countercurrents archive 17-30 september, 2003

30 September, 2003

Dollar Fall Adds To Global Turbulence
By Nick Beams

The sharp drop in the value of the dollar in money markets last week has pointed to the underlying instability of the international financial system and the ever-present possibility of a major crisis

Biotechnology Will Bypass The Poor
By Devinder Sharma

Agricultural biotechnology advances are being desperately promoted in the name of eradicating hunger and poverty. What is being very conveniently overlooked is the fact that what the world's 840 million hungry need is just food, which is abundantly available

'The War That Never Ends'
By Arundhati Roy And Anthony Arnove

Arundhati Roy talks about: 'The War That Never Ends'

29 September, 2003

Thousands Join Antiwar Protests
Around The World
By Mike Head

Hundreds of thousands of people in more than 20 countries and 60 cities spanning five continents joined demonstrations demanding an end to the ongoing US-led occupation of Iraq

The Magnificent 27
By Uri Avnery

The decision of the 27 Air Force pilots who refused to fly sorties over the occupied territories is magnificent. Some day Israel will recognize the huge debt it owes to the valiant 27

Village Of Endless Night
By J Dey

In the tiny village of Mahej in Maharashtra state of India, little girls are trapped into prostitution by their families where they end up doing the job the whole life

Bajrang Dal Makes a Village Muslim-free
By Anuradha Nagaraj

Armed Bajrang Dal activists drive out about 25 Muslim families from their homes in the village of Mishroli, in Rajasthan

Have Faith....
By Teesta Setalvad

Teesta Setalvad's acceptance speech at Nuremberg International Human Rights Award Ceremony

Multiculturalism Alive In India
By Barnita Bagchi

The communal polarisation that divided India in the last one and half decade, with its culmination in the painful pogrom in Gujarat have brought disillusionment to millions of Indians. But Barnita Bagchi testifies that multiculturalism is still alive. A memrial testament

28 September, 2003

Patriots and invaders
By Sami Ramadani

Iraqi resistance to foreign occupation enjoys great popular support

Edward Said And The Contours of Palestinian Identity
By A.Y. May

On September 25th 2003, the Palestinian people lost a man whose seminal work has allowed them to define themselves as a people with a history and culture

No GM please, we are British !
By Devinder Sharma

In a historic verdict, the British people have rejected genetically modified crops (GM crops) and foods

27 September, 2003

America Sinking in The Quicksand of Iraq
Dr. Marwan Asmar

With attacks on American troops carried out on a daily basis, the US is struggling for international support to get out of the "Iraqi quagmire". A review of what the Arabic press has to say

Edward Said: An Icon And an Iconoclast
By Robert Fisk

Edward Said railed against Arafat and Sharon to his dying breath

'Laddu' Means A Boy, `Barfi' A Girl
By Gargi Parsai

A sign language is gaining currency in India devised by unscrupulous doctors to circumvent the law which bans sex determination of an unborn child to prevent female foeticide

26 September, 2003

Edward Said: A Fountain Of Humanity
By Ali Abunimah

The most fitting tribute to Professor Said's life and work is to struggle with increased commitment for the vision of justice and humanity that inspired all of his efforts

Permission to narrate: Edward Said,
Palestine,and the Internet
By Nigel Parry

Edward Said inspired tens of thousands of people committed to reconciliation and justice around the world

A Window On The World
By Edward Said

Western scholars helped justify the war in Iraq, says Edward Said, with their orientalist ideas about the 'Arab mind'. Twenty-five years after the publication of his post-colonial classic, the author of Orientalism argues that humanist understanding is now more urgently required than ever before

Brutal Reality That Fans
The Flames Of Hatred In Iraq
By Robert Fisk

If anyone wants to know why Iraqis set bombs for American soldiers, they had only to sit in the two-storey villa in this little farming village of Saqlawiyah and look at the frozen face of Ahmed al-Ham and his angry friends yesterday

India's Yahoo! Groups Ban Continues

India's blanket ban of Yahoo! Groups continues. It's not 100 per cent, but most of the largest ISPs have complied, removing access for over 80 per cent of users

