Government has failed: Bangladesh opposition

 

Government has failed: Bangladesh opposition

-DR. ABDUL RUFF COLACHAL

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Bangladesh, formerly known as East Bengal, a district within India, is deeply involved in serious, seemingly never-ending political crisis. Bangladesh has for quite some time been struggling to create a meaningful people’s democracy but unfortunately has not been able to achieve the objective primarily due to infights for supremacy political leaders working for self interests.   People seek better life by voting for a party they prefer. That is only a dream.

 

A Muslim country in South Asia with about 90% of Muslims, Bangladesh is located on the fertile Bengal delta. It is bordered by the Republic of India to its north, west and east, by the Union of Myanmar (Burma) to its south-east and by the Bay of Bengal to its south. It is separated from the Democratic Republic of Nepal and the Kingdom of Bhutan by the narrow Indian Siliguri Corridor. Together with the neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal, it makes up the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. The name Bangladesh means “Country of Bengal” in the official Bengali language. The borders of modern Bangladesh took shape during the Partition of Bengal and British India in 1947, when the region became the eastern wing of the newly formed state of Pakistan. An independent Bangladesh was born in 1971 upon a bloody war of independence from Pakistan which was assisted by India. After its independence, Bangladesh was governed by an Awami League government, with Mujib as the Prime Minister, without holding any elections. In the 1973 parliamentary elections, the Awami League gained an absolute majority. A nationwide famine occurred during 1973 and 1974. On 15 August 1975, Mujib and most of his family members were assassinated by mid-level military officers.

 

The political war of intolerance of the two parties Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Awamy Party (AP) has genuinely harmed the nation’s Islamic  life and equality requirements of the nation. In fact, Bangladesh has been undergoing serous political turmoil because of two major political parties, run by rich ladies, Hasina and Zia respectively, seeking power for personal gains.

The power gambling does not allow peaceful existence of Bangladesh. On 29 August six cabinet ministers and two junior ministers were sworn in as part of the process to form a much-talked-about election-time cabinet to oversee the next general election without opposition BNP and three other parties having representation to parliament. Disapproving the just-formed polls-time cabinet, opposition BNP said they will not participate in the next general election under the reconstituted cabinet terming it ‘a one-party administration of the Awami League-led grand alliance’. It’s nothing but a one-party cabinet of the grand alliance. BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said they want to unequivocally say the opposition will not join the election under such a cabinet.

The BNP leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia, leading a 20-member delegation of the BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance will meet President Abdul Hamid on September 01 evening. Earlier, Khaleda sat at a meeting with the top leaders of her party and alliance at her political office in Gulshan discussed her scheduled meeting with the President and the reconstitution of the cabinet. The BNP leader said they want a free, fair and credible election with the participation of all. But a fair and impartial election is not possible under the current cabinet as it won’t be able to create a level-paying field for all. He also said lopsided polls will not be acceptable to the country’s people and the international community. “This will be considered as stage-managed polls.”  Justifying their ongoing movement, Fakhrul said they together with people will carry out their movement in a peaceful manner to force the government to arrange the next general election under a non-party administration. Fakhrul warned that the country will be pushed towards violence and the future of democracy will be uncertain if the government tries to hold a unilateral election.

Fakhrul alleged the government is trying to create panic among people by filing ‘false’ cases against BNP men, brutally repressing them after placing them on remand and resorting to killings, abductions and enforced disappearances. Claiming that the government has become isolated from people, the BNP leaders aid the government is resorting to repressive acts so that opposition leaders and activists cannot put up any strong resistance against its despotic and anti-people activities. The reconstitution of the cabinet in the name of an all-party administration will not help find a solution to the ongoing political crisis.  Someone is calling it as an all-party administration while some others election-time interim government. BNP thinks it’s nothing but a reconstitution of the old cabinet.  He said the present cabinet cannot be an all-party administration as four parties, including the main opposition BNP, having representation in parliament are absent in it.

The government will not succeed in staying in power for long and abductions, enforced disappearances and political killings were on the rise. I can firmly say the government can no longer use the barrel of the gun to prevent its downfall. It is natural that there will be opposing views and criticisms. But the Hasina government has a tendency to get overexcited. We never get to hear anything good coming out of the prime minister’s lips … she is always talking about murder or killings.” He said  the world will observe International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. We will too,” said the BNP leader. The BNP has already announced a countrywide human chain programme against such disappearances. Taking a dig at the government for its ‘repressive’ acts, BNP alleged that the regime has turned even more desperate as people have started raising their voice against its misrule. “When the country’s people have started becoming vocal against the current regime’s autocratic and brutal repressive acts, it has got more desperate and unnerved.” It strongly protested and condemned the sending of the BNP men to the jail in the case.

The Hasina government intends to establish full control over the judiciary for obstruct its independence and has put the last nail on the coffin of judiciary by moving to empower the parliament to impeach Supreme Court judges. The cabinet on August 8 approved the proposal for amendment of constitution to pave the  way for restoring the parliament’s authority to impeach the Supreme Court judges for misconduct or incapacity. If judges are accused of misconduct, how could the incumbent parliament can impeach them?

Dhaka city unit convener Mirza Abbas said there will be no escape route for the current government when people will take to the streets to realise their demand for holding a fresh election under a non-party administration. He said the country’s people now want the government to go. “Quit power as per people’s demand. Our movement is on and it’ll continue unless our demand is met.” Defending BNP senior vice chairman Tarique Rahman’s comments in London that Awami League is a party of black sheep and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s killers are now in Sheikh Hasina’s cabinet, Abbas said Tarique divulged the facts from documents. He alleged that the ruling party leaders and ministers are attacking BNP senior vice chairman with false and fabricated information.  The former minister claimed that the government has hurriedly taken some moves like formation of the broadcast policy and empowering parliament to impeach judges.

 

UN officials in Dhaka said secretary general Ban Ki-moon would send a “political mission” to Dhaka on December 6 in an effort to bridge the gaps between the two parties after Western nations and neighbouring countries like India and China engaged their efforts for an amicable settlement of the deadlock. According to one estimate, political violence since January this year has killed 348 people in Bangladesh.

The dynasty rule has negatively impacted upon the political process of the nation. Mrs Sheikh Hasina (President Mujibur Rahman’s daughter) and  Khaelda Zia, wife of former premier.  Both have been at perpetual war seeking to gain power in order mainly to target the other, rather than helping the people- especially the poor solve their day to day life problems. The crude rivalry between the jail returned leaders Mrs Sheikh Hasina and Mrs. Khaelda Zia has vitiated the political and social atmosphere of the nation. Whenever an election day nears, the situation in Bangladesh becomes increasingly volatile.

 

A founding member of SAARC, Bangladesh continues to face a number of major political and social challenges, including endemic bureaucratic and political corruption, widespread poverty, political instability, overpopulation and vulnerability to global climate change. Bangladesh-India relations have gone through several hiccups in the last forty years. A major source of tension is water-sharing on 56 common rivers, as well as border security and barriers to trade and investments. Also, both countries have accused each other of harboring insurgent groups.

 

The country endured decades of poverty, famine, political turmoil and numerous military coups. Since the restoration of democracy in 1991, the country has experienced relative calm and economic progress, though the country’s main political parties remain polarized. With a population of more than 160 million people in a territory of 56,977 sq mi, Bangladesh is the world’s eighth most populous country, as well as one of the world’s most densely populated countries.

 

The political landscape in the South Asian Nation appears to be shaped by the seemingly irreconcilable enmity between Hasina and Zia, who have been voted alternatively to power for decades.  Regardless of which party is in office, it marginalizes the opposition, which, in turn, tries to use all the tools at its disposal to assert itself against the government. Through mass demonstrations, violent clashes and general strikes, opposition parties have made clear their anger at the government’s plans. “The opposition wants to flex their muscles and that is the political culture Bangladesh. However, they can’t do that in parliament, so the only place they can do it is on the streets.

Political struggle for power is a permanent  in Bangladesh since each of them considers  themselves as the  fittest ruler. Sheikh Hasina has repeatedly stated that the law requiring the establishment of such a government before elections was scrapped, as it had enabled the military to intervene and take over power.

Top legal experts said the major parties must reach a consensus immediately as the independent statutory body was obligated to stage the polls by January 24, 2014 under a constitution deadline giving the commission scopes for deferring the election date by few days only.

Like Pakistan, military’s lead role or government is common in Bangladesh.  Lieutenant General Ziaur Rahman, took over the presidency in 1977 as Justice Sayem resigned. President Zia reinstated multi-party politics, introduced free markets, and founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Zia’s rule ended when he was assassinated by elements of the military in 1981

 

In extension of its anti-Pakistan policy, Bangladesh has been targeting even Islam to gain profits from the anti-Islamic world of nations, both neighbors sand  far off nations. The seeds were sown under the premier Mrs Sheikh Hasina, wife of former military general  and first president of newly established nation and ruling Awami Party,  Mujib Rahman.

Image of Bangladesh has been at a low ebb as the nation is y to project its real goal and genuine leaders with Islamic thoughts for human development are yet to  enter politics.

Unpopularity of the  Hasina regime is evident from the antipathy  and opposition from the  people towards the government. . The disengagement of the populations for the government  is growing steadily. The Hasina government, which was elected in late 2008 by a large majority, has now lost much of its support among voters ho feel the improved economy of the country has no relevance for the people- the  beneficiaries are the  big business communities and  the rich.  The number of Bangladeshis who perceive the country to be on the right track has fallen from 70 percent four years ago to around 40 percent now.

