EDITORIAL 16.06.10

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Editorial

month june 16, edition 000540 , collected & managed by durgesh kumar mishra, published by – manish manjul

 

Editorial is syndication of all daily- published newspaper Editorial at one place.

For ENGLISH  EDITORIAL  http://editorialsamarth.blogspot.com

 

THE PIONEER

1. RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE
2. BRINGING MADANI TO BOOK
3. WE MUST SEIZE THE MOMENT - GAUTAM MUKHERJEE
4. INDIA HAS LET ITS CITIZENS DOWN - RINA JOSHI
5. INDIA SHOULD STAND BY ISRAEL - SIDDHARTH RAMANA
6. LTTE REMNANTS ARE TRYING TO REGROUP - B RAMAN
7. VOTE-BANKS ROADBLOCK TO GOVERNANCE - J S RAJPUT

MAIL TODAY

1. AND PRAY WHAT CAN BE ACHIEVED IN TEN DAYS?
2. REJECT POLITICS OF BLOCKADE
3. LEADERS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE IN DEMOCRACY - BY DIPANKAR GUPTA
4. PATIALA PEG - VIKAS KAHO
5. FISHING IN POLLUTED WATERS
6. NOW THEY WANT TO BAN ANIMAL SACRIFICE

THE TIMES OF INDIA

1. RISKY BUSINESS
2. RELIEF FOR MANIPUR
3. BENGAL'S ALTERNATIVE - SUSMITA MUKHERJEE
4. 'IT'S YOUR OWN CREATIVITY THAT YOU BATTLE'
5. TOO MANY BHOPALS - JUG SURAIYA
6. BUDDHA, SANGHA AND DHARMA  - SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

HINDUSTAN TIMES

1. LET DOWN BY MAI-BAAP
2. DON'T DWELL ON IT
3. SETTING THEIR HOUSE IN ORDER
4. FRIEND INDEED?
5. INNER CLARITY - SADHGURU

THE INDIAN EXPRESS

1. NEUTRALITY AT RBI
2. MINE A TRILLION
3. CONSTITUTING THE LOCAL - K. C. SIVARAMAKRISHNAN
4. TOGETHER APART - COOMI KAPOOR
5. 'AFGHANISTAN NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED SEPARATELY, OUTSIDE THE MATRIX OF INDIA-PAKISTAN RELATIONS' - NIRUPAMA RAO
6. THE GREAT GAME FOLIO - C. RAJA MOHAN
7. SYSTEMS CHECK
8. FINANCIAL FOLLY

THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

1. CORE IS GROWTH
2. KABUL'S POTENTIAL GOLDMINE
3. WHY WE NEED BETTER MARKET SURVEILLANCE - JAYANTH R VARMA
4. THE G-20 HAS NOT ACHIEVED MUCH - ARTURO BRIS
5. ACQUIRING FARMLAND ABROAD - SANJEEB MUKHERJEE

THE HINDU

1. DOUBLE-DIGIT INFLATION
2. SCHENGEN AT 25
3. GAMES BIG CORPORATIONS PLAY - SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN
4. U.K. FURY OVER OBAMA'S "BP-BASHING" - HASAN SUROOR
5. MAKING ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING EFFECTIVE  - HUGO WILLIAMS
6. DIRT-POOR NATION WITH A HEALTH PLAN - DONALD G. MCNEIL JR.

THE ASIAN AGE

1. AS INFLATION RISES,WAIT FOR THE RAINS
2. CONTROL ISSUES - P.C. ALEXANDER
3. READING BURMA'S NUCLEAR DREAMS - SHANKARI SUNDARARAMAN

DNA

1. KEEP BLUES AT BAY
2. SPARE THE ROD 
3. AFTERMATH OF BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY - NILOTPAL BASU

4.      AFTERMATH OF A TRAGEDY - NILOTPAL BASU

THE TRIBUNE

1. ROAD TO MANIPUR
2. RAJ TO THE FORE
3. QUESTIONABLE MOVE
4. THE STENCH WE LIVE WITH - BY B.G. VERGHESE
5. MY NAME IS IQBAL AND I AM NOT A TERRORIST - BY IQBAL BHUPINDER SINGH
6. CHALLENGE OF EDUCATION - BY MANJIT SINGH
7. STILL NOT READY FOR INDUSTRIAL DISASTERS - BY SWATI SHARMA
8. DELHI DURBAR

MUMBAI MIRROR

1. CREATIVE MODES OF SURVIVAL

BUSINESS STANDARD

1. MINIMUM SOLACE PRICE
2. BJP SCORES SELF-GOAL
3. INDIA NEEDS TO HAVE SHARPER FOCUS - SHYAM SARAN
4. WILL THE 25% PUBLIC FLOAT WORK? - GOVIND SANKARANARAYANAN
5. WHY SOME MINISTERS GET AWAY - A K BHATTACHARYA
6. COMPENSATION TO VICTIMS - M J ANTONY

THE ECONOMIC TIMES

1. LONG LIVE THE TAX CODE
2. DISCLOSURE ON LOAN DEFAULTS IS WELCOME - VUVUZELA WINS!
3. ALL IS FAIR IN JUST WAR - VITHAL C NADKARNI
4. FIXED-PRICE TENDER OFFER IS PRACTICAL - V ANANTHARAMAN
5. PSUS COULD OFFER STOCK OPTIONS TO STAFF - D R MEHTA
6. INFLATION AS A SOLUTION FOR EUROPE - SWAMINATHAN S ANKLESARIA AIYAR
7. THIS TIME DTC PARTIES WILL BE A HAPPIER LOT: SUNIL MITRA -  ATHAR KHAN & SOMA BANERJEE
8. VOLATILITY MAY GIVE WAY TO SIGNIFICANT INFLOWS: SUBIR GOKARN - SHAJI VIKRAMAN AND GAYATRI NAYAK
9. GOLD PRICE SPIKE LEADING TO THIN TRADING: TANISHQ COO - ARUN IYER

DECCAN CHRONICAL

1. AS INFLATION RISES, WAIT FOR THE RAINS
2. WHEN KISSINGER CALLS, IT'S WORLD CUP TIME - BY ROGER COHEN
3. CONTROL ISSUES - BY P.C. ALEXANDER
4. PAIN & JOY OF MYSTICAL VERSE  - BY MUZAFFAR ALI
5. READING BURMA'S NUCLEAR DREAMS - BY SHANKARI SUNDARARAMAN
6. THE LARGER STRUGGLE - BY DAVID BROOKS

THE STATESMAN

1. CBI'S DESIRED ACT
2. PERFIDY WITH POUNDS
3. MAKING AMENDS
4. INDIA'S SYSTEM IN CRISIS! - RAJINDER PURI
5. ETHNIC DEBATE IN A MATRIARCHAL SOCIETY
6. PAKISTAN SPIES HAVE 'SEAT ON TALIBAN COUNCIL' - ANDREW BUNCOMBE
7. NOW & AGAIN - SANTANU SINHA CHAUDHURI

THE TELEGRAPH

1. POSSESSING IT
2. BIG DEAL
3. TO WORK ON A FRIENDSHIP - BRIJESH D. JAYAL
4. IN A STATE OF SPEEDY DECLINE - SUMANTA SEN

DECCAN HERALD

1. IT'S OFFICIAL
2. INHUMAN TEACHERS
3. THE MIND BUSINESS - BY KANCHA ILAIAH
4. LACK OF GOVERNANCE BANE OF URBAN INDIA - BY AKASH KAPUR , INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
5. GETTING BATTLE READY - BY D K HAVANOOR

THE JERUSALEM POST

1. BUILDING ISRAEL
2. TIME FOR ANOTHER REASSESSMENT  - BY ARYE ELDAD
3. TERRA INCOGNITA: NATIONALISM BY PROXY  - BY SETH J. FRANTZMAN
4. YALLA PEACE: OUT WITH THE OLD (SYSTEM) - BY RAY HANANIA
5. GRAPEVINE: FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE  - BY GREER FAY CASHMAN
6. HAVE WE LOST TURKEY? - BY YOTAM JACOBSON
7. A MODEST PROPOSAL FOR SOLVING THE KOSHER SLAUGHTER PROBLEM - BY AVINOAM SHARON
8. IMPRESSIONS OF A VISITING EDITOR FROM JOHANNESBURG - BY MARTIN WILLIAMS

HAARETZ

1. THE GOVERNMENT'S TEST OF PRINCIPLE
2. A DANGER CALLED CONSTITUTION - BY ALUF BENN
3. IN A SIDE ROOM AT THE AIRPORT - BY AVIRAMA GOLAN
4. A DISGRACEFUL EVASION OF RESPONSIBILITY - BY SHLOMO AVINERI
5. SOMETIMES A FROG IS JUST A FROG - BY URIEL PROCACCIA

THE NEW YORK TIMES

1. FROM THE OVAL OFFICE
2. NO PRICE TO PAY FOR TORTURE
3. REVIVING INVESTOR PROTECTION
4. THE TRUTH ABOUT 'BLOODY SUNDAY'
5. CAN THE ONE DROP THE BUZZER-BEATING NO. 23 ACT? - BY MAUREEN DOWD
6. LETTER FROM ISTANBUL - BY THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
7. THE 'LEARNING KNIGHTS' OF BELL TELEPHONE - BY WES DAVIS
8. HOW TO RUIN A GOOD 9/11 SETTLEMENT - BY KENNETH R. FEINBERG

 USA TODAY

1. BEYOND THEATRICS, HOW TO RATE OBAMA ON OIL SPILL RESPONSE
2. SOUTER HAPPY TO SHAPE OUR CONSTITUTION - BY DAVID B. RIVKIN JR. AND LEE A. CASEY
3. IN A WORLD OF ABUNDANCE, FOOD WASTE IS A CRIME - BY DANIELLE NIERENBERG AND ABBY MASSEY

TIMES FREE PRESS

1. WHAT NOW ABOUT GULF OIL?
2. NO TAX INCREASE ON SIGNAL MOUNTAIN
3. 'NO EXCUSES' AT GOOD SCHOOLS
4. ZSENIORS NOT FOOLED ON OBAMACARE
5. FINES FOR TVA'S ASH SPILL
6. GLOBAL REFUGEE CRISIS WORSENS

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

1. FROM THE BOSPHORUS: STRAIGHT - TIME TO ENERGIZE ENERGY PLANNING
2. A LESSON FOR ISRAELIS FROM THE CRUSADERS - MUSTAFA AKYOL
3. NATIONAL VIEW VS GÜLEN MOVEMENT (II) - CÜNEYT ÜLSEVER
4. FROM ISTANBUL TO BURSA IN 18 MINUTES - UĞUR CEBECI
5. IS THE EU STILL IMPORTANT FOR THE AKP?
6. WE'VE BEEN UNMASKED! - BURAK BEKDİL
7. THIS IS WHAT A REAL SHIFT IN AXIS LOOKS LIKE - MEHMET ALİ BİRAND
8. JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY - YUSUF KANLI

TEHRAN TIMES

1. ISRAEL CANNOT BE ITS OWN JUDGE AND JURY - BY LINDA S. HEARD

I.THE NEWS

2. THE GREAT UNSPENT
3. WAGES OF HATE
4. JUSTICE FOR ALL
5. WHEN SHOCK-AND-AWE ISN'T TERROR - ASHRAF JEHANGIR QAZI
6. ROGER COHEN OF NYT - M SHAHID ALAM
7. THE CONSUMMATE CIRCUS - RAOOF HASAN
8. LOOKING FOR LITHIUM - ANJUM NIAZ
9. PALESTINE AND OUR RIGHT - FAROOQ SULEHRIA

PAKISTAN OBSERVER

1. ENHANCEMENT OF ROLE OF UNGA
2. BURNING OF GOVT OFFICES IN BALOCHISTAN
3. LAWYERS TAKE THE LAW INTO THEIR OWN HANDS
4. UN SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN - M ASHRAF MIRZA
5. THE BOGUS WAR ON TERRORISM - MAHBOOB A KHAWAJA
6. COOLING OFF IMPERATIVE - MOHAMMAD JAMIL
7. KASHMIR — WAITING FOR JUSTICE - ALI SUKHANVER
8. LET'S TALK SOME STRATEGY - GAUTAM ADHIKARI

THE INDEPENDENT

1. SINO-BANGLA TIES
2. DESCO DECISION
3. UP INFLATION UP..!
4. IRAN SANCTIONS: OLD DILEMMA FOR THE WEST - SYED MUAZZEM ALI
5. MANAGEMENT OF CITY INFRASTRUCTURE - NILRATAN HALDER
6. EU'S HOPE FOR THE FUTURE IS TURKEY - PETER PRESTON
7. NECESSITY OF A PEOPLE'S BIODIVERSITY REGISTER - ENAYETULLAH KHAN
8. LIFE MADE TO ORDER - PETER SINGER
9. CAN USA AFFORD TO CONTINUE DOMINANCE IN MIDEAST? - ENGR. MIRZA FERDOUS ALAM

THE AUSTRALIAN

1. NOT ABOUT POLICE PURITY, IT'S ABOUT FACTS
2. LNP DEADWOOD HINDERS ABBOTT

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

1. POLITICS SHOULD LEAVE PLANNING
2. BUSINESS ABROAD: WHATEVER IT TAKES?
3. ALL OF VICTORIA MUST DEAL WITH GROWING PAINS
4. RESPECT VERSUS COMMONSENSE

THE GUARDIAN

1. BSKYB: GOING GLOBAL
2. BLOODY SUNDAY REPORT: DERRY'S MOMENT OF TRUTH
3. IN PRAISE OF … GENERIC CONNECTABLE PLASTIC BRICKS

THE GAZETTE

A CLOSER EYE ON THE RCMP

 

THE MOSCOW TIMES

1. BESLAN'S MAIN TERRORIST FINALLY CAUGHT
2. BY YULIA LATYNINA
3. MOVING BEYOND PETERSBURG AND VEKSELBURG - BY VLADIMIR RYZHKOV
4. RUSSIA'S ZONE OF RESPONSIBILITY - BY FYODOR LUKYANOV

THE KOREA TIMES

1. GLOOMY ANNIVERSARY
2. CAPITAL CONTROL
3. NPT 2010: A STEP FORWARD - BY CHANDRA MUZAFFAR
4. END BAN ON TRAVEL, EXPORTS TO CUBA - BY DALE MCFEATTERS
5. PUBLIC UNIONS, THE ENEMY TO WATCH OUT FOR - BY JAY AMBROSE
6. SKIN COLOR NEVER A SMALL ISSUE - BY JOSE DE LA ISLA

THE JAPAN TIMES

1. A FOURTH TRY TO CONVINCE IRAN
2. CHINA UPS THE ANTE IN ASIA
3. BY MICHAEL RICHARDSON
4. SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY'S PROMISE OUTWEIGHS ITS RISKS -BY PETER SINGER

THE JAKARTA POST

1. REGULATING BUT NOT CONTROLLING
2. THE 'NORWEGIAN WOOD' BLUES - JULIA SURYAKUSUMA
3. A GIANT STEP FOR MANKIND - JESSE KUIJPER
4. LESSONS FROM THE JEWS AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION - JENNIE S. BEV

CHINA DAILY

1. CURRENCY CONFLICT
2. DEMOLITION DILEMMA
3. INVISIBLE CHILDREN
4. FORCIBLE DEMOLITION VS. HARMONY - BY WANG CAILIANG (CHINA DAILY)
5. KEEP IT SIMPLE, SPEAKER - BY COLIN SPEAKMAN (CHINA DAILY)
6. SATING RESOURCE APPETITE - BY HONGYI LAI (CHINA DAILY)
7. IN AND OUT OF SMILE IN EXPO CITY - BY XU XIAOMIN (CHINA DAILY)

THE HIMALAYAN

1. GIVE THE NOD
2. INFORMATION OVERLOAD - MRIJESH SHRESTHA
3. RADIATION SAFETY IN NEPAL STRONG MEASURES CALLED FOR - KANCHAN P. ADHIKARI

DAILY MIRROR

1. JVP STRIKES GOLD
2. I WON'T REPEAT MY FATHER'S MISTAKES – SAJITH - BY SUMAIYA RIZWI
3. FROM BULLETS TO THE MELODY OF WEDDING BELLS  - BY LAKNA PARANAMANNA
4. INDIA'S GROSS BETRAYAL OF THE TAMIL PEOPLE

 

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THE PIONEER

EDITORIAL

RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE

MAOISTS ARE FINALLY BEING SMASHED

It is difficult to justify President's rule, the suspension of democracy and the abrogation of popular Government, however distorted, in a State. Yet, if the removal of Mr Shibu Soren's largely discredited Government in Jharkhand can ensure the Union Home Ministry, now in charge of the State's administration, is able to take on the Maoist challenge determinedly and without obstacles being raised by local politicians, then it may be worth it. The first stage of India's Maoist war is taking place in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha. While the Chhattisgarh Government and the Union Home Ministry are working in coordination, and side-stepping both political differences and bureaucratic confusion, the other State Governments have not been half as responsive. That it took so long to destroy the Maoist camp in the Porahat forest area of West Singhbhum is only an indication of the delay in Jharkhand. From generators and solar panels to 300 kg of dried fish, from a munitions factory to elaborate communication systems, this camp was representative of the organised insurgency that Maoism is. After going through the list of what has been recovered in Porahat, and after hearing of the 2,000 rounds fired and grenades thrown by the Maoists during 72 hours of intense, non-stop fighting, only the horribly naïve will believe these are a 'bunch of boys' fighting for tribal rights in the jungles. The combined force of the Jharkhand Police and paramilitary units such as the Central Reserve Police Force had to fight inch for inch before defeating the terror militia and liberating Porahat and that part of West Singhbhum from Red terror. It is to be hoped this will be first of many rapid successes and the security forces will use the respite of President's rule and the break from Jharkhand's irresponsible politics as demonstrated by Mr Soren's reluctance to take on the insurgents — which the Maoists deftly exploit, by playing off one group against the other or resorting to crude threats and attacks on those politicians who stand up to them. Before Jharkhand goes back to its voters and seeks a new mandate, which will probably happen in the coming winter, the Union Government needs to free it of the noxious influence and fear of Maoist guerrillas. Only then are genuine democracy and a real, honest attempt at economic development possible.

 

While the Maoists are being seriously combated in Chhattisgarh and now Jharkhand, and pockets of Odisha, the real problem remains the original homeland of Maoists' bloodlust: West Bengal. A State without a Government — the CPI(M) and its authority have withered away in the rural vastness — West Bengal has now become a sanctuary for Maoist hordes escaping from neighbouring States, particularly Jharkhand. It is also increasingly the locale for blockbuster attacks simply because these are far easier to execute in a State where the Union Government has not rolled in its war machine and where the State police and political administration are compromised, comatose and unsure whether they should be battling the Red terrorists or embracing them. If the heartening progress in Jharkhand continues, then it is very likely that West Bengal will become the last bastion of the Maoists — the State to which the defeated armies of desperate, ideologically perverted insurgents will migrate for the final, defining battle. That is, of course, a matter for the future. For the moment, India needs to press on and win back all of Jharkhand.

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THE PIONEER

EDITORIAL

BRINGING MADANI TO BOOK

KARNATAKA MAY SUCCEED WHERE KERALA FAILED

After several months of persistent efforts to get Islamist leader Abdul Nasser Madani, whom many see as Kerala's fountainhead of jihadi terror, the Karnataka Police has come closer to its goal with the Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Bangalore issuing a non-bailable warrant for his arrest in the 2008 bombing case. The charge against Madani, whose political party PDP was an ally of the CPI(M) for more than four years and a supporter of the Congress-led UDF before that, is of inciting anti-national activities carried out by LeT's south India boss Thadiyantavide Nazeer and his henchmen. There are those who believe that the court had ordered his release from prison in 2007 in the Coimbatore serial bombings case as authorities had botched up the case against him and due to the unanimous support he received from the Kerala Assembly. Nazeer, the mastermind behind the terror bombing of Bangalore and other places, has confessed that he had discussed the plot with Madani, the 31st accused in the case, over phone and in person repeatedly though he and his party have been consistent in their denial. Police had even discovered that Madani's connections with the terrorists' gang was so close that his wife Sufiya, a key accused in another terror case in Kerala, was the local guardian in Kochi of the daughter of Abdul Sattar, LeT's explosives expert and one of the perpetrators of the Bangalore bombings.

Reconciled to the fact that there is no other alternative at this stage, the Kerala Government, led by the CPI(M), has announced that it will extend the requisite assistance to Karnataka Police to arrest Madani. It will now have to do the needful to enable the police to produce him before the Bangalore court on or before June 23. Eager not to be seen as backing an Islamist whose support it has received for several years, the Indian Union Muslim League, an ally of the Congress, has accused the CPI(M) of protecting Madani. As the wanted man's lawyers continued their efforts in Bangalore to secure anticipatory bail for him, PDP leaders are busy issuing threatening statements while party workers are trying to create communal trouble at Anvarssery in Kerala's Kollam district, his operational headquarters. Madani's deputy in the party and close relative Poonthura Siraj said the repercussions of his impending arrest are unpredictable, thus indicating clearly the course of action the PDP is planning to adopt. However, the Karnataka Police, unlike its Kerala counterpart which takes orders from its Marxist masters, seems to be determined to take the case against Madani, who is viewed by many as the architect of jihadi campaigns in Kerala and other southern States, to its logical conclusion.

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THE PIONEER

EDITORIAL

WE MUST SEIZE THE MOMENT

ISET MY SAIL AS THE TIDE COMES IN AND I JUST CAST MY FATE TO THE WIND.-- VINCE GUARALDI

GAUTAM MUKHERJEE

 

When a nation approaches a fresh apogee in its destiny, it must review its own narrative, no matter how bitter. For growth, not just economic, but an overall enhancement of stature, which could lead to greatness, demands the shedding of inappropriate baggage.

But, almost axiomatically, there is the anxiety at the prospect of casting off from familiar shores. It calls for changes: For an end to navel-gazing and decisive action against enemies of the state, but also to let bygones be bygones. It calls for not only the ruthless elimination of security threats and the relentless pursuit of national interest, but also for the forging of new ties and alliances, sometimes with unequal and powerful partners that have not always done the right thing by us.

India is rapidly and inexorably approaching that hallowed threshold, that long desired entrance to the portal of resurgent leading nations, with the appropriateness of our candidature held beyond dispute, and is called upon to make ready to seize its moment.

Part of the reason for arriving at this juncture is attributable to our innate virtue. Our Hindu/Buddh- ist/Sufi/Jain influenced pacifism and philosophical moderation, and the capacity to absorb different strains and viewpoints into our body politic. In a troubled world perplexed by the mayhem let loose by Islamism, our nuanced responses, our seemingly paradoxical embrace of opposing viewpoints, seems wise after all, and no longer wily or effete — no more the object of derision and contempt.

And other reasons, such as the upheaval in a settled world order, caused humiliatingly by self-inflicted implosion, not external aggression or sabotage, is climactic. An order undisturbed since before the fall of the Berlin Wall, perhaps unchanged from the first Bretton Woods Conference after World War II.

The hard reality is that Europe and America, large as their economies are, will, evidently, not grow at more than one or two per cent per annum for years, if not decades. And this too is dependent on mercantile and political cooperation of the sizeable fast-growing nations such as India and China.

A mirror held to the changing world reflects news of China looking at buying Newsweek put on the block by its owners, The Washington Post, struggling to survive as a broadsheet in the Internet age. But why does China actually want Time's feisty competitor? Could it be to get its worldview out more clearly to the target audience, and without inherent Western bias and prejudice?

India, recent purchaser of iconic British automotive brands Land Rover, Range Rover and Jaguar through the Tata Group, is now moving towards making its engines in India. This move would have been deemed a sacrilege a few years ago; but now, it has been prompted not by a jingoistic Indian manager but by the European CEO of Tata Motors. So the erstwhile financially troubled brands will be transformed, becoming more profitable and affordable. The engine design team will still be from the British Tata-owned operation, but the luxury vehicle's engines will henceforth be made in India.

Meanwhile, Press reports state Beijing and Mumbai are pleased at the windfall discounts available on their high-end Mercedes Benz, BMW and Audi car purchases, occasioned by the persistent weakness in the Euro. This is probably good in the long run also, because the buying demand these days is in these and suchlike places.

The prompting to resize our ambitions is coming in from various sides, some positive some negative in their impetus. The intensifying of terrorism and internal insurgency is a measure, if backhanded, of both our democracy and our success. Nobody is whisked away at midnight in India for railing at the state, however misguidedly. Treason is not a term used to gag dissent and make political opponents disappear. Nor is the Indian state put out at suggestions that it is the greatest terrorist of them all. This state, now seen as a contender, is subject to efforts from certain quarters to hinder its progress and sap its strength. Ergo, it is necessary for us to find the modern wherewithal to prevail, and thwart such designs.

But even left to itself, India's economic growth is posing challenges to our somewhat bullock-cart and buffalo-gazing political leadership. Besides, no politician or political party is able to hoodwink the people anymore. In the Internet age, the control over information is innately slippery. It is not just a matter of secrecy and leakages, but the transparency, including the hackery, engendered by the possibilities of technology available. It is this technology that is proving harder and harder to outwit. Every side of the fence is affected, the heroes and villains, and all those of us betwixt and bemused.

And the ideological narrative too has changed drastically. We are no longer Socialist. Perhaps neither is China. But ideology to the Chinese has become an internal matter for them to interpret as they see fit. Because China realised its priorities in the now seemingly distant 1980s. And today, having paid its dues, is indeed in control of its metamorphosis.

So to do this thing we are now called upon to do, we too must ignore the scars of recent centuries, must let go the post-colonial angst, as well as more recent geo-political biases against us.

We need instead to focus and not be distracted by rear-viewing cacophony and narrow parochialism. It is not wrong to jettison that which is spent. Since independence, through 40 years of a Socialist India, we worked obliquely to undermine the authority and power of the West. So it should come as no surprise that they did nothing to help us either.

But now all is different. We have a shot at reforming global trade talks and international institutional financing in our favour. We could be in the UNSC soon, not just as a temporary but permanent member. We could be taken off all the presently inaccessible high-technology lists. Our nuclear programmes could go forward unfettered. We could address our regional concerns with Pakistan and China with much greater confidence.

However, first we have to drop the burden of history and cast our fate to this favourable and prevailing wind.

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THE PIONEER

EDITORIAL

INDIA HAS LET ITS CITIZENS DOWN

RINA JOSHI

Amidst a thickening controversy, let us not fool ourselves by buying the cover-ups being advanced by senior Congress leaders in defence of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. While there is no smoke without fire, the recent revelations by declassified CIA papers, former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister PC Alexander and Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh have put the controversy in perspective.

It would not be wrong to say that Rajiv Gandhi ensured Union Carbide chairman Warren Anderson's safe exit and helped him dodge legal action following the Bhopal gas tragedy in December 1984, while Mr Arjun Singh only danced to his tune by flying Anderson out of Bhopal on an official aircraft. Under whose pressure did the former Prime Minister take this decision remains shrouded in mystery.

It is no one's case that the Bhopal gas disaster was a result of a mere accident. News hawks were quick to smell the rat in 1980 itself. While they brought to light facts about lethal gas leakage incidents, shoddy security norms as a measure to cut costs and the impending chemical disaster in Bhopal, Anderson slept.

But lost in the rising clamour for 'justice for Bhopal' is the point that the Americans, as also their Government, believe that they cannot be held accountable for mass murder committed by them anywhere in the world. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Bhopal gas tragedy are good reminders of how cheap a non-American life is for those who don't pause to bemoan even once.

It is interesting to note the ease with which American authorities have said that the Bhopal chapter is closed and refused to extradite Anderson because it is 'too late to act'. It is clear that the 15,000 Indian lives lost in the tragedy caused by the indifference of an American multinational have no value vis-à-vis 3,000 lives that were lost on 9/11 and for which the US Government has has been moving heaven and earth.

But it is we who have let others take Indians non-seriously. Be it a two-year sentence for the Bhopal tragedy convicts, inadequate compensation for its victims, and now the diluted Civil Nuclear Liability Bill, the Government of India has always let India's citizens down.

 

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THE PIONEER

OPED

INDIA SHOULD STAND BY ISRAEL

THE UPA GOVERNMENT HAS DISPLAYED REMARKABLE LACK OF STRATEGIC FORESIGHT BY JOINING THE CHORUS OF BIASED VOICES AGAINST ISRAEL. INDIA'S OFFICIAL RESPONSE TO THE 'FREE GAZA' FLOTILLA FRACAS IS ENTIRELY UNCALLED FOR SINCE NO INDIAN NATIONAL WAS AFFECTED IN THE ISRAELI RAID ON ISLAMISTS MASQUERADING AS 'PEACE ACTIVISTS'

SIDDHARTH RAMANA

The clashes which occurred between the Israel Defence Forces and a group of "humanitarian activists" aboard the Turkish ship MV Mavi Marmara on May 31 resulted in the deaths of nine activists and scores of injured, including IDF personnel.

The international condemnation was swift and forceful, arriving from stalwart allies in the European Union and the United States. Significant among the condemnations was that of Turkey, five of whose nationals were killed. Turkey had been the unofficial backer of the flotilla. Among the countries to have denounced Israel is India and this article attempts to deconstruct the folly of the Indian establishment in giving a blanket condemnation to Israel.

Gaza, a coastal strip in the south-west of Israel, has been in the news in recent years owing to a blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt since the takeover by Islamist party Hamas in 2005. The Israeli blockade has been singled out as being the cause of a severe humanitarian crisis in the strip. Regular military incursions into the strip have resulted in the deterioration in standard of living in the one million people populated region. Israel has argued that the blockade is necessary to prevent Hamas, a designated terrorist outfit, from developing further its rudimentary rockets to reach the Israeli hinterland and also to push forward for the release of an abducted Israeli soldier in Hamas' captivity. Israel argues that since Hamas' charter explicitly promotes the destruction of the state of Israel, there can be no negotiations with the group and that its fragile regional security environment dissuades it from providing any concessions.

India has been among the many countries which have called for the lifting of the blockade in Gaza. It was among the most vocal critics of Operation Cast Lead, an Israeli offensive aimed at weakening Hamas in response to years of rocket attacks, and supported a Human Rights Council mandated report which unfairly criticised Israel vis-à-vis Hamas. The Goldstone report was created by an organisation which has an unhealthy obsession with Israel, while turning a blind eye to atrocities committed by other states including its founding members Saudi Arabia among others. India would have done its reputation a world of good had it decided to study the report more critically before supporting its findings.

An example of the biases shown in the report is that reportedly at no stage of the conflict were medical services shown to be used as civilian shields by Hamas, when documented video evidence exists to prove the contrary. In the flotilla incident, video evidence suggests that the Israelis did not go in guns blazing as alleged, and were significantly outnumbered by a violent mob which attacked them. The Israelis fired in self defence after having determined credible threat to life.

The tradecraft of diplomacy involves the deft use of language in defusing tensions between allies. However, India seems to have taken a position wherein Israel is trumpeted as a friend when needed and decried when left alone. Israel's contribution to the Indian war on terrorism has been significant, through military hardware sales, joint working groups discussing terrorist groups in the region and support from Jewish lobbies in the United States for proscription of terror outfits working against India. The list is endless. However, India seems to pay mere lip service in memory of the Israelis killed in India, and to Israel's war on terror which is in strategic context an existential conflict for the state.

The blame lies not only on the official establishment but also the fourth estate and civil society in India which has done precious little to understand the background behind a conflict/incident before rushing in to condemn Israel. In an illuminating piece by security expert B Raman, the organiser of the flotilla — the Turkish organisation IHH (Insani Yardim Vakfi) — had close ties with "International Islamic University in Pakistan, which has been providing ideological motivation to the jihadis fighting in Afghanistan". Furthermore, the IHH has also worked with the Jamaat-ud-Dawa'h even during the time when the organisation was called the Markaz Dawa al Irshad. Based on the links of the organisation to jihadi groups, further elucidated in a declassified Central Intelligence Agency document, the international community should have monitored the members of the ship and its contents, not leaving Israel stranded in having to conduct the operation by itself.

The operation was unsuccessful because of the fatalities, which would weigh heavily on investigations into the intelligence gathered and tactics adopted by Israel. India would have done itself better by not exposing its hypocrisy towards terrorism, by acknowledging that the terrorism which Israel is threatened with is the same which threatens India.

A blanket condemnation would do little to reassure a military ally of the importance that Israel holds. Condemnation from unbiased countries has been tempered with the understanding that Israel found itself in an awkward situation once its security personnel had boarded the ships, following the due course of established norms. India should have waited for the facts to emerge, especially since none of its nationals were affected.

 

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THE PIONEER

OPED

LTTE REMNANTS ARE TRYING TO REGROUP

TOP LEADERS OF THE LIBERATION TIGERS OF TAMIL EELAM MAY BE DEAD BUT SUPPORTERS OF PRABHAKARAN ARE ALIVE AND DISCONTENT IS STILL RIFE IN POCKETS OF THE TAMIL COMMUNITY IN SRI LANKA AND ABROAD

B RAMAN

As an insurgency as well as a terrorist organisation, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is dead. So is most of its leadership at the higher levels, including Prabhakaran, its head. One cannot say with equal confidence that all its trained cadres, either killed or captured, have been fully accounted for. Top-ranked leaders who died have not left detailed documentation of their set-up giving details of the number of recruits, casualties and those still alive towards the end of their fight with the Sri Lankan Army.

Not much is known about their deployment, capabilities and weaponry. As a result, it is difficult to assess with some accuracy the risks of a revival of the Tamil militancy in some form or the other in Sri Lanka as well as Tamil Nadu.

One can assert with some confidence that there is little likelihood of the revival of a Tamil insurgency. The losses in trained personnel and capabilities suffered by the LTTE at the hands of the Sri Lankan Army will rule that out. The enhancement in deployment of the Army in Tamil-dominated areas — already under way — will ensure that the Tamil insurgency cannot stage a comeback in Sri Lanka like the Taliban did in Afghanistan.

However, one cannot rule out the danger of the revival of a terrorist movement by the unaccounted for remnants of the LTTE in Sri Lanka as well as in Tamil Nadu. The LTTE had trained an unspecified number of cadres — both men and women — in different kinds of terrorist operations, including suicide terrorism. One does not know how many were trained, how many were killed or captured by the Sri Lankan Army and how many have managed to evade capture and are biding their time in Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu. They have a high level of expertise in the use of terrorism as a modus operandi as well as in the fabrication of explosive material by using substances easily available in Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu.

So long as these remnants with the required expertise are available, a determined and motivated Tamil leader can rally them round and create sleeper cells for a new Tamil militant movement. A new generation of Tamil militant leadership is not yet on the horizon a year after the decimation of the LTTE. However, there is still anger in pockets of Tamil communities in Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu over the manner in which the Sri Lankan Army carried out its counter-insurgency operations and over what is seen as foot-dragging by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in carrying out his assurances for a fair political settlement made to the Tamils before the LTTE was crushed. Now that the LTTE movement has been decimated, he is no longer showing a sense of urgency in addressing the problems and grievances of the Tamils.

The fact that this anger is present not only in the Tamil community of the neighbouring nation but also in Tamil Nadu became evident recently from the protests in the southern State over an Indian film festival held in Sri Lanka, which was boycotted by Tamil actors. The protest demonstrations in New Delhi during the recent visit of Mr Rajapaksa and the unsuccessful attempt by some unidentified persons, believed to be sympathisers of Prabhakaran, to derail a train with locally-procured explosives in Tamil Nadu in the early hours of June 12 are also proof of this discontent. The Kumbakonam-Chennai Rockfort Express escaped what could have been a tragedy only due to the alertness of its driver and the driver of a train that passed on the line before the Rockfort Express who noticed a possible terrorist attempt to cause a derailment. According to media reports, pamphlets purported to have been drafted by supporters of Prabhakaran claiming responsibility for the attempt were found on the spot. Only a police investigation can establish whether the attempt was made by Prabhakaran's supporters as claimed in the pamphlets or by Maoists as a mark of solidarity with the LTTE. In the past, when Prabhakaran was alive, there were unconfirmed reports of contacts between the LTTE and the Maoists.

Anger is often the mother of militancy and terrorism. The LTTE is dead. Most of its senior leadership is no more. But anger in sections of the Tamil community is still alive. Motivated individuals, who are prepared to give vent to this anger by using terrorism, are available. Only the leadership to rally them around is not there. The post-September 11 history of terrorism shows that the absence of a leadership capable of uniting the terrorists and orchestrating their activities does not mean the end of terror. Autonomously operating individuals itching to give vent to their anger have been behind many recent acts of terrorism. Terrorism analysts have been speaking of an emerging phenomenon of leaderless terrorism consisting of acts of angry individuals. Till the cause of the anger of the Sri Lankan Tamils is satisfactorily addressed, the danger of the revival of terrorism in sections of the Tamil community will remain.

The writer is retired Additional Secretary, Government of India, director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai and associate, Chennai Centre For China Studies

 

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THE PIONEER

OPED

VOTE-BANKS ROADBLOCK TO GOVERNANCE

THE TENDENCY TO WEIGH EVERY DECISION AGAINST ITS ELECTORAL OUTCOME HAS CRIPPLED OUR DEMOCRACY

J S RAJPUT

What is common between Afzal Guru, Khalistan Liberation Force terrorist Davinder Singh Bhullar, three assassins of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and four associates of Veerappan, the slain forest brigand? Their pleas are among a pile of 28 mercy petitions involving 40 persons pending clearance with the President of India.

Unfortunately, even those unfettered by ideological compulsions and political bias have been unable to put their cases in the correct perspective. Psychologists and behavioural science pundits have an inkling of the terrible suffering borne by these convicts. Why must they endure such unbearable anguish for years only due to a delay in decision making? Why can't decisions on their pleas be taken within a fixed time frame of, say, four to six months?

The file on Afzal Guru's petition stayed in cold storage for four years. Those responsible for holding it deserve exemplary punishment. Only a morally bankrupt polity can permit such avoidable cruelty to its prisoners. When bureaucrats become pliant to political bosses at the cost of rules, regulations and moral values, they sow the seeds of a decline in democratic values while making their pay master — the common man — undergo untold hardship. The inability to take decisions stems from the Government's compulsions to weigh each and every act in terms of its electoral import.

At the face of such continued decline and the resulting erosion of ethical standards in public life, even the most die-hard optimist would appear perplexed. The citizen is made to rue lack of adequate governance practically on a daily basis. The education system is no exception. For the last one year, falling standards of quality in educational institutions and failure of regulatory bodies, which exist only for this specific function, to ensure the same have come to fore. The all-pervading corruption in All-India Council of Technical Education, Medical Council of India and Dental Council of India is now public knowledge.

Crimes such as possession of assets disproportionate to known sources of income have spread so wide that one is now almost resigned to their occurence. Public sector undertakings have come to be known for colossal wastage of funds on one hand and sharp deterioration in work culture on the other. Air India currently ranks the foremost among them. The top management appears busy in cornering more and more facilities for themselves. The plane crash in Mangalore shocked the entire nation. Apparently, it had little impact on the conscience of the Air India staff who went on a flash strike even before the identification of the dead bodies was complete and relatives were able to receive them for conducting last rites. Many family members of the victims needed to travel resulting in huge costs to the company. In this particular instance, the ends of justice could be met only if the resulting financial losses to the company are recovered from those who went on strike.

No critique of corruption in political and public life would be complete without a mention of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Mr Shibu Soren. Mr Soren and three other JMM MPs accepted illegal gratification of Rs 3.5 crore in lieu of voting for the P V Narsimha Rao Government during a no-confidence motion in 1993. In the legal battle that ensued, he was saved on technical grounds. Subsequently, Mr Soren became the first Union Minister to have been held guilty of murder. He received a life sentence for the murder of his personal secretary but was acquitted later. He went on to become a Chief Minister, without being a member of the State legislature. Mr Soren has been the darling of the ruling alliance at the Centre and the leading national party tried its best to cling to him in order to remain in power.

What a change from the 1950s when democracy was just taking roots and the values of the freedom struggle still dominated public discourse and the conduct of politicians and officials! The first two decades in independent India drew the attention of the entire world. When the first democratically elected Communist Government took oath of office in Kerala, it reflected a victory of democratic values. Its dismissal in 1959 while it was still enjoying a majority in the Legislative Assembly on the recommendation of the Governor was against the letter and spirit of parliamentary democracy and set an unhealthy precedent. The rot had begun.

The new generation of political leadership does not have the ideological moorings of their predecessors. Not many are ready to swim against the tide. The results lie before us.

 

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MAIL TODAY

EDITORIAL

AND PRAY WHAT CAN BE ACHIEVED IN TEN DAYS?

 

THE first GoM on the Bhopal gas tragedy which killed over 15,000 people and maimed thousands more, besides physically and mentally debilitating lakhs more due to the residual pollution, was set up in 1992. It met 17 times between January 1992 and June 2008, and it has produced precious little. On May 27 this year it was reconstituted, and now, after a nationwide uproar following a Bhopal court judgment awarding a mere two- year bailable sentence and a Rs 25,000 fine to the eight accused, the Prime Minister has asked it to submit a report within 10 days. Just what is it expected to achieve? At the outset, there are several questions that need to be asked of the Prime Minister, and indeed, the re- empowered GoM. What are the terms of reference for the GoM to work upon if it has to produce a report in 10 days? Since the GoM is not a judicial body and the conviction by the court was apt given the charges under which the accused were on trial, what would the GoM do to ensure " justice" is done, even if 26 years late? The two other core issues are of compensation and rehabilitation. The Supreme Court had already decided upon a final compensation of $ 470 million to be provided by Union Carbide to the victims. According to that judgment, the company is not liable to pay any more damages; in which case, will the government of India step in provide additional compensation to all the victims. If that happens, it is the Indian taxpayer who would be footing the bill that should rightly have been paid up by a US- based multibillion dollar global firm responsible for the deaths and the maiming.

 

As far as rehabilitation goes, a GoM was set up in 1998 and it took 16 years for the Madhya Pradesh government to even present a plan.

 

No action has been initiated so far.

 

On all these counts, therefore, the current GoM seems to be headed towards a cul de sac.

In any case, the record of all of the previous GoMs has been pathetic. The plan for the cleaning up of the factory site has yielded no results for 10 years and a matter as basic as clean drinking water has been hanging fire for 12 years. Should we be surprised if this GoM, too, heads down the same route ?

 

REJECT POLITICS OF BLOCKADE

BY threatening to starve the national capital of water and causing a humanitarian crisis in Manipur, the respective blockades by the Jats and the Nagas are in no way a harmless means of political protest. Much like the Gujjar agitation of 2007 and Jammu blockade during the Amarnath agitation of 2008, this means of protest usually against the government, makes the ordinary citizen's life difficult, if not actually endangering it.

 

In many instances, the protestors may have a legitimate cause of a grievance. But their protest or ire needs to be targeted at the powers- that- be. By holding the ordinary citizens hostage, they are merely behaving like insurgents and terrorists who do not hesitate to target non- combatants and civilians to highlight their respective cause.

 

The acute shortage of food and life- saving drugs in Manipur due to the blockade brought great misery to its citizens. The citizens of Delhi narrowly escaped a great deal of hardship because the blockade was called off before the affect of the water shortage began to be felt. Such acts only exacerbate social tensions and create the space for political violence. The cause of dialogue and reconciliation is also done irreparable harm, as is apparent in Manipur.

It reflects a political culture in which social and ethnic categories shape state policies and also serve as means for collective bargaining vis- à- vis the state. Political parties are partly to blame as they foster such fissures for their political ends as can be seen from the BSP's support to the Jat agitation, the Ibobi Singh government's use of the blockade to squash legitimate dialogue with the Nagas, and the BJP's role in the Amarnath agitation.

 

More than anything, such blockades expose the fragility of the state, or, more often than not, the ineptitude of its political leadership.

 

Confronted with such a challenge, the political class need to seize the initiative to negotiate with the protestors, and, if necessary, confront them through the authority of the state.

 

Doing nothing should never be an option.

 

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MAIL TODAY

EDITORIAL

LEADERS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE IN DEMOCRACY

BY DIPANKAR GUPTA

 

THE fundamental law of politics is that rulers act and the ruled react.

 

This truth has held in all hitherto existing societies: it is carbon dated, weather proofed and tropicalised.

 

The difference democracy makes is that it lets the people judge its leaders, but only after they have already acted. When an elected leader advocates a policy in the name of popular will, it nearly always is a big lie. By using people as a cover, ugly politicians have found happiness in parliaments everywhere.

 

The sentiments of the people count when they are asked to judge a policy on Election Day. While votes do matter, they are always cast after the political act has taken place; never before it. A good democracy is that democracy where the electorate can take informed decisions while voting. They are never the architects of policy though clever politicians often use them as a foil.

 

Credit

 

When Tony Blair took Britain to war in Iraq he paid no heed to the voices in the streets. On the contrary, he claimed he was listening to voices in his head, and they were clearer. Soon the masses came around and he won the elections again.

 

Going by the popular mood in London in February, 2003, who would have thought this possible? Closer home, when mixed economy and non- alignment were the pillars of our national policy, nobody consulted the people.

 

Nehru, in fact, went against many Congress members in pushing the Hindu Marriage Act. Come judgment time, the voters seemed to prefer this mix over others on offer and that is why the Congress kept getting elected. Nehru was not just asking grown- ups to eat their vegetables, he was giving them a lot more to chew on.

 

His grandson, Rajiv Gandhi did not consult Panchayati Raj representatives either when structuring the 74th Amendment Bill. Did the BJP listen to the people of India before demolishing the mosque? It did not; it only hoped to capitalise on the reactions to its destruction. Is the NREGA scheme in place because of popular will, or is it there as a test of administrative will? In a true democracy the outcomes of all such initiatives are tested in elections, but they do not begin their careers in town squares, bus stops and tea shops; not even in village chaupals . Interestingly, when a policy goes well then the credit for it redounds on the leader. Yet, popular will and too much democracy are blamed for every piece of botched politics and administrative inaction.

 

When Rajiv Gandhi neutered the court judgment on Shah Bano, it was because of the popular will of Muslims ( those other people); when the lock in Babri Masjid was broken, it was on account of the will of the majority; when riots in Gujarat happened, it was the nation exercised.

 

Or take the Commonwealth Games.

 

People of Delhi were never consulted about its feasibility, yet when preparations fell behind schedule, the blame for it was on the excess of democracy. The truth is that when slums have to be demolished and the price is right, then it gets done right away- sometimes even to step up private schools. A quick look of the map of Delhi will show re- settlement colonies miles away from the centre of the capital.

 

Not just slums, if it is in the interest of politicians and the price is right then even better off people are not spared.

 

Caste

 

When it comes to caste politics the tendency to blame the people is the greatest.

 

The main reason why politicians get away with this lie is because most intellectuals believe it to be true. But once again, politicians have set the stage and all the props to conceal the fact that in terms of pure numbers no caste has enough votes to win an election to the Legislature or the Parliament.

 

Caste might work at the Gram Sabha level, but not in larger constituencies where there are just too many jatis , of roughly the same size, jostling for power.

 

Yet, as this simple empirical detail is little known it allows the likes of Rajiv Pratap Rudy to say with a straight face that when it comes to politics, caste is the hero.

 

Sadly, many Dalit leaders flog this poster image as well. In the case of ethnic killings, too, politicians put the onus on the people, but not as convincingly as in the case of caste. This is because there is a mass of evidence, collected by national and international scholars, that reveals how religious riots in India begin their innings in political pavilions.

 

What separates colonialism from democracy is not that the former doesn't consult the people while the latter does. In both cases, it is the rulers that act. What, however, sets the two apart is that under foreign rule subjects cannot choose between leaders.

 

This is where democracy makes a difference.

 

Further, in a democracy there is at least another political dispensation, the opposition, both in fact and theory. In colonialism such a situation would be a contradiction in terms. But make no mistake: in neither case are people consulted.

 

Blame

 

Remember the tales of Panchatantra and those of Akbar and Birbal. Recall also the fables of the Ramrajya when the king listened to his subjects. The fact that these are fables is simply because such cuddly things never happened. The king consulted his ministers, but as in all such arrangements, it was ruinous to oppose the monarch. Every advice had to be aligned to the sovereign's will. That courtier did the best who understood the mind of the throne better than others. No prizes for guessing why this should sound familiar in India today. Human beings have identical failings across time and space.

 

Democracy forces us to think differently.

 

This is why democracy has to be treated very carefully for it goes against all previous forms of governance in history. Here leaders take the responsibility for their decisions leaving the people to judge how good or bad those decisions were. That is why it is said that democracy is the least flawed of all systems of governance.

 

While leaders in a democracy set the pace and the agenda, their respective policies are always on trial and could be voted out. This is why if any advance is made in a democracy it is always because of the leaders, never the people. If leaders come up with bland policies, masses can do little about it. Therefore, if some countries have gone ahead and beat poverty, while others have failed to do so, then the blame should fall squarely on the rulers and not on the backwardness of the people.

 

When certain progressive policies were inaugurated in modern times, from the abolition of slavery to the rights of minorities, it was not because people were screaming for them. Leaders took the initiative, subsequent politicians tried to better them, and that is how advanced countries moved from strength to strength.

 

This shows, above all, that we do not get the leaders we deserve. As we can only choose between what is available, the leaders must deserve us. That is the true test of a democracy.

 

The writer is a Senior Fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library

 

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MAIL TODAY

EDITORIAL

PATIALA PEG L

VIKAS KAHO

 

A CITY LOSES ITS LEGACY TO APATHY AND GREED

THE VISION of Chandigarh— that the master architect Le Corbusier incorporated in the conceptual maps on the drawing board— has disappeared, literally. Some of his seminal ideas, notes and sketches have been put on auction in France and the US. MN Sharma, the man who had carried Le Corbusier's legacy forward, is anguished.

 

Sharma had taken over as the first Indian chief architect of Punjab and Chandigarh after Corbusier to complete the pending work. He is pained to learn that the Chandigarh administration did not care to preserve many of the original maps and drawings bearing the signatures of the French architect and planner.

 

The Chandigarh administration does not possess various items of historical importance including the architectural drawings and wooden carvings of Le Corbusier's sketches anymore.

 

These items— which stood testimony to the making of Chandigarh— have found their way to auction houses in the US and France.

 

Sharma has been spearheading a movement for action against the lackadaisical officials who failed to preserve the city's heritage. The valuable drawings were taken away from the chief architect's office without any official record, by a few persons working at the Heritage Cell at Chandigarh College of Architecture ( CCA). These drawings were shifted by the administration on the pretext of digitisation for publication.

 

There was also a " fire" at the chief architect's office in Chandigarh and the " authorities have been assessing the loss to the heritage items." Sharma wants the administration to at least register an FIR and probe how Corbusier's documents were auctioned and who sold these items.

 

Ashwani Sabharwal, who was a senior architect in the Chandigarh administration from 1997 to 2005, also holds that most of the drawings lying in the office relating to old buildings— including government houses, the secretariat, Vidhan Sabha, High Court and the Master Plan of Chandigarh— were taken to Chandigarh College of Architecture for the purpose of documentation.

 

He states that the record was not under his control. He had learnt that some girls from the college took away documents from the central record.

 

Generally, no proper record of the drawings being taken away and returned was kept in the office.

 

Strict procedure had not been adopted since the college was under the Administration. He however says he does not have any authentic paper or proof to supplement his statement. This is all what he can remember.

 

SHARMA BELIEVES that Chandigarh does not have any patron now. The creation of the city was patronised by the first prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru and then by his daughter Indira Gandhi.

 

It was a " handmade" city developed in three years, despite limited resources. The masters ruling the city— a home to various modern architectural marvels— have been playing with its original fabric, which is criminal.

 

Uncontrolled— and in some cases illegal— expansion of the city's periphery has put pressure on its infrastructure. The modern bureaucrats conceive projects without a proper rationale.

 

Sharma is worried that people, who are not even remotely connected with design and architecture, have been deciding projects for the city. He has also taken up the issue with Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

 

The city's plan conformed to the principles of the International Congress of Modern Architecture of dividing urban functions, conceiving an anthropomorphic plan form and a hierarchy in the road network.

 

MN Sharma, who worked with Corbusier, is sad that a dream creation is being " destroyed" towards the fag end of his life.

 

FISHING IN POLLUTED WATERS

NOTED environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal is not sparing his own department when it comes to protecting the natural resources of Punjab. A nominated member of the Punjab Pollution Control Board ( PPCB), he took on the government for not implementing the anti- pollution laws against industries in Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Phagwara causing air and water pollution in these towns.

 

Seechewal— who was participating at a seminar in Bathinda— said harmful chemicals were flowing from these factories into the sources of drinking water. He also expressed anger at the PPCB for allowing these industries to come up without the installation of effluenttreatment plants, thereby causing health hazards for the public.

 

He also presented bottles containing extremely polluted water from the Kala Sangha drain and the Budda Nullah in Ludhiana to highlight the alarming level of contamination.

 

A large number of villages in the Malwa region of the state have been suffering from contamination of ground water.

 

NOW THEY WANT TO BAN ANIMAL SACRIFICE

SOME activists against cruelty to animals have spearheaded a move for banning animal sacrifice in religious ceremonies.

 

Members of the International Organisation for Animal Protection ( IOPA) and the Haryana chapter of the People for Animals ( PFA) have decided to present a petition to President Pratibha Patil on June 23 in New Delhi. Naresh Kadyan, representative of the IOPA — an NGO associated with the UN Department of Public Information— said that they had been seeking the government to do away with Section 28 from the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. The section permits the killing of any animal in a manner required by religious beliefs. Kadyan said that they would approach the leaders of all religious communities to come forward for an amendment in the law to save animals.

 

" No religion ever preached violence or ordered the death of any living creature," Kadyan said. According to him" If one were to believe in the sanctity of sacrifice, it would be based on the fact that God would not want humans to perform a random act of violence or murder.

 

But rather that man should sacrifice something he loves." He added that sacrificing animals has been abandoned by most modern societies.

 

Vikas.kahol@mailtoday.in

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

 COMMENT

RISKY BUSINESS

 

One trillion dollars worth of mineral reserves being found in Afghanistan make for good headlines. And if reports of the quantum of resources – including lithium, used in the production of a number of electronic items such as laptops, beryllium, gold and other precious metals and gemstones – are accurate, it might indeed have significant long-term consequences for Afghanistan's economy and future. But there are several caveats. One is that these deposits seem to be far from new discoveries. Several follow-up reports have pointed out that geological surveys carried out by the US over the past decade have remarked on the country's mineral riches. Secondly, and more importantly, the existence of the resources is in itself no guarantor of Afghanistan's economic security and development. That depends entirely on the manner in which these deposits are utilised.

The problems start right from the first stage of accessing and extracting these minerals. A dangerous security environment with the Taliban presence in the southern and eastern regions proving difficult to roll back is not an ideal scenario for setting up largescale extraction industries. Neither does the wartorn country have anything like the kind of infrastructure needed for processing and transport. Given how capital-intensive setting up such infrastructure is liable to be and how high the risks are likely to be – both because of the security environment and because of how long it would take to get returns on the investment – securing investment might not be as easy as US officials claim it will be.

And that brings up another major hurdle. If these deposits are to be a game-changer for the Afghan people as the Pentagon is stating, just who the stakeholders are becomes vitally important. The presence of natural resources does not necessarily mean a better life for the people of the region. The controversies over mining operations in India and blood diamonds from numerous conflict zones in Africa – and any number of other examples from around the world – go to prove this.

Hyperbole aside, these finds may indeed prove crucial in transforming the Afghan economy from its current crippled, narcotics-fuelled state to one that helps lift its people out of the cycle of violence that has plagued the country . But for that, scrupulous care must be taken not to let Afghanistan become a mere resource bank for foreign corporations with all the economic benefits channelled into the hands of an oligarchy drawn from the current corrupt administration. Looking at Afghanistan as the "Saudi Arabia of lithium", as a Pentagon memo apparently states, is exactly the wrong way to go about it.

