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You are here: Home / Archives for Genocide

Immunity does not apply to Modi says American Justice Center in legal brief

November 21, 2014 by Nasheman

Immunity does not apply to Modi says American Justice Center in legal brief
US Court directs State Department to respond by December 10th to AJC’s “Memorandum of Law” challenging assertions of immunity

Modi-protest-us

The American Justice Center (AJC), an organization established to bring to justice perpetrators of mass violence and genocides, has filed a “Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Motion,” providing legal justification on why the Tort case against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi should move forward, and why Mr. Modi should not be granted immunity for human rights abuses committed during his tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat.

In an immediate response to AJC’s brief, the US Court has directed the US State Department to respond to AJC’s legal brief challenging the US position on Mr. Modi’s immunity. The order states that “By December 10, 2014, the United States of America shall respond to Plaintiffs’ Objection to the Suggestion of Immunity”.

Arguing on behalf of the plaintiffs, American Justice Center and two survivors of the horrific Gujarat pogroms of 2002, Mr. Babak Pourtavasi, Esq of Pannun The Firm made a compelling case for prosecution of Mr. Modi under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA). AJC’s case against the US government’s suggestion of immunity is based on the following facts:

Mr. Modi is being sued for acts committed as “Chief Minister” of the State of Gujarat and not for any acts that he committed as “Prime Minister” of India. “It is undisputed that foreign sovereign immunity extends only to the ‘head of the foreign government’ for the actions committed during tenure as ‘head of foreign government,'” states AJC’s Memorandum of Law.

Several federal courts have rejected immunity for foreign officials facing charges of blatant human rights abuses, as in the case of Mr. Modi. The United States Supreme Court in Kiobel v Royal Dutch Petroleum Co (2013) held that it is an “international duty,” and “important American national interest” to not provide safe harbor to hostis humanis generis or the common enemy of mankind.

Mr. Modi is not immune under Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (FSIA), as the US Supreme Court decided that the term “foreign state” does not include individual government officials. In the Tort case against Mr. Modi, it is the latter who is being sued and not the Republic of India.

There is precedence known as Samantar, that allows lower federal courts to hold common law foreign sovereign immunity inapplicable for government officials sued for human rights abuses.

Commenting on the filing, Mr. Joseph Whittington, President of AJC said, “We are confident of the sound legal basis for the Tort case against Mr. Modi, and expect the court to allow the lawsuit to move forward.”

“Survivors of the horrific Gujarat massacres expect the US to uphold its own laws as well as international norms of justice,” he further added.

The Gujarat pogroms of 2002 were among the worst episodes of sectarian violence in independent India, and were marked with horrific crimes against humanity, including the rape of hundreds of women. Many of the victims were subsequently burned alive. Mr. Modi’s relentless PR efforts have tried to spin the decision of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to not prosecute him, as a “clean chit.” The US government’s decision not to use this claim in its suggestion of immunity, is a clear acknowledgement of the fact that the case against Mr. Modi has not even reached the Indian Supreme Court. A case filed by Mrs. Zakia Jafri, widow of slain Parliamentarian Ehsan Jafri, is pending against Mr. Modi in the Gujarat High Court. An amicus curiae appointed by the Supreme Court has recommended Mr. Modi’s prosecution.

The American Justice Center (AJC) is a human rights organization dedicated to holding human rights abusers and perpetrators of mass violence accountable. AJC provides legal aid and support for international judicial redress to victims deprived of legitimate and legal means to justice.

References:

Response filed by AJC in Modi Lawsuit to US Govt Suggestion of Immunity
http://www.americanjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Plaintiffs-objection-to-suggession-of-Immunity.pdf

Criminal Case Filed in Australia against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
http://www.americanjusticecenter.org/ajc-files-criminal-case-in-australia-against-indian-pm-narendra-modi/

US Court issues summons against Indian PM Modi ahead of his arrival
http://www.americanjusticecenter.org/press-release/

Filed Under: Human Rights, India Tagged With: 2002, AJC, American Justice Center, Genocide, Gujarat, Narendra Modi, Riots

Nanavati Commission: Another hoax on people of India!

