526.The Man in Blue – Afghan Sikhs in Belgium

Last year we had a scare both in the Netherlands and Belgium when Afghan Sikh refugees were ordered to return to their country. There is now no more talk about returning to Afghanistan, but that does not mean that there are no more problems.

We have a growing Afghan Sikh community in Belgium and many of them live in the Antwerpen area. In the ‘ethnic minority’ neighbourhoods of Antwerpen you find more and more shops run by Afghan Sikhs.

But there are Afghan Sikhs who’s application for asylum have been rejected, who get no or little government support, and whose future is uncertain. I have studied a few of the files, and although I am not a lawyer I think that I understand what is ‘wrong’ with these families from the legal point of view.

Many Afghan refugees do not travel directly from Afghanistan to Europe, but often go via Pakistan, India or Russia. In India there is little risk of being sent back to Afghanistan, but the Afghan Sikhs usually do not get any kind of resident status.

Thus frustrated by the lack of progress in their case and their lack of opportunity to start a business or to get a real job, they decide to go to Europe, North America or even to Australia or New Zealand.

Many European countries use any excuse to reject refugee status applications, the refugees know that their case has been weakened by a stay in Pakistan, India or Russia and think to improve their chances by making up stories.

The authorities in charge of refugees do not have detailed knowledge of the situation in Afghanistan. The position of religious minorities (Christians, Hindus, Shia Muslims, Sikhs) and of women in that country is not improving.

The security situation is not good either, not even in the Kabul area. It is far from easy for Afghan Sikhs to go back to their traditional shops in the bazárs of Afghan cities like Kabul, Jalalabad, Gardez, Ghazni or Kandahar.

Many of the Sikhs in Kabul and in other Afghan cities live on the Gurdwara premises due to lack of housing, many rely on irregular handouts from various sources.

This is the situation: I think I understand why European governments refuse refugee status to some of the Afghan Sikhs. But I also understand that sending members of religious minorities back to Afghanistan is not an option.

Sending people to Pakistan, India or even Russia is not a valid option either. The Russians usually send the refugees straight back to where they came from, and in Pakistan and India most Afghan refugees will not get any secure status, and therefore will not be able to build a future for themselves and their children.

Please Belgian and other European governments, show compassion !

The Tribune – India firm on TN nuclear plant; Moscow backs PM’s claim on NGO funding

Ashok Tuteja, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 25. India has reassured Russia of its commitment to the Kudankulam nuclear power project, notwithstanding the protests against the plant.

New Delhi reassured Moscow that there was no question of abandoning the Russian-aided project in view of the prolonged agitation.

Russian Ambassador to India Alexandar Kadakin, meanwhile, backed Manmohan Singh’s claim that NGOs based in the US were fuelling the protests at the Kudankulam nuclear plant.

“The protests at Kudankulam are supported by NGOs of America and Scandinavian countries. We suspected it all along. They were sleeping for six months and suddenly they raise their voice against the most secure, the best and the safest station in the world. We were perplexed,” Kadakin told TV channels.

US Ambassador to India Peter Burleigh said the US government has no problem with any nuclear energy project with India. He was not fully aware of the facts of this particular case. “I am not well aware of the matter and so do not feel confident to comment on it. We will have to find out the facts.” said Burleigh.

“The relationship is increasing at different areas and what I can say is that the US is involved with India for participation in civil nuclear programme and our government is very keen on the matter,” he remarked. But representatives of NGOs opposing the Kudankulam plant say these claims are not true.

During the foreign office consultations between the two countries, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai is also understood to have briefed Russia’s First Deputy Foreign Minister I Denisov on the situation on the ground at the site of the plant at Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu.

The talks between the two sides took place a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in an interview, said that some US-based NGOs were behind the agitation at Kudankulam as they did not appreciate India’s need to increase its energy supply.

After the PM’s remarks, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office V Narayanasamy claimed that private NGOs working in US and Scandinavian countries were giving money to NGOs for the protests in India.

The Rs 13,000-crore Kudankulam plant is being built with Russian collaboration. It is expected to help India fight power shortage.

