Tuesday, March 21, 2017
پنجاب پوهنتون کې پر پښتنو زده کوونکیو برید، ۴۰ ژوبل
په پنجاب پوهنتون کې د پښتنو زده کونکیو لخوا د نوروز ورځې لمانځلو مهال پرې د زده کوونکیو یوې بلې ډلې برید کړی چې د راپورنو له مخې ګڼ پکې ژوبل شوي دي.
د پنجاب پوهنتون زده کوونکیو په وینا د پښتنو زده کوونکیو پر کلتوري پروګرام د اسلامي جمعیت طلبا غړیو له ډنډو او ډبرو سره برید کړی چې نه یوازې یې د دوی ډېر ملګري ټپیان کړي بلکې د دوی پروګرام یې هم ورګډ وډ کړی او درولی دی.
د پولیس یو لوی شمېر هغه ځای ته رسیدلې او پر زده کوونکیو یې د اوښکې بهونکي ګېس (اوښلن ګېس) هم شیندلی دی او اوس د پوهنتون پر دروازو او په هوسټلونو کې د امنیت لپاره ولاړ دي.
په پنجاب پوهنتون کې د پښتون اېجوکېشن ډیوېلپمېنټ موومنټ چیېرمېن مزمل خان مشال راډیو ته ووېل چې د نوروز لپاره یې په باقاعده توګه د پوهنتون له انتظامیې اجازت اخېستی وو خو د پروګرام په مینځ کې د اسلامي جمعیت طلبا غړیو پرې حمله وکړه.
د ده په وینا چې نېږدې څلوېښت زده کوونکي ژوبل دي چې پکې نجونه زده کوونکي هم شاملې دي.
د پښتون سټوډنټ فېډرېشن مشر ندیم سرور د دې پېښې په سختو ټکیو غندنه وکړه او د پوهنتون له انتظامیې، پولیس او ضلعي انتظامیې غوښتنه وکړه چې پښتنو زده کوونکیو ته دې تحفظ ورکړي او په پېښه کې ککړ د اسلامي جعیت طلبا غړي دې ونیسي.
په دې لړ کې مشال راډیو د پوهنتون له انتظامیې او نورو چارواکیو سره د رابطې هڅه وکړه خو کامیابه نه شوه خو د پاکستان له یوه پرایوېټ ټیليویژن ډان سره په خبرو کې د پنجاب صوبې د قانون وزیر وینا وه چې د انتظامیې په اجازت زده کوونکیو یوه کلتوري غونډه کوله چې پکې د اسلامي جمعت طلبا ځینو کسانو ګډوډي جوړ کړې ده.
ده دا هم ووېل چې ځینې زده کوونکي د پوهنتون وو او ځینې د جماعت اسلامی له هېډ کوارټره ورغلي ول چې پلټنې یې روانې دي.
5 injured at Punjab University as IJT halts cultural event
At least five people were injured as students from the Islami Jamiat Taleba (IJT) allegedly gatecrashed a Pukhtoon cultural event being held at Punjab University (PU), Lahore, police sources said.
IJT members allegedly tried to halt the proceedings, which resulted in a clash between students at the university, DawnNews reported.
Following the clash, police reached the campus and used tear gas to disperse the violent crowd.
The five injured have been shifted to Jinnah Hospital, police sources added.
"The cultural show was being held with the PU administration's permission, but IJT had issues with the activity being held so they tried to halt the proceedings," PML-N stalwart Rana Sanaullah told DawnNews
"Measures are being taken to make sure that the students involved in the disruption are held accountable," Sanaullah said.
"[Jamaat-i-Islami leader] Sirajul Haq talks about fighting terrorism, the National Action Plan and building a positive narrative on one hand, but his own people are involved in creating such disruptions on the other," the provincial lawmaker said.
Sanaullah further said the police had been asked to inquire from the PU administration about the people involved and file a case against those involved in violence.
History of intimidation
The IJT is a right-wing student body that often operates in university campuses across the country as the de facto moral police. IJT members have in the past objected to Valentine's Day celebrations and the playing of music at certain cultural events.
University administration officials have also complained to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif about the "Jamiat's negative activities on the university campus".
In February, as many as 15 students were injured in a clash between two organisations at a Punjab University hostel on the playing of loud music at hostel no 4.
Pushtoon and Baloch Educational Development Movement’s Imran Kakar said some students were playing music in their room when a group of IJT activists reached there.
He said the IJT activists torched the room, while those who were playing music moved away after the incident.
