| September 6, 2003 | Saturday | Rajab 8, 1424 |
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Detentions in Canada
Mumbai blast pointers
THE Palestinian impasse which has cast its shadow over the Middle East is nowhere close to being broken. Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmood Abbas’ demand for full powers from parliament on Thursday has only brought the struggle between him and his leader, Yasser Arafat, into the open. No one really expects the contention to be resolved by the 85-member Palestine Legislative Council. Realizing this himself, Mr Abbas did not seek a vote of confidence from the law makers. If it is forced on him by the petition filed by 15 legislators, the situation will only worsen. Whether he is sacked (as is more likely to be the case if a vote is pressed) or backed — the options offered by the prime minister — the violence in the Middle East will continue unabated because the root cause of turbulence is not being addressed.
There are two basic facts which still have to be recognized by the sponsors of the roadmap, especially the United States which has played a key role in the so-called Middle East peace process. First, Mr Yasser Arafat continues to enjoy widespread support among the Palestinians at the grassroots level despite widespread criticism of his style of administration. The emergence of militant groups has not seriously undermined his standing. In fact Israel’s repeated attempts to take away his freedom by posting tanks and soldiers around his office and humiliating him only vindicate his position as the supreme leader of the resistance in Palestinian eyes. Second, Israel’s ruthless policy of pressing on with the colonization of more and more Palestinian land and its brutal reprisals in the name of punishing militancy have their own message for the oppressed people. By turning a blind eye to these fundamental factors, the champions of the peace process in the Middle East have failed to give it a fair chance of getting off the ground.
Ever since the second Intifada began in September 2000, American-Israeli efforts have been directed at isolating Mr Arafat, physically as well as politically. Israeli forces have managed to keep him confined to his Ramallah headquarters since January 2002. In April this year, Mr Mahmood Abbas was installed as prime minister under pressure from Washington. Yet Mr Arafat’s popularity remains intact in spite of the limitations imposed on him. Mr Abbas has received all the respect he deserves, but he also knows that he cannot challenge Arafat’s authority. Hence he has discreetly gone along with his president. But the prime minister’s dilemma has intensified after the ceasefire collapsed in August, thanks to the lack of good faith displayed by Israel. It has refused to release any of the 6,000 Palestinian prisoners held in its jails, pressed ahead with the controversial security fence it was building, and carried out targeted killings whenever it has found an opportunity to do so.
Mr Abbas now finds himself under pressure from the Americans to clamp down on Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. Hence his drive for control over the security apparatus of the Palestinian Authority. It is surprising that the Americans have failed to realize that this could pave the way for a bloody civil war in Palestine. Without the support of Mr Arafat, no Palestinian leader can deliver peace in the Middle East. More significantly, Mr Arafat is the only one who can act as a counterweight to the Palestinian militants. Israel’s bellicosity is radicalizing Mr Arafat, which will leave no moderate leader in Palestine with enough clout to work for peace in the region through a political process.
THE plight of 20 Pakistanis and one Indian arrested by Canadian authorities last month on unsubstantiated allegations of being linked to Al Qaeda is extremely worrying and proof that the post-9/11 paranoia in America has spread to its northern, more tolerant neighbour also. Detained in mid-August, the Canadian authorities initially claimed that the men, most of whom are said to be students, were connected to Al Qaeda. However, no evidence was given to back up this very serious and damaging accusation. Regrettably, the race and religion of the detainees seems to have played a key role in their incarceration. This follows a disturbing pattern of similar detentions in other countries; America, Italy and Macedonia to name a few. The suspects, usually Muslim and from the Middle East/South Asia, are immediately labelled as terrorists. Kept incommunicado and refused access to lawyers, they are not told of the charges for which they have been arrested. Since public opinion in the west is now generally in favour of such heavy-handed tactics, little pressure is brought to bear on the authorities to be forthright about the nature of the arrests or to allow those detained due process. However, the end is not even remotely as spectacular as the initial announcements surrounding the arrests, with most detainees being charged with immigration violations. The Canadian case seems to be turning out this way too with three of the Pakistanis charged with violating immigration laws.
No one will condone violations of law or advocate that foreign governments become lenient in such matters, but to use the hype surrounding Sept. 11 as an excuse to indulge in ethnic/racial profiling and target immigrant communities is a seriously flawed method of preventing further acts of terrorism. Why couldn’t the Canadian authorities first investigate whatever suspicions they had about these men instead of right away claiming that they were connected to Al Qaeda? Unfortunately, the adoption of draconian anti-terrorism laws by America, Britain and Canada, allowing law-enforcement agencies to indefinitely detain anyone even suspected of being linked to a terrorist organization, has only further alienated their immigrant communities. Pakistan should raise this issue with Canada’s foreign minister when he visits Islamabad this week.
INVESTIGATIONS into recent bomb attacks in Mumbai, including last week’s twin blasts, are said to have revealed that most of those arrested or believed to be implicated in the incidents are educated people with a grievance. This has been found to be the case with the 12 men and two women arrested following the recent attacks. It appears that they were particularly targeting the Hindu Gujarati community in India’s commercial capital in revenge for last year’s Muslim pogrom in neighbouring Gujarat. The police conclusions are shared by a section of the Indian press and two Delhi-based institutions — the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses and the Centre for Policy Research. This is the first time that a serious attempt has been made by the Indian investigating agencies and think tanks to do a bit of soul searching as to the causes driving people to commit acts of terror, and is in sharp contrast to the accusations by Indian political leaders who blame Pakistan-based terrorist organizations for the attacks.
It is certainly more credible that home-grown grievances shared by a large number of Indian Muslims could drive a few of the hotheaded among them to carry out desperate acts. One need only look at what happened in Gujarat last year, the Babri Masjid-Ram temple dispute in Ayodhya and the oppression in Kashmir to understand the depth of frustration among Muslim youth. Foreign-based militant organizations can at best only exploit the well of anger and deprivation already existing in India. Terrorism is often born of a perceived sense of injustice, discrimination or exploitation. Instead of automatic finger-pointing, India’s politicians and civil society should address the causes that have made the minorities feel marginalized and cool down the religious passions stoked by the BJP and its right-wing allies.