Author Archives: Cross Post

The scars of war, victory and justice

By Cross Post | Published: December 23, 2012

This is a cross post by Bina D’Costa first published in BDNews24

Ever since the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) began its work, opponents of the mechanism have emphasised that the first government of the state pardoned the alleged war criminals, that this was a project of political witch-hunt against Jamaat and BNP senior leaders and that there was no demand for justice from the majority of Bangladeshis who were more interested to move forward and have economic security rather than revisit the past. This write-up explores the political history until the ICT started its proceedings to respond to some of these claims.

We know how it began. That the Pakistani forces were perceived by the overwhelming majority of Bangladeshis who supported liberation as occupation forces; and that India’s armed intervention to end the conflict was welcomed. Pakistan also attracted global condemnation due to its brutal military crackdown in 1971, which resulted in mass atrocities and genocide. But what happened after the war was over?

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Posted in 1971 War, War Crimes | 2 Responses

To Haitham al-Haddad – it’s no longer business as usual; Love, the Netherlands

By Cross Post | Published: February 18, 2012

This is a cross-post by Hasan Afzal of StandforPeace

What an extraordinary few weeks it has been for those who battle the forces of Islamist extremism. First, StandforPeace exposed Haitham al-Haddad’s FOSIS London love-in, then the good folks at Hope not Hatecalled on the East London Mosque to ban him from an event there and to finish, the JC published the story that he had been banned from speaking at the London School of Economics.

It is completely understandable that al-Haddad would feel a little uncomfortable in the UK. After all, his supporters can’t bring themselves to wonder why someone who condones suicide bombings, female circumcision and self-exile from wider society would be despised by free-thinking people.

So, a few days ago, I was contacted by an internet acquaintance on al-Haddad visiting the Netherlands. Admittedly, I don’t know much about the Netherlands’ problem with extremism although I was aware of events concerning Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Theo Von Gogh and the Hofstad Network. It was enough to act.

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Posted in Islamism | 7 Responses

The Men Behind Yahya in the Indo-Pak War of 1971

By Cross Post | Published: December 15, 2011

This is a cross-post by Stephen R. Shalom, professor of Political Science, William Paterson University,  New Jersey originally posted at Z Communications

In 1971, Pakistan became engulfed in civil war. Pakistan consisted of two regions separated by more than 1,000 miles, with India in between. The two regions shared a Muslim majority, but differed in language, ethnicity and culture. West Pakistan politically dominated the more numerous, largely Bengali population of the East and exploited them economically. The callous indifference shown by the authorities in Islamabad in the West to a devastating cyclone that struck the East in November 1970 further inflamed separatist sentiment.

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Posted in 1971 War | Leave a comment

Banned in Pakistan

By Cross Post | Published: December 5, 2011

This is a cross-post of an article by Terry Glavin

The Pakistani ISI and its parliamentary lapdogs are responsible for tens of thousands of Afghan and ISAF/NATO deaths over the past decade. Everybody knows now. But the depths of duplicity, mendacity and barbarism to which the Pakistani elites have stooped, and the enthusiasm with which they have devoted themselves to the care and feeding of some of the world’s most savage and lumpen jihadi gangsters, are not so well known.

As of last Wednesday, the BBC World News has been blocked by Pakistan’s cable channels as a “protest” against this two-part BBC documentary, Secret Pakistan. Watch this, and you will see what the Pakistani establishment does not want the people of Pakistan to know. The people of the “west” need to know these things, too, no less.

Part One: Double Cross.

Part Two: Backlash.

Posted in Censorship, Terrorism | Leave a comment

Press TV is mere propaganda for Iran. It must close

By Cross Post | Published: December 1, 2011

This is an article by Houriya Ahmed which first appeared in The Times

Closing down the Iranian Embassy in London is not forceful enough. After the storming of the British Embassy in Tehran by a mob of petrol-bomb-hurling hardliners, the British Government was right to move beyond impotent expressions of “outrage” and demand that Iran’s embassy staff leave the UK within 48 hours.But Britain can do more in the face of what looks like officially orchestrated violence.

There is an arm – albeit unofficial – of the Islamic republic at work here that could be punished to show British disapproval: Press TV’s London operation should be shut down.

Launched in 2007 as an “alternative” to Western media, Press TV is an English-language satellite television channel with a licence to operate in London. It is funded by, and acts as a mouthpiece for, the Iranian regime. Muslim and non-Muslim female presenters are required to wear the Islamic headscarf in front of the camera while broadcasting from London.