November 20, 2014 by Nasheman

Photo: AFP

Photo: AFP

by Fr. Cedric Prakash

Finally, on November 18, 2014, exactly 12 years 8 months and 12 days after it was first constituted by the Gujarat Government on March 6,h 2002 to probe the burning of the Godhra train and the subsequent carnage which broke out in several parts of Gujarat, the Commission headed by GT Nanavati (a former judge of the Supreme Court of India) submitted its report to the current Chief Minister of Gujarat, Anandiben Patel.

It was originally known as the KG Shah Commission but it was later reconstituted to include Justice Nanavati, after several civil rights groups and individuals protested over the closeness that Justice Shah had with Narendra Modi. Justice Shah died in 2008; and Justice Akshay H. Mehta (who granted bail to Babu Bajrangi in the Naroda Patiya case) was appointed on April 5, 2008 to be a member of this Commission.

The content of this more than 2000-page report has not yet been made public but if one goes by the grapevine and what seems to be “leaked out” to sections of the media, then one can very easily conclude the following: that those really responsible for the law and order in the State have been given a ‘clean chit’; that the burning of S-6 Coach of the Sabarmati Express on February 27, 2002, just outside the Godhra railway station was a ‘meticulously planned act of conspiracy’ (this was already said in the Commission’s interim report in 2008); and finally the only people who seemed to be ‘responsible’ for not preventing or controlling the violence are some lower rung policemen and some apparently anti-social elements.

The Commission which has claimed to have looked into 4,160 cases of violence in Gujarat between February 27th and May 31st 2002 also states that it has gone through 46,000 affidavits submitted by over 4,000 victims of the violence that paralysed Gujarat and continues to be one of the darkest and bloodiest chapters of independent India. It was given 24 extensions (of almost six months each) before it submitted its report.

Till July 2012, the Commission ran up an expenditure bill of more than Rs 5.00 crore with an additional miscellaneous expense of Rs 1.62 crore. It has been past two-and-a-half years since; so the final cost of this Commission (including the disguised expenditure) will surely run to a mind-boggling amount and all at the cost of the state exchequer (a Gujarati newspaper puts a conservative cost of Rs.9.00 crore).

Several concerned citizens like the late Mukul Sinha of Jan Sangharsh Manch, Sanjiv Bhatt and others have tried their level best to bring the Commission – any thinking citizen will know – on track and ensure that truth prevails and that the victim-survivors are given justice. The Commission has been full of inconsistencies, lapses and loopholes. Sinha, who cross-examined several witnesses, has consistently demanded that Modi, who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at that time, had to be interrogated, too. Why the Commission took the pains to deny this request from Sinha and several others does not leave much room for doubt!

Even though the Commission has submitted its report, many for the victim-survivors (and several others who have accompanied them) are the Gujarat Carnage of 2002 is not a closed chapter. The relentless pursuit for truth and justice will continue until those who presided over this carnage are brought to book. Only then, will they truly be able to sing our motto emblazoned on our national emblem “satyameva jayate” (truth alone triumphs!)

Fr. Cedric Prakash is the Director of Prashant, the Ahmedabad-based Jesuit Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace.

Filed Under: Opinion Tagged With: 2002, Genocide, Godhra, GT Nanavati, Gujarat, Mukul Sinha, Nanavati Commission, Narendra Modi, Naroda Patiya

Ensure justice not compensation for 1984 riot victims: PUDR

November 6, 2014 by Nasheman

 

Trilokpuri 1984

New Delhi: The People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) Tuesday criticized the Modi government for not ensuring justice for the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and instead increasing the monetary compensation.

“Both the UPA and the NDA governments have remained mute on the punitive actions against the perpetrators of the crime who conspired and participated in the massacre of the Sikhs,” PUDR said in a statement.

