Habib Siddiqui

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Erdogan accuses Khashoggi's killers of enjoying 'impunity'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted on Monday that Ankara would keep pushing for the truth behind the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year, saying some of his killers appeared to be evading justice.

In a column for the Washington Post, for whom Khashoggi was a columnist, Erdogan said Turkey still wanted to know where the Saudi journalist's body was and who had authorised the operation - suggesting it was carried by agents of a "shadow state" in Saudi Arabia.

In ‘60 Minutes’ interview, Saudi crown prince denies ordering Khashoggi killing

Eleven Saudi suspects have been put on trial for the murder in secretive proceedings but only a few hearings have been held.

Nearly a year after Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents sent from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in an interview with US broadcaster CBS aired on Sunday that he had "absolutely not" ordered Khashoggi's killing, although he bore responsibility as a leader of his country.

Khashoggi, who also wrote for Middle East Eye, had become a prominent critic of bin Salman's policies.

The CIA and some western governments have said they believe the crown prince ordered the operation, an assertion Saudi officials have repeatedly denied.

A United Nations report earlier this year called for bin Salman and other senior Saudi officials to be investigated.

Dangerous precedent

Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October, where he was to receive papers ahead of his wedding.

Erdogan said the fact that Khashoggi's killers travelled on diplomatic passports and "turned a diplomatic building into a crime scene" set a dangerous precedent.

"Perhaps more dangerous is the impunity that some of the killers seem to enjoy back in the kingdom," he wrote, adding that there was a near-complete lack of transparency on the court proceedings.

On 13 October, MEE exclusively reported that Khashoggi was dragged from the consul general's office inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and brutally murdered by two men who cut up his body, citing sources close to the investigation.

Erdogan said: "The 15-member assassination squad that murdered Khashoggi inside Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul and chopped his body into pieces served the interests of a shadow state within the kingdom's government."

Twitter bans ex-MBS adviser Qahtani and 'political spam' network targeting Qatar

Earlier this month Twitter suspended the account of former Saudi royal court adviser Saud al-Qahtani, a year after he was sacked over his suspected role in the murder of Khashoggi.

Qahtani ran the royal court’s media centre as well as an electronic army tasked with protecting the kingdom’s image and attacking its perceived enemies online.

He is not among the suspects on trial for the murder of Khashoggi, according to sources familiar with the matter.

His absence from the trial comes after a Saudi royal told the Wall Street Journal that bin Salman "had no intention whatsoever to let go of Qahtani and was furious when he was fired by his father".

Erdogan said Turkey continued to see Saudi Arabia as a friend and ally, but that did not mean Ankara would remain silent.

Hong Kong protester shot in chest, six live rounds fired on National Day

Teenager hit by live bullet in Tsuen Wan in critical but non-life-threatening condition in hospital after undergoing surgery

Clashes in 13 different places as dark day in city mars celebrations in Beijing for 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

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Police chief repeats that officer made right call on shot

Asked why the live round was fired at the protester at close range, police chief Stephen Lo repeats that the officer made the right decision in a split second.

“He did not decide the distance between him and the assailant,” Lo says.

Although the officer also had a rifle for rubber bullets, Lo again says the event unfolded in a split second.

There will be investigations into the firing of a shot as well as an allegation of assault against the student, he says.

"Since [the officer] believed his life was in peril, he made the decision he made," he says. "We think it is reasonable and lawful."To read the rest of the report, click here: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3031044/chaos-expected-across-hong-kong-anti-government-protesters

Portland Trail Blazers sever ties with company that supplies IDF with rifle scopes after campaign by activists

Portland Trail Blazers president and CEO Chris McGowan has announced that the National Basketball Association (NBA) team will no longer partner with a rifle scope manufacturer that has a contract with Israeli military. The move comes after a year-long campaign by local activists to pressure the Blazers to drop the sponsor.

Leupold and Stevens is a Beaverton, Oregon-based company that has existed since 1907. It sponsored a segment during Blazers’ home games at the Moda Center called “Leupold Hometown Heroes,” where veterans and other individuals were honored by the crowd. The rifle scope manufacturer has a number of international contracts, including one with the Israeli military. That relationship prompted a number of local organizations, including the Portland Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and Jewish Voice For Peace, to spearhead an effort to get the Blazers to end their affiliation with the company.

After a July 2018 protest in front of the Moda Center, the Blazers released a statement affirming their commitment to the sponsorship. “We acknowledge DSA’s right to free speech, and their opinion of Leupold & Stevens,” it read, “Regarding our partnership with Leupold & Stevens, we welcome their continued support of our nightly in-game salute to the bravery, sacrifice and heroism of our military, retired military and first responders.”

During a Blazers game last November, a Marine named Josuee Hernandez was honored during the segment. While he was on the arena’s jumbotron, Hernandez unzipped his jacket to reveal a t-shirt that read, “END THIS SPONSORSHIP – #NoLeupold.” The camera quickly cut away.

