The second message in the briefing was that there is real opportunity for Bangladeshi leaders to make what had heretofore been elusive progress on trade, aid, and other issues with the United States—but only if they recognized that their opportunities exist only if they take action and forego their reliance on the duplicity of the past.

Tina Ramirez, Foreign Policy Advisor to Republican Congressman Trent Franks from Arizona, organized the briefing, which was held in the Rayburn House Office Building directly across from where House Foreign Relations Committee meets on Capitol Hill.

She and I discussed the pitfalls of these sessions in the weeks leading up to it. We both were determined to prevent this one from becoming little more than a bash-Bangladesh session; although we wanted it to be clear about American concerns regarding the Shoaib Choudhury case, persecution of religious minorities, and the question of elections. The question of linkage between aid and human rights arose early and often. Richard Sacks, of the Bangladesh Desk of the US State Department, offered a litany of the many US aid programs that funnel millions into Bangladesh then explained that US policy was based on “the three D’s: Democracy, Development, and the Denial of space to terrorists.” He also stated the US position that democratic elections should take place before the end of 2008, noting that America and Bangladesh have had continuous discussions about the matter; adding, “The Bangladeshi government has provided the US with assurances that the elections will be held by the end of December.”

“Wow!” I responded. “All those programs. That's really impressive. And as an American taxpayer, I feel like I'm participating in them. But tell me, Mr. Sacks,” who mentioned that we had spoken previously, “in exchange for all of that, what have we demanded, especially in the area of human rights, in exchange for all of my hard-earned tax dollars? And, Mr. Sacks, what have we gotten in return for all of that--not in assurances, but in concrete action, especially in the area of human rights?”

Then State Department’s man replied by re-stating the US position, its “three D’s” and “assurances.”

“Ah,” I then said. “Do we ever make aid contingent on specific actions?”

Sacks looked down and responded, “No,” at which point the program moved on; but the point had been made. And in my subsequent discussions with specific Congressional offices that day, it was clear that the idea is gaining traction among lawmakers. Too often, however, Bangladeshi officials have reacted hostilely to that, suggesting that the US is “meddling in Bangladesh’s internal affairs.” Those who do, however, miss the point—which begins with this. The US imports nearly 70 percent of Bangladeshi ready-made garments. Like anyone else, Americans have a choice with whom they can trade. There is no obligation to give business to any particular individual or nation. It is also significant that those trade dollars have been dropping of late; and not incidentally because of the government’s continued refusal to take action on human rights or to drop it’s admittedly false prosecution of journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury. Economies are getting tighter, and it will become ever more difficult to justify imports from Bangladesh while other nations (such as India and China) can offer lower prices because of their size; and while good from other nations (such as Guatemala and Honduras) do nor carry the tariffs that Bangladeshi goods still do because of the Choudhury case. Similarly, those aid programs that Richard Sacks detailed all come from the hard-earned dollars of US taxpayers like me. We have an absolute right to question how that money is spent; and we will not like to see it go to a nation that refuses to act against Islamist radicals whose ideology envisions a defeated and dependent United States.

There is precedent for that, too. In 1959, when Fidel Castro declared Cuba communist, the US stopped all trade. Castro responded by going to the Soviet Union for aid and support; and the people of Cuba have suffered for it. The nation lags behind the rest of the Western Hemisphere in a variety of measures. The nation has survived; its choice, but also its consequences. Similarly, the US cut off the junta in Myanmar. Those leaders then aligned itself with China and has done without US aid or trade. Do Bangladeshi leaders aspire for their people to live under the same conditions as the Burmese? Neither of those two nations complained. Their people simply bore the brunt of their leaders’ reactions. On the other hand, we have the spectacle of the Palestinian Arab’s Hamas government. There, too, the Palestinians chose to elect a government with a history of terrorist acts against innocent civilians, that refuses to renounce those acts or pledge to abandon them in the future, and has as its stated purpose the eradication of Israel. Yet, instead of accepting the consequences of its positions, Hamas cries and complains because Israel will not lay its neck on the chopping block for it; that the US will not give it aid. How could I countenance supporting that anti-Semitic and terrorist organization with my tax dollars? But whether the consequences are accepted as the price for one’s position (ala Cuba) or are the subject of a perpetual international whine (ala Hamas); there is precedent for the actions applying to Bangladesh.

In fact, between Richard Sacks and me, there were four other speakers. Selig Harrison, a journalist with long term involvement with Bangladesh spoke of the “basis for democracy built in Bangladesh,” but wondered if its current leaders were following the “Musarraf model,” which suppressed democracy for years. Maneeza Hossain, Senior Fellow at the well-respected think tank, the Hudson Institute also addressed the elections issue. “Democracy is not a gift that the military can at some time bestow on the Bangladeshis, but a right.” She also pointed out the fact that while the restriction on political assemblies remains, radical Islamist groups alone can defy it with impunity. “All the Islamists have to do is take off their political hats and put on their religious hats” to hold what amount to political rallies. Others brought reports of minority oppression. At one point, Bridget Kustin of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and Bangladesh expert asked why we do not make aid contingent progress on human rights. Because, I said, “sometimes we Americans confuse assurances of progress with actual progress.” If we believe that our enemies are wrong and that we stand for some sort of moral leadership in this world, then we cannot treat lightly those moral principles that we say are important to us; “and accepting words when actions are needed is abandoning those moral principle.”

It was frustrating, I said, “seeing the same people shaking the same ineffective fists at the same governments, whether they are BNP, Awami, or the current military-backed leaders…Has the ethnic cleansing of Bangladeshi Hindus stopped? Is the racist Vested Property Act still in force? Has the oppression of minorities slowed? And is not Bangladesh still one of the most dangerous countries on earth for journalist?” That is the only measure of effectiveness we can use; and by that measure, we fall short. But I added that there is some hope. At the most recent court appearance for Shoaib Choudhury, the assistant public prosecutor frustrated the judge’s attempt to start the trial even though to have done so would have violated Bangladeshi law. Contrasting previous collusion between the judge and prosecution, suggests some movement away from an admittedly false prosecution designed—again admittedly—only to appease Islamist radical. It is important, I noted, to recognize that there are some “very good people in the Bangladeshi government” as well as “a lot of mendacious and frustrating ones.” If we recognize “the opportunities” that the former group offers and similarly do not accept the false assurances of the second group, then real progress is possible, as is increased prosperity for the people of Bangladesh.

When Mary Mondol, a Christian woman living in Dhaka, was approached by a Muslim man in 2001, an ultimatum was quickly made clear: if she didn’t marry him and convert to Islam, she would be killed. Mary reluctantly agreed to the marriage, and with one hand on the Qur’an, was forced to profess her “new” Muslim beliefs during the wedding ceremony.

In the years that followed, Mary was repeatedly beaten and tortured by her husband and his family members, even throughout her pregnancy in 2007. After being kicked out of her home in January 2008, she finally sought help from William Gomes, a local Christian pastor who assisted her in building a legal case against her abusive husband. Although Mary’s testimony was enough to warrant his arrest and imprisonment, both she and William Gomes now fear for their lives as they continue to face ominous threats from her husband’s relatives. “I have become the target of that Muslim family,” says Pastor Gomes. “They are threatening me to stop working for her. Now I cannot give her shelter any longer...I may be killed any time, as they are very strong and are from the majority community. Being a Christian, I am a minority, and the government doesn’t give support for us. But we are praying to save her from the Muslim family.”

