Idle No More rallies held across Canada as movement grows

By: CTVNews.ca Staff

The national Idle No More movement showed no signs of slowing Friday as activists and protesters across Canada brought their call for protection of First Nations rights to the streets.

Peaceful gatherings took place in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Ottawa, Saskatoon,Toronto and Nova Scotia.

Manitoba First Nations groups rallied Friday morning at the Winnipeg International Airport, circling in cars, honking their horns and hoisting placards, one reading “Shame on you Canada.”

The group planned to join an Idle No More rally at the legislative building. A demonstration along Highway 102 in Truro, N.S. caused delays for about eight kilometres but was otherwise peaceful.

Hundreds also braved a snowstorm to march through the streets of Ottawa to denounce what they say is the systematic destruction of indigenous rights.

First Nations leaders say Ottawa’s policies toward First Nations are oppressive and they are concerned that federal government is preparing to siphon power from band councils.

Particularly concerning, activists say, is the recently passed Bill C-45, the omnibus budget bill that according to movement organizers will fasttrack the process for aboriginals to surrender their reserve lands. Organizers also protest the new law because it includes clauses they say will slash the number of federally protected waterways and jeopardize lands they rely on. First Nations groups say they were not sufficiently consulted on the legislation.

At a panel discussion Friday, Nova Scotia aboriginal activist Shelley Young said the government is ignoring the plight of the First Nations. She said the Idle No More movement has “spread like wildfire.”

“We’re not just speaking up for ourselves, we’re speaking up for the rest of Canada,” she said. “We know that our treaty rights protect the waters and waterways. We want to do something about it.”

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/idle-no-more-rallies-held-across-canada-as-movement-grows-1.1088765#ixzz2Fn5koC5O

 

2000 Muslims, Christians, Jews and Hindus march together in New York

Souls March: Thousands of Shia and Sunni Muslims march in New York against Shia genocide in Pakistan

NEW YORK — More than 2,000 Shiite and Sunni Muslims along with Christians, Jews and other communities marched in the streets of New York to voice their anger at the Pakistani government and the military for what they called a “genocide” of Shia Muslims in Pakistan. The demonstration was named “Souls March” to pay homage to an estimated 20,000 Shia Muslims killed in Pakistan …..

Read more » LUBP

In solidarity: ‘There are conspiracies to make Hindus leave Pakistan’

SUKKUR: At a time when forced conversions are happening all-too frequently, hundreds of political and social activists in Ghotki expressed their solidarity with Hindus by organising a rally on Sunday.

Led by the chairman of the Sindh National Movement, Ali Hassan Chandio, and chief of Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz, Dr Niaz Kalani, hundreds of people carrying placards and banners marched through the main streets of Ghotki. They shouted slogans against the establishment, sardars and waderas. The protesters made their way to Main Chowk, where a two-hour sit-in was staged.

Chandio vociferously condemned atrocities against Hindus and placed the blame squarely on the influential people of Sindh. “The kidnapping of Hindus is on the rise because the general elections are just around the corner and sardars as well as waderas need money to run their campaigns,” he alleged. Chandio also voiced his anger at the kidnapping and forced conversions of Hindu girls. According to him, such incidents are part of a conspiracy to make Hindus flee from Pakistan.

“The establishment was scared of the brave sons of this soil, including Bashir Khan Qureshi and Muzaffar Bhutto. That is why they eliminated these people,” added Chandio. He contended that Sindh is producing natural gas which is mostly consumed by Punjab. “The industries of Punjab will come to a grinding halt if we stop the gas supply from Sindh,” he said. “Sindhis constitute a brave nation and nobody will stop them when they unite.” He cited the shelving of the Kalabagh dam project as an example of the power wielded by Sindhis when they came together.

