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Monday, 31 October 2011

Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) pushes India to 119th place By Newzfirst10/26/11


Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) pushes India to 119th place

NATO'S GENOCIDAL ROLE

    Embassy
of the Republic of Cuba

New Delhi, October 30th, 2011

Dear friends,

The Embassy of the Republic of Cuba has the pleasure to enclose here a comrade Fidel Castro's Reflection:

NATO'S GENOCIDAL ROLE (II PART)

                Due to the importance of the information contained in these documents they can be resent, copied or published.

               The Embassy of Cuba invites you to send us your comments and in case you are not interested in receiving information about Cuba, feel free to tell us.

Best regards,

  Press Section
Cuban Embassy

Eduardo E. Iglesias Quintana
Minister Counsellor
Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in India
tel: 2924 2467/68, 2924 2370   fax: :2924 2369
Mobile: 9899491822
     The Cuban Five will return!!!


NATO'S GENOCIDAL ROLE  (II PART)

On February 23rd, under the title of "The Cynical Danse Macabre", I set out:
  "The policy of plundering imposed by the United States and their NATO allies in the Middle East has gone into a crisis. "
 "Thanks to the treason committed by Sadat at Camp David, the Palestinian State has not been able to exist, despite the UN treaties of November 1947, and Israel became a strong nuclear power, an ally of the United States and NATO. 
The US Military Industrial Complex supplied Israel with tens of billions of dollars every year as well as to the very Arab States that were submitted and being humiliated by Israel.  
The genie has escaped from the bottle and NATO doesn't know how to control it.
They are going to attempt to wrest the most benefits from the regrettable events in Libya.  Nobody can know at this moment what is happening over there.  All the figures and versions, even the most implausible ones, have been spread by the empire via the mass media, sowing chaos and disinformation. 
It is obvious that inside Libya a civil war is brewing.  Why and how did this happen?  Who will pay the consequences? Reuters Agency, echoing the opinion of the well-known Nomura Bank of Japan, stated that oil prices could go beyond any limits:"
 "…What would be the consequences in the midst of the food crisis?
"The main NATO leaders are all worked up.  British Prime Minister David Cameron, ANSA informed, `…admitted in a speech in Kuwait that the western nations made a mistake in backing non-democratic governments in the Arab world.'."
"His French colleague Nicolas Sarkozy stated: `The extended brutal and bloody repression of the Libyan civilian population is disgusting."
"Italian Chancellor Franco Frattini stated as `believable' the figure of one thousand dead in Tripoli […] `the tragic numbers shall be a bloodbath'."
Hillary Clinton stated: "…the `bloodbath' is `completely unacceptable' and `it has to stop'…"
 "Ban Ki-moon spoke: "`The use of violence in the country is absolutely unacceptable'."
"…`the Security Council will act according to whatever the international community decides'."
"`We are considering a series of options'."
What Ban Ki-moon is really hoping is that Obama pronounces the last word. 
The president of the United States spoke this Wednesday afternoon and stated that the Secretary of State would be leaving for Europe in order to agree with their NATO allies on the measures to be taken. On his face once could note the opportunity to spar with John McCain, the far-right-wing Republican senator, pro-Israel Senator Joseph Lieberman from Connecticut and the leaders of the Tea Party, in order to ensure the Democratic Party demands.
The empire's mass media has prepared the terrain for action. There would be nothing strange about a military intervention in Libya; besides, with that, Europe would be guaranteed almost two million barrels of light oil per day, unless before that events would put an end to the leadership or the life of Gaddafi.
 "Anyway, Obama's role is rather complicated.  What will the reaction of the Arab and Muslim world be if blood should flow in abundance in that country as a result of that exploit?  Would NATO intervention in Libya stem the revolutionary tidal wave surging in Egypt?
In Iraq, the innocent blood of more than a million Arab citizens was spilt when the country was invaded under false pretexts.  "
"Nobody in the world would ever agree with the deaths of defenceless civilians in Libya or anywhere else.  And I wonder: will the US and NATO apply that principle on the defenceless civilians that the unmanned Yankee planes and the soldiers of that organization kill every day in Afghanistan and Pakistan?
It is a cynical danse macabre."
While I was meditating upon these events, the debate scheduled for yesterday, Tuesday, October 25th, began at the United Nations, on the "Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba", something that has been addressed by the immense majority of the member countries of that institution over the course of 20 years.
This time, the numerous basic and just reasons – that for US administrations were nothing more than rhetorical exercises – made clear as never before the political and moral weakness of the most powerful empire that has existed, to whose oligarchic interests and insatiable lust for power and wealth all the inhabitants of the planet have been submitted, including the people of that very country.  
The United States tyrannizes and pillages the globalized world with its political, economic, technological and military might. 
That truth becomes ever more obvious after the honest and valiant debates that have been taking place in the last 20 years at the UN, with the support of the states that one presumes express the will of the immense majority of the planet's inhabitants.
Before Bruno's address, many countries' organizations expressed their points of view via one of their members.  The first of these was Argentina on behalf of the Group of 77 and China; Egypt followed on behalf of the Non-Aligned Nations; Kenya on behalf of the African Union; Belize on behalf of CARICOM; Kazakhstan on behalf of the Islamic Cooperation Organization; and Uruguay on behalf of MERCOSUR.
Besides these group-based expressions, China, a country with growing political and economic clout in the world, India and Indonesia firmly supported the Resolution through their ambassadors; among the three of them they represent 2.700 million inhabitants.  The ambassadors of the Russian Federation, Belorussia, South Africa, Algeria, Venezuela and Mexico also spoke.  Among the poorest countries of the Caribbean and Latin America, there were vibrating words of solidarity, such as the ones by the ambassador of Belize, who spoke on behalf of the Caribbean community, also the ambassador of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, who spoke on behalf of his country and the one from Bolivia, whose arguments related to solidarity with our people, despite a blockade that is now lasting 50 years, will be an undying stimulus for our physicians, educators and scientists.
Nicaragua spoke prior to the vote, to courageously explain why it would be voting against that treacherous measure.
Also speaking earlier was the United States representative, to explain the unexplainable. I was sorry for him. It was the role they had given him.
When the time for the vote arrived, two countries were absent: Libya and Sweden; three abstained: the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau; two voted nay: the US and Israel. Adding up those who voted nay, abstained or were absent: the United States with 313 million inhabitants; Israel with 7.4 million; Sweden with 9.5 million; Libya with 6.5 million; Marshall Islands with 67.100; Micronesia, 106.800; Palau with 20.900, the total comes to 336 million 948 thousand, equivalent to 4.8% of the world's population which this month is at 7 billion. 
Following voting, to explain their vote, Poland spoke on behalf of the European Union which, in spite of its close alliance with the United States and its forced participation in the blockade, is against that criminal measure.
Afterwards, 17 countries spoke, to resolutely and decisively explain why they voted for the Resolution against the embargo.

