A Reminder to humanity never to close its eyes to the atrocities of war

Saddam Hussein's regime attack with poison gas on the Kurdish city of Halabja on 16 March 1988 stands as a "reminder to humanity never to close its eyes to the atrocities of war," said KON-MED.


HALABJA MASSACRE
ANF
NEWS DESK
Sunday, 17 March 2024

The poison gas attack on the Kurdish city of Halabja in Iraq in 1988 stands as a "reminder for humanity never to close its eyes to the atrocities of war," said the Kurdish umbrella organization KON-MED in a statement published on the anniversary of the massacre.

Condemning this heinous attack as a war crime and genocide would be an important step towards justice, said KON-MED, adding: "As the umbrella organization of Kurdish cultural associations in Germany, we would like to underline the responsibility of German companies that were involved in Iraq’s chemical weapons program. This responsibility also applies to all victims of the Anfal operation, as part of which the poison gas attack on Halabja was carried out. Under the pretext of counterinsurgency, up to 182,000 people were murdered by the Saddam regime in the course of genocidal measures in the late phase of the First Gulf War."

The statement added: "The memory of the massacre in Halabja must live on, not only as a dark page of history, but also as a warning for the future. We must never forget that war crimes and atrocities against humanity cannot be justified. Our commitment is to ensure that such acts never happen again and that the victims receive appropriate justice and recognition."

KON-MED said that "in recent years there have been repeated reports from Kurdish guerrillas about the use of poison gas by the Turkish state in South Kurdistan (North Iraq), which was directed against these same guerrillas," and demanded that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) "investigate these allegations. We fear for our brothers and sisters in Kurdistan."

36 years ago, the massacre of Halabja

Today marks 36 years since Saddam Hussein massacred thousands of his own people in a chemical attack on the city of Halabja.


HAL

Today marks the 36th anniversary of the chemical attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja in South-Kurdistan. Systematically terrorizing the Kurdish population, Saddam Hussein attempted to silence his critics and at the same time test his chemical and biological weapons.

Saddam Hussein was the first leader in modern times to brutally use chemical weapons against the Kurdish people. Between 1987 and 1988, he had chemical attacks directed towards 40 Kurdish villages, and tested his weapons on thousands of innocent civilians. The worst of these attacks destroyed the town of Halabja in March 1988.

Chemical weapons used in Halabja

The attack was meant to kill as many people as possible. The first barrage shattered protective glass in windows throughout the city, making sure the gas reached its targets.

Saddam’s regime mixed mustard gas and nerve agents to increase the effect of the chemical attacks. Mustard gas attacks the nose, throat and lungs, while Sarin, Tabun and VX attack the eyes and respiratory channels.

One gas had a strong, sweet aroma, like apple blossoms, said survivors, intended to make people inhale deeply to find out what was causing the smell. Another chemical was used as a paralyzing agent, causing people to collapse to the ground.

A third and lethal gas was used because it’s heavier than air. Anyone who fell, or crouched low for safety, or took shelter in a basement. They were dead within minutes.

Men, women, and children died indiscriminately as toxic gas seeped into their homes, through broken windows, filling the spaces where they’d taken shelter.

Chemical weapons also contaminate food and water supplies, soil and wildlife.

Effects of the attack in Halabja

5000 civilians, among them many women, children and elderly, died within hours of the attack. More than 10.000 people were blinded or injured in other ways that destroyed their lives. Thousands of people lost their lives in epidemics or from birth injuries in the following years. Thousands more were forced to leave their homes.

Up to 5,000 people perished that day. Thousands more were injured, most of them civilians.

An old man, a survivor of that day, Abdurrahman Reşit Emin, told ANF that he lost his mother and two siblings in the massacre which he describes as "moments of a grimness that would not end". Emin said that the air was covered with the smell of apples: "We were dumbfounded. The sky in Halabja was shaken with sounds of warplanes, of which there were around 10-15, as I might not remember the exact number. Everything happened so fast. Thousands of people drew their last breath in ten minutes. Dead bodies were lying everywhere one looked. The rest left the city and took the migratory route. Those left to poverty and sickness were as many as the dead. Everyone became miserable. Some lost their minds, some went blind."

KNK: Turkish state plans new massacres like Halabja

The KNK Executive Council, pointing to the plans of the occupying states to carry out new massacres like Halabja, called on all forces not to remain silent in order to prevent massacres and defend the interests of the people of Kurdistan.