 

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

 COMMENT

RELIEF FOR MANIPUR

 

An end to the crisis in Manipur seems near. With the Centre ordering paramilitary troops to clear the two-month-old blockade of two national highways to Imphal, prices of essential goods should ease up. The Naga Students' Federation (NSF), taking a cue from the Centre's move, has declared that they'll temporarily suspend the siege. The chief secretaries of Nagaland and Manipur are to meet in New Delhi to review the situation. Welcome steps, surely. But why did it take so long for officials – at the Centre and in states – to step in? It'll now take a while before ethnic relations in the region are repaired. And, the blame rests squarely on unimaginative and insensitive politicians and public officials who let the crisis grow.

The blockade was the fallout of identity politics in the region. Within Manipur, the divide between tribes, especially Nagas, living in the hills and people in the Valley has widened. The state government in Imphal must hear out the Naga groups and their fears regarding dilution of the powers of autonomous district councils. Imphal fears that the demand for autonomy could shore up the claim of the NSCN, the Naga rebel group led by Th Muivah, which wants a greater Nagaland by including parts of Manipur. The Centre must assure Manipur that the state's boundaries will not be tampered with. But Imphal should also realise that various ethnic communities have to stay together if Manipur's interests are to be protected. The immediate task for the state government is to facilitate reconciliation between various communities in the state that stand divided. Political groups must desist from championing exclusivist identities. It is possible, and necessary, in this increasingly globalising world for people to have multiple identities. The autonomy of a Naga identity can surely coexist with Manipuri and Indian identities. And, of course, a person need not necessarily subscribe only to these state or community-centric identities.

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

 EDITORIAL

BENGAL'S ALTERNATIVE

SUSMITA MUKHERJEE

 

Nothing succeeds like success. This old saying could not be truer than in the case of Trinamul chief Mamata Banerjee. It has to be conceded, grudgingly or willingly, that the Mamata juggernaut looks unlikely to be checked and that she could very well hold the key to Bengal's future.

After the West Bengal civic election results were declared recently, the laughs that Mamata's whimsical ways have often provoked were silenced. Indeed, she has become even more of a force to reckon with. The Congress's Pranab Mukherjee hastily summoned a press briefing, accepting his party's drubbing and congratulating Mamata. Both Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi called her up to congratulate her. Nonagenarian Siddhartha Shankar Ray, a former Bengal chief minister, went a step further and called Mamata the "true" Congress. Keshava Rao, Congress general secretary in charge of Bengal, was also not to be left behind. In fact, Sonia Gandhi's emissaries have been trying to win Mamata back into the Congress fold.

Mamata's victory is welldeserved . Three consecutive triumphs in a row – panchayat, parliamentary and civic polls – have reinforced the perception that Writers' Buildings could be the culmination of her war against the Marxists. The trend as of now looks irreversible though there's still nearly a year to go before the assembly poll bells ring in Bengal. The election may well see the beleaguered Left bow out. In 1994, Mamata had taken on the task of uprooting the Left. Her dream could finally come true in 2011.

Many, including Mamata, Ray and even the Congress, would like the assembly polls advanced to build pressure on the state government and also to cash in on the anti-Left wave that's sweeping Bengal. Interestingly , some partners of the Left Front themselves feel that chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee should see the writing on the wall: the Left has lost its mandate in Bengal. Clearly, the pressure is building up on all fronts.

The general perception that "nothing works" in Bengal is deepened by the fact industrialists have been shying away from the state. The results of the assembly elections could well reflect a voter backlash. But there's always that slip between the cup and the lip when the voter gets to have the last word. If the Trinamul's green blitzkrieg has to keep its momentum till the assembly polls, a lot would depend on the level-headedness and maturity of the party leadership, which has to spell out a clear political and economic agenda. Muscle power, belligerence and theatrics cannot be a counter to a long-term stable government.

Therefore, no one can yet be completely sure of the circumstances that will lead up to the polls. Mamata was herself surprised by the municipal poll results . She did think she would win but not as emphatically. Setbacks and surprises are part of the political game, although given the Trinamul's current form and the strong anti-incumbency sentiment among voters, it is unlikely the people would miss this opportunity to overthrow the Left. But the year of the run-up to the polls is crucial. The lady thought to be the chief minister-in-waiting could use this period to groom herself in the art of governance. The promises she has made to the people will have to be delivered . To fulfil high expectations, she will also have to confront the Left backlash, especially in the districts.
As much as Mamata would like to wish it away, another stark reality to be faced is the Maoists in the backdrop. Whenever 'allies' turn foes, it can prove counterproductive. Bengal, however, looks forward to resurgence under a new regime, and not bloodbaths and blockades. In this context, Mamata has already scored a few brownie points by reviving Burn Standard and Braithwaite, two PSUs transferred by the Centre to the Railways.

While Mamata is viewed by the common people as an instrument of transition, even her most acerbic critics admit she has achieved the impossible : shaken up the red fortress by promising change. However , anti-Mamata sentiments also run high. Some predict the fall of a Mamata-led government within a couple of months of its formation followed by mid-term polls, on grounds that she would not be able to deliver. But that's for time to tell, and dependent on a number of factors such as how well she is able to hold her flock together, control intra-party squabbling as well as keep her own famed caprice in check.

In the final analysis, Mamata cherishes a dream for Bengal and she has the good of the state at heart (to quote her, she wishes to "convert it into shonar Bangla"). And she would rather be full-time in Bengal than in Delhi. However, while she is a strategist par excellence, she has to understand that being the voice of the opposition and being the leader of a popularly elected government are two different propositions. So, the pre-poll phase could well be a 'dress rehearsal' and a learning process. It will also hopefully give voters time to decide if this is the alternative they want in place of the Left.

 

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

'IT'S YOUR OWN CREATIVITY THAT YOU BATTLE'

 

From Pallavi Anu Pallavi in Kannada in 1983 to Raavan in Hindi in 2010, it's been a long and fruitful journey for Mani Ratnam . Critics regard him as one of the most significant voices of Indian cinema. Straddling the world of aesthetics, mass orientation and, some say, simplistic politics, Mani has created a body of work, which resonates across the world of Indian cinema. Mani, who turned 54 recently, speaks to Subhash K Jha :

How do you see the journey from Tamil films to Dil Se, Yuva and now Raavan in Hindi?

Tough, hard journey. The terrain we shoot in are nothing compared to this path. It just doesn't get easy. The struggle has increased because you don't have excuses to fall back. You can't claim it is the first film and therefore errors and omissions are expected. You can't hide behind your own cliches that you have exhausted by now. And world cinema is growing at such a clip that you've got to keep changing to stay within reasonable distance. It is not so much the film or the logistics but your own creativity you battle.

Would you say Raavan was the most difficult film you have made?

Ah, let me think. Yes, it could be, but that's the way i felt about the last film and the one before that. When i did my first film, i said to myself just a film or two and you will know enough about filming and then it would be a piece of cake. And i believed it. And i love cakes. But, no. It is still as tough and has got worse.
As a storyteller, you try to use every tool at your disposal to tell the story better, to stage the scenes effectively. The terrain and the climate are the stage on which the drama is mounted. They help you transport the viewer to the character , to the action and gives the actor a pre-set stage on which he or she can perform. So the location and the climate are not hindrances, we seek it. We planned Raavan in the monsoons, so that we could benefit from the helping hand of nature.

You suffered a health scare during the shooting. Did that experience change your perception of art and life?

Ha! The scares are just reminders to stay fit and healthy. Once this 10-headed Raavan is out of my system i shall be back on course and fitness.

The second part of your question... How does it affect art and life? Well, it is romantic to think that when you go into an ICU, you come out with a changed perspective on everything . But it's not true. What it did was it made me make Raavan meaner and fitter. What i did not do to myself i did to my script. Cut the flab and got it leaner.

Would you say shooting a film in a studio is far more manageable, even if less authentic?

When i watch a film, i have never bothered how difficult it must have been for the filmmaker to put it together. That's the problem of the director. As a viewer we just see if the film connects. Finally that's the only thing that counts. And makes the distributor count. So when you make the movie, where you shoot does not matter as long as you are able to make the connection.

What next?

What next? Honestly, i don't know. At the beginning of Raavan, i thought i would retire after this film and settle in Kodaikanal and play golf everyday. At the end of the film i am ready to start my next one soon. So let's see.

 

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

TOO MANY BHOPALS

JUG SURAIYA

 

 (The piece is a comment) On the same day when the blame game was being played in political circles as to who let Warren Anderson escape after the Bhopal gas tragedy, on the streets of the capital an 11-year-old boy watched his eight-year-old brother bleed to death as a result of a hit-and-run accident when two policemen argued about the victim's condition and refused to take him to hospital. When a passer-by , a magistrate, urged the constables to get the injured child medical attention, one of the policemen held up the victim's arm and said "See, there is no life in him. He's already dead." In a written complaint the magistrate has alleged that when he told the policemen that they were not qualified to diagnose the condition of the victim, the constables abused him. By the time the injured boy could be taken to hospital, after a call on the police helpline, he was brought dead.

 

The horrifying feature about this incident is not its unusual nature, but that it is all too common. All too often the representatives of the sarkar – from cops on the beat to bureaucrats and those elected to political office – betray a total callousness where the safety and well-being of the common citizen is concerned.
Life in India is cheap. And those who have made it so are not exploitative foreigners but we ourselves. Even as the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan was sending a letter to Barack Obama saying, "Your tough stand against British Petroleum for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is worthy of emulation by other governments around the world and the same yardstick should be applied to the Bhopal gas tragedy involving a US company," a frontpage report in this newspaper detailed how Punjab – the acclaimed pioneer of the Green Revolution – has become a 'toxic hotspot' , its famously fertile soil and its water lethally poisoned with uranium, arsenic, cyanide and cancercausing nitrates. Surveys conducted by national and international agencies have revealed that industrial and chemical pollution has resulted in an 'ecological crisis' in the state. Chronic overuse of synthetic nitrogen fertilisers and untreated effluents from industrial centres like Jalandhar and Ludhiana flowing into water bodies have been identified as the villains, with successive state governments, who have turned a wilfully blind eye to the flouting of anti-pollution laws, acting as accomplices. If Anderson is to be held culpable for what happened in Bhopal – and he ought to be – who is to be held guilty for what has happened, and is happening, in Punjab?

 

How are these people – whoever they are, from rapacious industrialists to conniving bureaucrats and politicians – to be identified? How are they to be punished, and by whom?

 

It is not just Punjab that has been put in peril by our own misdeeds, with little if any foreign help. The mass displacement of tribal and other rural populations in the name of development has been a stain on India's success story long before Singur and Nandigram became battle cries for increasingly marginalised communities.

 

The Bhopal tragedy, which took a toll of 20,000 lives, happened overnight. The Maoist menace – which is holding the whole country to ransom and which has been described as an even bigger threat to national security than foreignsponsored terrorism – has been a home-grown tragedy unfolding over years of malign neglect and exploitation. Who is responsible for turning the Maoist cadres – mainly tribals and landless peasants – into murderers? A handful of leftist ideologues? Or a brutal and brutalising system that has progressively devalued human life and which is the ugly underbelly of the world's most populous democracy?

 

Extradite Anderson for trial? Sure, if we can. But who's going to try whom for the many unknown Bhopals that we daily inflict on ourselves, often without even knowing it?

 

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

BUDDHA, SANGHA AND DHARMA

SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

 

On the spiritual path there are three factors: Buddha, the master or the presence of the enlightened, sangha, the commune or group, and dharma, your true nature. Life blossoms naturally when there is a balance between the three.

The Buddha is a doorway, and the doorway needs to be more charming than what lies beyond so that people come to the doorway. If you are out in the street and there is rain and thunder, or scorching weather, you feel the need for a shelter. You look and find a doorway. Have you noticed that then, the doorway is more inviting and joyful than anything else in the world?

Similarly, the closer you get to the master, the more charm, newness and love you feel. Nothing in the world could give that much peace, joy and pleasure. It's like depth without a bottom. This is a sign that you have come to the master.

Once you enter the door, you see the world from there, from the eyes of the master. Then in any situation you will think: How would the master handle this? See the world from the eyes of the master and the world looks so much more beautiful as a place filled with love, joy, cooperation and compassion.

Looking through the doorway there is no fear. From inside your home, you can look at the storm and the bright sun too; yet you can be relaxed as you are in the shelter. Such a sense of security, fullness and joy comes. That is the purpose of having a master.

Sangha is charming from a distance, but the closer you get, it pushes all your buttons and brings out all the unwanted things from within you. If you think a group is good it means you are not yet completely with the group. When you are totally part of that group, you will find that some bickering will come up. But you are the one who makes the group so if you are good, your group will also be good.

Sangha has a reverse nature to Buddha. Buddha makes your mind one-pointed; sangha, because it is of so many people, can scatter your mind, fragment it. Once you are used to a sangha, it loses its charm. This is the nature of sangha. Still, it is very supportive. If it were repulsive all the time, then nobody would be part of sangha.

Buddha uplifts with Grace, love and knowledge, Buddha pulls you up from above, and sangha pushes you up from below.

Dharma is to be in the middle. Avoiding extremes is your nature to be in balance, to smile from the depth of your heart, to accept entire existence totally as it is. Often you crave for Buddha and are averse to sangha, and you try to change; but by changing sangha or Buddha, you are not going to change.

The main purpose is to come to the centre deep within you, which means to find your dharma. A sense of deep acceptance for this moment, for every moment, is dharma. All problems and negativity are generated from our mind.

The world is not bad; we make our world ugly or beautiful. So when you are in your dharma, your nature, you will blame neither the world nor the Divine.

 

Dharma is that which puts you in the middle and makes you comfortable with the world. It allows you to contribute to the world, be at ease with the Divine, to feel part of the Divine.

 

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HINDUSTAN TIMES

EDITORIAL

LET DOWN BY MAI-BAAP

 

The law empowering the Indian government to represent Bhopal's gas victims was unconstitutional. In effect, two guilty parties negotiated with each other, says Aman Hingorani.

Law Minister Veerappa Moily's reported statement on introducing a bill in Parliament to help people claim compensation from companies for disasters like the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy can only be met with incredulity. Twenty-five years ago, the government introduced the stand-alone Bhopal Gas Disaster (Processing of Claims) Act, 1985 to do just the opposite. By becoming the representative of the Bhopal victims, the government denied them their right to take the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) and its subsidiary, Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL), to court for compensation. But could the government have represented the victims when it was as guilty and liable to the victims as UCC and UCIL?

We can't ignore the fact that at the time of the disaster, various Indian investors, including Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the Industrial Development Bank of India Limited (IDBI) and other public sector institutions, owned 49.1 per cent of UCIL. Further, by granting a licence to manufacture pesticides, the government made the collaboration agreement between UCC and UCIL subject to Indian laws, which include the Insecticide Act of 1968 that regulates the import, manufacture and use of insecticides with a view to safeguard human life from danger. Many central and state agencies, empowered under various acts like the Factories Act 1948, regulated at all times Carbide's operations, which were approved by the government.

Despite the Canadian government asking UCC in 1972 to shut down its Bhopal operations for fear of damage to life and environment, the Indian government let the plant set up in the heart of the city. Further, authorities had permitted the area around the plant to be used for dumping of hazardous chemicals for years. Successive tests on soil, water and vegetables from the residential areas around the plant confirm their contamination by toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds.

It's difficult to understand how the executive in India escaped its liability towards victims both as a joint tortfeasor (wrong-doer) with UCC and UCIL and for failing to discharge its constitutional obligations of providing pollution-free air and water to people. The novel way out was to enact the Bhopal Gas Disaster Act. It was challenged before the Supreme Court, which regrettably upheld it in 1990 on the ground that it was passed in exercise of the sovereign power of the State and in recognition of the right of the sovereign to act as parens patriae (parent of the nation). However both the Supreme Court premises in such a reasoning are fallacious. The full bench of the apex court, in the 'Privy Purse' case, held in 1971 that there is no such thing as 'sovereign power of the State' under the Constitution. It held that in India, the executive can't exercise sovereignty over citizens, as legal sovereignty vests in the Constitution and political sovereignty lies with the people of the country. So the statement 'India is a sovereign State' implies that people (political sovereign) or the Constitution (legal sovereign) are sovereign — not that the State enjoys sovereign powers.

The Indian State, as a representative of sovereign people, may be sovereign in relation to other countries. But it can't be sovereign qua its own people from whom it derives its 'sovereignty'. Also, the doctrine of parens patriae has its roots in the common law concept of the 'royal prerogative' of the British Crown. It includes the right of the British Crown to take care of its subjects under disability, which the Indian State cannot surely claim.

The executive is as guilty as UCC and UCIL. Unsurprisingly, Parliament came to its rescue by enacting the aforesaid Act and the Supreme Court upheld it. As a result, one guilty party negotiated with another for the compensation due to victims who were precluded by law from even asserting their claim against the State or Union Carbide. The law empowering the government to represent the victims was unconstitutional. Had the Supreme Court not reviewed its earlier order and set aside the settlement that quashed criminal prosecutions, the recent two-year sentence awarded to the convicted Indian officials of UCIL wouldn't have been there. We are yet to hear about criminal action being taken against State officials for their culpability in the entire affair.

And now, the government feels that the existing laws have failed to hold companies financially responsible for man-made disasters and there is a need for a stand-alone law to encourage citizens to claim damages from companies. What's perhaps been overlooked is that it's not the laws that have failed us, but the men and women who run the Indian State.

(Aman Hingorani is Advocate, Supreme Court of India. The views expressed by the author are personal)

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HINDUSTAN TIMES

 

DON'T DWELL ON IT

INDIA CAN'T BE MADE SLUM-FREE VERY SOON, SAYS A GOVERNMENT PANEL. WHY DID WE EVEN TRY?

So it's kinda official: India won't be able to make slums disappear in the 'next five years'. When in June 2009, President Pratibha Patil told Parliament that 'her government' was planning to make the country slum-free in half a decade through a new scheme, not much attention was paid. However, like the eradication of poverty being subliminally linked to the eradication of poor people, some of us did register Ms Patil's statement as a vague notion of a Jagmohan-type steamrollering of jhuggi-jhopris. It's been a year since that announcement, and perhaps fearing that the same misconception of conflating slums with people who live in slums will be made, an expert committee formed by the central government has said, 'Nope, making India slum-free is unrealistic.'

Apart from romanticising people living in inhuman conditions, there's the more mundane matter of wondering whether slum-dwellers can be shifted to non-slum habitations or not. Like beggary, there's a tinge of alternative lifestyle tag to slummery. But for a country that has a sizeable population of people without any kind of home, making around 61.8 million slum-dwellers move into habitations that don't have tarpaulins as walls, open communal drains as toilets and shared tubewells and 'stolen' electricity might be more than just daunting. So as always, if you can't do it, romanticise the 'non-doing' of it.

The plan now is to give property rights to ex-slum-dwellers, upgrading existing slums (to sub-houses or supra-slums?), creating new houses etc. We needn't worry too much about jhuggi-jhopris being converted into nice, decent trailer parks in a hurry. In any case, we can't quite see Danny Boyle or the Oscar jury getting all excited over a film about dreams and aspirations of a young boy living in a cheap, government housing two-room flat. So...

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HINDUSTAN TIMES

SETTING THEIR HOUSE IN ORDER

 

When the topic of terrorism-related threats is discussed, most of us think of Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The scene of activity is the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and the borderlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan. There are visions of Predators stalking the region to search and kill. When this is not the scene, then it is the threat to the US from the likes of Times Square wannabe-bomber Faisal Shahzad, their mindsets and their mentors.

When an angered and frightened US speaks of retaliation to this, it speaks of the wrath of America the next time around. Pakistan's rulers pretend anger and insult, and they let loose their leg men on the streets shouting 'Death to America!'. The Americans are in a dilemma. They cannot attack their favourite ally and justify to Congress that they need to give more arms and financial assistance to it. Pakistan's rulers feel they have a winning game — of threatening to lose the match and country if they are not given steroids. Pakistan's battle is not only on its western frontiers; it is now in the Punjabi heartland.

Since the Lal Masjid episode in Islamabad in 2007, the murderous terrorist attacks on the Marriot Hotel, the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Special Service Group establishments as well as the police show the reach of the terrorists. The twin attacks on the Garhi Shahu and Model Town Ahmadiya masjids in Lahore on Friday, May 28, the attack on Jinnah Hospital on the night of May 31 and the June 9 attack on the Nato convoy outside Islamabad are manifestations of a virus that is radicalising Pakistani society faster and deeper than we realise — or Pakistan's rulers care to admit. The recent ban on social websites YouTube and Facebook by the Pakistani government indicates its nervousness in dealing with radicals.

True, there is a section of Pakistani society that finds events like violence in the name of religion, or medieval practices foisted upon it by self-styled guardians of the faith, abhorrent. The other truth is that these hordes have muscle power, are financially well-endowed and — what has become increasingly evident — there is either benign neglect by the State or active connivance most of the time. One does not have to go too far back to the Zia years to see what has been happening to Punjabi society even in the post-Zia years.

President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq had left in place not only the madrasa system of obscurantist education, but he had also mainstreamed this. So while the ISI diverted its experience and jihadi hordes from the Afghan front to the Kashmir one, Pakistan's military rulers also created new terrorist outfits in the 1990s for specific action in Jammu and Kashmir. These were all Punjabi in origin and base. Recruitment has continued for the 'jihad' from various parts of Pakistan, notably from southern Punjab.

All these terrorist organisations have become interlinked and inter-dependent and an estimated 3,000-8,000 Punjab-based jihadis do service jointly alongside the Punjabi Taliban in Fata and Punjab. The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP) are also suspected to be linked with al-Qaeda. Politicians being politicians, the Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif brothers have been flirting outrageously with the SSP in Punjab to queer the pitch for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Sheikh Akram, an opposition MP from Jhang, fears that there could be ten Swats in Punjab if the extremists are not checked.

So, today, we have a situation in which powerful terrorist organisations like the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT), the JeM and others, along with Sunni sectarian outfits like the SSP and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), have recruits from the same village, district or area. Recruits for the mostly Punjabi Pakistani army also come from the same region and possibly from the same madrasas. Punjab is also the province that has many of Pakistan's formidable troop concentrations against India — and it is here that all of Pakistan's vital nuclear facilities are located.

Should Punjab get destabilised by Islamic radicals, this will have devastating consequences for Pakistan. Many wonder how the young and educated are getting affected by jihadi philosophy. Even today the curriculum established during the Zia years for the mainstream schools has not changed. In the Punjab University campus too, there is greater stress on Islamic tenets. The Daily Times, in its column 'Campus Window' (April 11, 2007), noted that while the world "heads towards modernisation and scientific knowledge, Punjab University, which is one of the oldest educational institutions in South Asia, is rapidly turning into a hub of Islamism".

There are innumerable examples of attempts to introduce extreme religious ideologies in the discourse and in outward symbolism. These range from some very regressive and muscular moral policing on the campus to the downright ridiculous — like seeking to ban Alexander Pope's poem 'The Rape of the Lock', as the title was considered vulgar.

Leading the campaign so far has been the students' wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, the Islami Jamaat Tulaba, a rabid Sunni organisation. Its monopoly is now being challenged by an equally rabid students' organisation, the new Tulaba Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the students' wing of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the mentor of the LeT. When two extreme organisations compete, the result can only be increased radicalisation, as each is competing against the other to establish its Islamic credentials.

What has been apparent for long to many of us here — but is clearly emerging now — is that Afghanistan will have a chance at peace only if the virus in Pakistan is eradicated. The next few months are going to be a major challenge for Pakistani Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, if the declared intention is to take military action against the SSP, the JeM and the LeJ. Pakistan must fight its own demons urgently and not selectively. This will depend upon how long Pakistan's rulers remain in denial about the home-grown existential threat to them and their country.

(Vikram Sood is former Secretary, Research & Analysis Wing. The views expressed by the author are personal)

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HINDUSTAN TIMES

FRIEND INDEED?

 

Dear Mark Zuckerberg,  

 

Let me confess that in this nearly half-a-century of existence I have managed to befriend only a handful, much to the disgust of my juniors who think I am unsocial since my Facebook account has not scored a century.

I wonder when did the social networking site become a benchmark for amiability? If it has, hats off to you for redefining one of the most beautiful relationships in the world — friendship. While removing the 5,000 cap on the number of friends on your social networking site recently, you have made it into a numbers game instead of a tugs-at-the-heart, emotion-filled word that it evoked till a few years ago. How can anyone have 5,000 'friends'? A recent research reveals that our brain cannot accept more than 150 friends.

In our growing up years, I don't remember competing with my friends on the popularity front. For us, a friend was one whom you met once in a while, if not everyday, instantly remembered his/her birthday and at least knew what s/he looked like. But your Facebook has clearly thrown those definitions to the wind. My juniors now think that if one does not have a few hundred friends then s/he is a recluse or a social pariah.

In the race to make innumerable 'friends', some of my colleagues have even befriended people whom they have not even met. So they don't know what they look like (you can put up any picture as your profile picture), leave alone developing a certain kind of fondness for a certain person before you consider him to be your buddy.

To give the devil its due, Facebook is an excellent networking platform. But it puts everyone — from PR representatives to fellow professionals who have befriended you for some vested interests — under the 'Friends' category. This is an insult to those who have stood by you through thick and thin.

In today's world when everything is getting more complex by the day, it is difficult to explain to the young ones that acquaintances are not confidants and that chatting or posting pictures on the site cannot guarantee a life-long togetherness.

My humble request to you, Mr Zuckerberg, is please introduce more categories like associates, co-workers or contacts on your site and limit the number of members on the 'Friends' category to just 50 so all of us will know our worth and disillusioned youngsters will not be heart-broken when their Facebook chums are not there in their hour of need.

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HINDUSTAN TIMES

INNER CLARITY

SADHGURU

 

Nowadays, especially in the West, the business of self-confidence has become a big fad. Everybody wants to know how to be confident. Everybody tells you, "believe in yourself." When people believed in God, they did enough horrible things on the planet. Now they believe in themselves, and this is going to produce far more horrible things!

Confidence is not a solution to life. If you did not have confidence, you would gently feel your way through the world. But the combination of stupidity and confidence makes one walk blatantly on this planet. The whole of humanity is walking very blatantly on this planet — with terrible confidence.

A man can work in many dimensions in this world. One is by using his body and mind, and the other is by using his inner clarity. It is only through clarity that one can gain ultimate strength.

One way, one can cultivate this space of inner clarity and balance, is through the practice of yoga. The word yoga itself means "union". The ultimate goal of yoga is to become one with everything.

If we balance the energy system, we will find that the body, mind and emotions will function perfectly well. Through yogic practices, one's energy attains a state of balance that naturally becomes tuned with the body and the mind, allowing one to reach a state of inner clarity.

Even simple practices can go a long way in creating this. Every day when you wake up in the morning, sit up on your bed, sit cross-legged, sit with your hands open, eyes closed and just look at everything you are not. Appreciate all that you have gathered and be thankful.

At the same time, identify everything that is not you as "this is what I have gathered" and mentally keep it aside. What you gather can be yours, but it can never be you. Spend 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the night every day. This will bring clarity.

If one is properly initiated by a Guru, this particular process can take on a new dimension.

 

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

NEUTRALITY AT RBI

 

Inflation numbers have shown a sharper increase than expected by most observers. According to government data released on Monday, inflation based on the wholesale price index was 10.16 per cent for May 2010, compared with 1.38 per cent a year ago. This has led to a clamour for the Reserve Bank to raise rates. However, the decision to raise interest rates should depend on the forecast for inflation and output gap for the Indian economy. Unless the data released indicates that our expectations for the future have changed, there is no reason to change track on monetary policy. There is no data which suggests that the world is moving sharply towards a higher inflation path. Indeed, there is turmoil in Europe and indications are that the world economy could remain in trouble. The world business cycle recovery is one of the key variables in our forecast of inflation and the output gap. None of that has changed with release of the latest data.

 

The current stance of monetary policy is one where the RBI is slowly moving towards a neutral rate with small rate hikes, from which it may be possible to loosen policy if and when required. The statements by the finance minister and his chief economic advisor that no immediate increase in interest rates is required as a consequence of the latest inflation hike should be seen in this context. For the last few months, policy-makers have been expecting headline inflation numbers to keep rising till July. The new data fits well with this view. Inflation has risen as expected. It, therefore, doesn't warrant a sudden or sharp change in path, or mid-term hike.

 

What should the RBI do? The slow move towards a neutral stance is justified. This would mean a perhaps, 25 basis point rise in interest rates in the July or October policy. Given the difficult situation in

 

Europe, that by most accounts is not yet solved, there must be a wait and watch approach to any tightening of monetary policy. There could be difficulties with tightening too much when money supply growth is still below 15 per cent, when the world economy is unstable and when investment is just picking up. The RBI is correct in not moving towards a tight monetary policy stance in the last few months. This stance, and only the gentlest move towards neutrality, is required for growth and stability of the economy.

 

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INDIAN EXPRESS

MINE A TRILLION

 

News that the Pentagon has valued Afghanistan's mineral wealth at around $1 trillion shouldn't come altogether as a surprise. However, for reasons of its turbulent history through most of the past century, proper geological surveys could not be undertaken and the news should alter some of the despair that informs perceptions about Afghanistan's future. Dark jokes have for long captured the hopelessness of the country's economy. This is why confirmation that one of the world's poorest areas possesses the resources to change the lives of its people — not least through, for the first time in history, giving it the potential to pay for an effective centralised state — marks an opportunity to reimagine Afghanistan. And, too, the incentive to develop a strong government, capable of policing the extraction of these mineral resources and using the revenue for the greater common good.

 

But if the discovery, if it can be so called, offers the chance to transform Afghanistan from a country dependent primarily on its strategic location on trade routes to one that also trades, the obstacles to developing the country remain the same. Afghanistan needs a peace that will hold. There's a severe infrastructure deficit in Afghanistan, a deficit that India too is trying to bridge with its efforts in highway-building. All those with a stake in Afghanistan's stability and well-being must accelerate this. Afghanistan is a landlocked country, with all that it implies. It is dependent on its neighbours, and on stability and cooperation in the broader region, to sustain trade and transit routes. Iran is hit by sanctions; the Durand Line that divides it from Pakistan is riddled with insurgencies. China plans a road, but it'll have to pass through some very difficult, volatile territory. Thus, as Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said this week, "Afghanistan's neighbours and regional partners will need to be in the picture... ensuring that it thrives as a trade and transit hub for the region."

 

This is a reminder of the need for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan to see the strategic and economic wisdom in cooperation.

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

CONSTITUTING THE LOCAL

K. C. SIVARAMAKRISHNAN

 

The recent judgement of the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court regarding the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme, or MPLADS, will evoke mixed reactions. To the votaries of decentralisation and multi-level governance, the judgment is yet another nail in the panchayati raj's coffin. To those concerned about accountability, the government's claim that the scheme has a built-in accountability arrangement will cause some amazement. The court's finding that the MPs' role in the scheme is only "seemingly executive" is also baffling.

 

According to the 2008-09 annual report of the ministry of statistics and programme implementation, which handles this scheme, Rs 18,327 crore have been spent on it since its inception in 1993-94. Initially Rs 1 crore per year, the allocation per MP is now Rs 2 crore. There are strident demands already that this provision be increased. Now that a certification on the legality of the scheme is available, are the flood gates of discretionary funds likely to be thrown open?

 

The MPLADs case has gone on for well over a decade.

 

(In 2006, a three-judge bench referred it to a Constitution Bench.) While some issues, like the separation of powers and whether an appropriation bill forming part of the budget process is an adequate substitute for a separate enactment, might not interest everyone, the factual matrix on which the Constitution Bench relied which raises some important questions.

 

One is the court's view that though MPs have been given a "seemingly executive function", their role is limited only to recommending works. The responsibilities for scrutiny, as well as technical, financial and administrative sanction rest with the district authority. It is respectfully submitted that this is a distinction without difference. The choice of the scheme, its location and priority are decided by the MP as part of the recommendation. The district authority is responsible only for its implementation. Though the ministry's guidelines of November 2005 provides that a district authority should inform an MP within 45 days in case it is found that the scheme is not implementable, there is no information as to how many such cases were returned, if at all.

 

The second finding is that the panchayati raj and municipal institutions have not been denuded of their jurisdiction. The bench held that according to the guidelines, these bodies have been given their due role in the implementation of the schemes; and therefore, it can't be said that the MPLADS undermines the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments. The guidelines suggest that MPs may choose works for creation of durable assets for drinking water, sanitation, roads, education and public health. The first three items, at least, clearly fall within the domain of panchayats and municipalities — but they are not the ones who are choosing the location of the work recommended by the MP. Taking away a part of the functional domain of the local bodies, whether on the recommendation of an MP or at the instance of a district authority is bad enough; but treating local bodies, constitutionally recognised, as "institutions of self government" and offering them a role in implementation is an affront.

 

The Court has also held that a regime of accountability does exist within the MPLADS. A study of the guidelines shows that the accountability procedures described do not relate to the MP but to the district authority. It is the district authority which is responsible for maintenance and audit of accounts, utilisation certificates and various other requirements. The procedures are essentially the same as the enormous compendium of accounting instructions pervading every government-sponsored scheme.

 

If indeed, it is a district authority which is responsible for sanctioning of the scheme and also be accountable for its implementation and performance then what is the point in calling this MPLADS? If, as according to the court, the MP's entire responsibility is only recommendation, there are ample platforms for making such recommendations at the district and the municipal level. In most states, the MPs and MLAs are honoured members and invitees to these platforms. What sets the MPLADS apart is the strong element of personal choice and discretion.

 

Toilets and tube wells, bus stands or community halls, animal shelters or libraries are not discoveries of the present generation but long regarded as part of local body activities. Previously, citizens needing such facilities would approach the local bodies or seek the generosity of a local raja or a zamindar. Today, the citizen is expected to run to the MP or the MLA, rather than the panchayats or the municipalities which he has elected. In the process, a people's representative, elected by them, becomes a baron of patronage.

 

Notwithstanding its legalities, the real effect of the verdict will be to further undermine a self-government system heralded until recently as a decentralisation dream come true.

 

The writer is chairman of the Centre for Policy Research, Delhi

 

express@expressindia.com

 

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

TOGETHER APART

COOMI KAPOOR

 

After the recent cold war between Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the BJP in Patna, with Nitish even withdrawing his dinner invitation to BJP leaders, it would appear that the two allies are on the brink of a messy divorce. But, despite the sound and the fury, the 15-year-old partnership could survive the public spat.

 

With an assembly election due at the end of the year, both allies have a lot at stake. Nitish needs the upper caste voters which the BJP could bring to the table. The BJP desperately needs to be on the winning side in a state election, after a string of electoral defeats which belie its claim to be a national alternative to the Congress. Such public hostility between the two camps may look like political hara-kiri, but not everybody in the BJP and the JD(U) is discomfited by the turn of events. The two political parties are not exactly natural allies and each wanted to send a strong message across to its supporters. Nitish has to prove to Muslims that his ties with the BJP are out of necessity, not affection. The BJP wants to establish that it is not simply the junior partner which can be pushed around by the chief minister, that it had to protect its self-respect.

 

Caste is the major currency of Bihar's politics and the partners in the JD(U)-BJP alliance draw their strength from diametrically opposite ends of the social spectrum. In fact, the JD(U)-BJP combine has been termed an alliance of opposites. Nitish has carefully cultivated the most backward sections of the caste pyramid, which till his chief ministership had been largely kept out of the state's power structure. Nitish's strategy of focusing on the EBCs (extremely backward OBCs) and mahadalits (the most deprived sections of the Scheduled Castes) was not just to end social inequalities but also to counter his arch-rival, Lalu Prasad. Bihar's former chief minister had for years emerged victorious on the back of a formidable Yadav-Muslim votebank. By empowering the EBCs and the mahadalits, even instituting quotas for them at the panchayat level, Nitish has upset not just Lalu's constituency but also the upper castes, Bhumihars and Thakurs, who in the last election had voted for the NDA.

 

There is bound to be a conflict of interest between supporters of Nitish and the BJP. A government commission even suggested a radical land reform, bestowing rights on the land to the tillers of the soil rather than to the original legal owners. Nitish hastily put the commission's proposal, known as the "batwara bill", into cold storage when he saw the outrage it evoked among the landed classes. But for the Bhumihars and Thakurs, the "batwara bill" remains a threat. As a consequence, Nitish has alienated not only the BJP's voters — the BJP is of relatively minor consequence in Bihar — but also eroded his own upper caste support. Two prominent JD(U) members, Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lallan Babu) and Prabhunath Singh, quit the JD(U) because of Nitish's slant towards EBCs and mahadalits.

 

Lalu, meanwhile, is trying to reclaim his Muslim support base. Muslims constitute 16 per cent of the population and Lalu has been citing Nitish's alliance with the BJP to question his secular credentials. The photograph of Nitish and Modi joining hands at the Ludhiana election rally of 2009 has become a powerful propaganda tool for Lalu. Which is why the short-tempered Nitish lost his cool with the BJP and made every effort to distance himself from Modi, even suggesting that the money from Gujarat for Kosi flood victims could be returned.

 

It is not just Nitish's Muslim backers who need reassurance, but also the BJP's followers. Over the last four-and-a-half years, they have felt neglected and accuse the BJP of forsaking their interests. A common grouse is that Nitish ignores MLAs and MLCs and runs the state as his fiefdom with the help of powerful bureaucrats. Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, an OBC, is not exactly popular with his own party for playing second fiddle to the chief minister. He has survived only because of support from the BJP's central leadership. The BJP fears that its potential voters could switch to a somewhat rejuvenated Congress because of their dislike of Nitish. The only thing that could hold the upper caste voters back is the prospect of Lalu's return as chief minister.

 

Lalu's record as an administrator was dismal, but he blames his poor governance on a shortage of funds, accusing the Central government of step-motherly treatment. In the caste cauldron of Bihar, Nitish's excellent performance as chief minister, showing visible improvement in law and order and several other spheres, appears not to be the overriding concern for voters.

 

Apart from the spat between the BJP and Nitish, there was another significant development at the BJP's national executive. Narendra Modi practically hijacked the Patna meet. Modi is clearly positioning himself as the BJP's prospective prime ministerial candidate. A carefully calculated strategy has been put in place to project Modi. The mild-mannered BJP president, Nitin Gadkari, was a bemused observer to the unfolding drama. Although the advertisement which offended Nitish was ostensibly brought out by a group of Gujarati businessmen based in Bihar, it was okayed by Modi, and the concept and copywriting were done in Gujarat. To be acceptable at the all-India level, Modi knows he has to somehow overcome the stigma of being an untouchable for potential allies. To which end, he has launched a media campaign citing statistics from the Sachar Committee report to establish that his government has a far better record of looking after minority welfare than most other state governments. This, however, is not going to cut much ice among Muslim voters who have not forgiven him for the post-Godhra violence in Gujarat. Nitish's infuriated reaction at being linked with Modi indicates that the Gujarat chief minister will find it difficult to live down his past.

 

coomi.kapoor@expressindia.com

 

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

'AFGHANISTAN NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED SEPARATELY, OUTSIDE THE MATRIX OF INDIA-PAKISTAN RELATIONS'

NIRUPAMA RAO

 

It is a truth universally acknowledged that India, Pakistan and Afghanistan share bonds and linkages that transcend the immediacy of the present. Often, we are also treated to the refrain that India-Pakistan issues have impeded the collective progress of the region. There are those who maintain that for peace and stability in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan should resolve all their differences. The complexities in such equations are not resolvable through the application of simple formulae, although it can be conceded that peace between the two largest countries in South Asia would have a salutary impact on the destiny of the entire region. Of course, the issue of peace and stability in Afghanistan needs to be addressed separately and comprehensively and not within the matrix of India-Pakistan relations.

 

I believe that the issue of peace and stability in Afghanistan has facets to it which concern governance, which concern issues of grass-roots level administration and deliverance of public goods like transport, trade, health, education and women's empowerment, the mitigation of the culture of the gun, the eradication of terrorism, the creation of a strong Afghan national army and police, and structuring the role of regional countries in ensuring that long term peace and security in Afghanistan cannot be a bridge too far...

 

When the searchlight is turned on what we — as India — do in Afghanistan, the vista is clear. India is engaged in developmental and humanitarian work to assist the Afghan people as they build a peaceful, stable, inclusive, democratic and pluralistic Afghanistan. The landscape of destruction must change. India neither sees Afghanistan as a battleground for competing national interests nor assistance to Afghan reconstruction and development as a zero sum game... Our $ 1.3 billion assistance programme is aimed at building infrastructure, capacity building in critical areas of governance, health, education, agriculture etc. and generating employment. We have paid a heavy price in terms of the lives lost of our citizens who work in Afghanistan, as we are targeted by those whose agendas conflict with the emergence of a strong and stable Afghanistan. Last year, over 300,000 Afghans — mainly women and children — trekked long distances to avail of free medical treatment from the Indian medical missions in Kabul, Jalalabad, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif. The economy of battle-scarred Nimroz province was transformed with the building of the Zaranj-Delaram highway and the homes of the people of Kabul have been lit after more than a decade by the Pul-e-Khumri transmission line from the Uzbek border. These are by no definition, activities that are inimical to the interest of the people of Afghanistan or its neighbours. We have sought to assist Afghanistan within our means. In fact, the international community as a whole has made great contributions in terms of diplomacy and development, in assisting Afghanistan to stand on its feet...

 

We seek a stable, peaceful, economically progressing Pakistan. Secondly, we sincerely desire peace with Pakistan. Thirdly, we have to learn to live with the asymmetries in our sizes and capabilities. Such differences of scale should not deter us from working with each other. Pakistan should shed its insecurity on these counts. Fourthly, India is a neighbour which has exhibited true restraint despite misguided and serious provocations. Fifthly, the entry of radical ideology into the domain of religion, and, the consequent implications for peace and security between India and Pakistan, making differences over Kashmir even more difficult, must be prevented. Radical, terrorist forces are also increasingly battling for larger space in a deathly struggle that seeks to overwhelm moderate, democratic forces in Pakistani civil society...

 

There is agreement today on both sides that dialogue is the only way forward. Consequently, our prime ministers have charged the foreign ministers and foreign secretaries with the responsibility of working out the modalities of restoring trust and confidence in the relationship and thus paving the way for a substantive dialogue...

 

For bridging what is called the "trust deficit" between the two countries, we are ready to address all issues of mutual concern through dialogue and peaceful negotiations. Let me however, pose a question, here. The progress in our Composite Dialogue especially from 2004-2008, and the frequent references to the deliberations of the back channel during the same period, do not diminish the import of one dilemma. How do we deal with the persistent threat of terrorism?... Every terrorist attack, including the one in Mumbai, hardens Indian public opinion, making our task more difficult. Terrorism as a continuation of war by other means, and the use of terrorist groups selectively, as strategic assets against India, cannot and must not, continue. As an intrinsic part of the long-term vision of relations it desires with India, Pakistan must act effectively against those terrorist groups that seek to nullify and, to destroy the prospects of peace and cooperation between our two countries.

 

The Composite Dialogue, which was resumed in June 2004, was predicated on the solemn commitment given by Pakistan that it would not allow any territory under its control to be used for terrorism directed against India. Four rounds of the Composite Dialogue were completed. During the 5th round, the dialogue process was paused after the terrorist attack on Mumbai. We appreciate the relevance and achievements of the Composite Dialogue, particularly in the period 2004-2008. During this phase, all issues of mutual concern, including Jammu & Kashmir, were discussed. Amongst the achievements, we can cite a number of Confidence Building Measures related to peace and security, such as agreements on pre-notification of flight testing of ballistic missiles and reduction of the risk from Accidents relating to nuclear weapons, hotlines between various officials on both sides; enhanced people to people contacts through bus/truck and train services; revival of the Bilateral Joint Commission after 16 years; setting up of the judicial committee to look into the humanitarian issue of civilian prisoners/fishermen held in each others jails and growth in bilateral trade by 550 per cent between year 2003-04 and 2007-08 from US$ 344.59 million to US$ 2.23 billion.

 

On Jammu & Kashmir, progress was made based on the common understanding that boundaries could not be redrawn but we could work towards making them irrelevant; and people on both sides of the LoC should be able to move freely and trade with one another. Towards this goal, a number of cross-LoC CBMs were put in place, which included the opening of five crossing points on the LoC; introduction of triple entry permits; increase in frequency of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-

 

Rawalkot bus services; starting of cross-LoC trade on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakote routes through movement of trucks, etc.

 

On the way forward, we have to build on these achievements. We also have to reaffirm the progress made through complex negotiations and dialogue through patient and unsung effort whether in the composite dialogue or back channel diplomacy, during this period. We must seek creative solutions.

 

Excerpts from a talk at the Delhi Policy Group, June 13.

 

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

THE GREAT GAME FOLIO

C. RAJA MOHAN

 

Second thoughts

 

Yes, Washington is getting ready to review its Afghan policy, all over again. A number of recent developments are forcing open the debate even before President Barack Obama's current Afghan strategy is implemented in full.

 

Toughening resistance from the Taliban in southern Afghanistan has begun to stir anxieties in Washington that Obama's military surge may not work. The US Senate and House have called for separate hearings this week to assess the progress in the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

 

Gen. David Petraeus, the head of the US Central Command that oversees the American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the under-secretary of defence for policy, Michelle Flournoy, are expected to testify and make the case for giving more time for the strategy to work.

 

There is a growing public perception that the Marja operations in Helmand province planned by the commander of the US forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, have been less than successful. Gen. McChrystal's decision to postpone the Kandahar offensive have reinforced the view that the American troops may not be able to reverse the recent momentum behind the Taliban.

 

The Congress, then wants to know where the war effort is headed and whether it should simply back Obama's strategy or demand major changes in it.

 

The anxious public debate is bound to put on the defensive those in the administration and the military who have made the case for a patient strategy of counter-insurgency rather than simple counter-terrorism. Sections of the administration and the Democratic Party that have demanded that the US cut its losses in Afghanistan are steadily gaining ground.

 

Third review

 

President Obama is already committed to a review the Afghan strategy in December, the third since he took charge of the White House in January 2010. Within weeks after being sworn in as president, Obama completed a comprehensive assessment of the situation and announced a new Af-Pak strategy in March 2010.

 

During the summer and autumn of 2009, Obama embarked on an extended review of the military strategy to announce last December a plan that called for an immediate surge in troop numbers and to start scaling them down from July 2011. Mounting troop losses in Afghanistan, the international forces lost thirty soldiers last week alone, are not the only factor compelling the US to rethink its plans.

 

The Europeans, who were supposed to help boost the American military surge, are nowhere near meeting their commitments, even on providing military trainers. There is no sign of NATO replacements for the large contingents of Canadian and Dutch troops which are expected to be withdrawn this summer.

 

Meanwhile Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai appears to be losing faith in the ability of the United States and its allies to defeat the Taliban. Not surprisingly, he may be striking out on his own. Meanwhile, the recognition that the Pakistan army may not be a reliable partner in achieving American objectives is casting a shadow over the very logistical basis of the Western strategy in Afghanistan.

 

Four ideas

 

As Washington begins to consider a different approach to Afghanistan — more modest political objectives, a reduced combat footprint and an engagement with sections of the Taliban — Delhi must go beyond its complaints about a premature American withdrawal and possible handing over of Afghanistan to the Pakistan army.

 

During the Obama administration's previous review of its Afghan policy, India was largely a bystander. This time around, India must take the initiative to come up with new and workable ideas on how to stabilise Afghanistan.

 

In an address on Monday to a conference regional cooperation between Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao has underlined four important elements of India's evolving approach to Afghanistan.

 

One is that India is not opposed to the re-integration of the Taliban rank and file if they give up violence and agree to respect the Afghan constitution. Two, the internal peace process must be complemented by a regional framework. Three, Afghanistan's neighbours and partners adhere to the "principle of non-interference in the country's affairs".

 

Finally, India wants to ensure that Afghanistan "thrives as a trade and transit hub for the region". These are indeed sensible ideas. What Delhi needs now is purposeful diplomacy that can translate these principles into reality by mobilising much needed regional and international support.

 

raja.mohan@expressindia.com

 

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

SYSTEMS CHECK

 

These days we are transfixed by the struggle between BP and the US government. This is a familiar conflict — between a multinational company trying to make a profit and the government trying to regulate the company and hold it accountable.

 

But this conflict is really a family squabble. It takes place amid a much larger conflict, and in this larger conflict both BP and the US government are on the same team.

 

The larger conflict began with the end of the cold war. That ideological dispute settled the argument over whether capitalism was the best economic system. But it did not settle the argument over whether democratic capitalism was the best political-social-economic system. Instead, it left the world divided into two general camps.

 

On the one side are those who believe in democratic capitalism — ranging from the United States to Denmark to Japan. People in this camp generally believe that businesses are there to create wealth and raise living standards while governments are there to regulate when necessary and enforce a level playing field. Both government officials like President Obama and the private sector workers like the BP executives fall neatly into this camp.

 

On the other side are those that reject democratic capitalism, believing it leads to chaos, bubbles, exploitations and crashes. Instead, they embrace state capitalism. People in this camp run Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela and many other countries.

 

Many scholars have begun to analyse state capitalism. One of the clearest and most comprehensive treatments is The End of the Free Market by Ian Bremmer.

 

Bremmer points out that under state capitalism, authoritarian governments use markets "to create wealth that can be directed as political officials see fit." The ultimate motive, he continues, "is not economic (maximising growth) but political (maximising the state's power and the leadership's chances of survival)." Under state capitalism, market enterprises exist to earn money to finance the ruling class.

 

The contrast is clearest in the energy sector. In the democratic capitalist world we have oil companies, like Exxon Mobil, BP and Royal Dutch Shell, that make money for shareholders.

 

In the state capitalist world there are government-run enterprises like Gazprom, Petrobras, Saudi Aramco, Petronas, Petróleos de Venezuela, China National Petroleum Corporation and the National Iranian Oil Company. These companies create wealth for the political cliques, and they, in turn, have the power of the state behind them.

 

With this advantage, state energy companies have been absolutely crushing the private-sector energy companies. In America, we use the phrase Big Oil to describe Exxon Mobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and others. But that just shows how parochial we are. In fact, none of these private companies make it on a list of the world's top 13 energy companies. A generation ago, the biggest multinationals produced well more than half of the world's oil and gas. But now, according to Bremmer, they produce just 10 per cent of the world's oil and gas and hold only about 3 per cent of the world's reserves.

 

The rivalry between democratic capitalism and state capitalism is not like the rivalry between capitalism and communism. It is an interdependent rivalry. State capitalist enterprises invest heavily in democratic capitalist enterprises (but they tend not to invest in each other). Both sides rely on each other in interlocking trade networks.

 

Nonetheless, there is rivalry. There is a rivalry over prestige. What system works better to produce security and growth? What system should emerging and struggling democratic nations aim for? There is also rivalry over what rules should govern the world order. Should countries like Russia be able to withhold gas from Western Europe to make a political point? Should governments be able to tilt the playing field to benefit well-connected national champions? Should authoritarian governments like Iran be allowed to nuclearise?

 

We in the democratic world tend to assume state capitalism can't prosper forever. Innovative companies can't thrive unless there's also a free exchange of ideas. A high-tech economy requires more creative destruction than an authoritarian government can tolerate. Cronyism will inevitably undermine efficiency.

 

That's all true. But state capitalism may be the only viable system in low-trust societies, in places where decentralised power devolves into gangsterism. Moreover, democratic regimes have shown their vulnerabilities of late: a tendency to make unaffordable promises to the elderly and other politically powerful groups; a tendency toward polarisation, which immobilises governments even in the face of devastating problems.

 

We in the democratic world have no right to be sanguine. State capitalism taps into deep nationalist passions and offers psychic security for people who detest the hurly-burly of modern capitalism. So I hope that as they squabble, Obama and BP keep at least one eye on the larger picture.

 

We need healthy private energy companies. We also need to gradually move away from oil and gas — the products that have financed the rise of aggressive state capitalism.

 

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

FINANCIAL FOLLY

 

As far as the Left is concerned, the global financial crisis is far from over, and Europe's sovereign debt crisis is the second stage of the meltdown. It also claims that the possibilities of revival of the Indian economy are likely to fizzle out because of this. "The socialisation of private losses and fiscal laxity aimed at stimulating economies in a slump have led to a dangerous build-up of public budget deficits and debt. So the global financial crisis is not over, it has instead reached a new and more dangerous stage," an article in CPI mouthpiece New Age says.

 

In the context of the "deepening economic crisis in the developed capitalist countries", it notes that India requires a "radical review and revision of its economic policy and management to restructure its economic, political, cultural and strategic ties within the country and with other developing countries."

 

"India should indeed pursue growth based on the domestic efforts to raise financial resources, labour and market demand, rather than opening its market for foreign investment, transfer of manufacturing by multinational and retail trade by foreign suppliers which is bound to cater to the interest and demand of a small upper stratum of population," it said.

 

Winging it

 

That the crisis in Air India is due to the "highhanded policy" adopted by its chairman, and the very existence of the public sector undertaking is at stake if this situation is allowed to continue — this is the CITU's take on the national carrier.

 

CITU has been discussing the parliamentary standing committee reports on transport and tourism as well as those of the committee on public sector undertakings, which have held the ministry of civil aviation and the Air India management responsible for the "present malaise".

 

A report in CPM mouthpiece People's Democracy quotes CITU leader M.K. Pandhe saying that the prime minister should find out why the civil aviation ministry and Air India management were not taking action on these reports. "If a high powered inquiry were conducted, one would find that both the minister for civil aviation and the Air India chairman are doing everything to promote private sector companies in civil aviation and damaging the interest of Air India. The present chairman of Air India is openly promoting communal elements in the organisation and suppressing the well-established and recognised unions in it," Pandhe says.

 

Oil float

 

With the government undecided on the freeing of petroleum pricing, an article in New Age links it with the recovery from the financial crisis. It says the recovery would be slow if steps are not taken to strengthen the domestic sector and points out that opening and liberalising the process of growth for the multinationals is not the answer. "The popular slogan of caring about the aam aadmi is silenced the moment it is suggested that the price at which the refineries sell the product to oil marketing agencies and the prices at which these agencies sell it to the consumers has to be market determined," it says.

 

Arguing that the freeing of prices would mean greater share of burden to greater share of population, it compares the prices of petrol in India with that countries like Pakistan and Malaysia. "In Pakistan, it is Rs 16 and in Malaysia it is Rs 18. Keeping in view the economy of these countries, we in India should have fared better," it says.

 

Compiled by Manoj C.G.

 

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THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

CORE IS GROWTH

 

The latest data from the government shows that inflation, as measured by the wholesale price index, has crept up to double digits at 10.16% in the month of April. The revised estimate for April shows that inflation was, in fact, in double digits in that month also, at 11.04%, higher than the original estimate of 9.9%. Does this data require a swift response from RBI's monetary policy? On balance, no. Of course, inflation has been a source of concern for a while, but the finance ministry is right when it says that at least food inflation, the main driver of overall inflation, has stabilised. In fact, a good kharif crop will result in a further fall in the rate of food inflation. Core inflation, which excludes the prices of food and fuel, stands at 5.8% in April, and is not alarmingly high. The chief economic advisor has said that core inflation should ideally be at 5%. But that does not necessarily call for a monetary tightening right away.

 

The main argument for retaining a relatively easy monetary policy stance for the moment is the continued uncertainty in the global economy. If Europe slides further into the crisis—and there is little evidence of even a modicum of stabilisation there—it will have a spill-over effect for the rest of the world, including India. Already credit flow from European financial institutions to Indian companies is slowing down. There is plenty of discussion of the possibility of a double-dip recession in the West, especially of big banks that are caught out by the sovereign debt crisis in Europe's periphery. Of course, there is absolutely no danger of recession in India. But it should be the goal of RBI policy to at least sustain the 8% growth momentum that the economy has just about climbed up to. Inflation may yet come down because of a good monsoon in India and commodity prices may decline further because of a continued crisis in the West. Growth, on the other hand, may take a double hit if there is a global double dip and if RBI raises rates now. We went through a process of monetary tightening in the summer of 2008, only to end up being choked when the real crisis came after the collapse of Lehman. In the medium term, monetary tightening is of course inevitable as growth returns on a more solid footing, but what matters most is the timing. Since crisis clouds continue to loom, it would be best for RBI to wait and watch for a while longer before it takes a call on its next hike.

