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Posted by admin in CURRENT EVENTS on August 24th, 2023
Australia must uphold human rights in Kashmir: Rab Nawaz Sydney, Australia. August 7, 2023. An International Kashmir Conference was organized by ‘The Australian Forum for Kashmir’ (AFK) & Consulate General Office Pakistan in Sydney on India’s 4th anniversary of the siege of Kashmir. Mr. Rab Nawaz Coordinator of the Australian Forum for Kashmir expressed his sincere appreciation and heartfelt gratitude to all the participants who had joined virtually on Facebook and in particular Dr. Ghulam-Nabi Fai from USA & and Dr. Waleed Rasool, representative of All Parties Huriyat Conference who spoke on the subject during the Webinar. Rab Nawaz emphasized that AFK would continue its support and struggle for the people of Kashmir in Australia and will extend this support by coordinating with other organizations working in other parts of the world. AFK was established in 2019 when the Indian government revoked the article 370 and 35A from its constitution through which a special status was given to Kashmiris. Within these four years Australian Forum for Kashmir has raised the voice of Kashmiri people among different forums including Australian parliamentarians, public and different organizations. Mr. Rab Nawaz also acknowledged the efforts by M. Muhammad Ashraf Consulate General Pakistan, Sydney, Sr. Saima Jamil Deputy Consulate General Pakistan, Sydney and their staff for highlighting the Kashmir cause effectively at the Australian public square. Mr. Usaid Khalil, Secretary General, ‘Islamic Forum for Australian Muslims’ (IFAM) expressed his solidarity with the oppressed people of Indian Occupied Kashmir. He said that Kashmir demands our utmost attention because Indian army is committing unprecedented human rights atrocities with impunity. India has enacted draconian laws which are designed to change the majority Muslim character of Kashmir to a minority character. Mr. Khalil added that the world press and international NGO’s have spoken that human rights violations in Kashmir are systematic and officially sanctioned. Mr. Khalil said that he is proud to be an Australian Muslim where equally rights and equal opportunity are given to all. But he added that he was dismayed at watching the red-carpet treatment that was given by our government to Narendra Modi who was responsible for the massacre of more than 2000 Muslims of Gujarat. Does our government know, Mr. Khalil asked that Modi’s visa was revoked, and he was denied the entry to the United States in 2005 for his involvement in death and destruction of Muslims of Gujarat? We want our government to take a principle stand as we did in 1950’s at the United Nations and demand that Modi government fulfills its promise that was given to the people of Kashmir – right to self-determination. We also demand the India gives free access to the international NGO’s and media to Kashmir to assess the situation, release all political prisoners, and revoke draconian laws. Mr. Usaid Khalil reiterated that IFAM will do whatever it can in mobilizing the public opinion regarding the situation in Kashmir. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, World Kashmir Awareness Forum said that whenever India took the unilateral action, the world community has always rejected it. He expressed his sincere appreciation to the Government of Australia for being the co-sponsor of the UN Security Council resolution #122 (1957) which says that any unilateral action taken by the Jammu & Kashmir Constituent Assembly cannot be the substitute for the disposition of the people under this principle. Dr. Fai added that Sir Edward Ronald Walker is on record to have said on January 24, 1957, that ‘the Australian delegation enters upon this discussion with a deep sense of responsibility, for the people of Australia have followed this problem of Kashmir with great anxiety and concern. The sole interest of the Australian Government in this matter is to do what we can to assist the parties to find a just and mutually acceptable solution of this problem.’ We do hope that the administration of Honorable Anthony Albanese will abide by that principle. Dr. Fai reiterated that despite this persistent tyranny, the people of Kashmir have never lost hope in the right of self-determination. They will never ever give up their right to be free and they will never surrender. That is why they seek a greater understanding of the world powers including Australia in this regard. Dr. Waleed Rasool, Professor, Riphah International University and Director General at ‘Institute of Multi-Track Dialogue, Development and Diplomatic Studies’ said that the trajectory from occupation, annexation and settler colonization by India in post 5th August 2019 is new hegemonic design which has brought the nation of Kashmir to the brink of extinction. The gravity of situation demands the self-examination and proper assessment by the leadership of Kashmiris inside and abroad. Dr. Waleed Rasool added that we in Kashmiri diaspora stand with the people of occupied Kashmir in their struggle to stop government of India from dehumanizing and humiliating them and urge the Australian government to take a leadership role in urging Modi Administration to stand with the United Nations Charter and allow the people of Jammu and Kashmir to exercise the right to self-determination. We also appeal to the peace-loving global community to give voice to the voiceless people of Kashmir who are under the Indian occupation for the last 76 years. Ms. Saima Jamil, Deputy Consul General, an articulate and seasoned diplomat was the emcee of the webinar. In her opening remarks, she said that it was on August 5, 2019, that Government of India took a unilateral decision and abrogated Article 370 and 35 A which is the violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. India also resorted to series of other illegal actions, including the enactment of Domicile Law which is designed to change the demography of Kashmir. The United Nations Special Rapporteurs are on record to have said that the Indian army is committing human rights atrocities in Jammu and Kashmir. In order to express our solidarity with the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Consulate General Pakistan in collaboration with the Australian Forum for Kashmir organized this webinar. Photos: From left to right. Mr. Rab Nawaz; Mr. Usaid Khalil with leadership of IFAM; speakers on Zoom; Ms. Samia Jamil, Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai & and Dr. Waleed Rasool. Dr. Fai is the Chairman, of the World Forum for Peace & Justice. He can be reached at: WhatsApp: 1-202-607-6435. Or. [email protected] www.kashmirawareness.org … |
Posted by admin in CURRENT EVENTS on August 24th, 2023
[Graphic: Imagine Peace, John Maschak, 2015.]