Bangladesh in South Asia is one among the developing Muslim nations seeking to  be in the good books of world powers like USA and EU, among other such terrocracies,  by targeting Muslims indoors and employing tactics that amount to anti-Islamism as the key tool of  regime policy. The USA is a major development partner of Bangladesh, providing over six billion dollars in aid since 1972. American companies are the largest foreign investors in the country, and the US is also the largest market for Bangladeshi exports.

In order to gain popularity among non-Muslims and anti-Islamic sections of the country, the regime  was seen engaged in  focusing on war if independence and  targeting her  political opponents. The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), set up by Hasina at the request of a majority of the population to investigate and mete out justice for the atrocities committed during the 1971 war of independence against Pakistan, has led to serious social upheaval. The verdicts being delivered by the court have led to violent protests and a polarization of society along religious lines. Obviously, the bad time of madam Hasina has turned good fortunes for her rival madam Zia who is viewed today as a better leader than the former.

Madams Hasina and Zia have been jailed for rampant corruption and  other forms of crimes. While Hasina seems to have backing for India, USA and even Saudi Arabia ( where she had been  on “holy” voyage after  jail term ) , Madam Zia does not  have such overt foreign support.

Last October, Bangladesh’s largest opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), called for a nationwide general strike which lasted for weeks and turned violent in some parts of the country. All over the country, BNP supporters took to the streets, torched dozens of cars and clashed with police forces. More than 20 people were killed. On November 9, three BNP leaders were taken into custody on allegations of instigating violence.

The BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance is demanding installation of a “non-party” government for election oversight with an “acceptable person” as its head. The ruling Awami League rejected the demand calling it “unconstitutional” while Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked the opposition to join the poll-time all-party cabinet.The opposition considers the current administration to be “illegal” and demands for the poll to be prepared by a non-partisan caretaker government. The BNP is now ahead in many of the constituencies that the ruling party won in the last elections, according to the latest polls.

The ruling party is now waiting to see how much strength, how much muscle power the BNP still has. If they are really capable of paralyzing public life in Bangladesh and generating all this violence, then the AL will be willing to reach a compromise.

Political commentators say  PM Hasina might then risk the possibility of a military intervention. Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy, and the country has been alternately ruled by Hasina and Zia since 1991. But the issue of peaceful transfers of power has remained a major challenge. An agreement between the government and the opposition on how to set up a transitional government would be an important first step towards establishing such a political culture

 

An agreement between the government and the opposition on how to set up a transitional government would be an important first step towards establishing such a political culture. Hopes are pinned on  the opposition to reach a compromise in the end with the government for a caretaker government. . But in order to achieve this it is crucial that the key issue regarding who should preside over this government is resolved by mutual agreement.

 

Who will tie the bell and when?

 

 

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Why did Israel not disarm Hamas?

 

Why did Israel not disarm Hamas?
-Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal
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At the outset, one can hypothise three reasons for Israel’s ultimate decision not to push ahead with its stated objective of disarming the Hamas which it could have easily achieved had it pursued: one, the European nations that extend aid in plenty and now supports Israeli action would turn against Israel if Gaza strip is totally devastated for disarming the Hamas; two, Israel, as perhaps Arab nations asked, wanted to give Hamas to claim victory. Mossad-CIA duo know too well that entire Islamic world is very much disturbed and annoyed with Zionist crimes in Gaza strip for years now and a victory for Hamas would also give them a chance to breathe freely; three, if all Palestine people are killed whom will Israel and its Mossad would use as a serious existential threat to Jews and Israel so as to prompt USA and Europe to ship terror goods and aid to Tel Aviv as their duty to promote Zionist interests? And, disappearance of Palestinians as a race and, consequently, emergence of Israel as the strong Jewish state would eventually lead to the historic Jewish-Christian conflict as had been happening in the pre-Islamic era but now would make Israel extinguish itself and disappear from the world map altogether.
So Israel plays safe.
Hamas as well as Fatah Abbas should know all these but pretend to be ignorant and that suits USA and Israel.
Emergence of Islam as the final religion of God did bring all enemies of Islam, especially Jews and Christians come together to sling mud on Muslims. This trend is being revisited in recent times even before the Sept-11 hoax in USA, secretly perpetrated by USA and Israel by keeping the Arab nations under their control.
In fact, Israel has gained more than what it sought by this short war. It destroyed many secret tunnel used by Hamas government to get the daily requirements from outside world. Though Hamas leadership did not show any urgency or panic situation out of their false self prestige though they live like slaves, people in Gaza got panicky and many began starving without enough food. Israeli military could kill over 2000 Palestinians, including children as usual, and thousands injured just for sadistic pleasure and for fun and force thousands to flee. This is the cruel aspect of Zionist illegal war on the pretext of toy missiles fired from Gaza.
Israel had expected Iran to enter war with Israel in support of Hamas by firing missiles into Israel but that did not happen but to the contrary, Iran is reportedly working with Israel over the issue of ISIS. Israel has gained here too when Islamic world remains divided.
Even after the crudest ever targeted Israeli military attacks in Palestine, killing so many civilians, including children and others and weakening Gaza Strip the worst possible manner, the ruling Hamas government said Israeli fanatic Benjamin Netanyahu has only achieved a failure in his large-scale offensive that has been waged in the Gaza Strip since July 8. Needless to say these thoughtless statements by Hamas smack of stupidity and only offer Israel legitimacy for the crimes now, in the past and also future crimes. Not just that such blatant lies meant to claim “victory” against Israeli crimes, invite Israeli military to continue its genocide spree and denies the PA-PLO the right to approach the criminal courts against Zionist criminal regime.
Israel does not admit it is responsible for the coming consequences as well. Israeli laws do name Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders as criminals. US backing does not allow Israel to behave properly with international law while dealing with besieged Palestinians. In fact, Israeli fascist regime never considered the need to remove the terror blockades, let alone granting freedom to Palestine but opposed all efforts of international community to make a Palestine state through UN..
The most disastrous consequence of world War- II was the strategic creation of Israel, an exclusive nation for criminal Jews operating all over the world, engaged in terror activities to terrorize the Europeans. USA and Europe had a plan to do so even during the World War II but could not execute it as per the Balfour Declaration of 1917 promising a home country in Palestine for Jews. The executed the operation after the Second World War when circumstances were conducive. As the chief winner of WW-II, the USA pushed through the UN General Assembly Resolution 181 carving a country out of Palestine without taking Palestinians’ opinion into account. This gave life to British mandate of Palestine. The whole idea of creating Israel in Mideast was to keep the criminal Jews and Arabs in perpetual war.
Israeli attacks on Gaza are aimed at breaking the resistance of the Palestinian people to the Israeli occupation and Israel has to some extent succeeded in doing that, though the Hamas leadership refuses to accept the defeat and reduction in Palestine population.
But the statement of Hamas leadership that Israel has failed only betrays the high level frustration by the besieged Palestinians in Gaza strip ruled by Hamas party.
The Israeli bombardment of the densely populated Palestinian enclave resumed last Friday after the previous truce expired with no agreement in talks over an end to the month-long war. At least seven Palestinians died on Sunday, bringing the total death toll to at least 1,921, most of them civilians.
Hamas, the ruling party in the Gaza Strip, is calling for an end to the crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the territory. Hamas representatives are also demanding the right to establish an international airport and harbour, in order to end Gaza’s dependence on border crossings controlled by Israel and Egypt.

Israel and Egypt have rejected any immediate, significant easing of border restrictions on people and goods, but suggested that the blockade could be partially lifted if the border crossings were policed by the Palestinian Authority headed by Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas. Both countries are seeking to marginalize Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, when relations with Fatah broke down.

