The season of revolts – By:Arif Ansar

Excerpt;

But the winter of discontent is still far off

The Arab Spring is now well underway and appears to have spread to other continents as well. Early signs of a European Spring are visible in UK and Greece, and there is an American version in the form of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Meanwhile, Anna Hazare provided a glimpse of how an Indian Spring may look like. The underpinnings of these protests may be different but at a broader level they signify the widening gulf between governments and their citizenry. In other words, hidden in these protests is a modern crisis of the nation-state system.

What triggered these public uprisings is hotly debated. However, in the context of the Arab world and Pakistan, the WikiLeaks disclosures may have played a major role. These secrets revealed how governments are playing a duplicitous role, especially about their dealings with the US. ….

…. Like many other outcomes of the linked and globalised world, these public revolts are also transnational in nature. There appears to be two contradictory forces at work: on the one hand the technological advancements and social media are making the borders increasingly irrelevant, and on the other, worsening economics is causing nationalism to resurge. The future of nation-sate structure is dependent on how it reconciles the pulls and tugs that emanate from within, with those that act upon it from outside.

To read complete article » Pakistan Today

Anna effect? Burney to launch anti-graft movement in Pakistan

Islamabad, Aug 22: Pakistani rights activist Ansar Burney said today (Aug 22) he would launch a campaign against corruption and terrorism in his country after Eid-ul-Fitr, mirroring an anti-graft drive by Anna Hazare in India that has gained thousands of followers.

Pakistan is confronting a “dire and painful period in its history, with rampant and continuously growing corruption and terrorism destroying every fabric of our nation and any prospects of a decent future for our children and grandchildren”, Burney said in a statement.

Burney made no reference to Hazare, whose movement has captured the public imagination in India, but said his movement would get underway after the Islamic festival of Eid-ul-Fitr that will be celebrated at the end of this month.

“It is now up to civil society to take steps to rid the country of this evil before it is too late, and the Ansar Burney Trust will kick-start a massive anti-corruption campaign and anti-terrorism movement following Eid as a first step towards saving our country,” he said.

Burney said his proposed movement is aimed at bringing “the nation together and making a stand that corruption will no longer be tolerated”. ….

Read more → oneindia

Anna Hazare’s message to the Nation

My Dear friends, A decisive battle against corruption has begun. We are not against any political party. We want systemic reforms. We want a corruption-free country. After all, what are the people asking for – a strong anti-corruption law which provides for honest and time-bound investigations and trials that result in jail for the guilty, confiscation of embezzled money and their dismissal from service? Are we asking too much? For two months, we were talking to the government.

Government seems unwilling to take even small steps against corruption. Government appears insincere. We have met all prominent political leaders. We have tried everything. What do we do now? When I announced my indefinite fast from 16th August, the government threatened that they would crush us the way they crushed Baba Ramdev’s peaceful agitation.

Friends, this is a historic opportunity. We can’t afford to lose it. We are determined to fight to the end. If they arrest us, we will peacefully offer ourselves. If they use batons and bullets, we will happily lay down our lives but will not leave the place. We will not retaliate. It will be a completely non-violent movement. “If you fast on 16th August, you will be crushed” – this is what they are saying. “We will impose section 144 on Jantar Mantar” – this is what they are thinking. But I say that if every citizen in this country takes off from his work from 16th August, comes on the streets in front of his house, at the crossing, with a tricolor in his hands shouting “Mata ki Jai” and raising slogans against corruption, they will fall short of batons and bullets. The government may arrest one Anna Hazare but how will they arrest 120 crore Anna Hazares? They may impose section 144 at one Jantar Mantar but will they impose section 144 on the whole country? And let me tell you – the police and army is with us. At traffic signals, policemen stop us, express their support and wish us well; at Raj Ghat, the policemen donated generously for the movement! So, will you take off from your work from 16 August? Will you descend on the streets with me? This year, the country will wait for 16th rather than 15th August. In solidarity.

Thanks

Anna Hazare

Courtesy: → Desiyatra, August 11, 2011

Anna Yablonskaya

Anna Yablonskaya (July 20, 1981(1981-07-20) – January 24, 2011(2011-01-24)) was born Anna Grigorievna Mashutina (Russian: А́нна Григо́рьевна Машу́тина) in Odessa USSR (now Ukraine). She was a Russian-language playwright and poet, and one of the victims of 2011 Domodedovo International Airport bombing^.

Under the pseudonym Anna Yablonskaya (Russian: А́нна Ябло́нская) Yablonskaya published over a dozen playscripts. Many of them were staged at venues in Russia, in particular, in St. Petersburg — the last city she visited just a month before her death. Since 2004 Yablonskaya received several awards in different literary and dramatic events in Russia (Moscow, Yekaterinburg) and Byelorussia (Minsk)^[2]. She also wrote a series of lyrical poems.^[3]

Half an hour before the explosion Yablonskaya arrived in Moscow on a flight from Odessa to attend the presentation ceremony as one of the 2010 winners of the award established by the Cinema Art magazine.

Read more : Wikipedia – More details : BBC urdu