Habib Siddiqui

Last week, o n Thursday, March 24, 2016, the International Criminal Court (ICC) convicted Radovan Karadzic, former president of Republika Srpska during the Bosnian War, to 40 years in prison for war crimes. Thanks to all those human rights activist around the globe to see to it that the butcher of Bosnia gets justice for his heinous crimes. For more than four decades,  another genocide is taking place as the world watches. In Burma, Rohingya Muslims are slowly being annihilated. As was the case during the Bosnian war, world powers, activists and human rights groups refuse to name the persecution of Rohingya for what it is: genocide. What is necessary for truth to prevail and injustice to end is for the good people to act and speak out for those who are silenced. Stripped of their citizenship and facing systematic persecution, hundreds of Rohingya have been killed, raped or vanished since 2012. After their homes and businesses were burned down, o...

Myanmar has sworn in its first civilian-dominated government in more than half a century. The military-backed transitional administration handed over power on March 30 to a successor led by Aung San Suu Kyi ’s National League for Democracy. The handover ceremony confirmed that Suu Kyi would be taking on no fewer than four departmental portfolios in the new administration — foreign affairs, energy, education and the president’s office. The constitution, drafted and approved by the powerful military, had blocked her from becoming the presidency. Nonetheless, she vowed to rule above the man picked as president, Htin Kyaw, which was reflected in the speech by Mr. Htin Kyaw. In the sworn-in ceremony, Mr Htin Kyaw spoke for only a few minutes, outlining NLD priorities such as national reconciliation and constitutional change. He also acknowledged the authority of his party leader, who has openly said she will make all the important decisions herself. “The new parliament and new gov...

'The fascist Hindutvadi ideology has gotten its ardent promoter in the ruling  Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Its national executive has decided to make nationalism its rallying cry. It is useful to look at the patriotic attitude and vision of  the Sangh parivar’s icon, V.D. Savarkar, author and originator of the concept of ‘Hindutva’, which the BJP swears by. He was sent to the notorious Cellular Jail in the Andamans in 1911 for his so-called revolutionary activity. There, Savarkar first petitioned the British for early release within months of beginning his 50 year sentence. Then again in 1913 and several times till he was finally transferred to a mainland prison in 1921 before his final release in 1924. The burden of his petitions: let me go and I will give up the fight for independence and be loyal to the colonial government. Here below I reproduce Savarkar's letter to the British Government, courtesy of Ram Puniyani of the Secular Perspectives . To: The Home...

The NLD party declared last week that Aung San Suu Kyi will be foreign minister in Myanmar's first civilian government for decades. The constitution, drafted and approved by the powerful military, had blocked her from becoming the presidency. Nonetheless, she vowed to rule above the man picked as president, Htin Kyaw, in the government which comes to power next week in the former army-ruled nation. Myanmar’s president-elect on Tuesday proposed an 18-member. The NLD only named 15 ministers for 18 posts chosen by the civilian government . S uu Kyi will head up foreign affairs, energy, and education. The foreign ministry role gives her international clout and a seat at the influential military-dominated security council. Parliament is expected to vote later in the week to confirm the posts. [Note: Under Myanmar's complex political rules, the cabinet role means she will have to forgo her seat in parliament, although her party insisted she would maintain her chairmanship of ...

A Muslim shopkeeper was brutally murdered in Scotland, UK. Asad Shah, 40, died from injuries sustained in the attack on Thursday night in which his killers are believed to have stabbed him and stamped on his head. Medics tried to save him but he died in hospital. Police Scotland, who have arrested a man in connection with the attack, said they were treating the death as “religiously prejudiced”. An eyewitness said two men had set upon the shopkeeper and said: “One was stamping on his head. There was a pool of blood on the ground. ” Floral tributes were placed outside Mr Shah’s shop, a newsagent and convenience store close to where he was attacked in Shawlands, Glasgow, as residents left messages of sympathy. A few hours before he was killed, Mr Shah wrote on Facebook: “Good Friday and a very Happy Easter, especially to my beloved Christian nation... Let’s follow the real footstep of beloved holy Jesus Christ (PBUH) [peace be upon him], and get the real success in both worlds xx...

