Month: March 2019

An Eastern man and a Western woman make up one of the most unusual musical groups in Washington, D.C. 

Masood Omari and Abigail Adams Greenway both play tabla, an Eastern percussion instrument, every day in Greenway’s basement outside Washington. They call this colorfully decorated studio, Tablasphere. And they call themselves Tabla for Two.

Omari introduces the instrument: “This is a goat skin and the middle part, the black here, is burnt steel, coming from the steel powder and pasted with a strong glue and put in the center. It makes a cosmic sound, you can see?”

To Greenway, every note that emerges from the tabla is a “prayer.”

“It’s mathematically perfect and very meditative,” she adds.

What is unusual is that she and Omari both play the tabla together, giving them a modern sound.

The duo plays three different kinds of music, much of which can be heard on YouTube. The first two are classical music and traditional music of Afghanistan and India. The third:

“We play new music for the New World, we call it. It’s our signature music and it is composed by Masood. It’s for two tabla players,” Greenway explains.

Greenway

Greenway grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania, a manufacturing city steeped in U.S. history. Her first two names hark back to the wife of America’s second president, Abigail Adams.

“I grew up listening to classical music and American Jazz,” Greenway says. “My father was a classical violinist.”

A visual artist, Greenway moved a long way from all that when she embraced Afghan music and musical instruments. 

She first became intrigued when she was introduced to the music of India. “I heard the music and I just said this is the most amazing instrument I’ve ever heard, the tabla,” she said, adding, “They say that when the student is ready, the teacher appears.”

The pair met eight years ago in an Afghan antique and textile shop in Washington.

​“I realized that he was this amazing tabla player and I asked for lessons. I didn’t know at the time where this was going. All I knew is that I had a huge desire and a force pushing me to learn to play the instrument.” 

“When I saw her first time Abigail, she doesn’t (didn’t) understand the language of Afghanistan. (But) she understand (understood) the beat and melody, and she was very exciting (excited) to learn. She learned quickly.”

Omari

Omari fled Afghanistan when he was 15 and resettled in Islamabad. There, he studied tabla for 10 years and received his mastership before coming to the U.S. in 2002.

 “What’s really extraordinary is that Masood is singing and playing tabla at the same time,” Greenway says about her teacher. “That is exciting.”

Greenway has learned to play harmonium, also known as a pump organ, from Omari.

And here, she earns his praise: “Abigail is playing harmonium in a style no one can play like her. She is playing with her fingers. She is playing very soft, graceful and gentle.”

After devoting years to intense study and practice, the duo formed Tabla for Two. They play at embassies, museums, universities and at the Tablasphere for special invited guests.

Ambassadors

If Greenway worried about acceptance as a woman playing Afghan music, she discovered differently.

“I am clearly an American female and I am playing their music. It’s a coming together of cultures,” she says. “When I play this music they are accepting me, the Afghan people are accepting me.”

This makes Greenway feel “like an ambassador,” which is something of Omari’s philosophy as well.

“I believe that I have an important role playing and preserving the music of my country, Afghanistan and sharing it with the world,” he says.

 “It’s just the beginning. I’ve just started learning about a place that I knew nothing about that has been so ravaged,” Greenway enthuses. 

“And I’m thrilled to show Afghanistan in a positive, beautiful light.”
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Health care has re-emerged as a major focus of U.S. political parties with the Trump administration advocating striking down the entire Affordable Care Act and Democrats introducing legislation to strengthen the law that has been in place since 2010.

The Justice Department on Monday backed a federal court ruling declaring the entire ACA unconstitutional on the basis that without the fines for not having health insurance, which a Republican-led Congress passed last year, the mandate for having coverage should not be allowed.

That went against the administration’s earlier position that while some parts of the ACA should be struck down, not all of it should be thrown out.

Trump told reporters Tuesday he wanted alternatives to the law, which was one of the chief policies enacted under his predecessor Barack Obama.

“The Republican Party will become ‘The Party of Healthcare!'” he wrote on Twitter.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer signaled his party is happy to take on the issue, especially following the end of the special counsel investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with Trump’s campaign. Schumer said issues such as healthcare and climate change are much more important to voters.

