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[1] From: face build <in_face2001@yahoo.co.in> Date: Wed Feb 28, 2007 Subject: Invitation Justice, Democracy, Freedom and rehabilitation: Last five years Five years have passed since the carnage in Gujarat in February-March 2002. Five years and we still wonder about the status of Muslims in Gujarat today. What is the status of the camps? Have the displaced Muslims found homes again? Were the guilty punished? What of the innumerable Muslims booked under POTA for suspected involvement in the blasts? What of the women who were subjected to sexual assault? Following the massacre in Gujarat there were discussions on the need for a communal violence bill; a number of reports including the report of the International Initiatives for Justice were published recommending laws against such pogroms. And yet, five years have passed and there has not been a single conviction of any of those who raped murdered and displaced thousands of Muslims. At the same time there are a number of Muslims still languishing in jails for their suspected involvement in the blasts. Zahera has been punished for being a pawn in the game of politics. Is it an exaggeration to say that in our country any crime by a Muslim is punished but any crime against a Muslim is not? With the passage of time Gujarat has become another memory along with many others, added to a list of riots and pogroms the country has had to deal with. What will prevent future Gujarat? What is the responsibility of civil society? Of the government? Are we safe from the nazi trend in politics of which Gujarat is an example? What is our accountability to the Muslims of Gujarat and of the country? To discuss this and issues of Muslims in Gujarat we invite you to a public meeting on 3rd March 2007 at 5:30 pm at Kitte Bhandari Sabhagruh, 18 Gokhale Road (North), Dadar (west),Mumbai 400028. Phone no: 24453779, 24460752 Do join us in the search for answers. The speakers who will address us have worked extensively on issues of communalism. They include Harsh Mander, Trupti Shah, Mihir Desai, Mukul Sinha and Javed Akhtar. Chayanika Shah will chair the meeting. In Solidarity Awaaz-e-Niswan, ----------- [2] From: Pradip Kumar Datta <pradip200@yahoo.com> Date: Wed Feb 28, 2007 Subject: Govt lies on 'Quattrocchi' -- Abraham Thomas http://www.dailypio neer.com/ indexn12. asp?main_ variable= front%5Fpage& file_name= story1%2Etxt& counter_img= 1 Govt lies on 'Quattrocchi' -- Abraham Thomas MHA document says India has extradition treaty with Argentina The rulebook of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1981 declares Argentina as a partner country with which India holds a valid extradition treaty. This disclosure nails the UPA Government's lie that India does not have an extradition treaty with Argentina, something which has been contested by the Opposition. On Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs took the same stand and again on Tuesday the Government's reply on the Quattrocchi episode in Parliament harped on the same inadequacy of provisions to extradite the fugitive Italian businessman. The CBI document could provide fresh ammunition to the Opposition and become a major source of embarrassment for the UPA Government and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The UPA Government has so far maintained that the 1962 Extradition Act does not specifically mention Argentina but the CBI document of 1981 clearly belies the claim. The document titled "International Criminal Police Organisation Interpol" issued by Interpol wing of the CBI in 1981 mentions Argentina as one of the countries with whom the pre-Independence extradition treaties continue to be in force according to Indian law. The document exposes another major lapse on the part of the CBI that could have prevented Quattrocchi' s bail. It suggests that the countries with whom valid extradition treaties exists, can request for provisional arrest of the fugitive till formal extradition proceedings are initiated. There is a provision for an Interpol radio network through which India could have placed a formal request to Argentina to ensure speedy arrest of the fugitive. The CBI will have to reply whether it adopted this course in the case of Quattrocchi after it first received intimation from Interpol about Quattrocchi' s detention on February 8. With a Red Corner Notice already pending against Quattrocchi, the job was meant to be smooth. The Government's claim of absence of an extradition treaty with Argentina is also disputed by other records. Late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, in his reply to a question raised in Parliament on March 16, 1956, mentioned Argentina as one of the states with which India holds a valid extradition agreement. In his list, containing 45 countries, Argentina is mentioned at serial number two. Another document titled, "Succession of States in respect of bilateral treaties", an extract from the Yearbook of International Law Commission 1970 recorded the 1956 reply