 

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THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

KABUL'S POTENTIAL GOLDMINE

 

The GDP of Afghanistan is only about $12 billion. So, it's big news that the country may be sitting on $1 trillion of untapped mineral deposits—of gold, iron, copper, cobalt, niobium, etc. Around a $223 billion chunk of these Aladdin reserves may be in lithium, oil and gas. This is as per a Pentagon assessment, but based on geological data processed by the Afghans, Brits, Americans and Soviets over time. Afghanistan's new-found riches could very well mitigate its historical inability to support a modern centralising state that could generate economic growth as well as impose political order. If this comes to pass, the country's neighbourhood as well as the world at large would have much cause for thanksgiving. Sure, the war-ravaged country has failed to make much of even proven mineral deposits—like iron ore at Hajigak and copper ore at Aynak—over the last few troubled decades. But signs of change are already in the air. Consider that China is now committed to developing the Aynak copper mines. Even at the time China won this project in 2007, its development amount was around 35% of all the development money spent in Afghanistan since 2002. Capitalising on mineral resources can clearly prove a game-changer in this agriculture-dependent country with few service strengths. Indian investments in Afghanistan are not insignificant either. We have been participating in varied infrastructure projects ranging from agriculture, roads and dams to health, telecom and education. Like all other countries that may begin vying for Afghanistan's newly announced mineral treasures, India, too, will have to factor in certain risks. But given the great potential, this will be a risk worth taking.

 

Afghanistan is beset by sorrows at present. There is the lack of infrastructure (education, roads, mining know-how, lack of a strong contract law) and there is the lack of security, which makes the business of building infrastructure fraught with risk. But if the country's mineral wealth is allied with proper reconstruction work, then we could see the country transform. There will, after all, be new incentives for building all sorts of bridges. New industries will also demand a new, modern workforce. A more evolved workforce will have bigger stakes in peace and reconciliation. Stronger, triangular cooperation between Kabul, Delhi and Islamabad can both contribute to and benefit from such a progressive prospect.

 

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THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

WHY WE NEED BETTER MARKET SURVEILLANCE

JAYANTH R VARMA

Traditionally, securities regulators globally have regarded the exchanges as the front line regulators with primary responsibility for market surveillance. As a result, regulators have traditionally not invested in the computing resources and the human capital required to perform real time surveillance themselves. A number of developments are making this model unviable in the developed markets and the same factors are at work, a little more slowly, in India as well.

 

I think it is time for Indian regulators like Sebi, FMC and RBI to develop in-house real time market surveillance capabilities rather than rely on the capabilities that may currently exist at the exchanges or exchange-like entities that they supervise (NSE, BSE, MCX, NCDEX, NDS).

 

I believe there are two key factors that make this regulatory shift necessary. First is the dramatic change in the nature of exchanges themselves. In the past, exchanges were regarded as 'utilities' providing key financial infrastructure and regulatory services. In recent years, they have evolved into businesses just like any other financial services business. Many observers in India (including some of the exchanges themselves) have been concerned about this transformation, but this is a global phenomenon and it is delusional to deny this reality. Concomitantly, there has been a blurring of the line between exchanges and brokers. Globally, alternative trading systems and dark pools have gained market share in recent years, and the operators of these systems are half way between traditional exchanges and large broker dealers, in terms of their business models and regulatory incentives.

 

In India, too, we have seen the blurring of the line between exchanges and non-exchanges. Examples include the subsidiaries of regional stock exchanges that trade on national exchanges; the exchanges in the commodity space whose promoters had or have large trading arms; and RBI regulated entities that perform many functions of an exchange but are not legally classified as exchanges.

 

The second and even more important factor is the rise of algorithmic and high frequency trading that links different exchanges together at much shorter time scales than in the past. Each exchange looking only at the trading in its own system has only a very limited view of what is happening in the market as a whole. It becomes very much like the story of the six blind men and the elephant.

 

The best example of this is the flash crash in the US on May 6, 2010. The US SEC, which like other regulators had never dirtied its hands with real time surveillance, found itself struggling to figure out what happened in those few turbulent minutes on that day. In an interim report, the SEC stated: "To conduct this analysis, we are undertaking a detailed market reconstruction, so that cross-market patterns can be detected and the behaviour of stocks or traders can be analysed in detail. Reconstructing the market on May 6 from dozens of different sources and calibrating the time stamps from each source to ensure consistency across all the data is consuming a significant amount of SEC staff resources. The data are voluminous and include hundreds of millions of records comprising an estimated five to ten terabytes of information."

 

This is what happens when a regulator leaves it to others to do its job, but is forced one day to do the job itself. Is it not scandalous that a systemically important institution like an exchange or a depository is not required to synchronise its clocks to a standard time (say GPS time) with an error of not more than a few microseconds at worst? Exchanges are willing to spend a fortune to bring down the latency of their trading engine to a millisecond or so to attract trading volume, but are unwilling to spend a modest amount to synchronise their clocks because nobody asked them to.

 

There is another important hidden message in this. Modern finance is increasingly high frequency finance and those who do not dirty their hands with it become increasingly out of touch with the reality of financial markets. Doctoral students in finance today, for example, have to learn the econometrics of high frequency data and grapple first hand with the challenges of handling this data.

 

Unless regulators collect this high frequency data and encourage their staff to explore it, they risk becoming progressively disconnected with the reality that they are supposed to regulate. Interestingly, the US derivatives regulator, CFTC, is moving rapidly to develop this capability. They already collect all trade data on a T+1 basis and run their own surveillance software on that data. Over the next year, they hope to enhance this to receive the entire order book data from the exchanges that they regulate. All regulators worldwide need to move in that direction.

 

It is true that this will be difficult, expensive and time-consuming for Indian regulators. That is all the more reason to start immediately.

 

The author is a professor of finance at IIM Ahmedabad

 

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THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

COLUMN

THE G-20 HAS NOT ACHIEVED MUCH

ARTURO BRIS

 

The leaders of the G-20 are meeting in Toronto at the end of this month. This is the fourth in a series of summits after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, organised with the original objective of building "a stronger, more globally consistent, supervisory and regulatory framework for the future financial sector, which will support sustainable global growth and serve the needs of business and citizens." Given our experience in the previous three, there is not much to expect from our leaders, and by the end of June the world will continue moving at two different speeds: the fast pace of the US regulatory reform versus the lack of coordination and inaction of European leaders.

 

A year ago in London, the G-20 members defined the agenda for a worldwide regulatory reform. The pillars of the new era of financial regulation would be new regulations for systemically important financial institutions—hedge funds; oversight and registration of credit rating agencies; the end of bank secrecy; tough new principles on pay and compensation; reduced reliance on complex and inappropriately risky derivatives; improved accounting standards; and regulation to prevent excessive leverage. New rules—it was agreed—required coordination, as leaders realised that unless all countries move in the same direction, economic agents would take advantage of differences in legal regimes, as the crisis had just shown.

 

Those well-intentioned objectives have now been forgotten. For the Toronto summit, the focus will be on recovery from the global crisis, and the implementation of commitments from previous G-20 summits. Alas, the only commitment that came out of the last summit (Pittsburgh), was to 'reach agreement on an international framework of reform', that is, to agree to coordinate on how to coordinate.

 

Where do we stand as the new summit is about to begin? Impressively, the US has now produced, in record time, the most radical regulatory reform since the Securities and Exchange Act of 1933. Already in December 2009 (only seven months after the London summit), the House of Representatives passed, by a partisan vote of 223 to 202, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009. This has been amended and finally approved by the Senate. The Wall Street Act perfectly corrects the failures that led to the 2008 crisis. In particular, it imposes shareholders' approval of executive compensation (say, on pay), thoroughly regulates over-the-counter derivatives, imposes for the first time in history the participation of consumers in the control of financial institutions, makes registration of hedge funds mandatory, regulates rating agencies and strengthens investor protection.

 

What about Europe? What have Germany, France, the UK, Italy and the like achieved? Well, in the old continent ideas are not that clear. France and Germany have made the regulation of hedge funds and private equity their primary objective, while the UK naturally opposes it. The European Parliament is about to discuss the Alternative Investment Fund Management Directive proposal, which wipes out hedge funds and private equity firms from Europe. There have also been some important agreements with 'tax havens' such as Luxembourg and Switzerland against bank secrecy. And that's about all. Europe has missed the amazing opportunity that the crisis gave it to become the financial centre of the world, after the failure of what President Sarkozy called 'anglosaxon capitalism'. By the time Europe cleans up the mess, the US will have established its dominance in financial markets again.

 

So, the US is coming to Toronto with its homework done. European leaders come together again with the hope that someone else will do the work for them. The Wall Street Act teaches us a simple lesson: the need to change financial regulation was obvious. Lehman Brothers and AIG collapsed because they heavily relied on derivatives that were not regulated and their trading was not centralised. Accounting rules created the pervasive effect of allowing financial institutions to book the same asset three, four or a thousand times. Investors were not protected because markets lacked transparency. Understanding these problems would have just required a little bit of finance education for our leaders. But, the last summit of the G-20 in Pittsburgh ended up with a clear determination on Iran's nuclear capabilities.

 

Even worse, the G-20 has stated in all previous meetings that their ultimate objective is to lay the foundation for sustainable and balanced growth. Such a beautiful mission is enlightening, but also idealistic and just a declaration of intentions. I bet the Toronto summit will end up with the same statement, so as to appease the electorate in the respective countries and to provide an excuse for the next meeting. I truly hope this one is the last and we truly start working on what matters.

 

The author is professor of finance at IMD, Switzerland

 

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THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

COLUMN

ACQUIRING FARMLAND ABROAD

SANJEEB MUKHERJEE

 

The first meeting of the working group on agriculture was held recently. The group comprising the CMs of Haryana, Punjab, West Bengal and Bihar is one of four such working groups constituted by the PM to offer tangible solutions to the entire gamut of issues concerning food prices. It has proffered various suggestions to bridge the yield gap in key crops (particularly oilseeds and pulses, which have been the main drivers of runaway food inflation), strengthen input delivery mechanisms, deliver marketing reforms, address issues related to labour and land and so on.

 

While most suggestions pertain to broad policy initiatives to boost output, what stands out is the emphasis on genetic breakthrough in pulses and oilseeds and the emphasis on encouraging private companies to shop for land in countries like Canada, Myanmar, Australia and Argentina to grow crops under long-term supply contracts. Arrangements with Asean countries for securing oilseeds supply have also been suggested. The objective is to guarantee at least 2 million tonnes of pulses and 5 million tonnes of edible oils on a long-term basis. The suggestions are significant, given that land for agricultural purposes is shrinking every year. So, scouting for land is a good idea as local pulses output falls short of consumption by 25% and the difference between production and consumption is almost 50% in the case of oilseeds.

 

Some companies have been looking for land outside India to grow edible oil bearing crops and there are reports of Indian firms signing commercial contracts through leasing of land for commercial agriculture purposes in Africa. The big bottleneck that these companies face is bank funding, as these projects are not classified as investments in a foreign country in the strictest sense. In fact, a group of edible oil processers have been lobbying hard for a slight change in the banking rules, which would enable them to get easy finance to purchase farmlands abroad as prices have moved up in the last few years because of competition from other countries. This is a fact that the working group needs to consider in the future.

 

sanjeeb.mukherjee@expressindia.com

 

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THE HINDU

EDITORIAL

DOUBLE-DIGIT INFLATION

 

Inflation is spoiling the government's celebration of India's quick recovery from the effects of the global crisis. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) figures for May point to three worrying trends. First, for the fifth month now, the aggregate annual rate of inflation as reflected in the month-on-month increase in the WPI has been near or well above double-digit levels. The figures for May put inflation at 10.2 per cent over the year. Secondly, the current inflation is particularly sharp in the case of some essential commodities, as a result of which the prices of food articles as a group have risen by 16.5 per cent and of foodgrain by close to 10 per cent. Finally, there are clear signs that what was largely an inflation in food prices is now more generalised, with fuel prices rising by 13 per cent and manufactured goods prices by 6-7 per cent.

 

The government's response is that while this is a matter for concern, the trend is likely to reverse itself with the onset of the monsoon. To the extent that any policy response is being spoken of, the reference is mainly to a tightening of credit and an increase in interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India. This ignores important structural influences on the pace of price increase in the current conjuncture. One is the long-term neglect of agriculture, which has affected the level and pattern of agricultural production to an extent where supply-side constraints are leading to inflation every time growth picks up. The sudden and sharp hike in the support prices for pulses announced recently is an acknowledgement of this problem by the government. However, given the likely lag in output responses, the immediate fallout of that price increase could be an aggravation of inflationary trends. A second structural influence is the effect the policy of reducing subsidies, raising administered prices, and dismantling price controls has on the costs of production. Even when inflation is ruling high, the government is contemplating deregulation of the pricing of universal intermediates such as petroleum products. Finally, inflation is high and persistent, despite expectations of a normal or good monsoon, because the decision to give private trade a greater role in the markets for essentials has provided the basis for a new bout of speculation, which the government seems unable or unwilling to control. It is to corrections in these areas that it must turn when looking for a solution to the inflation problem — rather than merely look for relief from monetary policy adjustments.

 

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THE HINDU

SCHENGEN AT 25

 

The Schengen area, associated in this part of the world with a single travel visa — valid across several countries in the European Union (EU) and beyond — is now 25 years. It symbolises an arena of relative success in the grand project of regional integration. It is hard to make a similar claim with equal confidence, many would argue, with respect to the other visible sign of transnational integration — the decade-old single currency — in the wake of the handling of the impact of the financial crisis in the 16 countries that constitute the eurozone. The Schengen area, now comprising 22 of the 27 EU states besides Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway, entails the absence of internal barriers in a territory along a 42,673 km external sea and 7,721 km land borders. The freedom of movement thus guaranteed to more than 400 million people constitutes one of the EU's founding goals, complementary to the other objectives related to the movement of goods and services. During the early days of the elimination of national boundaries, the Benelux three decided to dispense with border checks in the 1960s. Their attempt blossomed into something more substantial when the big two EU founder members, France and Germany, joined forces in the historic agreement at the Belgian town of Schengen in 1985. When the Schengen Convention entered into force a decade later, Spain and Portugal had already been roped in.

 

A distinguishing feature of the Schengen zone is that its evolution has defied the general logic of EU expansion wherein each new impetus to closer integration comes from Brussels rather than from below. Accordingly, the easing of controls was an inter-governmental initiative among individual member states until it was adopted into the EU's legal and institutional framework under the 1999 Treaty of Amsterdam. However, the steady expansion of the internal borderless domain has necessitated deeper cooperation among states to combat organised crime, trafficking in drugs, and illegal migration and to enforce the counter-terror strategy effectively. Paradoxically, to the extent the member states are anxious to retain national jurisdiction over such highly sensitive areas, the scope for cross-border cooperation is varied and generally limited. The decision of Ireland and the United Kingdom to keep out of the most prominent feature of Schengen policy, the provision for a common visa, exemplifies the degree to which national reservations influence particular policies. A revision of this stance may not be a major priority for either country any time soon. But continued insularity from the general direction of progress in the EU is hard to imagine.

 

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THE HINDU

LEADER PAGE ARTICLES

GAMES BIG CORPORATIONS PLAY

THE LEGISLATIVE CHALLENGE IS TO ENSURE THAT INDIAN VICTIMS GET THE SAME DEGREE OF PROTECTION FROM INDIAN COURTS AS U.S. VICTIMS WOULD FROM THEIR COURTS.

TURN THE NUCLEAR BILL FROM LIABILITY TO ASSET

SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN

 

As one of only two countries to run a nuclear power programme without any statute dealing with the possibility of an accident — the other is Pakistan — India has done well to finally recognise the importance of enacting a liability law. With ambitious plans for 20,000 MWe of nuclear power generation capacity on the anvil, liability legislation, especially if it helps internalise the risks associated with this expansion, can lower the probability of accidents. A good law would also ensure speedy and adequate compensation to victims.

 

The shabby manner in which the Indian system has dealt with the Bhopal disaster is a reminder of the need to place the victim at the centre of legislative action. Unfortunately, the international framework for nuclear liability is designed to favour nuclear suppliers. Despite this constraint, the Manmohan Singh government has managed to frame a law with some positive features. It includes two provisions that are not to the liking of the U.S., which wants to grab a share of the huge Indian market without accepting liability for any accident its products may cause. At the same time, the bill has some definite weaknesses.

 

The international regime on civil nuclear liability suffers from a serious flaw. By excluding the supplier, channelling liability for a nuclear accident to the operator and capping this liability, it leads to underinvestment in safety. This is because potential tort-feasors optimise their behaviour on the basis of artificially low damages they would have to pay in case things go wrong.

 

As Michael Faure and Karine Fiore have argued, any legal regime governing civil liability must aim to push the industry towards the prevention of accidents. "A basic notion is that the injurer should be fully exposed to damage costs in order to provide him with the necessary incentives for prevention" ("An economic analysis of the nuclear liability subsidy," Pace Environmental Law Review, 2009). As a corollary, all those who can contribute to accident risk should be forced to internalise the costs of the damage they might cause. If all treaties on nuclear liability — including the Convention on Supplementary Compensation to which India is planning to accede — stand the economics of torts on their head, this is because of the nuclear suppliers' lobby. Right from the 1950s, when nuclear power was in its infancy, down to today, U.S. contractors have contended they cannot do business abroad if there is a danger of being exposed to law suits.

 

Under U.S. influence, international conventions dealing with nuclear liability have thus embodied three concepts of dubious merit from the efficiency perspective. First, legal channelling of liability for accidents to foreign operators, second, giving operators an extremely limited right of recourse against suppliers in the event of an accident and, third, setting aside ordinary tort law and disallowing fault-based claims by victims against operator or supplier.

 

All of this was done in the name of speedy compensation for victims since the quid pro quo of channelling was the rule of 'strict liability' under which the operator is liable even if he is not at fault. Victims benefit from this rule since there is no ambiguity about who must pay. But as Tom Vanden Borre has argued, channelling was "not introduced to protect the victims of nuclear accidents, nor to reduce the insurance costs, but to protect the American nuclear industry." The irony is that even as it has pushed the regime of legal channelling on the rest of the world, the U.S. system of economic channelling of liability allows tort claims as well as an unrestricted right of recourse for the operator. That is how, for example, Metropolitan Edison, the operator of the Three Mile Island reactor, sued its supplier, Babcock & Wilcox, after the 1979 accident.

 

Supplementing these layers of protection for nuclear suppliers is a fourth: legal jurisdiction belongs to the courts of the country where the accident takes place. Bhopal, where Indian victims approached a U.S. court, is the ghost that looms large. "While ultimately the court declined to take jurisdiction", Ben McCrae, legal counsel for the U.S. Department of Energy, notes, "this was not because it doubted its capacity to do so: it basically waited to ensure that there was an adequate remedy available in India."

 

In the wake of the Indo-U.S. nuclear agreement, therefore, getting India to accede to the CSC has been Washington's priority. That would effectively bar Indian victims from approaching an American court in the event of an accident involving a U.S.-supplied reactor. Of course, this in itself cannot be an argument against India adopting a liability law. Rather, the challenge is to embed nuclear liability in a set of legal and administrative measures that can ensure the payment of speedy and adequate compensation to victims as well as force everyone in the nuclear business — suppliers and operators — to internalise the costs of an accident. Indeed, the legislative challenge is to ensure that Indian victims get the same degree of protection from Indian courts as U.S. victims would from their courts.

 

In a recent article, Evelyne Ameye has confronted the flawed logic of channelling, making a safety-cum-engineering argument in favour of suppliers remaining liable for accidents their products may cause. ("Channelling of nuclear third party liability towards the operator," European Energy and Environmental Law Review, 2010). This can be done in two ways. Liability for an accident can still be channelled on to the operator but his right of recourse in the event of supplier negligence is left unrestricted. The Russian Federal Act on Atomic Energy, for example, does not impose a limit upon the operator's right of recourse. (Alexander Matveev, "The Russian approach to nuclear liability," International Journal of Nuclear Law, 2006). South Korea's liability legislation also allows operators to recover damages from suppliers in the event of negligence. A second way would be to allow victims to sue suppliers for fault-liability under tort law so as to win damages over and above what the operator pays through strict liability. Thus Germany, a party to the Vienna Convention on nuclear liability, entered a reservation stressing its right, under national law, to hold persons other than the operator liable for nuclear damage. Besides, several conventions on environmental damage — such as the 2003 Kiev Protocol on industrial accidents in transboundary waters — now explicitly provide for strict as well as fault-liability to run side by side.

 

Ameye argues that channelling can no longer be justified on the grounds of nuclear power being an infant industry. Nor is it healthy to exclude suppliers from the liability chain when nuclear technology is rapidly evolving. "Given the increasingly complex designs of the new generations of nuclear power plants, it is… both legally and realistically incorrect to maintain the heavy burden of legal channelling upon the nuclear plant's operator … To the extent that design knowledge becomes more hermetic, it will be hard to sustain the operator's liability for risks he is not aware of or, even worse, for risks he cannot perceive". This is especially so when all major nuclear accidents in the past — Windscale, Three Mile Island and Chernobyl — have occurred, in part, because of design flaws.

 

Turning to the Indian bill, the inclusion of strict liability is a positive feature. The bill also legally channels this liability to the operator, thus eliminating any ambiguity about who must pay. On the positive side, too, is the additional 300 million SDRs (approximately Rs. 2050 crore) Indian victims would be entitled to from pooled contributions by state parties to the CSC, as and when it enters into force.

 

On the negative side is the cap placed on the operator's no-fault liability. The bill sets this at Rs. 500 crore, a figure that is low by international standards and by the requirement of safety incentivisation. In case the operator is private — a key qualification since the bill is not limited to public operators — this cap amounts to a subsidy as the government will assume liability for damages up to a maximum of 300 million SDRs. Private operators must not get such a benefit. Even if the operator is a public entity, the liability cap will distort the true cost of running a reactor and lead to a higher than optimal share of nuclear power in India's energy mix.

 

Where the original Indian bill is innovative is in allowing operators a right of recourse against suppliers in the event of gross negligence (Section 17(b)). Also, the bill would appear to allow victims to sue for fault-liability, though the ambiguous wording of Section 46 leaves unclear whether tort claims can be pressed against only the operator or any other person whose negligence leads to an accident.

 

Since both provisions undermine the principle of channelling, U.S. suppliers want them deleted. Not only must that pressure be resisted but steps should be taken to clarify their provisions.

 

Also, in the light of Bhopal, it is cold comfort to be told that victims can use existing laws to pursue compensation. As the Merlin case in England showed, courts can treat tort claims for nuclear damage with scepticism. In India, where the law of the torts is not well developed, it is essential that the nuclear liability bill provide mechanisms to allow victims to effectively press their case.

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THE HINDU

U.K. FURY OVER OBAMA'S "BP-BASHING"

THE U.S. PRESIDENT'S REMARK THAT HIS ADMINISTRATION WOULD NOT HESITATE TO PUT THE "BOOT ON THE THROAT OF BP" IS SEEN TO HAVE DIMINISHED HIS REPUTATION FOR "CIVILITY AND ELOQUENCE."

HASAN SUROOR

 

If English nationalism was in full cry in South Africa last week as England played their opening World Cup match against America, back home, the entire nation (not just England) was seized by a wave of anti-Americanism over what was seen as "anti-British rhetoric" coming out of Washington in the wake of the BP oil spill crisis.

 

"USA vs Britain'' /England vs USA" read the front page of a leading British newspaper on Saturday as, in Rustenburg, England limbered up for their match against America and, in London, pressure mounted on Prime Minister David Cameron to launch a "fight back" against American "assault" on BP.

 

Over the past week everyone — from British businesses and the political class to the media — has been raging with fury against alleged "Britain-bashing" by Americans. And, in a sign that Britain's honeymoon with the Obama presidency may have started to wane, much of the anger is directed against Barack Obama himself. He has been accused of using "undiplomatic" language to "beat" BP while ignoring the failings of his own regulators.

 

The President's remark that his administration would not hesitate to put the "boot on the throat of BP" is seen to have diminished his reputation for "civility and eloquence," as The Times put it saying that such language was "more reminiscent of Lyndon Johnson than John F. Kennedy."

 

A screaming headline in the right-wing Daily Telegraph read, "Obama's boot on the throat of British pensioners" blaming the fall in BP's share price on President Obama's "aggressive rhetoric" and highlighting its impact on British pension funds who have invested in BP.

 

Even liberal pro-Obama commentators feel that his choice of words has been "uncharacteristic" of a man respected for his eloquence. Writing in the Left-wing Independent, a self-confessed admirer of President Obama said she felt "let down" by his "unattractive, undignified and, more importantly just plain unfair" attacks on BP.

 

The Financial Times called Washington's response "crudely populist" and "faintly xenophobic" saying the President "should stop treating BP as a hostile and alien entity."

 

American "double standards"

 

Business leaders have attacked President Obama for being "prejudicial and personal" in dealing with BP. There have also been allegations of American "double standards" with the furore over BP being contrasted with America's "silence" when its own companies have been involved in criminal negligence abroad, such as the Bhopal gas tragedy and numerous "accidents" in Africa.

 

Newspapers have been deluged with letters from angry readers complaining that there is a nasty "anti-British" mood prevailing in America, fuelled by American Government's hostile comments. One Times' reader suggested that BP should change its name to Amoco, an American oil company it bought some years ago.

 

"That might put an end to the BP bashing that is taking place," he wrote. Another pointed out that while BP was being attacked there was "no mention of the U.S. companies involved — Transocean, which owns the rig; and Halliburton, which was responsible for the sealing; or of the U.S. authorities responsible for overseeing offshore drilling."

 

Politicians of all hues were quick to jump on the anti-U.S. bandwagon warning that America's "aggressive" attacks on BP could damage British-U.S. relations. London's Tory Mayor Boris Johnson called for an end to "buck passing and name calling" telling the BBC: "It starts to become a matter of national concern if a great British company is being continually beaten up on the international airwaves."

 

Others were even more outspoken. One senior Tory MP accused President Obama of turning an accident into an "anti-British issue" while the Tory chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Richard Ottaway, urged the White House to ponder whether it was right to "interfere in the operations of an international overseas company."

 

So, is the supposedly rock-solid British-U.S. "special" relationship in danger of hitting the skids?

 

Mounting pressure

 

Barely four weeks into office, the last thing that the new British government wants is a diplomatic row with its closest ally and Mr. Cameron is trying hard not to be bullied into picking a fight with Washington so early in the innings. But, faced with mounting pressure, he was forced to raise the issue with President Obama in a telephone conversation at the weekend.

 

From the sanitised official version, according to which Mr. Cameron "stressed the economic importance of BP to the U.K., U.S. and other countries," it is not clear how exactly (if at all) he conveyed to the President British anger over his "anti-British rhetoric." Understandably, Downing Street was more keen to publicise the President's "assurance" that American "frustrations about the oil spill had nothing to do with national identity [of BP]." But, then, he would say that, wouldn't he?

 

Meanwhile, Britons must decide once and for all whether or not they regard BP as a British company. Britons have objected to the U.S. administration, including President Obama himself, "pointedly" referring to BP as "British Petroleum" though this has not been its name since 1998 (guess what it calls itself? "Beyond Petroleum"!). It is claimed that BP is a multinational company, employing more workers in America than it does in Britain, and by insisting on referring to it as "British Petroleum" Americans are deliberately fuelling anti-British sentiment.

 

The question is: if BP is not a British company then why this angst over "BP-bashing" and such intense pressure on the government to defend it? The fact is that a change of signboard notwithstanding BP remains very much a British company deeply embedded in British economy and the country's political establishment.

 

Why this coyness then?

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THE HINDU

MAKING ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING EFFECTIVE

INDIA'S SCHOOL EDUCATION SYSTEM STANDS ON THE THRESHOLD OF REAL PROGRESS, IF IT HAS THE COURAGE TO CONTINUE REFORM.

HUGO WILLIAMS

 

There is a nagging, uncomfortable question that must be addressed despite the optimism rightly created by the implementation on April 1 of the Right to Education Bill: it is not simply "can we get all of India's children into school?" but rather "will they learn something when they get there?"

 

The current system of state education in Tamil Nadu is vital in helping to provide an answer to this second question. One of the leaders in the "silent revolution" in Indian primary education, since 2007 it has introduced the progressive Activity Based Learning system (ABL) for standards 1-4, and Active Learning Methodology (ALM, a sort of big brother to the ABL system) to standards 6-8. These new teaching methodologies stress greater inclusion and interaction of children in the learning process, aiming to bring variety and enjoyment back into the classroom.

 

The state government, the SSA ("the government's flagship programme for delivering universalisation of Elementary Education") and UNICEF have all been delighted with the impact of these reforms in Tamil Nadu. They have seen a marked improvement not only in the academic capabilities of primary school children under the new system, but also in their levels of confidence and their willingness to be involved in the learning process. Following the success of the Tamil Nadu reforms, nearly all other states have followed suit, or are planning to, in implementing similar methodologies.

 

However, success in the state primary sector also serves to highlight the existing failure at secondary level, where teaching methods remain archaic. The learning experience for these children is passive and uninspiring. Frequently, the onus is placed overwhelmingly on passing exams, for which they need only memorise the contents of their textbooks, rather than actually teaching them the skills they need.

 

As an illustration of the outdated model, take the current system of English language teaching in the Tamil Nadu secondary sector, where the government directly runs 61 per cent of all schools.

 

Reading the IX standard English textbook provided by the state board is like travelling back in time. Students are instructed to match everyday words like "philatelist", "numismatist", and "ornithologist" to their correct meanings (I only managed one). One chapter explains at length the exact steps that need to be followed when sending a telegram, almost as vital a skill for the 21st century as knowing how to ride a penny farthing.

 

The book even refers to black people as "negroes" in one exercise, without providing adequate context for the uninitiated English learner, who would not know that the term is now widely considered a racial slur in the Western world (and has been for the past 20 years).

 

Supplying six million students every year with such outdated, error-strewn learning materials (even their title pages contain typos) is lazy and unacceptable, particularly when you consider that the 2009-2010 budget for secondary education in the state is a hefty Rs. 4,27,211 lakh. These textbooks are, after all, the predominant teaching resources which are intended to prepare schoolchildren for their X and XII standard public exams — tests considered of such great importance that 2008 alone counted 264 exam-failure-related suicides across all state and private schools in Tamil Nadu.

 

The questionable benefits of the Tamil Nadu examination system call to mind the story of Dr. Yip, a Malaysian who has committed to memory the entire 57,000 word Oxford English-Chinese dictionary. The fascinating thing about Dr. Yip is that although he knows many more words than the average native speaker of English, he can't actually speak the language any better because of it.

 

The same logic can be applied to the average Indian secondary student. Instead of memorising a dictionary, they memorise a textbook. Learning the meaning of a "philatelist" (a stamp collector in case you're still guessing), and being able to recite poems and stories by heart in no way guarantees, or even makes it more likely, that you will end up being able to communicate in English. A recent ASER study backs up this conclusion: it found that a quarter to a half of 8th standard children in Tamil Nadu could not read or understand even very simple English sentences. However, in failing to test the actual language skills of children, state exams do little to flag up these huge shortcomings.

 

Of course, the problems of the secondary system, and this includes matriculation and Anglo-Indian schools, extend far beyond the teaching methodology alone. Many, but by no means all teachers, simply do not have the required level of training that is necessary to handle a more interactive, inclusive teaching style. Deviating from the textbook is a frightening prospect unless you are completely comfortable with your subject.

 

As the lingua franca of the international community, and as the only language that links all the states of India together, the benefits of teaching Indian children to speak English are huge. The ever-increasing BPO sector, the largest employer in the private-sector economy, constantly bemoans the insufficient English language skills of Indian graduates, an elite minority themselves, claiming that only 15 per cent have the required level to work in business services without first undergoing major additional training.

 

If it is to really mean something, The Right to Education Act must include in it the Right to Decent English Teaching, given the social, educational and career benefits that proficiency in the language can bring.

 

In a very promising recent development, the Tamil Nadu government has drawn up fresh plans to collaborate with the SSA and The British Council in providing English language teacher training for all state schools across standards VI-VIII. This would be in addition to the English language project already underway for the V standard, for which 60,000 teachers have already been trained up (training for the next 60,000 will be undertaken this year).

 

Tamil Nadu is finally starting to eschew the archaic and ineffective approach to language teaching that has prevailed for so long. It is now looking to replace it with one which concentrates on communicative as well as literary aspects of language, and so better addresses the modern educational needs of Indian schoolchildren.

 

The next step is for it to extend these changes once again, this time all the way up through the secondary system. If it does this, Tamil Nadu will become a paradigm for how English language teaching should be carried out in India. If quality English teaching can permeate the Indian school system, the economic and social benefits for the country will be incalculable. India will be able to capitalise on its youthful population, and leave the rest of the world behind in its tracks, gasping for breath.

 

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THE HINDU

DIRT-POOR NATION WITH A HEALTH PLAN

THE WEALTHIEST RWANDANS PAY THE SAME $2 THAT THE RURAL POOR DO FOR MEDICAL INSURANCE.

DONALD G. MCNEIL JR.

 

The maternity ward in the Mayange district health centre in Rwanda is nothing fancy. It has no running water, and the delivery room is little more than a pair of padded benches with stirrups. But the blue paint on the walls is fairly fresh, and the labour room beds have mosquito nets.

 

Inside, three generations of the Yankulije family are relaxing on one bed: Rachel, 53, her daughter Chantal Mujawimana, 22, and Chantal's baby boy, too recently arrived in this world to have a name yet.

 

The little prince is the first in his line to be delivered in a clinic rather than on the floor of a mud hut. But he is not the first with health insurance. Both his mother and grandmother have it, which is why he was born here.

 

Rwanda has had national health insurance for 11 years now; 92 per cent of the nation is covered, and the premiums are $2 a year.

 

Sunny Ntayomba, an editorial writer for The New Times, a newspaper based in the capital, Kigali, is aware of the paradox: His nation, one of the world's poorest, insures more of its citizens than the world's richest does.

 

He met an American college student passing through last year, and found it "absurd, ridiculous, that I have health insurance and she didn't," he said, adding: "And if she got sick, her parents might go bankrupt. The saddest thing was the way she shrugged her shoulders and just hoped not to fall sick."

 

Rwanda's coverage is no fancier than the Mayange maternity ward. But it covers the basics. The most common causes of death — diarrhoea, pneumonia, malaria, malnutrition, infected cuts — are treated.

 

Local health centres usually have all the medicines on the World Health Organisation's list of essential drugs (nearly all are generic copies of name-brand drugs) and have laboratories that can do routine blood and urine analyses, along with tuberculosis and malaria tests.

 

Rachel Mujawimana gave birth with a nurse present, vastly increasing the chances that she and her baby would survive. Had there been complications, they could have gone by ambulance to a district hospital with a doctor.

 

"In the old days, we came here only when the mother had problems," her mother said. "Now the village health worker orders you not to deliver at home."

 

Since the insurance, known as health mutuals, rolled out, average life expectancy has risen to 52 from 48, despite a continuing AIDS epidemic, according to Dr. Agnes Binagwaho, permanent secretary of Rwanda's Ministry of Health. Deaths in childbirth and from malaria are down sharply, she added.

 

Of course, many things that are routine in the United States, like MRI scans and dialysis, are generally unavailable. Cancer, strokes and heart attacks are often death sentences. The whole country, with a population of 9.7 million, has one neurosurgeon and three cardiologists. (By contrast, New York City has 8 million people; at a national softball tournament for neurosurgeons in Central Park 10 days ago, local hospitals fielded five teams.)

 

(In another contrast with the United States, obesity and its medical complications are almost a non-issue. Visitors to Rwanda are quickly struck by how thin everyone on the street is. And it is not necessarily from malnutrition; even the president, Paul Kagame, a teetotaling ascetic, is spectral.)

 

General surgery is done, but waits can be weeks long. A few lucky patients needing advanced surgery may be treated free by teams of visiting doctors from the United States, Cuba, Australia and elsewhere, but those doctors are not always around. Occasionally, the Health Ministry will pay for a patient to go to Kenya, South Africa or even India for treatment.

 

With rationing this strict, how can any nation offer so much for $2 a year?

 

The answer is: It can't. Not without outside help. Partners in Health, the Boston-based health charity which runs two rural hospitals and a network of smaller clinics in Rwanda, said its own costs ran $28 per person per year in areas it serves. It estimated that the government's no-frills care costs $10 to $20.

 

According to a study recently published in Tropical Medicine & International Health, total health expenditures in Rwanda come to about $307 million a year, and about 53 per cent of that comes from foreign donors, the largest of which is the United States. One big donor is the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which is experimenting with ways to support whole health systems instead of just treating the three diseases in its name. It pays the premiums for 800,000 Rwandans officially rated as "poorest of the poor."

 

In a nation of poor farmers, who is officially poorest is decided by village councils. They weigh assets like land, goats, bicycles and radios and determine whether a hut has a costly tin roof or just straw.

 

"People know their neighbours here,'' said Felicien Rwagasore, a patient coordinator at the Mayange clinic. "They do not make mistakes."

 

Making every Rwandan pay something is part of Kagame's ambitious plan to push his people toward more self-reliance and, with luck, eventually into prosperity. The country has been called "Africa's Singapore." It has clean streets and little crime, and each month everyone does one day of community service, like planting trees. Private enterprise is championed, and Kagame has been relentless about punishing corrupt officials. In the name of suppressing remarks that might revive the hatreds that spawned the 1994 genocide, his critics say, he suppresses normal political dissent, too.

 

Practical obstacle

 

A more practical obstacle to creating a health insurance system, however, is that most of the world's poor, including Rwanda's, resist what they see as the unthinkable bizarre idea of paying in advance for something they may never get.

 

"If people pay the $2 and then don't get sick all year, they sometimes want their money back," said Anja Fischer, an adviser to the health ministry from GTZ, the German government's semi-independent aid agency.

 

The co-pays can also be overwhelming. Even $5 for a Caesarean section can be too much for people as close to the edge as the Yankulijes, who live by growing beans and sweet potatoes and wear American castoffs (Yankulije's T-shirt read "Wolverines Football").

 

Many live by barter and cannot scrape together even $2 in coins, said Dr. Damas Dukundane, who works in a poor rural area. Since the government accepts only cash, he said, his patients sometimes go to traditional healers, who could be dangerous quacks but will take goats or chickens. As a result of all these factors, Rwanda is a patchwork of small clinics, some richer or better-run than others. Mayange's, for example, gets donations and guidance from the Access Project founded by Josh N. Ruxin, a Columbia professor of public health who now lives in Kigali.

 

For example, the computer that prints the insurance cards has a Webcam on it. Previously, Ruxin said, for insurance costing $2, villagers had to bring in photographs that had cost them $1 or more.

 

A clearer example of how the system overburdens the poor, he said, was the fact that the wealthiest Rwandans pay the same $2 that the rural poor do.

 

"It's totally insane that my mother pays the same as the woman who cleans her house," Binagwaho said. "That law is being changed."

 

Still, Binagwaho said, Rwanda can offer the United States one lesson about health insurance: "Solidarity — you cannot feel happy as a society if you don't organize yourself so that people won't die of poverty." — New York Times News Service

 

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THE ASIAN AGE

EDITORIAL

AS INFLATION RISES,WAIT FOR THE RAINS

 

Inflation touching the double-digit mark sent ripples of concern through the government and the country at large, even though the government tried to play down some of these concerns, and in fact some sections in it felt it was time that fuel prices were raised. If only the price of petrol is raised it might be understandable: petrol is, after all, used primarily by car owners, thought to be far better off than the average citizen. But to lump it together with diesel, kerosene and LPG appears politically foolhardy — if only because the government has proved totally bankrupt when it comes to laying down a protective net for the economically weaker sections. It has totally abandoned the public distribution system (PDS) only because it cannot maintain it properly. This is unbecoming of a government which claims to act on behalf of the aam aadmi. It constantly reiterates its faith in the "inclusive growth" mantra, but does very little about it in practice, and even dismantles elements of what already exists — such as PDS. It is then left to the Reserve Bank to literally armtwist banks into making "inclusive growth" a reality. Government officials at the village and district levels — who should be at the forefront of the "inclusive growth" effort — are instead busy lining their pockets and illegally amassing wealth.
The Union finance minister hopes to see inflation calming down by July, when the behaviour of this year's monsoon will become clear. It remains a constant puzzle how the $1 trillion-plus Indian economy, heralded worldwide as the second fastest growing on the planet, is still so dependent on something as unpredictable as the rains. The government had said last year that food inflation would cool once the rabi crop arrived. Now that it has, the latest inflation figures still came as a surprise: having jumped to double digits in May to 10.16. What's even worse, the March inflation figure has now been revised to 11.4 per cent from 9.9 per cent. Food prices moderated but negligibly, and remain high. The price of pulses is rising unabated, while vegetable prices show no signs of declining. The government's record on pulses is shocking: it was aware the per capita consumption of pulses was falling year after year as prices kept rising aggressively. In the last Budget, the finance minister announced a special scheme to target production — but the bureaucracy was so slow, and the 21 per cent increase in minimum support price announced so late, that farmers could not take advantage and shift to pulses cultivation. And these are still the only source of protein available to the poor.

Finally, though, inflation figures are just a numbers game, with little meaning for the ordinary citizen, particularly homemakers who have to keep the kitchen fires burning and families fed. Prices of manufactured items are also moving upward while global commodity prices are cooling down. The reason is that when global commodity prices went up last year, India could not increase prices as there was a lack of demand. Now that demand has increased, manufacturers have started pushing up prices. Industry must become more cost-conscious and improve productivity to meet the rising demand.

The government and India's privileged classes must start thinking "out of the box" while making plans to provide for the have-nots. They can think of food kitchens and of supplying at least one proper meal a day to those who are starving. Builders and real estate developers, for instance, could be required to provide at least one substantial meal a day to their construction workers and their families. There are a million things that can be done once the haves readily accept their responsibility to provide for the have-nots.

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THE ASIAN AGE

EDITORIAL

CONTROL ISSUES

P.C. ALEXANDER

 

When Kapil Sibal was elevated to Cabinet rank and assigned the crucial portfolio of human resources development (HRD), many people had great expectations from him about reforms in the education sector — a sector that has suffered due to the misplaced priorities of some of his predecessors. Since Independence, education, perhaps, is the one issue which has had the largest number of commissions and committees for reforms. Therefore, a wealth of material is readily available for use by any minister with sound vision and reforming zeal. However, most who had expected substantial reforms from Mr Sibal were disappointed when he appeared to be in a haste to announce his plans for changes within a few weeks of taking charge. He did not devote adequate time to study why some reforms had got stuck in the past or proved to be counterproductive.
Above all, the new HRD minister, in his various statements on bringing about changes, appeared to have ignored the basic fact that in our federal system education is a state subject and that many state governments are very sensitive about any dilution in their constitutional responsibilities relating to education. Certain aspects pertaining to higher education have been included in the concurrent list in the Constitution, but very few among the larger and well-administered states in India would be willing to part with their responsibilities relating to appointment of vice-chancellors of state universities. Strong protests were audible when indications were given about the Centre taking the lead role in the selection and appointment of all vice-chancellors in the country.
Let us examine some of the reasons for resentment towards the idea of having one central panel of persons found eligible by the Centre for appointment as vice-chancellors.

No doubt that the intention behind this proposal was to ensure that the standards of qualification for the post of vice-chancellor were kept very high and the procedures for selection were transparent. However, adequate thought was not given to the problems involved in putting together such a national-level panel. Even under the present system of selection of vice-chancellors, when both the state administration and state governors, in their capacity as chancellors, are actively involved, the process takes about six months. If an all-India panel of prospective candidates is to be the source of all selections and appointments, it is bound to take much longer.
There is also no guarantee that the Central list will have enough qualified names on it to meet the special needs of certain state universities, like research on some of the ancient state languages.

I should mention here that some of us serving as governors had the opportunity to study the legislative procedures in different states when we were appointed as members of a committee of governors in 1996 by the then President Shankar Dayal Sharma to make recommendations on "the role of the governor as chancellor of universities". I had the privilege of being appointed as its chairman. During the deliberations of this committee it was found that the methods of selection of candidates for consideration for appointment as vice-chancellors in state universities varied not only from state to state, but sometimes within the same state itself. Also, in the course of our work we found that some governors were not inclined to take up the responsibility of selecting vice-chancellors as governors, in their capacity as chancellors, were often being drawn into litigation even in junior courts. They felt that this would not be in keeping with the high prestige associated with the office of the governor.

In some states, in spite of clear provisions in the relevant University Act, the governments in power appeared to be keen that the governor should not have an active role in the constitution of the selection committee or the final appointment based on the recommendations of this committee. Sometimes differences had arisen between the state Cabinet and the chancellor on the appointment of vice-chancellors because of the insistence of certain states that the governor, even when s/he functions in his/her capacity as chancellor of a university, shall act only on the advice of the council of ministers. Such problems are likely to get aggravated if the selection is to be restricted to one central panel.

Apart from these considerations, a single panel valid for the whole of India may not be a desirable arrangement. After what has been revealed about the manner in which a very important central council, i.e. the Medical Council of India, had been functioning, the Central government should not be under the illusion that people will have implicit faith in the competence and fairness of all centrally-constituted councils.

What is required is to allow the states to manage the institutions of higher education according to the provisions of their own acts and not impose any rule or regulation which brings centralised administrative control. Based on the working and reputation of some of the universities in the states, one may claim that they are much better administered institutions than some of the centrally-managed higher education institutions. Certain states have evolved very good legislative procedures to manage their universities. I venture to suggest that the Maharashtra University Act, 1994, can provide some useful guidelines for states intending to introduce reforms in the system of selection and appointment of vice-chancellors.

Falling back on the experience of selection and appointment of vice-chancellors in some well administered states, I would suggest that it would be very useful for the chancellor if s/he interviews the candidates recommended by the selection panel of the state and personally assesses their relative suitability.
Some people may hold the view that all this will give the chancellor almost a full say in the selection of vice-chancellors and may lead to differences of opinion between the chancellor and the chief minister, particularly if the latter has the reputation of being a "strong administrator". I should, however, add that during my fairly long tenure as governor in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, there was not a single case of any appointment made to the post of vice-chancellor that had been disagreed to by even "strong administrators" like Sharad Pawar or M. Karunanidhi.

Whether states adopt some of the good provisions of the Maharashtra University Act or not, it would be advisable that the idea of having an all-India selection panel for vice-chancellors is not pursued any further by the Centre in any shape or form.

 

P.C. Alexander is a former governor of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra

 

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THE ASIAN AGE

EDITORIAL

READING BURMA'S NUCLEAR DREAMS

SHANKARI SUNDARARAMAN

 

Even as Burma's military junta prepares to address the issue of the forthcoming elections in October 2010, a documentary aired on Qatar-based TV news channel Al Jazeera, about the possibility of Burma developing a nuclear weapons programme, brings a deafening silence to the voices that were urging engagement with the Burmese junta.

The documentary's "source" is from within the Burmese military junta and the footage shown on Al Jazeera was acquired from a defector within the military. The documentary, compiled over a period of five years with the help of a Norway-based independent group in exile called the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), had images and documentary proof of tunnels and nuclear facilities — evidence that showed the extent of the development of these facilities being pursued by the junta in connivance with North Korea, which is said to be providing the technology. Speculation suggests that assistance includes both weapons technology and ballistic missile capability.

While the documentary's source and evidence lends some credibility to the matter, it is still not conclusive enough to say with surety that the Burmese government does intend to acquire nuclear weapons capability.

The news of Burma's nuclear ambitions is not really new. This issue has been in the public domain for more than a decade. The Burmese search for nuclear capability began as early as 2000 when Russia was engaged to build a 10-megawatt nuclear capable reactor to assist the process of acquiring fuel technology. However, the project did not take off as planned and for nearly seven years the issue was forgotten.

In 2007, news reports alluding to Burma's nuclear ambitions appeared again, this time in the context of Russia supplying technology and low-grade uranium to assist with research for peaceful uses in the fields of medical and agricultural science.

Though there were some passing references to scientific and technological training being provided by Russia, Burma's plan to seek assistance from the Russians for a nuclear reactor did not materialise.

However, 2008 onwards there have been several reports about growing ties between North Korea and Burma. Given that the North Korean technology is widely seen as a threat to the entire region, there has been speculation on two parallel lines — one is about Burma actually acquiring the technology for weapons capability, the other is that Burma is being used by the North Korean leadership as a dock for piling its own weapons and using it as an ally. Given that the two regimes have been increasingly isolated, this spectre does not seem very far fetched.

Increasing international condemnation of the Burmese military junta and the growing perception that Burma is being forced to reconsider its approach to a democratic setup are critical issues that may have given the necessary push towards closer ties with states like North Korea.
In fact, Burma's diplomatic ties with North Korea remained suspended till 2007. In 2008, a defence MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) was signed between the two countries with specific reference to nuclear technology and ballistic missile capabilities.

What needs to be borne in mind is that increased isolation from the international community has only enhanced the threat perceptions of the Burmese leadership. Over the years the leadership has become more and more intransigent and allowed itself little engagement with the rest of the world. This isolation will only push Burma towards greater dependency on countries that have a clear record of proliferation — i.e. China, Pakistan and North Korea.

Support for Burma from within the region has been growing — its integration into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has been one of the factors that has allowed for the economic gap between Burma and its other Southeast Asian neighbours to be reduced. Also, China has remained Burma's critical ally, with India and Russia establishing clear ties. This degree of engagement with Burma has in some ways been more effective in bringing more international focus upon Burma. But the engagement policy needs to be nuanced — keep the junta engaged while maintaining a focus on issues of human rights and democracy.

Isolating Burma would push it further towards the North Korea example. Given the political instability within Burma and the fact that their technical know-how for maintenance of nuclear capability is very low, the Burmese leadership would be shortsighted to follow the dangerous example of North Korean. Moreover, as concerns of terrorist related sabotage of nuclear facilities are mounting, Burma should not risk its political survival by following the modus operandi of the North Korean leadership.

 

Burma going down the nuclear road has several wide-ranging implications. For the Asean there is likely to be a serious imbalance given that the 10-member regional grouping clearly endorses the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone (SEANWFZ). This was the outcome of deliberations that emerged as early as 1995 and was called the Bangkok Treaty. The Asean has been trying to reign in its dialogue partners to come on board this treaty. Both China and India have endorsed it, but the US has used its presence in the Korean peninsula to remain outside the SEANWFZ.

During the Monks' Revolution in 2007, the Asean voiced its concerns over the deteriorating political conditions within Burma but stopped short of suspending it. But now, considering that Burma is a signatory to the SEANWFZ and its intent to acquire nuclear weapons technology will impact the regional security order, the Asean cannot use the non-interference provision. It must be more concerted in its action against Burma.
A three-pronged strategy could be followed to deal with Burma — First, push the agenda on a special international forum on Burma; the forum must include the Asean, China, India, Russia and the US. Second, clearly set aside the non-intervention in domestic affairs clause which Asean follows and ask Burma for transparency as a signatory to the SEANWFZ. And finally, let there be clear incentives in place for moving forward with the process of national reconciliation and elections.

A country that has been isolated for nearly 60 years and has been consistently testing the patience of the international community, is now on the verge of pushing those limits again, this time by acquiring nuclear capability. Under these circumstances the Asean and its partners in the wider region, including both India and China, cannot remain mute spectators.

 

Dr Shankari Sundararaman is an associate professor of Southeast Asian Studies at the School of International Studies, JNU

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DNA

EDITORIAL

KEEP BLUES AT BAY

 

The latest figures of general inflation — 10.16% — and food prices inflation — 16.1% — remain causes of  concern. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has expressed the view that food prices will go down after the monsoon.

 

It is more an expectation than a prediction. But economic advisor in the finance ministry, Kaushik Basu, has sought to play down the fears by pointing out that the drivers of inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) were iron and steel, which accounted for 3.64%, and raw cotton, sugar cane and jute, and not exactly food prices.

He said that the food price index has remained constant between November 2009 and May 2010. He is right, technically speaking. But that is the economist's sleight-of-hand in action. The high food prices have not gone down, they just did not go higher. That is not much of a solace to people who are forced to pay more from constrained domestic budgets. The decrease in food prices in real terms is now dependent on the monsoon, something that both the finance minister and his economic adviser have acknowledged.

That is why, Basu sought to explain away the double digit inflation rate in two ways. First, he said that the May figure of 10.16% is lower than the revised inflation rate of 11.04% in March. Second, he said that the core inflation rate — after taking away fuel and food prices — actually stands at 5.8% and it should go down below five% by the end of the financial year. The proverbial silver lining is the figure for Index of Industrial Production

(IIP) standing at 17.6% for April 2010, led by manufacturing growing at 19.4%.  

It would seem then that the inflation will settle down at lower levels in due course and that this would not hopefully necessitate hike in interest rate on the part of Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Of course, the finance ministry stays politically correct by saying that it is the call of the central bank.

It could be that the intricate ways of determining inflation could keep the fears of inflation down and that monsoon would come to the aid of an economy that is still crucially dependent on agriculture. Of course, this is betting on hope but there are good enough reasons for doing so.  Also, it is another way of keeping inflation blues at bay.

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DNA

SPARE THE ROD 

 

A high profile Kolkata school has found itself in the news over the suicide of a student, ostensibly because he had been repeatedly humiliated and caned by the school's teachers and principal. The school seems to have held some sort of an internal inquiry and absolved all the staff of any wrongdoing. The boy's father has since taken up the matter and the school now finds that it is being questioned.

 

The progress of the case over the culpability of La Martiniere for Boys, Kolkata and the pain of the parents of Rouvanjit Rawla is now a matter of investigation. The school's principal has admitted to the caning and even conceded to newspapers that the incident was regrettable.The West Bengal government has taken note of the case as has Union human resources minister, Kapil Sibal. This unfortunate episode brings up the question about corporal punishment in schools in India — in spite of it being forbidden by law — and how difficult it is for parents and guardians to take action against such schools.

 

The fear that their child will be thrown out or victimised often stops parents from demanding action against that very victimisation. The concern for a "good education" is so strong that schools all too often find it very easy to get away with illegal behaviour. Very often, schools follow archaic systems and ideas about discipline and operate as closed and insular societies which refuse to allow any external scrutiny. Corporal punishment is rampant across schools in India and this particular Kolkata school was, it can be argued, only following the norm.

 

However the dictum of "spare the rod and spoil the child" is no longer accepted as the correct way to discipline children. The idea of the rights of the child has developed over the 20th century and bodily harm to ensure discipline is either frowned upon or banned by law in most civilised nations. But schools in India possibly find it very hard to keep up with changing times and laws and find it easy to fall back on old, established patterns of behaviour.

 

The Right to Education Bill makes its views on corporal punishment very clear. Perhaps, as we have started to take education more seriously in this century, we can find ways to enforcing such laws and augment state education departments with enough manpower and funds to take on erring schools. Parents must also have a greater say in the way schools are run and the manner in which their children are treated.

 

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DNA

AFTERMATH OF BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY

NILOTPAL BASU

 

The nation has had to relive the gruesome memory of the aftermath of that fateful night of December 3, 1984 of Bhopal. Those heartrending cries of helplessness and the spasms of the deadly end that people met — men and women, children and the infirm which outraged the nation and our people — are being played out again to disturb our cozy little cocoons.

 

The long wait of 26 years for justice in the gas leak disaster has come to a shameful end.This has caused a sense of tragedy and betrayal no less in magnitude than the original disaster itself. It was not confined to the country.In most parts of the world, public opinion and media have castigated the judicial outcome in Bhopal.There seems to be a sense of outrage at allowing Union Carbide's top brass to get away, particularly the chairman at the time, Warren Anderson, who continues to lead an extremely comfortable life of retirement in an upmarket neighbourhood of New York state.

 

People are asking questions.Why have the families of the 25,000 and more dead not received the compassionate consideration of the executive and the judiciary whose Constitutional obligation it was to protect them?Why did the CBI conduct the investigation and prosecution in such a manner that corporate delinquency amounting to culpable homicide went unpunished?Why did the CBI not file a review petition when charge of culpable homicide was being diluted by the Supreme Court to accidental deaths?

