B.RAMAN
Even in the past, there had been instances of humiliating body searches of Indian diplomats and visiting dignitaries at US airports. The controversy over this has assumed serious dimensions following two recent incidents.
2. In the first incident reported on December 4,2010, Ms Meera Shankar, the Indian Ambassador to the US, was subjected to a hands-on (pat-down) body search at an airport in Mississippi, even after her diplomatic status had been revealed. She had been picked out of a security line at the Jackson-Evers International airport reportedly because she was wearing a sari. She was taken to a separate room and searched.
3. There was a similar incident ( date not clear, but reportedly two weeks ago) in which Hardeep Puri, the Indian Ambassador to the UN based in New York, was reportedly asked to remove his turban at an airport in Houston, Texas. When he refused to do so, he was detained in a "holding room" for about 30 minutes and was allowed to leave after a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) official intervened. He reportedly declined to allow the security officials to subject him to a pat-down body research.
4.A pat-down search means patting the entire body from head to foot in order to see whether there is any concealed object attached to the body. The procedures provide for a pat-down of even genitals and breasts. Under new security procedures introduced earlier this year, airline passengers are required to undergo either a full body scan by an x-ray machine or a manual pat-down search. Anyone refusing to agree to one of them cannot board an aircraft.
5. This procedure was introduced after an incident on December 25,2009, in which a Nigerian student trained by Al Qaeda in Yemen tried unsuccessfully to blow up a US plane over Detroit. He had concealed an improvised explosive device (IED) inside his underwear and taken advantage of the fact that at the Amsterdam airport where he boarded the plane there was no full body scanner at the departure gate through which he boarded. Nor was there a provision for a pat-down search.
6. The introduction of the new procedure in the US has come in for criticism from the travelling public in the US. According to the BBC, President Barack Obama has reportedly told the TSA: "You have to constantly refine and measure whether what we're doing is the only way to assure the American people's safety." The BBC has also quoted Mrs.Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, as stating that she would not submit to a security pat-down "if I could avoid it". She added that everyone, "including our security experts, are looking for ways to diminish the impact on the travelling public" and that "striking the right balance is what this is about". Robert Gibbs, the White House press spokesman, has said that the US airport security agency is "desperately" working to balance travellers' privacy concerns with security needs. Transportation Security Administration head John Pistole said in an interview to ABC television that there would be no short-term changes, but added: "What I'm doing is going back and looking at, are there less invasive ways of doing the same type of screening?" These remarks by Obama,Mrs.Clinton and other officials were in response to the criticism from the US travelling public and not in response to the protests from the Government of India over the two incidents mentioned above.
7. The response to the Indian protests has been typical ---with the State Department expressing its concern over the incident relating to Meera Shankar, but US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano saying that the pat-down search had been "appropriate".
8.These incidents draw attention once again to the differences that continue to prevail in the US between the State Department and the Homeland Security Department over courtesies to be extended to diplomats and visiting foreign dignitaries. While the State Department opposes such courtesies being sacrificed in the interest of security, the Homeland Security Department sticks to its position that the security of all passengers is paramount and that if a diplomat is to be subjected to the same procedures as others, so be it.
9. It remains to be seen whether there will be any improvement in the position in future as a result of the Indian protests. The conflict over diplomatic courtesies between Foreign Offices and the Security agencies is a global phenomenon. In Israel, there was a similar incident in 2007, when a senior British woman diplomat was subjected to body search by the Shin Bet security guards when she went to the Prime Minister's office. An interesting article on the subject carried by the Israeli daily "Haaretz" is annexed. (http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/anglo-file/pmo-vows-changes-after-diplomat-is-strip-searched-1.217998 )
10. Public outrage in India over the US humiliation to Indian diplomats has led to demands for a tit-for-tat policy. This could become counter-productive and lead to a messy situation. Presently, the instructions to our Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is responsible for airport security, is to treat all foreign diplomats---junior or senior-- and visiting foreign dignitaries with courtesy. As a result, India enjoys the reputation of treating foreign diplomats and dignitaries with the courtesies they are entitled to under the Vienna Convention. If we make an exception in the case of US diplomats and authorise the CISF to subject them to body searches under the rule of reciprocity of treatment, we may find it difficult to control the CISF if they adopt these procedures in the case of diplomats of other countries too.
11.We must look for some other dignified solution in consultation with the US State Department. One understands that in London's Heathrow Airport if diplomats book the VIP lounge in advance and proceed to the aircraft directly from the lounge accompanied by a representative of the airline, they are not searched. However, if they arrive late and proceed directly to the aircraft from their car, they have to go through normal security procedures. Something on these lines could be worked out. A posting on this from a Heathrow web site is also attached. ( (14-12-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
ANNEXURE I
THE ISRAELI INCIDENT
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/anglo-file/pmo-vows-changes-after-diplomat-is-strip-searched-1.217998
* Published 13.04.07
PMO vows changes after diplomat is strip-searched
Far-reaching changes have been promised at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to prevent a repeat of the incident where the deputy British ambassador was strip-searched by security officers on her way to a pre-arranged meeting at the PMO last month.
By Charlotte Halle
Far-reaching changes have been promised at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to prevent a repeat of the incident where the deputy British ambassador was strip-searched by security officers on her way to a pre-arranged meeting at the PMO last month.
The incident incensed not only diplomats at the British embassy in Tel Aviv. Israeli Foreign Ministry officials, who issued a formal apology following the incident, are said to be livid that their ongoing efforts to strengthen bilateral ties could be undermined by what they regard as overly rigorous and crudely handled security checks on diplomats. One diplomatic source suggested the Foreign Ministry leaked the story to the media in an effort to pressure the PMO into making sweeping changes to security procedures following the incident.
British Deputy Head of Mission and Consul General Janet Rogan was subjected to what the British embassy called an "intrusive security check" while accompanying a delegation of British treasury officials to a meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's chief of staff, Yoram Turbowicz, and senior policy advisor, Shalom Turgeman. PMO spokeswoman Miri Eisin said the inquiry into the incident had resulted in changes to procedures to accommodate the "special status of diplomats" when entering the PMO. A PMO insider told Anglo File these changes would be "drastic." Rogan's complaint also resulted in a formal apology from the PMO for the "indignity" of the incident.
While no one at the Foreign Ministry disputes the gravity of the task facing the Shin Bet security service at the PMO, ministry officials are frustrated that junior officers appear not to understand the importance of treating foreign diplomats sensitively or appreciate the system of diplomatic rankings. "They didn't understand, or even know, that such a senior diplomat - who serves as charge d'affaires - should not be physically checked at all," said one ministry source.
