Defend Teesta Setalvad and demand justice in Gujarat

Posted on Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 6:59 PM

To defend Teesta Setalvad and to demand justice in Gujarat, please sign the petition  

Dear friends,

Teesta Setalvad, Secretary of the Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and recipient of the Nuremberg Human Rights Award in 2003 is being relentlessy harassed and intimidated by the Government of Gujarat because she has been a tireless campaigner in the struggle to seek redress and justice for the victims of the horrific carnage in Gujarat in 2002.
In a concerted attempt to intimidate human rights defenders like Teesta Setalvad, the Gujarat Government, through its police, is continually hounding her. She now faces at least three fabricated criminal investigations, forcing her to apply for multiple anticipatory bails. Now the latest appears to be a doctored charge-sheet.  

This intimidation comes at a time when finally, after nine long years, serious allegations against the Chief Minister Narendra Modi for masterminding the criminal conspiracy to commit mass murder have reached a pivotal stage. In a pathbreaking development, the Supreme Court of India, on May 5, 2011, directed the amicus curiae to examine all evidence and meet all witnesses, and report back to the court whether a case exists against the Chief Minister and 61 others. 

Serving and retired Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers have testified to the illegal and unconstitutional instructions given on February 27, 2002, by Narendra Modi that led to the carnage. In the ensuing days, at least 2,500 people, mostly Muslims, were murdered. Rape and other terrible acts of violence were committed while the state police and administration stood by. 

Prosecution of all those responsible for these crimes is essential for justice, peace and reconciliation.  It will help guarantee that similar crimes are not committed in the future. The Government of Gujarat is seeking to thwart the judicial process through its persecution of Teesta Setalvad.
Please join us in defending Teesta Setalvad!

Pleas be a part of the struggle for justice for the victims of the 2002 carnage! Please sign the petition at the link below!

Please forward it to your friends.!

http://www.petitiononline.com/guj2002/petition.html

Sincerely,
Bindu T. Desai
PS: For more background and details, please visit the following link:
 http://www.cjponline.org/teesta.htm

Prominent Activists, Academics, Lawyers and Others have former a Committee in Defence of Teesta Setalvad and Justice in Gujarat 

Apart from a Facebook presence much information may be sourced at

 http://justice4guj02.blogspot.com/

Teesta Setalvad is an educationist, journalist and human rights activist who has been committed to an egalitarian and diverse India, at the forefront of the struggle for justice equality and non discrimination. She co edits Communalism Combat heads and directs Education for a Plural India programme and is Secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace. CJP is a Mumbai based trust committed to accountability, transparency and punishment to perpetrators of mass crimes within Indian democracy.

DOD Works Toward Successful Transition in Iraq

By Elaine Sanchez American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, June 2, 2011 - The recent Middle East turmoil underscores the importance of an active U.S. engagement in Iraq and a "shoring up" of relations with key regional partners, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East said yesterday. "[The Defense Department] strongly believes we must remain focused on Iraq in order to advance our broader regional objectives of peace, prosperity and security," Colin Kahl told the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Middle East and South Asia subcommittee. In his opening remarks, Kahl provided an assessment of the security situation in Iraq as the United States transitions from a military- to civilian-led effort there, and the importance of establishing the groundwork for a long-term partnership with the nation. While terrorist and militia attacks continue to pose a threat, Kahl acknowledged, the underlying security situation in Iraq remains strong. With Iraqi security forces leading the way, attack levels have remained near their lowest levels of the entire war over the past two years. "This is particularly remarkable, considering that the Iraqi security forces have assumed primary responsibility for security for the entire country," he said, "and our U.S. force numbers have declined from roughly 144,000 -- when the Obama administration came into office in January of 2009 -- to roughly 47,000 today." Since they took the security lead Jan. 1, 2009, Iraqi security forces have "more capably embraced" their role with each passing month, Kahl noted, a role further cemented Sept. 1, 2010, as Operation Iraqi Freedom became Operation New Dawn, reducing troop numbers and signifying the end of the combat mission there. The combat mission's end did not, however, signify the end of U.S. support. The United States continues to support Iraqi forces through training, equipping, mentoring and advising, Kahl said. However, "we need to be clear that the Iraqis are very much in charge, and they simply no longer need such large numbers of U.S. forces to help them keep the violence in check," Kahl said. Kahl acknowledged an ongoing threat from terrorist and militia groups, citing two deadly attacks in May. A series of car bombs mid-month targeting Iraqi policemen killed more than two dozen people, and another series of attacks by al-Qaida in Iraq later that month left 14 dead and dozens wounded. "Iraq still faces dangerous and determined enemies," he said, "but it is important to emphasize that these enemies do not have the support of the Iraqi people, and these attacks have not sparked a return to widespread insurgency or communal civil war." Beyond efforts to build Iraqi security forces and draw down forces there, the Defense Department and other agencies also are undertaking "unprecedented levels of coordination and planning" for the transition, he said. In particular, DOD is working closely with the State Department to achieve a successful transition, he added, citing several examples. The Defense Department embedded a staff officer within the transition team to serve as a liaison and work day-to-day issues with the State Department, Kahl said. Also, he added, the Defense and State departments have established a steering group to review status and progress in areas such as supply chain, equipment, contracting, medical, facilities and construction, information technology, security and aviation. To quickly respond to equipment requests, a combined equipping board was established in January to feed recommendations for equipment sourcing to senior leaders. Finally, the Defense and State departments established a team in each of the remaining locations in Iraq to assess and address issues that may arise after these sites transition, Kahl said. "As one would expect with a transition of this scope and complexity, challenges exist," he said, "but rest assured that DOD is doing everything it can to help the State Department achieve success." Challenges aside, the nation's ongoing engagement in Iraq remains vital, Kahl noted. "We are now at the point where the strategic dividends of our tremendous sacrifices and huge investments in Iraq are within reach, as long as we take the proper steps to consolidate them," he said. "A long-term strategic partnership with Iraq based on mutual interests and mutual respect continues to present many advantages."

