Planet Boundaries of Rockstrom et all

Kate Raworth is a Senior Researcher of Oxfam Great Britain. In a recent discussion paper she has proposed a metaphorical doughnut as a safe and just space for humanity to thrive (Full discussion paper can be downloaded here). ‘Can we live within the doughnut?’ Kate asks, presenting a visual framework – shaped like a doughnut – which brings the concept of planetary boundaries together with the complementary concept of social boundaries, creating a safe and just space between the two, in which humanity can thrive.

​Kate argues primarily from the perspective of social equity and the foreword of her discussion paper says, ‘Humanity’s challenge in the 21st century is to eradicate poverty and achieve a prosperity for all within the means of the planet’s limited natural resources. In the run-up to Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, this Discussion Paper is an exploration of what such a model of prosperity might look like.’ It also says, ‘Moving into this safe and just space demands far greater equity – within and between countries – in the use of natural resources, and far greater efficiency in transforming those resources to meet human needs.’

​In her hypothesis Kate was inspired by the Planetary Boundary framework by Rockstrom et all consisting of nine metrices, which she has adopted as an environmental ceiling and superimposed within it Social Boundaries consisting of eleven metrices leading to a visual framework in the form of a doughnut within which humanity, according to her, can and should live. Her blog post in Oxfam website is quite popular now and many are commenting to which Kate is answering generously.

​Kate’s hypothesis is elegant but risky in as much as it can lead to an over-simplification of a very complex problem. We are wary of politicians taking advantage of sensationalism in issues that should carry more scientific content than popular acceptance.

​It is seen in her blog that few commenters object to the topology of the metaphoric doughnut – despite dimensional inconsistencies, however, it’s a metaphor so need to be seen as one. What appears to be of more concern is that there are many cultures unfamiliar with a doughnut so may be a more culturally universal metaphor would have been better.

Rockstrom’s Planetary Boundaries are anthropocentric since these boundaries seek to impose thresholds beyond which environment may degrade beneath Holocene standard, Holocene being a minuscule geological span of earth in which environment favored human civilisation.  The whole emphasis is on well being and growth of humans here, but homo sapiens are just one node in a huge network of billions of species and a blink of an evolutionary process. This can be seen as a general weakness of the hypothesis. In biological evolutionary progression planetary resources matter in a fundamentally different way – there is no scope of economic growth in that reality, except a few directed evolutionary trends under human civilization with uncertain consequences. So logically we have to accept that for humans to exist and grow in post modern sense of meaning some amount of transgressing into carrying capacity of earth is inevitable. Nobody can practically expect the anthropogenic appreciation of total terrestrial photosynthetic produce (now standing over more than 40%) to be reduced.   Moreover, the physical significance and interconnectedness of Rockstrom’s nine metrices are yet not fully understood; at best these are under examination and study. So building these into UN framework seems a bit hasty. At least this leaves suspicion that “…planetary boundaries question can be divisive as it can be perceived as a tool of the “North” to tell the “South” not to follow the resource intensive and environmentally destructive development pathway that rich countries took themselves… This language is unacceptable to most of the developing countries as they fear that an emphasis on boundaries would place unacceptable brakes on poor countries,” to quote High Level Panel on Global Sustainability.

​The doughnut hypothesis may add an extra layer of complexity on this. For example the ceiling here is an environmental standard of past 10,000 years and the floor is a social standard of the new millennium. There is acknowledgement of deep inequality of resource consumption between the rich and poor in the hypothesis but many argue that the issue is more about standardizing personal, ​​institutional and governmental consumptions. May be, setting a standard of consumption and then ensuring economic redistribution like ‘cap and trade’ can bring down social floor much lower creating extra space for the doughnut.​

Both Planetary and Social boundaries in Kate’s doughnut are normative but on different planes of reality; the former is physical while the later is social. There is scant little evidence in the human civilization of a compromise between the two.

​Kate foresees three perspectives that her doughnut hypothesis can open up, namely:

​a)      An integrated vision – rights based approach towards establishing a social foundation while remaining below environmental ceiling and she hopes that economies must be structured and managed to do that.

b)      A refocusing of economic priorities – inclusion of social and environmental stresses within economy instead of considering them as ‘externalities’.

c)       Metrices beyond GDP – devising yardsticks of measuring human well being beyond economic product and she proposes to consider measures such as natural metrics (tonnes of carbon emitted) and social metrics (the number of people facing hunger).

​​​With or without the doughnut all these three perspectives are in existence. Why will we need a doughnut, other than, possibly for a popular understanding? Moreover, if humanity decides to look for the resource questions, which are certainly limited now, why the historical realities be suppressed by a datum imposed on today’s conditions?

​In Rio+20, where the doughnut hopes to offer a framework of discussion and debate, Sustainable Development will be a central focus. Kate’s doughnut attempts to link two of the pillars of SD, namely Environmental and Social. It is not clear what role Economic, the third pillar, may play in this visual framework – because it is demanded now that Economy or Green Economy will play a vital role in Development. Green Economy and Low Carbon Technology are proposed as saviors, with expectation that these may redefine the social boundaries. These make the social boundaries or the floor ever-shifting, quite unlike Rockstrom’s boundaries or the ceiling.

​There is a marked silence in the world where the ethical and perhaps sustainable limits of​ personal and institutional consumptions are rarely questioned. The sustainability approach, through Green Economy is fraught with questions like whether it is merely greenwash of business as usual – unless the very driver of such economy, that is, the necessity-greed dichotomy is examined transparently. Such examination may change Kate’s doughnut’s topology altogether.

​In the end Kate puts forward six questions that a debate on her hypothesis may distill down into. Here is a standard set of answers.

​1. Who should determine the dimensions and boundaries of an internationally agreed social foundation and an environmental ceiling, and how?

As far as the environmental ceiling is concerned, hard and credible science. Though there is much work to do, there is also enough evidence and a consensus that there is such a ceiling for a Holocene stability of earth conditions – so scientific communities will hopefully determine it, if they are not bugged by political and corporate lobbies. As far as social foundation is concerned, in the present system of political anarchy, unfortunately none can determine it. In the summits and conventions societies are not represented; what are represented are Political Nation States and their obligations to aspirations of the burgeoning middle class who aspire to graduate into the 10% of the Global Rich. This is truer for developing countries than the developed and they are more numerous.

​2. What are the implications of this framework for drawing up new global development goals beyond 2015, as part of the MDG and Rio+20 processes?

As answer a question will be more fitting. What about the MDGs till 2013? Are we trashing them? How far these were achieved and with what uniformity these achievements have been measured? The assessment leaves more questions than answers. A set of new development goals in this institutional set up will be putting a proverbial cart before the horse.

​​​3. How could the framework be adapted regionally or nationally to reflect the importance of regional thresholds for many planetary boundaries?

For those who will even admit such a framework, one guess is, it will be modified with so much local reality that it may be hard, if not impossible, to recognize it as one original.

​4. How could inequalities in global resource use be represented graphically within the framework?

It is hard to imagine the inequalities be incorporated in a 2-D metaphor like the doughnut.  The geo-local inequalities can be roughly incorporated into it by introducing two 3-D envelopes like geoids, one for the social boundary and another for the planetary boundary (imagine atmospheric layer around earth) but popular visualization of such models seems difficult.

​5. How could this framework be extended to explore the fair shares of effort needed, between and within countries, to bring humanity into the safe and just space?

Considering the complex inter and intra country mass and energy flows in terms of earth resources, country or region specific doughnuts look improbable. There is no consensus between countries about the safety and justness as well.

​6. What are the major policy shifts required to achieve economic development that brings humanity within social and planetary boundaries?

There is a strong belief at some quarters that Economic Development needs to be redefined first and pending that redefinition, attempt to plan for well being of humanity within any framework of social boundaries may be futile. Planetary Boundaries, however will dangle precariously over humanity’s head – that is a numbing reality of Anthropocene.

Feature Image courtesy: The Contemporary Caveman

AUTHOR: Pabitra Mukhopadhyay
URL: http://pabitraspeaks.com
E-MAIL: mukhopadhyay.pabitra [at] gmail.com

The Millennium Development Goals will be met.

• Yes: 56,605 votes (32%)
• No: 121,114 votes (68%)
• Total votes: 177,719

Deforestation is the worst form of abuse to mother earth. Ultimately, we pay a high price for our weak intervention.

• Yes: 104,355 (67%)
• No: 52,228 (33%)
• Total votes: 156,583

Meat from commercial hunting should be banned worldwide. Any kind of fish or meat can be grown or bred in a farm.

• Yes: 66,543 (52%)
• No: 61,261 (48%)
• Total votes: 127,804

The aid target, UN, 1970: rich countries agreed to spend 0.7% of their GNI, annually. Only 5 countries meet these terms. This subject should be put on the international agenda.

• Yes: 115,752 (73%)
• No: 41,812 (27%)
• Total votes: 157,564

Peacekeeping Missions are part of development cooperation/aid.

• Yes: 87,129 (52%)
• No: 80,745 (48%)
• Total votes: 167,874

Track records and output should be checked with quantitative studies and not with qualitative studies and booking only.

• Yes: 85,562 (54%)
• No: 72,391 (46%)
• Total votes: 157,953

The Right to Information Act should apply to all NGOs and western foundations.

• Yes: 100,226 (82%)
• No: 21,774 (18%)
• Total votes: 122,000

TOTAL VOTES: 1.067.497
Readers were allowed to:

• select one answer at each poll
• vote at each poll.

