Alarm bells for Sharad Pawar

Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement of Australia protest the Indian politician's support for the ICC candidature of their ex-pm howard

Sharad Pawar, beleaguered Union minister for rural development and soon to be head of the International Cricket Council, finds himself facing flak from a new quarter ufffd the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement of Australia (ALRM).

"I find it extraordinary that a key Indian Government official is endorsing Mr John Howard's candidature to the ICC,'' says Neil Gillespie, chief executive officer of the ALRM. "Mr Sharad Pawar obviously is unaware of the racist behaviour of Mr Howard whilst Prime Minister. I could not recall ever having race riots in Australia until he became Prime Minister.u00a0 The Cronulla riots of a few years ago against Muslims and the recent targeting of Indian students in Melbourne are as far as I am concerned the results of the racist policies of Mr Howard so for Mr Pawar to provide support is nothing short of astounding.''

In an exclusive interview, Gillespie (who incidentally is father of former fast bowler Jason but is emphatic that his views are entirely his own), says "Like most Australians, I would have assumed the Indian government and people would be reluctant to have such an individual heading the ICC. I call on the BCCI to fight tooth and nail against the appointment of Mr Howard.''

The ICC elections will be held at the end of June. If elected, Howard would succeed Pawar after his two year term expires in 2012.u00a0 Anger in the cricketing world about Howard's nomination, supported primarily by Australia and New Zealand, has been raging for a while. Sri Lanka has objected because of Howard's derogatory remarks made about its ace spin bowler Mutthiah Muralitharan. South Africa and Zimbabwe have also taken exception by pointing at incipient racism.

With three votes in the ICC against him, India's support is vital for Howard. The question which the cricketing world and Gillespie are asking is, how will India stand apart from the three other "non-white" countries and support a man known for his antagonism to black and indigenous peoples? The BCCI, however, has not made any official statement on the matter.u00a0

Howard was a controversial figure when he was prime minister for his racist policies and his refusal to acknowledge the historical wrongs done to the Aboriginal people since the colonisation of the continent. Most notably, he had an unfortunately run in with Olympic athlete of Aboriginal origins, Cathy Freeman, during the 2004 Sydney Olympics.

Says Gillespie: "I can only hope the Board of Control for Cricket in India would not support Howard's appointment to the ICC. He is an inappropriate choice.'' The former Prime Minister demitted office as an unpopular prime minister and Gillespie feels that as a signatory to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, a minister of the Indian government should not be supporting him any way.

Not everybody, though, is against Howard's candidature. Renowned cricket writer Peter Roebucku00a0 wrote in the Melbourne Age recently, " ufffdThe case against Howard is as dishonest as it is inconsistent. A board that welcomed Percy Sonn, who declared the 2003 Zimbabwe election free and fair though he knew it was a lie, thereby condemning Zimbabweans to years of torment; a board that accepted Ray Mali, whose co-operation with the apartheid government was exposed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission; a board that listens to Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bute, apologists for evil in Zimbabwe, is poorly placed to turn its back on Jack the Ripper, let alone a former PM and cricket fanatic.''

But Gillespie is unwilling to let the matter rest either. He has spearheaded a movement amongst other Aboriginal legal services and human rights groups across Australia.u00a0 "ALRM has lodged a complaint about this under CERD to the UN.u00a0 The UN sought an update from me early in 2010 which I have responded.u00a0 The current Prime Minister Mr Rudd has an uphill battle to reverse the entrenched racism following the Howard years.u00a0 Mr Rudd has apologized to the Stolen Generations, supported the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and introduced the Close the Gap campaign."