of Pandit Nehru emphasising that the treaty with Argentina has been inherited by India as a successor state. In this backdrop, the Government may find it tough to satisfy the Opposition and the Supreme Court, which is hearing the case. The Supreme Court on Tuesday took cognisance of an application filed by advocate Ajay Agrawal seeking extradition of Quattrocchi by the CBI. The double speak of the Government in refusing to admit the treaty despite valid proof of its existence in Government records has attracted court's scrutiny. A Bench headed by Justice CK Thakker has asked the Government to respond on this issue in its affidavit to be filed within a week. The court is already seized of a separate application pertaining to the Centre's failure to disclose the arrest of Quattrocchi to the court on February 12, almost four days after it got confirmation of his arrest from the Argentinean authorities. The matter is expected to come up for hearing on March 7. Related articles below: http://www.dailypio neer.com/ indexn12. asp?main_ variable= front%5Fpage& file_name= story1%2Etxt& counter_img= 1 Govt's Q cover-up akin to account defreeze plot http://www.expressi ndia.com/ fullstory. php?newsid= 61838 'It's the Italian blood that mattered' http://in.rediff. com/news/ 2006/jan/ 18guesta. htm Bofors: What India does not know ------------- [3] From: Abhiyya 2006 <abhiyya@yahoo.com> Date: Wed Feb 28, 2007 Subject: Parzania “Besides missing persons such as Azhar, democracy and free speech are also missing in Gujarat” FILM Missing in Gujarat DIONNE BUNSHA "Parzania", a movie based on events relating to the communal pogrom, has been released throughout the country but not in Gujarat. DARA MODY has worked as a theatre projectionist in Ahmedabad for decades, but ironically, the only film he cannot screen is the one that tells his life story - Parzania. The movie has been released throughout the country but has been blacked out in Gujarat. Parzania tells the story of Rupa and Dara Mody, a Parsi couple who lost their son Azhar when a mob attacked their home in Gulbarg Society during Gujarat's communal pogrom of 2002. Azhar is one of the many who went "missing" in the gruesome attacks. His parents are still searching for him. The last frame of the movie shows a photograph of Azhar holding the Indian flag and carries an appeal: "Azhar has been missing since 28th February 2002. If anyone has seen him or has any information about him, please contact us." The Modys still hope that their son will return. "We are very sad that they are not releasing the film in Gujarat," said Dara Mody. "The film has only shown reality, that's all. What's wrong with that? If the Censor Board has cleared it, why not screen it?" Mody hopes that the film will move people to demand justice. "You cannot imagine how much we are still suffering. We hope that people will see it and promise not to do this again and put families like ours through so much pain. People who watch the movie will demand that there is justice and the criminals should be punished," he said. PICTURES BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Stills from "Parzania". (Inset) Azhar Mody, who has been missing since February 28, 2002. The film is also a portrait, on a larger level, of the trauma that people are suffering years after the carnage, the silent, unspoken violence against people who are marginalised by the powerful. This terror continues in Gujarat - the police refuse to register cases, powerful forces intimidate witnesses, fear creates rifts among people, justice is subverted, and the truth is suppressed. It is not surprising that Parzania is not screened in the one place where it is most relevant - Gujarat. Theatre owners are scared to screen the film. In the past too, films such as Fanaa and Rang De Basanti were banned because Aamir Khan, the main actor in both films, took a position against the government on the Narmada dam issue. This displeased the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its supporters in the Sangh Parivar. They called Khan an "enemy of Gujarat", and the Bajrang Dal threatened violence if any theatre dared to screen his films. Parzania is a realistic film, and there is a great risk that it may displease the ruling powers. Gujarat's film exhibitors prefer to be safe rather than sorry. "This film is about a communal issue, and there has been a lot of media publicity so we will have to think before screening it," a nervous Manubhai Patel, from the Gujarat Multiplex Owners Association, told Frontline. "We have heard that the film has shown how the lower community has suffered at the hands of the higher community, so we decided to let it screen in the rest of India and then we will decide." Without even seeing the film, Manubhai and other exhibitors decided they would not screen it since Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi had threatened violence. "Initially, the cinema owners didn't give any clear reasons why it is not being screened in Gujarat. There was just silence," says Rahul