On March 2nd, under the title of "NATO's Inevitable War" I wrote:
"In contrast with what is happening in Egypt and Tunisia, Libya occupies the first spot on the Human Development Index for Africa and it has the highest life expectancy on the continent.  Education and health receive special attention from the State.  The cultural level of its population is without a doubt the highest.  Its problems are of a different sort. […] The country needed an abundant foreign labour force to carry out ambitious plans for production and social development."
"It had enormous incomes and reserves in convertible currencies deposited in the banks of the wealthy countries from which they acquired consumer goods and even sophisticated weapons that were supplied exactly by the same countries that today want to invade it in the name of human rights.
"The colossal campaign of lies, unleashed by the mass media, resulted in great confusion in world public opinion.  Some time will go by before we can reconstruct what has really happened in Libya, and we can separate the true facts from the false ones that have been spread."
"The empire and its main allies used the most sophisticated media to divulge information about the events, among which one had to deduce the shreds of the truth."
"Imperialism and NATO – seriously concerned by the revolutionary wave unleashed in the Arab world, where a large part of the oil is generated that sustains the consumer economy of the developed and rich countries – could not help but take advantage of the internal conflict arising in Libya so that they could promote military intervention."
"In spite of the flood of lies and the confusion that was created, the US could not drag China and the Russian Federation to the approval by the Security Council for a military intervention in Libya, even though it managed to obtain  however, in the Human Rights Council, approval of the objectives it was seeking at that moment."
"The real fact is that Libya is now wrapped up in a civil war, as we had foreseen, and the United Nations could do nothing to avoid it, other than its own Secretary General sprinkling the fire with a goodly dose of fuel.
"The problem that perhaps the actors were not imagining is that the very leaders of the rebellion were bursting into the complicated matter declaring that they were rejecting all foreign military intervention."
One of the rebellion's ringleaders, Abdelhafiz Ghoga, declared on February 28th, in an encounter with journalists: "What we want is intelligence information, but in no case that our sovereignty is affected in the air, on land or on the seas."
"The intransigence of the people responsible for the opposition on national sovereignty was reflecting the opinion being spontaneously manifested by many Libyan citizens to the international press in Benghazi", informed a dispatch of the AFP agency this past Monday.
"That same day, a political sciences professor at the University of Benghazi, Abeir Imneina, adversary of   Gaddafi stated:
  "There is very strong national feeling in Libya."
"`Furthermore, the example of Iraq strikes fear in the Arab world as a whole', she underlined, in reference to the American invasion of 2003 that was supposed to bring democracy to that country and then, by contagion, to the region as a whole, a hypothesis totally belied by the facts."
"`We know what happened in Iraq, it's that it is fully unstable and we really don't want to follow the same path.  We don't want the Americans to come to have to go crying to Gaddafi', this expert continued."
 "A few hours after this dispatch was printed, two of the main press bodies of the United States, The New York Times and The Washington Post, hastened to offer new versions on the subject; the DPA agency informs on this on the following day, March the first: "The Libyan opposition could request that the West bomb from the air strategic positions of the forces loyal to President Muamar al Gaddafi, the US press informed today'."
"The subject is being discussed inside the Libyan Revolutionary Council, `The New York Times' and `The Washington Post' specified in their online versions."
"'In the event that air actions are carried out within the United Nations framework, these would not imply international intervention, explained the council's spokesperson, quoted by The New York Times'".
"`The Washington Post' quoted rebels acknowledging that, without Western backing, combat with the forces loyal to Gaddafi could last a long time and cost many human lives."  
In that Reflection, I immediately wondered:
"Why the effort to present the rebels as prominent members of society demanding bombing by the US and NATO in order to kill Libyans?"
"Some day we shall know the truth, through persons such as the political sciences professor from the University of Benghazi who, with such eloquence, tells of the terrible experience that killed, destroyed homes, left millions of persons in Iraq without jobs or forced them to emigrate."
 "Today on Wednesday, the second of March, the EFE Agency presents the well-known rebel spokesperson making statements that, in my opinion, affirm and at the same time contradict those made on Monday: "Benghazi (Libya), March 2.  The rebel Libyan leadership today asked the UN Security Council to launch an air attack `against the mercenaries' of the Muamar el Gaddafi regime.'"
"Which one of the many imperialist wars would this look like?