The incident, considered particularly embarrassing for Israel due to its wide coverage in the British and American press, did not surprise seasoned Israeli diplomats. One former Israeli ambassador described incidents during his tenure at the Foreign Ministry involving diplomats and foreign officials at the highest levels who were invited to Israel on official missions and yet endured lengthy security checks here that left them "furious."
"We always complained and it never made any difference," said the former ambassador, adding that even the intervention of senior politicians on the issue appeared ineffectual. He referred to the wife of a former European premier who possessed a diplomatic passport and vowed never to set foot again in Israel after her "humiliating" interrogation before flying out of Ben-Gurion airport despite an otherwise thrilling visit here. That episode reached the ears of then prime minister Yitzhak Rabin who ordered his staff to remedy the system. "Nothing came of it. Do you really think the prime minister can work against habits [entrenched] in this system? You have to go right to the top of the security system," added the former ambassador. "I really don't know why these things happen when everything is coordinated in advance. It's astonishing. It must be someone very stupid at a low level."
Others are reluctant to blame underlings in the security system. "It's too easy to put the blame on the shoulders of young men. Those who invite the guests are responsible for preventing these kinds of problems," said one Foreign Ministry source. But with reports circulating that the prime minister has on occasion left his office to greet high-ranking guests and ease their entry through security, this solution seems far from satisfactory.
No one familiar with the topic views the current situation or the Rogan incident as a sign of deterioration in the treatment of VIPs in Israel, but rather an indication of inherent flaws in the implementation of Israel's security systems.
A cursory survey of foreign embassies conducted this week by Anglo File found several missions whose staff has experienced at most only minor problems while passing through security. One European diplomat related that his foreign minister's visit to the PMO last year went "totally smoothly." The Czech embassy stated its staff had experienced almost no security-related problems. "If there are some difficulties we understand the security reasons are more important than small problems," said press attache Robert Rehak. One senior European diplomat pointed out that while diplomats working from his embassy in Tel Aviv experienced only minor problems, those based in his country's consulate in Jerusalem who make frequent trips to Gaza are subject to much closer scrutiny when inside Israel.
A few embassies had specific complaints when contacted by Anglo File. One Asian diplomat recalled an embassy staffer who, despite carrying official documents, was questioned by security officers at Ben-Gurion airport for so long that he missed his plane. He also mentioned that breakdowns in the system that provides special permits for diplomats to meet guests at the airport have resulted in "embarrassing" starts to visits to Israel.
All the embassies contacted view Rogan's case as unusual and grave, and several diplomats referred to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which grants diplomats and their families a range of privileges and immunities (subject to the host country's laws and regulations) and compels the host country to treat diplomats with "due respect" and prevent "any attack on his person, freedom or dignity." The convention also declares the personal baggage of a diplomat exempt from inspection barring exceptional circumstances.
"There's a general feeling that some people who work on the ground here just don't know the rules. It's an annoyance in your work," said one diplomat.
Foreign Ministry Chief of Protocol Yitzhak Eldan said there have been significantly less problems for diplomats and other VIPs at the airport since two ministry staffers were assigned to a special bureau there several years ago. He added that the Vienna Convention was formulated in a different era when security threats took a different form.
A couple of foreign diplomats mentioned that security checks on diplomats in their own countries have also caused friction in recent years. "It's not just an Israeli problem, it's a global problem. Balancing the needs of security and protocol are a continuing challenge in our daily work," said one diplomatic source.
Another foreign diplomat disagrees. "The rest of the world manages to conduct its security checks without treating diplomats and others the way Israel does. Why can't Israel get a handle on it? Israel's image abroad is so poor anyway and it simply plays right into that."
Janet Rogan was unwilling to comment but is said to be have been furious about the indignity caused by both the incident and its widespread coverage. The British embassy issued a statement saying the apology issued by the PMO has been accepted and the matter is regarded as closed.
ANNEXURE II
THE PROCEDURE IN LONDON'S HEATHROW AIRPORT
"Certain very high ranking people from the UK and other countries are not always required to pass through airport security checks. This is a well known policy and is competently managed by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) under the provisions of the Diplomatic List and under existing current diplomatic treaties and agreements. The same courtesy is afforded our own Royal Family members as well as certain other high ranking British Officials when they are in other countries. The FCO oversee much of this, in co-operation with Airport Security and the Home Office. The status of the individual using our airport facilities is the important issue regarding that person’s requirement to be screened and thereafter any subsequent exemption that may recommended by the FCO or Her Majesty’s Government. All other persons travelling with the dignitary, who have no such status, are required to be screened. There are other particular types of traveller who may be exempted from search but this is extremely rare and is beyond the scope of this discussion and therefore will not be commented on here. Additionally, all persons entering the airport terminal by means other than the four VIP Suites at Heathrow must present themselves for screening. It is interesting to note that the Australian airline, QANTAS, require all passengers, irrespective of status, to pass though a security check.
It is important to mention, at this point that security staff have no statutory right to search or seizure. We must obtain consent before we commence search procedures on all who pass though our security checks. However, after such consent is given, any attempt to circumvent or otherwise interfere with the search, is a criminal offence and could render the individual liable to arrest and subsequent prosecution. You always have a choice – but if you choose not to comply with security procedures you then have to turn around and leave – it’s as simple as that!
(http://www.heathrowairportsecurity.com/Heathrow_Security/ARCHIVES/Number%20Two%20-%20the%20Middle%20Eastern%20Diplomat.pdf
Monday, December 13, 2010
CHINESE OVERTURES TO INDIA---DESPITE OSLO
B.RAMAN
India’s decision to attend the function at Oslo on December 10,2010, to award in absentia the Nobel peace prize to Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, presently in jail in China, has not had any impact on the plans of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to visit India from December 15 to 17.
2. Jiang Yu, a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, announced on December 12 that Wen Jiabao will pay official visits to India and Pakistan from Wednesday to Sunday and that during his visit to India Wen will attend activities marking the 60th anniversary of China-India diplomatic ties. The spokesperson added that in Pakistan, Wen will attend a China-Pakistan business summit and meet people who have contributed to the friendship of the two countries.
3. In a media briefing on December 13, Liang Wenzhao, Deputy Director of the Department of Asian Affairs of China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), said that China and India are expected to sign a series of economic and trade agreements during Wen’s visit to India. He said that the bilateral cooperation agreements would cover trade, renewable energy, infrastructure and finance. He declined to confirm the specific value of the agreements, saying they were still under negotiation and would be formally released during Wen's visit. More than 100 senior representatives from Chinese business community will be accompanying Wen.
4.Liang acknowledged that the trade imbalance had been a "factual issue" concerning the bilateral trade. He added that China had never pursued a trade surplus and that the problem was caused by the economic structures of the two nations and their export orientations. The Chinese Government had been taking measures to expand imports from India to balance bilateral trade, Liang said.