Donald Trump has disclosed the names of his foreign policy advisers. One of them is a known criminal whose hands are stained with blood of hundreds of innocent refugees. To read the story, click here .

AIPAC's annual meeting is now over with all the fanfare and publicity. All the major contenders minus Bernie Sanders appeared and spoke to the audience showing how to them Israel stands first and how they will fulfill whatever Zionist criminals demand. Yes, from Hillary to Trump to Kasich to Ted - all were proud of being the biggest supporters of war crimes of the pariah regime that had been repeatedly condemned in the UN General Assembly scores of time for its horrendous records on racism, discrimination and human rights violations. Here is something that you may not have known: while many attendees did not like Trump for his offensive xenophobic and racist comments, when the same comments are made by Israeli leaders they are very dismissive and/or forgiving. That says a lot about hypocrisy that highlight such events and the messages that come out. Click the link here for a sample.

Have you heard about the Vulture Fund? Well, if you don't consider clicking here to find out.

A printer error first tipped off Bangladesh’s central bank to one of the biggest cyber heists in recent history, according to a complaint filed to police that provided new details on the attempted theft of nearly $1 billion. To read the history, please, click here .

President Obama has nominated Judge Merrick Garland for the open Supreme Court slot. Garland has a long history of giving deference to the government’s position in high-profile cases, and oversaw some major litigation surrounding the detention center at Guantanamo Bay . To find out more about him, please, click here .

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein blasted the Saudi government today for its attack on a Yemeni marketplace earlier in the week, a strike which killed upwards of 119 civilians, saying it may amount to a war crime or other “international crime.” To read more, please, call here .

With the Republican contest for the president heating up, Ted Cruz, the other candidate eager to out-trump Trump, has surrounded himself with some of the most aggressive hawks imaginable. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has unveiled his new foreign policy team saying they are a group of his “trusted friends” who believe in a “strong America.” They include: 1. neoconservative ultra-hawk Frank Gaffney, a loudly anti-Muslim bigot. 2. Michael Ledeen, the man at the center of the yellowcake uranium forgeries , among the pretexts for the 2003 US invasion and occupation of Iraq. Ledeen has been involved in a litany of scandals, dating all the way back to Iran-Contra. He was also, notably, the man who got Israeli spy Jonathon Pollard his job at the US Navy. 3. Elliott Abrams who famously pled guilty to two charges of withholding information related to the scandal from Congress. During his tenure with the later Bush, Abrams was accused by The Guardian of being at the center of...

Here is the link to Uri Avnery's latest article, which is worth reading. In this he reviews the history of the Lebanese resistance movement - Hijbullah, and says: "it is not a terrorist organization." "Modern terrorists – real terrorists – lay bombs in markets, shoot at random civilians, run over people. Hezbollah does none of these. One can hate Hezbollah and detest Nasrallah. But calling them "terrorists" is plain stupid."

Part 1: Donald Trump said on March 9 , 2016 that he thinks "Islam hates us," drawing little distinction between the religion and radical terrorism by some misguided and angry Muslims. "I think Islam hates us," Trump told CNN's Anderson Cooper , deploring the "tremendous hatred" that he said partly defined the religion. Trump doubled down on that statement during the Republican debate the following night. On “ Fox News Sunday ,” March 13, Chris Wallace told Trump that among the 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, “according to the best experts, think tanks around the world, they say at most, 100,000 people are fighting for jihadist causes. That’s less than — it’s a tiny fraction of 1 percent.” In response Trump claimed that a Pew Research Center survey found that among the world’s Muslims, “27 percent, could be 35 percent, would go to war” against the U.S. In his remarks on Sunday, he also said, “ It would be easier for me to say, “Oh, n...