 

Did the government in 2005 persuade itself to go slow on Anderson and the Union Carbide at the instance of several high level officials and the then Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, on the specious argument that this will undermine billions of dollars of investment?Did the External Affairs Ministry write to the CBI not to pursue extradition of Anderson and did the Indian ambassador in Washington put this assessment in black and white as revealed in the media?Whether it is a fact that soon after Anderson was arrested in Bhopal in the wake of the disaster, the government facilitated his bail and he was escorted out of the prison and the city by the state government machinery itself?

 

People want to know the truth.But there is no official answer.There is also no answer as to whether the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal which had undertaken the production of the deadly pesticide 'Savin' had the essential safety features which would eliminate the possibility of the production of methyl isocyanate (MIC), the lethal gas that took so many lives and which is responsible for the birth to malformed babies even today?

 

Marx wrote in Das Kapital: "With adequate profit, capital is very bold. A certain 10 per cent will ensure its employment anywhere; 20 per cent will produce eagerness; 50 per cent, positive audacity; 100 per cent will make it ready to trample on all human laws; 300 per cent and there is not a crime that it will scruple, nor a risk it will run, even to the chance of its owner being hanged".The truth is Warren Anderson and the Union Carbide acted much in the way that Marx has described.But the tragedy is that they have been allowed to get off the hook by the obnoxious collusion of the Indian executive and judiciary.

 

That is why in the nuclear liability bill, which is in Parliament, in the event of a future nuclear accident, there will be virtually no onus on the foreign nuclear reactor supplier companies which may be culpable.If, as in the case of Bhopal, the government had to manipulate to undermine the legal possibilities to pin down the perpetrators, in case of future nuclear plant accidents, the government wants to legally disempower themselves and the citizens to force accountability and compensation.

Meanwhile there is intense pressure from the Americans, which is reflected in what the US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley has observed in the wake of the Bhopal judgment — " Our economies are increasingly closely connected. So I certainly would hope that this particular case does not inhibit the continuing expansion of economic, cultural and political ties between our two countries".

 

The UPA government — as it does so often — when it is confronted with a tricky situation — has formed a group of ministers with Chidambaram at its head.Obviously, the government wants to play out a further waiting game for the sense of outrage of the nation to die down.

 

We have to speak out against the machinations that led to a human disaster of the magnitude as happened in Bhopal.We have to speak out against creating legal space for future Warren Andersons in the event of nuclear disaster.Issues of such serious import cannot be left to the government to handle.

 

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DNA

AFTERMATH OF A TRAGEDY

PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BHOPAL GAS CASE. BUT THERE IS NO OFFICIAL ANSWER

NILOTPAL BASU

 

The nation has had to relive the gruesome memory of the aftermath of that fateful night of December 3, 1984 of Bhopal. Those heartrending cries of helplessness and the spasms of the deadly end that people met — men and women, children and the infirm which outraged the nation and our people — are being played out again to disturb our cozy little cocoons. The long wait of 26 years for justice in the gas leak disaster has come to a shameful end. This has caused a sense of tragedy and betrayal no less in magnitude than the original disaster itself. It was not confined to the country. In most parts of the world, public opinion and media have castigated the judicial outcome in Bhopal. There seems to be a sense of outrage at allowing Union Carbide's top brass to get away, particularly the chairman at the time, Warren Anderson, who continues to lead an extremely comfortable life of retirement in an upmarket neighbourhood of New York state.

People are asking questions. Why have the families of the 25,000 and more dead not received the compassionate consideration of the executive and the judiciary whose Constitutional obligation it was to protect them? Why did the CBI conduct the investigation and prosecution in such a manner that corporate delinquency amounting to culpable homicide went unpunished? Why did the CBI not file a review petition when charge of culpable homicide was being diluted by the Supreme Court to accidental deaths?

Did the government in 2005 persuade itself to go slow on Anderson and the Union Carbide at the instance of several high level officials and the then Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, on the specious argument that this will undermine billions of dollars of investment? Did the External Affairs Ministry write to the CBI not to pursue extradition of Anderson and did the Indian ambassador in Washington put this assessment in black and white as revealed in the media? Whether it is a fact that soon after Anderson was arrested in Bhopal in the wake of the disaster, the government facilitated his bail and he was escorted out of the prison and the city by the state government machinery itself?

People want to know the truth. But there is no official answer. There is also no answer as to whether the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal which had undertaken the production of the deadly pesticide 'Savin' had the essential safety features which would eliminate the possibility of the production of methyl isocyanate (MIC), the lethal gas that took so many lives and which is responsible for the birth to malformed babies even today?
Marx wrote in Das Kapital: "With adequate profit, capital is very bold. A certain 10 per cent will ensure its employment anywhere; 20 per cent will produce eagerness; 50 per cent, positive audacity; 100 per cent will make it ready to trample on all human laws; 300 per cent and there is not a crime that it will scruple, nor a risk it will run, even to the chance of its owner being hanged". The truth is Warren Anderson and the Union Carbide acted much in the way that Marx has described. But the tragedy is that they have been allowed to get off the hook by the obnoxious collusion of the Indian executive and judiciary.

That is why in the nuclear liability bill, which is in Parliament, in the event of a future nuclear accident, there will be virtually no onus on the foreign nuclear reactor supplier companies which may be culpable. If, as in the case of Bhopal, the government had to manipulate to undermine the legal possibilities to pin down the perpetrators, in case of future nuclear plant accidents, the government wants to legally disempower themselves and the citizens to force accountability and compensation.

Meanwhile there is intense pressure from the Americans, which is reflected in what the US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley has observed in the wake of the Bhopal judgment — " Our economies are increasingly closely connected. So I certainly would hope that this particular case does not inhibit the continuing expansion of economic, cultural and political ties between our two countries".

The UPA government — as it does so often — when it is confronted with a tricky situation — has formed a group of ministers with Chidambaram at its head. Obviously, the government wants to play out a further waiting game for the sense of outrage of the nation to die down.

We have to speak out against the machinations that led to a human disaster of the magnitude as happened in Bhopal. We have to speak out against creating legal space for future Warren Andersons in the event of nuclear disaster. Issues of such serious import cannot be left to the government to handle.

 

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THE TRIBUNE

EDITORIAL

ROAD TO MANIPUR

FIGHT THE FIRE, NOT JUST THE SMOKE

 

The 'temporary' withdrawal of the two-month old blockade of highways to Manipur by Naga groups would come as a relief to the people of the beleaguered state. Forced to live with shortages and compelled to pay exorbitant prices for food, fuel, medicines and transport all these weeks, they would be hoping for an early end to their misery so that they may resume normal life. The withdrawal was announced immediately after a delegation of Naga students met the Prime Minister in New Delhi and hours after the Union Home Secretary confirmed that central forces were indeed being rushed to secure the highways. The Naga groups were possibly left with few options but to end the blockade. They of course gave the impression that their decision was prompted by the 'good meeting' they had with the Prime Minister, who apparently listened to them patiently and assured that he would look into their demands. If the solution to the impossibly long stand-off were to be so swift and simple, one wonders why the PM's intervention was delayed; or for that matter why it took the Union Home Ministry two months to finally flex its muscles.

 

Road blockades are a common form of popular protest that one now encounters across the country and over grievances ranging from the trivial to the grave. It is, almost always, symptomatic of poor and unresponsive governance and signals a breakdown of the local administration at ground level with people demanding intervention, or just a hearing, from the 'top'. But even by our own standards, the two-month old blockade of the main highways connecting Manipur to the rest of the country must rank in a class of its own.

 

The threat of the Naga Students Federation to resume the blockade if their demands are not met, cannot be dismissed lightly. The stand-off in the Northeast has demonstrated how fragile the region continues to be and how feeble the authority exercised by New Delhi or the state governments. The uncomfortable truce will be short-lived unless steps are taken urgently to resolve the volatile cocktail of political and ethnic issues that triggered the trouble in the first place.

 

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THE TRIBUNE

EDITORIAL

RAJ TO THE FORE

DEAL WITH CONG ALARMS SHIV SENA

 

The support extended by Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena to the Congress in getting a Congress-backed candidate elected in the recent Legislative Council elections at the cost of a Shiv Sena nominee has soured the already-strained relations between the MNS and the Sena. Indeed, the 13 MNS legislators were the major factor that led to the victory of all seven candidates belonging to the Congress and the NCP. This is a repeat of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in which MNS' support had given the Congress-NCP alliance the crucial edge. This time around, while the MNS has spoken openly that its aim was to placate the Congress to secure the revocation of suspension of four of their members from the assembly, the Shiv Sena has been alleging that Raj and his men fell victim to Congress monetary inducements.

 

As things stand, the chances of the Shiv Sena and the MNS coming together in elections to the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation in 2011 appear bleak. While Sena supremo Bal Thackeray has mocked at his nephew Raj by calling him 'Dhanajirao' (wealthy man) in the context of his 'underhand' deal with the Congress, the MNS chief has told the Shiv Sena to mind its own business. The Congress on its part, while being elated over the growing chasm between the Shiv Sena and the MNS, also has something to worry about. The Congress has been distancing itself from the migrant-attacking MNS to avoid an embarrassment at the national level, as elections in Bihar and U.P. are due soon. Any revocation of the suspension of the MNS legislators will strengthen the feeling in those two states that the Congress is hand-in-glove with the MNS.

 

There is no denying, however, that the MNS has emerged as a key factor in Maharashtra's political chessboard. It may not win many seats, but its potential to harm the Shiv Sena is indeed substantial. For the Congress-NCP alliance it is a boon to see the Shiv Sena and its offshoot at dagger's drawn in the State.

 

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THE TRIBUNE

EDITORIAL

QUESTIONABLE MOVE

PARTY-LESS CIVIC POLLS TO PROTECT MAYA'S IMAGE

 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's proposal to amend laws for holding party-less polls to urban civic bodies and election of mayors and municipal chairmen not by voters but by corporators and municipal councillors has kicked off a major controversy. Though the BJP, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party have questioned the propriety of her going ahead with the amendments without giving them the mandatory one-month time to give their opinion, she is proceeding ahead with her move. Party-less election to local bodies is nothing new. Bihar and Madhya Pradesh have been following this. Under the Constitution, the state governments are empowered to amend laws on urban civic body elections. But what is being objected to is the surreptitious way by which Ms Mayawati is trying to amend the legislation by keeping the notification under wraps.

 

Apparently, Ms Mayawati has quietly initiated the move so that every candidate in the local body elections is an Independent, implying that no party can technically be a winner or loser. She apparently fears that if the BSP loses the urban civic bodies elections in 2011, it could adversely affect the party's prospects in the 2012 Assembly elections. As it is, the BSP doesn't have much of a following in the urban local bodies today. So, if the 2011 polls were held on the basis of party tickets, it would heap as much humiliation on the ruling BSP as the CPM is facing now in West Bengal.

 

A bigger worry is the fallout of the party-less elections. These may increase the role of money power, encourage horse-trading and make it easier for the ruling party to buy councillors, it is feared. Union Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy has reportedly threatened to hold up funds to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for Uttar Pradesh if the Chief Minister goes ahead with the amendment. It is a moot point whether Ms Mayawati will finally succeed, but it does not come through as a fair move.

 

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THE TRIBUNE

COLUMN

THE STENCH WE LIVE WITH

CLASS BIAS IN BHOPAL GAS DISASTER CASE

BY B.G. VERGHESE

 

We have got so used to the stench that we live with it not realising how foul it smells. The trivial Bhopal verdict is a grim reminder of this truth. The title I gave to Raajkumar Keswani's essay on the Bhopal gas tragedy, in a book I later edited, was "An Auschwitz in Bhopal". Keswani, then a small-time journalist in Bhopal, was among the first to alert the nation to the looming tragedy of the ill-maintained Union Carbide pesticide plant that showed signs of becoming a gas chamber. That was in 1982 and 1983 after the first gas leaks and fatalities, when the company cut down maintenance on this loss- making plant that it was negotiating to sell to one or the other of its associates in Brazil or Indonesia. The warnings were ignored.

 

Twenty-six years and more than a generation later, a judicial magistrate in Bhopal has pronounced a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment under the revised offence charged in 1996: negligence rather than culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Bhopal was no "accident". If at all, with prior warnings, it was an accident waiting to happen. Nine Indian officials have been found guilty. The then UCC Chairman, Warren Anderson, was arrested in December 1984, bailed out and officially assisted to flee the country as he could not be charged with vicarious liability. The Bhopal plant was later sold to Dow Chemicals with no liability even to clean up the still toxic plant site. The watchword both in India and the US was promoting investment, not justice.

 

An estimated 20,000-25,000 have died as a result of the gas leak in Bhopal. Approximately half a million more suffer the agonies of continuing ailments, deformities and genetic deformities. Medical research on the effects of the lethal methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and its long-term treatment have been faulty. People continue to suffer and remain exposed to unknown risks. The $470 million compensation awarded was clearly meagre and its disbursement delayed. Confusion, incompetence, cover-up and procedural delays all played their part in dealing with the greatest industrial disaster the world has ever seen.

 

The US was quick to cover its back and its response was quite different from that to the soon-to-follow Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska or, currently, to the BP blow-out while deep-drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. Without minimising either event and its ecological implications, the two combined do not add up to anything like the magnitude of the human tragedy in Bhopal and its continuing effects. In both cases, the US response to corporate liability has been very different to that in Bhopal, despite admitted differences in these cases.

 

A most unsavoury blame game and loud name calling has started in India with the usual absurdities like demands for a joint parliamentary inquiry being touted to score political points. To what end? Such antics will only delay action to mend the systemic failures that Bhopal and other events have exposed, expedite justice and bring closure. A 26-year trial is an absolute travesty. The law, often antiquated in letter and intent, has time and again been shown to be an ass. The administration and investigatory agencies can be bent and lack the independence expected of them as democratic bulwarks. Compensation norms have not been standardised and vary from case to case, agency to agency and state to state.

 

There is also a clear class bias in all of this. The well heeled are treated differently and sometimes get away with murder. Take the string of recent cases of drunken driving and its toll of humble victims. A two-year prison term after years of traumatic delay is poor solace to families who lose their breadwinners and loved ones. The permissible punishment should be exemplary, especially when the culprits go missing, prevaricate, and delay justice. Parents and guardians should not be immune so that the spoilt-brat syndrome is checked. Similarly, rape and run or rape and murder criminals should be punished not only for the crime, if found guilty, but also for their conduct after the event such as when BMWs become trucks.

 

It is understandable that many are demanding a fresh look at the civil nuclear liability Bill so as to ensure that criminal negligence cannot be disassociated from accountability. Accidents may happen and the corporate owner or equipment supplier should not be burdened with crushing liabilities unless criminal negligence is proven. Insistence on anything more onerous than that could turn away suppliers and investors to the detriment of the greater common good. The right balance must be struck between total liability and no liability irrespective of circumstances.

 

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THE  TRIBUNE

COLUMN

MY NAME IS IQBAL AND I AM NOT A TERRORIST

BY IQBAL BHUPINDER SINGH

 

Are you a Muslim"? This is the first question that everyone always asks me. At first I am defensive. Then I would also feel a little embarrassed trying to claim my non-Muslim identity. Being a Muslim is not at all a crime but because of recent terrorist acts and Muslim propaganda, the religion itself is under scrutiny.

 

So the moment I would say, "I am a Sikh", I am attacked with another question. How come you don't have a turban? This, in many cases, would be more embarrassing and make me question my identity myself. But then I would content myself assuring that it's just a belief that is built up by society. I should not have to tie a turban and keep my hair to do all the good deeds as Sikhs and claim my religion. Well, that's a separate topic about which even I am confused and don't have any definite answer.

 

Last week I was looking to rent a place somewhere in Toronto which was close to my work and was a good neighbourhood. Looking at different houses I came across a beautiful house which also happened to be owned by an Indian. I called to set up an appointment and I was asked to come and see the place following morning. In all excitement I also called up my sister asking her to accompany me.

 

The landlady greeted us with a cheerful smile. She was living in a pretty costly area and she seemed very classy herself. After initial introduction we came to know that she belonged to the state of Orissa and had recently lost her husband. All the house expenses and her daughter's university education fell upon her shoulders and this was the main reason she was renting her ground-floor apartment. The house was huge and was very well decorated with lots and lots of pictures. I could see some prominent Indian musicians and politicians on her walls too.

 

As we walked through her cathedral entrance she confronted me with two usual questions. Since she was an Indian herself I was confident of not being subjected to any discrimination. I very calmly explained to her to that it was just my name that was Muslim but I was a Sikh. I was very sure of not having any further conversation on my name or religion as Sikhs were well established in Canada and were very happily received all over. But I almost lost my ground when she pointed at the picture of her daughter and remarked, "She was killed in 1985 Air India bombing". She was then 14. I did not know what to reply or how to react. This was first time in my life I was not sure if I was proud being a Sikh.

 

My silence conveyed my apology and sense of shame. She was intelligent and she quickly responded, "Of course, everyone is not the same". It was then when I realised that not only having a Muslim name can make me uncomfortable but even my own religion can do more hurt. I also experienced an important lesson; how an individual action may raise questions against the entire community or religious group.

 

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THE TRIBUNE

OPED

CHALLENGE OF EDUCATION

IMPORTING FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES WON'T HELP

BY MANJIT SINGH

 

The pressure of the market forces in the era of globalisation has brought home one fact that in the absence of educated and skilled manpower it is not possible to expand the existing domestic market nor the tempo of high gross domestic production is sustainable. However, the quality of higher education is largely dependent upon the quality of students available at the entry level.

 

A sound school education system, therefore, is a pre-requisite to the performance of academic institutions at the level of higher education. The right to education, in a highly inegalitarian Indian society where half the population jostle for two square meals a day would not solve the problem of quality education unless it is complemented with the right to food and the right to work.

 

With a view to providing quality education, efficient administration and greater accountability and transparency in the institutions of higher learning the Union Human Resource Development Ministry introduced four new Bills in the Lok Sabha on May 3, 2010 though only the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill has attracted attention in the entire debate on the future of higher education.

 

The country took over four decades to realise the importance of quality education in building indigenous social capital. Most problems India is facing today in the field of education were first documented in detail by the Kothari Commission as back as 1966. Nobody took the recommendations seriously and let the system of education slowly decay from top to bottom. It suddenly dawned that the country has failed even in achieving universal literacy what to talk of quality education to compete in the global market.

 

There is a widespread belief within the government that the panacea for all its failures lies in the mantra of market and hence allowed mushrooming of private universities and professional institutions that have caused almost a glut of 'professionals' in the market who usually fail to produce anything except a laminated certificate.

 

The same worry prompted the HRD Minister to rush to the United States and hunt for foreign universities that can save us from the ongoing crisis. In fact, he went a step further and proposed to constitute Indo-US education council so that the target to achieve 30 per cent gross enrolment ratio in higher education by 2020 could jointly be achieved.

 

There is also a proposal from the Government of India to open up 700 new universities and 35,000 new colleges besides many new IITs, IIMs and specialised institutes in science. But nobody has any cue whatsoever: where are the competent teachers to man these upcoming institutions of higher learning?

 

So far, three American universities have shown interest in India. American University ranked 84th on a scale of zero to 100, Virginia Tech ranked 71st and Georgetown ranked 23rd. The ranking of first two universities shows that they are not preferred by American students. The Georgetown University was basically founded by the Catholics and Jesuits in 1789 with the aim of educating theology. There are still compulsory papers on theology that each student has to clear as a part of the curriculum. It is not difficult to imagine the types of universities showing interest in higher education in India.

 

The challenges before higher education in India are multifaceted. Though there is no dearth of funds in the country, we never achieved budget allocation equal to 6 per cent of the GDP as recommended first by the Kothari Commission and subsequently in the National Education Policy, 1986. The funds for education always hovered around 3 per cent of the GDP in contrast to the other developed countries, including Japan, where it is 10 per cent and above.

 

For quality higher education, the most important factors are: supply of competent students at the entry level, massive production and recruitment of competent teachers, modern teaching and research facilities, and a curriculum directly addressing the social, economic, political and other developmental needs of the country.

 

Therefore, more than asking foreign universities to start their campuses in India, it is worth importing their highly successful idea of neighbourhood school system (US included) whereby no child can join school other than what is earmarked for the given locality. Neighbourhood schools would result in the cultural enrichment of the students across castes and classes and put a check on the mushrooming of the so-called 'English' schools creating hierarchies and 'exclusion' right from early childhood.

 

It is time to introspect and implement National Education Policy in letter and spirit where common school system and neighbourhood schools have been prescribed in so many words. Unless we check massive desertion from government schools by students belonging to relatively well off parents, it would not be possible to rejuvenate school education. Left to the market, school education system is going to crumble sooner than later, thanks to the new policy of 'No Exam' till 12th Standard.

 

Parents pay heavily to private academies/ coaching centres that promise to groom their wards to grab highly paid jobs in the market. This tendency has divorced education from its basic purpose of developing complete individuals, enabled to maintain delicate balance between the individual needs and the collective good. Consequently, humanities, social sciences, music, art and architecture all are pushed to the back burner. If the school system is going to be in shambles, it is futile to stake high hopes from the institutions of higher learning, whether in the private or public sector.

 

Education system cannot be imported as it is a historical process of cultural evolution and not limited to technical expertise. Therefore, instead of running to the West to meet our educational needs we have to overhaul our own education system right from the top to the bottom. There is no dearth of talent, will and human resources within the country. The real challenge is how to tap them in the best interests of the people.

 

The writer is a Professor, Department of Sociology, Panjab University, Chandigarh

 

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THE TRIBUNE

OPED

STILL NOT READY FOR INDUSTRIAL DISASTERS

BY SWATI SHARMA

 

On the one hand the government is trying that justice is delivered in the Bhopal gas tragedy even after 26 years, on the other hand it is all set to pass the Nuclear Liability Bill that is soft on safety aspects. There has been a lot of debate on the repercussions of passing the Bill in its present form.

 

The Bill decides who would be held "liable" in case of a nuclear disaster. US firms are ready to erect nuclear plants and eagerly await the Bill is passed by Parliament. The Bill makes the victims literally handicapped in case of a nuclear disaster as it limits them to file claims only before the compensation commission rather than courts and no appeals are to be taken up beyond 10 years.

 

Another objectionable point in the Bill is that the foreigner reactor supplier has no legal liability even if it supplies faulty equipment. This shows that the government has not learnt any lessons.

 

The chairman and CEO of the Union Carbide, Warren Anderson, was let off by the Indian government. He had addressed the US Congress on December 14, 1984, stressing the company's "commitment to safety" and promised that a similar accident would not happen again. To ensure justice the Indian government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985. However, no action has yet been taken against Anderson. He was arrested and released on bail in Bhopal on December 7, 1984, six hours after the arrest. He was then flown out of Bhopal on a government plane to Delhi from where he fled the country.

 

When the industrial catastrophe took place in 1984 at the UCIL pesticide plant the government was not prepared to tackle such a disaster. Twenty-six years since then, the government is till not ready to tackle a tragedy similar to the one that took place in Bhopal. At that time UCIL was an Indian subsidiary of the US Company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC).

 

We are again ready to sign the Bill with the minimal liability in case of a disaster on the companies that will erect nuclear power plants here. The Government of India is yet to learn from its mistakes. Barely any preventive measures have been taken in 26 years. The Nuclear Liability Bill doesn't hold the foreign equipment suppliers liable to the extent desirable.

 

The financial liability in case of a nuclear accident is about Rs 2142.85 crore. Out of this the liability of an Indian operator of a nuclear plant like the Nuclear Power Corporation of India is fixed at just Rs 500 crore. The balannce of Rs 1,642 crore is to be paid by the government (read the tax payers) while the Bill exempts foreign suppliers from nuclear reactors of legal liability even if they provide faulty equipment.

 

The victims of the Bhopal tragedy are yet to get relief and the government is still to prepare itself for such industrial disasters and we are signing the N-Bill. In fact, the Paris and Vienna nuclear liability conventions provide better protection to victims in case of a nuclear accident.

 

Since the day the gas leaked, that is, the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, the victims have been running from pillar to post for justice. Pronouncing the judgment the court imposed a two-year imprisonment on those who were responsible for the deaths of thousands of persons. If the imprisonment under various other Sections is totalled it comes to four years nine months. However, the judge has stated that the sentence runs concurrently, making it to two years.

 

As per Section 31 of the Cr. PC, the normal rule is that punishments run one after the other "unless the court directs that such punishments shall run concurrently." With the passage of time, however, it appears that the "normal rule" has become an "exception" and the "exception" has become "the rule".

 

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THE TRIBUNE

OPED

DELHI DURBAR

IMAGE MATTERS

 

Union Social Justice Minister Mukul Wasnik is a busy man these days. Appointed the new AICC general secretary in charge of poll-bound Bihar, he has his hands full with political engagements. But despite his schedules, the minister exhibited unusual promptness in damage control the other day when six disability rights leaders from across the country camped outside the Shastri Bhavan compound which houses the office of the Social Justice Minister, among other social sector ministry offices.

They were on an indefinite hunger strike to protest the non-inclusion of the disabled in the government appointed committee to rework the obsolete disability law of 1995. Gathered at the entrance to the Bhavan, the leaders gave bytes to all TV and print reporters who came by. They were so strategically located, no one could miss them. An embarrassed Wasnik was quick to concede to the protestors' demand of including the disabled nominees in the government panel. The irony, however, is this – for over a week before he granted the concession, the minister had been looking the other way. As one disabled activist put it, "Politicians can ignore issues only as long as such issues don't affect their image."

 

Only in Patna

 

However much the media might try to sell Bihar as the new happening place, in essence Patna and the good people of Bihar remain the same old laid-back lot, taking all the time to react to anything, except say politics. For all the development Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Modi may claim, the place is as sleepy as it has always been before Lalu Prasad came into the picture and much after he is out of reckoning.

 

The best hotels are rather untidy, the crockery not up to the mark except that the tariff is no less than that in any other state capital. The taxi driver takes his time preparing his 'khaini' while you may be sweating inside waiting for the vehicle to move. The room service is equally tardy and leisurely in best of the hotels. But there is also a positive side to this rather laid-back non-competitive side of the city and its dwellers. Can one imagine a posh hotel offering the services of its business centre completely free of charge to its occupants? This does not happen in Delhi, Mumbai or Ahmedabad. It happens only in Patna.

 

Come clean: SC

Think twice before approaching high courts with unclean hands! When a person approaches a court, he should go "not only with clean hands but also with a clean mind, a clean heart and a clean objective," a Vacation Bench of Justices BS Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar ruled in a verdict recently.

 

  What prompted the SC to make the remark was the failure of a statutory authority and other individual litigants in a case to disclose to the HC concerned the fact that the land in dispute fell in the commercial category, and not in a residential area. The apex court felt this amounted to committing criminal contempt of court as the parties succeeded in misleading the HC by not disclosing the true facts. It, however, clarified that it did not intend to initiate contempt proceedings as it involved wasting the court's time!

 

Contributed by Aditi Tandon, Faraz Ahmad & R Sedhuraman

 

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MUMBAI MIRROR

EDITORIAL

CREATIVE MODES OF SURVIVAL

WHILE WE DISMISS SET-UPS OF ROADSIDE VENDORS AS ENCROACHMENT, ON A CLOSER LOOK, THEY PROVIDE AMAZING INSIGHT AS REGARDS DESIGN AND SPACE MANAGEMENT

 

Have you ever looked carefully at the little fruit shop jutting impossibly out of the corner down your street ? Or the paan wala perching precariously on a tiny piece of real estate sandwiched between a bus-stop and a compound wall? Or the condensed universe of a cobbler in a tiny crevice in an invisible part of the city seemingly impossible to inhabit? What unifies them all are the most astonishing design elements that have evolved over practice by the concerned artisans or street traders, who have managed to sculpt space for from thin air.

 

As often happens we take these things for granted – unless you are part of the design and architecture world in which learning from these practices makes you watch carefully. However few allow themselves to learn from these moments – because prejudices come in the way. Instead of appreciating the creative modes of survival we dismiss them in a larger story of encroachment. Even though everyone knows that the real culprit are often the extortionists who collect hafta and keep the hawkers on a tight leash of uncertainty.

 Once when you are driving down the empty roads (relatively speaking) late at night to the airport or railway station, pay some attention to these spaces – tiny cupboards hanging from walls and trees, tool-boxes tucked away between street corners and buildings and plastic bags containing entire worlds.

When Llorenc Boyer and George Carothers – urban practitioners working in the city – decided to follow up on suggestions about these amazing spaces and learn more from them, one was not quite sure where this would lead. But weeks of conversing with street vendors of all kinds, documenting and networking with them translated into a most unusual workshop series inaugurated last week in Dharavi. Christened the DIY Dukaan – ( Do It Yourself) the series saw residents like Shaukat Ali and other traders from the neighbourhood to improvise existing design needs responding to new ideas and suggestions.

What followed was a most intriguing day in which steel pallet racks, bamboos, pieces of plywood, wire meshes, nuts and bolts were brought together to morph into the most unexpected models for street vendors to use. What seemed to be in great demand were portable structures that could fold up so they could escape the municipal vans harassing their perfectly legal activity. Or ones they could store their stuff and take home in. Participants got to know that there are legally permitted structures measuring 2 by 3 feet which the BMC allows anyone to use to trade goods, provided the space is proportionate to public use of pavements.

Eventually the very act of taking that little structure seriously opened up many questions about trading on the street, balancing needs of public spaces and the creation of legitimate networks free from state extortion so that the city's millions of entrepreneurs can do their thing in a way that helps the city at large.

 At the end of that hot, humid but exhilarating day two neat little models emerged – one that was a simple foldable table that could be hung on shoulder straps and the other a box that could store material, open up into a structure to sell goods and which could grow into taller spaces allowing for protection from rain and sun.

 The sheer explosion of ideas and energy that preceded and followed the creation of these little artisanal wonders convinced all observers that this could well be the start of a new journey to make the city and its special needs the basis for practical and effective interventions. There are certainly many waiting for the next session in the workshop series!

 

Rahul Srivastava, a PUKAR associate and co-founder URBZ, specialises in urban issues, and writes on traffic, trains, illegal construction, Mithi, monsoon... in short all things that make Mumbai go grrr

 

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EDITORIAL

MINIMUM SOLACE PRICE

PREVAILING MARKET PRICES MOCK MSP

While it may appear paradoxical that at a time when the government is fighting inflationary pressures, it has chosen to hike the minimum support price (MSP) for foodgrains, the reality is that prevailing market prices for almost all foodgrains, oilseeds and cereals are way above even these newly announced prices. Therefore, despite the substantial hike in MSP for kharif crops, especially for pulses, the impact on both market and farmers' sentiment may not be significant. Prima facie, the increase in the support prices of pulses, ranging between Rs 380 and Rs 700 a quintal, is truly unprecedented. But this raise is on an absurdly low base, that is the last year's MSPs, and, therefore, still keeps the official prices far below the ruling market rates. Even after the hike, the MSPs of the three main kharif pulses — arhar (tur), moong and urad — range between Rs 2,900 and Rs 3,170 a quintal, while none of these pulses is being traded at below Rs 6,000 a quintal in wholesale markets.

The new prices will provide only cold comfort to farmers for another reason as well. There is hardly any arrangement for providing market support for pulses. While government agencies do not procure pulses, cooperative agencies, which have been entrusted with this task, do not have the required infrastructure or the wherewithal for the purpose. While pulses production is expected to go up this season, that would be mainly in response to the prevailing high market prices and anticipated normal monsoon rainfall. The impact of the hiked MSPs would be marginal. Where paddy, the main kharif crop, is concerned, though the MSP has technically been stepped up by Rs 50 a quintal, the effective procurement price remains at last year's level. All that has been done is to merge the bonus of Rs 50 a quintal, given in view of last year's drought, with the MSP. This, in fact, is being viewed as a signal to the farmers not to grow more rice, given the overflowing official stock-holding. Indeed, if the government thinks that such a move will help contain the prices of this staple cereal, it seems mistaken. For, thanks to its policy of open-ended procurement and levy on rice mills in the major rice-surplus states, it is again likely to end up cornering a bulk of the marketed rice surplus, needlessly constraining supplies to the open market. This may keep market prices high.

 The case of commercial kharif crops, chiefly oilseeds and pulses, is no different. While the prices of major kharif oilseeds have been jacked up by narrow margins, averaging 4 to 5 per cent, those of different varieties of cotton have been kept unchanged. The country's deficit in edible oils (read import dependence) is as high, if not more, as in pulses. Though it may be argued that, unlike pulses, edible oils are easily available in the international market and their prices, too, are currently ruling steady. Any setback to palm oil output in Malaysia and Indonesia, the main suppliers of this cheaper edible oil to India, can change the scenario. The need for raising the indigenous production of oilseeds is, therefore, as pressing as that for pulses. A short-sighted policy on this front is good neither for producers nor for consumers.

 

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BUSINESS STANDARD

EDITORIAL

BJP SCORES SELF-GOAL

BUT COALITION TROUBLES HOLD BACK CONGRESS

 

The national executive committee meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Patna over the weekend, climaxing with a large public rally, was supposed to be a kind of coming out party for the junior partner in the Bihar government. In the event, it turned out to be a setback resulting from a self-goal. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who had taken pains to maintain the secular credentials of his Janata Dal (United) with the substantial Muslim population of Bihar by keeping Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi out of campaigning in the state (assembly elections are a few months down the line), was forced to react violently to newspaper advertisements picturing him and Mr Modi clasping hands as "unethical". The alliance is still there but with a greatly reduced legitimacy. The coalition partners will be quite embarrassed by each other on their way to the polling booth when they should have been basking in the glory of the turnaround in the state achieved by the government. In a way this is a further blow to the authority of the new BJP chief, Nitin Gadkari, who did not exactly cover himself with glory in the earlier fiasco over ministry-making in Jharkhand with the unpredictable JMM leader Shibu Soren. Dissident rumblings, no longer alien to the BJP which was once known for its discipline, are likely to grow in the absence of a firm hand on the rudder. All this raises doubts on the party's strategy for coming in from the cold. What is quite clear, however, is that Mr Modi remains the only "mass leader" yet in the BJP's emerging pantheon. If there is a "leader-in-waiting" who has not yet revealed her potential, it is Sushma Swaraj. She could yet be the Atal Behari Vajpayee to a future "Advani-like" Mr Modi. If the BJP's new duo is to be Ms Swaraj and Mr Modi, the party must evolve a strategy that will enable them to work together.

 

While the sorry state of the main Opposition party should have made the ruling Congress party confident of going ahead with a bold agenda, the irony is that its own mood is not very purposeful. Other coalition partners of the UPA, with their own agendas, are either routinely difficult, as is the Trinamool Congress, or a plain embarrassment, as are the DMK and the NCP. But that is not all. A party with a long history has perforce to carry a heavy baggage, causing ghosts from the past to come and haunt it periodically, as is now happening with the Bhopal gas tragedy. Thus, UPA-2 is in many ways a throwback to the Congress party of the Rajiv Gandhi era when it did not have to worry about parliamentary numbers but still lost sleep over factional feuding. The Congress party was then de facto, as the UPA is now de jure, a coalition of forces whose ability to move forward decisively had nothing to do with its formal licence to do so. Thus, despite its massive majority in Parliament, the Rajiv Gandhi government was unable to deliver much by way of economic performance and good governance. That danger faces UPA-2 as well.

 

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BUSINESS STANDARD

EDITORIAL

SHYAM SARAN: INDIA NEEDS TO HAVE SHARPER FOCUS

NEW DELHI SHOULD SUPPORT THE MOVE TO EXPAND THE EAST ASIA SUMMIT TO INCLUDE THE US AND RUSSIA

SHYAM SARAN

The first week of June saw two major developments which may help determine the direction of India's foreign policy in the coming months and provide some room for manoeuvre in an uncertain world. The first Indo-US strategic dialogue in Washington saw the US pull out all the stops to assuage Indian anxieties over President Barack Obama's perceived lack of enthusiasm for the Indo-US strategic partnership. On the other side of the globe in Singapore, there was, almost simultaneously and perhaps not coincidentally, a very public spat between China and the US at the annual Shangrila Dialogue. US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates decried Chinese reluctance to engage the US in a high-level defence dialogue and the lack of transparency in its security posture. China also found itself on the defensive on the issue of North Korea's alleged sinking of a South Korean naval vessel. The senior Chinese representative present, General Ma Xiaotian, responded with considerable rancour, decrying hostile actions by the US, in particular its arms sales to Taiwan.

In recent weeks, the US has been at pains to assert its role as a pre-eminent Asia-Pacific power. It has reaffirmed its intention not only to maintain, but also to upgrade the network of bilateral military alliances, security arrangements and partnerships that it has built up over the years in the region. Nevertheless, both the US and its allies and partners are mindful of and increasingly concerned over the steady build-up of Chinese naval forces in the region, and the recent propensity to use this new-found strength to pursue what China refers to as its "core interests". What is particularly worrisome to countries in South-East Asia is the recent addition of Chinese territorial claims in the South China sea to the category of core interests.

 It will be recalled that China had taken the initiative to allay concerns over its expansive territorial claims in the region by concluding a code of conduct in the South China sea with Asean in November 2002, in effect shelving territorial disputes in favour of joint collaboration and activities in the region. This phase is now over and there is pervasive concern over the ability of the existing US-led security architecture of being able to resist Chinese activism on this score, particularly when the US is still preoccupied with two ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and its economy is still in deep recession. It is, therefore, no surprise that the countries in the region, in particular Asean, are pursuing their own version of a hedging strategy to safeguard their security as well as economic interests.

On the security side, the Asean search for an appropriate regional security architecture in which the regional association retains its pivotal role, has led to the establishment of the Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus Eight (ADMM+8) forum, the first meeting of which will be convened in Hanoi in October this year. This forum will have Asean plus the six members of the East Asia Summit — China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand — and now the US and Russia as key stakeholders. This will be a much more compact body than the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) and will enable a more focused dialogue on regional security issues. What is not stated but is implicit in the proposal is the expectation that it will also provide a collective countervailing constraint on China.

Interestingly enough, there is a parallel move to expand the East Asia Summit to include the US and Russia as well. At a subsequent Asia-Pacific Round Table in Kuala Lumpur, there was much talk about the need to have an "open, inclusive and multi-layered" economic and security architecture in the region, thus echoing terms that India has been using for the past couple of years in its own policy articulations regarding the region. There were arguments why the US and Russia must be part of the East Asia Summit process and the US itself declared its interest in being a participant. Thus, in the days to come, we may well see the creation of a symmetrical economic counterpart to the ADMM+8.

For India, these developments should not only be welcomed but also be proactively promoted. They are entirely in line with our own oft-repeated preference for an open, multipolar, inclusive and loosely structured economic and security architecture in Asia. This suits our interests best without entangling the country in arrangements that may be seen as the containment of China. Therefore, India should welcome the ADMM+8 initiative and also pronounce itself in favour of both the US and Russia joining the East Asia Summit process. We should contribute to the ADMM+8 initiative by recommending cooperative measures to serve convergent interests such as maintaining the security of sea lanes, dealing with maritime emergencies and observing a code of conduct that reduces the risk of conflict among the stakeholders. This is critical to maintaining peace in a region that is already crowded with expanding naval forces and is witnessing increasing density in sea-borne commerce, particularly in the Indian Ocean theatre. Both at Singapore and at Kuala Lumpur, it was clear that India was seen as a major and essentially benign actor in the region but one which was not fully engaged with countries of the region, in particular the Asean. Even on the economic front, the general perception was that India was a potentially important partner but currently it ran way behind China. India's Look East policy must be refocused to take the latest developments into account and launch a much higher level of engagement with the region than has been the case so far. And that includes China.

The author was India's foreign secretary and until recently the prime minister's special envoy

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BUSINESS STANDARD

EDITORIAL

WILL THE 25% PUBLIC FLOAT WORK?

THE DIVESTMENT WILL BE IN THE LARGER PUBLIC INTEREST BUT IT WILL BE PRACTICAL ONLY IF THERE IS AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR THE CAPITAL MARKET TO GAIN DEPTH AND FUNCTION EFFICIENTLY.

GOVIND SANKARANARAYANAN

 

CFO, TATA Capital Ltd

The move facilitates greater price discovery and will dampen market volatility, providing incentives for more retail participants to enter the market

 

The public listing of a company is perhaps its most significant rite of passage. It symbolises the willingness of its owners to allow others to participate in their journey of entrepreneurship, at a price. By accepting public money, a company binds itself to a governance code. One cannot make the argument that divesting just a smaller shareholding allows one to somehow operate within a more lax code of governance or to treat minority shareholders differently. Unfortunately, even with good intentions, minority public shareholders currently have virtually no say in the management of a large number of companies, as promoters who hold between 75 per cent and 90 per cent of the shares can effectively operate the company as they choose. It is in this light that the recent guidelines of the finance ministry which require companies to achieve a 25 per cent free float over a three-year timeframe should be viewed. There is now a greater likelihood that the majority promoters will operate within certain bounds of acceptable corporate behaviour. One is not suggesting that with 74 per cent, promoters will become lily-white overnight, but, undoubtedly, a 25 per cent public stake will be materially more influential than a 10 per cent public stake. This regulatory change, therefore, serves the cause of good governance.

 

In addition to the customary commercial arguments for increasing depth in the equity market, there is an overriding moral consideration that needs to be kept in mind for a more liquid equity market. India is moving to a phase where there is a general desire to enable consumption and investment as opposed to saving, something that is now reflected in a general desire to keep interest rates low. As a result, many people, especially pensioners, are now having to eschew fixed-income investments and look elsewhere for returns. While investors need to be willing to accept market risks, they need to be partly insulated from unnecessary risks caused by illiquid and shallow capital markets as is the case with many stocks today. The new rule provides greater price discovery and will dampen market volatility, thereby providing incentive for more retail participants to enter the market. This can only be beneficial to companies and investors.

 

One can argue that the government has been reasonable by providing three years to promoters to reduce the percentage of their shareholding. It is not easy to support the claim that by forcing promoters to dilutes their stakes, one is somehow depriving them of fair value. At some point over this period, the markets will presumably provide a reasonable valuation. What is perhaps true is that wealth created by means of an artificial scarcity in a stock will disappear. This will perhaps reduce the super-normal profits of the past, but it seems illogical to believe that in a savings-rich country, investors will turn away opportunities to make a 12-15 per cent equity return over a three-four year period, when fixed income instruments earn less than 8 per cent. The increased price discovery caused by a greater free float will mean that those seeking to make quick profits based on manipulation or scarcity will have to work harder to get the same. This cannot be a significant disadvantage when the converse is the creation of liquidity and better price discovery. Increasing the free float in three stages will reinforce the need to perform well. The second and third tranches of divestment will naturally take place at prices that reflect the performance of the first tranche. This is excellent from a governance perspective as it will induce discipline in the company's operations. If a share is originally over-priced, the public will have an opportunity in the near term to invest at a fair price.

 

In the light of all these benefits, the proposal would have to be hugely impractical. This is far from the case. Practicality can be questioned if the market does not have enough depth to pick up the newly created shares. This is a circular argument because one can only create depth in the market by having a substantial float available for people to acquire. While it may appear that the market may not be able to absorb all Rs 1,60,000 crore of offerings, what will really happen is that investors will divert their investments from the least attractive ones to better ones. The men will be separated from the boys, and that cannot be bad for the markets per se.

 

No doubt, like any regulatory change, this will also require various qualifications and perhaps some fine-tuning. However, for a country that is deeply starved of capital and is at the cusp of growth, any measure that improves liquidity, price discovery, depth in the market and governance can only be seen as highly desirable.

 

Abizer Diwanji

Executive Director, Corporate Finance, KPMG India

 

The move will work only if the right fiscal infrastructure is in place. Unless certain enabling conditions are present, the rule is impractical

 

Public listings have been a good avenue to raise capital, given the value discovery and liquidity that they bring, subject to certain enabling conditions. This would require listed companies to have diversified shareholdings through a higher public float as it would enhance transparency and accountability, enable value discovery and provide good exit options to investors. However, one needs to understand the kind of fiscal infrastructure needed to make this happen.

 

The government's move to raise public shareholding (rightly excluding American Depository Receipts) to 25 per cent for new issues and a gradual target of 25 per cent for listed companies should be seen from this perspective. But some introspection is necessary.

 

Indians basically invest most of their savings in bank deposits. But, given the capital market exposure norms of banks and life insurance companies, the amount that flows into the stock market is very low. For example, the cumulative deposit base (savings and term) of banks is around Rs 35,00,000 crore while the capital market exposure of all banks is a fraction of this: approximately Rs 21,000 crore in equities and Rs 42,000 crore in debentures. Life insurance companies have a cumulative premium income of Rs 2,22,000 crore. LIC, the largest insurer and the collector of the maximum renewal premiums (incremental investments), invests only Rs 55,000 crore of this in listed equities. Other insurance firms invest Rs 39,000 crore although the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority allows 60 per cent to be invested in equities. Mutual funds have an assets under management (AUM) of approximately Rs 74,000 crore, of which exposure to equities would be around Rs 40,000 crore, assuming that 60 per cent of premium is invested in equities. Accordingly, of the total savings of Rs 38,00,000 crore, only Rs 1,55,000 crore hits the equity markets. Most of the money available with public (or M3) is invested in corporate government debt.

 

The total market captialisation of the National Stock Exchange is approximately Rs 62,00,000 crore. Let's assume the Indian public float today is over 20 per cent and Rs 2,00,000 crore to Rs 3,00,000 crore is required just to fund existing listed companies at current capitalisation. In that case, we would need our capital market allocations to grow five times to be able to meet the exit norms along with incremental equity raising. By no means can we achieve that. An increase in banks' capital markets exposure may not help much but could prove risky for the banking system.

 

Mutual funds are struggling to garner AUM because of lack of incentives at the broker level and it may take some time before this situation improves. Foreign institutional investors, which dominate our markets, may not be the best way for incremental capital given that any global turmoil would impact our equity markets significantly as in 2008.

 

The need of the hour is to innovate to attract investors to equity markets through M3 allocations. We do not have to follow foreign regulation as our issues are different.

 

Mutual funds need a different outlook. A higher capital requirement for mutual funds would help give the requisite confidence to investors to attract funds. We should also consider bank deposits where funds are swiped into mutual funds daily or for fixed tenures. Such deposits should only use banks as agencies and hence not be part of banks capital market exposures (more like default swaps where banks maintain capital to protect investors).

 

Life insurance should be allowed to mature as an industry in order to get the much-needed long-term funds into the market. This, however, needs to be regularised through a pension rider.

 

Setting up of a sovereign fund to partly fund overseas and domestic businesses is important. Sovereign bonds to fund private sector equities would also be a good long-term source of capital. It needs to be run independently on commercial terms. This would provide the necessary capital for infrastructure as well as overseas growth for Indian companies.

 

Therefore, the 25 per cent public float move is not practical unless these measures are introduced. A series of regulatory initiatives is also necessary.

 

The author is also the head of financial services, KPMG India

 

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BUSINESS STANDARD

EDITORIAL

WHY SOME MINISTERS GET AWAY

ALMOST WITHOUT EXCEPTION, ALL MINISTERS FROM NON-CONGRESS COALITION PARTNERS OF THE UPA HAVE BEEN BEHAVING AS THOUGH THEY ARE A LAW UNTO THEMSELVES

A K BHATTACHARYA

The trend is too obvious for anyone to miss. Almost without exception, all ministers belonging to the non-Congress coalition partners of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government have been behaving as though they are a law unto themselves. Worse, they appear to be unmindful of their failings as ministers and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has invariably treated them with kid gloves.

 Take for instance Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee. Her record of attendance at Cabinet meetings has been dismal. When she did attend the Cabinet meeting last Thursday, a few days after her party Trinamool Congress' thumping victory in the civic elections in West Bengal, she made sure that UPA's declared policy on disinvestment of government equity in public sector undertakings (PSUs) had some new hurdles to overcome.

Merchant bankers are a disappointed lot since even as late as Thursday morning, they were busy preparing for state-owned Coal India Limited's initial public offer, which was touted as one of the largest by any Indian company in recent months. For them, it is a loss of business and opportunity, but for the Indian economy, it is a bigger setback for obvious reasons. A day prior to the Cabinet's decision to defer the disinvestment move, the government had even announced its plan to mobilise Rs 1,50,000 crore through sale of its equity stake in PSUs over the next five years. With ministers like Mamata Banerjee around, such goals appear very distant.

Why should we talk only about Mamata Banerjee? Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is the agriculture minister, but it will be hard for anyone to list any meaningful and significant initiatives that Mr Pawar has launched for Indian agriculture in the last six years he has been in charge of the portfolio. There is a long list of pending reforms in the agriculture sector, but Mr Pawar is visible to the media more for his involvement in cricket than in agriculture. Yet, he continues to be a key minister in Dr Singh's Cabinet.

Praful Patel, also from Mr Pawar's party, began his tenure as the civil aviation minister with great promise. He initiated major reforms in the airport infrastructure sector, even though many of those moves were embroiled in controversy. However, he was solely responsible for the manner in which he mishandled state-owned civil aviation companies — Indian Airlines and Air India. He may blame the government's reluctance to take bold steps such as privatisation, as recommended by him, but at the end of the day, he failed to find a viable solution to the problems that engulfed the two companies.

Communications Minister A Raja of the DMK has also been involved in many controversies over the manner in which the telecom sector got spectrum and licences. The prime minister recently admitted that government agencies were investigating the manner in which the communications ministry took certain decisions on the allocation of licences and spectrum. That was not a clean chit to Mr Raja. Nor did it show that the prime minister was unhappy with his colleague's performance and conduct.

Indeed, Dr Singh's soft approach towards ministers belonging to smaller parties in the UPA has become evident on more than one occasion. And this soft approach has been attributed to the Congress' political need for keeping them in good humour and retaining their support to continue running the government. In other words, the Left is no longer part of the UPA in its second term, but there are other alliance partners like the Trinamool Congress, NCP and DMK, who continue to remind Dr Singh of the Left and pose hurdles in the effective and efficient performance of his government.

Why do the prime minister, and indeed the top Congress leadership, tolerate the tantrums of ministers from smaller coalition partners? If Shashi Tharoor could be sacrificed for his involvement in the controversy over the Indian Premier League, why shouldn't Dr Singh drop from his Cabinet a few of his troublesome and ineffective ministers from smaller coalition partners, or at least force those coalition partners to nominate alternative names?

Senior Congress leaders have an explanation for the continued tolerance of such behaviour of non-Congress ministers of the UPA. The Congress has only around 206 seats in the Lok Sabha. If the UPA government has to survive, it has to retain the support of the smaller coalition partners. If the non-Congress ministers fail to perform and that becomes obvious, the Congress party can go around and seek a larger mandate from the people in the next elections, arguing that it can offer better governance if it has the required majority in the Lok Sabha to form the government on its own.

In other words, allowing the inefficient ministers from smaller coalition partners to remain ineffective may be a subtle message to the electorate that if it wants better governance, it should send an adequate number of Congress members to the Lok Sabha to obviate the party's need for stitching together a coalition. This would also eliminate the Congress need for depending on smaller parties for its survival and even tolerating their ineffective functioning and tantrums. This may sound a reasonable electoral strategy. But in politics, executing a strategy is as important as conceiving one. That is the real big challenge for the Congress party.

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BUSINESS STANDARD

EDITORIAL

COMPENSATION TO VICTIMS

JUDGES HARDLY USE A PROVISION BY WHICH THEY CAN ASK THE GUILTY TO RECOMPENSE THE SUFFERERS

M J ANTONY

Victims of crime or rash and negligent acts are often so consumed with rage that they cry for the blood of the guilty and fail to rebuild their lives. The judges in criminal courts also suffer from tunnel vision and focus on the sentence to be given to the offender. If they are sensitive, they can award compensation to the victim while sentencing the lawbreaker. But it is rarely done, and the Supreme Court has often wondered why.

The issue came up before the Supreme Court last month in a case of bounced cheque (K A Abbas vs Sabu Joseph). The person who issued the cheque without sufficient balance in the bank account was held guilty under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. He was sentenced to simple imprisonment for one year. In addition, the magistrate directed him to pay Rs 5 lakh as compensation to the payee. This power is conferred on the magistrate under Section 357(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code. The convict appealed to the Supreme Court but did not succeed. bh bn

The magistrate in this case used the power bestowed on criminal courts but scarcely used. The authority has been there since 1955 when the code was amended. However, the usual sentence for a crime is imprisonment and a meagre fine. In the Bhopal gas tragedy case, the guilty were given the same kind of sentence. But instead of a fine, the court could order payment of compensation to the victims. Though this may not be practical in a mass disaster case, in a large number of cases, an equitable sentence would be short imprisonment plus heavy compensation to the victim of the crime.

The relevant rule says that "when a court imposes sentence, of which fine does not form a part, the court may, when passing judgment, order the accused person to pay, by way of compensation, such amount as may be specified in the order to the person who has suffered any loss or injury".

The joint select committee, which recommended this amendment to the criminal procedure, argued thus for this provision: "When death has been caused to a person, it is but proper that his heirs and dependents should be compensated in suitable cases by the person responsible for it. This will result in settling the claim once for all by doing away with the need for further claim to a civil court and avoid needless worry and expense to both sides."

Lawmakers have left the amount of compensation open to variations. Though there is a limit on the power of magistrates to impose fine, sometimes limited to a few thousand rupees, if they prefer to order compensation, there is no ceiling on the amount. They can go by the nature and degree of injuries caused by the crime and the capacity of the offender to pay. A top executive directly in charge of a factory can be fastened with heavy liability if noxious gas or effluents escape from the unit and cause death and destruction in the neighbourhood.

At least in two leading judgments, the Supreme Court has called upon criminal courts in the country to make "liberal use" of the provision to help the victims restart their lives. In the Hari Singh vs Sukhbir Singh (1989) case, the court stated that "the quantum of compensation may be determined by taking into account the nature of the crime, the justness of claim and the ability of the accused person to pay. If there are more than one accused, they may be asked to pay in equal terms unless their capacity to pay varies considerably". The same sentiments were reiterated in the Suganthi Suresh Kumar vs Jagdeeshan (2002) case.

In the latest case of invalid cheque, the Supreme Court further explained: "Sometimes the situation becomes such that no purpose is served by keeping a person behind the bars. Instead, directing the accused to pay an amount of compensation to the victim or the affected party can ensure delivery of total justice."

The jails in this country are overflowing, with each one taking more than twice its original capacity. Imprisonment in such inhuman conditions would be counterproductive. The government recently released thousands of prisoners, mainly "under trials", because the prisons just could not take them. Therefore, the courts should exercise their discretionary powers to find alternative sentences which would help the victims and society in general. Criminal courts should take the call of the Supreme Court and impose shorter jail terms and heavier compensation which would help the victims of crime.

In several judgments in the past, the Supreme Court had recommended open jails, yoga and community service to reform criminals. Recently, the Delhi High Court imposed a quota of free legal aid cases on the lawyers who went on illegal strike. Instead of blindly sending convicts to long jail terms, it will be more constructive if they are ordered to pay back what they owe to the victims and society.

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

EDITORIAL

LONG LIVE THE TAX CODE

 

The revised direct taxes code released by the government for a fresh round of public comment departs from the original draft in many ways that can be consolidated in one phrase: back to square one. Well, almost.

The direct taxes code (DTC) was proposed not just to replace the cumbersome income tax law with its thousands of amendments with a clean new law, but also to embody a principle: low rates of tax on the broadest possible tax base, so that the burden on individual taxpaying entities is low even as the government cumulatively raises the resources it needs to govern the country well.

The revised tax code is a workman like construct with no time for principle. The result is that many of the existing exemptions that keep the tax base low and restrict tax revenues to around 12% of GDP for the Centre will continue.

One consequence of this switch to pragmatism from principle is that the tax base would shrink from the comprehensive level envisaged in the DTC, making it virtually impossible for the government to retain the reduced rate of corporate tax (25%) proposed in the Code or the significant hike proposed in the threshold levels of personal income for the progressive rates of tax to kick in.

The net result would be increase the tax burden on individuals from the level proposed in the DTC, that is, for the individuals who do pay their taxes. It is noteworthy that many of the radical suggestions of the DTC have been abandoned on the ground that these would be difficult to administer.

