Thursday 31 July 2014
Tuesday 29 July 2014
Palestinian leadership must be committed to resistance
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| Comrade Khalida Jarrar |
Jul 20 2014
Comrade Khalida Jarrar, a leader in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said that any Palestinian leadership must be committed to the option of resistance, the people and their right to defend themselves.
In comments to Palestine Today, Jarrar denounced the statements of PA President Mahmoud Abbas regarding the aggression on the Gaza Strip, saying that “The leadership today appears to exist in a different reality from the situation of the Palestinian people in the streets.” She demanded a full and immediate end to security coordination with the enemy, saying that these security commitments by the Palestinian Authority keep the Palestinian people at the mercy of the occupation. She demanded the government of national consensus to uphold their responsibilities to meet the needs of Gaza and confront the ongoing aggression, saying that the occupation is trying to divide the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and the rest of Palestine, and this must not be allowed.
Jarrar urged the people and the resistance in the West Bank to express their anger and demanded that the PA security services stop the repression of Palestinian youth seeking to clash with the occupation, and instead protect the people, and called for the formation of popular leadership on the ground to lead the Palestinian people.
காசா ஆதரவு காஸ்மீர் ஆர்ப்பாட்டத்தில் துப்பாக்கிச் சூடு!
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| Kashmiris hit streets against Gaza bloodbath |
Youth critical as forces open fire on protesters at Qaimoh; Clashes in Bandipora, Sopore, Srinagar, Baramulla
KHALID GUL/ABID BASHIR
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Srinagar, July 18: A youth was critically injured in Qaimoh area of Kulgam district in South Kashmir during clashes Friday as Kashmir once again registered its anger against the Israeli aggression in Gaza that left over 250 people dead and 1700, including women and children, injured. Nearly a dozen youth and a few cops were injured in the clashes across Kashmir.
Pertinently, Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani had urged people to stage peaceful demonstrations against Israeli aggression in Gaza post-Friday congregational prayers.
SOUTH KASHMIR
Reports said soon after the Friday prayers people in Qaimoh and adjoining areas of Khudwani and Redwani staged massive anti-Israel demonstrations. The protesters carrying placards were shouting anti-Israel, anti-US and anti-India slogans. The protesters marched towards Srinagar-Jammu highway and resorted to stone-pelting on the forces, resulting in clashes. “The paramilitary forces fired at the protesters resulting in bullet injury to one youth,” eyewitnesses said. The youth was identified as Amir Ahmad Parray S/O Abdul Majid Parray, age 19 years, a resident of Gufbal village of Qaimoh. He was shifted to district hospital Anantnag for treatment where from he was rushed to SKIMS, Soura (Srinagar) in a critical condition. “Amir has received bullet injury on right side of his chest,” said a doctor at the district hospital Anantnag. Several other people also sustained injuries.
“One Sajad Ahmad Wani S/O Abdul RehmanWani of Qaimoh received tear smoke canister injury and was also being treated at the district hospital,” reports said.
One of the pedestrians, identified as Sameer Ahmad S/O Muhammad YousufShalla of Uran Hall village of Anantnag district, suffered serious injuries after paramilitary forces allegedly beat him to pulp. “I was not part of the protest but the CRPF personnel mercilessly thrashed me with gun butts and bamboo sticks,” said Sameer, who suffered severe eye injury and was also being treated at the district hospital.
Several cops and paramilitary forces personnel were reportedly injured in the clashes and many vehicles damaged by the protesters. Clashes were on in Qaimoh and adjoining areas when reports last came in.
Superintendent of Police (SP) KulgamMumtaz Ahmad said police is trying to ascertain the details.
Massive anti–Israel protests also rocked South Kashmir districts of Islamabad, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian.
Reports said in Islamabad town, as Friday prayers concluded, people assembled in large numbers outside Jamia Masjid Ahli-Hadith, Bait-ul-Muqaram, RehatDed Masjid, Jamia Masjid Hanfia and several other Masjids and marched towards LalChowk. “The protesters were carrying placards and banners reading Save Palestine and Down with Israel,” eyewitnesses said.
Reports said local Tehreek-e-Hurriyat leaders led the protest demonstration even as police detained district president Hurriyat (G) to prevent him from leading the procession. “Police and CRPF men who were deployed in strength to thwart the protests used force to disperse the protesters triggering clashes,” reports said.
Locals said that youth pelted stones on the forces who retaliated by baton charge and tear gas shelling. “Clashes soon spread to other old town areas including Reeshi Bazar, Malakhnag, CheeniChowk, Sheerpora, JanglatMandi, Kadipora and Sarnal,” reports said. Youth fought pitched battles with forces, and clashes were on till reports last came in and spread to even areas of Khannabal-Pahalgam (KP) road.
Earlier Thursday night protests rocked Sarnal area after the paramilitary forces allegedly thrashed locals who were going for night (Isha) prayers. Locals alleged that the forces personnel also smashed the windowpanes of the houses.
Massive protests were also staged in Pulwama town. “People marched towards the streets of town amid anti-Israel, anti-US and anti-India slogans,” eyewitnesses said. They said the protesters were wearing black arm bands and carrying placards. Police resorted to tear gas shelling to disperse protesters near Main ChowkPulwama. Sporadic incidents of stone pelting were also reported from the town.
Reports of protests were also received from Tral, Awantipora, Pampore and Rajpora areas of the district.
In Shopian town also, massive protest rallies were taken out from Jamia Masjid and Tak Masjid. Protest demonstrations were led by Tehreek-e-Hurriyat leader and district president, Hurriyat (G), Muhammad YousufFalahi.
CENTRAL KASHMIR
Soon after the Friday prayers, Chairman Hurriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq led a protest demonstration outside historic Jamia Masjid Srinagar against Gaza carnage. Mirwaiz was wearing a black band as a mark of protest against Israel.
Mirwaiz while condemning the silence of United Nations over the innocent killings in Gaza, raised anti-UN slogans. As Mirwaiz left the spot, scores of youth assembled at Nowhatta and engaged in clashes with the forces. Police resorted to heavy tear gas shelling to quell the protesters. Heavy stone pelting and clashes were going on in Nohwatta and other areas of the old city when this report was filed.
Protest rallies were taken out from many Masjids in Srinagar against Israel’s aggression in Gaza. A protest march started from Jamia Masjid Hyderpora that culminated at GhantaGhar, LalChowk peacefully. The protesters were carrying placards displaying anti-Israel slogans. Another protest rally started from the shrine of Hazrat Sheikh Abdul QadirJeelani (RA) at Sarai Bala. Reports of protests also poured in from many other parts of Srinagar and elsewhere.
Before Friday prayers, senior Hurriyat (M) leader and JKLF (H) chairman Javaid Ahmed Mir staged a peaceful demonstration in Press Enclave here against the Israeli aggression in Gaza.
NORTH KASHMIR
Soon after Friday prayers, hundreds of people took to the streets near Jamia Masjid Sopore to stage anti-Israel protests. The protestors also burnt Israeli flags. According to reports, the protests spread to other areas like College Road and interiors of Sopore town, triggering clashes between youth and forces. At least six people sustained minor injuries in the clashes.
In Baramulla district, IttihadulMuslimeen organized a peaceful demonstration at Hanjiwera, Pattan after Friday prayers. A large number of people from all walks of life while condemning the killing of innocent civilians, children and women by Israelis in Gaza joined the protests. Demonstrators and protesters holding placards and banners were chanting slogans like, “Down with America, Down with Israel, Save Gaza, Shia-Sunni Bhai Bhai.”
Reports of similar protests were registered from many areas of Kupwara district of north Kashmir as well.
Thousands of people gathered in the main market Kupwara after Friday prayers to protest Israeli aggression in Gaza. The main procession was taken out from MarkaziJamia Masjid that passed through different markets.
Meanwhile, a protest rally was also taken out from Jamia Masjid Kunzar and Jamai Masjid Tangmarg. Areas that include Chandilora and Duroo on the Srinagar-Gulmarg road observed a partial shutdown.
In Kupwara town, Handwara, Lalpora (Lolab) and Trehgam hundreds of people immediately after the Friday prayers took to streets against the carnage of Palestinians. Police resorted to mild tear-gas shelling to quell the angry protesters.
Violent clashes erupted in Bandipora district of north Kashmir post-Friday prayers as hundreds of people staged demos against Gaza carnage. According to reports, as the protesters reached Main Chowk, scores of youth resorted to stone pelting forcing the police and paramilitary CRPF to retaliate with tear gas shells. In the ensuing clashes, at least six persons including four youth and two cops were injured. The injured youth were identified as Fayaz Ahmed of Kaloosa, Shakir Ahmed, Waseem Hassan and Jamsheed residents of Bandipora town. People also staged protests in Main Town, Papchan, Hajin, Naidkhai, Sumbal, Arin, Watapora, Ashtangoo and Nowgam. As the clashes spread, authorities brought in more forces to quell the protests who responded with heavy tear gas shelling. Youth were fighting with police and paramilitary in ding-dong battles till this report was filed.
PROTESTS IN KU CAMPUS
Dozens of Kashmir University students despite summer break also staged protests against Israel after Friday prayers despite warnings issued by the authorities. A group of protesting students told Greater Kashmir that they registered a strong protest against the Israeli aggression in Gaza. “It is our duty as Muslims to protest against the innocent killings of people, especially children in Gaza,” they said. The varsity students also alleged that KU’s chief proctor had warned them of dire consequences in case they stage any protests in the campus. “Soon after the protest, many students were detained by the police,” a group of students said. Pertinently, the University authorities have already announced summer break from July 18 to July 31.
POLICE VERSION
Police said stray incidents of stone-pelting were reported in the afternoon from Qaimoh, Wanpoh in Kulgam, NaidKhai, Sopore, Papchan, Bandipora and Nowhatta Srinagar.
“One person Amir Ahmad was injured at Wanpoh, he has been shifted to Srinagar Hospital where his condition is being reported to be stable, besides a lady Hasina was injured in Sopore and was shifted to a hospital,” a police spokesman said.