Biographies:  Colin Kahl  Related Sites: U.S. Forces Iraq

Lady Gets New Lease of Life on Wedding Anniversary

Ludhiana: Mrs Mohinder Kaur of Dharamshala was admitted to the Christian Medical College & Hospital Ludhiana in a critical condition. She was seen by Dr Mary John – Head of Medicine. 

She had severe stenosis of her valve which had earlier been operated upon 20 years back. Due to the valve disease her lungs were full of water and were not able to exchange oxygen. Consultation with Dr Harinder Singh Bedi–Head of Cardio Vascular & Thoracic Surgery – was done and a high risk emergency operation planned. A redo ie 2^nd time surgery was required. Dr Bedi told that redo surgeries carry a slightly higher risk than first time ones but the risk was compounded by the fact that the patient was so unwell. Surgery could not be delayed as this would have worsened the lungs. The CTVS department of CMC has a large experience of such cases. A marathon surgery was conducted. Dr Bedi said that the valve was grossly calcified and stuck with only a small pinhole opening for the flow of blood. The valve was excised and replaced with the latest generation tissue valve as this gives the best results in such ill patients.

Mrs Mohinder Kaur made a remarkable recovery and celebrated her 30^th wedding anniversary the next day with her son, husband and the whole team (pic) with a special cake.

The other members of the team are Dr A Joseph, Dr A Gupta, Dr V Abraham, Dr Amit, Dr Anuj and Dr Richa,     Dr Mary John and Dr Bedi said that Mrs Mohinder Kaur should now have a normal life. As her new valve is a special one – she will not have to take lifelong medications as with the other metallic valves.

Dr Abraham G Thomas – Director of CMC & H – said that the CMC was committed to give the best care to patients of this region with the availability of superspecialists round the clock. 

Photo: Mrs Mohinder Kaur with her family and Dr Mary John and Dr Harinder Singh Bedi a day after her major open heart surgery. --Shalu Arora and Rector Kathuria 