AUTHOR: Hans Sluijter
URL: www.NL-Aid.org
E-MAIL: info [at] www.NL-Aid.org

According to the report, Finland and Sweden tie for the top spot in this year’s index with a score of 8.5 out of the possible 10. Other Scandinavian countries that have also performed well are Norway (8.2), and Denmark (8.1). Following them other countries like Singapore (8.3), New Zealand (8.2), Australia (8.0), Luxembourg (8.2), Switzerland (8.2), Netherland (8.0), and Canada (8.0) were marked the top scoring group. Similarly, in the bottom Bolivia scored 3.6, Moldova (3.9), Nigeria (3.9), Cote D’ Ivory (3.7), Libya (3.7), Angola (3.6), Burundi (3.6), and Bangladesh (3.6). Looking at Nepal, the index remained stagnant from 2008 until 2011 at 4.0 but this year the index has a score of 4.4 out of 10 in overall property Right status where it has scored 3.2 in Legal and Political Environment (LP), 5.8 in Physical Property Rights (PRP) and 4.1 in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Amid this index Nepal lies in the 100 position out of the 129 nations which is the 20 percent of the quintile.

Speaking at the program Prateek Pradhan, the Chief Editor of the Karobar Daily, said:

“Our system is complex like such our rules, regulation and operational mechanism itself is complex, so media plays a cruel role in making the public aware about issues like these. It is our responsibility to make it heard and to raise the question of vitality. In a situation and condition like this Nepal’s gaining growth certainly highlights a positive aspect but we further need to look at our neighbors index where we need to work towards strengthening the economy and legal system.”

Samriddhi, the Prosperity foundation is a public policy consultant which was established in the year 2006 and from then it has been working in the field creating awareness and concepts of better economic revolution.

AUTHOR: Shreedeep Rayamajhi
URL: http://www.shreedeeprayamajhi.blogspot.com
E-MAIL: weaker [at] gmail.com

This scenario was never imagined three decades ago, when the country was born through a bloody war of liberation in 1971 on the principles of secularism and democracy. Apparently secularism and human rights have been enshrined in the constitution written in 1972. Subsequently the non-state actor, the sabre-rattling militaries doctored the constitutions and took the dangerous path of Islamisation of the secular state.

Bangladesh was thrice partitioned[1] on the basis of religion – Islam within a span of 66 years. East Bengal or Bangladesh was a historical reality. In 1971 it has been curved out of political boundaries of what was eastern province of Pakistan after a bloody civil war by the nationalists, and of course the secular forces.

In the twentieth century, communal issues increasingly dominated politics. There was hostility and ultimately racial conflicts occurred intermittingly. Racial riots wrecked the traditional secular image of Bengal, on the eve of the second partition of Bengal in 1947.

Between 1946 (East Bengal) and 2001 (Bangladesh), there were scores of incidences of racial violence, which resulted in deaths and deliberately encouraged migration. Peace-loving Hindus and Muslims had little or nothing to do with the riot (Hashim, 1974. pp. 117).

Muslim leaders of Bengal who later dominated and dictated politics, persuaded their anti-secular believes. This phenomenon spilled over into post-liberation Bangladesh.

Secularism of islamisation
The pro-nationalist politicians and military dictators in Bangladesh have used the religion Islam as a tool to consolidate their power base. This created a yawning space for Islamist radicalist in a nation where secularism has been practiced for centuries among the apparently peasantry society in ancient Bengal[2].

The Maoists extremists, who are politically out of the “red book” demonstrated that radicalism can survive for more than three decades in the western region[3] of Bangladesh. This has given hope to radical Islamists, who are produced in Madrassah[4] in the rural settings. The funds from get-rich-quick Muslims, and also blessings from oil-rich Arabs for the cause of spread of Wahabism[5] have significantly given rise to their numbers.

Radical Islamist
Gradually Bangladesh became exporter of foot soldiers for Islamic radicalism in South Asia countries for couple of decades. Later their presence were felt in Central Asia to the Far East. The first batch of hundred’s of mercenaries reached Lebanon in early 1980s, to help create an “Islamic Palestinian” state. The entire batches of mercenaries from Bangladesh were detained, after Israel invaded southern Lebanon.

Separately a second group of mercenaries were recruited by rogue military officers, who were dismissed from Bangladesh Army in mid 1970s. They were also self-proclaimed assassins of Shiekh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh in 1975. With collusion with Muslim Brotherhood, the rogue officer founded the Freedom Party in Bangladesh, which envisaged an Islamic nation. They had recruited several hundred educated youths and had sent them to Libya in the 1980s to turn Bangladesh into an Islamic state.

During the Afghan war against the Russians by the Mujahideen, hundreds of youths from Bangladesh were recruited and smuggled into Pakistan to join the Islamic militants for jihad. The flights of Jihadist occurred with the full knowledge of the dreaded Pakistan and Bangladesh military intelligence.

“Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries on earth, on the brink of being a failed state. And that makes it a perfect target for Al-Qaeda and its ever-expanding network of Islamic extremist organisations. The overwhelming majority of Bangladesh’s 130 million are Muslim, which certainly helps. Virtually unnoticed by the world at large, Bangladesh is being dragged into the global war on terrorists by becoming a sanctuary for them,” writes Jane’s Intelligence Report (25 January 2005),

Jihadist Nexus
Why Bangladesh security agencies got involved with the Islamic terror network? Former security officers argue that they need information of terror network. But this argument does corroborate with their intelligence gathering methodology and their analysis of the situation.

There is evidence that Bangladesh military intelligence[6] have generated funds from gunrunning, timber smuggling and drug trade in the later years of 1970s.

The money was channelled into purchase of weapons, shelter and rations for the half-hearted Muslim militants to curve an independent state for Rohingya[7].

With tacit approval of United States government, Bangladesh military leader General Ziaur Rahman, a liberation war veteran gave the responsibility to Brigadier General Nurul Islam Shishu for the covert operation.

They presumed that Burma (Myanmar) had an unpopular military government, therefore it would be easy to intimidate them to create a homeland for the Rohingya Muslims. After Burmese authorities unearthed the plot, they expelled the Bangladesh military attaché from Rangoon (Yangon). Soon hell broke out by the Burmese army creating a crisis, which forced thousands of Rohingya’s to flee into Bangladesh territory and sealed the border 1978. The militancy and refugee situation created a diplomatic row and invited international uproar against Burmese junta.

Troops both from Burma and Bangladesh intermittingly fought “undeclared” war in 1978. However, the security agencies continued with the moneymaking business overtly for raising funds for the clandestine operations.

A Saudi daily published an article of an exiled Rohingya leader, which exposed Bangladesh military intelligence’s involvement in the Rohingya operation. Later a prestigious Washington daily published a CIA document, which describes how Bangladesh planned to raise foreign currency from the Rohingya militancy to strengthen the appalling financial condition of the military junta.

The second largest Muslim democracy, Bangladesh is today the site of al-Qaeda-run training camps financed by Middle Eastern charities and organisations, including backing from rogue elements within the Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence.[8]

A Bangladesh security agency has developed a nexus with Jihadist and militant leaders of troubled states of North East Indian. Indian always blamed ISI for the covert operation in northeast Indian, which both Pakistan and Bangladesh continuously denied.

Hundreds of foot soldiers from Bangladesh were discovered in Acheh province of Indonesia, in Burma, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Kashmir, Chechnya, Bosnia, Tajikistan and Egypt. The Jihadists were exported by Harkat-ul-Jihad-Al-Islam (HuJI) as part of establishment of global terror network.

In an interview with the CNN in December 2001, American “Taliban” fighter, John Walker Lindh, relate that the Al-Qaeda director Ansar (companions of the Prophet) Brigades, to which he had belonged in Afghanistan, were divided along linguistic lines: Bengali, Pakistan (Urdu) and Arabic,” which suggests tat the Bangla-speaking component – Bangladeshi and Rohingya – must be significant.[9]

Most security specialists and researchers have established that 15,000 strong terrorist group HuJI (Movement of Islamic Holy War) has direct links with terror network Al Qaeda. In a statement released by US State Department on May 21, 2002, HuJI is described as a terrorist organization with ties to Islamic militants in Pakistan.[10]

According to a former senior Bangladeshi intelligence executive, Jemaah Islamiya leader Hambali, arrested in Thailand in August 2003, had already taken the decision to shift JI elements to Bangladesh to shield them from counter-terrorist operations in Southeast Asia.

According to US State Department, HuJI headed by Shawkat Osman aka Maulana or Sheikh Farid in Chittagong has at least four militant camps in Bangladesh.

To keep the Burmese government in good humour, Bangladesh shut down the militant’s camps of radical Islamist Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) led by a medical doctor Muhammad Yunus. Those camps were later taken over by radical Islamist.

A journalist working for an English language newspaper in Bangladesh reported that in early 1990s that couple of Bangladesh embassies in the Middle East have reported missing of passports. Later it was transpired that diplomats in Saudi Arabia issued passports to Pakistan militants in the kingdom to enable them to escape to Bangladesh. Other extremists from Pakistan – perhaps also Afghanistan – appear to have been able to enter Bangladesh in the same way during that period (Lintner, 2002).