(With ShahidRafiq and Sheikh Nazir)
காசாப்படுகொலையைக் கண்டித்து இஸ்லாமியத் தமிழர்கள் ஆர்ப்பாட்டம்
காசாப்படுகொலையைக் கண்டித்து இஸ்லாமியத் தமிழர்கள் ஆர்ப்பாட்டம்! அமெரிக்க இஸ்ரேலியக் கொடிகள் தீவைப்பு!!
இலங்கை வாழ் முஸ்லிம்கள் இன்று செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை புனித ரமழான் பண்டிகையைக் கொண்டாடும் அதே வேளை இந்த ஆர்ப்பாட்டங்கள் நடந்தன.
மட்டக்களப்பு மாவட்டத்தில் காத்தான்குடி, அம்பாறை மாவட்டத்தில் பாலமுனை மற்றும் சின்னப்பாலமுனை ஆகிய இடங்களில் நடைபெற்ற இந்த கண்டன ஆர்பாட்டங்களில் பெரும் எண்ணிக்கையிலான முஸ்லிம்கள் கலந்து கொண்டார்கள்.
பள்ளிவாசல்களிலும் பொது இடங்களிலும் இன்று காலை புனித ரமதான் தொழுகைக்காக ஒன்று கூடிய முஸ்லிம்கள் தொழுகையின் பின்னர் வீதிகளில் இறங்கி ஆர்ப்பாட்டங்களில் ஈடுபட்டனர்.
ஆர்பாட்டங்களில் கலந்து கொண்டவர்கள் குறிப்பாக பலஸ்தீன் காஸா மீதான தாக்குதல்களில் கொல்லப்பட்ட குழந்தைகளின் படங்கள் உட்பட, மேலும் படுகொலைப் படங்களையும் தமது கைகளில் ஏந்தியவாறு காணப்பட்டார்கள்.
அமெரிக்கா மற்றும் இஸ்ரேலுக்கு எதிராகவும் பாலஸ்தீனத்துக்கு ஆதரவாகவும் வாசக அட்டைகளை ஏந்தியவாறு, யுத்தத்தை நிறுத்தவேண்டுமென முழக்கமிட்டனர்.
முடிவில் அமெரிக்கா மற்றும் இஸ்ரேல் ஆகிய நாடுகளின் தேசியக் கொடிகள் ஆர்பாட்டக்காரர்களினால் தீ மூட்டி எரிக்கப்பட்டன.
Shuja’iya Massacre proves the nature of the occupier and the failure of its aggression
Barakat: Shuja’iya Massacre proves the nature of the occupier and the failure of its aggression
Jul 20 2014
khaled-barakatComrade Khaled Barakat said in an interview with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine media department that “the horrific massacre in Shuja’iya neighborhood in Gaza only proves the brutal, racist, colonialist nature of the occupier that Palestinians are fighting against. The massacre today is one in a long line of ongoing and continuing massacres aiming at the expulsion of Palestinians from our land for over 66 years. The occupation state is based on the massacres and expulsion of Palestinians from their land. It is an illegitimate, racist, settler colonial entity and this shines through in its massacres in Gaza.”
“The massacre also indicates the failure of the aggression and the cowardice of the Israeli Occupation Forces,” Barakat said. “Killing children and bombing civilians is not military heroism. This massacre, conducted with U.S.-made and funded weapons before the eyes of the world, with the silence and complicity of imperial powers and Arab regimes, is another proof that the occupation forces have failed in the battlefield and in their attempt to force a surrender upon the resistance.”
“The war criminals in Tel Aviv wanted to prove to their racist society that they are ‘making progress’ and the way to do that is by shelling a historic neighbourhood in Gaza, Shujai’yya, crowded with civilians, full of people, displacing over 85,000 people, bombing and shelling children and families with tanks and warplanes, because they are unwilling and unable to confront the resistance in the battlefield, face to face. In other words, Israel is using Palestinian civilians as human shields for its cowardly army,” said Barakat.
“In the last 48 hours we have seen that the real heroes in the battlefield, the Palestinian fighters of the resistance who have fought heroically and went behind enemy lines to confront occupation soldiers, achieving true victories against the occupiers,” said Barakat.
Commenting on the brutality of the Shuja’iya Massacre, Barakat said, “These massacres only deepen the Israeli defeat. Let us remember that in 1967 ‘Israel’ occupied the West Bank, Gaza, Sinai and the Golan Heights in 6 days and now, for the past two weeks, the Israeli ‘mighty army’ could not advance into the strip 10 meters fighting the resistance on the ground. And as an alternative, it has conducted massive bombing of civilians, targeting children, family homes, schools, hospitals, centers for people with disabilities, elders, fishers’ boats, family farms, and massive and random shelling of entire civilian neighborhoods.”
We have no doubt that Israel’s technical military capabilities are higher than the Palestinian technical capabilities, just as in the case of every colonizer who possesses massive military power and deploys a killing machine against an oppressed people struggling to live. However, in the confrontation on the battlefield, there is the truth – there are more Israeli soldiers killed and wounded than Palestinian resistance fighters. And so the cowardly colonial army of occupation targets families and civilian neighborhoods for massacres.”
Comrade Barakat said that the unity that the Palestinian resistance is exhibiting has never before been witnessed to this extent, and that “what makes the resistance stronger and more unified is the Palestinian people’s embrace of the resistance on a mass popular level. Our people in Gaza are the shell that protect the resistance and make it stronger and this popular support is the main principle and assurance of the victory to come.”
Barakat said that “there is no doubt that this battle is going to be deeply costly in human terms because of the brutality of the occupier, but the resistance will emerge from this battle stronger and more experienced, just like they did in 2008-9 and in 2012. After each battle, the resistance emerges stronger in its abilities, weapons, tactics, experience and qualitative achievements.”
Jul 20 2014
khaled-barakatComrade Khaled Barakat said in an interview with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine media department that “the horrific massacre in Shuja’iya neighborhood in Gaza only proves the brutal, racist, colonialist nature of the occupier that Palestinians are fighting against. The massacre today is one in a long line of ongoing and continuing massacres aiming at the expulsion of Palestinians from our land for over 66 years. The occupation state is based on the massacres and expulsion of Palestinians from their land. It is an illegitimate, racist, settler colonial entity and this shines through in its massacres in Gaza.”
“The massacre also indicates the failure of the aggression and the cowardice of the Israeli Occupation Forces,” Barakat said. “Killing children and bombing civilians is not military heroism. This massacre, conducted with U.S.-made and funded weapons before the eyes of the world, with the silence and complicity of imperial powers and Arab regimes, is another proof that the occupation forces have failed in the battlefield and in their attempt to force a surrender upon the resistance.”
“The war criminals in Tel Aviv wanted to prove to their racist society that they are ‘making progress’ and the way to do that is by shelling a historic neighbourhood in Gaza, Shujai’yya, crowded with civilians, full of people, displacing over 85,000 people, bombing and shelling children and families with tanks and warplanes, because they are unwilling and unable to confront the resistance in the battlefield, face to face. In other words, Israel is using Palestinian civilians as human shields for its cowardly army,” said Barakat.
“In the last 48 hours we have seen that the real heroes in the battlefield, the Palestinian fighters of the resistance who have fought heroically and went behind enemy lines to confront occupation soldiers, achieving true victories against the occupiers,” said Barakat.
Commenting on the brutality of the Shuja’iya Massacre, Barakat said, “These massacres only deepen the Israeli defeat. Let us remember that in 1967 ‘Israel’ occupied the West Bank, Gaza, Sinai and the Golan Heights in 6 days and now, for the past two weeks, the Israeli ‘mighty army’ could not advance into the strip 10 meters fighting the resistance on the ground. And as an alternative, it has conducted massive bombing of civilians, targeting children, family homes, schools, hospitals, centers for people with disabilities, elders, fishers’ boats, family farms, and massive and random shelling of entire civilian neighborhoods.”
We have no doubt that Israel’s technical military capabilities are higher than the Palestinian technical capabilities, just as in the case of every colonizer who possesses massive military power and deploys a killing machine against an oppressed people struggling to live. However, in the confrontation on the battlefield, there is the truth – there are more Israeli soldiers killed and wounded than Palestinian resistance fighters. And so the cowardly colonial army of occupation targets families and civilian neighborhoods for massacres.”
Comrade Barakat said that the unity that the Palestinian resistance is exhibiting has never before been witnessed to this extent, and that “what makes the resistance stronger and more unified is the Palestinian people’s embrace of the resistance on a mass popular level. Our people in Gaza are the shell that protect the resistance and make it stronger and this popular support is the main principle and assurance of the victory to come.”
Barakat said that “there is no doubt that this battle is going to be deeply costly in human terms because of the brutality of the occupier, but the resistance will emerge from this battle stronger and more experienced, just like they did in 2008-9 and in 2012. After each battle, the resistance emerges stronger in its abilities, weapons, tactics, experience and qualitative achievements.”
Shuja’iya massacre will stain the hands of all who are silent and complicit
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Photo,The Zionist enemy carried out a horrific massacre today against the civilians of Shuja’iya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, targeting homes with mortars, tanks, missiles and aircraft, killing dozens of martyrs and wounding hundreds, where many remain under the rubble of their destroyed homes amid a barrage of shells and rockets. |
Jul 20 2014
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine pledged that the blood of the martyrs of the Shuja’iya massacre, of the war crimes and genocide committed by land, air and sea in every inch of Gaza against civilians in their homes, children, women, and the elderly, will not be wasted, and that the enemy will never be able to break the will and steadfastness of our people and their valiant resistance which will fight and resist this cowardly and criminal enemy until the last breath.
The Front noted that the Zionist criminal occupation has brought death, destruction and devastation to our neighborhoods, camps and cities, saying that the occupation forces were incapable of stopping the resistance or its qualitative strikes against occupation forces, and have expressed their cowardice by targeting innocent civilians in their homes.
