BJP wants change in goverance 

The BJP said the party wants a change in the entire system of governance in the country and further maintained that the issue of naxalism cannot be solved until there is comprehensive strategy. BJP President Rajnath Singh today inaugurated the party's two day National Executive Meet in Goa. The meeting is expected to discuss organisational matters, party's strategy for the forthcoming assembly and general elections and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's role in the general elections. Due to ill health senior leader LK Advani is not participating in the meeting. Leaders including Yashwant Sinha, Jaswant Singh , Shatrughan Sinha and Uma Bharati are also not attending the meeting. Later, addressing media persons, BJP Spokesperson Prakash Javdekar said that the party stands for good governance and wants a change in the entire system of governance in the country. Javadekar also said that the issue of naxalism cannot be solved until there is a comprehensive strategy. BJP President Rajnath Singh said that he himself had talked to senior leader L K Adwani and doctors have advised rest for him. Rajnath Singh said that Advani wanted to attend the meet but he requested him to take rest. Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha is also not attending the party's executive meet. He said in Delhi that he is in good health and there could be other reasons for not going to Goa. JDU President Sharad Yadav said that if any of the NDA allies gets weak, the alliance will be affected

Hindu Sena protest in front of Advani residence

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BJP three days National Executive meet in Goa has reached its zenith crescendo when on the second day,Advani skipped the meet on ill health. BJP president Rajnath gave impressive speech asking all party workers to be prepared  for ensuing elections in five states and for national snap polls. Addressing media Javadekar the summary of President Rajnath speech which is duly circulated.   Questions were raised on various leaders absentia the spokesperson said the leaders has their own compulsion and letter of regrets has been received by the president.

Hindu Sena,frontal organisation of BJP today appeared in front of the Delhi residence of LK Advani demanding Narendra Modi to given free hand o lead and elevation in the party along with his blessing. Publicly protest by one of saffron frontal organisation is crystal clear push and pull inertia between RSS and BJP,the groups without any marking is finding to pave way for Modi to tread on bumps of BJP old guards and yes man.

Will Modi head the Chief of election campaign Committee ? in the absence of LK Advani who is not going to Goa on Doctor’s advice. Indisposition of LK Advani is being held responsible to delay in announcement of Modi to lead campaign committee of BJP

FURTHER THRUST TO CAMPAIGN CLEAN INDIA BY MINISTRY OF TOURISM

            At the initiative of Ministry of Tourism under the aegis of Dr.K.Chiranjeevi , Archeological survey of India (ASI) has agreed to the proposal of ONGC for adopting six monuments under Campaign Clean India. The six monuments/tourist destinations are:  Taj Mahal at Agra, Ellora Caves in Maharashtra, Elephanta Caves in Maharashtra, Red Fort in Delhi, Golkonda Fort Hyderabad and Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu.

            To expedite the process, Ministry of Tourism has taken up the matter with ASI to work out details of various activities, cost estimates, identification of executive agencies and nomination of nodal officers for each monument without losing any time.

            ONGC is adopting these six monuments as part of their corporate social responsibilities and it is the endeavour of Ministry of Tourism that Campaign Clean India is carried out for maximum number of monuments/tourist destinations so that tourists inculcate the feelings and spirit of cleanliness and respect for such monuments.

                             The “Campaign Clean India” is aimed to undertake both sensitization and action at field level on bringing our tourism destinations and their surroundings to an acceptable level of cleanliness and hygiene. The Campaign will ensure that these levels are sustained through ownership and involvement of private and public sector stakeholders. The campaign will be part of Government’s strategy of the 12th five year plan for improving the quality of services and environs in and around tourist destinations across India.

Threat of Islamist militancy spreading in west Africa

June 7, 2013 by admin  
Filed under newsletter-lead

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Sudan, June 06, 2013: No country in West Africa is safe from the threat of Islamist militancy. This was the stark warning by Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama last week in the wake of an unprecedented twin suicide bombing in Niger.

Mr Mahama referred back to the takeover of northern Mali by al-Qaeda-linked groups last year and said that the episode showed how the whole Sahel region had “become an attractive foothold for insurgents”, warning:

If we allow that foothold to consolidate, then it could affect the stability of our entire region.

He said that military intervention led by France had helped to restore stability in Mali but the crisis was not over.

Citing twin suicide bombings in Niger – the first of their kind in the country – on 23 May, Mr Mahama said:

There is the danger of asymmetric attacks like we saw in Niger… and so it is a matter that worries all of us in the sub-region.

The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao) claimed responsibility for the Niger attacks; a spokesman for Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar of Signed-in-Blood Battalion later said that the commander had “supervised” the bombings in conjunction with Mujao. The bombers targeted a military base in Agadez and the French-run uranium mine in Arlit, killing at least 20 people.

