Chottala :- Chittagong Forum/Blog: Nov 22, 2007

Thursday, November 22, 2007

[chottala.com] Taslima moved to Rajasthan : Taslima-Nandigram mix brings Army out

11/23/2007 8:33:44 AM

Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen being taken out of a hotel in Jaipur in a government car along with her personal escorts and the police

VIDEO ZONE:

VIOLENCE IN CENTRAL KOLKATA

AIMF TARGETS TASLIMA

INSIDE NANDIGRAM

THE WAR CONTINUES

CAN THE CPM RECOVER?

Md Safi Shamsi / Ravik Bhattacharya / Subrata Nagchoudhury

Posted online: Thursday, November 22, 2007 at 0000 hrs

Fearing communal flare-up, West Bengal calls in Army, clamps curfew in parts of Kolkata after angry mob clubs Bangla author's presence with Nandigram violence.

KOLKATA, NOVEMBER 21: For the first time since the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992, the Left Front government in West Bengal called out the Army and imposed night curfew in central Kolkata after mob violence following a protest against the presence of Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen in the city and attacks on Nandigram villagers by CPM cadres

The Army's presence brought peace on the main streets but lanes and bylanes seethed with tension until late tonight forcing the government to clamp curfew from 10 pm to 6 am in areas under five police stations, including Park Street, Park Circus and Ripon Street.

By evening, the clashes had left a trail of injured — 35 policemen, including a Deputy Commissioner of Kolkata Police. The police arrested 57 people. Mobs attacked a couple of CPM offices close to the party headquarters in Alimuddin Street.

Nasreen, hounded by fundamentalists in Bangladesh, has been in the city since 2004. And several hardline Muslim groups have earlier too protested against her presence.

What was of concern to the government today was how little-known groups got together to bring both Nasreen and Nandigram together — a majority of the victims in Nandigram of CPM violence are Muslim — to confront the CPM and the government.

While police are still trying to figure out the key players, The Indian Express spoke to several eyewitnesses, police sources and protesters to find that the rallyists included fundamentalist Islamic leaders, Opposition politicians from Trinamool Congress and Congress and religious Muslim organizations.

Their "cause" was a potentially explosive mix of Taslima Nasreen and Nandigram, both on full display in the placards they carried and the slogans they shouted.

bThe dramatis personae:

Officially, the rally was organised by the All India Minority Forum headed by Idris Ali of the Congress. This organisation in the past has never been able to mobilise more than 40 people for a rally. Police officials don't know how, given its limited logistical capability, it could spark off such widespread violence today.

• FurFuraSharif Foundation, a religious organization with a sizeable following of Bengali Muslims. On several occasions, it has officially interacted with the government — over a year ago, it held a protest rally against a madrasa textbook on Islamic history that it alleged contained "objectionable references."

• Said its leader Maulana Toha Siddiqui: "Our protest was against the atrocities by CPM cadres against Muslims in Nandigram and Taslima Nasreen's visa extension. A magazine patronized by the CPM, Path Sanket, ran an anonymous letter in which a blasphemous comment was made against the Prophet. The same issue had a piece by Biman Bose, CPM politburo member. We made our displeasure known to the government and called for a ban on the magazine."

• Quami Awaz Welfare Society: Roshan Ali of this little-heard organization was one of the three leaders arrested from Park Circus prior to the outbreak of violence. Sources said that Quami Awaz is a new organisation, more religious than political.

• Opposition political activists: The mob had a large following from both the Trinamool and the Congress. One of those arrested was Mumtaz Alam, a former Congress councillor. In Linton Street and Tantibagan Lane, the epicentre of the violence, the mob was being led by Fahim, a local Trinamool leader. In Ripon Street and Goltala, the mob was led by Iqbal and Sultan Ahmed, who have shuttled between the Congress and the Trinamool.

• A section of the followers were from the Milli Ittehad Parishad — a conglomerate of 12 Muslim organizations formed in August this year as a pressure group in close touch with the government on the Taslima issue. It has sent letters to the Governor and the Chief Minister protesting against her presence.