The blockade has had a devastating impact on the Gazan economy, particularly after the Egyptian military ousted President Mohammad Morsi in last year’s coup and suppressed his Muslim Brotherhood-led government. The Cairo junta, which is hostile to the Islamist Hamas, sealed the Gaza-Egypt border and destroyed an estimated 95 percent of cross-border tunnels into Egypt.
A month of relentless Israeli attacks by air, land and sea has vastly compounded the hardships confronting the Palestinian population of 1.8 million. Israeli strikes destroyed Gaza’s only power station on July 29. Pumping stations, power lines and water pipes have all been badly damaged. Ten of the 26 hospitals, or 40 percent of the hospital beds in Gaza, have been shut. An estimated 10,000 homes have been destroyed and more than 200,000 people are still in UN-run shelters, with many more staying with friends and relatives.
Exports have collapsed to an estimated 2 percent of the pre-2007 level. According to a Gazan business association, the economic bans, combined with the destruction of factories in Israeli attacks, has reduced the number of manufacturing businesses from 2,400 to 400 over the past eight years. Unemployment is estimated at up to 50 percent. Unable to pay some 40,000 government workers in Gaza, Hamas cut a deal with Abbas to form a unity government in April in a bid to alleviate the financial crisis.
Cut off by Egypt in the south, Israel on the east and north, and the Israeli navy by sea, the Gaza Strip was transformed into a ghetto dependent on limited humanitarian supplies and with no means for Palestinians to leave.
Israel has blocked the entry of basic essentials and building materials such as cement into the Gaza Strip. Israel has flatly rejected Hamas’s demand to be permitted to build a seaport and international airport in Gaza, and to establish secure land links to the West Bank. The extreme right-wing leader of illegal settler Jews and Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, reportedly pushed for a complete Israeli military takeover of the Gaza Strip and the destruction of Hamas. This hawkish Zionist always advocated destruction of Palestine territories.
Israel claims it has destroyed the secret tunnels in Gaza strip for bringing essentials without Israeli permission promoting trade and attacked mosques, schools, UN buildings, refuge tents, killing innocent Palestinians but did not attack the coastal enclave in Gaza from where militants kept firing toy rockets into waste lands.
Having further weakened Hamas, Israel seeks the marginalization of Hamas and recognition of the Palestinian Authority as the sovereign ruler over the Gaza Strip. Israel undoubtedly demands a greater role in Gaza for the Palestinian Authority in suppressing resistance to Israel, as the Palestinian Authority has already done in the West Bank.
Maybe, Hamas leadership is under perpetual illusion about failure. There is no other valid reason for calling Israeli genocides in Gaza a failure in Gaza.
Maybe, the Hamas leaders wonder how Israel with the enormous terror capacity it possesses could not erase entire Gaza strip down. Since Israeli military could not kill every Palestinian, and Gaza strip has still got many Palestinians living, perhaps Hamas considers Israel a failure in Gaza.
Or, Hamas leaders are simply crazy or lost their thinking capacity or somewhat petrified outlook because of heavy Zionist tortures and criminal operations like shelling. Who knows?
Hamas would do better if Hamas stops making illogical and irresponsible statements to show that it is very strong and formidable that harms the freedom movement further. They should remember that the anti-Islamic media, especially in the West, like BBC, CN, VOA, etc just use such false and self-boasting statements to shield the Zionist criminal state and support Israeli fascism.
Will the UNSC come up with some credible solution to help the besieged Palestinians? Will the UN General Assembly approach the international criminal and justice courts on behalf of the Palestinians and punish the Israeli criminal regime?
Meanwhile, the Palestinians can continue to feel proud of their continued existence, proud that they won the Israeli terror war by huge human and material losses. In doing so, the Hamas is inviting the blood thirsty criminal Jews to attack them with more lethal weapons supplied from USA. Abbas and Hamas can keep the Palestinians under their duress as long as it is possible.

Palestinians are being terrorized by both Israel-Egypt terror twins and Fatah-Hamas Palestine leaderships. Hamas with its toy missile games can get more Palestinians killed.
___________________________
*د. عبد راف *

(Humanity has a right to know the truth which does not require
endorsements) Unfortunately, today there is not even one Muslim nation
today practicing truly Islamic faith and life.
(Account: No 62310377429* -* CIF No:
78215311481- State Bank of Hyderabad, India) Phone: 91-8129081217

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Russia meets Ukraine amid standoff!

Russia meets Ukraine amid standoff!
-Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal
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After all there were together fighting the enemy of socialism during the cold war and have some basic understating about their problems and the can find solutions. Russia and Ukraine were part of Russia for centuries and separated as the mighty Soviet state crumpled and dissolved into 15 independent republics.
 
Splitting the Soviet Union had been one of the major agenda of US led NATO>and they did succeed in making the Soviet system crimple.

Conflict

The post-Crimea military tension in Ukraine shows no signs of abating. The United Nations Human Rights Committee concluded that separatists and Ukrainian forces have both committed an array of abuses. According to the findings the rebels have engaged in murder, torture and abductions that were “disproportionately targeting civilians”. They receive a steady supply of sophisticated weapons and ammunition from Russia. Violations by the Ukrainian military and Interior Ministry special battalions include “arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and torture. Most of the fighting, which has cost at least 2,000 lives, has been concentrated in Ukraine’s industrialized Donbass region and the key rebel strongholds of Donetsk and Luhansk, which separatists have declared as independent states.  

The fighting in eastern Ukraine began in mid-April, a month after Russia annexed Crimea. It has killed over 2,000 people and forced over 340,000 to flee, according to the U.N. Russian Defense Ministry as saying the soldiers were patrolling the border and probably crossed the border inadvertently. Russia reportedly has tens of thousands of troops positioned in areas near the Ukrainian border, leading to persistent concerns that Moscow could be preparing an invasion.

Putin has so far ignored requests from the rebels to be annexed by Russia — unlike in March, when he annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. But Associated Press journalists on the border have seen the rebels with a wide range of unmarked military equipment — including tanks, Buk missile launchers and armored personnel carriers — and have run into many Russians among the rebel fighters. It was the second straight day that attacks were reported in the vicinity of Novoazovsk, which is in eastern Ukraine’s separatist Donetsk region but previously had seen little fighting. Novoazovsk lies on the Azov Sea on the road that runs from Russia to the major Ukrainian port of Mariupol and west to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia.

Now after the war conflict in east Ukraine, when the leaders of Russian Ukraine met an impression was  created that  they want to sort out differences. Even as tensions have ramped up after Russia for the first time admitted that its troops had crossed onto Ukrainian soil after Kiev released footage purporting to show 10 Russian soldiers captured on its territory, the presidents of Russia and Ukraine (Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko) shook hands ahead of key talks in Minsk on 26 August, though with little hope for a breakthrough to end the raging conflict pitting Kiev against pro-Moscow separatist rebels..
The soldiers from a Russian paratrooper division were captured around Amvrosiivka, a town near the Russian border. Towering columns of smoke rose Tuesday from outside a city in Ukraine’s far southeast after what residents said was a heavy artillery barrage. Ukraine accused separatists and their Russian backers of trying to expand the conflict. It was the second straight day that attacks were reported in the vicinity of Novoazovsk, which is in eastern Ukraine’s separatist Donetsk region but previously had seen little fighting.

Ukraine’s forces accused Russian troops of trying to open a “new front” after an armoured convoy crossed onto government-held territory Monday in the south of Donetsk region. Ukrainian officials said artillery was fired from the Russian side of the border. A Ukrainian soldier who declined to give his name suggested that the shelling could have come from rebels aiming to take out a Ukrainian rocket launcher. In Kiev, Col. Andriy Lysenko blamed the shelling on “Russian mercenaries.” Novoazovsk lies on the Azov Sea on the road that runs from Russia to the major Ukrainian port of Mariupol. That same road goes west to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia in March.

Ukraine also accused Russian army helicopters of launching a ferocious missile attack on a Ukrainian border position further to the north, killing four border guards and bringing the death toll to 12 soldiers in the past 24 hours. Local authorities in the main rebel bastion of Donetsk said three civilians were killed in shelling overnight as the army pummels insurgent fighters.
The rebels previously announced the launch of a counter-offensive after losing swathes of territory to a push by government forces. Officials from the EU and Russian-led Customs Union were set to discuss the crisis and trade issues after Ukraine’s new pro-Western leaders signed a landmark deal with the European Union in June that riled Russia.
Russia unilaterally sent about 230 lorries carrying what it claimed was 1,800 tonnes of humanitarian aid to the rebel-held city of Lugansk on Friday after accusing Kiev of intentionally delaying the mission. Kiev condemned the move as a “direct invasion”. Some 400,000 people have fled their homes since April in fighting that has left residents in some besieged rebel-held cities without water or power for weeks.
Ukraine said a small column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles crossed into Ukraine north of Novoazovsk, raising the possibility that pro-Russia separatists were aiming to take control of a strip of land that would link up Russia with Crimea. “Russia is trying from its side to open a new front. The new columns of Russian tanks and armor crossing into Ukraine indicates a Russian-directed counteroffensive may be underway,” U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt said there were enough forces and equipment in Mariupol to defend the city of more than 450,000. An AP reporter saw excavators digging deep trenches on the eastern edge of the city.
Ukrainian media aired footage purporting to show captured Russian soldiers confessing to crossing into Ukraine in armoured convoys.  Kiev has long accused Moscow of stoking the separatist insurgency raging in its east — charges the Kremlin has repeatedly denied — but this is the first time it has claimed to have captured Russian soldiers on Ukrainian soil.”Officially, they are at exercises in various corners of Russia. In reality, they are participating in military aggression against Ukraine”, Defence Minister Valeriy Geletey said  A Russian defence ministry source on Tuesday said the captured soldiers had crossed into Ukraine accidentally. The soldiers had been “taking part in patrolling a section of the Russian-Ukrainian border. They crossed it most likely by accident, on an unequipped, unmarked section”.

