asiapacificresearch--2020-10-28--The Philippines in the Eye of the Storm

The Philippines in the Eye of the Storm

Where is this nation of a hundred million inhabitants heading to ?
The future doesn ’ t seem rosy enough for people to hitch their hope on its government ’ s myriad promises most of which have gradually whittled down to bubbles that simply burst in the air .
Poverty still dominates the informal settlements–squatters areas–in major cities where people generally lead scratch-and-peck existence in tightly packed neighborhoods because of the large-scale unemployment situation .
Still , the most basic issue that continues to linger is , where is the next meal coming from ?
Desperation has hit hard the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activities has become the easiest way out to survive .
Leading among these is drug peddling mostly on a small-scale basis just to earn a small amount to feed the grumbling tummies of family members waiting in a makeshift shelter they call home .
In many instances , pickpockets , snatchers , and petty hold uppers among others proliferate in the more populous areas of a typical city where people mill around particularly in places where commercial shops abound .
This is the Philippines , an archipelago in southeast Asia romantically described as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” – “ The pearl of the orient sea ” –by its ancient denizens during the Hispanic colonization period of more than 330 years .
From the point of view of seasonal tourists coming from the west , the Philippines is a tropical paradise with many of its world-class beaches punctuating the islands–both big and small–that constitute the length of its territorial jurisdiction from north to south .
At least , the country has a bright side after all and may be given a boost from this perspective .
The truth of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are kindhearted , trusting , and hospitable to a fault .
These particular qualities might be rarer in the city but more common in the countryside .
In fact , it is reckoned as something wide-ranging among Filipinos to be uncritical “ believers ” even of unfounded promises with all the icings of a better future prospect .
Most certainly , this is no more than a spin-off of an ethos chiefly characterized by unexorcisably deepset superstitiousness that borders on gullibility .
And this explains why weird religious fellowships of the so-called charismatic-pentecostal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ corners of the country .
The same gullibility is exploited very effectively in politics more specifically when elections are about to take place and the candidates ’ spin doctors start to concoct and prepare for their respective candidates ’ manipulative campaign lines to make up the contents of public meeting speeches and the lyrics of subliminal jingles promoting their candidacies .
Such naïveté is considered as the most definitive factor that led Filipino voters to put into power the present president of the country in the person of the long-time mayor of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ island of Mindanao , Rodrigo Roa Duterte , more popularly known by his gangland-sounding monicker , Digong Duterte .
Practically unbeknownst to most Filipinos north of his turf , i.e.
, prior to getting elected as president , the past exploits of this southern warlord was popularly depicted by his loyal followers in a legend-like narrative that magnified and adored his hero-cum-saviour persona whose unique achievement of unprecedented magnitude was–according to their stories–the establishment and maintenance of absolute peace and order in his power domain allegedly through strict disciplinary measures .
While on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trapo ” ( traditional politician ) forcefully delivered strings of spectacular and awe-inspiring promises never been spewed out by any presidential contenders of the past eras before a spellbound audience .
The power-packed pledges expressed in the coarse and rugged lingo of a tough-talking “ presidentiable ” had an instant magnetic appeal to the pathos of the ordinary citizens who could automatically connect and identify with him .
His utterances peppered with rounds of expletives at practically all points of emphasis were like palatable desserts to the politically immature mindset of the general @ @ @ @ @ @ @ panacea that would finally liberate the nation from the plagues of graft and corruption , economic underdevelopment , and debilitating crimes .
Thousands of his thrilled listeners were swept off their feet while listening to a sweeping statement that under his leadership the nationwide scourge of drug trafficking would be solved within a period of three months .
Along with this promise was the assurance that crimes would significantly deteriorate to the point of extinction as peace and order was expected to prevail in the general condition of Philippine society .
Delivered before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an echoing thunder of a powerful commitment emanating from the heart and soul of an uncompromising patriot was the pledge that he would never ever allow China to take over the Spratlys [ a group of small islands in the West Philippine Sea ] for they are within the territorial jurisdiction of the Philippines .
And should they try to aggressively occupy and covet even one of them as their own , he would ride a jet ski carrying a Philippine flag on a pole and plant it there to assert the fact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He punctuated his speech with the likelihood that he could lose his life while doing it but it didn ’ t matter for , at his age , he wished to give his life as a martyr for the cause of his country .
Another sweet piece of grandstanding that drew reverberating cheers , whistles , and ovation from the captivated assemblage of his almost fanatical adherents was when he announced that graft and corruption in government would meet its final end under his administration and a new era of good governance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interest would be inaugurated right on the very first day of his presidency .
Contractualization of commercial and industrial urban workers would meet its death throes once he assumed office was a sincere-sounding pronouncement that lifted the hearts of workers with new hope for its realization was expected to finally give them secured tenure in the workplace .
An outward pledge that prices of basic food commodities would surely be brought down under his presidency so that no poor Filipino would ever get hungry drew an immense accolade from the poor sector of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of campaign promises–and there were a lot of them–the aforementioned ones are deemed the most crucial .
True , a few of those not mentioned have already been fulfilled with some degree of importance attributed to them .
Nevertheless , they are not considered as pivotal as the ones we have identified above .
And the moment of truth came .
Rodrigo Roa Duterte–the erstwhile warlord mayor of the southern city of Davao–was finally elected for a 6-year term as the 16th President of the Republic of the Philippines .
Sad to say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ above have ever been realized until this point of time .
In fact , Duterte even attenuates their importance to a level that matches nonsense jokes in his typical cuss-word-filled , garbled speeches that always draw laughter from his fanatical supporters .
To divert the attention of the audience from the real issues , it is part of his routine to attack his political opponents with sarcastic lies delivered like shaggy-dog stories that don ’ t even pass the standard of a comedy bar .
Nevertheless , his fanatics don ’ t fail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ laughter and rounds of applause .
Job contractualization is alive and kicking .
It has , in fact , been stronger than before as big-time business owners who profit a lot from their manipulative style of hiring workers have mastered Duterte ’ s weaknesses and won him over to their side–an absolute realization that he is not on the workers ’ side but a promoter of labor exploitation .
Prices of basic food commodities have spiked as more taxes have been imposed on them by the government .
In this situation which is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s economic condition has not gotten any better at all .
Poor Filipinos have become poorer and their future , more uncertain .
They feel betrayed and their powerlessness can never create for them better alternatives to improve their lot .
In the corridors of power , graft and corruption have continued to flourish .