Mary now lives life on the run, unable to stay in one place for too long out of fear of being discovered by her husband’s family. Her story mirrors the plight of many other Christian women in Bangladesh, where forced marriage and conversion to Islam, the country’s dominant religion, has been a widespread source of fear and abuse for years. Despite the government’s claims of religious freedom for all citizens, minority Christians in Bangladesh routinely suffer beatings, arrest, and attacks on their homes and churches because of their faith.

Christian Freedom International, a Michigan-based nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting persecuted Christians worldwide, is currently providing food and medical treatment for Mary Mondol’s 4-month-old son, Sumon. The organization, which also distributes Braille Bibles for the blind in Dhaka, urges Christians around the world to pray for suffering believers in Bangladesh. To learn more about the persecuted church, visit www.christianfreedom.org.”

After reading this report in CFP, we assigned our reporters to investigate the matter and talk to either Mary Mondol or William Gomes or both. While our reporters were on search, there was a phone call at Weekly Blitz office from a cell phone number 01912342809, and it was William Gomes [who had been misquoted in the first report by the NGO as Pastor William Gomes. He [William] was looking for the Weekly Blitz editor. After a brief telephonic conversation with the editor, William Gomes fixed an appointment to come to the office of the newspaper to discuss some “extremely important issues”. Naturally, he was welcomed and subsequently William came to the Weekly Blitz office on Thursday afternoon along with another person who never disclosed his identity.

William Gomes started saying that, Father Timm and his assistant Rosaline Costa were running profitable ‘family’ business by selling stories of persecution of minority repression in Bangladesh.

When William was told that Father Timm has claimed that Mary Mondol was interviewed by Rosaline Costa and she [Mary] gave Rosaline a written as well verbal statement, William Gomes termed it to be baseless. Then our staffs requested William to bring Mary Mondol to Weekly Blitz office so that both could be interviewed by the newspaper. He agreed and went with a vehicle provided by the newspaper office and came back with Mary Mondol and her minor child in an hour. Mary was wearing a Muslim Burqa [covering her entire body and head as per Islamic Shariah rule]. We already kept all arrangements for this interview keeping our photographer, audio recording system as well as video cameras [two cameras] to record the entire interview.

Mary Mondol told our reporters that she fell in love with a Bangladeshi Muslim named Yunus Khan, who hails from country’s southern district of Faridpur. Their affairs continued for some years before Mary Mondol finally decided to leave our own religious faith [Christianity] and become a Muslim to marry Yunus. Through this religious conversion she became Shamsun Nahar [Muslim name] and abandoned her previous name. The couple lived for years, before recently Yunus Khan reportedly started torturing her in demand of dowry. It may be mentioned here that, repression of wives is very common especially in rural Bangladesh in demand of dowry, as it remains as one of the worst social problems. As Mary Mondol alias Shamsunnahar already abandoned her family because of getting converted to Islam and marrying a Muslim man, she had no means to arrange the demanded money of dowry by her husband. According to Mary Mondol’s statement, Yunus Khan claimed TK. 100,000 [US$ 1400] from her as dowry.

As Yunus was not receiving demanded amount of dowry, he continued to physically torture Mary on a regular basis. A number of times, he reported suffocated her neck with his hands with target of murder. Being afraid and absolutely frustrated with her Muslim husband, Mary Mondol fled to Dhaka and found shelter with William Gomes. It was never revealed by Mary as to how she came to know William. Meanwhile, under the guardianship of William Gomes, Mary Mondol lodged a case with the police station under Women and Children Repression Act [a law to protect women and children] and subsequently police acted promptly in arresting Yunus Khan. Presently, Mary’s husband Yunus is in prison facing trial. If convicted, he may be imprisoned for life.

Did anyone force you in marrying Yunus Khan or getting converted to Islam, replying to this question, Mary Mondol said, “No, I fell in love with him first and decided to marry him. So I got converted in Christianity willingly.”

Are you willing to be back to Christianity? Mary Mondol replied, “No!”

Why? She replied, “I am a Muslim”

Mary Mondol went to Rosaline Costa, who runs a number of NGO’s under the guidance of Father Timm, with the hope of getting her [Rasoline’s] support and help. It may be mentioned here that, Rosaline Costa is a name known in a number of countries in the world as a human rights defender as well as front ranking figure in defending rights of Christians in Bangladesh. She works with CARITAS, Hotline Bangladesh and a number of organizations.

In the office of Ms. Rosaline, Mary Mondol was asked as to whether she is agreed to send her child to Mother Teresa Home in Dhaka. When Mary declined, Rosaline turned annoyed. During this short conversation, Mary’s infant started crying for food, while Rosaline Costa reportedly suggested her to give full cream milk, which was available in her office room.

Being frustrated, Mary Mondol left the office of Rosaline Costa as she denied to accord either any shelter or any suitable job for Mary for maintain her and child’s life.

Mary said, “She wanted to cash my agony my selling this story to foreign donors”.

She further said, “Rosaline Costa was never kind to me even after knowing that I and my child are in regular starvation as we do not have any means to live”.

William Gomes told Weekly Blitz that Father Timm and Rosaline Costa are running several non government organizations in Bangladesh using the excuse of Christian repression in this country and collecting millions of dollar each year from foreign donors. He said, “None of them have required permission from the Bangladesh government for receiving foreign fund. But, Rosaline is managing to receive such funds through illegal ways, which is a crime according to the local law”.

William further said, “Father Timm runs a number of NGOs in Bangladesh with various people, most of whom are either his close friends or disciples. Major stake of foreign fund anyway go into pocket of this man.”

Giving some details of bank accounts maintained by Rosaline Costa, William Gomes said, “The Father Timm – Rosaline Costa team are becoming fabulously rich by cashing the agonies of religious minorities in Bangladesh.”

Meanwhile, William has provided various documentary evidences on Rosaline Costa and Father Timm’s ‘dubious business’ enterprises in Bangladesh. Details of this interview will appear next week. We also have interviewed William Gomes, whose interview will also appear in Weekly Blitz in our next edition.

Unfortunately, this Arab vs. Arab war will not silence those who out of either prejudice or ignorance claim that Israel is the cause of all Middle East conflicts; but, then again, facts were never their strong suit. Watch for the convoluted explanations to hit the internet. Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces stormed the Lebanese government centers in West Beirut then trained their sites on Sidon in the south, Lebanon’s second largest city. This is clearly a strategic move by the terrorist group, as the seizure of Sidon gives it control of a continuous coastal strip from its southern Beirut district all the way to Tyre. According to Debka, a reliable news and information network with military and intelligence sources, Hezbollah next is planning an offensive against Sunni Muslims around the northern slopes of Mt. Hermon, which sits at the junction of the Lebanese-Syrian-Israeli border area. According to the same sources, Syria already has moved advance units of its 10th armored division into Lebanon and has another one on the way along with the rest of the 10th. Syria has long been a client state of Iran, especially in supporting the Hezbollah proxies.

Ever since the succession of disastrous offensive wars against Israel, the Arab states have used various terrorist groups to attempt to do what they were unable to accomplish: harass and ultimately defeat the Jewish State of Israel. Thus far, terror groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and Fatah have been partially successful with the former goal, impotent with regard to the latter one. The lack of an offensive war by sovereign nations against Israel since 1973 have allowed many with their heads in the sand to believe that those forbearing states overnight developed peaceful intentions. It also enabled the myth to grow that the Arab states had no problem with Israel so long as it quits its ancient territories that were seized from it in 1948 and which it regained in 1967. But the reality is that those states have never given up their goal to eradicate the State of Israel. Tired of perpetual humiliation at the hands of the smaller Jewish State, they merely changed tactics.

