicial oversight or
public accountability, are a direct result of
your government's policies.
Since your administration took over, torture of
persons in the custody of the security forces has
continued to be routine. Many people have died in
custody in unexplained circumstances. Your
government has not put into place the most basic
safeguards to ensure proper independent access to
places of detention, requiring all persons to be
held in official places of detention, and
establishing a process whereby independent
investigations are routinely undertaken when
deaths in custody occur.
The joint forces, led by the army, have shown
almost complete disregard for established legal
norms conducting arrests and holding people in
detention. Instead of being brought immediately
before a magistrate, detainees are routinely
taken to army barracks and other unofficial
places of detention and tortured, both as
punishment and to force them to sign confessions.
Many people are being picked up in the middle of
the night without warrant. Led by Bangladesh's
military intelligence unit, the DGFI, the
security forces are often in plainclothes and
offer no identification. When asked, they claim
they can do anything they want because they are
thus empowered under Bangladesh's emergency laws.
Bangladeshi civil society and the media, which
have often been celebrated in the past for
courage and freedom, are under severe threat.
Activists and journalists have been summoned by
members of the army, particularly those claiming
to be members of the DGFI, and threatened. Many
have been silenced for fear of arbitrary arrest
because they know of other cases of arbitrary
detention, torture, and death.
We are particularly concerned because the rule of
law appears to be breaking down under your
administration. Under the emergency laws, the
right to bail and the right to appeal are
routinely denied. Court decisions are regularly
ignored. Bangladesh's many fine judges and
lawyers are not being allowed to play their
legitimate roles in the legal and judicial
process. When some judges began ordering bail
when habeas corpus petitions were filed, public
prosecutors have secured contrary rulings from
the Appellate Division, even in cases where there
is clearly no threat to public security or risk
of flight. This is all happening under an
administration that claims to be committed to
reform.
Illegal acts by the security forces are being
enabled by the sweeping emergency rules your
administration has put in place, which are being
misused on a daily basis by the armed forces.
Under emergency rules that ban protests and limit
effective legal remedies, the security forces
believe they can commit abuses with impunity.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, to which Bangladesh is a party, permits
limitations on some rights during properly
declared states of national emergency. However,
such measures are limited to "the extent strictly
required by the exigencies of the situation."
Certain basic rights, such as the right to life
and the prohibition on torture and other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment, may never be
restricted. The principles of legality and the
rule of law require that the fundamental
requirements of a fair trial be respected even
under emergency regulations.
Because the sweeping emergency regulations under
the state of emergency now in force do not comply
with international requirements and have been
misused in practice, we urge you to repeal them
immediately. All persons currently detained under
the emergency regulations should be charged with
a cognizable criminal offense or released. Those
mistreated in detention should be able to seek
legal remedies through competent authorities.
When challenged about the human rights situation,
officials of your government cite the commitment
to create a national human rights commission.
Creating an independent and competent national
human rights commission in accordance with the
UN's Paris Principles on national institutions
for the promotion and protection of human rights
would be an important step, one in which Human
Rights Watch would be happy to offer advice.
However, a national human rights commission will
take years to set up and act effectively. With so
many arbitrary arrests, torture and extrajudicial
killings, much more has to be done, and without
delay (see recommendations below).
We would particularly like to use this
opportunity to remind you of the case of
journalist Tasneem Khalil, who has worked as a
consultant for Human Rights Watch and as a
stringer for CNN. On May 11, 2007, Mr. Khalil was
taken into custody after midnight by men in
plainclothes claiming to be Bangladesh's "joint
task force." Mr. Khalil was taken from his home
in front of his wife and child, blindfolded and
driven to an interrogation center, where he was
tortured and questioned about his work as a
journalist, writings on his blog, as well as his
employment with Human Rights Watch and CNN. Many
of Mr. Khalil's possessions, including computers,
phones and passport, were confiscated when his
home was ransacked. We immediately contacted your
government for help, and Mr. Khalil was
eventually released after more than 22 hours in
custody.
