Will Libya’s Gaddafi Do a Hosni Mubarak?

Drawing inspiration from the successful and popular uprisings against autocratic rulers in Tunisia and Egypt, people in Libya have also taken to the street against the four decade old parochial rule of Muammar Gaddafi. But unlike Zine al-Abidine of Tunisia or Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Gaddafi has overtly declared his intention of violent crackdown of the peaceful protests. Benghazi, the second largest city in Libya is already under the control of the protesters and they are, slowly but surely, firming their grip on the capital city of Tripoli.

Gaddafi has approved the violent use of force to crackdown the protests for democratic reforms. On his state address on Libyan state TV on 22 February, Gaddafi vowed to fight the uprising to the last drop of his blood. He accused the demonstrators of being hardened fundamentalists and called them the “followers of bin Laden and Zawahiri”. Taking a dig at the United States, he said that because of the protests Libya has become vulnerable to the simultaneous attack by al-Qaeda and the US. In his speech, Gaddafi appealed to the tribal leaders to back him as he has done tremendous amount for them. Gaddafi also called on his supporters to get to the streets and face the protestors. In the speech Gaddafi appeared in no mood to relinquish his power and seemed determined to clutch to it with hook or by crook.

Reports suggest that Gaddafi has unleashed numerous mercenary forces to attack his own people in a desperate attempt to hold on to the power. There are persistent claims from the people of Libya that they have come across mercenaries from different nations including Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, Mali, Sudan and even from Asia and Eastern Europe. Though the military of Libya is loyal to Gaddafi many army men have defected to the other side and are working hand in glove with the pro-democratic protesters. It is only natural that many of those Libyan military men find it difficult to point their guns against their own people. Gaddafi was quick to realise that most of the Libyan army men would be reluctant to attack the Libyan protesters and therefore he has used his monetary power to get foreign mercenaries to work for him. Human Rights Watch believes that the overall death toll from the attack of the state on the protesters in all of five Libyan cities may have reached more than 300 since February 17. At the same time many other people knowledgeable of the ground scenario say that the death toll may have reached beyond 1000.

International pressure is mounting on Gaddafi to stop his violent crack down on the protesters. Arab League has suspended Libya from its membership and the United Nations has condemned the violence and appealed for an immediate end and to hold accountable all responsible for the violence. The European Union warned Libya that it would be forced to take further measure against the country if the violent crackdown of the peaceful protesters continues. The President of United States, Barack Obama has condemned the attack on the protesters and called this violent act of Gaddafi as outrageous. At the same time Indian Government is making plans to evacuate Indians from the troubled country as situation gets worsened day by day. New Delhi is rushing to increase the number of staff in Tripoli to make arrangements for the evacuation of about 18,000 Indians living in Libya, of which 12,000 is in Tripoli. Human rights organisations are also concerned with the growing human rights violations in the country and on the violent crackdown on the protesters. All rights organisations are appealing to the countries of the world to firm up their opposition to the Gaddafi regime’s violent crackdown.

Experts believe that the days of the Gaddafi regime are numbered and it is only to be seen for how many more days Gaddafi would stick on to the power using his violent crackdown on the pro-democracy protesters. International pressure is mounting and many members of his regime have already resigned as a protest to his violent crackdown. It is to be seen whether Muammar Gaddafi will do a Hosni Mubarak and renounce his power and flee or whether he will fight till his last drop of blood, as he has vowed.

Cricket World Cup 2011 is Right Here at Our Doorsteps

Simple is beautiful; there is great beauty in simplicity. However there is a kind of queer beauty in complexity as well. Cricket is a favourite game for many because of their appreciation for this strange beauty of complexity. The tenth edition of the Cricket World Cup starts today with the inauguration ceremony at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh. First match of the World Cup will be played between co-hosts India and Bangladesh on 19th February, Saturday.

Cricket is one of the most complex among all games, with the ground in which a game happens, the direction in which the wind blows, the percentage of humidity in the atmosphere, the cloud covering in the sky and even the frequency with which the viewers move in the stands affect the result of the game. Most naïve fans of the game are even oblivious that there are 10 ways in which a batsman can get out. Even some of the ardent followers of the game haven’t heard of dismissals like handling the ball (Steve Waugh and Michael Vaughan had the misfortune of this type of dismissal against India in test matches), obstructing the field (Inzamam-ul-Haq was once out in this fashion against India in an ODI match) and hitting the ball twice etc. So complex, yet so beautiful is the gentleman’s game Cricket.

