South Asia Citizens Wire | June 1-3, 2007 | Dispatch No. 2414 - Year 9 [1] Sri Lanka: Halt Reckless Attacks that Victimise Civilians and Negotiate Responsibly (National Peace Council) [2] Bangladesh/Canada: Reject the Appeal for Asylum of Sheikh Mujib's killer (Mozammel H. Khan) [3] Amid growing political dissent, Pakistan aims to curtail live TV coverage (CPJ) [4] Southasian mea culpa - Self-criticism came more readily to our forebears. (Jawed Naqvi) [5] Video: Pakistan - Judicial Crisis and the Future of Democratic Reform [6] Full text of the Affidavit of the 'non-functioning' Chief Justice of Pakistan [7] India: Counterfeit Encounters and the 'Nation' (Harsh Mander) [8] India: Art Imitates Life (Vinay Bharat-Ram) [9] Audio: India - M.F. Husain in the Center of India Art Controversy (Philip Reeves) [10] Press Statement by All India Secular Forum [11] Announcements: (i) Launch of Muktnaad: Youth Aman Karwan (Ahmedabad, 5 June 2007) (ii) The Peaceworks human rights defenders programme (Calcutta, 18-26 June 2007)
____ [1] National Peace Council of Sri Lanka 12/14 Purana Vihara Road Colombo 6 Tel: 2818344, 2854127, 2819064 Tel/Fax:2819064 E Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Internet: www.peace-srilanka.org 30.05.07 Media Release HALT RECKLESS ATTACKS THAT VICTIMISE CIVILIANS AND NEGOTIATE RESPONSIBLY A continuous worsening of the human security of the people accompanies the escalation of military operations between the government and LTTE. Some of the more serious incidents in recent weeks have included the closure of the entry points into the LTTE controlled Wanni area, bomb blasts that have killed civilians in Colombo, and the continuous assassinations, abductions and child recruitments. The National Peace Council condemns the recent attack by the LTTE on a security force bus ina crowded suburb of Colombo on the main road during rush hour. The remote-controlled claymore mine killed eight persons, seven of them civilians, and has severely injured more than thirty others, most of them civilians. This attack is in a long line of similar attacks by both the government and LTTE that have victimised civilians in the north and east, and also in Colombo. In particular, the reckless use of bombs, whether by land or air, that ostensibly have a military objective but which terrorise the civilian population is an unacceptable means of combat. Such actions are not in keeping with the goals of democracy, liberation and equal rights that the protagonists to Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict claim to uphold. In the Wanni, the firing at the checkpoint of the International Committee of the Red Cross last week has led to the closure of the entry point into the LTTE-controlled territory at Omanthai. There is the likelihood of a humanitarian crisis developing in those areas, as food and other essential supplies will not be able to get through to the people. LTTE fighters and government security forces are destroying the country's infrastructure with their bombs and artillery, and billions are spent on more and more hi tech weaponry. While the country's economy gets drained, those who benefit are the foreign arms manufacturing companies and their commission agents. Ironically, the government and LTTE both claim with words that they are prepared to negotiate with one another. The National Peace Council demands that they show with deeds what they claim with their words. Being consistent in word and deed, thereby generating trust, being prepared to share power and privileges with others, and valuing life as the supreme value above all others, is the road to peace that needs to be taken. Executive Director On behalf of the Governing Council ______ [2] REJECT THE APPEAL FOR ASYLUM OF MOHIUDDIN IN CANADA May 30, 2007 Ms. Dinae Finley Honourable Minister of Immigration Subject: Reject the Appeal for Asylum of convicted self-confessed killer Dear Minister, We have come to know from a report of the Toronto Star (May 30, 2007) that the government of Canada is considering giving Asylum to a (once self-confessed) person by the name of Major (Retd.) Mohiuddin, a citizen of Bangladesh. In 1975 Mr. Mohiuddin, in cold blood, participated in the brutal killings of Bangabandhu (means 'friend of his people') Sheikh Mujubur Rahman, the then President and founding father of the Republic of Bangladesh including most of his family members, the children and the unborn. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was not only a great statesman, a few years ago he was adjudged the greatest Bengali (in both Bangladesh and India) ever born by a survey by BBC radio. Trial of this heinous crime started in 1997 and it took two years in open court with full legal help on the part of the convicts and Mr. Mohiuddin was awarded death sentence, along with a dozen of his co-accomplices, in absentia since Mohiuddin was absconding. The case automatically went to the High court for review and the lower court verdict was upheld. The appellate division of the Supreme Court has yet to hear the appeal and the sentence could be carried out only if the Supreme Court upholds the verdict. If Mohiuddin is sent to Bangladesh, he will still have the opportunity to appeal and as such he is not going to gallows automatically. All along, the higher judiciary in Bangladesh has absolutely been independent and the government of the day is no friend of Sheikh Hasina, the former PM and one of the two surviving daughters (who has been on Germany on the fateful night) of Mohiuddin's victims. Canada is country where rule of law reins over the rule of tyranny; it is believed to be a safe haven for those struggling for upholding human rights and the right to life. It must not be transformed into a den for any convicted killer who has taken away the right of his fellow human souls' right to lives, in cold blood. As a proud Canadian citizen and the convener of a Human Right group whose members are relentlessly working to uphold human rights around the Globe and Bangladesh in particular, I fervently appeal to the Minister to reject the appeal of Asylum of Mr. Mohiuddin outright, reemphasizing once again in clear term that the Canadian Society has no room for convicted killers and the cold blooded murderers. Sincerely, Prof. Mozammel H. Khan, Ph. D., P. Eng. Convener Canadian Committee for Human Rights and Democracy in Bangladesh ______ [3] The Committee to Protect Journalists www.cpj.org AMID GROWING POLITICAL DISSENT, PAKISTAN AIMS TO CURTAIL LIVE TV COVERAGE New York, June 1, 2007-The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about