Meeting

The presidents of Russia and Ukraine met face-to-face on 26th August for the first time since June to talk about the fighting that has engulfed Ukraine’s separatist east. From their opening remarks, it appeared unlikely that Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko would find common ground. Meanwhile, a Moscow military source claimed they had crossed into Ukraine “by accident”. Pressure soared after Kiev’s security service said that paratroopers from Russia’s 98th airborne division had been captured by Ukrainian forces about 50 kilometres (30 miles) southeast of the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk.
The two leaders sat on opposite sides of a large round table and were joined by the presidents of Belarus and Kazakhstan and three senior officials from the European Union. Contrary to some expectations, they did not meet one-on-one ahead of the talks. They did stage a handshake for the cameras.
The presidents of Russia and Ukraine who arrived to attend a conference in the Belarusian capital about the development of the Eurasian Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, representatives of the European Commission and the Russian Federation, met face-to-face for the first time since June on the fighting that has engulfed Ukraine’s separatist east. They were joined by the presidents of Belarus and Kazakhstan and three senior officials from the European Union in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.
The meeting came as Ukraine said its forces had captured 10 Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine and the shelling spread to a new front in the far southeast. Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of supporting and arming the rebels, which Russia denies daily. “The fate of peace and the fate of Europe are being decided in Minsk today,” Poroshenko said as the talks began.
The leaders spent two hours discussing bilateral concerns after a regional economic summit in Minsk, Belarus, in which Putin said there is no military solution to the crisis in Ukraine. It was their first formal meeting since a chilly encounter in June during D-Day commemorations in Normandy, France.  Poroshenko said in a statement afterward that a “road map” for a possible cease-fire in eastern Ukraine would be prepared as soon as possible. He and Putin agreed to begin consultations about border guards.
The meeting in the Belarusian capital of Minsk came as Ukraine said it had captured 10 Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine and shelling spread to a new front in the country’s southeast. Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of supporting and arming the pro-Russian rebels fighting government troops, which Russia always denies. “The fate of peace and the fate of Europe are being decided in Minsk today,” Poroshenko, a billionaire chocolate magnate, said as the talks began, his manner unusually restrained. Poroshenko told the gathering in Minsk that “the fate of the world and Europe” is being decided there. 10 soldiers from a Russian paratrooper division were captured Monday in the area of Amvrosiivka, near the Russian border in the Donetsk region. Russian Defense Ministry said that the servicemen were patrolling the Russian-Ukrainian border area and probably crossed the border by accident. Ukraine rejected any claims of an accident.
Putin devoted most of his opening remarks to trade, arguing that Ukraine’s decision to sign an association agreement with the 28-nation EU would lead to huge losses for Russia, which would then be forced to protect its economy. Russia had been counting on Ukraine joining a rival economic union it is forming with Belarus and Kazakhstan. Ukraine is set to ratify the EU association agreement in September. On the fighting, Putin said he was certain the conflict “could not be solved by further escalation of the military scenario without taking into account the vital interests of the southeast of the country and without a peaceful dialogue of its representatives.”

Poroshenko said the purpose of his visit was to start searching for a political compromise and promised that the interests of Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine would be taken into account. Ukraine wants the rebels to hand back the territory they have captured in eastern Ukraine, while Putin wants to retain some sort of leverage over the mostly Russian-speaking region so Ukraine does not join NATO or the European Union.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko urged both sides to “discard political ambitions and not to seek political dividend.”

No compromise
The refusal by Kiev’s former president Viktor Yanukovych to ink the EU deal last year in favour of Moscow’s economic bloc sparked the protests that eventually led to his ouster and sparked a chain of events that saw Russia annex Ukraine’s Crimea region and sparked the pro-Moscow insurgency.

On the ground there appeared no end in sight to the four months of conflict that has already claimed some 2,200 lives and has plunged relations between Russia and the West to levels not seen since the end of the Cold War in 1991.

Ukraine wants the rebels to hand back the territory they have captured in eastern Ukraine, while Putin wants to retain some sort of leverage over the mostly Russian-speaking region so Ukraine does not join NATO or the European Union.

Petro Poroshenko and Vladimir Putin met in Belarus with top EU officials and the leaders of Kazakhstan and Belarus in a bid to defuse the conflict some fear could trigger all-out war between Kiev and its former Soviet master Moscow. Poroshenko told Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that “peace is the priority” ahead of the group meeting.  
Putin called their discussions “positive” and said Russia would do everything it could to help achieve peace between Kiev and pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine. He said a cease-fire was never discussed with Poroshenko. Putin devoted most of his opening remarks to trade, arguing that Ukraine’s decision to sign an association agreement with the EU would lead to huge losses for Russia, which would then be forced to protect its economy.  

Putin has so far ignored requests from the rebels to be annexed by Russia — unlike in March, when he annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. But the rebels are seen with a wide range of unmarked military equipment — including tanks, Buk missile launchers and armored personnel carriers — and have run into many Russians among the rebel fighters.

Russia had been counting on Ukraine joining a rival economic union that it is forming with Belarus and Kazakhstan. Ukraine is set to ratify the EU association agreement in September. On the fighting, Putin said he was certain the conflict could not be solved by further escalation of the military scenario without taking into account the vital interests of the southeast of the country and without a peaceful dialogue of its representatives.

Ukraine said a small column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles crossed into Ukraine north of Novoazovsk, raising the possibility that pro-Russia separatists were aiming to take control of a strip of land that would link up Russia with Crimea. Ukraine accused the separatists and Russia of trying to expand the conflict. Towering columns of smoke rose from outside a city in Ukraine’s far southeast after what residents said was a heavy artillery barrage.

Poroshenko would be unlikely to agree to Russia’s frequent call for federalization — devolving wide powers to the regions from the central government — but could agree to allow them to have some expanded powers. He also has spoken against holding a referendum on Ukraine’s joining NATO; Russia’s desire to keep Ukraine out of the military alliance is seen as one of Moscow’s key concerns.

Moscow also said it seeks a negotiated settlement and not a military victory. Poroshenko would be unlikely to agree to Russia’s frequent call for Ukraine to federalize — devolving wide powers to the regions from the central government in Kiev — but could agree to give the regions some expanded powers. Poroshenko also has spoken against holding a referendum on Ukraine’s joining NATO.

 Meanwhile, Washington claims Russian-directed counteroffensive may be underway and Russia is trying from its side to open a new front. Russia reportedly has tens of thousands of troops positioned in areas near the Ukrainian border, leading to persistent concerns that Moscow could be preparing an invasion. Ukrainian officials said artillery in the region was fired from the Russian side of the border. Later in the day, reporters saw Ukrainian troops and equipment moving on the road west of Novoazovsk, and heard the rumbling of what sounded like artillery fire in the distance.
As Ukraine’s political transition continues, Poroshenko announced long-awaited early parliamentary elections for October 26. The Kremlin also ratcheted up the pressure by announcing plans to send another aid convoy into eastern Ukraine “this week”.

Of course, there wasn’t any peace talk between Putin and Poroshenko and hence real peace in Ukraine is far away. .

_____________________

Global Warming and Scientific Warning

Global Warming and Scientific Warning
-DR. ABDUL RUFF COLACHAL
____________

If the world powers are bent upon destroying the world and all living beings along with it, it seems, nothing can stop them. They can achieve the devastating objective but would not be existing to recount the tragedies impact on them.

Global emissions have caused serious damage to the natural climatic order and, if no preventive measures are undertaken timely, could cause the consequent disappearance of many island nations, like Maldives and Sri Lanka. .

The global terror wars launched by USA-NATO and Israel only hasten the  disaster process on humanity.

United Nations has been working on the  subject without much success  owing mainly to objections from the world’s top  polluter states, like USA and China along side the  advanced economies that  pollute the atmosphere to an outrageous position.

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) synthesis report on the global scientific community’s assessment of human-caused global warming offers the starkest and most strongly-worded warning yet of the dangers ahead for the earth and humanity.

Aspects of future climate shifts are probably already irreversible but, however, Climate change will be significantly more dangerous, deadly, and expensive if nothing is done to correct humanity’s course

Climate change is the most important environmental threat at par with nuclear weapons. Climate change is real and around us. The IPCC assessment seeks to tie together previous reports the panel has released over the last year and offers a stark assessment of the perilous future the planet and humanity face due to global warming and climate change.

 The world’s leading scientists have reached a clear and overwhelming consensus that the failure to adequately acknowledge and act on previous warnings has put the planet on a path where “severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts” of human-caused climate change will surely be felt in the decades to come. Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann wrote: “The report tells us once again what we know with a greater degree of certainty: that climate change is real, it is caused by us, and it is already causing substantial damage to us and our environment. If there is one take home point of this report it is this: We have to act now.”

Using blunter, more forceful language than the reports that underpin it, the new draft highlights the urgency of the risks that are likely to be intensified by continued emissions of heat-trapping gases, primarily carbon dioxide released by the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas.

It cited rising political efforts around the world on climate change, including efforts to limit emissions as well as to adapt to changes that have become inevitable. But the report found that these efforts were being overwhelmed by construction of facilities like new coal-burning power plants that will lock in high emissions for decades.

From 1970 to 2000, global emissions of greenhouse gases grew at 1.3 percent a year. But from 2000 to 2010, that rate jumped to 2.2 percent a year, the report found, and the pace seems to be accelerating further in this decade.

Continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and long-lasting changes in all components of the climate system, increasing the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems The IPCC draft paints a harsh warning of what’s causing global warming and what it will do to humans and the environment. It also describes what can be done about it.

The IPCC report  is designed to integrate the findings of the three working group contributions to the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report and two special reports” and provide policymakers with a scientific foundation to tackle the challenge of climate change. Taken together, the IPCC reports and their recommendations are designed to help governments and other stakeholders work together at various levels, including a new international agreement to limit climate change.

It mentions extreme weather and rising sea levels, such as heat waves, flooding and droughts. It even raises, as an earlier report did, the idea that climate change will worsen violent conflicts and refugee problems and could hinder efforts to grow more food. And ocean acidification, which comes from the added carbon absorbed by oceans, will harm marine life, it says.

Without changes in greenhouse gas emissions, “climate change risks are likely to be high or very high by the end of the 21st century

The risk of abrupt and irreversible change increases as the magnitude of the warming increases. The draft includes not new information per se, but employs stronger language and contains a more urgent warning than the previous reports from the IPCC which it attempts to synthesize and summarize.

The report found that companies and governments had identified reserves of these fuels at least four times larger than could safely be burned if global warming is to be kept to a tolerable level. That means if society wants to limit the risks to future generations, it must find the discipline to leave a vast majority of these valuable fuels in the ground

The final report, rather final warning will be issued after governments and scientists go over the draft line by line in an October conference in Copenhagen late October. In September, the United Nations is hosting its next international climate summit in New York City and climate campaigners are hoping to capitalize on the meeting by planning what they are calling the “People’s Climate March” during the same week as a way to apply pressure on world governments to finally act on the issue.

