Propaganda: the (blatant) Indian way

Posted by Admin On Tuesday, 26 February 2013 0 comments

By Deepika Jaitley
Indian media can be called many things - free, vibrant, opinionated – but if there is one thing it cannot be called is subtle. The Indian media has had a long history of bias, Pakistan-bashing and a general lack of uniformity on national issues.
When the gang rape story broke in December, there was an intense media debate in India about the consequences of the tragedy on the country. The Indian Express advocated reform and called for a safe environment in the country on its Op-Ed pages. The Hindu, on the other hand, took off on a different tangent and discussed the need for death penalty and castration for rapists. The Times of India chose to remain on the fences, calling for “long term solutions.” The Asian Age focused on the political fall-out of the gang rape. Navbharat Times, on the other hand, filled its Op-Ed pages with a debate on the oppressed classes of the Indian society and raised an entirely existential question. Nai Dunya, went off in a completely different direction, and called for an end to protests since laws could not be “made over night.”
However, this is tame compared to some of the attacks the Indian media has made on its national athletes. And that onslaught is nothing compared to the continuous Pakistan-bashing that occurs every time wind blows from the west. Over the years, the Pakistani establishment has consistently demanded that the Indian media tone down its anti-Pakistan stance for better Indo-Pak relations. Several times over the years, former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf has blasted the Indian media for fabricating stories about Pakistan’s military. Furthermore, Pakistan High Commissioner to India Salman Bashir said in an interview, "Pakistan-bashing has become fashionable in India whenever there is an issue.” Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar also said several times that she was saddened by the constant barrage of negative comments emanating from the other side of the border.
"Pakistan and India are both important countries of South Asia. It is imperative that they demonstrate requisite responsibility for ensuring peace by addressing all concerns through dialogue. Rhetoric and ratcheting up of tensions is certainly counterproductive. We are saddened and disappointed at the continued negative statements emanating from India both from the media as well as certain Indian leaders. For its part, Pakistan has observed a measured and deliberate self-restraint in our public statements on India. This has been done keeping in view the interest of peace in the region," said Khar.
The LoC, Pakistan-India cricketing rivalries, political and security debates aside, the latest stunt pulled by the Indian media was worthy of a good laugh.
In the wake of the Hyderabad blasts in India that left 16 dead and 117 injured, the Indian security forces issued a statement that slain Pakistani MQM leader Manzar Imam was the mastermind behind the attack. Within a few hours of this statement, the Indian media men dug out a photograph of Manzar Imam and declared him the chief terrorist behind the incident. Except the fact that Imam had been killed in a targeted attack a few weeks ago.  It took them another few hours to realize their mistake and retract their statements.
This incident, again, just goes to prove how the Indian media looks for any outside sources to blame without looking inwards for their own security woes.
The Indian Home Minister Shinde announced in a statement that they had been expecting some form of retaliation after two high-profile hangings – Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab. If it was expected, perhaps the Indian journalists should focus their energies at investigating how there was such a massive security failure in one of their busiest, most populous cities instead of pointing fingers on dead men across the border.
In every journalism course there is a section on media ethics and responsibility. It seems that either the Indian journalists missed those important classes or need to revisit them once more.
ZoneAsia
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Torture, Illegal Armed Groups: Signs of Possible Afghan Government Action?

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Many were surprised by the eventual response of the Afghan government to the detailed allegations made by UNAMA in January concerning torture carried out by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) and the Afghan National Police (ANP). The government’s initial denials that any problem existed were predictable enough, but were followed by President Karzai ordering a high level delegation to investigate the allegations; then, after, it accepted torture was ‘widespread’, Karzai called the torture by Afghans of Afghans ‘shameful’ and published an anti-torture decree. As AAN Senior Analyst, Kate Clark, reports, the new decree looks good on paper; now comes the real test of whether the president will actually push for change in how the security forces treat detainees. Meanwhile, on another issue of concern to rights activists, there has come an order from the National Security Council to foreign forces to disband any irregular armed groups they were supporting.
Torture is already illegal under the 2003 Constitution, the Penal Code (1) and the Convention Against Torture which Afghanistan ratified in 1987. However, successive Afghan governments have honoured legal bans on torture almost entirely ‘in the breach’. In that sense, this new decree does not change the legal situation. However, if the president were to follow it through seriously, it could act as a wake-up call to the government itself and as an important, public signal of a change in what is expected and what will be tolerated in the behaviour of state officials. 
There has been some surprise as to why the president’s apparent change of heart on how he deals with allegations of torture happened now. After all, two major reports by the UN, in October 2011 and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and the Open Societies Foundations(AIHRC/OSF) in March 2012, which detailed security detainees being beaten, given electric shocks and having their genitals wrenched elicited no change in government policy. ISAF was galvanised to try to ensure its partners in the NDS, in particular, were not using torture on detainees it handed over. However, ISAF’s programme of monitoring, education, training and certification of premises proved far too feeble. A second UN report, released in January 2013, found torture remained ‘systematic’ in some facilities, including one which had been certified as clean by ISAF.