TIME magazine[11] claim that fighters from Taliban and Al-Qaeda have entered Bangladesh after United States invaded Afghanistan. Videotapes showing al-Qaeda in training that were unearthed by CNN in August include footage from 1990 that feature Rohingya rebels.

These men’s fleeing from troubled Afghanistan were instrumental in raising HuJI in 1992, allegedly with funds from Osama bin Laden. The existence of firm links between the new Bangladeshi militants and Al-Qaeda was proven when Fazlul Rahman, leader of Jihad Movement in Bangladesh (to which HuJI belongs), signed the official declaration of “holy war” against United States on February 23, 1998. Other signatories included bin laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri (leader of the Jihad Group in Egypt), Rifa’I Ahmad Taha aka Abu-Yasir (Egyptian Islamic Group), and Shiekh Mir Hamzah (secretary of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan).[12]

The Indian police in New Delhi arrested two Bangladeshi nationals suspected to the HuJI militant outfit, allegedly sent by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence to disrupt Republic Day celebrations in January 2006[13].

Conclude
A culture of violence, especially among the young, is emerging, and many young Islamic militants now are armed. The role of the madrassah in shaping the next generation of Bangladeshis also cannot be underestimated.[14]

The nationalists Islamist chauvinist government has done enough to stump lawlessness unleashed by the Islamic Jihad’s of both home-grown and those believed to be from the terror-network. The recent spate of bomb blasts in August 2005 was a bid to terrorise the opposition political parties and secular activities organised by cultural activists, have brought renewed fear that the process of elimination of opposition has began in Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh military intelligence presently has turned into Frankenstein, like in Pakistan and once in the Latin America. The parliamentary sub-committee on defence has failed to bring the dreaded security agency under parliament scrutiny.

The non-descriptive marriage of criminalization of politics and shattered bureaucracy is reined by the military intelligence (DGFI). There are evidences that the dreaded military intelligence has been harbouring fall-out Muslim Jihad’s from Afghanistan and militant leaders from the insurgency troubled northeast Indian. The trade-off for DGFI was their hands on gunrunning and drug trade from the Golden Triangle.

The military security agency has upper hand over Bangladesh state and politics. This leverage was given by General Ziaur Rahman (1977-1981) and later legitimized by General H.M. Ershad (1982-1990) to organize the political parties to ensure their stay in power.

Bangladesh, is a place where crime, politics, and violence all cross paths, making independent journalism in this country of 146 million people a very dangerous profession, observes a mission report of the New York based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in February 2003.

Those journalists reported the rise of radical Islamists and security issues were harassed, intimidated and imprisoned. The government sharply reacted after articles written by Bertil Lintner in Wall Street Journal and Far Eastern Economic Review, Alex Perry of TIME Asia magazine. Both of them have been blacklisted from entering Bangladesh again. The British Channel 4 TV journalists along with their Fixer Saleem Samad were detained, tortured and intimidated. International uproar has secured their release.

It is indeed a losing battle of the proactive secularists entailed with the civil society and the human rights organizations to forge a common platform against Islamist. Suspected Muslim extremists bombed these soft targets, who disapproves secularism.

[1] Kabeer, Naila. 1997. A thrice-partitioned history, in Ursala Owen (ed.) INDEX on Censorship 6/1997, pp. 59. London: Index on Censorship.

[2] Bengal – presently split into east and west. Subsequently East Bengal became Bangladesh and West Bengal is a province of neighbouring India.

[3] The western region, bordering India is rife with criminal gangs, outlawed political groups, and drug traffickers.

[4] Koranic schools teaches conservative Islamism in their curriculum, hate against non-Muslims, specially Jewish. The religious schools that educate millions of students in the Muslim world, have been blamed for all sorts of ills since the attacks of September 11, 2001 (Alexander Evans, Understanding Madrassahs, Foreign Affairs Journal, January-February 2006)

[5] Strictly follows Sharia laws, specially force women to wear veil

[6] Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) was formed in 1977 for covert military operations in Burma and North Eastern India states. The dreaded security agency was involved in blackmailing politicians to joining the military dictator General Ziaur Rahman to legitimize his political ambition

[7] Ethnic Muslims are minorities in northwest Burma. However, Burmese authority claims the Rohingya are migrants from neighbouring Chittagong, Bangladesh during the famine in 1943

[8] Blackburn, Chris, 2006. Is Bangladesh new front for America’s War Against Terrorism?

http://bangladeshwatchdog.blogspot.com/2005/12/is-bangladesh-new-front-for-americas.html

[9] Transcript of John Walker interview, CNN, December 21, 2001, as quoted in Lintner’s paper (Honolulu, 2002).

[10] Partners of Global Terrorism 2001, the office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, May 21, 2002

[11] Deadly Cargo, Alex Perry, Time Asia, October 14, 2002

[12] see ERRI Daily Intelligence Report, ERRI Risk Assessment Service, June 11, 1998, Vol.4-162, as quoted in Lintner’s research paper (Honolulu, 2002).

[13] http://bangladeshwatchdog.blogspot.com/2006/01/bangladeshi-jihadi-detained-in-india.html

[14] Lintner, Bertil, 2002. Religious Extremism & Nationalism in Bangladesh, paper presented at Religion & Security in South Asia, August 19-22, 2002 organized by Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, Honolulu, Hawaii

AUTHOR: Saleem Samad
URL: http://bangladeshwatchdog.blogspot.com
E-MAIL: saleemsamad [at] hotmail.com

The new independent state of Bangladesh emerged as a secular polity with a constitutional embargo on religion in politics. Despite the constitutional prohibition, the military regimes to further legitimise their power indulged the Islamist to preach political Islam.

Since early 1970s, religion plays a significant role in the state system of today’s Bangladesh.[1] General Ziaur Rahman (1977-81) rehabilitated the religion-based parties in politics, the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh soon began to advocate political Islam. To compete with the Islamist, the nationalist parties have rewritten their political strategy and adopted Islamic culture in mainstream politics, which irked the secularist and the apparently independent press. 

The u-turn from secular politics to political Islam has further deepened the racial problems of the Muslims sects, Hindus, and other religious and national minorities. 

The rise in militancy and the decline of law and order has been mainly attributed to the radical Islamist parties, which form part of Khaleda Zia’s Islamic nationalists coalition government. 

Begum Khaleda Zia heads the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and her party could not form a government on her own. This lead to a pact with the main Islamist party the Jamaat-i-Islami, a radical movement with parties operating in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Jamaat has always had a violent and subversive past. It was firmly against the establishment of Bangladesh in 1971 and wanted to remain part of Pakistan.[2] 

Jamaat-e-Islami advocates political Islam, implementation of Sharia and blasphemy laws. Dominant nationalists have favoured the doctrine of political Islam, like BNP and Jatiya Party. Both are brainchild’s of military usurpers. This concept has radicalized the political base of the majoritarian Muslim population. The majoritarian believes Bangladesh is a “moderate Muslim country”, which apparently describes a modern Bangladesh. The secular groups have rejected the moderate Muslim nation theory. The secularist argues it is yet another step towards Islamisation of Bangladesh. 

The Jamaat set up the notorious al-Badr, mainly student paramilitary group, which worked closely with the Pakistani forces to fight the Mukti Bahini (liberation fighters) and helped to round up and murder leading intelligentsia. These actions helped to ostracised party, many of its leaders had to go into exile, but over the years it has managed to claw their way back to power. 

Not all of the ruling coalition are happy with the arrangement with the Islamist parties, some MP’s are even revolting against this alliance. Abu Hena, a sacked MP from ruling party, was expelled from his party because he could no longer tolerate the subversion and tactics of his own ruling party because they had made a Faustian bargain with the patrons of the Islamist militants. 

It must be noted that Al-Qaeda leaders such as Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, Yasir al-Jazeeri, Ahsan Aziz and Mustafa Ahmed Hawsawi were all captured in the homes of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders in Pakistan. 

The recent capture of two most wanted fugitive home-grown Islamic vigilantes in one week brought relief at home and praise from the United States, but experts say the South Asian country needs to do more to guard against radical Islam.[3] 

Siddikul Islam aka Bangla Bhai, leader of the outlawed Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh was caught on Monday, four days after the mastermind of the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, Shaekh Abdur Rahman, surrendered to authorities. 

The two men were the most wanted fugitives in Bangladesh, the world’s third most-populous Muslim country, and their groups are blamed for hundreds of bombings since last year. 

The discourse of the paper is to argue when an U.S. official involved in counter-terrorism said “Bangladeshi extremists don’t appear to have joined the global jihad, but the possibility remains a cause for concern.” 

US government analysts have been shown to be categorically wrong in their assessments. The fact that Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuJI), a member of Usma bin Laden’s International Islamic Front (IIF), has a Bangladesh branch is also alarming as it shows that western intelligence agencies have shown relatively no interest in developments within Bangladesh. 

Whereas the security experts on South Asia warn against playing down the problem or viewing the two high-profile arrests as sufficient to win Bangladesh’s struggle to maintain secular politics. 

South Asia expert Hussain Haqqani of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said: “The real problem in Bangladesh is that the government has never fully acknowledged the extent of the Islamic militant problem in the country. 

Alarmed Eliza Griswold writes in New York Times that in Bangladesh, the region, has become a haven where jihadis can move easily and have access to a friendly infrastructure that allows them to regroup and train. 

Recently held international conference on Intelligence Summit[4] near Washington concluded: Bangladesh is perhaps becoming the most important country in the War on Terror today; the unravelling situation will have a profound effect on South Asia and beyond. 

