Palash Speaks

Mandela Condemns Emergency while India has tightened its borders!
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashbiswaskl@gmail.com">palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
Jemima leads Pak. protesters to No 10
London : Jemima Khan, former wife of Pakistan's cricketer-turn-politician Imran Khan had led a demonstration in front of 10, Downing Street protesting against imposition of emergency in Pakistan and demanding release of arrested judges and politicians.
An excited crowd surged outside Downing Street on Saturday as Jemima presented a petition to the Prime Minister's office calling for release of Pakistan's arrested judges and politicians.
"The message to the government is: Look at the crowds outside. People really care about this issue," she said.
Imran Khan had escaped from house arrest and is now evading the police in Lahore.
India today said it was "deeply worried" about the instability in Pakistan in the aftermath of the declaration of emergency as the political turmoil there could lead to an increase in militancy.While, Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf said on Sunday a general election would be held by January 9 but under a state of emergency he imposed eight days ago.

New Delhi also underlined that it had "tightened" its borders and was on guard against the prospect of increased militancy from across the border, but was hopeful that its peace process with Pakistan that began nearly three years ago would not be affected in the long run.

"We are very worried about what is happening in Pakistan. Our prime minister (Manmohan Singh) has consistently maintained that we want a stable Pakistan," National Security Adviser M K Narayanan told reporters aboard the prime minister's special aircraft on the way to Moscow.

"We want a stable Pakistan. But more importantly, an unstable Pakistan means increased problems and aggravated militancy within our borders," he said when asked about India's reaction to developments in the neighbouring country following President General Pervez Musharraf's November 3 decision to declare emergency.

"We have tightened our borders tremendously. We are all aware of the fact that however tight the border may be - it is not just the Line of Control (LoC) but there are sea borders and various other borders with other countries... Therefore, the possibility that there will be increased infiltration across these various borders looms large in our perception," Narayanan said.

"It is a matter of fact (that) the last few weeks have seen an increase in militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. However, we are proud that there was a decline in militancy in the previous years.

"So, in short, we are concerned. We are doing our best to tighten our borders but are on our guard," Narayanan said.

Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said India was hopeful of a peaceful transition in Pakistan as a peaceful and stable Pakistan was in everybody's interest.

He stressed that regardless of who was in power in Pakistan, India would continue its peace process with it.

"For us, a process of improvement in our relationship in the last three-four years is very important. We would like this process to be carried forward," Menon said.

It's a week since emergency was imposed in Pakistan and the crackdown on political activity continues.Authorities in Pakistan have sealed Imran Khan's cancer hospital in Lahore in a bid to track down the leader who went underground last Sunday.Imran who heads the Tehreek-e-Insaaf party went underground a day after orders for his house arrest. The order came following the imposition of Emergency in Pakistan.Imran has earlier demanded the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikar Muhammed Chaudhury and release of judges detained and has called a mass movement by students against the emergency.
Pakistani Taliban rebels have carried out a second attack on a historic 40 metre tall Buddha statue in the Swat valley of the North West Frontier Province destroying the head, shoulders and feet. The rebels also plan a thrid attack to destroy the Buddha completely.
Swat, which is 200 km northwest of Islamabad, has practically been overrun by Islamic fundamentalists led by Mullah Fazlullah. There have been several attacks suicide strikes against the Pakistan army. Swat's priceless Buddhist heritage includes stupas and statues, which were erected on the orders of Emperor Ashoka and contained real relics of the Buddha.The 40-metre statue was first attacked on September 12 this year and was partially damaged.
Mandela condems Emergency in Pakistan while India has tightened its borders tremendously, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan told a media conference on board AI 001 carrying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to his summit with Russia President Vladimir Putin in Moscow .
We are on guard, Narayanan said, responding to the current upheaval in Pakistan, adding that cross-border infiltration has increased in the recent weeks.
We were very proud that infiltration had decreased, the National Security Advisor said, but two-three bad incidents have indicated that infiltration is on the increase.
"We are very worried about what is happening in Pakistan, Narayanan said, adding that infiltration and the uncertain situation across the border "crimps our drive to cut troops" in Jammu and Kashmir.
Well done!
On the other hand,Bush says he still trusts Musharraf!
President George W Bush on Sunday said that Pakistan's president has taken ''positive steps'' by promising to lift the state of emergency, step down as army chief and hold elections.
Bush continued his administration's approach to the crisis by refusing to pointedly criticise Gen Pervez Musharraf.
Bush dodged a question about whether Musharraf's moves, seen by many as an attempt to cling to power, are distracting from the battle against al-Qaeda in Pakistan.
''I vowed to the American people to keep the pressure on them (al-Qaeda). I fully understand we need cooperation to do so,'' Bush said after two days of meetings at his ranch with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel. ''One country we need cooperation from is Pakistan.''
But, he added, he has confidence in the commitment of Pakistan's leadership to stick with the US in that fight. ''We share a common goal,'' Bush said.
He said he still trusts Musharraf, saying the Pakistani leader aligned himself with Washington after the September 11 2001, attacks and has not given Bush reason for doubt since.
In fact, Bush said, several al-Qaeda leaders have been brought to justice ''and that wouldn't have happened without President Musharraf honouring his word.''
''I take a person for his word until otherwise,'' Bush said. ''He made a clear decision to be with us and he's acted on that advice.''

See this message.
Today there was a protest march against Musharaf in Boston--we have been fortunate to record voice of protest from some of the prominent pro-democratic pakistani activists in the rally--it was interesting- -one of the activist Javed Aziz told that Musharaf is suffering from chronic depression since 2005 and he got definitive proof This was really new angle! I am thinking of recording him further on this isssue--

Plz listen to the audio...
www.vinnomot. com
http://ishare. rediff.com/ filemusic. php?id=65920

Biplab
Rice wants Musharraf to end state of emergency soon
Washington : Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Pakistan's military ruler on Sunday to lift the state of emergency as soon as possible, expressing concern that Gen. Pervez Musharraf has not set a time limit for restoring citizens' rights.
At the same time, Rice said it was a positive sign that Musharraf now has pledged to hold parliamentary elections by mid-January. There had been concerns voting could be delayed by as much as a year in the wake of his declaration last weekend that he was suspending the constitution.
``It's not a perfect situation,'' Rice said, in an interview on ``This Week'' on the ABC television network.
She said the role of the United States should be to persuade Pakistan that ``it has to get back on the democratic road.'' Asked about whether it was time for Musharraf to step down, Rice said the focus should be on holding free and fair elections.
The army chief imposed the state of emergency on Nov. 3, citing the growing threat posed by Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants. Critics say the move was aimed at extending his grip on power, noting that the main targets of his crackdown so far have been human rights workers, political activists and lawyers.
At a news conference Sunday in Islamabad, Musharraf defended the emergency measures and said it was ``the most difficult decision I have ever taken in my life.''
Catastrophe in Pakistan
Soli J. Sorabjee
Sunday, November 11, 2007

Whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make them mad. General Musharraf has done what no military ruler in Pakistan has been mad enough even to attempt. In effect he has declared a war on the Constitution and the fundamental rights of the people, on the press and the nation's top judiciary. What is the justification? The usual pretext of threat to national security. In reality, it is to pre-empt a likely adverse verdict by the Supreme Court against the general in his pending election case. Musharraf cannot tolerate an independent judiciary striking down orders that are unconstitutional. He regards this as constant interference by the judiciary.
The most obnoxious part is the emasculation of the Supreme Court and the humiliation heaped upon Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, who has been forced to vacate his office and is under house arrest. Justice Hameed Dogar, fourth in line of seniority, has been appointed chief justice by Musharraf under the new provisional constitutional order. Promptly Chief Justice Dogar cancelled the hearing of the cases pending in the Supreme Court against Musharraf. The cat is out of the bag.
Judges are required to take oath under the new provisional constitutional order. No self-respecting judge will do so. But alas, there will be obliging judges who will replace them and do the general's bidding. And all these condemnable actions are to keep the general in the saddle. What a catastrophic folly! What a suicidal blunder!
The US's staunch ally in the war on terror has turned out to be its staunch enemy on civil liberties and democracy. The US has limited options. It cannot afford to cut off military aid to Pakistan because that would enable the jihadi and pro-Taliban elements to gain ground, a worrying development for us. However, the US must act swiftly and press for the release of Chief Justice Chaudhry, Pakistani lawyers, media persons and human rights activists. It should also press for early free and fair elections under international supervision.
__._,_.___
Mandela condemns emergency
Posted by: "Press Media of Communist Party of Pakista"
jamco@isb.paknet.com.pk jamcoj
Date: Sat Nov 10, 2007 4:24 pm ((PST))
http://www.dawn.com/2007/11/10/top11.htm
Mandela condemns emergency
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 9: A group of former world leaders, including Nelson
Mandela and Jimmy Carter, has denounced President Pervez Musharraf for
imposing emergency and suspending the Constitution.
"These illegal acts have resulted in abuse and incarceration of judges,
lawyers, human rights' activists, journalists and other moderate and
democratic opposition forces," the group, called the Elders, said in a
statement on Thursday.
"The Elders support all those freedom-loving Pakistanis who have chosen
to join in peaceful expressions of opposition to these dictatorial
acts and call upon political leaders throughout the world to insist on a
return to a lawful government under Pakistan's Constitution," it said.
The group was formed earlier this year in an effort to use the
influence of more than a dozen Nobel laureates and former world leaders to
reduce conflict and despair around the globe.-Reuters
Messages in this topic (1)
________________________________________________________________________
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2. Students censure emergency
Posted by: "Press Media of Communist Party of Pakista"
jamco@isb.paknet.com.pk jamcoj
Date: Sat Nov 10, 2007 4:27 pm ((PST))
President Musharraf has announced that general elections in Pakistan will be held in the first week of January, reportedly before the 9th of the month.
In a controversial statement he also added that he couldn't give a date for when the emergency will be lifted.
The disputed military leader claimed that even emergency would ensure a free and fair election.
Meanwhile, taking forward her campaigning against General Pervez Musharraf, former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has said that it's dictatorship that actually fuels extremism.
She was speaking after the detention order against her was lifted, and said she feared for Pakistan's future.
The former Pakistan prime minister, who has been freed from house arrest, on Saturday was prevented from meeting deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
After being barred from entering the Judges Colony to meet Chaudhry, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairperson said she had come to meet the ''chief justice. I believe under the law Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry is Pakistan's Chief Justice.''
Bhutto argued with the police officials for 15 minutes at the Judges Colony gate. She then joined 200 journalists who were staging a protest against the closure of television channels and restrictions imposed on the media.
''I am here to express solidarity with the journalists. I condemn restrictions on the media by the military regime,'' Bhutto told journalists, saying her party believes in the freedom of expression.
''My fight is also for democracy, for independence of judiciary,'' she said while pledging to continue struggle against dictatorship.
The former prime minister was scheduled to meet more than 60 diplomats based in Islamabad later in the evening over dinner.
She is expected to raise the matter of the reinstatement of the Supreme Court judges during her discussions with the envoys and urge them to pressurize President General Pervez Musharraf in this regard.
Bhutto after being freed from a day's house arrest announced today that she would go ahead with her 'long march' on November 13 from Lahore to Islamabad to pressurize President Musharraf.
Bhutto's demands are to hold elections as planned in January and that the President should shed his uniform.
Bhutto, who was put under house arrest to prevent her from holding a rally in Rawalpindi yesterday, was freed late last night amidst US pressure.
The US condemned the government action and said that she must be ''permitted freedom of movement''.
The PPP Chief had announced the march a few days ago to press the military ruler to end the state of emergency, restore constitution, hold elections as scheduled in January and discard his army uniform.
Sharif's letter
And it seems that Bhutto's efforts are receiving the backing of another former prime minister.
In a letter, Nawaz Sharif referred to Benazir's plan to organize a ''long march'' and has sought details so that his PML-N could decide on whether it wants to join hands with the PPP.
Sharif also unveiled a four-point agenda to strengthen cooperation among opposition parties.
He has called for a restoration of Pakistan's constitution before the coup in October 1999, and the emergency and Provisional Constitutional Order withdrawn.
He has also demanded that all political activists, lawyers and judges arrested under the emergency be released, curbs on the media should be lifted and the election held under the supervision of a neutral caretaker government.
Besides Bhutto, opposition politician Imran Khan has also said that he was going to mobilise people to protest against the emergency rule.
The former cricket star and outspoken politician said he was planning a ''big students demonstration, unprecedented since 1968.''
''I am planning that there will be a big students demonstration, unprecedented since 1968, and once that happens then I don't mind going into jail,'' said Imran Khan, Chairman, Tehreek-e Insaaf.
President Musharraf insists that he called the week-old emergency to help fight Islamic extremists who control swathes of territory near the Afghan border.
But Pakistan's secular opposition, as well as its increasingly independent courts and media, have been the main target of the subsequent repression.
US pressure
However, ever since the imposition of emergency, there has been growing international pressure, particularly from the US, on the General to move ahead with the democratic process and end the emergency.
Eventually on Friday, Pakistan's Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum announced that the state of emergency would end in a month.
Thereafter, the Bush administration had called for the restrictions on Bhutto to be lifted, and Pakistan's government said late on Friday she was again free to move about.
On Saturday morning, police pulled aside the metal barriers blocking the street leading to her villa to let her four-vehicle convoy pass.
Three police vehicles escorted her to the headquarters of her Pakistan People's Party for a meeting with other leaders.
Bhutto aides said the former premier would discuss Pakistan's political crisis with foreign ambassadors at a dinner later on Saturday.
In the meantime, outside Bhutto's house, scores of policemen kept an eye on her supporters. The PPP has claimed on Friday that 5000 of its supporters had been arrested in the last three days across the eastern province of Punjab.
But security officials said only 1,100 have been detained. Besides this, Pakistan has also amended the Army Act, based on which now even civilians can be court martialed for supporting terrorist activities.
However, the American pressure has continued. In Washington, some lawmakers called for aid to Pakistan to be curtailed unless Musharraf quickly relaxes his crackdown and presses ahead with long-promised democratic reform.
Also, the State Department has asked the General to set a date for elections.
http://www.dawn.com/2007/11/10/nat37.htm
Students censure emergency
LAHORE, Nov 9: FAST National University students and faculty members on
Friday staged a protest demonstration against the imposition of
emergency in the country. At a protest meeting inside the campus, students
and faculty members wearing black head and armbands raised slogans
against President Musharraf for imposing emergency and promulgating the
Provisional Constitution Order (PCO).
The protesters were carrying placards with inscriptions "Go Musharraf
Go", "Musharraf Gardi Nahin Chaley Gi", "Lathi Goli Ki Sarkar Nahin
Chaley Gi" and "Restore the Constitution".
Speaking to the protesters, faculty members and students condemned Gen
Musharraf's unconstitutional actions. They also signed a petition,
which said, "We condemn the imposition of emergency and the promulgation of
PCO". They said they would post this petition on the internet.
It has also been learnt that students are scheduled to hold a protest
demonstration against the imposition of emergency in front of the Lahore
Press Club at 1pm on Saturday (today).
IJT: The Islami Jamiat-i-Tulaba (IJT) staged a protest demonstration
and a walk at the Punjab University's New Campus on Friday against the
proclamation of emergency.
A large number of university students, teachers and employees
participated in the protest and the walk held after Friday prayers.
They were carrying banners and placards and raising slogans against the
emergency and 'state terrorism' against lawyers, politicians,
political workers, civil society members and the journalists.
Speaking to protesters, IJT's Punjab University Nazim Muhammad Ayub
said Pakistan had come into being in the name of Islam, but the rulers
were acting against religious teachings and bombarding their own people.
He said students would continue their struggle against the
extra-constitutional steps taken by Gen Pervez Musharraf to perpetuate his rule, and
offer all sacrifices for the restoration of democracy and the
constitution. -Staff Reporter
Taliban exploit Pakistan emergency
Aljazeera.net
November 10, 2007
http://uruknet. info/?p=m38085& hd=&size= 1&l=e
Officials in the Swat valley in Pakistan say Taliban fighters are tightening their grip on some areas in the north-west of the country close to the border with Afghanistan.
The rising violence near the frontier was one justification for the current state of emergency declared by General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president.
Pro-Taliban fighters have advanced in recent days and the government says they now control as much as 70 per cent of the Swat valley.
They have taken control of public buildings, including police stations.
"Banks face trouble transporting money, we are prepared to provide them with protection," Mawlana Mohammed Alem, a local Taliban leader told Al Jazeera.
"We wish to provide security to the public, who can no longer tolerate the unjust prejudicial acts of the police. We wish to provide protection under the Islamic Sharia law," he said.
Police blamed
Local residents say heavy-handed police tactics are one of the reasons Taliban support is growing.
"The police here commit atrocities against the residents and the law provides protection only for senior officers," one man told Al Jazeera.
"Taliban supporters have not caused us any harm; our electricity was cut and they managed to restore it in one hour," another said.
There are also reports that as the Taleban spread out from their traditional stronghold on the Afghan border, they are shutting girls' schools and setting fires to shops selling Western music in Swat.
"We have been getting calls from a number of people who are complaining about how these Taliban have terrorised them, despite the presence of the police and army," Imitaz Gul, a political analyst in Islamabad told Al Jazeera, "so the question is: Where is the state?"
The Swat valley is just a few hours' drive from Islamabad and the Taliban's control is growing.
Opposition politicians say the state of emergency is one of the reasons for the Taliban's expansion.
"They claim that the government has been distracted with all its efforts directed at arresting human rights activists, politicians and lawyers," said James Bays, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Islamabad.
In Islamabad itself, Benazir Bhutto vowed to go ahead with a planned rally next week to protest against the emergency rule.
In a show of defiance on Saturday, the former prime minister joined a small journalists' demonstration in the capital against media restrictions under the state of emergency.
"I have come here to express solidarity with you. I condemn these curbs," she said.
Jamil Soomro, a senior leader from Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP), said that a long march from Lahore to Islamabad will take place next Tuesday.
"On the 13th, it [the motorcade] will go ahead. If she's not there, the rally will still happen," Soomro said.
Later on Saturday, Bhutto was blocked by police from visiting Iftikhar Chaudry, the country's deposed chief justice, at his home where he has been confined since emergency rule was imposed
Addressing foreign diplomats at an evening meeting, she called for support to end the state of emergency imposed by Musharraf a week ago.
"Pakistan under dictatorship is a pressure cooker. Without a place to vent, the passion of our people for liberty threatens to explode," she said.
'Ending emergency'
Meanwhile, Pakistan's attorney general hinted at an early end to emergency rule.
"The state of emergency will end within one month," Malik Mohammed Qayyum said.
Bhutto was kept under house arrest on Friday to prevent her from leading a protest in the town of Rawalpindi.
But she was freed later during the day.
Police maintained a strong security presence at her residence in Islamabad, complete with barbed wire and concrete barriers, despite saying she was no longer under house arrest.
Pakistan's slide into political uncertainty has accelerated over the past week when Musharraf declared his country under emergency rule.
Thousands of his opponents have been arrested.
"The government has been paralysed," Bhutto shouted to supporters across a barbed-wire barricade on Friday as police used batons and tear gas to break up small protests in several parts of the country.
"If he [Musharraf] restores the constitution, takes off his uniform, gives up the office of the chief of army staff and announces an election by January 15, then it's OK," she said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's government on Saturday ordered three journalists from Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper to leave the country because of its "foul and abusive language" against Musharraf.
Musharraf has cracked down on both domestic and foreign media since the imposition of the state of emergency.
Elections
Musharraf has said elections will be held by February 15, about a month later than they were due.
He also said he would quit as army chief and be sworn in as a civilian president once new judges appointed to the supreme court struck down challenges against his re-election.
Bhutto has been holding power-sharing talks with Musharraf for months and political analysts say co-operation between the pair - which the US was earlier said to have been encouraging - is still possible.
Since the emergency was imposed, thousands of opposition figures and human rights activists have been arrested.
An interior ministry spokesman said 2,500 people had been detained, though Bhutto's party says 5,000 of their activists have been picked up over the past few days.
Link: english.aljazeera. net/NR/exeres/ C341BB4A- EC10-4CB8- A79A-F563467C05C 0.htm
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Some doubt Musharraf can be ousted
The Pakistani leader has always thrived on chaos, and he is
employing the tactics that have kept him in power for years.
By Laura King, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 11, 2007
http://www.latimes. com/news/ nationworld/ world/la- fg-
tightrope11nov11, 0,2532118. story?coll= la-home-center
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