President Karzai’s language on torture has certainly been very strong. Speaking on 16 February to a gathering of Afghan National Army officers, he said it was shameful, ‘that we who consider ourselves the guardians of the rights in this land are violating the rights of our people.’ He also said:

'The UN issued a report suggesting that there is torture in the Afghan prisons and detention centres. I have worked for 10 years to safeguard the human rights of the Afghans and I have argued with the USA and the world over this issue. It is a shame and regrettable that we prevent America, NATO and foreigners from violating the rights of our people and are arguing with them, but we ourselves are violating the rights of our people'. (Source BBC Monitoring of National Afghanistan TV, 16 Feb 13)

He issued the decree the same day. The Office of Administrative Affairs emailed AAN the text and our unofficial translation can be found at the end of this blog.
Article 1 says the Attorney General is duty-bound (2) to, ‘prosecute those who violate the law,’ in the light of the findings of the report by the delegation which ‘reported on the torture and mistreatment of detainees and prisoners’ and in order to, ‘prevent torture and mistreatment and the conviction of any innocent detainee in the future.’ The decision to make prosecutions central to this decree potentially gives the Attorney General permission (he already had the legal right and duty) to act against torturers, although it is difficult to imagine him doing this without strong presidential backing in any particular case.

The decree also orders security forces to hand over detainees to the Attorney General’s Office for investigation within the prescribed time limit of 72 hours. Arbitrary detention for days, weeks or even months by the NDS and, to a lesser extent, the police is fundamental to the way detainees are abused: it makes them highly vulnerable to torture and forced confession, especially when they are also denied access to a lawyer and to their families during this period. In this regard, the decree also orders the police and NDS to allow defence lawyers and legal assistants to visit detainees and for a tashkil to be established so that there are enough legal professionals to match the number of those detained.

The decree mandates fresh action for the problem of detainees who have not been released, despite there not being enough evidence to bring them to court, they have been found innocent by a court or have completed their sentence. The Supreme Court (unconstitutionally – surely?) is ordered to appoint ‘expert judges’ to examine these cases. AAN reported in 2010 on a similar drive, which followed the Peace Jirga, to get detainees caught in such unlawful detention freed (see reporting here and here). Within months, several hundred wrongly detained individuals had been released. This time, the decree threatens prosecution against ‘detaining authorities’ who do not take action in this regard.

The drive to torture is embedded in the Afghan criminal justice system’s acceptance of confession without any other supporting evidence as enough to convict people. Unfortunately, the decree does not address this fundamental problem, but it does order police, NDS and the Attorney General to ensure better training on evidence collection and detection and to gather evidence and to refrain from ‘arresting without proof, evidence of documents’. In this and in the creation of a new tashkil of defence lawyers and assistants, there is, of course, the issue of funding.

With this decree, the buck stops, officially, with the president. Other senior dignitaries (Chief Justice, Attorney General, Minister of Justice, Minister of Interior, the Director of the National Directorate of Security) are charged with observing how the decree is implemented in their agencies, but they have to report back to Karzai every three months. This quarterly reporting also gives rights groups a toe-hold into trying to assess how and whether the decree is actually being enforced. Sackings and prosecutions – of major players responsible for torture within the NDS and the police and not just of underlings - would also signal real political intent by the Afghan leadership.

Another decree promised in the wake of the president’s 16 February speech which would ban Afghan forces from calling in ISAF air strikes (after an incident where civilians in Kunar were reported killed (for details, see here) has not yet materialised. However, the National Security Council (NCS), chaired by President Karzai on 17 February, did issue another order, of potential interest to rights activists. It was reported on the presidential website:

'The Council instructed relevant security institutions to impede operations by all the armed groups and units established in some provinces by the coalition forces outside the Afghan armed forces’ structures. It was also decided that as per the presidential directive, a panel be created to soon ask the coalition forces to integrate all those groups and units into the security institutions of Afghanistan'.
AAN has not been able to get more details on exactly which forces the NSC has in mind. However, it looks like a reference to what are often called ‘Campaign Forces’ – irregular, anti-Taleban armed groups which fight outside the chain of command or authority of the Ministries of Interior and Defence and in close cooperation with the CIA or US Special Forces. These, most famously, includes the Kandahar Strike Force (for AAN reporting, see here, here and here), the Khost Protection Force and the Afghan Security Guards. That such groups exist is not just an affront to Afghan sovereignty. Their very relationship with foreign forces, especially if like the CIA, they are also effectively unaccountable in Afghanistan, facilitates their abuse of the civilian population and detainees with impunity (for reporting, see here and here). Also look at the AIHRC/OSF report on torture and the UNAMA report (both cited earlier).