Bagram Hospital Provides Care to All Who Need It

By Donna Miles  American Forces Press Service BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, June 1, 2011 - The announcement over the hospital intercom blared the news: more casualties were arriving, many that the staff knew would need near-heroic measures to survive. The operating rooms at Staff Sgt. Heathe N. Craig Joint Theater Hospital at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, keep busy with the steady stream of arriving patients. Most of the patients are U.S., coalition and Afghan security forces troops, but some are Afghan civilians and even enemy forces. DOD photo by Donna Miles  The Staff Sgt. Heathe N. Craig Joint Theater Hospital, one of the largest and best-equipped trauma facilities in Afghanistan, was preparing during that day last month for its next round of incoming patients. It had been a busy day in what has shaped up to be a busy year for the hospital, Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Guillermo Tellez, the hospital commander, acknowledged. Thirteen trauma patients already had arrived from throughout the Regional Command East area of Afghanistan. The operating rooms were bustling, tending to the needs of troops suffering the results of improvised explosive devices, gunshots and other battlefield wounds. One soldier, suffering severe stomach wounds, had just lost his squad leader in an attack. "It's tough hearing their stories," said Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Vik Bebarta, the emergency room director. "But we take care of them, and try to help them realize that they can relax now, because they are in good hands." The night's casualties were the latest of more than 2,300 trauma patients treated at the hospital during the first three months of 2011 alone, more than a quarter of them suffering the most severe "Level 1" traumas. Walking through the hospital corridors, Tellez paused outside the room of a 12-year-old Afghan girl under his care. "Soldiers were walking along a trail and they found her," suffering a traumatic head injury, he explained. "She had just been left there, so they brought her in, and we are taking care of her." Continuing the walk, Tellez strolled past another bed in another section of the hospital. The patient was hooked up to all kinds of medical equipment -- breathing tubes, intravenous feeding tubes, the works. His chances of survival, Tellez said, were slim. Unlike the other patients, this one had a patch over his eyes. A military police soldier sat next to him as night set in at the hospital. This patient was a detainee, Tellez explained. He was picked up during an operation and brought to the hospital to receive the same level of care provided to every wounded U.S. and coalition service member and every Afghan security force member or civilian brought to the facility. Caring for the enemy "can be hard," he acknowledged. "We know he may have been involved in hurting our own," he added. No other country in the world adheres so closely to that ethical standard, Tellez said. "Only in America," he said. "It is truly what makes us special. We care for all."

Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Guillermo Tellez, commander of the Staff Sgt. Heathe N. Craig Joint Theater Hospital at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, said caring for friend and foe alike sets the United States apart in the world. "It is truly what makes us special," he said. DOD photo by Donna Miles  Download screen-resolution Download high-resolution

Mission Brings Father, Son Together

By Army Sgt. Darron Salzer
National Guard Bureau
ARLINGTON, Va., May 31, 2011 - Long duty days far away from home can be tough. A chance to speak with or see a loved one often can offer relief from the stresses of deployment. Ask almost any soldier, sailor, airman or Marine deployed overseas, and they will tell you that family and friends are always on their mind.

Air Force 1st Lt. Brian Myers, a C-17 Globemaster III pilot, and his father, Air Force Col. Charles Myers, state air surgeon for the Arkansas National Guard, pose for a photo after landing at Joint Base Andrews, Md., March 15, 2011. The father-and-son duo had the opportunity to work alongside one another as part of the Air National Guard's critical care air transport team mission. Courtesy photo

For one Air National Guard father-and-son duo, the Air Guard's critical care air transport team mission offered them the opportunity to have this relief, if only for a moment.

"Having the opportunity to cross paths with my son was just an added bonus to the mission," said Air Force Col. Charles Myers, state air surgeon for the Arkansas National Guard. "It was great to be participating in the same mission with someone who had grown up within my own Guard family."

Myers' son, Air Force 1st Lt. Brian Myers, a C-17 Globemaster III pilot with the Mississippi Air National Guard's 183rd Airlift Squadron, flew some of the missions in which his father had the opportunity to participate. The colonel said he was very proud to be working with his son on such an amazing mission, even though the lieutenant spent time in-flight inside of the aircraft cockpit.

"My son was about 5 or 6 years old when I first became involved with the Air National Guard," said Colonel Myers, "so he kind of grew up with [the Guard]."

Lieutenant Myers said growing up with his dad was the inspiration and the drive that motivated him to join the Guard later in life.

"I took my first flying lessons in high school," he said, "and I definitely knew that I wanted to be in the military [and] knew about the Guard and the Guard family, so it really influenced me when I was in college to enlist."

For Brian, the opportunity to be a part of the critical care air transport team mission was a rewarding experience, one that was only made better by working with his father.

"I certainly was honored to be working on the mission with my dad, even though I was up in the front and he was in the back with the patients on board," the C-17 pilot said. "To be able to bring those wounded back is always a good feeling, but to do this with my dad was a great experience."

Colonel Myers said the critical care mission is a great opportunity for the Air Guard and its airmen.

"Historically, the [Air National Guard] medical service has focused on the operational mission instead of specialty care, so most physicians in the [Air Guard] don't get the opportunity to practice anything close to what their civilian specialty is.

The Air Guard has many such specialists, he added, so it's able to provide certain specialties for the critical care air transport team mission.

The critical care teams augment the regular Air Force medical evacuation mission, which was designed to move stable patients, the colonel explained.

