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IN-FOCUS
The Power of Truth
The Morung Express SATURDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2008 VOL. III ISSUE 331
Confronting Terrorism
A
t this unfolding hour of grief and trauma, our heart goes out to those who have been tragically affected by the ongoing attacks in Mumbai. Under such circumstances it is difficult to fully comprehend why the perpetrators and planners of the Mumbai attacks chose to express their dissent and demonstrate their anger through such a brutal and bloody method, resulting in the disastrous loss of innocent and valuable lives. The immediate concerns and priorities of any responsible authority would be to sincerely and efficiently take care of the needs of the survivors and those affected by the multiple attacks, to clearly identify the planners and pinpoint the core source(s) that extended logistical support to the highly trained perpetrators; and to carefully deconstruct the strategic planning process implemented by the perpetrators and to honestly tackle the loopholes in the security system that was exploited in the Mumbai attacks. These immediate priorities needs thorough evaluation are is critical towards creating short-term preventive measures. The more important and challenging task however is to engage with more long-term concerns; and to address the primary reasons that have given increased rise to acts of violence and terror, such as the one that is being experienced in Mumbai. Perhaps the most crucial question would be to examine the existing paradigm guiding the global “war on terror.” While the present paradigm is being pursued aggressively, it is the over dependence on the use of force which threatens its search for solutions to terrorism. The way the word terrorism is constructed today by governments and dominant media, it suggests a definition of an ‘enemy’ that cannot be conceptualized in traditional terms. Terrorism today is presented as a phenomenon built over time, without territory in the traditional sense. Hence, the present paradigm on the global war on terror is mostly a clash of culture, worldview, ideas, narrative, history, chosen glories and chosen traumas. It is a paradigm that is narcissistically obsessed with the ‘other.’ Such construction of terrorism makes conventional security measures ineffective and only leads to greater distrust, dehumanization and deeper polarization of perceived positions. To contribute in the process of preventing another Mumbai tragedy it becomes imperative to find solutions to the question of terrorism. And central to this process is not about who the “other” is, but it is really about who we are and how we respond to the issues of injustice. Therefore if we are to explore the idea of out-of-box solutions to terrorism, then it is quite essential that we first put a human face to it. Naturally this suggestion contravenes the existing paradigm of War on Terror, because all that this War on Terror has done is to create the image of an enemy of the ‘other’ and pursues the idea that purports the efficacy of force, which has only bred more violence. To make this world free of terrorism, demands that we must make this world free of violence. It is of absolute necessity to address the question of violence with clarity and foresight, because violence is at the root of terrorism. Violence implies all forms of violence that prevents the fullness of a dignified humanity. In the end, political courage is the living power of human perception that nurtures and expands a vision for the future by transcending the existing realities which is limited by present conditions of an impoverished mind. Today must be that day we decide to speak for ourselves and find solutions to the challenges of a shared humanity.
LEFT WING |
Rev.L. Suohie Mhasi
Revival of Animistic Festivals
W
e Nagas are proud of our people being around 95% are professed Christians. When our people were in severe affliction, the people prayed to God for their security and protection and God was so gracious that He sent a mighty Holy Spirit Revival which swept across the land as a result; the people were rejoicing and had experienced the power of the Spirit of God in changing lives and performing miracles. We know that nothing in the World can substitute the Spirit of Christ being at work in us. Bot now with the advancement educationally, economically and in the aspect of development our people are drifting towards materialism and revival of animistic festivals such as Sekrenyi, Moatsü, Tuluni etc. A festival is prepared, a chief guest normally a Minister is invited to grace the occasion, speech is delivered and dancing and singing were performed. The next day the highlight of the festival is published in the front page of local dailies. Religious discourse is made saying that the forefathers used to invoke blessing by observing such a festival. It is true that the forefathers did it but in what name? Is it in the name of an unknown God or a known God? There is no place in Christianity to invoke blessing through celebrating such a paganistic festival. Culture and Religious festival are different. We have to preserve and even improve the good part of our cultures and even to modernize the primitive culture. But culture and animistic festival are not to be admixtured. The Bible said, “Whatever you do, do it in the name of Christ. Can the animistic festivals be celebrated or observed in the name of Christ? Should fellow Christians who were former Hindus observe Durga Puja or Holi or Diwali as their culture? Or should Christians who were once Muslims observe Id as their culture? Our people used to invoke blessing be performing religious rites in different festivals. But we came to know the true God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and the old animistic religion was forsaken and became Christians. But when our people in general are drifting into the depth of liberalism under the pre text of preserving the forefather’s culture, should the servants of God remain silent spectators or encourage it by participating in it?