This president who vowed in his campaign speeches to lead a clean government devoid of past scums and rubbish has reneged and reneged miserably on his promise to rid the government of unscrupulous characters .
In one notorious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exonerate an erring high government official–who happened to be his close ally–found guilty in the irresponsible performance of his duties ; he recycled him and transferred him to another department where he was given a position rank higher than the previous one where he fumbled .
Contrary to this , the more critical and thinking ones have either been relegated to insignificance or kicked out into ignominy .
Image on the right : A combination of Ferdinand Marcos ( left ) and Gloria Arroyo ( right ) .
Worse than this was the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carpet , ” so to speak , hardcore corrupt political personalities condemned by past administrations : The likes of the ill-famed Imelda Marcos who is supposed to be in prison ; former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who was ordered to be released after having been in detention pending the official filing of the criminal cases of graft and plunder ; Senators Ramon Revilla , Jr and Jinggoy Estrada who were also released from prison despite the ongoing court trials where they had also been indicted for graft and plunder .
Besides all these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ associating himself with disreputable political deceivers like former Senators Ferdinand Marcos , Jr , and the nonagenarian Juan Ponce Enrile .
And to appease the Marcos family , he even penned an executive order to allow the remains of the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos be interred at the Libingan ng mga Bayani ( Heroes ’ Cemetery ) .
Later along the way , stories of corruption , abuse of power , and strings of murder to silence his enemies while he was the sitting mayor of the southern city of Davao gradually came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city dwellers gave their discrete confessions to “ camouflaged ” independent international journalists who entered the city despite possible risk considering that the Duterte family is still in total control of the city having his daughter Sara as its mayor and his son Sebastian as the vice-mayor .
Well , Davao City is not only a bastion of nepotism but a barony ruled by a dynasty .
Now that Duterte is the president of a nation , we are no longer talking of a warlord controlling a city bailiwick but of a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the schizophrenic notion that the whole country is his own and it is not even necessary for him to carry the title of a “ king ” as long as he has all the power to act like one .
By virtue of this self-imposed power , he has betrayed the nation as he blew into smithereens his patriotic commitment to protect the West Philippine Sea islands claimed by China as its own .
He treacherously abandoned his vow to fight tooth-and-nail the illegal incursion of the Chinese military on any of those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ events , he was in the news standing side-by-side with the Chinese President Xi Jinping trying to win the favor of the latter for what he called “ a historical rapprochement beneficial to the overall progress and stability of Philippine economy ” .
Simply put , he has sold his country .
What follows afterward are events detrimental to the general condition of the Filipino people , particularly the Philippine local business scenario .
Allowing the presence of Chinese business enterprises to flourish in the country is one seriously disempowering circumstance for local @ @ @ @ @ @ @ massive influx of Chinese construction workers to the country to constitute the major labor force in many Chinese-financed infrastructure projects in various parts of the country is a hard-hitting slap on the face of thousands of skilled Filipino construction workers employed overseas to earn higher wages to give their families a better life .
Chinese tourists have been coming in and going out on a regular basis and some enterprising businessmen among them have even taken control of some tourist resorts which they have declared exclusive so that only Chinese tourists are allowed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possible accommodation .
This whole situation has actually alienated Filipinos in general .
One big-time enterprise they started and has been flourishing enormously in the Philippines with all the blessings of the rabid Sinophile Philippine president is the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators ( POGOs ) nominally under the jurisdiction of the legal entity called the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation ( PAGCOR ) .
As a policy , POGOs only cater to foreign gambling aficionados mainly Chinese–not to the locals .
By and large , POGOs have created a situation that indiscriminately allows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Philippines .
The detrimental aftermath of Chinese tourists , construction workers , and gamblers freely entering the country at any moment is the exacerbated rise of Covid-19 infection when the pandemic hit the Philippines .
And no one is to blame but the government of Duterte that has gone docile and subservient to the whims and wishes of aggressive Chinese exploitative forces .
The area designated as “ West Philippine Sea ” is the slightly darker blue area west of the Philippines .
( CC BY 2.5 ) In this connection , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Duterte ’ s affirmation on the campaign trail that should the Chinese try to aggressively occupy even one of the West Philippine Sea islands and claim it as their own , he would ride a jet ski carrying a Philippine flag on a pole and plant it there to assert the fact that these islands are the Philippines ’ .
In a press conference where someone reminded him about it , he simply parried the question and casually dismissed it in jest as an ordinary campaign stunt and should have never been taken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comment , he even insultingly called those who believed what he said STUPID .
Now the Philippines is at the behest of Chinese business and economic magnates with all the Chinese-financed infrastructure projects and business enterprises .
On top of these undertakings , loans equivalent to trillions of dollars are in the pipeline to finally give the country to China ’ s absolute control .
And on this basis , Duterte was not joking when in a speech he said without mincing words , “ I wish the Philippines would just become a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at last live in prosperity.
” Not disconnected to what has so far been happening in the Philippines now under the manipulative spell of China is the seemingly unending inflow and proliferation of illegal drugs whose main sources are in China .
Duterte miserably failed in his promise to end the scourge of illegal drugs within three months .
Employing an honest-to-goodness approach to the illegal drug problem might really be unrealistic to finish it in three months .
But to have the problem still around and to find it getting worse after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people in government are seriously attending to it .
The Duterte government ’ s approach has been terribly inaccurate , to say the least as instead of running straight after the big-time drug lords–most if not all of whom are Chinese–it has targetted small-time drug pushers and users in impoverished areas of major cities .
What makes the whole operation terroristic in nature is the so-called authorities are not in the business of arresting illegal drug offenders ; they are murdering them even in full daylight and in the presence of terror-stricken community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report that came out on Democracy Now ( June 5 , 2020 ) The Philippines is in the worst of times as the government has intentionally turned its eyes away from the worsening problems spawned by the presence of big-time drug lords in the country .
The matter has gone so agitatingly worrisome after the more sensible and thinking Filipinos monitored and followed up the situation that occurred at the Manila International Container Port ( MICP ) on 7 and 8 August 2018 when 1,600 kilos of smuggled shabu ( methamphetamine ) worth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concealed in magnetic scrap lifters by agents of the Bureau of Customs ( BoC ) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency ( PDEA ) .
The haul was missing the following day and nowhere to be found .
( 2 ) Nobody could really unravel such a mystery quite easily but we can however come up with a circumstantial scenario considering that it was too big a case in the stark presence of authorities like the BoC and the PDEA to simply vanish in thin air .