The Front saluted the brave resisters in all the Palestinian military organizations who are willing to sacrifice in order to block the progress of the occupation forces, for our people to survive and confront the war machine, and praised its ongoing painful strikes to the enemy.
Furthermore, the Front emphasized that the international community is responsible for the crimes against our people in Gaza with its ongoing military, financial, and political support to the occupation entity, providing it with political cover to commit crimes against our people.
The Front demanded that Palestinian Authority officials and spokespeople stop engaging in the language of defeatism and to instead respect the Palestinian popular mood, which shouts that no voice is louder than the voice of the resistance. Our legitimate resistance is a point of pride for all of our people; we are convinced that we will win, and we will mend our wounds, we will rise from the rubble and the ruins to rebuild our homes again.
The Front saluted with pride the steadfast people in Gaza from Rafah to Beit Hanoun who have suffered so much pain and yet refuse to concede to the threats of the occupation. People with such steadfastness will inevitably triumph and no war machine will be able to defeat them or to force them to abandon their embrace of the resistance.
The Front saluted the inspiring sacrifices and commitment of medical personnel, ambulance workers and civil defense, who faced extreme danger and came under fire in order to evacuate the dead and wounded, as well as the journalists who lost their lives in order to deliver the tragic images in the streets of Gaza to the world.
The Front called upon the Palestinian people throughout Palestine, in the West Bank, Jerusalem and ’48 and everywhere in diaspora and exile, saying that the land of the West Bank must burn under the feet of the occupiers, in their settlements and everywhere the occupation is. It is time that the earth is turned to flame beneath the feet of the criminal enemy. There can be no more waiting as the horrific massacres continue in Bureij, Rafah, Khan Younis, Beit Hanoun, Shuja’iya, Gaza.
It also demanded the Arab people and the democratic and progressive forces of the world to remain in the streets and squares, to occupy, surround and storm the Zionist and U.S. embassies and consulates in response to the crimes of the occupation forces, and to condemn the international and Arab official silence and complicity, demanding an immediate end to the siege on Gaza and the unconditional opening of Rafah crossing and in particular to facilitate the entry of medical personnel and aid.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine confirm that the crimes of the occupation will not go unpunished and resistance to the Zionist genocide against our people is our path. The banner of resistance and confrontation will be raised high by the Palestinian people.
The PFLP demanded that the PLO leadership immediately act to join the International Criminal Court and act to prosecute the fascist occupation war criminals for their massacres against the Palestinian people. The Front expressed its highest honor and salute and deepest mourning for the blood of the martyrs whose blood was shed on the land of Gaza, pledging to march on the path of freedom, self-determination, return and liberation, for which they were killed.
Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades continue confronting the occupier on the battlefield
Jul 20 2014 PFLP
The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, is fighting alongside its fellow resistance factions in response to the Zionist aggression on Gaza from land, air and sea, and has engaged in many clashes dealing serious blows to the occupation army.
AAMB announced that it ambushed occupation soldiers east of Khan Younis and engaged with them directly, saying there were serious injuries in the ranks of the soldiers. It also announced that in a joint operation with the Brigades of the Martyr Abdelqader Husseini it confronted the enemy near the airport in Rafah, engaging them with a variety of weapons.
On Sunday, AAMB reported:
AAMB fighters clashed directly with occupation forces behind Kafarneh Street near the Agricultural College north of Beit Hanoun at 2:50 AM.
AAMB and Abdelqader Husseini Brigades infiltrated and engaged occupation forces at the Rafah airport area and confronted them with a variety of weapons including 4 “107″ type missiles.
Targeting enemy artillery east of Shuja’iya at 12:45 AM.
On Saturday, July 19:
* AAMB bombarded Eshkol settlement with three missiles at 11:00 PM.
* Ambushing ememy soldiers and clashing with them with confirmed casualties in their ranks
* Clashes with enemy forces in joint action with other resistance forces
* Targeting the enemy at Kerem Abu Salem at 10:15 pm with missiles
* Fighting with Israeli special forces in northern Beit Hanoun, causing confirmed enemy casualties
* Firing three rockets toward Bir Saba at 9:15 pm.
* The thirteenth day of the attack Saturday, 19/07/2014 AD
* In a joint operation with the Nasser Salahuddin Brigades, targeting occupation military northwest of Beit Lahiya with anti-tank missiles, hitting their equipment directly at 7:25 pm
* Clashing with the occupation forces in one of the houses destroyed by their attacks in northern Beit Hanoun at 6:30 pm.
* Bombarding Eshkol settlement with missiles at 3:00 PM
* Confronting Zionist special forces that attempted to infiltrate Gaza
* Bombarding Asqelan with a Grad rocket at 3:00 AM
Israeli shells hit Gaza’s only power plant
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| A Palestinian man takes a picture of a fire raging in Gaza's main power plant following an overnight Israeli airstrike, south of Gaza City©EPA |
Israeli shells hit Gaza’s only power plant
By Joel Greenberg in Jerusalem FT
Israeli shells hit the fuel depot of the Gaza Strip’s only power plant on Tuesday, cutting electricity to Gaza City and wide areas of the coastal enclave as Israel intensified its bombardments of the territory after losing 10 soldiers in militant attacks.
Towering flames and plumes of smoke rose from the power station, as Israel’s offensive against the Islamist group Hamas entered its fourth week, with no signs of a breakthrough in US and regional efforts to broker a ceasefire.
Air strikes overnight targeted symbols of Hamas control in Gaza, hitting the studios of the group’s Al-Aqsa television and radio stations in a media complex in the centre of Gaza City that also contains offices of several Arab satellite television news channels. Al Aqsa television broadcasts continued from another location, according to local reports.
The vacated home of Ismail Haniyeh, the top Hamas leader in Gaza, was bombed, as well as the financial department of group’s administration in the territory, along with four mosques that the army said were used to store weapons.
“My house is not more valuable than the house of any other Gazan and destroying stones will not break our determination and resistance,” Mr Haniyeh said in a statement. “We will resist until freedom.”
The Palestinian death toll climbed beyond 1,100, according to health officials, as fresh strikes were reported on homes, some of which the army asserted had been used as “command and control centers” by Hamas militants.
A total of 53 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the fighting, along with three civilians who died in rocket and mortar strikes in Israel
Multiple members of extended families were reported to have been killed in strikes on houses in the al-Bureij refugee camp, where the home of the mayor was struck, in Khan Yunis and in Rafah, where seven members of the Abu Zeid family, including four women and a child, were reported to have died in a strike on their home.
The Israeli strikes followed the killing of 10 Israeli soldiers on Monday. Four died when mortars hit an army staging area in southern Israel near the Gaza border. Another five were killed when militants who had tunnelled into Israel attacked their position with an anti-tank rocket.
One of the infiltrators was killed in a subsequent exchange of fire as the rest fled back to the Gaza Strip, the army said. A bulldozer driver from the army’s corps of engineers was killed in Gaza when an anti-tank rocket hit his vehicle, the army said.
A total of 53 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the fighting, along with three civilians who died in rocket and mortar strikes in Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Monday to press on with the offensive, telling Israelis to “prepare for a prolonged campaign”.
Israel’s Netanyahu defiant despite pressure
July 28, 2014 5:11 pm
Israel’s Netanyahu defiant despite pressure
By Joel Greenberg in Jerusalem FT
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced increased international pressure on Monday to wind down Israel’s military offensive against the Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but he has strong support at home to continue the campaign.
“We have to be prepared for a protracted battle,” Mr Netanyahu told Israelis on Monday, pledging to continue the offensive until a network of Hamas attack tunnels was destroyed.
After US president Barack Obama and the UN Security Council called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, Mr Netanyahu lashed out at the council’s non-binding “presidential statement” calling for a halt to hostilities to allow for delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance, calling it one-sided.
In a conversation with Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, Mr Netanyahu charged that the statement dealt with “the needs of a murderous terrorist organisation that attacks Israeli civilians, and does not address Israel’s security needs”, according to an account by the prime minister’s office.
A key reason for Mr Netanyahu’s defiant tone has been the popularity of the Gaza campaign at home, where Israelis have rallied behind the government and the army in the war against Hamas.
Absorbing daily rocket strikes directed at big cities and towns, Israelis have accepted Mr Netanyahu’s depiction of the campaign as an effort to degrade Hamas’s military capabilities in Gaza, including its missile stocks and attack tunnels, while bringing a long-term halt to the rocket attacks.
Polls have shown overwhelming opposition to a ceasefire. One survey published by Israel’s Channel 10 television on Sunday showed that 87 per cent of Israelis were in favour of continuing the Gaza operation and just 7 per cent wanted a full ceasefire. Another poll showed similar figures, with only 9.7 per cent agreeing with the statement: “Israel had enough achievements, soldiers have died, and it is time to stop”.
“What most Israelis perceive is the fact that the Palestinians are sending rockets into Israel, to very central places, and this is something they expect the government to prevent, so they will not support leaving Gaza without getting the job done,” said Tom Segev, a historian and author. “There is no opposition, except for a few thousand people who demonstrated against the war.”
Contributing to this public perception is the sympathetic Israeli media coverage of the military campaign, which has largely shielded Israelis from the graphic scenes of death and destruction viewers are seeing around the world.
Israeli news broadcasts focus on military operations against the tunnels and the damage and disruption caused by the rocket strikes in Israel, with relatively few images of the civilian casualties and devastation in Gaza.
With Israeli journalists barred from the coastal territory, except when embedded with army units, the bulk of Israeli reporting on the war is being done by military correspondents, with studio commentary provided by an array of ex-generals.
Mr Netanyahu has also taken pains to limit public scrutiny of his conduct of the war. In televised statements to the nation, flanked by the defence minister and army chief of staff, he usually takes no questions from reporters. With parliament in summer recess and support for the campaign reaching across the political spectrum, the prime minister has not been summoned to explain his policies before the Knesset.
While the 47 soldiers killed so far is a relatively high death toll in Israel for a campaign in its third week, the military’s dead and wounded are widely seen as a painful but necessary price for halting years of rocket attacks on civilians.