S O U N D BITE “According to preliminary information, some elements in Pakistan are responsible for Mumbai terror attacks. Proof cannot be disclosed at this time.” Pranab Mukherjee, Foreign minister
“America is needed - an America that is strong, democratic and sure of itself - for the entire world, not just for Americans. We are seeing that if it’s bad for America, it’s bad for us all.” Mikhail Gorbachev, former Soviet leader
THE EDIT PAGE
C O M M E N T A R Y
Raja Murthy
MUMBAI’S NIGHT OF TERROR
Firefighters try to douse a fire at the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai Thursday, November 27. Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, a crowded train station and a Jewish group’s headquarters, killing people, and holding Westerners hostage in coordinated attacks on the nation’s commercial center that were blamed on Muslim militants. (AP Photo)
T
he unprecedented night of horror in India’s financial capital began at about 9.30 pm for two Germans, Rita and Thomas, part of a Lufthansa in-flight crew finishing dinner at Leopold Cafe in Colaba in south Mumbai. Barely five hours earlier, Asia Times Online published an article mentioning the restaurant as a favorite of Western tourists, and this popularity caused it to be among the first of 12 terrorist targets on Wednesday night that killed more than 100 people and injured nearly 300, and the figures are rising. Apart from the cafe, groups of militants armed with automatic weapons and grenades burst into luxury hotels, a hospital and a railway station, spewing death. “I saw the terrorist firing his machine gun at people sitting at the next table,” Rita said, “and then thought the gun would turn around to me.” But the terrorist, in his mid-30s, swung the gun away from her, momentarily distracted by his accomplice waiting in the mezzanine floor and firing randomly at diners. Her life had been saved in that split second. A group identifying itself as the Deccan Mujahideen said it was responsible, per emails sent to news organizations. Virtually nothing is known of this group. “Deccan” is an area of India and “Mujahideen” is the plural form of a Muslim participating in jihad. Security officials believe it unlikely an unknown group could carry out such a precise and heavily-armed attack. It is more likely to be the work of the Indian Mujahideen, an Islamist group that has claimed responsibility for other attacks in India. On Thursday morning, speaking from inside the Oberoi where foreigners are being held hostage, a man identified as Sahadullah told India TV he belonged to an Indian Islamist group seeking to end the persecution of Indian Muslims: “We want all mujahideens held in India released and only after that we will release the people.” No one knows how the terrorists arrived in the city. One theory is that they came from the sea in an explosives-laden boat. But there is no doubt about their agenda. Rita, Thomas and Jesper, the latter the owner of a shipping company from Denmark, fell to the floor with other diners at the Leopold, some on top of each other. “We thought if we lay down and kept still, the gunman would think we are dead,” said Rita, a blonde stewardess serving on Lufthansa Flight 764
from Mumbai to Munich. As the machinegun-wielding murderer ran up to join his accomplice upstairs, the trio fled into an already panic-stricken street, over a dead body and leaving their bags, money, cell phones and unpaid dinner bill behind. But the night of terror for Rita and her friends was only beginning, as it was for a city of 13 million not unused to terrorist strikes but never in such prolonged horror. The trio were staying at the Oberoi Hotel in Nariman Point, a rare case of victims caught in two of the dozen terrorist-hit areas in Mumbai on the fateful night. Hemant Karkare, chief of the city’s anti-terrorism squad, was among three senior police officials killed in a police counter-attack against the terrorists holding hostages as the Oberoi and Taj Mahal. By 10.30pm outside the Oberoi, by the Arabian Sea on Marine Drive, it was surreally quiet, with roads dark and deserted, in contrast to the usual daytime office bustle in one of the city’s busiest and most expensive office areas. I reached the Oberoi minutes after seeing the news flash on TV, even as gunmen were holed up inside the hotel and police cordons were being thrown around the white-painted building. I recalled the Marriott in Islamabad, which