1.     WikiLeaks Classified Documents

Roznama Siasat (The Politics Daily), Hyderabad

Editorial, 26 October 2010, Tuesday

The classified documents about the killing and torture of innocent civilians by American soldiers in Iraq, released by WikiLeaks, are a documentary proof of crime against humanity and provide a strong reason for UN to take action against the US and its allies. The UN and other international human rights organisations, if they are honest towards their aims and objectives, should take the super power and individuals responsible for waging this war to a court of justice as per the international war crime laws on the basis of the leaked documents. It is not hidden anymore that the US and its allies started this barbaric war against Saddam Hussein on the basis of misleading reports which has caused a great deal of death and destruction to the Iraqi people. The US has committed the crime against humanity in Iraq as well as in Afghanistan in the name of war against terror. The Pentagon has vehemently criticised the release of 400,000 classified documents by WikiLeaks and is trying to hide its real face behind these condemnations. The US aggression against the people of Iraq has put them in danger and it is a slap on the face of humanity. The violence against Iraqi people under government patronage and killing of thousands of civilians by American soldiers should be thought provoking for all the organisations working for the betterment of the world. One hundred and nine thousand Iraqis were killed in Iraq war, among which 63 percent were civilians. Even though it would be difficult to get to the exact numbers of deaths but the classified documents shows that the US has used its military might against unarmed civilians. Recently the US military had released a report that estimated the deaths at seventy seven thousand, which is almost half of the figures as per the classified documents. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has also condemned the release of documents as he fears that it can hamper his efforts for seeking second term for premiership. The saddest part is that the Iraqi people are paying with their life at foreign hands due to the policies of its government. The Iraqi parliament is in limbo since the general elections were held in March this year. This release of documents can play havoc to the political career of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the political scene in Iraq can change completely. These classified documents also contain pictures of torture by American soldiers and Iraqi guards in Iraqi Jails. The prisoners have been subjected to inhuman practices and wild dogs were set free on them. These documents further increase the responsibilities of UN and other human rights organisations. The documents also prove the hands of Iraqi guards in these tortures and inhuman practices, particularly during the period of Nouri al-Maliki. Now, he will have to face the ire of Iraqi opposition parties. The spokesperson of the secular block has said that the documents amply prove the connivance of the Nouri al-Maliki government in civilian killings. However, Nouri al-Maliki has rejected the allegations of involvement of Iraqi guards in torture of prisoners. But any move at this juncture would leave a long mark on the Iraqi politics and Nouri al-Maliki should be held responsible for any resultant situation.

2.     Eye Opener for the Islamic World

Roznama Munsif (The Judge Daily), Hyderabad

Editorial, 27 October 2010, Wednesday

Several intellectuals, activists and analysts, including from the US and other parts of the world, have already brought to fore the lame excuse given by the US and Britain for going to war against Iraq. Reports have also come up that the since the invasion on Iraq in 2003, hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed by the American and Iraqi military. But the WikiLeaks, with its revelations, has become an eyesore for the US authorities. The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, it seems has resolved to stand against the American imperialism all alone and bring to the world the wrongs done by the US. The US and its western allies are numb with his release of classified documents related to Iraq and Afghanistan war.

Some weeks back, Assange released military documents about the Afghan war, which also revealed that the US was in knowledge of anti-India activities of Pakistan and terrorist groups based in Pakistan. Now the Iraq war documents released by him have revealed the real number of casualties in the war, torture done on war prisoners and the Iranian help to rebels against the US. This is for the first time that such a huge number of classified documents have been made public. The report is based on the eye witness accounts of soldiers involved in the war. The documents show that in the six year period more than one hundred thousand Iraqis have been killed. The US military wanted to hide the real figures of casualties. Most deaths have been caused due to the unending Shia-Sunni riots and tribal fights. The UN seems to have come out of its slumber and has asked the US to investigate the human rights violation in Iraq war. Julian Assange has termed this as his victory. However, major human rights organisation like Amnesty International and Reporters without Border have criticised Assange for revealing the names of Afghans who are working with the US military. Now Taliban has announced that it will take revenge from these Afghans. But Assange himself is paying for what he has done.

His friends are deserting him and he himself is in hiding. The US is obviously very angry with these revelations but has not been able to prevent this release of classified documents. Assange has announced that he will reveal more documents on Afghan war.