Politicians have come together too many times with nothing more than rhetoric and empty promises in tow. Next month, thousands of true leaders will be marching on the streets of New York demanding real action. The question is, will our elected leaders follow.

The IPCC draft report should serve to galvanize and add weight to the climate justice movement, which has consistently demanded that world leaders respond to the crisis with action—not words.

Save climate!
Save world!
Save humanity!

Indian state of Kerala bans alcohol

Indian state of Kerala bans alcohol
-DR. ABDUL RUFF COLACHAL
___________________________

 

Liquor state?

 

Needless to say that smoking and drinking liquor are harmful to humans. Drinking alcohol can make human minds petrified and go rust. However, more and more people are getting addicted to these anti-societal habits. This is a major problem India is facing today.

People in the southern state of Kerala are the heaviest drinkers in India, and sales of alcohol are rising fast. Keralites start smoking and drinking local and foreign liquors right from their school days as part of their regular life. Foreign liquor adds to their family status.

While nukes are the status symbol of regimes, liquor has become the status symbol of common people as well. Malayalees especially who thrive on gulf money are the best examples.

Kerala is India’s tippler country. It has the highest per capita consumption – over eight litres per person a year – in the nation, overtaking traditionally hard-drinking states like Punjab and Haryana. Also, in a strange twist of taste, rum and brandy are the preferred drink in Kerala in a country where whisky outsells every other liquor.

Alcohol helps in giving Kerala’s economy a good high – shockingly, about 40% of revenues for its annual budget come from booze. Similarly, revenues from alcohol to the state’s exchequer have registered a whopping 100% rise over the past four years. The monopoly is so professionally run that consumers can even send text messages from their phones to a helpline number to record their grievances. Muslims join others in contributing to the state revenues  by buying liquor.

A state-run monopoly, curiously-named Kerala State Beverages Corporation (KSBC), sells alcohol. It runs 337 liquor shops, open seven days a week. Each shop caters on average to an astonishing 80,000 clients. This fiscal year thealso  KSBC is expected to sell $1bn (£0.6bn) of alcohol in a state of 30 million people, up from $12m when it took over the retail business in 1984. Today, it is a pathetic scene in many places in the towns and capital Thiruvananthapuram as people stand in long queues to buy foreign liquor. The queues are very long if there is holiday the next day.  People who throng the liquor outlets right form early morning till night when the shops are closed are young, middle-aged and old. In fact, it is difficult to use local transport in late evening till night because of menace from liquor commuters as commuters. Hence hardly women travel in local buses after say 7 pm night.

India’s highly literate and biggest consumer of alcohol, Kerala, will be liquor-free in 10 years, after the ruling United Democratic Front coalition led by Congress party called for a total prohibition in the state, phased over 10 percent reduction each year.

 

Liquor Ban

 

It is certain that alcohol still continues as a social danger. This is having an adverse effect.

Of late, there has been  strong  urge from Kerala Congress party chief Sudheeran to  impose total ban on liquor in Kerala where people simply cannot live without taking to bottle culture as part of their daily life. His move is obviously opposed by liquor lobbies even from his own Congress party. Under the strong liquor lobby influence, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy began supporting the lobbies that created a conflict within Congress-led ruling UDF government but eventually Susheeran won the battle for the people who want to make the state liquor free. .

In a swift action, a day after Congress-led ruling UDF led by Oommen Chandy on 22 August recommended shutting down over 700 liquor bars attached to hotels below the five-star categories, the Kerala Government on Friday approved the new liquor policy and also imposed a five per cent cess on liquor. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the Cabinet would formally ratify the decision in its next meeting. The five per cent cess on liquor sold through Beverages Corporation outlets would be used to set up a Fund for rehabilitation of employees who lose jobs due to closing down of the bars and for creating awareness against liquor among the people, Chandy said.

Chandy said the Congress-led government planned to make Kerala “liquor free” with a series of proposed measures in the coming months. A total of 418 bars already remained closed, and the other 312 bars also would be closed this financial year, he said. Stating that the new liquor policy was a final phase to achieve UDF’s goal of taking the state to total prohibition in ten years, he said government had received legal advice that the now functioning 312 bars also could be closed during the financial year itself after completing certain financial formalities on license fees. 10% of the 338 liquor shops owned by a state-run monopoly will be shut every year.

The congress led UDF government has also decided to phase out the Beverages Corporation (Bevco), which sells liquor in retail stores. The 334 Bevco outlets will be wound up with the closing of 10 percent every year, and they will not be allowed to sell liquor on Sundays and on the 1st of every month.
The loss to the society due to liquor consumption was manifold more than the revenue earned from the liquor sale. State Finance Minister and leader of KC-M, the third largest partner in the UDF, K M Mani put the total revenue loss on various counts due to the new liquor restrictions at Rs.1,813 crores. Mani said even though the new policy resulted in revenue loss to state exchequer, the decision was taken unanimously considering the ‘well-being’ of the society. In coming years, the revenue loss would be much more than this. The government was expected to earn Rs.250 crore on the five per cent cess on liquor for setting up the Fund for rehabilitation of workers in bars and anti-liquor campaign. To close down the now functioning 312 bars, an amount of Rs.39 crore was required to repay their license fees, he said.

That the Kerala government has outlined plans to ban the sale and consumption of alcohol to tackle the state’s drink problem is a bold step. The move to close down bars came as a surprise to the people as there were different opinions among the ruling party leaders on liquor ban.

 

Causes

 

Since Kerala has achieved the reputation as the highest consumer of alcohol with a per capita consumption of 8.3 litre, much higher than the national average of 5.7 litre, Chandy said three reasons had been cited as the major hitches for the successful implementation of the total liquor ban. ‘Revenue to the government from the sale of liquor, effect on tourism industry and flourishing of illicit liquor trade”, he said but added ‘I am not agreeing with the first two points’.

Rising numbers of divorces in Kerala are linked to alcohol abuse. And the majority of road deaths in the state – nearly 4,000 during 2008-2009 – are due to drink driving, he says. Hospitals and rehab centres are packed with patients suffering from alcohol-related diseases.
Drinking liquor is almost a social rite of passage, taken very seriously in Kerala.

But he elaborates other, perhaps more important, reasons – high unemployment, easy access to alcohol and the fact that drinking has become a “part of upwardly mobile living”. Most activists believe that “prohibition” is not the solution – it just drives buyers and sellers underground.

The state government warned that alcohol abuse was becoming a danger to society as it unveiled a plan to ban its sale and consumption within 10 years. It said no new licenses to sell alcohol would be granted, while many of the state’s 720 bars and restaurants would not have their licenses renewed.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said Kerala should get ready to imbibe the essence of a total liquor ban in the state.” From next year only five-star hotels will be granted licenses.

Doctors and activists have highlighted rising alcohol abuse, blaming it for many road accidents and even marital breakdown. They say hospitals and rehabilitation centres are packed with patients suffering from alcohol-related diseases.

Liquor lobbies and businesses are worried that the proposed ban may hit tourism in the state. Kerala is the state which attracts the highest number of tourists in India. One estimate accounts for more than 20-30% of revenues in the state’s annual budget.

 

Policy

 

The liquor ban decision will come into effect from 1 April 2015. Only the 23 five-star hotels in the state will be granted bar licenses, while those of the existing 318 bars in the state will not be renewed from next year.

 
Chandy said new liquor policy was a unanimous decision of the UDF and has the support of all sections in the society. The new liquor policy makes it clear that only five-star hotels will have bars to sell Indian Made Foreign Liquor. Only luxury hotels will be allowed to serve alcohol from next year. The decision, taken by the UDF leadership meeting Presided by Chandy, ended a long-drawn feud in the state unit of the Congress and the coalition as a whole over the question of renewing licenses of 418 bars which were found to be lacking in quality.

On UDF recommendation of phasing out Beverages Corporation outlets, Chandy said ten per cent outlets would be closed down every year to wipe out them in 10 years and this would come to around 39 shops per year. A portion of the revenue of Beverages Corporation, the sole agency for the sale of Indian Made Foreign liquor, would be used for the formation of Kerala Alcohol Education, Research, Rehabilitation and Compensation Fund (KAERCF).

The Kerala government’s recommendation on complete liquor prohibition will be ratified by the state cabinet and will then be conveyed to the Kerala High Court as a policy decision. Interestingly, the Congress-led government’s vision of an alcohol-free state is on the lines of the dry state of Gujarat, which was headed by BJP’s Narendra Modi until he took over as Prime Minister.

Thus, the government’s first step in its prohibition drive is to not allow the licenses of 418 bars, shut since April this year for lack of upgradation, to be renewed.
Arranging awareness campaigns against the use of liquor, to collect data regarding this, giving compensation to those whose lives are shattered due to excessive consumption of alcohol were the aims.

 
The powerful  liquor lobbies quickly field a case in the Kerala High court seeing to squash the state decision to ban liquor but the honorable  court  ejected the requirements of the liquor giants.

Accolades and Concerns

 
The New UDF liquor policy received accolade from different sections in the society. A group of housewives met Chief Minister at his official residence to express their solidarity with the new policy.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president VM Sudheeran, who pushed for the prohibition, seems to have been influenced by the Indian Union Muslim League, a major party in the coalition, and the government may have been under pressure by the Catholic Church. As per reports, Cardinal Baselios Mor Cleemis, the Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, has warned the government that it would lose support if the licences of closed bars were renewed.