25 September, 2003

A War Criminal Comes To The UN
By Bill Vann

President George W. Bush came to the United Nations General Assembly as an unrepentant war criminal, whose actions had violated the UN Charter and international law by waging a war of aggression as criminal and unprovoked as those carried out by the Hitlerite regime in Germany more than 60 years ago

Israeli Pilots Refuse To Fly Assassination Missions
By Conal Urquhart

27 Isreali airforce pilots sent a letter to the commander of Israel's airforce refusing to carry out duties, which include track and kill operations, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

Legacy of Dr. BR Ambedkar stands
Irreconcilably opposed to Hindutva
By B.Sivaraman

It is an irony that BJP and other Sangh Parivar outfits are trying to appropriate such a historic personality as Dr. BR Ambedkar

24 September, 2003

Breaking The Silence
By John Pilger

An investigation of files and archive film for my TV documentary Breaking The Silence, together with interviews with former intelligence officers and senior Bush officials have revealed that Bush and Blair knew all along that Saddam Hussein was effectively disarmed

Warning From Rae Bareli
By Kuldip Nayar

V.K. Singh's judgement should give a fillip to secularism

Terrorism As Revenge
By Ram Puniyani

Who is responsible for the genesis of terrorism? Is terrorism a religious phenomenon? Is it due to the members of a single community? How come some people come to take the steps, which surely are suicidal for them?

23 September, 2003

Iraq For Sale
By Philip Thornton and Andrew Gumbel

In an unexpected move unveiled at the meeting in Dubai of the Group of Seven rich nations, the Iraqi Governing Council announced sweeping reforms to allow total foreign ownership without the need for prior approval

Israel's Apartheid Regime
By Arjan El Fassed

Two years after the World Conference Against Racism held in Durban, Israel’s apartheid policies have only deepened and become systematic and widespread

Bombay Bomb Blast, Communal Violence
And Secular India
By Asghar Ali Engineer

The recent bomb blast in Mumbai on 25th August 2003 is a wake up call. It should shake us up into deep reflection as to what is happening to India which gave birth to doctrine of non-violence hundreds of years before Christ and also during our freedom struggle in last century

Eric Aarons: 'What's Right?'
A review by Tristan Ewins

'What's Right?': a bold new book by sculptor and life-long progressive activist, Eric Aarons ponders the possibilities of 'waging a defensive struggle' against the present dominance of neo-liberal ideas, thus setting the foundation for a possible "counter-offensive."

"Chile: The Other September 11"
Review By Tristan Ewins

"Chile: the other September 11" is an excellent introduction to the murder of Allende and also provides vital historical representations for those already aware of the events of the fateful day

What's In A Flag?
By Sarmila Bose

Still, in a 'borderless world' full of resurgent militant
nationalism, narrow-minded little 'patriot acts' seem to be sprouting all over the place. Flags, emblems, colours, melodies; will they all be divided up and loaded with meanings in black and white, or will they be swept away by the cross-border currents of global citizenship?

Mark Tully's Hindutwa
By Amulya Ganguli

For several years now, the BBC's Mark Tully has provided indirect support to the BJP's Hindutva cause. His contention, as reiterated in a new TV documentary, Hindu Nation, is that secularism is unsuitable for India. The reason: it is a doctrine which keeps religion out of public life, an attempt which is bound to fail

21 September, 2003

Iraq's Occupiers Lose Touch With Reality
By Robert Fisk

A culture of secrecy has descended upon the Anglo-American occupation authorities in Iraq. They will give no tally of the Iraqi civilian lives lost each day

The Global Hierarchy Of Race
By Martin Jacques

As the only racial group that never suffers systemic racism, whites are in denial about its impact

Sharon’s Preemptive Zeal
By Neve Gordon

Sharon’s preemptive logic undercuts all form of dialogue and negotiations. Its rule of thumb is violence, and then more violence, whether it manifests itself as a military attack or as an aggressive act of dispossession

The Anglo RSS Nexus
By Akhilesh Mithal

Hard evidence of the nexus between the British government of India and the RSS. (Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh) is available in A Life of Our Times, the memoirs of Rajeshwar Dayal, ICS published by Orient Longman in 1998. The RSS was supplied detailed maps of towns and villages to enable them to attack Muslims

20 September, 2003

What About Afghanistan?
By John Pilger

Two years ago, as the bombs began to drop, George Bush promised Afghanistan 'the generosity of America and its allies'. Now, the familiar old warlords are regaining power, religious fundamentalism is renewing its grip and military skirmishes continue routinely. What was the purpose?