Bringing these groups into accountable Afghan Ministry of Interior or Defence structures might appear a welcome move, except that it would mean ignoring the long lists of grave accusations against them. In 2011, for example, the head of the CIA-supported Afghan Security Guards, which operates in Paktia, Commander Azizullah, was appointed head of the provincial Afghan Local Police (ALP), despite allegations against him or men under his command of rape, sexual abuse of boys, arbitrary detention and murder (see reporting here). This week’s UNAMA report on the protection of civilians in the Afghan conflict found a similar pattern across the country of foreign-supported, anti-Taleban, irregular forces being incorporated into regular Afghan command chains, without vetting. Their abuses have continued.

The incorporation took place, said UNAMA, after President Karzai’s order in December 2011 to disband, ‘ISAF/ISAF Special Forces-established local defence initiatives such as the Critical Infrastructure Protection Programme (CIPP) initiated in 2011 in parts of Kunduz, Balkh and Faryab provinces (see also here), the Intermediate Security for Critical Infrastructure (ISCI) in Helmand and Community-Based Security Solutions (CBSS) in Kunar, Nangarhar and Nuristan provinces.’ ISAF Special Forces told UNAMA that, as of 31 December 2012, ‘Special Forces had disbanded all community based local defence initiatives, transitioning most to ALP.’(3) UNAMA alleged that many of the newly-badged units have continued to abuse the civilian population and provided two examples:

'In August and September 2012, a former CIP [sic] and the ALP commander for Chahardara district, carried out or ordered multiple acts of torture, sexual assault and ill-treatment. Victims included healthcare workers, students and others suspected by ALP of conflict-related activities. For example, the commander bit off the ear of one detainee and tortured several detainees, including sexually assaulting a 16-year old boy. Local sources reported that the commander in his capacity as member of an armed group, the CIP and then ALP, had been committing such violations for years with impunity. UNAMA also documented three incidents of violations committed by an ALP/ex-CIP in Aliabad district, Kunduz province including firing at a wedding party which injured three children and issuing death threats against civilians. The same commander was also accused of torturing a ‘detainee’ on 11 September 2012, very soon after being converted from CIP to ALP'.

Often it may not be clear in the end who has command and control over such groups and especially if the abuses continue both the Ministry of Interior and foreign forces may deny ‘ownership.’ As the UNAMA report detailed there has been a proliferation of armed groups, the difference between them often blurrily demarcated - from the ALP (now formally in the Ministry of Interior chain of command, but with a very mixed record on human rights), to armed groups linked to government figures which are anti-Taleban or criminal or both, to insurgents. Add to this, the private security companies whose disarmament the National Security Council also ordered this week and it is clear that militias present a grave danger, not just to Afghan civilians, but also the country’s stability.

However, there is another fundamental issue raised by this week’s presidential decree and the NSC order – the health of rule of law in Afghanistan. Why does it need an extra order from the top to ensure state officials take a particular law seriously? Two actions banned by the constitution –torture and the NDS or police holding detainees for more than 72 hours – need an additional edict from the president to – possibly - get officials to cease breaking the law. Over a decade into this particular phase of the Afghan conflict, the government decides to order foreign forces not to set up irregular militias. And, on top of everything, the president has to unconstitutionally order the Supreme Court to act. There are so many oversteppings of lawful authority at all levels and by multiple actors here that it is, indeed, difficult to point to where Afghan law is sovereign.



(1) “No one shall be allowed to order torture, even for discovering the truth from another individual who is under investigation, arrest, detention or has been convicted to be punished” Constitution of Afghanistan, ratified January 26, 2004 (6 Dalwa 1382), Art. 29.

See also Afghan Penal Code, Art. 275 which, according to the AIHRC/OSF report on torture cited earlier), ‘criminalizes torture and states that if public officials (including all NDS and ANP officials) torture an accused person for the purpose of obtaining a confession, they shall be sentenced to imprisonment between 5 and 15 years. Gazette No. 347 (October 7, 1976; 15 Mizan 1355), Art. 275.

(2) The term used is strong - muwazaf budan – to have the job of doing something, to be duty bound to do something.

(3) UNAMA reports that in the northeast and north regions, five CIP groups were disbanded with 900 men converted to ALP. In the eastern region, eight CBSS groups consisting of 1,300 members were disbanded, with 900 men converted to ALP. In Helmand province, five ISCI with approximately 1,900 men were disbanded with 1,625 converted to ALP.

The Presidential Decree on Torture

28 Delwa 1391 [16 February 2013]

To implement the suggestions of the Afghan delegation which recently visited Afghan jails in a bid to probe reports regarding detainees.