reports that the Pakistani government will seek to restrict live television broadcasts of anti-government demonstrations. The reports, from several local news outlets and sources, come as news outlets face increasing official pressure for covering the street demonstrations sparked by President Pervez Musharraf's ouster of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. The judge is seeking reinstatement after being removed March 9 on allegations of misconduct. After a live national television broadcast of a Bar Association seminar on the issue, during which the audience chanted anti-army slogans, Musharraf and Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani both made critical remarks about the event and called for Pakistanis to respect the military. On Thursday, Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani told a press conference that existing regulations covering live broadcasts will be strictly enforced. The Nation on Friday quoted Durrani as saying that private TV channels must seek prior permission to cover sensitive live events and that Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority rules prohibit the broadcast of programs "against the armed forces and judiciary." The Dawn daily, citing unnamed Information Ministry officials, reported Friday that the government "was planning to make it mandatory for televisions channels to seek prior permission for live coverage of outdoor events." The newspaper said that "if applied strictly, the government may restrict all live coverage, particularly of events like opposition rallies or events relating to the judicial crisis." "Restricting live outside broadcasts is blatant censorship that undermines the government's repeated claims of fostering a free press," said Joel Simon, CPJ's executive director. "Such censorship, coupled with the threats and violence directed toward journalists in recent months has put Pakistani media under tremendous pressure at a time when the country most needs a free and unfettered press." In a statement issued Friday, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) "deplored the government decision to impose a ban on live coverage by private TV channels in violation of Article 19 of the constitution." The PFUJ said it will challenge the rulings in court. In an April 24 letter, CPJ called on Musharraf to "to reverse the government's recent anti-press actions and allow for greater public criticism of your administration in the media." In May, CPJ named Pakistan one of the world's worst backsliders on press freedom after documenting a series of anti-media incidents in 2007. ______ [4] Himal South Asian June 2008 SOUTHASIAN MEA CULPA Self-criticism came more readily to our forebears. by Jawed Naqvi Introspection and self-absorbed bigotry have traditionally walked hand-in-hand in Southasia. Megalomaniac rulers, the leech-like priestly classes and their bete noire, the serenely divine dervishes representing the hoi polloi, have coexisted for centuries. Jawaharlal Nehru himself quoted Alberuni, the 10th-century Afghan chronicler, to support this lacerating critique of the Subcontinent. For India's sciences, languages and its architectural splendour, Alberuni had unalloyed praise. About its people, though, he said: "They are haughty, foolishly vain, self-contained and stolid. They believe there is no country like theirs, no nation like theirs, no science like theirs, no religion like theirs." How did Nehru respond to such criticism, centuries later? In the Discovery of India, he describes Alberuni's views as "probably a correct enough description of the temper of the people". Alberuni was relentless in his scrutiny of India's cultural demeanour, which he thought was not too dissimilar at times to any frog in the well. "According to their belief", Alberuni wrote, there is no race on earth like theirs, and no created being besides them have any knowledge or science like theirs whatsoever. Their haughtiness is such that if you tell them of any science or scholar in Khorasan or Persia, they will think you to be either an ignoramus or a liar. If, however, they had travelled and mixed with other nations, they would soon change their mind, for their ancestors were not as narrow-minded as the present generation is. It took a large-hearted intellectual of Nehru's stature to understand and accept this devastating commentary on historical India and its ruling elites. A 'foreigner' such as Alberuni should not, of course, be readily accepted as a stand-alone source of such a harsh evaluation of a people. Let us therefore turn to the home-grown Bhakti movement, in medieval India. Straddling the entire diversity of the Subcontinent, where it spread to the remotest of corners, the movement threw up an amazingly critical worldview. And among its foremost objectives was a square challenge of what the dervish-like Bhakti preachers considered to be an incorrigible moral decay. If we were to call a Hindu a 'rogue' in India today, we would risk starting a communal flare-up. Similarly, neither would it be politically wise to call a Muslim a 'pervert'. But 500 years ago, the saint-poet Kabir was delivering these rebukes to both communities in equal measure, through popular poetry. "The Hindu doesn't let you touch his pots and pans over claims of possible contamination, but you would often find him prostate at the prostitute's feet," he declared. "Muslims marry their cousins, eat dead animals and scream atop their fragile mosques as though God were deaf." Far from being harassed or hounded by his powerful pre-Mughal quarries, Kabir set off a bizarre competition between Hindus and Muslims - both of whom he berated roundly - as each clamoured to claim his legacy. The seer would be lucky today not to be lynched by those he dared to address so acidly five centuries ago. Kabir lived not far from the sacred ghats of the Ganga in Benaras, where religious zealots recently hounded out the film crew of a movie about Hindu widows. That movie, Water, had later to be shot in Sri Lanka, and was subsequently widely lauded. India allergy Religious and nationalist fervour share a common characteristic: their followers believe that theirs is the best. There is great irony in this regard contained in a moving poem by Allama Iqbal, one which India later chose to accord the status of a national song. In the 1930s, Iqbal wrote: "Saare jahaan se achha Hindustan hamara" (Our Hindustan is better than any other nation in the world). Now, if you were to take a fleeting poetic thought such as this to heart, hitch it to a