Sudheeran, who had stood firmly against renewing licenses to 418 bars, gave full support to the government in its new policy. After the ban on arrack by the then A K Antony Ministry two decades ago, this move has been seen as of a major initiative to make Kerala ‘a total liquor free state.

Not only Kerala has India’s highest annual per-capita alcohol consumption at 8.3 litres, but it is also one of the country’s biggest tourist draws thanks to its palm-fringed white sandy beaches and tranquil rivers lined with paddy fields. Tourism officials said they had not been consulted and warned that exempting five-star hotels would not be enough to save the industry, with many tourists staying in small guesthouses. “By this, we are denying the facility of having beer and wine to tourists in hotels with four-star and below category,” a Confederation of Tourism Industry Kerala official said. “This will affect domestic and international tourist arrivals and send a wrong message about the destination.”

Despite a growing number of people who demand a ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol, there is an equally spirited group of hard-core drinkers who lobby for cheaper and more widely distributed liquor. One of them is well-known actor NL Balakrishnan, a veteran of more than 200 films, who launched a lobby group called Forum for Better Spirit in 1983.

The forum’s manifesto asks the government to provide liquor through the state-subsided public distribution system, boost toddy production, slash prices for elderly drinkers and supply free alcohol to drinkers over 90. The jolly and convivial Balakrishnan, 67, says his father “initiated” him into drinking when he was four. When his father died at the ripe age of 98 after a “lifetime of heavy drinking”, he wet his lips with liquor and not holy water, as is the Hindu custom.

Of course such rhetoric seeking liquor for the public can be harmful and injurious to societal health.

As a result of the ban decision, some say that illicit liquor will increase in the state and there may also be a hooch tragedy because of this. If they won’t get it in Kerala, they will travel to the neighboring Tamil Nadu where the stuff is cheaper and Karnataka and get liquor. Malayalees, who like Kannadigas do not wish to tour outside will be seen on the move in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka more frequently than now, crowing the liquor shops. This would affect the liquor supply outlets there .
Kerala’s ban on liquor all set to push up Karnataka’s revenues. Kerala’s ‘alcohol-free in 10 years’ policy may prove to be a boon especially for Karnataka. Places like Talapady of Mangalore, Sullia, Puttur and a few areas of Madikeri are expecting a huge movement of weekend crowd to the state. Deputy Commissioner (Excise) for Mangalore and Udupi districts, George Pinto, said, “Liquor smuggling into Kerala is surely going to increase if the ban is imposed. Smugglers are going to mint money. We can expect businessmen to open lodges and restaurants in the bordering areas. The only criterion is that there should be no objection with regard to the location as well as in the municipality areas.” The average hard liquor consumption in Dakshina Kannada district is about 2.20 lakh boxes per month and each box contains about nine litres. Belthangady Congress MLA, Vasanth Bangera, also the former president of Dakshina Kannada Wine Merchants Association, said, “If Kerala closes down all the bars in the state, we can expect the business in the bordering areas to go up by at least 25-30 per cent.” Madikeri is also expected to see an increase in the weekend crowd. A former president of the association said there could be a possibility that those units in the city will expand or open more outlets in the border areas. Andhra Pradesh had already experimented with the ban and failed.

With the Karnataka state government increasing its duty on liquor in the recent years, liquor here is expensive when compared with Kerala. Areas bordering Kerala are likely to witness an increase in the demand for liquor by at least 25 per cent.

 

There is a concern that Govt. is making way for more scams, which in-turn benefit the govt. It’s not only the smugglers who make money, even the police are going to make money.  Liquor ban could end up like other state discipline measures. When they catch any smugglers they are going to take a bribe from them and then let them go and in return they help them to continue smuggling and making their commission.

 

Some pro-liquor people say that the solution possibly lies in introducing drinks with mild alcohol content. And since drinking is also a cultural problem, people need to be made aware of the havoc that alcohol can wreak on their lives. Until then alcohol should continue to dominate the lives of many of Kerala’s people – and boost its exchequer’s finances.

House wives are too happy about the state decision to ban liquor. People support this decision and are eager to see that they completely ban liquor; they say it is injurious to health then why do they sell it.

Instead of banning why not close down the entire liquor production this would solve all purposes that are thought over by the govt. for banning liquor.

Liquor lobbies think the ban would be rolled back by Oommen Chandy sooner or later. There is a strong simmering resentment in ruling coalition parties and it seems Sudheeran or former Kerala president of Congress party and now the home minister Ramesh Chennithala could replace Chandy. However there is no open demand for the same. There is a demand for a constituent party KC that their leader Mani be made the CM. Kartikeyan, the speaker of Kerala Assembly, has been in news for some time that he would be the right choice of Congress party to replace Chandy but neither of them spoke any thing to press in this regard. Muslim League the second largest party after the Congress party  in UDF coalition has not openly sought the CM post for their candidate mainly because they don’t want to offer a free lift to RSS-BJP and other Hindutva forces.

The liquor ban would go a long way in strengthening the health of people and society, in making a shining India at large.

Meanwhile, the Modi government could consider passing a useful law to ban liquor at national level.

__________________________

South Indian state of Kerala to ban alcohol

South Indian state of Kerala to ban alcohol
-DR. ABDUL RUFF COLACHAL
___________________________

People in the southern state of Kerala are the heaviest drinkers in India, and sales of alcohol are rising fast. Keralites start drinking local and foreign liquors from their school days. Foreign liquor adds to their family status.
Kerala is India’s tippler country. It has the highest per capita consumption – over eight litres per person a year – in the nation, overtaking traditionally hard-drinking states like Punjab and Haryana. Also, in a strange twist of taste, rum and brandy are the preferred drink in Kerala in a country where whisky outsells every other liquor. Alcohol helps in giving Kerala’s economy a good high – shockingly, more than 40% of revenues for its annual budget come from booze.

A state-run monopoly sells alcohol. The curiously-named Kerala State Beverages Corporation (KSBC) runs 337 liquor shops, open seven days a week. Each shop caters on average to an astonishing 80,000 clients. This fiscal year the KSBC is expected to sell $1bn (£0.6bn) of alcohol in a state of 30 million people, up from $12m when it took over the retail business in 1984.

Similarly, revenues from alcohol to the state’s exchequer have registered a whopping 100% rise over the past four years. The monopoly is so professionally run that consumers can even send text messages from their phones to a helpline number to record their grievances.

Despite a growing number of people who demand a ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol, there is an equally spirited group of hard-core drinkers who lobby for cheaper and more widely distributed liquor. One of them is well-known actor NL Balakrishnan, a veteran of more than 200 films, who launched a lobby group called Forum for Better Spirit in 1983.
The forum’s manifesto asks the government to provide liquor through the state-subsided public distribution system, boost toddy production, slash prices for elderly drinkers and supply free alcohol to drinkers over 90. The jolly and convivial Balakrishnan, 67, says his father “initiated” him into drinking when he was four. When his father died at the ripe age of 98 after a “lifetime of heavy drinking”, he wet his lips with liquor and not holy water, as is the Hindu custom.

Rising numbers of divorces in Kerala are linked to alcohol abuse. And the majority of road deaths in the state – nearly 4,000 during 2008-2009 – are due to drink driving, he says. Hospitals and rehab centres are packed with patients suffering from alcohol-related diseases.
Drinking liquor is almost a social rite of passage, taken very seriously in Kerala.
But he elaborates other, perhaps more important, reasons – high unemployment, easy access to alcohol and the fact that drinking has become a “part of upwardly mobile living”.
Most activists believe that “prohibition” is not the solution – it just drives buyers and sellers underground.
The solution possibly lies in introducing drinks with mild alcohol content. And since drinking is also a cultural problem, people need to be made aware of the havoc that alcohol can wreak on their lives. Until then alcohol will continue to dominate the lives of many of Kerala’s people – and boost its exchequer’s finances.

India’s highly literate and biggest consumer of alcohol, Kerala, will be liquor-free in 10 years, after the ruling United Democratic Front coalition called for a total prohibition in the state, phased over 10 percent reduction each year.
Doctors and activists have highlighted rising alcohol abuse, blaming it for many road accidents and even marital breakdown. They say hospitals and rehabilitation centres are packed with patients suffering from alcohol-related diseases.
One estimate accounts for more than 20% of revenues in the state’s annual budget. Businesses are worried that the proposed ban may hit tourism in the state. Kerala is the state which attracts the highest number of tourists in India.

That the Kerala government has outlined plans to ban the sale and consumption of alcohol to tackle the state’s drink problem and finally approved the move to close down bars cam as a surprise to the people as there were different onions among the ruling party leaders on liquor ban. The decision mainly by the Congress-led government was finalized on 22 August by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, and will come into effect from 1 April 2015. Only the 23 five-star hotels in the state will be granted bar licenses, while those of the existing 318 bars in the state will not be renewed from next year. Chandy said the Congress-led government planned to make Kerala “liquor free” with a series of proposed measures in the coming months:

It is not clear how the government plans to recover lost earnings from alcohol sales.

In a swift action, a day after Congress-led ruling UDF on 22 August recommended shutting down over 700 liquor bars attached to hotels below the five-star categories, the Kerala Government on Friday approved the new liquor policy and also imposed a five per cent cess on liquor. Announcing the decision at a press conference on Friday, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the Cabinet would formally ratify the decision in its next meeting. The five per cent cess on liquor sold through Beverages Corporation outlets would be used to set up a Fund for rehabilitation of employees who lose jobs due to closing down of the bars and for creating awareness against liquor among the people, Chandy said. A total of 418 bars already remained closed, and the other 312 bars also would be closed this financial year, he said. Stating that the new liquor policy was a final phase to achieve UDF’s goal of taking the state to total prohibition in ten years, he said government had received legal advice that the now functioning 312 bars also could be closed during the financial year itself after completing certain financial formalities on license fees. 10% of the 338 liquor shops owned by a state-run monopoly will be shut every year.