To avoid mistreatment and torture in the detention facilities and prisons of the country and in consideration of the humanitarian [sic] rights of suspects [maznunin] and those who have been [formerly] accused [mutahamin] during the interrogation [baz jowi], the prosecution process [tahqib-e adli] and when the crime has been discovered, a truth finding delegation was authorised under [presidential] order number 6673, dated 3 Delw 1391 [11 February 2013] and has reported on its investigation. The delegation was led by Abdulqader Adalatkhwah, Deputy Head of the Constitution Observation Commission and other members were the Dean of the Law and Political Science Faculty [of Kabul University], a representative of the President’s legal advisory board and the legal advisors to the Ministry of Interior and National Directorate of Security; they interviewed 284 prisoners in prisons in Kabul, Kandahar, and Herat provinces and reported to the Judicial Committee of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. In the light of the report, the President of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan issued the following orders:

1. The Attorney General of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is ordered [muwazaf] to prosecute those who violate article 51 of the Prisons and Detentions Law[4] in the light of the findings of the delegation's report which has reported on the torture and mistreatment of detainees and prisoners, this in order to prevent torture and mistreatment and the conviction of any innocent detainee in the future.

2. According to the Afghan constitution, the detection of crime is the job of the police and the investigation and prosecution is the job of the Attorney General’s Office. In spite of this fact, there are security and detection organizations which detain detainees for more than 72 hours [the legal time limit before he or she must be introduced to the Attorney General’s Office] and work in the place of the criminal investigation agencies. Accordingly, all organizations must work according to their terms of reference [umur-e mahawala] and according to the prevailing laws [qawanin naafiza] of the country and prevent interference in each others’ duties and they should send cases to the responsible Attorney General offices at the appointed time according to the law.

3. According to article 29 of the constitution, harassment [ta’zib] of human beings is banned. The detection and investigation departments of the Ministry of Interior, National Directorate of Security , and Attorney General are ordered not to torture or mistreat any suspect or detainee during their arrest, investigation or the finding of the facts [kashf-e haqayeq].

4. The Ministry of Justice is ordered to regularly organize meetings of the board of legal assistants’ [musaidin–e huquqi – they give legal assistance to detainees], in cooperation with the Faculty of Law and Sharia Law of Kabul University and other relevant agencies and observe any lack of access by detainees and prisoners to legal assistants and defence lawyers. Moreover, they should discuss methods and possibilities for offering legal assistance in a comprehensive [faragir] way to all detainees and prisoners, as declared in article 31 of the constitution.

The Ministry of Justice is obliged to revise the current tashkil [organisational structure and number] of legal associates and prepare it in such a way that it matches the number of current detainees and prisoners.

5. The Ministry of Interior and National Directorate of Security are in charge of facilitating the access of detainees and prisoners to legal associates and defence lawyers in their detention centres and prisons from the beginning of their detention.

6. The Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Public Health are in charge of treating, as soon as possible, any detainee who is suffering illness and any who complains of illness having been caused by beating during interrogation, as declared in article 27 of the Detention and Prisoners Law.

7 The Attorney General of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in cooperation with the General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Centres of the Ministry of Interior is charged with assessing the cases of those prisoners and detainees who have been found not guilty by the court, and those who completed their sentences behind bars, but are still in prison - as listed in a separate table attached to the report of the delegation of the responsible committee. The responsible bodies (the Attorney General and General Directorate of Prison and Detention Centres) in the light of article 50 of the Detention and Prisoners Law should take legal steps for their release after assessment and within two months.

8 The Supreme Court is charged (muwazaf) with appointing expert judges to assess the cases and issue verdicts on those detainees who have spent a long time in prison but have not had received a verdict by the courts during the period specified by the law and the courts have not reviewed their cases during the period specified by law and that time period has expired. With the appointment of the expert judges, verdicts should be issued and the necessary provisions made in relation to these cases, as soon as possible. Otherwise, the detaining authorities [mahalat-e salb-e azadi] have the authority to decide, according to clause 4 of article 20 of the Law of Prisons and Detentions, to release such individuals. If no action is taken, the detaining authorities in charge of such cases could be accused of the crime of not using their authority [adam-e istifada-ye salahiyat-e wazefawi] by the Attorney General and would be prosecuted.

9 The Supreme Court, Ministry of Justice and Attorney General are charged [muazaf], within the limitations of the ability [emkaniyat] of the government, with establishing courts, local prosecutors’ offices and law management institutions [mudiriyat-ha-ye hai haquq] with sufficient salaries, super-skill,* CBR* and other legal privileges in the districts where these agencies are not active in order to prevent human rights violations of citizens and prepare to enhance a system which is fundamentally based on the rule of law.
10 The Ministry of Interior, Attorney General and National Directorate of Security are charged with conducting professional courses in human rights and other relevant professional subjects for their cadres who are working in law enforcement, maintaining the law and investigations in order to build their capacity, according to the principles of efficient, scientific crime detection, investigation and the collection of evidence and the signs of crime.