“We are all Sindhis regardless of our caste or religion,” Dr Niaz Kalani told the protesters. “Ghotki is blessed with natural resources and there are many multinational companies here. It is sad that Sindhis are denied jobs in these organisations, but all others are more than welcome,” he said. Dr Kalani urged Sindhis to join hands and struggle for their rights.

The president of the Sindh Hari Committee, Mandhal Shar, expressed his anxiety over the deteriorating law and order situation in Sindh. “The police themselves are kidnapping Sindhis, especially Hindus, for ransom,” he said. “The province is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, but its people are leading miserable life. They are being treated like strangers in Karachi and denied jobs in Thar, which is enriched with coal.”

A Sindhi Engineer succeeded to run the CAR by water instead of Petrol/Diesel.

– – – – – – – – – –

Govt to support Water Fuel Kit Project: Cabinet body

By: PPI

ISLAMABAD: A sub-committee of the Cabinet on Thursday reiterated the government’s commitment to support the Water Fuel Kit Project to tackle energy crisis in country.

The committee strongly encouraged the Water Fuel Kit Project, as the project designer presented a tremendous demonstration of car driving on the Water Fueling system.

The committee members highly appreciated the idea of Engineer Waqar Ahmad of introducing the Water Fueling system for automobiles in the country.

Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah, talking to media persons after having practical demonstration by Engineer Waqar, said that the government would provide full support to the Ministry of Science and Technology in the development of the system.

He asked the ministry and the Pakistan Engineering Council to float the feasibility of the project as soon as possible.

It is pertinent to mention that automobiles can be driven on Water Fueling system instead of consuming petrol or CNG fuels. Sukkur-based Engr Waqar had presented the idea before the Federal Religious Minister, who appreciated it and latter took it to the Cabinet, which made the sub-committee.

In today’s demonstration, the Federal Minister himself drove the car running on the water fuel.

Replying to a question, the minister maintained that the engineer would be provided with full security and the idea would also be kept secured.

The minister said that Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh had also highly valued the project.

“We own this project, we will provide full support and we are committed to successfully complete the project” said the minister.

Lahore demo against Karachi massacre of Sindhis

Lahore: Labour Party of Pakistan announced a joint protest demonstration tomorrow on Wednesday May 23, 2012 in Lahore against the killings of political activists of Mohabat-e-Sindh rally. The demonstration is jointly organised by Workers Party, Labour Party and Awami Party in close associations with social movements and organisations and trade unions at 4.30pm at Shimla Pehari Lahore.

In a press statement, Younas Rahu general secretary Labour Party Pakistan condemned the attack of the MQM gangsters on a peaceful rally of Awami Tehreek killing over 12 and dozens were injured. Labour Party is in complete solidarity with people of Sindh and Awami Tehreek and calls on its activists to demonstrate every where in PAKISTAN, he said. LPP in cooperation with its sister organisations is also organising demonstrations in Hyderabad, and Faisalabad.

Labour Party Pakistan, 25 A Davis Road Lahore, Pakistan

http://www.laborpakistan.org

‘Festive, Righteous Anger’: Occupy Makes May-Day Comeback With Massive Demonstrations

By Sarah Jaffe and Anna Lekas Miller and Sarah Seltzer and Julianne Escobedo Shepherd and Alex Kane and Joshua Holland

Yesterday, Occupy recaptured the public’s attention with rallies, marches, parties, and yes, arrests all over the country.

All over the world, May 1 is celebrated as International Workers’ Day. Yesterday, May Day also marked the reemergence of the Occupy movement, with events in cities all over America. AlterNet’s reporters were in the field — here are their dispatches from New York and the Bay Area …

Read more » AlterNet

Pakistan: Demand for Independence of Sindh

By Aamir Raz Soomro

It was not long ago that a bill was tabled in the US Congress in support of giving Balochistan – the land of the Baloch – the right to self-determination against their ‘forced accession’ into Pakistan on March 27, 1948. The day is still mourned as a Black Day throughout the Baloch land, including parts of the provincial capital, Quetta.

