[1811] in peace2
peace-announce for announcements only
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Aimee L Smith)
Thu Jul 11 13:31:40 2002
Message-Id: <200207111731.NAA20011@emat1.mit.edu>
To: Anant K Saraswat <saraswat@MIT.EDU>
cc: Payal Parekh <parekh@pimms.MIT.EDU>, peace-announce@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: Your message of "Thu, 11 Jul 2002 11:18:21 EDT."
<200207111518.LAA11880@no-knife.mit.edu>
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Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 13:31:30 -0400
From: Aimee L Smith <alsmith@MIT.EDU>
Hi Everyone,
Just a quick reminder that the <peace-announce> list is *not*
the appropriate forum on which to debate the tactics, strategy or
focus of even SJC, let alone other groups. The appropriate place
for such a dialog is <peace-discuss>
While I can think of many arguments for why AID would choose this action,
let's participate in dialog in the appropriate spot -> <peace-discuss>.
If you would like to be in on the discussion and need to be added to
<peace-discuss>, please write to <peace-request>.
I know it is very tempting to reply to everyone who saw the thing that
upsets you, but we do have an obligation as a community to deliver
on the claim that <peace-announce> is a relatively low volume announcement
only list. And most of the time, hopefully, these new list
names speak for themselves.
Obviously, it is even more problematic to cc a discussion reply
to an announcement list to another discussion list... hopefully
this won't snowball...
So, please tell us more, but tell it on <peace-discuss>
in hope,
Aimee
> Why is it that, while this so-called "Alliance for a Secular and
> Democratic South Asia" is very eager to stop the Rath Yatra, a
> centuries-old Hindu festival, it has nothing to say about the ethnic
> cleansing of Hindus from Kashmir, or the ongoing violence against
> Christians, Hindus, and other religious minorities in Pakistan and
> Bangladesh?
>
> Perhaps if this organization was really concerned with secularism and
> democracy, it would stop howling so loudly at India, the only truly
> secular and democratic country on the subcontinent. Instead it might
> look across the border at Pakistan, which has been under military rule
> for half its history and which is a sponsor of Islamic terrorism, or
> at Bangladesh, where activists of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist
> Party, with the support of the government, routinely terrorize the
> Hindu population.
>
> What happened to the Muslims of Gujarat was deplorable, and the Indian
> government should punish those responsible. But protesting against the
> Rath Yatra has nothing at all to do with protecting Muslims. Rather,
> it is a vicious attempt to prevent Hindus from practicing their own
> religion in their own homeland.
>
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------
> > Fearing further violence against Muslims in Gujarat during the
> > Jagannath Rath Yatra, the Alliance for a Secular and Democratic
> > South Asia is holding a vigil on July 11 in Copley Square, Boston at
> > 7:00PM. Concerned that the Indian government's decision to allow the
> > Jagannath Rath Yatra to pass through communally sensitive areas in
> > Ahmedabad on July 12th might lead to a fresh outbreak of violence
> > against Muslims, the vigil is being held in solidarity with the
> > ravaged Muslim population of Gujarat, and to remind the government
> > that it will be held fully accountable for the consequences of this
> > decision. In addition to this vigil in Boston, Non-resident Indians
> > from Boston, New York and surrounding areas are holding a day-long
> > fast and vigil outside the Indian Consulate in New York from 10 a.m.
> > to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 10th.
> >
> > For more info about the yatra:
> > http://www.onlinevolunteers.org/gujarat/news/yatras/
> >