Hernandez later told the Portland Mercury that he was inspired by DSA member friends to use his platform to launch and that he later joined the organization. Hernandez told the paper:

I think it’s terrible that Leupold & Stevens actively profits from war crimes, as many IDF have been spotted using their scopes in “combat” zones against Palestinian protesters. I think they know how morally awful that is, so they’re sponsoring the “hometown hero” segment at Blazers games to siphon the local goodwill of a generally anti-war and progressive state. The Blazers are a symbol of Portland and they purport to do a lot of good for the community, so why should they continue to do business with war profiteers? At minimum, they should end that partnership.

“#NoLeupold has become a reality! Thank you to all the people and organizations that helped create the pressure necessary to end this sponsorship!, “tweeted the Portland DSA account after Bleacher Report’s Sean Highkin broke the news on Twitter, “Special shout out to vet and DSA member [Josuee Hernandez] for disrupting the Leupold ceremony at the game #FreePalestine”

Kashmir should be free

Tariq A. Al-Maeena

October 27th, 1948, is forever scarred in the collective minds of the Kashmiri people as the day they became occupied. And more recently the arbitrary abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution by the BJP government which gave special status to the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir signaled the tightening of the armed occupation of a people and stands as a collective affront to freedom, justice and honorable people throughout the world.

The historical dilemma began in 1846 with the illegal, immoral and inhumane sale of the historic state of Jammu and Kashmir to a non-Kashmiri Dogra family for services rendered to the British Raj. From that point, onwards, Kashmiri’s have long for self-determination. Yet, tragically, their legitimate aspirations were crushed with the grotesque, irregular and illegal ascension, by the brutal foreign ruler Maharaja Hari Singh who did not have the consent of the people. With the arrival of Indian soldiers – the historic Black Day of Occupation begins its most recent and insidious manifestation.’

Historically, the Kashmir dispute is a fall-out of the Partition of India. The Muslim-majority parts of British India became Pakistan, and the Hindu-majority regions became the Dominion of India. There were, at that time, some 575 princely states in India under indirect British rule. Lord Mountbatten gave them the choice of joining either India or Pakistan and instructed that their choice must be guided by the religious composition of their populace as well as by the borders they might share with either India or Pakistan.

Since more than 85% of the population of the state at that time were Muslims; the major rivers in the state flowed into Pakistan; the state shared a border of over 750 kilometers with Pakistan; the only road connecting Kashmir with the outside world throughout the year passed from Srinagar to Rawalpindi; and the majority of the people of the state had cultural and historical ties with the people of Pakistan, it was a natural assumption that the area would accede to Pakistan.

On October 26, 1947, the Hindu ruler of Kashmir said his Muslim-majority kingdom would accede to India and not join newly created Islamic Pakistan. Kashmir has since been claimed by both India and Pakistan, and roiled with violence, involving Indian troops and Muslim militants. So far 43,000 people have been killed, officials say, but human rights groups put the toll at 60,000

However, in October 1947 the Indian Army entered the state introducing the intrusion of Indian forces. Kashmir has since been claimed by both India and Pakistan, and roiled with violence, involving Indian troops and Muslim militants. So far some 100,000 lives have been lost in the struggle for freedom.

India itself took the issue of Kashmir to the United Nations, which passed some eighteen resolutions related to Kashmir, recognizing the status of the state as disputed and calling for a resolution of the conflict based on the will of the people of the state, which the first Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, himself also publicly promised. Today, all that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are saying is that India should live up to this promise that it made of holding a plebiscite in accordance with the UN resolutions.

Voices in India today are calling for the same. A Hindustani Times survey late last year discovered that 87% of the Kashmiris want Azadi (freedom). Mr. Swaminathan Aiyar of The Times of India wrote in one of his columns, “We promised Kashmiris a plebiscite six decades ago. Let us hold one now”. And Vir Sanghvi of The Hindustan Times stated, “So, here’s my question: why are we still hanging on to Kashmir if the Kashmiris don’t want to have anything to do with us?”

So, what do the people of Kashmir want? The right of self-determination is a fundamental human right and is highly valued in all societies. Kashmiris demand the right of self-determination as guaranteed to them under the United Nations Security Council resolutions. Although the majority of them have expressed an alliance with Pakistan, the UN resolutions calling for a plebiscite to be held must take place.

Kashmir today stands poised to be the trigger for an all-out nuclear war between two nations. Both India and Pakistan have much to gain if there is peace, stability and economic cooperation in South Asia. Economic interests and other internal and external forces are pushing both countries towards a common goal and that is to have peace and economic cooperation in South Asia.

Whether the 8 million Kashmiris choose to align themselves with Pakistan or India should be best left for them to choose. Kashmir and only Kashmiris should be free to decide.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Shame on the Gates Foundation for rewarding a fascist

Bill Gates has shamed us all by bestowing award to an unrepentant criminal who masterminded massacre of 2000 Muslims in Gujarat and the on-going daily violence faced by Muslim and Christian minorities in India. Millions of Assamese Muslims have been declared stateless by his fascist government that sees no place for minorities. He has illegally annexed Kashmir violating Indian constitution and ignoring 11 UN resolutions towards allowing the Kashmiris to decide their fate. He is a criminal by any definition and shame on humanity. So, when Bill Gates Foundation honors him it is seen as a reward for fascism and intolerance, bigotry and Hindutva. Shame on Bill Gates and his wife Melinda! You have disappointed us all who wanted to believe that you are a great man, in spite of the unjust way you became a billionaire!