"The one in Spain in 1936? Mussolini's against Ethiopia in 1935? George W. Bush's against Iraq in the year 2003 or any other of the dozens of wars promoted by the United States against the peoples of the Americas, from the invasion of Mexico in 1846 to the invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982?
 "Without excluding, of course, the mercenary invasion of the Bay of Pigs, the dirty war and the blockade of our Homeland throughout 50 years, that will have another anniversary next April 16th.
"In all those wars, like that of Vietnam which cost millions of lives, the most cynical justifications and measures prevailed.
 "For anyone harbouring any doubts, about the inevitable military intervention that shall occur in Libya, the AP news agency, which I consider to be well-informed, headlined a cable printed today which stated: "The NATO countries are drawing up a contingency plan taking as its model the flight exclusion zones established over the Balkans in the 1990s, in the event that the international community decides to impose an air embargo over Libya, diplomats said'."
Any honest person capable of objectively observing the events can appreciate the danger lying in the ensemble of cynical and brutal events that characterize United States policy and explain the embarrassing solitude of that country in the UN debate on "The need to put an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo on Cuba".
I am closely following the Pan-American Games of Guadalajara 2011, despite my work.
Our country swells with pride for those young people who exemplify for the world their selflessness and spirit of solidarity.  I warmly congratulate them; nobody can take away from them the place of honour they have earned.  
To be continued on Sunday the 30th.