The 2011 Cricket World Cup edition is one of the few editions of world cup where it is impossible to predict the champion with any degree of certainty. After many editions this is one World Cup where the once mighty Australians are not the favourite of the bookies or the experts. If recent form is anything to go by, the Aussies are not in the best shape when it comes to winning matches. After the retirement of greats like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist, the Australians are not able to find replacements for them. Ricky Ponting is a perfect example of what they generally say in cricket, ‘a captain is as good as his team’. When compared to the previous captains like Steve Waugh and Mark Taylor, Ricky Ponting falls awfully short on being an inspiration or a model. He is hailed as the greatest Australian batsman since Sir Don Bradman, yet when it comes to captaincy he is not at all comparable with the previous captains.

India, Sri Lanka and South Africa are widely considered to be the teams that are very much capable of winning this edition of the cricket World Cup. With a young side, the Indian team under skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is quite capable of wining the title as well. It is also the final World Cup of the great man Sachin Tendulkar. Already the theme ‘Win it for Sachin’ echoes everywhere in India. A World Cup is the only title that is missing in the otherwise perfect resume of Sachin Tendulkar. It goes without saying that lot will depend on this great man if India has to win the World Cup. The Lankans are a force to reckon with, particularly in the sub continent conditions. They play most of their matches in their home ground and under the captaincy of Kumar Sangakara they are a team that can beat any side on a day. South Africa, as always, is a team that has the ability to the win the world title. It is to be seen whether they would be able to jettison their tag of ‘chokers’ finally and win the world cup after many lost opportunities. Pakistan, a cricket team known for their unpredictability, is another team that could make a surprise and win the world cup. Many predict that Bangladesh would be the dark horse in this world cup as well. Other major teams like England, New Zealand and the West Indies would also make all possible efforts to make a mark in this World Cup.

The whole world is in cricket fever and for the next 43 days there will be absolute cricketing action spread across 13 venues in three countries – India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. ‘Kapil’s Devils’ won the world cup for India in 1983 and hopefully ‘Dhoni’s Dare Devils’ can do it again for our country in 2011. Let us keep our fingers crossed.

People’s Moment in Egypt

The successful ouster of the tyrannical Hosni Mubarak from his 30 year old rule in Egypt would remain as one of the most important events of this century. The fact that it was made possible by people’s power adds to its importance. The pro-democracy activists of Egypt used modern online tools like the Facebook and Twitter to come together and waged a mostly peaceful uprising against the dictator Mubarak. It is certainly people’s moment in Egypt as after 18 days of unrelenting struggle, brave Egyptians attained their long cherished freedom.

Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak assumed the presidency in 1981 following the assassination of the then President Anwar El Sadat. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in the Egyptian Air Force. He is mostly seen as a pro-west leader and has generally been known for his support of Israel. Hosni Mubarak significantly presided over the Camp David accord, which contained a series of agreements between Egypt and Israel. At the same time most people in Egypt do not accept the Camp David agreement and generally accuse Mubarak for the installation of the accord. Mubarak continued with his reign of the country using highly rigged general elections in the country. Elections were held once in every 6 years and in all these elections Mubarak used the state machinery to turn the popular votes in his favour. During his reign state corruption was extremely high and it led to the imprisonment of many young activist and political opposition without trial. Egypt has been under perpetual Emergency Law rule since 1967 and under the law constitutional rights of the people were suspended, police powers were extended and censorship was legalised. Citizen’s efforts towards achieving freedom of speech and expression were thwarted using iron hand. All these factors lead to popular discontent and people took to the streets after gaining encouragement from the Tunisian uprising.

The role of online social media in the success of the Egyptian revolution is commendable. Facebook and Twitter were effectively used by the activists to organise people for the cause. It could be safely said that the revolution was started online, as accepted by Wael Ghonim, Marketing Manager, Middle East at Google Inc. He is one who started a Facebook page for convincing the masses about the need for an uprising and is credited with helping millions of Egyptians feel emboldened to take to the streets to bring down 30 years of autocratic rule by Hosni Mubarak. During the victory march by the protestors after Mubarak announced his resignation, many people carried banners and posters that read ‘Thank you Facebook’ in Arabic and English. The wide use of social media sites by the protesters in Egypt has raised alarm bells in China, where both Facebook and Twitter are blocked.