More than 1.5 years of the ongoing catastrophic conflict between NATO, Russia, the EU, and Ukraine being a victim exposes absurdities and contradictions for their strategic interests. Russia had plans to act with massive forces to destroy Ukraine and limit the affluent NATO for its futuristic militarization plans. The leaders having unbridled ambitions and power acted from violent assumptions of hatred, secret intrigues, and animosities, and killings overwhelmed the daily thinking process of a society. A nation, no matter how normal it claims to be, cannot function as normal beings to co-exist with itself or make any positive contributions to human change and progress coming from such a negative space. While truth-telling is ridiculed and maligned, global leaders pushing war as a means of peacekeeping is like scum floating on a torrent. Despite hollow claims of peace and moral values, no moral and ethical behavior is seen in the sudden and inexplicable plunge into human wickedness. Even the warmongers cannot predict what the end game is going to be. Evil happens when conscientious men do nothing. God created the Heavens and Earth as a trust to fulfill all human aspirations and to flourish human generations since time immemorial. It was not meant to be bombed and destroyed by sheer ignorance and wickedness. Are we neglectful of our origin and encompassed reality?
Human glory lives in the conception of good and righteousness, not warriors of economic wars, robotic machines, weapons of destruction, or agents of political terrorism. We are moral beings enriched with inner consciousness and a vision for peace, human unity, and a sustainable future. It is a Hobbesian formula: “war of all against all.” The ongoing war between Russia, NATO, the EU, and Ukraine has far-reaching impacts on the imperatives of life across the globe. German philosopher Immanuel Kant (“Perpetual Peace”, 1795), was more proactive and realist when he noted that: “Intellectuals must be seated in chosen assemblies and systems of public governance to overt individualistic insanity against the people.” But the vices and moral weaknesses of leaders are not invincible as ignorance and animosities could be replaced by nobler and more proactive visionary and competent leaders to resolve the conflicts.
God, The Beneficent, The Merciful, Loving, All-Knowing, and All-Powerful created the human being from a ‘mixed drop’ (“Nutfa”- Cell), equipped with intelligence and inherent diversities, not as fault lines but hallmarks of human identities for unity and sustainable relationships. God created life and death to test human beings with a choice of whether we will do good or evil. The Creator reveals Himself as ‘One’ and has No Partners and is ‘closer to a human being than his (her) jugular vein’ and appointed Man as “vicegerent” with rights and obligations on this planet.
Our professed ignorance and arrogance toward Divine Knowledge have pushed us to echo evil and futility in a global cataclysm – the treacherous conflict causing degeneration to be at the epicenter of a man-made cataclysm driven by lingering suspicion in relation to others within the splendid Universe. The earth and universe are meant for human beings and are enriched to support all of their needs over time and space. Are we living in a disconnected world of our own making? Egoistic leaders imply hidden hatred and prejudices as a favorite perversion to divide and conquer humanity and dominate the species of Earth and the systems of the Nature of Things which support life and our future. How strange! Are we to abhor and neglect our own present and futuristic sustainability?
Jesus is quoted in the Bible saying: “If the world hates you, you know it hated me before it hated you…if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you…John 15:18-25.” How do We, the People of Human Conscience make these ugly and disingenuous politicians learn from history and change the course of events into peace and harmony for all of us? The quality of our intellectual consciousness is lost in the world of time and space. Truth is One and the same unchanging as it was many centuries earlier.
We live on an earth that sustains all forms of living things, yet human ignorance and arrogance are at work to destroy the essential foundation of our own lives. Weapons of war are weapons of mass destruction and are being used without any sense of responsibility and accountability. We, the people, are rational beings with a choice of righteousness and wickedness to act in human affairs.