        Fidel Castro Ruz
October 28, 2011
__._,_.___

one person disappeared by the smuglers & police asking for bribe

To
The Hon’ble Member
National Human Rights Commission
Faridkot House
Copernicus Marg
New Delhi-110001
Attn. Mr. Satyabrata Pal, IFS
Respected Sir,

We have received information that one Mr. Samsuddin Shah, son of Mr. Sahamat Shah from village-Godhanpara, Police Station-Raninagar, District-Murshidabad, West Bengal has allegedly been abducted or killed by some alleged miscreants. The victim’s wife lodged written complaint at local Raninagar Police Station disclosing that her husband originally a worked as a carrier of cattle which job was time to time given to him by the local smugglers and their agents. The victim was paid paltry amount for the job.  In one such occasion the victim was tasked to carry some cattle to a specified location by some miscreants namely (1) Mr. Bajit Shah, (2) Mr. Baidul Shah, (3) Mr. Basir Shah, all sons of late Jabar Shah; (4) Mr. Panchu Shah, son of Janu Shah; (5) Mr. Rejaul Shah, son of Sheru Shah, all from village-Khairamari, Police Station-Jalangi, District-Murshidabad; (6) Mr. Asikul Sk., son of Ahasan Sk. of village-Inatpur, Police Station-Jalangi, and (7)  Mr. Hossain Sk. of Beldanga, District-Murshidabad who is one kingpin of cross border cattle smuggling business of that area.

The victim was promised to pay his wage after the said cattle was sold in Bangladesh. Later he came to know that those cattle were sold in Bangladesh, so he went to meet the aforesaid persons to get his wage on 13.8.2011 at about 2 pm. But since then he did not return to his house. Still his whereabouts are unknown to his family members though he was searched by his family members at every possible location. His family members strongly apprehended that the aforesaid persons either abducted or killed him out of grave conspiracy. The police (Raninagar Police Station) booked one criminal case vide  Raninagar Police Station Case no. 490/2011 dated 22.8.2011 under sections 363/365/34 of Indian Penal Code against the aforesaid persons, though it is a matter of fact that the police initially refused to accept the complaint from the side of the victim’s family on different false pretext.  

The police (Raninagar Police Station) only registered the case but did not take any action to rescue the victim till date. Moreover Mr. Nilanjan Roy, the Officer-in-Charge of Raninagar Police Station demanded Rs. 1 Lakh from the victim’s wife to take any action in the case. The victim’s wife lodged written complaint before the Superintendent of Police, Murshidabad on 22 September 2011 against the impure role played by the perpetrator police personnel of Raninagar Police Station, but here also no action was taken till date.

The victim’s family desperately wanted him back either alive or dead but the reluctance of the police (Raninagar Police Station) to take action against the accused persons only gave a message to the victim’s family that the police (Raninagar Police Station) will not take action as it maintains a copy relationship with the smugglers and a section of BSF involved in smuggling in the border area and it is paid bribe as protection money. This scandalous situation known to everybody has going on for son long. But who will police the police?

Hence we urge the Commission to intervene in this case in the following manner:-

·         The Officer-in-Charge and other involved police personnel of Raninagar Police Station must be held responsible for showing gross dereliction of duty and a neutral enquiry must be initiated against them.
·         The Officer-in-Charge and other involved police personnel of Raninagar Police Station must also be booked under the law and consequently prosecuted for their impure role as alleged from the side of the victim’s family.
·         The concerned authorities including Raninagar Police Station must be directed to rescue the victim immediately and take urgent legal action against the accused persons.
·         Any other suitable relief(s) as the Commission may deem fit and proper.


Thanking You,
Yours truly,




Kirity Roy
Secretary, MASUM
&
National Convener, PACTI


--
Kirity Roy
Secretary
Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha
(MASUM)
&
National Convenor (PACTI)
Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity
40A, Barabagan Lane (4th Floor)
Balaji Place
Shibtala
Srirampur
Hooghly
PIN- 712203
Tele-Fax - +91-33-26220843
Phone- +91-33-26220844 / 0845
e. mail : kirityroy@gmail.com
Web: www.masum.org.in

