Goom Or Enforced Dissapperance

Introduction:The current government led by Awami League (AL) came to power in early 2009, with a manifesto that included zero-tolerance on human rights abuses. Bangladesh Constitution prohibits human rights violations and it is obligatory for the state organs to respect the principles of universal human rights.

Unfortunately, the government has failed miserably to protect human rights for all its citizens. A well documented report by Odhikar reveals that the Human rights situation in 2011 deteriorated very seriously compared with previous years (www.odhikar.org).

The areas of general concern:

In recent years, the rights issues in Bangladesh have been discussed covering the following areas:

Suppression of political opposition, curtailing media freedom, attacks on journalists,
Restricting dissent and criticism of government policies by threats and physical attacks,
Unlawful detention and torture in remand,
Using police and security services as party tools,
Politicization of judiciary, restricting the scope for justice,
Increasing political, administrative and economic corruption,
Patronizing criminality and violence by ‘party cadres’,
Mass withdrawal of criminal cases out of ‘political consideration,
Presidential clemency to party cadres convicted for murder,
Violence against women, garment and domestic workers,
Attacks on religious minorities and inter-ethnic violence,
BSF atrocities along the border,
India's water aggression, etc.


All these issues together with the very sensitive issue of the BDR massacre trial have been highlighted, in varying degrees, in different media, both nationally and internationally. Unfortunately, none of the stories have enhanced the good image of Bangladesh and her rulers in the international stage.

International rights organisations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Asian Human Rights Commission, etc., have expressed grave concerns at the rights situation in Bangladesh, but the government has not taken any concrete actions. Utterances by different ministers and government leaders tend to give the impression that ‘everything is fine; they forget that it is not their words but actions that are under public and media scrutiny, both at home and abroad, and that the much sought after democracy, rule of law and a truly civilized society would remain only pipe dream if remedial measures are not taken to improve the overall rights situation in the country.

˜Goomâ or ˜Enforced disappearance"

In a short essay, it is not possible to a full picture of all the aspects of Human Rights Abuses in present Bangladesh. (All details can be found in the Odhikar Reports, www.odhikar.org). I shall, therefore, very briefly deal with the most recent concern of GOOM or Enforced disappearance, which was once associated with ˜death squads or ˜vigilante groups operating in some South and Latin American countries during 1970s.

Political and social violence has been more or less a curse for Bangladesh from the beginning. The government and their party followers have resorted to all types of legal and illegal means to marginalize, intimidate, harass, defeat and, on some occasions, even to kill, some of their respective opponents or enemies, which led to cycles of violent confrontations and political and social instability. This evil culture has continued over the years, with ups and downs, but truly it never ended. When the regime in power (whether civil or military) became unpopular and lost public support, they resorted more to ‘hard line tactics for suppression of all opposition and perpetuating their misrule. Even all the ˜elected governments showed this tendency in the past.

The Elias Issue and the dubious government role

But, apart from the old culture, the country is now faced with a new threat of extreme concern – that of ˜GOOM or ˜enforced disappearance. The culture of ‘GOOM’ has been going on for a while, with little notice from national and international media, but this has now become the greatest concern after the ‘forced disappearance’ of Mr. Elias Ali, an ex-MP and a powerful leader of BNP. Elias Ali along with his driver was picked up at midnight about 3 weeks ago by some unidentified persons. Nobody knows about the identity of the miscreants, but it is widely believed that they are members of the security agencies or of a pro-government vigilante group. So far, there is no concrete news on the whereabouts of Elias Ali and his driver; we do not know if they are dead or still alive. Mrs. Elias Ali met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for help, but so far the promise to help find Mr. Ali has remained unfulfilled.

The government has not only failed in their duty to find Mr. Ali but several AL leaders have made some very rude remarks about the personal character of Elias Ali, even suggesting that the BNP leader Khaleda Zia might be responsible for the disappearance! Obviously, BNP and its allies, already ˜under seige by the government (thousands of their party leaders and workers being charged with allegations of corruption, extortion, terrorism, etc.) and fighting for their political and organizational survival, reacted very strongly and decided to challenge the government both inside the courts and on the streets.