The good news for them is that their subterfuge was the excuse that signers of the 1973 European-Arab Dialogue needed to adopt an anti-Israeli position without recognizing themselves as anti-Semites—something most Europeans cared about back then. It allowed them to say they opposed Israeli actions but not the concept of the Jewish State of Israel. Or so they thought. While passing on bromides and palliatives to the gullible Europeans, their Arab counterparts were supporting and building up terror groups such as those mentioned above, as well as several others that eventually disbanded. And the Arabs were willing to continue along that path indefinitely—until the consequences of their duplicity started becoming apparent.

What was clear to Arab leaders, who as a group were never squeamish about Arab deaths (far more inflicted by them than by Israel), was not the terrorist and immoral nature of these groups. It certainly was not the deaths they caused in Israel during their hey day of terrorist bombings. It was the growth of an aggressive Iran in the region; an openly anti-Sunni Iran that became the major sponsor of both Shiite and Sunni terrorist groups. The first open sign of it came in 2006, when the Saudi Foreign Minister—joined by the representatives of most other Arab nations—blamed Hezbollah for that summer’s war with Israel and the civilian Lebanese deaths that ensued. At a meeting of the Arab League, he labeled the terror group’s actions “unexpected, inappropriate and irresponsible.” A Saudi press release said that Hezbollah “alone bears the full responsibility of these irresponsible acts and should alone shoulder the burden of ending the crisis they have created.” The Saudis also warned that Hezbollah’s actions in the end would benefit “extremist external forces,” a reference to Iran. Saudi Arabia is the leader of the Sunni Muslim world, with pretensions that it is the keeper of the faith for all Muslims. The influence of anti-Sunni Iran throughout the Muslim, and particularly the Arab, world was and is extremely troubling to the Kingdom.

Unfortunately, the growing intensity of this rift between leaders of the Sunni and Shiite worlds has not really hit their acolytes in Western Europe or the United Nations—which brings us back to the title of this article. Why indeed is the UN culpable for the deaths occurring right now in Lebanon? One of the conditions for a cease-fire in the 2006 summer war between Israel and Hezbollah was that the latter would disarm and that the Lebanese Army would re-take control of the southern part of that country. A defeated and nearly disarmed Hezbollah did in fact accept this provision. For one of the basic principles of national sovereignty is that the nation itself maintains military control. Any other entity that asserts control is an “occupying” force; and Hezbollah had been forcing an occupation on the people of Southern Lebanon. Israel intended to be the party monitoring compliance with that provision of the cease-fire.

But international talking heads objected to Israel to assuring Lebanese sovereignty, so instead UN forces were to prevent Hezbollah’s rearming and occupation of Southern Lebanon. Bad move! Almost immediately after the guns were silenced, Hezbollah began violating the agreement. Iran and Syria channeled arms to the terrorist group while the UN looked the other way and even countenanced Hezbollah’s violation of UN Resolution 1701. The more they tacitly allowed it, the bolder Hezbollah’s masters grew. And reacting to the current Hezbollah offensive war, the Lebanese government admitted in statement subsequent to an 11-hour cabinet meeting that Iran has been flying weapons to Hezbollah continuously. Syria, too, has acted as the cipher for arming the terrorists.

Why did the UN so brazenly ignore its explicit responsibilities? That’s easy. Until this week, they saw the matter as an Arab-Israeli one, and if the only potential victim was Israel, the UN was willing to look the other way. That should not come as any surprise. When did any of these bodies condemn the wanton murder of Israelis in the same way they condemn even terrorist Arab deaths? When did the General Assembly last issue a balanced resolution or one that recognized the terrorist nature of Hamas and its ilk or the deliberate targeting of Jewish civilians? The UN’s tolerance for criminal activity as long as the victims are not to their liking is the reason why Lebanon is under terrorist attack today!

If UN forces had done the job they were sent to do and prevented Hezbollah from rearming after its stock was destroyed in its disastrous war with Israel, Lebanese civilians would not be dying or holed up afraid in their homes today. If the UN did not believe that international law, right and wrong, was a matter of political expediency, Lebanon would still be a sovereign nation. As it is that status is hanging by a very thin thread—thanks to the world body that exists to protect it.

Tzipora Malka "Tzipi" Livni, born on July 8, 1958 in Tel Aviv, Israel is Foreign Affairs Minister, Acting Prime Minister of Israel, and a leading member of the Kadima party. After the March 2006 Knesset election, Livni was described as "the second most powerful politician in Israel." Livni is the second woman in Israel to hold the post of foreign minister, after Golda Meir. In 2007, she was included in the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World.

Livni is the daughter of Eitan Livni and Sara Rosenberg, both prominent Irgun Alumni.Tzipi Livni served as a lieutenant in the Israel Defense Forces and worked for the Mossad for four years during the early 1980s. A graduate of Bar Ilan University's Faculty of Law, she has experience as a practicing lawyer, specializing in public and commercial law. Livni resides in Tel Aviv. She is married to accountant Naftali Spitzer ["Shpitzer"] and has two children, Omri and Yuval. According to her childhood friend Mirla Gal, Livni is a vegetarian. She has also helped pass a bill that bans animal abuse. She speaks English, Hebrew and French.

Livni was first elected to the Knesset as a member of the Likud party in 1999. When Likud leader Ariel Sharon became prime minister in July 2001, Livni was appointed Minister of Regional Cooperation, and thereafter held various Cabinet positions including Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Minister of Immigrant Absorption and Minister of Housing and Construction. She received the Abirat Ha-Shilton ["Quality of Governance"] award for 2004. On 1 October 2005, she was appointed Minister of Justice after several months acting in that position.

When a journalist from The New York Times asked her if the four years she spent in Mossad, the intelligence service, made her a disciplined person. Livni had seemed taken aback by the question. After a long pause, she said: “I don’t like this phrase, a disciplined person. I don’t know. I don’t know.”

Now, an hour later, she wanted to set the record straight. “I was thinking about this idea of me as a disciplined person,” she began. I perched myself on a stone wall near the King David Hotel and listened through a blustery desert wind. “There are other parts of me that are different. I prefer jeans to a suit, sneakers to high heels, markets to malls. You’ve just returned from Paris: I prefer the Quartier Latin to the Champs Elysées. In general, I don’t like formality at all. It is just part of what I do. You know, when I was young, I went to the Sinai and worked as a waitress.”

The Jewish state has been tied to the Livni family with a special bond since zero hour. For Livni, personal history is national history. Her parents were among the first couples to marry in the newborn state, the day after its foundation, on May 15, 1948. Her father, Eitan, served as operations chief for the Irgun, the Zionist guerrillas who used what would today be called terrorist methods to blast the British out of Mandate Palestine. Her mother, Sarah, was also an Irgun fighter; she suckled her daughter on visions of Eretz Israel, the biblical “Land of Israel,” including Judea and Samaria on the West Bank. Territorial compromise for peace had no place in the family lexicon. It was the weak talk of the peaceniks.

On the august occasion of 60th anniversary of the independence of Israel, Tzipi Livni in her speech said, “Israelis celebrate each and every year of independence because each and every year is a gift of our own making. Each year we celebrate the return to our ancient homeland after 2000 years of exile.”

She said, “For us, independence also means partnership with the global society in which we all live: partnership in promoting democratic values, partnership in facing common challenges, and partnership in sharing the knowledge and experience we gained throughout the last 60 years of developing our historic homeland – despite the lack of natural resources.”

