Politics
Politics
Fair Observer's analysis of political issues, events and trends and their national, regional and international consequences.
-
360° Analysis / Ahsan / Assange / Extradition / Julian Assange / McKinnon / Mustafa / Politics / Supreme Court / United States / EuropeWhile the US has waived the death penalty in order to secure the extradition of Abu Hamza al–Masri et al., the accused – and those resisting extradition to the US – still face harsh prison conditions and a likelihood of unfair trials. The British government’s recent extraditions of Mustafa Kamel Mustafa (aka Abu Hamza al-Masri), Khalid al-Fawwaz, Adel Abdel Bary, Babar Ahmad and Syed Talha Ahsan, along with the American government’s failed extradition attempt of Gary McKinnon and the speculated extradition of Wikileaks principal Julian Assange, all raise troubling implications for international relations, international law, and geopolitics for the United States...
-
360° Analysis / Gaza / Israel / Palestine / Politics / West Bank / Middle EastBy Oded Na’amanOded Na'aman, the founder of Breaking the Silence, presents testimonies by veterans of the Israeli Defense Forces from Gaza and the Occupied Territories. This is the final part. Read part one here. [The testimonies by Israeli veterans that follow are taken from 145 collected by the nongovernmental organization Breaking the Silence and published in Our Harsh Logic: Israeli Soldiers’ Testimonies From the Occupied Territories, 2000-2010. Those in the book represent every division in the IDF and all locations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.] 4. Elimination Operation Unit: Special Forces Location: Gaza Strip Year: 2000 There was a period at the beginning of the Intifada where they...
-
360° Analysis / Gaza / Israel / Palestine / Politics / West Bank / Middle EastBy Oded Na’amanOded Na'aman, the founder of Breaking the Silence, presents testimonies by veterans of the Israeli Defense Forces from Gaza and the Occupied Territories. This is the first of two parts. “There is no country on Earth that would tolerate missiles raining down on its citizens from outside its borders,” President Barack Obama said at a recent press conference. He drew on this general observation in order to justify Operation Pillar of Defense, Israel’s most recent military campaign in the Gaza Strip. In describing the situation this way, he assumes, like many others, that Gaza is a political entity external and independent of Israel. This is not so. It is true that Israel...
-
360° Analysis / corruption / Elections / Gujarat / India / Politics / BRIC / AsiaGeneral Sinha argues that India faces a sorry choice between a corrupt dysfunctional government and a divided incoherent opposition. My generation recalls that wonderful dawn of great hope and confidence rising like a phoenix from all the chaos, mayhem and violence of Partition. Jawaharlal Nehru’s historic oration articulated in wonderful language in the Parliament “At the stroke of midnight hour”, was indeed most inspiring. We derided Winston Churchill’s usual anti-India diatribe, “Power will go into the hands of rascals, rogues and freebooters …. They will fight among themselves and India will be lost in political squabbles.” We dismissed his...
-
360° Analysis / Politics / BRIC / AsiaGujarat’s Chief Minister has his flaws but given that his achievements are a much better alternative than a deluded opposition out of touch with realities on the ground, voters are likely to elect him again. In the past, elections in India’s western state of Gujarat were in the headlines in national media for barely a couple of days and had little relevance to India’s national politics. This has changed with the rise of Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat who belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Modi has risen to great political heights and is increasingly considered a possible prime ministerial candidate in the national Indian elections due in 2014...
-
360° Analysis / Politics / BRIC / AsiaBy Mayank SinghThe reelection of the Gujarat’s polarizing but high performing Chief Minister Narendra Modi might make him a contender to be Prime Minister of India. Narendra Modi is a leader who elicits extreme responses. For his supporters, whose numbers are increasing exponentially, the Gujarat Chief Minister is a Teflon coated warrior who can do no wrong. His supporters see him as a knight in the shining armour who could be the savior of the country from the egregious governance of the venally corrupt Congress party. His opponents revile him, some for his alleged role in the horrendous Hindu- Muslim riots of 2002, and others for his vehement opposition to nepotism and dynastic politics. In 2007, Sonia...
-
by Clementine Gray and Atul Singh Background Historically, Gujarat has been one of the most prosperous places on the planet. Its coastal location on the west of India puts it at the centre of trading routes. Trade between India and the wider world has flowed through Gujarat for centuries. Lothal, India’s first port, is amongst the oldest in the world. Gujarat’s coastal cities, such as Bharuch and Khambhat, operated as trading centres in the Maurya and Gupta empires. It is an outward looking place and immigrants from Gujarat have settled in East Africa, Canada, the UK and the US. Gujarat is home to some of the largest businesses in India producing agricultural products like...
-
360° Analysis / Iran / Iranian / Politics / Sanctions / Arts & Culture / Middle EastEconomic sanctions are not only shattering the lives of the Iranian people but also strangling Iran’s social and cultural development. Iran is headed for a humanitarian catastrophe unless steps are taken to avert it. [This article is based on a talk presented by independent researcher Mehrnaz Shahabi on November 17 at the Nour Festival of Arts in London, which seeks to celebrate, explore and promote culture and arts in the Middle East and North Africa.] For 33 years now, since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Iran has been the target of US economic sanctions, which have increased in scope and severity over time. The impact of sanctions on populations is not always quantifiable and can...
-
360° Analysis / 9/11 / constitution / Hanging / India / Kasab / Kasmir / Mumbai / Pakistan / Politics / terrorism / BRIC / AsiaWhy the Indian government made a mistake in hanging terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab. The hurried hanging of Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, which kept the media and the people of India in the dark, is both an administrative wrong and Constitutional impropriety. The Manhohan Singh Government and its policy maker UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi have a duty to explain to the nation and the world why their Home Minister has recommended Rashtrapathi to reject the mercy petition convict Ajmal Kasab? It is the administrative propriety that demands to give reasons for the decision of such serious nature to the people at large. Claiming that this secret execution is a ‘success’ is a...