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Posted in Islamism, Media | 6 Responses

Freedom of Expression and Thought on Trial in Tunisia

By Cross Post | Published: November 22, 2011

Potkin Azarmehr on the banning of ‘Persepolis’ by the Ennahda party in Tunisia:

I was so saddened to learn about the trial in Tunisia over the broadcasting of the animated movie, Persepolis. The Tunisian revolution which was supposed to be about the overthrow of a dictator will soon descend into a religious dictatorship, if the secular Tunisians remain silent about this sort of thing. Once again, my favourite quote by Edmund Burke “Evil Only Prevails, When the Good Remain Silent” manifests itself in our own times.

The animated movie, Persepolis, is not about attacking sacred values at all. Only a religious zealot moron could come to such a conclusion. It is in fact a brilliant depiction of how a revolution against dictatorship is hijacked by such extremists. It is a movie that pre-warns ordinary people what will happen if they remain silent and allow the extremists to take over.

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Posted in Freedom of Expression, Islamism | Leave a comment

Pakistan: The Technical Term For Such A Country Is ‘Shithole’

By Cross Post | Published: November 22, 2011

This is a cross-post of an article by Terry Glavin:

In the years to come, the history of the so-called “war in Afghanistan” will be little more than a footnote in a chapter about the lies successive American governments told themselves and the world about Pakistan – that American-subsidized, nuclear-armed, military-industrial crime syndicate with a bribe market for a parliament that masquerades as a UN member state. All we can hope is that chapter won’t be in a book about a nuclear holocaust that ended a sickening, paranoid hoax of a country that had held most of its 170 million “citizens” hostage and barely alive on less than $2 a day in the final years before it all went up in flames.

Here’s a rare and horrifying glimpse of the reality behind the lies: The Ally From Hell. Excellent journalism from Jeffrey Goldberg and Marc Ambinder.

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Posted in Islamism, Terrorism | 8 Responses

Friends of Raed Salah: Labour MPs

By Cross Post | Published: October 28, 2011

This is a cross-post by Lucy Lips at Harry’s Place

Yesterday, I asked a question:

If a person denies clear evidence of racism, defends a racist, and attacks a leading anti-racist institution, is it fair to conclude that they are in fact a racist?

It is a genuine question. The answer in some cases will, undoubtedly, be yes. However, others may find themselves in the position of supporting a racist and denying their racism, and attacking anti-racist organisations: because they believe that a little racism is necessary, in furtherance of a greater political cause. Those people are not racists themselves. They are merely tolerating and facilitating racism, making it more difficult to challenge, giving it an alibi.

Yet others may honestly fail to recognise racism, or may not believe the evidence of racism. It is quite easy to tell who those innocent endorsers of racism are. They’re the ones who, once they realise their error, are the keenest to correct it, publicly.

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Posted in Antisemitism, Islamism, UK Politics | Leave a comment

Raed Salah: Kick This Racist Scum Out Now

By Cross Post | Published: October 27, 2011

This is a cross-post by Lucy Lips from Harry’s Place

Raed Salah has lost his ill conceived attempt to prevent his deportation from the United Kingdom. Despite being the subject of a banning order, you will remember that the hate preacher was accidentally admitted to the United Kingdom.

He has had his fun. It is now time for him to sling his hook.

This is what the court found:

We are satisfied that the appellant has engaged in the unacceptable behaviour of fostering hatred which might lead to intercommunity violence in the UK.

“We are satisfied that the appellant’s words and actions tend to be inflammatory, divisive, insulting and likely to foment tension and radicalism.

I urge you to read the response of The CST to the judgement.

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Posted in Anti Fascism, Antisemitism, Islamism | Leave a comment

Do You Trust Bob Lambert?

By Cross Post | Published: October 21, 2011

This is a cross-post of an article by Lucy Lips from Harry’s Place

Bob Lambert, a police spy who ran a controversial operation infiltrating various Left wing organisations, and who himself participated in the long term infiltration of London Greenpeace, has come out fighting.

It is an unintended consequence of the Guardian’s reporting that critics who object to the fact that I granted legitimacy and status to many politically active Muslim Londoners by working with them as partners should now claim I was spying on them – or, worse, that they were paid informants of mine. Let me be clear.I dispute the Policy Exchange argument that my Muslim partners were extreme or subversive, and fit only for the role of paid informants or to be secretly infiltrated. I did not recruit one Muslim Londoner as an informant nor did I spy on them. They were partners of police and many acted bravely in support of public safety.

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Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

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