Livni said, “Israel in its 60th year is proud to be a part of the free world. Our wish is to continue and contribute efforts in promoting the free world’s values on the one hand, while on the other hand confronting those who wish to harm the free world and its values. The extremists – including, Iran as a state and Hamas and Hizbullah as terror organizations –are watching all of us.”

Commenting on Israeli people, she said, “We are proud of our achievements, but if you will ask a typical Israeli - and I do hope that you get to meet our citizens and not just our politicians; they are much nicer: - the first complaint that you will hear is that “The world does not understand us.”

She said, “Israel is a country whose celebrations are always touched with some sadness. One eye cries for the terrible loss of life we have had to pay and may still have to pay in the future - while the other eye smiles and is proud of the miracle we have created. Israel is a country with one of the strongest armies in the world – an army determined never to target civilians even if our enemies never cease to do so.”

Livni said, “Israel is the homeland for the Jewish people, but it is also a democracy committed to respecting the rights of all its citizens, and all minorities, even in difficult times. Israel is a country blessed with a generation of young people bursting with life - who help shape global trends in art and music, who squeeze every minute to enjoy their own life before they join the army and contribute to a larger cause.”

She said, “Above all, I am proud that despite all the challenges Israel is a country that seeks peace with all its neighbors since its foundation. Generation after generation living in this land has prayed for such peace – and we are ready to sacrifice for it.”

“In my view, seeking peace is one of the sources of our national strength. It is integral to our children's education, it is the most popular word in Jewish prayer, in our songs, in our literature and poetry and in the speeches not just of our politicians but of our army generals.”

When the entire nation of Israel are in celebration mood on the occasion of its 60th anniversary of independence, there are reports and predictions on Tzipi Livni’s becoming the next Prime Minister. Everyone who knows her will endorse without hesitation that, this popular leader in Israel undoubtedly a friendly but firm committed individual.

Had she been alive as an astute politician she was, she would have certainly kept her promise to reinstate judges who were sent home through an illegal and unconstitutional order under the garb of emergency imposed on Nov 3 last year. Now look who has taken her place, Asif Ali Zardari whose all ill-gotten wealth, Surrey Palace and host of other cases of criminally amassing money have been declared as “Masharraf ba Islam”(legitimized/absolved through the inglorious ordinance called NRO). According to Teeth Maestro, Asif is now the second richest man in Pakistan worth 1.8 billion dollars. It is dream come true of stupendous riches for Asif Zardari “dubbed “worldwide as Mr. Ten Percent for allegedly receiving kick backs during the first government of Benazir Bhutto.
Asif Ali Zardari in a tactical move took over the reins of PPP while the people were mourning the murder of his wife .The members of the central committee of PPP had not yet cushioned the shock of BB’s murder, when they were asked to propose the name of her successor. In that moment of grief and anguish, Zardari’s son was nominated as successor to Benazir Bhutto and Zardari himself becoming de facto leader of PPP. Not only that Zardari announced franchise of Bhutto family by adding “ Bhutto” to names of his children because he knew that PPP members would not accept any leader unless he carried the name of Bhutto family. Had Benazir Bhutto been alive she would have never allowed Zardari to sit at the pinnacle of Pakistani politics because of his past reputation of Mr. Ten Percent and she knew that his involvement in any political event would not only be harmful to the party’s cause but he would be a political liability. But her death provided him a wide window to call shots for the PPP. All those who were close to BB like Amin Fahim, Senators Abbasi, Baber Awan and Naheed Khan have been sidelined by Zardari. These stalwarts of the party have been replaced by people like Rehman Malik and Hussain Haqqani.
PML(N) contested the polls only on one agenda - restoration of judges and it took oath from its newly elected members that they would restore the judges .Zardari engaged in negotiations with his “ elder brother “, Nawaz Sharief on the issue of reinstatement of judges and many rounds of parleys were held between the two leaders leading to Burban Accord . Keeping in the public pressure the main agreement was that the judges would be restored in 30 days (April 30). The lawyers and members of civil society, who were agitating since March 9 last year for independence of judiciary and reinstatement of judges, heaved a sigh relief at this nationally televised public commitment by the two leaders. But soon after the Burban Accord international players jumped into the national political scene and a series of meetings were held by foreign ambassadors with all most every leader .The nation got a rude shock when Zardari performed a somersault by reneging from his public commitment saying that announcement from Burban was only a political statement not a Hadees (holy scripture).In the elections PMLN) emerged as second largest party causing unease in the President’s camp. So the President started vowing PPP by showering favors on Zardari. The President’s Attorney General Malik Qayyum instead of advocating the government case on a petition opposed mandatory BA condition for eligibility to contest election. The speed and alacrity with which the apex court heard and gave verdict in this petition by a person whose antecedents are not known is amazing and certainly raises questions about the important institution of the state .This directly benefited Zardari who according to the New York Times(March 11) does not have a degree. Zardari told the interviewer “I do have a degree. That is not an issue-- attended the London School of Business Studies much before I was married. I think it’s a B.Ed. degree. I haven’t really looked at it”. So after studying for years he does not remember in which subject he got a degree. Incredible indeed.
President Musharraf made Zardari the second richest man(worth $1.8 billion) in Pakistan by promulgating the most abominable law called National Reconciliation Ordinance. Zardari is one of the major beneficiaries of this law. Zardari’s much trumpeted tales of agony during the 8 years prison have been described by the New York Times(March 11 ) as,” He remained in prison until November 2004, shuffling among facilities in Lahore, Rawalpindi and his home city of Karachi, always the wheeler dealer, whether in jail or out. Mr. Zardari was classified as an A class prisoner and received certain privileges: a separate room from the main prison wing with an attached bathroom, air-conditioning and two servants….Asif used to get food from Clifton House … for 50 people… Expensive gifts to friends were customary, including gold cufflinks , worth thousands of dollars and sets of fountain pens.”Enjoying all such princely facilities he still grumbles that his days in prison were a night mare. In interviews Zardari has given vent to his grouse against the CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry that he did not give him any relief meaning thereby how he could reinstate such a judge. Such line of thinking does not go well with the person who is now heading Z A Bhutto’s party who never compromised with dictators even when he was handed down death sentence .It is a travesty of facts that in February 18 elections his party won elections on ZA Bhutto’s slogan of ‘Roti’, ‘Kapra’ aur ‘Makaan” (bread, cloths and shelter), and his party didn’t obtain seats on the slogan of judges’ restoration. It is pathetic to say the least that judges were only interested in securing their jobs, conveniently ignoring a year long struggle by lawyers and members of civil society in all the four provinces. Being beholden to Musharraf for so many favors he can not afford to bring a motion in the assembly for impeachment of the President and restore the judges the way Nawaz Shareif promised during the election campaign. Zardari would like continuation of Musharraf appointed supreme court so that it remains grateful to him and the NRO which absolves him of all cases of corruption , never comes up for any review.
His digression from the Burban Accord caused frustration and dismay in the PML (N) which still wanted to believe that an agreement with Zardari was possible. Meetings held in Dubai and London failed to unlock the dead lock because the PPP was not interested in restoring the CJP Itfikhar Cahudhry. Rehman Malik and Hussain Haqqani, new found stalwarts of Zardari’s PPP were involved in talks with Nawaz Sharief on the issue of judges. These gentlemen also enjoy confidence of Americans who had brokered a power sharing deal between Benazir and Musharraf. America has been deeply involved in Pakistani politics particularly after the elections. As soon as PPP’s talks broke down with PML (N) , the US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher descended in London for debriefings. Earlier the American Ambassador in Islamabad also met MQM leader Altaf Hussain in London. When Nawaz Shareif was having meetings with Zardari in London the same day American Ambassador was visiting Nine Zero in Karachi. America wants PPP to allow Musharraf to continue as President and no restorations of judge’s .The USA feels that in the absence of Musharraf the war against terrorism would come to a halt or if pursued it would be lack luster. The dead lock in London has caused disappointment and embarrassment for PML (N) which had contested the polls on the issue of restoration of judges .It has therefore pulled its ministers out of the government and what will happen next is that the Punjab governor along with Musharraf’s’ minions like Watto and Chatta would engage on demolition project of PML (N) government in the province.. A PML (N) leader told me that it would not be easy to do so given their numbers in the provincial assembly .But they should recall that it happened before when Watto with who had the support of only 16 MPA’s was installed as chief minister of Punjab .So Nawaz Sharief should be on his tender- hooks about the next move of the establishment.
As an alternate Zardai is engaged with MQM in his spirit of “taking all parties onboard for creating an atmosphere of national conciliation”. MQM and PPP which were once at daggers drawn have become coalition partners in Send following an understanding ‘you forgive our murderers and we forgive yours”. No questions would now be asked for carnage of May 12 and explosion of October 18 last year from the then ruling party, MQM. Qaim Ali Shah who had called for inquires into these incidents has been silenced .A new coalition of PPP at the centre is in the making with MQM, ANP, JUI (FR), Minnows and PML (Q) with its new leader. Prima facie the script looks all right but Zardari would be faced with political turmoil if lawyers and members of civil society launch a campaign in Punjab with PML (N) in the driving seat. The struggle by lawyers had sent ripples across the entire country and how it would take off again remains to be seen. There is, however, a question mark on Aitzaz Ahsen who steered 15 month long agitation, has now sought a PPP ticked to contest from Rawalpindi seat .Can he deliver this time around is another question for law community to answer. The secret hands which never remain dormant would try to create a wedge between ranks of lawyer’s organizations. The lawyers and members of civil society made innumerable sacrifices for reinstatement of sacked judges now feel betrayed particularly by PPP which turned out to be the only obstacle for restoring the 60 judges and truly independent judiciary .They have no choice but to see PML (N) as the only party joining struggle against the illegal and unconstitutional removal of judges of superior courts. Coming days are of crucial importance and it is possible that PML (N) may decide to place its own resolution in the assembly for reinstatement of judges which would not only be an embarrassment for rest of parties but also thoroughly expose them before the people. Given the present state of affairs in Pakistan the nation has once again been put on a roller coaster.