Sunday, 30 October 2011

Tribals verus Non-Tribals: War of words over an award

Tribals verus Non-Tribals: War of words over an award

   
It is hard to differentiate between misplaced and genuine sense of pride when intellectuals lock their horns over an issue. Here’s a classic case.
London based Gandhi Peace Foundation had to reframe the title of award being given towards Adivasi cause, after facing wide range of objections and protests by the social activists especially from people working on Adivasis.
But this didn’t douse the flames instead it set-off another controversy of undermining the ten millions of Indian aboriginals.
Earlier, the Gandhi Peace Foundation announced the conferring of award titled ‘The Adivasis of India’ to eminent non-Adivasis activists Dr. Binayak Sen and Dr. Bulu Imam as the recipients on behalf of Adivasis. Consequently, the issue was seriously and assertively raised by Jharkhand based tribal activists, Glasdon Dundung.
“Would this foundation do the same thing with other communities’ like Bengali, Marathi, Brahmin or religious groups like Hindu, Muslim, Christian, etc? Is it possible an Adivasi to receive award on behalf of Bengali, Marathi or Brahmin communities? Will Hindu, Muslim or Christian allow a Dalit to receive an award on behalf of their group? And should men receive some award meant for women?” asked Dungdung.
The issue was snow balled into fierce intellectuals’ discussions and has given food for thoughts to many. Eventually, the foundation asserted its gaffe and later they re-worded it as ‘Different ways to address the growing violence’.
Meanwhile, it was easy for the Foundation to re-word its award title than to drop the awardees. Many Adivasi organizations welcomed this step of foundation which is headed by Sir Richard Attenborough. But, it has set off another debate.
How could an organization change original awardee (The Adivasis of India) merely in respect of recipient?
Did the foundation succumb to the pressure from Dr. Binayak Sen’s International lobby which had made series of international campaign in solidarity while Dr. Sen was in prison?   
An unnamed e-mail is being circulated as smear campaign against the tribal activists who have been raising this issue. In response to smear campaign, Adivasi groups have been threatening to ‘expose’ the awardees at different platforms.
In flow of criticism, Mr. Dungdung went on to extent of doubting Dr.  Sen’s intention. He says ‘Mr. Binayak Sen and Mr. Bulu Imam had got award letter from foundation in July, 2011, which clearly states that both of them are the recipients of awards on behalf of Tribals of India. Both of them didn’t object till we protested.’
At the same time Mr. Dundung says ‘we have immense regard for them and their extraordinary work towards Adivasis. So the foundation needs to recognize their work in their respective field’
Responding to an allegation published in a magazine, he says ‘I haven’t said that Dr. Sen and Shree Imam are either clever or selfish, but what I mean is, I smell some sort of dishonesty in their responses regarding the matter of Peace Award and this is obvious too’ 
Jharkhand Indigenous People Forum and Jharkhand Human Rights’ Movement have appealed the foundation that after this serious controversy, foundation should not make any discussion over Adivasis of India.
Also, these organizations have appealed recipients that ‘receive the awards for your extraordinary works for all other people and not for the Adivasis’

The murder brigades of Misrata

Friday, Oct 28, 2011 2:00 PM 18:07:06 GMT+0200
The murder brigades of Misrata
Gadhafi's demise was just a part of a vast revenge killing spree
By Daniel Wlliams
http://politics.salon.com/2011/10/28/the_murder_brigades_of_misrata/singleton/

MISRATA, Libya � If anyone is surprised by the apparent killing of Moammar Gadhafi while in the custody of militia members from the town of Misrata, they shouldn't be.

More than 100 militia brigades from Misrata have been operating outside of any official military and civilian command since Tripoli fell in August. Members of these militias have engaged in torture, pursued suspected enemies far and wide, detained them and shot them in detention, Human Rights Watch has found. Members of these brigades have stated that the entire displaced population of one town, Tawergha, which they believe largely supported Gadhafi avidly, cannot return home.

As the war in Libya comes to an end, the pressing need for accountability and reconciliation is clear. The actions of the Misrata brigades are a gauge of how difficult that will be, and Misrata is not alone in its call for vengeance. In the far west, anti-Gadhafi militias from the Nafusa Mountains have looted and burned homes and schools of tribes that supported the deposed dictator. Anti-Gadhafi militias from Zuwara have looted property as they demanded compensation for damage they suffered during the war.

The apparent execution of 53 pro-Gadhafi supporters in a hotel in Sirte apparently under control of Misrata fighters is a bad omen. It is up to the National Transitional Council to rein in all the militias and quickly establish a functioning justice system. The NTC should take control of the many makeshift detention facilities, expedite the return of displaced Libyans, and ensure the investigation, trial and punishment of wrongdoers acting in the name of vengeance. That includes Gadhafi's killers if the evidence showed crimes were committed. The NTC, and its foreign backers, have comprehensively failed to start setting up a justice system � even in Benghazi, where they have been in charge since the spring.