terrorists struck on September 20, setting it alight. Would the Oberoi and Taj suffer the same devastating fate? No one nearby, including police constables, had any clear idea of what was happening, except that gun shots had been fired and there were multiple explosions. Small groups of bystanders joined fleeing uniformed hotel staff running into the night. Sporadic gunfire and explosions could be heard from the Taj Mahal about two kilometers away. Oberoi hotel guests periodically raced out, crouching and escorted by poorly armed policemen. Sunil (name changed on request), a Marine Commando Special Forces Officer, residing nearby, had heard the first explosion outside the Oberoi. An explosives specialist, Sunil said that he gauged by the sound that it involved low-grade explosives of about 10 kilograms, of the kind that can be packed into a fire extinguisher and set off with a mobile phone ring as a trigger. Other explosions were grenade attacks, the first of many across Mumbai. “The explosion in the Air India building in the 1993 bomb blast attacks was so loud the ground shook,” remembers officer Sunil. “First you feel the building
shake and then you hear the loud explosion.” At this point security men asked us to move away from the area, particularly since I was wearing a white shirt and could be a sitting target at night for bullets. It was a terrible feeling of deja vu for officer Sunil, who, like me, had similarly raced out into the streets in Churchgate on midday on Friday, March 12, 1993, to see a sea of glass shards amid dead, bleeding and dying bodies strewn around the Air India building, just a stone’s throw the Oberoi. In that incident, a series of 13 blasts killed up to 250 people, with 700 injured. Fifteen years later, Mumbai has suffered more serial terrorist strikes. In the intervening years, the city has been the victim of bomb attacks, but it has never seen anything like the carnage of Wednesday night - it was pure and simple urban warfare. Mumbai has been attacked six times since 1993. The last major attack was in in 2006 when 200 people were killed in attacks on the rail transit system. “This is a high-risk zone,” said officer Sunil. “There could be delayed explosions.” His prediction was correct; within 30 minutes, with gunfire and explosions had turned Mumbai into Baghdad. A black-suited Oberoi banquet manager was standing in a dark, nearly deserted lane opposite the outwardly silent hotel, staring up at the few lighted room windows. His hotel would be nearly empty of guests by the morning. The still surreal silence was broken occasionally by a rush of feet fleeing the hotel, or policemen crouching into firing positions near the hotel’s perimeter, or warning onlookers to go away. “Fortunately, we had only one function tonight, in one banquet room out of the nine we have,” the banquet manager said. “Otherwise, the causalities might have been higher.” He said the hotel had about 45% occupancy. “Two masked armed gunmen randomly fired from the ramp in the lobby,” the Oberoi shopping mall manager standing nearby reported on his cell phone to a senior. “The Kandahar [restaurant[ is badly damaged, sir. No word of causalities.” A pattern was emerging. Two-member teams of gunmen had fanned out across Mumbai, randomly firing into crowds and hurling grenades out of backpacks. Most of the targets were tourist-oriented, including railway stations and hospitals. Reports emerged of terrorists looking in particular for American and British
guests at the Oberoi and Taj Mahal, two luxury landmarks and rated by Forbes and Conde Nast among the world’s best business hotels. In a sense, Mumbai and India’s economy was under attack. A young food and beverage trainee attending a roof-top party at the Oberoi had just escaped into the street, still panting, and reported seeing a Japanese guest shot in the hip. “Another guest said he had seen a man being shot dead before his eyes,” he said. “We heard there is another explosion in Mazgaon Docks. We live near there and have to go.” By 11.30 pm, when I met Thomas, Rita and Jesper near the Air India building facing the Arabian Sea, Marine Drive had turned into a Hollywood disaster movie set: ambulances, police vehicles, satellite TV vans, trucks of heavily armed soldiers rumbling into the zone and reporters screaming into their cell phones. Thomas and Rita were desperately trying to contact three missing crew members, not yet sure