Such official fear of administrative complexity is a slap in the face of India's vaunted capability in information technology.

The DTC had envisaged that income tax would meet information technology on the same paradigm-shifting scale as on which holding and trading securities had met information technology when the United Front government, with P Chidambaram as finance minister, had mandated dematerialisation of all shares.

That said, some of the proposals of the DTC did deserve reconsideration. While the tax on assets had been welcomed in principled at the outset, its implications were unsettling from many dimensions. There is still scope to clarify matters before the code is finalised

 

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

EDITORIAL

DISCLOSURE ON LOAN DEFAULTS IS WELCOME

 

The High-Level Co-ordination Committee on Financial Markets is reportedly toying with manmdatory disclosure of loan defaults by listed companies. The move, if approved, is of a piece with the broad trend of ensuring greater transparency, especially for publicly listed companies. To that extent, the move will empower both potential investors and existing shareholders.

Naming and shaming is a powerful tool used in many countries; not only in the context of companies seeking to raise money from the public even while defaulting in paying their bank loans, but also public figures!

In the US, for instance, Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure) compels companies to make public any material non-public information given to securities industries professionals or shareholders.

Thus, selective disclosure is an absolute 'no-no.' In India, however, public disclosure is mandated only where a suit has been filed in court for non-payment of dues. Information on defaulting companies was, till fairly recently, known only to the financing bank and, perhaps, the RBI in the case of large loans.

Others were largely in the dark. Fortunately, that position has now changed. Following the establishment of Cibil, India's first credit information bureau, reasonably comprehensive data on the credit history of borrowers is available.

However, this information can be accessed only by member banks and financial institutions, state financial corporations, nonbanking financial companies, housing finance companies and credit card companies.

This veil of secrecy would be lifted if companies are compelled to disclose whether they have defaulted on their bank dues as part of their public prospectus.

Potential/existing investors would be better placed to decide whether they wish to invest/stay invested in such a company. This paper supports any move to empower investors. The present mandate to disclose debt default does exactly that. Raise a toast!

 

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

EDITORIAL

VUVUZELA WINS!

 

The World Cup 2010 has been taken over by a onemetre-long blowing horn called the vuvuzela. With thousands of South African spectators blowing vuvuzelas in every stadium where World Cup matches are played, the cacophony has been compared with the stampeding of noisy elephants, the deafening swarm of locusts and the angry buzzing of a billion bees.

Leading players like Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, Argentina's Lionel Messi and Spain's Xabi Alonso have stated that the non-stop noise makes it difficult for teams to concentrate and communicate. The noise has been described as irritating by matchcommentators like BBC's Ian Dixon who covered England's opening tie against the USA.

Dutch team manager Marwijk has called for a ban on vuvuzelas. French captain Evra has attributed his side's poor performance in its opening game against Uruguay to the vuvuzela.

However, the international football federation (Fifa) has refused to ban the vuvuzela. Fifa president Sepp Blatter says that the blowing of the vuvuzela is an integral part of South Africa's football-watching culture. South American fans, particularly in Brazil which has won the World Cup five times, also blow something similar to the vuvuzela, called the corneta.

It has even acquired overtones of voodoo, with South African football fans blowing vuvuzelas to finish the opposition! German engineer Clemence Schlieweis says that fans watching telecasts of games can cancel out the noise of the vuvuzelas by creating a sound wave of the same amplitude but with the peaks and troughs reversed and playing it in an MP3-file form on a computer or iPod kept near the TV.

However, the British newspaper The Telegraphhas quoted University of Salford professor of acoustics Trevor Cox as saying that this might not work since the thousands of vuvuzelas are not being blown at exactly the same time. Meanwhile, back in South Africa, manufacturers of plastic vuvuzelas are now also selling earplugs. Simultaneously marketing both the problem and the solution is good business, if nothing else!

 

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

ALL IS FAIR IN JUST WAR

VITHAL C NADKARNI

 

An interview with David Bohm, the renowned quantum physicist, began with a quotation from his mentor Robert Oppenheimer. This was many moons ago, when your columnist worked with a science monthly produced by The Times of India group.

For Oppenheimer mankind's fall from grace did not happen in Biblical times. It occurred during the Manhattan Project, which he headed to build the world's first atom bomb.

The US military referred to the bomb , later used to destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II, as a 'fission device' . But Oppenheimer was too clear-headed to be led by euphemisms .

Hence his famous quote: "Physicists have now known sin." That served as an epigraph to our encounter with Bohm (who began his brilliant but blighted career as Oppenheimer's graduate student) in the columns of Science Today. He was interviewed by Dipankar Home, then a promising young theoretical physicist, in Urbino, Italy, on the eve of a historic conference to celebrate 50 years of the Einstein-Bohr debate on quantum mechanics.

When Home asked Bohm (no pun intended) if Oppenheimer ever talked about his involvement with the atom bomb project, the physicist replied, "We never discussed this directly... He got interested in politics because of Hitler.

He felt that it was most important to combat the menace posed by Hitler; he was convinced that western civilisation would be destroyed if Hitler won; so when the Manhattan Project started , he felt the (only) effective way to combat Hitler would be to fabricate the atom bomb, because he was genuinely apprehensive that Hitler would get it first."

In Oppenheimer's own mind, the moral dilemma of fighting a just war (dharam yudh) with an unconscionably destructive device was exactly similar to the agony Prince Arjuna faced at Kurkukshektra.

He had learnt Sanskrit at Berkeley and read the Bhagavad Gita, which he later cited as one of the most influential books that shaped his life's philosophy.

While witnessing the world's first man-made nuclear explosion at a site he called Trinity, from one of John Donne's Holy Sonnets , he recalled a verse from the Gita, "If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky..." He later said he thought of Krishna's words "I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds," to Arjuna.

Like the latter, he had to choose whether to fight or flee. He chose like Faust, but to fight Satan.

 

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

EDITORIAL

FIXED-PRICE TENDER OFFER IS PRACTICAL

V ANANTHARAMAN

 

V Anantharaman, MD & Senior Adviser, Credit Suisse

The recent amendment to the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules that requires all listed companies to have a minimum 25% float is a positive move in the long run. Investors will benefit from increased liquidity.

The move will reduce the scope for price manipulation and improve market governance. It will also depoliticise the divestment process and help lower the country's fiscal deficit. Another spinoff, particularly for the mid-cap segment, is that if a stock is relatively liquid, it would make it easier to raise more capital from the market as investors are comfortable about their ability to enter and exit the stock. However, implementing the new rules is challenging because of several factors.

The supply of paper over the next 12 months, following the new rules, coupled with the existing backlog of equity issuance, would be more than twice the historical maximum equity issuance volume in India, recorded in 2007. What is more, market volatility could make it hard to attract investment in the amounts required and it would be unfair, even to minority shareholders, to force dilution at sharp discounts.

The government should consider a few aspects when it reviews the rules. One, companies with market caps higher than a certain level could be allowed a longer timeframe to meet the 25% threshold.

This would mitigate the supply issue. Two, the timing of dilution or fresh external capital infusion could be determined at managements' discretion rather than forcing 5% each year. This would provide a larger window for companies to transact at better terms than in a forced sale.

Three, ADRs and GDRs may be considered as part of the 25% public float. Four, diluted ownership may be considered in cases where there are Esops and FCCBs outstanding. In parallel, the existing delisting guidelines should be reviewed.

The reverse book-build method of price discovery in a delisting tender offer invariably sees arbitrageurs step in and make it prohibitively expensive for companies to delist. Along with the minimum float requirement of 25%, a fixed-price tender offer for delisting appears a practical step forward for the capital markets.

 

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

EDITORIAL

PSUS COULD OFFER STOCK OPTIONS TO STAFF

D R MEHTA

 

D R Mehta, Former Chairman, SEBI

The amendment to the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957, requiring a minimum threshold level of 25% for public holding in listed companies is a welcome and positive move.

It will increase the floating stock, deepen the market, making public limited companies more public and reduce scope for price manipulation. For companies with a small shareholding, the amendment should not pose an operational problem. For large non-PSU companies also, there may be no real difficulty.

The general impression is that even when the promoters of such companies have substantially increased their holdings, part of this has been done through their associates, not covered by promoter's definition.

This phenomenon is specific to India only. The change in the rule, therefore, is apt. However, in some jurisdictions across the world, the emphasis is on the number rather than the percentage of shares for public.

But, at the present level of development of market in India, the changed rule should be applied to non-PSUs even if some promoters get hit. It seems that the rule is aimed at PSUs; they should become more public and the government should get more money for budget.

But the real problem will arise in the case of the large listed PSUs with huge capital, mostly with the government. If they offload their shares to comply with this rule, the valuation may be questioned, leading to inquiries. On the other hand, if follow-on offers are made, the sizes of the issues may be unwieldy and the total amount to be raised of all PSUs may be beyond the capacity of the market to digest.

Further, the required repeated yearly offers for sale would generally reduce the earnings per share, creating a disincentive even from the first issue. Many first and later issues under the changed rule may even fail.

The government could modify the changed rule so that more time is given to PSUs and repeated offers are not made mandatory. The PSUs may also like to give employee stock option, by making employees part-owners. This will improve industrial relations and will also be partly in compliance with the rules.

 

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

EDITORIAL

INFLATION AS A SOLUTION FOR EUROPE

SWAMINATHAN S ANKLESARIA AIYAR

 

Earlier this year, IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard suggested that countries should raise their inflation targets from a typical 2% per year to 4%. His suggestion was greeted with hoots of derision.

Yet in a world where there are no good solutions to the European debt crisis, inflation could be the best of bad alternatives.

Blanchard said that if 2% inflation was the norm, and interest rates were around the same level, central banks could not cut interest rates by more than 2% in a slump: they could not go below zero.

This greatly restricted the power of monetary policy as an anti-recession tool. Besides, it was politically difficult to cut wages in a highly indebted country requiring structural adjustment, but a wage freeze was easier. If 2% inflation was the norm, then a wage freeze would lower real wages by only 2%.

But if 4% inflation was the norm, a wage freeze would cut real wages very substantially and produce sizable structural adjustment. The Sukhamoy Chakravarty Committee in 1985 came out with the same 4% inflation target for India. Chakravarty did not worry that the RBI would not be able to cut interest rates below 0%.

But he did emphasise that 4% inflation was "acceptable", providing flexibility for relative prices and wages to adjust without causing a backlash from voters or trade unions. Blanchard's proposal to raise the western inflation target from 2% to 4% was regarded as brave by some.

Yet he funked highlighting one of the most important advantages of 4% inflation: it will slash the real debt of countries with excessive debt overhangs, and could help revive growth sustainably. Europe, Greece, Italy and Belgium already have national debts exceeding 100% of GDP, and so does Japan.

Ireland and Portugal are not far behind, and Britain's debt is galloping upward. Their debt/GDP ratios look like rising much higher, given the grim outlook for European growth (and hence government revenues), and the huge welfare entitlements they are politically committed to.

The interest rate on their debt is also rising fast. Markets have already concluded that Greek default is inevitable. The danger is that other European countries could also been seen to be headed for default, leading to a major new financial crisis.

Blanchard and other analysts now regret that European countries did not run budget surpluses in the preceding boom years, creating fiscal headroom for deficits in the inevitable recession that followed. But that's crying over spilt milk. How does one proceed forward from the existing sorry mess? There are five ways forward. One is a grim austerity drive that slashes public spending, inducing a deep recession.

This can in the medium run reduce the debt/GDP ratio, but in the short-run may increase it as the recession sinks tax revenue. The second option is debt default. Bondholders will have to take a "haircut". This can take many forms — lower interest rates, longer maturities, or a reduction in redemption value.

All haircuts cut real debt. The big disadvantage is that the banks holding government bonds will suffer a sharp fall in assets, making many technically insolvent and in dire need of additional capital to survive. THEthird option is devaluation. This reduces the real value of bonds held by foreigners.

However, devaluation will not reduce real debt if the bonds are owned entirely (or almost entirely) by local institutions and investors. Nor will devaluation work if the debts are denominated in euros or dollars, as is the case with most European countries.

In such cases devaluation will increase the nominal value of debt as fast as it increases nominal GDP. The fourth option is for governments to force their banks to hold a big chunk of their deposits in gilts. India already does this through its statutory liquidity ratio.

In the West this would be condemned as financial repression, that subsidises government debt. It will be a hidden form of taxation that squeezes lending to the productive sectors of the economy. This could worsen rather than revive a recessionary economy in the short run.

The fifth option is inflation, which cuts the real value of debts. This will be a haircut by other means. A temporary surge in inflation may not have too much effect, but a doubling of long-term inflationary expectations from 2% to 4% will hugely depress real debt.

Inflation is often called hidden taxation, but it is more than that — it benefits all debtors, private or public, at the expense of all creditors. It temporarily boosts profitability, and so can help revive a flagging economy, and revive tax revenues. Now, inflation is not a panacea for all ills.

In the 1970s, many governments sought to use inflation to accelerate growth, and instead got stagflation (high inflation without growth). The poor people with fixed incomes (like retirees with fixed pensions) suffered most. Rising inflationary expectation kept raising wages and interest rates, not output.

This is what finally led to the Reagan-Thatcher war on inflation, going for sky-high interest rates and a deep recession to squeeze inflationary expectations out of the economy.

Most people said "never again" to inflation as a recipe for growth. However, the stagflation of the 1970s was due in substantial measure to the power of trade unions, which could bargain for higher and higher wages as inflationary expectations rose.

That was possible because import barriers were still substantial in those days, and foreign competition did not wipe out industries with high wages. But trade unions have now lost their old power because of freer trade and cheap imports. To that extent, inflation has greater potential to raise growth rather than prices.

It would not help if inflation targets were raised first to 4%, then to 6%, and then to 8% in an unending search for haircuts.

All creditors would simply disappear. But a once-and-for-all rise in inflation targets in the West to 4% might be the least risky of the five ways forward. It is by no means an ideal solution. But neither are the alternatives.

 

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

EDITORIAL

THIS TIME DTC PARTIES WILL BE A HAPPIER LOT: SUNIL MITRA

ATHAR KHAN & SOMA BANERJEE

 

Revenue secretary Sunil Mitra is a satisfied man . Having kept his word on finalising the DTC draft within the month, he is sure that this time around stakeholders will be a happier lot. And the bill will be introduced in the monsoon session. He spoke to ET explaining the finer details. Excerpts:

What were the main objectives behind redrafting the direct tax code?

We went through feedbacks from all stakeholders before zeroeing in on the relevant changes. The proposed changes are primarily in the minimum alternative tax, capital gains, SEZs and exemption on savings .

What guided the changes?

It is difficult to have a common principle behind the changes because each of them relate to different stakeholders. What is important is that the aim was to make it easy, transparent so that it is easily compliant. Coupled with the GST, this will give us a huge upside and we should have a buoyant revenue system.

Why are you reverting to MAT on book profits?

There were several objections to moving MAT on asset base and we were convinced that there is a case in putting the base on book profits instead of asset base. The rate has not been specified. This is the basis on which MAT will be applied. But the final rate will depend on the legislation.

Laws are made in context of socio-economic consensus right so laws have provisions for amendment by people who approve of legislation. Various rates, for instance have been changed over time because the economy is evolving. So theres nothing saying that there'll be one fixed rate. The earlier proposal of 2% on gross assets too was only an illustration and was not.cast in stone. This should come as a major tax relief to India Inc as the proposal on MAT was one of the biggest bones of contention.

You have decided to continue with the exemptions for the existing SEZs.

Yes. This was in line with the push to promote investment led growth. Investments that come in SEZs have come in with the assumption of a certain tax structure. Existing plants until March that would number 111 to be precise would get these benefits. Future investments in these SEZs or new units in these zones too would be given the same tax exemption.

On exemption on savings...

We have decided to go back on the EEE regime where all redemption on savings would be given the tax relief. But there is rider. We have restricted this exemption to a smaller number of instruments. For instance provident fund, pure life instruments etc. Its for sure but there is a rider. The rider is that the products will be fewer.

If you are talking about the tax of savings it would be the GFF, the PFF, recognized provident funds, pension scheme, pure life insurance products, annuity schemes, also maybe other schemes that have operated would not qualify. But it also clarifies that investments made before the date of commencement of the direct access code in instruments that enjoy EEE method of taxation would continue. So its prospective in nature and not retrospective. The other upside for the individual tax payer is that the tax waiver on housing loans for Rs 1.5 lakh continues.

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

EDITORIAL

VOLATILITY MAY GIVE WAY TO SIGNIFICANT INFLOWS: SUBIR GOKARN

SHAJI VIKRAMAN AND GAYATRI NAYAK

 

With inflation inching up again, there is pressure on the central bank to act. At the same time sections in the government are outspoken that an increase in interest rates would imperil growth.

But Reserve Bank of India deputy governor Subir Gokarn makes a strong case for getting out of the accommodative phase. According to him, countries like India where growth has returned need to normalise their monetary policy fast in order to create the capacity to deal with the next crisis.

In an interview with ET, Mr Gokarn speaks of how the pressure on liquidity is likely to be a temporary one and why capital flows are not as big a concern given that the absorptive capacity of the economy has increased substantially since 2007.

The latest set of economic data and the higher-than-expected inflation number seems to reinforce the belief that there is not going to be a pause on rate hikes.

Well, I think the direction of policy has already been established. We can go back to last October, when we started with the rollback of some special measures to deal with the crisis. Starting in January, we used some conventional instruments- we have effected two interest rate and two cash reserve ratio (CRR) hikes.

All of this is consistent with the gathering growth momentum as well as the increasing inflationary pressures. So, the direction of policy is very clear and it is really a question of pacing. The pacing is determined both by internal and external factors. On the internal front, we are watching to see how stiff the inflationary pressure is versus the growth momentum.

On the external front, there are concerns about developments in the global economy and volatility in the global financial markets and what impact these will have on the real economy. That's clearly a risk factor, as we have seen that global instability can act through various channels. And, right now, the particular concern is about capital movements and their impact on liquidity. So, that is one more factor we have to keep in mind when we chart the course of monetary policy.

Are we back on the normalisation path?

We are very much back on the normalisation path. Even now, we recognise the fact that the actions taken during the crisis took our policy position far down the road and the current level of the policy instruments is not fully aligned with the state of the economy. So, there is definitely a normalisation motive in our policy actions as well.

There has been a fair amount of criticism that the Indian central bank has been behind the curve on the interest rate cycle.

When you use the term like a curve, there is sort of a predictability or determinism to the path. If everything was hunky dory globally and the recovery was going as it is, we might have had a stronger justification for acting more firmly and our actions would have reflected them.

But, while the domestic economy is moving along quite well, the external situation is still quite fragile. One of the constraints that we operate under is that once the policy course has begun, we would not like to t reverse it. Unless we are managing a crisis, this is very damaging in terms of the signals being sent to the markets, to companies, to individuals.

So, we have to be careful when we act, and there is a danger in overreacting. With the kind of uncertainty that we still see, we prefer to be more cautious. The term `baby steps' is being used to describe this process. So, I certainly don't accept that we still are behind the curve because I have not seen the curve as a curve. The curve is actually reflective of a range of scenarios and we try and account for all the risks.

Will domestic factors take precedence over external factors in determining the course of policy action?

I think it is a question of balancing things. It is not as though we have not taken steps in response to domestic recovery and inflationary pressures. The question is of magnitude and whether the domestic momentum is so strong that external factors don't matter at all. I think we are not at that point as yet.

As we have seen in 2008, which is a scenario that shapes our thinking and which will continue to shape our thinking for a long time, the rapid drying up of liquidity can be quite disruptive. That risk still exists. Massive capital outflows are a risk. They may be a relatively low probability event, but they are still a risk. Now in the domestic economy, we are seeing unanticipated claims on liquidity through auction realisations.

That's another source of pressure. When we balance all these things, the intention of being non-disruptive is very important. We have to balance out our actions on rates and liquidity, taking into account all of these factors. So normalisation, the recognition that the recovery is consolidating, the recognition that inflationary pressures are mounting are all inputs into our calculation.

There has been criticism regarding the failure of fiscal and monetary policy makers to combat inflation. When do you think prices will cool off?

I think the headline inflation is really a function of how food prices behave over the next few months and that, in turn, is contingent on how the monsoon performs. I have no claims to meteorological expertise. I just go by what the Indian Meterological Department (IMD) and what other forecasters are saying.

As of now, there is a view that the monsoon will be normal. I think by mid-July, we will have a sense of what economic impact the monsoon will have on food prices. So, over the next four-six weeks, we will be able to make a fair assessment of food prices.

That is one side of the story over which we essentially have no control. The other side of it is demand pull or core inflation, which has clearly been rising and our actions taken from January onwards have been consistent with that rise. Monetary policy acts with a lag. So, we would expect that as the lag effect starts to work, this number would also start coming down without doing any harm to the recovery. If the monsoon is normal, these two trends will reinforce each other.

Based on this, we see a 5.5 per cent number on overall inflation by the year-end. But, if either of these trends behave differently from our expectation, that may cause us to change our forecast either up or down. In food, clearly it is the next four-six weeks that are critical.

Looking at the recent data which includes the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) numbers, the last quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figures and latest inflation figure -- is it a given that the central bank will revise its outlook on growth and inflation.

We do that on a quarterly basis. There is a fairly elaborate process that we follow on a quarterly cycle. We go through the whole analytical exercise once every three months and, if we feel the need to revise the numbers, we will do that in July. But, it is too early to say as the process has not begun yet.

After the liquidity squeeze some time ago when the 3G auction payment took place, there is a similar scenario now playing out. Are the concerns relating to such a squeeze overblown and how does RBI propose to address this?

Pressure always comes from unanticipated developments. The quantum of money that the auctions raised was far above what was budgeted. The budget number went into the government borrowing schedule. The actual realisations have changed the balance and we are now in conversation with the government to make sure that this does not translate into significant pressures.

This is going to be a temporary situation in any case because the government is ultimately going to spend the money. It is just the lag between the pay-in and the pay-out, but during the lag, because this situation was unanticipated, it could create some pressures. We are aware of this and we will make sure that no undue pressure develops.

When do you reckon that the government will start spending again?

I don't think this lag will be more than a few weeks. Ultimately, the government has a spending programme. Also it will spend the money in line with the programme. Obviously, the spending programme was calibrated to the budgeted schedule. Now, suddenly the extra sum has come in and it will take them some time to push it back into the system. But, it shouldn't be more than a few weeks at the most.

The government is now a recipient of a bonanza in terms of the higher-than-expected realisations from the 3G auction and WiMax receipts. Should these receipts be used for pruning fiscal deficit further or should it be channelised for investment?

That's a call that the government should take. Speaking from an analytical perspective, given the kind of commitment that the finance minister has shown towards fiscal consolidation, using this to speed up that process will add credibility and will appease many of the concerns that people have about the difficulty of bringing deficit under control.

But, that has to be balanced against other compulsions which will require large commitments to programmes that so far have been suffering from under-commitment. Those are the decisions that the finance ministry has to take. From our side, we obviously will have to factor in whatever decisions the ministry takes into our calculations and manage this liquidity versus growth and inflation balance as quickly as we can.

Will the uncertainty caused by the sovereign debt crisis in Europe trigger further capital flows?

I think there is a time dimension to it. It is not just the European situation, it is the whole global scenario. We have seen that in the immediate aftermath of concerns about European stability that there was a movement out. Since then, as these concerns have been allayed by what appear to be reasonable strong policy responses, that movement has been reversed. I think the immediate response to instability is this extreme volatility.

But over time, if you are looking at the likely scenario for capital movements, not just out of the European scenario, but because of the fact that there is an uneven recovery... the combination of high liquidity in matured markets and high returns given by the emerging markets- there is a strong basis to believe that capital inflows will actually strengthen. Once immediate volatility is resolved, then I think we should anticipate significant capital inflows.

What is your assessment of capital flows this fiscal, given the uncertainty now after the sovereign debt crisis in Europe?

In terms of both magnitude and impact, it is not like the dramatic situation we saw in 2007. The amount itself is smaller. Meanwhile, the absorptive capacity of the economy has increased; trade volumes have increased, there have been overseas acquisitions and various ways in which more forex has been used. So, we do not expect it to be a disruptive force in this situation.

There's been a broad agreement on sequencing of the exit from stimulus packages by different countries. Given the robust growth numbers here, is there a case to fully exit without waiting until next year, as the government had indicated earlier?

That is already in progress. Everything we have done since October 2009 can be considered an exit, including the October action which marked the first steps to move away from the ad hoc measures that were taken in terms of special lines of credit.

From January onwards, we have been exiting on conventional instruments. Similarly, the government has started the exit by reducing the deficit by 1.3 per cent of GDP -- which is a significant number. This is not something that a slow growing economy would consider. We are clearly recognising that inflationary pressures that have accompanied rapid growth are what we should be focused on.

But, at the same time, we cannot forget that we are inter-linked. What 2008 has taught us is that we are not decoupled from the global economy. What happens outside affects us. So, we have to keep one eye open for what's happening globally and factor that into our calculations.

So, it is really a balancing act at one level between growth and inflation domestically and, at another level, between domestic momentum and external risk. For other countries that balance may tilt in favour of growth – the domestic indicators are simply not strong enough to justify exit or normalisation in these countries. That is the pattern we see globally.

In some countries, recovery has been strong, so policy has been moving towards a normal situation because if you do not do that and another crisis hits, you do not have the capacity to respond. You need to move quickly to have that capacity. On the other hand, other countries have to continue to manage the abnormal situation and cannot initiate exits because the circumstances do not justify it.

The rupee has been weakening against the dollar for some time. Does it add to the challenges for inflation management?

Keep in mind that of all the blueprints that we have of financial sector reform, a floating rupee is at the heart of it. Let the market determine what the exchange rate is. Whether it is going up or down should be of no concern. That's if we take that blueprint. However, we do watch it. We do it for two reasons. One is that volatility is damaging. So, we attempt to manage volatility when we feel it is appropriate.

Two, as we said in our April statement, a disruption to the real economy caused by massive exchange rate movements is something we might want to look at.

But, these reflect unusual or extreme circumstances, not normal conditions. The exchange rate is essentially being determined by market forces in the current situation. As there has been an outflow in response to the external conditions, it has weakened. The short way of saying this is that exchange rate per se is not a policy instrument. We are not using it as an instrument for inflation management.

The RBI has been on the sidelines in the currency market even during this current bout of volatility where one is seeing two-way hedging by market participants. Could you elaborate on this.

Two-way hedging is very good. In fact, I would say that it is a very significant development in the forex market because the whole strategy for foreign exchange markets is to move towards market determined rates while, at the same time, creating the capacity for people with exposures to hedge effectively.

So, if you tell me that there is a two-way hedging, to me it is an indication of the market mechanisms for hedging maturing, which I see as a positive development. It is precisely because of this, we don't see currency management as a policy instrument. It is now a market determined price.

What are the signals the market should look out for from the central bank?

This is a regime where exchange rate is predominantly market determined and alongside, we have tried and created mechanisms that allowed people to hedge against that risk. That's the direction where our financial sector reforms are heading. So, we need to see both happen.

The new base rate system will be in place in a couple of weeks. How do you see this impacting the transmission of monetary policy?

From a monetary policy perspective, the important contribution the base rate will make is that it will make the transmission visible. The BPLR was intended to be the visible benchmark – the best rate that banks will offer. As it happened, because banks had the capacity to lend below BPLR, they used it as a screening mechanism and they negotiated with some borrowers to lend below PLR.

But, the BPLR remained relatively high and insensitive to policy rates. So, actual lending was sensitive to policy rates, but this was not visible to us, because the BPLR remained wherever it was and it was different across banks. Consequently, we did not quite know whether our policy actions were actually being transmitted. They may have been, but we couldn't see this. In order to make the transmission more visible, we have to create a situation where the banks have no choice but to visibly respond to our policy rates.

So, we introduced literally a base rate – below which banks cannot lend. Now, if the policy rates change, a bank will have to revise its base rate, otherwise it will lose its profit opportunities. In spirit, this is what the BPLR was supposed to be, but because of certain lacunae in the framework, it stopped being that. We have now tried to plug the gaps and created a mechanism which should make the transmission really visible.

From the monetary policy perspective, this is the most important motivation for the base rate system. There are other benefits as well, transparency to customers being particularly important. It is indicating to all borrowers what is the minimum rate at which banks are lending. On top of that, individual characteristics contribute to a higher interest rate. It could be because of risk, or the tenure of the loan or something else. But, the borrower will now know exactly why he is being charged the rate that he is, which was not visible in the old system.

This time around, we have seen more foreign money or capital flowing into debt rather than equity. Is that a worry?
We have to deal with this at two levels. At one level is the issue of what these inflows are financing. And to the extent these are financing investment in infrastructure, it is obviously something that fits in the overall development strategy. We are looking at substantially increasing private flows to infrastructure and this has to be one channel for that.

This has to be offset against the overall macroeconomic impact of large inflows. So, that's been a dilemma we have been dealing with all along... managing the macro versus desired end use.

These are all issues we are constantly debating. We do not have a readymade menu of options because we have to look at the circumstances. So, any policy option is always on the table. We are trying to make sure that the money that is coming is coming for the best and the most effective utilisation. We do have prioritisation.

We would like most of money to create capacity in infrastructure. Then there is equity, where the investor bears the risk. It is really keeping these priorities in mind that we will look at the issue. But, overall there may not be a need to use any control because the magnitude of flows may not be large enough to warrant it.

Over the last few months, despite a strong show by industry, bank credit has not picked up, indicating that there is greater disintermediation now. How does it affect the conduct of monetary policy?

It is not correct that bank credit has not picked up. Non-food credit growth has accelerated from 10.3 per cent (y-o-y) on October 23, 2009 to 18.7 per cent now. The targets on growth and inflation are essentially end products of the process. What happens in between is something that is subject to judgement on whether it is relevant to a particular situation or not.

We do look at credit flows to see whether they are consistent with our projections for growth and inflation. We also look at them in terms of their implications for liquidity. The concern you are expressing is whether we know where the money is coming from and therefore do we have any problem? But, that I don't think is an issue. But are we concerned about this as a process?

No, I don't think so, as long as it is coming through channels where appropriate recognition of risk and return is being done. If it is not coming through the banking system and is coming through internal resources, we have no problem. If it is coming from banks, is it coming in legitimate end-use; is it coming against secured collateral – these are concerns that we might have. Those are not so much issues for the monetary policy process as for banking supervision. At the macro level, it is really about knowing how much money is flowing into the system.

You made a presentation on the corporate bond market at the last meeting of the HLCC. What are the next series of measures that policy makers plan to unveil to foster the growth of the local bond market?

What the presentation tried to do was to take an inventory of actions that need to be taken based on recommendations from range of authoritative committees and groups and what actions have already been taken. So, it was essentially a gap assessment. This assessment pointed out the fact that a number of agencies need to work in co-ordination to close the gap.

That purpose was accomplished and we are now prioritising action to be taken by various entities. When we have a plan of action coming from this exercise, we would also want to validate it from the markets and look at the capacity of each stakeholder to act.

Banks for the last year or two have been the predominant financiers of infrastructure. That is not the best way to fund long-term projects and we want to create a parallel debt market channel. As the demand for funds increases and the conditions for issuances of bonds improve, we hope that we will be able to create this parallel channel for infrastructure financing.

There are supporters of the inflation targeting approach, including Raghuram Rajan. Is the RBI yet to be convinced of this approach?

There are two issues here. One is having an inflation rate to target. That is a technical issue. Second is the principle itself. There are issues of accountability and management. You can hold the central bank to account if you have a single target, as opposed to multiple targets. I don't think the evidence is compelling to say that every country which has implemented inflation targeting has had dramatic success and every country that has ot has had dramatic failures.

If that were the case, then obviously there would be a strong argument to think about it. But, ultimately there are countries that are not inflation targeters that have a pretty strong track record of inflation management. We think we are in that category and can benefit from the flexibility that comes from not being locked into a single target.

 

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

EDITORIAL

GOLD PRICE SPIKE LEADING TO THIN TRADING: TANISHQ COO

ARUN IYER

 

An alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, CK Venkataraman is the chief operating officer (COO) of Tanishq, the jewellery arm of Titan Industries. ET spoke to Venkataraman, who has a ringside view of the Indian jewellery industry, about the recent rally in bullion prices and related issues. Excerpts of the interview:

The recent rally in bullion has caught many by surprise. You think there is more upside left for the yellow metal?

I would say that this (rise in bullion prices) is not unusual. We are seeing a repeat of what happened about two years ago. Once again, it's the same reason — now with reference to Greece and Ireland. As investors divert their monies and demand for bullion rises, the prices go up and there is a pullback for about a week or 10 days. Definitely the rise (in bullion prices) has to do with the non-industry demand. I can't say anything about how prices would move.

Would you say that consumers are now attuned to the idea of seeing a rise in gold prices?

Consumers are comfortable if there is stability in prices for a little longer. One clearly sees the consumer down-trading on the quantum of gold they are able to purchase. So, where they would buy say about 300 grammes, the consumer is now buying 250 grammes. And this is a trend which is not restricted to the large metros but across the board — even in tier-II and tier-III cities.

Since the last few years, we have seen the introduction of gold exchange traded funds (ETFs). How do you think this has impacted demand for gold?

Gold ETFs are a niche market. I would say the toss-up for a consumer is between investing in a coin or in ETFs. The only difference is that there is a cost of processing for the coin besides a storage/holding cost. Remember, bulk of jewellery-buying in India is for wearing purposes. Also remember that jewellery is good for gifting purposes as it is more tangible.

Over the last two years, the real estate market has seen a dip in values. Do you think that some of the monies has gone into the jewellery/bullion sector?

It's difficult to say as one needs very sophisticated research to establish the shift from one category to another. As you would know, the market for Indian gold ETFs is extremely small. Globally yes, there would have been flows into ETFs from divestments in the real estate sector, which in turn have an influence but not with the Indian real estate.

Effective April last year, you changed the method of valuing your closing inventory to a first-in-first-out method (FIFO). Did you have any inkling about the rally in gold to undertake this change?

As a jewellery company, we are impacted by the cost of acquisition and the sales realised leading to a mismatch. Overall, every quarter our margins either spiked or hit a trough but this got smoothened out on a yearly basis. By adopting the FIFO method, we are seeking to even out this issue. Our EBIDTA margins currently are around 7% that we believe would touch 10% over the next five years.

 

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                                                                                                               DECCAN CHRONICAL

EDITORIAL

AS INFLATION RISES, WAIT FOR THE RAINS

Inflation touching the double-digit mark sent ripples of concern through the government and the country at large, even though the government tried to play down some of these concerns, and in fact some sections in it felt it was time that fuel prices were raised. If only the price of petrol is raised it might be understandable: petrol is, after all, used primarily by car owners, thought to be far better off than the average citizen. But to lump it together with diesel, kerosene and LPG appears politically foolhardy — if only because the government has proved totally bankrupt when it comes to laying down a protective net for the economically weaker sections. It has totally abandoned the public distribution system (PDS) only because it cannot maintain it properly. This is unbecoming of a government which claims to act on behalf of the aam aadmi. It constantly reiterates its faith in the "inclusive growth" mantra, but does very little about it in practice, and even dismantles elements of what already exists — such as PDS. It is then left to the Reserve Bank to literally armtwist banks into making "inclusive growth" a reality. Government officials at the village and district levels — who should be at the forefront of the "inclusive growth" effort — are instead busy lining their pockets and illegally amassing wealth. The Union finance minister hopes to see inflation calming down by July, when the behaviour of this year's monsoon will become clear. It remains a constant puzzle how the $1 trillion-plus Indian economy, heralded worldwide as the second fastest growing on the planet, is still so dependent on something as unpredictable as the rains. Food prices moderated but negligibly, and remain high. The price of pulses is rising unabated, while vegetable prices show no signs of declining. The government's record on pulses is shocking: it was aware the per capita consumption of pulses was falling year after year as prices kept rising aggressively. In the last Budget, the finance minister announced a special scheme to target production — but the bureaucracy was so slow, and the 21 per cent increase in minimum support price announced so late, that farmers could not take advantage and shift to pulses cultivation. And these are still the only source of protein available to the poor. Finally, though, inflation figures are just a numbers game, with little meaning for the ordinary citizen, particularly homemakers who have to keep the kitchen fires burning and families fed. Prices of manufactured items are also moving upward while global commodity prices are cooling down. The reason is that when global commodity prices went up last year, India could not increase prices as there was a lack of demand. Now that demand has increased, manufacturers have started pushing up prices.

The government and India's privileged classes must start thinking "out of the box" while making plans to provide for the have-nots. They can think of food kitchens and of supplying at least one proper meal a day to those who are starving.

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DECCAN CHRONICAL

EDITORIAL

WHEN KISSINGER CALLS, IT'S WORLD CUP TIME

BY ROGER COHEN

JOHANNESBURG

Henry Kissinger called me, which does not happen often, but does happen on the eve of World Cups — a reflection of a shared obsession and a fair indication that soccer (football, actually) will trump the global battle for treasure and influence over the next month, or rather transfer it to the pitch.

On the US team, one of whose attractions is that it has not yet mastered the professional foul, Kissinger was laconic: "We're better but we don't have a national style that I've been able to figure out. We're a work in progress, just as we are in managing international affairs on a global basis."

It's true that adjusting to 21st century shifts in global power is proving arduous for the United States — much less room for the cynical diplomatic foul — and that there's still a naïve quality to the American game, despite its opening 1-1 draw with England high in the South African veld and its second-place finish last year in the Confederations Cup.

Recurrent dreams had surfaced about England's prospects before that dismal draw — the world has few more insistent illusions than those surrounding English football. They soon gave way to what a commentator called "the usual mixture of hope and horror" attendant on Rooney and company.

The horror — and what horror! — came in the form of a schoolyard error from England's goalkeeper Robert Green, allowing a feeble 20-yard shot from Clint Dempsey to squirm through his fingers and level the score. That's a disaster with a history: In the 2002 quarter-final it was goalkeeper David Seaman allowing a 40-yard free kick from Brazil's Ronaldinho to sail over his head.

It's a tough thing to face, and England has never gotten around to it, but pedigree tells in international football as surely as mediocrity.

Given BP and the environmental and political pollution still gushing from the gulf, perhaps a draw was the best result for a strained special relationship.

The fact is the game is written in the blood of only a few nations, who have stamped their genius on it, and then there are the also-rans. Of the 18 World Cups played, half have been won by just two teams — Brazil and Italy. Another three went to Germany. The teams have been studies in contrast. Kissinger said: "Brazil has played the most beautiful football, while Italy has specialised in breaking the hearts of its opponents, and for Germany everyone attacks in a way suggestive of Erich von Falkenhayn's huge flanking movements in World War I — and everyone defends".

Brazil, five times champions, has been all about attacking flair — Garrincha, Pelé, Ronaldinho and Robinho inventing the unimaginable. Italy, four times champions, has known how to shut games down like no other team — Gentile, Scirea, Baresi and Cannavaro turning defensive play into a suffocating art (sometimes known as "Catenaccio" or "door-bolt") and breaking with rapier speed.

Like playing Rafael Nadal on clay at Roland Garros, playing Italy drives opponents mad. You see them begin to crack. You see them run out of ideas. You see them unravelling. As Jean-Paul Sartre once observed, "In football everything is complicated by the presence of the other team".

In this it resembles diplomacy and war. The best-laid plans scarcely survive the first contact with the enemy.

Kissinger told me, rather to my surprise given their political views, that he and Nelson Mandela were close, that Mandela had studied his shuttle diplomacy in prison and became fascinated by it to the point that, when he visited the US after his release from prison in 1990, he requested a meeting with Kissinger.

"Mandela's conduct has been extraordinarily wise", Kissinger, who will attend the final rounds of the World Cup, told me. "He is one of the great men I have met".

This World Cup, the first in Africa, is tribute to that conciliatory greatness. It's safe to say the home team won't win, but Africa will surely benefit, and that's important for this nascent century. We may also get a new name, Spain, on the trophy, but first a word on Brazil's odd inversion.

Brazil has never had a better defence, yes defence. Its goalkeeper, Júlio César, is the world's best. So is its right back, Maicon (they both play for European champions, Inter Milan, as does the buccaneering centre back, Lucio). A Brazilian victory — always a distinct possibility — would be based this year on the part of the game it has traditionally neglected.

So things do get turned upside down. Perhaps the chronic World Cup underperformer, Spain, will play to its full potential — it's been defeated just once in its last 45-plus games — and triumph. In David Villa and Fernando Torres, they have two of the most thrilling strikers in the world, and in Iniesta and Xavi midfield magicians.

My own prediction? The winner, in order of likelihood, will come from: Spain, Brazil, the Netherlands, Argentina, Italy, Germany. Possible surprise? Ghana. And if America does well, President Obama will benefit. As Kissinger knows, US indifference to soccer has long been a source of intense global suspicion.

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DECCAN CHRONICAL

EDITORIAL

CONTROL ISSUES

BY P.C. ALEXANDER

When Kapil Sibal was elevated to Cabinet rank and assigned the crucial portfolio of human resources development (HRD), many people had great expectations from him about reforms in the education sector — a sector that has suffered due to the misplaced priorities of some of his predecessors. Since Independence, education, perhaps, is the one issue which has had the largest number of commissions and committees for reforms. Therefore, a wealth of material is readily available for use by any minister with sound vision and reforming zeal. However, most who had expected substantial reforms from Mr Sibal were disappointed when he appeared to be in a haste to announce his plans for changes within a few weeks of taking charge. He did not devote adequate time to study why some reforms had got stuck in the past or proved to be counterproductive.

Above all, the new HRD minister, in his various statements on bringing about changes, appeared to have ignored the basic fact that in our federal system education is a state subject and that many state governments are very sensitive about any dilution in their constitutional responsibilities relating to education. Certain aspects pertaining to higher education have been included in the concurrent list in the Constitution, but very few among the larger and well-administered states in India would be willing to part with their responsibilities relating to appointment of vice-chancellors of state universities. Strong protests were audible when indications were given about the Centre taking the lead role in the selection and appointment of all vice-chancellors in the country.

Let us examine some of the reasons for resentment towards the idea of having one central panel of persons found eligible by the Centre for appointment as vice-chancellors.

No doubt that the intention behind this proposal was to ensure that the standards of qualification for the post of vice-chancellor were kept very high and the procedures for selection were transparent. However, adequate thought was not given to the problems involved in putting together such a national-level panel. Even under the present system of selection of vice-chancellors, when both the state administration and state governors, in their capacity as chancellors, are actively involved, the process takes about six months. If an all-India panel of prospective candidates is to be the source of all selections and appointments, it is bound to take much longer.

There is also no guarantee that the Central list will have enough qualified names on it to meet the special needs of certain state universities, like research on some of the ancient state languages.

I should mention here that some of us serving as governors had the opportunity to study the legislative procedures in different states when we were appointed as members of a committee of governors in 1996 by the then President Shankar Dayal Sharma to make recommendations on "the role of the governor as chancellor of universities". I had the privilege of being appointed as its chairman. During the deliberations of this committee it was found that the methods of selection of candidates for consideration for appointment as vice-chancellors in state universities varied not only from state to state, but sometimes within the same state itself. Also, in the course of our work we found that some governors were not inclined to take up the responsibility of selecting vice-chancellors as governors, in their capacity as chancellors, were often being drawn into litigation even in junior courts. They felt that this would not be in keeping with the high prestige associated with the office of the governor.

In some states, in spite of clear provisions in the relevant University Act, the governments in power appeared to be keen that the governor should not have an active role in the constitution of the selection committee or the final appointment based on the recommendations of this committee. Sometimes differences had arisen between the state Cabinet and the chancellor on the appointment of vice-chancellors because of the insistence of certain states that the governor, even when s/he functions in his/her capacity as chancellor of a university, shall act only on the advice of the council of ministers. Such problems are likely to get aggravated if the selection is to be restricted to one central panel.

Apart from these considerations, a single panel valid for the whole of India may not be a desirable arrangement. After what has been revealed about the manner in which a very important central council, i.e. the Medical Council of India, had been functioning, the Central government should not be under the illusion that people will have implicit faith in the competence and fairness of all centrally-constituted councils.

What is required is to allow the states to manage the institutions of higher education according to the provisions of their own acts and not impose any rule or regulation which brings centralised administrative control. Based on the working and reputation of some of the universities in the states, one may claim that they are much better administered institutions than some of the centrally-managed higher education institutions. Certain states have evolved very good legislative procedures to manage their universities. I venture to suggest that the Maharashtra University Act, 1994, can provide some useful guidelines for states intending to introduce reforms in the system of selection and appointment of vice-chancellors.

Falling back on the experience of selection and appointment of vice-chancellors in some well administered states, I would suggest that it would be very useful for the chancellor if s/he interviews the candidates recommended by the selection panel of the state and personally assesses their relative suitability.

Some people may hold the view that all this will give the chancellor almost a full say in the selection of vice-chancellors and may lead to differences of opinion between the chancellor and the chief minister, particularly if the latter has the reputation of being a "strong administrator". I should, however, add that during my fairly long tenure as governor in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, there was not a single case of any appointment made to the post of vice-chancellor that had been disagreed to by even "strong administrators" like Sharad Pawar or M. Karunanidhi.

Whether states adopt some of the good provisions of the Maharashtra University Act or not, it would be advisable that the idea of having an all-India selection panel for vice-chancellors is not pursued any further by the Centre in any shape or form.

- P.C. Alexander is a former governor of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra

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DECCAN CHRONICAL

EDITORIAL

PAIN & JOY OF MYSTICAL VERSE

BY MUZAFFAR ALI

Mystical verse is about the burning quest, the joy of union and pangs of separation and final reunion is in annihilation with the beloved. Within these awe-inspiring landscapes of high and lows, bewildered and wonderstruck, the mystic poet lives through his imagery. In his poetry are moments of saturation and vacuum; the valleys of despair and peaks of marvel; the ruins of the heart yearning for spring for the arrival of the beloved, and then the fragrance of love pervading the gardens of paradise with arrival of that beloved, and the final annihilation in Him…

In Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi's poetry, every shade of such a journey is visible. In Shams Tabrez, his mystic friend and mentor, who took him on the divine path, he saw what was not visible to the naked eye. He saw the hidden meaning of life. Secrets which, after the burning within, could only find reflection in poetry. When Shams disappeared it was one kind of poetry... passionate, irresistible, beautiful, so much so that it seemed truly designed for each word and its combination to have a magnetic draw.

And such passion has always found a way of reaching the divine realm and finding the beloved, wherever He maybe. It reached Shams thousands of miles away and drew him back to the desolate Rumi. The joy was overwhelming... His life had returned with all its celebration and glory... His poetry changed. Shams had returned.

Shams o qamaram aamad, sam e be saram aamad,

Wan seembaram aamad, wan kaan e zaram aamad

(My sun and my moon have come, what my mind wanted to say has come, My illumined beloved has come, my mine of gold has come)

Masti e saram aamad, nur e nazaram aamad,

cheez e digar ar khwahi, cheez e digaram aamad

(My ecstasy has come, the light of my eyes has come,

If you had wanted more something more, that something more has come)

Aan raahzanam aamad, tauba shikanam aamad,

Wan Yusuf e seemeen bar, nagaah babaram aamad

(Who robs me has come, who causes to break of my vows has come,

That gleaming Joseph, has unexpectedly come)

But once again, to his dismay, Shams disappeared never to return. The second disappearance shattered Rumi again, but this time there was a difference. For Shams had finally prepared Rumi to polish the mirror of his heart clean to receive the Nur-e-Mohammadi.

Rumi had cut across all barriers of religion. Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, all were present at his funeral. Each had seen in him qualities of whom they revered most in his own faith. The reflection of the same Nur-e-Mohammadi made him Christ-like for Christians, for Jews, he was the living Moses of the time... and today maybe nearest to Kabir for the vast population of Indians... In his life and his poetry he had proved that all came from the same source and to that source they will all return.

Thee I choose, of all the world, alone;

Wilt thou suffer me to sit in grief?

My heart is as a pen in thy hand,

Thou art the cause if I am glad or melancholy.

Save what thou willest, what will have I?

Save what thou showest, what do I see?

Thou mak'st grow out of me now a thorn and now a rose;

Now I smell roses and now I pull thorns.

If thou keep'st me that, that I am;

I thou would'st have me this, I am this.

In the vessel where thou givest colour to the soul

Who am I. What is my love and hate?

Thou wert first, and last thou shalt be;

Make my last better than my first.

When thou are hidden, I am of the infidels;

When thou art manifest, I am of the faithful.

I have nothing, except thou hast bestowed it;

What dost thou seek from my bosom and sleeve?

— Rumi translated by Reynold Nicholson

— Muzaffar Ali is a filmmaker, painter, and he the Executive Director of the Rumi Foundation.

He can be contacted at www.rumifoundation.in [1]

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DECCAN CHRONICAL

EDITORIAL

READING BURMA'S NUCLEAR DREAMS

BY SHANKARI SUNDARARAMAN

Even as Burma's military junta prepares to address the issue of the forthcoming elections in October 2010, a documentary aired on Qatar-based TV news channel Al Jazeera, about the possibility of Burma developing a nuclear weapons programme, brings a deafening silence to the voices that were urging engagement with the Burmese junta.

The documentary's "source" is from within the Burmese military junta and the footage shown on Al Jazeera was acquired from a defector within the military. The documentary, compiled over a period of five years with the help of a Norway-based independent group in exile called the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), had images and documentary proof of tunnels and nuclear facilities — evidence that showed the extent of the development of these facilities being pursued by the junta in connivance with North Korea, which is said to be providing the technology. Speculation suggests that assistance includes both weapons technology and ballistic missile capability.

While the documentary's source and evidence lends some credibility to the matter, it is still not conclusive enough to say with surety that the Burmese government does intend to acquire nuclear weapons capability.

The news of Burma's nuclear ambitions is not really new. This issue has been in the public domain for more than a decade. The Burmese search for nuclear capability began as early as 2000 when Russia was engaged to build a 10-megawatt nuclear capable reactor to assist the process of acquiring fuel technology. However, the project did not take off as planned and for nearly seven years the issue was forgotten.

In 2007, news reports alluding to Burma's nuclear ambitions appeared again, this time in the context of Russia supplying technology and low-grade uranium to assist with research for peaceful uses in the fields of medical and agricultural science.

Though there were some passing references to scientific and technological training being provided by Russia, Burma's plan to seek assistance from the Russians for a nuclear reactor did not materialise.

However, 2008 onwards there have been several reports about growing ties between North Korea and Burma. Given that the North Korean technology is widely seen as a threat to the entire region, there has been speculation on two parallel lines — one is about Burma actually acquiring the technology for weapons capability, the other is that Burma is being used by the North Korean leadership as a dock for piling its own weapons and using it as an ally. Given that the two regimes have been increasingly isolated, this spectre does not seem very far fetched.

Increasing international condemnation of the Burmese military junta and the growing perception that Burma is being forced to reconsider its approach to a democratic setup are critical issues that may have given the necessary push towards closer ties with states like North Korea.

Burma's diplomatic ties with North Korea remained suspended till 2007. In 2008, a defence MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) was signed between the two countries with specific reference to nuclear technology and ballistic missile capabilities.

What needs to be borne in mind is that increased isolation from the international community has only enhanced the threat perceptions of the Burmese leadership. Over the years the leadership has become more and more intransigent and allowed itself little engagement with the rest of the world. This isolation will only push Burma towards greater dependency on countries that have a clear record of proliferation — i.e. China, Pakistan and North Korea.

Support for Burma from within the region has been growing — its integration into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has been one of the factors that has allowed for the economic gap between Burma and its other Southeast Asian neighbours to be reduced. Also, China has remained Burma's critical ally, with India and Russia establishing clear ties. This degree of engagement with Burma has in some ways been more effective in bringing more international focus upon Burma. But the engagement policy needs to be nuanced — keep the junta engaged while maintaining a focus on issues of human rights and democracy.

Isolating Burma would push it further towards the North Korea example. Given the political instability within Burma and the fact that their technical know-how for maintenance of nuclear capability is very low, the Burmese leadership would be shortsighted to follow the dangerous example of North Korean. Moreover, as concerns of terrorist related sabotage of nuclear facilities are mounting, Burma should not risk its political survival by following the modus operandi of the North Korean leadership.

Burma going down the nuclear road has several wide-ranging implications. For the Asean there is likely to be a serious imbalance given that the 10-member regional grouping clearly endorses the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone (SEANWFZ). This was the outcome of deliberations that emerged as early as 1995 and was called the Bangkok Treaty. The Asean has been trying to reign in its dialogue partners to come on board this treaty. Both China and India have endorsed it, but the US has used its presence in the Korean peninsula to remain outside the SEANWFZ.

During the Monks' Revolution in 2007, the Asean voiced

its concerns over the deteriorating political conditions within Burma but stopped short of suspending it. But now, considering that Burma is a signatory to the SEANWFZ and its intent to acquire nuclear weapons technology will impact the regional security order, the Asean cannot use the non-interference provision. It must be more concerted in its action against Burma.

A three-pronged strategy could be followed to deal with Burma — First, push the agenda on a special international forum on Burma; the forum must include the Asean, China, India, Russia and the US. Second, clearly set aside the non-intervention in domestic affairs clause which Asean follows and ask Burma for transparency as a signatory to the SEANWFZ. And finally,

let there be clear incentives in place for moving forward with the process of national reconciliation and elections.A country that has been isolated for nearly 60 years and has been consistently testing the patience of the international community, is now on the verge of pushing those limits again, this time by acquiring nuclear capability. Under these circumstances the Asean and its partners in the wider region, including both India and China, cannot remain mute spectators.

Dr Shankari Sundararaman is an associate professor ofSoutheast Asian Studies at the School of International Studies, JNU

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DECCAN CHRONICAL

EDITORIAL

THE LARGER STRUGGLE

BY DAVID BROOKS

These days Americans are transfixed by the struggle between BP and the US government. This is a familiar conflict — between a multinational company trying to make a profit and the government trying to regulate the company and hold it accountable.

But this conflict is really a family squabble. It takes place amid a much larger conflict, and in this larger conflict both BP and the US government are on the same team.

The larger conflict began with the end of the Cold War. That ideological dispute settled the argument over whether Capitalism was the best economic system. But it did not settle the argument over whether democratic capitalism was the best political-social-economic system. Instead, it left the world divided into two general camps.

On the one side are those who believe in democratic capitalism — ranging from the United States to Denmark to Japan. People in this camp generally believe that businesses are there to create wealth and raise living standards while governments are there to regulate when necessary and enforce a level playing field. Both government officials like US President Barack Obama and the private sector workers like the BP executives fall neatly into this camp.

On the other side are those that reject democratic capitalism, believing it leads to chaos, bubbles, exploitations and crashes. Instead, they embrace state capitalism. People in this camp run Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela and many other countries.

Many scholars have begun to analyse state capitalism. One of the clearest and most comprehensive treatments is The End of the Free Market by Ian Bremmer.

Bremmer points out that under state capitalism, authoritarian governments use markets "to create wealth that can be directed as political officials see fit". The ultimate motive, he continues, "is not economic (maximising growth) but political (maximising the state's power and the leadership's chances of survival)". Under state capitalism, market enterprises exist to earn money to finance the ruling class.

The contrast is clearest in the energy sector. In the democratic capitalist world we have oil companies, like Exxon Mobil, BP and Royal Dutch Shell, that make money for shareholders.

In the state capitalist world there are government-run enterprises like Gazprom, Petrobras, Saudi Aramco, Petronas, Petróleos de Venezuela, China National Petroleum Corporation and the National Iranian Oil Company. These companies create wealth for the political cliques, and they, in turn, have the power of the state behind them.

With this advantage, state energy companies have been absolutely crushing the private-sector energy companies. In America, we use the phrase Big Oil to describe Exxon Mobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and others. But that just shows how parochial we are. In fact, none of these private companies make it on a list of the world's top 13 energy companies. A generation ago, the biggest multinationals produced well more than half of the world's oil and gas. But now, according to Bremmer, they produce just 10 per cent of the world's oil and gas and hold only about three per cent of the world's reserves.