5.According to official Chinese statistics, China is India's largest trade partner with two-way trade rising from $18.7 billion in 2005 to $51.8 billion in 2008. The bilateral trade value is expected to reach $60 billion this year.
6.Liang urged Indian companies to increase investments in China and actively participate in Chinese trade fairs to promote their products, so that they could benefit from China's rocketing economic growth. China's market was always open to foreign products, including those from India, Liang said. China's markets were open to more Indian products, especially from the information technology industry.
7. As part of the preparations for Wen’s visit to Pakistan, a meeting of the Pak-China Joint Committee on Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technical Cooperation (JEC) was held in Islamabad. It was indicated after the meeting that China has agreed to extend co-operation in 36 development projects worth $13.2 billion related to industry, water, energy, agriculture, fisheries and communications. The meeting also discussed ways to increase bilateral trade which is presently estimated at US $ 6.2 billion per annum.
8. Addressing the Chinese delegation to the meeting on December 2,Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani thanked the Chinese Government for the timely assistance for the flood affected people. He was quoted as saying that Pakistan would appreciate it if the Chinese assistance programme got gelled with Pakistan’s National Strategy for the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of the flood affected areas covering all the four provinces as well as Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, including Gilgit Baltistan. Gao Hucheng, the leader of the Chinese delegation, reportedly said that China would like to participate in the reconstruction phase in all areas of Pakistan. According to Pakistani media reports, he particularly mentioned the upgradation of the Karakoram Highway in this regard.
9. Gilani, who visited Kabul on December 4, told Pakistani media personnel accompanying him that President Hamid Karzai has endorsed the concept of trilateral trade relations involving Pakistan, Afghanistan and China. He added that this would be discussed with Wen during his visit to Pakistan. Islamabad is keen to have similar trilateral economic relations involving Pakistan, China and Sri Lanka. This was one of the subjects reportedly discussed during President Asif Ali Zardari’s recent visit to Sri Lanka. ( 13-12-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary ( retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
India’s decision to attend the function at Oslo on December 10,2010, to award in absentia the Nobel peace prize to Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, presently in jail in China, has not had any impact on the plans of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to visit India from December 15 to 17.
2. Jiang Yu, a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, announced on December 12 that Wen Jiabao will pay official visits to India and Pakistan from Wednesday to Sunday and that during his visit to India Wen will attend activities marking the 60th anniversary of China-India diplomatic ties. The spokesperson added that in Pakistan, Wen will attend a China-Pakistan business summit and meet people who have contributed to the friendship of the two countries.
3. In a media briefing on December 13, Liang Wenzhao, Deputy Director of the Department of Asian Affairs of China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), said that China and India are expected to sign a series of economic and trade agreements during Wen’s visit to India. He said that the bilateral cooperation agreements would cover trade, renewable energy, infrastructure and finance. He declined to confirm the specific value of the agreements, saying they were still under negotiation and would be formally released during Wen's visit. More than 100 senior representatives from Chinese business community will be accompanying Wen.
4.Liang acknowledged that the trade imbalance had been a "factual issue" concerning the bilateral trade. He added that China had never pursued a trade surplus and that the problem was caused by the economic structures of the two nations and their export orientations. The Chinese Government had been taking measures to expand imports from India to balance bilateral trade, Liang said.
5.According to official Chinese statistics, China is India's largest trade partner with two-way trade rising from $18.7 billion in 2005 to $51.8 billion in 2008. The bilateral trade value is expected to reach $60 billion this year.
6.Liang urged Indian companies to increase investments in China and actively participate in Chinese trade fairs to promote their products, so that they could benefit from China's rocketing economic growth. China's market was always open to foreign products, including those from India, Liang said. China's markets were open to more Indian products, especially from the information technology industry.
7. As part of the preparations for Wen’s visit to Pakistan, a meeting of the Pak-China Joint Committee on Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technical Cooperation (JEC) was held in Islamabad. It was indicated after the meeting that China has agreed to extend co-operation in 36 development projects worth $13.2 billion related to industry, water, energy, agriculture, fisheries and communications. The meeting also discussed ways to increase bilateral trade which is presently estimated at US $ 6.2 billion per annum.
8. Addressing the Chinese delegation to the meeting on December 2,Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani thanked the Chinese Government for the timely assistance for the flood affected people. He was quoted as saying that Pakistan would appreciate it if the Chinese assistance programme got gelled with Pakistan’s National Strategy for the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of the flood affected areas covering all the four provinces as well as Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, including Gilgit Baltistan. Gao Hucheng, the leader of the Chinese delegation, reportedly said that China would like to participate in the reconstruction phase in all areas of Pakistan. According to Pakistani media reports, he particularly mentioned the upgradation of the Karakoram Highway in this regard.
9. Gilani, who visited Kabul on December 4, told Pakistani media personnel accompanying him that President Hamid Karzai has endorsed the concept of trilateral trade relations involving Pakistan, Afghanistan and China. He added that this would be discussed with Wen during his visit to Pakistan. Islamabad is keen to have similar trilateral economic relations involving Pakistan, China and Sri Lanka. This was one of the subjects reportedly discussed during President Asif Ali Zardari’s recent visit to Sri Lanka. ( 13-12-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary ( retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
Sunday, December 12, 2010
A PERSONAL NOTE
Am ill due to a food infection after having eaten in a New Delhi restaurant on December 10.My recovery has been somewhat slow.This could affect my output for a couple of days---B.Raman
BLASTS IN STOCKHOLM---NEED TO INVESTIGATE 313 BRIGADE
INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM MONITOR---PAPER NO. 698
( To be read in continuation of my articles of April 3,2010, titled WAS JIHAD JANE A RECRUIT OF LASHKAR-E-TOIBA? International Terrorism Monitor- Paper N0. 638 at http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers38%5Cpaper3745.html and of May 23,2010,titled “PAKISTAN: Stoking Jihadi Anger Against US, Sweden -- International Terrorism Monitor --- Paper No. 652” at http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers39%5Cpaper3826.html )
According to media reports, one person was killed and two others were injured in two incidents in Stockholm, the Swedish capital, on December 11,2010.A car blew up near a crowded shopping street followed by another blast nearby about a few minutes later. The Swedish press attributed the second blast to a suicide bomber, but police said no cause had yet been determined. Carl Bildt, the Swedish Foreign Minister, said a "terrorist attack" which could have been "truly catastrophic" had failed.