Mr Netanyahu has praised the Israeli public for its resilience, asserting that it has enabled the government to prosecute the war. “Your steadfast fortitude gives us the ability and the time to take strong action against our enemies, and we are all proud of you,” he said in one national broadcast.
Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system, which has intercepted scores of rockets headed for significant population centres, along with an early warning system that has sent millions of Israelis to shelters before rocket impacts, have kept the civilian casualty toll low. Two Israeli civilians and a Thai labourer have been killed in rocket strikes.
Many of the nearly 2,000 rockets and mortars that have hit Israel have landed in open areas.
After an ebb in fighting early on Monday at the start of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, rocket fire at Israel and Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip resumed, with fresh deaths reported on both sides.
Four Israeli soldiers were killed in a mortar strike near the Gaza border, and 10 Palestinians, most of them children, were reported killed in an explosion in a park that local officials said was caused by an Israeli airstrike. Another strike hit an outpatient clinic at Gaza City’s main hospital, Al-Shifa, but there were no casualties. The Israeli army said both blasts were caused by impacts of misfired rockets launched by militants.
As the offensive has moved from land, air and sea bombardments to a ground invasion by infantry and tanks, the war aims have expanded. Initial government statements that “quiet will be met with quiet” have given way to demands by Mr Netanyahu that the Gaza Strip be demilitarised, ridding it of Hamas’s stocks of missiles and tunnel networks, some dug toward Israel for cross-border attacks.
Mr Obama acknowledged that demand in a phone conversation with Mr Netanyahu urging a ceasefire, though he appeared to defer any resolution of the issue to a final political settlement with the Palestinians.
“Ultimately, any lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must ensure the disarmament of terrorist groups and the demilitarisation of Gaza,” Mr Obama said, according to a White House statement.
Many Israelis, meanwhile, seem to be in no mood for a truce until the declared aims of the Gaza campaign are achieved. A woman from a rocket-stricken city in the south of the country captured the public mood in comments broadcast on Israel Radio. “We’ve been suffering here for 14 years,” she said. “We’re ready to suffer more now, but until they finish it off. I’m not willing to even hear the word ceasefire, not even for a minute.”
Source: FT
Monday 28 July 2014
Gaza Baby Delivered from Dying Mother
Gaza Baby Delivered from Dying Mother
By Adam Justice , July 28, 2014 13:16 PM BST
Doctors have delivered a Palestinian baby girl, Shayma Hussien, from the womb of her Mother, whom medics said was killed in an Israeli air strike on their house.
Israel is using shrapnel bombs in Gaza
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| Gaza July 2014 Mother and Child |
PUBLISHED: 14 JULY 2014 HITS: 800
Dense Inert Metal Explosive are a mix of explosive material and small particles of chemically inert material, for instance tungsten. The metal is mixed in very small particles (1 – 2 mm) or in powder, and thus the micro-shrapnel can slice through soft tissue and bone. The mix, in a carbon fibre casing, has a very potent shrapnel effect in a small radius : the probability of killing people within a small radius is increased, and survivors may have to be amputated (esp. of the lower limbs), because the shrapnel cannot be detected through x-ray in the bodies of the victims and the injury cannot be cured. The tungsten powder « dissolves » in the body, and any minor injury interferes with the clotting process, leading to profuse bleeding.
DIME weapons have been developed among other things as a replacement for depleted uranium bombs. In theory, the long-range damage of the explosion is reduced (allowing for the use of the weapon in urban, asymmetric battles). Indeed, the effect of the explosion is dissipated at a range of 5 – 10 meters. DIME bombs are usually carried by drones ; they are the dreamed « smart bomb » for a « clean war ». But tungsten is also a known carcinogenic material : in addition to their amputations, survivors must therefore be followed for cancer risks. The destruction of the carbon case adds to the effect of the weapon, as it explodes into small fibre sharps, of 3 to 10 microns. The risk for respiratory diseases, and for lung cancer, is very important.
Actually, according to Israel's Manual on the Rules of Warfare on the Battlefield (2006 edition), shrapnel invisible to x-rays are forbidden. The manual, which is referred to on the ICRC's website ( http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_rul_rule79 ), acknowledges that the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons bans these weapons, that cause « damage over and above what is necessary and [are] therefore forbidden ». Why is Israel using them notwithstandingly ?
Source: < The European Institute for International Law and International Relations > http://www.eiilir.eu/
RSS link with the Bodu Bala Sena - Swapan Dasgupta
For West, Rajapaksa is Sri Lanka’s Modi
Jul 25, 2014
''The belief is that India will endorse Sri Lanka’s growing impatience with NGOs and multilateral bodies that use the cover of human rights and reconciliation to carry out a political agenda''
It is a measure of Sri Lanka’s return to “normal” democratic politics that conspiracy theories are once again resonating in Colombo.
Compared to the situation just three years ago when “politics” continued to centre on the 30-year-long bloody civil war that mercifully came to an end in May 2009, the sub-text of political discussions today is the presidential election, due some time in early-2015.
It is not that the unending tensions between the Central government in Colombo and the Provincial Council in Jaffna have become so drearily routine that they cease to excite the public imagination. The Tamil National Alliance-controlled local administration in the Northern Province has reverted to the constitutional brinkmanship that marked Jaffna politics in the days before the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s conquest of the province. The loquacious Tamil politicians now in charge of the provincial administration know that they owe their return to the centrestage to the total decimation of the Tigers by the Sri Lankan Army five years ago. Yet, such are the charms of posturing that it is obligatory for them to pretend that the three lost decades were just a footnote.
When I was in Sri Lanka exactly 13 months ago, the conspiracy theory centred on President Mahindra Rajapaksa’s “secret” plan to either avoid provincial council elections in the Northern Province altogether or rig the results in favour of the pro-government Tamil parties. At that time TNA leaders were quite vocal in insisting that the so-called hardliners in the Rajapaksa government would never allow democracy in the Tamil areas.
Predictably, the conspiracy theory turned out to be spurious. Elections were held in the Northern Province as per the President’s commitment; there was a high turnout of voters and no suggestion of electoral malpractice; and the TNA won a resounding victory.
Since then, there is an ongoing cold war between the TNA and the government in Colombo over Jaffna’s claim for unhindered powers over land and police — the 13th Amendment controversy. Colombo is adamant that it cannot afford to relax its guard and allow any possible revival of terrorism in the province. The TNA feels that this is tantamount to reneging on a sovereign commitment given by President J.R. Jayawardene to Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and enshrined in the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987. It believes that India must use its muscle power to secure something akin to the “special status” of Article 370 for the Lankan Tamils. New Delhi, which is understandably wary of over-involvement in Sri Lanka after the Indian Peace Keeping Force experience of the late 1980s, isn’t too keen to meddle beyond a point and would rather that the matter be resolved within Sri Lanka. The TNA, however, loves to play the India card to replenish its bargaining clout with Colombo. The progress has been zero but the use of a foreign power to resolve domestic disputes has created complications for the larger relationship between New Delhi and Colombo. It has also created the conditions for China to cosy up to a country that is anxious for deepening economic engagements without strings attached.
The election of the Narendra Modi government has created a mood of anticipation in Colombo.
First, there is satisfaction that a BJP government with a majority of its own will not have to accommodate every unreasonable demand from Tamil Nadu on the course of bilateral relations. There is an expectation that the unfortunate situation of India voting against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Commission and Manmohan Singh’s boycott of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo won’t be repeated.
Secondly, given Mr Modi’s own unfortunate experiences with the global human rights industry, it is expected that India will be more understanding of Sri Lanka’s position on the collateral damage of the civil war. The belief is that India will endorse Sri Lanka’s growing impatience with NGOs and multilateral bodies that use the cover of human rights and reconciliation to carry out a political agenda. Certainly, India will have reason to be concerned about the precedents being set by the UN office in Colombo. Last month, for example, the UN attempted to conduct “voter education” workshops in a country that had universal adult franchise even before India and where voter turnout has always been extremely high. My own interaction with UN staffers leave me in little doubt that the local outfit sees itself as a facilitator for a type of politics that in Lanka’s context is decisively anti-Rajapaksa.
The writer is a senior journalist
http://www.asianage.com/
Jul 25, 2014
 |
| Swapan Dasgupta |
''The belief is that India will endorse Sri Lanka’s growing impatience with NGOs and multilateral bodies that use the cover of human rights and reconciliation to carry out a political agenda''
It is a measure of Sri Lanka’s return to “normal” democratic politics that conspiracy theories are once again resonating in Colombo.
Compared to the situation just three years ago when “politics” continued to centre on the 30-year-long bloody civil war that mercifully came to an end in May 2009, the sub-text of political discussions today is the presidential election, due some time in early-2015.
It is not that the unending tensions between the Central government in Colombo and the Provincial Council in Jaffna have become so drearily routine that they cease to excite the public imagination. The Tamil National Alliance-controlled local administration in the Northern Province has reverted to the constitutional brinkmanship that marked Jaffna politics in the days before the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s conquest of the province. The loquacious Tamil politicians now in charge of the provincial administration know that they owe their return to the centrestage to the total decimation of the Tigers by the Sri Lankan Army five years ago. Yet, such are the charms of posturing that it is obligatory for them to pretend that the three lost decades were just a footnote.
When I was in Sri Lanka exactly 13 months ago, the conspiracy theory centred on President Mahindra Rajapaksa’s “secret” plan to either avoid provincial council elections in the Northern Province altogether or rig the results in favour of the pro-government Tamil parties. At that time TNA leaders were quite vocal in insisting that the so-called hardliners in the Rajapaksa government would never allow democracy in the Tamil areas.
Predictably, the conspiracy theory turned out to be spurious. Elections were held in the Northern Province as per the President’s commitment; there was a high turnout of voters and no suggestion of electoral malpractice; and the TNA won a resounding victory.