Abu Walid Sahraoui, a spokesman for Mujao, said:

Thanks to Allah, we have carried out two operations against the enemies of Islam in Niger. We attacked France and Niger for its cooperation with France in the war against sharia.

Niger was one of the West African nations that provided troops for the operation in Mali. Mujao was among the groups that were successfully driven out earlier this year.

Belmokhtar, who is believed to have been behind the attack on the gas plant in Algeria in January, threatened further attacks on France, Niger and other African countries involved in the Mali campaign.

He said:

This is the first of our responses to the statement of the president of Niger – from his masters in Paris – that he eliminated jihad and the mujahideen militarily.

“ARC OF INSTABILITY”

The bombings demonstrated the reality of the cross-border threat posed by Islamist militants in Africa; the attackers were said to be from Mali, Western Sahara and Sudan.

Moussa Akfar, a security expert in the Nigerien capital Niamey, said:

The problem is Niger is a large country, with instability on three fronts – we have rebels in Libya, the war in Mali and Boko Haram in Nigeria. The borders are completely porous and these groups have made it clear they plan to carry out further attacks.

As more and more countries become destabilised by the militants, the United Nations Security Council has been warned of an “arc of instability” stretching across Africa’s Sahara and Sahel region, which, if left unchecked, could transform the entire continent into a breeding ground for extremists and a launch pad for larger-scale terrorist attacks around the world.

Islamist militant groups operating in Africa exploit socio-economic discontent to recruit young men, offering them financial incentives as well a violent ideology through which they can channel their latent frustrations.

And as the Ghanaian president has warned, no country, even those which have previously been relatively stable and unaffected by Islamic radicalism, is safe.

In a recent report, the Institute of Security Studies (ISS) said that even the relatively moderate country of Senegal is becoming more vulnerable with more extremist teaching creeping in.

One imam in Dakar said:

More and more, fundamentalist groups, such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), are tapping into national causes and giving them a religious spin, to create national ideologies – that is part of their new strategy.

There is growing disaffection with the French-educated elites who have run Senegal along its former colonizer’s secular traditions and people are looking for an Islamic alternative.

As an ally of the West, and like Niger, a contributor of troops to the mission in Mali, Senegal is another potential target for jihadi violence.

DANGER FOR CHRISTIANS

And where Islamist terror reigns, Christians are targeted. When militants took over Northern Mali, they drove Christians out and destroyed all the churches in Gao and Timbuktu.

In the North and Middle Belt of Nigeria, where Boko Haram is fighting to establish an Islamic state, Christians are being massacred and churches blown up on an almost weekly basis. Despite the emergency rule imposed on three of the worst-affected states, Adamawa, Yobe and Borno, Christians continue to be killed. On 24 May, the Rev. Luka Bazigila from Gwoza, Borno state, and another Christian were shot dead at a Christian gathering.

Christians comprise a very small minority in countries such as Niger and Senegal so are especially vulnerable there.

Efforts are being made by African leaders to combat the escalating threat. Ghana’s President Mr Mahama has backed the African Union plan to create a rapid reaction force. He said:

We need to act collectively as a sub-region and a continent and indeed globally to be able to ensure peace and stability.

The response needs to be both reactive and proactive, as the UN Security Council has underlined. In a presidential statement on 13 May, it said that the Security Council “recognises that terrorism will not be defeated by military force or security forces, law enforcement measures and intelligence operations alone.” It stressed the need to address the conditions conducive to terrorism’s spread, including promoting the rule of law, protection of human rights, good governance, increasing economic growth, reducing poverty and fighting corruption.

It is a tall order for a continent that has struggled with instability and poverty for many generations. The international community needs to support African nations in this long-term endeavour.

- dr patrick sookhdeo

Naresh -- Last summer, President Obama took action to give more than a million young people a shot at the American Dream when he announced "deferred action" -- providing legal protection for undocumented young people who were brought to America through no fault of their own. These are the "DREAMers," named after the DREAM Act. And yesterday, 224 members of the House of Representatives, including almost every Republican, voted to take that protection away and resume the deportations. Congress needs to know that the American people don't support that -- and the hopeful young people they've now put in jeopardy need to know it, too. Add your name to say you stand with the DREAMers today -- and let's double down in our fight for comprehensive immigration reform. Imagine you've done everything right your entire life -- grown up in a community, gone to school, played by the rules, and broken no laws. But you suddenly face the threat of deportation to a country that you know nothing about with a language that you might not even speak. That's wrong. That's not who we are. These young people were brought to this country as kids, through no fault of their own. They have seen what's best about this country. That's why they so desperately want to be a part of it. If you think these DREAMers deserve a fair shot, add your name to say you're going to fight for them -- and for comprehensive immigration reform today: http://my.barackobama.com/Stand-with-the-DREAMers Thanks, Emmy Emmy Ruiz Immigration Campaign Manager Organizing for Action