The infiltration of al-Qaeda and the suspected involvement of the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) shows that the United States and its allies must face tough questions if they are to succeed in rolling back radical Islamism.  Bangladesh is seen as an important keystone for Islamists as they believe they can implement their totalitarian designs on the country with relative impunity, Chris Blackburn concludes in his International Intelligence Summit 2006 Report: Bangladesh. 

A Bangladesh born expatriate lawyer, Maneeza Hossain[5] in a study published in conservative Hudson Institute opines that these groups reject accommodation with a democratic system and have adopted radical Islam under the influence of oil-rich Middle Eastern states which fund them. 

Hossain’s article, “The Rising Tide of Islamism in Bangladesh,”[6] says the country’s porous borders and the growing role of the main port city of Chittagong in the arms trade makes radical Islam a regional if not global security issue that requires more attention from the United States.[7] 

With a similar argument, New York Times in December 29, 2005 edition in a headline ask “Why Americans should care about the increasingly radical insurgency”[8] and comments: What Bangladeshis want is continued international pressure on the BNP to distance itself from the militancy. 

Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries on earth, on the brink of being a failed state, and that makes it a perfect target for Al-Qaeda and its ever-expanding network of Islamic extremist organisations.[9] Virtually unnoticed by the world at large, Bangladesh is being dragged into the global war on terrorists by becoming a sanctuary for them, says Janes Intelligence Report. 

US officials say they are “looking closely” at Bangladesh as Islamic organisations proliferate amid political violence that has flared since bitterly contested parliamentary elections in October 2001. These were won by a four-party coalition headed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). It includes three religious extremist parties, which are staunch supporters of Islamic fundamentalism. 

Neighbouring India, which has had turbulent relations with Bangladesh since it gained independence from Pakistan in 1971, alleges that there are 195 camps in Bangladesh where guerrillas seeking autonomy or independent statehood in north-eastern India are being trained. 

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s government in Bangladesh has repeatedly denied it supports anti-Indian militants or allows Islamic organisations, some of them linked to Al-Qaeda, to flourish. Given the BNP’s reliance on its Islamic partners, that position is to be expected. The US and its Western allies are gradually waking up to the potentially explosive situation developing in Bangladesh, which former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, leader of the Awami League, the main opposition party, calls the “Talibanisation” of Bangladeshi society. 

After United States invaded Afghanistan, the remnants of Talibans and mercenaries fleeing from troubled region were instrumental in raising Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI)[10] in 1992 in Bangladesh territory, allegedly with funds from Osama bin Laden. The existence of firm links between the new Bangladeshi militants and Al-Qaeda was proven when Fazlul Rahman, leader of Jihad Movement in Bangladesh (to which HuJI belongs), signed the official declaration of “holy war” against United States on February 23, 1998. Other signatories included Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri (leader of the Jihad Group in Egypt), Rifa’I Ahmad Taha aka Abu-Yasir (Egyptian Islamic Group), and Shiekh Mir Hamzah (secretary of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan). 

As researcher and reporter on conflict and Islamic terrorism, has Bangladesh demonstrated it’s sincerity in tracking and destroying the dreaded terrorist outfits HuJI, Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT) and other Jihadist outfits having link with terror network. It seems that Bangladesh security agencies have not taken cognizance of those organizations listed as terrorist outfit by United States.[11] 

In separate raids four young Bangladesh nationals allegedly belonging to the banned outfit LeT[12] and HUJI[13] militant outfit in January and February 2005 allegedly trained by Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s notorious security service. Indian authority claimed that they have informed about Bangladesh about the arrests. 

Hundreds of foot soldiers from Bangladesh have been discovered in Acheh province of Indonesia, in Burma, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Kashmir, Chechnya, Bosnia, Tajikistan and Egypt. The Jihadists were exported by HuJI  and LeT as part of establishment of global terror network. 

CONCLUSION 

Bangladesh has made a step which has dumbfounded many external analysts as the efficiency of the Bangladeshi government has raised certain questions and probably helped answer a few. Why have two militant leaders, which the government always stressed where ‘made-up’ products of the media and the opposition have been arrested within days of each other? The recent tour of President Bush to India and Pakistan has probably spurred the BNP government to act. The rise of links between militants and the Jamaat must also have played a part; the reports from foreign media have also had an impact. The questions is can the government stop and arrest the foreign backers of these terror groups and will it act against high profile leaders? 

Why the kingpin Maulana Fazlur Rahman does not have an award over his head, when the nation is glued to only homegrown terrorism by Islamic vigilantes, specifically Jama’tul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). 

The Jamaat’s links to militancy and subversion are numerous and it is up to the Bangladesh government to show that it is sincerely committed to routing out and arresting the financiers and planners behind the militancy. The BNP Government and authorities must also show that it is willing to confront the radical anti-democratic ideology of Mawdudi that drives the militancy even if it means they will probably have to forfeit power in the elections in 2007, because the how could the BNP form an alliance with a party which seeks to undermine democracy, the rule of law and the spirit of liberation? 

[1] Prof. Islam, Sirajul, 2000. State and Religion, Banglapedia, Asiatic Society, Dhaka. 

[2] Chris Blackburn. Bangladesh: Make or Break? March 2006. 

[3] Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent. Bangladesh bomber arrests said only the beginning, Reuters. 8 March 2006 

[4] Intelligence Summit, was held near Washington DC during 17-20 February 2006. http://www.intelligencesummit.org/ 

[5] Maneeza Hossain, Manager of Democracy Programs at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, Washington, USA. 

[6] Published in Current Trends in Islamist Ideology, Volume 3, February 16, 2006, Hudson Institute, Washington, USA. http://www.hudson.org/files/publications/TRENDS3.pdf    

[7] Paul Eckert, Reuters. 8 March 2006. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N07422016.htm 

[8] By Eliza Griswold, The New York Times. Why Americans should care about the increasingly radical insurgency, Dec. 29, 2005, at 7:18 AM ET 

[9] Is religious extremism on the rise in Bangladesh. Janes Intelligence Review, May 2002 

[10] The HUJI to which the duo belonged is an offshoot of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) 

[11] US State Department, Foreign Terrorist Organizations, October 11, 2005. http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/37191.htm 

[12] http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/28/stories/2006022817481400.htm 

[13] http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=94653 

AUTHOR: Saleem Samad
URL: http://bangladeshwatchdog.blogspot.com
E-MAIL: saleemsamad [at] hotmail.com

Introduction:The annual report of 2010 is being presented at a moment when Iran is going through one of the worst execution waves since the end of 1980’s. According to official Iranian sources 85 people have been executed in January 2011. At least 3 of those executed in January 2011 were arrested in connection with the 2009 post election protests.

The annual report of the death penalty in 2010 shows a dramatic increase in the number of executions compared to the previous years. The number of annual executions in 2010 in Iran is probably the highest since the mass executions of political prisoners in the summer of 1988.

Commenting this report, the spokesperson of IHR Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, said:

“The dramatic increase in the number of executions during the past year, and especially numerous reports of unlawful mass-executions in Khorasan province, demands urgent action by the world community”. He added: “The execution numbers are increasing even more in 2011 and have passed far beyond the alarming level”. Amiry-Moghaddam ended:” Several political and non-political prisoners are at imminent danger of execution and we ask the UN to send its Special Rapporteurs to Iran immediately”.

Due to ongoing investigations, more than 200 additional executions are not included into this report. Thus, it is important to emphasize that the numbers presented in the present report are strongly underestimated compared to the executions reports that IHR has received, and we believe that the actual numbers are even higher.

Sources

The present report is primarily based on the information published by the official Iranian sources and gathered by members of IHR. 57% of the total number of the executions is based on reports published by the official Iranian news agencies or on statements by high-ranking officials within the Iranian judiciary. This year IHR has received reports on large numbers of executions that haven’t been reported by the official Iranian sources. IHR has only included those cases in its annual report that have been confirmed by at least two different independent sources. In case of executions reported by other human rights organizations outside Iran, IHR has included the executions in its annual report only when the reports have directly been confirmed through the sources inside Iran.

Some facts:
* At least 546 people were executed according to IHR’s annual report 2010
* 312 of the 546 executions have been confirmed officially or unofficially by the Iranian authorities
* More than 200 additional executions reported to IHR, are not included in the annual report due to difficulties in confirming some of the details
* At least 2 minor offenders were among those executed in Iran in 2010
* At least 8 women were executed in 2010
* Among the executions reported by the official Iranian sources only 32% of those executed were identified with both the first and the last name
* 19 executions took place in public
* At least 50 Afghan citizens, one Nigerian and one citizen of Ghana were among those executed in Iran in 2010

In 2010 IHR received a large number of reports about executions not reported by the Iranian authorities. Most of these reports were from different prisons in the northeastern provinces of Khorasan, especially the Vakilabad prison of Mashhad. Most of the executions have taken place secretly without prior information to the prisoners or their families.

The executions started already in 2009, but increased dramatically after Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejehei became general prosecutor of the country. The sources used here have reliable sources in direct contact with IHR, reports from other human rights groups and unofficial statements by sources within the Iranian judiciary. IHR has only included the executions that have been confirmed by more than one independent and reliable source.