HALABJA MASSACRE

ANF
NEWS DESK
Saturday, 16 March 2024

The Kurdistan National Council (KNK) Executive Council condemned in a written statement the 36th anniversary of the genocide perpetrated by Saddam's fascist regime with a chemical weapons attack against the civilian population in Halabja in 1988.

The KNK statement on Saturday said the following:

"On 16 March 1988, thousands of Kurds were massacred, while thousands of others were injured and displaced in a genocidal attack with chemical weapons on the city of Halabja in Southern Kurdistan. The Halabja Massacre was not the first in the history of the Kurdish people and it seems that it will not be the last. Such massacres carry the aim and intention of the brutal occupying states to destroy the Kurdish people so that nothing remains in the name of Kurdishness, so that they do not have a status and identity.

The Halabja Massacre, one of the most painful and brutal massacres in human history, carried out with a racist mentality, showed the whole world how deep the enmity against the Kurdish people is. Thousands of Kurds, women, men, children and the elderly were brutally massacred with chemical weapons. This massacre was carried out in front of the eyes of the world and no state opposed it. The United Nations, the United States, Europe and other countries remained silent in the face of this massacre. They raised their voices against Saddam's fascist and dictatorial regime only when their own interests were threatened.

Today, the same scenario is being repeated by the occupying states. On these days, the anniversary of the Halabja Massacre, the occupying states, especially the Turkish state, the dictator and racist regime of the AKP-MHP, are preparing new plans for massacre and genocide against the Kurdish people and want these plans to be realised. The Iraqi central government, the regional government, are also intended to participate in these plans and the KDP forces are at the center of these plans. These plans are a great threat to the four parts of Kurdistan and to all the interests of the Kurdish people.

For this reason, we call on all forces, parties, political organisations, social institutions, all patriotic and conscientious groups to take a stand against the occupation plans and not to remain silent. Only in this way can we embrace the martyrs of Halabja, prevent massacres like Halabja and defend the interests of the people of Kurdistan.

We commemorate the martyrs of Halabja with all our patriotic feelings and promise that we will fight against the murderer and genocidal enemy by strengthening our duty for our national unity."

Prisoners enter 112th day of hunger strike to demand freedom for Öcalan

The hunger strike launched by prisoners in jails in Turkey and North Kurdistan to demand Abdullah Öcalan's freedom continues on its 112th day.


PRISONERS ON HUNGER STRIKE

ANF
NEWS DESK
Sunday, 17 March 2024



The hunger strike launched by political prisoners in jails in Turkey and North Kurdistan to demand the physical freedom of Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question, has reached its 112th day.

Abdullah Öcalan and Ömer Hayri Konar, Veysi Aktaş and Hamili Yıldırım, who are held in Imralı, have not been allowed to meet with their families and lawyers for 36 months.

In order to end the isolation in Imralı and ensure the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan, the "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, solution to the Kurdish question" campaign was launched on 10 October 2023, with simultaneous statements made in 74 cities around the world.

As part of the campaign, political prisoners went on hunger strike on 27 November 2023.

Hunger strike to continue until after local elections

The prisoners had originally said that they would bring the hunger strike, which is carried out alternately, to a new phase as of 15 February, if no steps were taken regarding their demands. However, in a statement they announced that they would continue the hunger strike until after the local elections to be held on 31 March.

In a statement, Deniz Kaya said on behalf of the PKK and PAJK prisoners on 12 February: "We will continue our hunger strike action, which we started on 27 November 2023, in order to end the isolation imposed on our Leader, and which we announced to the public that we will take it to a new phase on 15 February, so that it does not affect the election activities. We would like to state that we have extended the hunger strike until the post-election period so that it does not hinder the elections."

The statement also said: "We declare to the public that if the isolation of our Leader continues until after the election, we will take our action to the next level and continue until we get results," and called on all democratic institutions and circles to take responsibility to meet their demands.

Since Expanded War in Ukraine Began, Telegram has Become Most Widely Used Social Media Platform in Russia, Logunova Says

Since Expanded War in Ukraine Began, Telegram has Become Most Widely Used Social Media Platform in Russia, Logunova Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Mar. 17 – Until Putin launched his expanded war in Ukraine, Telegram channels or “telega” as they are known in Russia lagged far behind other social media platforms in that country. But a combination of restrictions or bans on the latter and growing interest in news have pushed Telegram to the top, Olga Logunova says.

