Monday, July 5, 2010

Pakistan's Secret War

"[The province of Balochistan is the best possible location to have yourself a secret war. It is the prime piece or real estate in all of Pakistan (speaking of natural resources only) and it has historically endured a total news blackout. This is Pakistan's "Iron Curtain," or in the case of Balochistan, a gold or copper "curtain" would be more accurate. Nothing escapes from Balochistan; there is no "news" that has not been filtered to comply with government wishes. More than anything, the Pakistani government does not want the world to witness the suffering of the Baloch people. If international aid was accepted for the devastation brought by cyclones, then aid workers and human rights groups would see and hear about the human-caused silent devastation that eats away at Baloch society.

Paradoxically, even though it is the richest province, Balochistan is populated by the poorest people in all of Pakistan. The daily organized robbery of natural resources by the government and the Sardar system that rules over the people, inflicts devastation on the Baloch soul.

Into this mixture of suffering and organized looting at gunpoint, add American military intervention (to internationalize the looting and the robbery). The US military wants to carry its own secret war from Afghanistan into Balochistan. This is a scenario for the perfect storm.

Balochistan must find its voice! The world must know what is happening there, if you are ever to break the cycle of slavery. A news service operates on the principle of the chain. There needs to be links between events on the ground there and an external transmitter. Citizen journalists connecting events to the Internet, as long as the connection remains unbroken. The people of the world, who happen to love Pakistan in spite of its many faults, also worry about what happens behind the curtain.

Let the world know what is happening there. There Are No Sunglasses remains an open door for all Pakistanis and citizens of every country." -- Balochs Asking for Basic Human Rights