The issue was a key part of the party’s 2018 congressional election strategy, which put Democrats back in control of the House of Representatives.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled Democratic proposals she says would improve upon the existing law, while accusing Republicans of working only to “destroy the affordable health care of America’s families.”

The legislation would seek to make health insurance plans more affordable by boosting subsidies to lower-income households, provide more protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and boost outreach and enrollment efforts to help people better understand what insurance options exist for them.

The legal battle over the existing law could end up at the Supreme Court, which previously upheld the individual mandate with its financial penalties as a legal tax Congress was allowed to impose. The five justices in the majority on that case remain on the court.
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Spain is seeking the extradition of as many as 10 people from the United States who burst into the North Korean embassy in Madrid last month and tried to pass stolen information to the FBI.

A Spanish judge said he believes all 10 fled to the United States after the February 22 raid. He called them members of a criminal organization and accuses them of trespassing, burglary, assault, and threats. If extradited and convicted, those found guilty could face nearly 30 years in prison.

The suspects call themselves Cheollima Civil Defense and describe the group as a human rights movement working to liberate North Korea. On its website, the organization classified its Madrid action as a response to an “urgent situation.”

“We were invited into the embassy, and contrary to reports, no one was gagged or beaten. Out of respect for the host nation of Spain, no weapons were used. All occupants in the embassy were treated with dignity and necessary caution,” the group said without providing evidence.

The group’s origin remains largely a mystery, but first came to prominence following the death of Kim Jong Un’s half brother, Kim Jong Nam. Cheollima posted a video of a young man claiming to be Kim Jong Nam’s son, Kim Han Sol.

Whatever information was collected, the group allegedly then turned it over to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

“This information was shared voluntarily and on their request, not our own,” the Cheollima statement read.

An FBI statement neither confirmed nor denied the existence of an investigation in the matter, but noted it had a good working relationship with Spanish law enforcement.

On Tuesday, the State Department’s deputy spokesperson said Washington was not involved with the incident and “would always call for the protection of embassies belonging to any diplomatic mission throughout the world.”

As stories of the raid began appearing in media outlets across the globe, speculation arose over who may have coordinated the raid and if a foreign government played any role.

According to Cheollima, “There were no other governments involved with or aware of our activity until after the event.”

Seoul’s unification ministry said it had no information on the incident and could not confirm or provide any details about the February 22 event.

A goal for a free North Korea

On March 1, the 100th anniversary of the Korean independence movement, Cheollima Civil Defense released a statement on its website, declaring itself “Free Joseon.”

“WE DECLARE ON THIS DAY the establishment of Free Joseon, a provisional government preparing the foundations for a future nation built upon respect for principles of human rights and humanitarianism, holding sacred a manifest dignity for every woman, man, and child,” the website read. 

The statement went on to add, “We declare this entity the sole legitimate representative of the Korean people of the north.”

“We rise against the criminal incumbents of the north, who have perpetuated vast crimes against humanity for decades. We dedicate ourselves completely to the abolition of this great evil, a stain on the very soul of humanity,” the organizations’ website said.

In its declaration, Cheollima called on like-minded individuals to “join our revolution” and those in North Korea to “defy your oppressors.”

It also offered a warning to those engaging with Pyongyang, “To those who would continue to legitimize and empower this regime: History will remember where you stood when you were offered this choice.”

Shrouded in mystery

After Cheollima posted the video of Kim Han Sol, there’s been significant interest in determining who the group’s members are. Domestic and international journalists have repeatedly made inquiries, but they have gone unanswered. 

The group explains, “Even beyond its borders, it (North Korea) will use assassinations, terrorism, and even weapons of mass destruction, to destroy any who might oppose or challenge their monopoly on power. We respectfully and sincerely ask that you do not enable or make it easier for the regime’s death squads, who have already committed and continue to commit countless crimes against humanity, to threaten or harm our members and their families,” the group said in a statement on its website. 

The statement added, “The identification of even a single member could lead to the identities of others. Several of us have already escaped their attempts on our lives and that of our families. Many of our compatriots and their relatives have not been as fortunate. And any left surviving in concentration camps would surely face execution if the identities of their family members as dissidents were made known.”

