Bahrainis protest Saudi war in Yemen

Bahrain antiwar protest Aug 18 2017 (posted Aug 24 2017)

Despite massive political repression, hundreds of Bahrainis from several villages took to the streets last Friday (August 18th) with placards & chants condemning the US & UK-backed, Saudi-led war on Yemen & demanding it be ended. The antiwar movement is not dead nor is the Arab Spring. The intransigence of Bahrainis, Yemenis, Syrians against dictatorship, war, & aerial bombardment must be reproduced in those countries supplying & dropping the bombs.

Long live the Bahraini revolution. US, UK, Saudi-led coalition out of Yemen. Stop the bombing.

(Photo of protest in one village from AhlulBayt News Agency)

Hundreds of thousands march against war in Yemen

Sana'a, Yemen today Aug 24 2017 (AhluBayt News)

For those who have long-since written postmortems on the Arab Spring uprisings, this was the scene in Sana’a, Yemen today where the entire range of political forces (including Houthi rebels & supporters of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the dictator ousted in 2012 by the revolution) united against the US & UK-backed Saudi war.

Consider the scale of opposition after nearly two & a-half years sustaining carpet bombing & a naval blockade since March 2015. Over 12,000 people have been killed & 70-percent of of the country’s 27 million people are in need of food, humanitarian & medical care for the worst cholera outbreak in the world.

Long live the Yemeni revolution against dictatorship.
US, UK, Saudi-led coalition out of Yemen. Stop the bombing.

(Photo from AhlulBayt News Agency)

Kofi Annan commission issues final report on violence against Rohingya

Kofi Annan & Suu Kyi at final report Aug 24 2017

The Kofi Annan Advisory Commission on Rakhine State issued its final report yesterday. From the time last year when Aung San Suu Kyi & the military junta commissioned this report, its mission was primarily a whitewash of ethnic cleansing & shaking the naughty finger at the military for some excesses. Annan himself repeatedly said it was not to investigate human rights crimes in Arakan (Rakhine) state but media just ignored that.

It will take me a few days to study the final report although the preliminary was nothing to write home about. It isn’t promising that the report begins “Unless concerted action–led by the government & aided by all sectors of the government & society-– is taken soon, we risk the return of another cycle of violence & radicalisation.” Our man Annan is a smooth operator & was likely paid big bucks to get even oilier but that is unmistakably a formulation to deny ethnic cleansing of Rohingya & make it sound like Rohingya violence & political resistance is the source of the problem. The military will be accused of going a little overboard in their response.

It doesn’t take Nostradamus to predict that about the report but give me a few days to document the treachery of Kofi Annan.

(Photo is Annan handing the final report to Suu Kyi yesterday)

Anayad Ullah, Rohingya from Buthidaung murdered in New Delhi Aug 24 2017

You wouldn’t recognize this handsome young man after he was murdered in New Delhi. From photos taken at the hospital, it appears he was beaten to death. You probably won’t be able to read about him either since he’s a stateless Rohingya refugee & was under a deportation order in India. His name is Anayad Ullah from Buthidaung in Arakan (Rakhine) state, Myanmar, & like all of us, especially the young, he had hopes for his life, dreams of love, travel, adventures, freedom.

May he Rest In Peace. May he inspire thousands to support Rohingya in winning human, democratic, civil, & refugee rights.

(Tweeted by The Stateless)‏

Khurram Parvez on the extrajudicial execution of Shahid Bashir Mir on Tuesday, August 22nd:

“Another civilian killed in fake encounter. Fake encounters will stop if government ends the policy of monetary rewards for killing militants. This policy of rewards has incentivised extra-judicial executions.”

Condolences to the families & friends of the young US sailors who died when a navy destroyer collided with an oil tanker near Singapore. Traditionally, the US antiwar movement has not considered soldiers our enemies. That isn’t a tradition in every country, understandably in those under military occupation. But active duty soldiers & veterans have played a central role in educating against & protesting most US wars & that is also true among antiwar veterans of the Israeli army.

I have three brothers, countless relatives, & many co-workers who were in the military, including during war time. None came back the better but many came back opposed to war & often less racist. Veterans have a certain moral authority when it comes to denouncing the horrors of war.

The sailors who died in this accident were just barely in their twenties. They were working class kids who often enter the service to get skilled job training they couldn’t afford elsewhere. They aren’t our enemies but our brothers, sons, & fathers.

May they Rest In Peace.

Unframed Histories by Rollie Mukherjee

Rollie Mukherjee is holding an exhibition & sale of 60 pieces of her art work portraying the Indian occupation of Kashmir, particularly highlighting the sorrow & resistance of Kashmiri women.

The exhibition & sale will be held in Kashmir in the first week of September with a major portion of proceeds shared between orphans & the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP).

Rollie’s commitment to Kashmiri freedom has educated & inspired thousands of people around the world. So please consider attending the exhibition & contributing. We can provide details of exactly when & where it will be held.

(Painting is “Unframed Histories” by Rollie Mukherjee)

On the extrajudicial execution of Kashmiri Shahid Bashir Mir

Shahid Bashir Mir Aug 24 2017

This young Kashmiri man’s name is Shahid Bashir Mir. The story of his death isn’t unusual & that’s what makes it so outrageous. Reports differ on his age but most sources say he was 21. His dad, who is a carpenter, said his eldest son left home late Monday afternoon to buy cigarettes at a local shop. Some reports claim he left home Monday morning with a herd of sheep for grazing in the forest but he was a college student & not likely to be working as a sheep herder. They may have thought that because his body was found in the forest where the Indian Army was engaged in a hunt to kill operation.

When he didn’t return home, his family went looking for him & also filed a missing person report at the police station. When your son doesn’t come home in a country under military occupation it must be cause for considerable alarm.

This is where the story begins to fall apart & indicates the need for a formal investigation. Shahid was reportedly killed on Tuesday, the day after he went missing. That must have been determined by the medical examiner. Did the army kidnap him on Monday & hold him? Where did they kill him? Walking down the road? In crossfire somewhere? In the forest? Was he taking a shortcut to the cigarette store through the forest? Some reports also claim his face was disfigured with acid. His funeral photos show that something was done to disfigure his face. That would indicate torture or mutilation of a corpse. Those allegations have to be disproven or prosecuted.

Apparently the army notified the police on Tuesday that an unidentified body was lying in the forest & requested them to pick it up. The police later confirmed that no weapons were recovered with Shahid’s body. He was identified later by doctors doing the postmortem.

There were protests throughout the Handwara area in response to his murder & thousands attended his funeral. There’s no point asking why the army would execute a young man not engaged in any criminal or political activity. The number of young men executed when not engaged in militant activities, stone pelting, or protesting is an indictment of the entire occupation.

May Shahid Bashir Mir Rest In Peace. Our condolences to his family.
End the occupation. Self-determination for Kashmir.

(Photo is Shahid Bashir Mir)

Do you think Trump has the nuclear code? Or were they smart enough to give him a dummy code? If he has it, that imaginary deep state has to take him out & not in a soft coup but a hard one. They weren’t smart enough to keep him out of office so things are not hopeful. Make your final arrangements for meeting your maker. Amen.