newfound nuclear prowess, and you happen to be surrounded by countries who fear your overbearing narcissism, you would spell trouble for both yourself and those neighbours you seek to befriend. This is more or less how SAARC - the brainchild of Gen Ziaur Rahman - was born in 1985. "To tell you frankly, we were all a little allergic to India, so we decided to engage it collectively," explained General Hossain Mohammed Ershad, who hosted the first summit in Dhaka. (Ershad made these remarks in a televised discussion with this writer in 1997.) India's army had helped to liberate Bangladesh from a sectarian, Punjabi-dominated West Pakistan. And yet, Dhaka chose to turn against its former 'benefactors' in New Delhi. Was there something wrong with India's body language towards Bangladesh following the brief honeymoon period in 1971-72, that such tension should arise between India and Bangladesh that today you can cut with a knife? It seems so, but the problem has never been publicly or truthfully discussed. Is Bangladesh an ungrateful neighbour? Perhaps both sides could use a little self-criticism? But let us not pick on any one country. Instead, let us discuss all the SAARC member states, and their chemistry with each other. There are admittedly ethnic tensions between Bhutan and Nepal related to the refugee matter. There may also be some small issues pertaining to a trade corridor between Nepal and Bangladesh. But that is about it. There is no foul chemistry between these countries, much less any suspicion of an imminent military assault. So why is it that India has been viewed with such disfavour by its neighbours? Take India's helping hand to Sri Lanka. In the 1970s, it had militarily bailed out Sirimavo Bandaranaike's Sinhalese-dominated government in the face of a Marxist revolt. It also gave moral and political support - including alleged military training - to Sri Lanka's Tamil minorities. And yet, Rajiv Gandhi was butted by a miffed Sinhalese soldier at an official guard of honour in Colombo, before being killed by a Sri Lankan Tamil woman near Madras some years later. It was all extremely tragic, but how do we explain this bristling rage from the very people one had tried to help? Or, take India's ties with landlocked Nepal. The one lasting memory among the people there - despite India being the artery, a veritable lifeline to Kathmandu - is the image of the crippling economic blockade that New Delhi imposed on its northern neighbour in 1989. Some Nepali analysts acknowledge the culpability of the royal palace in forcing India's hand, but the lasting rancour in Kathmandu is palpably anti-Indian. Why? Was there introspection, much less any self-criticism, by either India or Nepal over this easily avoidable standoff? If there was, we have not heard of it. A country such as Bhutan, supposed to be umbilically linked with India's political and diplomatic postures, finds itself occasionally strained by the bear hug. The tiny Maldives, whose government the Indian Navy saved from a certain coup in 1988, does not exactly seem to reciprocate the enthusiasm with which India seeks its welfare. About India-Pakistan ties, the less said the better. Each side bears such enormous and deep-rooted grudges against the other that we should count ourselves truly lucky that the nuclear-armed neighbours are currently at least talking. Far from making an objective and critical self-evaluation of their poor bilateral relations, the rhetoric from India and Pakistan has been marked by double standards. For example, Pakistan has often slammed Indian-sponsored elections in Jammu & Kashmir as 'fake', but has not considered making room for a credible civilian democracy in its own wider patch. Another example is worth recalling. India held up the last Kathmandu SAARC Summit because it disapproved of a military coup against Nawaz Sharif by General Pervez Musharraf. But India seemed to have forgotten that the first host of the SAARC summit, Gen Ershad, was himself a military dictator with blood on his hands. And who was the Pakistani leader at that summit shaking hands with Rajiv Gandhi? General Zia ul-Haq, of course, the guru of all coup leaders! Meaningless jingoisms It was Imtiaz Alam, the Pakistani founder and secretary-general of the South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA, a promising platform for Southasian media until it began carting dubious politicians around for powwows at fancy holiday resorts), who once hit the nail directly on the head. A few days after India and Pakistan exploded their bombs in May 1998, Alam visited Delhi for a discussion with the Indian media on the road ahead. His observations at the end of the conference were withering: "We are here ready to concede that Pakistan has done horrible things in Jammu & Kashmir. We have fomented terrorism there. But we want the Indians also to say 'mea culpa'. But all we hear from them is, 'Yes, you are right, Pakistan has done a lot of harm to us!'" Clearly, the media in Southasia has, for the most part, followed rather than challenged the accusatory stance of its jingoistic political leaderships. We refer derisively to American and British journalists in Iraq as the 'embedded media', but do we ever look at our own culpability in this regard? Continually and truthfully doing so could, little by little, work to bring about a revolutionary change - perhaps with regards to what Alberuni and Kabir found missing in our spirits. ______ [5] Pakistan: Judicial Crisis and the Future of Democratic Reform Date: May 29, 2007 Time: 12:00 noon - 1:15 p.m. Speaker(s): Najam Sethi Editor, Pakistan Weekly, "The Friday Times" Shuja Nawaz Pakistani journalist, completing the book, Crossed Swords: Pakistan and Its Army, for Oxford University Press Hassan Abbas Research Fellow, Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and Author of Pakistan's Drift into Extremism: Allah, the Army and America's War on Terror Host(s): Lisa Curtis Senior Research Fellow, Asian Studies Center, The Heritage Foundation Details: Location: The Heritage Foundation's Lehrman Auditorium VIEW EVENT: http://multimedia.heritage.org/content/wm/Lehrman-052907a.wvx ______ [6] [ the original and unedited text of the Affidavit of the 'non-functioning' Chief Justice of Pakistan] IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN (Original Jurisdiction) In Re: Constitutional Original Petition No: ___21___ /2007 Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Chief Justice House, Islamabad ------------------------------------------------------------------ Petitioner VERSUS The President of Pakistan, The Referring Authority, Presidency, Islamabad. AND OTHERS ------------------------------------------------------------- Respondents AFFIDAVIT OF THE PETITIONER, MR. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Chief Justice of Pakistan, I, Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, The Chief Justice of Pakistan (hereinafter referred to as the "deponent") do hereby solemnly affirm and state on oath as follows: That the deponent has filed the titled petition in this Hon'ble Court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973, inter alia, assailing the Reference No.43/2007 dated March 09, 2007; Notification No. F.1 (2)/2005.A.II dated 09-03-2007, whereby the deponent was illegally and unlawfully restrained to perform his constitutional functions as a judge of this Hon'ble Court and as Chief Justice of Pakistan; Order dated March 09, 2007 passed by the Supreme Judicial Council; Notification No.F.1(2)2005.A.II dated 15-03-2007 whereby the deponent was sent on compulsory leave with retrospective effect and the constitution and competence of the Supreme Judicial Council as well as the mode and manner of the proceedings before the Council. 2. This affidavit is being filed in support of the contentions, assertions and pleas raised in the above titled petition. The deponent verifies that the contents of the titled affidavit are true and correct to the best of his knowledge, information and belief and nothing has been concealed. In addition to the facts narrated in the titled petition; the deponent states that: A. On March 09, 2007, the deponent headed Bench No.1 of this Hon'ble Court as Chief Justice of Pakistan and heard several cases till about 10.30am. The Bench rose briefly and had to reassemble for the day except the deponent who left for the Army House, Rawalpindi to meet the President of Pakistan (hereinafter referred to as "Respondent") B. The deponent arrived at Army House, Rawalpindi at about 11-30am along with his staff/protocol staff. The deponent was shown to a waiting room/visitors room. After five minutes of his arrival, the Respondent, wearing his Military Uniform came into the room along with his MS and ADC. As soon as the Respondent took his seat, a number of TV cameramen and photographers were also ushered into the room. They took several pictures and made movie footage. C. While discussing the SAARC Law Conference, SAARC Chief Justices Conference and the concluding session of the Golden Jubilee ceremony of the Supreme Court, the Respondent said that a compliant against the deponent had been received by him (Respondent) from a Judge of the Peshawar High Court. The deponent replied that it was not based on true facts as his case had been decided by a two member bench and that attempts were being made to maliciously involve the other member of the Bench as well. On this the Respondent said that there are a few more complaints against the deponent as well. After saying so, he directed his staff to call the other persons. D. On the direction of the Respondent, the 'other persons' entered the room. They included the Prime Minster, DG MI, DG ISI, DG IB, COS and another official. All officials (except DG, IB and COS) were in uniform. E. The Respondent started reading from small pieces of paper with notes on them which he had in his hand. There was no single consolidated document. The allegations which were being put to the deponent had been taken from the contents of a notorious letter written by Mr. Naeem Bukhari with absolutely no substance in them. The deponent strongly refuted these allegations as being baseless and engineered to defame him personally and the judiciary as a whole. The deponent promptly denied the veracity and credibility of these allegations as well. F. On this the Respondent said that the deponent had obtained cars from the Supreme Court for his family. The allegation was vehemently denied by the deponent. The Respondent went on to say that the deponent was being driven in a Mercedes, to which the deponent promptly replied 'here is the Prime Minister, ask him, he has sent the Car himself'. The PM did not reply to this answer even by gesture. Surprisingly the Respondent went on to say that the deponent had interfered in the affairs of Lahore High Court and had not accepted and taken heed of most of the recommendations of the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court. G. The Respondent insisted that the deponent should resign. The Respondent also said that in case of deponent's resignation, he (the Respondent) would 'accommodate' him (the deponent). He also said in case of refusal to resign, the deponent will have to face the reference which could be a bigger embarrassment for the deponent. The deponent finally and more resolutely said 'I wouldn't resign and would face any reference since I am innocent; I have not violated any code of conduct or any law, rule or regulation; I believe that I am myself the guardian of law. I strongly believe in God who will help me'. This ignited the fury of the Respondent; he stood up angrily and left the room along with his MS, COS and the Prime Minister of Pakistan, saying that others would show evidence to the deponent. (This has now been admitted by the Respondent in his interview given to AAJ TV). The meeting continued for not more than 30 minutes. H. The DG MI, DG ISI and DG IB remained behind and continued to sit with the deponent. They did not show the deponent a single piece of evidence. In fact, no official except DG ISI had some documents with him but he also did not show any thing to the deponent. They, however, said that the deponent had secured a seat for his son in Bolan Medical College when the deponent was serving as a Judge of Balochistan High Court. They (except DG, IB) insisted that deponent resign while the deponent continued to assert strongly that the allegations were baseless and for a collateral purpose. I. During the subsequent hours, the deponent was forced to stay in that room. Sometimes, all the persons would leave the deponent alone in that room but would not allow the deponent to leave it. It was obvious that the deponent was being watched by a close circuit camera because whenever he tried to open the door to go out, he was confronted by an officer who prevented the exit of the deponent; several times the deponent expressed the desire to leave but was told by military officials to stay/wait. Once the deponent was even told that respondent would be seeing him again. At one point, the deponent requested that at least his staff/protocol