Friday, November 13, 2020
Ahmadi Muslims Under Attack In Pakistan - Johnson urges Pakistan govt to guarantee fundamental rights of citizens
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, during a Parliament session, urged Pakistan to guarantee the fundamental rights of its citizens.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, during a Parliament session on Wednesday, urged Pakistan to guarantee the fundamental rights of its citizens.
The Prime Minister was responding to Member of Parliament Imran Ahmad Khan, who asked whether the government should make it clear to Pakistan that state-supported persecution must end.
Johnson replied: "I agree passionately with my honourable friend, and I can tell him that that is why the Minister of South Asia recently raised this very issue with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister, and we urged the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the fundamental rights of all its citizens."
Ahmad Khan, while addressing the Parliament, stated that while the country was rightly focused on battling COVID-19, it should not ignore humanitarian injustices and the plight of persecuted minorities.
He also recounted the tragic murder of an Ahmadi civilian in Pakistan's Peshawar on Sunday.
"On Remembrance Sunday, 82-year-old Mahboob Ahmad Khan was shot dead, the fourth Ahmadi recently slain in Peshawar. His crime under Pakistani law? To call himself an Ahmadi Muslim, whose creed is 'love for all, hatred for none'. Does my right honourable friend agree with me that hatred preached in Pakistan ends up on the streets, and it is in the interest of our own security that His Majesty's government should make clear to Pakistan that state-supported persecution must end?" asked Ahmad Khan.
Pakistan has been slammed for its treatment of minorities, who continue to face persecution in the hands of government authorities.
https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/johnson-urges-pakistan-govt-to-guarantee-fundamental-rights-of-citizens-120111200664_1.html
Killing of Ahmadi Muslim in Pakistan is a 'Sad Reflection' of Minorities' Status
Last Sunday, Mahboob Khan was shot dead as he stood at a bus terminal in the city of Peshawar, allegedly for his faith.
India has criticised the killing of an 82-year-old man due to his Ahmadi faith in Peshawar as a “sad reflection of the state of minorities in Pakistan”.
On Sunday, Mahboob Khan was shot dead as he stood at a bus terminal in the city of Peshawar. As per media reports, a spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya minority group claimed that he had been killed for his faith.
“One after another, Ahmadis are being targeted in Peshawar while the government has repeatedly failed to protect and stop the violence against the members of the Ahmadiyya Community,” the spokesman said in a statement. He stated that it was the fourth such killing in the last four months.
Four days later, the Indian foreign ministry spokesperson took cognisance of Mahboob Khan’s killing. “We have seen media reports of an 82-year-old Ahmadi man believed to have been shot and killed by some gunmen, apparently because of his faith, in Peshawar. This is, unfortunately, a sad reflection of the state of minorities in Pakistan,” said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava at the weekly briefing.
He asserted that Pakistan has witnessed the “space for people from the minority community to practise their religion shrink continuously”. “We have been consistently raising the issue of the safety, security and well-being of minority communities with the Government of Pakistan,” added the Indian diplomat.
Over the years, India has been raising the issue of sectarian persecution of minorities in Pakistan, referring to Ahmadiyyas and Ismailis, at various platforms of the United Nations. This has usually been in ‘Right to Replies’ – counter-statements to criticism from Pakistani delegates – at various platforms of the United Nations.
The Indian government has also repeatedly raised the issue of persecution of Sikh and Hindus in Pakistan. It has usually reacted strongly whenever specific reports of abduction and forced conversion of Hindu and Sikh girls are brought to light.
However, as a search of the MEA’s website showed, India has not commented previously on a specific incident related to targeted killing of Ahmadis (also known as Ahmadiyyas).
Earlier on Wednesday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had also urged Pakistan to guarantee the “fundamental rights of its citizens” during a parliamentary session, in response to a question from a member of parliament who raised the killing of the Ahmadis in Pakistan.
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6906155786122195046/1538638238508920959
Despite the absence of level playing field PPP will win with clear majority in GB elections, Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
He warned the administration to keep away from sectarian design otherwise there could be violence which is not in favour of Pakistan.
