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[1] From: Sukla Sen <suklasen@yahoo.com> Date: Fri Aug 12, 2005 Subject: The Unresolved Mystery of the Attack on Indian Parliament Building Committee for Inquiry on December 135B Imperial Avenue, Delhi 110 007Phone: 27667209, 27666253, 9810169360PRESS RELEASE Within days of the terrorist attack on Parliament on 13th December 2001, the NDA government initiated a full scale mobilisation for war against Pakistan, saying that the terrorists were Pakistanis sponsored by the Pakistan Government. That mobilization brought us to the brink of a nuclear confrontation with Pakistan, cost the public exchequer almost 10,000 Crores, led to the death of about 800 soldiers, over a hundred children and the loss of livelihood of thousands of farmers living in the border areas.The only evidence of the identity of the terrorists was the alleged identification of them by Afzal to the police and his confessional statement. Afzal along with Shaukat, Afsan and Geelani had been arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi police, which claimed to have solved the case with remarkable speed. Afzal's confession along with Shaukat's had been obtained by the Special cell before their DCP, since under POTA confessions before police officers became admissible in evidence.The Supreme Court has however acquitted Geelani, Shaukat and Afsan of the charges of conspiracy blowing a gaping hole in the conspiracy story concocted by the Special Cell, which was faithfully reproduced by sections of the media again and again, even during the trial. The court has however convicted Shaukat of an entirely new charge of concealing knowledge of the conspiracy, though he was neither charged of this offence, nor was there any argument in court on this issue. The Court has also made unfortunate, unjustified and entirely uncalled for remarks against Geelani, that because he laughed in a conversation with his brother, he must have approved of the attacksAfzal has been convicted of conspiracy primarily on the basis of statements of police witnesses and seizures of materials from him shown by the police, which went unrebutted during trial, because Afzal was practically unrepresented in the trial. Be that as it may, the fact remains that the court has acquitted 3 of the 4 persons charged of conspiracy and has held that the manner and circumstances in which the confessions were obtained, makes them unreliable.However, it is only on the basis of these unreliable confessions that the then government immediately committed the country to a full scale war mobilisation against Pakistan with the possibility that it might have escalated to a nuclear war. The mobilisation was used by the NDA government for political purposes. POTA was immediatelyenacted, and anti-Pakistan as well as communal feelings were whipped up in the war hysteria which was drummed up taking advantage of the attack on Parliament. No attempt was made to properly identify the persons who attacked Parliament. Instead of a proper high level inquiry into such an enormous conspiracy which shook the foundations of the republic, the government of the day was content with the facile and self-serving story concocted by the Special Cell and based primarily on confessions extracted by the Cell in their own custody, when everyone knows how such confessions are extracted. With the confessions set aside, we do not know the identity of the militants, though the then Home Minster L. K. Advani said that they looked like Pakistanis!Moreover, Afzal, the only person found guilty by the Apex Court of conspiracy, is a surrendered militant, who was not only supposed to report regularly to the Special Task Force of J&K, but was also under their surveillance. How could such a person mastermind and execute such a complex conspiracy? And how could a terrorist organisation rely upon such a person as the principal link for their operation? On whose behest was he acting? Is there some credibility to his statement that both the leader of the attack, Mohammad, and that one of the masterminds in Kashmir, Tariq actually belonged to the Special Task Force? And what of the Press report from Thane (Times of India, Pune edition, 26 December 2001) that 4 terrorists including one Hamza (the same name as one of the terrorists killed in the parliament attacks, identified by Afzal) had been arrested by the Thane police in November 2000 and handed over to the J&K police for further investigation? Even after three judgements by the courts, these questions remain unanswered. It will be a travesty of justice to hang Afzal without ascertaining answers to these questions.In any case, it seems clear that there has at least been gross negligence on the part of someone in the Special Task Force for them to have been unaware of such a conspiracy planned under their noses by a surrendered militant, who was supposed to be under their surveillance. It is also clear that the Special Cell of Delhi police tried to frame at least three innocent persons. The High Court had found the investigating agency guilty of producing false arrest memos, doctoring telephone conversations and illegal confinement of people to force them to sign blank papers. It is also clear that false confessions were extracted by torture. All this, along with the serious questions that have been raised by reputed civil liberties organisations about the encounter killings