The rivalry between democratic capitalism and state capitalism is not like the rivalry between Capitalism and Communism. It is an interdependent rivalry. State capitalist enterprises invest heavily in democratic capitalist enterprises (but they tend not to invest in each other). Both sides rely on each other in interlocking trade networks.

Nonetheless, there is rivalry. There is a rivalry over prestige. What system works better to produce security and growth? What system should emerging and struggling democratic nations aim for? There is also rivalry over what rules should govern the world order. Should countries like Russia be able to withhold gas from Western Europe to make a political point? Should governments be able to tilt the playing field to benefit well-connected national champions? Should authoritarian governments like Iran be allowed to nuclearise?

We in the democratic world tend to assume state capitalism can't prosper forever. Innovative companies can't thrive unless there's also a free exchange of ideas. A high-tech economy requires more creative destruction than an authoritarian government can tolerate. Cronyism will inevitably undermine efficiency.

That's all true. But state capitalism may be the only viable system in low-trust societies, in places where decentralised power devolves into gangsterism. Moreover, democratic regimes have shown their vulnerabilities of late: a tendency to make unaffordable promises to the elderly and other politically powerful groups; a tendency toward polarisation, which immobilises governments even in the face of devastating problems.

We in the democratic world have no right to be sanguine. State capitalism taps into deep nationalist passions and offers psychic security for people who detest the hurly-burly of modern capitalism. So I hope that as they squabble, Obama and BP keep at least one eye on the larger picture.

We need healthy private energy companies. We also need to gradually move away from oil and gas — the products that have financed the rise of aggressive state capitalism.

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THE STATESMAN

EDITORIAL

CBI'S DESIRED ACT

WILL IT ENSURE AUTONOMY?

OBVIOUSLY chafing at the constraints under which it is functioning, the Central Bureau of Investigation has drafted and submitted to the government fresh legislation to govern its conduct. Rightly so, for the Delhi Police Special Establishment Act (1946), which spells out its present mandate, is not only obsolete but never envisaged the role now assigned to what is perceived as the premier investigative agency. The basic rationale, as conveyed to government, is "there is a lack of an independent, unified, central government agency to undertake prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of offences related to subjects in the union list of the Constitution". In keeping with that, the CBI has sought nationwide extension of powers and jurisdiction pertaining to 53 categories of offences covered by some 300 enactments. At present it is heavily dependent on the cooperation and assistance of state governments and local police in pursuing some of its investigations ~ not always forthcoming. It has sought the kind of empowerment enjoyed by the Narcotics Control Bureau and the fledgling Serious Frauds Investigation Office. There will be some Constitutional hurdles to clear ~ the states will resist any central encroachment on their authority over law and order ~ yet the post 7/11 realisation that some criminal activity has to be tackled on a national plane might help convert the CBI's dream into reality. Previous proposals with the same general objectives have met with little success.

While few would quarrel with what the CBI has sought, many would point to limited stress on the independence and autonomy of the agency. Merely seeking a system for appointing its chief on lines that the Supreme Court spelt out in the Vineet Narain case of 1997 is at best a token effort. Ideally the Director of the CBI should have status almost akin to Comptroller & Auditor-General or the Election Commissioner, but no government, regardless of its composition, will muster the political will to go down that road: it would be deemed clout-crippling. Yet until the Bureau acquires and displays true autonomy (as opposed to denying interference) there will be no change in the public perception that it lends itself to political abuse. Remember that most of the criticism of the CBI is directed not at presumed professional ineptitude, but at its competence being employed only selectively.

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THE STATESMAN

EDITORIAL

PERFIDY WITH POUNDS

IN THE NAME OF EDUCATION FOR ALL

THE loss of face couldn't have been more disgraceful. Britain's Department For International Development (DFID), since last month under the Conservative-LibDem dispensation, has commissioned an inquiry into what it calls the "disappearance of millions of pounds of aid" advanced to India for the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan. The coalition has taken the lid off a pretty kettle of fish, an almost incredible offshore fiddle. It is a shocking legacy inherited from the Labour government which had sanctioned the assistance. And there is a distinct indication of a huge public sector scam when the British authorities allege that the "money has disappeared into the depths of corruption without any benefit to the poor children". The high-minded objectives of universal primary education, officially touted as the UPA's flagship initiative, have been trashed. The decision of Andrew Mitchell, secretary of state for international development, to "launch an immediate inquiry" is a sorry reflection on the pursuit of public policy in India, whether it relates to guaranteed rural employment or primary education. Apparently, the setting up of schools and the pursuit of learning rank rather low in the pattern of expenditure. Either a fair amount of the aid has "vanished" or the money has been spent on items that had nothing to do with schools. If the preliminary audit by British authorities is any indication, the heads of expenditure are too astonishing for words ~ on schools that do not exist, on new cars, luxury beds and on air-conditioners and television sets for schools in areas without electricity. Well may the DFID authorities be flabbergasted at the extent of the fiscal foozle, scarcely realising that this a feature of the country's public policy furniture.
Truth to tell, DFID assistance has been frittered away in the sphere of rural governance as well, and acutely so in West Bengal.  The increasing tribal disenchantment confirms that little or nothing has been achieved by the DFID pump-priming for the rural sector. It would be useful to recall the then British High Commissioner, Sir Michael Arthur's resounding advice to the state in November 2005: "Decentralisation will deliver on poverty outcomes only if local governments are accountable and responsive to the rural poor". The message was to utilise fruitfully the 130 million pounds that had been advanced till then. On a national scale, it is a bitter irony that the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan warrants a CAG probe even before it has taken off. In the net, India may not be trusted with even a single pound of development assistance.

 

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THE STATESMAN

EDITORIAL

MAKING AMENDS

TOKENISM BY THE CPI-M WILL NOT HELP

WE would like to believe that disciplinary action against a district leader of the CPI-M in Hooghly is part of the rectification programme suggested by the central committee after the reverses suffered in the parliamentary election. Biman Bose has mastered the art of evading embarrassing questions so all that had emerged after the last Politburo meeting in Delhi, which the chief minister chose not to attend, was that rectification was a "process'' still being debated. Now in the first act of nabbing party functionaries who have abused their positions, the party's zilla parishad chief has been asked to resign for financial irregularities running into crores of rupees. The action has been taken on the basis of a single discovery of funds allotted for district hospitals being diverted on the basis of inflated bills. It can only suggest a long history of corruption not only in Hooghly but in districts where the CPI-M had been in absolute command till it suffered a political jolt. Hooghly, in particular, has reflected the changes where the CPI-M headed by the fire-spitting former MP, Anil Basu, had virtually held the district administration to ransom but now sees the party's tally in the 12 municipalities coming down to one from eight in the last election.

The more important question is whether the CPI-M will apply the same standards relentlessly at all levels. It would be pointless to make scapegoats of cadres at the block level who have made a killing from extortions and influence exerted on local administrations. Public wrath against the local lords was evident in Lalgarh where a house belonging to a CPI-M leader was set upon. While violence cannot be a solution to the evils of corruption and musclepower on which the party has thrived, Alimuddin Street would have to demonstrate in no uncertain terms that it means business in its cleansing operation. The Hooghly scandal can only raise suspicions on how bigger fish have amassed enormous wealth. The CPI-M state secretary would be deceiving himself with token actions in the hope that public memory will be short. The failure to attempt serious introspection and make real amends could make the chances of a comeback that much more difficult.

 

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THE STATESMAN

EDITORIAL

INDIA'S SYSTEM IN CRISIS!

IMPLEMENT THE CONSTITUTION IN ITS TRUE SPIRIT

RAJINDER PURI

 

CONSIDER what is happening in India right now, as this is being written. Law Minister Moily says that the existing laws are inadequate to deal with big national disasters like the one created by the Bhopal gas leakage 26 years ago. So in consultation with experts he intends framing a new law and present it to Parliament. Meanwhile, the PM appoints a Group of Ministers to explore remedies.

Members of the Jat community go on the rampage to choke off the supply of water to Delhi in protest against their exclusion from caste-based reservation of jobs in the government. The Jat leaders say that if the Gujjars could be given reservation, why should they be denied? Reservation on the basis of caste is explicitly disallowed by Article 16 (2) of the Constitution. However, the government to circumvent this law did verbal juggling and the Supreme Court in its supreme folly allowed it to do so. As a result, the spirit of the Constitution was mangled beyond recognition. The law now promotes caste-based reservation which continues to spread among the 3,000 castes in India . The minorities understandably are attempting to similarly distort the Constitution to also obtain reservation.

In its national executive meeting in Patna the BJP complains that the Central government is discriminating against state governments ruled by the Opposition. The party complains that the Central government continuously ignores norms by not consulting the state governments while appointing the Governor or the Chief Justice in Opposition-ruled states. This complaint by various Opposition parties has long been festering. The Constitutional provision for setting up the Inter-State Council as a mechanism to resolve all differences between the Centre and the states has yet not been given teeth six decades after it was written.

President's position

ACCORDING to one Supreme Court judgment the Union cabinet can exercise no control over the Governor. That leaves the President to exercise control. According to another Supreme Court judgment the President can only act under the advice of the Union cabinet! The Supreme Court affirmed that the elected Indian President is a titular head like the British sovereign. Nowhere in the Indian Constitution is this written. India has the world's longest written Constitution. It is a mystery from where the Supreme Court got its divine inspiration to come to this conclusion,Law Minister Moily says that the current system of appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts by a collegium of judges is not satisfactory. He assures that the government is committed to the independence of the judiciary. The current system was determined by a Supreme Court advisory. According to the Constitution, the judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are appointed by the President after consulting the Chief Justice of India. By the present system there is no check on the decisions of the collegium regarding judicial appointments. To rectify this should a check be exercised by Parliament or by the Union cabinet? Or neither Parliament nor the Union cabinet should exercise check. Only the President as is written in the Constitution should exercise it. But ~ oops!  The Supreme Court has ruled that the President can never act without the advice of the Union cabinet!

Public demonstrations, stone-throwing, and police reprisals are continuing in Kashmir against alleged high handedness of the army and police. This has continued for decades. Over 60,000 protesters have died in Kashmir  Four hundred thousand Kashmiri Hindus have been forced to flee their homes. During the last six decades the government has not once come up with any tangible proposal to address the demands of the Kashmir protesters. It has not come up with one tangible proposal to rehabilitate the Kashmiri Pandits in their homeland. As this is being written the day's newspaper carries an article by veteran journalist Inder Malhotra that describes how Junagadh became part of India after Independence. Princely states had the option to cede to India or Pakistan. Junagadh had a Hindu population ruled by a Muslim ruler. Junagadh's accession to Pakistan became untenable because of its rebellious population. Therefore, the state was compelled to cede to India after a referendum. Kashmir Valley had a Muslim majority population ruled by a Hindu ruler. The Hindu ruler's desire for independence was thwarted by Pakistan's military action. Subsequently, Jinnah wanted a referendum in Kashmir. too. Events disallowed that. On principle, should not Junagadh and Kashmir Valley been given similar treatment? Perhaps that was why Pandit Nehru while accepting Kashmir's instrument of accession said that it was subject to the approval of the people. Does not the status of Jammu and Kashmir deserve reappraisal in the light of history and the continuing unrest?

A Group of Ministers is grappling with how to deal with the Maoists. There is insufficient coordination between the Centre and the states. There is no unified command structure or a single unified force to deal with any kind of terrorism.Federal forceTHE proposal to create a federal force to counter all terrorism was aborted because the states feared that the Centre would misuse it as it has been misusing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Meanwhile, the CBI which has a deplorable record of securing convictions because of political interference has sought a new draft law whereby it could function more autonomously. It seeks to replace the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act under which it is presently governed.

All these and more similar events are occurring simultaneously on one single day. Do not these events indicate a most serious questioning of the system? Does this not call for a holistic reappraisal of the system? India has the world's longest Constitution. It has the greatest number of amendments of any Constitution. The basic structure of the Constitution cannot be changed. It does not need to be changed. The system needs to be changed. For that the Constitution needs to be implemented in the manner in which its founding fathers conceived it. If necessary it can be amended. If that is not done now, when will it be done? Or do we await decline of our democratic system to reach the point of no return?

 

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THE STATESMAN

EDITORIAL

ETHNIC DEBATE IN A MATRIARCHAL SOCIETY

 

Two years ago an ethnic conflict arose in a small town called Barsora in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya, a north-eastern Indian state. The Khasis, who are a majority in the state that has other indigenous communities like Garos and Jaintias, started evicting Nepalese migrant labourers who toiled in the coal mines there. A group of leading Nepalese migrants from Ladrampai, the commercial hub of neighbouring Jaintai Hills district, went there to hold talks with the locals. The locals had four complaints against the migrants: (1) you steal our jobs; (2) you consume alcohol and create a nuisance at public places; (3) you are involved in terrorist activities; (4) you marry our women and help destroy our culture.

"The land here belongs to you; the mines are yours, the men from your community need cheap labour and they hire poor Nepalese," the migrant leaders replied, according to Toplal Bhandari, chairman of the Ladrampai unit of Mool Pravaha Akhil Bharat Nepali Ekata Samaj. "No Nepalese are allowed to sell liquor here. It is men from your community who own and run the liquor shops. Why don't you blame them? No Nepalese are involved in terrorist activities and terrorism is not ethnicity-specific. In fact, Nepalese secure your borders, let alone the thought of harming India. As for Nepalese men destroying your culture by marrying your women, why don't you look at the issue from this angle that yours is a matriarchal society where men have no ownership of property, therefore, Nepalis never get hold of any of the property that your women own. Instead, they serve your women till they become old and one day they are kicked out of their 'homes' to go back to Nepal where they have nothing. They are treated as if they are date-expired medicine."

In the family of the matriarchal Khasis and Garos (another ethnic community of Meghalaya with whom Nepalis enjoy relatively warm relations), women are the authority. The youngest daughter inherits the property from the mother. The child bears the mother's surname and in some cases the husband, who moves into his wife's house after marriage to look after the family, changes his surname to his wife's. If the man is a Hindu, like many Nepalese and Gorkhas, he will have to convert to Christianity. (They are usually given the surname Dkhar, a Khasi word that also means foreigner. "A Nepalese Brahmin has become Burman," said a Gorkha.)
Some Khasi men complain of "female hegemony" just as women do of male supremacy in patriarchal societies like in Nepal. In his New York Times article of Feb. 18, 1994, Syed Zubair Ahmed had written that a men's rights organisation had been founded in Meghalaya to look after the interests of men. Alleging that the women were overbearing and dominating, according to the article, the men complain, "We are sick of playing the role of breeding bulls and babysitters. We have no lines of succession. We have no land, no business." On the other hand, women say that they prefer to marry outsiders -- like Nepalese -- because their own tribesmen tend to be irresponsible in family matters. The only domain that completely belongs to men in Meghalaya is politics and governance. No woman has ever become chief minister of the state.

Against the said background, the Nepalese argument seems convincing (a Nepalese man was recently kicked out by his Khasi wife from her home); but, to be honest, that is not the only truth. There are many instances of cunning Nepalese using marriage with Khasi women as a means to enter into business and make money. In some cases, Khasi women, on their part, take a commission from the Nepalese husband. "I wanted to get into the timber business," said an elderly Gorkha in Shillong who didn't want to be identified as the issue was too embarrassing for him. "I had no option but to marry a Khasi woman." A few years after the marriage, the Meghalaya government banned extraction of timber that rendered the marriage useless for this Gorkha. He then married a Nepalese woman. He has a daughter with the Khasi woman and some more kids with the Nepalese wife. He said he didn't stay for long in his Khasi wife's home. "We still keep in contact," he said. "But we hardly meet. She is happy with her own life and I am happy with mine."

Many Nepalese or Gorkhas who are staying in their Khasi wives' homes in Meghalaya find it very difficult to admit so. To admit that they are living the life of a ghar jwain under the authority of a woman is a matter of humiliation for them who were born and raised in a patriarchal setup, some Gorkhas and Nepalese of Meghalaya who haven't married Khasi women told me.

But not all become ghar jwains. The opposite has happened in Kul Bahadur Magar's case. Magar, a coal mine labourer from Morang, married Dyang, a local Khasi woman, 13 years ago. The couple has been living since then in a shack near the coal mine where Magar works. Dyang, in fact, is just a nickname, not her formal name which is Goma. And she is a Hindu. She herself is a cross between a Nepali man (a Tamang from Ramechhap) and a Khasi woman. Her mother's too poor to keep her in her home, so she moved in to the shack with Magar who lost his left eyesight in early childhood. "I liked her, she liked me," said Magar. "We were both young, and one day we got married."

Some Nepalese have taken their Khasi wives to Nepal where they are living a peaceful life. One such woman, by the way, wrote to me after reading my Meghalaya Diary in the Post last week calling herself a daughter of Meghalaya and a daughter-in-law of Nepal. Just as Nepalese mistakenly brand all Khasis and Jaintias as gaikhane (beef eaters), she said, Khasis also wrongly put migrant Nepalese and Gorkhas in the same basket.
When Khasis become angry with migrant Nepalese or Gorkhas, they don't differentiate between those who are married to Khasi women and those who aren't. That is why the Magar couple is thinking these days that they can't live all their lives in the shack here while the situation worsens. "Our daughters are growing," said Magar. "It is becoming difficult for them to live here. Khasis target them as they are children of a woman who didn't marry one of her own but went for a dakhar." Because of growing insecurity that was highlighted in the recent crisis, Goma, who speaks fluent Nepali but appeared to have limited knowledge about the details of Nepalese traditions, is also insisting that the family, including herself, go back to Nepal where Magar owns ancestral land. "I didn't think I would return to Nepal any time soon," said Magar. "But now I am thinking very much of returning as early as possible."

The Kathmandu Post/ANN Comments (0)

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THE STATESMAN

EDITORIAL

PAKISTAN SPIES HAVE 'SEAT ON TALIBAN COUNCIL'

ANDREW BUNCOMBE

Pakistan's notorious spy agency provides crucial funding and training to Taliban fighters operating inside Afghanistan and is represented on the movement's leadership council, according to a new report that says links between the two are deeper than previously believed.

Such is the importance of the relationship, says the report, that President Asif Ali Zardari recently visited Taliban prisoners, assuring them they would soon be released and telling them: "You are our people."
While links between the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and the Taliban have been known for many years, the report by the London School of Economics, based on interviews with Taliban commanders inside Afghanistan, suggests it is the "official policy" of Pakistan, which sees the fighters as providing strategic depth.
"The ISI orchestrates, sustains and strongly influences the movement," said its author, Matt Waldman. "(Taliban commanders) say it gives sanctuary to both Taliban and Haqqani (their allies in north Waziristan) and provides huge support in terms of training, funding, munitions, and supplies. In their words, this is 'as clear as the sun in the sky'."

The ISI developed relationships with various militant groups, among them the Taliban, whose fighters received funding and training from Islamabad enabling them to sweep to power in Afghanistan in the mid 1990s. Just last year, Mr Zardari said the ISI and the CIA "created them together".

The US, India and Afghanistan have accused the ISI of continuing those links. In the summer of 2008, the CIA even accused elements within the ISI of helping Taliban-linked fighters to bomb the Indian Embassy in Kabul.
But the report by Mr Waldman suggests an ongoing relationship, approved by the highest levels of the military and political establishment. It is so important that the ISI is officially represented on the Afghan Taliban's 15-member leadership council, the Quetta Shura, which is believed to meet in the west and south of Pakistan.
It also claims that Mr Zardari travelled with an ISI official in March to a secret jail where 50 Taliban prisoners were held. He reportedly told them they had only been arrested because of US pressure and said: "After your release we will, of course, support you to do your operations."

Mr Waldman said: "I was surprised by the (depth of the relationship). I kept hearing it from people who were in no way connected with each other."

Since the aftermath of 11 September, when the US demanded Pakistan end its support for the Taliban, Islamabad has received billions of dollars in military aid to confront militants. Yet Pakistan's military has sought to draw a distinction between militants responsible for attacks on targets inside the country, and those who mainly strike at US and Western troops in Afghanistan. It is a policy that causes deep consternation in the West.

Mr Waldman said that if what Taliban commanders had told him was true, Pakistan was pursuing a dangerous strategic game. He said he believed Islamabad remained genuinely anguished by the threat presented by India and that the Taliban were considered a counterweight to this. "It's important that we appreciate the depth of that concern," he said.

Officials in Islamabad have dismissed Mr Waldman's report. Senator Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for Mr Zardari, said that while the government believed in dialogue with militants who had given up violence, "there was no question of the president having met with Taliban prisoners". He added: "The president, the government and the Pakistan People's Party has always maintained the Taliban is seeking to impose its agenda on the people of Pakistan through violence."

The Indpendent

 

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THE STATESMAN

EDITORIAL

NOW & AGAIN

THE COMPANY I KEPT

SANTANU SINHA CHAUDHURI

When we were children, parents had little time for their offspring. I grew up in the company of family help, rather like Rabindranath Tagore, although my family was enormously middle-class.

Amongst my early mentors was Motilal-da, a tall bony man in his fifties. He was always in a clean white half-sleeve shirt and dhoti, but was a colourful person otherwise. A vegetable vendor in the morning, he was my father's handyman for the rest of the day. He read, wrote in a neat hand, bought our provisions, maintained accounts, and fudged them. He lived in a tiny one-room hut but often talked about his other house in the village, which was a mansion. He also talked about the fish that were aplenty in his pond, his fields, and glorious cows. Besides, he was in intimate terms with some leading film stars.

With the benefit of hindsight, I don't think he lied. Rather, he lived in two worlds. And who can say that the world that can be touched and seen is the only real world? Motilal-da enlightened me on many things, from Yuri Gagarin's visit to space to how people lived in villages to how biscuits are made.
Balai-da was a fish vender from whom we would procure fish every day. The supply was on credit. Balai-da would jot down the amounts in a small notebook and come to our house once a month to collect his dues. The man whom we normally saw in a dirty short dhoti, a singlet and with a bunch of amulets around his left arm, would transform himself into a different person by wearing a fine shirt and a crisp dhoti during visits to his clients.

A carpenter, whose name was possibly Sukumar, was a regular visitor to our house. Father was fond of tinkering with whatever little furniture we had. Sundays would come alive on our terrace with the sound of sawing and hammering. What had been a cot before turned into a partition one day courtesy Sukumar-da. A few months later, the same thing might turn into a bookshelf. Sukumar-da was hard of hearing. While working, at times he would imagine someone was calling him and would shout back, "Eije, aami jachchi!''
Sukumar-da forgot everything else while he worked. I watched with fascination sweat dripping from his brow and the deep concentration in his eyes. I would often volunteer to hold a piece of wood he was working on. Over time, Sukumar-da took me as an apprentice and would allow me to first scrape things with sandpaper and later, to use the plane to smoothen a surface, and so on. Later, when I had to learn carpentry in high school, I found it easy.

But more than training me how to use a chisel or saw, he silently taught me to respect manual labour. Booker T. Washington (1856 - 1915), the American African leader once said "No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem." Gandhi tried to spread the same message through his life, but failed. There is little doubt that in our country, educated people's aversion to hard work - a hangover of a caste based social order - keeps pulling us backwards.

Rajen-da too could read and write. He would read aloud poems of Rabindranath. If he came across an unknown word, he would say there was a printing error and replace Tagore with a word he knew. Rajen-da was fond of speaking English. Elders often had a hearty laugh - behind his back of course - at his many malapropisms. But my English being more or less at the same level as his, I couldn't appreciate what was so funny about them.
Once, when I was slightly bigger, I hurt my leg while playing football. The last three toes of my right leg got slightly bent and I couldn't wear shoes. The injury was not considered serious enough to be reported to parents. Rajen-da massaged my right foot for months with hot oil and brought everything back to the right slots. Neither the patient nor the physiotherapist had heard about dislocation of a bone. Or maybe, the therapist knew, but didn't utter the word in order not to frighten the patient.

 

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THE TELEGRAPH

POSSESSING IT

 

Nothing excites a country's possessive ire more than culture. Greece made quite a nostalgia industry out of the Elgin Marbles, whimpering and moaning about them till the world took note. Melina Mercouri, an actress past her prime, not only took centre-stage again but also rose to be Greece's culture minister by simply riding on the crest of the marble wave. Indians are no different. Whether it is the plume worn by Guru Gobind Singh, or the memorabilia of Mahatma Gandhi, or the 12 paintings by Rabindranath Tagore put up for auction by Sotheby's in London, Indians feel fiercely possessive and patriotically anxious in case some other country gets its hands on them.

 

The poorer the country the greater its desire to hold on to its own culture. So it is a little surprising to find some Indians so put out by the sale of Tagore's paintings. After reforms, there has been a sea change in India's growth rate and, therefore, its confidence. That Tagore's paintings are out there being auctioned in the world art market is a remarkable indicator of that change. Before India had graduated from its Hindu rate of growth to its present growth rate of close to double digits, Indian art went a-begging, with artists requesting the government to make it mandatory for interior designers to commission their work. But now a widely circulated financial paper advises its readers to invest in Indian art — among other things — in order to become billionaires quickly. With so much more disposable income flowing through Indian pockets at home and abroad, the country is producing its own big buyers. The global art market is being powered by India's growing prosperity, as the world, busy discovering the depth of its markets, gets increasingly interested in its art. Perhaps a poor second to China, India is still a considerable player of the game: not quite a Nadal on the clay court, yet a Federer. Indians are now going ahead to get what they want, whether it is a place on the list of richest businessmen or the Jaguar car company. They can buy Tagore's paintings too if they feel so strongly. Acquiring cultural objects that belong to their history has always been a token of pride for them. Perhaps they need to discover, too, that they are not at all short of cultural treasures, which can be bought and sold in the world market as precious collectibles. And that Indian art is not just for Indians.

 

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THE TELEGRAPH

EDITORIAL

BIG DEAL

 

The slew of pacts signed between Sri Lanka and India during President Mahinda Rajapaksa's recent visit to India marks the changed contours of the nations' bilateral ties. The cooperation pledged by India in security matters, power and rail linkages, oil exploration and cultural exchange is expected and designed to deepen India's involvement in Sri Lanka's economy and development. The focus on furthering mutual economic and strategic interests is what has kept the interaction going between the two nations since the 1990s, when India consciously rolled back its self-destructive policy of intrusion. The seven pacts signed in New Delhi reaffirm India's self-conscious stand of allowing Sri Lanka to handle its internal politics and concentrating on areas of mutual concern that would invite the least discord between the two neighbours.

 

The limiting of discord with Sri Lanka is important to India. That is one way of countering China's ever-growing influence in the Indian Ocean region and restraining Pakistan's strategic ambitions. Sri Lanka, which has bought the support of both China and Pakistan, besides a host of other countries, for its war against the Tamil rebels in exchange of promoting the strategic interests of its backers, is aware of India's concern. It is not without reason that Mr Rajapaksa found himself in a bargaining position with India during his recent trip, which came after Sri Lanka's crucial break with its past and his own stupendous victory in both the presidential and parliamentary elections. While India re-stated its commitment to the welfare of the Sri Lankan Tamils by pledging Rs 500 crore and assistance in the construction of 50,000 homes, it could not get Mr Rajapaksa to commit to the implementation of the 13th amendment, although he did promise to create the "necessary conditions" for the resolution of the country's ethnic problems. It goes without saying that Sri Lanka has only begun discovering the benefits that may accrue to it if it is able to balance the strategic interests of its neighbours in the region. Its assent to India to set up a consulate in Hambantota, where China is building a port, is perhaps an indication of this effort. Once the pressure from the West on human rights violations builds up and begins to hurt its economy, Sri Lanka may find this balancing act to be a saving grace as well.

 

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THE TELEGRAPH

EDITORIAL

TO WORK ON A FRIENDSHIP

LIKE THE US, INDIA MUST BE CLEAR ABOUT ITS OWN SECURITY STRATEGY

BRIJESH D. JAYAL

 

Any development in the relations between India and the United States of America is preceded by great hype. This has been the pattern ever since Bill Clinton's visit to India as president, the first such visit of a US president in decades. It is hardly surprising then that the recently concluded first strategic dialogue between the two countries should generate great expectations. That it was more hype than hope should have been clear from the very composition of the foreign minister's delegation, which contained no one from the security establishment. Considering that many of the hurdles to deepening Indo-US relations relate to issues of security, this absence was by no means incidental.

 

At the end, all we got were good atmospherics, a gesture of the president driving up to attend the dinner hosted by the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, his soothing words for India and announcement of his visit to India. Answering questions at the conclusion of his visit to the US, the external affairs minister is quoted to have said, "Our concerns should be addressed by the US and their concerns should be addressed by us. This is the ground rule on which we proceed and this is the ground rule on which the strategic dialogue took place." Hardly the concepts on which tectonic international strategic partnerships are founded.

 

The perception that under the new administration of President Barack Obama some of the sheen in the much heralded strategic partnership was wearing thin has been gaining ground. Given that not every US president could be expected to be as effusive and open about the importance of such a relationship between the two democracies as was George Bush with his typical 'either you are with us or against us' approach, it was only natural that Obama, with a different style of leadership and vision, would bring in change. But the hope was that the change would be more in style than substance.

 

Viewed from India's perspective, Obama brought a different substance to the White House, committed as he was to bringing his troops back from two overseas operational theatres. It was AfPak that was on his immediate radar and India had to be pacified through diplomatic niceties. Manmohan Singh being the first head of State to be given a State dinner by the new president was one such. Signals emanating from the president's special envoy to Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, and General Stanley McChrystal, commander of the International Security Assistance Force and US forces in Afghanistan, however, indicated softness towards Pakistan's desire to see India end its development work in Afghanistan. When not long after the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul in October last year, in which the Taliban had claimed responsibility, a senior White House official in Washington indicated official thinking that the Taliban did not pose a direct threat to the US , India should have got the message. Whether the Indian government was listening is a moot point.

 

The David Headley case brought out to starry-eyed Indians that even with all the cooperation in intelligence-sharing and counter-terror operations, the US, like all nations, first safeguarded its own national interests. To successive governments which have shied away from clearly defining India's strategic interests and goals, this may appear a contradiction in terms, but in the world of international diplomacy and relations, this is given.

 

Chastened by two recent terrorist attempts on US soil and ahead of the strategic dialogue, US officials made a series of statements to reflect the president's view of India's growing regional and global relevance. For the first time it was suggested that Pakistan and India can put the Kashmir issue on the backburner and address confidence-building measures, including advancing trade and commerce — an approach favoured by India. Speaking at a joint press conference with President Hamid Karzai, the US president said that Pakistan was afflicted with the cancer of terrorism. Officials, too, once again endorsed New Delhi's role in Afghanistan and privately rubbished Pakistan's allegations of a subversive Indian role in Afghanistan and its overheated rhetoric on water issues. Clearly there was a strong message of changing perceptions on the US's part, possibly driven by recent attempts at terrorist attacks in the US and continuing obduracy on Pakistan's part.

 

But there also appears to be a sense of frustration as the US attempts to initiate a strategic partnership with India. In a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, the under-secretary of state, William J. Burns, indicated that the US wanted an India that doesn't think small and that "self-hyphenates". He further lamented that "India sometimes has a hard time realizing how far its influence and its interests have taken it beyond its immediate neighbourhood", and its ambivalence about its own rise in the world makes it still torn between its Group of 77 and Group of 20 identities.

 

Further sensing that there were bloated expectations from the outcome of the first strategic dialogue which would largely remain unfulfilled, the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake, stated that "the purpose of this dialogue is really to think strategically and again to get the key people who work on these issues together to think ahead to the US President's visit and to think strategically about what we can do".

 

Taken together, all this suggests that the US was preparing India to have the self-confidence and graduate to a higher level of strategic thinking and planning. Whilst India has announced some kind of strategic relationship with many countries, it does not have a strategic culture to engage in in-depth strategic analyses with respect to the relationship with each and arrive at its own strategic vision and security interests. As is our wont, even any limited exercise is done within the confines of the government, with little involvement of outside intellectual inputs like those from universities and think-tanks. What is more, in a democracy such as ours, all such issues degenerate into a political slug fest at the slightest opportunity. The government of the day then resorts to secrecy and part-information as a tool. Compare this to the US, which is mandated by law to periodically declare its national security strategy, the first of Obama's administration being released only days before this strategic dialogue commenced.

 

One also needs to bear in mind that there are other agreements that the US would like to enter into with India in furtherance of its own international foreign policy and security objectives. These have been under discussion for a long time, being the communications interoperability and security memorandum of agreement, logistic support agreement, container security initiative, among others. All these continue to lie in limbo as India is not clearly articulating its national security strategy, within the confines of which all such commitments can then be negotiated and finalized.

 

In an international environment that is dynamic and somewhat insecure, the purely tactical approach that India often favours over safeguarding its larger strategic interests is bound to suffer from serious shortcomings. This undermines the long-term interests of the country as issues of strategic interest do not receive the advantage of wider cost-benefit analyses. Such an approach also weakens national resolve to negotiate international partnerships from a position of confidence and strength.

 

India must recognize that the US is the only superpower, and if it desires closer strategic partnership with India, it is because this serves its interests. There is little doubt that as interaction between the strategic, security, diplomatic and political communities increases and there is greater familiarity with each other's practices, strategic interests and outlooks as the relationship matures, the path will become smoother. But there is hard work to be done.

 

India's interest is not going to be served if this partnership progresses secretively, as this creates doubts and results in unnecessary and infructuous debate. It is important that the issues are debated openly so that both democracies share the challenges, opportunities and compromises that need to be made. It is only then that this strategic partnership will grow over time to the mutual benefit of the two countries, the region and, indeed, of international peace and security. If it appears to the Indian people that the US is not looking for a partner, but a client state, then the relationship is in for a turbulent ride.

 

It was during the US visit of the former prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in November, 2001 that he famously said in his opening remarks at the meeting with the speaker of the House of Representatives, "I have long believed that the United States and India are natural allies." These were profound words from a leader deeply rooted in the Indian ethos and a distinguished Hindi poet to boot. The challenge for India is to convert this natural alliance progressively into a partnership of strategic significance. For this to begin, India must come out with its own national security strategy, which should be debated both in public and in the Parliament and have the endorsement of the people of India. These then will form the "true ground rules" to which the external affairs minister refers.

 

The author is a retired air marshal of the Indian Air Force

 

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THE TELEGRAPH

EDITORIAL

IN A STATE OF SPEEDY DECLINE

FIFTH COLUMN -SUMANTA SEN

 

Politics in Jharkhand continues to be a nauseating affair. A former chief minister who wanted to curry favour with the ruling dispensation at the Centre for a berth in the cabinet ditched his ally in the state in the Lok Sabha. The angry ally decided to pull the rug out from under his feet in Ranchi. The man developed cold feet, begged the ally not to withdraw support, and offered the chief ministership on a platter. The ally — the Bharatiya Janata Party — relented but could not quite decide on a successor. The former chief minister's son insisted that the BJP must share its term in office with his father's party, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. Thereafter, things took a predictable turn. Owing to the differences, the BJP withdrew its support and the state came under president's rule yet again.

 

Things are so hopeless in Jharkhand that on one occasion, it was even ruled by independents for quite a while. It is the only state in the country to have been run in this manner. This is not the only record that Jharkhand boasts of: it is also the only state whose representatives in the Lok Sabha bailed out a prime minister in return of handsome largesse. One of the richest states in terms of mineral wealth, its people are the poorest in the country, thanks to the quality of political leadership.

 

Its creation had led to a lot of excitement around the country. Those who believe the adivasis to be god's chosen people had hoped that having got their own state, the tribal people would set a model for the rest of the nation to follow. They had shut their eyes to the vast gulf that separates the poor adivasis from their leaders who were quick to make hay while the sun shone. It could not have been otherwise. Industrial activities in south Bihar had inevitably given rise to the contractor class. Moreover, there was plenty of easy money floating around and the political class was drawn to it. This happens everywhere, but in Jharkhand the leaders have always displayed more than the usual disregard for propriety.

 

Failed politics

Perhaps Jharkhand's politicians thought that the people being mostly impoverished and unlettered, they would be able to get away with their shenanigans. And they have got away with their crimes, taking advantage of the conditions of their ethnic brethren in the most shameless manner. It is this shamelessness, this monumental cynicism, that makes Jharkhand's political life distinct from that in the other states, a distinction it could have done without. Even a party like the BJP, which talks of principles in the field of politics, behaves differently in Jharkhand. This has been evident in recent times.

 

All the players in Jharkhand are firm believers in democracy. Irrespective of what happens, an elected ministry must be in office. However, what is never asked is ministry for whom, and for what purpose. The crying need of the hour is to put in place a stable administration in Jharkhand. Since politicians in the state have clearly failed in this aspect, it is time the bureaucrats stepped in to tide over the crisis.

 

President's rule is not desirable, but a basket case requires special treatment. Even at the cost of shocking the supporters of democracy, one must examine the possibilities of creating and implementing a new law that will allow for the continuation of Central rule for a longer period in the state. This, of course, is an unlikely possibility as all political parties would want a share of the pie. When Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar, the latter looked set to be doomed. But in the last five years, the rot has been stemmed in Patna. No such good fortune seems to be in the offing for Ranchi.

 

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******************************************************************************************DECCAN HERALD

EDITORIAL

IT'S OFFICIAL

''THE SUPPORT FOR TALIBAN RUNS RIGHT TO THE TOP.''

 

India's longstanding contention that Pakistan's support to the Taliban and other extremist outfits is part of that country's official policy is finding increasing international endorsement. The latest is a study by a Harvard University scholar at the London School of Economics, which says that the financial, logistical and other support that the Taliban gets is not random help from a few sympathetic ISI and military officers but the outcome of official policy. The support is not 'limited' or 'occasional' but systematic and 'very extensive,' the report says. Pakistan is helping the Taliban with funds, arms, sanctuary, even tactical and strategic input. Meanwhile, a report in a British newspaper has drawn attention to a visit that President Asif Ali Zardari made earlier this year to meet 50 high-ranking Taliban prisoners in a Pakistan jail to arrange for their release. Following that visit, several Taliban leaders were freed. For over two decades now, India has been drawing the world's attention to the Pakistani establishment's close links with terrorist organisations. But the west has preferred to believe that it is rogue elements in the ISI or a few fundamentalists in the army that are supporting the Taliban, accepting Pakistan's white lie that it is firmly committed to the war on terrorism. The two recent reports shatter such delusions. They clearly indicate that the line of support for the Taliban runs right to the top.

The US has been providing high-tech weaponry and funds to Pakistan for carrying out military operations against Pakistan-based al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives. Since supporting the Taliban is Pakistan's official policy it is highly likely that American military largesse is being diverted to the Taliban to implement that policy. For decades, India has warned the US that its military aid to Pakistan was encouraging Islamabad's military adventurism vis-a-vis India. The US ignored those warnings. Now American arms are in all likelihood being used against the American troops in Afghanistan. It is time the US government woke up to the fact that its flawed strategy of supporting Pakistan militarily is keeping the insurgency in Afghanistan alive.

As for Pakistan, clearly its political and military leaders have learnt no lessons from the past. Propping up the Taliban might seem an attractive way to regain influence in Afghanistan again. Its long-term implications are disastrous for Pakistan. The policy has already begun to backfire.

 

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DECCAN HERALD

EDITORIAL

INHUMAN TEACHERS

''CORPORAL PUNISHMENT SHOULD BE ROOTED OUT.''

 

Corporal punishment meted out by school authorities to a 13-year-old in Kolkata appears to have driven him to suicide. Rouvanjit Rawla, a student of an elite school in the city was apparently caned by his teacher for bunking classes and hauled up subsequently for bursting 'stink bombs' in class. It appears that humiliation over the punishment drove the boy to take his life. While admitting to caning the boy, school authorities deny that this pushed him to take the extreme step. Even so, corporal punishment is wrong. It was banned by the supreme court in 2000 and under the Right to Education Act recently. Why were school authorities then still indulging in it?

Rouvanjit's tragic fate is not an isolated incident. Use of corporal punishment in schools is rampant in this country, despite the court ruling. Children are routinely beaten, made to stand for hours in the sun or run several times around the playground, all in the name of 'disciplining' them. Parents are reluctant to take timely action, as they fear their child will be expelled from the school. It is only when the punishment leads to a suicide as in Rouvanjit's case that the continuing use of corporal punishment captures the media spotlight and stirs the government out of its slumber. Last year, 11-year-old Shanno Khan died after she was made to squat in 'murga position' with bricks on her back for hours for failing to recite the full English alphabet string. Public outrage over the incident was followed by many grand promises by the government to end corporal punishment. But Rouvanjit's case indicates that precious little was done.

Banning alone will not end the problem. Errant teachers who beat children should be taken to task. Violence against children is a crime. More importantly, public awareness should be created. Many in this country still believe that sparing the rod will spoil the child. But studies show that corporal punishment harms more than it helps. Not only do victims suffer physical pain and disability but also, they are often damaged psychologically. Some like Rouvanjit end the trauma immediately; others carry the scars for years unable to build normal relationships later in life. Monitoring of schools across the country is important to ensure that more children do not suffer the fate that befell Shanno and Rouvanjit.

 

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DECCAN HERALD

EDITORIAL

THE MIND BUSINESS

BY KANCHA ILAIAH

Since reality is a perceptional problem, there is no one reality, but many realities that occur to our senses at the same time.

 

 

The socio-psychological school of research and training is fast growing across the world—particularly in the USA and Europe. This school is focusing on mind change and personality development. The modern technology is pushing people into enormous amount of  stress. Mind is the most critical organ that needs updating and training so that it can adopt to changes that pose challenges. In this context the psycho-analytical schools are working on several mind adjustment agendas that are gaining a lot of importance.

Recently I was in Seattle, Washington state where there is an institute called the Pacific Institute. It is working on developing a mind change curriculum and disseminating it through lectures, videos and other teaching aids. The co-founder of this institute is Lou Tice, a psycho-analyst. He has developed a curriculum for training the people to focus the mind on adapting to changes of life.

Lou Tice's training has acquired global attention in government circles, education institutions, corporate companies and teachers who believe in helping to develop a focused mind and achieving higher targets or to develop a mind to 'bounce back' from failures.

About 15 members of the Truthseekers International group, including this author, recently visited his institute for three days. He took us by his jet to his ranch located in a beautiful valley of mountains on the borders of USA and Canada. Living at this ranch was itself is an experience.

To our pleasant surprise, he not only offered a free flight in his  luxurious small jet aircraft, but he and his wife Diane Tice were with us all the three days. At 74, Lou Tice takes each session for four hours at a stretch to teach the principles of mind change. His teaching was a treat.

He starts with a detailed explanation of fundamental principles as to how the mind perceives things. He takes the participants through a journey of conscious, sub-conscious and creative sub-conscious process of mind. He says that the fundamental problem of mind is formulating pictures and translating those pictures into reality.

Since reality is a perceptional problem, he says, there is no one reality but there are many realities that keep occurring to our senses at a time. Because of scotomas ( mental black spots) some times many minds do not perceive what they see. Overcoming scotomas is possible only through a systematic training of the mind.

The mind change principles are based on the cognitive science and social psychology. Lou Tice applies them to day-to-day process of perception and explains quite lucidly that human beings' perception of reality is based on his/her status and confidence levels.

Overcome backwardness

As an Indian group we were interested to learn how the caste mind could be changed and a country like India could overcome the backwardness; we were keen to locate that theory in Indian caste context. I discovered that his teaching focuses more on achieving targets in business and executive operations.

Social inequalities and training of mind to overcome such inequalities is, though not part of his teaching exercise, he thinks that once the lower castes of India overcome their low esteem they do not tolerate iniquitous treatment.

 If we apply his theory to our context one could, perhaps come to a conclusion that the upper castes and lower castes suffer from several scotomas, hence cannot perceive what they see around them as reality and also its changeability.

At yet another level though the caste or the structures of subordination of social forces are conditioned by social violence and the theory of scotomas may not explain it. Lou Tice, however, thinks that if his principles of 'mind change' are made part of Indian school curriculum and the children of the oppressed castes are made to overcome their inferior status they would move from a position of caste to castelessness. But that is not an easy proposition. However, it is good that India tries this curriculum.

For every thing he tries to find out solutions through his theory of mind change, thus undercutting the role of violence in change.

All theories involve a principle of mind change in one form or the other. For example, even Marxism also deals with mind change but that change is seen as possible through a mass struggle against oppression. Lou Tice operates within the capitalist paradigm of socio-psycho analysis and does not approve of violent transformation or mass action. His theory of mind change is individualistic. Though Mahatma Phule and Ambedkar were not cognitive psychologists they too wanted to change the Indian social system through a process of mind change.

Perhaps India should operate at two levels of mind change—-individual and collective. Though Lou Tice recognises the role of collective consciousness he does not approve of mass action—agitations, strikes or of violent wars. If a modern theory produces a model for peaceful transformation, we should welcome it. After all there is nothing that science cannot achieve.

 

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DECCAN HERALD

EDITORIAL

LACK OF GOVERNANCE BANE OF URBAN INDIA

BY AKASH KAPUR , INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

Cities suffer from the legal ambiguity, rampant corruption, political infighting and institutional inertia.

 

By virtually any measure, the quality of life in Indian cities is abysmal. Only 60 per cent of municipal waste is collected. Just 30 per cent of urban sewage is treated. According to a recent government study of 127 cities, 80 per cent of them had at least one pollutant that exceeded air quality standards.

A few decades ago, when the vast majority of Indians lived in the countryside and when agriculture represented around a third of national income, all of this would perhaps have been cause for less concern. But today, with India rapidly urbanising, moving to an economy where services represent more than half of GDP, cities matter a lot more. They represent both the tremendous possibility of India, but also potential bottlenecks in its development.

A study released last month by McKinsey, the consulting firm, does a good job of capturing the critical role played by Indian cities. The report,  titled "India's urban awakening: building inclusive cities, sustaining economic growth," contains an acute analysis of the opportunities and challenges presented by urban India.

As one would expect from a McKinsey study, the number-crunching is impressive — and the numbers themselves staggering. Between now and 2030, the report estimates, 250 million Indians will migrate to the cities, a figure that exceeds the current total population of all but three countries (China, India and the United States). As a result, India will have 68 cities with populations of more than one million (compared with 35 in all of Europe today).

Migration on that scale represents tremendous economic opportunity. The report's authors calculate that, over the next 20 years, 70 per cent of new jobs in India will be in urban areas and that the cities' share of GDP will rise to 70 per cent from 58 per cent. Fulfiling that potential, however, depends on managing the transformation well. And, given India's abysmal record when it comes to even relatively modest rates of urbanisation over the past few decades, the coming urban wave could just as well spell disaster as opportunity.

Shirish Sankhe, the report's lead author, told me that the overarching message of the report was this: "India can basically take two paths. One path is the urban reform path, and one is the status quo path. One path leads to chaos and urban gridlock. The other can add up to  1.5 per cent to GDP" In Sankhe's view, there are two main challenges to the 'reform path' — governance and financial. Perhaps surprisingly, the financial challenges appear less daunting. Although the sums of money required to modernise Indian cities are huge (around $10 billion a year, more than three times current levels of investment), the report argues that many of these funds can be generated by cities themselves through more efficient property taxes, unlocking the value of land assets and raising prices for things like water supply, mass transit and sewage treatment.

Better governance

Putting into place such policies, however, relies on institutional and political reform — in other words, better governance. Here, the prospects are more uncertain. India's urban crisis is in many ways a reflection of a more general crisis confronting the nation. Like much of the country, cities suffer from the legal ambiguity, rampant corruption, political infighting and institutional inertia.

For example, although the country's 74th constitutional amendment, passed in 1992, devolves a gamut of powers to urban bodies, in practice many of those powers are ill defined and limited by the reluctance of state officials to cede authority to their urban counterparts.

The report concludes on an optimistic note, arguing, based on international experience, that cities can be turned around in 10 years. Maybe so, but I actually found the cautious tone that runs through the bulk of the report more convincing — and, in a paradoxical way, more hopeful.

In 2003, in a widely noted report on Mumbai, McKinsey argued that the chaotic, gridlocked metropolis could be transformed into a "world class" city by 2013. That report, and particularly a section that listed 23 "quick wins" toward that goal, was derided as Panglossian in some quarters, a reflection of a general and often simplistic euphoria sweeping India at the time.

Seven years later, the nation is more sober, and perhaps a little more realistic. Its promise remains huge, but there is growing recognition, too, of the many obstacles that remain.

In fact, there are no quick fixes. But, with perseverance, with a little honesty and clear analysis, Indian cities (and India itself) can ultimately live up to their tremendous possibility.

 

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DECCAN HERALD

EDITORIAL

GETTING BATTLE READY

BY D K HAVANOOR

Rather than the run itself, the anxiety was more hurting than physical pain.

 

Notwithstanding the need for the army in general and the infantry in particular to be always fighting fit, the most dreaded order the company havildar major read out every alternate Friday evening in my infantry battalion was "paltan ka kal do meel daud hoga." (Tomorrow two mile run is scheduled for the platoon).

The message was feared by the rank and file of the platoon, not because anyone was unfit to complete the run but because they were reminded of the gruelling pain that was in store the next morning. On cue, my orderly would start preparations like polishing the web equipment, jungle boots and readying a set of uniforms followed by a light dinner.

The evening before the run was more tortuous than the run itself, since the anxiety and apprehension was more hurting than the physical pain. We would forgo our evening entertainment, watching only the news on TV.

Freshening up with a bed tea, we'd don the uniform labelled scale 'B' and get ready for the Battle Proficiency Efficiency Test (BPET). On these mornings we'd always feel things amiss - the jungle boots, otherwise perfectly fitting would be found ill-fitting; one boot would feel unusually loose while the other would be a tad too tight; some times there'd even be an imaginary stone hurting the little toe.

Despite all these setbacks, we would land up at the start line ready for the ordeal. When the rifle was fired after the cautious 'ready…' the BPET would begin.

Each would take about five minutes to set one's own pace and rhythm. During this 400 - 500 yard run we would get to hear a great many vows and promises of abstaining from cigarettes and alcohol, from officers and jawans

The administrative staff and pointsmen comprised of sportsmen with established reputations of fitness or of personnel of low medical category. Some sportsmen would be sprinkled with water all along the route, who would be the pace setters for the tail-enders. The pointsmen and pace setters would coax or coerce and some times hurl abuses on the tail-enders to finish the run in time.

During one of these runs, long ago when I was 26 and six years in service, I had finished the run among the first few and was back on the running route to encourage the tail-enders. A pointsman remarked, "Oy mundyo tusi kyon aastha daur rahe ho, vekhya nahi buddna Major saab daur khatam in karke aye hain tusi to bachchhe ho" (You boys! Why are you running slowly, haven't you seen the old Major Saab finish the run?)
 The onlookers were amused at this remark tagging me, the young major as old, not knowing that in army parlance, every commander was called an 'old' man, by the subordinates.

 

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THE JERUSALEM POST

EDITORIAL

BUILDING ISRAEL

The Treasury's program will make it more difficult for intransigent tenants to stop new projects and make it easier to rezone fallow land.

In yet another attempt to solve Israel's chronic housing shortage, the Treasury this week launched a program aimed at making more land available. The goal is to spark a resurgence of housing construction by issuing 140,000 new building permits in 2011 and 2012.

The Treasury's program will make it more difficult for intransigent tenants to stop new projects and make it easier to rezone fallow land once used for agriculture. The Treasury's is just one of many building reform initiatives that have been launched in recent months by the Interior Ministry, Bank of Israel governor and the Construction and Housing Ministry.

All aspire to solve an endemic market failure: Housing prices have steadily risen, yet demand continues to exceed supply. Housing prices are up 40% since the end of 2007 and 21% in the last year. This should have translated into a building boom as contractors scrambled to cash in. But building starts have remained static at about 30,000, lower than the natural annual growth of households, which is 35,000 to 40,000. This has been going on for at least five years.

WHILE THE different reforms deal with the myriad ailments of Israel's housing market, they ignore one important component. Who precisely will build those 140,000 new housing units in the Treasury's plan?

The Association of Contractors and Builders (ACBI) has been complaining that there is a shortage of workers in the most labor-intensive aspects of construction, such as pouring concrete and laying floor tiles, fields presently dominated by foreign workers and Palestinians. As a result, instead of it taking 12 months to build a house, it now takes 30 months. And the situation is about to get worse.

At the end of the month, the 8,000 limit on foreign construction workers – most of whom come from China – will be cut to 5,000. The plan is to phase them out altogether by 2012. Contractors say that stiff fines and government crackdowns have practically eliminated illegally employed foreigners.

Back in April, meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced that by the end of the year Palestinians must stop working in settlements in the West Bank – defined to include Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem – or face up to five years in prison and a fine of $14,000. In 2009, there were about 25,000 Palestinians legally employed in the building sector; many thousands more are employed illegally.

 

Obviously, the easiest solution to these shortages would be to ease restrictions on foreign workers. That is precisely what the ACBI is demanding. In the short run, the government has no choice if it takes seriously the Treasury's ambitious program. But in parallel, more must be done to encourage Israelis, particularly young men just out of IDF service, to work in construction.

The Zionist ideal of "Hebrew labor," which predates the state, posits that all honest labor is honorable. Sadly, this ideal was brushed aside by contractors when, in 1967, cheap Palestinian labor from the West Bank became available.

In the late 1980s and 1990s, the intifada and suicide bombings led to a shift from Palestinian to foreign workers. Often these laborers were exploited. And their influx further acerbated high unemployment among less educated Israelis.

A concerted effort must now be made to encourage Israelis to replace foreigners. The time is ripe. Contractors are desperate for new workers. A Histadrut-backed collective labor agreement signed in January provides better working conditions. The Defense Ministry, the Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry and the ACBI have put aside millions of shekels to encourage Israelis to work in construction.

And there seems to be a readiness on the part of Israelis as well, at least in theory. Over 3,000 applied to a pilot program launched in 2009 offering a monthly gross salary of NIS 7,000 to young men willing to work in the most difficult construction jobs that are also the most vital to contractors. But only 50 completed the six-month course: 43 of whom found work, but only 35 of them were still working six months later.

This is just a drop in the bucket. But the figures suggest at least a chance that the stereotype of the spoiled Israeli who shirks physical labor can be challenged. A return of Israelis to construction will revive a Zionist ideal, and help solve the housing shortage.

 

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THE JERUSALEM POST

EDITORIAL

TIME FOR ANOTHER REASSESSMENT

BY ARYE ELDAD

 

In light of the recent NPT Review Conference results, Israel should rethink the value of all US promises, regardless of how or where they were made.

Talkbacks (15)

 

The term "reassessment" entered the diplomatic discourse between Israel and the United States in 1975. Secretary of state Henry Kissinger sought to pressure prime minister Yitzhak Rabin into an "interim agreement" with Egypt, by which IDF forces would withdraw from the Yom Kippur War cease-fire lines to the Mitla and Gidi passes in Sinai. Kissinger froze US arms shipments and hinted that more drastic measures would follow. Rabin was unfazed and took his case to the Senate. President Gerald Ford and Kissinger relented.

Even at the height of that crisis, the US did not dare to endanger the heart of its strategic understanding with Israel: its ambiguous nuclear policy. President Lyndon Johnson and prime minister Golda Meir set the policy in 1969 that has been followed by all the presidents and prime ministers since. This policy has often been articulated in written agreements between them, but occasionally simply by mutual understanding.

"Israel will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons to the Middle East," said prime ministers Levi Eshkol and Shimon Peres, Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin, and all who followed. US presidents have come and gone; sometimes they had questions, sometimes they asked for clarifications, but ultimately they all accepted the formula and agreed to abide by it. Until Barack Obama.

After his election, Obama promised Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to maintain the ambiguity. Two weeks ago he betrayed that promise.

On May 28, the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, which meets once every five years, called unanimously – with America's support – for Israel to sign the treaty and open its nuclear installations to external supervision. Israel is not a signatory to the treaty; Iran is a signatory, yet Iran is rushing toward production of nuclear weapons. Syria and Libya are signatories, but their signatures have not prevented them from building uranium enrichment plants for military purposes.

North Korea built a bomb and tests nuclear weapons, mocking the entire world supposedly opposed to it. Pakistani scientists, led by the "father of the Pakistan's nuclear bomb" Abdul Qadeer Khan, sold nuclear secrets and technology necessary for the building of nuclear weapons to Iran, Syria, Libya and possibly North Korea. In the face of this burgeoning industry, the US gave in to an Egyptian initiative and agreed to single out Israel as the country the world should be worried about. Israel alone was mentioned in the NPT Review Committee's report. Apparently only its installations need to be examined.

