I stand with WSJ Sabrina Siddiqui, not only Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich

As former steno-aide for reporting in parliament, presidential palace, and supreme court, I love Free Press

2.54pm Washington DC / 7.54pm London / 00.24am New Delhi

Around 2.27pm Washington DC, the U.S. NSC (National Security Council) John Francis Kirby calls “completely unacceptable” and antithetical to Democracy, about harassment has faced after her (completely fair) question to Modi on human rights is "unacceptable." My fellow-respected subscriber from India is 4% from entire 24,000+ subscribers, and even my beloved country Indonesia, thanks to (still too) few users of substack in Indonesia (if compared U.S. and India, especially IT workers in India), just 3% (the highest is U.S. citizen, 34%). I assume I also get backlash and “unfollow” from Indian citizenship. Then, around 2.54pm DC time, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre “We certainly condemn any efforts of intimidation or harassment of a journalist or any journalist who is just trying to do their job." Even until (in process) writing this note, I still found new tweets--harassment to Sabrina. I expected that my box-comment for this note will be full of hate/harassment too.

(*wrong tweet, guys. WSJ owned by another Jew, Rupert Murdoch. WaPo / Washington Post owned by Jeff Bezos. NYTimes owned by Ochs-Sulzberger family, currently Arthur Gregg Sulzberger)

Joint presser at White House between Joe Biden - Narendra Modi 4 days ago, two leaders with two-biggest democratic countries in the universe (1.5 billion and 336 million —— my country Indonesia just around 276-277 million). Ugly: although “democratic country”, joint presser in DC to be (first ever) first question in a press conference in the nine years since Modi became prime minister of India, brushes aside concerns over crackdown of dissent and treatment of minorities.

According to Jacqui Heinrich from FOX News, White House itself staged that Sabrina to be 1st journo who can asking Modi.

(long hair, black blazer in left side is Sabrina Siddiqui)

This is not first time Muslim and India/Pakistan-root facing harassment ad death threat in social media. Rana Ayyub also facing it. UN human rights experts have said that investigative journalist Rana Ayyub has been subjected to “judicial harassment” and urged Indian authorities to “promptly” investigate “relentless misogynistic and sectarian” attacks on social media against her.

After Elon Musk’s takeover, Twitter complied with more than 100 block orders from India, including those against journalists, foreign politicians, and the poet Rupi Kaur. India’s information ministry ordered Twitter to take down all posts sharing footage from a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Dozens of posts were removed, including one from a local member of parliament.

Elon Musk after meeting with Narendra Modi in New York (1 day after Modi meet Biden), say he love and fan of Modi. Elon Musk lobbied for Starlink entry in his meeting with PM Modi - says, rural India will benefit immensely. What if Modi offers a quid pro quo to the Twitter owner, ensuring a curb on opposition voices in the run up to 2024 polls in return for Musk's business expansion in India? When it comes to M&As in India, there is a need for all the major stakeholders to articulate critical mechanisms that provide adequate protection, with regards to hostile takeovers. The case of Twitter & Elon Musk proves that big tech today has grown into truly unimaginable proportions, and policies and safeguards need to reflect that reality. But any such provision devised needs to be crafted in such a manner, so as not to shut off any form of positive consolidation across some of the key digital sectors.

14 Hours ago, young Muslim Indian named Afan Ansari and his aide Nasir Sheikh were intercepted and beaten by vigilantes in Mumbai. Afan died, Nasir critical.

Sabrina Siddiqui, WSJ, she just one of only two journos with Biden to Kyiv-secret process trip until landed in Kyiv, alongside Evan Vucci from AP. She asks about India’s democratic backsliding. “I’m actually really surprised” by the question, Modi says.

Modi says “there is absolutely no space for discrimination.” His administration has been accused of turning a blind eye as violence against Muslims has soared during his presidency.

India arrested journalist Vivek Raghuvanshi last month. The White House has said that President Biden would raise press freedom issues with Prime Minister Modi. But on a press call yesterday, senior US officials were mum about Raghuvanshi.

For all its rhetoric around "democracy" and "human rights," there is an inexcusable free pass given to Modi’s violence by the Biden administration and American liberals.

Modi's government has cracked down on the press and civil society, jailed political opponents, and pushed an aggressive Hindu nationalism that leaves little space for India's religious minorities. President Biden should raise these facts in his meeting with Modi.

Ultimately, it won't matter what U.S. reporters ask of Modi. But it'll be on the White House press corps to keep focus on the Biden administration's purported democracy agenda and its very-clear limits.

Sabrina (WSJ) also asking to Biden about US - China. Biden says he doesn’t think he's falling Xi Jinping a dictator has “had any real consequence” on relations with China. Biden seems to dismiss worries about US-China relations, calling it “hysteria”. Last Monday, Biden shouted " Xi Jinping is “dictator” at a fundraiser dinner in California for his reelection in Election 2024.

targetted online by pro-Hindutva social media users after she asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi a question at his press conference on Thursday about the alleged discrimination against Muslims in India. On Saturday, the attacks forced Siddiqui to post pictures of herself cheering for the Indian cricket team.

Amit Malviya, the head of the Bhartiya Janata Party’s information department, described the question from Siddiqui as “motivated”. He said that the answers from Modi and the US President Biden was a “blow” to the “toolkit gang,” a pejorative reference to protesters who use digital tools to organise and coordinate protests.

Accounts known for posting pro-Bharatiya Janata Party and pro-Hindutva tweets labeled Siddiqui an “Islamist” as they pointed to her Muslim identity.

In asking the question about Indian Muslims, some social media users accused working withan agenda and hinted that she was doing so at the behest of Pakistan. They dig out an eight-year-old Instagram post by her showing a Pakistani flag requesting prayers for Pakistan.

OpIndia, one of the largest pro-BJP websites, put out an article on Siddiqui, attacking her as the “the daughter of Pakistani parents” and for “echoing the claims of Islamists”.

The attacks forced Siddiqui to clarify that she cheered for the Indian cricket team along with her father.

Press conference

Siddiqui’s question to the Indian prime minister was a rare instance when Modi fielded a question from a journalist at a press conference in his nine years as prime minister.

Siddique pointed out that several human rights groups have accused the Modi government of discriminating against religious minorities and taking actions to silence its critics.

In response, Modi defended the secular roots of Indian democracy. “There is absolutely no space for discrimination...And when you talk of democracy, if there are no human values and there is no humanity, there are no human rights, then it’s not a democracy,” he said.

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-prada- (Adi Mulia Pradana) is a Helper. Former adviser (President Indonesia) Jokowi for mapping 2-times election. I used to get paid to catch all these blunders—now I do it for free. Trying to work out what's going on, what happens next. Arch enemies of the tobacco industry, (still) survive after getting doxed.

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