The creation of the Earth, the Moon, the Sun, and all working systems are a trust to humanity. Have We, the People, We, the Humanity, honored and protected that natural trust and its obligations? In a recent article (“Conflict Beyond Reason: a dialogue to end the war is desperately needed”, 7/26/2023): this author narrated the truth not for geological or meteorological explanations but for the understanding of fellow human beings that the earth spins at 1670 km per hour and orbit the Sun at 107,000 km per hour. Imagine, if this spinning fails, what consequences could occur to the living beings on Earth? Think again, about the average distance of Earth from the Moon is 93 million miles -the distance of Moon from Earth is currently 384,821 km equivalent to 0.002572 Astronomical Units – (New Scientist). If this God-given system of distance between the Earth-Sun and the Earth-Moon were ever to change, there will be no sign of life, human civilizations, or habitats left on Earth.
The contemporary monstrous war instinct aims at annihilating mankind and the Earth. To this author, a cataclysm of human intellect is unleashing a highly irrational and unthinkable world of complexity to come to our consciousness destroying all progress and achievements of any human civilization on this planet. Most human intellect knows the basic imperative: “If you THINK intelligently, you could find workable remedies to human problems.”
All informed global communities have a passion for peace, not war. The planet Earth is not a dead orbiting object but a living entity providing continuous nourishment to human life and existence to all other living beings. When nations and leaders subscribing to political absolutism start acting like God and challenge the sanctity and limits of the Laws of God; historically speaking they become an object of unthinkable natural calamities- earthquakes, wildfires, floods, deaths, and destruction.
It is God, Who has made for you the Earth as a resting place and the sky as a canopy;
And has given you shape and made your shapes beautiful, and has provided for your sustenance,
Of things pure and good; Such is God your Lord.
So Glory to God, the Lord of the Worlds.
It is He Who has created you from dust,
Then from a sperm-drop,
Then from a leech-like clot;
then He does He get you out (into the light) as a child;
then lets you grow and reach your age of full strength; then lets you become old.
Though of you there are some of who die before,
And lets you reach a Term appointed; In order that ye may learn wisdom.
(64-67: 40: The Qur’an)
Canons of rationality call for urgent action to a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine using peacemaking as the core value of our floating on the stream of time. The Universe and all it encompasses are the products of God-given command; and do not operate in concert with man-made laws, constitutions, foreign policies, judgments, hopes, and desires. Light is One, and darkness is many. Life and the Universe exist because it is ordained by the Creator of the Worlds. If history is relevant and is seen as a source of learning and warning, undeniably all those superpowers well equipped with weapons and animosity to destroy others or all have met the same fate of self-annihilation. It is beyond doubt that when they challenged the sanctity of the Laws of God governing the Earth and the living Universe and invaded small and poor nations in distant lands, they ultimately met their own ending by natural disasters such as wildfires, earthquakes, flooding, tornadoes, exploding lavas, sound blasts, landslides, lightning and lot more. Are there any Thinking people to take heed from the prevalent facts of human history?
What is the cure to raging indifference and cruelty to the interests of the whole of mankind?The 21st century’s new-age complex political, economic, social, and strategic challenges and the encompassing opportunities warrant new thinking, new leaders, and new visions for change, conflict management, and participatory peaceful future-making. The Divine knowledge offers logical substance of reality to be reckoned with:
Verily in the creation of the Heavens and of the Earth and in the succession of the night and of the day, are signs for men of understanding; Who standing and sitting and reclining, bear God in mind and reflect on the creation of the Heavens and of Earth and say: Oh, our Lord- Thou has not created this in vain. (3: 190: The Qur’an)
To be honest with ourselves, the time and opportunities we have are the trial of our lives and we are accountable for our actions to reject corrupt policies of triumph and glory promising happiness and infinity. We cannot be complacent and allow ignorance, hatred, fear, and animosity to destroy our lives, cultures, and civilizations. Can we think to be human in all of our moral, political, and intellectual endeavors? Late Professor Howard Zinn envisaged the future of humanity in the following words of wisdom:
“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, and kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.”
Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and is the author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution. Germany, 12/2019.
Posted by admin in CURRENT EVENTS on August 24th, 2023
Paul Edwards: Leopold’s Ghost Redux
By Paul Edwards
This article has relevancy to the current stealth military rule by Lt Gen(Retd) Asim Munir in Pakistan |
August 20/21, 2023
Mark Twain said history never repeats itself but often rhymes.In the 19th century era of voracious, predatory colonialism, King Leopold II of Belgium appropriated a vast African area he called The Congo Free State. With icy indifference to human suffering and horrific cruelty, he ran a slave domain there, maiming and killing natives and looting its ivory and rubber for his enrichment.
Though excessively vicious, his gross inhumanity was ignored by Europe because most of its empires were engaged in the same murderous exploitation of Africa by violent conquest. Colonies, covering most of the continent, were run as possessions, mere sources of wealth, without regard for indigenous folk, which toxic race prejudice refused to regard as people at all, and which held them undeserving of human rights or compassionate treatment.