The Elias issue has thrown the country into a new phase of controversy and uncertainty. Even the US Foreign Secretary Hillary Clinton expressed deep concern during her visit to Dhaka last week and asked for proper investigations into the ‘disappearance’ of Elias Ali and the trade union leader Aminul Islam. Ironically, this caused anger within the ruling circles, some of them even accused Secretary Clinton of ‘unwanted’ interference.

Alarming rise in the ˜Goom incidents

The disappearance of Elias Ali is politically the most explosive event, but this is not the first or the last incident of this type of crime. Enforced disappearance started from the beginning of the current government and has only increased during the last 3 years.
The rights group Ain-O-Salish Kendra says that at least 22 people have disappeared during the first four months of this year. According to Odhikar, 30 persons were victims of enforced disappearance in 2011, 18 in 2010 and 2 in 2009; this shows an alarming increase in such incidents. In comparison, extra-judicial killings by law enforcing agencies fell from 127 in 2010 to 84 in 2011. This suggests that “a shift is taking place by which citizens are placed outside legal protection and legal trials by terminating them. The State might have adopted the GOOMâ tactic because of the national and international outcry against extra-judicial killings.

The daily New Nation ran a horror story yesterday (09 May, 2012). It says that Police have recovered 100 bodies from different parts of the capital city and 60 bodies from different Thanas of Dhaka district during the last four months. The skeletons, bodies or parts of bodies were recovered either from the rivers Turag and Buriganga or from canals and open-fields. Most of the victims could not be identified. “The actual number of unidentified bodies would be much higher as all of them could not be traced after they went missing. Many of the bodies might have been dumped into rivers which were carries away by strong current.” Nobody knows if all or some of the dead bodies belong to the victims of enforced disappearance (at the hands of state organs) or they were victims of ordinary ‘disappearance’ (perpetrated by non-state actors such as underworld criminals or terrorists).



Who are the culprits?

The government denies that any of the state agencies is involved in ˜enforced disappearance or any other type of extra-judicial killings. But it does not explain the disappearance of the driver of the car carrying 7 million taka in cash allegedly bound for the Minister Shuranjit Sengupta' residence about a month ago. The minister' APS and other passengers of the car came out of hiding a few days after the incident, but the driver still remains disappeared. One or two witnesses of the sensational Saudi diplomat murder case are also without trace. Involvement of the state is clearly suggested.

The government may deny it, but there is widespread public perception that some rogue elements within the government and/or within the security establishment or even some foreign special forces are involved in this type of crimes. Their aim is not yet totally clear, but in the absence of transparent governance and in an atmosphere of all pervading lust for absolute power on the part of some people, conspiracy theories thrive. People cannot differentiate the truth from falsehood or propaganda. Even the topmost political leaders become suspect in the public eye due to their short-sightedness or stupidity. This causes political process to fail and creates a destabilising situation that invariably invites undesirable outside actors to usurp political power.

Crusader 100?

One very dangerous story found its way in some print and internet media recently. In short, it says that about 100 AL activists were secretly trained in 2009 by Indian R&AW in different techniques of covert operations. Code named “Crusader 100” this group maintains safe houses or operation bases in secret locations in Dhaka and carry out abductions, torture and killings of targets selected from the opposition groups. (http://www.free-press-release.com/news-raw-trained-crusader-100-in-action-in-bangladesh-1335098104.html)

It is difficult to prove the truth or falsehood of such story, but in the prevailing circumstances of unending distrust and suspicion, and from the past records of ˜joint efforts by the Indian Intelligence Agencies and some elements with AL camps, operations of such death squads or vigilante group cannot be totally discounted. It is not improbable that the enemies of Bangladesh would try to discredit all political forces and lead the country to a failed state status, so that a direct foreign intervention could be justified at a future time.

The current government has lost much of its popular support due not only its failure to solve the ever increasing economic and social crises, but also to what is seen as the policies of appeasement and subservience towards New Delhi. It is assumed that it lets the Indian security forces and intelligence agencies enter Bangladesh territory ‘in discreet manner to hunt for anti-Indian elements within the country and gradually eliminate them. This is also consistent with the ruling elites dictatorial actions and with their not-so-hidden agenda for establishing one-party dynastic rule.