Addressing a press conference in Gilgit, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that elections in GB are not being held free and fair. PPP exhausted all legal avenues for ensuring free and fair elections but he was stopped from running election campaign. The election laws are made so that no one can use government resources and position to influence the elections but the selected prime minister and his ministers openly violated the election laws and ran the election campaign in GB. On the other hand they wanted to throw us out of GB in the name of implementing election laws. Today (13 November) the PPP had its last public gathering in Gilgit but the administration stopped him from addressing that meeting. This is unlawful and illegal but we want peace in GB. Chairman PPP said that he was deprived of his right. In a court decision, similar restrictions were put on him as on the ministers.
The court decision was a split decision and this amounts to depriving him of his rights. This is injustice. This is not the playing field we thought will be provided to us in these elections. Ministers are announcing billions of funds but the people of GB will defeat all designs and will vote for the PPP candidates.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that there is still time to save these elections from becoming disputed elections. He asked the institutions not to make GB elections disputed. The entire world is watching these elections. We cannot afford to have a rigged election in GB. If the people’s vote is stolen then there could be protest and violence. Administration’s job is to maintain peace. Sectarianism is being propagated in some parts of GB in these elections. This could become a big threat. The PPP will defeat these efforts. The way IJI was formed against Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and similarly another alliance has been formed in GB in these elections. We will not let anyone steal the votes of the people. The journalists and the cameramen are witness to the enthusiastic welcome we received in every part of GB from Khaplu to Skardu, Shigar to Astore and Gilgit to Nagar. He said that he is thankful to every person who attended his corner meetings and gatherings including the journalists, photo-journalists and cameramen.
Chairman PPP said that he hopes that on 15th November people of GB will come out to vote for their rights and vote for PPP. He said that the PPP had three main rights for the people of GB in its manifesto. The right to rule, the right to property and the right to employment are the promises the PPP has made. These are the demands of the people of GB and they are striving for these rights. The right to rule means separate GB province with all the constitutional rights. The right to send their representatives in the senate and the national assembly of Pakistan, the right to choose Prime Minister and even become prime minister of Pakistan. The right to property is to own a property in GB so that they become legal owner of their land and the resources of GB. The right to employment is the right to have first right of employment in every project in GB including in the projects under CPEC. The first right of employment is of the people of GB and Balochistan in the CPEC projects. We want a prosperous GB. PPP always delivers employment to the people and we never deprive people of their right to employment.
He said that the PPP had conceived the idea of CPEC. The relation of PPP and Chinese communist party go back three generations like we have relations with the people of GB. We can facilitate the people of GB to get employment in CPEC projects.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that no other party has any manifesto for GB whereas the PPP had promised these rights to the people of GB in its manifesto for 2018 elections. The manifesto of PTI is one of destruction like it has done to the rest of Pakistan. PTI always make false promises like the promise of South Punjab province, one crore jobs and 50 lac houses. The PTI cannot snatch victory from the PPP in GB elections. The people of GB have spoken and on 15 November they will vote for PPP for their rights. The PPP will win in GB with clear majority. He said that the people of GB will not disappoint him and in return he will not disappoint them.
Responding to a question he said that it is essential that the elections are fair and transparent otherwise the people will strongly protest. He said that PTI has no manifesto for these elections and they had never thought of a province for GB and they are promising to make GB a province on someone’s dictation. PPP will protect food security for GB and will not allow imposing increased taxes. The puppet is unable to wage a political struggle. The people are against this anti-people party called PTI. He said that he does not want any favors but his rights. On a question about dialogue with establishment, he said that PDM will decide the issue. He said that he demanded GB province in his 2018 manifesto and now it is the victory of jiyalas that the national security people and other political parties have come to the page of jiyalas.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/24078/
Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari extends felicitations on Diwali festivities to the Hindu community in Pakistan particularly and all those celebrating the festival of light the world over
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has extended felicitations on Diwali festivities to the Hindu communities in Pakistan particularly and all those celebrating the festival of light the world over.
In his message on the eve of the Diwali celebrations beginning from tomorrow, the PPP Chairman said that as per traditions Diwali is celebrated as a triumph of knowledge over ignorance and good over evil and prayed that all the evil forces may vanish away to usher in an era of peace, tranquility and equality for human race.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that his Party was true heir of the ideology and commitment of the founding father Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah of Pakistan. Its leaders and elected Prime Ministers Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto even laid down their lives along with thousands of Jiyalas and supporters for this ideology, he added.