One bigger mystery that continues to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is why has the Duterte government not been running after big-time drug lords ?
This question could very consistently connect with the unending illegal drug problems in the Philippines .
Now in the time of Covid-19 , instead of putting more serious attention to the pandemic , the government has used the legislature to pass the Anti-Terrorism Bill whose main features could be turned into an instrument of state terrorism .
In this sense , the Anti-Terrorism Bill is consciously designed to terrorize the segment of Filipino people that are more critical of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government .
Eminent economist and mentor at the prestigious University of the Philippines , Professor Solita Collas-Monsod recently commented : In the final analysis , one concrete description can sum up what has been happening in the Philippines today : The country is in the eye of the storm under the leadership of a fascist president whose unilateral ambition is to oppress and terrorize the nation he has deceived and opted now to sell to the devil .
Note to readers : please click the share buttons above or below .
Forward this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on your blog site , internet forums .
etc .
Ruel F. Pepa is a Filipino philosopher based in Madrid , Spain .
A retired academic ( Associate Professor IV ) , he taught Philosophy and Social Sciences for more than 15 years at Trinity University of Asia , an Anglican university in the Philippines .
( 2 ) “ TIMELINE : ₱11B-worth of shabu slips past PH customs days after ₱4.3B worth of shabu was intercepted ” , CNN Philippines ( October 26 , 2018 ) https : //cnnphilippines.com/news/2018/10/26/timeline-shabu-smuggling-magnetic-lifters.html ”

Where is this nation of a hundred million inhabitants heading to? The future doesn’t seem rosy enough for people to hitch their hope on its government’s myriad promises most of which have gradually whittled down to bubbles that simply burst in the air.
Poverty still dominates the informal settlements–squatters areas–in major cities where people generally lead scratch-and-peck existence in tightly packed neighborhoods because of the large-scale unemployment situation. Still, the most basic issue that continues to linger is, where is the next meal coming from?
Desperation has hit hard the poor city folks and resorting to illegal activities has become the easiest way out to survive. Leading among these is drug peddling mostly on a small-scale basis just to earn a small amount to feed the grumbling tummies of family members waiting in a makeshift shelter they call home. In many instances, pickpockets, snatchers, and petty hold uppers among others proliferate in the more populous areas of a typical city where people mill around particularly in places where commercial shops abound.
This is the Philippines, an archipelago in southeast Asia romantically described as “La Perla del Mar de Oriente”– “The pearl of the orient sea”–by its ancient denizens during the Hispanic colonization period of more than 330 years. From the point of view of seasonal tourists coming from the west, the Philippines is a tropical paradise with many of its world-class beaches punctuating the islands–both big and small–that constitute the length of its territorial jurisdiction from north to south. At least, the country has a bright side after all and may be given a boost from this perspective.
The truth of the matter is, Filipinos in general, are kindhearted, trusting, and hospitable to a fault. These particular qualities might be rarer in the city but more common in the countryside. In fact, it is reckoned as something wide-ranging among Filipinos to be uncritical “believers” even of unfounded promises with all the icings of a better future prospect. Most certainly, this is no more than a spin-off of an ethos chiefly characterized by unexorcisably deepset superstitiousness that borders on gullibility. And this explains why weird religious fellowships of the so-called charismatic-pentecostal evangelical variety have unrelentingly mushroomed in all corners of the country. The same gullibility is exploited very effectively in politics more specifically when elections are about to take place and the candidates’ spin doctors start to concoct and prepare for their respective candidates’ manipulative campaign lines to make up the contents of public meeting speeches and the lyrics of subliminal jingles promoting their candidacies.
Such naïveté is considered as the most definitive factor that led Filipino voters to put into power the present president of the country in the person of the long-time mayor of the southern city of Davao on the exotic island of Mindanao, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, more popularly known by his gangland-sounding monicker, Digong Duterte. Practically unbeknownst to most Filipinos north of his turf, i.e., prior to getting elected as president, the past exploits of this southern warlord was popularly depicted by his loyal followers in a legend-like narrative that magnified and adored his hero-cum-saviour persona whose unique achievement of unprecedented magnitude was–according to their stories–the establishment and maintenance of absolute peace and order in his power domain allegedly through strict disciplinary measures.
While on the campaign trail, this Filipino “trapo” (traditional politician) forcefully delivered strings of spectacular and awe-inspiring promises never been spewed out by any presidential contenders of the past eras before a spellbound audience. The power-packed pledges expressed in the coarse and rugged lingo of a tough-talking “presidentiable” had an instant magnetic appeal to the pathos of the ordinary citizens who could automatically connect and identify with him. His utterances peppered with rounds of expletives at practically all points of emphasis were like palatable desserts to the politically immature mindset of the general Filipino electorate hoping for a seemingly ever-elusive panacea that would finally liberate the nation from the plagues of graft and corruption, economic underdevelopment, and debilitating crimes.
Thousands of his thrilled listeners were swept off their feet while listening to a sweeping statement that under his leadership the nationwide scourge of drug trafficking would be solved within a period of three months. Along with this promise was the assurance that crimes would significantly deteriorate to the point of extinction as peace and order was expected to prevail in the general condition of Philippine society.
Delivered before a massive multitude of rejoicing supporters like an echoing thunder of a powerful commitment emanating from the heart and soul of an uncompromising patriot was the pledge that he would never ever allow China to take over the Spratlys [a group of small islands in the West Philippine Sea] for they are within the territorial jurisdiction of the Philippines. And should they try to aggressively occupy and covet even one of them as their own, he would ride a jet ski carrying a Philippine flag on a pole and plant it there to assert the fact that these islands are the Philippines’. He punctuated his speech with the likelihood that he could lose his life while doing it but it didn’t matter for, at his age, he wished to give his life as a martyr for the cause of his country.
Another sweet piece of grandstanding that drew reverberating cheers, whistles, and ovation from the captivated assemblage of his almost fanatical adherents was when he announced that graft and corruption in government would meet its final end under his administration and a new era of good governance truly serving the Filipino people’s interest would be inaugurated right on the very first day of his presidency.
Contractualization of commercial and industrial urban workers would meet its death throes once he assumed office was a sincere-sounding pronouncement that lifted the hearts of workers with new hope for its realization was expected to finally give them secured tenure in the workplace.
An outward pledge that prices of basic food commodities would surely be brought down under his presidency so that no poor Filipino would ever get hungry drew an immense accolade from the poor sector of Philippine society.