Democracylaying with Fire
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashbiswaskl@gmail.com">palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
Palestinian leader says peace meeting an 'historic opportunity'

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Sunday hailed an "historic opportunity" for peace as his people marked the third anniversary of the death of his iconic predecessor Yasser Arafat
Kurds, Turkey, and the US: Playing with Fire
by Lars Akerhaug
http://mrzine. monthlyreview. org/akerhaug1011 07.html
Once again the Turkish generals threaten to invade areas in Northern
Iraq, or, if you want, Southern Kurdistan.
Historically, these areas with their flat fields around the
Euphrates and Tigris, surrounded by peaked mountaintops, were home
to a multitude of religions and cultures, in the way mountainous
areas often are. But, after decades of war, dictatorship, and
ethnic persecution, these places have been cleansed of minorities,
in the way it often happens when imperialist forces cut artificial
borders and build artificial states.
Since the beginning of the occupation of Iraq, Northern Iraq has
been one of the few things Washington dares to boast about. The
area under the Kurdish regional government has been noted for its
stability and has seen economic growth.
Maybe not so strange, as the area has been ruled by the iron fist of
the two dominant Kurdish parties in Iraq, PUK and KDP, and at the
same time been a major trade point among Iraq, Turkey, and Iran.
Why, in areas where political opposition is being marginalized and
persecuted, stability often follows. And at major road crossings
for smugglers of guns and drugs, you're seldom short of cash.
The black sheep is the Northern Kurdistan guerrilla PKK, which has
its military camps based in the Qandil mountains of Southern
Kurdistan. Since 2002, the group has attempted to improve its
relations to the West, especially America. Leaders from its sister
party PEJAK in Iran have traveled to the United States and met
American officials. In Turkey the group took a moderate line with
several unilateral ceasefires and attempted to follow the rules of
parliamentary politics through running for elections with
independent Kurdish candidates and setting up legal parties.
None of the attempts had much effect. Turkey didn't soften up to
the guerrillas, the US didn't do anything, and at the same time the
secular nationalist movement was losing votes and popular support to
the Islamists in Northern Kurdistan. So, it's nothing strange that
the PKK broke the ceasefire this spring. Anything else would be a
political suicide.
Neither is it strange that a united Turkish public opinion now aims
at Iraq and the PKK. Though it's hard to see that Turkey in any way
would gain from invading its neighboring country, making it more
unstable, it's easy to see that in a country where a large majority
of the citizens hold strong nationalist opinions, all big parties
gain from promoting Turkish chauvinism.
Actually all parties may gain from a war. Already the Turkish state
and the nationalist falanges are directing hard strikes to the
Kurdish and democratic movement, both in Turkey and Europe. Even if
the Turkish generals know that they cannot win control over Southern
Kurdistan, they might think they're getting one step closer to
exterminating opposition to the Turkish state. At the same time,
the post-Islamist party AKP could prove their worth as "real
nationalists. " And, ironic as it may be, weakening the PKK would
probably only strengthen the Islamist adversaries of the military
council in Northern Kurdistan.
And it looks as if the PKK is consciously trying to get Turkey
involved in Iraq. Maybe they want to weaken the relations between
Turkey and the US (they're bad enough already) and thus indirectly
strengthen their own relations to Washington. Maybe the guerrillas
are betting that the neocons once again will attempt to exploit the
Kurds, this time in a crusade against Iran?
The situation in Turkey, Iraq, and Kurdistan is a bright example of
how geopolitics is centered around the United States. Since the
Iraq war, Turks and Kurds have fought over support from the White
House. Anyone could have predicted the current conflict. At the
same time the US never had many options. They don't exactly have
plenty of friends in this part of the world. This war could easily
become the last step towards the collapse of the US occupation of
Iraq.
Lars Akerhaug lives in Norway. This article first appeared in the
Web site of Campo Antiimperialista on 5 November 2007.
The Mystery of Hezbollah
by Anne-Laure Fournier
http://mrzine. monthlyreview. org/hezbollah101 107.html
One year after the last war in Lebanon, Hezbollah remains a
mystery. For the first time, its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, accepted
the presence of Western cameras inside the organization and answers,
under high security, the most delicate questions. By retracing the
history of this movement, Le Mystère Hezbollah [The Mystery of
Hezbollah], an exceptional documentary, provides the keys to
understanding what comes into play in this region.
Who are these "fanatics of God" who resisted the Israeli army's
attacks in 2006? "Terrorists" according to Bush, "dangerous
fundamentalists" according to the international opinion, or simple
militants of the Shi'i Islamic persuasion engaged in the democratic
life of their country for their supporters?
The reality is undoubtedly as complex as the history of Hezbollah, a
movement which provokes the most contradictory reactions in this
multicultural society characterized by the coexistence of various
religious currents.
After months-long negotiations, Jean-François Boyer, international
journalist and film maker, and Alain Gresh, writer and journalist of
Le Monde Diplomatique, received an authorization to film Hezbollah
installations, to publish some of its previously unpublished
archives, and to question its charismatic leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
Not evading any question, Nasrallah himself speaks about not only
Hezbollah's relations with the Lebanese government, the
Palestinians, Iran, and the source of its funds and weapons, but
also its position on the state of Israel, whose legitimacy Hezbollah
has always officially denied.
At the Heart of the "Party of God"
Educated by Iranian clerics, the Shi'i leader has maintained very
strong bonds with Ayatollah Khamenei. The accusation of being
the "armed hands of the Iranian revolution" always gets applied to
the Lebanese movement. On this point, the response of Nasrallah is
at the very least ambiguous: "Give me a single example in the twenty-
five years of its existence where Hezbollah served the interests of
Iran against those of Lebanon.". . .
A product of various Shi'i groups, Hezbollah lived in the shadow
during the first fifteen years of its existence. At the end of the
civil war, it became the only one authorized by Syria to continue
armed struggle at the Israeli border in southern Lebanon.
In 1992, Nasrallah committed his movement to the electoral process
to give it democratic legitimacy. In 2007, Hezbollah is one of the
major Lebanese parliamentary factions with its fourteen deputies.
Today, it is mobilizing, with the principal Christian party, for a
national unity government.
On its military role, the position of Nasrallah is clear: "The
question of weapons is tied to the conflict with the Israeli
enemy. . . . Hezbollah has never used them inside Lebanon. All the
elections in which it has taken part really show that we are
committed to the electoral process and the life of the nation."
In the south of Lebanon, Hezbollah troops, less visible but always
well armed, remain ready to act. "As long as the Lebanese army can
manage the problem, we do not intervene. But if the Lebanese army
and the UNFIL are unable to solve it, then the resistance goes into
action." The term well summarizes one of Hezbollah's principal
raisons d'être: a Lebanese movement of resistance against Israel.
An objective shared by many other Lebanese, if we are to believe
Michel Samaha, the number two leader of Maronite Christians, allied
with the "Party of God." From Beirut to southern Lebanon, the two
journalists traveled to meet not only Hezbollah combatants, the
object of a veritable cult worship, and their families but also
representatives of the main political parties of Lebanon and their
militants.
Their investigation equally led them to the scenes of Hezbollah's
social action -- schools and hospitals financed mainly by the
organization -- as well as the premises of the Al-Manar network, the
most watched network in Lebanon, considered to be the Hezbollah
media.
In a country where tensions are always high, Hezbollah shows that it
remains an actor impossible to ignore among the opposing forces.
First broadcast: Sunday, 15 July 2007 at 12:25 (network and TNT).
Duration: 52 min.
Writers: Jean-François Boyer and Alain Gresh
Director: Jean-François Boyer
Producer: France 5/Dream Way Productions
Year: 2007

Watch Le Mystère Hezbollah
http://video. google.com/ videoplay? docid=-131214041 7688176823& hl=en