PPP Chairman said that the Constitution of Pakistan guarantees equal rights of all the citizens to perform their religious rituals and celebrate festivals without any hindrance or discrimination.
Fears grow for British man detained in Pakistan-administered Kashmir
There are growing concerns for the wellbeing of a British man facing up to three years in jail for taking down a Pakistani flag from a public square in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
Tanveer Ahmed Rafique, a 48-year-old activist who has called for the disputed region to be granted independence from both Pakistan and India, was detained in August in the city of Dadyal. His wife told the BBC he has held a number of hunger strikes in protest at being denied bail and had become "extremely weak".
Fareezam Rajput said she believes Pakistan's intelligence agencies are pressuring the courts to continue to keep her husband in detention.
Police files show Mr Rafique has been accused of "unauthorisedly removing the National Flag of Pakistan". Officials in Pakistani-administered Kashmir insist the courts are free from interference and due process is being followed.
Responding to a letter from one of Mr Rafique's friends, who raised the case with him in his capacity as their local MP, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he shared concerns about the "reported appalling treatment" of Mr Rafique and promised to raise it with the UK Foreign Office.
Mr Rafique was born in Pakistani-administered Kashmir but moved to the UK as a young child. In 2005, he travelled back to Kashmir to spend time with his grandmother and eventually left his job in finance to settle permanently in the region. Control of Kashmir is split between Pakistan and India, which have fought a number of wars and smaller conflicts over the region. Both countries lay claim to Kashmir in its entirety.
Mr Rafique, however, is part of a movement calling for a completely independent, united Kashmir. His wife told the BBC he was initially attracted to the cause after realising how difficult it was for his family in Pakistani-administered Kashmir to visit their relatives in Indian-administered Kashmir. "He thought, this used be one state and it shouldn't be divided," she said.
But Mr Rafique's peaceful activism attracted the attention of the authorities. Ms Rajput, his wife, told the BBC he had once previously been extrajudicially detained by the Pakistani military for three days before the British High Commission intervened. Mr Rafique's younger sister Asma, who lives in London, told the BBC her brother was warned by intelligence agents that if he did not stop his activities, "nobody would ever hear of him or see him again". The Pakistani military did not respond to a request to comment.
India-administered Kashmir has witnessed years of mass protests as well as a long running violent insurgency against Indian rule, with security forces accused of widespread human rights abuses. The dispute stems from the division of Pakistan and India in 1947. Tensions flared most recently when India revoked the special, more autonomous status of Kashmir last year.
Pakistani-administered Kashmir has not seen similar levels of unrest, and Pakistani officials frequently call for Kashmiris to be given the right of self-determination. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has described himself as a global ambassador for the Kashmiri cause, repeatedly demanding a plebiscite be held across Kashmir to decide its future in line with UN resolutions.
Mainstream political leaders, and many ordinary people in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, are supportive of the Pakistani state, which has been accused by India of backing separatist militants. However, voices in Pakistani-administered Kashmir calling for complete independence, as opposed to joining with Pakistan, have been deliberately stifled. The region's constitution forbids any activities deemed "prejudicial or detrimental to, the ideology of the State's accession to Pakistan". Ms Rajput told the BBC the detention of her husband shows the "hypocrisy" of Pakistan's position.
Raja Wasim, the press secretary to the prime minister of Pakistani-administered Kashmir, insisted laws preventing pro-independence activities were rarely actually enforced, however.
As well as publishing a blog and videos online, Mr Rafique spent years conducting a survey of public opinion in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, canvassing, he said, the views of 10,000 inhabitants of the region. According to his findings, 73% of respondents identified primarily as Kashmiri rather than Pakistani.
A study by the international affairs think tank Chatham House in 2010 found that 44% of residents in Pakistani Administered Kashmir favoured independence, whilst 50% wanted to join Pakistan.
The results of Mr Rafique's survey were published in a local newspaper in 2017, but in a sign of how sensitive the issue is authorities ordered the newspaper to be shut down in response.
This August, Mr Rafique began a hunger strike in protest at the placing of Pakistan's national flag in the centre of the city of Dadyal in Pakistani-administered Kashmir. The region has its own flag and its own parliament, with a degree of autonomy. In a message sent from jail, seen by the BBC, Mr Rafique said he "considered it my public duty to peacefully resist" and take down the flag when officials failed to do so.
