Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Friday, July 25, 2014
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Saturday, July 5, 2014
THANK YOU.... BUT DON'T REPEAT
Saying "THANK YOU" and "DON'T REPEAT" both at the same time. No "CREDIT TAKING " games please...I just don't think that the Government of India could exert any particular pressure on the terrorists or for that matter any other influence on them which compelled them to release the nurses. It's either due to their extreme ineptitude in keeping such a large female force absolutely safe and secure under the captivity for long or due to their genuine sympathy towards them and their noble profession. Nonetheless a big "THANKS" for 46 precious lives saved. One can only pray and hope, other hostages too will be released soon.......
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
LET OUR ACTIONS SPEAK.........
LET OUR ACTIONS SPEAK......
MEA on IRAQ |
LET OUR ACTIONS
SPEAK …..
Ministry of external
affairs on Tuesday said there has been bombing and firing in the vicinity of
the hospital building in Tikrit where the 46 nurses from India, all of them
from Kerala, are stranded, but added they were safe and unharmed. Though the
situation prevails in the city of Tikrit is extremely delicate, the MEA
spokesperson was hopeful of extricating the unfortunate citizens form the war
hit zone as early as possible. The nurses continued to remain confined to the
hospital premise which is about 140 kilometer northeast of Baghdad, where a
fierce gun battle took place between ISIS rebels and Kurdish armed fighters on
Monday. Yet on Friday night, the hospital's emergency block was hit by a stray
bomb dropped from an Iraqi government helicopter gunship that killed three
patients. The local staff was fled to safety whereas Indian nurses stayed put
as they had no choice. This incident reveals the plight of those 46 nurses
stuck in a never ending nightmare that is being lived by many other Indians
elsewhere in Iraq. Conflicting reports emanating from different sources
regarding heavy fighting and bombardment going on in the vicinity of the hotel
adds fuel to the already devastated family members of the nurses here in
Kerala. Reports that the Indian authorities have asked the nurses to stay put
in the building when the local people offered to take these nurses to Mossul on
Monday as the building was under threat of being bombed have angered a few
relatives here. While nurses from the other states decided to move out, those
from Kerala sought advice from the Indian authorities who in turn advised
against any such move as they don’t know what is actually happening there. All this shows the predicament of stranded Indians
in Iraq is more critical than meets the eye.
One doesn’t know the
underlying motive beneath the holding of Indians and the other foreign nationals
under captivity. Though the India authorities feel that ISIS’ intention of
taking Indian hostages was for publicity and not to kill as the outfit has no
direct enmity with India, no one could rule out the possibility of terrorist
using their presence as a strategic human buffer between themselves and the
expected future military interventions by international community. In the wake
of any move to rescue the hostages was being countered by the ISIS so far, it
is assumed that the ISIS seems to be least interested in negotiations or in seeking
ransom in exchange for the release of the hostages. Their decision to hold the
hostages until the threat of any international interference dies down, gives a clear
indication of their true intentions. They may also force the captivated
civilians to assist them to make emplacements for their own defenses thereby
exposing them to catastrophic ramifications on a later stage.
My intention here is
not to diagnose or provide any off the rack solution to the impending crisis in
Iraq nor to evaluate the efforts so far made by the government of India to
rescue the stranded Indians as we have a very effective and experienced panel
of experts in the national crisis management committee who are competent enough
to deal with such critical issues. They have been working overtime to ensure
the release of the nurses as well as the 39 Indian hostages abducted by the
Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams (ISIS) in Iraq. But it will be a tough task
ahead for the government. Rescuing those who are confined in the middle of a
killing zone and subsequently bringing them to safety for further evacuation to
India, particularly when we have still not been able establish any direct
contact with the outfit is going to be a gargantuan task. Let us hope that the
Indian think tank will find a solution to this problem even by persuading the
religious authorities in Iraq as they are reasonably capable of ending the
sedition. Let’s also hope that India’s efforts to seek the assistance of the
Red Crescent Society in Iraq to engage in talks with the ISIS will be fruitful.
Under the present
circumstance, a commando operation aimed to rescue the hostages is not feasible
or possible because of the enormous geopolitical instability of the region.
Such attempts would have unforeseen and intricate consequences. There is little
that even the most powerful nations can do to tackle the situation in Iraq. Any
country would have a very limited means to extricate any of their national
stranded in the war zone apart from ordering their domestic security agencies
to explore every humanly possible means to ensure the safety of their citizens.
As of now the
stranded civilians are connected to the outside world but no one is sure what to
expect tomorrow or what happens next. We should anticipate a situation where in
the communication towers are bombarded by either Shia militia or by ISIS
particularly in the wake of continues helicopter borne assault on areas where
the rebels are occupied. And once the Shia militia conquers the city no one
would be able to step out of their houses. There will be total communication
black out in Iraq. The best any government can do under such circumstance is to
intensify its efforts and try every possible means including negotiations with
the religious leaders by sending a high level delegation to Iraq with a clearly
stated and well crafted strategy to win over the religious leaders in Iraq,
particularly the Sunni tribal leaders.
While appreciating
the government decision to send a war ship INS Mysore to the Persian Gulf and
placing the three Air-India planes on standby to bring back the nationals lost in
the non-conflicting zones, we should certainly not forget our immediate task
that is to bring the traumatized hostages out of the danger zone. Obviously there are allegations that the
efforts taken by the government to rescue its stranded citizens in Iraq were
proving futile. Here it is important to ensure that the people should not feel
that the government is deliberately concealing information to make itself looks
better. The MEA should refrain from making exaggerated or unwarranted claims.
The government should take the nation into confidence over this issue and
infuse confidence among the country men that they will leave no stone unturned
to rescue our hapless countrymen stranded in Iraq. Let our actions speak...
P.S:- Dated-3/7/2014:- Yesterday, in this article, I've expressed my reasonable apprehension about the possibility of using the stranded Indians in Iraq by ISIS to assist them to make emplacements for their own defenses thereby exposing them to catastrophic ramifications on a later stage. However my apprehension has unfortunately proven to be true after reading a story in today's "The Hindu" newspaper which carry the head line "Indians in Mosul used for labour" (Page-10). According to the article, they said, I quote.."Indian construction workers trapped in Mosul have been press ganged to build earthworks and defensive fortifications by Islamist insurgents holding the city" Unquote.
It is indeed a sad state of affairs. We can only hope that the Government of India rise to the challenge and that the international community pay urgent attention to take whatever measures required to rescue the hostages and other stranded nationals. The danger is looming large on Iraq and the issue leaves no room for procrastination...
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/indians-in-mosul-used-for-forced-labour/article6170293.ece
P.S:- Dated-3/7/2014:- Yesterday, in this article, I've expressed my reasonable apprehension about the possibility of using the stranded Indians in Iraq by ISIS to assist them to make emplacements for their own defenses thereby exposing them to catastrophic ramifications on a later stage. However my apprehension has unfortunately proven to be true after reading a story in today's "The Hindu" newspaper which carry the head line "Indians in Mosul used for labour" (Page-10). According to the article, they said, I quote.."Indian construction workers trapped in Mosul have been press ganged to build earthworks and defensive fortifications by Islamist insurgents holding the city" Unquote.
It is indeed a sad state of affairs. We can only hope that the Government of India rise to the challenge and that the international community pay urgent attention to take whatever measures required to rescue the hostages and other stranded nationals. The danger is looming large on Iraq and the issue leaves no room for procrastination...
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/indians-in-mosul-used-for-forced-labour/article6170293.ece
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