• Jamiat-e-Ulema-Hind's Sidiqullah Chowdhury, who is one of the prime movers behind the Nandigram protests, has been one of the most vocal protestors against Taslima too. Just six days ago, he led a massive procession holding placards demanding her "eviction" from the state and India. Although his banner was absent today, police said the rally had members from the People's Democratic Conference of India — the Jamiat's political wing.

• In the evening, the government sent Syed Md. Noorur Rahman Barkati, Shahi Imam of the Tipu Sultan Mosque, to the troubled areas to appeal for peace. After his visit, Barkati, known for his allegiance to both the Congress and Trinamool, said: "Messages have been conveyed to the people and things will soon be under control."

Such a gallery of characters made for a controversial mix. "Communal sentiments were involved and the issue is also sensitive. We will now work along with Army men to maintain peace," admitted police chief Gautam Mohan Chakraborti, facing his first trial by fire after taking over from Prasun Mukherjee who had to resign over the Rizwanur-Priyanka case.

http://www.indianexpress.com/story/242020.html

Kolkata burns over Nandigram, Taslima Hindustan Times
It was only about Taslima: Idris Ali The Statesman
Taslima moved to Rajasthan NDTV.com
Hindu - Times of India
all 200 news articles »

BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7108074.stm

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[chottala.com] A racist Jewish state - Israeli newspaper Haaretz Editorial

A racist Jewish state

By Haaretz Editorial


http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/884358.h

Every day the Knesset has the option of passing laws that will advance Israel as a democratic Jewish state or turn it into a racist Jewish state. There is a very thin line between the two. This week, the line was crossed. If the Knesset legal counselor did not consider the bill entitled "the Jewish National Fund Law" as sufficiently racist to keep it off the agenda, it is hard to imagine what legislation she will consider racist.

In 1995 the Supreme Court rescued the state from callously discriminating against its Arab citizens through the Ka'adan case, which prohibited the Israel Lands Administration from discriminating against non-Jews by leasing land through the Jewish Agency. Since then the attorney general has stated that such discrimination is unacceptable - also when it is carried out through the Jewish National Fund. The MKs were unable to accept this egalitarian ruling, and on Wednesday a large majority of 65 voted in favor of a preliminary reading permitting such discrimination. The bill is also backed by the head of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, MK Menahem Ben-Sasson.

Any explanation by the supporters of the bill seeking to beautify it should be rejected immediately by anyone who cares about the country's image. This bill reflects an abasement of the Zionist enterprise to lows never imagined in the Declaration of Independence. Even though the Jewish National Fund purchased the lands for the Jewish people in the Diaspora, the State of Israel has already been established and these lands must now serve all its citizens.

For those living for tomorrow and not the past, the aim is to create in Israel a healthy, progressive state where the needs of the two peoples should concern the leaders and legislators. The Jewish National Fund's land policy counters the interests of the state and cannot discriminate by law against the minority living in Israel.

The clause in the bill stating that "the leasing of JNF lands for the purpose of settling Jews will not be seen as unacceptable discrimination," even though it involves 13 percent of state-controlled lands and allows for further expressions of discrimination. For example, the establishment of a university only for Jews on JNF land, or a hospital, or a movie theater.

It is not surprising that MK Uri Ariel, who favors the redemption of lands by Jews also beyond the Green Line, is the person who initiated the Jewish National Fund bill. But the support of Benjamin Netanyahu, Ami Ayalon, Michael Eitan, Reuven Rivlin and Shalom Simhon is a very bad omen for the future of legislation in Israel. The Ka'adan case in the Supreme Court failed to bring about change. The power to discriminate was passed on to communities' acceptance committees that reject candidates by reverting to the clause of "being ill-suited to the community." If it was not for the Supreme Court's ruling in the Ka'adan case, it would have been possible also to reject non-Jewish candidates from Russia.

The Ka'adan ruling was exceptional in setting red lines, allowing a broad range for change, establishing norms and preventing the debasement of the rule book. It turns out that the Supreme Court is not omnipotent. In an instant, a racist Knesset can overturn its rulings.

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