“We appeal to the victims to be aware that successive governments have suppressed the real issue of justice which can only be met through bringing perpetrators of the crime to justice, and not by doling higher blood money to the victims,” it added.

“We condemn the government for reducing the quest for justice of the victims of anti-Sikh carnage into a cruel joke by engaging in competition for paying higher blood money to them.”

On the 30th anniversary of the 1984 carnage, Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced that compensation to the victims killed in the riots would be enhanced from the existing Rs. 3 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh.

This cash enhancement has been announced under the union government scheme for assistance to civilian victims of terrorist, communal and Naxal violence launched by the UPA government in 2008, the PUDR said.

(IANS)

Filed Under: India Tagged With: BJP, Genocide, Narendra Modi, November 1984, People’s Union for Democratic Rights, PUDR, Sikh Genocide, Sikh Genocide 1984, Sikhs in Delhi

Massive Rally in Delhi condemns state terrorism of 1984; Marks 30 years of Sikh Genocide

November 5, 2014 by Nasheman

Massive rally held by Lok Raj Sanghathan and other organization to mark 30th anniversary of Sikh Genocide

Massive rally held by Lok Raj Sanghathan and other organization to mark 30th anniversary of Sikh Genocide

New Delhi: On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Sikh genocide of 1984, a massive rally and public meeting took place in Delhi on November 01, 2014. The rally was organized by Lok Raj Sangathan along with several other organisations. Hundreds of people marched from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar demanding that the guilty of 1984 must be punished and calling on the people to unite to end state terrorism.

The President of Lok Raj Sangathan, observed that the people of India, belonging to all faiths, all regions of our ancient country, have been fighting ceaselessly for thirty long years to ensure that the truth behind the carnage of 1984 be placed by the government of India before the people of our country, and those guilty of organizing it be punished. We have been demanding that mechanisms be established to ensure that such acts of state terrorism can never again be organised.

However, ten governments have come and gone in this period. Ten Commissions of Enquiry have submitted their reports. Till today, no government has accepted that it was the Indian state that organized the genocide. No one has been punished for the brutal murder in broad daylight of over 10,000 innocent people, the rape of women and girls, and the widespread destruction of property.

Pointing out that rulers have failed in their raj dharma of protecting people and their lives, it is the people who must fulfill their praja dharma to unite and fight to create a modern democratic state that will ensure security and prosperity for all by guaranteeing human rights and having enabling mechanisms to ensure their realization.

Com Prakash Rao of the Communist Ghadar Party of India, Advocate HS Phoolka, Advocate Shahid Ali of United Muslims’ Front, Shri N D Pancholi of Citizens for Democracy, Salim Engineer of Jamat-e-Islami Hind, Shri Jarnail Singh, Shri Rafiq Jabbar Mulla of the Social Democratic Party of India, Shri Chaddha of Sikh Forum, Shri S Q Ilyas from the Welfare Party of India, Comrade Siddhantkar of CPI-ML (New Proletarian), Ms. Renu Nayak of Purogami Mahila Sangathan, Guruji Hanuman Prasad Sharma – Vice President Lok Raj Sangathan, Akhlak Ahmed from APCR, Ansar ul Haq of Popular Front of India, Sharikh Ansar of Student Islamic Organisation, Narpreet Kaur – who has been fighting for justice, addressed the sabha gathered at Jantar Mantar.

Speaker after speaker reiterated that the people cannot “forgive and forget”. How can people accept that the guilty must be forgiven for such a horrendous crime against the people? How can we accept that it is fine for the State, which is supposed to protect all citizens, to kill them instead? No, such an idea is unacceptable. There can be no reconciliation with the adharma of a State that kills its own citizens, instead of protecting them.

They all emphasised that what happened in 1984 was not a riot. Calling it a riot creates the impression that it is the people on the streets who were to blame, not the authority. The truth is that it is the State that organised the massacre. People tried their best to protect their neighbours from the assailants. It is the State that violated the rights of citizens and unleashed terror against innocent people.