In the year 1971, the erstwhile East Pakistan had already witnessed a bloody independence war with Pakistan, which culminated in the creation of the country now known as Bangladesh – it was a real bloody war since hundreds of thousands of people were massacred in this ‘genocide’ to crush the Bengali freedom-fighters.

In the present times, however, it is not just Balochistan which has the separatist sentiments, but Sindh under the leadership of Mr. G.M. Syed, has also been fighting for independence soon after the creation of Pakistan. From the platform of various nationalist political parties, Sindhis demand separation from Pakistan and creation of proposed, Sindhudesh, the Land of Sindhu (River Indus). They support their demand with the arguments that, 1., the British had invaded the independent Sindh and, 2. that they have a distinct rich history and secular culture which dates back to 5000 years. ….

Read more » Global Voices Online

Honorable Dana Rohrabacher a Chairman of US foreign affairs committee has announced to support Sindh’s Freedom movement

Honorable Dana Rohrabacher a Chairman of US foreign affairs committee has announced to support Sindh’s Freedom movement . A month ago he has tabled resolution for Baluchistan’s freedom. …..

آمريڪي سينٽ جي پرڏيھي معاملن جي ڪاميٽيءَ جي چيئرمين ڊانا روھرا بيڪر چيو آھي ته ھو بلوچن جيان جلد مظلوم سنڌين جي حقن لاءِ به آواز اٿاريندو ـ

Courtesy: Sindhi News Channel Sindh TV, Sindhi News Channel KTN » YouTube

JSQM Calls For Independent Sindh

Hundreds of thousands attend JSQM ‘Freedom March’

* Demonstrators denounce Pakistan Resolution of 1940 and chant slogans in favour of ‘Sindhu Desh’

By Asghar Azad

Excerpts;

…. JSQM Calls For Independent Sindh: “We Sindhis now disown the Pakistan Resolution, say it good bye and demand independence of Sindh according to historical status”.

Hundreds of thousands attend JSQM ‘Freedom March’ in Karachi, Sindh.

Demonstrators denounce Pakistan Resolution of 1940 and chant slogans in favour of ‘Sindhu Desh’

Addressing the participants, Jeay Sindh Qaumi Muhaz Chairman, Bashir Qureshi said that Sindh had voluntarily merged itself into the country under 1940’s Pakistan Resolution but now its people were disowning it as the resolution had failed to protect rights and autonomy of the province during last 65 years.

The Sindhi nationalist leader announced that his party accepted Urdu speaking population in Sindh during the partition and considered them part of Sindh, adding, the Urdu speaking population would have to take steps for Sindh and its people sincerely and would prove their attachment with Sindh. …..

To read complete report » Daily Times

http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20123\24\story_24-3-2012_pg12_5

Chief Justice urged to help recover ‘kidnapped’ Hindu girl – DAWN

By Bhagwandas

KARACHI, March 4: An alliance of minority parties on Sunday appealed to Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to take a suo motu notice of the kidnapping of a Hindu girl and order her immediate return to her parents to restore the waning sense of security in the minorities.

Speaking at a protest demonstration staged outside the Karachi Press Club, Pakistan Minority Leaders Alliance representatives said they would launch a protest movement and stage a sit-in on March 10 if the authorities failed to recover the girl, Rinkle Kumari.

According to an uncle of the girl, Raj Kumar, she was kidnapped from her house in Mirpur Mathelo over a week ago and forced to marry Naveed Shah and change her religion. He alleged that the case was heard by a civil judge in Ghotki, but he did not allow her relatives to enter the courtroom while giving a verdict in favour of the ‘kidnapper’, Mr Shah.

Speaking on the occasion, Jeay Sindh Mahaz chief Riaz Chandio expressed solidarity with the minority community members and demanded arrest of and punishment to culprits involved in her kidnapping.