11 The relevant organs are charged with equipping their investigation and interrogation departments with modern equipment which is used for proving crimes during the investigation. Interrogation proceedings should be recorded on video tapes in order to severely reduce the chance of any kind of complaints from individuals. The criminal police and the legal police [police-e adli] must save material evidence, criminal pictures of criminals, professionally and technically, during the assessment of the crime site. Once the case file has been completed during the legally specified period, it should be referred to the relevant Attorney General’s Office for further judicial process. The responsible organs must seriously refrain from arresting [anyone] without proof, evidence or documents.

12 The Chief Justice, Attorney General, Minister of Justice, Minister of Interior, and the Director of the National Directorate of Security should seriously observe the implementation of this decree within their own organisations and report to the office of the President of Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan every three months, in cooperation of the Office of Administration Affairs and the secretariat of the Council of Ministers on how they are implementing this decree.

* It is not explained what these are, but they look to be salary top-up schemes.

(4) Article 51 of the Prisons and Detentions Law enshrines the Attorney General as the competent authority to ensure prisons and detention centres observe both the law and human rights standards. It says:

1. The attorney general office is the authorized authority to supervise the application of
legality and controlling the observance of human rights standards in detention centres
and prisons.

2. Prisons and detention centres are required to consider all the demands of the concerned
attorney with regard to the observance of the provisions of the law and human rights
standards and take action accordingly.
Source: UNDP
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TTP blamed for Karachi violence

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KARACHI - State Minister for Interior Imtiaz Safdar Warraich on Tuesday informed the National Assembly that Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and some foreign elements were involved in subversive activities in Karachi. In response...


KARACHI - State Minister for Interior Imtiaz Safdar Warraich on Tuesday informed the National Assembly that Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and some foreign elements were involved in subversive activities in Karachi.
In response to a Calling Attention Notice raised by Imrana Saeed Jamil and others regarding illegal supply of explosives, especially in Karachi, he said that TTP had been scattered after defeat in Swat and also setup hideouts in Karachi.
The minister said that of the 67 explosions which rattled Karachi, 61 one were carried by TTP, adding that the agencies had also recovered 209 kg of explosives.
He said that law enforcing agencies are actively working to purge the port city of all criminals, including TTP and anti state elements. He said the law enforcing agencies had arrested several accused and recovered huge cache of arms besides explosive materials from their possession.
Replying to a question, the minister said the weapons recovered from the accused were mainly locally manufactured.
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It Begins: US Starting the Baluchi Insurrection

Posted by Admin On Sunday, 24 February 2013 0 comments
by Tony Cartalucci
Pipelines, ports, and petroleum: destabilizing and carving off a “free Baluchistan” would hobble the 
development of 4 nations – Pakistan, Iran, India, and China. With Pakistan’s plans to use the 
Baluchi port of Gwadar to give Central Asian countries access to the sea facing a failure, it may 
disrupt their development as well. The globalists then get more time to implement their “international system” in the face of a weakened Asia
Bangkok, Thailand May 13, 2011 – In the shadow of the “Bin Laden” media circus and increasingly aggressive rhetoric between Washington and Islamabad, the corporate-financier funded NGOs that fomented the “Arab Spring” are now cultivating a united Baluchi front ahead of a proposed US-funded Baluchistan insurrection. As early as 2006, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace identified Pakistan’s Baluchistan province as a potential point of leverage against Islamabad and an opportunity to assert foreign intervention.
In a 2006 report by the corporate-financier funded think tank titled, “Pakistan: The Resurgence of Baluch Nationalism,” violence starting as early as 2004-2005 is described. According to the report, 20% of Pakistan’s mineral and energy resources reside in the sparsely populated province. On page 4 of the report, the prospect of using the Baluchi rebels against both Islamabad and Tehran is proposed. In Seymour Hersh’s 2008 article, “Preparing the Battlefield,” US support of Baluchi groups operating against Tehran is reported as already a reality. In Brookings Institution’s “Which Path to Persia?” the subject of arming and sending Baluchi insurgents against Tehran is also discussed at great depth.
The 2006 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace report makes special note of the fact that above all, the Baluchistan province serves as a transit zone for a potential Iranian-India-Turkmenistan natural gas pipeline as well as a port, Gwadar, that serves as a logistical hub for Afghanistan, Central Asia’s landlocked nations as well as a port for the Chinese. The report notes that the port was primarily constructed with Chinese capital and labor with the intention of it serving as a Chinese naval station “to protect Beijing’s oil supply from the Middle East and to counter the US presence in Central Asia.” This point in particular, regarding China, was described in extricating detail in the 2006 Strategic Studies Institute’s report “String of Pearls: Meeting the Challenge of China’s Rising Power across the Asian Littoral.” Throughout the report means to co-opt and contain China’s influence throughout the region are discussed.