For a century Europe siphoned off obscene, illicit wealth from the natural bounty of Africa before there was even any nascent sense that this piracy and rapine might not be justifiable. It took two world wars’ cataclysmic impact on the consciousness of the world to shake and begin to break the deeply tyrannical hold European colonial powers had on their militarily raped colonies there, a struggle only won in blood and misery over decades.
Franz Fanon, in “The Wretched Of The Earth”, told the bitter and suppressed story of colonialism’s savage, sanguinary inhumanity to millions of subject peoples. After colonialists were battered by world wars, the tide of revolution ran high in Africa and the world, with one victim state after another breaking the failing grip of its arrogant, alien rulers. Vietnam was last, with America throwing its full weight against its fight for freedom after beaten, humiliated France was kicked out. America’s defeat marked the end, not of colonialism, but of the old type built on military conquest
A new method of subverting and looting the world was needed for Capitalism, since raw conquest obviously no longer served. America, morphing into empire, created that superior technique. It’s key elements were money and subversion, the one growing naturally from the other, jointly applied in many invisible, insidious colonial takeovers implemented by rankest corruption.
The way it worked in target countries was that ruling class thugs were paid great quantities of money to overthrow or eliminate leaders whose efforts for their people opposed the interests of U.S. Capital. This was an immense improvement over conquest: it was far cheaper than invasion and occupation, and it created no adverse publicity, at least not in the wholly-owned U.S. press.
The new game took breaking in, and there was predictable bungling by ham-handed CIA boys trained in war. Their first effort, in Iran, they nearly blew, but in spite of amateur hour chaos, with blind luck they managed to run Mossadegh—who had nationalized Iran’s oil—out, and turn the industry back over to the Brits and jokingly named Anglo-Iranian Oil. In Guatemala, they floundered and bollixed their play but, again, their money was better than they were, and they ousted Arbenz, who only represented his people, to balm the bitter hatred of United Fruit.
The operators of the, by now, burgeoning American Empire and their owners and directors, the Lords of Big Capital, were so pleased with these scores, that the money spigot fueling the CIA’s iffy subversion fairly gushed by the 60s, and their off-the-books budget expanded hugely by the time it set up the snatch and murder of the wildly popular, fierce nationalist Premier of The Congo, Patrice Lumumba. Fearful of being exposed, their great watchword became “plausible deniability”. It bought Chilean Generals to destroy the Socialist Premier, Salvador Allende, who had nationalized American-owned copper mines. They killed him, but Kissinger was fine with that. Those things happened.
In parallel with our manky spook program, which had various notable pratfalls, such as failing to kill Fidel, American Capitalism effected massive structural changes in world finance to support in the open what they did in the dark with the CIA. The World Bank and IMF, American run entities, were allegedly created to foster Third World “development”. In fact, they were agents of Disaster Capitalism, pace Naomi Klein. Using autocratic, native male whores who raked off millions signing for huge loans, their lending loaded poor states with unrepayable debt, indenturing them to the banks in perpetuity. This scam became the key form of colonial control, and sleazy black bag jobs and “terminating with extreme prejudice” fell clean out of favor.
Nothing works forever, though, and it’s clear that after murdering Qaddafi, and insisting “Assad must go” without the stones to make it happen, America, and its decayed, degenerate European lapdogs, are losing their stranglehold on Africa. In a rerun of the breakouts of Algeria, Libya, and Kenya in the first great wave of liberation from the old bayonet and bullet colonialism, central Africa across the Sahel from the Atlantic to the Red Sea is rising against the corrupt and fraudulent “aid”, and “assistance” from The American Empire and its sleazy Capitalist shysters.
In Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso, junior officers revolted to oust their Western puppets, all deep in the pockets of American-backed Capitalism, on the take and greasing the dirty sell-out of their people’s resources and futures. Niger has now erupted in defiance of The Empire and its diseased punk, France, to control its own destiny. The psychotic Harpy, Victoria Newland, sent to spank the naughties, was told to bugger off, they didn’t want her money, let her spend it on a weight-loss program instead. The four nations vowed that, if challenged, they will fight united for their independence. In the world of evil darkness The Empire has imposed, it is heartening to see that some victim nations are, as Sandino said, long ago, not for sale and not surrendering.