Israel admits phosphorus bombing (BBC)
Posted by: "Romi Elnagar" luesapphire48@yahoo.com">bluesapphire48@yahoo.com bluesapphire48
Sat Nov 10, 2007 8:37 pm (PST)
Israel admits phosphorus bombing

Israel fought Hezbollah in Lebanon in July and August
Israel has for the first time admitted it used controversial phosphorus shells during fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon in July and August.
Cabinet minister Jacob Edery confirmed the bombs were dropped "against military targets in open ground". Israel had previously said the weapons were used only to mark targets. Phosphorus weapons cause chemical burns and the Red Cross and human rights groups say they should be treated as chemical weapons. The Geneva Conventions ban the use of white phosphorus as an incendiary weapon against civilian populations and in air attacks against military forces in civilian areas. Hospitals Mr Edery says he confirmed during a parliamentary session last week on behalf of Defence Minister Amir Peretz that the weapons were used in fighting. "The Israeli army made use of phosphorus shells during the war against Hezbollah in attacks against military targets in open ground," he said. No information was given on when, where or how the shells were used. Lebanon had accused Israel of using the weapons but at the time Israeli officials said they were only for
marking. Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said in late July: "According to the Geneva Convention, when they use phosphorus bombs and laser bombs, is that allowed against civilians and children?" Doctors in hospitals in southern Lebanon had said they suspected some of the burns they were seeing were being caused by phosphorus bombs. Israeli forces said the arms used in Lebanon did not contravene international norms.

From: alert4just

Democracy
http://english.wa3ad.org/index.php?show=news&action=article&id=1205
Brenda Abou Khalil - 27/03/2007 - 12:25 | Hits: 123
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suffice it to say the theme of the protest has been a call for a clean, representative government. Yet Time suggests the protest sought to bring on civil war.
The 12 March 2007 edition of Time (European edition) offers a profile of Fouad Siniora, Lebanese Prime Minister, entitled

For Whom the Closing Bell Tolls
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashbiswaskl@gmail.com">palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
Finance Minister P Chidambaram will inaugurate the three-day annual Economic Editors' Conference here on Monday. The conference will enable editors and journalists to interact ministers and senior officers of key economic and infrastructure ministries and get a detailed view of government policies and programmes, an official release said. Ministries participating in the conference include commerce, agriculture, consumer affairs, petroleum, civil aviation, steel, chemicals and fertilisers, labour and finance. About 300 editors and financial writers are likely to attend the event, it said.

US President, George Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday discussed the current impasse over Doha round, in particular the role of India.
"We had a very good discussion on Doha, and the need for Germany and Europe and the US to work closely together with developing nations such as Brazil and India to advance in the Doha Round," Bush said at his Crawford ranch in Texas after his meeting with Merkel.
Brazil along with India has taken up the mantle of protecting the interests of developing and poor countries in the international trade negotiations.
Merkel was on a two-day visit to the US to discuss a wide range of bilateral and global issues with Bush. While the US-led global war against terrorism, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Middle East peace process, and climate change figured prominently in the talks between the two leaders, it was at the initiative of the US President that they discussed the Doha round.
"The President raised the issue of Doha round talks with me," said the German Chancellor, who visited India last month and had a detailed discussion with her Indian counterpart on the issue.
"I appreciated very much the Chancellor's briefing on her trip to India. It helps a lot for those of us who are engaged in international politics to get advice from people who have seen firsthand the attitudes of important players such as India," Bush said.
Import tariffs
The US and European Union are asking the developing countries to open up their markets to manufacturers by cutting import tariffs in return for cuts by rich countries to subsidies and tariffs on farm goods.
Developing countries led by India and Brazil oppose this proposal, as they argue these require the poor countries to cut their industrial tariffs by more than what rich countries would do.
"We are working with India on the Doha round. India certainly will have a constructive role to play. We have a small road to travel. If we have to start again after the American elections, we will fail," said Merkel.
Iran, Pak reach gas pipeline deal
Iran and Pakistan finalised the text of $7.4 billion gas pipeline project contract in Tehran without the participation of India, which is the third partner in the project.
Pakistan and Iran have agreed to revise the pricing formula of the gas pipeline project in 2015, paving the way to seal what is being described as a landmark deal, the official Iranian news agency said on November 10.
The two parties also reached an agreement on those sentences the legal advisors had already split, it said. Iranian oil minister's special envoy for peace pipeline talks Hojjatollah Ghanimifard said the text of the gas contract was finalised and the two parties reached an agreement on all cases the legal experts had outlined.
The technical points would be studied by the two sides' engineering groups according to a timetable, paving the way for signing of the contract by the two states' heads and contracting companies, he said.
High demand for gas
Pakistan's Secretary of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources Farrukh Qayyum said Islamabad gave first priority to import gas from Iran, adding Islamabad "preferred to meet its gas need through Iran and would study other options in next stages."
Given the growth of domestic economy and the development of local industries, the demand for gas has considerably risen in Pakistan during the recent years," he said adding that the Pakistani government would study gas imports from Qatar and Turkmenistan after it finalised the peace pipeline with Iran.
A high-powered Pakistani delegation, headed by Qayyum, visited Tehran on Tuesday after getting authorisation from the government to seal the gas sales purchase agreement (GSPA) with the Iranian authorities.
Anil Ambani lashes out at GSM players
Amid the ongoing telecom tangle, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) Chairman Anil Ambani has accused GSM operators of hoarding surplus spectrum and sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention to ensure that service providers like Vodafone and Bharti Airtel surrender the excess airwaves.
In a scathing attack on GSM players, who are demanding auctioning of spectrum and have moved telecom tribunal TDSAT on new spectrum norms, Ambani said even sector regulator TRAI, fair trade practices watchdog MRTPC as also TDSAT have issued notices to Bharti and Vodafone for anti-consumer practices.
It is essential that the future of telecom industry is not undermined by few vested interest, Ambani said in a letter to Singh days before Diwali.
The letter comes after GSM lobby Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) challenged the new policy of allowing dual technology for mobile telephony and new spectrum allocation norms as recommended by Telecom Engineering Centre. Reliance Communications is a key CDMA player and was the first one to apply for GSM spectrum under the new norms.
Ambani said there should be "a transparent framework for surrender of spectrum in a time-bound manner, wherever not utilised, as per guidelines".
As if supporting Communications Minister A Raja, who has clarified to Prime Minister the issues relating to spectrum, Ambani opposed the auction of spectrum. He said such a route would benefit a close club of few large existing GSM players who remain free to indulge in anti-consumer practices like cartelisation and price fixation.