The Goom culture must stop

The use of GOOM culture as a weapon against selected targets is a dangerous development and must be discouraged and condemned by all people with a minimum degree of sanity. This is something different from and more dangerous than the usual violent confrontation with political opposition, and unlawful detention, custodial torture, and extra-judicial killings by the state law enforcing agencies. The killings of alleged criminals and terrorists, mostly by stage managed incidents of cross-fires or encounters by Police and RAB, have led to these forces being termed as ‘death squads.

We do not know exactly who is playing the new game of GOOM in Bangladesh and what it wants to achieve by playing this dangerous game. It is an urgent duty of all patriotic citizens of the country, irrespective of party or political affiliations, to remain vigilant on this latest danger and to put pressure on both the government and opposition parties to unmask and punish the criminals. The barbarian crimes of enforced disappearance in Bangladesh must be stopped.

BY :  Dr. K. M. A. Malik.

Notoriety inside Bangladeshi Kindergarten Madrassa

While it is well documented and known to all that Koranic schools are breeding grounds of jihadists around the world, for past several years, there is mushroom growth of Kindergarten Madrassas [Koranic Schools] in Bangladesh, mostly being funded by dubious Afro-Arab sources. Only in Dhaka city, the numbers of such Kindergarten Madrassas are almost crossing the double digit, while the number of such madrassas within the country would be above twelve thousand. It may be mentioned here that, according to latest statistics, currently the number of Koranic Schools [both Qaomi and Dakhil] in Bangladesh are above 81,000, where at least 190 million students are getting fanatic-styled teachings of Koran and Islam with Jihadist indoctrination. Counter-terrorism experts believe, jihadist instigation through the misinterpretation of Koran is continuing within Koranic Schools around the world, and in recent past, the numbers of such institutions are increasing in the Western nations in an extreme alarming level. The Afghan-styled Jihadist activities generated rights within such religious schools through the creation of Talibans, who later joined hands with international terror outfits like Al Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah. The initial indoctrination of "kill a Jew and Christian and remain a good Muslim" gets planted into the minds of innocent children, who attend such Koranic school, thus ultimately turning them into miniature Ladens, who feel inspired in placing the Jihad-monger terrorists into the position of religious heroes. At the same time, practice of sodomy and sexual exploitation of the boy students by the madrassa teachers as well as senior students are very common, while girl students are becoming frequent victims of sexual and physical violence. According to statistics, girl students in the Koranic schools, especially those residing in the dormitories – lose virginity within the age of 10-12 in the hands of the male teachers, while the secret cases of pregnancy and abortions are not nominal.

A specific case of notorious physical violence of girl students in a Koranic madrassa in Bangladeshi Capital came into the media spotlight on May 2, 2012, where a female teacher seared legs of at least 14 students of Talimul Quran Mahila Madrassa [Women Madrassa of Koran Training] with a hot spatula in her punitive attempt to make them feel the "severity of hell-fire" for not performing prayers. The girls, aged between eight and twelve underwent the hellish experience and extreme notoriety as they were not regular in their prayers. The victims received treatments at a local hospital while the madrassa teacher Jesmin Akhter went into hiding after the father of a victim child lodged complaint with the local police station.

Abdul Jalil, father of torture-victim Jannatul Ferdous [8] said, the madrassa teacher Jesmin Akhter inflicted burns on the 14 students in the morning time for not being regular in offering their prayers. While burning the legs of the students with the hot spatula, Jesmin Akhter shouted saying "look this is the little example of the real hell-fire. You all will burn in the hell for not being regular in offering prayers."

Eye witnesses said, the notorious madrassa teacher placed her spatula on a burning gas oven adjacent to the classroom and each time burned legs of three students, keeping them standing in line. It was learnt that Jesmin Akhter was residing in one of the rooms of the five-room apartment, where the madrassa was located, along with her husband. Jesmin's husband used to tease the girl students on a regular basis, while few of them had also been sexually assaulted by the husband of the notorious madrassa teacher.

In addition to giving Koranic teachings to the girl students, they were regular told stories of "Islamic Heroes" such as Osama Bin Laden and the girls were given instigation in sacrificing their lives for the "cause of Islam". The teacher used to give encouragements to the girls in becoming a jihadist and even they were told of heavenly rewards, when someone would "embrace death" being a "martyr". The minor girls were regular taught of hating the Westerners and the Western cultures as well as those locals, who "follow the Western societies".

