South Asia Citizens Wire - 20 February 2016 - No. 2885 [since 1996] Contents: 1. Lawsuits against editor Mahfuz Anam - Attempt to stifle independent media’ in Bangladesh 2. Pakistan: Democratic system at risk | I A Rehman 3. India - Urgent Appeal for Action – Imminent Danger to Physical Safety, of forceful & illegally eviction of lawyers / women Human rights defenders at Jagdalpur in Bastar dist. in the state of Chhattisgarh 4. Canard of Being "Anti-National" Being Deployed To Tar People in Institutions of Learning and Hindutva Agenda being Pushed - Left Parties Memorandum to The President of India 5. India: Statements of concern in response to police crackdown at JNU on 12 February 2016 6. Video Clip from the JNU Solidarity March in Delhi - 18 Feb 2016 7. To be anti-Indian is not a criminal offence, and it is definitely not sedition / Why ‘anti-nationalism’ is an empty abuse that has no place in a free society 8. University of California, Irvine, Steer Clear of the Hindutva Forces and Reject Their Donations - statement by SAHMAT (12 Feb 2016) 9. India: Letter to Prime Minister and Press Release by family members of Assassinated Rationalists Pansare, Kalburgi and Dhabolkar under aegis of Maharashtra Anti Superstition Committee (MANS) 10. Video: Employees Unions in Bombay 1947-1991: Prof Jairus Banaji 11. India: Delhi Government should not sponsor Saraswati Puja - concerned citizens statement 12. India: How Hindutva Historiography is Rooted in the Colonial View of Indian History | D.N. Jha 13. India: Communist poet Makhdoom's famous anti war song of the 1940's — Jaane Waale Sipahi Say Poocho [ Ask the Soldier Where he is going? ]
9. Recent On Communalism Watch: - Poster and Leaflet Announcing the 'Demand Justice for Rohith Rally in Delhi - 23 Feb 2016' - India: Some Anti National & Seditious Verses (Sanchia DeSouza) - TV Report Video: If you say 'Hindustan Zindabad' only then I will talk to you, says Hindutva Goon cum Advocate Yashpal Tyagi - India: ABVP Storms Campus, Threatens Students of MSU Baroda - India: Repeated violence within court precincts is indefensible, enforce rule of law (Editorial, Times of India, 19 Feb 2016) - India - Haryana: Several dead Army Called in during Jat protests in Rohtak - India: Nationalism via National Flag - Narendra Modi Govt Orders All Universities to Fly National Flag atop a 207 Feet high pole - India: Letter By TV Reporter to Delhi's Top Cop to Rein in Lawyer cum Hindutva Goon Vikram Singh Chauhan Who Attacks Citizens and Media Personnel - India: Nationalism and 'sedition' in service of fascism (Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal) - Modi’s siege on JNU: Hindutva’s battle for India’s classrooms is out in the open (Mitali Saran) - India: Deconstructing Saffron Nationalism - Defeat the Campaign to Vilify JNU - Jhande Mataram ! - India: Shivaji Jayanti - Is Govind Pansare's Shivaji losing the battle against fanaticism? (Atish Nagpure) - India: Fabrication to forged evidence - all those who have worked to ruin Kanhaiya's life must be named – and shamed (Siddharth Varadarajan) - India: Modi Govt. Stifles Dissent and Democratic Values - Statement by New Socialist Initiative (NSI) - Why the Sanghi zombie apocalypse is upon us (and how to save yourself) - India Today shows how the video of JNU Student Union leader Kanhaiya may have been doctored and fabricated evidence - India: #JNUCrackdown politics of paranoia around sedition can singe Rajnath - India: The thought police - - BJP lines up 'pride' push - India: Vishwa Hindu Parishad 'showdown' at JNU gates fizzles out - India: BJP plans nationalism campaign for the masses - India: Anti-nationals and rogue rulers (Nilanjana S Roy) - India - Rajasthan: Foreign authors were dropped as part of the education department's directive to the textbook rewriting committee ::: URLs & FULL TEXT ::: 15. Bangladesh: Editors And Prominent Citizens Call For Withdrawal Of Cases Against The Daily Star Editor And Publisher Mahfuz Anam 16. Bangladesh: Fear of hurt religious sentiments and shutting down of certain book stalls at Amar Ekushey Boi Mela Book Fair 17. Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, at the end of his mission to Sri Lanka 18. Afghanistan’s Crippled Power Grid Exposes Vulnerability of Besieged Capital | David Jolly 19. India - University Campuses: Vikram Singh Chauhan vs Kanhaiya Kumar | Josy Joseph 20. Kabul Blogs: My Days in the Life of Afghanistan by Anita Anand 21. Robin Lech. Review of Batinić, Women and Yugoslav Partisans: A History of World War II Resistance ======================================== 1. LAWSUITS AGAINST EDITOR MAHFUZ ANAM - ATTEMPT TO STIFLE INDEPENDENT MEDIA’ IN BANGLADESH ======================================== the world should be worried by the concerted attacks on one of the leading newspaper editors in South Asia, Mahfuz Anam of Bangladesh’s Daily Star. http://www.sacw.net/article12402.html ======================================== 2. PAKISTAN: DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM AT RISK by I A Rehman ======================================== The public complaint that the state’s writ in regard to its benevolent functions, such as guaranteeing its citizens security of life, liberty and a means of a decent living, is shrinking is now old hat. A new cause of their anxiety is that the state’s growing reliance on its coercive powers is undermining its credibility as a responsible entity and is putting the democratic system at risk. http://www.sacw.net/article12366.html ======================================== 3. INDIA - URGENT APPEAL FOR ACTION – IMMINENT DANGER TO PHYSICAL SAFETY, OF FORCEFUL & ILLEGALLY EVICTION OF LAWYERS / WOMEN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AT JAGDALPUR IN BASTAR DIST. IN THE STATE OF CHHATTISGARH ======================================== http://www.sacw.net/article12400.html ======================================== 4. CANARD OF BEING "ANTI-NATIONAL" BEING DEPLOYED TO TAR PEOPLE IN INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING AND HINDUTVA AGENDA BEING PUSHED - LEFT PARTIES MEMORANDUM TO THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA ======================================== It is clear that by spreading the canard of being "anti-national" the RSS-BJP have mounted an all India attack against the Indian people. While strongly condemning the attack mounted by the RSS under the patronage of this BJP-led NDA government against the Jawaharlal Nehru University, we, the undersigned, see this as part of a larger design by the communal forces to carry forward their agenda in institutions of higher learning. This systemic pattern is clearly visible in the incidents in Film & Television Institute of India, Hyderabad Central University leading to the tragic suicide of Rohit Vemula, the incidents in IIT Chennai and now in Jadavpur University. http://www.sacw.net/article12399.html ======================================== 5. INDIA: STATEMENTS OF CONCERN IN RESPONSE TO POLICE CRACKDOWN AT JNU ON 12 FEBRUARY 2016 ======================================== selected statements of concern over developments at JNU from Human rights organisations, social movements and from international scholars and former students http://www.sacw.net/article12390.html ======================================== 6. VIDEO CLIP FROM THE JNU SOLIDARITY MARCH IN DELHI - 18 FEB 2016 ======================================== Massive turnout of well above 10,000 (some media reports say 15,000), lively chants of popular slogans, and a spirit of determination all around. #StandWithJNUPosted by Subin Dennis on Thursday, February 18, 2016 http://www.sacw.net/article12401.html o o VIDEO: "THE PROTESTS BY JNU STUDENTS AND TEACHERS HAVE BEEN REMARKABLE . . ." - ROMILA THAPAR Eminent historian Romila Thapar has been associated with JNU since its earliest years. She talks to writer Githa Hariharan about JNU's vision for educating the young to be questioning citizens. She also traces the pattern of recent attacks against voices of dissent on Indian campuses. Her advice to students and teachers is that they should continue to raise questions, both in and outside the classroom. http://www.sacw.net/article12389.html INDIA: ARREST OF JNU STUDENTS UNION LEADER ON CHARGES OF SEDITION - STATEMENTS BY HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS (12 FEB 2016) Text of press statements by PUCL and PUDR - two of India's major human rights organisations on 12 February 2016 http://www.sacw.net/article12383.html INDIA: CRACKDOWN AT JNU, ARREST OF PRESIDENT OF STUDENTS UNION - PRESS STATEMENTS BY TEACHERS AND FORMER STUDENTS We condemn in the strongest possible words the high-handed police action in JNU. This is reminiscent of the dark days of the emergency when the state had swooped down on the campus and had arrested many on false and trumped up charges. While we hold no brief for those who raised objectionable slogans, the arrested students have been charged with anti-national activities, precisely the charges on which we were also arrested during the draconian emergency. http://www.sacw.net/article12380.html ======================================== 7. TO BE ANTI-INDIAN IS NOT A CRIMINAL OFFENCE, AND IT IS DEFINITELY NOT SEDITION / WHY ‘ANTI-NATIONALISM’ IS AN EMPTY ABUSE THAT HAS NO PLACE IN A FREE SOCIETY ======================================== http://www.sacw.net/article12393.html ======================================== 8. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE, STEER CLEAR OF THE HINDUTVA FORCES AND REJECT THEIR DONATIONS - STATEMENT BY SAHMAT (12 FEB 2016) ======================================== We the undersigned are seriously concerned that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh which is a militant Right-wing Hindu-supremacist organization that has played an active role in unleashing pogroms against minority religious communities in India, and which has been systematically propagating a version of Indian history that suits its ideological agenda without caring for either historical evidence or the scientific method, is now trying to establish, through some of its affiliated organizations, four Chairs at the University of California, Irvine, for the study of three Indian religions and of modern Indian history. http://www.sacw.net/article12384.html ======================================== 9. INDIA: LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER AND PRESS RELEASE BY FAMILY MEMBERS OF ASSASSINATED RATIONALISTS PANSARE, KALBURGI AND DHABOLKAR UNDER AEGIS OF MAHARASHTRA ANTI SUPERSTITION COMMITTEE (MANS) ======================================== On the 12 Feb 2016 the Maharashtra Adhashtradha Nirmulan Samitee [Maharashtra Anti Superstition Committee] (MANS) held a sit-in at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi they released later at a press conference a letter to India’s Prime minister and a note explaining the urgent need to coordinate and expedite the police investigations underway into the assassinations of Govind Pansare, Prof MM Kalburgi and Narendra Dhabolkar. http://sacw.net/article12398.html o o INDIA: PHOTOS FROM 12 FEB 2016 SIT-IN IN NEW DELHI TO DEMAND SPEEDY TRIALS OF THE MURDERERS OF DR. DABHOLKAR, PROF. KALBURGI AND COMRADE PANSARE The Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (Committee for the Eradication of Blind Faith) held a dharna at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, on 12 February 2016, to demand speedy trials of the murderers of Dr. Dabholkar, Prof. Kalburgi and Comrade Pansare. It is a matter of shame for Delhi that so few of its inhabitants showed up to lend their support. Photos posted here were taken by Mukul Dube http://www.sacw.net/article12382.html ======================================== 10. VIDEO: EMPLOYEES UNIONS IN BOMBAY 1947-1991: PROF JAIRUS BANAJI ======================================== Prof. Jairus Banaji, Research Professor, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, on February 5, 2016 he gave a lecture on ‘A short history of the employees' unions in Bombay, 1947-1991,' under the aegis of Centre for Labour Studies at the Durbar Hall of the Asiatic Society, Town Hall, Mumbai. http://www.sacw.net/article12381.html ======================================== 11. INDIA: DELHI GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT SPONSOR SARASWATI PUJA - CONCERNED CITIZENS STATEMENT ======================================== We citizens and residents of Delhi are alarmed to hear of the official decision by Government of Delhi as announced by its Minister of Tourism to hold a large scale religious ceremony in the form of Saraswati Puja on February 13, 2016 at the Central Park in the heart of Delhi. We believe that while state institutions concerned with public safety must do their duty at religious events, the state's responsibility must end there. The government must not use public funds to sponsor religious events http://www.sacw.net/article12377.html ======================================== 12. INDIA: HOW HINDUTVA HISTORIOGRAPHY IS ROOTED IN THE COLONIAL VIEW OF INDIAN HISTORY | D.N. Jha ======================================== One of the foundational premises of the Hindutva view of the past is derived from Mill's division of Indian history in his History of British India (1823) on the basis of the religion of the ruling dynasties – a division that sought to drive a wedge between Hindus and Muslims. http://www.sacw.net/article12378.html ======================================== 13. INDIA: COMMUNIST POET MAKHDOOM'S FAMOUS ANTI WAR SONG OF THE 1940'S — JAANE WAALE SIPAHI SAY POOCHO [ ASK THE SOLDIER WHERE HE IS GOING? ] ======================================== The Hindustani song by Makhdoom "Jaane Wale Sipahi Se Poocho" questions the relevance of war, for those drafted to fight it wars. http://www.sacw.net/article12365.html ======================================== 14. RECENT ON COMMUNALISM WATCH: ======================================== - Poster and Leaflet Announcing the 'Demand Justice for Rohith Rally in Delhi - 23 Feb 2016' - India: Some Anti National & Seditious Verses (Sanchia DeSouza) - TV Report Video: If you say 'Hindustan Zindabad' only then I will talk to you, says Hindutva Goon cum Advocate Yashpal Tyagi - India: ABVP Storms Campus, Threatens Students of MSU Baroda - India: Repeated violence within court precincts is indefensible, enforce rule of law (Editorial, Times of India, 19 Feb 2016) - India - Haryana: Several dead Army Called in during Jat protests in Rohtak - India: Nationalism via National Flag - Narendra Modi Govt Orders All Universities to Fly National Flag atop a 207 Feet high pole - India: Letter By TV Reporter to Delhi's Top Cop to Rein in Lawyer cum Hindutva Goon Vikram Singh Chauhan Who Attacks Citizens and Media Personnel - India: Nationalism and 'sedition' in service of fascism (Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal) - Modi’s siege on JNU: Hindutva’s battle for India’s classrooms is out in the open (Mitali Saran) - India: Deconstructing Saffron Nationalism - Defeat the Campaign to Vilify JNU - Jhande Mataram ! - India: Shivaji Jayanti - Is Govind Pansare's Shivaji losing the battle against fanaticism? (Atish Nagpure) - India: Fabrication to forged evidence - all those who have worked to ruin Kanhaiya's life must be named – and shamed (Siddharth Varadarajan) - India: Modi Govt. Stifles Dissent and Democratic Values - Statement by New Socialist Initiative (NSI) - Why the Sanghi zombie apocalypse is upon us (and how to save yourself) - India Today shows how the video of JNU Student Union leader Kanhaiya may have been doctored and fabricated evidence - India: #JNUCrackdown politics of paranoia around sedition can singe Rajnath - India: The thought police - - BJP lines up 'pride' push - India: Vishwa Hindu Parishad 'showdown' at JNU gates fizzles out - India: BJP plans nationalism campaign for the masses - India: Anti-nationals and rogue rulers (Nilanjana S Roy) - India - Rajasthan: Foreign authors were dropped as part of the education department's directive to the textbook rewriting committee -> available at: http://communalism.blogspot.com/ ::: FULL TEXT ::: ========================================= 15. BANGLADESH: EDITORS AND PROMINENT CITIZENS CALL FOR WITHDRAWAL OF CASES AGAINST THE DAILY STAR EDITOR AND PUBLISHER MAHFUZ ANAM ========================================= (The Daily Star - February 19, 2016) WITHDRAW ALL CASES 35 NOTED CITIZENS CALL FOR A HALT TO SMEAR CAMPAIGN Staff Correspondent Thirty-five eminent citizens yesterday condemned the recent barrage of cases against The Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam and demanded immediate withdrawal of those. In a statement, they also called for an end to the smear campaign against Anam. They said the Star editor should have been commended for a rare display of professional values after he had regretted “publishing without verification a few stories based on information provided by a state intelligence agency during the military-backed caretaker government rule in 2007”. Instead, he is being harassed, which is sad, unexpected and frustrating, they said, adding that the present scenario would discourage journalists and even others from spontaneously admitting their mistakes in future and would give rise to falsehood in society. The eminent persons also called for a constructive discussion on what legal and administrative actions should be taken to stop interference of the state intelligence agencies in the functioning of the free media. "We think the rationale for the news media often publishing unverified confessions apparently given in the custody of intelligence agencies and police should also come