He said those belonging to religious minority groups, including Hindus, Christians and Sikhs, were sons of the soil. They should not feel threatened by such acts, as all Sindhis were one and that they were equal citizens and had equal rights, he said.

He said it was unfortunate that the girl was given in police custody instead of being sent to Darul Aman.

Mr Chandio announced that if “the daughter of Sindh” was not rescued and returned and culprits were not arrested soon and punished according to law, a province-wide sit-it would be staged on Saturday.

Manohar Lal, Muttahida Qaumi Movement lawmaker in the national assembly, condemned the kidnapping and forced conversion of a young girl. He urged the president to take notice of the incident.

He said Islam guaranteed protection to minorities, but such people were giving a bad name to the religion. With such incidents, a sense of insecurity was growing in the community, he said. Earlier their sons were kidnapped for ransom, but now their daughters were being kidnapped and forcibly converted, he remarked.

Jeay Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party leader Gulzar Soomro said that forced conversions were a conspiracy against Islam, which preaches love and peace and opposes use of force. He said the culprits were agents of the establishment that wanted to divide the Sindhis.

“Our patience should not be mistaken as our weakness,” he warned, seeking her immediate recovery.

A Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader and former lawmaker, Michael Javed, said the Quaid-i-Azam had said that the minorities would be equal citizens in Pakistan, but over the years the Quaid’s message was being forgotten.

Amar Lal, a community leader, said he and the girl’s uncle had met US consulate general staff a few days back and political counsellor Junaid J. Muneer had assured him that the issue would be taken up with the authorities concerned. He said he had also received a call from a former political counsellor of the US embassy in Islamabad, L.K. Robinson, who was currently in Washington. He told him that he would take up the issue with human rights organisations there.

Mahesh Singh, Mangla Sharma, Ramesh Kumar, Vijay Kumar and others also spoke.

Raj Kumar, the girl’s uncle, earlier informed the gathering that on Feb 24, a few armed men barged into her home in Mirpur Mathelo and kidnapped her at gunpoint.

He said a case was filed in a Ghotki court where he said she gave a statement about the threats she had received to convert and marry Naveed Shah or she and her entire family would be killed. He quoted her as saying in the court that she wanted to return and live with her parents.

He also alleged that the judge, in the presence of gunmen in the court, sent her to police custody rather than to her parents’ home or to a shelter home. The next hearing was scheduled to be held at 11am on Feb 27, but the case was heard at 8.15am and the girl’s family was not allowed to enter the courtroom, he said, adding that the judge then gave a verdict in favour of Mr Shah.

Mr Kumar urged the chief justice to take a suo motu notice of the issue and order her safe return to her parents.

Earlier, the participants in the demonstration chanted slogans such as ‘we want justice’ and ‘Rinkle be rescued’.

Courtesy: DAWN

ANP senators protest pro-army demo in Islamabad

By Asim Yasin

ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Monday echoed with protest over the pro-military demonstration held in Islamabad which the ANP senators saw as a conspiracy against the civilian government and military.

The ANP senators questioned who the demonstrators were and who gave them permission to hold demonstrations to instigate institutions to mutiny against the democratic government.

On a point of order in the Senate on Monday, ANP Senator Haji Adeel raised the issue saying that a few people with the banner of the ‘Amn Committee of Inter-religion Harmony” were raising slogans such as “Step forward Pakistan Army, we are with you’ and “General Kayani is necessary.” Such slogans are a conspiracy not only against the armed forces but also against the civilian government, Adeel said. “Who are these people, what is their purpose and why were the CDA and Traffic Police facilitating them,” he said. …

Read more » The News

A massive demonstration of Occupy Toronto and all its supporters will take place Saturday at 2 pm, starting from St. James Park (Jarvis and King)

We are asking everyone to come out and demonstrate Saturday, to bring friends, relatives, workmates, and everyone who cares about democracy and the objectives of the Occupy Movement, which is to oppose the gross wealth being accumulated by the rich and powerful 1% at the expense of the 99% – the rest of the population whose wages and incomes have fallen dramatically, many of whom are unemployed and under-employed, many of whom are poor and very poor, and many more who are youth and whose lives and futures have been dramatically altered by the insatiable greed of the most powerful corporations and the richest people in the world.