November 10 / 11, 2007
For Whom the Closing Bell Tolls
The Last Dead Bull on Wall Street
By MIKE WHITNEY
http://www.counterp unch.org/ whitney11102007. html
What a week for the stock market. On Wednesday the market took a 360
point nosedive followed, two days later, by a 220 point belly-flop.
By the time it was over, the trading pits looked more like a sausage-
packing plant than the world's financial epicenter. After the bell,
downcast traders could be seen tiptoeing through the carnage on
their way to the local liquor store to load up on "Stoly" and boxes
of Franzia---anything that would steady their nerves and put the
week behind them.
Everyone could see it coming; the train-wreck. It was mostly carry-
over from the night before when Asian stocks took a thumping on
reports of slower growth in the US and growing troubles in the
credit markets. That put the first domino in motion. Fed chief
Bernanke's announcement that the economy will face "a sharp slowdown
from the housing market's contraction" and an "inflationary surge
from sharply higher oil prices and the weaker dollar", didn't help
either. His remarks triggered a blow-off in the currency markets
while equities were frog-marched to the chopping-block.
The Shanghai market took the worst hit dropping nearly 5% before the
trading-day ended. Taiwan and Hong Kong followed suit, sliding 3.9%
and 3.2% respectively. Share prices in Japan fell 2%. The next
morning, Wall Street crashed. It was a massacre.
This is a bear market now. The last bull was dragged from the Street
on Friday with a harpoon in its chest.
The subprime contagion has now spread beyond the US and Europe to
markets in the Far East. No one is fooled by Bernanke's sunny
predictions that the economy will bounce back next year with a
strong showing in the first quarter. That's baloney and everyone
knows it. The economy has stumbled down the elevator shaft and is
just waiting to hit bottom. Consumer confidence is flagging, housing
is falling, foreign capital is fleeing, and the greenback is one
flush away from the sewage-treatment plant. Bernanke's soothing
bromides are meaningless.
"I don't see any significant change in the broad holdings of dollars
around the world. Dollars remain the dominant reserve asset and I
expect that to continue to be the case," Bernanke said to the
Congressional Economic Committee.
Really? So why is the greenback plummeting if people aren't dumping
it, Ben? What an absurd comment. The dollar has lost 63% against the
euro and dropped to record lows against a basket of world
currencies. Foreign central banks and investors have been ditching
it as fast as they can before it loses more value. The dollar's
tumble has been the most dazzling currency-flameout in modern times
and Bernanke is acting like he's still asleep at the switch. It's
madness.
The greenback is getting clobbered by the Fed's "low-interest" snake
oil and the gargantuan current account deficit. If Bernanke clips
rates again to bail out the stock market, the dollar will slip into
irreversible respiratory failure. Food and oil prices will shoot to
the moon overnight and the remains of the greenback will be carted
off to the nearest boneyard.
September's trade deficit was another blow to the waning dollar. The
Census Bureau reported on Friday that the deficit clocked in at
$56.5 billion. That's $684 billion per annum! Bush has been crowing
about the "shrinking deficit", but the numbers are nothing to boast
about. We're still borrowing more than we're producing. We're still
living beyond our means. The lower numbers just reflect the decline
in home construction which is import-intensive. The fact is, we're
addicted to debt-fueled consumption and forgotten that, eventually,
the trillions that we've borrowed from foreign creditors, will have
to be repaid. If the dollar is replaced as the world's reserve
currency, then we'll have to pay back $9 trillion of outstanding
debt. We might as well hang out the "Foreclosed" sign right now and
get fitted for Chinese workers-suits.
This is from Bloomberg News:
"As the dollar tumbles, concern is growing that its weakness may
augur the end of the U.S. currency's 62-year reign as the world's
specie of choice for trade, financial transactions and central-bank
reserves..The dollar owes its position as the world's premier
international currency to its status as a haven during times of
turmoil, the absence of a suitable rival, weak domestic demand in
other countries and plain old inertia. Geopolitics also play a role."
Nonsense. Who believes this rubbish? The dollar is the so-
called "international currency" because the Federal Reserve and its
well-heeled patrons are the directors of the US-Euro-Japan banking
cabal which is at the center of the global Fiat money scam. There's
nothing more to it than that. Notice the recent "unilateral" clamp-
down on Iran by the US-led banking syndicate. The action was
initiated without UN approval for the simple reason that the UN, the
World Bank, the IMF, the WTO and thousands of NGOs are just more of
the Central Banks' prime properties. Don't expect the father to ask
the child for permission to punish one of his errant children. The
banks are the one's who really call the shots and--behind the
curtain of feigned respectability- --they are the driving force
behind the endless wars.
The Fed's plan to "devalue" our way to prosperity appears to have
hit a few ill-placed speed-bumps. The stock market is hanging by a
thread and consumer confidence is at its lowest ebb since the start
of the Iraq War. The falling dollar is expected to put a damper on
Christmas spending and knock equities for a loop. That can't be good
for economy--especially when 72% of GDP comes from consumer spending.
We're already begun to see the telltale signs that the consumer is
loosing ground and about to slip into a debt-induced coma.
According to data from the University of Michigan:
"Consumer confidence reached its lowest level in more than two years
this month amid concerns over record-high oil prices, continued
trouble in the housing market and higher inflationAlthough consumer
attitudes deteriorated across the board, the substantial drop in
expectations contributed heavily to the sizeable decline in the
overall index."
The average working stiff doesn't put any stock in Bernanke's
palavering. He sees what's going on for himself every time he pulls
up to the gas pump or goes the grocery store. He doesn't need the
University of Michigan to tell him he's getting screwed; he knows
it! The economy is sinking, inflation is skyrocketing, and the
country is adrift. Every farthing in the public till has been
shoveled into a black hole in the Middle East. Does Bernanke really
think working people don't know that? Everyone knows that. Everyone
knows the economy is on life-support; just like everyone knows the
country is collapsing from mismanagement. Even the flag-waving, war-
mongering maniacs on the Wall Street Journal's op-ed page are
starting to shutter from the avalanche of bad news. They see what's
going on and they're scared---scared sh**less.
Unfortunately, the sudden shift in consumer sentiment is the hurting
retailers who depend on Christmas to carry them through the year.
We've already seen the sluggishness in housing and auto sales. Now
it's showing up in retail. Abercrombie, American Eagle, Ann Taylor,
Chicos, Dillards, The Gap and Nordstrom are all reporting sagging
sales. Walmart, Lowes and the other big-box stores are lowering
their projections as well. It's going to be a lean Christmas.
The poor US consumer is finally maxed-out and can't tap into his
home equity anymore for presto-credit. He's mortgaged "to the hilt"
and he's already run up 6 or 7 credit cards to their limit. In fact,
credit card debt is a growing concern for the banks, too.
The commercial banks are the victims' of their own success. After
years of seductive promotions and saturation mailings the credit
card industry is at its zenith leaving consumers with a staggering
bill of nearly $1 trillion. ($915 billion) More and more customers
are finding themselves unable to make even minimum payments on their
balances and defaults are piling up at a record pace. This is the
next phase of the subprime fiasco and it has the potential to be
nearly as disruptive as the housing meltdown. The problem is
complex, too. After all, most credit card debt in the last 6 years
has been "securitized" and passed on to investors in the secondary
market. (pension funds, hedge funds etc.) That means we can expect
more tremors in the stock market as corporate earnings go south
after credit card-backed bonds are downgraded. It's just more of the
same "structured finance" chicanery; debt stacked on debt, until the
whole edifice caves in.
It's looking more and more like Reagan's "shining city on the hill"
was erected on a mountain of toxic debt. It's a wonder it hasn't
sunk already.
The country is headed for recession and there's nothing that
Bernanke can do to stop it. The only question is whether we'll be
facing a colossal economy-busting meltdown like 1929 or a milder 5
or 6-year slump. That's up to the Federal Reserve. If the Fed chief
decides to pit himself against the falling markets by slashing rates
and destroying the currency; then we are likely to be digging-out
for years. But if Bernanke steps aside, and lets the chips fall
where they may, then the pace of recovery will be quicker.
Whatever choice he makes, there's no avoiding the inevitable
downturn. The hammer is poised to strike the anvil. The stock market
will fall, the over-extended banks and hedge funds will collapse,
and the country will go into a protracted, economic tailspin. That
much is certain. Economic fundamentals can only be shrugged off for
so long. When markets correct it's like a tidal-surge that sweeps-
away the deadwood of bad bets and over-levered investments leaving
behind a broad-expanse of empty beach.
Recession is a normal part of the business cycle. It can't be
avoided. The economy needs to unwind so debts can get written off
and businesses can retool for the future. The upcoming recession is
shaping up to be worse than its predecessors- --a real doozey.
The damage caused by the Fed's excessive credit has been
considerable. It'll take years to mop up the red ink and set the
house aright. The markets are in a shambles, investors have been
battered and confidence is gone.
Structured finance has been an unmitigated disaster. It needs to be
scrapped. We need a new financial system for a new epoch; a system
that is heavily regulated and supervised to discourage the crooks
and con-artists; a system that it maintains its essential link to
the real, productive underlying economy and avoids the galaxy of
complex derivatives, "securitized" liabilities, and opaque debt-
instruments that have brought on the present crisis; a system that
responds to the needs of working people and takes into consideration
the looming problems of environmental degradation, resource
scarcity, and climate change; a system that reinvests in
communities, education and health-care rather than fattening the
bottom-line of corporate racketeers and brandy-drooling elites. It's
time to remove the rotten scaffolding and rebuild the whole
contraption brick by brick.
The system is broken. Maybe Greenspan did us all a favor by blowing
it up with his "low interest" dynamite. Good riddance.
And is this what Bushco WANTED?

Emerging markets: India and China are the investors' haven
Last Updated: 10:37pm GMT 10/11/2007
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/11/10/cmindia10.xml
The bull's not ready for the abattoir as India and China are seen as a haven in shaky times, writes Fredrik Nerbrand
With emerging market equities soaring to record highs, driven by the seemingly insatiable appetite of investors to join the bandwagon, it is perhaps as good a time as any for a reality check. The renowned American Scientist Robert Oppenheimer once commented: "The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds... the pessimist fears it is true.''
Indeed, it is useful to adopt this perspective towards emerging market equities and ask whether the emerging market bull has further to run.
After such a strong run, the near-term answer to this question is less clear, but if we afford ourselves a longer time horizon, looking at say three years, there are good reasons to remain firmly in the optimist camp. Let me start with some background.

Spicing it up: India has offered handsome investment returns
There is little question that the emerging market bull story has been the big investment theme for 2007. Rapid economic growth and soaring stock markets in emerging world countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China (Bric) have provided handsome returns for investors, with the Morgan Stanley Countries Index (MSCI) Emerging Markets up a staggering 41 per cent year to date and 35 per cent since the middle of August.
But the emerging market story is not exclusive to 2007. The past five years in particular have delivered outstanding gains for investors in emerging market equities with annual returns averaging 38 per cent between September 2002 and September 2007.
These are remarkable returns by anyone's standards, and it seems everyone wants a piece of the action. Aggregate cumulative fund flows into emerging markets from investors have tallied an incredible $48bn so far in 2007.
This compares to $14.5bn and $10.6bn for the same periods in 2006 and 2005 respectively. Clearly, the emerging market growth theme is now not so much "emerging'' but very much in the mainstream.
advertisement
And there is plenty to keep the bulls happy. Rapidly developing consumer and service sectors are supporting a buoyant corporate sector, while declining US dollar denominated debt in many emerging market countries and continued belief in the long-term strength in commodity prices have afforded emerging markets the unlikely status as a haven at a time when the developed world is working through the current turmoil in the financial sector.
But with all these factors coinciding to support record highs in emerging markets, it is entirely appropriate to ask if this is as good as it gets and is now an appropriate time to cash in my chips?
The answer to this question depends very much on the time horizon of the investor, but for investors willing to ride out any near-term volatility, we would argue there are still legs in the old bull yet. In support of this view it is interesting to look at emerging markets in the context of the global economy.
It may come as a surprise but, taken together, the emerging markets, including the Middle East, are actually the world's largest economic bloc. They account for 30 per cent of the global economy in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of economic output, denominated in US dollars.
By contrast, the equivalent proportions for the American economy are 25 per cent, and 24 per cent for Western Europe. Emerging markets are also by far the biggest contributor to global growth.
On the International Monetary Fund's estimates, emerging markets accounted for 47 per cent of the growth of the global economy in 2007.
Yet despite the prominence of emerging markets as an engine of global growth, emerging market equities account for only 11 per cent of the world's stock market capitalisation. The significance of these numbers, in our view, is that they demonstrate a rapid transition away from the developed world as the driver of global growth towards an emerging-markets-led global economy.
But how stable are emerging market economies?
We only have to go back to the last decade for evidence that things can fall apart quickly. In this regard, the strength and composition of emerging market economies have improved appreciably over the past decade.
Only 12 countries (out of the 40 for which statistics are available) now have total external debt higher than 50 per cent of GDP, while 56 per cent of the emerging market universe now enjoy current account surpluses compared with just 22 per cent in 1995.
Against a backdrop of drastically improved foreign currency reserves and stronger domestic consumption, emerging markets now appear far more resilient than in previous cycles.
The key to this success has been the shift towards greater domestic demand-led growth, reducing the emerging economies' traditional reliance on exports, while growing trade flows between emerging market countries should also enable them better to weather a moderation in export demand from the developed world.
With the macroeconomic story sound, the issue for emerging market investors becomes one of valuation, and at first glance emerging markets are beginning to look expensive.
Measured by the price/earnings ratio - that is, share prices expressed as a multiple of earnings per share - emerging markets are trading at 14.5 times 2008 earnings, a premium to their long-term averages and now near parity relative to valuations in developed world markets.
However, it is important to note that profitability is also at all-time highs which, together with improved capital discipline, should continue to drive impressive gains in earnings, and this should support continued solid long-term performance of emerging market equities in relative and absolute terms.
So, while the economic outlook appears intact, most of the good news is in valuations, and investors should not expect 2008 returns to be the same as 2007. Our global equity portfolios, therefore, have a neutral position to Emerging Markets. But there is still mileage in riding the bull.

