RADIO INTIFADA
intifada=shaking off - oppression/silence
Voices of struggle, Voices for change
KPFK/Pacifica 90.7 fm, Los Angeles
Thursday, July 16, 2009 3-4pm PDT
PAKISTAN: The ARMY, the Militants and the Internally Displaced
In May 2009, the Pakistan army launched an attack against militants who had taken control of the Swat region in northern Pakistan. This confrontation between the army and the militants has resulted in the displacement of an estimated 2 million people who are currently living in refugee camps and makeshift homes in different parts of the country.
The displacement is rightly characterized as the largest internal displacement of peoples since the mid-90s Rwandan genocide. The international community – particularly the U.S. has expressed widespread support for the Pakistani government and has promised aid in the amount of 1.5 billion dollars per year over the next 5 years.
This week, Radio Intifada will try to untangle the factors that have led up to the confrontation between the army and the militants and take a look at what is going on with the internally displaced people of the SWAT region.
with:
Sharmeen Obaid Chinnoy is an award winning filmmaker. Her most recently released film, “Pakistan’s Taliban Generation” examines how the War on Terror is creating a generation of child terrorists in Pakistan.
Shakir Hussain is a political commentator and columnist for Pakistan’s most widely circulated English language newspaper, The News.
Mosharraf Zaidi, political columnist and blogger, is a public policy advisor to the United Nations and the European Union who has done support work in the refugee camps
Produced by Khanum Shaikh and Sejal Patel, hosted by Khanum Shaikh, SWANA (South and West Asia and North Africa) Collective
*Action Alert*
Demand authorities let Viva Palestina convoy with its humanitarian supplies into Gaza *
The Viva Palestina convoy consists of four ambulances and 43 sedans and pick-up trucks slated for nongovernmental organizations, medical supplies and other items. Authorities will only allow two ambulances and an unspecified amount of medical supplies into the Strip.
Contact the following officials and demand that they pressure Egypt into allowing the full amount of aid to reach the people of Gaza.
President Barack Obama *202.456.1111*
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton *202.647.5291*
Egyptian Ambassador to U.S. Sameh Shoukry *202.895.5400 *