Half a Cheer for Democracy in Pakistan
By MANAN AHMED ASIF
Democracy has had a rough time in Pakistan. But 70 years after independence, democracy took a significant step forward in Pakistan with the recent decision to merge the war-torn and neglected Federally Administrated Tribal Areas with the adjoining Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, earlier known as the North-West Frontier Province. The move will combine the northwestern frontier regions, along the country’s mountainous and dangerous border with Afghanistan, into one administrative unit.
This provides a way for the people of the Tribal Areas to become full legal citizens, to elect their own representatives directly, to have the laws of Pakistan apply to them, to sue for justice in Pakistani courts and to be compensated for the destruction of their homes in the war on terrorism — all rights that they do not have now. The reorganization yet remains to be approved by the Parliament, and after its approval the administrative and legal changes will occur over a period of five years.
However, it fails to address the structural inequities — ethnic bias, stereotyping FATA residents as militants, lack of freedom of movement and ethnic othering — faced by the people of the Tribal Areas and, in fact, it may institutionalize those very things. The Tribal Areas are variously called the “wild frontier” and “militant terrain” and considered a place with no rules and little regard for life. In this region of three million to seven million (Pakistan has not had a census since 1998), 70 percent of the population lives in poverty, the literacy rate is only 8 percent for women and 45 percent for men, and the infant mortality rate is the nation’s highest. Yet this same region has significant cities like Miran Shah, Sadda and Parachinar, where Pashto literary societies flourish and which produce fabric and shoes coveted across Pakistan.
Before the consolidation, the legal and civic lives of residents of the Tribal Areas were governed not by the Constitution of Pakistan but dehumanizing British colonial regulations that were ratified by the Pakistani state. Under those regulations, the family, village or tribe of someone who committed a crime could be held responsible — and punished — for his actions.
To look at the world through the eyes of the residents of the Tribal Areas is a daunting task. The history that one is confronted with — whether the colonial British era or the postcolonial Pakistan era — is one of deliberate deconstruction of infrastructure, policing and surveillance, aerial bombardments, internal displacement and precarity. The British Empire formally organized the North-West Frontier Province in 1901, but it had been conducting military operations there since the 1830s and establishing a buffer against its imagined Afghan, Russian and French rivals. The formal part of the making of this frontier zone was to terrorize and bomb into subservience the inhabitants. A deliberate strategy of the British was to burn and bomb villages and settlements for an individual’s crimes.
The collective punishments were only one aspect of the colonial shaping of the Tribal Areas. From the 1880s onward, the British invested in mapping the terrain and enumerating the people to “fully know” the mind of this treacherous frontier, to use the words of George Curzon, the Viceroy of India.
Winston Churchill’s first book, “The Story of the Malakand Field Force,” was a narration of his heroic performance in 1897 fighting a Pathan uprising in the region. Churchill explained the “tribal” inhabitants of this political frontier as the “barbarous people” possessed of “merciless fanaticism” who “freely bought and sold” and “not infrequently bartered for rifles” their wives and daughters. Sadly, these words, and these sentiments, remain unchallenged.
The nearly 40-year war in Afghanistan has produced its own idea of the “tribal” in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas — one that took the British colonial emphasis on “Pashtun” militancy and layered on top the American enemy, the Afghan Taliban. The Tribal Areas went from being a base for Pakistan and American military operations against Soviet troops to a platform for Taliban militancy against the United States and Pakistan. Deemed a geography outside the laws of the nation, the Tribal Areas were found by both the militant and the anti-militant forces a region where violence could be meted out with little regard to its inhabitants.
Pakistan has kept the frontiers in place, legally and spatially. Continuing the colonial practices, the president of Pakistan appoints a “political agent” in the Tribal Areas to keep power centralized. The political agent is the sole arbiter of law and order and one without any responsibility toward the people. The ethnic stereotyping and animosity has deliberately deprived the Tribal Areas of schools and hospitals. The war on terrorism has instead turned it into a landscape covered in police and surveillance stations.
