I request the moderator to please take strict punitive action against this man, as he has been taking the AI list for a ride for quite a long time now. In most of the cases, the condemnation is one-sided, and he and his organization suffer from selective amnesia when a case involves people to whom they owe their loyalty. We don't need such darbari NGOs peddling pseudo disability agenda on the list. In his last post, it was quite eminent that disability had been used only as a charade to mask the anti-semitic views, and the post looked like a toolkit for Israel bashing rather than addressing the genuine concerns of the Palistinian disabled. Also, as a genuine disability rights organization, shouldn't one be concerned with the plight of the disabled on both sides in a war situation? Be it the case of the urban naxal GN Saibaba, or the blatent display of anti-semitism, this organization has always been on an overdrive to commodify disability for petty gains it seems.
On 12/1/23, harish kotian <hpkot...@outlook.com> wrote: > Murlidharan > > Please understand this list cannot be abused for furthering your > political narrative. > > This has been made very clear to you in the past. > > However, you have failed to understand and appreciate our stand. > > If you don't mend your ways, I will have to take you off the list. Last > time, I had kept you on moderated mode. > > > Your ranting on one of the participant of the middle east conflict > states it all. > > We have got nothing to do in middle east and this list is India centric. > > Please treat this as a final warning > > > Harish Kotian > > Moderator > > AccessIndia > > > On 12/1/2023 12:00 PM, Muralidharan Vishwanath wrote: >> >> December 1, 2023 >> >> The National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) extends >> its greetings on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. >> While many issues concerning disabled persons will form part of the >> observance, in the current global context, we feel that it is >> necessary to draw attention to the plight of the disabled people of >> Palestine. >> >> *NPRD Message on World Disability Day*** >> >> Since 1992, December 3 is observed as the International Day of Persons >> with Disabilities, for promoting the rights and well-being of persons >> with disabilities. The objective being, to highlight the importance of >> their existence, inclusion, acceptance and participation. The theme >> for this year is "*/United in action to rescue and achieve the SDGs >> for, with and by persons with disabilities/*". >> >> At the commemorative event on December 1 at the UN this year, one of >> the five pillars around which the discussion focused was “Peace”. It >> should need no underlining that peace is the essential prerequisite >> for any progress towards achieving any of the Sustainable Development >> Goals. One amongst the various conflicts that have lingered for long >> and is an impediment to peace is the continued occupation of Palestine >> and the expansionist policies of Israel. >> >> It needs recall that**in 1919, immediately after the end of the First >> World War, the British acquired a mandate from the League of Nations >> to rule over Palestine, which was part of the then Ottoman Empire. >> <https://www.un.org/unispal/history2/origins-and-evolution-of-the-palestine-problem/part-i-1917-1947/>At >> >> that time there were only 60,000 Jews in Palestine as against 7,50,000 >> Muslims, mostly Arabs (A.G. Noorani: Islam and Jihad, 2002). But the >> British Foreign Secretary A. J. Balfour declared that the “four great >> powers are committed to Zionism”, thus proclaiming the foundation of >> the future Israel. >> >> Having displaced lakhs of original inhabitants in 1948 to create >> Israel, the occupiers have gone on not only to ruthlessly occupy major >> parts of Palestinian land but also to heap untold miseries, depriving >> the Palestinians of basic human needs, dignity, rights and freedoms. >> Another form of apartheid has been put in place. This view has also >> been endorsed by Tamir Pardo, former head of Mossad >> <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/06/israel-imposing-apartheid-on-palestinians-says-former-mossad-chief>. >> >> Viewing the current events, divorced from the context of 1948 >> <https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.13169/arabstudquar.38.1.0402>and >> later would be a travesty of history. The long-drawn struggle of the >> Palestinian people against Israeli occupation, for reclaiming their >> homeland, even while committing to an imposed two-State solution had >> received worldwide support including that of India. It is another >> matter that a shift in geopolitics has seen the abandonment of the >> Palestinian cause of late by many including the Arab regimes under >> mounting pressure from the US and its Western allies. >> >> The loss of lives and debilitating injuries in Palestine consequent to >> the Israeli attacks is horrendous. The savagery is laid bare in the >> unprecedented scale of the Israeli genocidal assaults, almost >> flattening large parts of Gaza, backed to the hilt by the US and its >> allies. Even if it were to be considered to be in response to the >> Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, it is totally disproportionate. It >> is estimated that it has, since then, ruthlessly killed at least >> 15,000 people till date. >> >> The gruesome barbarity hasn’t spared women, children, the disabled and >> the ill. The dead include 6,150 children, some of whom are infants. UN >> Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the Gaza Strip was >> becoming "a graveyard for children” >> <https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-chief-says-gaza-becoming-graveyard-children-2023-11-06/>. >> >> Another 242 (including 57 children) have been killed in the Occupied >> West Bank. In Gaza around 36,000 people (75 per cent of them children >> and women) and 2,750 people in the Occupied West Bank have been >> inflicted with debilitating injuries, which may ultimately lead to >> disabilities. >> >> These figures coming out of Palestine, however, do not record the >> casualties inflicted on persons with disabilities or the numbers who >> may have become disabled consequent to these attacks aimed at >> annihilating an entire populace. >> >> Palestine already had a huge population of persons with disabilities, >> with the constant Israeli attacks and war crimes maiming countless >> people, contributing in no small measure. The Palestinian Central >> Bureau of Statistics (PCBS, 2020) >> <https://www.hi.org/sn_uploads/document/Factsheet_Inclusive-Education_oPt_HI_March2022.pdf>estimated >> >> that 15 per cent of primary school-aged children (5-17 years) have >> disabilities: 17 per cent in the West Bank and about 13 per cent in >> the Gaza Strip. It needs to be noted that these figures do not account >> for psychosocial disabilities, which it would be safe to assume is a >> rampant problem impacting large sections of the population. >> >> It goes without saying that the conflict impacts disabled people more >> adversely as compared to others. Conflict is both the cause and effect >> factor. It can impede ability to escape for survival, further >> deteriorate the impairment or lead to new impairments, cause >> disability and overall affects marginalisation and neglect. The impact >> of conflict on the disabled population has multifold ramifications, as >> compared to the non-disabled population, due to various >> infrastructural, environmental and attitudinal barriers experienced by >> people with disabilities in their fight for survival. >> >> The oppression experienced by people with disabilities in Gaza and the >> Occupied West Bank is multifold including discrimination on the >> grounds of disability and targeting of disabled people by armed forces >> flouting international laws governing human rights of people with >> disabilities. >> <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/27/people-with-disabilities-not-spared-from-israels-war-machine-on-gaza-strip>The >> >> consequences of the 16 years of blockade of Gaza has meant heaping of >> untold miseries on its people, especially the disabled population. The >> latest deliberate and targeted killing of disabled people is also >> aimed at instilling fear in the non-disabled population. >> >> People with Disabilities get disproportionately impacted by the >> inaccessible infrastructure, lack of access to aids and appliances and >> disruption of services for essential needs, repairs and maintenance >> <https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/11/01/gaza-israeli-attacks-blockade-devastating-people-disabilities>. >> >> They are also in persistent fear for life and face hurdles in >> navigating to safe spaces (such as shelter homes, rescue/relief camps >> etc.), which generally are not accessible and inclusive of the needs >> of people with disabilities. For people with visual, hearing and >> intellectual impairments, access to crucial information including >> advance warning systems pose additional impediments. >> >> Reports also draw attention to a substantial increase in the numbers >> of those with psychosocial disorders >> <https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/11/10/1211672951/israel-hamas-war-mental-health-gaza-children>due >> >> to various factors associated with the relentless attacks. Available >> videos of trembling children from continuous bombing and personal >> losses is a testament to the life-long mental trauma such actions cause. >> >> Recognising the risks experienced by people with disabilities and >> calling upon State Parties to take all necessary steps for their >> safety and wellbeing, the United Nations General Assembly on November >> 8, 2023, approved the draft resolution on “Implementation of the >> Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional >> Protocol thereto: situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies” >> <https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/LTD/N23/342/29/PDF/N2334229.pdf?OpenElement>. >> >> It is imperative that obligations under International Humanitarian Law >> and Human Rights Law, including the CRPD as well as the United Nations >> Security Council Resolution 2475 >> <https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3810148/files/S_RES_2475%2525252525282019%252525252529-EN.pdf?ln=en>on >> >> persons with disabilities during armed conflict are respected and >> adhered to. >> >> Article 11 of the CRPD lays down that: “States Parties shall take, in >> accordance with their obligations under international law, including >> International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law, all >> necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with >> disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed >> conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural >> disasters”. >> >> UN Security Council Resolution 2475 had among other things also >> underlined “the benefit of providing sustainable, timely, appropriate, >> inclusive and accessible assistance to civilians with disabilities >> affected by armed conflict, including reintegration, rehabilitation >> and psychosocial support, to ensure that their specific needs are >> effectively addressed, in particular those of women and children with >> disabilities”. >> >> While it is heartening to see thousands upon thousands, including >> disabled, in various cities and towns across the world rallying in >> support of the Palestinian demand for an independent and free >> homeland, it is unfortunate that many influential regimes across the >> world, are seen to be in overt or covert support of the genocide of >> the Palestinians. The awful ineffectiveness and abject failure of >> bodies like the UN also stands exposed. Its mandates even with regard >> to human rights conventions as also the rights of persons with >> disabilities are being flouted with impunity. >> >> It is in this light that the NPRD calls for the adherence to UN >> resolutions and for providing all appropriate and requisite support to >> people with disabilities caught in the conflict and those who have >> been rendered disabled as a result of it. >> >> The situation demands that Israel immediately halt its attacks on the >> Palestinian people and their properties; withdraw from occupied >> territories, respect the pre-1967 borders and pave the way to enforce >> the two >> <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/13/what-were-oslo-accords-israel-palestinians>-State >> >> solution >> <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/13/what-were-oslo-accords-israel-palestinians>. >> >> <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/13/what-were-oslo-accords-israel-palestinians> >> >> On this International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the NPRD >> pledges its support to the Palestinian people in their just struggle >> for freedom and the right to their homeland. The rights of persons >> with disabilities are an inalienable part of this struggle. >> >> *National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled*** >> >> -- >> Disclaimer: >> 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking >> of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its >> veracity; >> >> 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the >> mails sent through this mailing list.. >> >> >> Search for old postings at: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "AccessIndia" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >> an email to accessindia+unsubscr...@accessindia.org.in. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/CAL7vCQ1B8UiF8dZBMkoodd_4OaecOB2gV_kUg8H5QAKm%3D510RA%40mail.gmail.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/CAL7vCQ1B8UiF8dZBMkoodd_4OaecOB2gV_kUg8H5QAKm%3D510RA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>. > > -- > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the > person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "AccessIndia" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to accessindia+unsubscr...@accessindia.org.in. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/PN0P287MB06569630AABEE14B5F4EFEAFD281A%40PN0P287MB0656.INDP287.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM. > -- Avichal Bhatnagar Assistant professor at Department of English, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College University of Delhi Doctoral research scholar at Department of humanities Delhi Technological University (formerly Delhi college of engineering) -- Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "AccessIndia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to accessindia+unsubscr...@accessindia.org.in. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/CADsKw8phWcRtsk75OaAFgdhsUrS5vQ30NpwJa8%3DGzqoxgoUZ-g%40mail.gmail.com.