The new liquor policy makes it clear that only five-star hotels will have bars to sell Indian Made Foreign Liquor. Only luxury hotels will be allowed to serve alcohol from next year. The decision, taken by the UDF leadership meeting Presided by Chandy, ended a long-drawn feud in the state unit of the Congress and the coalition as a whole over the question of renewing licenses of 418 bars which were found to be lacking in quality.
On UDF recommendation of phasing out Beverages Corporation outlets, Chandy said ten per cent outlets would be closed down every year to wipe out them in 10 years and this would come to around 39 shops per year.
Chandy also said new liquor policy was a unanimous decision of the UDF and has the support of all sections in the society. A portion of the revenue of Beverages Corporation, the sole agency for the sale of Indian Made Foreign liquor, would be used for the formation of Kerala Alcohol Education, Research, Rehabilitation and Compensation Fund (KAERCF).
Arranging awareness campaigns against the use of liquor, to collect data regarding this, giving compensation to those whose lives are shattered due to excessive consumption of alcohol were the aims, he said.
The New UDF liquor policy received accolade from different sections in the society. A group of housewives met Chief Minister at his official residence to express their solidarity with the new policy.
Meanwhile, KPCC President V M Sudheeran, who had stood firmly against renewing licences to 418 bars, gave full support to the government in its new policy. After the ban on arrack by the then A K Antony Ministry two decades ago, this move has been seen as of a major initiative to make Kerala ‘a total liquor free state.
Chandy said three reasons had been cited as the major hitches for the successful implementation of the total liquor ban. ‘Revenue to the government from the sale of liquor, effect on tourism industry and flourishing of illicit liquor trade”, he said but added ‘I am not agreeing with the first two points’.
The loss to the society due to liquor consumption was manifold more than the revenue earned from the liquor sale, he said.
Meanwhile, State Finance Minister K M Mani put the total revenue loss on various counts due to the new liquor restrictions at Rs.1,813 crores. Talking to reporters here, Mani, leader of KC-M, the third largest partner in the UDF, said even though the new policy resulted in revenue loss to state exchequer, the decision was taken unanimously considering the ‘well-being’ of the society. In coming years, the revenue loss would be much more than this, he added. The government was expected to earn Rs.250 crore on the five per cent cess on liquor for setting up the Fund for rehabilitation of workers in bars and anti-liquor campaign. To close down the now functioning 312 bars, an amount of Rs.39 crore was required to repay their license fees, he said.

Kerala had achieved the reputation as the highest consumer of alcohol with a per capita consumption of 8.3 litre, much higher than the national average of 5.7 litre.
The UDF government has also decided to phase out the Beverages Corporation (Bevco), which sells liquor in retail stores. The 334 Bevco outlets will be wound up with the closing of 10 percent every year, and they will not be allowed to sell liquor on Sundays and on the 1st of every month.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president VM Sudheeran, who pushed for the prohibition, seems to have been influenced by the Indian Union Muslim League, a major party in the coalition, and the government may have been under pressure by the Catholic Church.
As per reports, Cardinal Baselios Mor Cleemis, the Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, has warned the government that it would lose support if the licences of closed bars were renewed.
Thus, the government’s first step in its prohibition drive is to not allow the licences of 418 bars, shut since April this year for lack of upgradation, to be renewed.
The Kerala government’s recommendation on complete liquor prohibition will be ratified by the state cabinet and will then be conveyed to the Kerala High Court as a policy decision. Interestingly, the Congress-led government’s vision of an alcohol-free state is on the lines of the dry state of Gujarat, which was headed by BJP’s Narendra Modi until he took over as Prime Minister.
House wives are too happy about the state decision to ban liquor. People support this decision and are eager to see that they completely ban liquor, they say its injurious to health then why do they sell it
The state government warned that alcohol abuse was becoming a danger to society as it unveiled a plan to ban its sale and consumption within 10 years.
It said no new licences to sell alcohol would be granted, while many of the state’s 720 bars and restaurants would not have their licences renewed.
From next year only five-star hotels will be granted licences.
“It is certain that (alcohol) still continues as a social danger. This is having an adverse effect,” said Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy late Thursday.
“Kerala should get ready to imbibe the essence of (a) total liquor ban in the state.”
Kerala has India’s highest annual per-capita alcohol consumption at 8.3 litres.
It is also one of the country’s biggest tourist draws thanks to its palm-fringed white sandy beaches and tranquil rivers lined with paddy fields.
Tourism officials said they had not been consulted and warned that exempting five-star hotels would not be enough to save the industry, with many tourists staying in small guesthouses.
“By this, we are denying the facility of having beer and wine to tourists in hotels with four-star and below category,” a Confederation of Tourism Industry Kerala official told The Hindu daily.
“This will affect domestic and international tourist arrivals and send a wrong message about the destination.”
Kerala’s ban on liquor all set to push up Karnataka’s revenues. Kerala’s ‘alcohol-free in 10 years’ policy may prove to be a boon for Karnataka. Places like Talapady of Mangalore, Sullia, Puttur and a few areas of Madikeri are expecting a huge movement of weekend crowd to the state. Deputy Commissioner (Excise) for Mangalore and Udupi districts, George Pinto, said, “Liquor smuggling into Kerala is surely going to increase if the ban is imposed. Smugglers are going to mint money. We can expect businessmen to open lodges and restaurants in the bordering areas. The only criteria is that there should be no objection with regard to the location as well as in the municipality areas.”
The average hard liquor consumption in Dakshina Kannada district is about 2.20 lakh boxes per month and each box contains about nine litres. Belthangady MLA from the Congress, Vasanth Bangera, also the former president of Dakshina Kannada Wine Merchants Association, said, “If Kerala closes down all the bars in the state, we can expect the business in the bordering areas to go up by at least 25-30 per cent.”

Rathnakar Puthran, another former president of the association, said, there could be a possibility that those units in the city will expand or open more outlets in the border areas. “Andhra Pradesh had already experimented with the ban and failed,” he said.Madikeri is also expected to see an increase in the weekend crowd.
With the state government increasing its duty on liquor in the recent years, liquor here is expensive when compared with Kerala
Areas bordering Kerala likely to witness an increase in the demand for liquor by at least 25 per cent; biz to look up
The Govt. is making way for more scams, which in-turn benefit the govt. Dont understand, why ban liquor in any state. Instead of banning why not close down the entire liquor production this would solve all purposes that are thought over by the govt. for banning liquor. Its not only the smugglers who make money, even the police are going to make money. When they catch any smugglers I am sure that they are going to take a bribe form them and then let them go and in return they help them to continue smuggling and making their commission. Stupid Govt., Stupid Ideas and stupid laws
As a result of this decision, illicit liquor will increase in the state and there may also be a hooch tragedy because of this. If they won’t get it in Kerala, they will travel to the neighboring Tamil Nadu where the stuff is cheaper and Karnataka and get liquor.

Anti-Islam, Islam and ISIS!

Anti-Islam, Islam and ISIS!
-Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal
_________________

Muslim nations need to usher in an era of Islamic democracy that will
positively replace the deformed corruption based western criminal
democracy in order to illuminate the Holy Quran and fulfill the ideals
of Prophet of Islam – may peace upon Him..