The following cases have been included in the present report:

* 50 executions in the period of February-April 2010 in Vakilabad prison of Mashhad. 35 executions on April 10th. Only 5 of them were reported by the official Iranian sources. Source: Ahmad Ghabel, a religious scholar close to former president Khatami, who had spent 170 days in the Vakilabad prison of Mashhad and who was released in June. According to him at least 50 people were executed in the section were he was imprisoned. Mr. Ghabel was later arrested and put into jail because of revealing information about the mass-executions in the Vakilabad prison.

* 45 Afghan citizens executed in April 2010 in northern Khorasan (Most probably in Taibad). Sources: Afghan sources, among them Afghan MPs reported that bodies of 45 Afghan citizens who had been executed in a city in northeast of Iran were transferred to Afghanistan. According to these reports the executions had taken place within three days. Despite the fact that several Afghan sources belonging to Afghanistan’s civil society have told IHR that the actual number of the executed Afghans who were delivered in groups to their families in Afghanistan were higher than the 45 reported cases, IHR has chosen to include only 45 cases in the present report.

* Seven Afghan citizens executed on May 30th in Taibad (northern hoarsen) reported with full identity. Source: Afghan sources in contact with IHR, Pajhwok Afghan news site

* Mass execution of 46 people in one day in July-August in Vakilabad prison of Mashhad. Sources: reliable sources IHR been in contact with. Included under July in the report.

* Mass execution of 67 people in the Vakilabad prison on August 18th. Sources: reliable sources IHR been in contact with, International campaign for human rights in Iran (IHCR), and unofficial statement by high ranking officials within the Iranian judiciary.

* A citizen of Ghana identified as Aquasi Aquabe was among those executed on August 18th. Sources: IHR sources, ICHR

* 13 people, among them a Nigerian citizen identified as Paul Chindo, executed on October 5th in Vakilabad prison of Mashhad. Sources: reliable sources IHR been in contact with, ICHR. Nigerian officials

* 10 people on October 12th, 10 people on October 26th, 11 people November 9th, 9 people on November 30th, and 10 people on December 10th, all in Vakilabad prison of Mashhad. Sources: reliable sources IHR been in contact with, ICHR

* Most of those executed were convicted of drug trafficking

* 55 people executed in February-March in Vakilabad prison of Mashhad. Source: reliable sources IHR. Reason of exclusion: inaccurate numbers

* 50-70 people executed on August 4th in Vakilabad prison of Mashhad. Source: reliable sources IHR. Reason of exclusion: inaccurate numbers

* 50-70 people executed on August 11th in Vakilabad prison of Mashhad. Source: reliable sources IHR. Reason of exclusion: inaccurate numbers

* 50-70 people executed in Birjand between August and November. Source: reliable sources IHR. Reason of exclusion: inaccurate numbers and inaccurate time

On August 25th IHR published a statement on the mass-executions in Mashhad and urged the United Nations to send their Special Rapporteur to Iran as soon.

Diagram showing monthly distribution of the reported executions in 2010. The values in the red part of the coloumns indicate minimum of the reported executions not included in the annual report due to inaccuracy in number and time of the executions. Most of the executions, in particular the mass-executions of Mashhad took place in the months of April, July and August.

Diagram showing relative frequency of charges used by the Iranian authorities. Note that only executions reported by the official Iranian media are shown here.

According to the official Iranian media, a majority of those who were executed were convicted of drug-related offences (66%), followed by Moharebeh or “enemity against God” (13%), rape (9%), murder (6%), immoral acts or acts against chastity (1%) and kidnapping (1%). Note for 4% of the executions announced by official Iranian media no charges were mentioned.

Note that charges against those executed under the mass-executions in the Khorasan provinces are not included here. According to our sources most of those executed in Mashhad were convicted of drug trafficking.

It is important to emphasize that all drug-related cases are processed at the revolutionary courts behind the closed doors. The trials in the revolutionary courts are even less transparent than the ordinary courts. For instance, the Iranian-Dutch citizen who was arrested under December 2009 protests and executed in January 2011, was convicted of drug trafficking by a revolutionary court.

We underline that charges mentioned above have not been confirmed by independent sources and are solely based on the official Iranian sources.

Moharebeh:

Moharebeh (war against God) is a term commonly used by the Iranian authorities for those who are either involved in armed struggle against the authorities or have connections with such groups.

Among the 38 people executed convicted of Moharebeh:
* 13 people were convicted membership in the Baluchi militant group “Jondollah”,
* 5 people were convicted of membership in the Kurdish group PJAK
* 3 men were convicted of membership in the “Iranian monarchist association” and bombing of a mosque in Shiraz. One of them a minor convict.
* One person was convicted of connection with Mujahedin-khalgh or People’s Mujahidin Organization of Iran (MEK/PMOI)
* There are reports on torture/ill-treatment of all the above mentioned prisoners
* Neither the families nor the lawyers of the above mentioned people were informed prior to the execution as the Iranian law demands

* Only 32% of those who were executed according to the official Iranian media were identified by full name and even smaller portion with age.

* At least 8 women were among those executed according to the official Iranian sources. Only three of them were identified by name: Shirin Alam Holi convicted of Moharebeh, Shahla Jahed convicted of murder and Mahin Ghadiri convicted of murder

Executions of minor offenders:

Iran continues executions of minor offenders in 2010. Also in 2010 Iran executed minor offenders. At least two people were convicted of offences they had allegedly committed when they were under the age of 18.

* Arash Rahmanipour, convicted of Moharebeh through membership in the “Monarchist association” and “planning terrorist plots” was according to his lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh (press interview) 17 years old at the time of alleged offences. He was also victim of forced confessions. He was executed on January 28th 2010. Nasrin Sotoudeh, Rahmanipour’s lawyer, is currently in prison sentenced to 6 years in prison.

* Mohammad (last name not known), convicted of murder, executed in July in Shiraz. He was 17 years old at the time of committing the alleged offence, according to the Iranian daily “Vatan-e-Emruz”

* There are also reports of possible minors among those executed in the summer of 2010 in Mashhad. IHR is currently investigating these matters.

AUTHOR: Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam
URL: http://iranhr.net/
E-MAIL: amirymoghaddam@gmail.com

Leo Tolstoy

Imparting Elementary Education to Children at Full Time Centre of Baghwanala, Varanasi, supported by Sir Dorabji Tata Trust: An Evaluation Report

“Though hundreds of thousands had done their very best to disfigure the small piece of land on which they were crowded together, by paying the ground with stones, scraping away every vestige of vegetation, cutting down the trees, turning away birds and beasts, and filling the air with the smoke of naphtha and coal, still spring was spring, even in the town.”

“The sun shone warm, the air was balmy; everywhere, where it did not get scraped away, the grass revived and sprang up between the paving-stones as well as on the narrow strips of lawn on the boulevards. The birches, the poplars, and the wild cherry unfolded their gummy and fragrant leaves, the limes were expanding their opening buds; crows, sparrows, and pigeons, filled with the joy of spring, were getting their nests ready; the flies were buzzing along the walls, warmed by the sunshine. All were glad, the plants, the birds, the insects, and the children. But men, grown-up men and women, did not leave off cheating and tormenting themselves and each other. It was not this spring morning men thought sacred and worthy of consideration not the beauty of God`s world, given for a joy to all creatures, this beauty which inclines the heart to peace, to harmony, and to love, but only their own devices for enslaving one another”.

The above paragraph from the novel ‘Resurrection’ by Leo Tolstoy reminds me the grim situation faced by the ill-fated children of Baghwanala area. The Full Time Center at Baghwanala is situated on the bank of Varuna River. Varuna River has converted into sewage due to pollution and it goes down to river Ganges which is just few Kilometers away from the Center. Most of the families, whose children attend the Center, belong to the most disadvantaged dalit groups and these families are socially assigned to do the works that are considered ritually unclean and socially degrading.

So called modern development in India and in the city of Varanasi has not only done nothing to make the lives of these weaker sections of the society better but has further aggravated their sufferings by marginalizing them. This mode of modern development has given more opportunity for powerful people to make more money and the rush for making more and more money had done the misdeeds in terms of marginalization, deprivation, exploitation and abuse of essential rights like food, clothes, house and education of these communities and has paved the way their enslavement last longing.

These poor children like colorful flowers, with their lovely and innocent smiles seem to challenge our cunningness and to put to shame our very existence against all boastings of national development. These poor children, though ignorant of their cruel surroundings and devils deeds to enslave one another, are dreaming amidst all odds to become a teacher like their own teachers at the Centre or if they could get a respectable job for themselves, when they are grown up.

Jyoti

Jyoti, a girl child is a student of class 5 at the Centre. She has two sisters and two brothers. Jyoti belongs to a Scheduled caste family. Her mother Parvati works as maid servant in three houses. She washes pots, clothes, and work as a sweeper in those houses every day in the morning and evening. She earns Rs. 300 from each house for a month and thus she earns total Rs. 900 in a month. Jyoti’s father is rickshaw puller and earns Rs 2000 for a month at an average. So for six persons in the family of Jyoti, total earning is almost Rs. 3000. So Jyotis’s parents can spent less than Rs. 20 for each member of the family for a day. But Jyoti family is deprived of Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration card so that they could be able to get benefit PDS system and could buy food grains at subsidized rate. Her family holds a Yellow ration card that belongs to a family, who is considered to be Above Poverty Line (APL). Whenever any member of Jyoti’s family get sick they visit a private doctor as there is no government facility regarding health care is available in her vicinity.

