Surya Namaskar in all BMC schools is an imposition of sangh parivar’s saffron agenda

BJP is making the life of non-Hindus miserable inside India, who are now forced to pay obeisance to the sun - Surya. This is simply unacceptable.

All Muslims are fuming on the new directive, esp. the Muslims for Secular Democracy (MSD) which strongly protests the decision of the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation to make Surya Namaskar compulsory in the over 1,200 schools run by the civic body.

The BJP claims Surya Namaskar is beneficial in leading a healthy life, improves concentration and has nothing to do with any religion. While the combination of yogasana postures involved may well be beneficial for good health, Surya Namaskar does mean “salutations to Lord Surya (The Sun), the giver of energy to the world” and is widely regarded as “a wonderful regular routine of exercise, prayer and worship given in the scriptures”.

It is for this reason that very many Muslims find Surya Namaskar objectionable since Islam forbids bowing before or worship of anyone except God.

MSD believes that notwithstanding its posturing, the BJP’s decision to impose Surya Namaskar on all students irrespective of religion is an integral part of its saffronisation agenda.

It therefore supports the demand for a rollback of this unconstitutional decision of the BJP and its ally, the Shiv Sena.
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Statement issued by Hasan Kamaal, Javed Siddiqi, Noorjehan Safia Niaz, Javed Anand, Feroze Mithiborwala.

Saw Khin Tint should resign from the Advisory Commission

An advisory committee has been formed in Myanmar, headed by ex-UN secretary general Kofi Annan, to solve the sad and inhuman catastrophe facing the Rohingya minorities of Arakan state. Since 2012, some 140,000 of them don't have any home to return, as a result of genocidal campaigns by racist and bigot Rakhines, which were aided by government agencies, Buddhist politicians and monks. The persecuted Rohingya were denied their right to even cast vote in the last general election.



The formation of the advisory commission should be a matter of celebration, unfortunately, such enthusiasm is dashed by a rotten rat. It includes a known racist and bigot Rakhine Literature and Culture Association (Yangon) chair Daw Khin Saw Tint, who is Rakhine. I must admit that I didn't know much about her position until I came across Dr. Zarni's link: http://www.maungzarni.net/2016/08/aung-san-suu-kyi-picks-well-known.html#sthash.0XkvJauC.dpuf.


(Thanks to Dr. Maung Zarni for sharing the info with English translation.) Upon reading the piece from Khin Saw Tint, there is no hiding that she is a very hostile person, an anti-Rohingya zealot. And that is a sad thing to see happen to the advisory commission that is supposed to come with solutions to resolve the decades-old problem.

One would have liked to believe that Suu Kyi would have been more careful in selecting members of the Advisory Commission. Obviously, we are all disappointed to see the inclusion of a racist and bigot like Saw Khin Tint to whom Rohingyas have no history prior to the Burma's independence from Great Britain. Such deniers of the truth are provocateurs of the 'slow' genocide that we know is happening with the Rohingya people. Unless their narratives are disallowed or shun, they will continue to leave Burma a divided country where the rights of vulnerable minority would suffer immensely.

 

After being named in the commission, she said she believes working together with independent and highly respected international figures will present a clear image of what is happening in Rakhine State to the international community. “The problem can only be solved with a bilateral approach,” she said. “I think it is good to include unbiased representatives from the Muslim community because their consultation with the local residents will help us find the best solutions and understand what is happening on the ground.”

I have no confidence in her knowing her highly deplorable statements that deny Rohingya history. Knowing her biased, hateful position on Rohingya, in all fairness, Saw Khin Tinit should excuse herself from the commission so that it can do its task fairly.

World Rohingya Day

On Friday, 19 August 2016, the first World Rohingya Day demonstrations took place around the world. Thanks to all who organized, participated, and publicized these rallies.

Rallies and demonstrations took place in London, UK; Washington DC, Toronto, Canada, New York, Chicago; Stockholm, Sweden; Boston; Los Angeles; and many other places.


                        The speakers demanded end to the ongoing genocide of Rohingya people who are indigenous people of Burma living in their ancestral lands.