The journalists held a meeting at the National Press Club, focusing on impediments to the free flow of information, especially during the state of emergency.
The meeting was told that the ‘media are going through a crisis due to the state of emergency’.
‘There are invisible, unwritten pressures and controls on the media.’
The meeting discussed different problems being faced by newspapers and the electronic media.
Union leaders demanded inclusion of different problems of journalists, including implementation of the seventh wage board award in discussion.
Bangla-language daily Amar Desh editor Ataus Samad presided over the meeting.
Ataus Samad told reporters: ‘We have discussed the setbacks to the free flow of information because of the state of emergency.’
‘I think the Emergency Powers Rules are hampering the rights of media and the right to expression. It should come to an end.’
‘We will sit again on Tuesday and discuss the problems.’
Prothom Alo editor Motiur Rahman said, ‘This is no exception. Newspapers were under pressure even during political governments.’
The Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam refused to comment.
However, a participant of the meeting quoted Anam as saying: ‘Press freedom is the soul of our profession. This freedom has to be ensured.’
The Bangladesh Observer editor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury said, ‘We think newspapers are now under some invisible and unwritten pressure. It is a suffocating situation. Such an environment is an obstacle to a free media.’
Manabzamin editor Motiur Rahman Chowdhury said, ‘The freedom of the press is now in danger. We have come here to discuss ways to overcome the situation. We want an end to the obstacles in the way of press freedom.’
New Age editor Nurul Kabir said, ‘A detective agency of the government was intervening and dishing out unwanted advice to newspapers and electronic media. These things have been discussed. We think such things are in no way acceptable.’
BFUJ president Mozammel Haque said, ‘The present government has been controlling the press after the imposition of the state of emergency. It must end.’
News Today editor Reazuddin Ahmed, Ittefaq editor Rahat Khan, Samokal editor Abed Khan, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha chief editor Jaglul Ahmed Chowdhury, Inqilab editor AMM Bahauddin, Sangram editor Abul Asad, Jugantor deputy editor Shahjahan Sarder, bdnews24.com’s editor-in-chief Toufique Imrose Khalidi, Amader Shomoy editor Naimul Islam Khan, Bhorer Kagoj editor Shyamol Dutta, leaders of two factions of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists M Mozammel Haque, Monzurul Ahsan Bulbul and Ruhul Amin Gazi, Dainik Dinkal executive editor Maruf Kamal Khan, journalist leaders Abdul Jalil Bhuiyan and Omar Faruq and Dhaka Reporters Unity general secretary Ilyas Khan were present.
NTV chief news editor Khairul Anwar and Channel-i chief news editor Nazmul Ashraf attended the meeting. Also present were National Press Club president Shawkat Mahmud and general secretary Kamaluddin Sabuj.
Earlier, editors, editors-in-chief and chief news editors of national dailies, news agencies and private television channels held a meeting on Thursday, chaired by The Independent editor Mahbubul Alam.