Within a long litany of campaign promises–and there were a lot of them–the aforementioned ones are deemed the most crucial. True, a few of those not mentioned have already been fulfilled with some degree of importance attributed to them. Nevertheless, they are not considered as pivotal as the ones we have identified above.
And the moment of truth came. Rodrigo Roa Duterte–the erstwhile warlord mayor of the southern city of Davao–was finally elected for a 6-year term as the 16th President of the Republic of the Philippines.
Sad to say, none of the overriding promises mentioned above have ever been realized until this point of time. In fact, Duterte even attenuates their importance to a level that matches nonsense jokes in his typical cuss-word-filled, garbled speeches that always draw laughter from his fanatical supporters. To divert the attention of the audience from the real issues, it is part of his routine to attack his political opponents with sarcastic lies delivered like shaggy-dog stories that don’t even pass the standard of a comedy bar. Nevertheless, his fanatics don’t fail to swallow them hook-line-and-sinker topped with hearty laughter and rounds of applause.
Job contractualization is alive and kicking. It has, in fact, been stronger than before as big-time business owners who profit a lot from their manipulative style of hiring workers have mastered Duterte’s weaknesses and won him over to their side–an absolute realization that he is not on the workers’ side but a promoter of labor exploitation.
Prices of basic food commodities have spiked as more taxes have been imposed on them by the government. In this situation which is worse than before, the people’s economic condition has not gotten any better at all. Poor Filipinos have become poorer and their future, more uncertain. They feel betrayed and their powerlessness can never create for them better alternatives to improve their lot.
In the corridors of power, graft and corruption have continued to flourish. This president who vowed in his campaign speeches to lead a clean government devoid of past scums and rubbish has reneged and reneged miserably on his promise to rid the government of unscrupulous characters. In one notorious news headliner, he did not only exonerate an erring high government official–who happened to be his close ally–found guilty in the irresponsible performance of his duties; he recycled him and transferred him to another department where he was given a position rank higher than the previous one where he fumbled. Contrary to this, the more critical and thinking ones have either been relegated to insignificance or kicked out into ignominy.
Image on the right: A combination of Ferdinand Marcos (left) and Gloria Arroyo (right).
Worse than this was the way he welcomed on a “red carpet,” so to speak, hardcore corrupt political personalities condemned by past administrations: The likes of the ill-famed Imelda Marcos who is supposed to be in prison; former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who was ordered to be released after having been in detention pending the official filing of the criminal cases of graft and plunder; Senators Ramon Revilla, Jr and Jinggoy Estrada who were also released from prison despite the ongoing court trials where they had also been indicted for graft and plunder. Besides all these, Duterte has been very open in associating himself with disreputable political deceivers like former Senators Ferdinand Marcos, Jr, and the nonagenarian Juan Ponce Enrile. And to appease the Marcos family, he even penned an executive order to allow the remains of the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos be interred at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery).
Later along the way, stories of corruption, abuse of power, and strings of murder to silence his enemies while he was the sitting mayor of the southern city of Davao gradually came out to the open as some courageous city dwellers gave their discrete confessions to “camouflaged” independent international journalists who entered the city despite possible risk considering that the Duterte family is still in total control of the city having his daughter Sara as its mayor and his son Sebastian as the vice-mayor. Well, Davao City is not only a bastion of nepotism but a barony ruled by a dynasty.
Now that Duterte is the president of a nation, we are no longer talking of a warlord controlling a city bailiwick but of a “kingdom” where an elected president has the schizophrenic notion that the whole country is his own and it is not even necessary for him to carry the title of a “king” as long as he has all the power to act like one. By virtue of this self-imposed power, he has betrayed the nation as he blew into smithereens his patriotic commitment to protect the West Philippine Sea islands claimed by China as its own. He treacherously abandoned his vow to fight tooth-and-nail the illegal incursion of the Chinese military on any of those islands.
In a drastic turn of events, he was in the news standing side-by-side with the Chinese President Xi Jinping trying to win the favor of the latter for what he called “a historical rapprochement beneficial to the overall progress and stability of Philippine economy”. Simply put, he has sold his country.
What follows afterward are events detrimental to the general condition of the Filipino people, particularly the Philippine local business scenario. Allowing the presence of Chinese business enterprises to flourish in the country is one seriously disempowering circumstance for local business endeavors. Moreover, letting the massive influx of Chinese construction workers to the country to constitute the major labor force in many Chinese-financed infrastructure projects in various parts of the country is a hard-hitting slap on the face of thousands of skilled Filipino construction workers employed overseas to earn higher wages to give their families a better life.
Chinese tourists have been coming in and going out on a regular basis and some enterprising businessmen among them have even taken control of some tourist resorts which they have declared exclusive so that only Chinese tourists are allowed to enter and to get the best possible accommodation. This whole situation has actually alienated Filipinos in general. One big-time enterprise they started and has been flourishing enormously in the Philippines with all the blessings of the rabid Sinophile Philippine president is the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) nominally under the jurisdiction of the legal entity called the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).
As a policy, POGOs only cater to foreign gambling aficionados mainly Chinese–not to the locals. By and large, POGOs have created a situation that indiscriminately allows thousands of Chinese tourists to enter the Philippines. The detrimental aftermath of Chinese tourists, construction workers, and gamblers freely entering the country at any moment is the exacerbated rise of Covid-19 infection when the pandemic hit the Philippines. And no one is to blame but the government of Duterte that has gone docile and subservient to the whims and wishes of aggressive Chinese exploitative forces.
The area designated as “West Philippine Sea” is the slightly darker blue area west of the Philippines. (CC BY 2.5)
In this connection, we want to know what has happened to Duterte’s affirmation on the campaign trail that should the Chinese try to aggressively occupy even one of the West Philippine Sea islands and claim it as their own, he would ride a jet ski carrying a Philippine flag on a pole and plant it there to assert the fact that these islands are the Philippines’. In a press conference where someone reminded him about it, he simply parried the question and casually dismissed it in jest as an ordinary campaign stunt and should have never been taken literally and seriously. As a disparaging comment, he even insultingly called those who believed what he said STUPID.
Now the Philippines is at the behest of Chinese business and economic magnates with all the Chinese-financed infrastructure projects and business enterprises. On top of these undertakings, loans equivalent to trillions of dollars are in the pipeline to finally give the country to China’s absolute control. And on this basis, Duterte was not joking when in a speech he said without mincing words, “I wish the Philippines would just become a province of China so that Filipinos could at last live in prosperity.”