Since the start of anti-militancy operations by Pakistan in 2014, millions of residents have been displaced from their homes, forced to move to Peshawar, Islamabad and Karachi. These military operations remain popular both in Pakistan and with the United States. The displaced people are often denied services or have their national ID cards revoked in the belief that they are Afghan refugees, and they face discrimination and restrictions on their movements in the country. The new reforms seem intent on keeping in place these colonial and postcolonial racialized policies. The report recommending the administrative reform asserts that progress is difficult in the region because of “the tribal mind-set” — a phrase harking back to the racial caricature of Churchill.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government intends to replace the colonial criminal regulation with an equally disturbing Tribal Customary Law Act, which would establish “tribal elders” to investigate and adjudicate all criminal and civil cases. Unlike elsewhere in Pakistan, in the Tribal Areas a tribal council would act as a jury, though now working with a federal prosecutor and judge. The only rationale for this move is given as “the tribal mind-set.” These tribal councils will legalize practices such as forced marriages, bride prices and bride exchanges, even though they would be illegal under current civil laws in Pakistan. Hence these reforms fall short of providing the people in the Tribal Areas the legal protections available to other Pakistanis.
It is the first time that someone from the Tribal Areas of Pakistan can contest with the state their rights to live equally in the country. It is the first time that Pakistan will see this region as an intimate part of its nation. It gives hope for a future where all Pakistanis — irrespective of faith, ethnicity and gender — will be seen as intimates of the same nation.
PPP WILL RESTORE BALOCHISTAN’S PEOPLE CONFIDENCE IN DEMOCRACY: BILAWAL BHUTTO
PPP Chairman remarked during conducting interviews for the new organization of divisions and districts in the province of Balochistan at Bilawal House today.
The Coordination Committee formed by the Chairman for the province had sent their recommendations for the reorganizations and the interviews of the short-listed candidates started today noon.
PPP Chairman said that office-bearers to be elected for different districts and divisions of Balochistan shall have special responsibilities to carry the mission of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto to the people. “Tell the people of your province that PPP stands with you and your right to fair and free elections,” he stated.
He pointed out that it was PPP which made the Balochistan people owner of their rich natural resources and extended provincial autonomy to all the provinces under 18th amendment.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari further said that PPP will form government in Balochistan and other provinces after 2018 general elections.
PPP Balochistan President Ali Mohammad Jattak, General Secretary Iqbal Shah, Information Secretary Sardar Sarbulund Jogezai, former Deputy Chairman Senate Sabir Baloch, Mir Sadiq Umrani and Aijaz Baloch were also present during the interviews. Jameel Soomro, Political Secretary to the Chairman was also present on the occasion.
https://www.bankofamerica.com/sitemap/hub/signin.go
Sunday, March 19, 2017
‘Arming Saudi Arabia & Bahrain risks complicity with war crimes’ – Amnesty to Trump
“The deals would arm members of a military coalition that has attacked thousands of civilians in Yemen and violated international humanitarian law,” the human rights group said in a press release published on Tuesday.
The organization noted that its experts found unexploded US bombs and “identifiable fragments of exploded US bombs” among the destroyed civilian buildings in Yemen.
If the US approves the deals while banning Yemenis from coming to the US, it would be like “throwing gasoline on a house fire and locking the door on [the] way out,” according to Margaret Huang, Amnesty International USA executive director. “The US should not continue to arm governments that violate international human rights and humanitarian law and simultaneously shut its doors to those fleeing the violence it escalates,” she said.
“Arming the Saudi Arabia and Bahrain governments risks complicity with war crimes, and doing so while simultaneously banning travel to the US from Yemen would be even more unconscionable. President Trump must not approve this arms deal,” she said.
On Wednesday, President Trump held a meeting with Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Saudi delegation hailed the meeting as a “historical turning point” in US-Saudi relations, “which had passed through a period of divergence of views on many issues.” Speaking to RT last week, Ahmed Benchemsi, communications and advocacy director at Human Rights Watch’s Middle East & North Africa division, said that the US, UK, and France should stop selling weapons to Riyadh.
The humanitarian situation in Yemen is “increasingly unsustainable” and urgent action must be taken by both sides in the conflict, he said, adding that the situation is turning into a “deep humanitarian catastrophe.”
Saudi Arabia’s coalition, which also includes Bahrain, began the military operation against Houthi rebels in Yemen in March 2015 in an attempt to bring the ousted government back to power.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in the impoverished country, the UN reported in late February, while seven million people are close to starvation.
Why is Donald Trump lunching with a Saudi war criminal while Yemenis are starving?
In addition to countless casualties, Saudi bombing has destroyed civilian infrastructure.
While President Trump sat down for a sumptuous meal at the White House on Tuesday, March 14 with Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, millions of Yemenis are going hungry thanks to Trump’s lunch guest.