under the discussion,” the statement read. The signatories are: M Hafiz Uddin Khan, Akbar Ali Khan, Barrister Rafique-ul Huq, ATM Shamsul Huda, Hamida Hossain, Prof Syed Anwar Husain, Hossain Zillur Rahman, Shahdeen Malik, Zafrullah Chowdhury, Iftekharuzzaman, Brig Gen (retd) M Shakhawat Hussain, Badiul Alam Majumdar, Barrister Manzoor Hasan, Nur Khan, Sadaf Nur, Prof Firdous Azim, Swapan Adnan, Masud Khan, Syed Abul Maksud, Dr Tofail Ahmed, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Khushi Kabir, Barrister Sara Hossain, CR Abrar, Shirin Haq, Shahnaz Huda, Ahmed Kamal, Asif Nazrul, Ruby Ghaznavi, Lubna Mariam, Farida Akhter, Maj (retd) Akter Ahmed Bir Pratik, Anusheh Anadil, Naila Zaman Khan, and Zakir Hossain. ADVERTISEMENT They said the defamation cases filed claiming crores of taka in compensation were a glaring example of using the legal and judicial system in narrow, personal interest. They expressed concern over the “attempt to use the legal and judicial system as a political tool and strategy”. Such activities against Mahfuz Anam will prompt the international community to critically question the freedom of speech in Bangladesh and will cause irreparable damage to the country's image, the citizens noted. The statement was sent by Badiul Alam Majumdar and sent by Shahdeen Malik. o o o Dhaka Tribune - 18 Feb 2016 EDITORS CONDEMN CASES AGAINST MAHFUZ ANAM Tribune Report The Editors' Council has condemned the countrywide filing of cases against The Daily Star Editor and also the council's General Secretary, Mahfuz Anam. The council hoped that good sense would prevail among all quarters and all cases against the editor of the English daily would be withdrawn. In a resolution adopted at a meeting of the Editors’ Council yesterday with its President Golam Sarwar in the chair, the council noted with concern that 66 cases including defamation charges involving Tk 82,646.5 crore have been filed at various places of the country against Mahfuz Anam. The resolution reads: “The meeting feels that such incidents go against freedom of the press. We expect that all cases against Mahfuz Anam will be withdrawn. The Editors’ Council expects that good sense would prevail among all quarters in this regard.” Among others, Golam Sarwar, president of Editors’ Council and also the editor of daily Samakal; Mahfuz Anam, The Daily Star editor, also the general secretary of the council; Reaz Uddin Ahmed, editor, News Today; Moazzem Hossain, editor, The Financial Express; Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, editor, Manabzamin; M Shamsur Rahman, editor, The Independent; Naim Nizam, editor, Bangladesh Pratidin; Matiur Rahman, editor, Prothom Alo; Nurul Kabir, editor, New Age; Imdadul Haque Milon, editor, Kaler Kantho; Dewan Hanif Mahmud, editor, Banik Barta; A M M Bahauddin, editor, Inquilab; Shyamol Dutta, editor, Bhorer Kagoj; and Zafar Sobhan, editor, Dhaka Tribune were present at the meeting. ========================================= 16. BANGLADESH: FEAR OF HURT RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS AND SHUTTING DOWN OF CERTAIN BOOK STALLS AT AMAR EKUSHEY BOI MELA BOOK FAIR ========================================= (Dhaka Tribune - february 19, 2016) BY THE BOOK by Abak Hussain A stall was shut down and literature was confiscated at the Boi Mela. Was it done according to procedure? This is the second year in a row that a stall at the Ekushey Boi Mela has been shut down for selling a book that could hurt religious sentiments and cause all-round bad feelings among readers. Just to recap: Some time on Monday afternoon, police raided the stall of Badwip Prakashan in the Suhrawardy Udyan part of the book fair. The owner of the publishing house, Shamsuzzoha Manik, was detained, along with two of his associates. Several books were seized. If you are feeling déjà vu, it’s not because of a glitch in the Matrix. In the book fair last year, Rodela Prakashani had carried a book that had offended a group of extremists. The offended party had threatened Rodela Prakashani’s staff and had tried to shut down Rodela’s offices. Wanting to avoid any further trouble, Bangla Academy took the prudent course of action and closed down Rodela Prakashani’s stall. This year though, there was a key difference. It wasn’t the fair’s organisers, but the police who marched into the Ekushey Boi Mela -- one of the most vibrant and lively celebrations of our national heritage -- and ordered the shutting down of a book stall. Let us set aside the issue of what exactly the contents of the offending book were, and whether or not they qualified as being objectionable enough to be unsuitable for public consumption. There are, indeed, blasphemy laws in Bangladesh which say material that hurts religious sentiments can be banned or confiscated by the government. If the book or books in question fall in those criteria, we have to respect the decision to take the material off the shelves. But the more important question in the case of Monday’s event is: Was it all done by the book? The grounds of the Ekushey Boi Mela deserve to be treated with a certain amount of respect, as this annual event is the thing that carries forward the torch of 1952, year after year. If something is to be done on the grounds of the Boi Mela, we must ensure that due process has been followed. For example, the official rules and regulations of the book fair stipulate that if objectionable content is found anywhere, the publisher will be given a deadline to remove the content. It is only in the event of a failure to comply that the authorities would move in and close the stall. Was this process followed in this case, that is, was Badwip Prakashan given such a deadline? Did the fair organisers know what was about to happen, and were they OK with it? Organisers were not seen with the police during the raid, according to news reports. It is being said that visitors had complained about the contents of some of the books at the fair, and some of these objections were circulating on social media, which is how the police came to know about them in the first place. Are complaints written on Facebook pages enough to necessitate a raid on the Ekushey book fair grounds? One of the fair’s organisers revealed that the police had said the stall in question could jeopardise the security of the fair. So which is it -- a matter of security, or a matter of protecting religious sentiments? We need to be clear on this. Furthermore, if it was a matter of security for the fair grounds, we need to know how exactly a book could be a risk factor. I suppose a book could be used as a weapon -- I own a hardback copy of the Oxford English Dictionary that could fully knock out a person if wielded in the right way. Nevertheless, the public needs to be given the assurance that rules -- both the law of the land, as well as the regulations of the Ekushey Boi Mela -- are indeed being followed, and that extremists or other vested interests aren’t pulling the strings. We can all respect the rule of law, but we cannot and should not appease fundamentalist agendas that do not speak to the interests of the country or the secular spirit of the Boi Mela. We cannot clamp down on the freedom of writers, readers, and publishers in a way that looks arbitrary and oppressive. Public sentiment needs to be protected, but so does the freedom and sanctity of the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela. We need to make sure our law enforcement always follows procedure, so that this wonderful annual book-buying tradition of ours isn’t marred by the fear of harassment. o o o (Dhaka Tribune - february 19, 2016) SATIRICAL WRITINGS DIFFICULT TO FIND [AT AMAR EKUSHEY BOI MELA BOOK FAIR] Nure Alam Durjoy The Amar Ekushey Boi Mela has witnessed an increasing number of new arrivals over the years, especially books on humour. However, in recent years, purely satire-based works have been almost absent at the book fair. Many comedy writers as well as satirists believe there are several reasons behind the absence of satires in the largest book fair of the country. While jokes and humour-based writings are light-hearted which aim to causing pure amusement and entertainment, satire has deeper purpose – using humour, it points out and questions discrepancies, taboos, discriminations and corruption present in an individual, an institution, an industry, government, or even a society, they said. Not many writers in the country presently have a strong command to produce such writings, they added. The growing intolerance towards satire does not help matter either, they added. “It is good that so many different kinds of writings can been seen in the fair, compared to the early year,” said Ahsan Habib, editor of popular satire magazine Ummad, “but good satire is still hard to find.” “The reason could be that no writer can fearlessly attempt to rite satire these days. Also, satire needs strong writing skills.” Ahsan’s sentiment was echoed by another renowned writer Sumanto Aslam. “It is true that writing satire is a difficult job, but the fear of violent retaliation may be a bigger factor here as the present environment is quite unfavourable for satirists.” Four books written by Ahsan Habib have been released in the book fair this year: “Aromyo Romyo by Katha Prakash, “Shera Romyo Golpo” by Tamralipi, “Shudhu Koutuk” by Somoy Prakashan and “Political Jokes” by Ratri Prakashan. Meanwhile, Kakoli Prakashani has brought Sumanto’s “Idiot Unlimited,” while Anupam Prakashani has published “Joyer Pothey Joyer Rothey” at the fair this year. Attendants at different stalls said visitors frequently asked for satires; demand for parodies and jokes are high as well. [. . .]