We have since learned that Mr. Khalil had been
held and tortured by the DGFI. The interrogation
center Mr. Khalil was taken to is an extension of
the DGFI headquarters in Dhaka cantonment that
houses at least one torture chamber and a
detention facility. This is a full-time illegal
detention and torture facility. Mr. Khalil saw
sophisticated torture equipment and could hear
other detainees screaming in pain. At least five
DGFI officers took part in the torture sessions
that left Mr. Khalil with severe injuries. At one
point he was photographed with a revolver and
some bullets placed before him, suggesting that
he was being set up for a faked "crossfire
killing." Before his release, Mr. Khalil was
forced to make false confessions, and asked to
sign documents and testify on video admitting to
acts that could be considered treasonous. We have
received other credible reports of the same type
of activities by DGFI.
As you know, Bangladesh's military forces have
become notorious for taking people into custody,
torturing them to death or executing them in
faked "crossfire killings." We were concerned
that Mr. Khalil would meet a similar fate even
after his release. He had to remain in hiding
until, after long and unnecessary negotiations,
his passport was eventually returned and he and
his family were able to leave Bangladesh for
safety abroad.
In a sense Mr. Khalil was fortunate. He had the
advantage of foreign friends, colleagues, and
diplomats who were in a position to appeal to
your government for help. However, there are
thousands now in custody, unable to secure bail
and often subjected to torture, who are not so
well connected. We do not know who is being
tortured at this very minute by DGFI or others,
but we do know that it is happening.
We appreciate your personal intervention and that
of other government officials to ensure Mr.
Khalil's release and safe exit from the country.
But as his case makes clear, arbitrary arrest and
detention and torture are a significant problem
in Bangladesh today.
Your government knows who was responsible for Mr.
Khalil's torture - and that of many other victims
- where they work, and where the torture centers
are located. Your government knows that these are
not isolated cases - an untold number of people
are being tortured every day. As a matter of
basic human decency as well as your obligations
under international law, you must act to close
down such torture centers without delay. We look
forward to public statements from you and members
of your government on this subject, as well as
action.
We take your government's claims to be
reform-minded seriously. For that reason, you
would expect nothing less than to be held to the
domestic and international standards that
Bangladesh has long committed itself to uphold.
It is therefore time for your administration to
act with the same sense of urgency to end human
rights abuses as it has to end corruption.
Specifically, Human Rights Watch urges your
government and the armed forces to take steps to
protect human rights and follow the rule of law
by:
* Immediately repealing the emergency
regulations under the state of emergency and
restoring fundamental rights guaranteed by the
constitution.
* Charging or releasing those detained and
give them access to legal counsel and family
members.
* Restoring the right to petition for bail and challenge detentions.
* Using only official places of detention and
end the use of irregular sites, such as the one
maintained by DGFI, to prevent torture.
* Ensuring that those whose rights have been
violated have an effective remedy before
competent authorities.
* Allowing access by independent monitors to all places of detention.
* Prosecuting members of the army, RAB,
police and other government officials responsible
for human rights violations.
While some in your government claim that the
human rights situation is no worse than under the
previous democratically elected government, I'm
sure you will agree that this is not an
appropriate standard. You and your colleagues
have chosen to lead the government. We are
certain that you did not take your positions in
order to preside over a government and security
forces that routinely abuse human rights, but
that is the reality in Bangladesh today.
It is now your responsibility to ensure that the
rights of all persons in Bangladesh are
respected. We are disappointed that we have not
seen any significant signs that your government
is attempting to tackle these problems. This is
surprising given your stated commitment to
reform. We look forward to a public and strong
commitment to making the protection of human
rights the highest priority of your time in
office.
Thank you for your consideration. We would be
pleased to meet with you and appropriate
officials in your government to address these
matters further.
Yours sincerely,
Brad Adams
Asia Director, Human Rights Watch
______
[5]
JUSTICE FOR ALL: PUNISH THE GUILTY OF THE
1992-1993 ANTI MUSLIM POGROM IN BOMBAY
Do Sign this petition to implement the
recommendations of the Srikrishna commission and
prosecute those guilty in the 1992-1993 riots.
Signatures are being collected to submit to the High Court.
