| 22 May 2004 | Saturday | 02 Rabi-us-Saani 1425 |
When tribalism runs amok
Damning evidence
The Indian prime minister-designate's emphasis on the need for good relations with Pakistan has a ring of sincerity to it. Dr Manmohan Singh's statement on Thursday takes into account the mistakes made by some previous governments in their dealings with Pakistan.
Even though he said he did not wish to begin his term as prime minister by denouncing his predecessors, he said that "divisive forces" had been unleashed by some previous governments.
His own government's policy, he said, would be to seek the "most friendly relations" with Pakistan. In this context, he called for solving problems which have been "a source of friction" between the two countries.
This was obviously a reference to Kashmir, for he said his government would talk to all "interested groups" - referring perhaps also to the All Parties Hurriyet Conference in Kashmir - in search of a solution.
Pakistan has called the statement "positive" and described it as "a good omen". The foreign office spokesman said that the approach reflected in it could lead to "productive engagement" between Islamabad and the new leadership in New Delhi.
Placed as they are, Pakistan and India have no choice but to live in peace and harmony. As good neighbours, they can serve as engines of progress not only for their own peoples but also for the entire South Asian region.
Together they can also play a distinctive role in the current unsettled international situation. From whatever perspective the causes of continued friction between the two countries are analyzed, Kashmir emerges as the single biggest problem.
The history of the conflict over the issue is well known, and it would be unrealistic to think that South Asia could have durable peace without a just solution of this problem. Dr Singh showed commendable realism when he said that he would "explore all possibilities" to bring peace to Kashmir.
This commitment is in line with the joint statement issued in Islamabad after the Saarc summit in January. The statement bound the two sides to pursue a composite dialogue for the solution of all issues.
Given Dr Manmohan Singh's commitment to peace, one hopes, relations between the two countries would not go through the swings that characterized the BJP-led dispensation or indeed earlier Congress governments.
It was the BJP government that in 2002 brought South Asia close to a nuclear holocaust. It was also that government's unabashed espousal of Hindutva that led to a frightening rise in Hindu fundamentalism and caused the anti-Muslim carnage in Gujarat. But it would be churlish to deny Mr Vajpayee the credit for initiating the current friendly phase in Indo-Pakistan ties. He sought to break the persistent deadlock and won an equally warm response from Pakistan.
It is hoped that his party will not suddenly change colours in opposition. Dr Manmohan Singh has to preserve and build on what has been achieved and, given goodwill and realism, there is no reason why the two sides should not be able to find a solution to all differences afflicting their relations.
When tribalism runs amok
The death of six people and kidnapping of nine others during clashes between the Almani and Mahar tribes, fighting over the marriage of Shaista Almani and Balakhsher Mahar, in some villages near Sukkur are a disturbing reminder of the archaic tribal customs and values that continue to hold sway over a large part of Pakistani society.
The Sindh chief minister has appealed for calm and asked the two tribes to accept the marriage and stop fighting over this 'issue' already settled by the Sindh High Court. It needs to be said, however, that an adult woman choosing to marry a man of her own choice should involve no controversy at all.
Unfortunately, patriarchal and misogynist attitudes are so entrenched that if a woman decides to take matters into her own hands and marry of her own free will, whole communities and clans go into a tailspin, refusing to accept her choice and even go on to violently opposing it.
When Ms Almani chose to marry of her own free will in August 2003 the reaction of her own tribe was so fierce that she and her husband had to go into hiding. Mr Mahar was then forcibly separated by the relatives of his wife, who then tried to get him to recant his marriage.
Eventually, the Sindh High Court came to the rescue of the beleaguered couple and ordered the provincial government to provide them security. The protection continues to this day and despite living in Karachi, hundreds of miles away from her tribe's stronghold of Ghotki, the couple feel constantly threatened.
Regrettably, the Mahar and Almani tribes have yet to realize the futility of their resistance or how wrong they are in threatening the safety of the couple and their immediate families. Thursday's events indicate that the tribes now seem bent on taking their anger out on each other.
A truce has to be called. The Sindh chief minister, a Mahar himself, must act more resolutely and impress upon both sides to stop fighting and let the couple live peacefully. Those involved in the killings must be brought to justice and both the warring sides must be disarmed.
The nine villagers who have been kidnapped must be recovered and returned to their families. As far as changing such primitive tribal customs is concerned, that will happen only with the spread of education and a mechanism for settling disputes through dialogue and without resort to violence.
Damning evidence
The Washington Post has published more detailed accounts of prison abuse by American soldiers as revealed to it by a number of released Iraqi detainees from Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison.
The prisoners' accounts are supported by yet more graphic pictures and video films taken by the American soldiers themselves. They reveal widespread abuse of the crude and cruel manner in which the detainees were physically and sexually assaulted and humiliated.
At times they were made to denounce their faith and thank Jesus for their survival; at others, they were force-fed pork and alcohol and made to eat meals from toilet bowls.
Sodomy was also used as a torture tactic by male sergeants, while their female counterparts went around fondling naked prisoners and taking their pictures in forced compromising positions.
The latest first-hand accounts published by the paper, thus, read like journals from hell. Together, these videos, photographs and firsthand accounts by prisoners should constitute enough in terms of incriminating evidence against the presiding officers, who the prisoners say, were acting under orders from the high command.
With such damning accounts emerging out of Abu Ghraib prison, is it any wonder that the Iraqis and Arabs feel repulsed by America's presence on their soil? This is the worst kind of victor's justice in action, constituting utterly unlawful behaviour on the part of the occupation forces in contemptuous disregard of Geneva Conventions on PoWs.
The Bush administration and the Pentagon must halt such inhuman practices forthwith in prisons across Iraq and in Afghanistan as well as at the Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The need for the US to show to the world that it is serious in investigating all such abuses and bringing soldiers and officers responsible to justice in an open and transparent manner has never been greater.