The case of Talimul Quran Mahila Madrasa is just one amongst many, while most of such notoriety remains isolated within the thick Islamic veils or dark curtains. There is no official record on the exact number of Koranic schools in Bangladesh, while the government does not have any regulatory body to monitor the activities of the Koranic school, especially those Qaumi Madrassas, which follow extremist Deobondi indoctrinations. 

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Bangladesh Is South Asia's Standard-Bearer

The former 'basket case' is more moderate on religion and more pragmatic on development than its peers.

Despite its 160-million strong population, Bangladesh can find it hard to elbow its way onto the global stage. It's in an area where India is cast in the lead as the dominant economy, Pakistan plays the intermittent villain, and Sri Lanka and Nepal feature in cameos as countries with uncertain futures. Yet when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton touches down in Dhaka Saturday—the highest ranking American official to visit in nearly a decade—she'll encounter a country that can teach a lesson or two to all other regional actors.

The world's third-most populous Muslim-majority country stands out as a model of moderation. Unlike in virtually every other country in the Muslim world, Islamists in Bangladesh are on the defensive. Seven people, including high profile leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami, South Asia's most powerful Islamist group, face war crimes charges for their role in slaughtering Bangladeshi patriots, Muslim and Hindu alike, during the country's 1971 war of independence against Pakistan. 

Current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed's father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920-75) led that struggle, which claimed 3 million lives according to the Bangladesh government. The trial reveals the government's willingness to deal with one of the most painful episodes in the young nation's history. It also shows its refusal to allow Islamists to label the regime as "anti-Islam" for pursuing them, a form of blackmail that often obstructs justice in other places. 

In a similar vein, Bangladesh can boast one of Asia's best records of fighting Islamist terrorism. The South Asia Terrorism Portal estimates that only nine people have lost their lives since Ms. Hasina swept to power at the end of 2008. In the four years before that, terrorists claimed 56 lives at home, while the Bangladeshi terrorist group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (or HuJi-B) carried out high-profile terrorist strikes in India.

Much of Bangladesh's success in confronting the most intolerant elements within its own society comes from crafting an inclusive national narrative. Unlike Pakistan, Bangladesh does not define itself by faith alone. Most Bangladeshis see no contradiction between being proud Muslims and proud Bengalis. This self-confidence gives the country the ability, which some other Muslim societies lack, to push back against extremism. 

Then there's the down-to-earth pragmatism present in Dhaka's approach to development. Over the past five years, the economy has expanded on an average of 6% per year. Unlike India, which is hobbled by socialist-era labor laws that interfere with hiring and firing, Bangladesh has built a world-class apparel industry that employs more than 3.5 million people and supplies global brands like H&M, Walmart and Tommy Hilfiger. Thanks to this, the country is already the world's second largest exporter of readymade garments after China. If it plays its cards right, Bangladesh, more than any other South Asian nation, could attract a fresh wave of labor-intensive manufacturing looking for cheaper alternatives to China. Goldman Sachs lists Bangladesh among its "Next 11," countries that have the potential to become major economies. 

And after years of tensions with its bigger neighbor, Bangladesh is now being practical and seeking to normalize ties with India. The two countries have already settled long festering territorial disputes and opened up trade. A landmark transit agreement would place Bangladesh at the heart of a potentially dynamic growth corridor encompassing northeastern India and a newly democratizing Burma. This is currently being stymied by Indian politician Mamata Banerjee, who as chief minister of the West Bengal state that borders Bangladesh opposes an allied water-sharing agreement with Dhaka.

Still, Dhaka and New Delhi are pushing for this agreement and it could succeed, possibly ushering in a new peace dividend in the region. At any rate, Dhaka's pragmatism in its foreign relations stands in contrast to India, which can't always suppress its preachy rhetoric of nonalignment (toward the West), as well as Pakistan, which often sputters in a sea of Islamic fundamentalism and knee-jerk opposition to India. 

That said, Bangladesh is hardly free of problems. Ms. Hasina and her chief opponent, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's Khaleda Zia, have created a poisonous zero-sum politics, which has come to the fore again in recent days. The BNP is up in arms at the disappearance of one of its leaders last month and they blame Ms. Hasina's ruling party. They have shut down the country with crippling national strikes four times in the past month. 