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/jus4all/petition.html
______
[6]
Hindustan Times
2 August 2007
WHAT ABOUT THE '93 RIOTERS ?
by Ram Punyani
SANJAY DUTT'S defence for keeping
an AK-56 rifle and an 9 mm pistol was that they
were for protecting his family as they were
getting threatening calls during the 1993 Mumbai
riots. His father, the late Sunil Dutt, was
amongst the few trying to save the colonies under
siege by hooligans. Sanjay Dutt's mother was the
legendary actor Nargis, a Muslim. The Dutts got
many threatening phone calls. Sanjay Dutt did
procure the rifle illegally, but all the same it
was not used at any point. As one saw the glum
face of Sanjay Dutt after the verdict was
pronounced, one remembered another case of
violation of the Arms Act. During the 1992-93
riots, Shiv Sena leader Madhukar Sarpotdar was
caught carrying revolvers, pistols, choppers and
hockey sticks. The role of this Shiv Sainik, who
became an MP, was outlined by the Srikrishna
Commission of inquiry: "the other two pistols
were unlicensed. (Sarpotdar's) explanation (was
that) they were carrying them for
self-defenceThis explanation strains credulity."
Further, the Commission pointed out, "It took
police two days to register an offense against
SarpotdarThe mere possession of unlicensed
firearms in a 'notified area' would have
attracted penal liability under TADA (but) there
was neither an attempt to (do this) nor to oppose
bail." Sarpotdar was not even served a
chargesheet. The Shiv Sena Government
dropped all cases against him. The Congress
alliance, which came to power after this, on
the promise of implementing the Srikrishna
Commission report, not only failed to reopen the
case but shamelessly proclaimed that the
recommendations of the commission have to be
implemented in letter and spirit.
These two cases in a way show as to how the
justice delivery system in the country is
turning politically schizophrenic. The Mumbai
riots took place in the aftermath of the
demolition of the Babri Masjid. The riots were
followed by the bomb blasts. The verdict on those
involved in the cases is close to complete by
now. During the Mumbai violence the police not
only participated and aided in the anti-minority
violence, it deliberately refused to register the
First Information Reports (FIR). And where the
FIRs did get registered they were neither
recorded properly nor pursued. Later the cases
were closed on one pretext or the other. The
Srikrishna Commission clearly indicted the Shiv
Sena and BJP leaders. It also named several
police personnel for their crimes. Forget
punishing them, some of the policemen even got
promotions in due course. The commission was
initially stalled midway and later its findings
were withheld on the ground that they would
reopen old wounds. Finally, the findings were
rejected by the Shiv Sena- BJP government.
The Gujarat violence is still being
investigated by the inquiry commission, but as
far as the police is concerned nothing had
happened. Here matters go one step further: the
complainants are threatened and asked to withdraw
the cases, witnesses turn hostile and the victims
are reduced to second-class citizens. Now the
police are coming into 'efficiency mode' again
and are ready to launch cases against the
culprits of the July 2006 blasts. The rioters of
the Gujarat carnage are moving with pride at
"having taught them a lesson".
In April 2006, two activists belonging to
Bajrang Dal died while making bombs in Nanded, as
confirmed by the Maharashtra Anti-terrorist Squad
Chief K.P. Raghuvanshi. One of them, Himanshu
Panse, had stated that unless Hindus bomb
mosques, it would be perceived that Hindus are
hijras (eunuchs). The blasts are the only way to
stop attacks like the ones in Varanasi and Delhi.
The Malegaon blast, the blast in a Hyderabad
mosque and the Samjhauta Express followed this
pattern. It is explained away as thework of an
external hand in league with local minority
elements to foment trouble.
One can see the emergence of a clear pattern in
dealing with communal crimes and acts of
terrorism. While the communal parties proactively
pursue a divisive agenda, most other parties have
compromised their principles of fair play At one
level they are . infected by this communal virus
and at another most of the police and
bureaucratic system have succeeded in demonising
Islam as the propagator of violence and projected
Muslims as a violent, terrorist community. Seeing
the fate of justice in the case of the Mumbai and
Gujarat riots and many other scattered acts where
minorities were the victims, and conflating them
with the way justice is meted out in acts of
terrorism, a uniform pattern seems to be
emerging: punish those involved in acts of
terrorism and exonerate those indulging in
communal violence.