A fellow activist filmed Mr Rafique scaling the gate of a square that local residents have named in honour of a Kashmiri separatist leader who was executed by India in 1984. The video shows Mr Rafique removing a Pakistani flag, before being hauled away by police. The footage was picked up from social media by Indian TV channels, a development that was specifically mentioned in the case registered against him and which likely angered Pakistani officials. His wife, however, told the BBC Mr Rafique opposed both Pakistani and Indian policies in Kashmir.
In his message from jail, Mr Rafique described being "punched" and "beaten with sticks" during his arrest and subsequent interrogation. His wife alleged he had at times been kept in isolation in a cell normally reserved for those accused of crimes warranting the death penalty, until the British High Commission in Islamabad intervened. She said she believed his life was in danger as a result of his hunger strike.
Mr Rafique's family in Luton have been calling on the British Foreign Office to step up efforts to secure his release. His sister Asma Rafique told the BBC that while the British High Commission had been in contact with them, they felt "disappointed" with the level of support they had received and the slow pace of progress. "I feel as is if everything is falling upon deaf ears," Ms Rafique said.
In a statement the UK Foreign Office said it was offering "offering assistance to a British-Pakistani dual national" and its staff were "in regular contact with his family, his lawyer and the Pakistani authorities".
Ms Rafique said the ordeal had caused an "immense level of stress" for the family. "I feel as if all our concerns are falling upon deaf ears," she said.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54921606
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Opinion: When Trump Vandalizes Our Country
By
The president should grit his teeth and repeat Hillary Clinton’s line from 2016: “We must accept this result.”
As it became clear that she would lose the 2016 election and news organizations called the race for Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton spoke to her supporters.
“We must accept this result,” she declared. “Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.”
#elections - Department of Homeland Security calls #election "the most secure in American history"
https://www.axios.com/cisa-election-security-trump-a385868b-512a-4449-addd-4591829a4aef.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=organic&utm_content=1100
#Pakistan - Journalists under threat
— Sindh is a three times riskier region for journalists than any other province or the capital territory.
— Most journalists (over one-third of them) are charged with offences under the Penal Code while another one-third are likely to be charged with terrorism, while some others may be tried under electronic crimes or defamation laws.
— The most common allegation against journalists is “acting against state institutions” or “defaming state institutions”. Other allegations can be “illegal possession of arms /explosives”, “drug running”, “keeping proscribed literature”, or “harassing citizens”
— In 15 out of the 17 cases (88.2 per cent) analysed action was initiated by the state or its functionaries.
— Those initiating cases often demanded more than one remedy from journalists. The most common demand was proof of journalists’ assertion in their reports, followed by a demand for an apology.
— In the two-thirds of the cases in which investigations were completed by the police, only half of them were declared fit for trial. The trial in 60pc of the cases was never concluded, leaving most journalists without a chance to prove their innocence. In over 80pc of the cases in which the trial did conclude, the journalists-accused were found innocent and acquitted. However, 10 out of the 17 cases never reached a conclusion and thus most of the journalists concerned did not receive justice at all.
This study leads to the conclusion that during 2018-2019, the law was used more often than not to harass working journalists with a view to preventing them from offering the people truthful accounts of happenings around them.
This year’s report should be read along with last year’s findings that there was 100pc impunity for killers and zero per cent justice for 33 murdered journalists. There are no signs that the situation has changed for the better.
Both of these reports’, however, cover only part of the journalists’ concerns. They do not extend to the crisis confronting the media houses that has been caused by a shrinking of their revenues, discrimination in the distribution of state-controlled advertisements, unlawful restrictions on the circulation of some newspapers in certain areas, and other insidious campaigns against the dissidents or vehicles of independent opinion.
The bitter struggle for survival that has been forced on the media as a whole is gravely undermining its capacity to help the rulers govern justly and guide the people to fulfil their unexceptionable responsibilities of responsible citizenship. Unfortunately, the traditions of civil discourse have been undermined to an extent that the expression ‘the fourth estate’ itself has gone out of currency. If there are any people in authority or who have access to it who believe that a responsible and pro-people dispensation is possible without a healthy and independent media, the sooner their minds can be disabused of such outlandish ideas the better for all concerned.