The Carnegie Endowment report goes on to describe how the Baluchi rebels have fortuitously begun attacking the development of their province over concerns of “marginalization” and “dispossession.” In particular attacks were launched against the Pakistani military and Chinese facilities. The question of foreign intervention is brought up in this 2006 report, based on accusations by the Pakistani government that the rebels are armed with overly sophisticated weaponry. India, Iran, and the United States are accused as potential culprits.
The report concludes that virtually none of Pakistan’s neighbors would benefit from the insurgency and that the insurgency itself has no possibility of succeeding without “foreign support.” The conflict is described as a potential weapon that could be used against Pakistan and that it is “ultimately Islamabad that must decide whether Baluchistan will become its Achilles’ heel.” This somewhat cryptic conclusion, in the light of recent reports and developments can be deciphered as a veiled threat now being openly played.
Quite clearly when Islamabad accused foreign governments of fueling and arming the unrest in Baluchistan, they were absolutely correct. Seymour Hersh’s report lays to rest any illusions over whether or not America is arming Baluchi rebels. Brookings’ “Which Path to Persia?” report also openly calls for arming and sending Baluchi rebels out against Tehran. More recently, longtime proponent of a Baluchi insurgency, Selig Harrison of the Soros funded Center for International Policy, has published two pieces regarding the “liberation” of Baluchistan itself.

Harrison’s February 2011 piece, “Free Baluchistan,” calls to “aid the 6 million Baluch insurgents fighting for independence from Pakistan in the face of growing ISI repression.” He continues by explaining the various merits of such meddling by stating, “Pakistan has given China a base at Gwadar in the heart of Baluch territory. So an independent Baluchistan would serve U.S. strategic interests in addition to the immediate goal of countering Islamist forces.”
Harrison would follow up his frank call to carve up Pakistan by addressing the issue of Chinese-Pakistani relations in a March 2011 piece titled, “The Chinese Cozy Up to the Pakistanis.” He begins by stating, “China’s expanding reach is a natural and acceptable accompaniment of its growing power—but only up to a point. ”

He then reiterates his call for extraterritorial meddling in Pakistan by saying, “to counter what China is doing in Pakistan, the United States should play hardball by supporting the movement for an independent Baluchistan along the Arabian Sea and working with Baluch insurgents to oust the Chinese from their budding naval base at Gwadar. Beijing wants its inroads into Gilgit and Baltistan to be the first step on its way to an Arabian Sea outlet at Gwadar.”

Harrison has made calls for the carving up of Pakistan for years. In 2009 he insisted that Pakistan should grant Baluchistan autonomy, citing a laundry list of technicalities that justified such a devolution of power. Quite clearly, Mr. Harrison has become more blunt as of late. And while endless papers and covert support for the Baluchi insurgency have been going on for years, more overt calls, echoing with equal, self-serving hollowness as those for Libya’s foreign-funded rebellion, are being made.
During the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace sponsored “Balochistan International Conference 2011” held in Washington D.C., calls were made for “international intervention.” Most of the Baluchi opposition leaders live in exile in the US, UK, and France, amongst the myriad of Libyans, Egyptians, Syrians, Thais, Chinese, Iranians, all working with foreign aid to subvert and overthrow the governments in their homelands. A presentation (shown below) gives us a verbatim rehash of the same antics that led up to a military attack on Libya, and similar rhetoric being used to set the ground work for intervention in Syria.


Change Baluchistan to Libya, change the Baluchi names to Libyan names and you can see the same 
US-funded propaganda that led to Western military operations in North Africa.

Selig Harrison is also a regular attendee at the “Balochistan International Conference” and frequently reiterates his calls for a “free Baluchistan.” With him is Washington lobbyist Andrew Eiva, a former special forces operator who took part in supporting the Mujaheddin in Afghanistan. He proposes a vision of a bright future where Baluchis will enjoy their gas and oil wealth one day in their own autonomous, free nation. Such encouragement from Harrison, whose Center for International Policy is funded by the Ford Foundation, George Soros’ Open Society Institute, and Rockefeller Family and Associates, or Eiva’s flights of petroleum-fueled fancy at a Carnegie Endowment function – funded by Exxon, Chevron, BP Corporations of North America, the GE Foundation, Shell International, as well as the globalist mainstays of Soros, Rockefeller, and the Smith Richardson Foundation – would be almost laughable if real people weren’t dying and Pakistan’s entire future being put at risk.

There is no question that a concerted effort is being made to build-up a Baluchi front with which to menace Pakistan. With the Chinese already present inside the province and their base at Gwadar completed, and as tensions between Washington and Islamabad escalate, this low intensity rebellion might just get the “foreign support” needed to carve itself off from Pakistan. This would interrupt Pakistan’s use of this resource rich, strategically located province, prevent Iran from sending a pipeline to India, as well as eject the Chinese from the region. For those wondering why America is attempting to escalate tensions in Pakistan over the “Bin Laden” hoax instead of using it as an excuse to leave the region, the Balkanization of Pakistan and the permanent disruption of Pakistan’s, Iran’s, and China’s development is your answer. 
It isn’t a matter of if, it is now only a matter of how big the insurrection can be grown.
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Stoned, naked, armed and dangerous: more disturbing images from an Israeli soldier’s Instagram