Clearly the NTC is up against the passions of a nasty war. Misrata withstood a two-month siege at the hands of Gadhafi's forces with near-daily indiscriminate attacks that killed about 1,000 of its citizens. The town's main boulevard, Tripoli Street, is in ruins. Facades of public buildings and private homes collapsed from tank fire and are charred inside and out. The pockmarks of bullet holes disfigure construction everywhere.

The fierce fight for Misrata has left a penetrating bitter aftertaste. Misratans say they detest anyone who backed Gadhafi. They are not welcome in Misrata, even if the city and its environs was their home for generations.

The Misrata militia is focusing its greatest wrath on Tawergha, a town of about 30,000 people just south of the city. Both Misratans and Tawerghas say residents there were enthusiastic Gadhafi supporters. Hundreds of erstwhile civilians in that town took up arms to fight for him. Misratans say Tawergha volunteers committed rapes and pillaged with gusto, though Misrata officials decline to produce evidence of the alleged rapes, saying family shame inhibits witnesses and victims from coming forward.

In any event, Misratan militia members are venting their anger on all Tawerghas, who are largely descendants of African slaves. Most fled their town as Misratan fighters advanced there between Aug. 10 and Aug. 12.

Witnesses and victims we interviewed provided credible accounts of Misratan militias shooting and wounding unarmed Tawerghas and torturing detainees, in a few cases to death. In Hun, about 250 miles south of Misrata, militias from Benghazi have taken it upon themselves to protect about 4,000 refugees. They say Misratans are hunting down Tawerghas.

One hospitalized Tawergha told Human Rights Watch how he was shot in the side and leg and abandoned to die near Hun: "They left us at the edge of the road, put a blanket over us and then started swearing, `You are dogs, hope you die.'"

Misrata militias, with the momentary compliance of local officials, insist that no Tawerghas should return to the area. Ibrahim Yusuf bin Ghashir, a representative of the NTC, said: "We think it would be better to relocate them somewhere else." The allegations of rape, he added, "cannot be forgiven and it would be better to resettle them far away."

This unforgiving campaign is not limited to Tawerghas. Many Misratans say that any tribe or group that supported Gadhafi � thousands of people � should not return to the city. The graffiti on tumble-down town walls express Misratans' view: "(Expletive) No returnees."

Human Rights Watch has interviewed refugees from Misrata who tried to return and were forbidden to enter the city without a permit from the local council. A Misrata militia member told the media that all pro-Gadhafi travelers are barred from the city.

As painful as the losses have been for Misrata and the rest of Libya, everyone who fought Gadhafi should remember what they were fighting for: an end to torture, to arbitrary detention, to pitting one tribe against another; for respect and equality among neighbors. Otherwise, the agony that preceded victory will breed vengeance, rancor and a divided new Libya � one that in disturbing ways may resemble the old.

UAE Begins Trial of Five Democracy Activists

UAE Begins Trial of Five Democracy Activists
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/uae-begins-trial-five-democracy-activists

Published Friday, October 28, 2011

Five activists have been put on trial in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for expressing their opinions on the banned political website, UAE Hewar (Dialogue). They have been accused of incitement and insulting the symbols of the state under article 176 of the penal code. The case has even been upgraded to a threat to national security, even though the accused did not write anything of the sort on the blog. Since their arrest six months ago, they have been humiliated and tortured.

The trial of the accused five, arrested last April, began on June 14. They are: the engineer and writer Ahmed Mansour, Sorbonne-Abu Dhabi economics professor Nasser bin Ghaith, and internet activists Fahd Salim Dalk, Ahmed Abdul Khaleq, and Hassan Ali al-Khamis. The final verdict is expected on 27 November. The sentence will be final and not subject to appeal because the trial is part of state security procedures, and the federal supreme court is looking at the case in the preliminary stage.

Nasser bin Ghaith has written a letter from prison in which he declared his "boycott of the show trial and refusal to attend its sessions."In a phone conversation with al-Akhbar, the wife of bin Ghaith, Wadad al-Mahiri, insisted that her husband was innocent of all the accusations leveled against him. She said that bin Ghaith is a professor and a writer at al-Rai newspaper. He writes about economic matters that serve the country. He is also a legal advisor to the armed forces. He comes from a well-known Emirati family, most of whose members occupy prominent positions. She added, "He was surprised that such accusations would be leveled against him when all his qualities and deeds show how patriotic he is in his defense of the Emirates and its rulers." She points to the accusation of "insulting the crown prince of Abu Dhabi," and wonders, "How can that be? He harbors all respect and love for Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed."