Prince Salman is only 31 years old, but as the king’s favorite son, he was put in charge of the nation’s two most critical sectors: the economy and the military. As a brash defense minister, the young prince made the disastrous decision to interfere in an internal conflict in neighboring Yemen. Starting in March 2015, Prince Salman started a bombing campaign against the Yemeni Houthis, a group the Saudi rulers consider aligned with Iran. The bombing has gone on, relentlessly, for the past two years. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein said that possible war crimes had been documented with “alarming frequency” since the Saudis became engaged.
In addition to thousands of Yemeni civilians being killed directly by Saudi bombs, the bombing has also been responsible for the massive destruction of civilian infrastructure, from water facilities to sewage treatment plants to hospitals. Particularly devastating has been the bombing of the port of Hodeidah, where most of the humanitarian aid has been entering the country. Two-thirds of the population now requires food assistance and a Yemeni child dying every 10 minutes from hunger and the lack of medical facilities. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called Yemen the “largest food insecurity emergency in the world.”
The Saudis are threatening to make matters significantly worse by launching a major military campaign in the area of Hudaidah that will make the port totally inaccessible.
It’s not just the Saudis and Houthis who are responsible for Yemen’s destruction. As Senator Chris Murphy has said, the United States also has blood on its hands. President Obama sold massive amounts of weapons to the Saudis, and helped the Yemen intervention with logistical support, including refueling Saudi planes in the air. Towards the end of his tenure, President Obama began having second thoughts due to the mounting civilian death toll, including a strike on a Yemeni funeral in October 2016 that killed more than 100 people. That’s why in December 2016, the Obama administration halted a planned sale of $390 million in precision-guided munitions from Raytheon.
President Trump is considering moving forward with this sale. Human rights groups worry that the sale could allow the Saudis to modify thousands of air-to-ground munitions that could be used in strikes against civilians. In a letter to Trump released the same day as the luncheon, Amnesty International urged Trump not to sign off on the sale. “There is substantial risk that Saudi Arabia…could use new U.S. arms to further devastate civilian lives in Yemen,” Amnesty wrote. “This could implicate your administration in war crimes or violations of international humanitarian law. Amnesty International researchers have already found both unexploded U.S. bombs and identifiable fragments of exploded U.S. bombs among the ruins of Yemeni homes and other civilian objects.”
Trump’s Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has reportedly approved the resumption of the sale, but it needs White House approval before it moves forward. “If approved, this deal would essentially have President Trump throwing gasoline on a house fire and locking the door on his way out,” said Amnesty’s US Executive Director Margaret Huang. “President Trump must not approve this arms deal.”
The Trump administration has signaled a desire to step up the fight against the Houthis in Yemen as part of its plan to get tough on Iran. It cited Iran’s support for the Houthi rebels when putting Iran “on notice” in February. The Saudi leaders are enthusiastic about Trump’s hawkish position on Iran. They also appreciate his support of the oil industry (proven by naming the CEO of Exxon as Secretary of State) and his lack of interest in human rights. And they are delighted that unlike Yemen, Saudi Arabia was not included in Trump’s Muslim travel ban, despite the fact that more Saudis have killed Americans on US soil than any other foreign nationals (remember: 15 of the 19 September 11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia).
'Has Mr Erdogan lost his mind?' - Boundary crossed: Erdogan has gone too far with ‘Nazi’ comments, Germany says
Germany angrily warned Turkey on Sunday that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had gone too far after he accused Chancellor Angela Merkel of using "Nazi measures" in an escalating diplomatic feud.
Turkey and the European Union are locked in an explosive crisis that threatens to jeopardise Ankara's bid to join the bloc, as tensions rise ahead of a 16 April referendum on expanding Erdogan's powers.
The row erupted after authorities in Germany and other EU states refused to allow some Turkish ministers to campaign for a “yes” vote on their soil, provoking a volcanic response from the Turkish strongman who said the spirit of Nazi Germany was rampant in Europe.
"When we call them Nazis they (Europe) get uncomfortable. They rally together in solidarity. Especially Merkel," Erdogan said in a televised speech on Sunday.
"But you are right now employing Nazi measures," Erdogan said referring to Merkel, pointedly using the informal "you" in Turkish.
"Against who? My Turkish brother citizens in Germany and brother ministers" who planned to hold campaign rallies for a “yes” vote in the referendum, he said.
Germany's Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel branded Erdogan's comments "shocking".
"We are tolerant but we're not stupid," he told the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper. "That's why I have let my Turkish counterpart know very clearly that a boundary has been crossed here."
Julia Kloeckner, the vice-president of Merkel's CDU party, also reacted angrily to the comments.