In London, the World Rohingya Day Rally in front of the Burmese Embassy was attended by several dozen people, including many Rohingya.  Speakers included Maung Zarni; Tun Khin, President of Burmese Rohingya Association UK; Ko Aung, 8888 Generation Leader and former political prisoner; Laua Haigh, Myanmar Affairs, Amnesty International; Claire Denman, Public Affairs Officer, Christian Solidarity Worldwide; and Anna Roberts, Burma Campaign UK.  Video of Zarni’s speech can be found here:            
            


Journalists from Al Jazeera were present, and coverage of this event can be found in the Burmese publication the Irrawaddy.


In Washington, D.C., the rally was held in front of the Embassy of Burma at 3:00 P.M.  Attendees carried placards demanding that the Burmese Government restore Rohingya rights. Dr. Wakar Uddin Ahmed, Director General, Arakan Rohingya Union demanded restoration of Rohingya citizenship.


The Chicago rally took place in Federal Plaza. Speakers included Jennifer and Tauseef from the Burma Task Force team; Aishah, a translator in the Rohingya community; Dr. Azeem Ibrahim, author and scholar on the Rohingya; Jacob Heiss, musician who advocates for indigenous people’s rights; Shaukat, a Rohingya immigrant; and Asayo Horibe, a Japanese internment camp survivor and Buddhist leader. A poem by a Rohingya was read out by Shirmeen (interning producer at Radio Islam). Two Rohingyas told their first-hand stories. Muslim, Buddhist, and Christian perspectives on the responsibility to protect were shared. The rally was covered by the Burma Times & Rohingya Vision TV. 


In New York City, the World Humanitarian Day rally too place in front of the United Nations. The speakers list included, Adem Carroll from the BTF team; Imam Aiyub Baki and Syrian American Imam Samer al Raey; Indian Muslim activist Sana Uddin; Three speakers from Amnesty International main offices; and at least 6 Rohingyas spoke in English and in their language. Organizers & participants gave out our materials to passersby, as well as at the closest Masjid after Juma prayers. We also gave our statements to 2 journalists that were in the area to report on other UN activities, one proved to be Indian media.


In Stockholm, Sweden, the rally was held in front of the Swedish Parliament House. It was heavily attended by Rohingya with several Rohingya speakers.


In Toronto, Canada, the rally was held at Mississauga Celebration Square. It was very well attended by both Rohingya and non-Rohingya, and was deemed by the organizers to be a great success. Speakers included Anwar Arkani - Leader in the Rohingya community; Sayyid Ahmed - Rohingya refugee; Farheen Khan - writer, community activist, consultant; and Farina Siddiqui - business management consultant, speaker & community activist.


In Los Angeles, the rally was held in front of the Consulate of Myanmar.  Speakers were informal, sharing slogans and stories.


In Boston, the rally was held at Harvard Square.  It was attended by some Rohingya and many allies, carrying placards with the Rohingya’s grievances.


In Durham, North Carolina, there was no rally, but artist Kulsum Tasnif included a nod to the Rohingya cause in her exhibit which opened on 14 August and will close on the 27th.  Called Journey to the Good Life, the exhibit showcases paintings inspired by the refugee experience.  Interviews taken by BTF staff with anonymous Rohingya refugees were audio-recorded and piped into the exhibit for viewers to hear while exploring the art.  Ms. Tasnif reported good attendance at the exhibit and was excited to mention that it was well received – particularly the audio interviews that contextualized it.

Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims: Glimmer of hope at last?

There haven't been many good moments for Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims in the last four years.
This country's dramatic political changes have passed them by. Greater democracy has not brought greater respect for the stateless Rohingya's human rights.
But the formation of an Advisory Commission on Rakhine State represents a rare glimmer of hope.
For the first time, the Burmese government is seeking international expertise to try and solve one of the country's most complex problems.
It's a significant shift. For years, the official Burmese mantra has been that "no foreigner can possibly understand Rakhine's problems".
Now Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general, has been tasked with taking a fresh look at the issues as head of nine-member commission. His report could just add to the mountain of papers written about Rakhine and the Rohingya, or it just might be a game-changer.
To read the latest development, please, click here.