2.A local news agency, TT, said it had received a threatening e-mail in Swedish and Arabic languages shortly before the blasts, which called for "mujahideen", or Islamist fighters, to rise up in Sweden and Europe. The e-mail reportedly denounced the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed drawn by Swedish artist Lars Vilks and Sweden's military presence in Afghanistan. It warned: “"Our acts will speak for themselves. Now your children, your daughters and your sisters will die as our brothers, our sisters and our children are dying." TT said a similar message had been sent to the Swedish Security Service SAPO.
3.Unconfirmed reports in Sweden's Aftonbladet newspaper said the dead man in the second blast was carrying pipe bombs, as well as a backpack full of nails. According to a police spokesperson, the car involved in the first incident had contained gas canisters and had "exploded with a series of minor explosions".
4.On March 4,2010, the USA’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had indicted Colleen La Rose also known as Jihad Jane and Fatima La Rose, on a charge of involvement in a conspiracy to kill a Swedish cartoonist who had drawn a cartoon of Prophet Mohammad in his paper. An FBI press release on the indictment said:
"The indictment charges that La Rose (an American citizen born in 1963 who resides in Montgomery County, Pa.) and five unindicted co-conspirators (located in South Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and the United States) recruited men on the Internet to wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe, and recruited women on the Internet who had passports and the ability to travel to and around Europe in support of violent jihad.
"The indictment further charges that La Rose and her unindicted co-conspirators used the Internet to establish relationships with one another and to communicate regarding their plans, which included martyring themselves, soliciting funds for terrorists, soliciting passports and avoiding travel restrictions (through the collection of passports and through marriage) in order to wage violent jihad. The indictment further charges that La Rose stole another individual’s U.S. passport and transferred or attempted to transfer it in an effort to facilitate an act of international terrorism.
"In addition, according to the indictment, La Rose received a direct order to kill a citizen and resident of Sweden, and to do so in a way that would frighten "the whole Kufar [non-believer] world." The indictment further charges that La Rose agreed to carry out her murder assignment, and that she and her co-conspirators discussed that her appearance and American citizenship would help her blend in while carrying out her plans. According to the indictment, La Rose traveled to Europe and tracked the intended target online in an effort to complete her task."
5.In June 2008, Jihad Jane had posted a comment on YouTube saying she was “desperate to do something somehow to help” suffering Muslims. According to the FBI indictment, she appeared to have been contacted by the jihadis thereafter. The indictment charged that she received a direct order to kill a Swedish resident. She traveled to Sweden and tracked the target with the intent of carrying out the murder. The FBI identified the target as cartoonist Lars Vilks. In an e-mail message to a co-conspirator, she wrote that she would pursue her mission “till I achieve it or die trying,” according to the indictment. The indictment accused her of agreeing, in March 2009, to marry a co-conspirator from a South Asian country who was trying to obtain residency in Europe. He allegedly urged her to go to Sweden, find the Swedish man "and kill him". The indictment claimed she tried to raise money over the internet, lure others to her cause, and lied to FBI investigators.
6. According to US media reports, she was also linked to an online organization Revolutionmuslim.com -- where she was a subscriber, again using the name Jihad Jane. The site was run by an American Muslim, who had made the following posting after she was indicted: "Sisters -- please consider sending her [La Rose] a message of support and hope and let's remind her she isn't alone. It's likely she's the only Muslimah there. As always, use discretion when writing, don't ask pointed questions, and of course don't say anything that could create problems for her or yourselves."
7.The case of Jihad Jane bore a close resemblance to that of David Coleman Headley, of the Chicago cell of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) She was a volunteer for jihad who was recruited by an unidentified person in South Asia through the Internet and given the task of killing the Swedish cartoonist, just as Ilyas Kashmiri of the 313 Brigade of Pakistan, allied to Al Qaeda, had initially tasked Headley through the Internet to kill the Danish cartoonist, who had published cartoons of the Prophet in a Danish paper in 2005. Headley subsequently met Ilyas in North Waziristan. There was no indication that Jihad Jane had met her South Asian recruit to whom she got engaged without ever having met him.
8. Whoever initially recruited Headley and Jihad Jane seemed to have done so for two reasons. Firstly, both of them had typical physical features of a White American. They did not look like Muslims and could , therefore, easily evade profiling. Headley looked a typical White despite his mixed Pakistani-White origin. Jihad Jane is a typical White with no mixed blood. Secondly, both of them are US nationals with valid US passports with which they could travel easily without facing difficulties in obtaining visas and in going through immigration controls.
9. Both of them had been given double tasks. Headley was given the tasks of facilitating the operations of the LET in India and attacking the office of the Danish paper in Copenhagen with the help of sleeper cells in Europe to which Ilyas had given introduction. Headley had played an active role in helping the LET in carrying out the terrorist strikes in Mumbai between November 26 and 29,2008. Jihad Jane had the dual task of killing the Swedish cartoonist with the help of Ireland-based contacts in Europe and organising acts of terrorism in South Asia. In the evidence against her, the reference was to South Asia and not specifically to India.
10.The FBI revealed the nationalities of her seven accomplices who were picked up in Ireland, but not their identifying particulars. Of the seven arrested in Ireland two are Algerians, two Libyans, a Palestinian, a Croatian, and an American woman married to one of the two arrested Algerians. The FBI documents did not say anything about her South Asian fiancee. They were silent even about his nationality. He was described as a man who claimed that he knew how to work with bombs and explosives.
11. During four days of demonstrations in different cities of Pakistan in the third week of May last over what many Muslims regarded as a blasphemous contest on sketches of Prophet Mohammad sought to be organised by one of the users of Facebook----his controversial page which sparked the anger in Pakistan was later removed by Facebook---- religious parties and jihadi organisations associated with Al Qaeda and the Talibans directed the anger against the US and Sweden because of the alleged caricatures of the Holy Prophet, which they alleged, had inspired the person who called for the blasphemous contest on Facebook.
12.During the demonstrations, slogans were shouted against the US and Sweden, US and Swedish flags were burnt and calls were issued by religious clerics for the death of the Swedish cartoonist. A ruling by the Lahore High Court calling for blocking the site of Facebook also added to the anger of pro-Al Qaeda elements because it sought to project the US as partly responsible for the perceived insult to the Prophet. It claimed that Facebook operated from the US and was subject to US laws and regulations. The US had, therefore, a responsibility to act against it.