Even then Jyoti is an always smiling girl and has a peculiar shining in her eyes and has a dream to become a teacher, like her own teacher at the Centre. I asked Jyoti’s mother Parvati if she had thought to continue her education. She replied that she would do her best to continue Jyoti’s schooling. But she was not sure if she could support her daughter for her schooling up to the high school. Though, Jyoti had earlier told me that her parents asked her not to go to school, as they could see no purpose of sending her school. She also had told me that her parents wanted her to learn sewing. Jyoti is also eagar to learn sewing.

Jyoti class starts at 10 am. When I met with her at the Centre in her class and asked her if she had come to school after taking her breakfast at her home. She told that she had not taken her breakfast at home. Further she told that she would go to home at about 2 pm at the time of recess at the Centre and then she would take her lunch. She also told me that as her mother worked in other houses so she was solely responsible to cook food for her family everyday and to wash the cooking pots and to do other chores at home.

Sanno bano

Sanno bano is a student of class 5 at the Centre. She belong to Muslim community. She has 4 brothers and 6 sisters. Her father is literate and has studied up to eighth class. Her mother is not literate and can not read and write. Sanno’s three younger brothers are also studying at the Centre. Sanno’s father’s name is Sirajuddin and her mother’s name is Lalunnisha. Sanno’s father works as a tailor at other’s shop. Her two elder brothers also do the work of tailoring. Sanno’s father and two elder brothers earn almost Rs. 4000 in a month.

Sanno’s family lives in Baghwanala almost 500 meters away in the east from the Centre on the bank of Varuna River. I visited her home along with Sanno and her two other classmates at the Centre. There is regular path to go to her house. They go their home passing through a open land which is always full with human wastes and it is not easy for an outsider to pass through that open land without keeping his finger on his nose. The smell while passing through this open land is so stinky that it is virtually hard to bear the bad smell and one can not escape the feeling of vomiting without closing his nose.

But for Sanno and her other two classmates there was nothing unusual to pass through the open land with full of human wastes and with acutely stinky smell. After passing through the open land I reached to the Sanno’s house and I found that more than a dozen of men were shouting and abusing to each other as they were gambling with playing cards few meters away from Sanno’s house. I asked Sanno if those men were gambling regularly there. She told me that it was every day business of those men. She also told me that in the area one could find other places with other groups gambling in the area.

At Sanno’s home I met with her father, mother and brothers and talked with them about their economic conditions and their interest in education of her children. Apparently I found that they were not opposed to educate their children but they also expressed concern about their poverty that is biggest obstruction to continue the study of their children. As one can see that there is family of 12 members is surviving on a monthly income of Rs. 4000. It means that Sanno’s parents can not spent more than Rs. 20 on each member for a day. Sanno’s weight is quite disproportionate in respect of her age and length. She is a tall and beautiful girl and wants to do M.A.

Her mother told me that she had a yellow ration card which is delivered for a family belonging to Above Poverty Line (APL). Though Sanno’s parents have no land to cultivate or there are no other means to raise their living standard but even then they are deprived of the welfare schemes for the poor and it has been aggravating their miseries and depriving their children of their fundamental right of education.

Jeba

Jeba is student of class 5 at the Centre and she belongs to a Muslim family living in Baghwanala area. Her home lies 700 meters away in the west from the Centre. Her parents live in a rented room. Jeba has four brothers and a younger sister. Jeba’s two elder brothers do not go to school and her two younger brothers are too young to go to school.

Jeba wants to study up to B.A. and want to become a teacher like her own madam who is teaching her at the Centre. I found her wearing dirty clothes as it was not washed for many weeks. But she always wears very beautiful and shining smiles on her face as seemly unknown to her parent’s abject poverty. She is enthusiastic girl for her study. She was so eager to take me her house to meet to her parents.

I visited her home in the afternoon. At her home I found her mother talking with a person about her case regarding tenancy. I came to know that Jeba’s parents had been living in that one room house for last many years but the land owner wanted them to forcefully dispossess from the house and thus she was compelled to fight the case in the Court to retain her tenancy. She told me that her lawyer used to take money from her to deposit rent in the Court but after she two years she had received a notice from the Court that she should deposit her rent which was due for two years. There is no facility of electricity and water in the Jeba’s rented house.

Her father and mother both prepare shoes and sandals for a manufacturer. They jointly earn almost Rs 3000 for a month and it hardly enough to meet the expenses for her family. Jeba’s mother told me that she had a yellow ration card which is delivered for a family belonging to Above Poverty Line (APL) category. She requested me if I could do something to get for her a BPL ration cards so that she could be able to purchase food grains at subsidized rate.

Kanchan

Kanchan also belongs to a scheduled caste family and lives in Baghwanal area with their parents and she is student of class 4 at the Centre. Her father Mr. Rajesh Sonkar sells green vegetables on a trolley and could hardly earn Rs. 2000 for a whole month. Kanchan has two brothers and a sister. Her elder brother studies in class 5 at the Center and a younger sister also attend the Center. I visited the Center two times within a week but for both times Kanchan elder brother was absent. I asked her why her brother was not attending the school. She told me that he had gone to market to buy vegetables for sale. Her elder brother does not go to the school regularly as he goes with his father to help them in his work. Kanchan’s father and mother are illiterate but they want to educate their children but they have no idea how far they can help to educate them.

Kancha parents also hold yellow card which is for Above Poverty Line (APL) families. Though Kanchan’s parents are very poor but they do not have BPL ration card so that they could buy food grains at cheap rate. Kanchan’s parents are also deprived of health facilities. In case of health problem they are bound to visit private doctors, who spare no time to exploit them further.

Manish

Manish is student of class 5 at the Center. He is a relatively bright student in his class. Manish belongs to a backward class family. Manish has three brother and two sisters. His two elder brothers work at a shop as painters and earn a little money and they bear the responsibility to feed their other members of the family. Manish’s father used to work as a skilled laborer in building construction but he fell from a height at about 5-6 years ago. He survived but has not able to work anymore. Her mother also died last year in the month of February after some minor illness. Due to lack of money she could have not received proper medical treatment within time.

I asked Manish if he was interested in his study. He replied ” I want to study but there is a little chance that my brother would support me for further study”. He feels disappointment that owing to poverty he could not continue his study after passing the exam of fifth class at the Center.

It is widely accepted by the international community that human rights are inalienable and interdependent. In the case of these ill fated poor children of Baghwanal area, which are facing squarely deprivation and violation of their right to education is no exception of it. They live in unimaginable unhealthy and unhygienic conditions, they have no means of nutritious food even at its minimum standard and they have extremely hard and tough life to continue their study as to get even least favorable or supportive environment to develop their personality as a human being.

The much trumpeted welfare schemes for the poor have no more effect than the hollow slogans for these poor children and their families. The parents of these poor children are deprived of food grains at subsidized rate under the scheme of Public Distribution System, these families have no viable health facilities on the part of the state and in this area there is no government school so that these poor children could be provided with facilities of elementary education for free of cost. Almost all children attending the Centre have disproportionate weight of their body against their age.

Though most of the children attending the Centre want to attend their classes regularly, to play with their other classmates and to chat with them but it is not possible for them as they are required by their parents to help them in their work to earn bread for themselves. In different seasons these children are employed by their parents in different works. During my visit to the Centre, I learnt that 30 to 40 per cent children do not attend the school regularly because of their involvement in other works at home.

It is extremely relevant to mention that Sir Dorabji Tata Trust has contributed greatly to the children of the area by making it possible for them to access their right to education free of cost. It is also relevant to mention that the commitment of the local human rights organization like PVCHR has been successful to bring about a big difference in terms of awareness of community towards right to education of their children. The teachers/activists working at the Center do hard work to inspire and convince the guardians and parents of these poor children to send them school regularly. These teachers go everyday in the area to take the children to the Center. These activists are not only fully aware of their duty but to the fact that right to education of poor children in the area is not an isolated issue. It is very much related to the other issues like poverty, social stigma, illiteracy, ignorance etc and they are trying hard to do whatever they can do in such limited resources.

AUTHOR: Dr Lenin Raghuvanshi
URL: http://www.pvchr.net/
E-MAIL: pvchr.india@gmail.com

DOWNLOAD
Shelter Progress
25 September 2010

NL-Aid received an alarming e-mail by Brother Gerard Haiti about mismanagement of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). They claimed that IFRC is not building emergency housing. According to Brother Gerard, IFRC is transferring money to criminal gangs in Haiti in order to enjoy protection in the dangerous neighborhoods of Port au Prince and in the rest of the country. The lists are not compiled by IFRC but by corrupt local officials employed by gangs. Reason for NL-Aid to do some research.

NL-Aid asked IFRC for evidence of emergency housing, by documenting the coordinates of Google Earth. Sebastien Kraaijeveld of IFRC Netherlands has put forward a list of 174 shelter constructions (see document above)

Statistics

NL-Aid received a detailed list of targets and goals.