Join the rally at the corner of Jarvis and King at 1:30 pm, Saturday, to march & distribute People’s Voice, and our statement in support of the Occupy movement.

Please RSVP to erowley@live.ca to help, or for more info.

Comradely and in Solidarity!

Liz Rowley

Protest rally held against the human rights violations in Balochistan at the 18th session of UN Human Rights Council in Geneva

– PRESS RELEASE: A peaceful demonstration was held at the 18th session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO) and the Baloch Human Rights Council (BHRC), on Thursday 15 September 2011 in Geneva , Plais des Nations ‘ Broken Chair Square’ to protest against the increasing number of human rights violations in Balochistan.

The demonstration was aimed to raise awareness of alarming number of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and arbitrary detentions that have been reported by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Human Rights commission of Pakistan and prompt the international community to act. Baloch delegates from London, Europe and Scandinavia and other human rights activists took part in the event.

A parallel event took place entitled ‘Climate of Fear: Enforced Disappearances, Extrajudicial Killings & Arbitrary Detention in Balochistan’ between 12 to 2 pm at Plais des Nations in Room 23.

SLGO is a conspiracy to divide Sindh

– Sindhi nationalists protest against restoration of the LG system

By Sohail Khattak

SINDH – KARACHI: Members of civil society, legal fraternity and political activists declared the restoration of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance (SLGO) as a conspiracy to divide Sindh.

While staging a demonstration in front of Karachi Press Club here on Tuesday, protestors condemned the restoration of the SLGO [Local government Ordinance aka dictator general Musharraf’s repressive & discriminatory ordinance that has been used to deny people of Sindh to  access Karachi, the Capital of Sindh] and demanded an end to conspiracies against Sindh.

They were holding placards and banners and shouting slogans against the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government for restoring the LG system ….

Read more → The Express Tribune

Britain: Royal wedding exposes deep class divisions

by Alan Woods

On Friday 29 April the people of Britain will be invited to participate in the joyful celebration of the marriage of Mr. William Windsor and Ms. Katherine Middleton. At the same time that the government is cutting billions from unnecessary extravagances such as hospitals, schools, teachers, nurses, the old and the sick, the unemployed and single parents, the Coalition has had the good sense to spend a lot of money on something as essential to the Public Good as the nuptials of Willy and Kate.

One can see many advantages in this. At a time of falling living standards for everyone who is not either a member of the royal family or a banker, it can take the minds of the British public off unpleasant thoughts of unpaid debts and unemployment. It might even make them forget the recent mass demonstration that brought half a million of them onto the streets of London to protest the vicious cuts being implemented by the ruling Conservative-Lib-Dem Coalition. …

Read more : Marxist.com

U.S. Shifts to Seek Removal of Yemen’s Leader, an Ally

By LAURA KASINOF and DAVID E. SANGER

SANA, Yemen — The United States, which long supported Yemen’s president, even in the face of recent widespread protests, has now quietly shifted positions and has concluded that he is unlikely to bring about the required reforms and must be eased out of office, according to American and Yemeni officials. …

Read more : The New York Times

Five generals threw their support behind protesters calling for immediate ouster of Yemeni President, General Saleh pledged his support for protesters and for the first time, his troops stood around the demonstration to protect it.

Senior Yemeni Officers Call for Ouster of President

SANA, Yemen — In a significant erosion of military support for Yemen’s embattled president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, five generals on Monday threw their support behind protesters calling for his immediate ouster as rival soldiers took up positions in different sections of the capital.

The generals were Brig. Gen. Ali Mohsin Saleh, a powerful figure who commands forces in the country’s northwest, three other brigadier generals and a general. The five said they had decided to support the protesters after watching the bloody clashes on Friday.