Paul Edwards is a writer and film-maker in Montana. He can be reached
Posted by admin in CURRENT EVENTS on August 19th, 2023
[Photo: Ruined homes in the U.S. battle in Falluja, Iraq. Christian Peacemaker Teams, Pressenza,]
By Mahboob Khawaja, PhD
Editor’s Note
War has always been a brutal devastation of life and land. That is what war is and only one earthly species engages in war – humans. Variations on “Truth is the first casualty of war” is attributed to a handful of people, but it appears that Samuel Johnson was the first as the following quote was found in The Idler of 1748: ‘Among the calamities of war may be jointly numbered the diminution of the love of truth, by the falsehoods which interest dictates and credulity encourages.’ (Guardian) Why lie? Because the people would neither support nor fight in a war for the real purpose – the desires of those with power. All of this is to make note that the people (we, the supposed lessers in the broader scheme of things) know the real costs of war. However, we are lied to because the “leaders”, and those whose interests are served, cannot carry on these atrocities without us because they damn well don’t want to do their own dirty work.
Let’s circle back to humans and war because I can hear the grumbling about meerkats, mongooses, and chimpanzees. Yes, some other creatures will fight over territory, or even swoop in and kill inhabitants in their dens. But somehow it lacks the organization and scale that humans bring to war. Humans, at least Western humans, have gone so far as to frame every possible competitor as an enemy that must be obliterated whether they are competitors for food or land, or simply seen as nuisances, to the bacteria. Our quest to kill all gems in their figurative cribs has led to an ever-expanding list of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).
When will we, whichever “we” we are discussing, realize that we (either humanity, or a single nation, or a single race, or perhaps only the top .01%) cannot be the only living things on the planet? For if that is the case then those lives will be shot indeed.
Mahboob Khawaja, PhD
Can you cure political cynicism with intellectual foresight? The G-7 used to be a G-8 and included Russia, but since 2014 it changed to an exclusive club of like-minded America-European think tanks for their own politics and future-making. They share self-centered political interests and values but not a belief in the sanctity of human life grounded in the tenets of One Humanity – the equality of human beings, justice, respect for others, and being open to listening and learning to manage the phenomenon of change and sustainable future. If Russia was still an 8th member of the club, a reasoned dialogue could have emerged to end the war between Russia –Ukraine and follow it through with the restoration of normal relations between the adjacent cultures of thinking and actions. Despite the like-minded leaders’ deliberation, there were no much-needed initiatives reflecting a leader’s moral consciousness for peace and conflict resolution. They invited India, South Africa, South Korea, Brazil, and others who are in conflict with the US and European stance on the war; yet for economic and face-saving overtures, their presence is recorded and they do not offer any unanimity to the global community’s pursuits for peace and end of the conflict.
Humans’ disconnect from truth has caused many catastrophic disasters and contradictions to mislead global humanity. The military approach was high on the agenda. Does it mean that the G-7 leadership lacks imagination for a peaceful resolution of emerging conflicts? A reflective snapshot of a critical moment in time pulse in the movement of history reveals the absence of reasoned dialogue for the prevention of the ongoing conflict causing massive human casualties, displacement of millions of Ukrainian civilian refugees across Europe, destruction of essential civic infrastructures and furious competitive edge for success in an ugly war between Russia, the West, and Ukraine. To glance ahead to the emerging horrifying events coming out of the Russian-Ukraine war fronts, We, The People of global humanity must call for an immediate halt to all war machines and lingering suspicion of one-sided peace and triumph.
Sometimes Western cultures unimaginably look for remote movements of time and destiny for a navigational change. Often ferocious scenarios of good, evil, and wrong are used by policymakers to explain the contrasts of the present. Paul Craig Roberts (“The United States has been destroyed by its Ruling Elite.” 5/18/2023: Global research), claims that “the US is moving toward a fatal split in the society from which recovery is impossible.”
One wonders why the G-7 wanted to meet in Hiroshima. Political tyranny and oppression could not avert the bombing of Hiroshima. Arguably, civilizations and sustainable futures do not evolve out of the moral and intellectual mire of military conquests, cruelty, and imperialism. Were they thinking to change history and its encompassing realism? But the object of historic memory was not replaced with hope for the present or the future. They did nothing new to discard the old follies and restore a new sense of imagination for peace and harmony between the warring parties. The threat of lethal nuclear weapons is looming at the decision-making tables. The leaders could deny it as a working option, be it the Western or Russian.
They have learned to destroy the Earth but not to protect its natural sanctity. Do the G-7 leaders know how the living Earth and the living Universe were created and function? Or that the Laws of Nature govern the global planetary systems? What relationship do Man and Humanity enjoin to the working of Earth and the larger Universe? Be aware oh-fellow human beings, we reside on a living Earth, not a dead entity -how the planet Earth exists and moves at its axis and rotates at 1675 km per hour or 465 meters per second is 1,040 miles per hour faster than the scientific imagination:
“Behold! in the creation of the Heavens and of the earth, and the alternation of the Night and Day, There are indeed Signs for men of understanding; Men who celebrate the praises of God, standing, and sitting and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of ) creation in the heavens and the earth with the thought): Our Lord! Not for naught Hast Thou created all this, Glory to Thee! Give us salvation from the Penalty of the Fire.” (The Qur’an: Chapter 3: 190-191)
“And He created everything, and measured it in due proportion.” (The Quran: Chapter 25: 2). There is a moral sense of spirituality and humanity to co-exist in harmony with the rest of all creations on this Earth. Modern wars represent sadistic and cruel minds to undermine human rights, dignity, and life. They destroy all that is built over the ages that we call human cultures and civilizations. Using nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles and other WMDs destroys Earth and its capacity to sustain life, flow water, grow foods and produce oxygen necessary to support a sustainable future for all living things. Think again: Does the Earth not provide all that was needed by human intellect, scientific and technological progress, and changing times? Human beings were equipped by Nature with intelligence, not ignorance or arrogance.