Al-Mahiri believes that media incitement against the accused has turned the case into a national security issue. As for the evidence on which the case is built, she says, "Since the UAE Hewar site is blocked, the case is void. Where is the scene of the crime to convict the accused?" She adds that, "The stream on which the authorities claim the accused insulted the state had more than 42 thousand comments. Some of these comments were more extreme and harsher than what the accused wrote, so why were those five specifically chosen? None of them know each other."

Nasser bin Ghaith has written a letter from prison in which he declared his "boycott of the show trial and refusal to attend its sessions," because the trial was unjust. He spoke of the way he was arrested, describing it as "humiliating and degrading, carried out through a trap set up by the state security apparatus in cooperation and collusion with his place of work, which he has served for more than 23 years."

He also wrote about being tortured in prison. He says that after he was arrested, he was deprived of sleep for 48 hours and unable to use the bathroom. As soon as he arrived in Al Wathba prison, he was put in solitary confinement for 10 days. He wrote, "During this period I would urinate in one corner of the cell and perform tayammum (ablutions without water) and pray in another."

He, along with the other four accused, were then transferred to the general prison area where they were kept with "rapists, murderers, and fraudsters. It is well-known that even in police states, political prisoners or prisoners of conscience are not kept with ordinary prisoners." He adds that after that, they were targeted "by the prisoners at the instigation of a certain party."

He also spoke of breaches of the law committed by those responsible for carrying out justice. He said, "A few days after I was arrested and before I was put before the court, the attorney general made a statement in which he named me and the others, saying that it has been proven that we committed several crimes. This is a serious breach of our rights and of legal and moral principles." He added, "the court staff were changed three times and its sessions were made secret for no given reason, despite the fact that the trial should be public." There is also a media campaign against the accused, questioning their patriotism and professionalism, even making death threats.

According to four human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, the messages posted by the accused on the UAE Hewar site are "no more than criticisms of government policies and political leaders." Ahmed Mansour faces additional charges, including inciting others to break the law and calling for a boycott of the elections and for demonstrations. Mansour had declared his support of a petition with more than 130 signatures calling for direct general elections to select the Federal National Council, a government advisory body.

(al-Akhbar)