"No dialogue is possible if there is a refusal to recognize Israel,"
Napolitano said at Israel's stand at the fair, the European Jewish Press reported.
Napolitano added that there can be no "rejection of the reasons for [Israel's] birth or of its right to exist in peace and security."
Like the Paris book fair in March, the Turin fair is honoring the modern state of Israel on the 60th anniversary of its creation.
Israel's stand was swamped by hundreds of people, many draped in the Israeli flag, with one group holding a banner that read: "I feel Jewish today."
The Turin fair, which is now in its 21st year, will be attended by some 1,400 publishers this year.
Neftasia Editore, a publishing company in Italy invited Muslim Zionist Sheikh Abdul Hadi Palazzi to introduce to the public "Non Sono Colpevole" (I Am not Guilty), the first Italian book written by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, which includes his articles as well articles by other.
Bangladeshi Muslim Zionist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury faces sedition, treason and blasphemy charges for confronting radical Islam, for promoting interfaith understanding and for demanding relations between Israel and Muslim nations. He is presently facing trial. According to Bangladesh law, sedition bears capital punishment.
Since Shoaib Choudhury was denied the right to participate at the fair [even to participate by sending an audio file!] Sheikh Palazzi introduced to the public at the Turin Fair terming Shoaib as “man who is the hero of the Zionist Muslims and the hero of those who campaign in support of Israel.”
In his interview with reporter from Weekly Blitz, Sheikh Palazzi said, “I was glad to have an opportunity to say "Happy Birthday Israel" on her 60th Anniversary, and to say it in the name of Shoaib, too. The members of the Jewish Community of Turin and of the Italy-Israel Fellowship of Turin run to Neftasia's stand to ask for copies of the book, which was sold not only at the Neftasia's stand, but also at the Israel main stand. They love Shoaib and pray for him.”
He said, “Italy is changing for the best. Today even communists and former communists are running to say "we are as pro-Israeli as Berlusconi is". The "Boycott Israel march" saw the participation of some hundreds of anti global youngsters, only. It was a total failure, and even those leftist politicians who in the past used to raise their voice to condemn Israel are now speaking to condemn the boycott.”
He further said, “Recent elections nullified the presence in our Parliament of the extreme leftist parties, and grant a victory to Berlusconi who said: "Israel's birthday is our birthday, too." As a consequence, for the first time our new major Alemanno chose to raise the Israeli flag upon the Capitol.”
Eminent Muslim Zionist Palazzi further said, “The best satisfaction, however, was rising it in Turin, in front of the boycotters, and to do so in Shoaib’s name, too.”
Neftasia Publishing House is a new editorial structure: young, enterprising and already oriented towards international projects. It was founded in 2005 in Pesaro, Italy by Stefania Campanelli who delineated the editorial project and the character of the publishing house. The first objective was, and still is, to mark the non-limits
between “every form of expression and paper” through the fusion of various narrative forms as the introspective novel, the thriller, the mystery, the illustrated album and the liaison of literature with art [Art Gallery Neftasia – virtual art gallery]. This union of writing and painting is reflected in the artistic book covers created by young artists, illustrators, painters and photographers.
The focus of Neftasia becomes more and more its orientation towards international markets in the research of young promising authors whose novels will be collected in the book series “Arca”. Thus, promoting an intercultural dialogue through the projects of foreign literature and also getting Italian authors distributed abroad.
But the identifying feature of the publisher is the editorial project “Writers Under Attack” which claims the freedom of expression collecting and publishing the works and writings of authors and journalists who are persecuted in the free expression of their thoughts.
Arrested at the airport of Dhaka and imprisoned with the ridiculous charge of being a spy, the Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury continues being persecuted and threatened by the national party of his country. But for what reason the leaders of BNP deal ruthlessly with the editor of the «Weekly Blitz», the main weekly tabloid of Bangladesh in English language? Incriminated for having denounced the culture of hatred and for having promoted the interreligious dialogue between Muslims, Jews and Christians, Choudhury fights a strenuous campaign against Islamic fundamentalism, in favor of freedom and tolerance.
“In a world where heroes are increasingly rare, Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury stands out as a model of courage and determination“. He is still condemned to a “unrelenting journey” towards death penalty.
The book "I am not Guilty" [original title: Non Sono Colpevole], published by Neftasia editore on March 2008 (€ 14,00), collects a selection of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury’s articles providing a rare insight into the actual political situation of Bangladesh. An alarming and warningly book about the thread and spread of Islamic Extremism in Bangladesh.
Commenting on the book, Stefania Campanelli said, “I must admit that among all our book series, my favorite is "Writers Under Attack", a project that I always whished to realize as an editorial director. I know it is unusual for a publishing house, that mostly brings out fiction writings, to publish a collection of books
that has a humanitarian connotation. But I actually studied jurisprudence and always wanted to get into international law. I guess, this is the reason for "Writers under Attack". The book of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is our most delicate project since the author is still in danger: he is accused of being a Zionist spy and risks death penalty.
We often become aware that we have to proceed prudentially; many organizations we contacted more than one time, never answered back. We invited Mr. Choudhury to come to the launch of his book, but the Italian Embassy did not issue a visa although Mr. Choudhury can travel to USA and France without problems.
We finally, presented the book "I am not Guilty" (Non Sono Colpevole) at the International Book Fair of Turin in presence of the General Secretary of PEN Italy Dr Emanuele Bettini and of Shaykh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi, the Director of the Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Community in Rome. The Italian President of RSF
(Reporter without Borders), Prof. Mimmo Candito, was also supposed to intervene, but he had to call off because of an accident. Nevertheless, the presentation at the book fair was a great success. The public was very curious to know who was supposed to sit in the empty chair on the stage between Prof. Palazzi and me and to hear about the story of the "missing" author, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury. After the presentation we got to know that many people just came to see Mr. Choudhury because they heard about his case and read about him in the internet. They
first feared that Mr. Choudhury wasn’t attending the ceremony because he was imprisoned. The book as an object is for me a pretext to sustain persecuted authors and journalists. We wrote to the European Parliament and we are happy that Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury was inserted in the Resolution on Bangladesh. I am also very glad to see how the national press is interested on our editorial project because
this means that we are working well and we are getting closer to our goals which are the safeguard and support of those writers. I thank Mr. Choudhury for the confidence he provided me and my publishing house.”

Comments from Laura at Neftsia:

As the person in charge with the foreign projects for Neftasia, I had the honor and pleasure to get in contact with Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury and got to know him as a very honest, humble, strong, courageous and religious person. The story and the actual situation of Choudhury [he is charged for sedition, blasphemy and treason and almost every month he is in the court] pushed us, the publishing house Neftasia
Editore, to spread and promote his case and support him the best we can. We regularly send mailing lists to all our contacts, to humanitarian organizations, to the Italian Embassy in Dhaka, the European Embassies in Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Embassies in Italy, the Italian Foreign Ministry in Rome and other politicians asking either for patronage and support, or to send neutral observers to Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury’s trials, but aimed as well to make pressure on
Bangladesh’s government with the goal to make them drop the charges against Choudhury. We are currently in contact and collaborate with RSF [Reporter without Border] and with the PEN organizations [PEN USA gave Choudhury the Freedom to Write Award 2005].
The Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and the Swedish Embassy in Dhaka expressed their sympathy for Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury. After a petition letter to Hans-Gert Pöttering, the ex-president of the European Parliament, a resolution was passed in favor of Choudhury. Dr. Richard Benkin is the greatest supporter of Choudhury and he is fighting for him all over the USA and abroad, we wanted to help him in Europe. Still, it is not enough. Choudhury would never accept to go into exile and leave his people behind. He is fighter and, even though he and his family struggle every day with the menace of the radicals, he is decisive in his fight for justice and democracy and in his promotion of an interreligious dialogue. I am proud to having this interreligious dialogue with him and to see that we are all alike with
our dreams and ambitions and even if our religions have different names, our beliefs are the same.
Moreover, I am proud to be a part of the project that got his book published: unfortunately, in Italy and in Europe only few people know what is going on in Bangladesh and in other smaller Asian countries. If we look away, it is easier for those radical groups to establish themselves and spread. Knowing about the circumstances of other countries, especially when they can have strong consequences for the whole world, is the first step in a process that I call "ideological
solidarity". Interchanging with different cultures and religions leads inevitably to appreciation and tolerance. Here, I am only describing what happened to me during my contacts with Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury and during the realization and the printing of the book. Unfortunately, I could not be in Turin for the launch of the book but I hope we soon can welcome Mr. Choudhury in Italy.

Comments from Claudia Contardi - Press Office Neftasia:

The Italian press was very interested in the project "Writers under Attack" since its presentation, whose highlight was the launch of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury’s book "I am not Guilty" [Non Sono Colpevole], represented better than all the other presentations at the Book Fair, the spirit of tolerance and the invitation to a dialogue.

Comments from Annalisa Proietti - Editorial Office - Neftasia:

Most of all, I was surprised to see how many people actually had heard about Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury.

This year the guest country of the International Book Fair in Turin was Israel. Israeli literature confronts the conflicts and divisions that trouble contemporary societies and that for sixty years have been reproduced in territories contested by Israelis and Palestinians. The young writers of the latest generation witness of common work for
dialogue and understanding of the reasons of the others, and the liveliness of the country’s free culture. Destiny decided that the main stand of Israel as honor guest of the Book Fair was situated in front of Neftasia editore’s stand. They showed their interest for our book series "Writers under Attack" and were invited to participate to the presentation. After the ceremony, many representatives of the stand came over to ask us about Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury. They finally asked us to give them some copies of his book to display at the stand of Israel. Of course, we agreed.