Not disconnected to what has so far been happening in the Philippines now under the manipulative spell of China is the seemingly unending inflow and proliferation of illegal drugs whose main sources are in China. Duterte miserably failed in his promise to end the scourge of illegal drugs within three months. Employing an honest-to-goodness approach to the illegal drug problem might really be unrealistic to finish it in three months. But to have the problem still around and to find it getting worse after three years is already unimaginable if the people in government are seriously attending to it.
The Duterte government’s approach has been terribly inaccurate, to say the least as instead of running straight after the big-time drug lords–most if not all of whom are Chinese–it has targetted small-time drug pushers and users in impoverished areas of major cities. What makes the whole operation terroristic in nature is the so-called authorities are not in the business of arresting illegal drug offenders; they are murdering them even in full daylight and in the presence of terror-stricken community dwellers. Based on a UN investigation report that came out on Democracy Now (June 5, 2020)
” . . . [T]ens of thousands of people in the Philippines may have been killed since mid-2016 as President Rodrigo Duterte unleashed a “war on drugs,” giving police the power to arrest people and use lethal force with near impunity. The U.N. report points to top government officials as instigators of extreme violence, and a pattern among police of planting evidence in dozens of murders to suggest officers were acting in self-defense. Among the dead are over 70 children; the youngest victim was just 5 months old.” (1)
The Philippines is in the worst of times as the government has intentionally turned its eyes away from the worsening problems spawned by the presence of big-time drug lords in the country. The matter has gone so agitatingly worrisome after the more sensible and thinking Filipinos monitored and followed up the situation that occurred at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) on 7 and 8 August 2018 when 1,600 kilos of smuggled shabu (methamphetamine) worth 15. 3 billion pesos was found concealed in magnetic scrap lifters by agents of the Bureau of Customs (BoC) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). The haul was missing the following day and nowhere to be found. (2)
Nobody could really unravel such a mystery quite easily but we can however come up with a circumstantial scenario considering that it was too big a case in the stark presence of authorities like the BoC and the PDEA to simply vanish in thin air.
One bigger mystery that continues to linger in the minds of critical Filipinos is why has the Duterte government not been running after big-time drug lords? This question could very consistently connect with the unending illegal drug problems in the Philippines.
Now in the time of Covid-19, instead of putting more serious attention to the pandemic, the government has used the legislature to pass the Anti-Terrorism Bill whose main features could be turned into an instrument of state terrorism. In this sense, the Anti-Terrorism Bill is consciously designed to terrorize the segment of Filipino people that are more critical of the inefficiency and corruption of the Duterte government.
Eminent economist and mentor at the prestigious University of the Philippines, Professor Solita Collas-Monsod recently commented:
“I am afraid that this bill, which lends itself to even more abuses (because it gives the police more power and penalizes them less) will be the start of a reign of terror–not terror by non-state actors, striking fear among the populace, but terror by the government, as in the Reign of Terror in France in 1870.” (3)
In the final analysis, one concrete description can sum up what has been happening in the Philippines today: The country is in the eye of the storm under the leadership of a fascist president whose unilateral ambition is to oppress and terrorize the nation he has deceived and opted now to sell to the devil.
*
Note to readers: please click the share buttons above or below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc.
Ruel F. Pepa is a Filipino philosopher based in Madrid, Spain. A retired academic (Associate Professor IV), he taught Philosophy and Social Sciences for more than 15 years at Trinity University of Asia, an Anglican university in the Philippines.
Notes
(1) Democracy Now (June 5, 2020) https://www.democracynow.org/2020/6/5/headlines/un_reports_thousands_killed_with_impunity _in_philippines_war_on_drugs?fbclid=IwAR240EMN7N7MYBAJaQ1KFMt5vKBSBlUYsulyax ABcofsAsCzKIuBjdq-4bc
(2) “TIMELINE: ₱11B-worth of shabu slips past PH customs days after ₱4.3B worth of shabu was intercepted”, CNN Philippines (October 26, 2018) https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2018/10/26/timeline-shabu-smuggling-magnetic-lifters.html ”
Magnetic lifters contained 1.6 tons of shabu – PDEA” by Jairus Bondoc, Philippine Star Global (October 17, 2018) https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2018/10/17/1860621/magnetic-lifters-contained-16-tons-shabu -pdea
(3) Philippine Daily Inquirer . . . Inquirer.net, (June 6, 2020)


asiapacificresearch--2020-11-02--Delhi Violence Warns of Indian Polarization on Communal Lines

Shaheen Bagh , in the neighborhood of Indian capital New Delhi , has been the epicenter of protests by mostly women , with some of them toddlers in their tows .
They were expressing their gripes over the discriminatory Indian Citizenship Amendment ACT ( CAA ) , which fast-tracks naturalization for some religious minorities excluding Muslims .
Violence sparked in the northeast of Delhi after ruling Hindu-nationalist BJP leader Kapil Mishra , who recently lost in state election , urged people “ to prevent another Shaheen Bagh ” in Jaffrabad , Delhi .
He latter tweeted a three-day ultimatum to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from sit-ins or he along with his supporters would do it himself following the departure of the visiting US President Donald Trump .
As the protests were peaceful and there was no incidence of mobs on the rampage , burning of homes , schools and mosques or stone pelting before that – how the city quickly dribbled into the chaos was shocking .
The worst riots in decades didn ’ t erupt abruptly ; there was a gradual buildup that shook Delhi into a warzone .
Mishra , during the state election campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remarks such as “ Pakistan has already entered Shaheen Bagh and small pockets of Pakistan are being created in Delhi ” and also equated the local assembly polls with “ India versus Pakistan contest ” .
His comment irked the Election Commission that asked him to remove the thread .
It is due to his rabble-rousing attitude toward the religious minorities that many Indians , including Hindus , believe that he and his followers have hewed a dangerous ambience in the country and all of them should be jailed .
Former district MLA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who incited riots ; he was accompanied by the party ’ s Delhi wing .
Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi obliquely indicted only Muslims for protesting against CAA , the BJP Delhi unit in December published a cartoon on Instagram showing that its political rival and state ’ s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and a bearded-man in a stereotype Muslim dress were setting a bus on fire while a lady was trapped inside .
