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Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Gaza Gags Civil Liberties
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| A new crackdown on civil liberties makes the future for girls uncertain in Gaza. Credit: Mohammed Omer/IPS. |
- Gaza is becoming increasingly radicalised as Hamas continues its crackdown on civil liberties, press freedom and the rights of women. In the last few weeks a number of journalists have been arrested and accused of being involved in “suspicious activities”, several detainees shot dead by police during arrest attempts, and female students asked to abide by a strict Islamic dress code.
“Hamas is on a gradual track of the Islamisation of Gazan society, which goes against their early promises,” Dr Samir Awad from Birzeit University near Ramallah tells IPS. “Most people in Gaza, even the most conservative, oppose this. Gazans are already very conservative and they don’t need Hamas dictating their religion to them.”
Women have borne the brunt of the crackdown. Gaza’s Al Aqsa University has announced that female students will be required to wear full traditional Muslim garb, from head to toe.
Some female students have expressed outrage, claiming that the new demands are in violation of their public freedom. They say that already female students are modestly dressed but that some prefer wearing pants and a long overcoat rather than a burka, abaya or hijab.
In the past, Hamas has banned women from riding on the backs of motorbikes, from smoking water pipes, and men from working in female hair salons – saying such practices were immodest. Not all bans, however, have been imposed uniformly.
“Hamas has also banned mixed parties and mixed activities as well as enforcing other restrictions on women but not on men. Gaza’s entire seashore has practically been confiscated by Hamas as if it is their private property and they decide who can access the area and when,” Awad tells IPS.
The dress code decision has also further undermined the latest unity efforts between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA)-affiliated Fatah movement.
PA Minister for Higher Education Ali Jarbawi stresses that Hamas’s decision is illegal and cannot be implemented. He wrote an official letter to Al Aqsa’s president stating the illegality of the move which he said also violated Palestinian government decisions.
Dr. Faiq al-Naouk, advisor for managerial affairs at Al-Aqsa University responded saying that the controversial decision would be implemented only gradually as an act of “goodwill” before it becomes mandatory.
“Hamas’s increasing radicalisation is one of the sticking points for Fatah and Hamas being able to form a unity government,” says Awad.
Hamas has cracked down on other civil liberties too in the past few weeks. ‘New Star’, the annual Palestinian version of ‘American Idol’, was recently banned by the Islamist group on the grounds that it was “indecent” and violated conservative interpretations of Islam.
Producer Alaa Al Abed lashed out at the decision, of which he was only informed at the last moment, saying the ban prevented Gaza’s 12 contestants from competing in the second round of the competition.
“This is more serious than Hamas just killing fun in Gaza – they are limiting the freedoms of the people, according to their whims,” al-Abed says.
Teenage girls and women can only rarely be seen singing in public, but men are encouraged to sing, without musical instruments, about the glory of Islam and fighting Israel.
Journalists are also facing censure. Hamas has carried out a wave of arrests of Palestinian journalists in the coastal territory, accusing them of being involved in “suspicious activities”. Palestinian human rights groups say internal security services in the Gaza Strip have stepped up harassment of journalists in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) distributed a list of media workers it said had been arrested, and condemned the seemingly coordinated campaign, which Hamas officials deny.
Hamas interior ministry spokesman Islam Shahwan says his ministry guarantees freedom of the press, and says recent detainees were charged with recognisable offenses. He says they had admitted to charges that they “threatened the security of the community.”
The ministry added that “those persons are not journalists at all. Even those who work as journalists use this field as a cover to carry out suspicious acts.” The Palestinian media freedoms watchdog Mada issued a statement claiming abuse of those detained as well as confiscation of property and searches.
Gaza’s Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights has expressed concern over the repeated use of lethal and excessive force by Hamas police following the death of several individuals during attempts to arrest them.
The organisation called on the Hamas authorities to use reasonable force to arrest people suspected of breaking the law, and further called for investigation into the conduct of the police officers involved.
“Law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty,” says Mezan. (End)
Fake currency being pumped by Pakistan into the capital puts Delhi Police in a tizzy Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/fake-currency-nepal-border-pakistan-delhi-police-bogus-notes/1/249987.html
The high quality counterfeit currency flooding the capital is worrying Delhi Police. And their reason to worry is genuine, given the sudden spurt in thefake notesbeing pumped by Pakistan, mainly through the porous Nepal border.
Last year a whoppingRs.17.3 crore bogus notes were seized, a quantum jump from theRs.28,20,390 recovered in 2011. Almost 50 times the 2011 seizure.
Experts term it as "economic terrorism by Pakistan", and see it as a threat to economic stability of the country.
The increased influx of fictitious cash has forcedDelhi Policeto even set up a separate cell in the Parliament Street police station, where individuals or banks can submit fake currency they receive through different means. And in the first month of this year,Rs.32 lakh of fake currency has already been deposited there.