Since then, there is an ongoing cold war between the TNA and the government in Colombo over Jaffna’s claim for unhindered powers over land and police — the 13th Amendment controversy. Colombo is adamant that it cannot afford to relax its guard and allow any possible revival of terrorism in the province. The TNA feels that this is tantamount to reneging on a sovereign commitment given by President J.R. Jayawardene to Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and enshrined in the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987. It believes that India must use its muscle power to secure something akin to the “special status” of Article 370 for the Lankan Tamils. New Delhi, which is understandably wary of over-involvement in Sri Lanka after the Indian Peace Keeping Force experience of the late 1980s, isn’t too keen to meddle beyond a point and would rather that the matter be resolved within Sri Lanka. The TNA, however, loves to play the India card to replenish its bargaining clout with Colombo. The progress has been zero but the use of a foreign power to resolve domestic disputes has created complications for the larger relationship between New Delhi and Colombo. It has also created the conditions for China to cosy up to a country that is anxious for deepening economic engagements without strings attached.
The election of the Narendra Modi government has created a mood of anticipation in Colombo.
First, there is satisfaction that a BJP government with a majority of its own will not have to accommodate every unreasonable demand from Tamil Nadu on the course of bilateral relations. There is an expectation that the unfortunate situation of India voting against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Commission and Manmohan Singh’s boycott of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo won’t be repeated.
Secondly, given Mr Modi’s own unfortunate experiences with the global human rights industry, it is expected that India will be more understanding of Sri Lanka’s position on the collateral damage of the civil war. The belief is that India will endorse Sri Lanka’s growing impatience with NGOs and multilateral bodies that use the cover of human rights and reconciliation to carry out a political agenda. Certainly, India will have reason to be concerned about the precedents being set by the UN office in Colombo. Last month, for example, the UN attempted to conduct “voter education” workshops in a country that had universal adult franchise even before India and where voter turnout has always been extremely high. My own interaction with UN staffers leave me in little doubt that the local outfit sees itself as a facilitator for a type of politics that in Lanka’s context is decisively anti-Rajapaksa.
Thirdly, the BJP has had a more rounded view of India’s civilisational links with Sri Lanka than some of those who saw the relationship through an exclusively Tamil prism. Since the time Syama Prasad Mookerjee took an active role in the Mahabodhi Society and the return of Bodh Gaya to Buddhist control, the (Rashtriya Swayamsevak)Sangh fraternity has cherished both the Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna and the Buddha tooth shrine in Kandy. These ties have been supplemented in recent years by exchanges with the Madhya Pradesh government and Colombo’s support for the preservation of the “Ram setu” linking the two countries.
Maybe it is because of an expected shift away from big-brotherly condescension to a more civilisational-cum-economic relationship that the conspiracy theories are certain to multiply in Colombo. There are certain to be suggestions of a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh link with the extremist Bodu Bala Sena that many people feel was responsible for the recent attacks on Muslims in Sri Lanka. More fanciful suggestion will hold that defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa is behind a sinister plot to ensure a Hindu-Buddhist alliance in Colombo and the Central Provinces to counter an exaggerated Muslim cultural separatism.There will be many more theories that will be lapped up by an impressionable media for whom President Rajapaksa is just another version of the dreaded Mr Modi in India. Like in India, the foreign media and NGOs in Sri Lanka believe that it is their responsibility to ensure natives vote according to the high moral standards set by the West.
The writer is a senior journalist
http://www.asianage.com/
Children killed in Gaza playground shelling
"It's believed that because it's been relatively calm, many of these children went outside to enjoy themselves on this Eid holiday but tragically they've been killed," Tyab said.Children killed in Gaza playground shelling
Israel denies hitting Gaza's main hospital and a playground, where seven children were killed.
Last updated: 28 Jul 2014 18:03
Eight people including seven children died following a missile strike on a park inside the Shati refugee camp [AFP]
Missiles have struck several sites in Gaza, including a park inside a refugee camp and an outpatient building of the strip's largest hospital, disrupting a relative lull at the start of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday.
Eight people, including seven children, died following missile fire on a park inside the Shati refugee camp on the edge of Gaza City, medics said.
The children were playing on a swing when the strike hit the park, Ayman Sahabani, the head of the emergency room at Shifa hospital, told reporters.
The Israeli army swiftly denied it was behind the strike, tweeting that a misfired rocket from Gaza had hit the playground.
"We had no activity in the area. We know it was launched from within Gaza and landed short," Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, an Israeli army spokesman, said.
However Hamas denied it had fired any rockets in the area and said it was "categorically an airstrike by Israel". It said it had collected schrapnel from the scene that it could prove was from an Israeli munition.
Medics said that an Israeli missile also hit a building, believed to be an outpatient clinic, close to the main gate of Shifa hospital, the same hospital where the victims of the playground strike were taken.
Al Jazeera's Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from the hospital, said there were chaotic scenes as "a number of small bodies were brought into this hospital".
"It's believed that because it's been relatively calm, many of these children went outside to enjoy themselves on this Eid holiday but tragically they've been killed," Tyab said.
Israelis killed
Also on Monday, four Israelis were killed in a mortar attack at Eshkol in southern Israel near the Gaza border.
The Israeli army hasn't commented on whether the four were soldiers or civilians, but the army has been deployed heavily in that area.
Monday’s violence followed an almost 12-hour pause in fighting and came as international efforts intensified to end the three-week war between Israel and Hamas.
The United Nations on Monday called for an "immediate" ceasefire in the fighting that has already killed more than 1,040 Palestinians, 43 Israeli soldiers and three civilians on the Israeli side.
At least two more Palestinians were killed in other attacks on Monday. A four-year-old boy died when tank shells hit his family's house in Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip, Gaza health officials said. Another person was killed by tank shelling in a separate incident, also in Jabaliya.
The military said at least a dozen rockets had been fired from Gaza at Israel since midnight.
Eid of mourning
As Muslims began celebrating Eid al-Fitr, there was fear and mourning on Monday instead of holiday cheer in large parts of Gaza.
Palestinian families huddled inside their homes, fearing more airstrikes, while those who came to a cemetery in Gaza City's Sheik Radwan neighbourhood to pay traditional respects at their ancestors' graves gathered around a large crater from an airstrike a week ago that had broken up several graves.
Amid an eerie calm, the call to Eid prayer echoed in the southern town of Rafah on Monday morning. Dozens of worshippers lined the rows of a severely destroyed mosque, with a collapsed roof and missing walls. Many of the faithful looked sombre during the traditional holiday sermon.
In Gaza City, dozens of men prayed in the courtyard of a UN school surrounded by school desks. Children and women stood on a higher level overlooking the worshippers.
"We are suffering and will suffer but we need our rights, our houses, our lands and our farms to return to us and we will not accept living a miserable life," said Abu Saber Jalees, who fled fighting to seek shelter at the school.
Amid a slowdown in the fighting, rescue teams uncovered five bodies in a village east of Khan Younis, said Saed al-Saoudi, the commander of the Civil Defence in Gaza.
UN unsuccessful truce bid
In New York, an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council called for "an immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire".
And while it was the council's strongest statement yet on the Gaza war, it was not a resolution and therefore not binding.
The council's presidential statement also called on the parties "to engage in efforts to achieve a durable and fully respected ceasefire, based on the Egyptian initiative."
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, spoke with UN chief Ban Ki-moon, according to a statement from his office, in which he voiced his dismay with the announcement.
"It does not include a response to Israel's security needs and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip," he said.
Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour also did not hide his disappointment.
He said the council should have adopted a strong and legally binding resolution a long time ago demanding an immediate halt to Israel's "aggression," providing the Palestinian people with protection and lifting the siege in the Gaza Strip so goods and people could move freely.
"You cannot keep 1.8 million Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip in this huge prison," Mansour told reporters. "That is a recipe for disaster. It is inhumane, and it has to be stopped and it has to be lifted."
Sunday 27 July 2014
ஒரு அயோக்கியனின் அர்த்தமற்ற வாக்குறுதி!- டேவிட் கமெரன்
''We should shine a light on Sri lanka'' David Cameron England PM
Saturday 26 July 2014
Hamas calls Israel truce terms 'unacceptable'
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| போரின் 20ம் நாள், குழந்தைகள்,பெண்கள்,ஊனமுற்றோர்,முதியோர்,பொதுமக்கள், சில போராளிகள் 1050 பேர் பலியெடுப்பு! |
Hamas calls Israel truce terms 'unacceptable'
Palestinian group says ceasefire should include withdrawal of Israeli troops and deal for residents to return to homes.Last updated: 26 Jul 2014 23:04
At least 1,049 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the fighting since July 8 [AP]
Palestinian group Hamas has said an Israeli offer to extend a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza is unacceptable because it does not include provision for the withdrawal of Israeli troops and for residents in the enclave to return to their homes.
Israel's security cabinet earlier approved extending the humanitarian ceasefire, which begun early on Saturday, until midnight local time (2100 GMT) on Sunday.
"At the request of the United Nations, the cabinet has approved a humanitarian hiatus until tomorrow (Sunday) at 24:00.
The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) will act against any breach of the ceasefire," an Israeli official said in a statement.
Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, told Al Jazeera that "any humanitarian ceasefire that doesn't include the complete withdrawal of its positions in the Gaza Strip, doesn’t enable the residents to go back to their homes and doesn’t allow the evacuation of the wounded, is unacceptable."
An earlier extension of the ceasefire, until midnight local time on Saturday, was broken shortly after 8pm, with the Israeli military announcing three mortar rounds had been fired from Gaza into southern Israel.
There was no damage and reports said the military did not regard the incident as a major violation.
Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Gaza, said she had been told there was no agreement among Palestinian factions in Gaza on extending the ceasefire.
"We've had it confirmed that the al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing of Hamas) has fired rockets at Israel. What they're saying is a four-hour ceasefire at night doesn't serve any purpose and the people will agree with them," Dekker said.
After the ceasefire began early on Saturday, Gazans took advantage of the lull in fighting to retrieve their dead and stock up on food, flooding into the streets to discover scenes of massive destruction in some areas.
At least 1,049 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed and more than 6,000 injured since Israel launched its offensive on July 8.