            The Russian specialist on media at King’s College London says that Kremlin bans and restrictions helped Telegram grow but that interest in unrestricted news has played if anything a greater role, given Telegram’s growth after key events sparked greater interest among Russian media consumers (ridl.io/explaining-the-rise-of-telegram/).

            The Putin regime has responded by flooding Telegram with bots, something that increases suspicions about the platform’s reliability; and increasingly Russians are concerned about the lack of end-to-end encryption on this channel. Unless those are somehow addressed, Telegram’s future may be less successful than its recent past.

            In her Riddle portal article, versions of which are available in English as well as Riussian, Logunova provides extensive statistical data in support of her conclusions.

With War in Ukraine, Putin is Demolishing His Argument that Russia Can't Change and Become Democratic, Gallyamov Says

            Staunton, Mar. 17 – Putin has long justified his own authoritarianism by insisting that Russia has always had that tradition, but with his war against Ukraine, he has violated another Russian tradition, the belief in close ties between Russians and Ukrainians, and thus shown that as a result, everything, including democratization, is now possible, Abbas Gallyamov says.

            For most of his time in power, Putin’s formula that “’it has always been this way’” has served as an effective argument to gain public support for the Kremlin leader’s maintenance of the status quo, the former Putin speechwriter and now opposition commentator says (t.me/abbasgallyamovpolitics/4449 reposted at kasparov.ru/material.php?id=65F142ABE082D).

            But over the past two years, by launching an expanded war against Ukraine, Putin has undermined his own claims in this regard by challenging the equally widespread Russian notion that the Russian and Ukrainian people have always been friends and that a war between the two was inconceivable.

            Neither Putin nor his opponents yet recognize how these two things are related and how his actions in the latter case demolish his insistence in the former, Gallyamov suggests. But an examination of the causes of the French revolution provides a clue to just how intertwined these two things are.

            Alexis de Tocqueville, one of the most thoughtful historians of that conflict, notes that the French monarchy sowed the seeds of its own demise by destroying the regional parliaments, institutions that the French thought were just as ancient and just as unchangeable as the monarchy itself.

            After the king dispersed the parliaments both in Paris and in the regions, the French people concluded that everything, including a more democratic system, was possible. Something similar, Gallyamov argues, is  now possible in Russia today. And he draws that conclusion in dramatic language:

            “After the first Russian killed the first Ukrainian and the first Ukrainian killed the first Russian, nothing is impossible for Russians anymore” because “the conservative order” on which Putin has relied “no longer exists.”

CGTN poll: 'American democracy' brings chaos to the world

World 17-Mar-2024

CGTN

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 6, 2023. /CFP

The United States is exporting "democratic standards" and pursuing "democratic transformation" around the world, which is leading to instability, conflicts and disasters. According to polls launched by CGTN and the Renmin University of China through the New Era Institute of International Communication, global respondents were deeply dissatisfied with the United States' continuous utilization of the democracy issue to suppress other countries for its own benefit, as well as to exacerbate the world's division and conflict between camps.

U.S. export of democracy highlights its nature of hegemony

According to the survey, 71 percent of global respondents criticized the U.S. for interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and suppressing other countries under the cover of "democracy. Meanwhile, 62.3 percent of respondents expressed strong dissatisfaction with the United States' hegemonic behavior in abusing sanctions and economic compulsion.

In the survey, nearly 70 percent (68 percent) of the global respondents are very worried about the U.S.' long history of inciting "color revolutions" and waging "proxy wars" around the world. 65.8 percent of respondents were strongly opposed to forcing another country to change its political system through revolution and aggression.

'Beacon of Democracy' draws global criticism

According to the poll, 84.3 percent of global respondents believe that democracy presents in various ways across countries and cultures. There is no superior model of democracy or one-size-fits-all political system. 84.8 percent of the respondents are of the opinion that when deciding on a political system, a country should consider its history, culture, and national conditions. 80.3 percent of the respondents believe that the existence of various civilizations in the world has a positive effect on world development. 79.5 percent of the respondents expressed strong opposition to the United States' pursuit of hegemony on a global scale under the banner of "democracy." 86.8 percent of respondents urged the United States to end its hegemonic practices as soon as possible. When dealing with other countries, it should be based on the concept of mutual respect and seeking common ground while reserving differences.

The data presented above includes three global polls, including the "Impressions of America" poll, with a total of 39,315 respondents from 32 countries worldwide, ranging from developed countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Spain, and Japan to developing countries such as Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Malaysia, Peru, and Pakistan.