The UN should immediately take action against the US and its puppet government in Iraq on the basis of these documents and file a case against them in the International Court of Justice. The Arab countries should also strive for bringing the criminals of Afghan and Iraq war to the court of justice putting aside all their differences. The Islamic world should also take steps to bring these criminals to book and not depend on UN, which has become a US organisation, so as to prevent any such killings of innocent Muslims in future.

­­­

3.     The Tragedy of Gaza Strip

Roznama Urdu Times (The Urdu Times Daily), Mumbai

Editorial, 28 October 2010, Sunday

The Gaza Strip is a test case for the entire Muslim community. It is a victim of international economic blockade for four years, because the one and a half million people of Gaza Strip have refused to accept the orders of the proud world powers to rebel against their leadership and government. The situation in the Gaza Strip was narrated by a Gaza resident to an audience at Masjid al-Haram (the mosque around Kabah). This has been reported by Abdul Ghaffar Aziz in Tarjuma al-Quran Monthly, October 2010 (pages. 73-77). He writes: “A Gaza resident was full of strange emotions. He told that you people recite Quran but we seek Allah’s help through Quran at every juncture. We are completely under a blockade for the last four years, which has almost strangulated the chances of life in Gaza Strip. We turned towards Quran, which guided us, “And for those who fear Allah, He (ever) prepares a way out, and He provides for him from (sources) he never could imagine” (65: 2-3). So, we have brought ourselves and our children under the instructions of Quran. We again turned to Quran when our lives became miserable due to lack of food, water, medicine and other essential goods, which said “Despair not of the Mercy of Allah” (39: 53) and “There is no moving creature on Earth but its sustenance dependeth on Allah” (11: 6) and “That man can have nothing but what he strives for” (53: 39). So we dug tunnels to continue to strive for life. A network of miles of tunnel was dug underground. This small effort with Allah’s help bore fruit and many essential commodities were made available to the people of Gaza Strip at half the price compared to Egypt from where these goods were procured. Take, for example, raw sheep meat, which is scarce but it is available in Gaza at a price of thirty Egyptian Pound (EP, is equivalent to approximately INR Three Hundred), while it costs around sixty EP in Egypt. The cost of goods is not hiked due to scarcity. Gaza Strip had not seen such an active and God-fearing leadership for long that has brought peace which is rare and has become a part of history. When he was asked about the iron walls built underground near Rafah border to block the entry of these tunnels, he said we again consulted the Quran. We got this response, “Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power” (8: 60). We did our best to cut across these iron walls seeking help from Allah, and finally we succeeded in making such big holes in these iron walls that even vehicles can be passed through it. Quran also tells, “But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you” (2: 216). Earlier, we faced a problem of caving in of tunnels but due to these iron and concrete walls our problems were solved as well!”

There was news sometimes back that people of the Gaza Strip are memorizing Quran in just ninety days. When this man was asked about this, he said “now people of Gaza memorize Quran in just 60 days. Now even girl children are memorizing Quran in recitation camps. The people of Gaza Strip are confident that “Mosque, Quran and firmness” are three tools of their success. The women and children of Gaza also go to Mosque and take part in Islamic camps. The focus remains on children between 10-16 years of age. The enemy is also well aware of this and so they try their best to bring and promote immorality. Four hundred children memorized Quran in 2007 and in 2008 almost 3,000 children participated in these Quran camps. This has become a common phenomenon around the Gaza Strip and people have become aware of the benefits of memorizing Quran. As a result the number of hafiz (one who completely memorizes the whole of Quran) has reached ninety thousand.

The news of long range rocket test in Gaza was doing the rounds of international media. The government of Gaza has also achieved diplomatic goals in international politics. Diplomacy and discussion has been used for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Hamas leadership had never been averse to talks. New round of talks are again going to start with German mediation. Hamas is firm on release of the Israeli soldier if its genuine demands are met. Khalid Masha'al had visited Russia with a delegation and met the Russian Prime Minister again during his visit to Syria. Apart from Russia many more European countries have started to realize that it would not be possible anymore to keep Hamas out of negotiations.

Note: All Quranic verses from Yusuf Ali’s translation available at

Source: Roznama Urdu Times

Md Muddassir Quamar is a research student at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi  

As part of its editorial policy, the MEI@ND standardizes spelling and date formats to make the text uniformly accessible and stylistically consistent. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views/positions of the MEI@ND.  Editor, MEI@ND: P R Kumaraswamy