MRN

The aspiration of the Media Review Network is to dispel the myths and stereotypes about Islam and Muslims and to foster bridges of understanding among the diverse people of our country. The Media Review Network believes that Muslim perspectives on issues impacting on South Africans are a prerequisite to a better appreciation of Islam.

Press statement

by MRN
January 1, 2013July 25, 2013

The Kashmir Carnage

By Ibrahim Vawda

The Media Review Network (MRN) is alarmed at the ferocity of the brutal attacks by the Indian Security forces against the hapless Kashmiri population.

The MRN condemns the detentions and killings of civilians during peaceful demonstrations in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK). Kashmir remains occupied as well as a disputed territory.

The demonstrations were sparked by the vicious and ferocious killings carried out by the Indian security establishment in the Valley, which is made up of the notorious Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Rapid Action Force (RAF) and over a million military personnel. Thus far over 50 innocent men, women and children have perished. The latest being a 7 year old boy whose brains were blown out when he was struck by a teargas canister.

The security forces in the Kashmir Valley act with impunity because they are protected by a series of draconian laws, rendering them (the security forces) unaccountable.

The MRN also notes with consternation the apparent silence or lack of coverage by the South African media of this mayhem.

The strategic location of the region demands that parallels be drawn with Palestine. Reminiscent of Israel, India is in defiance of numerous United Nations Resolutions, International Laws and the Geneva Conventions.

The Media Review Network urges our Government to seriously and urgently engage the New Delhi Government and demand the immediate and unconditional cessation of this unjustifiable carnage. The Indian Government should then enter into immediate dialogue with the people of Kashmir to resolve the six-decade old problem, by holding a referendum (plebiscite) as required by numerous UN Resolutions adopted over the years.

Missing the forest

by MRN
January 1, 2013July 25, 2013

Does anyone actually know the meaning of the term ‘Jewish state’? Wouldn’t it be better to live in a just democracy?

By Gideon Levy

(source: Haaretz)

Sometimes you really can’t see the forest for the trees. The forest of political, governmental and institutional racism in Israel is dark and deep. One particular tree in that forest happens to have Israelis all riled up: The state’s handling of the children of migrant workers. In the shade of a nearby tree is the state’s handling of these children’s parents, but this excites the Israelis somewhat less. And there are many other poisonous trees in the forest: Citizenship laws, loyalty laws, conversion laws, the razing of Bedouin villages in the Negev and even the story of the Arab delivery man who was convicted of rape for pretending to be a Jew. Each one galvanized parts of society into action, and this is well and good; but few see the big picture, and the big picture is several times worse than the sum of its components.

Enlightenment came from an unexpected direction; it was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of all people, who accurately defined the problem. In deciding on these children’s future, he said, the cabinet is torn between humanitarian considerations on one hand and Zionist considerations on the other. The prime minister of Israel himself presents them as a contradiction, and this is the story in a nutshell.

The pas disingenuous boycott campaign

by MRN
January 1, 2013July 25, 2013

By Ali Abunimah

(source: Electronic Intifada)

In recent weeks, the US- and Israeli-backed Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) has made a show of calling on Palestinians to boycott goods manufactured in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Despite the rhetoric of defiance and resistance, and exaggerated screams of anguish from Israeli settler groups, the PA effort actually appears designed to co-opt, undermine and abort the much broader Palestinian civil society campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), and to reassure Israel of the continued docility and collaboration of its puppet regime in Ramallah.

As part of his daily routine of publicity stunts, unelected Ramallah-based "Prime Minister" Salam Fayyad has been seen tossing bundles of settler-produced goods onto bonfires. As for PA "President" Mahmoud Abbas, he recently signed the "Karama" (dignity) Pledge — promising not to allow settlement goods into his house and encouraging others to do the same. PA volunteers have been going door-to-door in the occupied West Bank to distribute lists of settler-made consumer goods that should be avoided.

Obama threatens Iran

by MRN
January 1, 2013July 25, 2013

By Alex Lantier

(source: World Socialist Website)

At a White House briefing last Wednesday, President Obama personally joined the growing chorus of war threats against Iran coming from Washington and its allies.

Recent threats include remarks from US Defense Secretary Gates, who argued against “another war in the Middle East” in 2008, but stated last month that the US does “not accept the idea of Iran having nuclear weapons.” Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said it was “still time for sanctions,” but that “at a certain point, we should realize that sanctions cannot work.”

It was against this backdrop that the White House called in selected journalists for a press briefing on Iran. They reportedly discovered only after arriving that the “briefer” at this apparently routine event was none other than the president himself.

Obama’s purpose was to deliver a blunt warning to the Iranian government: it could either surrender to US demands that it abandon its nuclear program, or face US attack.