"Has Mr Erdogan lost his mind?" she said, telling journalists she was urging the EU to freeze "financial aid amounting to billions of euros" to Turkey.
Home to 1.4 million Turkish voters, Germany hosts the world's largest Turkish diaspora but the partnership between NATO allies Ankara and Berlin has been ripped to shreds by the current crisis.
Turkey reacted furiously to a Frankfurt rally on Saturday urging a “no” vote where protesters brandished insignia of outlawed Kurdish rebels, accusing Germany of double standards.
More than 30,000 Kurds joined a Newroz rally in Frankfurt- chanting slogans such as “terrorist Erdogan”! #terroristturkey#twitterkurds
"Yesterday, Germany put its name under another scandal," presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told CNN-Turk. He said the German ambassador had been summoned, although this was not confirmed by Berlin.
The Turkish foreign ministry accused the German authorities "of the worst example of double standards" for allowing the pro-Kurdish protest while preventing Turkish ministers from campaigning there.
Many protesters carried symbols of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a terror organisation not just by Turkey but also the EU and the United States.
Ankara also reacted with indignation after Germany's intelligence chief said he was unconvinced by Turkish assertions that US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen was behind the failed July coup aimed at overthrowing Erdogan.
Kalin said Europe was seeking to "whitewash" Gulen's group, while Defence Minister Fikri Isik said the comments raised questions about whether Berlin itself was involved in the putsch.
In an interview with Der Spiegel published Saturday, German foreign intelligence chief Bruno Kahl said Ankara had repeatedly tried to persuade Berlin that Gulen was behind the coup "but they have not succeeded".
There is also a possibility that Turkish ministers could plan another rally in Germany ahead of the 16 April referendum on changing the constitution, Kalin said, a move that could further heighten tensions with Berlin.
Kalin said that "Turkophobia" was on the rise in Europe, as Ankara points out the West's mistakes.
The disputes have left Turkey's ambition to join the EU - a cornerstone of its policy for half a century - hanging in the balance ahead of the referendum.
Erdogan threw further oil on the fire on Saturday by saying he believed parliament would, after the referendum, agree a bill to restore capital punishment which he would then sign.
It was Erdogan's clearest warning yet that he could reverse the 2004 abolition of capital punishment, a pre-condition for joining the EU.
European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker warned on Sunday that any return of the death penalty in Turkey would be a "red line".
And Gabriel told Der Spiegel: "We are further away than ever from Turkey's accession to the EU."
The crisis is hitting Turkey's relations with key EU members and Turkish-Dutch ties hit an all-time low in the run-up to the 15 March election in the Netherlands.
Erdogan last week even called on Turks living in Europe to have more children to tilt the demographic balance.
Erdogan: The Sultan Of An Illusionary Ottoman Empire – Analysis
By Dr. Alon Ben-Meir
In many conversations and encounters I had over the years with former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, he emphatically echoed his boss President Erdogan’s grandiose vision that by 2023 (the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic), Turkey will become as powerful and influential as the Ottoman Empire was during its heyday. Under the best of circumstances, Turkey cannot realize Erdogan’s far-fetched dream. Had he stayed the course, however, with his socio-political and judiciary reforms and economic developments, as he had during his first nine years in power, Turkey could have become a major player on the global stage and a regional powerhouse.
Sadly, Erdogan abandoned much of the impressive democratic reforms he championed, and embarked upon a systematic Islamization of the country while dismantling the pillars of democracy. He amassed unprecedented powers and transformed Turkey from a democratic to an autocratic country, ensuring that he has the last word on all matters of state.
In retrospect, it appears that Erdogan had never committed himself to a democratic form of government. The reforms he undertook during his first nine years in power were largely induced by the European Union’s requirements from any country seeking membership, which he exploited as a means by which to propel himself toward his ultimate goal. A quote attributed to him in 1999 describes precisely what his real intentions were from the day he rose to power. “Democracy” he said, “is like a bus, when you arrive at your destination, you step off.”
His role model is Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (meaning “Father of the Turks”), who founded the Turkish Republic in 1923. Both share similar personal attributes as they sought to lead the nation with an iron fist while disregarding any separation of power. However, Atatürk was determined to establish a Westernized secular democratic state while Erdogan went in the opposite direction.
Erdogan steadily moved to create a theocracy where Islamic tradition and values reign supreme while assuming Atatürk’s image, which is revered by most Turks. Erdogan presents himself as one who leads with determination and purpose, generating power from his popular support, ultimately seeking to replace Atatürk; with the new amendments to the constitution, he will be endowed with powers even greater than Atatürk ever held.