THE TIME has come for a reassessment of US-Israeli relations. Israel may want the billions of dollars it receives in military aid from the US, and in the event of a long war, it may need the US munitions reserves currently stored here and resupply lines for the IDF; the US market is also of great importance for the economy; and US intervention often limits our international isolation. But the fact is, we can no longer rely on US support.

We must reassess the value of all American promises, whether they be in writing, made ceremoniously at public festivities or whispered privately in a room of the White House. He who, without batting an eyelash, betrayed us on the nuclear issue, a matter whose existential importance to the Jewish state is obvious given the Iranian dash for a bomb, will not hesitate to deny other commitments.

Obama is currently pressuring Israel to accept dictates that would lead to a Palestinian state in the heart of its country. In return, he offers to guarantee our security, preserve our technological advantage and ensure the Palestinian state will be demilitarized. Why would anyone be willing to take existential risks while relying on the commitment of an American president who has betrayed and denied the commitments of his predecessors and forgotten even his own?

One might think that as our military and political situation worsens, our ability to maneuver opposite the US decreases. But with our back to the wall and knowing full well that we have no one to rely on, we can turn this lack of maneuverability into resoluteness and the dearth of options into strength. When doubts are resolved, fortitude may emerge. The knowledge that American promises are without value is of itself quite valuable. Even a pauper will not agree to give the little he has in exchange for a guarantee openly declared to be worthless.

Obama is no more frightening than Ford. Hillary Clinton dislikes us no more than Kissinger did. The sea we are threatened with being thrown into is the same sea. The Arabs are the same Arabs. But the wall our backs are up against is much closer and more dangerous. The depth of Obama's betrayal must be made known to the American public today. As the November elections approach in the United States, Netanyahu has the opportunity to replicate Rabin's achievement of 1975.

The writer is a National Union MK.

 

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THE JERUSALEM POST

EDITORIAL

TERRA INCOGNITA: NATIONALISM BY PROXY

BY SETH J. FRANTZMAN

A private Christian school system educates the Arab, mostly Muslim, elite in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The best schools among the Arabs of Israel and the Palestinian territories are the private Christian schools. It may seem a strange irony of history, but the educated elite among the mostly Muslim Palestinians, and to a lesser degree among Israeli Arabs, is almost all a product of a private Christian education. The Christians among these two Arab groups are about two percent of the population. Christian schools provide the tiny minority of Christian students an education, ensuring that they remain among the most cultured members of society (Israeli and Arab), and the schools increasingly cater to Muslims.

Forerunners of the current school system can be found in the 19th century. The first of these was Bishop Gobat's school which was founded in 1853 on Mount Zion. It was an Anglican school established at the initiative of Samuel Gobat, a Swiss-born German and Anglican bishop in Jerusalem (1846-1879). His intention was to bring the light to Orthodox and Catholic Christian Arabs in place of the former policy of his Protestant precursors who had concentrated on converting the Jews.

The school was a success, in the sense that it was Jerusalem's best boys' school, but it was also a political success and an incubator of extremism. Abdel Khader al-Husseini, the commander of local Arab units around Jerusalem in 1948, briefly attended the school. Israel's two leading Arab communists from the 1950s, Tawfik Toubi and Emil Tume, were both students. Edward Said's father and uncle were graduates. St. George's school at the Anglican Cathedral in Jerusalem played a similar role (Emil Ghuri, prominent Christian politician and briefly military commander in Jerusalem and Ibrahim Touqan, a nationalist poet, were graduates).

Another well known school in the region is the Ramallah Friends school, a Quaker institution founded in 1869 and extended in 1919 to include a girls' school. Famous graduates include Hanan Ashrawi, the female politician, and Raja Shehadeh, the Palestinian writer. Many of the graduates of these schools during and after the British Mandate period would usually continue their studies at the American University of Beirut, which was founded by American Protestant missionary Daniel Bliss in 1866. Graduates of this institution included such notables as the PFLP terrorist, and Arab Christian, George Habash along with Ashrawi.

The German-Catholic Schmidt school and its cousin Lutheran institution, Talitha Kumi, pioneered education among Arab Christian women in Jerusalem. Kumi was founded in 1860 outside today's Hamashbir department store at the top of Rehov Ben-Yehuda. After 1948 it was transferred to Beit Jala near Bethlehem.

BUT THE premier institution for Arab women in Jerusalem is the Rosary Sisters school in Beit Hanina.

The Rosary Sisters is a unique institution. Founded in 1880, its origins were local. Soultane Ghattas Danil, a Christian Arab woman from a prominent Jerusalem family, was, according to a biography written in 1952, the first Palestinian woman to become a nun. She took the name Sister Marie Alphonsine and was active in founding institutions for poor and married women. Together with Don Joseph Tannous, a Nazareth-born Catholic priest, they realized that a local Catholic school for women run by Arab female clergy could reach out to Arab women and educate them better than foreign born nuns.

Sister Alphonsine died in 1927 at 84 in a convent in Ein Kerem, but by 1952 her order, the Rosary Sisters, had 32 houses and 150 sisters, all Arab born. Today it has 44 properties and 166 nuns. The schools are located primarily in the West Bank and Jordan, with a few in Israel (Haifa, Jaffa), and outposts scattered in such far off places as the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. The flagship school is in Beit Hanina, a wealthy Arab community that has developed in the last 50 years between Jerusalem and Ramallah and is within the municipality of Jerusalem.

The Rosary school in Beit Hanina educates girls from four through 18. By my estimate, it is less than 15 percent Christian. Until 2000 the curriculum was based on the Jordanian system, meaning that graduates had a tough time getting into an Israeli university. Christians and Muslims attend separate classes on religion once or twice a week. The graduates of Rosary Sisters are of the highest caliber and most attend university, which is certainly a departure from the norm among Palestinian women. Several have become important personalities, such as Guevara al-Budeiri and Shireen Abu Akla, the fiery reporters for Al-Jazeera. The general trend is for women to study science (pharmacy and medicine).

The Christian schools have been incubators of Arab nationalism. They have mostly sacrificed their secular and currently nonsectarian stance to please their constituents, who today tend to be Muslim and nationalistic.

A deeper question is why the Muslim community has failed so clearly to create an elite school network, instead relying on others to educate its best and brightest. It's not charity, the Muslims attending Christian schools pay for the privilege. According to my sources, the east Jerusalem school system that caters to local Muslim children is run by Arab functionaries from Israel who do little for the schools they are asked to administer.

Almost all the Christian children in the West Bank and east Jerusalem attend private Christian schools along with the wealthiest most well-connected Muslims. In Israel the pattern is similar, Haifa's best school from a standpoint of matriculation was, in 2004, the Nazareth Nun's Catholic school (established 1858) and the third best was the Orthodox School, with 95% matriculating (the national average is 52%). In second place was the Jewish Leo Baeck school. While the private Jewish school Reali charges NIS 10,000 a year, the Christian schools charge only NIS 1,200. The Orthodox School is 50% Muslim.

The Christian school system in the region has provided an education to the Arab elite for generations now. They foster love and pride in the Palestinian nation alongside an excellent education. The Jews, in this respect, could learn something from the nuns at Rosary Sisters: How to create an atmosphere where the cultured elite are devoted to their country and its people.  

The writer is a PhD researcher at Hebrew University and a fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies. sfrantzman@gmail.com

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THE JERUSALEM POST

EDITORIAL

YALLA PEACE: OUT WITH THE OLD (SYSTEM)

BY RAY HANANIA

 

To survive, Palestinians needs an election system that will result in true representation, rather than the failed one that has sputtered on and off.

Parliamentary systems do not really work in the Arab world. It definitely doesn't work in Palestine, where coalitions are hard to establish and people vote not on the basis of issues but on ethnicity, religion, tribes and clans.

To survive, Palestinians need a real election system that will result in true representation by the people and for the people, rather than the failed system that has sputtered on and off since 2003.

There is nothing successful about any of the elections in Palestine, from the 2005 municipal and presidential elections to the 2006 legislative elections. International observers like former president Jimmy Carter can claim they were fair, but they are talking about the casting of the votes, not about the process of the election itself.

In fact, the history of Palestinian elections is one mess followed by another, with a minority of voters controlling the government. The 2005 municipal elections were supposed to be completed over several election dates. Voters were to select from two ballots, one a list of parties, the other a list of individual candidates. The election cycle was never completed.

Mahmoud Abbas was elected president in that same process on January 9, 2005, with 62 percent of the vote. But despite the majority, the system was unfair. State run media coverage was denied to his challengers.

After Abbas's election, Hamas continued to act as a shadow government, engaging in foreign policy and suicide missions against Israel to further destroy the ailing peace process.

Built on the failed municipal elections, the legislative elections went ahead anyway on January 25, 2006.

A real election results when the majority of the voters chooses its leadership. That's not what happened. Hamas won the election but never won a majority of the votes.

Hamas won 76 of the 132 parliamentary seats with Fatah winning only 43 seats, later increasing to 45. The remaining seats were won by smaller splinter groups which were less coalitions and more parties set up by individuals who had no real grassroots support.

The voting system was confusing. People voted on two ballots, again to select a "party" and then to select individuals. It was intentionally confusing, I think, because the powers that be wanted to undermine Hamas and strengthen Fatah. That backfired.

Hamas won a majority of parliament's seats, but again, it only won 44 percent of the votes cast on the party lists. More than 50,000 of the 1.1 million votes cast were thrown out. Hamas candidates also only won 41% of the votes on the individual lists, while Fatah candidates won 37%.

Instead of embracing the peace process that brought the elections, jubilant Hamas leaders immediately declared their intention to undermine the peace process. That should not have been surprising as Hamas, and the left-wing rejectionist groups like the Jabha and extremist activists in the West, spent most of the prior 13 years using suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks to block peace.

PRIOR TO the election and the expansion of the parliament from 88 to 132 seats, Fatah held a solid majority, 68 of the original 88 seats. What went wrong? Well, Fatah had the votes. But while Hamas offered no choices, Fatah offered too many choices. That divided its base. Long time Fatah leaders were engaged in an internal battle with young rebels who sought to change the leadership of the party. That should have been decided outside of the election, not during the election.

Rather than challenge the corrupt election system, the ruling Palestinian leadership, including Ahmed Qurei, who was appointed prime minister in 2003, too quickly accepted its fate.

What Palestine needs is a Western-style democratic system where elections are held in two distinct rounds of voting. The first vote represents the process by which party supporters decide who will be their candidates. In the West, that is called a "primary" election.

The winners of the primaries then become the candidates who run for office in the final round, called the general election. Only when a candidate wins more than 50% of the votes cast in a general election is that candidate declared the winner.

Because this election process was flawed and there was no clear majority, Palestine was destined for turmoil. Abbas was supposed to run for reelection in 2009 but that never happened because of the Hamas "victory." In response, the PLO suspended elections and extended Abbas's term in office. Israel responded by imprisoning many in the Hamas government. Rather than weaken Hamas, Israel's policies empowered it even more.

Recently, elections have been again delayed, but without offering a real alternative. That only makes matters worse. Instead of simply delaying the elections, Abbas should reconstitute the election system. Throw out the parliamentary system. Replace it with a primary-general election process. Require that every office holder be elected by a majority of votes cast. Replace the office of prime minister with a vice president and keep the power in the hands of the president.

In the event that there are more than two parties in an election and more than two candidates, then if no one gets more than 50% of the vote, then the two highest vote-getters would run-off with the winner taking the majority.

Without a new election system, there can be no democracy in Palestine. The turmoil of the failed elections in 2005 and 2006 will continue to undermine Palestinian democracy and prevent the nation from emerging as a whole.

The collapse of secular government in Palestine is not only Israel's biggest concern, it will also be a nightmare for the Palestinians.

The writer is an award-winning Palestinian columnist. He can be reached at www.YallaPeace.com and rghanania@gmail.com

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THE JERUSALEM POST

EDITORIAL

GRAPEVINE: FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

BY GREER FAY CASHMAN

Slovenia marks 19 years of independence, 'Post' journalist Ruth Eglash honored by UN and HU gets eighth Ginges computer center.

  FEW PEOPLE would argue with the contention that of all the heads of foreign missions here, Russian Ambassador Petr Stegny and his wife Margarita have the largest constituency of expatriates. Never is this more evident than at the annual National Day celebrations of the Federation of Russia, where many Russian immigrants, some of whom live a hand-to-mouth existence, become VIPs and rub shoulders with cabinet ministers, business leaders and cultural icons. The Russian National Day reception is always distinguished, not only by the massive attendance, the incredible amount of food and the cultural offerings, but also by the former heroes of the Red Army who wear their medals and ribbons with pride.

This year, as Russia marked the 65th anniversary of its triumph over the Nazis with major commemorative events in the motherland as well as here, the display of battle decorations was greater than ever, in many cases taking up the whole width and length of both sides of suit jackets. Some of the former heroes of the Red Army maintained the trim figures of their youth, and came in uniform, which made the display of medals and ribbons all the more impressive.

From a cultural standpoint, members of the Ashdod Symphony Orchestra provided the musical background, as they have done for more than a decade, but the real treat was 10-year-old musical prodigy Daniel Pruzanski, who has an amazingly rich and powerful voice for a boy his age, and absolutely delighted the audience, including Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, with his rendition of three popular Russian songs. Though shy and modest off-stage, on-stage Pruzanski, dressed in a tuxedo and bow tie, has tremendous professional presence.

Usually, when it comes to the official part of the event, there are three people in the vicinity of the microphone – the master or mistress of ceremonies, the ambassador and the representative of the government. Sometimes, there's also a translator. On this occasion there were the MC, the ambassador,Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov who represented the government, opposition leader Tzipi Livni, Immigrant and Absorption Minister Sofa Landver and political affairs counsellor and press attache Anatoly Yurkov, who is also an excellent translator from Russian to Hebrew. The presence of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was acknowledged. Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, was summoned to the stage for photo opportunities when the speeches were over, but organizers apparently didn't catch sight of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein, so his name was not mentioned from the podium.

Stegny, speaking in Russian with Yurkov translating into Hebrew, spoke of today's disquieting world "in which we face new challenges." He stressed that to meet and overcome these challenges there was greater need for solidarity and cooperation. While acknowledging that there had been occasional differences between Russia and Israel, Stegny said: "Today, we are on the same front."

Misezhnikov's opening remarks were in Russian. He explained that protocol required him to speak in English, though he could just as easily deliver his address in Russian. In fact, his English has improved enormously in recent months. Whereas he used to stumble over his speeches, his delivery this time was fluent, with the right emphases in speech and only one mispronunciation. He said that as a former resident of Moscow, he felt privileged to address so large a gathering of native Russians, and noted that next year Israel would mark the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation after decades of hostility.

There is good political dialogue, he said, noting the exchange of high level representatives of both countries. During the past year, President Shimon Peres and Foreign Minister Lieberman have twice been to Russia and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been once. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who has been here on previous occasions, is due to come again at the end of this month. There are hopes that President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will also come, along with other high ranking Russian officials. Misezhnikov expressed Israel's eternal gratitude to the Red Army for its vanquishing of the Nazi evil and for what it did to rescue the Jews of Europe. Many Red Army veterans and their families live here today, he said.

Livni declared that the fact that she was present with other members of Kadima was indicative that when it comes to relations with Russia "there is no coalition and no opposition. We are all together." Israel is facing difficult days she said, especially because there is a gap between what Israel is, and the image of Israel outside. She believed that Russia understands the true nature of the State of Israel.

 

  IT'S ALWAYS edifying to be on the ball in predicting the future. In the April 20 Grapevine column the question was raised whether British Ambassador Tom Phillips, who winds up his current posting in July, was in line for a knighthood. It was noted that the idea was not far-fetched, given that with only one exception all his predecessors over the past 15 years have been knighted. Thus it was with no small degree of satisfaction that the news was received this week that he had been listed in the Queen's Birthday honors. At the recent Israel Britain and the Commonwealth Association farewell event for Sir Tom, Yigal Levine, senior trade and investment adviser at the embassy, described him as a wonderful boss.

 

  IT WAS definitely a family affair when Slovenian Ambassador Boris Sovic and his wife Ana hosted a reception at their residence in Herzliya Pituah to mark the 19th year of Slovenia's independence. Their daughter Nives Sovic, playing the flute, accompanied singer Jelena Ettinger in the performing of the anthems of Slovenia and Israel.

The occasion was also used to bid farewell to First Secretary and Deputy Head of Mission Tanja Miskova, who is completing her tour of duty after four and a half years. The government was represented by Michael Eitan, minister for improvement of government services.

Some 250 guests including diplomats, representatives of government ministries, mayors, leaders of the business community and Slovenian expatriates gathered in the house and the garden.

Slovenia is no less a miracle than Israel, having been under the rule of many different countries over the centuries, yet never losing its true cultural identity. Most recently, Slovenians began working towards independence from Yugoslavia, and in a December 1990 referendum overwhelmingly voted for independence, which was declared on June 25, 1991.

Slovenia and Israel established diplomatic relations in April 1992. The Republic of Slovenia opened its embassy in Tel Aviv in August 1994, followed by a consulate in April 2002, headed by honorary consul Adi Rosenfeld; and a second consulate in Tel Aviv on May 6, 2007, headed by honorary consul Eival Gilady, which covers the consular region of central and southern Israel.

 

  ISRAEL'S DIPLOMATS abroad have been working overtime in an attempt to repair the cracks in the country's image. The next generation of diplomats may have to work even harder to contend with ever increasing negativism. With this in mind, the Foreign Ministry is giving its current 28 member cadet corps, which includes five representatives of minority communities including one Druse female, more in-depth training, and greater exposure to facets of the country that they might otherwise not come across.

A few weeks ago they attended a ceremony for the presentation of credentials by new ambassadors at Beit Hanassi and were permitted to sit in on the private meeting between each ambassador and President Peres. More recently, they went to Tefen and met with industrial park innovator Stef Wertheimer, who took them on a tour of a production plant, the Tefen Museum and other parts of the park, which they said was definitely value added to everything else that they learned.

 

  CONGRATULATIONS ARE in order to Ruth Eglash, the Social Affairs correspondent for The Jerusalem Post, where she has worked in a variety of positions over the past 11 years. Together with a Jordanian journalist, she became the first co-recipient of the United Nations Alliance of Civilization and the International Center for Journalists' X-Cultural Reporting Award. Their work was honored at a recent ceremony at the UN Alliance of Civilization Conference in Rio de Janeiro. Eglash and her partner researched and reported on the dismal state of relations between their respective countries 16 years after the signing of the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan.

The two researched educational efforts in both countries to disclose what each nation was really learning about the other. However, the disappointing results of their findings failed to comply with the goals of the competition, which were to find common ground between different nations. This spurred the two journalists to use the material at their disposal to write a joint op-ed on how the current status quo in both countries has to change to fulfill the aspirations of their peace treaty.

Their opinion piece "Why we can't write this story..." was published by numerous media outlets, including The Jerusalem Post, the on-line newspaper The Huffington Post, Jordanian news Web site AmmonNews.Net and The Palestine Note. It was also translated into seven languages, including Arabic, by the Search for Common Ground News Service. The two journalists were also interviewed on Radio Chicagoland by US-based Palestinian journalist Ray Hanania, who offered to make the two a permanent feature on his syndicated show.

The competition was launched at a conference on "Freedom of Expression in the Digital Age" http://www.icfj.org/foeda,  held in Alexandria, Egypt, in February. The conference was sponsored by the UN Alliance of Civilizations and the Anna Lindh Foundation and administered by ICFJ, with the support of the Alexandria Library.

Prior to her current beat at the Post, Eglash was arts and entertainment editor for five years and also worked as a feature writer and columnist. Previously, she worked as assistant editor at Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle in the US, and before that she worked at Jerusalem Capital Studios.

 

  THERE ARE some people who simply love to give. Among them are Australian philanthropists Berel and Agnes Ginges, who 10 years ago donated a state-of-the-art computer center to the Hebrew University, at the suggestion of former HU president Hanoch Gutfreund, who had seen one at Columbia University and had been impressed. Since then, in addition to their other gifts to the university, the couple has made a habit of donating computer and information centers to HU campuses. Last week, they donated their eighth a day before Berel Ginges's 80th birthday, and announced they would be back next year for the inauguration of a ninth at the HU's Rehovot campus.

Proceedings at the inauguration of the Ginges Library and Information Center for the Sciences at the Edmond J. Safra campus were delayed because a busload of their Habonim friends from northern kibbutzim and surrounding urban areas had not yet arrived. Every time there is a dedication of a Ginges project here, it is accompanied by a reunion lunch, bringing together people who have known each other for some 60 years. Hotelier Michael Federmann, who is chairman of the HU International Board of Governors, said that his parents had also been members and leaders of Habonim in Germany, and he recalled that as a child he had frequently been taken to Kibbutz Galed where many of his parents' friends from Habonim had settled.

 

  LANDMARK CELEBRATIONS are usually held on round number or quarter century anniversaries. But in superstitious and gematria-conscious circles, 18 – which translates as life – is an equally important number. Public relations executive Aviram Balzar celebrated his 18th anniversary in business and the opening of luxurious new offices in Ramat Gan by inviting past and present politicians, business leaders, people from the communications field and other well known personalities to his housewarming or rather office warming.

Literally hundreds of them turned up, including Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, who affixed the mezuza and wished the enterprise continued success, Bank Mizrahi chairman Jacob Perry, former government minister Ophir Paz-Pines, Club Hotel CEO Roni Pivco, former ambassador to the US Zalman Shoval and his wife Kena, Jewish National Fund chairman Efi Stenzler, broker Roni Mena, lawyers Yehuda and Tami Raveh, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan and numerous MKs, among them Amir Peretz, Danny Danon and Daniel Ben-Simon.

 

  AUSTRALIAN DELEGATES attending the World Zionist Congress and Jewish Agency Assembly will participate in a commemorative event for Frank Stein, the long-time, highly esteemed director of the Zionist Federation of Australia's Israel office. Working above and beyond the call of duty, Stein was a father figure to hundreds of Australians who moved here or who were here on volunteer or study programs. He was the person to whom they turned with all their problems, and most of the time he was able to provide solutions. He also invited many of these people to dine at his home.

Stein, who died nearly 15 months ago, following a losing battle with cancer, will be honored by the Jewish Agency at its campus at Kiryat Moriah in Jerusalem, where a memorial plaque has been placed on a wall near what used to be his office. Speakers at the memorial event on June 22 will include Jewish Agency director-general Alan Hoffman, Zionist Federation of Australia president Philip Chester and his predecessor Ron Weiser, who was a close friend of Stein's.

 

  THE OPENING of Jerusalem's annual Festival of Light was yet another clear demonstration of one man's meat being another man's poison. While there were several thousand people in attendance, there were nonetheless huge blocks of empty seats. A packed block in the center of the stands began booing within five minutes of the opening, but not because of any flaw in the performance by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. The booing was a herd mentality protest against the speeches, which were neither that prolonged, nor many, but nonetheless met with the loud disapproval of that sector of the audience.

However when Mayor Nir Barkat delivered a very brief speech in which he announced that there would be more than twice as many summer events in Jerusalem this year as last, the sector of the crowd that had booed everyone else, especially Eyal Gabai, the director-general of the Prime Minister's Office, gave him a lusty cheer. Neither the concert nor the light effects appealed to everyone, and quite a surprising number of people walked out long before the concert ended. Although neither the concert nor the lighting effects were particularly inspiring, the opposite was true of lighting effects throughout the Old City. Jerusalem Development Authority director Reuven Pinsky announced that next year's Festival of Light will be held June 15-22.

greerfc@gmail.com

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THE JERUSALEM POST

EDITORIAL

HAVE WE LOST TURKEY?

BY YOTAM JACOBSON

 

Turks' attitude toward Israelis has little to do with Operation Cast Lead or the flotilla. It stems from the disrespect that we have shown them.

 

It has been more than two weeks since we have been engaged in a media and public outcry in the aftermath of the flotilla incident and Turkey's reaction to it. The notion that the Turks should be punished, either by means of denying them the commerce from Israeli tourism, or by a diplomatic offensive, such as reminding the world about their crimes against the Armenians during World War I, is heard more frequently. As a travel guide, I visit Turkey very often. Today, encouraging Israeli tourism to Turkey may be met with the accusation of not being in touch with reality, or in extreme cases, of encouraging something anti-Israeli.

The Israeli media is waving flags of hatred: Turkey is a Muslim country; Islam intoxicates its followers with fanaticism, aggression and passion of hatred towards Israel. They should be hit hard, they insist, because that is the only language they understand. But I cannot help but wonder – who does this fueled hatred serve? What motivates people to suddenly be caught in a passionate craving for revenge towards the Turks who suddenly "hate us?"

My encounters with many Turks, even in recent times, in various airports, confirmed clearly to me that most Turks do not know they need to hate us, and they would not stand behind the words of some of their politicians.

Modern Turkey is in a position that requires quite a bit of maneuvering. The West's attitude towards it is characterized by duplicity, and arouses wonder and indignation. On the one hand Turkey has done something that is unmatched in the Muslim world: Since the days of Ataturk, there has been a separation between religion and state, and the Turkish Republic has been a secular state since 1923.

The West, Israel included, enjoys having Turkey as a close ally, as well as a member of NATO. It is a good base of operations for activity in Iraq, its vast territories are seen as a blessing for Israeli Air Force training and the country's fertile market is inviting to entrepreneurs.

For decades, Turkey has taken impressive steps to get closer to the West, and strived to join the EU. Among Arab countries, Turkey's attraction to the West generated a wave of hatred and anger at what they perceiped as a betrayal. The Western world, in turn, remained aloof and withdrawn from Turkey. Time after time, the EU refrained from adopting Turkey on various pretexts. First it was required to admit its guilt in the massacre of the Armenian people athe beginning of the 20th Century, then it was required to handle the Kurdish rebellions gently and hopefully by then, maybe, it would win its place as a second-rate among equals in the EU.

The Turkish people see their nation as one being squeezed by opposing forces, being pushed in all directions in the international arena. What wonder is it then, that given the West's constant disapproval and the strengthening of radical Islam among the weak and poor classes, that certain entities would try to rise up and try to "return" Turkey's former glory and regain its place as the flagship among the Arab countries.

MOSTLY, TURKEY is called upon not to disclose its Muslim face publicly, a face that does not bode well in the Western world's eyes since 9/11. The media's position and the public's opinion can be encapsulated in the simple equation Islam = Problem. True, Muslim terror exists, so does Muslim extremism, as well as malice and violence, but would that summarize the Muslim world? What about the beauty of the Suleiman Mosque and the Taj Mahal, built by Muslim deities? What about the depth of Sufi teachings and the beauty of the Sufi whirling? The Hadith sermons? The unity of faith reflected in the poems of Kabir?

What about the fact that for hundreds of years it was the permissive rule of Islam that made the presence of a stranger in his land possible, with all that entails?

Over the past decade, I have guided many Israeli groups to Turkey. During these years, I could not help but notice the drastic change in the attitude of the people living in the more remote areas of Turkey toward Israelis. How easy it is to say, "Well of course, everyone here is an Israel-hating Muslim," and go on to the next destination, releasing ourselves from any responsibility?

The reason for this change, as I saw it unfolding in front of my eyes, did not stem from our being Israelis nor from anti-Semitism, and it also had nothing to do with the recent war in Gaza or with the flotilla incident.

It stems, in my opinion, from the disrespect that we, the Israelis, have shown the Turkish people.

Some examples: Many of our tour operators charge the Israeli tourist for tip fees, but the tips are not passed on to the locals. Many of the Israeli travel agencies bypass Turkish law by avoiding hiring local guides, even where it is necessary to have local guides; Israeli jeep convoys are known for their total disregard of Turkish traffic courtesies; Israeli travelers pick fruit from private orchards without permission; Israelis bargain in aggressive ways even though in rural Turkey, this is not a standard practice.

Excuse my focus on these almost petty examples, but I believe that these seemingly minor infractions are precisely what shape impressions, which then go on to create a generalized attitude.

Of course the flotilla event was not a simple humanitarian endeavor. It was clearly an ugly, narrow-minded provocation. But in our relationships with the Turks, we must not choose to see and remember only what has been chosen for us to see and remember. How can we transcend these stereotypes that Turkey and specifically Islamic Turkey, is the problem? Turkey is a Muslim country and to this day, we have shared a fruitful relationship resulting in multiple channels of mutual benefit. We need to ask ourselves what part we have played in the recent divide. Have we invested enough effort toward understanding the trap-like situation that Turkey finds itself?

So, what is the meaning of the notion that we have lost Turkey and on what basis do we justify boycotting Turkey? It would seem that such an attitude will lead to only more hatred and aggression.

The writer is a tour guide and a regular contributor to travel magazines.

 

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THE JERUSALEM POST

EDITORIAL

A MODEST PROPOSAL FOR SOLVING THE KOSHER SLAUGHTER PROBLEM

BY AVINOAM SHARON

 

Since countries that banned the practice also have hunting "traditions," maybe we can get them to recognize kosher slaughter as "Jewish ritual hunting?"

 

One morning, when I was a child suffering from one or another of those children's illnesses, our family doctor stopped by to see how I was faring before he left for a brief vacation. "Where are you going," my mother asked. "Hunting," the doctor replied. And in that lack of politically correct tact so typical of youth, I blurted out: "Jews don't hunt!"

I was reminded of that recently, when I read of the decision of the New Zealand government to ban kosher slaughter – shehita –  under the Animal Welfare Commercial Slaughter Code. I wondered if we, as Jews, should not be more understanding of New Zealand's sincere desire to address the issue of cruelty to animals. The requirements of kosher slaughter are intended to minimize suffering. If stunning or some other method might reduce suffering even by a minute amount, should we not try to find ways to address that positively?

Clearly, New Zealand's motives are pure. New Zealand is not Switzerland, where the hypocritical ban on shehita was prompted by historic anti-Semitism. Indeed, around the time the Swiss first set about outlawing kosher meat, they also began the process of creating forty-one federal hunting reserves so the compassionate Swiss could kill animals for sport.

But we are not concerned with the Swiss, but rather with New Zealand, which has admirably followed in the concerned footsteps of Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Spain.

Well, actually Spain should not be in the list at all. Spain only prohibits shehita of cattle. It would seem that Spanish sensibilities require that you first stun cattle before slaughter, unless you wish to torture the beasts in the corrida de toros.

 

As for Iceland, well, the Icelandic Hunting Club will be glad to help you hunt reindeer and seal, and boasts that its clients have achieved 100% success. Maybe Iceland isn't a good example of a shehita ban that is not hypocritical. Maybe not Norway, either. In addition to offering the opportunity to hunt such big game as moose and reindeer, Norway offers the thrill of watching dogs chase deer to exhaustion.

I GUESS this leaves Sweden. Now, according to the official website, Sweden views hunting as "a wise, long-term use of renewable natural resources."

Sweden recommends that people who wish to shoot moose first visit a moose-hunting training range. To ensure that a maimed animal does not suffer unnecessarily from a poorly placed shot, hunters of hoofed animals are required to have a trained tracker dog available on two-hour notice. After all, we wouldn't want a wounded moose to suffer more than a few hours before it is dispatched by a conservation-minded hunter.

It would seem then that New Zealand stands alone in its sincere desire to prevent cruelty to animals by banning kosher slaughter. At least so one might suspect until one Googles "hunting New Zealand" and discovers "the ultimate New Zealand red stag trophy hunting experience."

New Zealand Fish and Game describes game bird hunting as "one of the great social recreational sports where rewarding friendships are made and maintained for many years." New Zealand sells hunting licences to adults over 18, to juniors between the ages of 12 and 18, and even offers hunting licenses for children under 12. It would seem that for the squeamish New Zealanders, kosher slaughter of chickens and cattle for food is more morally repugnant than taking children out for a day of fun and camaraderie, shooting animals with a bow and arrow so that they can hang antlers over their beds.

In looking at the laws and policies of the countries that ban kosher slaughter, one gets the feeling that there must be one of two underlying motivations: either anti-Semitism or a desire to regulate hunting and collect hunting license fees.

I am sure that all would loudly deny any anti-Semitic motive, even despite historical evidence to the contrary. That, of course, leaves only the desire to regulate hunting. And so I would like to suggest a proposal for solving the kosher slaughter problem.

I would recommend that Switzerland, Sweden, New Zealand, Iceland and Norway recognize kosher slaughter as "Jewish ritual hunting."

Spain can simply refer to kosher slaughterers as matadors. By so doing, shehita will become an integral part of the sporting culture of each nation. It will contribute to the wise, long-term use of renewable natural resources and encourage camaraderie. Compassionately slaughtered kosher meat will become as socially acceptable as the venison cut from hunted deer, decorative antlers or the meat of bulls ritually tortured in the ring. If this modest proposal will not mitigate suffering, at least it may serve to lessen hypocrisy.

The writer is a rabbi and a lawyer.

 

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THE JERUSALEM POST

EDITORIAL

IMPRESSIONS OF A VISITING EDITOR FROM JOHANNESBURG

BY MARTIN WILLIAMS

On a trip to Israel, we South African journalists found an extraordinary number of individuals and groups actively striving to make peace a reality.

 

Blessed are the simple minded, for they believe they understand the Holy Land, although its complexity has vexed humanity for millennia.

Last week, a group of South African journalists were visiting. We were exposed to a plethora of viewpoints. Among others, we talked to government representatives, Zionist organizations, the PLO, the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction, Jewish West Bank settlers, Palestinian and Israeli journalists and high-powered archeological and historical guides.

We were taken to holy places central to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. We visited Ramallah and spent much of our time in Jerusalem. We went to the high security wall that divides parts of this ancient city from Palestinian-controlled territory.

Frankly, it's too much to take in. However, there was a glaring gap in our itinerary and interviews. Gaza was not on our list, nor was Hamas, although not through any lack of will on our part.

Disturbing as the idea is to many, if invited by Hamas or its backers I would visit to try to understand their world view. There is a vast difference between learning about a situation through the media and actually walking among and talking to people experiencing the daily realities.

TO SAY there are two sides to the story would be simplistic, whether discussing the broader question of Israel or the geographically narrower one of Jerusalem. In politics and in religion, Israel is not united. Coalition politics, which Britain is grappling with, has long been practiced in Israel, where it is almost unheard of for any one party to command a majority in the Knesset.

Jews make up 76.5 percent of the population of 7.4 million, Muslims 16%, Christians 2% and Druse 1.5%. Yet Israeli Jewry spans a vast range from totally secular to ultra-Orthodox. An old joke is that if you ask any two Jews a question you'll hear at least three opinions.

Debate and dissent seem to be part of the Jewish makeup, going back to Esau and Jacob. These grandsons of Abraham, to whom Jews trace their ancestry, "quarreled violently among themselves," according to Jewish historian Cecil Roth. So, too, did the offspring of David, the king who, just over 3,000 years ago, founded a city within what is now the Jewish capital Jerusalem.

No doubt Jews have an historical claim to Israel, but it cannot be the only claim. David did not set up camp on vacant land. Jerusalem was occupied by Canaanites, whom the children of Israel were commanded by their god to erase, "to completely wipe out their culture and to inherit their land," according to Avigdor Shinan, editor of the tome Israel: People/Land/State.

We did not meet anyone who told us they now hold this view, which in the modern age sounds extreme.

What we found, without denying any of the hate or violence from any side, was an extraordinary number of individuals and organizations not only willing to share this troubled land, but actively striving to make peaceful cooperation a reality. These are not political leaders at the highest level but effective community leaders, people of goodwill.

ALTHOUGH ISRAEL bristles with intensity, and security is a deadly problem in what world media portray as a vortex of territorial disputes, terror and hate, that is not the whole picture. There is also good news.

There are many examples of Jews and Muslims working together. One of the most touching is the Jerusalem Peacemaker project run by Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bukhari and Eliahu McLean. Bukhari says its first meetings attracted few people, but "now we have thousands."

One initiative it is involved in, the Hug of Jerusalem, which started modestly four years ago on the June 21 summer solstice, attracted more than 2,000 last year. People of different faiths gather to circle the Old City, preaching unity, accompanied by drumming and singing.

Bukhari has encountered hostility. "I have been called bad names, had chairs thrown at me and been spat upon." His lament is "the media never mention our achievements."

McLean believes Jerusalem is "the most contested piece of real estate in the world." Equally, he says, it can serve as a bridge to bring people together; if folk here can get along, anyone can.

There's also the Abrahamic Reunion, a group of 25 spiritual leaders of the main faiths deriving from the prophet Abraham.

Goodwill is also evident in such diverse places as the Jerusalem Music Center, where Jewish and Arab youngsters learn together in harmony.

There is Jerusalem's Hadassah University Medical Center, which reaches out to all. Its pediatric cardiology unit treats at least 50 Palestinian children a year, including from Hamas's volatile Gaza Strip.

Close to Gaza, at much-rocketed Sderot, we encountered the mixed Israeli-Palestinian peace team of teenage soccer players, boys and girls, who will be playing in South Africa during next month's FIFA World Cup.

 

Even among maligned West Bank Jewish settlers, we encountered one community that sought cooperation rather than the security wall.

Each example, and others, can be countered with harsh realities and cynicism.

Palestinians who don't resist are stigmatized as "normalizers." Some non-journalist South African Jews on our tour regard these initiatives as too political and contrived.

There are terrible tensions between the PLO's Fatah, which appears to be a bloated, donor-dependent bureaucracy, and radical Hamas. One benefits from the status quo, the other wants to wipe Israel off the map.

It's not naïve to look for positive signs in this bleak landscape. It is not impossible that goodwill can grow until it gathers unstoppable momentum.

If enough people believe and hope, and take positive action, you never know what might evolve.

The writer is the editor of The Citizen.

 

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HAARETZ

EDITORIAL

THE GOVERNMENT'S TEST OF PRINCIPLE

NETANYAHU AND HIS MINISTERS WILL NEED TO CLARIFY THE REASONS FOR THEIR PREFERENCE OF YESHIVA STUDENTS OVER STUDENTS WHO WILL SOON COME TO REPRESENT THE PILLARS OF ISRAEL'S ECONOMY AND ACADEMIA.

HAARETZ EDITORIAL

 

Jenny Baruchi, the college student who is on the verge of completing a master's degree in social work from the Hebrew University, the same institution in which her mother worked her entire life as a janitor, is deserving of a permanent place in the public consciousness as a symbol of unyielding civic struggle.

 

Ten years ago, Baruchi petitioned the High Court of Justice demanding the reinstatement of state stipends that were stripped from her - the same stipends that ultra-Orthodox students in yeshivas and kollels continued to receive. She is a paragon of the values which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu champions constantly: a single mother with limited financial means who worked two jobs while pursuing a university degree, thus enabling her to enter a profession whose very essence is to contribute to society.

 

The High Court ruling on Monday, which came in response to the petition filed by Baruchi and the late Jerusalem city councilman Ornan Yekutieli, is an important milestone in the campaign against religious coercion. It delivers justice to university students who have been discriminated against on account of those enrolled in yeshiva.

 

A panel of six justices headed by Court President Dorit Beinisch decreed that the discriminatory policy should be abolished in the name of equality, a principle that is anchored in the laws governing the formulation of the state budget. Justice Edmond Levy offered the lone dissenting opinion, arguing for rejecting the petition on the grounds that it is the government and the Knesset - not the court - that should wield power over issues relating to the budget.

 

Now the court decision will be put to the political test. Shas and United Torah Judaism, for whose benefit and narrow interests the government and Knesset violated the equal distribution of unemployment benefits, have already stated their intention to draft a bill to bypass the court and nullify "the evil verdict." Interior Minister Eli Yishai assailed the court for "harming the spiritual status quo of the people of Israel."

 

Thus the High Court ruling places the prime minister and his cabinet before an important test. If Yishai and his friends succeed in pulling the rug from under the court decision, the premier, his finance minister, justice minister, education minister and welfare minister will not only need to explain to the public why they failed to prevent the erosion of the court's standing, but they will also need to clarify the reasons for their preference of yeshiva students over students who will soon come to represent the pillars of Israel's economy and academia.

 

In other words, they will have to explain why they are turning their backs on citizen Jenny Baruchi for the second time.

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HAARETZ

EDITORIAL

A DANGER CALLED CONSTITUTION

A CONSTITUTION THAT DECIDES FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS OF NATIONAL IDENTITY WILL CAUSE INTERNAL DIVISIONS, ESPECIALLY IN THE CURRENT POLITICAL CLIMATE, IN WHICH THE RIGHT IS TRYING TO CRUSH THE ARAB COMMUNITY'S POWER.

BY ALUF BENN

Once every few years, someone suggests writing a constitution for Israel. Now, the would-be politician Yair Lapid has joined them, saying he promised his son Yoav "some sort of state," and wants to keep his promise before he dies. As usual, Lapid is playing it safe: The generic call for a constitution is very popular among the populists of the centrist parties, who can pretend they are conducting a public campaign without actually saying a thing.

 

Nearly every country in the world has a written constitution, and the absence of an Israeli constitution is depicted by those who favor drafting one as a fundamental flaw in our system of government. It is portrayed as yet another expression of the improvisational style that is our typical substitute for order, organization and waiting in line. "There is no country without a constitution," screams the Web site of Constitution by Consent, which is backed by the Israel Democracy Institute. Promoting a constitution is viewed by its supporters as an expression of normalcy, as something good and desirable - what the Americans describe as "motherhood and apple pie," or like the world peace that beauty-pageant contestants promise to promote if they win the crown.

 

But the question is not whether we need a constitution, but what will be written in it and how will it be implemented. A constitution entails decisions on fundamental questions of national identity, and for the most part serves the interests of society's stronger groups, under the cover of noble values. The existence of a constitution does not ensure that the regime will be democratic or that it will preserve citizens' rights. The Syrian constitution, for example, is far more committed to freedom of expression and freedom of the press than Israeli law, but it is still better to be a journalist in Tel Aviv than in Damascus.

 

David Ben-Gurion gave up on a written constitution in the state's infancy. This decision stemmed from three factors: a surrender to the religious parties, which have always opposed a secular constitution; the founding father's desire to include everyone under the same national tent, instead of imposing the majority's positions on minorities; and his assessment that the absence of a constitution would serve his Mapai party and keep it in power better than a liberal document committed to citizen rights would.

 

However, the result has not been bad. The improvised system that Ben-Gurion established developed into an open and raucous democracy, despite its shortcomings of discrimination against minorities and the military's excessive power - which would have existed even with a constitution.

 

In recent years, various proposals for an Israeli constitution have been published. They fall into two categories: those that take sides in the debates between religious and secular and between Jew and Arab - "who is a Jew?" and "who is a citizen?" - and those that try to offer a compromise.

 

But what constitution does Lapid want? The Adalah draft, which wants to do away with the land laws that enabled the state to take over millions of dunams of land that belonged to Arabs before 1948? The Institute for Zionist Strategies draft, which calls for more land to be given to Jewish settlements? Does he prefer Constitution by Consensus, which seeks to preserve the status quo against the pressure of social change and the growing strength of the ultra-Orthodox and Arabs? Or perhaps he does not care, so long as there is a document called a constitution?

 

All the alternatives are problematic and dangerous to democracy. A constitution that decides fundamental questions of national identity will cause internal divisions, especially in the current political climate, in which the right is trying to crush the Arab community's power. But a constitution that seeks a broad compromise will at best not change a thing, and at worst will bolster the status of the religious and Jewish law.

 

Constitution by Consensus, backed by former Supreme Court president Meir Shamgar, promises "stability, public transparency, equality and unity." To get there, its authors offer the religious a deal: closing down malls on Shabbat and preserving the rabbis' control over marriage and divorce in exchange for "civil unions" - a second-class form of civil marriage. If this is the constitution they are offering, it would be best to give up and stick with Ben-Gurion's tradition of no constitution. This was also Ariel Sharon's position.

 

Instead of the empty process of talking about "writing a constitution," Lapid would do better to prepare a draft and clarify what he plans to fight for. How will the state he has promised his son Yoav look? What will its borders be, who will its citizens be and what rights will they enjoy?

 

If he offers answers and fights to achieve them, there will be a point to him joining politics. If he makes do with empty slogans, it would be best if he stuck to his television program.

 

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HAARETZ

EDITORIAL

IN A SIDE ROOM AT THE AIRPORT

IT IS HARD TO CONVINCE THE JEWISH PUBLIC IN ISRAEL THAT WHAT HAPPENS AT BEN-GURION INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS A SYSTEMATIC INJUSTICE, IF NOT WORSE. THE ETHNOCENTRIC PANIC UNDERMINES THE PRINCIPLE OF CIVIL EQUALITY.

BY AVIRAMA GOLAN

 

Here is a story known to only some of the citizens of Israel. A few weeks ago a 43-year-old lecturer in sociology at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who serves as a member of the prestigious academic journal Sociology, packed a suitcase and went to Ben-Gurion International Airport. From there he was supposed to take off for the journal's annual editorial board meeting in London. He stood in line, showed his passport and his ticket and was immediately directed to a separate line.

 

The lecturer, whose name is Nabil Khattab and who lives in Beit Safafa, was not surprised. He says he accepts with understanding the lengthy security check, including the opening of his suitcases and rummaging in his carry-ons and laptop computer. He even accepts the detailed questioning (Where is he going? With whom will he meet? Where is the invitation? Who is the person who invited him? Give names of people. Are there representatives of enemy countries there? Who? ), though the connection between that and the security of the flight is not clear to him.

 

In recent years the security check has become a severe and exhausting hassle, which reaches its climax in the side room. The person being investigated is taken to the room and there he undergoes a thorough body check - head hair, ears, neck, armpits, every centimeter down to the soles of his feet, including private parts. Even this humiliating check Khattab accepts submissively.

 

This time, however, the examiner probed the lower part of his body with a cloth-covered stick and began to insert it under Khattab's trousers.

 

"That was already intolerable," he said. "I couldn't keep quiet. With the greatest possible restraint I asked the examiner to stop. This has no connection to security, I said to him. If there is a suspicion that I am carrying explosives or metal on my body - let me go through the metal detector and if the machine beeps I will come back for examination."

 

The examiner replied that if he did not agree to the examination with the stick he would not be allowed to board the plane. Khattab explained that he represents The Hebrew University on an important academic journal and that he cannot be absent from the meeting.

 

In vain. Angry and insulted, he took his suitcase and left. Ten minutes later, Khattab changed his mind but when he tried to go back to the side room he was told that because he had left the passenger terminal he would have to go through the whole check again, from the beginning. When he finally reached the room the examiner demanded he remove his trousers. "I will take them off only if they demand this of all passengers," he said, and went home.

 

His wife persuaded him not to give in. He found a seat on the next flight to London, paid the difference and went back to the airport. The check was completed relatively quickly and included a body check. Without a stick.

 

The question arises as to whether an intrusive check with a stick is necessary. If so - why didn't they do it the second time? If not - why did they want to do it?

 

However, even without sticks, the security check of Arab citizens of Israel is markedly different. Even the authorities in the United States, who have gotten carried away with paranoia since 9/11, have realized that it is impossible to do security checks by "profiling" and have determined to carry out random checks of all passengers. In Britain and Germany they do a thorough check of everyone: This is more expensive and it takes more time, but it avoids violations of civil rights.

 

At this time it is hard to convince the Jewish public in Israel that what happens at Ben-Gurion International Airport is a systematic injustice, if not worse. The ethnocentric panic undermines the principle of civil equality. Perhaps if they also opened the Levys' suitcases and the Cohens' suitcases, asked them innumerable personal questions and probed their bodies with a stick, the system would have to reexamine the security check.

 

Today there isn't a Knesset that will decide this. Perhaps the High Court of Justice, where there is a petition pending on this issue, will be able to do so.

 

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HAARETZ

EDITORIAL

A DISGRACEFUL EVASION OF RESPONSIBILITY

THE DECISION TO APPOINT A COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE GAZA FLOTILLA EVENTS AVOIDS THE NEED TO EXAMINE THE CAUSES OF THE FULL EXTENT OF ISRAEL'S POLITICAL, DIPLOMATIC AND MORAL FAILURE IN HANDLING THE FLOTILLA.

BY SHLOMO AVINERI

The decision to appoint a committee to examine the international-law aspects of the events surrounding the Gaza-bound flotilla is to be welcomed, but it is not sufficient. The decision avoids the need to examine the causes of the full extent of Israel's political, diplomatic and moral failure in handling the flotilla. The Israel Defense Forces' examination of the action's operational aspects is also inadequate to answer the questions troubling Israelis regarding the decision and why it was taken.

 

Nor is it sufficient to heap praise on the soldiers - who acted correctly in difficult circumstances - or blame Turkey's prime minister, who deserves all possible criticism. The decision-makers' willingness to examine everything except themselves is grave from the perspective of democracy and morality. This is a disgraceful evasion of responsibility. The following must be examined.

 

The decision to stop the flotilla in the way it was executed was taken neither in the cabinet nor in the security cabinet. Similarly, the members of the forum of seven senior ministers were apparently not aware of the details. It appears that the matter was decided between the prime minister and the defense minister.

 

Decisions of this sort must not be made this way. As director general of the Foreign Ministry, I was partner to the discussions and decisions before Operation Entebbe. The operation was discussed and approved at several levels: in discussions between prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, defense minister Shimon Peres and foreign minister Yigal Allon, and in the presence of the chief of staff, the head of the Mossad, the head of Military Intelligence, the prime minister's adviser on terror issues and others. Afterwards the issue was presented to the full cabinet for discussion and authorization, and the prime minister informed the head of the opposition (Menachem Begin ) and the chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (Yitzhak Navon ).

 

The fact that the hijacking of the Air France plane to Entebbe came as a complete surprise to everyone, that there was an immediate threat to the lives of hundreds of Israelis and that the preparations for the operation took place in total secrecy did not preclude detailed discussions and decision-making at various levels, without leaks and while successfully deceiving the hijackers.

 

The flotilla, however, was a public event whose date was known in advance, and the IDF, navy and police had been preparing for weeks. The media were fed operational details, intended perhaps for self-glorification, but this certainly did not make the operation any easier.

 

Israelis are entitled to know whether the decision-makers considered the strategic implications for relations with Turkey involved in the takeover on the high seas of a ship flying the Turkish flag and carrying Turkish civilians. Was this discussed at all? Was conferring with the Turkish authorities considered? Did someone ask what would happen if Turkish civilians were killed?

 

Was the National Security Council a partner - as mandated today by law - in the consultations and preparations? Did the decision-makers have information about who had boarded the boats, and if not, who is responsible for this intelligence failure?

 

Was there a discussion on whether the ships would be stopped when approaching the exclusion zone, or nearly 100 kilometers from the shores of Israel and the Gaza Strip, which is what occurred? After all, from the perspective of international law, this question has crucial significance - this is the difference between a legitimate action and piracy.

 

Was the prime minister's trip abroad on the eve of the operation an error of judgment? During the preparations for Entebbe, Rabin canceled an important trip to Tehran for a secret meeting with the shah of Iran.

 

After what was said in the Winograd Committee about the way decisions are made in Israel, it is impossible to escape these questions. It's not "who is guilty," but rather "who is responsible." When in the background very much more difficult challenges might be facing us, Israelis have the right to know how their leaders made their decisions and whether we can rely on their judgment. It is not the decision-makers' fate and future that lie in the balance, but rather the fate and future of the State of Israel.

 

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HAARETZ

EDITORIAL

SOMETIMES A FROG IS JUST A FROG

FOR GENERATIONS WE HAVE MAINTAINED RACIAL PURITY IN MATTERS OF MARRIAGE, PROTECTING OURSELVES FROM EVERY EVIL, AND THEY, SMALL THINKERS, SWALLOW ALL THIS CHATTER FED TO THEM BY THOSE WHO ARE NOT EVEN CIRCUMCISED, WHILE EXPECTING US TO HURT THE FEELINGS OF ISRAEL'S KEEPERS OF THE FAITH.

BY URIEL PROCACCIA

 

Israel is finding it more difficult than ever to explain the righteousness of its actions to the world. No matter how hard it tries, the world refuses to believe our reasons for keeping Gaza under a blockade for so long. We explain that the Gazans are not suffering from a humanitarian crisis, and that if they are, it is their own doing. But those goyim, feeble-minded as they are, refuse to believe us. We prepare ‏(particularly for our guests from across the sea‏) full companies of soldiers dressed in white, reflecting our desire for peace and our inherent hospitality in the very color of their uniforms. Yet they, through a complete lack of understanding of our noble goals, find reason for condemnation even in that.

 

And it is not only with regard to Gaza and the flotilla: The folly of Israel-haters extends into every corner. We explain, simply and clearly, that most of the land in the West Bank is inhabited by our settlers, that they are the pillar of fire advancing before the camp, that the lands were not taken from their owners but are "state lands" − that is, areas that were ours from the beginning, promised to Abraham by God Himself. And if they were not ours from the beginning and were not promised to us by the Almighty, they were purchased from their owners with full payment, with deeds and receipts.

 

But the goyim, they of little faith, persist in believing what they wish.
We pave roads for the benefit of those who enjoy a higher standard of living under our rule, but they, blockheads that they are, refuse to understand why we must then make those roads unavailable for their use. We build separation fences along the safest, shortest routes available, and they, idolaters that they are, become locked in an idée fixe about segregation and apartheid, as if those terms had ever cropped up in our darkest dreams.

 

They are not even intelligent enough to understand our most private, intimate lives. Out of a love of cleanliness and order, we separate our white, kosher girls from our less kosher Mizrahi cousins. For generations we have maintained racial purity in matters of marriage, protecting ourselves from every evil, and they, small thinkers, swallow all this chatter fed to them by those who are not even circumcised, while expecting us to hurt the feelings of Israel's keepers of the faith.

 

We have always known how to look in the mirror with directness and courage. We must therefore admit that we sometimes appear − to a superficial, naive glance − a bit less attractive than we would like, certainly than we are entitled to look. Still, we wisely explain, with reference to the Brothers Grimm story, that something that looks, on first, distorted glance, like a frog, is to the penetrating eyes of the enchanted princess a prince. But they, with their bottomless hatred of our nation, reinterpret the story to mean that frogs live in this swamp who have never seen a royal palace, but were born in the swamp and will remain there forever.

 

The writer is a law professor at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.

 

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******************************************************************************************THE NEW YORK TIMES

EDITORIAL

FROM THE OVAL OFFICE

 

Americans have been anxiously waiting for President Obama to take full charge of the gulf oil catastrophe. On Tuesday, in his first address from the Oval Office, he vowed to "fight this spill with everything we've got for as long as it takes" and declared that "we will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused."

 

Mr. Obama and his team will have to follow through — with more energy and dedication than they have shown so far.

 

We know that the country is eager for reassurance. We're not sure the American people got it from a speech that was short on specifics and devoid of self-criticism. Certainly, we hope that Mr. Obama was right when he predicted that in "coming weeks and days," up to 90 percent of the oil leaking from the well will be captured and the well finally capped by this summer. But he was less than frank about his administration's faltering efforts to manage this vast environmental and human disaster.

 

Fifty-six days into the spill and it is not clear who is responsible — BP, federal, state or local authorities — for the most basic decisions, like when to deploy booms to protect sensitive wetlands. It's not even clear how much oil is pouring out of the ruptured well. On Tuesday, a government panel raised the estimate to as much as 60,000 barrels a day.

 

Responding to legitimate fears that BP might run out of money or find ways to dodge its obligations, Mr. Obama said that he would order it to "set aside whatever resources are required" to compensate individuals and businesses. Mr. Obama also said the fund would be run by an independent third party to ensure that all legitimate claims were paid out in a fair and timely manner.

 

He did not, however, say how much money BP must set aside. And it is not clear if the president is also demanding that BP reserve many billions more for the huge cleanup and restoration.

 

We hope those questions will be answered on Wednesday when the president meets with BP's chairman and other top officials of the company. There can be no doubts about the company's liability — or about Mr. Obama's determination to press it to pay.

 

Mr. Obama vowed that he would do all that was necessary to ensure that a disaster like this does not happen again. He repeated his pledge to strengthen federal oversight of the oil industry. That, too, will require determined, indeed relentless, follow-up.