The humanitarian dimensions of the media’s economic crisis are much too evident to be discounted. More than 15,000 journalists and support workers have been rendered jobless, and the process has picked up speed over the past few weeks. Many more journalists have been compelled to accept unbearable cuts in their wages thereby causing a sharp decline and deterioration in their services and lifestyles both.
That this should cause serious concern to the powers that be is self-evident. Like other industries, the media industry deserves a rehabilitation package. But media is much more than an industry, for it plays a significant role in the dissemination of information, promotion of knowledge, advancement of democratic values and refinement of culture. To ignore it amounts to disregarding a vehicle of political development and sociocultural flowering. A holistic view of the trials and tribulations of the media will clearly bring out the urgency of a full-scale debate in parliament on the need for a high-powered parliamentary commission to examine the media crisis in all of its dimensions, identify the causes and suggest both short-term and long-term remedies.
Tailpiece: The method of crowd management adopted by the Punjab government has obviously been copied from the textbooks of Italian and German dictators of the 20th century. These European dictators used state employees and their so-called volunteer forces to harass and manhandle opponents and dissidents and used methods that were eventually condemned across the globe. The kisan demonstrators were subjected to impermissible violence at Lahore’s points of entry. They were dispersed by force and at least two of the injured have died. Afterwards, a mockery of negotiations was staged and an enforced settlement announced. Such unwarranted and indefensible tactics will shorten the life of the regime faster than all the labours of the opposition. All those advising the government to use such tactics or keeping quiet about these matters can hardly be counted as its friends.
Headline of the month: Pakistan’s economic difficulties caused by the Pakistan Democratic Movement.
Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari takes strong notice of a brutal incident in which a woman and her 4-year-old girl were gang-raped in Kashmore.
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
#Elections2020 - Don’t Let Up: Fascism isn’t Dead Yet
The Covid-19 Roadmap: Towards Global Economic Chaos and Societal Destruction
It is now confirmed that the Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction Test (RT-PCR) used to estimate COVID-19 positive cases is questionable. It cannot detect or identify the virus. What it detects are particles or fragments of the virus.
PCR- Positive does not imply Covid-19 Positive. The statistics derived from the PCR test do not adequately measure “confirmed cases”. The PCR Test does not provide the statistics required (by policy-makers and national health authorities) to assess the number of people infected. Moreover, according to the CDC “a positive [covid-19] infection” could be the result of “co-infection with other viruses… The agent detected may not be the cause disease”.
While these official statistics used to “measure” the spread of the viral infection are flawed, they have nonetheless been used to support the ongoing fear and disinformation campaign.
Because the PCR Test is faulty as a means of identifying the spread of the virus, major decisions taken by the WHO and national governments since late January 2020 (supported by faulty statistics) are potentially invalid. Moreover, official reports including the WHO confirm that Covid-19 is not a killer virus, it has features similar to seasonal influenza.
The purpose off this article is to examine how these far-reaching decisions, invariably based on invalid concepts and faulty statistics, have contributed to a state of economic, social and political chaos Worldwide, leading up to the March 11, 2020 lockdown and closure of 190 national economies of UN member states. Only three countries including Belarus, Nicaragua and Sweden refused to close down their national economy.
What strikes us in this analysis is the fact that major decisions from the very outset on January 30, 2020 were taken when the number of recorded positive cases was exceedingly low.
The lockdown as well as closure of national economies Worldwide on March 11, 2020 were presented as a means to confronting the “Killer Virus” and “Saving Lives”. Amply documented, the impacts have led to mass unemployment and poverty Worldwide.
The Roadmap towards Economic Chaos and Societal Destruction
October 18, 2019. 201 Pandemic Simulation Exercise
The coronavirus was initially named 2019-nCoV by the WHO, the same name as that adopted at the October 18, 2019 201 Simulation exercise under the auspices of the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health, Centre for Heath Security (an event sponsored by the Gates Foundation and World Economic Forum).(Event 201)
January 7, 2020: The Chinese authorities “identified a new type of virus” which (according to official reports) was isolated on January 7, 2020.
