Terrorist n. a person who uses violent and intimidating methods coercing a government or community.
Terrorism n. Terroristic adj. The word as described by Oxford
dictionary. With the Dr. Haneef incident we Indians can no longer turn a blind eye the terrorist activities on a national and
international level.
Bob Woolmer''s murder. For weeks we were flooded with news channels reporting the hand of underworld. The doctor (of Indian origin) who performed the first autopsy declared it unquestionably an unnatural death. The Jamaican Government imported officers from Scotland Yard for investigation. They were reportedly the best in the World! Within weeks they declared it a natural death and closed the case. Phew! that was some fast work. No media dared to ask questions. And the few who did were ignored! Can anyone prove the hand of underworld in the whole issue? No, all we can do is speculate the existence of the underworld that has the resources to penetrate or intimidate even the best task force in the world. The most terrifying part is that they may not even represent a religious group or support any particular belief. Their target is Power and monetary gains. Are they not enjoying the privileges of turning international incidents for their own gains? Are they not powerful enough to have already penetrated the international political scenario? Don''t we already know for sure that they already have hold on Indian politics?
So if a group has the power to use and have used violent or intimidating or smooth political pulls to manipulate intenational incidents, Are they not the most dangerous group of terrorist? Hmm, Maybe Oxford needs to review the meaning of the term terrorist after all…
Lets take a peek at Iraq during Saddam Reign. Mass deportation, concentration camps, Firing squads and most extensively used Chemical weapons were the method used for the genocide which saw the near wipe out and deportation of 1 million of the 3.5 million kurds in iraq. How many of us are familiar with the term Al-Anfal campaign? Started in 1986 and lasted until 1989.Headed By Ali Hasan Al-Majid, the infamous Chemical Ali, a cousin of Saddam Hussein, This campaign is said to have resulted in massacre of 180,000 Kurd Iraqis. The chemical attack on the city Halajba whose population mostly consisted of farmers or cattle breeders can be deemed as the most horrendous crime of saddams regime. The sunrise of March 18th, 1988 saw the brutal massacre of 5000 people of Halajba using chemical bombs. Iraqi regimes war planes bombarded the city with chemical bombs emitting cyanide gases left behind bodies with no wounds, no bloody mutilation but the skin of the bodies strangely colored, eyes staring and open, mouth oozing a grayish slime and fingers twisted grotesquely.
Is Post saddam iraq paving the way or even hope for a normal life to Iraqis??? "If not Osama, then lets get saddam" seemed to be the motto adopted by the Bush administration! War against terrorism? A hue and cry over democracy and a free iraq campaign? How do they intend to save Iraq and uphold democracy by killing the civilians? Relief agencies claim that 8 million people, a third of the population of the country are in dire need of immediate emergency aid because of the humanitarian crisis caused by the Iraqi war. Documentaries and news channels show the alarming percentage of Iraqis gobbling down tranquilizers which is available on roadside to diffuse the tension created by background noise of bombings and firearms.
In April 2004, a CBS news program broadcasted photos taken at the Abu Ghraib prison in Bhagdad showing American troops abusing some Iraqis held at what was once a notorious center of torture and executions under toppled President Saddam Hussein. The pictures showed U.S. troops smiling, posing, laughing or giving the thumbs-up sign as naked, male Iraqi prirs were stacked in a pyramid or positioned to simulate sex acts with one another. Brig Gen Karpinski, who was in charge of the prison, along with a number of soldiers was suspended, while under investigation.
President. Bush ordered punishment of any US troops involved in the "shameful, appalling" abuse of Iraqi prisoners." "Our military does not tolerate prisoner abuse. The images are appalling, and such action is inexcusable," White House spokesman reported on behalf of Pres.
Amnesty International said: "There is a real crisis of leadership in Iraq with double standards and double speak on human rights. Our extensive research in Iraq suggested that this is not an isolated incident, Detainees have reported being routinely subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment during arrest and detention."
Of Course it is not an isolated incident, it was promptly followed by Camp Bucca & the humanitarian aid camp Bread Basket in Basra? The latter reportedly by their UK counterparts. The case came to light when a soldier was arrested with photographs depicting scenes of mistreatment including some in which soldiers had apparently forced naked Iraqi detainees to simulate sodomy and oral sex. Corporal Daniel Kenyon, Lance Corporal Mark Cooley, Lance Corporal Darren Larkin, were court-martialed and sentenced to prison.
The publicity could not have been worse in the Arab world with the sexual humiliation depicted in the pictures particularly shocking. And it made rounds on the internet too.Everyone of us net users had a peek at those pictures. So how come we did not see the extensive coverage in the news media? How come no hue and cry over the inhumane treatment of the prisoners by the so called people who were supposed to liberate them from the clutches of Saddam Hussein? How come no enquiry or investigation conducted on an international level on these incidents. A couple of years to a couple of months prison, That''s what these soldiers are facing after being suspended from the Army! One more interesting fact is that a large percentage of the American and British troupe consists largely of soldiers/cadets barely out of their egg shell and have even confessed during court-martial to not even being trained in civilian arrests, let alone go wage a war!
So who shall be termed as terrorist here? The
dictator, Mr Saddam Hussein, who is responsible for the death of Thousands of Iraqis or the
Liberators, President Bush and his counterpart in UK, who is responsible for the death of thousands of Iraqi civilians, US and UK Soldiers? Both of them seem to fit perfectly the word "Terrorist" & "Terrorism" as defined by oxford dictionary!
The Australian Government acted swiftly on the information received by them following the Glasgow bombing. Would anyone have liked to be in Dr. Haneef''s shoes? No! It may have been just a series of unlucky coincidences that have landed him in Australian authority''s custody. 22 days! That what it took for them to conduct a fast interrogation and Deport Dr. Haneef to India? Had it been in India he may still be in custody awaiting a date for court hearing! Why blame the australian government? Who supposedely acted Promptly on the information they had! I guess with all the hue and cry over the incident one would rather have a terrorist attack than the apprehension of a supposedly innocent person for a month...weigh the consequences..If the US government was able to act so promptly on any information they had, maybe Just maybe, the 9/11 may not have happened!
Actor Sanjay Dutt got 6 years in prison for the possession of AK56. Maybe he should explain how he got his hands on it in the first place; certainly he did not buy it over the counter! Sometime back all the news channels were flashing old videos of actors and singers dancing and sharing stage with the Indian godfather Dawood Abrahim. Of Course we cannot forget the infamous Sharjah cup photographs? Mr. Dawood abhrahim