. ========================================= 17. STATEMENT BY UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, ZEID RA’AD AL HUSSEIN, AT THE END OF HIS MISSION TO SRI LANKA ========================================= Colombo, 9 February 2016 Good afternoon, and thank you for coming. I come to you shortly after wrapping up my visit here with meetings with President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Leader of the Opposition, in which we discussed a wide range of issues that will have an important bearing on the future of Sri Lanka. Since arriving here on Saturday, I have also met the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Justice, National Dialogue, and Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, as well as the Defence Secretary, Chief of Defence Staff, Army and Air Force Commanders and the Chief of Staff of the Navy. In addition, here in Colombo, I visited the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, and the Task Force that will lead the forthcoming National Consultations on transitional justice. I also met a number of Sri Lanka’s finest thinkers and analysts, including members of its vibrant civil society organizations. On Sunday, I visited the Northern and Eastern Provinces, where I met the Chief Ministers and members of the Provincial Councils as well as the Governors, and yesterday morning I was honoured to visit the revered Sri Dalada Maligawa, or Temple of the Sacred Tooth in Kandy, where I was graciously received by the Mahanayakas (Chief Monks) of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters. I am very grateful to them for according me this great privilege, as well as to the members of the Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities I met in Colombo, Jaffna and Trincomalee. This has been a much more friendly, cooperative and encouraging visit than the one my predecessor endured in August 2013, which as you may recall was marred by vituperative attacks on her integrity, simply because she addressed a number of burning human rights issues that any High Commissioner for Human Rights would have raised at that time. I am aware that some of the same people have given me a similar welcome — I’ve seen the posters — but I am pleased that in the new environment in Sri Lanka, all voices, including the moderate voices of civil society, can at last be heard, even if sometimes the voices of hatred and bigotry are still shouting the loudest, and as a result are perhaps being listened to more than they deserve. Sri Lanka has come a long way in the past year, as you, the media, are only too aware — given the much greater freedom you now have to write what you wish to write, and report what you feel you should report. The element of fear has considerably diminished, at least in Colombo and the South. In the North and the East, it has mutated but, sadly, still exists. Virtually everyone agrees there has been progress, although opinions differ markedly about the extent of that progress. The ‘white van’ abductions that operated outside all norms of law and order, and — as intended — instilled fear in the hearts of journalists, human rights defenders and others who dared criticise the Government or State security institutions, are now very seldom reported. The number of torture complaints has been reduced but new cases continue to emerge — as two recent reports, detailing some disturbing alleged cases that occurred in 2015, have shown — and police all too often continue to resort to violence and excessive force. Several recent highly symbolic steps have been taken that have had a positive impact on inter-communal relations, including the decision taken to sing the national anthem in both Sinhala and Tamil on Independence Day, for the first time since the early 1950s. The following day, in a reciprocal gesture, the Chief Minister of the Northern Province paid a respectful visit to a Buddhist temple in Jaffna. And in January, the President pardoned the convicted LTTE prisoner who once plotted to assassinate him. These are significant steps on the path of reconciliation between these two communities, both of which bear their own deep scars from the years of conflict. I was pleased to learn that some major inter communal events are planned in the North and East to bring together large numbers of young people from all across Sri Lanka. In both provinces, the Governors are now civilians, which is another key improvement. One of the most important long-term achievements over the past year has been the restoration of the legitimacy and independence of Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission. The appointment of new leadership of great integrity, through the proper constitutional process, offers a new start to revitalise this all-important national institution. I hope the Government will now swiftly provide it with the resources, and above all the institutional respect it needs, to enable it to fulfil its great potential, not only to provide human rights protection for all Sri Lankans, but also to offer expert advice on laws and policies from a human rights perspective. Despite these advances — and others I have not mentioned — after nearly 30 years of conflict and acrimony, that not only cost tens of thousands of lives but also eroded so many vital components of the State, Sri Lanka is still in the early stages of renewal. During this visit, I have met Sinhalese, Muslim and Tamil victims of the ruthless LTTE and other paramilitary groups. Family members of those who were assassinated. Mothers of children who were abducted or recruited. Muslims from the north who were forcibly evicted and expelled from their homes. Mothers of soldiers who never returned, and some of the many thousands of war widows from both sides. I am all too conscious of the suffering and fear that the years of bombings, killings and other abuses inflicted on this society. I also met the mothers and wives of people who were apprehended, or surrendered to the security forces, and then disappeared. I have met relatives of people who have been in detention for years, without being charged with any crime, or who were charged solely on the basis of allegedly forced confessions. I met one woman carrying the emotional scars of her rape by security forces nearly 30 years ago during the JVP insurgency. Her pain, and that of all these victims and their families is terrible to behold, and it is cruel to prolong it if ways of alleviating it are available. Distracted by this conflict, Sri Lanka has also failed to address critical issues facing women, people with disabilities, people with different sexual orientations, and other groups suffering discrimination such as the Plantation Tamils in Central Sri Lanka. I hope that these and other neglected or discriminated-against groups and minorities will now receive the attention they deserve, not least in the constitutional reform process. Repairing the damage done by a protracted conflict is a task of enormous complexity, and the early years are crucial. If mistakes are made, or significant problems are downplayed or ignored during the first few years, they become progressively harder to sort out as time goes on. While the glass is still molten, if you are quick and skilful, you can shape it into a fine object that will last for years. Once it starts to harden in misshapen form, it becomes more and more difficult to rectify. Likewise if any of the four key elements of post conflict resolution — truth-telling, accountability, reparations and institutional reform — are neglected or mishandled, unresolved resentments will fester, new strains will emerge, and a tremendous opportunity to establish long-term stability, which in turn should result in greater prosperity, will be lost. In the case of Sri Lanka, large parts of the country have been physically, politically, socially and economically separated from each other to a greater or lesser degree for much of the past three