No one knows how the BNP official in question disappeared, though, and a string of similar disappearances reflect a deteriorating law and order situation. Either law enforcement is engaged in extra-judicial actions, or vigilantes can roam free with impunity. Neither is encouraging. 

Meanwhile, the Islamist threat has been reduced but not eliminated. The BNP remains at best ambivalent and at worst actively sympathetic toward Islamist forces similar to those that have helped drag Pakistan in a downward spiral. And though Bangladesh's army deserves some credit for keeping its distance from politics since late 2008, it's by no means certain that the country's latest experiment with democracy, barely three and a half years old, will last. The military first seized power in 1975, and has done so repeatedly since.

But for now, these worries can take a back seat. This weekend, a country once dismissed by former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger as a basket case, gets to show one of his successors how wrong it has proven him. 

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River-linking Project : Experts stay concerned

Find Pranab's assurance far from reality.

 

Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee yesterday reassured that India's river-linking project will not harm Bangladesh as it does not include any Himalayan river that flows down to Bangladesh.

Many Bangladeshi analysts contest his view and say the project has already affected Bangladesh with India diverting Teesta water to Mechi River in Bihar through the Mahananda. 

India has been diverting water from the Teesta to the Ganges basin though the water was supposed to feed the Brahmaputra river in Bangladesh, said Engineer M Inamul Haque, former director general of Water Resources Planning Organisation (Warpo). 

“If they say they are not doing anything that harms us, it is not true. We have already been affected for diversion of Teesta water,” said Inamul, a leading hydrologist in the country. 

India has recently completed a survey on linking the Ganges River with the Sundarbans and is conducting another survey on the Manas-Sankosh-Teesta-Ganges project. 

It also initiated another survey on the Brahmaputra after the Indian Supreme Court had asked the Indian government to go ahead with the river-linking project. 

While India keeps Bangladesh in the dark about its projects on trans-boundary rivers, different websites, independent studies and international reports give a gloomy picture, just the opposite of what the Indian high-ups are saying. 

A report titled “Mountains of Concrete” published by non-governmental organisation International Rivers in 2008 says, “As many dams are built in the Himalayas, on every tributary and every river, the downstream impacts will extend from the mountains to the plains and all the way to the estuaries.” 

“A large number of dams in the basins would cause dramatic transformations in the patterns, quantity and quality of flows,” it says.

A group of Bangladeshi experts conducted a study five years ago to ascertain the impact of the Indian project that involves linking 30 major rivers and diverting the water of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra.

About 30,000 square kilometres of Khulna and Barisal divisions, and parts of Rajshahi and Dhaka divisions will be severely affected, says the study. The capital also falls in the danger zone.

“We basically conducted a qualitative study based on information from several sources. The effects could be even worse,” said a senior analyst, who was involved with the study. 

Biodiversity, agriculture and industry in the Ganges Dependant Area (GDA) -- both sides of the Padma River -- and parts of the Meghna River bank will be badly hit if India implements the river-linking project. 

The GDA alone covers 20 percent of the country and is home to around 30 million people. 

The river-linking project aims to divert river water from India's north-eastern region that witnesses an annual rainfall of 3,500mm to its west, a region with annual rainfall as low as 700mm. 

“If we want to ascertain the impacts of the river-linking project, we need details. But we do not know what they are doing,” Dr Ainun Nishat told The Daily Star earlier. 

During Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's India visit in January 2010, Bangladesh and India signed a treaty on bilateral cooperation that includes sharing of river waters.

Bangladesh allowed India to use water of the Feni River for its plant in Tripura after the two countries resumed talks for sharing the water of Teesta and Feni rivers last year. But India has still kept Bangladesh waiting on signing the Teesta water-sharing deal.

In the meantime, India went ahead with its river-linking and Tipaimukh hydroelectric projects. It did not even inform Bangladesh about the formation of a company to implement the Tipaimukh project. 

Pranab yesterday told the Bangladesh prime minister that a subcommittee under the Joint Rivers Commission will be formed to conduct a study on the proposed Tipaimukh dam. Bangladesh will be informed about the findings to clear confusion from people's minds about the project.

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Beware, Hillary Clinton is a warmonger!

THE US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is coming to Dhaka today, on a two-day visit. Press reports inform us that her initial itinerary had involved attending the fourth round of US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing on May 3-4. That the decision to visit Bangladesh (May 4-5) and India (May 7-8) was ‘sudden’. A ‘surprise stopover’.