With his growing popularity and most impressive economic growth, Erdogan successfully created the status of a strong and resolute leader—the “father” of a new Turkish Republic—and artfully penetrated the consciousness of the Turkish public while using Islam as the undisputed pathway that will lead Turkey to greatness. He is determined to preside at the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic over a powerful nation among the top ten largest global economies and that extends its influence East and West, akin to the prodigious influence that the Ottoman Empire enjoyed.
To realize his grand vision, Erdogan took several measures to consolidate his absolute power.
First, clearing the way: Erdogan embarked on the complete marginalization or elimination of anyone, in and outside the ruling AK Party, that challenged his authority or advanced new ideas for solving the country’s problems. Those who did not support his policies and dared to question his judgment were not spared. He resorted to conspiracy theories, accusing his political opponents of being enemies of the state aiming to topple his government, in order to continue unopposed to realize his vision for the country, analogous to the influence and outreach of the Ottoman Empire. He even fired his long-time friend and confidant Davutoglu because Davutoglu differed from him in connection with the Kurdish problem, and especially because of Davutoglu’s reluctance to support the constitutional amendments that will grant the president sweeping and unprecedented powers.
Second, the need for a culprit: Erdogan needed a scapegoat to blame for any of his shortcomings, and found the Gulen movement to be the perfect culprit that would provide him with the cover to overshadow the massive corruption that has swept his government. This also provided him with the “justification” to crack down on many social, political, and institutional entities, silencing the media, controlling the judiciary, and subordinating the military.
The aftermath of the attempted military coup in July 2016 gave him the ammunition to conduct a society-wide witch-hunt, providing him with the excuse to purge tens of thousands of people from academia, civil society, judiciary, military, and internal security. This has allowed him to assume total control of all departments in the government and private sector. He described his purge as a necessary evil to cleanse the public of the ‘cancer’ that has gripped the country. In so doing, he ensured that the political system revolves around the presidency, leaving him completely unchallenged to pursue his imperial dream to resurrect the stature of the Ottoman Empire as the country prepares to vote in the constitutional referendum on April 16.
Third, the creation of Ottoman symbolism: To project his grandiose vision, Erdogan needed to instill Ottoman images into the public consciousness, including the building of a 1,100-room ‘White Palace’ as his residence at a prohibitive cost to taxpayers. His most recent project was the Çamlica Mosque, the now-largest mosque in Istanbul, standing on the eponymous hill that overlooks the entire city.
Recently, Erdogan started the construction of another mosque in Taksim Square—once the site of the fiercest protests against Erdogan in his career—with all the style of the Ottoman era. Erdogan has even instructed that the national anthem be played on modified drums and brass instruments to make the music sound as if it were being played by bands of the Ottoman period. His purpose is to indoctrinate the public in a subliminal way to his perspective of the glorious Ottoman period.
Fourth, foreign policy assertiveness: Under Erdogan, Turkey has become increasingly assertive and forceful in the region. In Cyprus, he is determined to strike a deal largely on his terms. In Iraq, he placed Turkish troops over the objections of the Iraqi government to maintain his ruthless war against the Kurds. In Syria, he allowed thousands of foreign fighters, including many who have joined ISIS, to cross the border to strengthen the anti-Assad fight, while fighting the Syrian Kurds to prevent them from establishing their own autonomous rule, fearing that the Turkish Kurds would also demand autonomous rule of their own.
Erdogan further promoted the policy of “zero problem with neighbors,” and although presently Turkey has problems with just about every neighbor (and its prospective EU membership has completely diminished), he continues to claim that Turkey enjoys good relations internationally. Erdogan still uses Turkey’s membership in NATO as a sign of greatness; the fact that Turkey has the second-largest number of ground troops in NATO reinforces his illusion that Ankara enjoys unrivaled military prowess in the region and commands the respect and attention of the international community that the Ottoman Empire was accorded.