Sebastien Kraaijeveld:
• About 15,000 people (2889 families) are helped with safe and improved accommodations (reference date, December 2010).
• 2947 temporary homes are built in Port-au-Prince, Léogâne, Jacmel, Marigot, Petit-Goâve and St. Marc.
• IFRC wants to solve the accommodation problems of 30,000 families (150,000 people).
• IFRC has received € 890 million for support to Haiti.
• IFRC had received € 20,49 million from The Netherlands (Samenwerkende Hulporganisaties - giro 555-)

Allegations

Matthew Cochrane (IFRC, Haiti), was very clear about the allegations:
• The allegations regarding gangs and corrupt local officials is wrong. I want to stress this very clearly. In all of our projects we work closely with communities. It is crucial that communities are involved in what we do. we need them to take ownership of the support we are trying to provide, and we also want to ensure that we can maximise the benefits for the community. For example, all of our construction is done by people who come from the local community. In that way we are providing people with employment opportunities and chances to learn new and valuable skills. And yes, by ensuring this community ownership, we can ensure that our sites and people are protected. Security is incredibly important in this country. We do not seek to work with gangs or gang members. However, gangs are a pervasive part of community life in Port-au-Prince, particularly in Cite Soleil and the surrounding areas. We cannot categorically say that we are not working with gang members, but we certainly don’t seek to do so.
• In terms of the beneficiary list: we choose beneficiaries based on vulnerability. We always prioritize the most vulnerable – that’s what the Red Cross does. At La Piste, where the land is owned by the government, we have begun to move families into our transitional shelters. The first 140 families are from the local deaf and mute community – a very marginalized group in Haiti and certainly a group that urgently needs support. The remaining residents on the site will also be chosen in terms of vulnerability (people with disabilities, the elderly, young families with lots of children, etc).
• About the coordinates of the houses: we don’t have GPS for every single house. We have coordinates for different project sites, but I’m not sure they are of much use. Oftentimes, shelters are dispersed across a sizeable area. Even when they are clustered together, you have the simple fact that Google Earth does not regularly update its imagery. As you know, they have only updated Haiti imagery twice since the earthquake. For example, there are now 198 houses up at La Piste with another 100 under construction or soon to begin. But the Google imagery is from November and only shows a handful of shelters. However, if you have colleagues here in Haiti, then we can take them to see as many of our projects that they want.
• Brother Gerards has not attempted to contact us here with his concerns. We would have certainly welcomed this dialogue.

We have discussed the communication of IFRC to Brother Gerard, but they do not respond to NL-Aid as well. Of course, it’s difficult to focus on documentation within the chaos of the remains of a shattered country. But, It still strange that only 174 shelters constructions are documented. Every house should be documented. NL-Aid wishes IFRC all best in their attempt to construct the accommodations of 150,000 people. We will continue to follow them.

Read more:
* Red Cross builds transitional shelters in Haitian capital

AUTHOR: Hans Sluijter
URL: www.NL-Aid.org
E-MAIL: info@www.NL-Aid.org

Statement of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Margaret Sekaggya, as she concludes her visit to India

From 10 to 21 January 2011, I carried out a fact-finding mission to assess the situation of human rights defenders in India, and traveled to New Delhi, Bhubaneshwar (Orissa), Kolkata (West Bengal), Guwahati (Assam), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Jammu and Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir).

I met with the Foreign Secretary; the Union Home Secretary; the Additional Secretary (International Organisations and Environment Diplomacy); the Joint Secretary (Human Rights), Ministry for Home Affairs; the State Chief Secretary, State Home Secretary and Director-General of Police in states visited; the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission; Members of the Statutory Full Commission; Chairpersons and Members of State Human Rights Commissions; and Judges from the High Court in Delhi. However, I regret I was unable to meet the Prime Minister, nor with members of the Parliament.

I met as well with members of the diplomatic community and United Nations agencies in the capital. Finally, throughout my mission, I met a very wide and diverse segment of the civil society through national and regional consultations.

I thank very much the Government of India for extending an invitation to me and for its exemplary cooperation throughout the mission. I further want to thank all human rights defenders with whom I had meetings, some of whom had to travel long distances to meet me. Finally, I want to express my appreciation to the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in India for its invaluable support in preparation of and during the mission.

While I must now take some time to review and analyse the considerable amount of information I have received, and to follow up on further exchanges of information with the Government, human rights defenders and other stakeholders, I would like to provide a few preliminary observations and recommendations.

I first want to commend the Government for opening its doors to my mandate. Previous requests to visit India were made by my predecessor in 2002, 2003 and 2004. This is an important development, and I hope that the invitations of other Special Procedures mandate-holders will be similarly honoured in the near future.

I further commend the Government for enabling me to visit five States, which assisted me in gaining a clear understanding of the local specificities in which human rights defenders work. Given the duration of the mission and the size of the country, I regret I could not access all parts of the country, but I invite those who wish to do so to provide me with information now or in the near future.

I note with satisfaction that India has a comprehensive and progressive legal framework which guarantees human rights and fundamental freedoms, as enshrined, inter alia, in the Constitution, the Protection of Human Rights Act, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and the Right to Information Act. I welcome the commitment expressed by Indian authorities to uphold human rights.

I further welcome the draft Bill on the Prevention of Torture with a view to ratifying the Convention Against Torture in the near future.

Besides the National Human Rights Commission and existing State-level Human Rights Commissions, I note the existence of a wide range of Statutory Commissions mandated to promote and protect the rights of, inter alia, women, children, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

However, despite the aforementioned laws aimed at promoting and protecting human rights, I note widespread deficiencies in their full implementation at both central and state levels, adversely affecting the work and safety of human rights defenders. Similarly, I have observed the need for the National and existing State Human Rights Commissions to do much more to ensure a safe and conducive environment for human rights defenders throughout the country.

Throughout my mission, I heard numerous testimonies about male and female human rights defenders, and their families, who have been killed, tortured, ill-treated, disappeared, threatened, arbitrarily arrested and detained, falsely charged, under surveillance, forcibly displaced, or their offices raided and files stolen, because of their legitimate work in upholding human rights and fundamental freedoms.

These violations are commonly attributed to law enforcement authorities; however, they have reportedly also shown collusion and/or complaisance with abuses committed by private actors against defenders. Armed groups have also harassed human rights defenders in some instances.

In the context of India’s economic policies, defenders engaged in denouncing development projects that threaten or destroy the land, natural resources and livelihood of their community or of other communities, have been targeted by State agents and private actors, and are particularly vulnerable.

I am particularly concerned at the plight of human rights defenders working for the rights of marginalized people, i.e. Dalits, Adavasis (tribals) religious minorities and sexual minorities, who face particular risks and ostracism because of their activities. Collectivities striving for their rights have in fact been victimized.

Women human rights defenders, who are often at the forefront of the promotion and protection of human rights, are also at particular risk of persecution.

Right To Information (RTI) activists, who may be ordinary citizens, have increasingly been targeted for, among others, exposing human rights violations and poor governance, including corruption of officials.

Other defenders targeted include those defending women’s and child rights, fighting impunity for past human rights violations, seeking accountability for communal pogroms, upholding the rights of political prisoners, journalists, lawyers, labour activists, humanitarian workers, and church workers. Defenders operating in rural areas are often more vulnerable.

While I acknowledge the security challenges faced by the country, I am deeply concerned about the arbitrary application of security laws at the national and state levels (in Jammu and Kashmir and in the North-East of India), most notably the Public Security Act and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, which direly affects the work of human rights defenders.

I am troubled by the branding and stigmatization of human rights defenders, who are labeled as “naxalites (Maoists)”, “terrorists”, “militants”, “insurgents”, “anti-nationalists”, “members of underground”. Defenders on the ground, including journalists, who report on violations by State and non-State actors in areas affected by insurgency are targeted by both sides.

Freedom of movement of defenders has also been restricted under these security laws; for instance, applications of passport or renewal have been denied, as well as access for defenders to victims in some areas.

Illegitimate restrictions to freedom of peaceful assembly were also brought to my attention: for example, I was informed of instances of protests in support of a human rights defender in detention which were not allowed to take place.

Finally, I am concerned about the amendment to the Foreign Contribution Regulations Act which provides that non-governmental organisations must reapply every five years for the review of their status by the Ministry of Home Affairs in order to receive foreign funding. Such a provision may be used to censor non-governmental organisations which are critical of Government’s policies.

In view of the above, the space for civil society is contracted.

Although the judiciary is the primary avenue for legal redress, I have observed that its functioning is hampered by backlog and significant delays in administrating cases of human rights violations.

The National Human Rights Commission and the existing State Human Rights Commissions is an important additional avenue where human rights defenders can seek redress. However, all the defenders I met during the mission voiced their disappointment and mistrust in the current functioning of these institutions. They have submitted complaints related to human rights violations to the Commissions, but reportedly their cases were either hardly taken up, or the investigation, often after a significant period of delay, concluded that no violations occurred. Their main concern lies in the fact that the investigations into their cases are conducted by the police, which in many cases are the perpetrators of the alleged violations. While I welcome the establishment of a human rights defenders focal point within the National Human Rights Commission, I regret that it was not given sufficient prominence within the Commission.

Based on the above, I wish to make the following preliminary recommendations:

To the Central and State Governments:

- The Prime Minister and the Chief Secretaries should publicly acknowledge the importance and legitimacy of the work of human rights defenders, i.e. anyone who “individually and in association with others, […] promote[s] and […] strive[s] for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels ” (article 1 of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, A/RES/53/144). Specific attention must be given to human rights defenders who face particular risks (as identified above).

- Security forces should be clearly instructed to respect the work and the rights and fundamental freedoms of human rights defenders, especially human rights defenders who face particular risks (as identified above).

- Sensitization training to Security forces on the role and activities of human rights defenders should be delivered, with technical advice and assistance from relevant UN entities, non-governmental organizations and other partners.