Section 144 imposed in Agartala

Section 144 was imposed in Agartala after several people were injured in clashes between supporters and activists of Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) and local residents in different parts of the city, the police said.
“A group of people from the procession of IPFT attacked some persons at the heart of the town at Kaman Chowmuhai and ransacked some shops and set fire to some vehicles, apparently without provocation.
“This incident resulted in clashes and at least 17 people including women were injured,” SP (Police Control), Uttam Bhaumick said.
Soon after the incident, DGP, K Nagraj and SP (West), Abhijit Saptarshi rushed to the spot with a large contingent of police and paramilitary forces brought the situation under control, he said.
Bhaumick said in one place the police had to resort to lathi charge to disperse the unruly crowd.
The IPFT, a tribal based party, today took out a procession in the city demanding ‘Twipra land’, a separate state for the tribals by curbing out the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) from the state.

Mali extremist begs ‘forgiveness’ for destroying Timbuktu shrines

You may recall the horrific and criminal activities of the Wahabi zealots when they destroyed Islamic shrines in Mali. Now one of their captured leaders says that he was wrong and begs for forgiveness. He pleaded guilty to intentionally ordering the attacks on nine shrines and the Sidi Yahia mosque between June 30 and July 11, 2012 when the extremists seized control of part of northern Mali. The attacks on the ancient shrines triggered a global outcry, and archaeologists hope the trial will send a stern warning that such plundering of our common heritage will not go unpunished.


To read the story, click here.

Can Ethiopia’s Feyisa Lilesa go home?

Ethiopia has people of many ethnicities and religion. Muslims are persecuted severely in this country, which is run by Christians. Years ago, in the height of severe persecution, most of the Jewish people migrated to Israel, only to find themselves treated as the second class population there by the Ashkenazi Jews who govern and run the apartheid state.


In the Rio Olympic, as he finished second in the race Sunday, Feyisa Lilesa held his arms above his head in an “X,” a sign of protest used against the Ethiopian government for its persecution of the Oromo ethnic group. Lilesa took a brave stand, and at a news conference, it was clear he knew the price he might have to pay.
"If I go back to Ethiopia, maybe they will kill me,” he said Sunday. “If not kill me, they will put me in prison. I have not decided yet, but maybe I will move to another country," he said. He is from the Oromo ethnicity, who are persecuted by the Ethiopian government. (The Oromo have equal percentages of Christian and Muslim people (each close to 50%).
Lilesa's fear that he will be jailed is borne out in the experiences of other Ethiopians. In 2012, Eskinder Nega, a blogger, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and Woubshet Taye, a journalist, was sentenced to 14 years. Both were convicted on terrorism charges. Human rights groups say Ethiopia frequently uses anti-terror laws to round up its critics. In 2014, the Committee to Protect Journalists declared Ethiopia "the fourth worst jailer of journalists in the world."
Protests have increased in Ethiopia in recent months, and many of them turned violent after government forces turned their weapons on civilians. According to Human Rights Watch, more than 400 people have been killed since November.
The Oromo people have long complained about being mistreated by the nation's government, which has recently threatened to reallocate some of the group's land. But recently, the Oromos have been joined in their protest by other ethnic groups, including the Amharas, some of whom also feel antagonized by the government, which is dominated by the Tigrayan ethnic minority. Those growing protests, experts say, could eventually pose a threat to the government.
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Oromia Support Group (OSG) recorded 594 extra-judicial killings of Oromos by Ethiopian government security forces and 43 disappearances in custody between 2005 and August 2008.
Starting in November 2015, during a wave of mass protests, mainly by Oromos, over the expansion of the municipal boundary of the capital, Addis Ababa, into Oromia, 80-250 people have been killed and many more have been injured, according to human-rights advocates and independent monitors. The protests have since spread to other ethnic groups and encompass wider social grievances.


The Oromo people are the largest ethnic grouping in Ethiopia, which has a total of 74 ethnically diverse language groups. About 95% are settled agriculturalists and nomadic pastoralists, practising archaic farming methods and living at subsistence level. A few live in the urban centres.
Oromos today are mainly concentrated in the Oromia region in central Ethiopia, which is the largest region in the country in terms of both population and size. Group members also have a notable presence in northern Kenya.


Click here to learn more about the Oromo people.