But the Indo-Russian joint venture has run into trouble with activists and locals staging massive protests citing safety concerns in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan early last year.

As a result of these frequent protests, the commissioning of two 1000 MW reactors at the plant has been stalled. Several rounds of talks between the Centre-appointed expert panel and representatives of villagers have failed to end the stand-off.

The villagers say they fear for their lives and safety in case of a nuclear accident and the long-term impact it would have on the population in the area.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120226/main1.htm

The Tribune – Russian court says no to ban on Gita

Moscow, December 28. A Russian court today rejected a petition, described by India as “patently absurd”, which had sought a ban on a translated version of Bhagvad Gita, bringing cheers to followers here as well as those across the world.

“We have won the case. The judge has rejected the petition,” Sadhu Priya Das of ISKCON, Moscow, who is also Chairman of newly formed Hindu Council of Russia, told PTI.

External Affairs Minister SM Krishna welcomed the judgment and thanked the Russian government for its support.

Prosecutors in the Siberian city of Tomsk had argued that the Russian translation of “Bhagvad Gita As It Is” promotes “social discord” and hatred towards non-believers.

The text is a combination of the Bhagvad Gita, one of Hinduism’s holiest scriptures, and commentary by AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, that is commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement, ISKCON.

The prosecutors had asked the court to include the book on the Russian Federal List of Extremist Materials, which bans more than 1,000 texts including Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” and books distributed by the Jehovah’s Witness and Scientology movements.

Reacting to the judgement that came at about 4:30 pm IST, ISKCON spokesman Brajendra Nandan Das told PTI in New Delhi that, “We are very happy”.

ISKCON members have alleged that the Russian Orthodox Church was behind the court case as it wanted to limit their activities.

The case had created a storm back in India and even the Parliamentary proceedings had been affected by it.

Speaking in Parliament, Krishna had said the lawsuit was the work of “ignorant and misdirected or motivated individuals.” He also called the complaint “patently absurd”.

Krishna had summoned the Russian Ambassador in New Delhi, Alexander Kadakin, yesterday and told him that Moscow should provide all possible help to resolve the issue that has been in the court for the last six months.

He had also conveyed to the top Russian diplomat the sensitivities involved with the issue.

Kadakin had assured Krishna that the Russian Government will do all it can within its power.

The trial began in June and was scheduled to conclude on December 19, just after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s two-day visit to Russia.

However, officials in Tomsk agreed to hear further testimony from experts and the Russian ombudsman for human rights and postponed the court decision till today. Russian lawyers Mikahil Fralov and Alexander Sakhav argued strongly against the petition.

The judge, after reviewing the petition from the state prosecutors and the responses against it, dismissed the plea.

The Russian Foreign Ministry had last week insisted that the Tomsk court is not taking issue with core Hindu scripture itself, but rather with the author’s commentary and poor translation in “Bhagavad Gita As It Is.” (PTI)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111229/main5.htm

The Tribune – Day before verdict, India asks Russia to prevent ban on Gita

Ashok Tuteja, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 27. A day before a Siberian court delivers its verdict on a petition seeking to ban the Bhagvad Gita, India today conveyed to Russia its concerns over the “sensitive” issue.

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna called Russian Ambassador to India Alexander Kadakin to the Hyderabad House this morning and told him that the Russian government must provide all assistance in the matter.

Drawing the Russian envoy’s attention towards the outrage in India over the move to ban the Bhagvad Gita, Krishna said the issue must be dealt with seriously in view of the sensitivities involved.

Kadakin is understood to have assured the minister that Moscow would do all it could within its powers to resolve the matter amicably.

“The External Affairs Minister conveyed the concerns of Parliament of India and the people of India on the issue. The Russian side has been saying that it is a judicial process and that it will take all steps it can within its power (to resolve the issue),” sources said.

This is the second time in four days that the Russian envoy has been called by the Ministry of External Affairs to convey the country’s concerns on the issue. Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai had called Kadakin last week in this regard.

After the meeting, the Russian envoy told reporters: “You understand that it is a court case but the Russian Government can do one thing. It can ask the people to express our love and admiration for Gita. That (assurance) you can get from anyone in Russia.”

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111228/main2.htm