Moscow polling station protesters pay tribute to Navalny


By AFP
March 17, 2024

Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya had called on people to go to

 polling stations at the same time and spoil their ballots - 

Copyright AFP NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA

Queues formed outside Moscow polling stations on Sunday as some voters heeded a call by supporters of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny to cast protest votes in Russia’s presidential election.

AFP reporters at two polling stations saw larger numbers of voters at noon (0900 GMT) compared to earlier in the day following the call for a “Midday Against Putin” protest.

Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent rival, died in mysterious circumstances in an Arctic prison last month.

His widow Yulia Navalnaya had called on people to go to polling stations at the same time and spoil their ballots as a protest.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale offensive in Ukraine in 2022, public dissent in Russia has been stifled and government critics have been jailed or forced to flee.

After casting his ballot at a polling station where Navalny used to vote, IT worker Alexander said he came because this was one of the few ways he could protest.

“If I hadn’t done this, I would have felt like a coward,” the 29-year-old said.

Elena, 52, said people were “too afraid” to come out in large numbers.

“I don’t want Russia, my homeland, to be like this… I love my country, I want it to be free.”

Natalya, a 65-year-old pensioner, said she came with her friend Elena, a 38-year-old engineer, to spoil her ballot in memory of Navalny.

“I came to give my farewell to him. He is a hero to me,” Natalya said.

Elena added: “This is our only opportunity to express our opinion.”

– ‘Symbolic action’ –

Images shared on social media by Navalny’s team showed larger queues of voters at other polling stations in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia.

At another polling station in southwest Moscow, Leonid, an 18-year-old student, said there were “not that many people” taking part in the protest but he was “just happy that some people came”.

The polling station in a school was where Navalny scored his highest result — 70 percent — in his failed bid to become Moscow mayor in 2013.

Navalny later attempted to run against Putin in the 2018 presidential election but his candidacy was rejected.

Olga Mironenko, a 33-year-old IT worker, said she had never voted for Putin but it was difficult to express her views in a country where “you can’t even express your opinion on social media”.

She said it had felt good to come to the polling station and be “with people who are on the side of light and truth”.

Denis, 21, who works in advertising, said: “I came to express solidarity with a very important person. It’s a symbolic action.”

“This election is a way to honour Navalny’s memory,” he said.

Climate activists disrupt Rome marathon


By AFP
March 17, 2024


Last Generation warns of a spring and summer full of climate hazards for Italy as temperatures rise - Copyright AFP NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA

will Three activists from climate movement Last Generation briefly interrupted the Rome marathon on Sunday before police arrested them, the group said.

The protesters disrupted the race at 9:00 am (0800 GMT) before officers moved them to the side of the road and took them to the police station, Last Generation said in a statement.

Last Generation warns of a spring and summer full of climate hazards for Italy as temperatures rise, with “deaths at work due to the heat, deaths in cities that are unliveable”.

Mida, a 26-year-old student who was one of the detained protesters, was quoted in the statement as saying she wanted to “sound an alarm because we will experience an unbelievable drought”.

The group demands the state create a reparations fund of 20 billion euros ($22 billion) for “all people suffering damage due to climate change”.

In recent months, Last Generation activists have thrown soup, cakes and paint on cultural sites and artworks in museums in shock tactics to spread their message.

Scientists say climate change induced by human activity is increasing the intensity, frequency and length of extreme weather events such as droughts, heatwaves and wildfires.

New book explores Donald Trump’s alleged love for dictators

Ash Cant
Mar 17, 2024,

THE NEW DAILY, AUS

Former White House staff say Donald Trump expressed admiration

 for Adolf Hitler. Photo: Getty

Former US president Donald Trump once said he believed Adolf Hitler did some good in his life, a new book alleges.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be too shocking as he did try to get cosy with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who according to his former chief of staff, Trump thinks is an “OK guy”.

General John Kelly was once Trump’s chief of staff and now he is spilling his secrets, which weren’t really that well kept.

In CNN anchor Jim Sciutto’s upcoming book, The Return of Great Powers, Kelly has revealed what Trump makes of world leaders, both past and present.

According to Sciutto in an article published on CNN, and based on conversations he has had, Trump thinks China’s Xi Jinping is “brilliant” but North Korea’s Kim Jong-un is merely an “OK guy”.

Kelly also alleged the former president said Putin “wouldn’t be doing these things” if NATO didn’t exist.