Ram Punyani is secretary, All India Secular Forum
______
[7]
Bhaimala - Alibag Taluka
Raigad Dist, Konkan, Maharashtra
Sunday July 29 2007
A SPECIAL EXPERIENCE OF PROTEST
One week ago we sent round an update about what
was happening in Raigad - the coming together of
groups to protest the policies of the Govt of
Maharashtra and the Govt of India with regard to
the Special Economic Zones; the fast unto death
by the group of men and women in PEN.
The fast was called off on Monday 23, on
receiving assurances [so far only verbal!] from
the Chief Minister of Maharashtra that the 22
villages will be excluded from acquisition on the
basis of their being categorized as`irrigated'.
However, the bigger question of why SEZ - why
forcible acquisition - and who would benefit,
still remains unanswered. And so it was that in
an unparalleled show of solidarity, strength and
peoples power, OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND people
from all over the District, came together in a
massive demonstration on July 27th, outside the
headquarters of the Commissioner for Konkan - in
Belapur in New Mumbai.
Despite the deluge that set in that very morning
after a dry spell of over two weeks - people came
in trucks and tempos - on foot - and in three
wheelers - many of them traveling up to 50 kms to
get to the venue. By and large, these were no
paid crowds -these were people who were willing
to do whatever it took to fight for their
survival - and for each one, their land was their
hope for survival - for livelihood - and
supported and fed the extended families. Women
and children came out in large numbers - and
they did not need to be PhDs in economics to
raise fundamental issues regarding the hollow
promises made by governments and corporates - you
will have jobs; your homes will be safe - just
give us your fields! "Where will we go they asked
in anger - to the footpaths and pavements of the
cities -to beg, to work as sweepers and servants?
Or to be thrown into the sea" - said the large
numbers of fisherfolk from Uran.
Truck loads carried their fishing nets, clumps of
paddy, other produce from their fields and farms
- brandishing them proudly and asking what kind
of government it was that declared their
productive lands [su-pick jameen], as na-pick
[no-crops]?
For over two hours, this mighty crowd stood in
pouring rain, drenched to the skin - as were we
all - listening as speaker after speaker from
each of the local organisations spoke of their
grief, their sense of betrayal, and their
determination not to yield an inch of their land
- not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Slogans and
cries rent the air - and it was an inspiring
sight indeed to see their determination and their
discipline - no riots - no stone throwing - no
violence . `Jameen apna hakka chi - nahin thumsa
bappa chi!' [This land is ours by right - and
does not belong to your fathers] .
"NO - NA - NEVER - Amcha Jameen Denaar Nahin" - we will not give up our land."
People smiled and waved at the police who had
turned out in their hundreds - with riot control
vehicles and other equipment - and asked them to
join us or go home.
A group of youngsters staged a mock funeral
ceremony of an effigy of the CM - and at least a
dozen young men shaved off their heads in protest.
The final message was clear - we will continue
our protests until SEZ is rolled back,
notifications are withdrawn, and section 6 under
which land acquisition has begun is removed. So
far we have been peaceful - but make no mistake,
do not underestimate us - this could change if no
one is listening to us. Beware of the touts,
agents and intermediaries who are acting on
behalf of the Companies - and no one minced word
as to how they felt about RELIANCE INDUSTRIES.
WE GIVE YOU TWO WEEKS IN WHICH TO GIVE US AN
ANSWER. Throw out the CM and his government was
the other unambiguous message - and all local
political parties, with the exception of
Congress, were quick to demonstrate their support
to the people - well aware that 2009 is not too
far away.
The Konkan Bhavan Morcha demonstrated also the
richness of a way of life - of culture and
language and song and poetry - all of which stand
to be destroyed so that this vast hinterland can
be converted into a series of Foreign dominated
SEZs. All promises of retaining the so-called
`Gauthans' - the homes of villagers is itself a
big lie ! One of our senior leaders graphically
described to a community meeting last week how
systematically the large builders and
conglomerates operate to destroy the small
homesteads over time and force the families off
the tiny enclaves which will be surrounded by a
sea of sanitized pockets of gated communities -
living the `good life' - of malls and resorts and
golf courses and hotels of flying in and out of
the new airports so conveniently located. And the
rice bowl of Konkan - the orchards of alphonso
mangoes - ah well - no problem - we will have
WALMART and RELIANCE FRESH to feed us!
