Headline News 15/07/2016

Headlines:

• Newt Gingrich: Muslims who Believe in Sharia Law Should be Expelled from US
• Theresa May Suggests Brexit Delay
• Over a Thousand Service Men Detained Over Coup Attempt
• Indian atrocities in Kashmir: Pakistan to observe ‘Black Day’ on July 19

Details:

Newt Gingrich: Muslims who Believe in Sharia Law Should be Expelled from US

Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker and close ally of Donald Trump, has caused outrage by demanding that all Muslims who believe in sharia law should be expelled from the US. Responding to the terrorist attack in Nice, France, that left at least 84 people dead, Gingrich said: “Western civilisation is in a war. We should frankly test every person here who is of a Muslim background and if they believe in sharia they should be deported.” In remarks on Friday, President Obama called such suggestions “repugnant”. Gingrich was interviewed by Fox News’s Sean Hannity before Trump officially announced that he had been overlooked as presidential running mate in favour of Indiana governor Mike Pence. Trump told the same channel that he would seek a declaration of war from Congress against Islamic State – which has not yet claimed the Nice attack or been linked to it by investigators. His rival, Hillary Clinton, called for better intelligence gathering about the group. But Gingrich went further than anyone with his call for a religious test. “Sharia is incompatible with western civilisation,” he said. “Modern Muslims who have given up sharia, glad to have them as citizens. Perfectly happy to have them next door.” Not for the first time in the election campaign, a terrorist attack highlighted the opposing instincts and worldviews of Trump and Clinton. Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly asked the Republican if he would seek a declaration of war from Congress against Islamic State. Trump replied: “I would, I would. This is war. If you look at it, this is war coming from all different parts.” He emphasised that “we have to be tough” and said the US should reverse its decision to allow Syrian refugees into the country. “You know, in the old days, we would have uniforms, you knew what you were fighting. We are allowing people into our country who we have no idea where they are, where they’re from, who they are, they have no paperwork, they have no documentation, in many cases.” Syrian refugees entering the US are the most heavily vetted group of people currently allowed to enter the country, according to the state department. Later Clinton, appearing on CNN, told Anderson Cooper it was “clear” that the US is at war with terrorist groups, but it “was a very different kind of war”. She added: “They would love to draw the United States into a ground war in Syria. I would be very focused on the intelligence surge. I would be very focused on working with our partners and allies and intensify our efforts against the ideologues that peddle radical jihadism online.” Cooper asked the former secretary of state if the US was at war with “radical Islam” – a phrase Trump prefers but that both Clinton and Obama have sought to avoid, fearing its inflammatory potential. Walking a semantic tightrope, she replied carefully: “We’re at war against radical jihadists who use Islam to recruit and radicalise others in order to pursue their evil agenda. [Source: The Guardian]

Sections of the Republican Party want Muslims to renounce their faith and to apostatize from Islam if they desire to reside in America. Is Gingrich preparing the basis for a modern day Spanish Inquisition against Muslims living in the US?

Theresa May Suggests Brexit Delay

Theresa May has indicated that Brexit could be delayed as she said she will not trigger the formal process for leaving the EU until there is an agreed “UK approach” backed by Scotland. The Prime Minister on Friday travelled to Scotland to meet Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister, and discuss plans for Britain’s Brexit negotiation. In a sign that the new Prime Minister is committed to keeping the Union intact, she said she will not trigger Article 50 – the formal process for withdrawing from the EU – until all the devolved nations in the country agree. Her comments could prompt anger from EU leaders, who want Mrs May to trigger Article 50 as soon as possible. Speaking in Edinburgh, Mrs May said: “I have already said that I won’t be triggering Article 50 until I think that we have a U.K. approach and objectives for negotiations. I think it is important that we establish that before we trigger Article 50.” Ms Sturgeon has promised to explore every option to keep Scotland in the EU, and has repeatedly warned that if that is not possible as part of the UK, it is “highly likely” to lead to a second independence vote. The Prime Minister said: "As far as I'm concerned the Scottish people had their vote, they voted in 2014, and a very clear message came through, both the United Kingdom and the Scottish Government said they would abide by that.” Speaking before the meeting, only the third between the pair, she said her visit to Scotland demonstrated her commitment to "preserving this special union that has endured for centuries”. Ms Sturgeon said afterwards that she had received an assurance that the UK Government would be "open and flexible" to options in the forthcoming Brexit process. She added: "I was very pleased that Theresa May said that she was absolutely willing to consider any options that the Scottish Government now bring forward to secure Scotland's relationship with the European Union, and that the process that now takes shape by the UK Government will be open and flexible and that the Scottish Government will be fully involved in that. "I have been very clear that we have to make sure that Scotland's interests are protected and I want to examine every option of doing that.” [Source: The Daily Telegraph]

It is evident the UK is buying time to prepare the ground for protracted negotiations with the EU. This involves keeping the option of withdrawing from the EU as well as remaining in the union open, and these options are contingent on access to the single market.

Over a Thousand Service Men Detained Over Coup Attempt

A total of 1563 people, have been detained over the charges of coup attempt, Anadolu Agency reported.  There are high-ranking officers among the detained. Broadcaster CNNTürk said four of them were generals and 29 of them were colonels. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ had informed that state prosecutors in all 81 provinces have already launched investigations on the coup attempt, saying “Detentions are mostly taken place in Ankara and Istanbul but there are other detentions in many other places of Turkey.” In the meantime, Brigadier General Ekrem Çağlar, chief of the staff operations of the 3rd Army has also been detained, the Agency reported. [Source: Hurriyet Daily News]

Whatever, are the reasons behind the coup, one thing is clear military coups need some semblance of support from the indigenous populations to succeed. Mubarak was ousted by a popular revolution where the Egyptian army took the side of the protestors. Later, Sisi ousted Morsi via a coup supported by the Egyptian people. Hence, coup instigators in the armed forces need public support and vice versa. For Islamist wishing to take the reins of power they must have the support of the public as well as the armed forces. Only then is a transition to an Islamic state possible.

Indian atrocities in Kashmir: Pakistan to observe ‘Black Day’ on July 19

Pakistan’s cabinet decided on Friday to observe a countrywide ‘black day’ on July 19  to protest unabated atrocities of security forces in the Indian-controlled Kashmir. A joint session of the two houses of parliament will also be convened to discuss the deteriorating situation in the disputed Himalayan region where  clashes are spreading despite a curfew. “Pakistan will continue to provide moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiris in their just struggle for right to self-determination,” says a statement issued by the prime minister office after a special meeting of the federal cabinet at the Governor House in Lahore. “Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged upon the United Nations to fulfill its ‘unfinished agenda’ on Kashmir and ensure provision of right to self-determination to Kashmiris,” it said. “I and the entire Pakistani nation steadfastly stand by Kashmiris against Indian oppression,” the premier was quoted as saying in the statement. He said Kashmiris were waging a freedom struggle and emphasised that Indian hostilities would further strengthen their resolve. He stressed that calling the Kashmir freedom movement terrorism was sheer dishonesty on part of India.  “The baseless propaganda can neither demoralise Kashmiris nor misguide the international community.” The prime minister said 700,000 Indian troops could not suppress the Kashmiris’ movement.  “If not stopped, Indian forces’ horrendous practice of killing innocent people will jeopardise peace in the region,” he added. [Source: Pakistan Tribune].

Kashmiris do not need a Black Day to remember their plight. They need liberation from Indian rule. How long will the Pakistani army sit idle watching the slaughter before the shame humiliates them again?