ISRAELI LUMINARIES PRESS FOR A PALESTINIAN STATE

[“The land of Israel is the birthplace of the Jewish people where its identity was shaped,” the statement begins. “The land of Palestine is the birthplace of the Palestinian people where its identity was formed.” It goes on to say that now is the time to live up to the commitment expressed by Israel’s founders in their Declaration of Independence to “extend our hand to all neighboring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighborliness.”]

 

By ETHAN BRONNER

JERUSALEM — Dozens of Israel’s most honored intellectuals and artists have signed a declaration endorsing a Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 borders and asserting that an end to Israel’s occupation “will liberate the two peoples and open the way to a lasting peace.”

The signers plan to announce their position on Wednesday from the same spot in Tel Aviv where the Jewish state declared its independence in the spring of 1948. The page-long declaration is expected to be read there by Hanna Maron, one of the country’s best-known actresses and a winner of the Israel Prize, the country’s most prestigious award, which is granted yearly on Independence Day.

Of the more than 60 who had signed the declaration by Tuesday, about 20 were winners of the Israel Prize and a number of others had been awarded the Emet Prize, given by the prime minister for excellence in science, art and culture. Signatures were still being collected on Tuesday.

“The land of Israel is the birthplace of the Jewish people where its identity was shaped,” the statement begins. “The land of Palestine is the birthplace of the Palestinian people where its identity was formed.” It goes on to say that now is the time to live up to the commitment expressed by Israel’s founders in their Declaration of Independence to “extend our hand to all neighboring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighborliness.”

Yaron Ezrahi, a political theorist at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem and one of the signers, said the group chose this week to issue its declaration because it was Passover, which marks the freedom of the Jewish people from slavery.

“We don’t want to pass over the Palestinian people,” Mr. Ezrahi said. “This is a holiday of freedom and independence.” He added that given the struggle for freedom across the Arab world today and the Palestinians’ plans to seek international recognition of their statehood by September, it was important for Israeli voices to be added to the call.

Two weeks ago, another group of several dozen prominent Israelis, many of them from the fields of security and business, issued what they called the Israeli Peace Initiative, a more detailed but somewhat similar plan for a two-state solution. Both groups say they are upset by their government’s policies in this regard, which they consider insufficient.

The Palestinian leadership says that unless Israel ends the building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, it will not return to negotiations with it and will instead seek international recognition of Palestinian statehood by September at the United Nations.

The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the real problem is that the Palestinians refuse to acknowledge that Israel is a Jewish state. Official recognition of that, it says, would revive negotiations, although there are also clear differences over land and Israel’s security needs.

Mr. Netanyahu is expected to announce by the end of May his proposal for moving forward with talks on a two-state solution.

@ The New York Times

AFTER PAKISTAN MISSILE TEST, INDIA FLEXES MUSCLE

[Squeamish for long with India's "pro-active conventional war strategy'', or what is colloquially dubbed the "cold start'' doctrine, Pakistan in turn test-fired a new nuclear-capable ballistic missile Hatf-IX on Tuesday.]

 

NEW DELHI: Diplomatic re-engagement may have begun afresh but both sides are keeping their powder dry. The 1.13-million strong Indian Army is honing its war-fighting machinery with a major combat exercise, codenamed "Vijayee Bhava'' (Be Victorious), in the Thar desert to practice "high tempo'' operations to cut across the border.

Squeamish for long with India's "pro-active conventional war strategy'', or what is colloquially dubbed the "cold start'' doctrine, Pakistan in turn test-fired a new nuclear-capable ballistic missile Hatf-IX on Tuesday.

Given that Hatf-IX has a strike range of only 60 km, it is clearly intended for brandishing as a "battlefield nuclear weapon'' to deter Indian armoured forces from launching rapid thrusts into its territory.

"Pakistan already has the long and medium range Shaheen and Ghauri series of missiles, acquired with help of China and North Korea, to act as the delivery mechanism for strategic nuclear weapons,'' said a senior Indian official.

"So, with this new missile, Islamabad seems to be looking at tactical nuclear deterrence against advancing enemy formations. But it is being foolhardy if it thinks nuclear weapons are war-fighting weapons,'' he added.

India, of course, has its own nuclear and missile plans. It may be steadfast about adhering to a "no first-use'' of nuclear weapons but has made it amply clear that a nuclear retaliation to a first strike will be "massive and designed to inflict unacceptable damage''.

The "Vijayee Bhava'' exercise, of course, is more conventional in nature, even though the combat manoeuvres may be simulated under "a NBC (nuclear, chemical, biological) overhang''.

The exercise, which will enter its peak phase in early-May, is being primarily conducted by the armoured corps-intensive 2 Corps, considered to be the most crucial of Army's three principal "strike'' formations tasked with virtually cutting Pakistan into two during a full-fledged war, said sources.

Incidentally, the 2 Corps based in Ambala is aptly called the `Kharga Corps', taking its name and formation sign from the deadly scythe wielded by Goddess Kali to vanquish enemies.

"In 2009, the 2 Corps had conducted the `Hind Shakti' exercise to fine-tune the pro-active strategy, which is all about mobilizing fast and hitting hard at several border points to catch the enemy unawares and gain momentum,'' said a source.

"The `Vijayee Bhava' exercise, which will also include elements from other Western Army Command (WAC) formations like the Jalandhar-based 11 Corps, will further validate operational concepts,'' he added.