decades, and the effort to rebuild trust in the State, and between communities, will take years of political courage, determination and skilled coordination and planning. When you visit Colombo, you see a bustling city, a mass of construction sites, clean streets, and flourishing businesses. You see a thriving tourist industry. When you visit the North and the East, you see, in patches at least, damaged and depressed areas, poverty and continued displacement. Signs of physical development, certainly. And positive vision and ambitions among the elected representatives. But also more ominous signs of hopes that are not yet bearing fruit, and optimism that is already showing some signs of souring. While there is much support for the very important proposed Constitutional reform, which should ensure that the rights of all Sri Lankans are fully recognised, there are also fears that at a later stage this may be achieved at the expense of other equally important processes such as truth-telling, justice and accountability. While the Task Force appointed to lead the National Consultation process includes high quality representatives of civil society, there are concerns — including among the TaskForce members themselves — that the process is too rushed and has not been properly planned or adequately resourced. There are some measures that could be taken quickly which would reverse this trend of draining confidence. First of all, the military needs to accelerate the return of land it has seized and is still holding to its rightful owners. While some land has been returned in the Jaffna and Trincomalee areas, there are still large tracts which can and should be swiftly given back. Once the land has been given back, the remaining communities of displaced people can — if given the necessary assistance — return home, and a lingering sore will have been cured once and for all. In parallel, the size of the military force in the North and the East can be reduced to a level that is less intrusive and intimidating, as a first step in security sector reform. The Government must also quickly find a formula to charge or release the remaining security-related detainees. In addition, the Prime Minister’s recent statement that nearly all the disappeared persons are dead has created great distress among their families, who until then still had hope. This statement must be followed by rapid action to identify precisely who is still alive and who has died or been killed, properly account for their deaths — including whether or not they were unlawful — identify the location of their remains, and provide redress. High on the agenda in every meeting I have had here, of course, were issues relating to the implementation of the resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council on 1 October last year, a resolution that was co-sponsored by Sri Lanka and agreed with the consensus of all 47 Member States of the Council. The resolution laid out an eminently sensible pathway for the country to follow, and my Office was charged with following up on its implementation, including by reporting back to the Council on progress — or lack of it — next June, and again in March 2017. The Human Rights Council resolution, and the comprehensive report on which it was based, and which it endorsed, aim to promote reconciliation, accountability and human rights. The release of the report, and the ensuing resolution, unleashed a great surge of hope that finally we were all turning a corner in terms of starting to fully recognise what happened during the final years of Sri Lanka’s hugely corrosive and tragic conflict. The Human Rights Council resolution was in many ways a reflection of the reform agenda that Sri Lankans had voted for in last year’s Presidential and Parliamentary elections. It sets out some of the tough steps that must be taken to achieve reconciliation and accountability and, through them, lasting peace. There are many myths and misconceptions about the resolution, and what it means for Sri Lanka. It is not a gratuitous attempt to interfere with or undermine the country’s sovereignty or independence. It is not some quasi-colonial act by some nebulous foreign power. The acceptance of the resolution was a moment of strength, not weakness, by Sri Lanka. It was the country’s commitment to both itself and to the world to confront the past honestly and, by doing that, take out comprehensive insurance against any future devastating outbreak of inter communal tensions and conflict. The world wants Sri Lanka to be a success story. It has seen the opportunity for lasting success in Sri Lanka, and that is why it has invested so much time and energy into providing that pathway laid down in last October’s Human Rights Council resolution. I urge all Sri Lankans to make an effort to understand what that resolution and the report underpinning it actually say, and I urge all those in a position to do so, to make a greater effort to explain why the recommendations are so important, and why the United Nations and all those individual States — Sri Lanka included — endorsed them. Then perhaps the siren voices, who wish to undermine all reforms, all attempts to provide justice, accountability and reconciliation, will get less traction. The people who are trying to undermine confidence in these crucial initiatives are playing a game that is endangering the future peace and stability of this country. For a country to be stable, to be a success, it needs to have a strong, impartial and credible justice system. The security services and the judiciary must function in the interests of all its citizens. And it was in these areas, that the country’s key institutions were seriously corroded and corrupted during three decades of conflict and human rights violations, including through its reliance on the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act and other emergency powers. And it is the integrity of these institutions, which depends on having the trust of the population, that the international community is trying hard to help Sri Lanka restore through the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report and in the resolution. Sri Lanka has many excellent judges, lawyers, and law enforcement officials. But over the years the system they depended on, and which depends on them, became highly politicised, unbalanced, unreliable. The country’s history over the past few decades is littered with judicial failures. Virtually all Sri Lankans recognise this, and the Prime Minister commented on it at great length, and with admirable candour, during a 27 January debate in Parliament. Virtually every week provides a new story of a failed investigation, a mob storming a court-room, or another example of a crime going unpunished. Sexual violence and harassment against women and girls is particularly poorly handled by the relevant State institutions — especially when the alleged perpetrators are members of the military or security services — and, as a result it remains all too widespread. It is for these reasons that the report and the Human Rights Council resolution suggest international participation in the accountability mechanisms set up to deal with international crimes and gross human rights violations committed by individuals on both sides. This is a practical proposal to solve the very real and practical problems I mentioned earlier. But it is only one aspect — albeit a very important one — of the broad range of measures outlined in the 2015 UN report and resolution, and the extent to which it has been allowed to dominate the debate in Sri Lanka in recent days is unfortunate. Extreme nationalistic tendencies lay at the heart of Sri Lanka’s conflict, and they should not be allowed to undermine the country’s long term chances of recovery once again. Only a year ago, large numbers of Sri Lankans voted for change, for reconciliation, for truth, for justice. It would be a great shame if a minority of extreme voices — on both sides — who are bent on disruption, were allowed to prevail by creating fear where there should be hope. Sri Lanka needs a serious debate about these very serious issues, on which its future depends. This needs to start with a thorough, frank and honest discussion of the detailed findings of the September 2015 UN report, as it is important that all Sri Lankans rally behind the process and better understand the point of view of all the victims on all sides. The Government has shown the will to make great changes. But from the victims in the North and in the East, and also from some of the wisest analysts here in Colombo, I have heard fears that the Government may be wavering on its human rights commitments. I was therefore reassured this morning to hear both the President and the Prime Minister state their firm conviction in this regard. Let me make it as plain as I can: the international community wants to welcome Sri Lanka back into its fold without any lingering reservations. It wants to help Sri Lanka become an economic powerhouse. It wants Sri Lanka’s armed forces to face up to the stain on their reputation, so that they can once again play a constructive role in international peace-keeping operations, and command the full respect that so many of their members deserve. But for all that to come to fruition, Sri Lanka must confront and defeat the demons of its past. It must create institutions that work, and ensure accountability. It must seize the great opportunity it currently has to provide all its people with truth, justice, security and prosperity. I, for my part, will do all in my power to help that come about, and will continue to offer the services of my Office to accompany Sri Lanka through this very difficult process. Thank you ENDS Media inquiries: please contact the UN Communications Team in Colombo on +94 11 258 0691 (Ext 1500-3) | +94 77 444 8401 | info...