After 78 years of the first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and then Nagasaki, there is no will and defined system to question the aggressors for destroying the lives of millions. All wars have ripple effects as the Japanese continue to face the unraveling impacts of the first nuclear bomb. The victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki know first hand what is like to live in a man-made hell. Japan’s PM spoke of nuclear disarmament that is nowhere visible in the 21st century.
What the US did 78 years earlier, could conveniently be repeated by any parties to the conflict. Pat Elder (“Hiroshima and Nagasaki: American High School Textbooks Perpetuate The Big Lie” 8/08/2018, Global Research), describes it in the following narrative:
“Quite simply, President Truman dropped those bombs on a defeated Japan to tell the Russians and the world to back off. We had two bombs and we were going to use them. In a typically cavalier fashion, Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., Commander, U.S. Third Fleet remarked, “It was a mistake to ever drop [the bomb]. . .they had this toy and they wanted to try it out, so they dropped it.”
Admiral William D. Leahy, the President’s Chief of Staff said, “The use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender.”
Professor Rodrigue Tremblay (“The Moral Legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki” Global Research: 8/09/2018), clarifies with the following quotes from the noted sources:
“As American Christians, we are deeply penitent …..the surprise bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are morally indefensible.” (The American Federal Council of Churches ‘Report on Atomic Warfare and the Christian Faith, 1946).
“It is my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan.” – “The lethal possibilities of atomic warfare in the future are frightening. (William Leahy, Chief of Staff to Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman (“I Was There”, p. 441).
If the G-7 leaders wanted a new beginning refuting the past imperialism and subjugation of the poor and vulnerable nations, they should have focused on specific workable strategies to call for an immediate ceasefire and dialogue between President Putin and President Zellensky. China is pursuing a plan for peacemaking and so are the few African countries taking the initiative to break the deafening silence between Russia and Ukraine. How come the G-7 has taken no strategic plan to end the conflict? What if the G-7 could replace their historic colonial cynicism with optimism and see the 21st century as a new world of opportunities and embrace the realism to seek peace between Israel and Palestine, between India and Pakistan on Kashmir; and take a global approach to climate change and harmonize socio-economic and humanitarian affairs for a sustainable future on this Earth. The unchallenged TRUTH arising from the emerging conflicts and leadership failures calls for new THINKING and New People with ideas and ideals who reject the violent assumptions of militarization and egoistic triumphs avoiding acts of genocidal plans. We the People of the globe ask conscientious leaders to avoid the upcoming epicenter of cataclysm and listen to voices of reason for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, stop the acceleration of military confrontations between Russia, NATO, America, the EU, and others. We are at the edge of REASON, war is anti-human.
We, the People, wish to rejoice in truth, not evil. We, the people of the globe possess an understanding – of how to change the egoistic and embittered insanity of the few hate-mongers and warlords into an equilibrium of balanced relationship between Man, Life, and the God-given living Universe in which we reside all. If the G-7 leaders were proactive people of REASON, they should have focused on a reasoned dialogue between Russia-Ukraine to end the war, not to extend the Crimes of War by all, against all.
Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and is the author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution. Germany, 12/2019.
All material is under a Creative Common share with attribution license unless otherwise noted.
Posted by admin in CURRENT EVENTS on August 19th, 2023
Irony of Historic National Freedom and Unspoken Tyranny of Imperialism
Do nations and civilizations grow out of the moral mire of military conquests, killings of innocent people, political cruelty and subjugation by imperialism? For more than 800 years, India as a Moghul Empire was an economically well integrated and politically viable entity and west European had strong trade and political relationships. After intrigued conspiracies and planned division, British invaded India in 1857, committing cold blooded massacres of two millions people mostly Muslims opposing the military invasion described just as a “Mutiny” in the British chronicle. Bahadur Shah Zafar – the last Moghul emperor was deposed over night in Delhi, his youngest son head was chopped-off and put on a breakfast plate to strangle the Shah and make him surrender unconditionally. Shah was hurriedly taken to Rangoon (Burma) and imprisoned in a garage and later on died and buried only to write poems in loss of his freedom and beloved country. Did the British overtake India to be a free country for democracy or to support the Hindu domination of futuristic India? British robbed Moghul India and became it became Great Britain and imagined India as an absolute entity of the British Empire.