carried out by this Special Cell, require that the methods of this rogue police cell, which functions as a law unto itself, be investigated and it be made accountable.These are grave and momentous issues for the future of our democracy. In these circumstances, it is necessary that there be a full scale and in depth Parliamentary inquiry into all these issues. The country must learn the truth behind the attacks. Those guilty of negligence, concoction of evidence etc. must be held accountable. And above all, those who almost took the country to war in such a reckless manner must be made accountable. (NIRMALA DESHPANDE)Chairperson -------------------------- [2] From: yogi sikand <ysikand@yahoo.com> Date: Fri Aug 12, 2005 Subject: Sultan Ibrahim: Muslim Charter for Indian Independence Day Independence Day Charter We, the undersigned, reflecting the concerns and aspirations of sixteen crores Muslim citizens of the country, issue the following Charter on the 58th Independence Day of India. We demand the government to strive to establish the Akhanda Bharat by reuniting the geography and populations that were divided off. A United India alone can bring peace, prosperity and harmony in the poverty ridden South Asia. The division of India had truncated the patriotic Muslim community of India who held on to their beloved land in spite of the violence unleashed on them by the Hindu communal fringe. The division of Indian Muslims has reduced us into a small minority and left us in perpetual torment and turned us into a new Panchama caste by the post-Independent political dispensation. We call for the reversal of the Partition that was inflicted to serve the interest of some feudal Muslim leaders and the Hindutwa elements. We call upon the government to treat the people of Kashmir as its full citizens and provide them development, employment, unqualified democracy and the right to assert human self dignity, and stop alienating them through State violence. We call upon the Muslims of Kashmir to isolate those who generate violence at the behest of foreign powers, and not ever to desert the Indian Muslims fraternity. The political order of the past 58 years has thrown Muslims, as a community, to the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid and to extreme disenfranchisement. As a means to rescue Muslims from this abyss, we urge the government to provide proportionate reservation for Muslims in all systems of governance and in the private sector. Multiculture as opposed to monoculture promotes excellence in governance as well as in industrial production. We urge the government to give up the habit of filling the judiciary with upper caste judges who take a consistently hostile position towards reservation for the under-represented communities and towards the poor in general. Don??™t attempt to mask the rainbow that is India. The government must stop the practice of setting up more police stations in Muslim areas than schools and colleges. We demand the setting up of 1000 new schools and 100 new colleges in Muslim majority areas during the term of this government. The government spending on education and health care must not be reduced to provide welfare for the corporate sector. Funding for education could also be sourced from the escalating defense budget. The nation cannot have a better weapon than educated citizens, especially Muslim citizens. We demand the immediate prosecution of all the anti-Indian tyrants who perpetrated the pogrom in Gujarat. A compensation of Rs 5 lakhs each should be provided to the victims??™ families immediately. We deplore UPA government, that came to power encashing the murder of Muslims in Gujarat, for its inaction on the genocide. We demand speedy action to provide justice to the victims of the anti-Muslim riots of Bhivandi, Moradabad, Maliana and Mumbai. That the criminals are not punished yet glaringly proves the mockery of the delivery system for justice that we have in place. We appeal to the Election Commission to de-recognise the BJP as a political party since it is not an independent party capable of making its own decisions but dictated by the fascist outfit RSS. Further, BJP has proven that it is not accountable to its membership but to RSS, an organisation run in a fascist manner with a doctrinal opposition to democracy and Indian constitution. We demand an unconditional apology from Mr Manmohan Singh for betraying our freedom struggle and insulting our martyrs by praising the British colonialists for their ruthless occupation and exploitation of our nation. We also demand that a suitable memorial be built in honour of Bahadur Shah Zafar, who was the only King appointed by the people of India and who was mercilessly exiled to Burma by the invading forces. We beg the Brahminical media, such as Indian Express, to give us a respite. As the most deprived section of the society we are unequally placed to fight you back. Allow us some time for some education and development and then you can resume your harangue. We renew our resolve on this Day to struggle for the creation of an India free from discrimination, obscene inequality, poverty, illiteracy, superstitions, caste hegemony and violence. Fareeda Rahman Al Nisa Collective Chennai Mohammed Bashir Pan India Muslim Forum Kozhikkode Sultan Ibrahim Shabab E Hind Chennai sultanofpeace@... For release on 15 August 2005 |
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