SUDHEENDRA MURALI, inspired by Maja Daruwala‘s touching defence of human rights activists, forwards a letter reportedly received by a Canadian libertarian who wrote a number of letters to the government, complaining about the treatment of a captive insurgents (terrorists) being held in Afghanistan National Correctional System facilities.
***
National Defence Headquarters
MGen George R. Pearkes Bldg, 15 NT
101 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa , ON K1A 0K2 CanadaDear Concerned Citizen
Thank you for your recent letter expressing your profound concern of treatment of the Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists captured by Canadian Forces who were subsequently transferred to the Afghanistan Government and are currently being held by Afghan officials in Afghanistan National Correctional System facilities.
Our administration takes these matters seriously and your opinions were heard loud and clear here in Ottawa. You will be pleased to learn, thanks to the concerns of citizens like yourself; we are creating a new department here at the Department of National Defense, to be called ‘Liberals Accept Responsibility for Killers’ program, or L.A.R.K. for short.
In accordance with the guidelines of this new program, we have decided to divert one terrorist and place him in your personal care. Your personal detainee has been selected and is scheduled for transportation under heavily armed guard to your residence in Toronto next Monday. Ali Mohammed Ahmed bin Mahmud (you can just call him Ahmed) is to be cared for pursuant to the standards you personally demanded in your letter of complaint. It will likely be necessary for you to hire some assistant caretakers. We will conduct weekly inspections to ensure that your standards of care for Ahmed are commensurate with those you so strongly recommend in your letter.
Although Ahmed is a sociopath and extremely violent, we hope that your sensitivity to what you described as his ‘attitudinal problem’ will help him overcome these character flaws. Perhaps you are correct in describing these problems as mere cultural differences. We understand that you plan to offer counseling and home schooling.
Your adopted terrorist is extremely proficient in hand-to-hand combat and can extinguish human life with such simple items as a pencil or nail clippers. We advise that you do not ask him to demonstrate these skills at your next yoga group. He is also expert at making a wide variety of explosive devices from common household products, so you may wish to keep those items locked up, unless (in your opinion) this might offend him.
Ahmed will not wish to interact with you or your daughters (except sexually) since he views females as a subhuman form of property. This is a particularly sensitive subject for him and he has been known to show violent tendencies around women who fail to comply with the new dress code that he will recommend as more appropriate attire. I’m sure you will come to enjoy the anonymity offered by the burqa over time. Just remember that it is all part of ‘respecting his culture and religious beliefs’ as described in your letter.
Thanks again for your concern. We truly appreciate it when folks like you keep us informed of the proper way to do our job and care for our fellow man. You take good care of Ahmed and remember, we’ll be watching.
Good luck and God bless you.
Cordially,
Gordon O’Connor
Minister of National Defence
Would gladly take “Gordon O’Connor”‘s side if I didn’t know that Indian policemen were egalitarian in their “treatment” of terrorists and non-terrorists, so long as such persons are not politically connected, rich, or (most likely) both.
Of course terrorists are usually dangerous and violent, so why does the Indian police routinely imprison and torture innocents? Not just in cases of terrorism related crimes, but on several “routine” occasions.
LikeLike
In his new book “Hot, Flat and Crowded”, Friedman started the discussion by “where Birds don’t fly” (the new American Consulate in Turkey far from City with solid security). It affects mixing of people, exchange of ideas- but its also true, this high security Consulate saved lives of American Diplomats.
We in India are lead by blind columnist, polemicists, intellectuals- who have maintained almost silence on dangers from Islamists, terroristsm. Our solution seems like – Give Citizenship to illegal Bangladeshis. Politicians are hell bent for votebank little realizing that its most damaging for average muslims who are as good/bad as rest of us.
Yes, ALL Muslims are NOT terrorists. Its also true, much progress was made during Islamic period in middle east (though they were less Islamic, more multi-cultural). But no need to whitewash Aurangzeb, or worst destruction of Vijaynagar.
We need a carrot and stick policy to handle Jehadis, Islamists, and terrorists. Else, India will meltdown starting from Kashmir, to North East, parts of West bengal, Eastern Bihar.