Fredrik Nerbrand is head of global strategy at HSBC Private Bank

Because the writing has been on the wall ever since he stole the reins of government back in 2001

Does he want to somehow use the collapse of the US Dollar in some way to trigger an expansion of this brutal occupation or to start more war world wide?

THOUGHTS?

Ex-Wall Street Journal Editor: Dollar Collapse to Trigger Global Financial Meltdown

Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury says planet could be thrust into barter economy for a time
Prison Planet | November 9, 2007
Paul Joseph Watson
The father of Reagonomics and former Wall Street Journal editor Paul Craig Roberts has warned that the collapsing dollar will eventually cripple the European economy and may even return the world economy to a barter system as financial chaos ensues.
Roberts served as an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration and is a former editor and columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and Scripps Howard News Service.
Speaking on the Alex Jones Show yesterday, Roberts cautioned that "The loss in value of the dollar is becoming so rapid it's alarming.... we've got unmanageable trade deficits, budget deficits, the economy is set for recession, the wars show no end."
Asked how bad the dollar crisis can get, Roberts responded, "It can get awfully bad - the trouble is where can they go?"
"If China removes the peg and all the surplus dollars drive up the value of the Chinese currency then given our dependence on China....it's going to drive the prices up here a tremendous amount and Americans don't have any discretionary income left," said Roberts.
"At some point the foreigners will stop financing our budget and trade deficits - then we're going to have a massive crisis the likes of which we've not experienced. ...if you're totally dependent on imports of manufactured goods and you can't pay for them, what do you do?" asked Roberts, explaining that the only recourse would be to print more money, pushing the dollar down even further.
END GAME: Blueprint For Global Enslavement has arrived! Click here to subscribe and watch online in high quality and download versions.
Citing the fact that the dollar had lost more than 60 per cent of its value against the Euro since 2001, Roberts said that the flight from the dollar could eventually wreck the European economy because it would cripple their exports.
Asked how low the dollar could go, Roberts said that there was a limit because "There's simply so many dollars, there's not enough room in other currencies to absorb them - at some point the flight of investors from the dollar to the Euro will cause amazing troubles in Europe - they won't be able to export anything because the prices are driven up so high."
Roberts said investors will eventually desert the Euro as a safe haven from the dollar and the same process will cause a crisis in Britain as the pound is devalued due to exports being hit.
"Wages are being frozen, profit margins are shrinking, exports are down - so it's starting to impact on Europe," said Roberts.
Roberts warned that the potential destruction of the dollar as the world's reserve currency could eventually return us to a system of barter, completely altering the landscape of the economic structure as we know it.
--
Have YOU had enough yet?
Oil and housing drag down US economy
Article from:
Stefanie Balogh
November 10, 2007 12:00am
THE world's most powerful central banker, Ben Bernanke, has warned the US economy is likely to slow noticeably in coming months as the housing meltdown deepens and global oil prices threaten to rise further.
However the US Federal Reserve chairman would not be drawn on whether the US was headed for a recession, saying "our forecast is for moderate but positive growth".
Dr Bernanke told the Joint Economic Committee of the US Congress this week that growth was seen as "remaining sluggish during the first part of next year, then strengthening as the effects of tighter credit and housing correction begin to wane".
He said economic activity would "slow noticeably in the fourth quarter" as the housing downturn worsened compared to the 3.9 per cent growth rate of the third quarter. Consumer and business spending could also slow.
Mr Bernanke warned of the risks of rising oil prices which are marching towards $US100 a barrel, a rise in other commodities prices, and the falling value of the US dollar could threaten to push inflation higher.
These factors were likely to "increase overall inflation in the short run and, should inflation expectations become unmoored, had the potential to boost inflation in the longer run as well," he said.
He said the Federal Reserve was watching developments but did not signal another interest rate cut.
Last week the base federal funds rate was slashed by one quarter-point to 4.50 per cent following on a half-point cut in September.
US retailers this week announced disappointing October sales, blaming consumer worries about housing and higher petrol prices.
Dr Bernanke said he too was concerned the US housing market could weaken further between now and the end of 2008, when about 450,000 sub prime mortgages blamed for the credit crunch have their first reset rate rises.
"A sharp increase in foreclosed properties for sale could also weaken the already struggling housing market and thus potentially the broader economy," he said.
"We think that by the spring of early next year, as these credit problems resolve and as, we hope, the housing market begins to find a bottom . . . the broader resiliency of the economy, which we are seeing in other areas outside of housing, will take control and will help the economy recover to a more reasonable growth pace," he said.
The Joint Economic Committee chairman, Democrat Senator Charles Schumer said he believed the US was "at a moment of economic crisis".
"I am not surprised to hear experts such as your predecessor, Alan Greenspan, warn about the threat of a recession. I have begun to worry about it to," he said.
However Dr Bernanke would not buy into speculation. "We haven't calculated the probability of recession. I wouldn't want to offer that today," he said.
http://www.news. com.au/heraldsun /story/0, 21985,22732164- 664,00.html
--
Have YOU had enough yet?

After Dum Dum Dawai, Brinda turns Crusader for Women`s Reservation Bill
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashbiswaskl@gmail.com">palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
Knowing or unknowingly Brinda karat has prescribed the Dum Dum Dawai for all the so called Leftists and secular forces,editors and reporters countrywide. Nandigaram has spoken well in JNU! After Nandigram victory on Keshpur line and going way ahead for a Marichjhanpi repeat, the Dum Dum dawai specialist , only lady national leader marxist turns Crusader for Women`s reservation Bill! What an aesthetics, the gangraped women in nandigram may well speak for CPIM and Brinda and let us hope the Women

Indian Communists May Seek for Umbrella as it seems Raining once again in Moscow!
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashbiswaskl@gmail.com">palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
Amid a chill in bilateral relations, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Moscow on Sunday with a hope of further deepening ties in energy, defence and other key areas but a proposed nuclear agreement has run into "problems".
Indian communists may seek for Umbrella as it seems raining once again in Moscow!With Nandigram and the Indo-US nuclear deal hogging political limelight, CPI(M) today began a meeting of its Politburo to review these crucial issues and chart out a strategy for the upcoming parliament session.Top leaders including Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechury, Kerala and Tripura Chief Ministers and Left Front Chairman Biman Basu attended the meeting.West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya is not attending the meeting as he is in Kolkata to review the volatile situation in Nandigram and gear up the administration to meet threat posed by the Opposition Trinamool Congress call for an indefinite statewide bandh from Monday.
The two-day Politburo meeting comes a day after CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat and his CPI counterpart A B Bardhan had a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to discuss the matter.While the CPM leaders refused to comment on why their activists were blockading Nandigram, they claim that the opposition was trying to prevent the return of 1500 odd families who are CPM supporters.When asked about political pressure, Sitaram Yechury, played down the isolation of the CPM- the largest party - within the Left Front in West Bengal over the Nandigram crisis.
India and Russia share a worldview and are committed to deepening their ties that have endured for the last six decades, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said today.
"I am convinced that the strong fundamentals of mutual trust and a shared worldview on regional and global issues would continue to bring our two countries closer together in a dynamic international environment," he said in a statement as he left for Moscow for his annual summit with President Vladimir Putin.
"As we rejoice in our joint accomplishments during the six decades of unbroken friendship, we also stand committed to further deepen our partnership in the fields of trade and investment, defence, energy security, science and technology, space and other areas of mutual benefit," the prime minister said.
Noting that the India-Russia strategic partnership is "an enduring bond of friendship, which has strong historical roots", Manmohan Singh said that India's relations with Russia "have traditionally been a factor of peace and stability in the region and beyond.
"Our multifaceted bilateral cooperation with Russia is based on long-term interests."
Ever since Putin's first visit to India in 2000, "the practice of holding annual summits has led to the progressive consolidation of our relations and maintained the momentum of our very close high-level contacts", he said.
"I look forward to continuing my discussions with President Putin to further strengthen India's relations with Russia. I will convey to him the high priority that India attaches to its partnership with Russia, and the benefits that this partnership has brought to our two peoples.
"I am confident that my visit will lead to a reaffirmation of our joint endeavour towards creating greater economic prosperity and a secure, stable and peaceful world order," Manmohan Singh added.