officer be called inside the room as the deponent wanted to talk to him but was told that he could not come inside. The deponent then requested that his staff/protocol officer be told to pass on the message to the deponent's family that he was at Army House, Rawalpindi and that his programme to go to Lahore had been cancelled. J. Despite several attempts to leave the room and the Army House, the deponent was made to stay there on one pretext or the other. His request to bring his car to the porch for departure was also denied. After the first meeting with the Respondent which lasted for not more than 30 minutes, the deponent was kept there 'absolutely against his will' till past 5pm. K. After 5pm, DG MI came in again and told the deponent that his car was outside to drive him 'home'. DG, MI came out of the room and once outside told the deponent, 'this is a bad day, now you are taking a separate way and you are informed that you have been "restrained to work as a judge of the Supreme Court or Chief Justice of Pakistan''. L. When the deponent saw the car of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, he discovered that his car had been stripped of both the flag of Pakistan and the emblem flag. The staff officer of the deponent informed him that Mr. Justice Javed Iqbal had taken oath as Acting Chief Justice and it had been shown on TV. The driver also informed the deponent that he had been instructed not to take the deponent to the Supreme Court while on way to the residence of the deponent. M. While on the way, the deponent directed the driver to go to Supreme Court but an Army official prevented the deponent's car near the Sports Complex from proceeding further. In the meanwhile, Mr. Tariq Masood Yasin, SP, also appeared; He ordered the driver to come out of car so that he could drive the deponent and also asked the deponent's gunman to come out of the car as well. The deponent said 'okay, I will not go to the Supreme Court but my driver will drive my car and my gunman will escort me home'. Only then, did Mr. Tariq Masood Yasin, SP agree to let the car be driven by deponent's driver. N. The deponent got home at about 5.45pm and was shocked to see police officials and agencies personnel without uniform all over his residence. The deponent also discovered that landline phones had already been disconnected; Cell Phones, TV, Cables and DSL had been jammed or disconnected. The deponent and his family were completely cut off for several days from the outside world. O. By 9pm, March 09, 2007, the vehicles which were in official use of the deponent including a Mercedes had been taken away by means of a lifter. Latter on, the same night, one vehicle was brought back but the key was not handed over to the deponent or someone on his behalf. P. On March 10, 2007, the deponent received a 'Notice' from Supreme Judicial Council ("Council") whereby the deponent came to know that a Reference (No.43/2007) had been filed by the Respondent before the Council. There was also a copy of the Order passed by the Council whereby deponent had been restrained to function as a Judge of the Supreme Court and or Chief Justice of Pakistan. The copy of the aforesaid Reference had also been appended with the Notice with without any annexure or supporting documents for perusal of the deponent. Q. It was also surprising for the deponent to note that the aforesaid reference came up for hearing on March 9, 2007 after 6pm in indecent haste. Two members of the Council as was evident from news published in daily Nawa-i-Waqt dated March 10, 2007, had been flown to Islamabad in special flights, from Lahore and Karachi simply to participate in a meeting of the Council. In fact, no meeting had been called by the Secretary of the Council namely Mr. Faqir Hussain. No one had issued either agenda for the meeting or notice thereof. R. The Council, rather than merely scrutinizing the material, if at all and serving notice on the deponent (without prejudice to the rights and interest of the deponent as averred in the titled petition), went ahead and passed an order very detrimental to the interests of the deponent as well as the interests of the institution. The deponent was restrained to perform his functions as a Judge of the Supreme Court Judge and or Chief Justice of Pakistan. S. The deponent further states that he had been detained along with his family members including his infant child of seven years from the evening of March 9, 2007 till March 13, 2007. The personal and private life of the deponent and his family suffered a great shock and the concept of privacy appeared as if it was an impotent word. The deponent could not use any vehicle since there was none. The deponent had to walk till the other end of the road when the police officer confronted him and manhandled him as has now been established by a judicial enquiry. T. The Supreme Court staff attached to the deponent was reportedly missing and had been kept at an unknown place. An attempt was being made to fabricate the evidence through them by coercive means against the deponent. Even other employees working at the residence of the Deponent were taken and made to appear before some agency officials. They were released after 2/3 days. The grocery man was not allowed to go to collect grocery; he was made to wait till an agency official accompanied him to the market and back. U. The chamber of the deponent was sealed and certain files laying therein were removed and some of them had been handed over to the ISI under the supervision of the newly appointed Registrar. Such an act was contrary to all norms and practices of judiciary. The deponent being the CJP was entitled to occupy his chamber along with his staff. V. On account of deployment of heavy contingents, no one was allowed to meet the deponent freely, in as much as his colleagues were not allowed access to meet him. Even a retired judge of this Hon'ble Court Mr Justice (R) Munir A Sheikh was not allowed to meet the deponent. W. The deponent was not all alone to suffer this agony. Even his children were not allowed to go to school, college and university. The deponent and his family members were deprived of basic amenities of life, i.e. medicines and Doctors, etc. X. Even when ordered by the Council, the deponent was deprived of the assistance of his counsels to seek legal assistance regarding legal and factual issues involved in the reference. The deponent and his family have been made to go through a lot of mental, physical and emotional agony, torture and embarrassment and words could never be enough