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osher_finger_and_gun_up.jpg

Golani Brigade soldier Osher Maman, who came from a troubled youth in Florida, posts photos of himself breaking Israeli military law and playing with weapons in irresponsible ways. Source
As Mor Ostrovski’s now infamous Instagram image of a Palestinian child in the crosshairs of a sniper rifle generated disgust around the world, the Israeli army claimed that the photograph was “a severe incident which doesn’t accord with the IDF’s spirit and values.”
It is understandable that an occupation army that markets itself as the “most moral army in the world” would attempt such damage control.
Those who follow matters closely know that the photograph was an apt symbol for the Israeli army’s contempt for the lives of Palestinian children, as well as for the total impunitysoldiers accused of crimes against Palestinian civilians enjoy. Even in terms of “misuse” of social media, it was no isolated incident.
Israeli soldiers’ use of social media has given a unique insight into an “army” that functions more like a rabble – with soldiers misusing weapons, breaking laws, and expressing violent and extreme views and posting images of themselves doing it online.

From troubled Florida youth to the Israeli army

A case in point is Osher Maman, another 20-year-old Israeli soldier currently enlisted in the “elite” Golani Brigade.
Maman’s Instagram account currently includes 549 images which show, among other things, images of him mishandling weapons and breaking military laws. The earliest date from April 2012 and the most recent from today. An illustrative selection – with tags where he included them – are used throughout this post. Maman also expresses deeply racist and even genocidal views towards Palestinians and Arabs. (Note: following publication of this article, Maman has deleted his various social media accounts).

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A 21 January 2012 tweet from Osher Maman’s now deleted Twitter account.
Maman, who grew up in Naples, Florida after his family left Israel a decade ago, made the news in 2006 when as a 14-year-old he brought a BB gun given to him by his parents to school and used it to threaten two girls.
Maman also has an adult criminal history with records of arrests in February 2011 and inMay 2011 for “trespassing on school grounds.”

“Hitman”

Osher Maman’s Facebook page, which features many of the same images that can be seen on his Instagram account but also goes back earlier, identifies him as a former student of Barron Collier High School in Naples, Florida, and uses the nickname “Eazybaby” which resembles the name of his Instagram account eazybaby310.
An Osher Maman was a member of the graduating high school class of 2010 according to the Naples Daily News on 5 June 2010.
Maman’s Facebook bio says: “From israel to Miami to the I.D.F Kik: eazybaby310 An active assassin/hitman” and he identifies himself as a member of Barak, the 12th Battalion of the supposedly “elite” Golani brigade. This is corroborated by many images he has posted of weapons, uniforms and other military paraphernalia bearing the insignia of this battalion.
im leaving to the israeli army this monday, just wanted to say.. fuck the police, fuck barron collier high school and all the staff, fuck all the judges, fuck all you little hater faggots that blow up my fb and phone talking shit, fuck the bitches that cheated on me, fuck the virus i just got on my computer and whoever created it, fuck you fuck you fuck you, whos next…
One year later, Maman celebrated the anniversary of his move in another Facebook status:
So one year ago i moved here to join the army… Im not gonna make up some bullshit glorious story to break your heart… I just did it to beat up terrorists and shit… Happy one year anniversary Mmmmmffffffckasss!!!

Not exactly a boy scout

An image he posted of its insignia indicates that Maman was recruited directly from the United States via “Garin Tzabar” a program that recruits Jews and Israelis from overseas into the army. Maman identifies himself as a Garin Tzabar member on his Google Plus account.
A comment made on a website dedicated to Garin Tzabar, from the Facebook account of Maman’s mother, Batya Sabag, a social media consultant in Naples, Florida, also identifies her son as a graduate of the program.
One of the requirements of the Garin Tzabar program is a “Certificate of Good Conduct (proof of no prior criminal record).”
This military recruitment program for the Israeli occupation army is run by the Israel Scouts.
According to an image posted by Maman, on 5 April 2012 his military service had begun 138 days previously (which would be November 2011) and will end on 19 November 2014.

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A montage posted by Osher Mamam features a blindfolded and bound Palestinian prisoner, weapons, and tags that reveal fantasies of violence. Source

Misuse of weapons

When Maman was arrested and charged in the BB gun incident – classified by authorities as a weapon, not a toy, his father, Zion Maman, told media that “the culture in Israel has a more relaxed view about toy guns.”

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Basic rule of gun safety: don’t put your finger on the trigger unless you intend to shoot. Source
That relaxed view extends to real guns, mortars, grenades and all sorts of other heavy weapons that Osher Maman is seen handling, sometimes naked, and using as toys and props in disturbing images he posted online.
These images suggest that the Israeli army exercises little control or discipline over weapons.