January 20-24: World Economic Forum Meetings at Davos. The Role of Powerful Financial Interests
Dominant financial interests, billionaire foundations and international financial institutions played a key role in launching the WHO Public Health Emergency (PHEIC). The decision was not taken by the WHO.
In the week preceding this historic WHO decision. The PHEIC was the object of “consultations” at the World Economic Forum (WEF), Davos (January 21-24). The WHO Director General Dr. Tedros was present at Davos. Were these consultations instrumental in influencing the WHO’s historic decision on January 30th.
Was there a Conflict of Interest as defined by the WHO? The WHO’s largest donor is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which together with the WEF and CEPI had already announced in Davos the development of a Covid-19 vaccine prior to the historic January 30th launching of the PHEIC.
January 28, 2020: The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that the novela corona virus had been isolated. To this date, the process of identification of the virus has not been made public.
January 30, 2020: The WHO’s Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
The first stage of this crisis was launched by the WHO on January 30th. While officially it was not designated as a “Pandemic”, it nonetheless contributed to spearheading the fear campaign.
From the very outset, the estimates of “confirmed positive cases” have been part of a “Numbers Game”.
In some cases the statistics were simply not mentioned and in other cases the numbers were inflated with a view to creating panic.
The number of “confirmed cases” based on faulty estimates (PCR) used to justify this far reaching decision was ridiculously low.
The Worldwide population outside China is of the order of 6.4 billion. On January 30, 2020 outside China there were:
83 cases in 18 countries, and only 7 of them had no history of travel in China. (see WHO, January 30, 2020).
On January 29, 2020, the day preceding the launching of the PHEI (recorded by the WHO), there were 5 cases in the US, 3 in Canada, 4 in France, 4 in Germany.
There was no “scientific basis” to justify the launching of a Worldwide public health emergency.
Screenshot of WHO table, January 29, 2200,
one day prior to the WHO decision to declare a global public health emergency
Those ridiculously low numbers (not mentioned by the media) were used to spearhead a Worldwide fear campaign.
January 31, 2020: President Trump’s Decision to Suspend Air Travel with China
Whereas the WHO “[did] not recommend any travel or trade restrictions” the five so-called “confirmed cases” in the US were sufficient to “justify” President Trump’s January 31st decision to suspend air travel to China while precipitating a hate campaign against ethnic Chinese throughout the Western World.
This historic January 31st decision paved the way towards the disruption of international commodity trade as well as Worldwide restrictions on air travel.
And those flawed “confirmed cases” were for the most part using the standard RT-PCR test.
February 20-21, 2020. Worldwide Covid Data Outside China: The Diamond Princess Cruise Ship
While China reported a total of 75,567 cases of COVID-19, (February 20) the confirmed cases outside China were abysmally low and the statistics based in large part on the the PCR test used to confirm the “Worldwide spread of the virus” were questionable to say the least. Moreover, out of the 75,567 cases in China, a large percentage had recovered. And recovery figures were not acknowledged by the media.
O
n the day of Dr. Tedros’ historic press conference (February 20, 2020) the recorded number of confirmed cases outside China was 1073 of which 621 were passengers and crew on the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship (stranded in Japanese territorial waters).
From a statistical point of view, the WHO decision pointing to a potential “spread of the virus Worldwide” did not make sense.
On February 20th, 57.9% of the Worldwide Covid-19 “confirmed cases” were from the Diamond Princess, hardly representative of a Worldwide “statistical trend”.The official story is as follows:
- A Hong Kong based passenger who had disembarked from the Diamond Princess in Hong Kong on January 25 developed pneumonia and was tested positive for the novela coronavirus on January 30.
- He was reported to have travelled on January 10, to Shenzhen on mainland China (which borders on Hong Kong’s new territories).
- The Diamond Princess arrived at Yokohama on February 3. A quarantine was imposed on the cruiser See NCBI study.
- Many passengers fell sick due to the confinement on the boat.
- All the passengers and crew on the Diamond Princess undertook the PCR test.
- The number of confirmed cases increased to 691 on February 23.
From the standpoint of assessing Worldwide statistical trends, the data doesn’t stand up. Without the Diamond Princess data, the so-called confirmed cases worldwide outside China on February 2oth would have been of the order of 452, out of a population of 6.4 billion.
