Israeli bombings level buildings, target hospitals, schools, civilian infrastructure

Stop the Airstrikes! End the Zionist Occupation of Palestine!: Global unity statement by Silenced Suffering campaign signed by several rights groups*:

***

We, the organizations engaged in the Silenced Suffering campaign, condemn the indiscriminate airstrikes of the US-backed Israeli forces that are currently decimating the besieged Palestinian city of Gaza. Each of our organizations is united against the bombings and indiscriminate shelling of rural communities around the world, and the blatant destruction of civilian life and infrastructure in Gaza, the area known around the world as the “largest open air prison,” is no different.
On October 7th, Palestinian resistance fighters waged a military operation that destroyed and seized Israeli military hardware and vehicles, engaged soldiers and civilian paramilitaries within illegal Israeli settlements, and took hostages in the hopes of exchanging them for the over 5,200 Palestinian political prisoners currently held by Israel. In response, Israel declared war, mustered its troops for a ground invasion, and began airstrikes all throughout the densely urban areas of Gaza.
The airstrikes are following the usual bloody recipes of all Israeli bombing campaigns: leveling multi-storey buildings to the ground; targeting hospitals, schools, and civilian infrastructure; giving little to no warning for evacuations; and blocking all entry and exit to and from Gaza. Israel has made it clear that they will most likely send in ground troops to “destroy Hamas’ ability to govern,” suggesting that Israel will once again move in to directly occupy Gaza for the first time since 2005.
Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have killed over 5,000 people in nine different bombing campaigns since 2006. In addition, the ongoing Israeli blockade has held back much-needed supplies of food, water, fuel, and medical supplies and threatens a complete media blackout should an Israeli invasion commit further crimes against humanity. This has been possible only because of the nearly $260 billion the US has given to the Israeli military since the catastrophic Nakba conquest of Palestine by Zionist forces in 1948.
While Israel is the number one recipient of US military aid, other recipients include: the Philippines, Indonesia, West Papua, Burma, South Korea, India, and Pakistan, among others. We therefore raise our voices in collective condemnation and collective resistance with the Palestinian people in our fight to expose and oppose the hidden massacres of communities by imperialist and puppet state forces. Let us build an international united front that will fight for peoples’ rights against militarism and wars of aggression from one end of the world to the other!
Silenced Suffering calls on all organizations, rural and urban-based, to join us in building global solidarity against bombings targeted and/or indiscriminately against civilian, rural, and indigenous communities across the world. Oppressed peoples of these territories and areas who suffer the brunt of the colonizers’ and aggressors’ attacks need all the help that movements across the globe can extend. There is a pressing need to strengthen our organizations’ capacities for monitoring, reporting, and campaigning against these bombings, shellings, and airstrikes.
---

*Signed:
International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation
People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty
Asia Pacific Research Network
Resist US-Led War Movement
Karen Human Rights Group (Myanmar)
Sandugo Movement of Moro and Indigenous Peoples (Philippines)
Innabuyog - Alliance of Women’s Organizations in the Cordillera (Philippines)
Tanggol Magsasaka (Philippines)
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Philippines)
Arab Protection for Nature (Jordan)
Arab Network for Food Sovereignty (West Asia)
Roots for Equity (Pakistan)
Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (Pakistan)
Revolutionary Students Front (India)

Comments

How Hindutva and the Taliban mirror each other in power and ideology

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* The recent visit of Taliban-appointed Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to India and the warm reception extended to him by the Modi government have raised questions about India’s foreign policy direction. The decision appears to lend legitimacy to the Taliban regime, which continues to suppress democratic aspirations in Afghanistan.

Justice for Zubeen Garg: Fans persist as investigations continue in India and Singapore

By Nava Thakuria* Even a month after the death of Assam’s cultural icon Zubeen Garg in Singapore under mysterious circumstances, thousands of his fans and admirers across eastern India continue their campaign for “ JusticeForZubeenGarg .” A large digital campaign has gained momentum, with over two million social media users from around the world demanding legal action against those allegedly responsible. Although the Assam government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has arrested seven people, and a judicial commission headed by Justice Soumitra Saikia of the Gauhati High Court to oversee the probe, public pressure for justice remains strong.

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Matter of grave concern: International finance capital 'onslaught' on Indian finance and banking

By Devidas Tuljapurkar* In recent years, there has been a concerning trend of increasing foreign control over Indian banks. It began with Laxmi Vilas Bank , which was acquired by Singapore-based DBS Group (Development Bank of Singapore). This was followed by the acquisition of Catholic Syrian Bank by the Canadian firm Fairfax . More recently, Yes Bank has seen a growing stake being taken over by Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), and now reports suggest that RBL Bank (formerly Ratnakar Bank Limited) is likely to be acquired by the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) public sector lender, Emirates NBD (Emirates National Bank of Dubai).

Search This Blog