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Star of David formed with guns. Source

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This gun appears to be loaded and it’s definitely not a toy. Source

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Does the Israeli army just leave mortar shells lying around for use as Instagram props? This one is a dummy shell used for training. Source

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More weapons for Osher Maman to play with. Source

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Playing God? Note the caption Osher Maman has attached to this image of what might be the controller of remote weapon system. Source

Maman posts images of himself breaking military law

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A criminal offense under Israeli military law, Golani brigade soldier Osher Maman smokes marijuana in his uniform. Source
Images posted on Maman’s Instagram account show him smoking marijuana in uniform and on duty, in direct contravention of Israeli army order “33.011 - Use of Drugs - procedures for report, detention, and initiating a military police investigation.”

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Osher Maman with a joint while on duty. Source
Military order 33.011 states that the use of drugs, including hashish, “constitutes a criminal offense and harms the army, so this order does not leave room for the commanders’ discretion.” It adds that, “All soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces are prohibited from possessing drugs, taking them, or trading in them.”

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Osher Maman shows off his stash. Possession is a criminal offense under army law. Source
What does it mean that the Israeli army recruits a soldier, with a dubious history, who is stupid enough to post images of himself committing more criminal offenses?
Is this a man who should be handling – playing with – lethal weapons in any circumstances? Or does it mean that this Most Moral Army so lacks discipline that soldiers like Maman can break the law without fear of consequences?

A lust for violence and genocidal hatred of Arabs

Osher Maman freely expresses his deep, even genocidal hatred of Palestinians and his desire to see them oppressed and killed. Responding to a comment on one of his images, for example, Maman told the commenter
Lmao for all I care you can comment all my pictures, you’re still a fucking Arab pile of shit, you even smell like it. You’re never going to win over israel (the chosen people) bc you’re a bunch of slaves, shit I probably am the slave master of some Arab who’s related to you… An you all will stay trapped in gaza and every little shittt village that you Palestinians have inside of israel. And you will continue to go to our jails and to have your houses broken in to. Basically your life will be shit until you all die, so go ahead and have fun commenting on my pictures of that’s going to make your death a little better…

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Note the horrifying tags Israeli soldier Osher Maman, who took a BB gun to school as a teen and used it to threaten two girls, has attached to this image. Source
In addition to the endless stream of photos of himself and his buddies posing with guns, Maman shares images and slogans glorifying violence, especially, of course, against Palestinians.

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Over a map of Gaza, the Hebrew slogan says “Soon to be a giant theme park.” Source
Osher Maman is not a “rotten apple.” He, along with Mor Ostrovski – the author of the infamous photo of the boy in the crosshairs – is another symbol of the occupation army under whose arbitrary and dictatorial rule Palestinians have been forced to live for decades.
It is soldiers just like these who whine to the Israeli media that they can’t be more brutal and violent against Palestinians because cameras are watching them.
It is soldiers just like these who are responsible, though never punished or held to account, for the killings of Palestinian children like Samir Awad, Salih al-Amarin and Muhammad al-Salaymeh, young men like Mustafa Tamimi and Rushdi Tamimi and young women likeLubna Hanash among so many thousands more.
With thanks to Benjamin Doherty for research and to Dena Shunra for research, translation and analysis.

Update, 20 February: Israeli army “reprimands” soldier over photos, slurs revealed by The Electronic Intifada

The Associated Press reports this development since The Electronic Intifada published the photos above by Israeli soldier Osher Maman:
Israel’s military says it has reprimanded a soldier who posted photos of himself naked — with a rifle concealing his genitals — and making derogatory comments about Arabs on social media sites. Capt. Eytan Buchman, a military spokesman, described the incident as “severe” and said Wednesday that the soldier’s conduct is still being investigated.
The soldier published the material on his Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. The images were then published on “Electronic Intifada,” a pro-Palestinian website. It quoted the soldier’s Facebook status as saying he just joined the army “to beat up terrorists.”
It was the latest in a string of incidents in which soldiers have posted inappropriate material online.
Palestinians say it reflects widespread contempt that Israeli soldiers have for them.
My response: The predictable reaction of the Israeli army is to suggest that every such incident is an isolated incident that violates its “ethics” or “values.” The Electronic Intifada’s reporting has shown that such images and violent statements by Israeli soldiers actually fit into a much broader pattern.
It is important to emphasize that while the pictures we’ve seen recently on Instagram are disturbing, they are an indicator of a much more troubling reality: an atmosphere and attitude where life, Palestinian life, is cheap. If only this were restricted to Instagram, it would not be such a problem.
It is the fact that this attitude translates into routine killings of Palestinians, especially children, as noted in the post above, and there are no credible investigations.
In this context, public relations responses from the Israeli army that this or that soldier has been “disciplined” or “reprimanded” for a social media transgression should fool no one. The real problem is a culture of violence and hatred that is an inherent feature of military and colonial rule over a subject people.
Courtesy: Electronicintifada
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