It’s not overly shocking. Trump has publicly praised leaders who are usually seen as enemies or adversaries of the US.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump praised Xi for ruling China with an “iron fist” and said he was “smart, brilliant, everything perfect”.

Trump went from calling Kim on Twitter (now X) to having a bizarre relationship with him.

Later on, the two apparently shared letters, which Trump said were “beautiful” and said the two “fell in love”.

Trump’s alleged admiration for Hitler

Regarding Trump’s comment regarding Hitler doing some “good things”, Kelly said he pressed him on it.

“He said, ‘Well, [Hitler] rebuilt the economy’. But what did he do with that rebuilt economy? He turned it against his own people and against the world. And I said, ‘Sir, you can never say anything good about the guy. Nothing’,” Kelly said according to CNN.

Kelly said he found it hard to believe Trump “missed the Holocaust and the fact 400,000 Americans were killed thanks to Hitler”, but he has a theory as to why Trump might admire such a despised historical figure.

“But I think it’s more, again, the tough guy thing,” Kelly said.

In the past, Trump’s camp has denied the allegations he thought Hitler did some good.

When approached by CNN, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung did not address the allegations, but instead took aim at Kelly and Bolton.

He said the two “completely beclowned themselves and are suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome”.

Cheung added they need to seek “professional help because their hatred is consuming their empty lives”.

Donald Trump likes to think of himself as a tough guy, former advisers say.

The ‘tough guy thing’

John Bolton also served in the Trump administration, as the US national security adviser. He also spoke to Sciutto.

Like Kelly, Bolton believes Trump’s alleged admiration for autocrats is due to how he sees himself, or how he wants other to see him.

“He views himself as a big guy,” Bolton said.

“He likes dealing with other big guys, and big guys like Erdogan in Turkey get to put people in jail and you don’t have to ask anybody’s permission. He kind of likes that.”

However, Kelly insists Trump is “not a tough guy by any means”; instead, he is the “opposite”, but it is how he likes to envision himself.

Trump was shocked by the lack of power

Kelly also believes the former president’s fondness for dictators is because “that’s who he is”.

He explained all presidents of the US are shocked to find out they have little power, without going through Congress, when they come into office.

“But in his case, he was shocked that he didn’t have dictatorial-type powers to send US forces places or to move money around within the budget,” Kelly said.

“And he looked at Putin and Xi and that nutcase in North Korea as people who were like him in terms of being a tough guy.”

Vietnam faces $3bn annual crop losses from rising saltwater levels

Published: 17 Mar 2024 

This photo taken on February 23, 2024 shows a farmer looking at his crop in a dry rice field amid a long heatwave in southern Vietnam's Ca Mau province in the Mekong Delta region, known as "Vietnam's rice bowl". Photo by Tan Dien / AFP

Hanoi: Vietnam faces nearly $3 billion a year in crop losses as more saltwater seeps into arable land, state media reported Sunday, citing new research.

The damage would likely centre on the Mekong Delta region, known as "Vietnam's rice bowl" because it provides food and livelihoods for tens of millions of people, research from the country's environment ministry showed.\

Saltwater levels are often higher in the dry season but they are intensifying due to rising sea levels, droughts, tidal fluctuations, and a lack of upstream freshwater.

The resulting crop losses could amount to 70 trillion dong ($2.94 billion), state media VnExpress reported, citing new research from the Water Resources Science Institute, which is under the environment ministry.

The research found among the most impacted parts of the region would be the southernmost Ca Mau province, which could lose an estimated $665 million.

Ben Tre province could face roughly $472 million in losses, according to the study, which was presented Friday at a conference on water resource management.

"With the current scenario, fruit trees account for 29 percent of the damage in Mekong Delta, while crops account for 27 percent, and rice accounts for nearly 14 percent," according to the findings.

"The fisheries industry accounts for 30 percent, equivalent to more than 21,000 billion dong ($840 million)," it added.

Greater losses were forecast for the region in the future, rising over $3.1 billion, the study said.

Earlier this month, the Department of Water Resources warned saline intrusion could impact around 80,000 hectares of rice and fruit farms in the Mekong Delta.

Salt intrusion in the area between 2023-2024 was higher than the average, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The delta suffered an unusually long heatwave in February, leading to drought in several areas and low water levels in the region's canals.

Pro-India group faces off against pro-Khalistan elements in Canada’s Calgary city

ByAnirudh Bhattacharyya
Mar 17, 2024 

Hindustan Times

Approximately two dozen Indo-Canadians gathered across the street from the pro-Khalistan protesters, some of whom held weapons, including at least one seen to be holding a sword up.

