Stanford Daily backpedals on article exposing sympathizers of terrorists

On Saturday, April 8, the non-Stanford affiliated organization Friends of South Asia (FOSA) will be hosting a panel discussion with Indian social activist Biju Mathew on campus. The talk, however, has spurred debate over the appropriateness of inviting a leftist speaker with ties to Communism to an academic campus.

FOSA was established in the Bay Area five years ago to promote peace, tolerance and economic development in South Asia. During periods of heightened tension between Pakistan and India they hold monthly peace vigils in downtown Palo Alto, in conjunction with dozens of similar vigils around the globe.

The organization has attracted some controversy, however, with its leftist political views and its alleged ties to Communist groups in India.

One source, a man who has protested against previous FOSA events, but wished to remain anonymous, expressed concern over what he perceives as Islamist and Communist sympathies within the organization.

He referred specifically to a peace march organized by FOSA "in which one of the banners claimed that 'Allah would destroy the terrorist state of India.'"

Mathew himself has also drawn criticism for his radical political beliefs. At one time his Web page featured a link to the Unabomber's Manifesto, although the link is no longer active.

The same protester said that he is troubled by Mathew's "support for the Unabomber and his association with the Communist Party of India (Marxist)."

He also expressed unhappiness with what he felt to be hypocrisy of Communists who, like Mathew, "made a conscious choice to come to the U.S.A. and reap the benefits of a market-oriented economy while demanding that others not benefit from a similar system.

"Stanford University is free to host anyone," he said, "but it should not provide a platform for the propaganda of those who help terrorist groups like the Communist Party of India (Marxist)."

Ashish Chadha, a Stanford graduate student and one of FOSA's founders, arranged for the event to be held on campus. Members of the public are not allowed to use University facilities for an event without sponsorship from a registered student group or academic department within the University.

Chadha dismissed allegations about the organization's ties to Communism or terrorism, stressing that it is simply a coalition of local South Asians, many of whom have lived in the country for years. He said he sees nothing controversial about the group's aims — which it pursues, according to its mission, through "people-to-people contacts, dialogue and other non-violent, non-exclusionary means."

Nor does Chadha see anything controversial about Biju Mathew. A business professor at Rider University, Mathew is a founding member of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance and author of "Taxi! Cabs and Capitalism in New York City."

Chadha commended Mathew for his work in making gains for New York City's taxi drivers — members of a profession legendary for its long hours, low pay and high risks. According to the FOSA Web site, the talk will mainly focus on Mathew's book, while also covering subjects ranging from globalization to sectarian politics in the South Asian community. Two local organizers of taxi driver unions will join Mathew on the panel.

The discussion will take place in Room 104 of the Gates Computer Science Building at 3 p.m.

I got this from a friend. Stanford Daily first published this article which resulted in the cancellation of the event. It has now removed the article from the archives and has published a small apology note.

This is unacceptable as the groups and people involved have shown sympathy or have been associated with violent groups.

Biju Mathew, the speaker whose event was cancelled, once had a link to the Unabomber's Manifesto.

He is a founder of a group called Forum of Inquilabi Leftists (Inquilabi means violent Revolutionary) on which a call for violence against USA by a terrorist group was posted.

The message was originally sent out by Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). This group has been designated as a terrorist organization by the US Department of State.

The Department of State has designated the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" organization under the "Terrorist Exclusion List" of the Immigration and Nationality Act and under Executive Order 13224.

Excerpt from the message posted on FOIL's mailing list:

It is well known that no movement or revolution in the world, be it national liberation movement or new democratic revolution, cannot succeed without confrontation with the U.S. imperialism, the most despicable enemy of world people.

The organization that was supposed to host the event, Friends of South Asia, in its cancellation notice says:

With their support, we assure you that Biju Mathew WILL speak at Stanford and FOSA WILL address problems of working classes, sectarian politics and US imperialism.

Obviously, whoever decided to pull down the article from the archives is undermining American values.

Any chance freepers can do something about it?

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