Fifth, promoting Islam as a powerful tool: Erdogan is also using Sunni Islam to promote the country as a republic with Islamic ideals supported by a loyal state apparatus. He portrays himself as the leader of the Sunni world that would restore the Ottoman era of influence while cementing his authoritarian rule in the form of a neo-Sultan. To be sure, Erdogan is vigorously promoting – with the support of his party – Islamic nationalism systematically and meticulously. Mustafa Akyol, a Turkish analyst of politics and culture and author of the new book The Islamic Jesus says that “political propaganda is in your face every day, every single moment. If you turn on TV, if you open newspapers…”
Former Prime Minister Davutoglu said in 2015 that Turkey “will re-found the Ottoman state.” Although Davutoglu was fired, he—like most Turkish officials—depicts the government as the rightful heir of the Ottoman legacy. To that end, Erdogan uses Islam as the unifying theme that would propel Turkey to the greatness that the Ottoman Empire enjoyed. In fact, Turkish religious leaders have always thought of themselves as the standard-bearer of Islamic civilization, and though this failed with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, to them it must now be corrected. As they would have it, “Turks once again should lead the ummah [Islamic community] as the new Ottomans.”
Sadly, Erdogan, who is still seen as a hero by nearly half of the Turkish population, is leading the country on a treacherous path. Turkey and its people have the resources, creativity, and institutions to make Turkey a significant power. Erdogan, who demonstrated an uncanny ability to harness his country’s natural and human resources, could have made Turkey such a power on the global stage. Indeed, he would have been the Atatürk of the new era had he simply continued with his historic reforms while protecting the rights of every individual and creating a real model of Islamic democracy.
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire was largely precipitated, among other things, by its internal political decadence, the arbitrary exercising of power, and gross violations of human rights that dramatically eroded the foundation on which the empire was built.
In whichever form Erdogan wants to resurrect the Ottoman Empire, he will fail because no country can survive, let alone become great, as long as the government walks on the backs of the people and stifles their freedom to act, speak, and dream.
There is where the greatness of any nation rests and endures—the Ottoman Empire never provided a model worthy of such emulation.
What’s It Like to Be a Woman in Bollywood?
Shreya Narayan shares her experience as a Bollywood actress and what she see would like to see change.
Is the “casting couch” a reality in the Hindi film industry? That’s a question actress Shreya Narayan, the great-grand-niece of India’s first president, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, says she is often asked. The term refers to an aspiring actress trading sexual favors to producers or directors in return for entry into a film.
It does happen, says Narayan, but the Mumbai-based film industry, nicknamed Bollywood and one of the largest centers of film production in the world, is a safe place for women to work. Bollywood, though, is as patriarchal as any other workplace in India, adds the actor, who is also a writer, and has recently finished writing her debut novel.
In this informal, intimate video, the 31-year-old actress, who has worked in several top films, including Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster, Rockstar, and Tanu Weds Manu, shares her experience as a Bollywood actress and what she see would like to see change in the industry.
بیا کډې باریږي، د کوزه مومندو موصل کور اولس حیران او پرېشان
د مومندو قبایلي سیمې انتظامیې د یکشنبې په ورځ د کوزه مومندو مېچنۍ موصل کورونو خلکو ته امر کړی چې هم نن سیمه تخلیه کړي او خپلې کډې دې وباسي، ځکه چې د دوی له کلي نه د ترهګرۍ د پېښو د پلان جوړېدو وېره لیدل کېږي.
خو د سیمې یو ملک عادل خان ترکزی وايي د دوی اکثره ځوانان د ملک په نورو برخو کې په خوارۍ، مزدورۍ بوخت دي او دلته یې کورنۍ پاتې دي، نو دا به ډېره ګرانه وي چې په دومره لږ وخت کې دې ټوله سیمه تخلیه کړل شي.
« په کشمير، پنډۍ او نورو ځایونو کې مو ځوانان په مزدورۍ بوخت دي، دلته یې په کورونو کې مېرمنې اوس کډې باروي، څوک چې طالب پېژني هم نه. »
ملک ترکزی زیاتوي چې د دوی د سیمې خلک وخت په وخت د طالبانو خلاف خپل غږ پورته کړی او له همدې وجې یې ډیری څوانان طالبانو وژلي هم دي، خو حکومت پر ځای ددې چې د قبایلي اولس د قربانیو احترام وکړي، به لوی لاس یې بې کوره کوي.
د ملک هاشم خان په نوم یو بل ځايی مشر چې پخپله یې هم کډه باره کړې، د مشال همکار ته یې وویل:
« کورونه خالي کوو لګیایو، څوک لاړل او څوک روان دي. د ګاډو په انتظار یو، نه پوهېږو چې چیرته به ځو، موږ خو د کرایو ورکولو وس هم نه لرو.»
د سیمې خلک وايي د کلو خالي کول او د کورونو ورانول د ستونزې حل نه دی. دوی وايي حکومت دې ورانکاري او د هغوی ملاتړ کونکي ونیسي، ټول خلک دې نه په عذابوي.