13. The blasts in Stockholm coming in the wake of what has been stated above indicate a possible link to the so-called 313 Brigade of Ilyas Kashmiri. In his communications with Headley, Ilyas had claimed to know people in Europe who could assist Headley in attacking the office of the Danish newspaper in Copenhagen. Who are those people? Did they have any role in the Stockholm blasts? Those are among the questions to be investigated by the police. (13-12-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
( To be read in continuation of my articles of April 3,2010, titled WAS JIHAD JANE A RECRUIT OF LASHKAR-E-TOIBA? International Terrorism Monitor- Paper N0. 638 at http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers38%5Cpaper3745.html and of May 23,2010,titled “PAKISTAN: Stoking Jihadi Anger Against US, Sweden -- International Terrorism Monitor --- Paper No. 652” at http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers39%5Cpaper3826.html )
According to media reports, one person was killed and two others were injured in two incidents in Stockholm, the Swedish capital, on December 11,2010.A car blew up near a crowded shopping street followed by another blast nearby about a few minutes later. The Swedish press attributed the second blast to a suicide bomber, but police said no cause had yet been determined. Carl Bildt, the Swedish Foreign Minister, said a "terrorist attack" which could have been "truly catastrophic" had failed.
2.A local news agency, TT, said it had received a threatening e-mail in Swedish and Arabic languages shortly before the blasts, which called for "mujahideen", or Islamist fighters, to rise up in Sweden and Europe. The e-mail reportedly denounced the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed drawn by Swedish artist Lars Vilks and Sweden's military presence in Afghanistan. It warned: “"Our acts will speak for themselves. Now your children, your daughters and your sisters will die as our brothers, our sisters and our children are dying." TT said a similar message had been sent to the Swedish Security Service SAPO.
3.Unconfirmed reports in Sweden's Aftonbladet newspaper said the dead man in the second blast was carrying pipe bombs, as well as a backpack full of nails. According to a police spokesperson, the car involved in the first incident had contained gas canisters and had "exploded with a series of minor explosions".
4.On March 4,2010, the USA’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had indicted Colleen La Rose also known as Jihad Jane and Fatima La Rose, on a charge of involvement in a conspiracy to kill a Swedish cartoonist who had drawn a cartoon of Prophet Mohammad in his paper. An FBI press release on the indictment said:
"The indictment charges that La Rose (an American citizen born in 1963 who resides in Montgomery County, Pa.) and five unindicted co-conspirators (located in South Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and the United States) recruited men on the Internet to wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe, and recruited women on the Internet who had passports and the ability to travel to and around Europe in support of violent jihad.
"The indictment further charges that La Rose and her unindicted co-conspirators used the Internet to establish relationships with one another and to communicate regarding their plans, which included martyring themselves, soliciting funds for terrorists, soliciting passports and avoiding travel restrictions (through the collection of passports and through marriage) in order to wage violent jihad. The indictment further charges that La Rose stole another individual’s U.S. passport and transferred or attempted to transfer it in an effort to facilitate an act of international terrorism.
"In addition, according to the indictment, La Rose received a direct order to kill a citizen and resident of Sweden, and to do so in a way that would frighten "the whole Kufar [non-believer] world." The indictment further charges that La Rose agreed to carry out her murder assignment, and that she and her co-conspirators discussed that her appearance and American citizenship would help her blend in while carrying out her plans. According to the indictment, La Rose traveled to Europe and tracked the intended target online in an effort to complete her task."
5.In June 2008, Jihad Jane had posted a comment on YouTube saying she was “desperate to do something somehow to help” suffering Muslims. According to the FBI indictment, she appeared to have been contacted by the jihadis thereafter. The indictment charged that she received a direct order to kill a Swedish resident. She traveled to Sweden and tracked the target with the intent of carrying out the murder. The FBI identified the target as cartoonist Lars Vilks. In an e-mail message to a co-conspirator, she wrote that she would pursue her mission “till I achieve it or die trying,” according to the indictment. The indictment accused her of agreeing, in March 2009, to marry a co-conspirator from a South Asian country who was trying to obtain residency in Europe. He allegedly urged her to go to Sweden, find the Swedish man "and kill him". The indictment claimed she tried to raise money over the internet, lure others to her cause, and lied to FBI investigators.
6. According to US media reports, she was also linked to an online organization Revolutionmuslim.com -- where she was a subscriber, again using the name Jihad Jane. The site was run by an American Muslim, who had made the following posting after she was indicted: "Sisters -- please consider sending her [La Rose] a message of support and hope and let's remind her she isn't alone. It's likely she's the only Muslimah there. As always, use discretion when writing, don't ask pointed questions, and of course don't say anything that could create problems for her or yourselves."
7.The case of Jihad Jane bore a close resemblance to that of David Coleman Headley, of the Chicago cell of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) She was a volunteer for jihad who was recruited by an unidentified person in South Asia through the Internet and given the task of killing the Swedish cartoonist, just as Ilyas Kashmiri of the 313 Brigade of Pakistan, allied to Al Qaeda, had initially tasked Headley through the Internet to kill the Danish cartoonist, who had published cartoons of the Prophet in a Danish paper in 2005. Headley subsequently met Ilyas in North Waziristan. There was no indication that Jihad Jane had met her South Asian recruit to whom she got engaged without ever having met him.
8. Whoever initially recruited Headley and Jihad Jane seemed to have done so for two reasons. Firstly, both of them had typical physical features of a White American. They did not look like Muslims and could , therefore, easily evade profiling. Headley looked a typical White despite his mixed Pakistani-White origin. Jihad Jane is a typical White with no mixed blood. Secondly, both of them are US nationals with valid US passports with which they could travel easily without facing difficulties in obtaining visas and in going through immigration controls.
9. Both of them had been given double tasks. Headley was given the tasks of facilitating the operations of the LET in India and attacking the office of the Danish paper in Copenhagen with the help of sleeper cells in Europe to which Ilyas had given introduction. Headley had played an active role in helping the LET in carrying out the terrorist strikes in Mumbai between November 26 and 29,2008. Jihad Jane had the dual task of killing the Swedish cartoonist with the help of Ireland-based contacts in Europe and organising acts of terrorism in South Asia. In the evidence against her, the reference was to South Asia and not specifically to India.
10.The FBI revealed the nationalities of her seven accomplices who were picked up in Ireland, but not their identifying particulars. Of the seven arrested in Ireland two are Algerians, two Libyans, a Palestinian, a Croatian, and an American woman married to one of the two arrested Algerians. The FBI documents did not say anything about her South Asian fiancee. They were silent even about his nationality. He was described as a man who claimed that he knew how to work with bombs and explosives.
11. During four days of demonstrations in different cities of Pakistan in the third week of May last over what many Muslims regarded as a blasphemous contest on sketches of Prophet Mohammad sought to be organised by one of the users of Facebook----his controversial page which sparked the anger in Pakistan was later removed by Facebook---- religious parties and jihadi organisations associated with Al Qaeda and the Talibans directed the anger against the US and Sweden because of the alleged caricatures of the Holy Prophet, which they alleged, had inspired the person who called for the blasphemous contest on Facebook.