Comments from a visitor from PEN Italy:

"I am a member of Pen Italy and since a couple years we know about Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury. He is supposed to be a very strong person. We know how those persecuted journalists are treated when detained. We know about how Mr. Choudhury was tortured when imprisoned. Unfortunately, there are still many important humanitarian organizations and associations, like Amnesty International, that didn’t speak out yet about this case."

Even though he won't be welcome in Ramallah, Bush welcomed Abbas at the White House last week when the Palestinian leader came to urge him to put more pressure on Israel to meet Palestinian demands if he expects to achieve his goal of a peace agreement before he leaves office.
The American president isn't the only one being snubbed; the PA has told French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders attending the Israeli celebration they are equally unwelcome.
If Bush wants to see Abbas, he will have to go to Egypt. In a further effort to accommodate Palestinian sensitivities, Bush reportedly will not be visiting the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism and location of the ancient Temple that the Palestinians insist never existed.
Meanwhile, the PA is trying to organize a march of more than 100,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon toward the Israeli border and thousands more from the West Bank and Gaza toward Israeli checkpoints and border crossings. Those living abroad are being urged to fly to Ben Gurion Airport or take ships to Israeli ports. All this in the name of "reclaiming" homes lost in the nakba.
They are being billed as "peaceful demonstrations" but it won't take much for the emotionally charged confrontations to turn violent, creating a real catastrophe.
But the real nakba is not the creation of the Jewish state but the rejection by Arab leaders of the 1947 partition plan and the opportunity to create a state for the Palestinians. They weren't really interested in a two-state solution then and many apparently still are not - Abbas's yanking the welcome mat raises questions about his own professed commitment.
The tragedy, of course, was compounded by a succession of Israeli leaders too timid and too focused on their own political careers to confront a radical settlers movement consumed with its dreams of a greater Israel and opposed to peace with the Palestinians on any terms likely to be accepted.
Abbas is snubbing two important allies, the president of the United States and the Israeli public. He needs both if he wants to achieve peace.
An unnamed senior Palestinian official told The Jerusalem Post that Abbas left the White House "angry and depressed" last week when Bush turned down his demands to tighten the screws on the Israelis. The Bush administration is not a credible honest broker and Palestinians will have to wait for the next president, he said.
He fails to understand that the close relationship between Washington and Jerusalem makes the United States an indispensable intermediary between Israel and the Arabs; it is the only country with the credibility and clout for that role.
However, he's right on the second point. After six years of neglect, the Bush administration has started to talk as if peace was a real priority - but action has lagged far behind rhetoric. The Republican and Democratic candidates for president have indicated they would get more personally involved in Mideast peace making.
Israeli public opinion can be a valuable asset; it is often ahead of the political leadership. Ehud Olmert was elected prime minister two years ago on a platform calling for withdrawal from 90 percent of the West Bank, and that was just for openers. There was hope for peace; the Gaza withdrawal was expected to create a showcase for Palestinian self-rule but instead Gaza sunk into chaos and Hamas seized power in a coup.
The daily barrage of missiles from Gaza, the failures of the Second Lebanon war, scandals that have seen the Israeli president resign and the prime minister under multiple corruption investigations cast shadows over this Independence Day celebration. The Olmert government could fall and if elections were held today it is likely the next prime minister would be Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes Palestinian statehood and Bush's Annapolis initiative.
Abbas strengthens Netanyahu and the rejectionists when he tells Israelis that the anniversary of their independence is a day of mourning, and Palestinians will never recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people.
Jews were driven out of Arab lands in roughly the same number as Arabs who fled Israel at the time of the creation of the Jewish state. The difference was the Jews were absorbed into the new state, given jobs and citizenship, while the Palestinians were largely confined to squalid camps in order for their unwilling Arab hosts to exploit them as political pawns to use against Israel.
Sixty years later Palestinian statehood is as elusive as ever and the Palestinians are still blaming their suffering on everyone but themselves. Now that's a catastrophe.

"By providing basic information about Jewish culture and religious practices in Arabic, Asl Al-Yahud will help facilitate a deeper understanding and tolerance towards Jews," said Yehudit Barsky, director of the Asl Al-Yahud project. "We're demystifying Judaism and dispelling widespread misinformation about the Jewish people in the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond.”

Asl Al-Yahud literally, the "origins of the Jews" focuses on Jewish history, culture and religion, connecting those subjects to the long history of Jews in Arabic-speaking lands. The website offers information about Jewish lifecycle events, holidays and religious practice.

The website also contains a timeline of Jewish history, audio and graphic components, and a special section for users to submit questions. An Asl Al-Yahud staff member will answer the questions, in Arabic, allowing users to comfortably interact in their native tongue.

The content was created originally in Arabic by Ephraim Gabbai, a descendent of the Iraqi Jewish community. The site is visually authentic to Middle Eastern design and highlights cultural practices shared by Muslims and Jews from Arabic-speaking nations around the globe.