Dholakia, director of Parzania, who is also distributing the film. "Later, they insisted on a joint meeting with Bajrangi and asked me to get his approval. Why should I ask his permission? Who is he to decide? I have assured the exhibitors that I will arrange for police protection. If they are worried that the police may not be able to protect them, I am willing to provide them with private security." The theatre owners do not even trust the police to protect them - a telling comment on the current situation in Gujarat. Rahul Dholakia, The movie's director. Babu Bajrangi is one of the main accused in the Naroda Patiya massacre in Ahmedabad in which more than 100 people were killed. He continues his reign of terror by kidnapping girls, more than 700 to date, from the Patel community who marry outside their caste (Frontline, December 29, 2006, "A serial kidnapper and his `mission'"). When contacted by Frontline, Bajrangi said: "The theatre owners will see the film and decide whether to screen. Let's see it and if it is bad, we will stop it." "A State wanting to project itself as a place that welcomes free enterprise should not give the impression that it is encouraging lawlessness and intolerance," said Rohit Prajapati from the People's Union for Civil Liberties, Vadodara. "Instead of tacitly supporting the unlawful `ban', the Gujarat government should encourage the screening of this film and ensure total protection to cinema owners, distributors and viewers. It should take stern legal action against those who have gone on record saying that they will not allow this film to be screened," he added. But, there is little faith in a police force that allowed the carnage of 2002. The police let the mobs take over, and when victims pleaded for help, the response was: "We have no orders to save you." Those who orchestrated the attacks are still free and are powerful political leaders. Many continue their reign of terror. Even Patel businessmen like Manubhai are frightened. Gujarat's recent history is one of intolerance. Any dissent is squelched. "It's not just those questioning the Narmada dam or asking for justice after communal violence, fascist forces will attack anyone they don't agree with and get away with it," says Prajapati. "There is an atmosphere of intolerance. And it affects everyone in the State, even those within the ruling party who disagree." With State elections scheduled this year, Chief Minister Narendra Modi is trying to push the `Vibrant Gujarat' propaganda to deflect attention from the real issues facing Gujarat - water shortage, pollution and growing unemployment. To woo investors and please the large Gujarati non-resident Indian community, Modi has also tried to patch up with the United States after he was denied a visa a few years ago. In this atmosphere of denial, Parzania is an apt reminder that the ghosts of 2002 still haunt Gujarat and will not be exorcised as long as the perpetrators of the carnage remain in power. Five years after the massacres, fear and intimidation still overshadow Gujarat. Besides missing persons such as Azhar, democracy and free speech are also missing in Gujarat. http://www.frontlineonnet.com/stories/20070309001608200.htm With Regards Abi ------------- [4] From: Arif Khan <ank2000pk@yahoo.com> Date: Wed Feb 28, 2007 Subject: Re: [Pakistan Post] Killer kite festival battle for Pakistan's soul Removing the ban imposed by the Supreme court merely to show enlightened moderation took its toll. It is quite a heavy price and one of the gravest mistakes of the rulers. Fourteen people have been killed and more than 500 injured during an annual kite-flying festival in Lohore. The two-day festival of Basant marking the start of spring began this week with thousands of revellers perched on rooftops. Hundreds of shops and stalls across the city were selling kites while many multinational companies distributed free kites carrying their insignia. Police said more than 50 people had been detained for using metal kite strings or firing in the air. City police chief had warned Friday that police would take "stern action" against both offences. The ban imposed by the Supreme court should not be lifted again as the local administration and police are quite incapable to enforce law and irresponsible elements indulge in this deadly sport. Arif Khan . Hasan Essa <hasniessa@yahoo.com wrote: AFP/File - Tue Feb 27, 7:53 AM ET Pakistanis flying kites during a festival in Lahore. A spring kite festival in Pakistan has become the battleground between the forces of moderation and extremism after the deaths of 14 people including a child.(AFP/File/Arif Ali) Killer kite festival battle for Pakistan's soul AFP - Tue Feb 27, 7:53 AM ET Hasni Essa Peace & Pluralism ----------------- |
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| << February26, 2007 - [India Thinkers Net] Countercurrents update ,Walmart etc |
March03, 2007 - [India Thinkers Net]Space flight ,Widows & orphans ,fine for entering temple etc >> |
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