India accused of blocking tsunami aid

[rainbow4321]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TSUNAMI_INDIA?SITE=TXSAE&SECTION=INTERNATIONAL&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

PORT BLAIR, India (AP) -- India's refusal to allow access to the remote Andaman and Nicobar islands is preventing aid from reaching the most desperate survivors of last week's tsunamis, international aid groups said Monday, as the country's death toll was expected to top 15,000.

Despite the Dec. 26 tsunami that ripped through the low-lying atolls, the Indian government has stood by its long-standing policy of restricting entry to the islands out of concerns for the security of a military air base as well as the protection of indigenous tribes.

"This closed-door approach of not allowing NGOs (non-governmental organizations) is delaying relief efforts," said Shaheen Nilofer, program manager for Eastern India for international aid agency Oxfam.

"Valuable time has been lost because of this delay. (India is) accelerating the miseries of the poor people," she said. "Somewhere, someone has to be responsible. If you don't take care of the survivors, the number of deaths can far outnumber the deaths from the tsunami."

[ooglymoogly]

1. all you need do is google 'haarp' to understand

india's reluctance.

[genieroze]

2. My husband said HAARP had to do with Tesla, I read somewhere

else that it was to control weather, I always thought it was for communications, yet others say it could cause earthquakes. Many of the google links are dead. Is this thing a jack of all trades? Is this thing just a big waste of taxpayer dollars? I can't seem to get a straight answer on what this thing does.

[ooglymoogly]

4. link

www.viewzone.com/haarp00.html

[Xithras]

3. Their reluctance is understandable

Some of these tribes on these islands live a near paleolithic lifestyle, and several have no contact with the outside world at all (and routinely kill outsiders who wander onto their islands). Rather than domesticate and "civilize" these tribes, the Indian government has decided to protect them from outsiders and allows them to live as they always have. While there is little doubt that many of these tribes have been devastated by the tsunami, it's unlikely that an animist tribal culture like the Sentenalese would understand the concept of "foreign aid", and they would probably just kill the aid workers like they do every other trespasser.

While it's understandable that these aid groups want to help everyone devastated by the wave, the Indian government is correct to balance that desire against the need to protect both the native tribes and the aid workers from the effects of contact.

[jmatthan]

5. In addition, this is a strategic defence location

for the Indian Navy and Air Force.

Allowing aid workers to enter this zone would lead to a compromise of Indian Security.

In a separate thread I had copied my letter to both the Indian President and the Prime Minister on this issue, which is NOT an Aid issue but a Security one. It is like allowing "aid workers" to freely have access to the Pentagon!!

http://jmatthan.blogspot.com/

Those who are familiar with the region will understand that getting the Aid workers there, looking after them and moving them about would in itself lock up valuable military personnel, both in time and effort. The Indian military is carrying out the aid and reconstruction effort. They are extremely competent to do this without assistance from outside aid workers who neither know the territory or know the complexities of mobility in the region.

In my opinion it is mainly the US military that is egging some of the "aid workers" to get access to this region for reasons which are self-evident. They want to plant certain tracking devices in the region. They want to fly in these aid workers on US military helicopters, etc. which are surveillance aircraft.

There are enough examples of this in the Iraq affair where the US spy network (an extremely incompetent one, no doubt) was planted everywhere - amongst the inspectors, amongst the human shields with spying gear, etc.

Sadly, let us be honest. Nobody in the Indian administration trusts ANY American official who is part of the maladministration or their "plants" who come in the form of aid workers, etc. - they are not deserving of trust.

Jacob Matthan
Oulu, Finland

[Bhaisahab]

6. good letter

you from india jacob?

[jmatthan]

7. Of course

but I have lived and worked in Finland for 20 years and finally retired in Finland but keep very actively involved with world, especially Indian, Finnish, EU, UK and US, politics.

You may noticed the reference in the news report

"Indian tribespeople fire on aid chopper"

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1276431.htm

I undersand the DU Moderators removed my post on this subject well before this in another thread as I had a line of sarcastic humour.

Jacob Matthan
Oulu, Finland

[Bhaisahab]

8. pleased to meet you

us indians are like a few toads amongst the colorful american democrats here. saw your blog, very refined and cool.
i live in delhi.
see ya!

[jmatthan]

9. Luckily I am not in the US

I am in Finland, way up in the Arctic.

The reason I am on the DU is that there must be a rising of all people in the world to get rid of this corrupt form of Government in the US which is costing all world citizens to live in fear!!

Most Americans are incapable of having a democracy as they sit in front of their TVs and are not in the least bit interested in becoming educated.

Listen to Ray Taliaferro now on the internet. He is now at his best!!

Jacob Matthan
Oulu, Finland

[Bhaisahab]

10. its not abt being interested in education

its just that educated americans, like educated indians out here, keep quiet, while stupid fucks, who otherwise wont be able to flip a burger cleanly, define national policy and the course of the nation.
i fear india's obsession with mainstream american culture would create a bush-like situation here too. and because its going to be india, our bush is going to be far worse.

[annabanana]

11. "most Americans are incapable of having a democracy"?

hmmph!

[annabanana]

12. thread was locked for duplication.... not humour

(We are big fans of sarcatic humour here!)

[jmatthan]

13. Thanks for the clarification

eom

[Boosterman]

15. OT sorta

But as I recall the human shield CIA guys were extremely effective. They were responsible for mass surrenders. This actually worked against Bush's MASTER PLAN Tm and was a big part of his catastrophic success.

[Redstone]

14. Question for paagal kutta

I had heard that the Indian government was not "refusing aid" but rather telling the international community that they had the resources to deal with their problems themselves, so the international agencies should send the aid to other countries who need it more than India does.

Because you live in India, I'd be interested in hearing your opinion about whether this is really the case.

Thank you,

Redstone