"However, in today's world, we have those patients that have been stabilized, but are still critical and still need to be moved," he added. "So basically, it is an intensive care unit in the air."

Each team has a physician in a critical-care specialty, a critical-care nurse and a respiratory technician who can take care of this type of patient, the colonel said.

"Sometimes the duty hours can be long and the stresses of the environment can be hard to handle," he said, "but being able to do this for our wounded service members is very rewarding."

Winnefeld Mixes Battlefield, Pentagon Expertise

By Jim Garamone  American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, May 30, 2011 - Navy Adm. James A. "Sandy" Winnefeld, President Barack Obama's pick to be the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has a combination of battlefield experience and headquarters expertise. Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld is President Barack Obama's nominee to be the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Here, Winnefeld, the commander of U.S. Northern Command, speaks at the annual conference of the National Guard Association of the United States in Austin, Texas. Army file photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill  Winnefeld will succeed Marine Corps Gen. James "Hoss" Cartwright, if the Senate confirms him. He currently serves as commander of U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado Springs, Colo. The admiral was the captain of the USS Enterprise when the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 occurred. The aircraft carrier had finished its mission and was heading home. Withour orders, Winnefeld turned the carrier around and was in position to launch strikes on al-Qaida. The Enterprise air group flew almost 700 combat sorties in Operation Enduring Freedom. The admiral received his commission as a naval aviator after graduating with high honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1978. He flew F-14 Tomcat jets and commanded fighter squadron VF-211. He later commanded the USS Cleveland – an amphibious transport ship – before commanding the Enterprise. Winnefeld, now 55, also commanded the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group in actions supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. He then commanded the U.S. 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. The job also called on him to command the Striking and Support Forces NATO and as the deputy commander for U.S. Naval Forces, Europe. In the Pentagon, he served as director for strategic plans and policy on The Joint Staff. Other shore tours include being an action officer in the Joint Staff Operations Directorate, as senior aide to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as the executive assistant to the vice chief of naval operations.

Biographies: Navy Adm. James A. "Sandy" Winnefeld Jr.

War Veteran Hangs Up Wings at Age 90

By U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Benjamin Wiseman 23rd Wing Public Affairs VALDOSTA, Ga. , May 29, 2011 - More than 70 years of flying experience came to a close after one last flight in a Piper Saratoga aircraft in Valdosta, Ga. Retired Air Force Col. Clarence Parker prepares to take his final flight May 20, 2011, at the Valdosta Regional Airport, in Valdosta, Ga. Parker has flown for more than 70 years as pilot in three wars and in the Berlin Airlift, but has decided to retire from flying at the age of 90. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Benjamin Wiseman  While retired Air Force Col. Clarence Parker has been a pilot for the majority of his life, the now 90-year-old has decided to hang up his wings and start a new chapter in his life with one last flight on May 20, 2011. "I have decided that seven decades of flying was a great run," Parker said. "I wanted to stop on my own terms, and not when the doctors or my health dictated it." Parker started his aviation career when he was just 20 years old. In 1940, he wanted to join the U.S. Army Air Corps, but his application was put on hold. Then he decided to earn his private pilot's license as a civilian instead. A year later, Parker was called to action. "I had just landed from a flight when someone ran up and told me the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor," he recalled. "Within 48 hours of the attack, I was contacted by the U.S. Army Air Corps and instructed to go to San Antonio." From that day forward, Colonel Parker's career took many twists and turns. He flew more than 35 different aircraft, ranging from the P-40 Warhawk to the B-52 Stratofortress. He has flown in three different wars and several combat missions: World War II, the Berlin Airlift, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Dorothy Lee Parker, the colonel's wife, remembers many of the bases they both visited during their 69 years of marriage. "We have been all over the world," she said. "When you're married to a pilot, you always seem to come second because the aircraft and the mission are always first. Despite that, I always enjoy traveling with him, and he's going to miss flying like hell." He served his country from 1942 until 1971, ending his career as the wing commander at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. Even after the colonel retired, he continued to fly as a civilian for 30 more years. "He has been flying the entire time we have been married," Dorothy said with laughter. "After nearly 70 years of marriage, I finally get to be his main focus." Parker shared a few words of advice before leaving the flying to the pilots of later generations. "Aviation is not only a challenge but an opportunity for young people," he said. "I encourage all pilots to approach flying with vigor and determination, and enjoy the rewards of your hard work." Once Parker parts ways with flying, he said he and and his wife plan to continue visiting family as well as traveling around the U.S. and Europe.