LikeLike
If this letter is true at all I wonder who has the sicker mind- the Insurgent (Terrorist) or Mr O’Connor. The letter itself is wriiten in a crude style whilst the writer possibly imagines it to be full of subtle irony and sarcasm.
Mr O’Coonor himself follows in the noble paths tread by Bush/ Cheney/ Rumsfeld a dull hatred for the ‘other’ terrorist, contemptuous indiffrence towards their own soldiers and mouthing righteous platitudes.
Why is Churumuri posting all sorts of stupid and irrelevant stuff of stupid Human Rights supporters and the Louts who oppose them?!
LikeLike
Good One :).
LikeLike
Good one. today we saw a police lathi charge and tear gas shells lobbing in Mangalore to disperse violent mob and some media people watching it on TV (may be for the time exposed to “vilence” ) kept saying “ayyo… paaapaa… these police must be punished”. if it were not the fear of police and torture every other street walker would be a terrorist or killer or a thief today.
LikeLike
A good, hard and deserving slap on the face of those people who support terrorists in the name of human “right”.
LikeLike
Fitting reply to those who have not faced the terrorists and demand human rights for them….
LikeLike
Mr Alok, plse dont mix up isses. That innocents are victimised and have to protected etc is a different issue. Dealing with terrorists is a different one. What do you say for Nalini ‘asking’ for early release? Do you want to pardon her? and her friends? The picture of Rajiv Gandhi all blown up and falling scattered on the ground is something that i can never forget. Every time a terrorist asks for pardon and people supporting in the name of human rights i ask so its ok to blow up people? to blow up innocent people? who si going to wash away the blood?
LikeLike
Subbu Atthe,
Most (Known) terrorists today are PhD holders, Professionals like Doctors, Lawyers etc. Please dont think all street walkers aspire to be terrorists. Also forensic psychology suggests that it is actually the hatred of torture and police that mostly drives people to commit atrocities.
Janasamanya actually it was Gordon O’Connor who got the slap ( via ministerial demotion) for lying about prisoners and torture like his idol Mr Rumsfeld.
LikeLike
This fictitious response is an extremely well known method adopted by the intellectually bankrupt extreme right, of branding as terrorist sympathizers, all those who do not tow their line. There is a difference between demanding that a CONVICTED TERRORIST (like our very own Afzal Guru) be housed in the presidential suite of some five star hotel, and demanding that the police construct theories based on facts, not invent facts based on constructed theories.
I understand that there exists a not-so-small section of the society that, while not subscribing to the practice of blowing up people or shooting them dead – like the islamo-lunatic Indian Mujahideen and similar groups do – inwardly appreciate the idea of islamo-fascism that these groups work on; the only difference being – the religious minded among them would replace Islam with Hinduism, and those who simply do not care about religion would probably go for agnosticism. But what I fail to understand is how come the so called educated middle class go crazy the moment they hear the news of yet another terror attack and start demanding absolutely outrageous things like bringing back POTA, and tougher and tougher and tougher laws.
See what the US did with its PATRIOT Act, they ask, without knowing the death blow that the act dealt to the very idea of freedom in America. Those who put forward such asinine arguments should take a look at a draconian law that will make POTA look pale in comparison – MCOCA (The Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) – and its various clones. Has the toughness of the law prevented terror in Mumbai? It has not, and it never will, just like IPC S302 does not prevent murders – because laws can only work after the fact. There are hundreds of laws in place in India to arrest virtually anybody on any pretense – the various Goonda acts, the Narcotics act and what not, and the only thing tough (loose) laws do is give the police more power to do harm. The problem, however, has never been laws but its implementation. Since cops in India work within the political framework, laws or no laws, they will work to please their masters. So when issues like Islamic terrorism come up, the problem of being seen as targeting Muslims will make the “secularists” walk on eggshells, and the Hindu “fundamentalists” will do the exact opposite. But the moment the question of religion is set aside, politicians and people will go to sleep, and the police can go on a rampage because there is virtually no check on their activities. Its happened in America, and it happens in India.