"Most of the Fake IndianCurrency Notes(FICN) have been detected by banks and later deposited with us. However, the crackdown on fake currency smuggling will continue," said Neeraj Kumar, city police commissioner.
Police maintain that the major points for pushing fake currency continue to be the border states of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, UP, Bihar and West Bengal. Bogus money is routed through these states from Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Dubai, with Pakistan being the main source.
Read more at:http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/fake-currency-nepal-border-pakistan-delhi-police-bogus-notes/1/249987.html
"Most of the Fake IndianCurrency Notes(FICN) have been detected by banks and later deposited with us. However, the crackdown on fake currency smuggling will continue," said Neeraj Kumar, city police commissioner.
Police maintain that the major points for pushing fake currency continue to be the border states of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, UP, Bihar and West Bengal. Bogus money is routed through these states from Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Dubai, with Pakistan being the main source.
The most notorious routes for smuggling fake currency into India were the Bangladesh-Kolkata route (via the North 24 Parganas), Nepal-Gorakhpur and Nepal-Bihar routes. But now, police say, Jharkhand's Sahibganj district has emerged as the main landing spot for fake notes sent from across the border.
Security agencies are flummoxed with the mint quality of the fakes, making detection difficult. Not only the imported paper used by the government, the counterfeiters are able to copy colour, ink, special water marks and even micro lettering to make them look like the real ones.
Police say more than 90 per cent features of fake currency notes match the original.
RBI Governor Dr. Duvvuri Subbarao has also expressed his concern over fake currency notes circulating in the country. Speaking in a public outreach programme at Lalpur Karauta village in UP earlier this week he said, "We are facing one more problem and that is of fake currency notes. There are some criminal, unsocial elements who are involved in fraudulent activities. We are also trying to see that the police department is vigilant towards these fraudsters."
The menace forced the government in December last year to approve an amendment in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, under which a person or group of individuals and an association who are involved in counterfeit currency circulation can be booked, if it is tantamount to a threat to the economic stability of the country.
In December 2012, the counsel of National Investigation Agency, submitted before the Supreme Court that security agencies have maintained that the wilful smuggling and circulation of high quality FICN printed in Pakistan into our country with the direct intent to threaten the economic security, sovereignty and integrity of India is tantamount to a 'terror act'.
The 2011 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report of the US State Department said India faces an increasing inflow of counterfeit notes, produced primarily in Pakistan. Terrorist and criminal networks use this money to finance their activities in the country.
In 2012, Delhi Police recovered aroundRs.2.4 crore fake currency denominations from two tempos in Dabri area of the Capital. The arrest of the accused revealed that they had smuggled the copied cash through the Line of Control in J&K. "It was brought into the capital in a train from Jammu," said a senior police official.
The FICN also comes into the country through diplomatic courier baggage, police claim. In the current scenario the business of fake currency has not remained the staple of only the kingpins. "We are sharing inputs with other security agencies as well to keep a tab on this smuggling to bust all such networks," said S.N. Srivastava, Special Commissioner (special cell) of Delhi Police.
Security agencies are flummoxed with the mint quality of the fakes, making detection difficult. Not only the imported paper used by the government, the counterfeiters are able to copy colour, ink, special water marks and even micro lettering to make them look like the real ones.
Police say more than 90 per cent features of fake currency notes match the original.
RBI Governor Dr. Duvvuri Subbarao has also expressed his concern over fake currency notes circulating in the country. Speaking in a public outreach programme at Lalpur Karauta village in UP earlier this week he said, "We are facing one more problem and that is of fake currency notes. There are some criminal, unsocial elements who are involved in fraudulent activities. We are also trying to see that the police department is vigilant towards these fraudsters."
The menace forced the government in December last year to approve an amendment in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, under which a person or group of individuals and an association who are involved in counterfeit currency circulation can be booked, if it is tantamount to a threat to the economic stability of the country.
In December 2012, the counsel of National Investigation Agency, submitted before the Supreme Court that security agencies have maintained that the wilful smuggling and circulation of high quality FICN printed in Pakistan into our country with the direct intent to threaten the economic security, sovereignty and integrity of India is tantamount to a 'terror act'.
The 2011 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report of the US State Department said India faces an increasing inflow of counterfeit notes, produced primarily in Pakistan. Terrorist and criminal networks use this money to finance their activities in the country.
In 2012, Delhi Police recovered aroundRs.2.4 crore fake currency denominations from two tempos in Dabri area of the Capital. The arrest of the accused revealed that they had smuggled the copied cash through the Line of Control in J&K. "It was brought into the capital in a train from Jammu," said a senior police official.
The FICN also comes into the country through diplomatic courier baggage, police claim. In the current scenario the business of fake currency has not remained the staple of only the kingpins. "We are sharing inputs with other security agencies as well to keep a tab on this smuggling to bust all such networks," said S.N. Srivastava, Special Commissioner (special cell) of Delhi Police.
Read more at:http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/fake-currency-nepal-border-pakistan-delhi-police-bogus-notes/1/249987.html
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