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Can the US trust Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi?
BY MOLLY SCHNEIDER
Staff Writer
Narendra Modi. You may know him as the
new prime minister of India. But to many, he
is the former Gujarat state chief minister who
idly stood by as hundreds of mostly Muslim
people were murdered in the Gujarat riots of
2002.
Much suspicion surrounds the Indian
nationalist's handling of the situation.
According to an artide in USA Today, he
encouraged the lolling of Muslims by stirring
the crowds to riot and using police force to aid
rioters in their violence towards Muslims.
"What he knew and his level of culpability
in orchestrating the violence is certainly up
for debate," said Jeremy Rinker, visiting
assistant professor of peace & conflict studies,
in an email interview. "But that he failed to
adequately respond I believe is dear."
Because of suspidons like Rinker's, the
U.S. refused Modi a visa back in 2005 while
he was chief minister. Now that he is a prime
minister he has no such problem. But while
the U.S. government has let it pass, there are
those who remain devoted to making Prime
Minister Modi pay for his actions.
According to a web artide in The Economic
Times, a non-profit hum^ rights organization
— The American Justice Center — dedded to
take action by attempting to serve him with a
court summons for charges of crimes against
humanity, extrajudidal killings, torture and
inflicting mentd and physical trauma on
mostly Muslim victims.
Something like serving someone a
summons does not seem like an impossible
task, but according to an unnamed
government offidal, quoted in an artide
by The American Bazaar, "Sitting heads of
government enjoy personal inviolability
while in the United States, which means they
cannot be personally handed or delivered
papers or summons to be the process of this."
"I was very frustrated with the Obama
administration for so easily backing down
on (both) his travel visa and critidsm of his
exdusivist past rhetoric," said Rinker. "Of
course an Indian head of state must be able
to travel, but this does not mean that you
welcome him with open arms.
"I think it would have been prudent for the
Obama administration to express reservations
about his election and visit."
There were no such reservations, however,
while he was m the U.S. During his visit.
Modi met with President Obama, members of
the United Nations and many of the top CEOs
from U.S. companies like IBM, PepsiCo, and
Google. In adchtion, he met with members of
the Indian diaspora.
"The outpouring of support from the
Indian diaspora while he was here was not
surprising (wealthy Indians in this coimtry are
predominantly high-caste and pro-nationalist
leaning), but it was quite scary," said Rinker.
"This blind acceptance of the 'new Modi' and
the 'new modem India' is just devoid of fact
and critical vision."
This warm welcome displays itself as more
of a desire to improve relations with India,
than a direct disregard of Modi's handling of
the Gujarat riots in 2002.
"I think America and Britain were in a
political no-win situation with Modi," said
Heather Hayton, director of the honors
program, associate professor of English
and creator and leader of Guilford's annual
summer study abroad program to India
and the Himdayas. "We had just horribly
mishandled the situation in New York with
the arrest of an Indian pseudo-diplomat and
needed to get Itidian-U.S. relations back on
track."
According to an article in Forbes, Modi's
visit to the U.S. could yield rich benefits for
both countries. So in an effort to smooth
things over, the Obama adrninistration felt it
vital to accept Modi's visa m order to create
better bilateral relations.
This relationship is mutually beneficial,
and Modi could gain a lot from a strong
relationship with the U.S. His new campaign
promises good governance, but his handling
and displacement of responsibility for the
riots does not bode well for India's security.
And, according to senior Kimga Denzongpa,
an Indian citizen. Modi is repeating a common
pattern.
"I have heard mixed views from people (on
Modi)," said Denzongpa. 'The Indian youth
definitely seem to be more drawn towards his
ideas. However, like every other politician.
Modi seems to be full of promises but short
of actions."
Class action lawsuit filed 2^ainst Miss, county
BY MATTHEW JONES
Staff Writer
Oct. 18 marked 11 months of waiting for
Octavious Burks.
Burks spent that time inside the Scott County
Detention Center in Forest, Mississippi,
waiting for a grand jury indictment and a
public defender.
On Sept. 23, the American Civil Liberties
Union filed a class action lawsuit against Scott
County on behalf of Burks and Joshua Bassett,
another inmate who spent nine months in the
same jail. The lawsuit alleges that the county
violated the inmates' constitutional rights to
counsel, a speedy trial and a fair bail hearing.
"The ACLU is upset that these people
have languished in jail for eight to 10 months
without ever being represented by a lawyer,"
said Jerry Joplin, professor of justice & policy
studies. "That sounds legitimate to me.
Somebody should not lose their liberty just
because they've been accused of a crime."
Both Burks and Basset made initial
appearances before Justice Court Judge Bill
Freeman on the days of their respective arrests,
Nov. 18, 2013 and Jan. 3, 2014. In these initial
appearances, the judge combined several
business items into one shorter session. But in
most other places, judges handle those tasks in
as many as four separate hearings.
"These guys were taken to court with only
the arresting officer, one judge and no lawyer
present, and they did the initial appearance,
the preliminary hearing and the bail hearing
all at one time," said Joplin.
In the suit, the ACLU alleges that this
practice violated the plaintiffs' rights to a fair
bail hearing. The group charges that Burks and
Bassett should have had access to a lawyer and
that the judge did not appropriately take their
financial status into account when setting their
bail.