Examine the WHO Graph below. The blue indicates the confirmed cases on the Diamond Princess (international conveyance) (which arrived in Yokohama on February 3, 2020), many of whom were sick, confined to their rooms for more than two weeks (quarantine imposed by Japan). All passengers and crew took the RT-PCR test (which does not detect or identify Covid-19).
Needless to say, this so-called data was instrumental in spearheading the fear campaign and the collapse of financial markets in the course of the month of February. (see section below)
The February 2020 Financial Crisis. The 2020 Corona Crash
February 20-21, 2020 marks the beginning of the 2020 Financial Crash.
February 20th, 2020: At a press conference on Thursday the 20th of February afternoon (CET Time) in a briefing in Geneva, the WHO Director General. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that he was
“concerned that the chance to contain the coronavirus outbreak was “closing” …
“I believe the window of opportunity is still there, but that the window is narrowing.”
These “shock and awe” statements contributed to heightening the fear campaign, despite the fact that the number of confirmed cases outside China was exceedingly low.
Officially 1073 cases Worldwide.
Excluding the Diamond Princess, 452 so-called “confirmed cases” Worldwide outside China, for a population of 6.4 billion recorded by the WHO on February 20th, 15 in the US, 8 in Canada, 9 in the UK. (February 2020).
A larger number of cases outside China were recorded in South Korea (153 cases according to WHO) and Italy (recorded by national authorities).
WHO data recorded on February 2020 at the outset of the so-called Covid Financial Crash (right)
The statement by Dr. Tedros (based on flawed concepts and statistics), set the stage for the February financial collapse triggered by inside information, foreknowledge, derivative trade, short-selling and a galore of hedge fund operations.
Whoever had foreknowledge (inside information) of the WHO Director General’s February 20th statement would have reaped significant monetary gains.
Was there a conflict of interest? The WHO receives funds from the Gates Foundation. And Bill Gates has “60% of his assets invested in equities [including stocks and index funds]”, according to a September 2019 CNBC report.
The stock market crash initiated on February 20th referred to as the 2020 Coronavirus Crash, was categorized as:
“the fastest fall in global stock markets in financial history, and the most devastating crash since the Wall Street Crash of 1929.”
The cause of the financial crash was (according to analysts), V. The Virus. The spread of the virus outside China.
The “killer virus” fear campaign coupled with Dr. Tedros’ timely “warnings” of the need to implement a Worldwide pandemic indelibly served the interests of Wall Street’s institutional speculators and hedge funds. The financial crash led to a major shift in the distribution of money wealth. (see analysis below)
In the week following the February 20-21 WHO announcement, the Dow Jones collapsed by 12% (CNBC, February 28, 2020). According to analysts, the plunge of the DJIA was the result of the Worldwide spread of the virus. A nonsensical statement in contradiction with the (small) number of WHO Covid positive estimates, most of which were based on the faulty PCR test.
Dow Jones Industrial Average December 2019 – March 2020
Also on February 24th, Trump requested a $1.25 billion emergency aid.
According to the BBC, Worldwide stock markets saw sharp falls “because of concerns about the economic impact of the virus”, suggesting that the Virus was “the invisible “hand” responsible for the decline of financial markets.
COVID-19 was narrowly identified as the catalyst of the financial crash.
Who was behind this catalyst? Who was behind the fear campaign which contributed to triggering chaos and uncertainty on financial markets?
March 11, 2020: The Covid-19 Pandemic, Lockdown, Closing Down of 190 National Economies
The WHO Director General had set the stage in his February 21st Press Conference. “the world should do more to prepare for a possible coronavirus pandemic”. The WHO had called upon countries to be “in a phase of preparedness”.
On March 11, 2020: the WHO officially declared a Worldwide pandemic at a time when there were 118,000 confirmed cases and 4291 deaths Worldwide (including China). (March 11, 2020, according to press conference). What do these “statistics” tell you?
The figures quoted by Dr. Tedros included China.
The number of confirmed cases outside of China (6.4 billion population) are of the order of 44279 and 1440 deaths (figures recorded for March 11, (on March 12) (see table right).