to properly and adequately express that. Y. All these tactics were used to put pressure on the deponent so that he may tender his resignation from the office of the Chief Justice of Pakistan. But after March 13, 2007 when the deponent succeeded in establishing at least some contact with his lawyers team during a brief appearance before the Council and after March 16, 2007, the on going pressure to 'resign the office' was released to some extent. Z. The deponent now believes that his entire house has been bugged and at the Sindh House which is located right opposite the residence of the deponent, the officials of the agencies other than police have established a place therein to keep an eye on those who come and visit me, etc. AA. On account of the facts stated hereinabove, the children of the deponents are so scared that they could not go to school or university. As a result thereof, one of my daughters failed to appear in her exams (1st year, Federal Board) whereas my other daughter who is a student of Bahria university is not being allowed to take her examination (1st semester) due to lack of attendance in internal studies. My younger son is also not in a position to attend his school because of circumstances through which I am passing. Deponent Verification: Verified on oath this ___29____day of __May__2007 at Islamabad that the contents of the above affidavit are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, belief and information and nothing has been concealed therein from this Hon'ble Court. Deponent ______ [7] Hindustan Times 13 June, 2007 COUNTERFEIT ENCOUNTERS AND THE 'NATION' by Harsh Mander The current wave of outrage in the country over the horrific murders by the men in khaki in Gujarat is likely to be transient, a passing squall. The dust that it raises will rapidly settle, and we will forget, in the same way as we have expelled from memory so many similar inequities of the recent past: the women who stripped themselves naked in anguish in Manipur to protest the violations of security forces, the staged killings of innocents as militants in Kashmir, the mass cremations of thousands of young men who were abducted by the police and later dubbed Khalistani extremists in Punjab in the troubled eighties, counterfeit encounter killings of alleged Naxalite sympathisers in backwaters of rural ferment and oppression for decades in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Chatisgarh, and bogus encounters of alleged terrorists in the country's capital, to name just a few. Even less do we even register the routine killings of the poorest tribals or dalits after torture and extortion in rural police outposts, or numerous judicial commissions of enquiry that testify to the open participation of men in uniform in the slaughter of minorities in communal riots. The Central Bureau of Investigation, in 1996, submitted a report to the Supreme Court that established that in just three crematoria of Amritsar, as many as 2097 illegal cremations were carried out by security forces between 1984 and 1995. An independent human rights investigation established that illegal disposal of bodies by security forces were not confined to three crematoria of Amritsar. Disappearances occurred in all districts of Punjab. In nearly 60 per cent of the cases, the persons who 'disappeared' was subsequently reported to have died in police 'encounters'. The victims included doctors, lawyers, journalists, students, businessmen, even government civil and police employees. In over 25 per cent if the cases, the police not only took away the victim; it also destroyed, damaged or confiscated family property. In an equal number, police abducted and killed more than one member of the same family. The police routinely refused to inform the victims' families, and extorted money from them. The Supreme Court referred the matter to the National Human Rights Commission, and did nothing when the Commission took a minimalist interpretation of its ambit. After around ten years of tortuous proceedings, pursued resolutely by brave and devastated families of the victims and supported by dedicated human rights defenders like Indira Jaising, Ram Narayan Kumar and Ashok Agrawaal, the Commission refused in the end to hold any officer or agency accountable for the violations, and declined to investigate disappearances, extra-judicial executions, custodial deaths and illegal cremations throughout Punjab. In Andhra Pradesh, again for a decade, a committee of concerned citizens convened by SR Sankaran, have tirelessly pressed for the deployment of moral, democratic and legal instruments to try to stem the unending brutal spiral of violence that has seized many impoverished districts of Telengana. They observe that the State continues to portray the Naxalite movement as a law and order problem, and refuses to recognise it as an expression of people's aspirations to a life of dignity and equality. The State response remains violent, including physically liquidating hundreds, mainly youth, in encounters. The committee finds that these 'encounter killings are not isolated aberrations or unintended transgressions of law by individual police personnel' but is in fact a deliberate system response of the State to crush a complex societal problem through indiscriminate killings. It concludes that 'encounters introduce terror as a component of governance and erode its very democratic essence'. But there are few to heed these voices of humanity. In Gujarat, in response to a question from a member of the assembly, as many as 21 encounter killings by the state police were reported between 2003 and 2006. But the list submitted by the Gujarat government did not include the names of Sohrabuddin and Kauserbi, which is a grave breach of privilege. A deliberate murky cloud of official secrecy continues to cloud the numbers and circumstances of encounter deaths by the Gujarat State police. However, even this limited official report again raises disturbing questions. Six of those killed were already in police custody, and it is incredible that they could possess firearms in custody to warrant killing by the police in self defence. In one case, the police claim that two policemen fired six rounds to kill a man with a dummy revolver. In no case was there a post mortem, or the statutory magisterial enquiry. There are no materials to even subsequently justify the inference that they were terrorists or grave offenders. All these facts were brought to the notice of the Supreme Court in a petition earlier this year by BG Verghese and lawyer Nitya