So - what next - ? One might well ask the
questions: Do these many small pockets of
resistance spell any kind of real threat to the
might of governments, corporates and global
financial institutions put together? Can we ever
match the staying power of the state and
corporations combined? since popular wisdom has
it that almost every party today has
unquestioningly `bought -in' to the idea that the
SEZ is the road to economic salvation, the basic
question continues to haunt - namely to what
extent are politicians and their parties to be
trusted? How do people cope with the temptations
of the middle men who stalk them day and night?
That's still a difficult question - but certainly
there is a different and incredible kind of
power in seeing physically the impact of 100000
human beings marching down both sides of the
highway into Mumbai - like some kind of an
awesome phalanx, a Peoples' Army - and
effectively blocking traffic for over two hours.
And this was only a representative section of the
people of the district.
A personal account - Lalita Ramdas - Village Bhaimala - Alibag Taluka
______
[8]
The Telegraph (Guwahati edition)
July 26, 2007
A MIGRANTS FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL
GUEST COLUMN -SANJIB BARUAH
The name Jamir Ali is perhaps fictional. But his
story, recounted in the 2005 Arunachal Pradesh
Human Development Report, might throw some light
on the phenomenon of suspected Bangladeshi
nationals currently being expelled from that
state as the result of actions by the states
student organisations.
Barely two years ago, this Arunachal government
report had chosen to recount Jamir Alis story to
underscore a remarkable economic phenomenon in
the state: a quiet agricultural revolution led by
migrant sharecroppers.
Ali lived in the Dikrong river valley and,
according to the report, he had moved to
Arunachal from Lakhimpur district of Assam.
Bringing with them the technology of wet rice
cultivation, Ali and other migrant sharecroppers
are described as pioneers of settled cultivation
in Arunachal Pradesh. Their bullock-driven plough
is the main instrument for extending settled
cultivation and is therefore the symbol of the
states agricultural modernisation. Thus huts that
belong to migrant sharecroppers dot the entire
valley and people like Jamir Ali are increasingly
becoming common in the other valleys of Arunachal
as well. They are now an important segment of the
peasantry extending settled cultivation to
Arunachal. Despite their significant contribution
to Arunachals economy, however, the report also
indicates that political and economic status of
this odd group of agricultural modernisers is
extremely vulnerable.
Banal existence
Ali, for instance, leased five acres of land on a
sharecropping arrangement, and his family of
seven lived in a thatched hut he built on that
land. Apart from the share of the crop, earnings
from seasonal labour, including the part of his
wages as a rickshawpuller that he can keep
another part he pays as rent to the rickshaw
owner were the familys sources of livelihood. He
cannot think of sending his children to school.
For a group heralded as agricultural modernisers,
the vulnerability of the legal status of Jamir
Ali and his peers perhaps has few parallels in
the world.
The contract between sharecroppers and landlords
says the report, is only short-term and eviction
may take place any time. Since access to land in
Arunachal is governed by customary law, the oral
leases that allow them to live and cultivate
after all the residential rights of most
outsiders in Arunachal are severely restricted
under the inner-line permit (ILP) regime.
Not surprisingly, the drive against suspected
Bangladeshis in Arunachal Pradesh has resulted in
an exodus to Assam and the political parties and
other organisations in Assam have reacted along
predictable lines.
The All Assam Students Union and the youth wing
of the BJP have urged the state government to
ensure that these displaced suspected
Bangladeshis do not settle in Assam. The All Bodo
Students Union and the All Assam Koch Rajbongshi
Students Union, too, have raised their voice on
the same lines. The Bodoland Territorial Councils
chief executive Hagrama Mohilary said, no
foreigner will be allowed to settle in the BTC
area at any cost.