A month afterward , it shared a controversial meme from its micro-blogging twitter handle that stirred communal sadism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bus and Kejriwal with a skull cap on alongside a Muslim MLA , titled Art and Artist , was a veiled linkage to accuse the students of Jamia Millia Islamia for December ’ s violence even though that wasn ’ t resulted in detention of a single of them by police .
The preordained connection among these episodes – and BJP MLA Parvesh Verma ’ s public threat before state elections to demolish “ only mosques ” on government land despite the dismissal of his claims by Minorities Commission – unequivocally had communal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hindu-Muslim riots in Delhi .
Smoldering communal sentiments finally broke out a few days earlier and has so far killed 42 people and injured more than 200 in a deadliest violence in decades .
The transfer of a high court judge Justice S. Muralidhar , who grilled police and linked the recent unrests with 1984 Sikh Massacre when over 3,000 people associated with Sikhism were killed in Delhi , inferred that the ongoing violence was designed by hard-line Hindu nationalists to avenge its defeat in state election .
Though Muslims were violent too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that rioted with impunity as the police stood in silence .
They vandalized shops and homes of Muslims , attacked mosques , and stopped journalists from reporting and inquired their religion .
Brutally beaten up and injured Muslims were forced to recite the Indian national anthem .
A series of shaking events would essentially brutalize Modi administration ’ s efforts to improve its moral standing in the world after lionizing Trump ’ s first trip to India .
Lately , he called for “ peace and harmony ” but with communal violence keeps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to his party ’ s image is uncontrollable .
Before leaving , Trump too tried to eclipse BJP divisive moves by promoting Modi ’ s rise from humble background to Prime Minister of India and appreciating his efforts to ensure religious freedom in India .
But US Commission on International Religious Freedom ( USIFR ) contravened him and expressed “ grave concerns ” on government and police failure to intervene and protect the citizens .
Amid worsening peace conditions in the rocked city , the US twin-pretense – of condoning and condemning hardcore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deliberate hatemongering and riot-fueling actions – was a bemoaning hoax to pervert the facts about rising threats to Indian secularism .
Big media is still presenting the riots as “ clashed between ant-CAA and pro-CAA protestors.
” If the mobs were infatuated from their backing or denial for the Act , why the supporters of BJP gathered with saffron flags ( a Hinduism symbol ) and chanted religious and incendiary slogans like “ Shoot the traitors ” , “ Hail Lord Ram ” , “ Hail the Shiva ” and “ only who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country.
” The mantras explicitly insinuate that the extremist Hindutwa ideology of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( RSS ) – which describes itself “ firmly rooted in genuine nationalism ” and decries any governmental move to bridge differences between religions with “ erosion of nation ’ s integrity in the name of secularism ” and “ endless appeasement ” – has made the Indian ruling party a hostage .
RSS contends that the 21st century will be dominated by Hindutwa and is now working with its auxiliary extensions to pursue an aggressive approach through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , if not neutralized by the Indian government and people , would spread fear and insecurity among the country ’ s minorities and eventually could polarize India on communal lines .
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Forward this article to your email lists .
Crosspost on your blog site , internet forums .
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Azhar Azam is a private professional and writes on geopolitical issues , and regional conflicts

First published in March 2020
Shaheen Bagh, in the neighborhood of Indian capital New Delhi, has been the epicenter of protests by mostly women, with some of them toddlers in their tows. They were expressing their gripes over the discriminatory Indian Citizenship Amendment ACT (CAA), which fast-tracks naturalization for some religious minorities excluding Muslims.
Violence sparked in the northeast of Delhi after ruling Hindu-nationalist BJP leader Kapil Mishra, who recently lost in state election, urged people “to prevent another Shaheen Bagh” in Jaffrabad, Delhi. He latter tweeted a three-day ultimatum to the city police to clear the vicinity from sit-ins or he along with his supporters would do it himself following the departure of the visiting US President Donald Trump.
As the protests were peaceful and there was no incidence of mobs on the rampage, burning of homes, schools and mosques or stone pelting before that – how the city quickly dribbled into the chaos was shocking. The worst riots in decades didn’t erupt abruptly; there was a gradual buildup that shook Delhi into a warzone.
Mishra, during the state election campaign, had made a number of communal remarks such as “Pakistan has already entered Shaheen Bagh and small pockets of Pakistan are being created in Delhi” and also equated the local assembly polls with “India versus Pakistan contest”. His comment irked the Election Commission that asked him to remove the thread.
It is due to his rabble-rousing attitude toward the religious minorities that many Indians, including Hindus, believe that he and his followers have hewed a dangerous ambience in the country and all of them should be jailed. Former district MLA isn’t the only BJP leader who incited riots; he was accompanied by the party’s Delhi wing.
Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi obliquely indicted only Muslims for protesting against CAA, the BJP Delhi unit in December published a cartoon on Instagram showing that its political rival and state’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and a bearded-man in a stereotype Muslim dress were setting a bus on fire while a lady was trapped inside.
A month afterward, it shared a controversial meme from its micro-blogging twitter handle that stirred communal sadism. The two pictures of a burning bus and Kejriwal with a skull cap on alongside a Muslim MLA, titled Art and Artist, was a veiled linkage to accuse the students of Jamia Millia Islamia for December’s violence even though that wasn’t resulted in detention of a single of them by police.
The preordained connection among these episodes – and BJP MLA Parvesh Verma’s public threat before state elections to demolish “only mosques” on government land despite the dismissal of his claims by Minorities Commission – unequivocally had communal overtones and a premeditated plan to orchestrate Hindu-Muslim riots in Delhi.
Smoldering communal sentiments finally broke out a few days earlier and has so far killed 42 people and injured more than 200 in a deadliest violence in decades. The transfer of a high court judge Justice S. Muralidhar, who grilled police and linked the recent unrests with 1984 Sikh Massacre when over 3,000 people associated with Sikhism were killed in Delhi, inferred that the ongoing violence was designed by hard-line Hindu nationalists to avenge its defeat in state election.
Though Muslims were violent too, but it was largely Hindu mobs that rioted with impunity as the police stood in silence. They vandalized shops and homes of Muslims, attacked mosques, and stopped journalists from reporting and inquired their religion. Brutally beaten up and injured Muslims were forced to recite the Indian national anthem.
A series of shaking events would essentially brutalize Modi administration’s efforts to improve its moral standing in the world after lionizing Trump’s first trip to India. Lately, he called for “peace and harmony” but with communal violence keeps on jolting Delhi, the collateral damage to his party’s image is uncontrollable.