Leaders like Gandhi and Nehru, Dr. Mohammad Iqbal, Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Khan though educated in British intellectual traditions but articulated new mission and visions for national freedom as a revulsion against the British colonial political traditions and continuity of British Raj in India. Was this violent and ruthless indoctrination part of the British heritage or history-making efforts to besiege India forever? Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy made sure that Indians will remain loyal and committed subservient to the futuristic blending of so called celebrated national freedom after the 1947 partition into India and Pakistan. British failed to deliver the truth of national freedom to both nations in a universal spirit of political responsibility. Both nations continued to engage in military warfare, ethnic conflicts and hegemonic control to dominate each other by undermining their own future.
History could not have confined the tyranny and oppression of “divide and rule” of British imperialism against the will of the Indian masses. Canons of rationality clarify that national freedom granted to both new entities in August 1947 was a fake chronology of time and history. The so called national freedom perpetuated a hybrid socio-economic and political culture – part human- part vulture, British made no security arrangements to ensure communal peace and harmony which resulted in millions of people been killed in ethnic violence while migrating from one place to another.
Strange as it is, while British imperialism changed the Indian mindset and behavior within a century, but even after 75 years India and Pakistan remain glued to the British colonial systems to this day in thoughts, systems and governance. Does it not signal a naïve and void imagination of national freedom professed by both nations since 1947? They continue to interact with one another as the most hated enemy of time and history, wars, threat of nuclear arsenals, Kashmir dispute and worst of all lack of direct people to people communication or business relationships – all seem to be part of a highly ruptured and purging pursuit of national freedom.
Indian and Pakistani Leaders Follow Egoistic Agenda for the Future
The aerial view of New Delhi reflects an Islamic image of the city – grand New Delhi Mosque, nearby historic and beautiful Taj Mahal, Old Fort and lot more. To foreigners, it is does not look like the capital of Hindu India at all. If this inference has any reality, the future of India and Pakistan should have been collaboration and lasting friendship. India always wanted to subdue Pakistan and its national freedom. Pakistan’s bad luck entailed many military coups breaking its integrity and trust on freedom. Egoistic and foolish Generals created bogus and corrupt politicians claiming to be the leaders of future-making. They lacked the moral and intellectual capacity to imagine its future with a new generation of educated, intelligent and proactive people who could have contributed for a promising future of Pakistan.
India’s political agenda was intact when in December 1971, East Pakistan was disintegrated and Bangladesh was created by Mrs. Indra Gandhi –the Prime Minister – a power conspirator in India. Pakistani governing elite would not dare to admit that it was Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Genera Yahya Khan both major conspirators who led to the defeat of Pakistan. Even half a century later, Pakistanis still live in delusional and unarguable conclusion of that historic misfortune. As a graduate student, I met General PNK Choudry (the former Chief of the Indian Armed Force) forcibly retired by Mrs. Indra Gandhi and sent as an Ambassador (HC) to Canada. At a local Canadian university campus, we met when he was a guest speaker. Later on, I invited him for a class gathering with fellow students and lunch. During the summer while working at photo store, General Choudry comes in with two cameras on his shoulder and many times we had lunch together and walks and photography together. On weekends, at university library- often I got library books to share with him and we talked about global affairs and his own past and India-Pakistan. He denied any alleged conspiracy against Mrs. Gandhi to oust her and bring a military coup in India. My interaction with General Choudry continued for almost two years. After his diplomatic assignment, he was hired by McGill University as a lecturer and that is where he died in 1975. He was a simple, 6.5 ft approx tall person, humble and spoke openly and truthfully as I recall him. As an Indian top army General he may have been a tyrant but as a human being and a diplomat he was a decent person. He fought wars with Pakistan and knew most of the military establishments. Here is what he disclosed during many conversations and it should be alarming to Pakistanis if they deny it:
ZABhutto and Shekih Mujib were Appointed by Mrs. Indira Gandhi
Prior to the defeat and surrender of East Pakistan in 1971, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had direct contact with Mrs. Gandhi and wanted India’s help to become the next leader of Pakistan. India was looking for such an opportunity and wanted East Pakistan to become a new entity- Bangladesh. Sheikh Mujib Rehman was nationalist but was enthusiastic for a new homeland except to become the next elected leader of Pakistan. Bhutto-Yahya Khan were competing for power even without elections. ZA Bhutto wanted political power even if Pakistan was defeated, otherwise Sheikh Mujib-Yahya could have become the next governing leaders. Bhutto was a power hungry individual without any political capacity to be a leader. Mrs. Gandhi helped both – ZA Bhutto and Sheikh Mujib and the price was the defeat and surrender of Pakistan. Mrs. Gandhi appointed Bhutto as the next President, Martial Law Administrator and Prime Minister of Pakistan and Sheikh Mujib ur Rehman as the next President of Bangladesh. Some Pakistani would blame General Niazi for the surrender but in reality it was Yahya-Bhutto and the Pakistani Generals who should have faced full accountability and perhaps firing squads for their treachery and dishonesty to national freedom and integrity of Pakistan. None of this ever happened in Pakistan. To see more, please view the articles by this author: “Pakistan: Leaders who Stabbed the Nation” (2009), “Pakistan: Leader or Criminals.” (2014); “Pakistan: Reflections on the Turbulent 69th Independence Day”, “Pakistan: How to change the culture of political corruption and rebuild the Future.” (2014), and “Pakistan and India’s leader mark freedom from British Colonial Rule but Masses look for a Navigational Change.” (2020).