With hundreds of tanks, artillery guns and over 30,000 soldiers, the exercise geared for "network-centric operations'' will see the extensive use of satellite imagery, helicopter-borne surveillance systems, spy drones and a wide array of land-based radars to "achieve battlefield transparency''.

As reported by TOI earlier, after Operation Parakram in 2002 took almost a month to reach D-Day readiness, India has reorganized Army formations all along the western front to enable a more swift and powerful offensive punch.

It was under this overall plan that the South-Western Command (SWAC) was created at Jaipur in 2005 as the Army's sixth operational command. With the Mathura-based 1 `Strike' Corps and Bhatinda-based 10 `Pivot' Corps under it, SWAC is responsible for offensive operations on the western front in conjunction with the Western Army Command (Chandimandir), which controls the 2 `Strike' Corps.

The Northern and Southern Army Commands, with the latter having the Bhopal-based 21 `Strike' Corps, at Udhampur and Pune respectively, will of course also play a crucial part in the event of a war but it will be SWAC and WAC which will assume the pivotal roles.

Moreover, both the western and southwestern commands of IAF have also stepped up coordination with the different Army commands in the western theatre to synergize efforts to build "an integrated and organic'' air-land war-fighting machinery.

@ The Times of India
Related Link:  The Nation: Hatf IX test-fired

´BODIES THROWN INTO WELLS´ IN NIGERIAN RIOTS

[Fearing reprisals, authorities have not given a death toll for the rioting that began sporadically during the weekend over allegations of vote rigging and quickly spread to some 14 states on Monday. Officials have however spoken of many killed.]

KANO: Post-election riots in northern Nigeria have left many dead, thousands displaced and hundreds wounded amid claims that bodies had been thrown into wells in areas hit by unrest.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan called on political and religious leaders to condemn the violence over his election victory, adding that most of the rioters appeared to be "unemployed young people".

He pledged that the government would work to change their situation "so that they will no longer be tools for people to use".

Fearing reprisals, authorities have not given a death toll for the rioting that began sporadically during the weekend over allegations of vote rigging and quickly spread to some 14 states on Monday. Officials have however spoken of many killed.

An estimated 25,000 have been displaced and some 375 wounded, according to the Red Cross. Police said dozens of people had been arrested.

"Things are relatively calm right now, but violent protests went on last night, especially in Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara (states)," Umar Abdul Mairiga, the Nigeria Red Cross disaster management coordinator, told AFP.

"What may come out of there is not very palatable because many people were killed, especially in southern Kaduna. The displaced people are getting hostile because nothing is coming up in terms of relief."

Jonathan, the first president from the southern oil-producing Niger Delta region, was declared late Monday winner of a landmark vote that exposed regional tensions and led to the deadly rioting.

He took 57 percent of the ballots in Saturday's election in Africa's most populous nation, easily beating his northern rival, ex-military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, who had 31 percent.

Nigeria is roughly divided in half between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.

Buhari, whose party has rejected the results and filed a challenge to them, has not spoken publicly, but condemned the rioting in brief comments to the BBC's Hausa-language service.

Police were providing few details on the situation. While the initial rioting began over allegations that Jonathan's party had sought to rig the vote, the situation appeared to be more complex in some instances.

One man claiming to be a witness to unrest in the town of Zonkwa in the south of Kaduna state said on local radio that clashes broke out early Tuesday when Christians celebrating Jonathan's victory attacked Muslims there.

Muslim residents fought back and police were outnumbered, according to the man who said he had taken refuge at a police station along with a number of others.

"The Christians succeeded in burning our homes, our vehicles," he said. "They killed many and threw some of the dead in open wells. Many dead bodies litter the streets."

An inhabitant of Kaduna city claimed that residents from the mostly Christian south of the state had come to the area on Sunday and targeted Muslims.

The resident, Abubakar Aliyu, told AFP by phone he also saw police shoot seven people and other locals told him that bodies were also thrown into wells there.

None of the claims could be immediately verified.

Officials have confirmed that an unspecified number of people were killed Monday in the main northern city of Kano when homes and shops were attacked, and also in Gombe when a home was set ablaze and in Kaduna, where mobs had stopped people on the highway.

Vice President Namadi Sambo's home was torched and a 24-hour curfew was imposed in his native state of Kaduna. A prison was raided and inmates set free.

Also on Monday, churches were burnt while mobs roamed in a number of states, armed with sticks and setting bonfires alight in the streets. Protesters fought running battles with soldiers in Kano.

Cars were stopped and passengers had to yell their support for Buhari to escape, an AFP correspondent witnessed.

A mosque was burnt early Tuesday in Kano in apparent reprisal, prompting Christian-owned shops to be destroyed, but relative calm appeared to be returning to parts of the city.

Police said the rioting had been instigated by those unhappy with the results and it was "neither ethnic nor religious".

Despite the post-poll violence, observers have hailed the conduct of the vote as a major step forward for a nation with a history of violent and deeply flawed elections.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton congratulated Goodluck Jonathan for winning Nigeria's presidential election, saying it marked a "positive new beginning" for the nation.

"I applaud the people of Nigeria for their enthusiastic and orderly participation" in the April 16 polls, Clinton said in a statement released by the State Department.

"This historic event marks a dramatic shift from decades of failed elections," she said, though cautioning that the process was "far from perfect."

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner also condemned the violence and called on Nigerians "to respect the results... and channel any grievances and challenges peacefully through established administrative and legal redress."
@ AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE/The Himalayan Times