They drew attention to the fact that entire experience since the end of British colonial rule, proved that no matter how many times parties change places in this system, the violence of the State against citizens has only become more and more bestial and blatant. From the Hindus and Muslims of Punjab, Bengal and Kashmir during the Partition, to the Nagas, Manipuris, Mizos and Kashmiris for decades on end, the list of the victims of state terror has expanded to include the Sikhs in Punjab, Delhi and elsewhere, Muslims in Gujarat, UP and elsewhere, Christians and adivasis in various regions.

The speakers called on people to pledge to escalate the struggle for truth and justice, with the perspective of establishing a modern democratic State committed to ensure prosperity and protection for all.

The attached declaration was tabled and unanimously seconded by all present.

At the end of the meeting, the Punjabi Rangmanch, Patiala presented a moving street play, titled “the genocide of 1984″.

More than 20 organisations participated in the rally. They include Lok Raj Sangathan, Sikh Forum, Communist Ghadar Party of India, Social Democratic Party of India, , All India Students’ Association, , Purogami Mahila Sangathan, Better Sikh Schools, Hind Naujawan Ekta Sabha, Sikhi Sidak, Citizens for Democracy, Sikh Chetna Lehar, Jamaat E islami Hindi, United Muslims FrontPopular Front of India,, Welfare Party of India, Mazdoor Ekta Committee, Qoumi Party of India, People’s Movement against UAPA, National Patriotic People’s Front, People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights, Nishant Natya Manch, All India Progressive Women’s Association, CPIML (New Proletarian), SUCI (Communist), Association for Protection of Civil Rights, PUCL Delhi, Akhil Hind Forward Bloc (Krantikari), Bachpan Bachao Andolan, All India Workers’ Council, Ghadar Heritage (Canada), Ghadar International, Nagarik Parishad, National Confederation of Human Rights Organisations and others.

Many prominent personalities from all over the country who have been fighting for human rights against state terrorism and state organized genocides sent their message of solidarity to the Rally. These include Justices Justice VR Krishna Iyer, Hosbet Suresh and Ajit Singh Bains, Teesta Setalwad, Javed Anand, Adv Rajvinder Singh Bains, Justice Rajender Sachaar, Arpana Caur, Journalist Siddharth Varadarajan, Film Producer and Directors Shonali Bose and Bedobrata Pain, Prof Nandini Sundar. John Dayal, Anil Chamadia, Salim Engineer, Dr Prem Singh and many others.

Filed Under: India Tagged With: Genocide, Lok Raj Sangathan, November 1984, Sikh Genocide, Sikh Genocide 1984, Sikhs in Delhi

Israel’s occupation is more complex than a Genocide

October 9, 2014 by Nasheman

Israel-Genocide

– by Jonathan Cook

Israeli officials were caught in a revealing lie late last month as the country celebrated the Jewish New Year. Shortly after declaring the most popular boy’s name in Israel to be “Yosef”, the interior ministry was forced to concede that the top slot was actually filled by “Mohammed”.

That small deceit coincided with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’s speech at the United Nations. He outraged Israelis by referring to Israel’s slaughter of more than 2,100 Palestinians – most of them civilians – in Gaza over the summer as “genocide”.

Both incidents served as a reminder of the tremendous power of a single word.

Most Israelis are barely able to contemplate the possibility that their Jewish state could be producing more Mohammeds than Moshes. At the same time, and paradoxically, Israel can point to the sheer number of “Mohammeds” to demonstrate that at worst it is eradicating the visibility of a Muslim name, certainly not its bearers.

As distressing as it is, hundreds of dead in Gaza is far from the industrial-scale murder of the Nazi Holocaust.

But the idea that Israel is committing genocide may not be quite as hyperbolic as is assumed. Last month a “jury” featuring international law experts at a people’s court, known as the Russell Tribunal, into Israel’s recent attack on Gaza concluded that Israel was guilty of “incitement to genocide”. The panel argued that Israel’s long-term collective punishment of Palestinians was designed to “inflict conditions of life calculated to bring about the incremental destruction of the Palestinians as a group”.