Ms Clinton’s visit to Beijing was preceded by the Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng’s escape from house arrest to the US Embassy; while the western media furore has abated somewhat after US officials stepped in and brokered a deal on his behalf with the Chinese government, deep concern in western circles over his safety and security continues to be expressed.

Forty-year-old blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng — who has suffered intimidation, beatings, jail and extralegal house arrest — escaped from being confined at home on April 22, 2012 and took refuge in the US embassy. He has since been escorted to a Beijing hospital where he was reunited with his family. The deal was brokered by US officials with the Chinese government. Chen’s release led Hillary Clinton to state, ‘I am pleased that we were able to facilitate Chen Guangcheng’s stay and departure from the US embassy in a way that reflected his choices and our values’ (May 2, 2012).

After being released, Chen, on May 3, phoned into a Congressional hearing to detail his predicament. He has also ‘begged’ that he wants to leave China with his family ‘for the US on Hillary Clinton’s plane.’ This has been followed by a Chinese foreign affairs ministry statement on its website which says that the blind human rights activist may apply to ‘study abroad’. Interestingly, his dramatic journey to the US embassy — described as ‘mission impossible’ — was aided by US officials. The Guangcheng story has generated international headlines; while China experts, journalists and human rights activists discuss how the conflict may be further resolved, Chen has expressed his desire to meet Ms Clinton in person. To seek ‘more help from her’. To ‘thank her face to face’. The New York University, meanwhile, has been kind enough to extend an invitation to Chen (ABC News, May 4, 2012).

When Ms Clinton mouths ‘our values’, one is forced to ask, pray, what may these be? Or, more pointedly, how far do these extend? Whom do they exclude?

Obviously not to the Palestinians, in whose case, as Philip Weiss reminds us, the US chooses its ‘interests’, over its (purported) ‘values’. Former State Department official Anne-Marie Slaughter had said this spring, ‘Whenever I send out a [twitter] message about the suffering, the detention without trial, civilian deaths by armed force in all these countries, I now get messages back that say to me, What about the Palestinians?’

Scores of Palestinian prisoners are on hunger strike presently but not a peep out of the US embassy there. No dramatic ‘mission impossible’ rescue efforts either. Nor do State Department officials dare write about the rights of the Palestinians, when they are in its employ.

Clinton’s ‘our values’ statement also reminds us, writes Weiss, that Israel has blocked the investigation of the massacre of 21 members of the al-Samouni family during the 2009 Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. That the US has helped Israel by quashing the UN’s Goldstone Report which had characterised the attack on the family as a ‘war crime’.

According to the B’Tselem’s summary of the events that led to the family’s massacre:

‘On 4 January 2009, soldiers gathered about 100 members of the extended a-Samuni family in the house of Wael a-Samuni, in the a-Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City. The next morning, at 6:30 A.M., when a few members of the family tried to leave the house, the military fired a missile or shell at them, killing Muhammad a-Samuni and wounding two other persons. A few seconds later, the military fired two more shells or missiles that hit the house directly. The house collapsed on its occupants, killing 21 persons, including many women and children, and injuring dozens of other family members.’

The Red Cross, B’Tselem and other human rights organisations had repeatedly requested that they be allowed to help remove injured persons, but permission had been granted two days later. By then, four wounded family members had bled to death. Of the 21 killed, nine were children, ranging in ages from 6 months to 16 years (Richard Silverstein, ‘IDF Closes Book on al-Samouni Killings, Whitewashes Massacre’, May 3, 2012).

On May 2, 2012 the Israel Defence Forces informed B’Tselem that it intended to close the investigation. 

While ‘mistakes [had been] made [which had] led to unfortunate consequences,’ these had been ‘inadvertent’. In other words, ‘not culpable’.

Similar bouts of amnesia which exclude people selectively from ‘our values’ occurred when Ms Clinton, while testifying before a senate committee on February 28, 2012, stated that Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad could be branded a ‘war criminal’.

‘Based on definitions of war criminal and crimes against humanity, there would be an argument to be made that he [Assad] would fit into that category.’

But this is part of the American political and media establishment’s rhetoric, writes Bill Van Auken, aimed at winning western public support for ‘yet another imperialist intervention in the Middle East.’ A regime change venture dressed up as a ‘crusade for human rights.’

When the US secretary of state speaks of war criminals and war crimes, which definition does she rely on? It could well be the International Criminal Court’s legislation, largely drawn from the Nuremberg tribunal, where war crimes are defined as a number of acts — including murder, extermination, torture, imprisonment and enforced disappearance of persons — knowingly ‘committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population…’ (Bill Van Auken, ‘Hillary Clinton and Middle East War Crimes’, Global Research, March 3, 2012).

Further, it could well be that the urge to define Assad as a war criminal gained ground after the 27-day siege of the Baba Amr neighbourhood of Homs, seized by armed militias, who, it must be noted, abducted and murdered non-Sunni residents of the city, had ended. The US-backed rebels were forced to pull out on March 1, since Syrian military strength had proven to be superior.

Hundreds of Syrians were undoubtedly killed in the month-long siege. Many of them had been unarmed civilians.

But when twenty times as many unarmed civilians had been killed over a shorter period, only 400 miles away from Homs, had similar outrage been expressed by Ms Clinton?

When the entire city of Fallujah in Iraq had been turned into a free-fire zone? When inhabitants had been warned to leave but men and boys had been turned back? Had been ‘forced to face an onslaught of napalm, cluster bombs, white phosphorus shells and other munitions’ which had incinerated their victims? Had brought their homes crashing down on them?

Of the 50,000 Fallujans who had been either unwilling or unable to flee, more than 6,000 died.
Seven years on, Fallujans suffer an ‘epidemic of birth defects, childhood cancers and other ailments caused by depleted uranium shells and other ordnance dumped on the city.’

There are greater war criminals around than Syria’s Assad. Before you start pointing fingers, make sure your hands are clean.

While it is true that the Bush administration was in power when the Falluja massacre had taken place, it is also true that one woman had agreed with all the lies uttered by president Bush, as a YouTube video available here demonstrates http://prisonplanet.com/articles/november2007/271107Warmonger.htm .

Bush: [the] Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons (July 10, 2002).

Hillary Clinton: Saddam Hussein has worked, rebuilt his chemical and biological weapon stock (October 10, 2002).

Bush: Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists including members of al-Qaeda (January 28, 2003).

Hillary Clinton: He [Saddam] has also given aid, comfort and sanctuary to terrorists including al-Qaeda members (October 10, 2002).

Bush: [the] regime is seeking a nuclear bomb (January 28, 2003).

Hillary Clinton: and [Saddam] will, keep trying to develop nuclear weapons. So, it is with conviction that I support this resolution as being in the best interest of our nation, it is a vote that puts awesome responsibility in the hands of our President (October 10, 2002).

Bush: this war will end in the defeat of totalitarians (August 31, 2006).

Hillary Clinton: any vote that might lead to war should be hard. But I cast it with conviction (October 10, 2002).

It is also true that Hillary Clinton later lied. That, as a Democratic contender for the post of president in the 2008 elections, she had said, ‘If I had been president in October of 2002, I would never have asked for authority to divert our attention from Afghanistan to Iraq and I certainly would never have started this war.’
Hillary Clinton’s feminism has been called to question as well, for, when servile commentators gush over her ‘feminist foreign policy’, over how she ‘has gone out of her way to press feminist issues’ — the growing gender imbalance in China because of the high abortion rate of female foetuses, sexual violence as a weapon of war (Democratic Republic of Congo), the need to provide clean cooking stoves to save women from smoke inhalation which kills 1.9 million per year (Madeleine Bunting, ‘Clinton is proving that a feminist foreign policy is possible — and works’, Guardian, January 16, 2011), others point out how, over 4 million Iraqis, mostly women and children, have been turned into refugees. How, Ms Clinton seems gung-ho ready to do it to Iranian women as well, having recently warned Iran that time is ‘running out for diplomacy’ (Guardian, March 31, 2012).

Despite the fact that the IAEA’s latest reports on Iran’s nuclear programmes, and congressional testimony from the director of National Intelligence, asserts that ‘there is no strong evidence that Iran has decided to restart its nuclear program’ (Reuters, March 23, 2012).

Warmonger, or, maybe, as some insist, a war criminal? I leave it to you to decide.

BY :   Rahnuma Ahmed.