On the opposite camp is the Congress-led state
government that describes those expelled from
Arunachal Pradesh as residents of Assam. The
Assam United Democratic Fronts president
Badruddin Ajmal calls them Bengali- speaking
Indian Muslims, and has said only a judicial
authority can determine the citizenship status of
each individual. But who is right and who is
wrong in this debate? Since no one doubts that
there are large numbers of illegal immigrants
from Bangla-desh in the Northeast, given the
highly porous international border, it is perhaps
safe to guess that some of them are indeed
Bangladeshi nationals.
But such a guess can hardly be a basis for a
programme of action. For it is equally clear that
since India has no mandatory personal
identification system, it would be impossible to
say with certainty who is a Bangladeshi national
and who is not.
The dangers of the conflation between
Bangladeshis and the descendants of earlier
settlers are real. After all, given that many of
these immigrants of an earlier generation had
settled in erosion-prone chars and other
vulnerable lands, mobility is essential for their
strategies of survival.
For instance, many older generation migrants had
settled in char areas despite the hazards of
floods, erosion and submergence since sediments
make for very fertile soil. Yet most chars are
notoriously inhospitable to round-the-year
living. Thus over the years, descendants of those
settled in chars of Assam have dispersed to all
parts of the Northeast and beyond in search of
economic opportunities.
For instance, Jamir Alis great grandfather,
according to the account in the human development
report, migrated to Assam from Mymensingh
district of East Bengal (todays Bangladesh) in
the early part of the 20th century. But this
fourth generation immigrant from East Bengal
could easily be labelled a Bangladeshi today.
Indeed the Bangladeshi discourse could be an
alternative framing of the reports story on
migrant sharecroppers as agricultural modernisers
in Arunachal Pradesh.
Descent matters
The exclusive focus on citizenship status
obscures the economic forces that attract them to
Arunachal Pradesh and the inescapable fact that
the impact of immigration to the Northeast today
internal and cross-national, legal as well as
illegal -- is not the same everywhere. While
continuing immigration produces acute stress
ecological, political and economic in the Assam
plains, Alis story also suggests that from an
economic point of view, additional population is
not a problem but a solution for places like
Arunachal Pradesh.
Development is bound to bring more people to
Arunachal and other parts of the Northeast that
are still sparsely populated. For instance, if
the goal is to bring about a transition from
shifting cultivation to settled cultivation, it
cannot be done without significant expansion of
the labour force.
The story of migrant sharecroppers like Ali, who
makes intensive use of family labour, simply
illustrates this economic logic.
The expansion of the labour force is even more of
a prerequisite when it comes to other economic
activities such as building roads or introducing
modern businesses, industry or services.
It is a new world of informal land markets and
economic opportunities growing behind the legal
fictions of community ownership of land and
customary law that attract immigrants like Ali to
Arunachal Pradesh.
Calling the shots
While our public discourse continues to be shaped
by the image of migrant settlers taking advantage
of the misery of a poor tribal, there are many
places in the Northeast today where a tribal
landlord, often empowered by positions in or
connections to the state government, is in a
position of power and dominance vis--vis the
migrant sharecropper informally leasing his land
to foreigners as well as Indian citizens. The
informality of the arrangements exposes a large
number of poor people to a more vulnerable legal
position than that already implied in the
marginal nature of the economic niches they
occupy. The exodus from Arunachal Pradesh is a
dramatic illustration of that.
There is a remarkable symbiosis between the
mobility-intensive livelihood strategies of
generations of char settlers in Assam, and the
new economic niches opening up in Arunachal
Pradesh and other historically sparsely populated
parts of the Northeast.
It is important to address this dimension of the
problem raised by the exodus from Arunachal
Pradesh. Should we not begin thinking about
legalising and formalising the land rental
markets that bring the
Jamir Alis to Arunachal Pradesh?
In a political democracy, is it too much to ask
that we begin working towards giving people like
Ali a permanent stake in the regions economic
future and more equal citizenship rights than
what they could have under the colonial-era ILP
regime?
The writer is a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Tech
______
[9] Announcements:
(i)
COMMUNAL VIOLENCE BILL
PUBLIC MEETING
Mehendi Nawab Jung Hall, Paldi, Ahmedabad
9th August 2007 : 4.30 - 7.30 pm.