While the group is distancing itself from the media at this juncture, it also says it wants to have a “positive partnership with the media” and will do so when it feels safe.
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The U.S. on Tuesday imposed new sanctions on a network of 25 individuals and entities in Iran, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates it accused of laundering more than a billion dollars and euros that were used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and defense ministry to fund terrorism in the Middle East.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement the U.S. was “targeting a vast network of front companies and individuals” in the three countries “to disrupt a scheme the Iranian regime has used … to exploit the international financial system to evade (U.S.) sanctions, while the regime funds terrorism and other destabilizing activities across the region.”

Sigal Mandelker, the Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and intelligence, said central to the funding was the Revolutionary Guards-controlled Ansar Bank and its currency exchange arm, the Ansar Exchange, “both of which used layers of intermediary entities to exchange devalued Iranian rial ultimately for dollars and euros to line the pockets” of the Revolutionary Guards and Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.

“This vast network is just the latest example of the Iranian regime’s use of deceptive practices to exploit the global financial system and divert resources to sanctioned entities,” Mandelker said. “This once again exposes to the international community the dangerous risks of operating in an Iranian economy that is deliberately opaque.”

The U.S. claimed that to secure the funding for Ansar Bank, the Revolutionary Guards, the defense ministry and the Ansar Exchange used a network of front companies and agents in Turkey and the UAE. The Treasury Department said that in the last year and a half, UAE-based Sakan General Trading, Lebra Moon General Trading and Naria General Trading, along with the Iran-based Hital Exchange, provided about $800 million in funds to the Ansar Exchange. In addition, it said Turkey-based Atlas Doviz acted as a secondary foreign currency provider for Ansar Exchange.

The U.S. said the defense ministry and armed forces logistics agency supervises Iran’s missile program, including those used by Iran-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen against coalition forces supported by the U.S.

In all, the Treasury sanctions targeted eight individuals, all of them officials at the several financial institutions the U.S. alleged were part of the scheme to provide the funding for the Revolutionary Guards and the defense ministry.

The sanctions freeze any property and funds the targeted officials and entities might have in the United States and block Americans from conducting any business with them. The Treasury said that any foreign financial institution that transacts business with the sanctioned entities and individuals could also be subject to U.S. blacklisting.
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The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned a lower court’s decision to allow U.S. sailors to collect damages from Sudan after the 2000 al-Qaida bombing of a U.S. Navy destroyer.

The court’s decision Tuesday dealt a blow to 15 of the injured sailors and three of their spouses who sued the Sudanese government in 2010 in Washington.

The decision was a significant victory for the northeastern African country, which denies it supported the al-Qaida militant group in the attack.  The October 12, 2000, attack occurred while the USS Cole was refueling in the southern Yemeni port of Aden, killing 17 sailors and wounding more than three dozen others.  Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Supreme Court’s 8-1 decision prevented the American plaintiffs from collecting nearly $315 million in damages from the Sudanese government.

A federal judge in Washington issued a default judgement in 2012 of $314.7 million against Sudan.  A judge in New York later ordered certain banks to relinquish Sudanese assets to partially satisfy the judgement.  The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of appeals In New York upheld those orders in 2015.

The default judgement was issued because Sudan did not initially defend itself against allegations it supported al-Qaida in the attack.

At issue Tuesday was whether mailing the lawsuit to Sudan’s embassy in Washington violated a U.S. law governing when foreign governments can be sued in American courts.  The high court said Sudan had not been properly notified of the lawsuit because it should have been mailed to its foreign ministry in the capital of Khartoum.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has supported Sudan in the case. Administration officials told the high court that a ruling against Sudan could affect how the U.S. government is treated by foreign courts because the U.S. rejects judicial notices delivered to its embassies.

The sailors criticized the Trump administration in a legal brief, saying, “Particularly given this administration’s solicitude for veterans, its decision to side with a state sponsor of terrorism, against men and women who are seeking to recover for grievous injuries suffered in the service of our country, is inexplicable and distressing,” the brief said.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority and noted the ruling is “not the end of the road” for the plaintiffs.  He said they can resubmit notice of the lawsuit, this time to Sudan’s foreign ministry.  Alito said they can send the notice through diplomatic channels if an attempt to send it to the foreign ministry fails.  

 
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President Donald Trump and his political allies took a victory lap Monday after the report prepared by special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence of collusion between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. But it was also clear that the president remains angry about the Russia probe and those who supported it. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.
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