- Prompt and impartial investigations on violations committed against human rights defenders should be conducted, and perpetrators should be prosecuted.

- The Supreme Court judgment on police reform should be fully implemented in line with international standards, in particular at the State level.

- Full implementation of laws and policies which guarantee human rights and fundamental freedoms of human rights defenders should be ensured.

- A law on the protection of human rights defenders developed in full and meaningful consultation with civil society and on the basis of technical advice from relevant UN entities should be enacted.

- The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act should be critically reviewed.

- The Draft Bill on Prevention Against Torture should be adopted without further delay.

- The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women should be ratified. The ratification of the complaints procedure will provide women human rights defenders an opportunity to access another procedure to address any violations of rights under the Convention.

- The Armed Forces Special Powers Act and the Public Security Act should be repealed and application of other security laws which adversely affect the work and safety of human rights defenders should be reviewed.

- The functioning of the National Human Rights Commission should be reviewed with a view to strengthening the Commission by, inter alia: broadening the selection criteria for the appointment of the Chairperson; diversifying the composition of the Commission; extending the one-year limitation clause; establishing an independent committee in charge of investigating complaints filed; elevating the status of the human rights defenders focal point by appointing a Commissioner. The Protection of Human Rights Act should be amended as necessary in full and meaningful consultation with civil society.

- State Human Rights Commissions should be established in States where such commissions are not yet in existence without further delay.

- Central and State Governments should continue collaborating with Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, including by extending invitations for country visits.

To National and existing State Human Rights Commission:

- The supportive role of the commissions for human rights defenders should be strengthened by inter alia, conducting regular regional visits; meeting human rights defenders in difficulty or at risk; and undertaking trial observations of cases of human rights defenders wherever appropriate.

- The visibility of the commissions should be ensured through regular and proactive engagement with civil society and the media.

- A toll-free 24-hour emergency hotline for human rights defenders should be established.

- The commissions should monitor the full implementation of recommendations made by UN human rights mechanisms, including Special Procedures mandate-holders, Treaty Bodies, and the Universal Periodic Review.

To the judiciary:

- In the absence of a witnesses and victims protection Act, the judiciary should take measures to ensure the protection of human rights defenders at risk, witnesses and victims.

- The judiciary should ensure better utilization of suo motu whenever cases of violation against human rights defenders arise.

- The importance of the role of human rights defenders in the vibrant and active functioning of the judiciary should be recognised.

To human rights defenders

- Platforms or networks aimed at protecting defenders and facilitating dialogue should be devised or strengthened.

- Defenders should better acquaint themselves with the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

- Efforts should be made to continue making full use of United Nations Special Procedures and other international human rights mechanisms when reporting on human rights violations.

To the international community and donors

- The European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders and local strategies on India should be implemented on a systematic basis.

- The situation of human rights defenders, in particular the most targeted and vulnerable ones, should be continually monitored, and support for their work should be expressed through, inter alia, interventions before central and state institutions.

- Efforts should be intensified in empowering civil society.

To all stakeholders:

- The Declaration on Human Rights Defenders should be translated in main local languages, and disseminated widely.

- Efforts should be continued to raise civic awareness among the general public, and the spirit of dialogue and cooperation in society fostered.

I will present my full report with final conclusions and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2012.

Source: People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR)

***

A word from Dr Lenin Raghuvanshi, Executive Director, PVCHR

Friends,

Many of you have seen the open letter dated 13th January, 2011, sent by me to the UN Secretary General protesting against discriminatory decision of the office of UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders. I wrote that letter because I hold the office of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders responsible for excluding representation from Uttar Pradesh in National Meeting on 11 January 2011. However, I am shocked to see the desperation among some NGO leaders to accept martyrdom by valiantly shielding the office of Mrs. Margaret Sekaggya. They even stooped to the level of calling one human rights organization from Varanasi to represent in the meeting on 18th January, 2011, without realizing that our organization People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) stood by that organization when it receive threat from the state whereas, the head of that organization kept quite when I received threat from the Chief Minister of UP. I wish to highlight that the office of the Rapporteur instead of observing the trend of violations against Human rights defenders in India is more interested in setting trend of favoritism and operating through the age old British policy of ‘divide and rule’. I also understand, we still have ‘Roy Bahadurs’ working for their masters. Colonialism is a mindset and I am not surprises to see that among some of the people who fight for dignity. People in the office of the Rapporteur have done everything except giving answer to my question- Why did you exclude UP from the meeting and who advised that? I still expect a simple answer to a simple question.

I hold many organizations and individuals like Mr Miloon Kothari engaged in the preparatory process for the visit of the Special Rapporteur with high regards and have reasons to believe that they have no interest in keeping the representation from Uttar Pradesh out. I thank Ms Teesta Setalvad for understanding our feelings. Who else other than her can understand what it takes to fight the powerful state? In my initial mail to the office of the Rapporteur, I had urged her to visit Chhatisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir and North Eastern States. I am sure many others might have also suggested the same and I for everyone’s behalf thank her for prioritizing those states. The planning of meetings for the Rapporteur smacks a hidden agenda to alienate some groups representing certain states. For example, the planners have asked the people from Uttarakhand to travel to Kolkatta for the meeting instead of coming to Delhi. The southern states were clubbed with Orissa when nearby state hosted another meeting. This cannot be just coincidence. Whose interests are protected and promoted here?

I condemn attempt by some people to paint me as egoist, irrational and attention seeker. I had written about the plight of victims in Manipur, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Orissa, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Bihar highlighting challenges posed by the state. My struggle for dalit and minority rights started much before I worked on projects. Carpet mafias and my feudal relative nexus poisoned my brother when we were working against child labor. I rebelled against my feudal family and embraced Buddhism because I believed that truth must prevail. Historic blunders must not be allowed to continue. I believed in caste reconciliation. I donated my ancestral lands to people belonging to socially weaker section. Now someone tells me that I did all these for drawing attention? My commitment for a just, secular India is absolute. I only seek attention of the victims/survivors. I do not need certificate from so called human rights defenders who not only steal ideas but also sell religion, caste, victims and what not to get projects.

We believe, history will consider the outcome of the findings by Mrs. Margaret Sekaggya, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders in India as pre decided, biased and non- reflection of the ground realities in India.

My decision to protest against the discrimination by the office of UN Special Rapporteur is final and irreversible. I have been advised by my organization and others to stage a peaceful sit-in protest outside the meeting venue. The office of the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister and the office of the Secretary General and media have already been informed about it. The organizers and the office of the Special Rapporteur will solely be responsible for the consequences if any untoward incident takes place at the meeting venue.

Thanking you for your overwhelming support.

Black member of South African Police Service (SAPS) involved in attacks against Afrikaners and black foreigners

From 1994 to 23th December 2010 3,769 of the 12,000 remaining “white” farmers are murdered. South Africa is showing the highest level of armed violence against ethno-Europeans. The violence has escalated dramatically since the end of the World Cup 2010 football tournament in July 2010. Attacks and false arrests of whites in the rest of Africa are also rising. More than 96% of all reported rural murder victims are ‘white’, mostly Afrikaans-speakers – people who also refer to themselves as Afrikaners. Afrikaners who describe the armed attacks against them as a genocide or ethnocide, are not being paranoid: there is considerable evidence of police collusion in these attacks. Besides the recorded fact that ‘South Africa’-police so frequently fail to respond to emergency calls from besieged Afrikaner families, the ‘South Africa’-police directorate also issued a statement describing the remarkable mass-arrest of the entire Police CID unit at the Magalies police station – which controls the greater.
 

Re-arrest of Former SAPS Capt. Patrick Magonono

June 26 2008: (Former SAPS ) Capt. Patrick Magonono, ex-head of criminal investigations division at Magalies SAPS, was arrested for farm attacks and xenophobic attacks with five colleagues: the arrest was described of police captain Patrick Magonono (then active-duty), who then commanded the Criminal Investigations Division at the Magalies SAPS. He was arrested together with five black colleagues at the same police station, and formally charged with carrying out specific armed robberies targetting Afrikaner smallholders throughout the region for the past five years. The six police officers also were charged with carrying out organised campaigns of xenophobic violence against black African foreigners. Charges were formally placed in the Johannesburg magistrate’s court against these six police-officers for carrying out specific numbers of armed attacks against Afrikaners throughout the greater-Magalies smallholdings region as well as with attacks against black foreign Africans. A great many witnesses statements were collected by the arrest-team. 

NL-Aid is in the possession of a list of murdered people (see hyperlink above) in rural areas includes English-speaking commercial ‘white’ farmers, foreign visitors and white immigrants. The list also shows names of murdered black female farmers torched to death or hacked to death inside their homesteads over male-dominance related tribal land-rights disputes. 

There are some 1-million black farmers in South Africa. who now hold more than 4% of the viable agricultural land sites. There are about 12,000 commercial ‘white’ farmers remaining to farm on less than one percent of the entire land surface. South Africa is an arid country and only 6 percent of its entire land surface has ever been suitable for crop-farming.

Read more:
* Digital Journal
* On 29 March 2010, a press release was issued by the SAPS describing the re-arrest of Patrick Magonono by a police-team spotting an attack against a shopkeeper in Phokeng, North West: read SAPS Journal Online 

AUTHOR: Adriana Stuijt
URL: http://censorbugbear.blogspot.com
E-MAIL: a.j.stuijt [at] knid.nl