As all of us are aware, the UPA Government had
promised the nation a comprehensive legislation
to combat communal violence. This legislation
would be expected to address the root causes of
such violence and enable the State to take
decisive action to prevent it. We should not also
forget the fact that such legislation was
expected to have been conceived in the context of
Gujarat genocide of 2002. Mass crimes, sexual
crimes against women, total impunity of state as
well as non-state perpetrators of such violence,
victims languishing for years without any
entitlements or reparations - all these have
become part and parcel of our national scenario
today. All these dimensions should have been
addressed by the comprehensive legislation that
we were waiting for. Instead we have been given a
half-baked, ill-conceived Bill which in the
present form would not only be ineffective, but
could be dangerous. This Bill does not take
cognizance of the politically motivated,
conspiratorial process of build up towards any
sequence of communal violence; instead reduces
such violence to discrete events. It neither
defines mass crimes / gender-based crimes nor
provides for new punitive measures. The impunity
of the state officials and the political class
would still remain intact. This legislation,
which should have empowered the citizens, made
them feel more secure, strengthened the secular
fabric of our nation, and given the victims
broader avenues for justice, instead, has nothing
to offer at all.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has presented this
Bill to the Parliament. However due to excellent
advocacy done by several groups and activists
from across the country, the Bill may not be
passed in its present form during the current
session of the Parliament. Alternative drafts
also have been prepared by different groups.
However it is important that we as civil society
organizations and activists raise our voice
against the Bill and also engage in the process
of developing a citizen's draft of the Communal
Violence Bill.
The public meeting on the 9 th of August is an
opportunity for all of us to deliberate on this
legislation, update ourselves as to the efforts
being made to stall this Bill from being passed
in the current form, and also exchange notes
regarding the alternative drafts which have been
developed. If we all agree we could also draft a
resolution to be sent to the PM and the HM
registering our total disagreement with the Bill
in its present form, exhorting them not to pass
the Bill and urging them to have wider
consultations at the civil society level in order
to draft an effective legislation. We request you
to be present in this meeting.
In solidarity,
Hiren Gandhi, Fr. Cedric Prakash, Shabnam
Hashmi, Gagan Sethi, Zakia Jowher,
Hanif Lakadawala, Sheeba George, Prasad Chacko, Persis Ginwalla
o o o
(ii)
NATIVE WOMEN OF SOUTH INDIA : MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
a photo-performance project by
by Pushpamala N & Clare Arni
With essays by Susie Tharu & Ashish Rajadhyaksha
Hard Bound with dust jacket
150 pages with more than 300 full colour illustrations
"Goddesses, political satire, film stills,
calendar icons, votive and high art images,
anthropometrical and ethnographic records, news
and documentary photographs and a host of other
images and image formats are cited and wittily
cross-fertilized. The artists create a virtual
population explosion that mimics the mood, energy
and
genius of the visual vernacular in contemporary India."- Susie Tharu
Price from Nature Morte or Gallery Chemould in India Rs. 1500 + VAT
Shipping in India + Rs. 500/- International Shipping + Rs. 1000/-
Price in New York US$40. + Sales Tax. Shipping extra.
Enquiries to Publishers
Gallery Nature Morte, New Delhi
A-1, Neeti Bagh, New Delhi-110049
91-11-41740215 / info at naturemorte.com
Gallery Chemould, Mumbai
Chemould Prescott Road,
Queens Mansion, 3rd Floor,
G. Talwatkar Marg (Above Yantra)
Fort, Mumbai-400001
91-22-22844356 / art at gallerychemould.com
Bose Pacia, New York
508, West, 26th Street, 11th Floor,
New York, NY-10001
1-212 9897074 / mail at bosepacia.com
o o o
(iii)
P.C. Joshi Birth Centenary Celebrations Committee
has decided to prepare an exhibition to be put on
display from the first week of November 2007. The
work for preparing the exhibition would begin
from the first week of September 2007.
We request comrades and friends who are in
possession of any photographs, correspondence of
articles of P.C. Joshi, to send them to us by
August 30, 2007. The originals, if they so wish,
would be returned to them.
Prof. Arjun Dev Convenor P.C. Joshi Birth
Centenary Celebrations Committee 4 Windsor Place,
New Delhi -110001 Tel.: 23711732/
9810329473/9810144958
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
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