@one.un.org. ========================================= 18. AFGHANISTAN’S CRIPPLED POWER GRID EXPOSES VULNERABILITY OF BESIEGED CAPITAL by David Jolly ========================================= (The New York Times, Feb. 17, 2016 KABUL, Afghanistan — When saboteurs crippled the Afghan capital’s power supply last month, the tailors in Najeebullah’s clothing shop had to abandon their electric sewing machines for hand-cranked models. Their output fell by half. “I’ve lost nearly $215 since the power cuts,” Mr. Najeebullah, a gentle-mannered man with a gray beard, said. “I have four tailors to pay, whether they sew two outfits a day or four. And I have to pay my rent and feed my staff, whether I make money or not.” Mr. Najeebullah, who goes by only one name, said he eventually decided to buy a diesel generator, “but I have to pass the fuel costs on to my customers, and they can’t afford it.” Three decades of conflict have taught Afghans to be resilient and adaptable, but the latest hardships have further soured the mood in this city of five million people. Taliban Used Child Soldiers in Kunduz Battle, Rights Group SaysFEB. 17, 2016 Afghanistan Had Record Civilian Casualties in 2015, U.N. SaysFEB. 14, 2016 A series of deadly Taliban bombings in the capital since the start of the year have unnerved Afghans and Western officials increasingly concerned about the deteriorating security. Then, on Jan. 27, the lines that carry much of Kabul’s electricity south from Uzbekistan were cut in Baghlan Province, in an area marked by savage fighting between Afghan troops and insurgents. Attacks since then have also knocked out lines from Tajikistan, cutting the capital’s power supply by about 80 percent. Every day brings promises by the government that the lights will be on again soon, but the cables fell in areas contested or controlled by the Taliban, suggesting a lasting restoration will be possible only with the acquiescence of the insurgents. Many homes and most large businesses here already have backup generators. But the privations are another disappointment for a long-suffering people. The creation of a modern power grid, paid for by international donors, was one of Afghanistan’s signature achievements after the ouster of the Taliban in 2001. Only 5 percent of Afghans had electricity then, compared with 40 percent today, according to Qudratullah Delawari, the chief executive of DABS, Afghanistan’s national power company. Since the lines were cut at the end of January, virtually no one in the capital has uninterrupted power, and many are lucky to get any at all. So much of everyday commerce and modern social life, even in Kabul, is conducted online, and every temporary return of power creates a dash to surf the web and recharge electrical devices. Assadullah, who was wiping the dust from his Toyota Corolla outside a Soviet-era apartment block in the Macrorayan neighborhood where he lives with his family, said he had only two hours of electricity a day. “If there is no electricity, then there is no heat,” he said, “and we don’t get running water, which means all the toilets and bathrooms are unusable.” Every evening, the women and children stand in line to fill buckets with water from the downstairs tap, which they then lug up the stairs. “Honestly, we don’t have any expectations for this government; they can’t help the people,” Mr. Assadullah, who also goes by one name, said. “I don’t even know what’s happening with the problem because there is no electricity to watch the news on TV.” Beyond the inconvenience and the damage to the country’s limping economy, the cuts to power have exposed the vulnerability of a city that already felt besieged. The Taliban have been gaining ground since the departure of most United States and other NATO combat soldiers at the end of 2014, staging daily attacks on police and army checkpoints in Kabul and the surrounding provinces. Traveling by road even a few dozen miles outside the city can be a dicey proposition because of insurgents and brigands. The government has blamed the Taliban for the power failures, though the insurgents, through a spokesman, denied responsibility. Conspiracy-minded Afghans suggest that the destruction of power lines was the work of gangs seeking to profit by selling generators and the diesel to run them. Regardless of who is responsible, the areas where the pylons fell are the scenes of major battles between the army and the Taliban, and repair work cannot begin until hostilities cease and mines are cleared in the area. At the best of times, DABS, the power company, is able to meet less than three-quarters of the capital’s demand of 800 megawatts of electricity, Mr. Delawari, the chief executive, said. Emergency measures, including the use of an American-financed diesel-powered plant, have made up some of the deficit, he said, but the supply is still well short of normal. “Expectations are that we can bring the lines up in days, as soon as the area is secured,” Mr. Delawari said. Last year an avalanche in the Salang Pass, north of Kabul, knocked out three pylons, he noted, requiring 45 days to fix, but that was in far more challenging terrain. In Baghlan, he said, a temporary fix could be rigged quickly if the combatants would stand down. “I’m confident that we’ll be able to restore the electricity supply within the next week,” he said. On Tuesday, a police commander in Baghlan reported that the DABS crew was already reconnecting cables, but a DABS spokesman disagreed, saying that no work could be done until land mines were defused and the area was secured. For now, the power failures are affecting almost every aspect of life in Kabul, including religious observance. “Most people like me used to pray at home,” said Sadiqullah, who had just emerged from a mosque in the Karte Seh neighborhood of the capital. “Now we go to the local mosque, not only to pray, but because we can use the generator there to recharge our cellphones. If you plug in your phone for the whole time you’re praying, you get just enough of a charge for a couple of phone calls.” “Then we come back and charge up again at the next call for prayer,” he said. Jawad Sukhanyar and Ahmad Shakib contributed reporting from Kabul, and Najim Rahim from Kunduz, Afghanistan. ========================================= 19. INDIA - UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES: VIKRAM SINGH CHAUHAN VS KANHAIYA KUMAR by Josy Joseph ========================================= (The Hindu - 19 February 2016) If the threat of sedition hangs heavily on our campuses, we’ll have cyber zombies and ideology slaves emerging from them rather than innovators and radical thinkers Consider Pakistan. Both its Nobel laureates had to live abroad in virtual exile. One of them, its finest scientist, left the country protesting against constitutional amendments that impinged on his religious freedom, while the other, its most famous teenager, was shot at for going to school and speaking up for her rights. The plight of Abdus Salam and Malala Yousafzai is instructive of what really is wrong with Pakistan. More importantly, their lives exemplify what happens when freedom of expression and dissent are suppressed by those in power, or violence becomes the response to even what might sound like sedition. Ms. Yousafzai got the prize for braving the terrorist’s bullets on behalf of Pakistan’s children, especially young girls, because she dissented against the brutal narrative that had emerged in her country against education and other universal rights of children. Salam left Pakistan in 1974 after its National Assembly amended the Constitution to declare Ahmadis non-Muslims. A devout Ahmadi, he went to Europe and died there in 1996. His body was brought back and buried in Rabwah in