Immediately following the March 11,2020 WHO announcement, the fear campaign went into high gear. As in the case of the February 20-21 crash, the March 11 statement by the WHO Director General had set the stage. Stock markets crashed worldwide. On the following morning, the Dow (DJIA) plummeted by 9.99% (A decline of 2,352.60 to close at 21,200.62). Black Thursday, March 12, 2020 was “the Dow’s worst day” since 1987. A massive transfer of financial wealth had taken place in favor of America’s billionaires.
Confinement instructions were transmitted to 193 member states of the United Nations. Politicians are the instruments of powerful financial interests. Was this far-reaching decision justified as a means to combating the Virus?
Unprecedented in history, applied almost simultaneously in a large number countries, entire sectors of the World economy were destabilized. Small and medium sized enterprises were driven into bankruptcy. Unemployment and poverty are rampant.
In some countries famines have erupted. The social impacts of these measures are devastating. The health impacts (mortality, morbidity) of these measures including the destabilization of the system of national health care (in numerous countries) far surpass those attributed to Covid-19. (For further details see author’s article here,
Billionaire Enrichment. The Appropriation and Redistribution of Wealth
Billionaire wealth has increased dramatically since early February. There are three distinct phases, which are directly related to the corona crisis, each of which is marked by major shifts in the distribution of global wealth.
- The financial crisis initiated on February 20th, was conducive to a dramatic redistribution of money wealth and ownership of financial assets. Foreknowledge, inside information and speculative trade played a key role. Was there foreknowledge of WHO’s Dr. Tedros February 20th Statement?
- The March 11 lockdown and closing down of the national economies of 190 UN member states, which triggered corporate as well as SME bankruptcies Worldwide. The March 11 event was also marked by the plunge of stock markets worldwide, starting on Black Thursday March 12, 2020.
- The third stage of billionaire enrichment pertains to the implementation of the so-called “Second Wave” which consists in triggering a renewed wave of bankruptcies.
The redistribution of wealth in favor of the billionaire class is confirmed by an IPS study pertaining to the closing down of the global economy.
The combined wealth of U.S. billionaires increased by $850 billion since March 18th, 2020, an increase of over 28 percent. (This estimate does not account for the increase in wealth during the period preceding March 18, which was marked by a series of stock market crashes).
On March 18, 2020, U.S. billionaires had combined wealth of $2.947 trillion. By October 8th, their wealth has surged to $3.8 trillion ($3.798 billion to be exact).
At the global level, billionaires are big winners during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a recent UBS report, the roughly 2,189 global billionaires now have $10.2 trillion. This is an estimated increase of $1.5 trillion during the pandemic looking at both UBS and Forbes billionaire data from 2019.
The table below identifies the increase in personal wealth of the five richest US billionaires (March 18- June 17, 2020). (Not outlined in the Table, the wealth of US billionaires increased by another $266 billion from June to October 2020).
Let us now briefly reflect on the Second Wave which is now being imposed on millions of people.
The Second Wave
September-October 2020. The financial establishment has instructed governments to implement what is tantamount to a second bankrupcy program using the pretext and justification that the number of Covid positive cases has increased.
In all likelihood this second wave will lead to the further process of appropriation and concentration of wealth.
Concurrently, there is a tendency towards totalitarian forms of government.
All forms of social activity are affected including family reunions, weddings and funerals, public gatherings, not to mention the closure of schools, universities, museums, sports and cultural events. Police state measures are now being applied to enforce compliance. And people accept!
At the outset of the Second Wave, the process of postponing the reopening of the global economy will indelibly contribute to wiping out (regional and local) small and medium sized enterprises worldwide, while also precipitating the bankruptcy of entire sectors of the World economy including airlines, hotel chains and the tourist industry. This in turn will lead to the appropriation of real assets by powerful financial interests.
The fear campaign has once again gone into high gear.
Official statistics based on faulty and manipulated estimates of so-called “confirmed” Covid positive cases constitute the basis for justifying these diabolical measures.
V the virus is presented as the Threat. But the Virus has no direct impact on key economic variables.
What is at stake is unprecedented: It’s a global neoliberal agenda carried out by corrupt governments on behalf of the financial establishment.
Common sense tells us that the closure of the global economy destroys people’s lives.
Disrupting the fear campaign constitutes the first step towards reversing the tide.
https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-covid-19-roadmap-towards-economic-chaos-and-societal-destruction/5725602