Demonising Homosexuals In India
By Siddharth Srivastava

The Indian government recently reaffirmed its stand against homosexuality in India, a move that could drive the them further into the fringes of society

The ‘Dalit Muslims’ And The All-India
Backward Muslim Morcha
By Yoginder Sikand

There is a growing consciousness and assertiveness of a large conglomerate of Muslim castes, some of whose leaders are now seeking to advance for them a new identity as 'Dalit Muslims'. This article examines the politics, programmes and broader agendas that advocates of this new identity seek to put forward

19 September, 2003

Why It's Good That The Trade Talks Broke Down
By Anuradha Mittal

Cancun is not a failure -- for it offers a lesson: Strong-arm tactics are not going to work any more. And no agreement is better than a bad agreement

18 September, 2003

US Green Light To Assassinate Arafat
By Bill Vann

In what can only be interpreted as a green light for its Israeli allies to carry out the coldblooded assassination of the elected president of the Palestinian people, the US Tuesday vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution opposing the murder of Yasser Arafat

Remembering Sabra and Shatila
By Cilina Nasser

It is 21 years since the massacre at Sabra and Shatila and still justice eludes the victims

SABRA AND SHATILA
By Robert Fisk

Robert Fisk was one of the first journalists to be present at the scene of the horrific murders in Lebanon, September 17th, 1982. He has published a number of different books and currently writes columns for The Independent newspaper. The following is extracted from his book, "Pity the Nation."

Judging Genocide In Gujarat
By Praful Bidwai

Letting the Gujarat culprits get away and papering over the gravity of what happened would be the surest way of destroying the constitutional edifice of governance - indeed, this society. The Supreme Court must not disappoint the public

17 September, 2003

Cancun, A New Beginning
By Devinder Sharma

First Seattle in 1999, and now the sudden death at Cancun 2003, the developing world has demonstrated that it will no longer take it lying down. Their anger and rebellion has already caused the biggest derailment to the development agenda. And, rightly so

The Jews In Palestine
By Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi on ! Palestine written in 1938 - "Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English or France to the French. It is wrong and inhuman to impose the Jews on the Arabs"

Baghdad's Packed Morgue Marks
A City's Descent Into Lawlessness
By Jeffrey Fleishman

The number of reported gun-related killings in Baghdad has increased 25-fold since President Bush declared an end to major combat May 1

India's Muslim Time Bomb
By Pankaj Mishra

What is particularly worrisome about the new Muslim terrorism is the backgroud of its adherents. Many of these young men are well educated. They have been radicalized in a geopolitical environment that has never been more highly fraught for the Muslim community at large

16 September, 2003

The Collapse In Cancun And The Transformation
Of The Global System
By Andreas Hernandez

The collapse of the WTO negotiations in Cancun was the result of a tremendous organizing by the global south. It directly challenged the neoliberal world and might be the first visible signs of the possibility of a social democratic turn in the global system

WTO Kills Farmers: In Memory of Lee Kyung Hae
By Laura Carlsen

On September 10, opening day of the Fifth Ministerial of the World Trade Organization, Lee Kyung Hae climbed the fence that separates the excluded from the included and took his life with a knife to the heart

Secret Slaughter By Night, Lies And Blind Eyes By Day
By Robert Fisk

Almost 1,000 Iraqi civilians are being killed every week - and that may well be a conservative figure

End Of A Love Affair With India
By Luke Harding

As a young backpacker Luke Harding found India charming and eccentric. Fifteen years later he returned as the Guardian's correspondent. Now, after finishing his time there, he recalls how one terrible incident of sectarian violence in Gujarat brought his love affair with the country to an end