The Egyptian revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak drew inspiration from the Tunisian revolution that resulted in the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Similarly all other autocracies in the Middle East are under threat of people’s movement as in Tunisia and Egypt. Governments in other Middle East countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen and Jordan are petrified at the probability of similar popular uprisings against them.

Though Hosni Mubarak gave up his presidency and fled to Sharm el-Sheikh, all of Egypt’s problems haven’t disappeared yet. The Supreme Military Council has taken over from Hosni Mubarak and they have made it clear that they have no intention of holding on to the power and will only oversee the peaceful transition of power to democratic forces of the country. The people’s movement has to remain vigilant till the governance of the country gets into the hands of the democratic players. Hopefully such a transition of power from autocracy to democracy would happen in a peaceful way. There is little doubt that the people’s revolution in Egypt would remain in the annals of history as one of the greatest movements for freedom. It is equally true that a violent storm of democracy is sweeping across Middle East and only time will tell how many more despotic governments are going to get uprooted in its rage.

A Question Mark on Our Collective Conscience

The fate of the lady who was brutally assaulted and raped after falling down from the train near Vallathol Nagar railway station, Kerala and who succumbed to her head injuries last Sunday puts a question mark on our collective conscience. The brutal action of the criminal, the neglect and passivity of the passengers in the train and the irresponsibility of the railway authorities are all despicable to the core. The whole incident shows how immoral and unkind our society and its people have become.

Anyone who frequently travels in a train would know how big a nuisance and security threat the travelling mendicants and beggars have become. In all our journeys we could see a plethora of them with all sorts of ingenious begging tricks and begging tools. They travel without travel ticket or any other valid documents and this makes it extremely difficult to track them and prosecute them for any crimes that they commit. Neither the railways nor the state authorities are known to take any honest legal actions against such people and therefore they feel rather fearless in continuing with their unlawful occupation. One such spurious traveller, who is physically handicapped, and undoubtedly morally afflicted, is behind this savagery assault and rape on the young lady. The heartless and merciless way in which the girl was attacked bears evidence to the unsound and dangerous moral nature of the culprit. It must be said that the culprit deserves no mercy from the society or our legal system and he should be given a model punishment that would prevent anyone in the future from the reiteration of such barbarism.

The brutality of the culprit is only rivalled by the indolence and inaction of the passengers in the train where the incident happened. On seeing that one lady had fallen down from the train, one traveller had urged others to pull the chain and stop the train, but they all turned a deaf ear to him. Had they heard him and stopped the train the life of the lady could have been saved. But it was not to be and they continued with their journey. It was one perfect example of how our society has declined in its morality and magnanimity. We have all become restricted to ourselves and our families and the woes and troubles of others are nothing to us but an annoying nuisance. One can’t help but get dismayed by such callousness and insensitivity of our society.

It is high time we raise our voice against the irresponsibility of the Indian Railways. We know that the public sector giant is making enormous profit out of its travellers. Yet they fall awfully short of implementing security systems in the train and in the railway stations. Travelling in a train has become a fearful thing for the people, particularly ladies who are often insulted and attacked inside train compartments. The Railway Protection Force or the state police (arguments are still going on about on whom the real responsibility of train security lies in) should take immediate steps to rein-in anti-social elements. In addition to punishing culprits who attack women, the law enforcement agencies should step up their intelligence gathering mechanism as well.

The pathetic fate of the lady who came under the attack would prick the individual conscience of every single one of us as well as the collective conscience of our society. Her tragic end would raise fear among all of us whose mothers, sisters, wives, friends or colleagues travel in Indian trains. Let this young lady, who was a beloved daughter to a mother and a beloved sister to a brother, lead us to a moral awakening. Let us take a pledge that from here onwards we would not let a person’s call for help leave unattended. At the same time, a murderous man’s merciless bestiality on a poor, innocent young lady makes me ashamed on being a member of the masculine gender.

Amnesty International Representative Detained in Cairo

(Published for Amnesty International)

3 February 2011

An Amnesty International representative has been detained by police in Cairo after the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre was taken over by military police this morning.

The Amnesty International member of staff was taken, along with Ahmed Seif Al Islam, Khaled Ali, a delegate from Human Rights Watch and others, to an unknown location in Cairo. Amnesty International does not know their current whereabouts.

“We call for the immediate and safe release of our colleagues and others with them who should be able to monitor the human rights situation in Egypt at this crucial time without fear of harassment or detention,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

A number of other activists are still being held in the Centre.