whether one of them had escaped alive out of the Leopold Cafe. Soldiers were moving into the Oberoi, seven grenade explosions rocked the Taj Mahal, India’s first-ever five-star hotel, with its famous sea-facing dome on fire. Like other hotel guests, the Lufthansa crew were stranded outside for the night. Shipping company owner Jesper had experienced bullets flying near his head when he served as solder in a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Yugoslavia 13 years ago. “We were caught in the crossfire between Bosnians and Serbs,” Jesper remembered. “But tonight was more terrifying because I had no gun to defend myself. Soldiers firing on soldiers in a war is easier to understand than civilians firing at other civilians.” “This is my first visit to Mumbai and I like it,” said Rita, who nearly lost her life in the Leopold Cafe and escaped being killed in the Oberoi in a night of terror that she and Mumbai will never forget. “But I don’t want to come back here again.” Lufthansa eventually picked up Rita, Thomas and Jesper in the morning and moved them to the Hyatt Residency near the airport. Flights out of Mumbai were expected to be full on Thursday. But Mumbai has so far refused to heed chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s advice to stay indoors. Office attendance is expected to be down, but suburban trains are running and the city is attempting to come out to work. For stoic, terrorist-battered Mumbai, work and life go on.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CMCF IMBROGLIO “After every rain there is sunshine.” In the year 2007 when the YES Team under the YouthNet traveled statewide to all the 11 districts of Nagaland, one of the main grudges the students and youths of Nagaland felt against the government was the Political Interference into the Chief Minister Corpus Fund and Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana. It was agreed by one and all that the dissatisfactory result was by such undue interference. After the wide discussion and publicity done in the right knowledge of the government, still the government agency wants to remain blind to the rules and regulations set in the guidelines in black and white! What the Angami Students Union has done should serve as an eye
opener for the rest of all the other youths of our state. 1. The rule number 7 (seven) in the selection guideline for CMCF clearly mentions; ‘One representative from the apex students body of the district’. 2. Given and acknowledged of the fact that one main reason for the failure of CMCF and is political interference and isms of all kinds; how can we blindly continue committing the same error? 3. Will the selection boards in other districts too be blind enough to not-see the rules clearly written in black and white? 4. Will the only genuinely deserving candidates be selected, as is meant to be? 5. As for the aspiring candidates; do you really have it in you that you are applying for or you want to misuse it as a free political/government grant? Your irrespon-
sibility is a burden to the Naga society. Rest assured we can now be optimistic that the selection boards in the districts will no more act ultra vires. Now the Nagas have one big question; will the students’ unions inclusion into the selection board bring a better result? By being given the chance to sit in the Selection Committee, our students unions are representing the whole of the Naga youths. This is our chance to make the unmade, correct the incorrect and set an example that Naga youths can be relied upon. Nagas in general will now be watching and the Naga youths to prove our worth. Let’s support the just and together fight the unjust while we still have hope. Joshua Sheqi YouthNet
Joint Forum appeals for Peace •Sir- The Joint Forum of GBs & DBs Nagaland while appreciating all the Naga National Workers groups for restraining themselves from factional clashes and killings in honour and respect with the appeal made by all the sections of Nagas, once again appeal all groups to maintain complete and conducive atmosphere of peace and tranquility in our land. As the Christmas and New Year is approaching let us uphold the love of oneness as brothers and sisters in Christ. The GBs & DBs of Nagaland extend a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year wishes to one and all. A.Taku Longkumer, Convenor Lungrahei Herie, Secretary
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