Israel said five more of its soldiers were killed in pre-truce fighting in Gaza and two others died of their wounds in hospital, bringing the army death toll to 42 as troops battled fighters in the tiny Mediterranean enclave that is home to 1.8 million Palestinians.
Three civilians, including two Israeli citizens and a Thai labourer, have been killed by rockets fired from Gaza.
Source: Al Jazeera
Wednesday 23 July 2014
Tuesday 22 July 2014
Friday 18 July 2014
Israel’s Gaza Conflict is no concern of Indian Parliament
A SPECIAL NEWS DOCUMENT
Israel war against Palestine Gaza and Modi Regime
=================================
''Every Sovereign State has a Right to defend its citizens, be it Israel or India'' Modi Regime
Israel’s Gaza Conflict is no concern of Indian Parliament
Amol Parth17 Jul 2014
The Indian Parliament was witness to a bold Foreign Affairs decision rooted in realism when on July 15, the Modi Government refused to pass a resolution to condemn Israel’s attacks on Gaza. While, it is sad that there may have been some civilian casualties during the ongoing Gaza Conflict, the NDA Government’s decision to not allow the Indian Parliament to become a theatre for empty moral grandstanding was in the best interests of India.
Amid uproar in the Parliament from parties like Congress, Left, SP and PDP which were demanding that the Government bring a resolution condemning Israeli action, the Government didn’t give in to the demands of these pro-minority appeasement political forces.
The previous UPA Government during its reign had condemned the Israeli counterattacks on Palestine with its own domestic political calculations in mind. The new BJP-led Government has on the other hand chosen to put India’s interests above cynical domestic politics by refusing to meddle in a dispute in which India has hardly any interests at stake or any leverage to influence.
In Israeli-Palestinian conflict, weapons are frequently fired from both sides in which both Israel and Palestine face casualties but the number of death in Israel is very few because of Israel’s strong Defence. Israel has increased the size and number of walls separating Israeli from Palestinian territory. Israel has also withdrawn its military and all settlers from Gaza, Palestine.
India’s national interest
“We have diplomatic ties with both nations. Any discourteous reference to any friendly country can impact our relations with them,” NDTV quoted Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj as saying, in the Rajya Shabha.
The Arab countries hold significance for India because of our dependence on their oil. At the same time, Israel is also important to us because of our military and strategic ties with it. India is the largest customer of Israeli military equipment and Israel is the second-largest military partner of India after Russia. Israel has poured billions of dollars of investment into Gujarat and has promised to invest in Bihar. Israel was one of the few selected nations to not condemn India’s 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests.
On security front, India and Israel face similar problem of terrorist attacks sponsored by neighbouring countries. According to a 2003 Rediff report, since its formation India’s intelligence agency RAW has had secret links with that of Israel, Mossad.
According to a report in Al Jazeera, Israel helped India militarily in 1962 India-China war, India-Pakistan war in 1971 and 1999 (Kargil). Israeli sensors and satellites are used extensively to monitor the Kashmir border to detect infiltration by insurgents from Pakistan. India recently put an Israeli satellite into orbit. India is also increasingly using Israel’s sophisticated drip irrigation technology to boost agricultural production.
Israel’s domestic conflicts are its internal issue. Narendra Modi Government did the right thing rejecting attempts by Left, Congress and other so-called ‘secular’ parties to discuss Israel’s internal issues in Indian Parliament. It has become a bad habit for the Leftist ecosystem in India to ignore India’s national interests while taking sides in a domestic matter of a foreign nation.
However, according to reports on July 17, official sources said that the debate on Gaza situation will take place in Rajya Sabha on July 21.
Every Sovereign State has a Right to defend its citizens, be it Israel or India. The NDA Government’s decision on July 15 respects that Sovereign Right. The Government should remain firm on its stand and not entertain any debate in the Parliament.
Wednesday 16 July 2014
ENB WEST: A plan to divide California into six states is one...
ENB WEST: A plan to divide California into six states is one...: A plan to divide California into six states is one step closer to a vote. Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper got the go-ahea...
Monday 14 July 2014
Friday 11 July 2014
சதார் பட்டேல் இந்திய விரிவாதிக்கத்தின் பிதா மகன்
சதார் பட்டேல் இந்திய விரிவாதிக்கத்தின் பிதாமகன்!
Building of a United India
Soon after the Indian Independence, 565 princely states, some of which were ruled by Maharajas and others by Nawabs started believing they would become independent rulers of their kingdoms like in the pre-British era. They argued that the government of free India should treat them as equals.
It was Sardar Patel’s insight, wisdom and diplomacy that drove sense into the minds of the monarchs who agreed accession to the Indian Republic.
However there were two rules - the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Nawab of Junagarh- continued to resist.
Although, the repeated fruitless negotiations pointed to a show might by use of military force the Sardar persisted with his tactful dealings, finally winning over both the rulers without bloodshed.
Industry captains hail Modi govt's first Budget: PTI
Last Updated: Thursday, July 10, 2014, 21:54
New Delhi/Mumbai/Kolkata:
Welcoming the Narendra-Modi-led NDA government's maiden Budget 2014-15, industry players said it sets the tone for attaining higher growth trajectory, job creation and attracting investments for an economy grappling with multiple challenges.
"I think the approach of creating a stable business environment to attract investment and boost economic growth, that direction comes across clearly. I am very happy personally by his (Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's) focus on job creation," CII President Ajay Shriram said.
HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh said: "Infrastructure funding had become a bad word for banks. Banks were not willing to fund. With this move, an out of the box thinking will enable long term lending for infrastructure sector".
State Bank of India chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya welcomed the pronouncements on the consolidation of banks, saying it should be done in a time-bound manner.
"The budget emphasises a bottoms-up approach to reignite growth," she said.
"The Finance Minister's maiden budget signals, both in sentiment and policy, the new government's intention to drive the next generation of reforms and swiftly put India on a higher GDP growth path," Tata Consultancy Services Chief Executive and Managing Director N Chandrasekaran said.
Y C Deveshwar, chairman, ITC, said, "Within the constraints of time and a challenging economic environment, the Finance Minister has presented a comprehensive budget which addresses some key reforms with a welcome focus on physical and social infrastructure".
Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder, Infosys said Digital India project is an important initiative taken by the government to leverage technology to serve citizens better. It will also help grow the domestic IT industry, he added.
"Initiatives to promote entrepreneurship and startup's are also welcome. This will benefit the IT industry since many startup's happen in the IT sector," he said.
Joint chairman of Emami group R S Agarwal said the maiden budget presented by the BJP-led NDA Government is in overall a very good budget, adding that the budget is aimed towards expansion of the country's economy and develop a future roadmap for growth.
Presenting his maiden Budget, Jaitley said the prevailing economic situation presents a great challenge and there was a need to introduce fiscal prudence that will lead to fiscal consolidation and discipline.
Mahindra and Mahindra Director Arun Nanda, however, termed the budget as a "populist budget".
"Looks like it is more of a populist budget. Much of the hype was created but there was disappointment. I personally feel a status-quo type of situation," he said.
K V Kamath, Non Executive Director at ICICI Bank said: "The budget shows that the government is willing to listen and then state that they will act in due course".
Tata Chemicals Managing Director R Mukundan welcomed the budget and said it is a good start by the new government.
"We are not looking at T-20 match. It is a like a series where you have to play step by step and I think they have done right by laying a road map on GST, DTC and also on what the fiscal deficit will be," Mukundan said.
"One of our key priorities was to see a clear course of action to end tax adventurism. The government has tried to address this by promising to not to change any of the tax provisions retrospectively which creates a fresh liability and committing to provide a stable and predictable taxation regime that will be investor friendly and spur growth," said Ficci President Sidharth Birla.
ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kocchar said the budget has sought to lay out a prudent fiscal path for the country; and address existing issues that have halted infrastructure investment.
"The policy direction is clear, and as the decisions and plans announced today are executed, I am sure the country will move back towards a robust growth path," she added.
Sanjiv Goenka, chairman of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group said reduction of fiscal deficit, attracting investments in the manufacturing sector, attracting investments in infrastructure to kick start the economy and restoring investor confidence with a stable and predictable tax regime are the four positive areas in the Budget.
Srei Group Chairman Hemant Kanoria said the budget "has given boost to the infrastructure and manufacturing sectors. The Budget has addressed many issues which will trigger growth. Prima facie, the budget looks progressive in nature".
"The FY15 Union Budget makes a fervent pitch for attaining a balance by creating growth, preserving an ideal level of deficit, and destroying (supply side) inflation," Assocham President Rana Kapoor said.
Terming the budget as "pragmatic and extensive", CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said that it "lays out a medium-term vision for the economy and meets industry expectations on growth and employment creation".
Executive Director of Mahindra & Mahindra Pawan Goenka said: "Though there were no big bang announcements, the intent of the budget is clear. I see this budget as a blueprint to the direction the Government will take over the next nine months".
Sandipan Chakravortty, managing director, Tata Steel Processing and Distribution Ltd, in his reaction said it was a long-term budget aimed at increasing employment through a national skill programme and promoting
entrepreneurship.
Terming the union budget positive but largely directional and aspirational, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson and Managing Director of Biotech major Biocon said: "This Budget is positive but largely directional and aspirational. I was expecting bolder reforms for boosting investor sentiments".
"The pronouncements on the retrospective tax issue, easier FDI rules, jobs creation in manufacturing sector and improving predictability in India's tax regime will improve the investment sentiment in the country. As will measures for addressing the funding needs of small entrepreneurs," she added.
GVK Reddy, Founder Chairman & Managing Director, GVK Power and Infrastructure Limited, views on the budget.
"The assurance to ensure adequate supply of coal for thermal projects, allocation of over Rs 37,000 crore for roads etc indicate the government?s recognition of the fact that a strong foundation of infrastructure can only help realise a country?s economic growth," GVK Reddy, Founder Chairman & Managing Director, GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd, said.
"Extending of 10 year tax holiday for power companies by March 31, 2017, provides much required predictability for investors investing in power projects. The target of the new government is to provide 24/7 uninterrupted power supply to all homes augurs well for the growth of energy sector in India, Tulsi Tant, CMD Suzlon said in a statement.