THEY ARE  SIKH'S WHO WEAR A CEREMONIAL KNIFE CALLED A KIRPAN, AS WELL THE SHEATHED SWORD IS ALSO A CEREMONIAL 'WEAPON' FOR RELIGIOUS RITES


Toronto: 

A pro-India group faced off against pro-Khalistan elements in the city of Calgary in Alberta on Saturday as the latter gathered to protest in front of a venue for a community event welcoming India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma.

Danielle Smith (centre), Premier of the province of Alberta with India’s High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma (left) and India’s Consul-General in Vancouver Manish, during their meeting in Edmonton last week. (Supplied photo)

Approximately two dozen Indo-Canadians gathered across the street from the pro-Khalistan protesters, some of whom held weapons, including at least one seen to be holding a sword up. Local police kept vigil and prevented the two opposing groups from clashing.

The protest was the latest as pro-Khalistani groups have staged similar demonstrations at venue hosting Verma in Surrey on March 1 and Edmonton on March 11.

Given the threat perception, the hosts had already cancelled a scheduled community event in Calgary on Friday but a lunch for the High Commissioner was organised at another location on Saturday afternoon.

The protests have dogged Verma who has travelled to Western Canada for the first time Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated in the House of Commons on September 18 there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, three months earlier. A call to “target” Verma at these events was given by the secessionist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), for which Nijjar was the principal organiser in BC.

However, Verma’s safety has been assured by Global Affairs Canada, the country’s foreign ministry, and he has been escorted by officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), responsible for diplomatic security, with local law enforcement detachments keeping the pro-Khalistan protesters from approaching him and entering the venues hosting him.

Verma described the engagements in the two provinces as “successful”, as he was hosted at the legislature building in Victoria, capital of BC, and held a meeting with the Surrey Board of Trade in that town. He also met with the Premier of the territory of Yukon while in Vancouver. In Alberta, he met with the province’s Premier Danielle Smith in the capital Edmonton and also attended an event hosted by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce in that city and also held several meetings in Calgary.

Devotees in Canada’s smallest province celebrate opening of first Hindu temple

ByAnirudh Bhattacharyya
Mar 17, 2024

Hindustan Times


The temple in Prince Edward Island has been thronged by members of the community since its opening, evidencing the demand for such a house of worship in a province with population at just 180,000

Toronto: Devotees in Canada’s smallest province are celebrating the opening of the first Hindu temple there. The Hindu Temple of Prince Edward Island (PEI) opened this month and has been thronged by members of the community since, evidencing the demand for such a house of worship in a province with the population of just 180,000.

Devotees at the opening of the first Hindu temple in Prince Edward Island, Canada.

 (Credit: Hindu Society of PEI)

“It was really incredible. There was a gap, obviously,” said Krishna Thakur, an academic from the United of Prince Edward Island, who is also president of the Hindu Society of PEI.
Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

The temple opened in a rented space in the town of Cornwall, which is part of the capital region. Thakur said devotees come to the temple from the capital Charlottetown as well as neighbouring Stratford, other than residents of Cornwall.

Thakur, who is originally from Janakpur in Nepal, estimated the Hindu population of PEI at approximately at about 1,800. He said nearly 600 people visited the temple on opening day. He said the Hindu population had grown significantly in recent years with an influx of students to the University of PEI, with other newcomers including fresh permanent residents and professionals.

The Society’s secretary Neethin Rao, who is from Kerala, said the temple has been “well received” within the province with the opening being attended by the mayors of Charlottetown and Cornwall, the local MP as well as members of the legislative assembly.

The temple has no full-time priest, and the rites for its inauguration, on Mahashivratri, were performed by members of the Society, with some of the rituals learnt from online tutorials. That it resulted from a community effort was underlined by Rao, who said not only were there donations that enabled renting the space but food for prasad and bhog were donated by Indo-Canadian restaurants of the region.

“The temple is open for two hours in the evening,” Thakur said, and that’s because it is entirely dependent on volunteers.

Rao said the objective is to acquire land and build a permanent mandir in the future. “Everybody is interested in that and they will definitely help us,” he said.

For now, Thakur said, the community is elated to have its own space to worship, after never having had that facility in the province before. To give it broad appeal, there are various deities at the temple. “We tried to make it as inclusive and representative as possible,” Thakur said.