This article dwells on the generation of electricity through wind and focuses on manufacturing of wind turbines, the machines used for the generation of electricity.
By using a wind turbine, we can lower our electricity bills by 50 to 90 %. The owners of wind turbine have been seen paying their electric bills as low as $ 10 per month.
Generation of electricity through wind is not something new. India, the fourth in line of countries in the world for the generation of electricity, is producing more than 8000 MW of electricity by utilizing the wind turbines. It is manufacturing these turbines and exporting them too. One would be surprised to know that in the region of Nevarra, Spain, 70 per cent of the region’s energy needs are being fulfilled by wind and solar energy. It’s a classic example of using renewable energy in any country. The question that automatically comes to one’s mind is: “If it can be done in Spain, why can’t it be done in any other country?” The answer is a big “Yes”.
Wind power development has benefited landowners, who had no means to cultivate their otherwise barren land. Ample employment opportunities have been created in the manufacture, operation and maintenance of wind turbines. Through this experience, it has been proved that wind technologies can deliver not only much-needed electricity, but also employment to a large number of people, and pave the way for economic prosperity. This is all the more necessary in places which are barren but are fairly windy. Such countries should exploit this aspect and install wind turbines which would start generating wealth for the people and at the same time saving the oil import bill for the country. The state of Tamil Nadu in India presents the best example for the use of wind energy to produce electricity. The private sector’s response is overwhelming! The state has an installed capacity of 530 MW, of which about 511 MW is in the private sector. The state is making the best use of the most wind sites it has been blessed with by nature.
A normal home uses around 9300 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per year which comes to about 775 kWh per month. If we select a wind turbine in the range of 5 to 15 kilowatts, it would suffice to meet this demand. The cost of a typical 10 kW wind turbine suitable to power a home would be around $ 30,000. In windy areas, it will generate energy between 10,000 to 18,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year. This turbine would require a property of one acre or more to install. An approximately 100-foot tower is supplied along with the wind turbine. Over its life, a small residential wind turbine can offset approx 200 tons of greenhouse gases. The cost of a small turbine is anywhere from $ 6,000 onwards (installed), depending upon the size selected.
A layman would ask as to what a wind turbine is? Simply put, a wind turbine is a machine that is used for the generation of electricity from wind. It’s installed on a tower at a windy location to capture wind so as to generate electricity. The faster the wind blows, the more electricity would be produced. Once a wind turbine is installed, it would generate electricity for 25-30 years free of cost as no other fuel is used in its generation except wind. One 1.8MW wind turbine produces enough electricity for 1,000 households every year.
A typical wind turbine is a bit like an old-fashioned windmill, with rotor blades that face into the wind. When the blades of the rotor are spinning, they drive a shaft that is connected to an electrical generator by a gearbox. The turbine is installed on a steel tower facing the wind. The higher the turbine is installed, the more electricity it would produce. Most wind turbines produce electricity when the wind is blowing at 10-30mph. If the wind is slow and turbulent near the ground, that would not be suitable for energy generation. The turbine operates for 363 out of 365 days a year and stopped only for two days during the year for carrying out its scheduled maintenance.
During my lectures on wind turbines, a question is generally asked: “If a country goes for the wind energy option, it would be needing hundreds of wind turbines in order to make up for the shortfall of electricity, which means that these turbines would have to be manufactured in the country that opts to go for their installation in a big way as one cannot rely on the foreign manufacturers due to the long lead time involved and non-availability of spares.”
The reply to this question is yes. Any country can venture into the manufacture wind turbines as it wouldn’t be cost-effective to import such a huge number of turbines from some other country. It can set up such facilities locally. But still, if it could set up such facilities in a third world country that provides a lot of incentives to the foreign manufacturers, it would be still better and profitable too as the real savings would be accrued on manpower that is extremely cheap in such countries.
Here I’d like to narrate a small incident that happened during one of the projects of which I was the overall in-charge. We wanted to manufacture a certain item in one of the factories of our country for which we had to collaborate with a French company dealing in that item. The French team visited our country and handed over the software and material for eighteen parts of that item for manufacturing in one of our factories. The team again visited the factory after two weeks to evaluate the expertise of the technicians deployed for that job. The team leader, when he inspected those 18 items manufactured by our technicians, was highly impressed with their expertise. He asked his counterpart as to what he would charge for the expertise of his technicians if it was decided to manufacture the item in his country. Our team leader just said off-the-cuff that he would charge $10 per hour per technician. On hearing this, the French team leader jumped and declared that, leaving everything else aside, he would be saving $ 35 per hour per technician straightaway as a technician of such calibre was charging a minimum of $ 45 per hour in France! In my country (Pakistan) or any third world country, if a technician is paid US $ 10 per hour, he would be the happiest man on earth! Such technicians could be employed for the manufacture of wind turbines; as the day you hire them, they would be productive.
It may be mentioned that purchasing anything off-the-shelf from abroad and installing it in our country is quite easy. After the turbine is installed and commissioned, our job remains just to operate and maintain the turbine. But, we will always be dependent for spares on others. So, if we have to choose the option of producing electricity from the wind, we’ll have to resort to the option of manufacturing of wind turbines ourselves.
Another thing that I want to highlight here is that the cost of manufacture could be brought down drastically if we were to utilize the already existing manufacturing facilities in-country for the parts and components of the wind turbines. The assembly of these turbines would however be done at a central location, followed by their vigorous testing.
For manufacturing wind turbines we should always do so in collaboration with a world-renowned wind turbines manufacturing company that’s backed by a long experience and innovation in the field. This way we would be able to ensure the efficiency and reliability in the turbines that we would produce. There’s no dearth of such companies in the world. These companies have produced thousands of turbines till date with proven reliability. These companies manage everything from site studies to installation, service and maintenance to ensure that the wind turbines produced and installed by them operate as efficiently as possible. One such company is Vestas that has 26,000 wind turbines to its credit and engaged in generating electricity from the wind around the globe. As far as my knowledge goes, it’s perhaps the world’s largest supplier of complete wind power systems. Once, a country has signed an agreement with such a company, the local owners can deploy their own manpower who would be trained as the projects progress. This way, a coterie of manpower would be trained and complete transfer of technology would take place if this clause exists in the contract. In due course of time, the country would start producing wind turbines of its own using its local facilities, manpower, etc.
While doing so, I may mention here that we wouldn’t be able to produce all the components of a turbine straight away. It would be done in phases. For this, we will have to carryout an in-depth survey of the country’s existing manufacturing facilities. And to do this, a discerning eye is required. Dedicated and experienced people should be deployed for this purpose. They should find out as to which existing manufacturing facilities could be utilized by incorporating some modification or augmentation of those facilities, if required.
Here, I may clear the concept through an example. Suppose, we want to manufacture cable that’s used to connect the turbine with the grid. It may be mentioned that numerous manufacturing factories must already be existing in the county busy in manufacturing electrical cables of various ratings for residences, businesses, factories, etc. The cable used for the wind turbine may be a bit different than that already being manufactured. The only requirement would be to augment the existing facilities. We wouldn’t have to establish a separate factory for the purpose. Cost-wise, there’s a lot of difference between augmentation of an existing facility in a certain factory and establishing a new factory altogether. The difference in cost could be 10: 100!
The same goes for the towers which are used for installing the turbines. These towers would already be in use by the country’s electrical Transmission and Distribution Company and would be in production in the country. The existing towers could easily be modified and produced as per the design of the towers used for mounting the wind turbines.
Coming to the main parts of the turbine, the rotor blades and hub (the item to which the blades are firmly connected) can be produced at any aerospace or aeronautical set up of the country as the rotor blades and the hub of a wind turbine are the same as those used in an aircraft. Like, in my country, these two items could easily be produced without any hassle at the country’s Aeronautical Complex. If at all, such facilities aren’t available, then as a last resort, the manufacturing facilities for these two items could be established in collaboration with a foreign wind turbine manufacturing company.
The next major item is the gearbox including two shafts (low speed and high speed). Any set-up involved in the manufacture of mechanical items in the country could be entrusted with this job after evaluating its facilities. These are just purely mechanical items, nothing special about them.
The electrical generator installed behind the gearbox can be produced by any of the electrical concerns of the country. The same goes for the controller that utilizes electronics besides computer software. Manufacture of this item could be undertaken in any electromechanical-cum-electronics-cum computers concerns of the country.
In brief, following actions need to be taken while establishing the wind turbines manufacturing facilities:
(1) Carrying out an intensive survey of the country’s manufacturing facilities to identify the prospective manufacturers / vendors who could be entrusted with the job of manufacturing the major parts / components of the wind turbine.
(2) The vendors so identified in your country or that country where you intend to set up these facilities should be short listed on merit and their facilities accredited.
(3) Collaboration with a world-renowned turbine manufacturing company is a must. This way, the knowledge and complete transfer of technology would be ensured.
(3) Highly skilled yet cheap manpower should be deployed. Such manpower is available in less-developed countries for almost US $ 10 an hour.
(4) Assembly and testing should be carried out at a central location.
(6) This central facility and all vendors should be certified according to the requirements of ISO 9001: 2000 (the International Quality Management System).
By undertaking manufacture of wind turbines in country, following benefits would accrue:-
(1) The locally manufactured turbines would be extremely cost-effective;
(2) The country would not be dependent on foreign manufacturers for spares.
(3) The country would save precious foreign exchange.
(4) It would rather earn foreign exchange by exporting the indigenously manufactured turbines to other countries.
It may be understood that all manufacturers have started in a modest way in the beginning i.e. by having a modest start in the beginning and then growing into big manufacturing giants.
This brings us to the crux of the matter and I’m saying it with conviction, based on my more than 31 years’ experience in the technical field. The strategy would be that instead of setting up manufacturing facilities for each and every part of the wind turbine under one roof, the existing manufacturing facilities of the country should be utilized to their optimum level. If required, these facilities could be modified, upgraded and strengthened. We don’t need to establish a dedicated factory for each and every part of the turbine. The only requirement is excellent technical and logistic management and nothing else. By following this strategy, the cost of manufacturing would come down drastically. The time to invest is now as it’s an emerging field and every country needs electricity. If we plan carefully and apply all the tools of modern management in manufacturing, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t get maximum output.