12.During the demonstrations, slogans were shouted against the US and Sweden, US and Swedish flags were burnt and calls were issued by religious clerics for the death of the Swedish cartoonist. A ruling by the Lahore High Court calling for blocking the site of Facebook also added to the anger of pro-Al Qaeda elements because it sought to project the US as partly responsible for the perceived insult to the Prophet. It claimed that Facebook operated from the US and was subject to US laws and regulations. The US had, therefore, a responsibility to act against it.
13. The blasts in Stockholm coming in the wake of what has been stated above indicate a possible link to the so-called 313 Brigade of Ilyas Kashmiri. In his communications with Headley, Ilyas had claimed to know people in Europe who could assist Headley in attacking the office of the Danish newspaper in Copenhagen. Who are those people? Did they have any role in the Stockholm blasts? Those are among the questions to be investigated by the police. (13-12-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
Thursday, December 9, 2010
OSLO: CHINA COMING TO TERMS WITH REALITY
B.RAMAN
After having waged a high-pressure campaign to enforce a boycott of the Oslo function on December 10 to honour in absentia Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese human rights activist who has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee this year, Beijing is coming to terms with the reality that its campaign has not had the expected success and that its bullying tactics to enforce a boycott has failed except in Asia. Of the 65 countries with a diplomatic presence in Oslo, only 19 have so far agreed to join the boycott. The remaining 46 have reportedly informed the Nobel Committee that they will be attending the function.
2. Embarrassed by this, Beijing has been projecting its campaign as a success. It has claimed that over 100 countries have agreed to boycott the function. In reaching this number, it has apparently included countries with no diplomatic presence in Oslo, who have not been invited and who would not have attended anyhow.
3. Having held out threats of retaliation against countries which attend the function, the Chinese are now showing signs of lowering the rhetoric. In an article carried on December 10, the party-controlled "Global Times" has said: "Shi Yinhong, a researcher at the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, said, "The 19 countries are making independent decisions on their own. It has done harm to the bilateral relations between China and Norway. But China's expressing of discontent with Norway on this specific issue does not represent the long-term direction that China will adopt toward Norway," Shi said."
4 The Chinese were till now warning of an adverse impact on China's relations with countries which attend the function. They are now practically saying: "Not necessarily". Despite the high-profile US interest in the function, the Chinese are going ahead with their plans to receive Mr.Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, in Beijing next month, thus terminating their suspension of military-military relations with the US in protest against the intended US sale of another consignment of military equipment to Taiwan.( 10-12-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
After having waged a high-pressure campaign to enforce a boycott of the Oslo function on December 10 to honour in absentia Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese human rights activist who has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee this year, Beijing is coming to terms with the reality that its campaign has not had the expected success and that its bullying tactics to enforce a boycott has failed except in Asia. Of the 65 countries with a diplomatic presence in Oslo, only 19 have so far agreed to join the boycott. The remaining 46 have reportedly informed the Nobel Committee that they will be attending the function.
2. Embarrassed by this, Beijing has been projecting its campaign as a success. It has claimed that over 100 countries have agreed to boycott the function. In reaching this number, it has apparently included countries with no diplomatic presence in Oslo, who have not been invited and who would not have attended anyhow.
3. Having held out threats of retaliation against countries which attend the function, the Chinese are now showing signs of lowering the rhetoric. In an article carried on December 10, the party-controlled "Global Times" has said: "Shi Yinhong, a researcher at the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, said, "The 19 countries are making independent decisions on their own. It has done harm to the bilateral relations between China and Norway. But China's expressing of discontent with Norway on this specific issue does not represent the long-term direction that China will adopt toward Norway," Shi said."
4 The Chinese were till now warning of an adverse impact on China's relations with countries which attend the function. They are now practically saying: "Not necessarily". Despite the high-profile US interest in the function, the Chinese are going ahead with their plans to receive Mr.Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, in Beijing next month, thus terminating their suspension of military-military relations with the US in protest against the intended US sale of another consignment of military equipment to Taiwan.( 10-12-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
CHINA: WELCOME INDIAN ASSERTIVENESS
B.RAMAN
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, needs to be complimented for standing firm to China and refusing to be bullied by it into not attending the Oslo function on December 10,2010, in honour of Liu Xiaobao, a Chinese political dissident in jail in China, who has been awarded the Nobel Peace prize this year. Since the Chinese have successfully prevented anybody even remotely connected with him from going to Oslo to receive the prize on his behalf, the function is likely to be purely symbolic without the prize being handed over to anybody unless the Norwegian Nobel Committee decides to hand it over to a Chinese human rights activist living abroad.
2.The Chinese bullying campaign to intimidate other countries into boycotting the symbolic function at Oslo by using Beijing's economic clout has considerably succeeded at least in Asia as would be evident from the reports that only India, Japan, South Korea and Thailand have rejected the Chinese pressure not to attend the function One is surprised by Vietnam, which one would have expected to stand firm to China, succumbing to the Chinese pressure.
3. This is not the first time that our Prime Minister has stood firm to China. He had earlier ignored the Chinese unhappiness over the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. He has also allowed the Jamia Millia to award a doctorate to His Holiness though the approval was delayed till his recent meeting with Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in Hanoi was over.
4. It will be interesting to watch how Beijing reacts to the obvious and well-deserved snub from New Delhi on the issue of the Oslo function. At the worst, Prime Minister Wen might cancel his forthcoming visit to India for three days from December 15 before proceeding to Pakistan. It is hoped good sense will prevail and Beijing will not take this extreme step, but, if it does, so be it. We cannot go on pampering and appeasing China, particularly when it is so blatantly insensitive to India's major concerns relating to issues such as the Chinese refusal to issue normal visas to Indian citizens living in the Indian territory of Jammu & Kashmir and when it has been taking actions to undermine our claims of sovereignty over Gilgit-Baltistan and other areas of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
5. Strict reciprocity should be the rule in our relations with China. If it ignores our sensitivities in matters of vital interest to us, there is no reason why we should be unnecessarily responsive to its concerns in relation to Tibet. The time has come for us to reconsider the existing restrictions on political interactions with His Holiness. While our Foreign Secretaries have been periodically calling on the Dalai Lama, there are practically no interactions between him and our political leaders----from the Prime Minister downwards. The time has come to give up this policy and hold periodic interactions with His Holiness not only in his capacity as a religious leader on religious issues, but also in his capacity as a political leader on the political situation in Tibet.
6. It is also time to associate him in some capacity with the project for the revival of the Nalanda Univerity. We need not be unduly worried about the sensitivities of Singapore and other countries helping in the project. If they withdraw, it does not matter. ( 9-12-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, needs to be complimented for standing firm to China and refusing to be bullied by it into not attending the Oslo function on December 10,2010, in honour of Liu Xiaobao, a Chinese political dissident in jail in China, who has been awarded the Nobel Peace prize this year. Since the Chinese have successfully prevented anybody even remotely connected with him from going to Oslo to receive the prize on his behalf, the function is likely to be purely symbolic without the prize being handed over to anybody unless the Norwegian Nobel Committee decides to hand it over to a Chinese human rights activist living abroad.