Do these POTA-maniacs know what “admissibility of a confession as evidence” without the necessity of providing any other evidence really means? That the crime no longer needs to be proved as long as the accused “confesses”. Then the question arises, if a confession can be admitted in case of POTA or MCOCA, why stop there and not push the envelope to bring in other crimes like murder, rape and theft? After all these crimes are just as heinous. Its then that the full force of what they are suggesting should probably hit them, but unfortunately, I don’t think it will, even then.
All those who think that human rights are an inconvenience in the War Against Terror and that human rights activists should be treated like mosquitoes are, should spend some time in countries where human rights do not matter – Saudi Arabia, China, Afghanistan, and most of Africa. If they still don’t have change of heart, they are probably not human. Those who do not heed Ben Franklin’s oft-quoted-but-never-pondered-upon warning – “they who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety,” will reap the fruits of their mistakes.
LikeLike
http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/lark.asp
LikeLike
Alok says: Of course terrorists are usually dangerous and violent, so why does the Indian police routinely imprison and torture innocents? Not just in cases of terrorism related crimes, but on several “routine” occasions.
Everyone is innocent till proven otherwise. So every time the police arrests and beats anyone, he is a suspect only and not guilty.
Yes, everyone in jails (prior to a court hearing) are innocent. So, we should stop arresting anyone who is guilty of crime :)
LikeLike
Yes, ALL Bengalis are NOT terrorist spammers. Its also true, much progress was made during Bengali renaissance period in undivided Bengal (though they were less Bengali, more multi-cultural). But no need to whitewash Mamta Banerjee, or worst destruction of the Nano factory plans.
We need a carrot and stick policy to handle radical Bengalis, lazy Bengalis, and terrorist spammer Bengalis. Else, Indian blogosphere will meltdown starting from Kashmir, to North East, parts of West bengal, Eastern Bihar and the whole of Indian internet.
LikeLike
thanksappa aristotalethegeek. idella namage artha aagalla. (aagiralilla) naavellaa kaddare baiyi, koMdare odi annO jana. ayyO paapa aMtaa aMtaanE naavellaa murkharaagibiTvi. nIvellaa EnEnO theory hElitddIri… ella sari maaDtIri… oLLEdaagali.
LikeLike
@SN & Subbulakshmi
I am not mixing issues here. Our justice system is based on the premise that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Becoming a suspect means that there is evidence against you, which will have to be tested in a court of law before you are sentenced.
Note that there are two kinds of imprisonment. One is resorted to to ensure that suspects don’t harm the course of trial. The other is punitive, i.e., after a judge holds the accused guilty of the crime.
The police in our country, ill equipped and untrained to carry out proper investigation resort to rounding up people based on little evidence and subjecting them to or threatening them with torture till they “confess”.
Naturally, the people who the police round up will never be rich, politically connected or both. They aren’t even likely to be middle class, unless the police are looking for Muslims.
So don’t give this tough bullshit without knowing the climate of fear that comes from a police round up.
yes, the police need more powers and training to fight terrorists. THat doesn’t mean that in the process we allow ourselves to be terrorized by the police themselves.
LikeLike
Alok,
Police abuse is a problem in every country. And, yes, police in most countries, including the very rich, will think 3 million times before they go after the rich and famous. In every society and in every world, its the poor who always are victimized. There is no ideal country. I know that. You know that and everyone else also knows that.
This is no BS. Providing security without compromising our freedom is a open problem that needs to be answered. No country in this world has done that successfully. In the name of Human Rights, we have such honoured souls like Arundathi Roy who openly suggest seccesion. Clearly, when the agency that is supposed to uphold or act as a moral check for police is involved in such baseless bickering, why cry about Police.
The police are no angels, all of them are mere mortals exposed to human emotions. No one will act sane if their daily routine consists of having to deal with the social rejects 100% of the time. So, why dont you realize all this and learn to swallow the difficult pill of accepting that Police can be susceptible to crime as well.
LikeLike
The print and electronic media are inciting caste and communal hatred in the country. Indian Express and the Hindu are the principal culprits who have gone to great lengths to incite caste hatred in the country.
LikeLike