Pakistan’s Punjab, with an epitaph that read he was the “first Muslim Nobel Laureate”. Actually, he was the second Muslim to win a Nobel — a year earlier, Anwar Sadat of Egypt had shared the Nobel peace prize with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Today the word ‘Muslim’ has been defaced from Salam’s epitaph. Ironically, in his Nobel acceptance speech Salam quoted the Koran to justify his scientific curiosity — probably a unique occasion in the hallowed Stockholm Concert Hall. But around the time Salam was telling the world that, Pakistan was getting on to the conveyor belt of radicalisation with Hudood ordinances. For political scientists, one of the key lessons that emerge from studying modern Pakistan is the dangerous erosion of its democratic foundations, the fact that cleavages between its institutions disappeared over the years, and the Pakistan Army became the only national institution with the ability to run the country. The military also provides significant social mobility, thus attracting some very fine talent into its fold. Robust democracies, on the contrary, should be dynamic theatres with healthy competition between various institutions. To create that healthy tension, democracy needs to be built on a strong foundation with freedom of expression and dissent. Without both, the institutional and progressive tensions will disappear and when that happens, usually the only institution left standing is the military. There are historical reasons for it, including the fact that the military is consistently fed and nurtured by modern nation-states because it carries out the fundamental duty of ensuring its security. Pakistan is no exception. Dissent and scientific progress It is also noticeable that scientific progress of societies has a direct correlation to dissent and freedom of expression. That is why Western Europe and the U.S. have been consistently ahead on the invention curve in modern times. Scientific progress germinates in campuses where unadulterated dissent, even if it is seditious to many, is allowed. It may not just be a coincidence that it was from the American campuses of the 1960s, in the grip of anti-Vietnam war protests and equal rights movements, that many great inventions came. That has been the history, and that would remain the future. The question is whether India is willing to absorb that lesson. That dissenting, almost seditious, culture of higher education campuses would also explain why the Muslim world does not have even a single university in any of the lists of world’s finest institutions. There are great Muslim minds, but political Islam that rules societies is an enemy of innovation and higher learning because of its skewed perspectives on dissent and freedom of expression. Democracy, with healthy protection of dissent and freedom of expression as cornerstones, also has a strong direct correlation with economic growth. Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital in 2011 looked at 150 countries over 60 years and found that countries tend to become more democratic as income levels went up, and when the gross domestic product per capita goes above $10,000, democracy becomes deep-seated. The corollary is also true. Except countries that depend on natural resources for its income and probably Singapore, a city state, all other countries with high per capita are mature democracies. This is why many believe China could be headed towards political change as its per capita income climbs up. The facts are simple, and well proven: India’s ambitions to emerge as a mature democracy, turn into an innovation centre, lift millions out of impoverishment, and play a major global role are all directly dependent upon its ability to allow a strong culture of dissent. If the threat of sedition hangs heavily on its campuses, then zombies will come out of it, not innovators. You will have cyber coolies and ideology slaves emerging from the campuses rather than innovators and radical thinkers. It is a choice between advocate Vikram Singh Chauhan, who led the mob that attacked journalists and students over two days in New Delhi despite Supreme Court intervention, and Kanhaiya Kumar, the Jawaharlal Nehru University scholar who was challenging his rivals to debate. You don’t need to look beyond Pakistan to understand what academicians have long argued. ========================================= 20. PUBLICATION ANNOUNCED: KABUL BLOGS: MY DAYS IN THE LIFE OF AFGHANISTAN by Anita Anand ========================================= For over a decade now, Afghanistan has been a sad synonym for despair and devastation, a country for which there seems to be little hope for a post-conflict scenario. Anita Anand’s moving account, the result of more than ten years of work and travel in and around Kabul, dispels this perception of gloom. While acknowledging the cost of war and the price that Afghans continue to pay for it, she finds resilience, courage and a determination to overcome among the people she worked with, for whom the horizon of hope is always visible. Interleaving the political, the recent historical, and the quotidian reality, set against a breathtakingly beautiful landscape, Anand tells a warm and intimate story about a country and a people, whose twinned lives demonstrate a daily defiance of doomsday predictions. Anita Anand is a development and mutlimedia communications specialist, writer and water colour artist. She began her forty-plus years career in developing science teaching programmes for rural school children in Madhya Pradesh. She has worked as a policy analyst in Washington DC, and was Director of the Women’s Feature Service, an international service of development writing by women journalists, in Italy and later in India. She has been travelling to Afghanistan since 2004, working with UN agencies and international and national civil society organisations. She is the author of The Beauty Game and co-editor of World Social Forum: Challenging Empires and Whose World is it Anyway? The United Nations, Civil Society and the Multilateral Future. Pp. 228 Rs. 375 ISBN: 978-8188965-84-7 Women Unlimited (an associate of Kali for Women) 7/10, First Floor Sarvapriya Vihar New Delhi - 110016 Tel: 011-26866596/ 26524129 Email: womenun...@gmail.com Website: www.womenunlimited.net ========================================= 21. ROBIN LECH. REVIEW OF BATINIĆ, WOMEN AND YUGOSLAV PARTISANS: A HISTORY OF WORLD WAR II RESISTANCE ========================================= Jelena Batinić. Women and Yugoslav Partisans: A History of World War II Resistance. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015. x + 287 pp. $99.99 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-107-09107-8. Reviewed by Robin Lech (Air University, Air Command and Staff College) Published on H-War (January, 2016) Commissioned by Margaret Sankey Jelena Batinić’s Women and Yugoslav Partisans: A History of World War II Resistance covers the role women played in the Communist-led Yugoslav Partisan resistance. It reveals how gender norms both aided and impeded the movement by investigating the partizanka, the female Partisan fighter. Batinić shows that gender norms are entrenched and pervasive, and the question of women’s role in wartime is not a recent phenomenon but a historic dilemma. A historian who specializes in Eastern Europe, World War II, and gender history, she has the pedigree to author the book. Batinić’s research is thorough and comprehensive, delving into archives and libraries in both the Balkans and the United States; she uses an extensive array of primary and secondary sources, including military records, media, illustrations, interviews, diaries, and cinematography. This book provides a unique perspective of gender norms, but should not be relegated to only those interested in gender studies. Women and Yugoslav Partisans will have a much wider audience, including scholars of World War II history, military history, Communism, cinematography, sociology, and anthropology. Batinić sets the stage for the book in the introduction, describing the historiographical contexts in the book, overview of the chapter content, and historical background. Women and Yugoslav Partisans is first and foremost an examination of the changes in gender norms in Yugoslavia during the war, the revolution, and the establishment of the Communist state. Batinić analyzes this change at three levels: political rhetoric, institutions, and daily practice. She also examines these roles through several historiographical contexts: gender and war studies, women and Communism, comparative Communist studies, and the workings of the modern state. Batinić designed the flow of the book thematically, the chapters aligning with the three levels of analysis. Next, she briefly outlines the content of each chapter, and shows how