“I declare on their behalf our peaceful support for the youth revolution and that we are going to fulfill our complete duty in keeping the security and stability in the capital,” General Saleh said in an interview on Al Jazeera on Monday. He said that violence against protesters was “pushing the country to the edge of civil war.”

By Monday afternoon, tanks and soldiers loyal to the president were positioned around the presidential palace, while miles away, those directed by General Saleh pledged their support for protesters and, for the first time, stood around the demonstration to protect it.

Some of the soldiers at the demonstration draped black, white and red ribbons over their chest, the colors of Yemen’s flag. “We are with the people,” said a group of soldiers guarding the main entrance of the protest. …

Read more : Wichaar

An Army Without a Country – by Ahmed Rashid

Excerpt:

….. As leaders worldwide—from the Pope to Hillary Clinton to Nicolas Sarkozy—strongly condemn Bhatti’s murder, the reaction of the Pakistani government has been vapid. No action has been taken or promises made to curb the freedom of violent extremist groups, who have hailed both murders and who have meanwhile been staging daily street demonstrations in Lahore to demand the death sentence for Raymond Davis, the American CIA agent who is now in Pakistani custody after killing two Pakistani men believed to be agents for the army’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). (Davis was part of a secret team working in the country; the exposure of his activities puts further strain on the uneasy alliance between the US and Pakistan.)

For its part, the army has so far failed to express regret about either Bhatti’s murder or Taseer’s. The army chief General Ashfaq Kayani declined to publicly condemn Taseer’s death or even to issue a public condolence to his family. He told Western ambassadors in January in Islamabad that there were too many soldiers in the ranks who sympathize with the killer, and showed them a scrapbook of photographs of Taseer’s killer being hailed as a hero by fellow police officers. Any public statement, he hinted, could endanger the army’s unity.

Behind this silence lies something more sinister. For decades the army and the ISI have controlled the extremist groups, arming and training them in exchange for their continuing to serve as proxy forces in Afghanistan and Kashmir. But in recent years, the army has lost control of them and they are striking targets of their own. Yet the army has refused to help crack down on its rogue protégés—despite the fact that extremists have increasingly attacked the army and the ISI itself, and at least 2,000 military personnel have died at their hands in the past five years. This is all the more ominous in view of the resources the military commands: half a million men, another half a million reserves, 110 nuclear weapons (according to US media estimates) and one of the largest intelligence agencies in the world, the ISI, which has an estimated 100,000 employees.

If the army has now surrendered any willingness to take on the extremists, the political establishment had already given up long ago. ….

Read more : The New York Review of Book

Egyptian uprising. Democracy & Freedom for All!

We are with our brothers and sisters in Egypt. We Salute you and want you to know that we are by your side in this struggle against Tyranny. Be strong, we are with you. The whole world is watching you and it is by your side. Dictators of the Arab world listen the voice of the people. People will Prevail, and Tyrants in the Arab world will Fall. We are with you People of Egypt.

– You Tube Link

A thuggish security state

– A lesson in thuggery: how the security services control Egypt

– A one-time Egyptian resident describes the operation of a thuggish security state that controls through everyday brutality

His bastards

Who are the “pro-Mubarak” protesters who have been engaged in running battles with democracy activists throughout Egypt? Why did they come to the demonstration carrying not placards and tracts, but machetes and sulphuric acid? And why were some of them riding on camels? Frederick Bowie explores the murky world of the counter revolution …

Read more : OpenDemocracy

London Riot: Tory HQ smashed by British students

Via- Globeistan – YouTube Link

Pakistani Women Organize Prayer Demonstration outside the United Nations

16th March 2010, Geneva: European Organization of Pakistani Minorities an International Independent NGO working for the minority rights for Pakistani’s organized a Peaceful prayer demonstration in front of the United Nations under the symbolic broken chair.