2.The Chinese bullying campaign to intimidate other countries into boycotting the symbolic function at Oslo by using Beijing's economic clout has considerably succeeded at least in Asia as would be evident from the reports that only India, Japan, South Korea and Thailand have rejected the Chinese pressure not to attend the function One is surprised by Vietnam, which one would have expected to stand firm to China, succumbing to the Chinese pressure.
3. This is not the first time that our Prime Minister has stood firm to China. He had earlier ignored the Chinese unhappiness over the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. He has also allowed the Jamia Millia to award a doctorate to His Holiness though the approval was delayed till his recent meeting with Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in Hanoi was over.
4. It will be interesting to watch how Beijing reacts to the obvious and well-deserved snub from New Delhi on the issue of the Oslo function. At the worst, Prime Minister Wen might cancel his forthcoming visit to India for three days from December 15 before proceeding to Pakistan. It is hoped good sense will prevail and Beijing will not take this extreme step, but, if it does, so be it. We cannot go on pampering and appeasing China, particularly when it is so blatantly insensitive to India's major concerns relating to issues such as the Chinese refusal to issue normal visas to Indian citizens living in the Indian territory of Jammu & Kashmir and when it has been taking actions to undermine our claims of sovereignty over Gilgit-Baltistan and other areas of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
5. Strict reciprocity should be the rule in our relations with China. If it ignores our sensitivities in matters of vital interest to us, there is no reason why we should be unnecessarily responsive to its concerns in relation to Tibet. The time has come for us to reconsider the existing restrictions on political interactions with His Holiness. While our Foreign Secretaries have been periodically calling on the Dalai Lama, there are practically no interactions between him and our political leaders----from the Prime Minister downwards. The time has come to give up this policy and hold periodic interactions with His Holiness not only in his capacity as a religious leader on religious issues, but also in his capacity as a political leader on the political situation in Tibet.
6. It is also time to associate him in some capacity with the project for the revival of the Nalanda Univerity. We need not be unduly worried about the sensitivities of Singapore and other countries helping in the project. If they withdraw, it does not matter. ( 9-12-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
INDIAN MUJAHIDEEN WARNS OF MORE ATTACKS ON HINDU HOLY PLACES
INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM MONITOR---PAPER NO. 697
( To be read in continuation of my earlier article of September 20, 2010, titled "I. M. Hints at Act of Suicide Terrorism" at http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers41%5Cpaper4051.html )
The message dated December 6,2010, purporting to be from the Indian Mujahideen (IM) indirectly claiming responsibility for the explosion in Varanasi on December 7,2010, was received by the media outlets to which it was addressed after the explosion had taken place. It differs from the last message of the IM sent on September 19,2010, in one significant aspect. It avoids any allusions to the messages of Osama bin Laden and is free of bin Laden like language and rhetoric. It has not borrowed from the past messages of bin Laden. It seeks to project the IM as a purely indigenous movement, but needing the support of the Islamic world. It warns the Hindus of continued attacks on Hindu holy places till all Masjids (mosques) belonging to the Muslims are restored to them. It is critical of the Indian criminal justice system, which is projected as anti-Muslim. This has been a recurring theme of all IM messages disseminated since the explosions in Uttar Pradesh in November, 2007.It warns moderate Indian Muslim leaders not to barter away the rights of the Muslims on the Babri Masjid issue. The salient points in the latest IM message are given below:
CRITICISM OF THE JUDICIARY: "The Supreme Court, the high courts, the lower courts and all the Commissions have utterly failed to play an impartial role regarding Muslim issues. Narendra Modi who presided over the 2002 massacres of Muslims in Gujarat is given a clean chit whereas the victims still run from pillar to post for justice. Even the 92 Mumbai culprits roam freely and enjoy Government security. All the anti-Muslim pre-planned riots, arson, rapes, losses of lives and properties are still awaiting justice. The list is endless!"
CRITICISM OF THE CONGRESS (I): "It needs no mention that time and again the Congress party with its hidden agenda has shown its true colors. Be it the inaction over the planting of the idol in 1949 or the shilanyaas, the ground-breaking ceremony of 1989 and finally the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. For all practical reasons the Masjid site has since been transformed into a Mandir (temple), thanks to the Supreme Court order to maintain Status-quo."
WARNING OF MORE ATTACKS ON HINDU HOLY PLACES: "Our memories are still fresh and our hearts still bleeding over every Muslim brother and sister who was hacked to death after the demolition of Babri masjid. Indian history is decorated with countless state-sponsored terror and state-managed riots. Indeed every martyr enlivens the ummah. We will not budge until every inch of the Masjid is regained and lives of our martyrs avenged.We will strike terror in the hearts and minds of these idol worshippers until the mountain of injustice is undone.We will leave no stone unturned come what may till the anger of believer’s hearts is removed and a Magnificent Masjid is built at the same spot.We are fully aware of your preparations at the Babri Masjid site for the construction of a ‘grand temple’ over the corpses of our martyrs all over the country.The Indian Mujahideen warn these filthy Hindu zealots that even if a Grand Temple of Gold is built over the Babri Masjid we will destroy it at all costs. Remember! It was a Masjid, It is a Masjid and It will always remain a Masjid. At this juncture Muslims are silent due to their state of affairs. We hereby invite all our Muslim brethren to never be weak-hearted over the designs of these idolators and urge them to strengthen their faith in Allah and unite for the cause of Islam. Surely, victory is awaiting us.Be assured that Indian Mujahideen, the sons of Mahmud Ghazni, Muhammad Ghori, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, Firuz Shah Tughlaq and Aurangzeb have resolved that none of your Mandirs will remain safe until and unless all our occupied Masjids throughout India are returned back to the Muslims with honour. "
CAUTION TO INDIAN MUSLIM LEADERS: "Neither the All India Muslim Personal Law Board nor the Babri Masjid Action Committee nor the Sunni Waqf Board nor any litigant has any right to alter or compromise on any of these aspects whatsoever regarding the Babri Masjid.All sorts of bartering and bargaining is totally unacceptable to Allah and thus to the Muslims.We urge those ulema to behave sensibly, change their attitude towards this Holy Cause, fear Allah alone, come forward, inspire and motivate the people and thus appease none but Allah alone. We hereby declare that even if all the ulema, scholars and Muslim leaders collectively deviate from or refuse Allah and Prophet’s Verdict, their decision will be right beneath our feet."