the chapters build on each other. Batinić closes the introduction with a brief synopsis of the background of the region during World War II, the growth and success of the revolution, and the development of the Communist state of Yugoslavia. It is here that Batinić states her thesis, “The final—crucial but often over-looked—factor that distinguished the Partisans from all their opponents and contributed greatly to their success was their emphasis on women’s mobilization and mass participation in the struggle” (p. 25). The central character of this book is the partizanka. The success of the Partisan Army, and the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CPY), depended heavily on the substantial participation of women in the revolution. Chapter 1 reveals how the CPY was able to recruit women, both in support of the war and on the frontline fight. Following the theme of political rhetoric, this chapter describes how the CPY used two motifs to mobilize women: the revolutionary promise of gender equality and heroic imagery found in epic folklore. Batinić proposes that the second motif was the key to the mass participation of women in the CPY. The CPY needed to influence the populace, which consisted of a high percentage of peasants. The female peasantry was uneducated and illiterate, and initial recruitment by the CPY on the merits of Partisan goals was largely unsuccessful. However, when the CPY changed its tactics to invoke the heroic character from South Slavic epic poetry, the peasantry took notice. The folk heritage of the peasantry was manipulated into the Communist narrative and thus the CPY established cultural authority among the peasants. The Partisans invoked the heroines of epic poetry—the patriotic mother and the female warrior—to recruit peasant women into the revolution. The mass mobilization of women into the Partisan movement was accomplished through the skillful weaving of traditional symbols and revolutionary ideas. Chapter 2 describes the next level of review, the institution, and details the development and workings of the Antifascist Front of Women (AFW). The AFW, a party-controlled women’s organization, was the Communist tool to recruit and utilize peasant women from the countryside. The AFW also found the advantage of linking the old with the new. They realized that using women’s traditional responsibilities was the best way to mobilize women. The AFW was able to organize traditional gender roles and transform them into a rear reserve for the Partisan Army. The AFW grew to be a large and robust organization, holding conferences, publishing journals, and gaining a seat at party councils. Its growth and success as a women’s organization drew the attention and concern from the CPY, fearful of the AFW becoming too feminist and independent, which led to its complete transformation and reorganization. Ultimately, the AFW’s success in utilizing women to create a strong rear support for the army also led to the continued institutionalization of gender roles and norms. The very success of the AFW was also its downfall. Chapter 3 focuses on the partizanka in combat units. Despite the Communist leadership’s proclamations and directives to encourage and implement gender equality, the reality of life in the combat unit for women fell into traditional gender roles. The epic heroine rhetoric used to recruit and mobilize female masses to support the war was not as easily embraced by local-level combat-unit commanders. Indeed, it took time for the party to allow women fighters to join, with official guidance being issued in 1943. On the whole, the proportion of women in combat units averaged about 12 percent (p. 131). Once women recruits began showing up in mixed-gender units, most often they were appointed to the medical sector as nurses. It became the norm for the partizanka to be both solider and nurse. Batinić groups the problems of integration of women into combat units into four general categories: women’s military inexperience, persistence of old beliefs and hierarchies, perseverance of the customary sexual division of labor, and emergence of sexual tensions in the units. While reports reveal that the partizankas were brave and dedicated combatants, there was also a high casualty rate due to their lack of military training. Despite the party leadership’s declarations, there continued to be disapproval against recruiting females into combat units, and discrimination inside the units persisted. Partizankas in combat units were often assigned to be nurses, a lesser status than a fighter. Even when allowed to be a fighter, partizankas were often assigned to, or expected to do, “women’s work” (p. 148). Partizankas who were mothers faced the hardest sacrifices. Life in the army was brutal, and women with children, or who became pregnant, faced devastating losses of death, or had to choose between the fight or their child. Despite the hardships, prejudices, loss, and sacrifice, the large majority of partizankas look back at their service with fondness. It was a time of liberation, faith, commitment, and idealism. It afforded these women a sense of purpose and accomplishment, “the best time of their lives” (p. 167). Batinić explores the emergence of sexual tensions in the units, as well as the behavioral and sexual norms in the Partisan movement at the daily practice level in chapter 4. The party promoted self-discipline and sexual propriety as the values of all Partisans. The CPY monitored and policed the personal lives of members, including their romantic relationships and sexual behavior. Private life was subordinate to the party, and the CPY expected its members to put that life on hold during the revolution. Party members were expected to uphold standards of discipline, loyalty, and self-control, and were expected to perform “criticism and self-criticism” to assist in compliance. There were designated sessions where members were expected to confess their doubts and weaknesses to each other, as well as expose and condemn mistakes of others. The party also constructed a database with detailed information on each party member, which included their personal life. The honor of the party and its army depended on the moral behavior of Partisan soldiers, and thus sexual behavior was regulated. Unfortunately, in practice, those regulations were enforced with a different standard for women than for men. If there were problems in the units related to sexual tensions, it was typically deemed that women were the source. Despite the party’s official stance of abstinence in the units, the evidence shows a high incidence of abortions, reports of incidents of a sexual nature, and spread of venereal disease. Batinić concludes that even though the party was committed to egalitarianism, a persistent sexual double standard remained. Chapter 5 delves into the legacy of the partizanka in Yugoslavia. The legendary hero fighter was heavily linked with Communism and the Communist Party. Initially after the war, the partizanka’s sacrifice and heroism was lauded in the state-sponsored historical memory, as well as in literature and cinema. However, as the years passed, the gender specificity of the partizanka was attacked, being portrayed for her sexuality and womanhood. In the 1980s through the 1990s, the memory of the partizanka all but disappeared from the public eye. Having been linked so closely to the party, the partizanka experienced a downfall with the regime. The partizanka started as a revolutionary hero and ended in ignominy. Batinić has authored a compelling book that reveals the pervasiveness of gender norms and the power of traditional culture. The success of the Partisan Army relied heavily on the incorporation of gender norms and manipulation of local traditions into its ideology to achieve the mass mobilization of the peasants. However, even in the midst of a war for survival, with institutional support for gender equality, the daily practice of gender inequality continued to occur. Batinić honors the memory and sacrifice of these brave women. Much can be learned through this study of the partizanka, from how and why she was created and empowered to how and why she was forgotten. _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ South Asia Citizens Wire Buzz for secularism, on the dangers of fundamentalism(s), on matters of peace and democratisation in South Asia. Newsletter of South Asia Citizens Web: www.sacw.net/ ##### #### _\_ ________ ##=-[.].]| \ \ #( _\ | |------| # __| | |||||||| \ _/ | |||||||| .--'--'-. | | ____ | / __ `|__|[o__o]| _(____nm_______ /____\____ DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers. ===================================== _______________________________________________ SACW mailing list SACW@insaf.net http://insaf.net/mailman/listinfo/sacw_insaf.net