Ramakrishnan, but the court did not find enough basis to order an enquiry into the encounter killings. Each nation must strike a fine ethical and political balance between protecting its security and the rights of its people. In India, the choice of the executive, and even the judiciary, have tilted mostly in favour of permitting the uniformed forces to break the law of the land with impunity, even to kill, especially in times of perceived threats to national integrity - cheered along by most segments of the middle classes. Policemen themselves often claim that are motivated by a higher love for the nation. Many are, but not those who kill unarmed people in defiance of the law of the land. KPS Gill, who led the security forces in Punjab in the decisive 'bullet for bullet' bloody combat against militancy of the late 1980s, describes his forces as men who 'fight and die for India' and 'who risked their lives in defence of the State'. The disgraced Gujarat police officer Vanjara also fashions his encounter killings as 'deshbhakti' (patriotism), and claims that with his arrest, 'the battle lines are drawn', presumably in his war against the Muslim community, which is of course viciously demonised as terrorists implacably unfaithful to their motherland. LK Advani as the Union Home Minister in 2001 announced in Punjab that his government was 'contemplating steps to provide legal protection and relief to the personnel of the security forces facing prosecution for alleged excesses during anti-insurgency operations' in Punjab, Kashmir and the north-east. A faked killing is not an aberration of a few runaway miscreant police officers; it is an integral if shadowy element of the system itself, one in which the State eliminates people outside the process of the law, as an instrument to tame civic dissent. These bullets indeed crush with State terror and lawlessness, the weakest and most disenfranchised of our people, particularly if they are restive - religious and ethnic minorities, dalits and tribal people, agricultural workers and slum dwellers. These are the very people who are excluded from that 'nation' which the trigger-happy police forces claim to defend. We may forget and move on, but for those loved ones were felled by furtive bullets fired by agents of a democratic State that functions lawlessly, there will be no closure or healing. They may never have even seen the bodies of their loved ones, and the dead have no opportunity to defend their honour. It is only truth, however ugly, told with unflinching honesty, which would heal their unassuaged agony. For this to happen, the leaders, the courts and the people of this land need to stand tall on the side of justice. No State is genuinely secure of foundations of injustice. ______ [8] The Times of India 31 May, 2007 ART IMITATES LIFE by Vinay Bharat-Ram Why should I defend M F Husain? By doing so I am defending my own identity as an Indian and Hindu. The controversies raised by his detractors over his paintings being "obscene" are laughable. To make such a claim on the basis of Hindu sentiments is deeply offensive, not only to Hindus of this generation but also to our ancestors. I draw attention to Konark and Khajuraho, albeit with some trepidation. What if some misguided representatives of the sangh parivar or their ilk would set out to destroy these priceless heritage sites much in the same manner as the Taliban destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhas? The depiction of sensuality in modern works of art pales in comparison to the sculptural splendour of male and female poses depicted in both Konark and Khajuraho, the former being the temple of the Sun God and the latter built around the temples of Shiva, Lakshmana and other gods and goddesses. One of the universal symbols of Hindus is the Shivling positioned on Parvati's yoni, which has been the object of worship for centuries. There is perhaps no more explicit propitiation of a phallic symbol in any culture. If we go to the temple of Kamakhya, we would witness Hindus worshipping Parvati's genitals. Not only that, the red liquid that pours from the deity is applied on the foreheads of worshippers. We have the venerable Kamasutra which has for ages been regarded as a handbook of erotic pleasure. Husain has drawn criticism for his portrayal of Bharat Mata in the nude, never mind that the Goddess Kali is always shown without clothes. I would say that in this case obscenity lies in the eye of the beholder. I see her breasts as symbolic of nurturing the infants of the land and her fertility, that of populating Bharat with sons and daughters. Husain has celebrated Bharat Mata no differently than i would worship the Shivling as representing procreation. If we were to explore this theme further, we would come across explicit poetic descriptions of the love-making of Radha and Krishna in Jayadeva's Geet Govind, not to mention the long passages on foreplay. Likewise, one could quote endless romantic passages about Shiva and Parvati from Kalidasa's Kumara Sambhavam, as well as shlokas describing Goddess Saraswati's breasts. Our culture is ancient and arguably not without its blemishes such as the caste system and the once prevalent practice of sati. At another level, however, it has prided itself on its inclusiveness and plurality. Vedantic and Puranic beliefs, for example, do not converge; yet they coexist. There is no single revealed truth in the Vedas. In fact, they talk about a perpetual search for the truth. The Puranas, on the other hand, give us innumerable gods and goddesses to worship while they seldom connect with the Vedas. Together, they range from the worldly to the other-worldly without imposing any single body of beliefs. Our ancient tracts, in fact, also include treatises on atheism. Furthermore, as Amartya Sen says, India has had a long tradition of critical reasoning and public deliberation not only in science, mathematics and philosophy but also in various forms of artistic expression. Unsurprisingly, therefore, different religions flourished here and different art forms have found freedom of expression. It is sad, indeed, that 60 years after political independence we seem to be heading towards cultural bondage. We see Hindu culture being hijacked by a set of unlettered youth whose patron saints are some frustrated old men with their own political agendas. In the name of hurting Hindu sentiment, for example, somebody kicked up a row about Shilpa Shetty being kissed by Richard Gere. A highly regarded young artist at the fine arts faculty of M S University was imprisoned