The Other Scam You Forgot About

The Other Scam You Forgot About
The Karnataka Lokayukta’s report on the PDS mess is as damning as the mining scam revelations, says Rohini Mohan
Photo: Shailendra pandey
DESPITE WHAT our reel-life heroes have shown us, perhaps it’s only possible to fight one villain at a time. Still, in his last few days on the job, Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde tried to battle two evils, with two reports that presented damning evidence of corruption in the BJP government. The first report, on illegal mining, had enough firepower to systematically dig holes in the state government. The second report, unfortunately, has been overshadowed by the sheer political drama of getting the otherwise immovable CM BS Yeddyurappa to resign.
Submitted to the chief secretary a day before the mining report, a probe into the public distribution system (PDS) in the state shows massive corruption and inefficiency in the distribution of foodgrain. While the state lost about Rs 1,800 crore per year through illegal iron ore trading, it also lost about Rs 1,738 crore a year through the PDS.
In September 2010, Hegde appointed Mysore-based anti-corruption activist and founder of Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement Dr R Balasubramaniam to probe the alleged irregularities in the PDS. By collecting secondary data and doing field investigations in all 30 districts, Balasubramaniam found that a little above 49 percent of those receiving subsidised rice and wheat under the below poverty line (BPL) quota, were ineligible. Every month, an average of Rs 54.4 crore subsidy was spent on families that no longer existed, foodgrain amounting to Rs 56.6 crore was lost in leakages and Rs 24.5 crore was spent on people who weren’t poor at all.
This staggering diversion of funds cannot be explained simply by inefficiency and systemic corruption. The devil lies in the dirty policy. In December 2008, the government announced a short-term programme: anyone producing a self-declared affidavit of poverty by March 2009 would be given BPL cards. If a person stood in line at the district Nemmadi Kendras (relief centres) and said he was poor, he would receive a BPL card. Without proof of income, possessions or calorie intake. The BJP government had simply bypassed every single method of determining poverty.
A Department of Food and Civil Supplies official admits that they were to verify the poverty claims later, but this was not followed through. “What’s the point when the cards are already given?” he contests.
Balasubramanian points out that the BPL cards were given out just a few months before the 2009 Lok Sabha election. “The whole process of identifying the poor was reduced to political gimmickry,” he says.
Nemmadi Kendras are set up by the eGovernance department for providing 43 kinds of services including widow pension, birth and death certificates, domicile certificates, etc. The 136-page PDS irregularities report explains that these centres gave out 1.6 crore cards (APL + BPL), while the state’s population is only 1.2 crore families. This means subsidies were drawn and foodgrain accounted against 40 lakh ghost cards for families that do not exist.
Grain down the drain
Rs 1,800 cr
Amount lost per year through illegal iron ore trading
Rs 1,738 cr
Amount lost per year through irregularities in the PDS
It gets worse. Even the number of poor families is an overestimation, thanks to the randomness of a self-declaration. The probe calculates that the number of BPL families according to Karnataka’s official poverty assessment criteria is 44 lakh. This is far below the 96 lakh BPL cards the state has given out. The inclusion error was thus 49 percent — every second person who received subsidised foodgrain shouldn’t have.
THE CENTRAL government, on the other hand, according to methods stipulated by the Planning Commission, estimates that there are 31.29 lakh BPL families in Karnataka. Central funds and foodgrain from the Food Corporation of India are allotted accordingly to the state. As the state claims it has 65 lakh more BPL families (it calls it Extra BPL), it must dip into its own funds to meet the excess food security it wants to extend. So when the Centre gives rice at Rs 5.40 per kg to the state, Karnataka further subsidises this by Rs 2.40, so that it can sell rice to the BPL cardholders at Rs 3 per kg. The Centre also gives rice at Rs 8.30 a kg to above poverty line families, but since Karnataka has slotted most of the APL families also as BPL, it is bound to give them rice at Rs 3 a kg too. It does this by spending another Rs 5.30 a kg for APL families. In other words, Karnataka subsidises the rich far more than it does its really poor.
In the shade Hegde submitted the PDS scam report a day before the one on mining
In the shade Hegde submitted the PDS scam report a day before the one on mining
Photo: SB Satish
The takeaway from the PDS irregularities report is not only that undeserving people are accessing subsidies, but also that the really poor are being shortchanged. In fact, there’s an exclusion error of 5 percent. This may seem low but the PDS deprives the poor in another way too.
Since there is only a constant amount of ration (rice, wheat, sugar, kerosene) from the central PDS, the Karnataka government devised a new system to be able to distribute ration to the about 80 percent of its population it had declared BPL. Instead of the per family norm followed in every Indian state, Karnataka introduced a new unit system. One unit is any person who is above 10 years of age. Every unit was entitled to 4 kg of rice, and no family was allowed to claim rice for more than five units, or five family members.
This meant the government never gave more than 20 kg per month to a family, even though the Central law stipulates that every family should get 29 kg rice per month, whether it has five or two members. The Karnataka chapter of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties has challenged this in the Karnataka High court. Last year, the court declared the unit system illegal, but the state has shown no sign of reverting to the family system of food security.
Every month, about Rs 54.4 crore subsidy was spent on families that existed only on paper
The 9 kg extra due to every BPL family does not always fund the extra BPL cardholders in the state either. The PDS report finds that 73 percent of the people surveyed paid bribes to get foodgrain. Fair price shops charged higher rates from the cardholders, and many of them found the shops open only for 5-6 days a month. Even when open, close to 70 percent of the ration shops did not display stock positions on a board outside, as they are supposed to. In a state that considers itself the IT hub of the nation, neither the food distribution nor the inventory is computerised.
Food minister Shobha Karandlaje and Department of Food and Civil Supplies Secretary BA Harish Gowda refused to respond to TEHELKA’s queries.
As he steps down after a turbulent last phase, Hegde says that while the illegal mining report indicts politicians and corporates, the PDS graft should be given equal attention. Both scams have caused huge losses to the exchequer, but “the frauds and wrong decisions in the PDS are being further funded by people’s taxes,” he says.
The graft in Karnataka’s PDS is just the sort of callousness in governance that allows a regime to claim that it cares for its poor, when it does nearly the opposite.