خو بل پلو د حکومت دریځ دا دی چې د کوز مومند د میچنۍ د موصل کورونو نه د د امنۍ د پېښو خطره لیدل کېده نو ځکه یې خلکو ته امر کړی چې کلی دې پرېږدي.
پاکستان تر دې وړاندې په خیبر، شمالي وزیرستان او باجوړ کې هم خلک په ورته ډول له خپلو سیمو بې کوره کړي چې ځینې یې د کلونو په تېریدو هم خپلو مېنو ته ستانه شوي نه دي.
Stuck In the 7th Century - The disturbing trend of Taliban justice in Afghanistan
A Taliban "court" recently ordered a young man accused of theft to have his hand and foot chopped off. The victim spoke with DW about his ordeal as an increasing number of Afghans turn to the Islamist group for justice.
On Monday, the Taliban cut off an accused thief's hand and foot in the western Afghan province of Herat. It is the latest case of the militant group's harsh application of punishment for suspected criminals.
In another case earlier this month, the militants stoned a woman to death accused of adultery in northern Badakhshan province.
The victim in Herat, 15-year-old Afghan Ghulam Farooq, was captured by Taliban members after he and three of his friends were allegedly involved in a motorcycle theft in Obe district. Farooq, however, insists he was innocent and wrongfully faced the group's cruel sentence for a crime he never committed.
"My friends suggested stopping people on motorcycles and stealing from them, but I tried to stop them. They did not listen to me," Farooq told DW from a hospital bed.
"My friends stopped three people who were traveling on motorcycles, tied their hands and eyes and took the bikes with them," he added, claiming he did not accompany his friends during the theft.
Farooq said that he untied the victims and offered help. But the men instead turned to the Taliban for help, something an increasing number of people do in rural areas of Afghanistan where the government does not have a strong presence and cannot ensure the rule of law.
In these areas, the Taliban run a parallel justice system that more and more Afghans are turning to.
Setting an extreme example
In Farooq's case, Taliban members were unable to capture his friends as they had already fled the area. Taliban members detained him as the only suspect in the case. Farooq spent over 70 days in Taliban captivity, holding on to the hope that his family would be able to forge a deal with the militants for his freedom.
"We tried everything during this period. We sent tribal elders to the Taliban and asked for his freedom but they never released him," the young man's older brother told DW.
The Taliban militants finally held a hearing and found Farooq guilty. The so-called court ordered that his hand and foot be cut off in public and before his brother's eyes. The Taliban carry out sentences in public to make an example out of their victims. The rulings are based on an interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.
"After the hearing I was given an injection. Later a man came and took my hand and foot from me," Farooq said from a hospital bed in Herat province where he is currently recovering. His condition is not life-threatening, his doctor said.
Vigilante justice
The latest incident is just another example of Afghans going to the Taliban for help instead of the government in areas under the militant group's control. One reason, experts say, is the high level of corruption in the Afghan judiciary system. Government courts also take much longer to deliver a sentence due to a high number of pending cases.
Although the international community has spent millions of dollars to strengthen the judicial system in Afghanistan over the past decade, analysts say the system remains inefficient and corrupt.
The Taliban's growing control over remote areas in Afghanistan makes it nearly impossible for the government in Kabul to run courts in districts like Obe where the Taliban have a strong presence. Local residents therefore have no other option but to ask the Taliban for help in many cases.
Asking a Taliban court for help, however, comes with a price. Their rulings are mostly final with no chance for appeal and sentences are carried out on the spot and in public. Suspects of adultery, stealing or spying can lose body parts, or even their lives, if convicted by a Taliban court.
However, other cases could have less drastic outcomes. Mohammad Dawood, a resident of Chanjer village in Helmand province had a different experience with the Taliban's parallel judiciary system, when he was dragged by one of his relatives to a Taliban court over a land dispute.
"There were a number of Taliban members who listened to both of us," Dawood told DW. "We were given a fair chance to tell them our side of the story. After that they made their ruling."
"We did not appeal the ruling as both of us had willingly agreed to appear in their court," he said, adding that the Taliban were fast and fair in their rulings, and that people did not have to bribe judges.
"In the mainstream judicial system, people face many problems - they have to spend a lot of money and wait years for a verdict," 48-year-old Dawood said.
While a Taliban court may have ended Dawood's long dispute over land, for Farooq and many others, they have brought life-long suffering. And both experts and activists are calling on the Afghan government to ensure rule of law across Afghanistan and protect the rights of its citizens.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)