PHD Chamber President Sharad Jaipuria said: "The Budget is encouraging on building consumers', investors' and general confidence and aims at enhancing growth, creating additional employment opportunities and containing inflation with the desired focus on garnering much needed investments, both public and private".
Meanwhile, electrical equipments manufacturer IEEMA President Raj Eswaran said the hike in FDI limits in some sectors, infrastructure investment trusts, investment allowance of 15 per cent to manufacturers investing above Rs 25 crore on plant and machinery will boost economic and industry sentiments.
"The budget has ushered in prudent policies in areas like manufacturing, housing, tax concessions for individuals, education that will boost the economy as a whole and create job opportunities," said Anil Rai Gupta, Joint Managing Director at Havells India.
"The budget is forward-looking and has provided fillip to the capital goods, consumer durables and automobile sectors. Kanwal Jeet Jawa, MD, Daikin Air-conditioning India said.
Though the earlier decision to continue the excise duty concession till December 2014 along with the reduction in steel prices and elimination of customs duty on auto components certainly bodes well for the sector," President of Nissan India Operations Kenichiro Yomura said.
Chairman & MD of Bharat Forge Ltd Baba N Kalyani said: "From a Policy perspective, the decision to raise FDI in the Defence sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent through the FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board) route with management control in Indian hands will provide a boost to domestic manufacturing industry".
"Announcement of investment allowance is a boost for manufacturing sector. The budget should also bring a smile to the consumers with the increased tax exemptions that will leave them with extra disposable income and prospects to invest in white goods," Managing Director of LG India Soon Kwon said.
Wholetime Director at JK Lakshmi Cement Shailendra Chouksey said the Government has very appropriately chosen to focus on housing and infrastructure as a means to kick-start the economy. He said the Cement sector can certainly look forward to revival of growth in its consumption which has been languishing for last 3-4 years at very low levels.
Speaking on behalf of the footwear sector, Managing Director of Woodland Harkirat Singh said the announcement to cut excise duty to 6 per cent from 12 per cent on footwear up to MRP of Rs 1,000 per pair is a welcome move for SMEs and will help provide them with a level-playing field.
The government today announced the launch of a national multi-skill programme -- 'Skill India', that will skill the youth with an emphasis on employability and entrepreneurship.
Commenting on the Skill India initiative, fashion designer Ritu Kumar said: "I welcome the Skill India scheme and look forward to working in a newly motivated environment which is set to encourage the designers, which has been long overdue".
However, Managing Director of Swiss Military Worldwide Anuj Sawhney said: "From the retail sector point of view, the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) is crucial in order to get rid of the bottlenecks the industry is facing and increase efficiency...".
MD & CEO of Hero MotoCorp Pawan Munjal said: "The budget is also an earnest attempt to revive the manufacturing sector by increasing FDI in defence, and by making it possible for a large number of SMEs to gain tax benefits from their investments".
"Finally, for the first time there is an attempt to strongly back start-up entrepreneurship - by setting up a Rs 10,000 crore risk fund," he added.
Reacting to union budget, Suresh Senapaty, Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer of IT major Wipro, congratulated the Finance Minister for delivering the Budget on the dual mandate of kick-starting economic growth and seeding reforms.
"I would like to congratulate the Finance Minister for delivering the Budget on the dual mandate of kick-starting economic growth and seeding reforms while re-affirming election promises within a short span of 45 days of forming the government," Senapaty in a statement said.
PTI
India Budget promises reform: FT
India budget fails to excite investors, but promises reform
Jul 10, 2014 2:54pm by Avantika Chilkoti
Arun Jaitley, India’s finance minister, unveiled a maiden budget on Thursday which failed to excite stock market investors but made several pledges for reform which – if they are implemented – may coax future efficiencies out of an economy burdened by red-tape, corruption and opacity.
The budget outlined plans to raise foreign investment limits in defence and insurance, overhaul India’s US$43bn subsidy regime, and simplify its archaic tax system to make it more transparent and bolster revenue growth. That, the government expects, will help raise growth from last year’s level of about 4.6 per cent.
However, investors did not get the “big bang” reforms that many were expecting, sending the benchmark Nifty equities index down 0.2 per cent in the day to 7,567.75. Nevertheless, there was much in Jaitley’s budget to suggest optimism.
First, investors had been hoping for the retrospective amendment of laws on indirect transfers, which have left multinational groups such as Vodafone fighting retrospective taxes with Indian authorities.
On this topic, Jaitley simply said that, if a new case comes up related to the amendment it will be referred to a high level committee. In reaction, Ketan Dalal, senior tax partner, PwC India said in an emailed statement:
There was a widespread expectation regarding neutralisation of the retrospective amendment re indirect transfer. However, that has not happened, but at least there has been a clear acknowledgment now that retrospective taxation in future will not be resorted to.
The decision has left analysts unclear about what will happen to existing cases and almost as soon as Jaitley wrapped up in New Delhi, Vodafone said it would push for international arbitration in its seven-year battle with the Indian tax authorities over capital gains involved in the telecom group’s 2007 acquisition of Hutchinson Whampoa.
On the question of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the introduction of which many had hoped would be announced, Jaitley offered a half-way house. He said the government is ready to approve a legislative scheme to enable the introduction of a GST to “streamline the tax administration, avoid harassment of the business and result in higher revenue collection”.
This suggests the government intends to push through this tax reform but that no roadmap has been laid out as yet.
In some areas, Jaitley did meet expectations. He opened up foreign direct investment in ecommerce, and upped the cap on foreign direct investment (FDI) in defence to 49 per cent, from 26 per cent previously.
But then there was a whiff of questionable policy too: the decision to devote Rs2bn ($33.34m) to a statue of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel in the home state of Narendra Modi, the prime minister, prompted some jibes on social media.
Modi’s administration will retain the previous Congress government’s ambitious 4.1 per cent fiscal deficit target for this year, despite pressure on state coffers from sluggish tax revenue, rising oil prices linked to turmoil in Iraq and concerns about a poor monsoon.
Jaitley also set a fiscal deficit target of 3.6 per cent of GDP for the next financial year, which starts in April, and 3 per cent the subsequent year. For a pre-budget discussion of budget deficit expectations, see here.
With equity markets rallying in the past six months on hopes of a strong new government at the centre, the government may expect to make money by selling off stakes in public sector companies, and to earn revenues as these groups post good profits and dividends. However, if tax receipts disappoint, New Delhi could struggle to meet its budget deficit target.
“While tax revenue growth seems a tad high that is on an assumption that the manufacturing sector growth will pick up in the second half,” says Shubhada Rao, chief economist at Yes Bank. “At this juncture it looks slightly optimistic.”
And, all in all?
“The reactions maybe on the Sensex were because people really get thrilled if you see some big bang changes,” says Vipul Jhaveri, partner at Deloitte Haskins & Sells. “What is refreshing here is that rather than any big bang changes what he has done is made very small changes across geographies, across various sectors.”
Jul 10, 2014 2:54pm by Avantika Chilkoti
Arun Jaitley, India’s finance minister, unveiled a maiden budget on Thursday which failed to excite stock market investors but made several pledges for reform which – if they are implemented – may coax future efficiencies out of an economy burdened by red-tape, corruption and opacity.
The budget outlined plans to raise foreign investment limits in defence and insurance, overhaul India’s US$43bn subsidy regime, and simplify its archaic tax system to make it more transparent and bolster revenue growth. That, the government expects, will help raise growth from last year’s level of about 4.6 per cent.
However, investors did not get the “big bang” reforms that many were expecting, sending the benchmark Nifty equities index down 0.2 per cent in the day to 7,567.75. Nevertheless, there was much in Jaitley’s budget to suggest optimism.
First, investors had been hoping for the retrospective amendment of laws on indirect transfers, which have left multinational groups such as Vodafone fighting retrospective taxes with Indian authorities.
On this topic, Jaitley simply said that, if a new case comes up related to the amendment it will be referred to a high level committee. In reaction, Ketan Dalal, senior tax partner, PwC India said in an emailed statement:
There was a widespread expectation regarding neutralisation of the retrospective amendment re indirect transfer. However, that has not happened, but at least there has been a clear acknowledgment now that retrospective taxation in future will not be resorted to.
The decision has left analysts unclear about what will happen to existing cases and almost as soon as Jaitley wrapped up in New Delhi, Vodafone said it would push for international arbitration in its seven-year battle with the Indian tax authorities over capital gains involved in the telecom group’s 2007 acquisition of Hutchinson Whampoa.
On the question of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the introduction of which many had hoped would be announced, Jaitley offered a half-way house. He said the government is ready to approve a legislative scheme to enable the introduction of a GST to “streamline the tax administration, avoid harassment of the business and result in higher revenue collection”.
This suggests the government intends to push through this tax reform but that no roadmap has been laid out as yet.
In some areas, Jaitley did meet expectations. He opened up foreign direct investment in ecommerce, and upped the cap on foreign direct investment (FDI) in defence to 49 per cent, from 26 per cent previously.
But then there was a whiff of questionable policy too: the decision to devote Rs2bn ($33.34m) to a statue of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel in the home state of Narendra Modi, the prime minister, prompted some jibes on social media.
Modi’s administration will retain the previous Congress government’s ambitious 4.1 per cent fiscal deficit target for this year, despite pressure on state coffers from sluggish tax revenue, rising oil prices linked to turmoil in Iraq and concerns about a poor monsoon.
Jaitley also set a fiscal deficit target of 3.6 per cent of GDP for the next financial year, which starts in April, and 3 per cent the subsequent year. For a pre-budget discussion of budget deficit expectations, see here.
With equity markets rallying in the past six months on hopes of a strong new government at the centre, the government may expect to make money by selling off stakes in public sector companies, and to earn revenues as these groups post good profits and dividends. However, if tax receipts disappoint, New Delhi could struggle to meet its budget deficit target.
“While tax revenue growth seems a tad high that is on an assumption that the manufacturing sector growth will pick up in the second half,” says Shubhada Rao, chief economist at Yes Bank. “At this juncture it looks slightly optimistic.”