The government is understood to have attempted to get a clearance from the crucial outside supporters to start negotiations with the IAEA for an India-specific safeguards agreement required to operationalise the nuclear deal.
However, the top Left leaders are believed to have put their foot down and asked the government to first have a debate in Parliament and, after that, by the UPA-Left Committee on the issue.
Besides the nuclear issue, the situation in Nandigram, the price situation including that of petroleum products, the ensuing assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are also likely to prominently figure in the Politburo meeting.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said India attaches high priority to its partnership with Russia and that this has led to an enduring bond of friendship with strong historical roots.
He said this in a departure statement before leaving for Moscow on a two-day official visit by a special Air India flight.
''I will convey to him (Russian President Vladimir Putin) the high priority that India attaches to it partnership with Russia and the benefits that this partnership has brought to our two peoples,'' Singh said.
He said the Indo-Russian strategic partnership is an enduring bond of friendship which has strong historical roots.
Stating that India's relations with Russia have traditionally been a factor of peace and stability in the region and beyond, Singh said he was convinced that the strong fundamentals of mutual trust and shared world view on regional and global issues would continue to bring the two countries closer together in a dynamic international environment.
''Our multi-faceted bilateral operations with Russia are based on long-term interests,'' he said.
The Prime Minister said the annual Indo-Russian summit since Putin's first visit to India in 2000 has led to the progressive consolidation of bilateral relations and maintained the momentum of very close high-level contacts.
Singh said India is committed to further deepen its partnership with Russia in the field of trade and investment, defence, energy security, science and technology and other areas of mutual interest.
The Prime Minister said he is confident that his visit will lead to reaffirmation of the joint endeavour towards creating greater economic prosperity and a secure and stable peaceful world order.
No additional Russian reactors yet for India
On Board Air India One: The stalling of the India-US nuclear deal has put in cold storage an agreement on Russia building four more reactors in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, but it's not the end of civil nuclear cooperation between the "time-tested friends", a top Indian official said today.

"We are in the process of discussing an inter-governmental agreement on building four more reactors in Kudankulam. We look forward to expanding civil nuclear cooperation with Russia," Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon told reporters aboard the prime minister's special aircraft on way to Moscow.

India and Russia signed a protocol of intent for building four additional light water reactors at Kudankulam during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India in January.

But the inter-governmental agreement, which both sides have been working on for months, will not be signed on Monday after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Putin. This is because Russia can't unilaterally go ahead with the project without a rule change in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in favour of India.

"It is for the NSG members to decide. Their obligation comes from that. We are looking forward to expanding civil nuclear cooperation with other members of the international community," Menon said, while repudiating speculation about any setback to India-Russia ties.

"The original agreement in 1988 doesn't provide for more than two reactors. The additional reactor cannot be considered part of the 1988 pact," Menon clarified.

Atomstroyexport, Russia's nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly, started building the Kudankulam plant in Tamil Nadu in 2002. India and the then Soviet Union signed an agreement in 1988 on building a 2,000 MW power plant at Kudankulam. An addendum was signed 10 years later.

"It is a working process. We hope to be able to get over whatever problems are on the way," National Security Adviser M K Narayanan said.
Nandigram dominates CPI(M) meet
The situation in trouble-torn Nandigram today dominated the meeting of the CPI(M) Politburo here after which party leaders claimed there were no cracks in the ruling Left Front in West Bengal on the issue.

"Where are the cracks you are talking about? There is no divide (in the ruling Front)," Politburo member Sitaram Yechury told reporters in reply to questions over differences within the Front on the issue.

His remarks came in the backdrop of state minister and RSP leader Kshiti Goswami's statement that he could quit from the government over the Nandigram issue. His party colleague Manoj Bhattacharjee, in fact, said that the possibility of the RSP pulling out of the alliance cannot be ruled out.

Yechury's colleague and West Bengal Left Front chairman Biman Bose said, "I gave a detailed presentation on the matter to the Politburo, recalling the incidents since January this year" when several hundred families were forced to leave their hearths and homes in Nandigram and take refuge in camps.

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is not attending the meeting as he is in Kolkata to review the volatile situation in Nandigram and gear up the administration to meet the challenge posed by opposition Trinamool Congress' call for an indefinite state-wide bandh from tomorrow.

Asked about the party's stand on the Indo-US nuclear deal, Yechury said Parliament would be debating on the matter. He reiterated that the CPI(M)'s position that the government should not go ahead with the operationalisation of the deal till the UPA-Left Committee came out with its findings.

The Politburo meeting comes a day after CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat and his CPI counterpart A B Bardhan met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to discuss the nuclear issue.

Besides these issues, the Politburo would review the political situation and finalise its role in the upcoming elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

The Politburo would review the issues to be raised in Parliament, including the price situation, and draw up plans for agitations being called by trade unions and other frontal organisations on various demands in December.
China, India 'must adopt sustainable energy plans'
Coal-fired power stations will account for much of the energy demandLaura Garcia
9 November 2007
Source: SciDev.Net
[LONDON] China and India should adopt sustainable energy policies to avoid endangering energy security and control carbon emissions, said representatives of the International Energy Agency (IEA) this week (7 November).
The comments were made at the launch of IEA's annual World Energy Outlook report 'China and India Insights' in London.
The report points out that global energy needs will grow 55 per cent by 2030 if governments stick to their present policies. China and India will account for 45 per cent of the increase in that 'reference scenario'.
The IEA said that governments worldwide

Sikhs' Genocide 1984: Congress & RSS culprits

Palash Biswas

Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashbiswaskl@gmail.com">palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
Effectively this article shows that the Congress was complict with RSS in terrifying the Sikhs, just as they have benn successful in terrifying the Muslims into submissions, and also terrified the SC/ST into submission. Fragmentation of India's people has been the main agenda of the ruling elite.

Be they RSS, Congress, CPM, CPI, and any bloody political leader. The Leftist intellectual, whatever it means, are the real scoundrels. [Oh, sorry for using unparliamentary words; but they deserve it]

Bests
Arun Shrivastava

WaheGuru Ji Ka Khalsa WaheGuru Ji Ke Fateh
See translation of RSS article below.

Kashmir Singh LL.B, LL.M, C.Eng, Project Management NVQ, Parliamentary Committee Advisor; former member of statutory OFWAT water industry customer services committee for England and Wales, IEE Council
07721-507055
General Secretary
British Sikh Federation
PO Box 242, Wolverhampton WV4 5DH, England, UK
Visit the BSF website at www.british- sikh-federation. org to see details of previous successful campaigns to safeguard Sikh Rights over many years, e.g. work as bus drivers and conductors wearing turbans (1966), wear turbans on construction sites (1989), overwhelming support in the European Parliament on an Urgency Resolution for a Sikh newspaper editor's release from prison against the then UK Government (1996), right to wear Kirpan in courts (1999), defence for Sikh school children to wear Kirpan (1996), right for Sikh workers at UK airports to wear Kirpan (2002), opening British Embassy offices in Panjab and Gujarat (2003), Government commitment to set up Commission for Equalities and Human Rights (2004), etc
-----Original Message-----
From: Gurmit Singh [mailto:GurmitSingh @exemail. com.au]
Sent: 11 November 2007 07:14
To: Dr. Awatar Singh Sekhon Canada; Makhan Singh Purewal Canada; virsa@sikhvirsa. com
Subject: FW: Sikhs' Genocide 1984: Congress & RSS culprits

Dear Dr. Awatar Singh Sekhon (Canada),

Waheguru jee ka khalsa Waheguru jee kee Fateh

After reading the under-mentioned Article, will you through your Jounral
request the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the Punjab
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for telling the TRUTH after consulting
their Masters - Congress and RSS/BJP respectively. It should not be
difficult for them to dig up the true facts because most of the ring-leaders
are still alive and holding prominent positions.

They can also take assistance from other Sikh Rajya Sabha Members
Tarlochan Singh / Manohar Singh Gill, Governor Surjit Singh Barnala,
former Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh, Congress Opposition leader
Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, MPs Navjot Singh Sidhu, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa,
Charanjit Singh Atwal, Parneet Kaur, Sukhbir Singh Badal and Jagmeet
Singh Brar, Capt. Kanwaljit Singh, their Hero KPS Gill & the like........ .