"The 14th Amendment provides against
unreasonably high bails," said Early College
senior Porter Jones in an email interview.
"Otherwise, judges could essentially hold
every poor individual in jail without even
giving them a (fair) chance at bail."
Neither Burks nor Bassett could make their
respective $30,000 and $100,000 bail set at their
hearings.
"I only draw a little over $600 a month," said
Bassett's mother Brenda in an interview with
The New York Times. "I would give everything
I have to get my son out of this mess. But, I
don't have anything."
After, the hearing, both Burks and Bassett
filed requests for a public defender from the
senior circuit judge, Marcus Gordon, as allowed
by Mississippi law. Although he approved
their requests, Gordon refused to appoint an
attorney until a grand jury indicted them.
"The reason (for this) is the public defender
would go out and spend his time and money
and cost the county money in investigating the
matter," said Gordon in a brief interview with
The New York Times. "And then, sometimes,
the defendant is not indicted by the grand
jury."
But Mississippi is one of several states
including North Carolina that do not have
limits on how long a defendant can be held
without an indictment. This allows long delays
between the time a defendant is arrested and
the time he receives a lawyer.
"That means no one is advocating for their
interests, including filing and arguing motions
for a bond reduction, or investigating potential
defenses," said Danielle Carman, assistant
director of the North Carolina Office of Indigent
Defense Services, in an email interview.
Across Mississippi, similar incidents have
occurred. The state government does not
provide funds for public defenders, putting
already cash-strapped counties in a tight spot
when it comes to providing lawyers.
The problem also extends beyond Mississippi.
The New York Civil Liberties' Union filed suit
against the State of New York for not providing
a statewide public defender system. The suit,
recently endorsed by the Justice Department,
alleges that the lack of a system strains budgets
and leads to shortages of public defenders.
"The right to counsel is one of the core
guarantees of the Bill of Rights, and yet, as
countless cases and studies show, indigent
defense systems across the country are facing
significant challenges in meeting their Sixth
Amendment obligations," said Acting U.S.
Assistant Attorney General Molly Moran in a
statement released Sept. 25.
Back in Mississippi, the ACLU's fight
continues. The group says that the county
continues to hold dozens of inmates without
indictments. The suit asks the court to place a
permanent injunction on the county requiring
it to release unindicted inmates after 21 days
and individuals who remain without counsel a
week after their arrest.
Additionally, the suit's class-action status
will allow other detainees who believe that the
county violated their rights to join the suit.
But, Burks and Bassett will not have to wait
for a ruling to get out of the jail. As of Oct. 19,
Burks' record listed him as transferred out of
the jail. Scott County released Bassett only two
days after the ACLU filed the lawsuit.
Open Hillel conference
inspires national change
BY NICOLE ZELNIKER & SARA MINSKY
Senior Writer & Photo Editor
Himdreds of students flocked to Harvard University for over 50 speakers,
dozens of conversations and one life-changing weekend. Together, students from
schools all over the coimtry organized the first Open Hillel conference.
"There are only three Open Hillels in the country," said Brandeis graduate Lex
Rofes '13. "It started toward the end of 2012."
The Open Hillel movement began at Harvard and spread to Swarthmore,
Vassar and Wesleyan. After Harvard, Hillel was unable to collaborate with other
campus organizations due to national Hillel policy, which bans cooperation with
organizations that support Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, or deny the right of
Israel to exist.
"Because of Hillel International's guidelmes for cooperation, we could never
do anythmg with Guilford's Hfllel," said junior Students for Justice in Palestine
President Walid Mosarsaa.
Because of Hillel Memational's pro-Israel stance, some students feel like their
views aren't welcome.
"Hillel is supposed to be an organization centered on Jewish life," said Mosarsaa.
"Not everyone believes m a two-state solution. Not everyone believes in a one-state
solution."
Campuses that have opened their Hfllels have engaged students of all different
political beliefs regarding Israel and Palestine.
"Let's think about where our students are and how we can support them in
thinking and growing and going deeper and offering them challenges to help them
get a better grasp of where they are," said Swarthmore junior Joshua Wolfsun at
tike conference.
Students from campuses far and wide came to Harvard on October 11th to learn
about the growing movement, including students from Guilford's Students for
Justice in Palestine and Hillel.
"This was a very comfortable space for everyone," said sophomore and Hillel
President Leah Whetten-Goldstein. "If s all inclusive."
Even tihough conference attendees learned many different views about Israel
and Palestine, the opportunity to listen to other voices is sometihing that students
would not have been able to do through Hillel.
"The panels wouldn't have been able to exist at my Hillel," said Rofes. 'They
included voices that would have been barred. I'm not a Jewish Voice for Peace
supporter. I don't support all aspects of BDS, but I gained a lot fix>m listening to
that perspective."
Rabbis, authors, Jewish organizations, professor, and more spoke out about the
conflict in the Mid^e East. Speakers from all sides were invited, although right-
wing groups declined the invitation.
"You're the ones being left out of the conversation now," said Mosarsaa. "They're
fearful of their beliefs being shattered, which is not what this conference is about.
If s about everyone's beliefs being respected."
Regardless, panels covered a wide range of opinions.
"Just because someone is more on the left side doesn't mean you agree," said
Whetten-Goldstein. "There was a whole range of opinions."
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