for having painted some objectionable pictures, which also led to the suspension of the head of the department. If we go back a little in time, Deepa Mehta's shooting of the film Water in Varanasi was abandoned because some hooligans, no doubt with state support, claimed that Hindu culture was being shown in a poor light. There were objections to a kissing scene in Dhoom-II, starring Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan, forgetting that in far more prudish times in the 1930s kissing in films was not found to be objectionable. The latest uproar over Vasundhara Raje Scindia, chief minister of Rajasthan, being portrayed as Goddess Annapurna in a poster which has ostensibly hurt Hindu sentiment. What about the thousands of Ramleelas every year in which ordinary people dress up as Lord Ram, Hanuman and Sita? The list of atrocities committed on society in the name of moral policing is a long one. It is ironical that it is all in the name of protecting Hindu culture. The truth is that we have acquiesced in the rape of our culture, allowing motivated forces to talk down to us about protecting Hindu values. How dare any group try to miniaturise a gloriously inclusive civilisation to fit its constrained mindset and then impose it on us with the use of muscle power? Let confrontation take the form of informed debate, as has been our tradition since the first millennium BCE. Is the Hindu Taliban too cowardly to choose that path? The writer is CMD, DCM Group. ______ [9] M.F. HUSAIN IN THE CENTER OF INDIA ART CONTROVERSY by Philip Reeves Broadcast on National Public Radio in the US on May 29, 2007. Interviews with Husain, Rajeev Dhavan, Ram Rahman, Parul Dave Mukherjee and Shubha Mudgal singing her protest, Anjolie Ela Menon speaking at the Delhi protest. Listen to the broadcast: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10438377 ______ [10] All India Secular Forum [2 June 2007] STATEMENT All India Secular Forum strongly condemns the action of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Margao, Goa, banning lecture organised by the Citizen's Initiative for Communal Harmony (CICH) in association with the Goan Ramnath Kare Law College in Margao on May 24 th 2007. The lecture was on "Communal Threats To Secular Democracy In India" by the General Secretary of All India Secular Forum Prof. Ram Puniyani and well known activist working for peace and communal harmony. The SDM acted upon a letter from one citizen Shivanand Karapurkar apprehending social tension in view of the lecture. The letter was also addressed to the Election Commission taking advantage of the forthcoming elections in Goa. The Chief Election Commissioner later admitted that the action of the SDM was wrong but refused to take any action against him. The SDM's action will only embolden the communal forces which do not have people's support but cleverly manipulate state machinery to subvert democratic rights of the people who had gathered to listen to the lecture. We laud the courage of the management of Kare Law College who, inspite of severe pressure from fundamentalist forces in Margao to cancel the lecture, opted to pursue the agenda of peace and harmony . The incident shows that the civil servants, including the police are either communalised or always take a path of least resistance, even if that be against the rule books and against the Constitutional Values. Our fragile democracy is vulnerable communal and fundamentalist forces and we require robust civil liberties movement to make such police officers and civil servants accountable to law. All India Secular Forum calls upon all the democratic forces to strongly condemn the curbs placed on the free speech at the instance of communal forces who swear in the name of the Constitution to be able to form the government and subvert the Constitutional values. All India Secular Forum also calls upon the people of Goa to defeat the communal and anti-democratic communal forces, viz. the Sangh Parivar. All India Secular Forum C/o. Centre for Study of Society and Secularism 602 & 603 Silver Star, Prabhat Colony Rd., Behind BEST Bus Depo, Santacruz (E), Mumbai: - 400 055. E-mail: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED] ______ [11] ANNOUNCEMENTS: (i) Dear Friends, We invite you to the flag off ceremony of Muktnaad: Youth Aman Karwan on June 5, 2007 at 11am Behavarioul Science Centre ( BSC) Xavier's College Campus, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad Exhibition and performance of Street Play: H...Sa Three Youth Aman Karwans will leave Ahmedabad on 5th afternoon and would travel across Gujarat covering all 25 districts doing close to 1000 performances over the the next three months. In all these 1000 locations they will hold discussions, debate on various issues,perform, screen films, put up exhibitions and also locate new young people to join the movement for restoring democracy . Please do join us. Shabnam Hashmi ANHAD Tel-25500844/ 25500772 PS:- This is an invitation to attend which is going to many media friends too, please donot file any stories . We request you to cover the actual flag off and write after you have seen the programme. ______ (ii) In The Rights Direction The Peaceworks human rights defenders programme A human rights workshop at SWAYAM, 9/2B Deodar Street, Calcutta-700019 conducted by human rights lawyers Oishik Sircar and Debolina Dutta. The PEACEWORKS Human Rights Development programme is an initiative to work with young people to train them and to create a collective of human rights defenders. It is a process of capacity building and sensitizing young volunteers through interactive workshops and films on gender, sexuality, globalization, and law, to enable them to understand with precision, conceptual issues concerning social justice. WORKSHOP FROM 18 JUNE TO 26 JUNE ELIGIBILITY: AGE 18 AND ABOVE REGISTRATION FEE: RS 1000 SEATS: 20 LAST DATE FOR REGISTRATION: 10 JUNE CONTACT: SEAGULL ARTS AND MEDIA RESOURCE CENTRE 36C, S.P. MUKHERJEE ROAD, CALCUTTA-700029 PHONE: 24556942/43 _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ Buzz for secularism, on the dangers of fundamentalism(s), on matters of peace and democratisation in South Asia. SACW is an independent & non-profit citizens wire service run since 1998 by South Asia Citizens Web: www.sacw.net/ SACW archive is available at: bridget.jatol.com/pipermail/sacw_insaf.net/ DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers. _______________________________________________ SACW mailing list SACW@insaf.net http://insaf.net/mailman/listinfo/sacw_insaf.net