The tribunal’s language intentionally echoed that of Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jew and lawyer who after fleeing Nazi Europe succeeded in introducing the term “genocide” into international law.

Lemkin and the UN convention’s drafters understood that genocide did not require death camps; it could also be achieved gradually through intentional and systematic abuse and neglect. Their definition raises troubling questions about Israel’s treatment of Gaza, aside from military attacks. Does, for example, forcing the enclave’s two million inhabitants to depend on acquifers polluted with seawater constitute genocide?

The real problem with Mr Abbas’s use of the term – given that it conflicts with popular notions of genocide – is that it made him an easy target for critics. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, accused the Palestinian leader of “incitement”. The Israeli left, meanwhile, decried his wild and unhelpful exaggeration.

But the critics themselves have contributed more heat than light.

Not only do experts like Richard Falk and John Dugard view Israel’s actions in genocide-like terms, but notable Israeli scholars have done so too. The late Baruch Kimmerling invented a word, “politicide”, to convey more safely the idea of an Israeli genocide against Palestinians.

Israel has nonetheless successfully ring-fenced itself from the critical lexicon applied to comparable situations around the globe.

In conflicts where a mass expulsion of an ethnic or national group occurs, it is rightly identified as ethnic cleansing. In Israel’s case, however, respectable historians still equivocate over the events of 1948, even though more than 80 per cent of Palestinians were forced out by Israel as it established a Jewish state on their homeland.

Similarly with “apartheid”. For decades anyone who used the word about Israel was dismissed as an extremist or anti-Semite. Only in the last few years – and chiefly because of former US president Jimmy Carter – has the word gained a tentative foothold.

Even then, its main use is as a warning rather than a description of Israel’s behaviour: diehard adherents of two states aver that Israel is in danger of becoming an apartheid state at some indefinable moment if it does not separate from the Palestinians.

Instead, we are told to suffice with the label “occupation”. But that implies a temporary state of affairs, a transition before normality is restored – precisely the opposite of what is happening in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, where the occupation is entrenching, morphing and metastasising.

Those guarding the critical lexicon strip us of a terminology to convey the appalling reality faced by Palestinians, not just as individuals but as a national group. In truth, Israel’s strategy incorporates variants of ethnic cleansing, apartheid and genocide.

Observers, including the European Union, concede that Israel continues with incremental ethnic cleansing – though they prefer the more obscure “forcible transfer” – of Palestinians from so-called Area C, nearly two-thirds of the West Bank.

Israel has mastered, too, a sophisticated apartheid – partly veiled by its avoidance of the more visual aspects of segregation associated with South Africa – that grabs resources, just like its famous cousin, for one ethnic-national group, Jews, at the expense of another, Palestinians.

But unlike South African apartheid, whose fixed legal and institutional systems of separation gradually became torpid and unwieldy, Israel’s remains dynamic and responsive. Few observers know, for example, that almost all residential land in Israel is off-limits to Palestinian citizens, enforced through vetting committees recently given sanction by the Israeli courts.

And what to make of a plan just disclosed by the Israeli media indicating that Mr Netanyahu and his allies have been secretly plotting to force many Palestinians into Sinai, with the US arm-twisting the Egyptians into agreement? If true, the bombing campaigns of the past six years may be better understood as softening-up operations before a mass expulsion from Gaza.

Such a policy would certainly satisfy Lemkin’s definition of genocide.

One day doubtless, a historian will coin a word to describe Israel’s unique strategy of incrementally destroying the Palestinian people. Sadly, by then it may be too late to help the Palestinians.

Jonathan Cook is a Nazareth- based journalist and winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. http://www.jonathan-cook.net/

Filed Under: Muslim World Tagged With: Gaza, Gaza Strip, Genocide, Israel, Palestine, United Nations

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