Before leaving, Trump too tried to eclipse BJP divisive moves by promoting Modi’s rise from humble background to Prime Minister of India and appreciating his efforts to ensure religious freedom in India. But US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USIFR) contravened him and expressed “grave concerns” on government and police failure to intervene and protect the citizens.
Amid worsening peace conditions in the rocked city, the US twin-pretense – of condoning and condemning hardcore BJP government and law enforcement agencies’ deliberate hatemongering and riot-fueling actions – was a bemoaning hoax to pervert the facts about rising threats to Indian secularism.
Big media is still presenting the riots as “clashed between ant-CAA and pro-CAA protestors.” If the mobs were infatuated from their backing or denial for the Act, why the supporters of BJP gathered with saffron flags (a Hinduism symbol) and chanted religious and incendiary slogans like “Shoot the traitors”, “Hail Lord Ram”, “Hail the Shiva” and “only who talk of Hindu wellbeing will rule this country.”
The mantras explicitly insinuate that the extremist Hindutwa ideology of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – which describes itself “firmly rooted in genuine nationalism” and decries any governmental move to bridge differences between religions with “erosion of nation’s integrity in the name of secularism” and “endless appeasement” – has made the Indian ruling party a hostage.
RSS contends that the 21st century will be dominated by Hindutwa and is now working with its auxiliary extensions to pursue an aggressive approach through “Cultural Politics.” This new phenomenon, if not neutralized by the Indian government and people, would spread fear and insecurity among the country’s minorities and eventually could polarize India on communal lines.
*
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Azhar Azam is a private professional and writes on geopolitical issues, and regional conflicts


asiapacificresearch--2020-11-02--Kashmir in the Times of COVID-19

Kashmir in the Times of COVID-19

As the major powers of the world look inwards to fight the coronavirus pandemic , Indian PM Modi exploits this “ historic opportunity ” to further his Hindutva-driven agenda in the disputed territories of Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir ( IOJ & K ) .
There is a very perceptible method to the BJP ’ s madness to “ annex and absorb ” the territories of IOJ & K .
It was always a part of its manifesto .
Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution were abrogated to nullify the special status of the IOJ & K territories @ @ @ @ @ @ @ properties in IOJ & K .
The J & K Reorganisation Bill 2019 contained provisions to re-constitute the IOJ & K – a part of the larger Kashmir region which is under dispute between India , Pakistan and China since 1947 – into two Union Territories , J & K and Ladakh .
The J & K Reorganisation Order ( Removal of Difficulties ) 2020 dramatically relaxed the criteria for domicile and employment for Indians in IOJ & K .
These Bills set the stage for the Indianisation-Hinduisation of IOJ & K through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ majority into a minority and to prepare for the UN-promised plebiscite , whenever it might take place .
These blatantly illegal actions are in direct breach of relevant UNGA Resolutions , UNSC Resolutions 91 , 122 , 123 , 126 and 2334 of 2016 , Article 49 of the 4th Geneva Convention 1949 and Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 among other instruments of international law .
Furthermore , they put an end to all bilateralism between India and Pakistan , trashed the Shimla Agreement and vitiated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ & K Muslims are now suffering under a triple jeopardy – the military occupation , lockdowns , curfews and being held incommunicado for close to nine months , the coronavirus pandemic and this “ supposedly constitutional ” assault on their majority status , their identity , culture , traditions and way of life .
Their demographic , economic , social and political landscapes stand to be altered for good .
Unabated Hindu settlements will eventually erase the Muslim majority in the IOJ & K legislature along with their freedom and capacity to legislate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ steps will polarise IOJ & K beyond redemption .
The Hindu settlers , if and when they come , will find a volatile , unwelcome and hostile environment there .
Life will be unbearable behind barbed wires , armed sentries and patrols , check posts , walled off compounds , gated communities , tight security cordons and veritable social seclusion .
IOJ & K will remain restless and on edge for all times to come .
The indigenous resistance and freedom movement of the Kashmiris is bound to gain further traction , motivation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ affairs .
The Kashmiris already have precious little left to lose .
They will come out fighting .
The Islamophobic and genocidal BJP Government is applying a two-pronged approach to suppress , dehumanise and brutalise the Muslims in IOJ & K as well as the Indian mainland .
It would want to destroy both these centres of resistance , piecemeal .
The Kashmiri and Indian Muslim struggles could potentially converge morally , intellectually , politically and even otherwise to ward off this existentialist threat .
These “ constitutional ” changes will transform the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states who have been granted special provisions under Article 371 ( A to J ) will be apprehensive about their status .
The other independence movements in Punjab-Khalistan , the Seven Sister States in the North-East and the Red Corridor in the East will gain further urgency and impetus .
They will have learnt their lessons .
The CAA , NCR and NPR have already polarised the Indian Union , irreparably .
The BJP government is now further fracturing Indian society through deliberate screening , isolation and segregation of all Indian Muslims .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kashmiri Muslims too .
( Will the Kashmiri and Indian Muslims be required to carry special identification and be treated differently , a la Jews in erstwhile Nazi Germany ? )
This discrimination will send strong signals to all other minorities , especially Christians , Sikhs , Buddhists , Parsi , Jains and Dalits/untouchables etc , and raise questions about their future , equality status and citizenship within the Indian Union .
They will need to consider their options afresh or resign themselves to an ignominious fate in an exceedingly prejudiced Indian society @ @ @ @ @ @ @ religiously implement Hinduism ’ s caste system , putting each one of the other Hindu castes in its “ ordained slot ” .
The autocratic Brahmins ( RSS-BJP ) will thus be singularly placed to rule India forever , with the rest of the populace serving , living and dying at their pleasure .
Having supposedly “ annexed and absorbed ” the IOJ & K , the delusional Modi-led BJP government now has visions of “ militarily conquering ” Azad Jammu and Kashmir ( AJ & K ) – Kashmiri territories under Pakistan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Indian government and its military high command are erring on many accounts .
First , it would be a strategic miscalculation of gargantuan proportions .
The strategic and nuclear balance between India , Pakistan and China can not be ignored or trifled with .
Second , there is a serious mismatch between India ’ s real military capabilities vis a vis Pakistan and the geopolitical ambitions of the BJP .
Both are mutually exclusive .
Third , the religion and caste-based discrimination and segregation in the Indian society will eventually destroy the Indian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ structure to its lowest ranks .
It will systematically annihilate all morale , unity , cohesiveness , espirit de corps , and disintegrate the combat potential of the Indian military as a whole .