THE KASHMIR ISSUE: "The manhandling and heckling of Kashmiri leadership in Indian cities is not at all a minor issue. These insane and cowardly Saffron Hindus on the behest of the IB (Intelligence Bureau) ) and the administration pounce upon weak people.As usual we are going through minute details of the matter and have obtained vital clues of the mischief which we presume to be inappropriate to be divulged at this point of time. Meanwhile we request the respected Syed Ali Shah Geelani Saheb and the Mirwaiz to maintain their self-respect and dignity. These sons of monkeys and snakes will never heed to sensible arguments and historical facts . Please don’t waste your time with these lowly creatures as they will never understand!"
APPEAL TO THE ISLAMIC WORLD TO SUPPORT INDIAN MUSLIMS:"We appeal to all the Muslim countries to voice their concerns regarding oppression and injustice done by India upon their fellow brethren.It is their duty to pressurize this ‘Empire of Falsehood and Tyranny’ regarding the longstanding Kashmir issue where world’s largest concentration of armed forces in an occupied territory stands. This ‘Hollow superpower’ , needs to be told loudly and clearly that it should get over its obsession with Muslims in India and that the Global Muslim Ummah is seriously concerned about the issues like Babri Masjid and Kashmir." (9-12-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
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( To be read in continuation of my earlier article of September 20, 2010, titled "I. M. Hints at Act of Suicide Terrorism" at http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers41%5Cpaper4051.html )
The message dated December 6,2010, purporting to be from the Indian Mujahideen (IM) indirectly claiming responsibility for the explosion in Varanasi on December 7,2010, was received by the media outlets to which it was addressed after the explosion had taken place. It differs from the last message of the IM sent on September 19,2010, in one significant aspect. It avoids any allusions to the messages of Osama bin Laden and is free of bin Laden like language and rhetoric. It has not borrowed from the past messages of bin Laden. It seeks to project the IM as a purely indigenous movement, but needing the support of the Islamic world. It warns the Hindus of continued attacks on Hindu holy places till all Masjids (mosques) belonging to the Muslims are restored to them. It is critical of the Indian criminal justice system, which is projected as anti-Muslim. This has been a recurring theme of all IM messages disseminated since the explosions in Uttar Pradesh in November, 2007.It warns moderate Indian Muslim leaders not to barter away the rights of the Muslims on the Babri Masjid issue. The salient points in the latest IM message are given below:
CRITICISM OF THE JUDICIARY: "The Supreme Court, the high courts, the lower courts and all the Commissions have utterly failed to play an impartial role regarding Muslim issues. Narendra Modi who presided over the 2002 massacres of Muslims in Gujarat is given a clean chit whereas the victims still run from pillar to post for justice. Even the 92 Mumbai culprits roam freely and enjoy Government security. All the anti-Muslim pre-planned riots, arson, rapes, losses of lives and properties are still awaiting justice. The list is endless!"
CRITICISM OF THE CONGRESS (I): "It needs no mention that time and again the Congress party with its hidden agenda has shown its true colors. Be it the inaction over the planting of the idol in 1949 or the shilanyaas, the ground-breaking ceremony of 1989 and finally the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. For all practical reasons the Masjid site has since been transformed into a Mandir (temple), thanks to the Supreme Court order to maintain Status-quo."
WARNING OF MORE ATTACKS ON HINDU HOLY PLACES: "Our memories are still fresh and our hearts still bleeding over every Muslim brother and sister who was hacked to death after the demolition of Babri masjid. Indian history is decorated with countless state-sponsored terror and state-managed riots. Indeed every martyr enlivens the ummah. We will not budge until every inch of the Masjid is regained and lives of our martyrs avenged.We will strike terror in the hearts and minds of these idol worshippers until the mountain of injustice is undone.We will leave no stone unturned come what may till the anger of believer’s hearts is removed and a Magnificent Masjid is built at the same spot.We are fully aware of your preparations at the Babri Masjid site for the construction of a ‘grand temple’ over the corpses of our martyrs all over the country.The Indian Mujahideen warn these filthy Hindu zealots that even if a Grand Temple of Gold is built over the Babri Masjid we will destroy it at all costs. Remember! It was a Masjid, It is a Masjid and It will always remain a Masjid. At this juncture Muslims are silent due to their state of affairs. We hereby invite all our Muslim brethren to never be weak-hearted over the designs of these idolators and urge them to strengthen their faith in Allah and unite for the cause of Islam. Surely, victory is awaiting us.Be assured that Indian Mujahideen, the sons of Mahmud Ghazni, Muhammad Ghori, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, Firuz Shah Tughlaq and Aurangzeb have resolved that none of your Mandirs will remain safe until and unless all our occupied Masjids throughout India are returned back to the Muslims with honour. "
CAUTION TO INDIAN MUSLIM LEADERS: "Neither the All India Muslim Personal Law Board nor the Babri Masjid Action Committee nor the Sunni Waqf Board nor any litigant has any right to alter or compromise on any of these aspects whatsoever regarding the Babri Masjid.All sorts of bartering and bargaining is totally unacceptable to Allah and thus to the Muslims.We urge those ulema to behave sensibly, change their attitude towards this Holy Cause, fear Allah alone, come forward, inspire and motivate the people and thus appease none but Allah alone. We hereby declare that even if all the ulema, scholars and Muslim leaders collectively deviate from or refuse Allah and Prophet’s Verdict, their decision will be right beneath our feet."
THE KASHMIR ISSUE: "The manhandling and heckling of Kashmiri leadership in Indian cities is not at all a minor issue. These insane and cowardly Saffron Hindus on the behest of the IB (Intelligence Bureau) ) and the administration pounce upon weak people.As usual we are going through minute details of the matter and have obtained vital clues of the mischief which we presume to be inappropriate to be divulged at this point of time. Meanwhile we request the respected Syed Ali Shah Geelani Saheb and the Mirwaiz to maintain their self-respect and dignity. These sons of monkeys and snakes will never heed to sensible arguments and historical facts . Please don’t waste your time with these lowly creatures as they will never understand!"
APPEAL TO THE ISLAMIC WORLD TO SUPPORT INDIAN MUSLIMS:"We appeal to all the Muslim countries to voice their concerns regarding oppression and injustice done by India upon their fellow brethren.It is their duty to pressurize this ‘Empire of Falsehood and Tyranny’ regarding the longstanding Kashmir issue where world’s largest concentration of armed forces in an occupied territory stands. This ‘Hollow superpower’ , needs to be told loudly and clearly that it should get over its obsession with Muslims in India and that the Global Muslim Ummah is seriously concerned about the issues like Babri Masjid and Kashmir." (9-12-10)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
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