To General Choudry, if the whole Pakistan was captured by India except the Sindh province, ZA Bhutto would have gladly become the Chief Minister of Sindh to co-exist with India. He disclosed, there were five or six “soft hearted” Pakistani Generals willing to align and not to challenge India’s plan for Bangladesh. Shocking as it is, future Pakistani leaders never held anyone accountable for the crimes against the nation. Were ZA Bhutto and Yahya Khan more important than the existence, national freedom and integrity of One Pakistan? Dr. Ishtiaq Qureshi (Editor Urdu Digest) wrote “Skoote –Dahaka Say Purdah Uttha Hey” (1972), in which he described the details how Bhutto and Yahya khan betrayed Pakistan and stabbed the nation. Dr. Qureshi was imprisoned by the Bhutto Government. This truth remains unacknowledged and districted by the Pakistani governing elite even to this day. Are the Pakistanis still living in any rational denials of their own chapter of history? Moral and intellectual corruption is rampant in both countries. Masses are systematically compelled to bribe officials to get the basic services and official necessities of nationality ID, passports, driver license and lot more in life. The national freedom has changed from the enlarged scope of corruption and exploitation – the legacy of the British imperialism. Both India and Pakistani neo-colonialists look for escape from reality and are allergic to see the mirror of the present and future. Allama Iqbal (pioneer of Pakistani national freedom) did not live to see his dream come true of Pakistan. Mahtama Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist, Nehru died a natural death. Mohammad Ali Jinnah passed away in a broken ambulance on a Karachi street, and Liaquat Ali Khan (first PM) was murdered by the then Pakistani politicians. Mrs. Gandhi was killed by his Sikh bodyguard. Sheikh Mujib was murdered by his military commander and Bhutto was hanged for killing a political opponent.
Are there any Glimpse of Hope for People-Oriented Change for the New Generations?
India has its multiple problems of socio-economic and political diversity. It is unable to counteract the national freedom movement of Sikh Nation for an independent Khalistan. Kashmir was never a part of British Indian dominion and its masses continue to seek freedom from India occupation and violations of their basic human rights. Muslim, Christian and other minorities are oppressed under Hindu-controlled India. Pakistani miserably failed to take proactive initiatives to support the freedom movement for the people of Kashmir. The old service men-led elite could not imagine new and creative strategies to organize international conferences or effectively communicate to the Western world to share the aspirations of the Kashmiri masses.
The degeneration of the Indian-Pakistani moral and intellectual culture is well in progress. The essence, meaning and purpose of historic British colonial systems are operative across all public affairs, policies and practices in India and Pakistan. The armed forces, the civil service and legal jurisprudence all remain under the sinister influence and disfigured reality of the two so called free nations. Police still beats the protesters and open fire on peaceful demonstrators, be in New Delhi, Kashmir or Islamabad. National freedom does not empower futuristic societies to establish political absurdity, immoral and intellectual decadence and political injustice. Common people in both countries are besieged in obsolete systems of political governance except rich landlords and affluent compete the elections and gain power. There is no change for the people in the colonized landscape except enlarged scope of moral and intellectual corruption guised as freedom. If you will question both elite having many common values of the British Raj, they would deny if there is anything wrong with their thinking, role play and management of public affairs. The new and young generation who could not imagine a new sustainable future are vanishing fast and migrating to Europe and America in search of better opportunities. The old generations of landlords and retired civilian-military officials manage the governing bodies whereas people of new and educated generation are deprived of any practical participation and migrate to Europe and North America and never return to their home countries. The hub of political culture is divided and delusional about national freedom and a sustainable future-making. There are no wars for the people of the sub-continent to fight but they are fighting wars on several fronts without reason- known and unknown. The compelling realities across the beleaguered sub-continent demand new thinking, new visionary leadership, men of new ideas and plans to deal with the unwarranted exploitation of masses, communal deaths, and deliberate destruction of the historic culture and millions of people looking for change and a new beginning of cordial borders and relationships.