It is inevitable .
Fourth , the Indian military high command remains shamelessly prone to conceited bluster and rhetoric to please the incumbent BJP government .
Fifth , it is also guilty of professional dishonesty as it fails to sensitise PM Modi ’ s government about the strategic implications of a serious skirmish/clash/war with Pakistan in true , real @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against a more than ready and willing nuclear Pakistan would be patently reckless and prohibitively costly .
India must not start a war that it can not possibly control or bring to a sensible , plausible closure .
If it does then it will be Pakistan who will end it at a time and place of its own choosing , ruining India ’ s regional/extra regional ambitions in the process .
Regional countries and the world look on aghast , as the RSS , BJP , PM Modi and India frenziedly self-destruct .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ share buttons above or below .
Forward this article to your email lists .
Crosspost on your blog site , internet forums .
etc .

First published in April 2020
As the major powers of the world look inwards to fight the coronavirus pandemic, Indian PM Modi exploits this “historic opportunity” to further his Hindutva-driven agenda in the disputed territories of Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IOJ&K).
There is a very perceptible method to the BJP’s madness to “annex and absorb” the territories of IOJ&K. It was always a part of its manifesto. Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution were abrogated to nullify the special status of the IOJ&K territories and allow Indians to buy and own properties in IOJ&K. The J&K Reorganisation Bill 2019 contained provisions to re-constitute the IOJ&K – a part of the larger Kashmir region which is under dispute between India, Pakistan and China since 1947 – into two Union Territories, J&K and Ladakh. The J&K Reorganisation Order (Removal of Difficulties) 2020 dramatically relaxed the criteria for domicile and employment for Indians in IOJ&K. These Bills set the stage for the Indianisation-Hinduisation of IOJ&K through forced Hindu settlements, converting the Muslim majority into a minority and to prepare for the UN-promised plebiscite, whenever it might take place. These blatantly illegal actions are in direct breach of relevant UNGA Resolutions, UNSC Resolutions 91, 122, 123, 126 and 2334 of 2016, Article 49 of the 4th Geneva Convention 1949 and Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 among other instruments of international law. Furthermore, they put an end to all bilateralism between India and Pakistan, trashed the Shimla Agreement and vitiated the strategic environment irretrievably.
The IOJ&K Muslims are now suffering under a triple jeopardy – the military occupation, lockdowns, curfews and being held incommunicado for close to nine months, the coronavirus pandemic and this “supposedly constitutional” assault on their majority status, their identity, culture, traditions and way of life. Their demographic, economic, social and political landscapes stand to be altered for good. Unabated Hindu settlements will eventually erase the Muslim majority in the IOJ&K legislature along with their freedom and capacity to legislate for themselves. These (mis)steps will polarise IOJ&K beyond redemption. The Hindu settlers, if and when they come, will find a volatile, unwelcome and hostile environment there. Life will be unbearable behind barbed wires, armed sentries and patrols, check posts, walled off compounds, gated communities, tight security cordons and veritable social seclusion. IOJ&K will remain restless and on edge for all times to come.
The indigenous resistance and freedom movement of the Kashmiris is bound to gain further traction, motivation and momentum from this sordid state of affairs. The Kashmiris already have precious little left to lose. They will come out fighting. The Islamophobic and genocidal BJP Government is applying a two-pronged approach to suppress, dehumanise and brutalise the Muslims in IOJ&K as well as the Indian mainland. It would want to destroy both these centres of resistance, piecemeal. The Kashmiri and Indian Muslim struggles could potentially converge morally, intellectually, politically and even otherwise to ward off this existentialist threat.
These “constitutional” changes will transform the Indian Union, too. All eleven states who have been granted special provisions under Article 371 (A to J) will be apprehensive about their status. The other independence movements in Punjab-Khalistan, the Seven Sister States in the North-East and the Red Corridor in the East will gain further urgency and impetus. They will have learnt their lessons. The CAA, NCR and NPR have already polarised the Indian Union, irreparably. The BJP government is now further fracturing Indian society through deliberate screening, isolation and segregation of all Indian Muslims. This discrimination on religious grounds will affect Kashmiri Muslims too. (Will the Kashmiri and Indian Muslims be required to carry special identification and be treated differently, a la Jews in erstwhile Nazi Germany?) This discrimination will send strong signals to all other minorities, especially Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsi, Jains and Dalits/untouchables etc, and raise questions about their future, equality status and citizenship within the Indian Union. They will need to consider their options afresh or resign themselves to an ignominious fate in an exceedingly prejudiced Indian society. Next, the BJP government will religiously implement Hinduism’s caste system, putting each one of the other Hindu castes in its “ordained slot”. The autocratic Brahmins (RSS-BJP) will thus be singularly placed to rule India forever, with the rest of the populace serving, living and dying at their pleasure.
RSS-BJP combine’s megalomania is boundless!
Having supposedly “annexed and absorbed” the IOJ&K, the delusional Modi-led BJP government now has visions of “militarily conquering” Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) – Kashmiri territories under Pakistan’s control and administration. The Indian government and its military high command are erring on many accounts. First, it would be a strategic miscalculation of gargantuan proportions. The strategic and nuclear balance between India, Pakistan and China cannot be ignored or trifled with. Second, there is a serious mismatch between India’s real military capabilities vis a vis Pakistan and the geopolitical ambitions of the BJP. Both are mutually exclusive. Third, the religion and caste-based discrimination and segregation in the Indian society will eventually destroy the Indian military as it seeps down its command structure to its lowest ranks. It will systematically annihilate all morale, unity, cohesiveness, espirit de corps, and disintegrate the combat potential of the Indian military as a whole. It is inevitable. Fourth, the Indian military high command remains shamelessly prone to conceited bluster and rhetoric to please the incumbent BJP government. Fifth, it is also guilty of professional dishonesty as it fails to sensitise PM Modi’s government about the strategic implications of a serious skirmish/clash/war with Pakistan in true, real terms. Any (mis)adventure against a more than ready and willing nuclear Pakistan would be patently reckless and prohibitively costly. India must not start a war that it cannot possibly control or bring to a sensible, plausible closure. If it does then it will be Pakistan who will end it at a time and place of its own choosing, ruining India’s regional/extra regional ambitions in the process.
Regional countries and the world look on aghast, as the RSS, BJP, PM Modi and India frenziedly self-destruct.
*
Note to readers: please click the share buttons above or below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc.