By Quraysha Ismail Sooliman
An international conference Locating ethnic states in a cosmopolitan world: The Case of Israel, was hosted on Monday 12th April by the Afro – Middle East Centre (AMEC) at the Colosseum Hotel in Pretoria.The conference was opened by Deputy Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim.
In his address Ebrahim called for Palestinian unity and stated that South Africa is willing to be engaged further to establish freedom and peace and seek justice for Palestine.
The decline in Israel’s reputation since the brutal attack on the Gaza flotilla is unlikely to influence the country’s leaders
By Ilan Pappe
(source: Information Clearing House)
At the top of Israel’s political and military systems stand two men, Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu, who are behind the brutal attack on the Gaza flotilla that shocked the world but that seemed to be hailed as a pure act of self-defence by the Israeli public. Although they come from the left (Defence minister Barak from the Labour Party) and the right (Prime Minister Netanyahu from Likkud) of Israeli politics, their thinking on Gaza in general and on the flotilla in particular is informed by the same history and identical world view.
At one time, Ehud Barak was Benjamin Netanyahu’s commanding officer in the Israeli equivalent of the SAS. More precisely, they served in a similar unit to the one sent to assault the Turkish ship last week. Their perception of the reality in the Gaza Strip is shared by other leading members of the Israeli political and military elite, and is widely supported by the Jewish electorate at home. And it is a simple take on reality. Hamas, although the only government in the Arab world elected democratically by the people, has to be eliminated as a political as well as a military force.
This is not only because it continues the struggle against the 40-year Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip by launching primitive missiles into Israel – more often than not in retaliation to an Israel killing of its activists in the West Bank. But it is mainly due to its political opposition for the kind of "peace" Israel wants to impose on the Palestinians.
(source: Kashmir Media Service)
In occupied Kashmir, the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, while condemning the killing of more civilians in the occupied territory by Indian police and CRPF, said that the India government and the occupation authorities had declared a war on the people of Kashmir.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement issued in Srinagar said that the puppet chief minister had asked India to send more troops to occupied Kashmir as the presence of 700,000 troops wasn’t enough to kill Kashmiris and suppress their struggle for freedom. “This clearly shows a war has been declared on Kashmiris and India has pledged to carry out the genocide of innocent and unarmed people in the Valley,” Mirwaiz added.
The APHC Chairman said that the grave situation in Jammu and Kashmir was not only an eye-opener for the conscientious people in India, but also demanded an immediate attention from the international community. “For the sake of upholding justice and human values, the international community must put pressure on India to resolve the long pending Kashmir dispute,” he said.
Read More »India authorities declare war on Kashmiris mirwaiz
Burning Of the Quraan Not an Isolated Event
By Anver Suliman – Executive Member, Media Review Network
The Media Review Network takes note that although various Governments and high profile politicians have voiced their opposition to the proposed burning of the Holy Quraan by Pastor Terry Jones, we find the hypocrisy of their utterances more disturbing than Terry Jones’s intentions.
During the various invasions of Muslim countries, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and Beirut, by Israel, America and the NATO countries, Mosques and Muslim homes have been deliberately targeted and bombed. Every mosque and home would have had copies of the Holy Quraan. It has been widely reported that American forces were found desecrating the Holy Quraan during their attack on Iraq. Now to distance themselves from Terry Jones is a pretence and insincerity of the highest order.
It is disillusioning to think that Jones is acting on his own. The banning of Minarets in Sweden, scarves and burkas in France and Belgium and the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) in Denmark as well as the prohibition of charitable funds to Palestine are an indication of the deep and intense hate for Muslims by some western governments. These are coordinated efforts of governments to demonise Islam and to fuel the flames of Islamophobia.
The Media Review Network calls on all Muslims to practise restraint and in the spirit of the Holy Month of Ramadaan, to exercise tolerance, and patience.
“And to be firm and patient, in pain and adversity and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of Truth, the God fearing.” (2:177)