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Another award winner, pan-African activist Aya Chebbi, said during her own acceptance speech that, “We live in a world where it’s okay to trade human rights for a sanitation project.” It was a gutsy jab at the Gates Foundation, and at Modi, a Hindu nationalist with a questionable human rights record.

It also struck at the heart of an ethical dilemma in philanthropy. Is it possible to separate a world leader’s achievements in development from their political conduct?

The backlash clouded what is normally a pretty anodyne event. Three Nobel Peace Prize winners and 37 academics and development professionals sent letters demanding the award be rescinded. Even Gloria Steinem took a stand against it. At another Gates event a day later, the Indian poet-activist Aranya Johar—who Gates awarded last year—held up a sign asking, “Why Modi?” And a Gates Foundation staff member in India resigned over it, writing an op-ed in the New York Times explaining her decision.

It was the fourth year for the Gates Foundations’ Global Goals awards ceremony, which took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The awards are meant to recognize individuals for their contribution to the advancement of development goals. Modi was being recognized for the apparent success of a countrywide sanitation project.

He took that mandate and rescinded the special status of Kashmir, a mostly Muslim semi-autonomous region split between India and Pakistan. Modi then sent in police to make mass arrests. He’s also cut off mobile and internet service. At the same time, India is building mass detention camps in the northeastern state of Assam to hold what it considers “illegal immigrants,” mostly Muslim inhabitants who don’t have the paperwork to prove their citizenship. Modi’s rhetoric, meanwhile, has both incited Hindu violence around the country and inflamed tensions with Pakistan, a mostly Muslim country and India’s neighbor.

“[Modi] has a huge history of inflammatory hate speech, nationalistic violence against minorities and a lot of criticism of any dissent,” Lyla Mehta, a researcher at the Institute of Development Studies, told Quartz. “Democracy, freedom of speech, and human rights are all under threat in India.”

In this context, it seems imprudent at best for a charitable organization like the Gates Foundation to give Modi an award during the UN General Assembly, a week of meetings that is watched by the whole world.

“Civil and political rights and socioeconomic rights go hand in hand. You can’t really distinguish between one freedom and the other,” Mehta said.
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See the link to the OpEd in the NY Times by Sabah Hamid who resigned from the Gates Foundation:

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By honoring India’s divisive and authoritarian prime minister Narendra Modi, the foundation is going against its professed belief of considering every life valuable.

By Sabah Hamid

NEW DELHI — On Tuesday, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation presented Narendra Modi, the Hindu nationalist prime minister of India, with one of its Global Goal Awards in New York. The Gates Foundation has chosen to honor Mr. Modi for his Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, or Clean India Mission, which claims to have built 100 million new toilets in India over the past five years.

To read more, click here.

Uighur Muslims shackled and blindfolded in Xi's China

Video shows what appear to be Uighur or other minority prisoners led away by police

Lily Kuo in Beijing

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Footage shows hundreds of blindfolded and shackled prisoners in China – video

Drone footage has emerged showing police leading hundreds of blindfolded and shackled men from a train in what is believed to be a transfer of inmates in Xinjiang.

The video, posted anonymously on YouTube last week, shows what appear to be Uighur or other minorities wearing blue and yellow uniforms, with cleanly shaven heads, their eyes covered, sitting in rows on the ground and later being led away by police. Prisoners in China are often transferred with handcuffs and masks covering their faces.

Nathan Ruser, a researcher with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s international cyber policy centre, used clues in the footage, including landmarks and the position of the sun, to verify the video, which he believes was shot at a train station west of Korla in south-east Xinjiang in August last year.

Much of the focus of international criticism of China’s far-reaching anti-terrorism campaign in Xinjiang has centred on the extrajudicial detentions of more than 1 million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in internment and political re-education camps.

The number of formal arrests and prison sentences has also increased. According to analysis by the New York Times, local courts sentenced 230,000 people to prison or other punishments in 2017 and 2018, as the campaign got under way. Xinjiang accounts for less than 2% of the country’s population but about 21% of all arrests in 2017.

Ruser said the detainees were most likely being transferred to prisons in Korla from Kashgar, where the crackdown has been particularly severe. The area is believed to be home to several re-education camps but fewer detention centres.

“It counters the propaganda offensive China is trying to show,” he said, underlining the treatment of those within the penal system.

China has been taking diplomats and select groups of journalists on carefully orchestrated tours of Xinjiang and has defended its anti-extremism methods, describing them as a model for other countries to follow.

On Sunday, Australia’s foreign minister, Marise Payne, described the video as “deeply disturbing”.

The video was posted on YouTube by an account named War on Fear, whose stated goal is to fight fear inspired by hi-tech surveillance.