Thanks for your selfless services,

Gurmit Singh (Sydney)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sukla Sen
Date: Nov 11, 2007 7:29 AM
Subject: RSS and 1984: A Glimpse
To: ihro@yahoogroups. com,

Genocide 1984: long search for culprits / RSS angle
By Shamsul Islam
Published in the 16-30 November 2004 print edition of MG
http://www.milligaz ette.com/ dailyupdate/ 2005/20050811a. htm

Full 20 years have elapsed since genocide of Sikhs took place in November 1984. Despite the constitution of innumerable high-power committees, police investigation teams and commissions these are few small fries who have been booked; the real culprits are still eluding the call of justice. The Nanavati Commission which was constituted in 2002 has recently been given another extension till December 2004. The reality is that in last 20 years though the country has been ruled by every shade of political opinion there has been no political will to prosecute the culprits.
It is generally believed that the Congress cadres were behind this genocide. This may be true but there were other forces too which actively participated in this massacre and whose role has never been investigated. Those who were witness to the genocide of 1984 were stunned by the swiftness and military precision of the killer marauding gangs (later on witnessed during the Babri mosque demolition, burning alive of Dr. Graham Steins with his two sons and recent pogrom of the Muslims in Gujarat) who went on a burning spree of the innocent Sikhs. This was beyond the capacity of the Congress thugs.
Recently, a crucial document has surfaced which may throw some light on the unhidden aspects of the genocide. It was authored and circulated by a luminary and veteran of the RSS, Nana Deshmukh on November 8, 1984. Interestingly, this document was published in the Hindi Weekly Pratipaksh edited by George Fernandes (Defence Minister of India 1999-2004, and presently a great pal of the RSS) in its edition of November 25, 1984 titled 'Indira Congress-RSS collusion' with the following editorial comment :
"The author of the following document is known as an ideologue and policy formulator of the RSS. After the killing of Prime Minister (Indira Gandhi) he distributed this document among prominent politicians. It has a historical significance that is why we have decided to publish it, violating policy of our Weekly. This document highlights the new affinities developing between the Indira Congress and the RSS. We produce here the Hindi translation of the document."
This document may help in unmasking the whole lot of criminals involved in the massacre of innocent Sikhs who had nothing to do with the killing of Indira Gandhi. This document may also throw light on where the cadres came from, who meticulously organized the killing of Sikhs. Nana Deshmukh in this document is seen outlining the justification of the massacre of the Sikh community in 1984. According to him the massacre of Sikhs was not the handiwork of any group or anti-social elements but the result of a genuine feeling of anger among Hindus of India.
This document also shows the true degenerated and fascist attitude of the RSS towards all the minorities of India. The RSS has been arguing that they are against Muslims and Christians because they are the followers of foreign religions. Here we find them justifying the butchering of Sikhs who according to their own categorization happened to be the followers of an indigenous religion.
The RSS often poses as a firm believer in Hindu-Sikh unity. But in this document we will hear from the horse's mouth that the RSS like the then Congress leadership, believed that the massacre of the innocent Sikhs was justified. Nana Deshmukh in this document is seen outlining the justification of the massacre of the Sikh community in 1984. His defence of the carnage can be summed up as in the following.
The massacre of Sikhs was not the handiwork of any group or anti-social elements but the result of a genuine feeling of anger among Hindus of India.
Deshmukh did not distinguish the action of the two security personnel of Mrs. Indira Gandhi, who happened to be Sikhs, from that of the whole Sikh community. From his document it emerges that the killers of Indira Gandhi were working under some kind of mandate of their community. Hence attacks on Sikhs were justified.
Sikhs themselves invited these attacks, thus advancing the Congress theory of justifying the massacre of the Sikhs.
He glorified the 'Operation Blue Star' and described any opposition to it as anti-national. When Sikhs were being killed in thousands he was warning the country of Sikh extremism, thus offering ideological defense of those killings.
It was Sikh community as a whole which was responsible for violence in Punjab.
Sikhs should have done nothing in self-defence but showed patience and tolerance against the killer mobs.
These were Sikh intellectuals and not killer mobs which were responsible for the massacre. They had turned Sikhs into a militant community, cutting them off from their Hindu roots, thus inviting attacks from the nationalist Indians. Interestingly, Deshmukh would not mind having militant Hindus. Moreover, he treated all Sikhs as part of the same gang and defended attacks on them as a reaction of the nationalist Hindus.
He described Indira Gandhi as the only leader who could keep the country united and on the killing of such a great leader such killings could not be avoided.
Rajiv Gandhi who succeeded Mrs. Gandhi as the Prime Minister of India and justified the nation- wide killings of Sikhs by saying, "When a huge tree falls there are always tremors felt", was lauded and blessed by Nana Deshmukh at the end of the document.
Shockingly, the massacre of Sikhs was being equated with the attacks on the RSS cadres after the killing of Gandhiji and we find Deshmukh advising Sikhs to suffer silently. Everybody knows that the killing of Gandhiji was inspired by the RSS and the Hindutva Ideology whereas the common innocent Sikhs had nothing to do with the murder of Mrs. Indira Gandhi.
There was not a single sentence in the Deshmukh document demanding, from the then Congress Government at the Centre, remedial measures for controlling the violence against the minority community. Mind this, that Deshmukh circulated this document on November 8, 1984, and from October 31 to this date Sikhs were left alone to face the killing gangs. In fact November 5-10 was the period when the maximum killings of Sikhs took place. Deshmukh was just not bothered about all this.

Deshmukh document did not happen in isolation. It represented the real RSS attitude towards Sikh genocide of 1984. The RSS is very fond of circulating publicity material, especially photographs of its khaki shorts- clad cadres doing social work. For the 1984 violence they have none. In fact, Deshmukh's article also made no mention of the RSS cadres going to the rescue of Sikhs under siege. This shows up the real intentions of the RSS during the genocide.
There is not a single sentence in the Deshmukh document demanding, from the then Congress Government at the Centre, remedial measures for controlling the violence against the minority community. Importantly, Deshmukh circulated this document on November 8, 1984, and from October 31 to this date Sikhs were left alone to face the killing gangs. George Fernandes while making this document public in 1984 wrote that it showed 'Indira Congress-RSS collusion'. Nanavati Commission must investigate whether this collusion was confined to political sphere or went beyond to killing fields.
The Deshmukh document is reproduced below. It is translated here from Hindi [parts of the document have been underlined for emphasis]:

MOMENTS OF SOUL SEARCHING
Indira Gandhi ultimately did secure a permanent place at the doorstep of history as a great martyr. With her dynamism borne out of her fearlessness and dexterity, she was able to take the country forward like a colossus for over a decade and was able to build an opinion that she alone understood the realities of the country, that she alone had the ability to run the decadent political system of our corrupt and divided society, and probably that she alone could keep the country united. She was a great lady and her death as a brave leader had added to her greatness. She was killed by a person in whom she kept faith despite several complaints. Such an influential and busy personality was killed by a person who had the duty to protect her person. This act came as a blow not only to her admirers in the country and the world but also her critics. This cowardly and treacherous act of killing not only ended the life of a great leader but also killed, in the name of the Panth, the mutual faith of humanity. Explosion of sudden arson and violent hysteria throughout the country was probably a direction-less and improper expression of the hurt, anger and feeling of loss of her followers. Lakhs of her followers used to see her as the only defender, powerful protector, and a symbol of united India. It is a different matter whether this is right or wrong.
For these innocent and uninformed followers, the treacherous murder of Indira Gandhi was the tragic culmination of the poisonous campaign of separatism, antagonism and violence conducted over the previous three years in which hundreds of innocents had to lose their invaluable lives and the sanctity of religious places was destroyed. This campaign assumed an ominous pace after the painful army action in June which, in the eyes of most of the people of the country, had become necessary to protect the sanctity of the religious places. Barring a few exceptions, the Sikh community observed silence for a long time on the barbaric massacres and heinous killings of innocent people, but they condemned the long-pending army action with anger and dangerous explosiveness. The country was stunned at their attitude. The army action was compared to the "gallu ghara" action of Ahmed Shah Abdali in 1762 to desecrate the Harmandir Sahib. Without going into the objectives of the two incidents, Mrs. Gandhi was pushed into the category of Ahmed Shah Abdali. She was termed the enemy of the Sikh panth and big prizes were announced on her head. On the other hand Bhindrawale who was guilty of heinous crimes against humanity in the name of religion was hailed as a martyr. Open display of such feelings in different parts of the country and abroad played a special role in increasing the distrust and alienation between the Sikhs and the rest of Indians. In the background of this distrust and alienation, stunned and bewildered people accepted the validity of the rumours of celebrations by the Sikhs at the heinous murder of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards in retaliation of the army action. Of these the most hurting explanation was that of Giani Kripal Singh who being the Head Granthi considered himself to be the sole spokesman of the Sikh community. He said that he expressed no sorrow at the death of Indira Gandhi. This statement added fuel to the fire of boiling anger. No immediate and natural condemnation of this despicable statement by an important leader came from responsible Sikh leaders, intellectuals or organization. Therefore the already angered common and unimaginative people took it as correct that the Sikhs celebrated the death of Indira Gandhi. Because of this belief, selfish elements could succeed in making the common people become violent against the hapless Sikhs.
This was a most explosive situation which needed utmost patience and skilful conduct on behalf of our Sikh brothers. I am saying this, being a life member of the RSS, because on January 30, 1948 a Hindu fanatic, who was a Marathi and had no relation with the RSS, rather was a bitter critic of the Sangh, committed unfortunate killing of Mahatma Gandhi. On this occasion we also suffered the sudden eruption of hysteria, loot and atrocities of misdirected people. We ourselves saw how selfish elements who were well acquainted with this incident, deliberately declared a murderer to be a member of the RSS and also spread the rumour that the RSS people were celebrating throughout the country death of Mahatma Gandhi, and thus they succeeded in diverting the love and the feeling of loss and hurt in the hearts of people for Gandhi. Such feelings were spread against Swayamsewaks and their families, particularly in Mahrashtra.
Having gone through such experiences myself, I can understand the strong reaction and feeling of innocent Sikh brothers who became of victims of sudden eruption of people's violent hysteria. In fact, I would like to condemn in strongest words the inhuman barbarity and cruelty on Sikh bro