Giving life to or enliving the Holy Quran by practicing what is said
in this Word of God and properly implementing the Islamic law or
Shari’a in a gradual and peaceful manner as part of his duty towards
humanity and Islam is what a Muslim ruler is expected to focus on
rather than crony wealth for themselves by corrupt means.
One major reason for the collapse of Islamic regimes is the inability
of the new rulers
to understand the inner currents of international politics and failure
to make the necessary compromises in the initial stages of
Islamization process. This is necessary to save the newly established
Islamic regime from the conspiratorial attempts of the enemies.  The
success of Islamization of Muslim societies depends heavily on the
flexible approach of the rulers.
As the enemies of Islam are so powerful Muslim youths have been forced
to take arms to achieve the Islamic objectives.
On the contrary, direct imposition of Shari’a even on Muslims in the
modern age would be detrimental to the speedy realization of goals for
Islamic rule as that provides easy access and justification for the
enemies to interfere to destabilize the Islamizing nation.  The best
example is the first ever attempt for establishing an Islamic system
in Afghanistan where the Taliban was very harsh and ruthless that
invited the NATO intervention by engineering the bogus terror attack
called Sept-11 hoax.
US president Obama joined last week in forcing out Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki, who served the US masters with full dedication, though
Obama blamed him for alienating Iraq’s Sunnis and Kurds and giving
rise to the Islamist radical militants.  Haider al-Abadi claims he won
the mandatory US endorsement as the new premier, is trying to form a
new government and looking up to Washington for directions.
In defence
Islam and Muslim are misunderstood by anti-Islamic world,
anything associated with them is quickly branded in the USA, Israel
and Europe as terrorism, although the real terrorists who initiated
the terror menace live in Israel and USA but operate globally
through powerful networks.
All anti-Islamic nations and their media lords are determined to
defeat Islam as they consider themselves as the only humans and target
Islam, Muslims and their organizations as terrorists. ISIS is one of
latest expressions of survival of anti-Islamic onslaughts in a world
of hatred for it and obviously it is being targeted by the enemies of
Islam, including modernized Muslims who want all wealth and pleasures
at par with Americans. The problem with ISIS is that it is also linked
to USA that seeks to use it against Islam.
Although global Muslims look forward to seeing a truly Islamic global
organization or a new Islamic sect to bring all Muslims of all
denominations together and defend them against powerful existential
threats from the enemies of Islam led by USA and Israel, they also
know the  anti-Islamic forces are quite capable of stalling all
efforts of Islamic organizations to protect Muslims.  It is quite
natural that one suspects ISIS as a hidden US organization to
discredit Islam and terrorize Muslims as the organization also appears
to leave scope for CIA-Mossad to enter to create confusion.
Muslim nations need to usher in an era of Islamic democracy that will
positively replace the deformed corruption based western criminal
democracy to illuminate the Holy Quran and fulfill the ideals of
Prophet of Islam.
Giving life to or enliving the Holy Quran by practicing what is said
in this Word of God and properly implementing the Islamic law or
Shari’a in a gradual and peaceful manner is what a Muslim ruler is
expected to do for Muslims as part of his duty towards humanity and
Islam.
If a Muslim ruler refuses to seriously approach Shari’a and Islam can
always harm Muslims and Islam, and for which he will be held
accountable.
It has been a positive trend in our times, perhaps as an important
unintended outcome of terrorization of global Muslims by the enemies
of Islam that majority of Muslim youths are increasingly committed to
Islamic or Islamist form of regimes in Islamic world so as to enable
at least the future generations to follow the truly Islamic way of
life.
Failures
In many parts of globe, the Islamic parties have come to power
recently but not all of them could survive the strong pull of
anti-Islamic joint strategy led by USA-Israel twins and their equally
powerful media networks.  One major reason for the collapse of Islamic
regimes is the inability of the new rulers to understand the inner
currents of international politics and failure to make the necessary
compromises in the initial stages of Islamization process. This is
necessary to save the newly established Islamic regime from the
conspiratorial attempts of the enemies.  The success of Islamization
of Muslim societies depends heavily on the flexible approach of the
rulers.
Most of Islamic nations have not been able to or not willing to
implement Shari’a maybe because of pressure tactics from USA and
Europe that give them some weapons as aid. Muslims live with an
Islamic nation but living like non-Muslims.  In fact this kind of
existence is preferred by most Muslims who see Islam a threat to their
freedom to live as freely as drunkards.
As a result, all Muslim nations, not excluding Saudi Arabia, present
Islam as a set of mere rituals while Muslims continue to misbehave.
The Islamic regimes have no clear-cut ideas and agenda for Islamic
rule. Dr. Mohammad Morsi the Muslim Brotherhood leader who assumed
power in Egypt of was ineffective president who by his refusal to
declare emergency or use the military to quell the anti- Muslim
Brotherhood demonstrations, quickly fell into the waiting military
trap and ended up in jail. But his exit for the sake of peace in Cairo
caused serious problems for the Palestinians besieged by Israel and
Egyptian military.  Morsi, though educated, proved to be a fool and
failed to read the military mind. And, USA which makes loud speeches
about democracy and popular government has supported the Egyptian
military instead of standing behind the first ever elected president
of Egypt Morsi who wanted to give democracy and peace a chance.
While similar small scale experiments in Pakistani Swat region failed
because USA forced Pakistani regime to dislodge the Islamic rule in
that region and Islamabad had it dutifully to make USA happy,  the
horrible experience of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and elsewhere
is important as it is a well knit party that controlled Egypt in full
after a poll.

ISIS  Philosophy
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), an Islamist group fighting
the enemies of Islam spread world over in various guises came into
existence when  many other such  Islam defensive organizations have
failed. .
Like Islam and Muslim are misunderstood by anti-Islamic world,
anything associated with them is quickly branded in the USA, Israel
and Europe as terrorism, although the real terrorists who initiated
the terror menace live in Israel, UK and USA but operate globally
through powerful networks.
When the US led NATO rogue states invaded Islamic nations one by one,
the western word media refused to publish the photos or video horrors
of America in Muslim nations but now they are shamelessly posting all
fictitious photos to defame Islam and insult and undermine ISIS.
In its self-proclaimed status as a caliphate, it wants to protect
Islam, claims religious authority over all Muslims across the world
and aspires to bring much of the Muslim-inhabited regions of the world
under its direct political control, beginning with territory in the
Levant region, which includes Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon,
Cyprus, and an area in southern Turkey that includes Hatay. The group,
in its original form, was composed of and supported by a variety of
Sunni Arab insurgent groups, including its predecessor organizations

ISIS’s original aim was to establish a caliphate in the Sunni-majority
regions of Iraq. Following its involvement in the Syrian Civil War,
this expanded to include controlling Sunni-majority areas of Syria. A
caliphate was proclaimed on 29 June 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi—now
known as Amir al-Mu’minin Caliph Ibrahim—was named as its caliph, and
the group was renamed the Islamic State
However, in order to weaken and suppress it, the ISIS is widely
regarded as a terrorist organisation. The group has been officially
designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States,
the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia and
has been described as a terrorist group by the United Nations and
Western and Middle Eastern media sources.
ISIS is known for its own interpretation of the Islamic faith and
sharia law and its violence, which is directed at Shia Muslims,
indigenous people who oppose it as a terrorist organization.
Generally, ISIS follows the attack strategy and methods of NATO and
Israel that are directed against Muslim populations from Afghanistan
to Syria and Palestine.
The ISIS grew significantly as an organization owing to its participation
in the Syrian Civil War and the strength of its leader, Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi. Allegations of economic and political discrimination
against Arab Iraqi Sunnis since the fall of the secular Saddam Hussein
also helped it to gain support. At the height of the 2003–2011 Iraq
War, its forerunners enjoyed a significant presence in the Iraqi
governorates of Al Anbar, Nineveh, Kirkuk, most of Salah ad Din, parts
of Babil, Diyala and Baghdad, and claimed Baqubah as a capital city.
In the ongoing Syrian Civil War, ISIS has a large presence in the
Syrian governorates of Ar-Raqqah, Idlib and Aleppo.

ISIS believes Islamic world and Muslims globally have lost practical
guidance due mainly to the absence of a central leadership, or
Caliphate to  protect and  care for global Muslims and nations and
this lacuna is used by the enemies of Islam to defame Islam, insult
and attack Muslims and their nations, destabilize Islamic nations one
by one. Hence the ISIS is eager to establish the much needed Caliphate
for Muslim world.

Meanwhile, out of his vacation spot, US President Barack Obama vowed
to pursue a long -term strategy to turn the tide against Islam and the
Islamic State (ISIS) and US warplanes began air raids on a Friday on ISIS
targets near the Mosul Dam, Iraq’s largest. The US warplanes have
conducted a total of 68 strikes on IS targets since Aug 8, with 35 of
them in support of Iraqi forces near the Mosul Dam

Many watchful commentators have appreciated the  goals of
ISIS as their legitimate rights to make Muslims Islamic, have vouched
for the possible emergence of ISIS as the powerful regime in the
region to serve the cause of Islam and Sharia’. Quite likely the
Islamic Muslims globally will benefit from the ISIS rule as much as
from the Islamist AKP rule in Turkey which is fast emerging as
effective shield against anti-Islamic tendencies.

Anti-Islam

As usual, the anti-Islamic media in Christian countries in the West
and elsewhere , thriving at the cost of terrorizing Muslims and Islam
and seeking
large scale conversions, have begun a systematically scathing attack
on ISIS by talking filth about it in order to terrorize the
populations. They bluff the usual way of projecting Islam and ISIS as
terrorist things while they, who kill invade Muslim nations and kill
Muslims in millions, themselves claim to be innocent democrats.

It is atrocious and hence unacceptable that the anti-Islamic rogue
states frantically want all Muslims to swear link with Islam and imbibe
anti-Islamic liquor values to be modern and civilized. These nations
hate and hence fear Islam and force Muslims to shed their Islamic
culture and join the deformed western cultural pursuit. Not only
European nations  deny basic  Islamic rights to Muslims in  pursuing
Islam, especially in prayers and dress  code, but also military regime
like in Burma target Islam and Muslims.

Sept-11 hoax launched by USA has made things extremely difficult for
Muslims all over the world, millions of Muslims have been slaughtered
by NATO and allies like Israel, their valuables worth trillions of US
dollars have been looted and destroyed by the rogue militaries
claiming to be democratic and seeking regime change in Islamic world
with huge energy resources.

Unfortunately, imperialist powers and allies consider Islam as the
formidable threat to capitalism and therefore capitalist world targets
Islam, seeking to weaken Islamic economy.  This explains why Saudi
Arabia led semi-capitalist Arab rulers are still at the feet of
anti-Islamic western dollaristic powers, worshiping them as real gods.
.

Non-Islamic as well as anti-Muslim nations need not unnecessarily
worry too much about what kind of society Muslims try to establish for
themselves and they must end their animosity with Islam and Muslims
for the sake of peace on earth.

It is unfair if the forces operating against Islam and Muslims want to
fail Islamic path to God just because all other religions having
utterly failed have become mere socio-cultural and sociopolitical
organizations pursuing spiritual goals.

Non-Muslims are most welcome to join the great journey for discovery
of the truth – Islam.

Success of ISIS will be very useful for the future genuine Islamic
course globally.

Clearly, the ISIS now spearheading an Islamic state has to learn from
the failures of similar attempts by others so that it does not fail in
its efforts to establish an Islamic state to advance Islamic law and
life.

__________________________