And, all in all?
“The reactions maybe on the Sensex were because people really get thrilled if you see some big bang changes,” says Vipul Jhaveri, partner at Deloitte Haskins & Sells. “What is refreshing here is that rather than any big bang changes what he has done is made very small changes across geographies, across various sectors.”
PM Modi wants to be seen as 'pro poor'
Why budget 2014 was 'socialist': PM Modi wants to be seen as 'pro poor'
Well known economic writer Swaminathan Aiyar wrote today,"It's not a radical Modi budget but a Chidambaram budget with saffron lipstick added." But this may be a superficial understanding of the Modi-Jaitley thought process. There seems to be a method in the madness, especially when you see the way the NDA is simply repackaging the many social sector schemes of the UPA.
True, the similarity between the UPA and NDA was reinforced by the fact that Jaitley had retained the fiscal deficit figures presented in the interim budget a few months ago. The interim budget presented by P.Chidambaram projected a fiscal deficit target of 4.1 percent of GDP for 2014-15 and also showed that the government had achieved a fiscal deficit of 4.6 percent of GDP in 2013-14.
Arun Jaitley surprised everyone by retaining these figures in his budget. He even kept the same the revenue growth target as in the interim budget. There was a lot of continuity in the way Jaitley made the budget projections.
The NDA has also retained most of the UPA social sector schemes with some repackaging. This prompted Congress President Sonia Gandhi to say “this is like our UPA budget”.
This writer spoke to finance minister Arun Jaitley after the budget and asked him why he had been so generous to the UPA finance minister. Jaitley gave a smart answer by saying controlling expenditure and aiming at fiscal correction is a good thing. So he had decided to go with the tough targets set by the previous government. The finance minister also admitted that his government had indeed continued many of the social sector programmes of the previous government and would aim to remove their weaknesses because such policies are needed for the poor.
Jaitley said in a country with so many poor people, any economic philosophy which is totally market based will not work. When asked whether the BJP was practicing its own version of socialism, he admitted that a strong dose of inclusive policies were indeed needed. Again the language sounded a lot like the UPA’s.Only BJP is inventing new social sector projects named after Deendayal Upadhyay, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee etc. Jaitley said more such schemes named after relatively unsung heroes from the past will come.
A lot of this thinking also comes from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
If you carefully trace Modi’s statements in the past few weeks, he has explicitly said that the government coffers are meant for the poor. This statement is very socialist in its tenor and intent. The reason why NDA has carried forward many of UPA’s social sector programme is because eventually Modi wants to take away the historically evolved branding of the Congress party as welfarist and pro poor. From Nehru to Indira Gandhi to Sonia Gandhi, the Congress has acquired a certain image of welfarism. Narendra Modi will gradually want to appropriate some of this. So there seems to be a strategy behind the way the NDA budget carries forward a lot Congress’s social sector programs.
There is another subtle message in the budget. Modi is conscious that he is seen by many as pro big business because of his perceived proximity to some big industrialists. So the budget has been careful in not giving any obvious benefits to big business. On the contrary, it sets up a Rs.10,000 crore fund to help small and medium enterprises to access much needed equity capital. This will also please the Sangh Parivar which has always wanted the BJP to focus more on smaller businesses who really form the backbone of India’s economy.
There was much humour generated by many "token" Rs.100 crore social sector schemes announced by NDA. A careful scrutiny will tell you these are promises Modi had made to various states during his whirlwind election tour. This is partly Modi's way of signalling he was putting in the seed amount and the rest will follow as the economy recovers. So the thinking behind the budget is not as random as some commentators would have us believe.
Surprisingly there was no bitter medicine for the common man in the budget. This is partly because some of it was already delivered before the budget in the form of price hikes in rail fares, sugar and petroleum products. So finance minister Arun Jaitley decided to provide some relief to the middle class in the form of raising the tax exempt salary limit to Rs.2,50,000 pre annum and providing additional tax relief on some savings instruments. All taken together means a monthly salary of upto Rs.30,000 will be free of any income tax.
Another significant development that Jaitley did not specify in the budget but is close to finalizing, is the new Goods and Services Tax(GST) regime which will truly help widen the tax base and bring areas like real estate and construction into the indirect tax net and also attack the menace of black money.
Jaitley told this writer he had almost worked out all the details with the Chief Ministers in the implementation of GST. Only a few issues remain to be resolved, such as bringing the contentious petroleum taxes within the GST ambit. The CMs have agreed to bring real estate under the GST net. This is a big achievement. The finance minister could have announced this in the budget but he chose to play safe.
Overall, the budget is a consolidation exercise though many expected some big vision statement in it. Here also Jaitley chose to play safe by not giving any big bang vision statement because he knows there are many economic risks on the horizon coming largely from an impending drought situation and potential inflationary flare up in the months ahead.
He is betting on growth by promising a big boost to infrastructure sectors and manufacturing. He will hope that growth picks up and increases employment and prosperity. Jaitley admits many factors, like global economy and monsoons, are outside his control. Running an economy of India’s size and complexity is always a gamble. You have to work with very few certainties.
The author is Executive Editor at Amar Ujala publications group.
Well known economic writer Swaminathan Aiyar wrote today,"It's not a radical Modi budget but a Chidambaram budget with saffron lipstick added." But this may be a superficial understanding of the Modi-Jaitley thought process. There seems to be a method in the madness, especially when you see the way the NDA is simply repackaging the many social sector schemes of the UPA.
True, the similarity between the UPA and NDA was reinforced by the fact that Jaitley had retained the fiscal deficit figures presented in the interim budget a few months ago. The interim budget presented by P.Chidambaram projected a fiscal deficit target of 4.1 percent of GDP for 2014-15 and also showed that the government had achieved a fiscal deficit of 4.6 percent of GDP in 2013-14.
Arun Jaitley surprised everyone by retaining these figures in his budget. He even kept the same the revenue growth target as in the interim budget. There was a lot of continuity in the way Jaitley made the budget projections.
This was surprising because the BJP had been very critical of the interim budget, saying that the targets were not realistic and that the UPA government had burdened the NDA by doing 'creative accounting'. But Arun jaitley has now accepted all the key UPA projections for 2013-14 and 2014-15.
The NDA has also retained most of the UPA social sector schemes with some repackaging. This prompted Congress President Sonia Gandhi to say “this is like our UPA budget”.
This writer spoke to finance minister Arun Jaitley after the budget and asked him why he had been so generous to the UPA finance minister. Jaitley gave a smart answer by saying controlling expenditure and aiming at fiscal correction is a good thing. So he had decided to go with the tough targets set by the previous government. The finance minister also admitted that his government had indeed continued many of the social sector programmes of the previous government and would aim to remove their weaknesses because such policies are needed for the poor.
Jaitley said in a country with so many poor people, any economic philosophy which is totally market based will not work. When asked whether the BJP was practicing its own version of socialism, he admitted that a strong dose of inclusive policies were indeed needed. Again the language sounded a lot like the UPA’s.Only BJP is inventing new social sector projects named after Deendayal Upadhyay, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee etc. Jaitley said more such schemes named after relatively unsung heroes from the past will come.
A lot of this thinking also comes from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
If you carefully trace Modi’s statements in the past few weeks, he has explicitly said that the government coffers are meant for the poor. This statement is very socialist in its tenor and intent. The reason why NDA has carried forward many of UPA’s social sector programme is because eventually Modi wants to take away the historically evolved branding of the Congress party as welfarist and pro poor. From Nehru to Indira Gandhi to Sonia Gandhi, the Congress has acquired a certain image of welfarism. Narendra Modi will gradually want to appropriate some of this. So there seems to be a strategy behind the way the NDA budget carries forward a lot Congress’s social sector programs.
There is another subtle message in the budget. Modi is conscious that he is seen by many as pro big business because of his perceived proximity to some big industrialists. So the budget has been careful in not giving any obvious benefits to big business. On the contrary, it sets up a Rs.10,000 crore fund to help small and medium enterprises to access much needed equity capital. This will also please the Sangh Parivar which has always wanted the BJP to focus more on smaller businesses who really form the backbone of India’s economy.
There was much humour generated by many "token" Rs.100 crore social sector schemes announced by NDA. A careful scrutiny will tell you these are promises Modi had made to various states during his whirlwind election tour. This is partly Modi's way of signalling he was putting in the seed amount and the rest will follow as the economy recovers. So the thinking behind the budget is not as random as some commentators would have us believe.
Surprisingly there was no bitter medicine for the common man in the budget. This is partly because some of it was already delivered before the budget in the form of price hikes in rail fares, sugar and petroleum products. So finance minister Arun Jaitley decided to provide some relief to the middle class in the form of raising the tax exempt salary limit to Rs.2,50,000 pre annum and providing additional tax relief on some savings instruments. All taken together means a monthly salary of upto Rs.30,000 will be free of any income tax.
Another significant development that Jaitley did not specify in the budget but is close to finalizing, is the new Goods and Services Tax(GST) regime which will truly help widen the tax base and bring areas like real estate and construction into the indirect tax net and also attack the menace of black money.
Jaitley told this writer he had almost worked out all the details with the Chief Ministers in the implementation of GST. Only a few issues remain to be resolved, such as bringing the contentious petroleum taxes within the GST ambit. The CMs have agreed to bring real estate under the GST net. This is a big achievement. The finance minister could have announced this in the budget but he chose to play safe.
Overall, the budget is a consolidation exercise though many expected some big vision statement in it. Here also Jaitley chose to play safe by not giving any big bang vision statement because he knows there are many economic risks on the horizon coming largely from an impending drought situation and potential inflationary flare up in the months ahead.
He is betting on growth by promising a big boost to infrastructure sectors and manufacturing. He will hope that growth picks up and increases employment and prosperity. Jaitley admits many factors, like global economy and monsoons, are outside his control. Running an economy of India’s size and complexity is always a gamble. You have to work with very few certainties.
The author is Executive Editor at Amar Ujala publications group.
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