 

Because of a mixture of philosophy, incompetence and negligence, federal regulators have failed for years to do their jobs. Left to its own devices, industry blithely insisted that deep-water drilling was safe and that it had the means to deal with any possible accident. The blowout on the Deepwater Horizon rig has shown that both statements were flat-out untrue.

 

Even now, after the worst environmental disaster in American history, industry is unbowed. In Congressional testimony on Tuesday, top officials of Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips insisted that this spill was an aberration and that their companies couldn't possibly make the same mistakes. Representative Edward Markey noted, pointedly, that the response plans of all four companies were virtual carbon copies of BP's.

 

In his address, Mr. Obama pressed the Senate to move ahead with a long-stalled comprehensive energy and climate bill, a necessary first step to reducing this country's dependence on fossil fuels and tackling the problem of global warming. Time is quickly running out for Congress to act before the midterm elections. There is no chance at all unless Mr. Obama takes full charge of that fight as well.

 

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THE NEW YORK TIMES

NO PRICE TO PAY FOR TORTURE

 

The Supreme Court's refusal to consider the claims of Maher Arar, an innocent Canadian who was sent to Syria to be tortured in 2002, was a bitterly disappointing abdication of its duty to hold officials accountable for illegal acts. The Bush administration sent Mr. Arar to outsourced torment, but it was the Obama administration that urged this course of inaction.

 

In the ignoble history of President George W. Bush's policies of torture and extraordinary rendition, few cases were as egregious as that of Mr. Arar, a software engineer. He was picked up at Kennedy International Airport by officials acting on incorrect information from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He was sent to Syria, to which the United States had assigned some of its violent interrogation, and was held for almost a year until everyone agreed he was not a terrorist and he was released.

 

The Bush White House never expressed regret about this horrific case. There was only then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's bland acknowledgement to a House committee in 2007 that it was not "handled as it should have been." Since he took office, President Obama has refused to fully examine the excesses of his predecessor, but surely this case was a chance to show that those who countenanced torture must pay a price.

 

In Canada, the government conducted an investigation and found that Mr. Arar had been tortured because of its false information. The commissioner of the police resigned. Canada cleared Mr. Arar of all terror connections, formally apologized and paid him nearly $9.8 million. Mr. Arar had hoped to get a similar apology and damages from the United States government but was rebuffed by the court system.

 

Amazingly, Mr. Obama's acting solicitor general, Neal Katyal, urged the Supreme Court not to take the case, arguing in part that the court should not investigate the communications between the United States and other countries because it might damage diplomatic relations and affect national security. It might even raise questions, Mr. Katyal wrote, about "the motives and sincerity of the United States officials who concluded that petitioner could be removed to Syria."

 

The government and the courts should indeed raise those questions in hopes of preventing these practices from ever recurring. The Canadian police continue to investigate the matter, even the actions of American officials, though their counterparts here are not even trying.

 

The Supreme Court's action was disgraceful, but it had stepped away twice before from cases of torture victims. There is no excuse for the Obama administration's conduct. It should demonstrate some moral authority by helping Canada's investigation, apologizing to Mr. Arar and writing him a check.

 

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THE NEW YORK TIMES

REVIVING INVESTOR PROTECTION

 

Over the next few days, the public will find out if markets can be made safe for ordinary Americans. The conference committee on financial reform will be discussing the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is supposed to ensure that markets are fair and transparent, but failed like other regulatory agencies in the years leading up to the financial crisis.

 

In the 17 months since President Obama made her the chairwoman of the S.E.C., Mary Schapiro has begun to rebuild the agency, focusing on its investor protection mission, replacing top personnel, ramping up examination and enforcement and identifying ways in which the agency has not kept pace — technologically and organizationally — with today's fast-moving markets.

 

Congress needs to ensure that Ms. Schapiro has the resources to accelerate and reinforce her efforts and that the agency will remain well financed, even after memories of the financial crisis have faded.

 

Under current law, the S.E.C. is subject to annual appropriations from Congress, and the result has been inconsistent financing. Through most of the 1990s, its staff barely grew, even though the volume and value of securities transactions exploded. In the boom years of the past decade, it had flat or declining budgets. Financing and staffing have increased during the Obama administration, but even with the boost, the number of new employees and the agency's capacity to spend on new technology is far short of the need.

 

A must-pass provision in the Senate version of regulatory reform would allow the S.E.C. to finance itself through fees it already imposes on securities transactions and corporate filings. The agency collected $1.5 billion in 2010, but it was turned over to the Treasury and the agency was allotted only $1.1 billion.

 

The appropriators who currently control the S.E.C. budget argue that Congress will lose important oversight of the agency if it is self-financed. That argument is intended to protect turf, not investors. It ignores the abysmal job that appropriators did in overseeing the agency before the crisis. It also overlooks the fact that the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate banking committee have jurisdiction over the S.E.C. and should hold regular hearings on the agency's activities.

 

Self-financing is key to reinvigorating the S.E.C., and a reinvigorated S.E.C. is essential to restoring investor confidence. If lawmakers decide otherwise, investors have reason to doubt both the safety of markets and the ability of Congress to put the public interest first.

 

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THE NEW YORK TIMES

THE TRUTH ABOUT 'BLOODY SUNDAY'

 

Nearly 40 years after British troops opened fire on protestors in Northern Ireland — sparking decades of bitter sectarian violence — a British government inquiry has finally rendered a credible verdict worthy of a democracy. As Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain announced: "What happened on 'Bloody Sunday' was both unjustified and unjustifiable."

 

Then Mr. Cameron did something that politicians almost never do, he apologized. "On behalf of the government," he said, "I am deeply sorry."

 

The decision by former Prime Minister Tony Blair to order the investigation in 1998 and Mr. Cameron's forthright embrace of its conclusions should be an example for countries and leaders around the world. The inquiry determined that British soldiers fired without provocation or warning on the civil rights march in the city of Londonderry on Jan. 30, 1972. It said that the 14 people killed and 13 people wounded were unarmed.

 

That should discredit once and for all an earlier whitewash investigation that, weeks after 'Bloody Sunday,' exonerated the soldiers, saying they were fired upon first. This latest inquiry lasted 12 years, took evidence from nearly 2,500 people and produced an exhaustive 5,000-page report.

 

The findings are understandably dredging up raw emotions on all sides. With the 1998 Good Friday agreement, Northern Ireland has come a long way on a very difficult path toward peace. The hard truth of this inquiry and Mr. Cameron's ringing apology should help move that process and the cause of peace forward.

 

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THE NEW YORK TIMES

CAN THE ONE DROP THE BUZZER-BEATING NO. 23 ACT?

BY MAUREEN DOWD

 

Of the many exciting things about Barack Obama's election, one was the anticipation of a bracing dose of normality in the White House.

 

America had been trapped for eight years with the Clintons' marital dysfunction disastrously shaping national events and then trapped for another eight with the Bushes' Oedipal dysfunction disastrously shaping international events. And before that, L.B.J. and Nixon had acted pretty nutty at times.

 

President Obama was supposed to be a soothing change. He had a rough childhood. Michelle once told a friend that "Barack spent so much time by himself that it was like he was raised by wolves." But he seemed to have come through exceptionally well adjusted. "His aides from the Senate, the presidential campaign, and the White House routinely described him with the same words: 'psychologically healthy,' " writes Jonathan Alter in "The Promise," a chronicle of Obama's first year in office.

 

So it's unnerving now to have yet another president elevating personal quirks into a management style.

 

How can a man who was a dazzling enough politician to become the first black president at age 47 suddenly become so obdurately self-destructive about politics?

 

President Obama's bloodless quality about people and events, the emotional detachment that his aides said allowed him to see things more clearly, has instead obscured his vision. It has made him unable to understand things quickly on a visceral level and put him on the defensive in this spring of our discontent, failing to understand that Americans are upset that a series of greedy corporations have screwed over the little guy without enough fierce and immediate pushback from the president.

 

"Even though I'm president of the United States, my power is not limitless," Obama, who has forced himself to ingest a load of gulf crab cakes, shrimp and crawfish tails, whinged to Grand Isle, La., residents on Friday. "So I can't dive down there and plug the hole. I can't suck it up with a straw."

 

Once more on Tuesday night, we were back to back-against-the-wall time. The president went for his fourth-quarter, Michael Jordan, down-to-the-wire, thrill shot in the Oval Office, his first such dramatic address to a nation sick about the slick.

 

You know the president is drowning — in oil this time — when he uses the Oval Office. And do words really matter when the picture of oil gushing out of the well continues to fill the screen?

 

As Obama prepared to go on air, a government panel of scientists again boosted its estimate of how much oil is belching into the besmirched gulf, raising it from 2.1 million gallons a day to roughly 2.5 million.

 

The president acknowledged that the problems at the Minerals Management Service were deeper than he had known and "the pace of reform was just too slow." He admitted that "there will be more oil and more damage before this siege is done."

 

He appointed a "son of the gulf" spill czar and a new guard dog at M.M.S. and tried to restore a sense of confident leadership — "The one approach I will not accept is inaction" — and compassion, reporting on the shrimpers and fishermen and their "wrenching anxiety that their way of life may be lost." He acted as if he was the boss of BP on the issue of compensation. And he called on us to pray.

 

Testifying before Congress on Tuesday, Rex Tillerson, the chief of Exxon Mobil, conceded that the emphasis is on prevention because when "these things" happen, "we're not very well equipped to deal with them."

 

Robert Gibbs on Tuesday continued the White House effort to emote, saying on TV: "It makes your blood boil." But he misses the point. Nobody needs to see the president yelling or pounding the table. Ronald Reagan could convey command with a smile; Clint Eastwood, with a whisper. Americans need to know the president cares so they can be sure he's taking fast, muscular and proficient action.

 

W. and Dick Cheney were too headlong, jumping off crazy cliffs and dragging the country — and the world — with them. President Obama is the opposite, often too hesitant to take the obvious action. He seems unable to muster the adrenalin necessary to go full bore until the crowd has waited and wailed and almost given up on him, but it's a nerve-racking way to campaign and govern.

 

"On the one hand, you have BP, which sees a risky hole in the ground a couple miles under the sea surface and thinks if we take more risk, and cut some corners, we make millions more. In taking on more risk, they're gambling with more than money," said Richard Wolffe, an Obama biographer. "On the other hand, you have Obama, who is ambivalent about risk. What he does late is to embrace risk, like running for president, trebling troops in Afghanistan and health care. But in deferring the risk, he's gambling with his authority and political capital."

 

By trying too hard to keep control, he ends up losing control.

 

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THE NEW YORK TIMES

LETTER FROM ISTANBUL

BY THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Istanbul

 

Turkey is a country that had me at hello. I like the people, the culture, the food and, most of all, the idea of modern Turkey — the idea of a country at the hinge of Europe and the Middle East that manages to be at once modern, secular, Muslim, democratic, and has good relations with the Arabs, Israel and the West. After 9/11, I was among those hailing the Turkish model as the antidote to "Bin Ladenism." Indeed, the last time I visited Turkey in 2005, my discussions with officials were all about Turkey's efforts to join the European Union. That is why it is quite shocking to come back today and find Turkey's Islamist government seemingly focused not on joining the European Union but the Arab League — no, scratch that, on joining the Hamas-Hezbollah-Iran resistance front against Israel.

 

Now how did that happen?

 

Wait one minute, Friedman. That is a gross exaggeration, say Turkish officials.

 

You're right. I exaggerate, but not that much. A series of vacuums that emerged in and around Turkey in the last few years have drawn Turkey's Islamist government — led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party — away from its balance point between East and West. This could have enormous implications. Turkey's balancing role has been one of the most important, quiet, stabilizers in world politics. You only notice it when it is gone. Being in Istanbul convinces me that we could be on our way to losing it if all these vacuums get filled in the wrong ways.

 

The first vacuum comes courtesy of the European Union. After a decade of telling the Turks that if they wanted E.U. membership they had to reform their laws, economy, minority rights and civilian-military relations — which the Erdogan government systematically did — the E.U. leadership has now said to Turkey: "Oh, you mean nobody told you? We're a Christian club. No Muslims allowed." The E.U.'s rejection of Turkey, a hugely bad move, has been a key factor prompting Turkey to move closer to Iran and the Arab world.

 

But as Turkey started looking more South, it found another vacuum — no leadership in the Arab-Muslim world. Egypt is adrift. Saudi Arabia is asleep. Syria is too small. And Iraq is too fragile. Erdogan discovered that by taking a very hard line against Israel's partial blockade of Hamas-led Gaza — and quietly supporting the Turkish-led flotilla to break that blockade, during which eight Turks were killed by Israel — Turkey could vastly increase its influence on the Arab street and in the Arab markets.

 

Indeed, Erdogan today is the most popular leader in the Arab world. Unfortunately, it is not because he is promoting a synthesis of democracy, modernity and Islam, but because he is loudly bashing Israel over its occupation and praising Hamas instead of the more responsible Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, which is actually building the foundations of a Palestinian state.

 

There is nothing wrong with criticizing Israel's human rights abuses in the territories. Israel's failure to apply its creativity to solving the Palestinian problem is another dangerous vacuum. But it is very troubling when Erdogan decries Israelis as killers and, at the same time, warmly receives in Ankara Sudan's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the bloodshed in Darfur, and while politely hosting Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose government killed and jailed thousands of Iranians demanding that their votes be counted. Erdogan defended his reception of Bashir by saying: "It's not possible for a Muslim to commit genocide."

 

As one Turkish foreign policy analyst said to me: "We are not mediating between East and West anymore. We've become spokesmen for the most regressive elements in the East."

 

Finally, there is a vacuum inside Turkey. The secular opposition parties have been in disarray most of the decade, the army has been cowed by wiretaps and the press has been increasingly intimidated into self-censorship because of government pressures. In September, the Erdogan government levied a tax fine of $2.5 billion on the largest, most influential — and most critical — media conglomerate, Dogan Holdings, to bring it to heel. At the same time, Erdogan lately has spoken with increasing vitriol about Israel in his public speeches — describing Israelis as killers — to build up his domestic support. He regularly labels his critics as "Israel's contractors" and "Tel Aviv's lawyers."

 

Sad. Erdogan is smart, charismatic and can be very pragmatic. He's no dictator. I'd love to see him be the most popular leader on the Arab street, but not by being more radical than the Arab radicals and by catering to Hamas, but by being more of a democracy advocate than the undemocratic Arab leaders and mediating in a balanced way between all Palestinians and Israel. That is not where Erdogan is at, though, and it's troubling. Maybe President Obama should invite him for a weekend at Camp David to clear the air before U.S.-Turkey relations get where they're going — over a cliff.

 

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THE NEW YORK TIMES

THE 'LEARNING KNIGHTS' OF BELL TELEPHONE

BY WES DAVIS

 

FIFTY-SIX years ago today, a Bell System manager sent postcards to 16 of the most capable and promising young executives at the company. What was written on the postcards was surprising, especially coming from a corporate ladder-climber at a time when the nation was just beginning to lurch out of a recession: "Happy Bloom's Day."

 

It was a message to mark the annual celebration of James Joyce's "Ulysses," the epic novel built around events unfolding on a single day — June 16, 1904 — in the life of the fictional Dubliner Leopold Bloom. But the postcard also served as a kind of diploma for the men who received it.

 

Two years earlier a number of Bell's top executives, led by W. D. Gillen, then president of Bell Telephone of Pennsylvania, had begun to worry about the education of the managers rising through the company's hierarchy. Many of these junior executives had technical backgrounds, gained at engineering schools or on the job, and quite a few had no college education at all. They were good at their jobs, but they would eventually rise to positions in which Gillen felt they would need broader views than their backgrounds had so far given them.

 

The sociologist E. Digby Baltzell explained the Bell leaders' concerns in an article published in Harper's magazine in 1955: "A well-trained man knows how to answer questions, they reasoned; an educated man knows what questions are worth asking." Bell, then one of the largest industrial concerns in the country, needed more employees capable of guiding the company rather than simply following instructions or responding to obvious crises.

 

In 1952, Gillen took the problem to the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a trustee. Together with representatives of the university, Bell set up a program called the Institute of Humanistic Studies for Executives. More than simply training its young executives to do a particular job, the institute would give them, in a 10-month immersion program on the Penn campus, what amounted to a complete liberal arts education. There were lectures and seminars led by scholars from Penn and other colleges in the area — 550 hours of course work in total, and more reading, Baltzell reported, than the average graduate student was asked to do in a similar time frame.

 

At the same time, the institute's curriculum provided for the sorts of experiences that were once the accidental concomitants of a liberal education: visits to museums and art galleries, orchestral concerts, day trips meant to foster thoughtful attention to the history and architecture of the city that surrounded the Penn campus, as well as that of New York and Washington.

 

Perhaps the most exciting component of the curriculum was the series of guest lecturers the institute brought to campus. "One hundred and sixty of America's leading intellectuals," according to Baltzell, spoke to the Bell students that year. They included the poets W. H. Auden and Delmore Schwartz, the Princeton literary critic R. P. Blackmur, the architectural historian Lewis Mumford, the composer Virgil Thomson. It was a thrilling intellectual carnival.

 

When the students read "The Lonely Crowd," the landmark 1950 study of their own social milieu, they didn't just discuss the book, they discussed it with its author, David Riesman. They tangled with a Harvard expert over the elusive poetry in Ezra Pound's "Pisan Cantos," which had sent one of the Bell students to bed with a headache and two aspirin.

 

The capstone of the program, and its most controversial element, came in eight three-hour seminars devoted to "Ulysses." The novel, published in 1922, had been banned as obscene in the United States until 1933 and its reputation for difficulty outlived the ban. The Bell students "found it a challenging, and often exasperating, experience," Baltzell wrote.

 

But, prepared by months of reading that had ranged from the Bhagavad Gita to "Babbitt," the men rose to the challenge, surprising themselves with the emotional and intellectual resources they brought to bear on Joyce's novel. It was clear as the students cheered one another through their final reports that reading a book as challenging as "Ulysses" was both a liberating intellectual experience and a measure of how much they had been enriched by their time at the institute.

 

At the end of the 10-month course, an anonymous questionnaire was circulated among the Bell students; their answers revealed that they were reading more widely than they had before — if they had read at all — and they were more curious about the world around them. At a time when the country was divided by McCarthyism, they tended to see more than one side to any given argument.

 

What's more, the graduates were no longer content to let the machinery of business determine the course of their lives. One man told Baltzell that before the program he had been "like a straw floating with the current down the stream" and added: "The stream was the Bell Telephone Company. I don't think I will ever be that straw again."

 

The institute was judged a success by Morris S. Viteles, one of the pioneers of industrial psychology, who evaluated its graduates. But Bell gradually withdrew its support after yet another positive assessment found that while executives came out of the program more confident and more intellectually engaged, they were also less interested in putting the company's bottom line ahead of their commitments to their families and communities. By 1960, the Institute of Humanistic Studies for Executives was finished.

 

As the worst economic crisis since the Depression continues and the deepening rift in the nation's political fabric threatens to forestall economic reform, the values the program instilled would certainly come in handy today. We need fewer drifting straws on the stream of American business, and more discontented thinkers who listen thoughtfully to both sides of our national debates. Reading "Ulysses" this Bloomsday may be more than just a literary observance. Think of it as an act of fiscal responsibility.

 

Wes Davis is the editor of "An Anthology of Modern Irish Poetry."

 

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THE NEW YORK TIMES

 

HOW TO RUIN A GOOD 9/11 SETTLEMENT

BY KENNETH R. FEINBERG

 

LAST week, lawyers for almost 10,000 policemen, firemen and other workers agreed to a $712 million fund to compensate these rescuers for illnesses sustained while responding to the devastation at the World Trade Center after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The settlement now needs the support of 95 percent of the plaintiffs to be approved. (Should it pass, I will be deciding appeals from plaintiffs disputing their awards.)

 

Unfortunately, the 9/11 compensation story is far from over. There is also legislation in Congress that would reopen the original Victim Compensation Fund to those who missed the previous filing deadline, a group that includes many of the plaintiffs in the proposed settlement. But by signing onto the new settlement, the plaintiffs would forgo the opportunity to participate in a new 9/11 fund if the legislation should pass.

 

It is doubtful they would do better by waiting for the proposed legislation. But hope springs eternal, and some plaintiffs are being told that it would be preferable to wait. If more than 5 percent agree, last week's settlement is off.

 

The 9/11 responders shouldn't be put in this position. Simple changes to the legislation would allow them to benefit from both programs, and thus finally receive the compensation they deserve.

 

The new settlement is a clear instance of justice delayed. Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, thousands of rescue workers performed the terrible but necessary task of sifting through the rubble and twisted metal in search of victims' remains. Almost 2,000 of these workers, who became ill as a result of their exposure to ash and airborne chemicals, were promptly paid by the federal Victim Compensation Fund, which Congress created just 11 days after the attacks. But others did not qualify because their physical injuries manifested themselves years later, after the statute authorizing the payments had expired.

 

This settlement rectifies that wrong. It will no longer be necessary for each plaintiff to spend years in court to prove that his or her illness was the direct result of exposure to ground zero debris.

 

The settlement isn't the only attempt to address unanswered 9/11 claims. The bill before Congress — which has been voted out of a House committee but has not been considered by the full House or the Senate — would reopen the original fund to any eligible person who claims a physical injury from exposure to the dust and debris at the World Trade Center, including Lower Manhattan residents. The legislation could affect thousands more people claiming respiratory injury because of their proximity to the site.

 

The plaintiffs in the settlement thus face a tough choice: accept the offer on the table or gamble that the bill will pass and they'll get a better deal.

 

Congress shouldn't make them take this unnecessary gamble. As with the original fund, the legislation should simply require that any money received as a result of the settlement be debited against any additional funds he or she might get from the re-opened fund.

 

That is the approach I followed when I administered the original 9/11 fund. In determining awards, I offset life insurance proceeds, health insurance and disability payments and other sources of income paid to victims and their families.

 

The 9/11 responders have waited long enough. They should be able to accept the settlement and move forward with their lives as best they can, without having to worry that they might miss out on something better.

 

Kenneth R. Feinberg was the special master of the federal compensation fund for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.

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USA TODAY

EDITORIAL

BEYOND THEATRICS, HOW TO RATE OBAMA ON OIL SPILL RESPONSE

 

Like the oil industry, President Obama was caught off guard by BP's disastrous spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In the assessments of Obama's performance, however, far too much attention has been paid to theatrics. Is the president angry enough? Has he traveled to the Gulf enough times to show concern? Has he met with enough "real" people?

 

Such things only matter politically and in the psyche of the region. In the aftermath of the first Oval Office address of his presidency, Obama should be judged less on his stagecraft and more on how he handles five key aspects of the crisis:

 

•Stopping the spill. Unless you subscribe to the president-as-Superman theory of government, Obama has little ability to shut off the well's raging tap. He has organized scientists to look for innovative answers, which is worthwhile, but the engineering expertise lies with the industry, and BP already has enormous motivation to end the spill fast.

 

The best the president can do is provide the sort of adult supervision BP has shown itself to need. The company has consistently overestimated its own competence and underestimated the flow rate. One useful administration move was to demand the drilling of two relief wells to intercept the runaway hole, instead of the one the company was planning.

 

•Cleaning up the oil. When the nation is struck by an unprecedented event — 9/11 for instance — it's a given that the response will be imperfect, not a happy circumstance for Obama in a political age that seems to judge anything short of perfection as failure. That said, the government did a dreadful job of making sure the oil industry had the means to plug a deep-ocean gusher. In his speech Tuesday night, Obama again blamed this on the Bush administration, and with plenty of cause. The cozy relationship between the industry and its regulator was well documented long before the spill. But for that very reason, the current administration also shares the blame. It didn't apply any substantive fix.

 

What the president did do, though, was assemble massive forces quickly to fight the spill. Obama quantified the effort Tuesday night: The cleanup has marshaled thousands of ships and nearly 30,000 workers. The inevitable result is some degree of chaos, but the level of complaints about ineffectiveness is troubling. Plainly, there is a need for clearer lines of authority.

 

The administration was also slow to drop its illogical objections to foreign aid. Booms, skimmers and other vital tools are being shipped to the Gulf from Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and other countries with expertise at combating spills.

 

•Helping people and businesses harmed by the spill. Tens of thousands of people who make a living from the Gulf have seen their business dwindle or dry up, a human and economic disaster that will last long after the well is plugged. BP has a responsibility to make them whole, and the president has not been shy about saying so. But that's the easy part. BP is a friendless political punching bag. The trick will be to get help to people who need it quickly and steadily without killing off the revenue stream by bankrupting the company.

 

That won't be easy. Setting up an escrow fund with BP's money, as the president suggested Tuesday night, is a good idea, as long as an impartial third party rapidly and fairly adjudicates claims. Any disaster sees a rush of scam artists along with those who are really suffering; whoever administers the fund will have to separate out the crooks from the legitimate claimants.

 

•Preventing a repeat. Obama is expected to ensure that a blowout like this never happens again — which, of course, is impossible to guarantee as long as human beings and their potentially faulty judgments are involved. Even so, more than verbal reassurances are needed before deep drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, now on hold for six months, resumes.

 

Because delay means lost jobs, this is not as politically appetizing as beating up on BP. But nothing could be more obvious than the need for new protections. Before drilling starts again, Obama should certify that the industry is far better able to control a runaway well and much more ready to contain any spill. He also needs to continue overhauling the Minerals Management Service, the federal agency responsible for drilling regulation and oversight, which became a captive of the industry. The challenge is to do this quickly — again, a far tougher task than just asking that it be done.

 

•Taking the nation beyond petroleum. There's not much to add to Obama's compelling dissection Tuesday of the nation's decades-long failure to address its deepening addiction to foreign oil. Whether Obama can break that pattern could be the true test — one that will matter long after the spill is cleaned up.

 

This nation already imports two-thirds of its oil, often enriching hostile nations. Even with aggressive action, it will take decades to supplant the liquid fuels that power the more than 254 million cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles now on U.S. roads. The investment will also be expensive, which makes it politically poisonous. Even so, it's the best way to create some lasting good from this disaster.

 

First, though, let's clean up the oil.

 

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USA TODAY

EDITORIAL

SOUTER HAPPY TO SHAPE OUR CONSTITUTION

BY DAVID B. RIVKIN JR. AND LEE A. CASEY

 

Our perennial national debate over how to interpret the Constitution will soon be renewed, as the Senate considers the Supreme Court nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan.

 

In fact, former Justice David Souter set the discussion in motion last month in a Harvard commencement address— arguing that seeking to resolve difficult constitutional questions based on an honest effort to construe that document's words (whether broadly or narrowly) "has only a tenuous connection to reality" and leads to bad decisions.

 

Souter's candor is commendable but also genuinely troubling — the practical equivalent of a retired cardinal announcing that religion is an opiate for the masses. Even judges who quietly believe that the Constitution is an irredeemably reactionary document, which they must pull and push into the 21st century, are not generally so bold, preferring instead to cloak their innovations with references to the Constitution's text.

 

Souter, however, argues that the Constitution is too full of ambiguous language and competing imperatives to sustain a textual approach to its interpretation. Like the people it serves — who throughout their history have demanded security and liberty, liberty and equality — the Constitution tries to have it both ways and is too often irreconcilable.

 

It is, therefore, the courts (and the Supreme Court especially), that Souter believes must "decide which of our approved desires has the better claim," and this cannot be done simply by reading the Constitution's words. Put differently, we all must trust in the judges to find our way through the morass, to make the right choices between competing constitutional imperatives, and we cannot accuse them of making up the law when they make choices we do not like. It is their job, not ours.

 

When judges rule

 

It would be difficult to articulate a decision-making model more antithetical to American democracy and the Constitution's own design. It is often said — by the Supreme Court among others — that we have a "government of laws and not of men." Judges are people, not the living embodiment of the law. When a judge makes the choices Souter suggests, without regard to the Constitution's words and their original meaning, it is the judges who rule and not the law.

 

The Constitution's drafters understood this very well and, whatever mistakes they made along the way, they manifestly did not empower the courts to choose freestyle among constitutional values. Their judiciary was to be, as Alexander Hamilton explained at the time, the "weakest" branch of government that could exercise only "judgment," not the awesome congressional power of the purse or the president's control over the military.

 

Indeed, the Supreme Court itself did not claim the right to invalidate actions of Congress and the president as unconstitutional until 15 years after the Constitution was ratified.

 

This is not to say construing the Constitution is easy; it is not. To the extent there are competing values and ambiguous provisions in our founding document, the Constitution itself prescribes how choices ought to be made. To be sure, as human beings, every judge brings a lifetime of personal experiences, beliefs and prejudices (good and bad) to the task of judging. Wading into the Constitution may well seem like walking through a museum of medieval art, which speaks to us in fundamentally different ways than to our ancestors. But the judge's job, his or her sacred trust, requires disciplining these personal experiences and beliefs toward a faithful interpretation of the Constitution's text.

 

Moreover, it is possible to rise above personal preference to fairly interpret that text. No better example can be found than in one of the precedents Souter himself discussed at Harvard, to buttress his core claim that reliance on constitutional text causes bad decisions. In Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court upheld the principle of "separate but equal," establishing the legal basis for generations of racial segregation. But there was a dissent.

 

The Harlan model

 

Justice John Marshall Harlan ("the Elder") was a man who passionately believed that the "white race" was superior to all others. Yet, as Justice Clarence Thomas likes to point out, Harlan looked into the Constitution and could not find there, in its words as fairly construed, any basis for separate but equal. The Constitution, Harlan wrote, says the government must guarantee the equal protection of the laws to all. That is what it said, and that is what it meant. Harlan was, of course, vindicated in 1954, when the Supreme Court overruled Plessy and rejected the notion of "separate but equal" in Brown v. Board of Education.

 

The bottom line is that bad constitutional decisions, far from being the result of the Constitution's frailty, are caused by the frailties of judges who depart from it. It is to be hoped that, if the Senate confirms Kagan's nomination, she will give an ear to Justice Harlan rather than Justice Souter.

 

David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey are partners in Baker & Hostetler LLP and served in the Justice Department under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.

 

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USA TODAY

EDITORIAL

IN A WORLD OF ABUNDANCE, FOOD WASTE IS A CRIME

BY DANIELLE NIERENBERG AND ABBY MASSEY

 

What does the U.S. have in common with countries in sub-Saharan Africa?

 

Both waste large, obscene amounts of food. Better knowledge and technology would reduce food waste, deter environmental damage and, especially in that region of the African continent, reduce the number of people who go hungry each day.

 

In sub-Saharan Africa, at least 265 million people are hungry, heightening the travesty of the food waste problem. More than a quarter of the food produced in Africa spoils before it is eaten. Farmers battle post-harvest losses caused by severe weather, disease and pests, or poor harvesting and storage techniques. Annual post-harvest losses for cereal grains, roots and tuber crops, fruits, vegetables, meat, milk and fish amount to some 100 million tons, or $48 million worth of food.

 

Preventive measures

 

To prevent these losses in Africa and elsewhere, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is trying to provide the information and technology to begin turning this tide:

 

•In Kenya, the FAO partnered with the Kenya Ministry of Agriculture to train farmers to take steps to reduce corn crop loss to mycotoxin, a devastating result of fungi growth.

 

•In Afghanistan, the FAO recently provided metallic silos to roughly 18,000 households to improve storage of cereal grains and legumes, protecting them from the weather and pests. Losses have dropped from 15%-20% to less than 1%-2%.

 

Americans, of course, are blessed by an abundance of food. But that fact makes our waste all the more inexcusable.

 

Every day, the average American throws away about one-and-a-half pounds of food. Slightly wilted lettuce, half-eaten cheeseburgers, bruised apples end up in the trash instead of our stomachs. Better to buy and cook less food, and compost the rest. Although it doesn't sound like much, those nearly one-and-a-half pounds add up —31 million tons end in landfills or incinerators each year. That's roughly equivalent to the weight of 74 Golden Gate bridges. These dumps are not only unsightly, they produce 34% of the methane in the U.S. — a greenhouse gas more than 20 times as potent as carbon dioxide.

 

U.S. household waste

 

The waste goes well beyond households. Four percent to 10% of food purchases become waste in restaurants before ever reaching the customer.

 

Although, unlike sub-Saharan Africa, the United States has the technology to preserve harvested crops, too much of a harvest is left by farm equipment on the field to rot. To feed the hungry in the U.S., organizations such as the Society of St. Andrews recruit volunteers to visit farms after a harvest to glean, or pick up, the perfectly good produce left behind. In 2009, they were able to save and distribute 15.7 million pounds of produce.

 

Groups such as Food Runners, a non-profit in San Francisco run entirely by volunteers, deliver an estimated 10 tons of food each week to hungry people; otherwise, it would have been wasted. Taken from coffee shops, restaurants and supermarkets, this salvaged sustenance is used in shelters, soup kitchens, senior centers and other locations.

 

The U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa, now that they are catching up with other countries in this regard, can serve as models for the rest of the world when it comes to food waste. We can show the world how to feed its people while protecting the earth, too.

 

Danielle Nierenberg is co-project director of the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet project (www.nourishingtheplanet.org). Abby Massey is a research intern who will be an M.A. candidate in American University's Global Environmental Politics program.

 

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TIMES FREE PRESS

EDITORIAL

WHAT NOW ABOUT GULF OIL?

 

Everybody -- from the U.S. president down -- can say some justified "bad things" about the horrible oil spill at one BP well in the Gulf of Mexico that has been fouling water, sea life and shores, killing many jobs and causing inestimable economic damage for nearly two months -- so far.

 

And no end is in sight. Many are placing "blame." But despite frantic efforts, there is no prospect of early solution. The mess is likely to increase for months, at least, with damage lingering for years.

 

Oil and other industrial "experts" are trying "lots of things," with little progress. Many talk about "who will pay." But some of that can wait. We need a solution.

 

Surely, practical engineers have many ideas. But simple "non-experts" wonder why some kind of "inverted funnel" can't be placed over the rampaging oil well to collect much of the oil and pipe it into tanker ships, keeping the potentially valuable stuff from causing such great environmental damage.

 

While about 3,000 Gulf of Mexico oil wells are trouble-free, just one well is damaging several states and thousands of people -- with no solution in sight.

 

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TIMES FREE PRESS

EDITORIAL

NO TAX INCREASE ON SIGNAL MOUNTAIN

 

With many people pinched by economic recession, this is a good time not to increase financial burdens on families, businesses and governments.

 

Signal Mountain obviously has gotten that message as its local officials have decided to make a $6.1 million town budget with no tax increase.

 

Nearly all governments could "use" more tax income. But individuals and families have the same needs. So it is good news when public officials recognize the financial pinch and don't increase tax burdens on the people.

 

The big problem with the federal government, however, is that it just keeps on spending too much, running up more than $1.5 trillion in red ink this year alone, despite tight times. Local governments can't do that.

 

Those who hold the tax line should be commended for their sensible response to economic reality.

 

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TIMES FREE PRESS

EDITORIAL

'NO EXCUSES' AT GOOD SCHOOLS

 

We would like to offer a hearty "Hooray!" to two elementary schools in nearby Walker County, Ga. They are not letting the financially disadvantaged backgrounds of many of their students stand in the way of making sure those students get a good education.

 

The schools are Stone Creek and Cherokee Ridge elementary schools. Both have been added to a list of 35 schools across Georgia that have a higher-than-average rate of students from families living in poverty, but that still meet the academic standards set by the federal No Child Left Behind law.

 

As a matter of constitutional principle, we do not believe the federal government should set academic standards for the states. But with the standards having been set, the performance at Stone Creek and Cherokee Ridge is simply remarkable.

 

About 73 percent of pupils at Cherokee Ridge are from families living in poverty, and that is true of about 75 percent of pupils at Stone Creek. Those rates are far higher than the state average. And yet, judging from test scores among their fifth-graders, they are in the top 10 percent to 20 percent statewide.

 

That wonderful achievement got them on the list of "No Excuses Schools" compiled by the Georgia Public Policy Foundation.

 

Coming from a family of very limited means may not be the easiest way for a child to start out in life. But educators at these Walker County schools have obviously made up their minds that students from all kinds of backgrounds can learn with the right combination of determination and involvement by students, teachers and parents.

 

They deserve congratulations and support.

 

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TIMES FREE PRESS

EDITORIAL

ZSENIORS NOT FOOLED ON OBAMACARE

 

President Barack Obama has begun making the rounds to promote his ObamaCare socialized medicine law and try to convince senior citizens in particular that it's a "good deal" for them.

 

He started out with a trip to Wheaton, Md., proudly proclaiming the $250 checks that will be sent to millions of Americans on Medicare to help pay for prescriptions. The checks -- which add to our $13 trillion national debt -- will be mailed over the next few months to try to shore up Mr. Obama's popularity with seniors, who are rightly skeptical that ObamaCare is good for them or the country.

 

The president was misleading when a listener calling in from Illinois asked whether senior citizens in Medicare Advantage plans will lose benefits. The fact is, the Congressional Budget Office says Medicare Advantage clients will lose some benefits under ObamaCare, which steers hundreds of billions of dollars out of Medicare. But Mr. Obama declared, "What you need to know is that the guaranteed Medicare benefits that you've earned will not change." That's simply false.

 

It does not appear that senior citizens or the American people as a whole are taking Mr. Obama's claims at face value.

 

In a recent Rasmussen Reports survey, 63 percent of senior citizens said they favor repeal of ObamaCare. That is remarkably strong opposition, considering that they are a key group whom ObamaCare supposedly will help the most. Overall, 56 percent of those responding to the survey favored repeal, with only 39 percent opposed. Most said the law will increase federal budget deficits and the cost of care, and half said it will harm the quality of care.

 

We can see why Mr. Obama is making an all-out push to sell the American people on the supposed "benefits" of deeply unpopular ObamaCare. He is fearful of losing lots of Democrat seats in Congress in the November elections. But most Americans have grave reservations about the law. Adding to our catastrophic national debt by sending out $250 checks to some senior citizens is not likely to change many minds.

 

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TIMES FREE PRESS

EDITORIAL

FINES FOR TVA'S ASH SPILL

 

Among the enormous cost of $1.2 billion that TVA estimates it ultimately will pay to clean up the devastating Kingston ash spill, the $11.5 million fine levied Monday by Tennessee's environmental regulators seems relatively insignificant. Compared to the damage the spill caused, it is barely a slap on the wrist. But in this case, the symbolic value counts.

 

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation hardly could let TVA off the hook. Even though it's apparent that TVA will have to roll the costs of the fines, as with all other cleanup costs, int o the electric rates that TVA's customers must pay, it is essential that TVA be held accountable by both the state and the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which has yet to levy any fines.

 

TVA's management -- which is clearly responsible for the spill -- must be required to acknowledge its management failures and negligent oversight of operational procedures and standards that led to the spill. The fines help establish that sense of responsibility, accountability and fault, and reasonably so.

 

We're aware that TVA's management has moved gradually since the spill to acknowledge the scope of its failure. But its initial response was to attempt to minimize the extent and toxic nature of the spill. Then it seemed ready to bury any blame -- any notion of its own apparent causal incompetence and negligence as factors in the spill -- by seeking and controlling the range of multiple consultants' studies to assess how the spill might have happened.

 

In fact, one of the studies still made clear that TVA's regular dam inspectors were kept separate and not made part of the apparently lax inspection regime for the massive earthen berms that held back the lake of 40 years of wet ash storage. That occurred not at just the Kingston plant, but at other plants as well. Perhaps it was TVA's silo bureaucracy: you take care of your area, I'll take care of mine.

 

Moreover, TVA had been among the American utilities that had resisted the EPA's consideration in 2000 of requiring replacement of wet-pond ash disposal with a shift to dry, lined landfills for coal ash -- the system that European utilities use, and that TVA has come to accept in the wake of the Kingston spill.

 

In any case, the berm rupture that allowed the spill, even if aggravated by heavy rains, occurred mainly because the earthen dams had become obviously inadequate to hold the volume of wet ash that TVA continued to put in them out of complacency and negligence bred over decades of that ongoing operation. Periodic heavy rains are normal in the Tennessee Valley. If TVA wasn't prepared for that at Kingston, or at any of coal-fired plant and related ash-pond sites, it might as well turn in its portfolio. To suggest that heavy rains caused the spill was to implicitly acknowledge incompetence.

 

The result was that, during the night of Dec. 22, 2008, the earthen dam holding one of TVA's larger ash ponds burst, freeing a rushing wall of 1.2 million gallons of coal-combustion ash slurry to flood over 300 acres of land, carrying a house across a road and choking a portion of the Emery River's main channel. Part of that ash load, in turn, was carried out into the Clinton and Tennessee rivers.

 

Dredging and removal of the ash spill, in the water and on land, won't be finished for some time. And 18 months into the clean-up, TVA has spent just -- and we say just in the relative sense -- $500 million of the $1.2 billion it estimates the clean-up to cost.

 

That, unfortunately, is wasted money and effort that never should have been required. The fine doesn't make the burden of this environmental tragedy in Kingston any easier to bear, but it makes clear that TVA is unquestionably responsible for it, and for violating the state's water quality control act and solid waste disposal act.

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TIMES FREE PRESS

EDITORIAL

GLOBAL REFUGEE CRISIS WORSENS

 

There are several ways to measure the terrible price associated with the various wars, ethnic conflicts, political upheavals, religious strife and social unrest that currently bedevil the nations of the world. Some tally the cost in the number of dead and wounded. Others use the cold calculus of economics. Another measure is the number of refugees created by the conflict and persecution. By the latter standard, 2009 was a terrible time for those forced from their homes and countries and unable to return.

 

There were about 15.2 million refugees last year, according to a Tuesday report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Two-thirds of them come under the UNHCR mandate, including about 3 million Afghans, 1.8 million Iraqis and 680,000 Somalis. Also included in the report are the 4.8 million Palestinians covered by a different U.N. agency.

 

Whatever the number of refugees and whatever agency is in charge, the statistic is sad commentary on the pervasiveness of seemingly intractable conflicts and the world community's inability to ameliorate them. The refugee crisis, in fact, is far more dire than the number 15.2 million suggests.

 

The United Nations defines refugees as those individuals who cross international borders to seek safety. There are, in fact, many more individuals that should be classified as refugees, but do not meet the strict U.N. definition of that status. They are not included in the report.

 

The UNHCR does mention the more than 27.1 million internal refugees, or "displaced people," who remain in their own country but can not return to their homes. That surely defines them as refugees, even if the U.N. report does not. A more accurate number of refugees, then, is more than 43 million. Even that number could be low.

 

On-going violence and the reticence of many individuals to interact with authorities make it hard to count with accuracy both external and internal refugees. Some experts say the U.N. report misses the true total by hundreds of thousands of individuals or more.

 

Relief in the short-term seems unlikely. Only a relative handful of refugees -- about 250,000 -- were able to return to their homes last year. That's the lowest number since 1990, and it continues an unsettling trend. The total number of returning refugees has declined every year since 2004.

 

Some refugees are absorbed by nations free of the instability that marks places like Somalia, the Congo and Afghanistan. Nearly 80,000 were admitted to the United States last year. Such resettlement programs are welcome, but they do not address the root problem. Long-term solutions are needed, but world leaders seem too busy to begin that discussion.

 

As long as there is political, religious and civil strife, there will be refugees. The number of conflicts that create refugees is growing -- the current crisis in Kyrgyzstan, for example -- despite sporadic diplomatic efforts to resolve them. That strongly suggests that the number of refugees will expand rather than decline in coming years.

 

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HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

EDITORIAL

FROM THE BOSPHORUS: STRAIGHT - TIME TO ENERGIZE ENERGY PLANNING

 

As at all newspapers, we often attempt to "package" stories, conceiving, writing and placing on the page efforts that are complimentary and inform broadly. Sometimes, without much planning, it just happens that way.

 

Yesterday we got lucky and both our regular front page and weekly energy section added up to a complex portrait. Barçın Yınanç filed from Cannes a report on the global gas industry reinventing itself amid the growth of many alternatives. Daniel Lanyon examined how, at least theoretically, Turkey could meet all of its energy needs with wind and other renewable power by 2050. We had some help from Bloomberg and the Associated Press to understand a new energy deal between Pakistan and Iran as well as the unending nightmare that is an oil rupture still spewing into the Gulf of Mexico.

 

We somehow tied this altogether on the front page with a profile by Erisa Şenerdem of the views of nuclear engineer and academic Hasan Saygın. While admitting that we did not actually plan for such an energy-rich newspaper, we think yesterday's reporting reflects an urgent need for serious and thoughtful planning for Turkey's energy future.

 

There is a great deal of celebration about Turkey's emergence as an "energy corridor." There has been progress in clearing a backlog of applications for wind energy projects that could mean a spate of turbines in operation by 2013. The inking of a deal to enable Russia's construction of a nuclear plant near Mersin has been heralded as the starting point of robust cooperation with our northern neighbor. The rush of dam-builders to harness Turkey's waterways could mean more than 100 new dams over the next decade.

 

But all of this is happening in an ad hoc manner. Projects may be bold and many, but they are being cobbled together with little coordination and virtually no dispassionate planning.

 

Turkey's growing dependency on natural gas for power generation is feeding rapid escalation in both the price of gas and the price of electricity. There is no general policy for use of alternative resources such as wind, geo-thermal or solar— all of which Turkey has in abundance. Nuclear power plants are being developed without feasibility studies, detailed plans for waste storage or even discussion of the fact the Mersin plant involves new and untested technologies. Designing and rebuilding Turkey's energy infrastructure should not be akin to a theme park visit where he who rides on the most attractions wins.

 

Yes, Turkey's energy needs are growing exponentially. And yes, Turkey is surrounded by many energy producers. And yes, Turkey is rich in its own alternatives. Which suggests to us a transparent and thoughtful national energy plan and policy is not just overdue, but an urgent priority.

 

Sometimes newspapers get lucky without planning. Nations do not.

 

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HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

EDITORIAL

A LESSON FOR ISRAELIS FROM THE CRUSADERS

MUSTAFA AKYOL

 

I once read a comment by an Israeli author that most people in his country do not want to recall the historic significance of the Horns of Hattin.

 

That place, which is in modern-day Israel, takes its interesting name from the twin peaks that overlook the lower Galilee. But its real fame comes from the 1187 Battle of Hattin, in which the Islamic army led by the legendary Saladin crushed the Crusaders, opening the way to the Muslim re-conquest of Jerusalem.

 

The reason Israelis find this episode unpleasant is understandable: Their modern Jewish state has some striking parallels with the medieval Crusader state. Both were established by armed outsiders, to use the softest term, in the heart of the Muslim Middle East. Both relied on military force and Western support. And both worried about their survival in the face of jihad, the Muslim holy war.

 

Harvesting a jihad

 

These days I can see that some Israelis are almost obsessed with jihad, as some of them keep ranting and raving about it in papers and on TV. But it would do all of us a favor if they tried to understand its dynamics, by taking a deeper look at the one that defeated the Crusaders.

 

The most curious fact about that medieval Muslim holy war was its belatedness. The Crusaders invaded Palestine in 1099, sacking Jerusalem and massacring most of its inhabitants, which included not just Muslims but also Jews and even eastern Christians. This cruelty, of course, shocked all Muslims in the region, but it did spark an instant holy war against "the Franks" – the term Muslims then used to describe the European invaders, which they carefully distinguished from the Eastern Christians with whom they used to live together. (This, in a way, was a bit similar to the distinction made by many contemporary Muslims between oriental Jews and "the Zionists.")

 

Instead of an instant jihad, what emerged was acceptance. Once the first shock was absorbed, Middle Eastern Muslims actually got used to the presence of the Franks in Palestine. Over time, trade started between the two sides, leading to significant cultural interactions. Only several decades later came a popular movement of a Muslim holy war against the Crusaders, solidifying first under the Muslim leader Nur-ad Din, and especially under his successor, Saladin.

 

The reason why the spirit of jihad culminated so belatedly and slowly was partly due to the internal dynamics of the Muslims. But the actions of the Crusaders also played a quite decisive role.

 

Karen Armstrong, a prominent historian of religion, explores this nicely in her book "Holy War: The Crusades and the Impact on Today's World." The Franks, she explains, "were divided among themselves… [between what] we could call the doves and the hawks." The doves were people like Raymund of Tripolis, the regent of the King of Jerusalem, who "spoke fluent Arabic, read Arabic and Islamic texts, and… naturally saw the Muslims as normal human beings, not as monstrous enemies of God." He, therefore, favored diplomacy and co-existence.

 

On the opposite side there were people such as Reynauld of Chatillon, the Lord of Transjordan, who had "a career of brutal cruelty," and who hated the Muslims passionately. Consequently, despite the doves' efforts to calm him down, Reynauld did a lot of things that infuriated the Muslims. His "frequent raids of brutal plunder and vandalism" only helped Nur-ad Din's nascent propaganda for jihad. When Saladin came to power, Reynauld continued to provoke, only more vehemently, by attacking Muslim caravans and slaughtering pilgrims. He even dared to attack Medina, the city of Prophet Mohammed, and even Mecca, the holiest city of Islam.

 

All this mindless militarism of the hawkish Franks, Armstrong notes, showed the Muslims that "the Christians were indeed dangerous enemies to Muslims and Islam." The result, she adds, was that "there were more converts to the idea of the jihad."

 

The vicious cycle

 

Today, I fear the hawks of Israel are following a similarly dangerous route by constantly harvesting hatred against their state.

 

Of course, no Zionist leader has been as mad and atrocious as Reynauld of Chatillon. We, after all, live in the modern age and Israelis are much more sophisticated than the barbaric Franks. Yet still, their decades-long policies of ethnic cleansing, occupation and humiliation have badly hurt the Palestinians, and other Muslim peoples of the world who care about their co-religionists.

 

To many in these Muslim nations, Israelis are simply the new Crusaders. And the more Israel provokes them, the more they yearn for a new jihad.

 

Unfortunately, Israel's current leaders refuse to see this vicious cycle. Instead of honestly looking in the mirror and facing their own sins, they simply chose to demonize their enemies, by presuming an essential enmity within them, regardless of their own actions.

 

They, in other words, act like not the wise but the foolish Crusaders. And they are putting not just themselves, but all of us, in grave danger.

 

NOTE: I will be off for the next two weeks, to return Saturday, July 3

 

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HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

EDITORIAL

NATIONAL VIEW VS GÜLEN MOVEMENT (II)

CÜNEYT ÜLSEVER

 

I wrote it yesterday, both the National View and the Gülen Movement have played a critical role in the social and political history of Turkey. Compared to other organizations, they are quite successful in their efforts to reach the grassroots.

 

However, the National View is essentially a political organization. Their political objectives are always stated openly. But the Gülen Movement is a structure formed around social and economic objectives as their political objectives are set according to global objectives. The Gülen Movement looks down on politics.

 

The National View stands at a comparatively distant point from the "others" when it comes to reaching consensus. The Gülen Movement is closer to reconciliation with others.

 

The Gülen Movement has friendly ties with the Unites States — to the more, the movement has adopted the "Moderate Islam" doctrine, as a model at least.

 

But the National View is not in search of a western ally. Its allies are usually Islamic political organizations fighting in the Middle East.

 

***

 

As the Gülen Movement previously embraced all, supported all political parties, it had to lean on a particular party, the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, when the central-right failed in the July 22, 2007 general elections. In that period, the movement was not on good terms with the main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP.

 

Perhaps because of the ineptitude of Mehmet Ağar and Erkan Mumcu which created a mess in center-right and which top officials of the Gülen Movement couldn't foresee, the movement had no choice but to align itself with a single party.

 

As a result, the developments after 2007 disappointed me a lot.

 

Afterward, the Gülen Movement adopted a narrower vision and became an advocate of the government, and almost came to the same side with its rival, the National View. One of the formerly serious newspapers in Turkey, daily Zaman, has unfortunately turned into a pro-government media organ.

 

The "coalition" formed inside the AKP government with the National View was read as a partnership to take revenge of the Feb. 28 post-modern coup.

 

The Gülen Movement and their supporters are looked as the suspects of some strange developments in the Ergenekon crime gang case.

 

Bureaucrats whose names are uttered with the Gülen Movement were deployed in the Security Dept. in particular, in the Justice mechanism and even in the Turkish Armed Forces, or TSK, though in a more clandestine way.

 

I was very surprised as Fethullah Gülen, the founder and leader of the Gülen Movement, suggested a new term "gatakulli," a cynical reference to tricks involving the military. He was a leader whom I compared only to the Dalai Lama, was leveling with a "general" who failed a coup attempt!

 

After 2007, solidarity between the Gülen Movement and the AKP government (the National View) was interpreted by a few circles as the Gülen Movement's real face appearing. The pro-laics in particular asserted that the Gülen Movement was acting all along and now they have power they play for the government.

 

However, there was something I didn't get. Even if the National View and the Gülen Movement seem in partnership, they raise on totally different structures. When I remember what they said about each other before 2002, I become more and more surprised today how they remain in coalition.

 

Has this partnership matured? Or does it have limits?

 

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HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

EDITORIAL

FROM ISTANBUL TO BURSA IN 18 MINUTES

UĞUR CEBECI

 

The number of helicopters only in Sao Paulo in Brazil is 600. Businesspeople are transporting themselves in the city center by helicopters. They both save time and arrive to their destination safe and sound.

 

The number of civilian helicopters in Turkey, including those that serve public offices and ambulance helicopters of the Health Ministry, is only 72.

 

We flew to Bursa with Ferda Yıldız, who is the boss of Kaan Air, the Turkey representative of Italian AgustaWestland, which is a rapidly growing company in Turkey, and the boss of Başarı Holding.

 

We experienced speed and performance of the double-engined A109 Power, the company's best-selling model.

 

 

We took off from Istanbul Atatürk Airport's general aviation apron together with pilots Muzaffer Atıcı and Ertuğrul Peker, accompanied by Firuz Altıngöz, the company director. The chopper ascended rapidly and without the slightest bit of performance loss, despite the active air conditioning and the hot weather.

 

When our navigation height hit 500 meters, we reached 259 kilometers per hour in a short time. We flew over the Marmara Sea, passed the Kapıdağ peninsula, and first arrived at Yalova, and then at Bursa. We landed at Sönmez's heliport.

 

We were in Bursa 18 minutes after we took off. However, it took us way longer to reach Cemal Usta's kebab place (Bursa Uludağ Kebap) where we ate one of the best döners ever.

 

Ferda Yıldız is also an amateur helicopter pilot. He particularly prioritizes aviation among his many high-tech selling companies. His most ambitious project is the 20,000-square-meter heliport he built in İstanbul's Ayazağa district. The heliport is only 2.4 kilometers from Maslak and the area will soon contain a maintenance center once legal permission is granted.

 

Businesspeople will be able fly from here to wherever they want without suffering through heavy traffic on the highways to and from the airports.

 

Having acquired a 15-helicopter fleet in Turkey, AgustaWestland has sold three AW139s. This 13 million-euro starlet has standard equipment, and its seat capacity may be increased to 15. Businesspeople who fly in large groups particularly prefer this model, not because of its seat capacity but also for its long range. Kaan Aviation is planning to bring three more AW109 helicopters into the Turkish market in the following months.

 

Lost luggage

 

Airline companies worldwide carried 2.3 billion suitcases last year. Every 1.4 suitcases out of 100, namely 32.8 million, were lost. The International Air Transportation Association, or IATA, is waging a war against lost baggage. New systems are believed to reduce the losses by half. While passenger satisfaction will be enhanced, the sector will also save at least $900 million annually. 

 

Imagine, you are flying to Istanbul from London and your luggage ends up in New York. Or you are coming back from Singapore. You have documents in your suitcase for a very important meeting. But your luggage turns out to never have made it to the airplane.

 

Among the list of passenger complaints, those about lost luggage rank top. Last year, 32.8 million among the 2.3 billion suitcases transported never made it to their owners; however, 96 percent of those lost suitcases were found in two days.

 

Lost baggage is a huge contributor to passenger dissatisfaction and also is a serious economic loss.

 

ucebeci@hurriyet.com.tr

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HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

EDITORIAL

IS THE EU STILL IMPORTANT FOR THE AKP?

 

It is not so easy these days to find out what the governing Justice and Development Party, or AKP, thinks about the European Union.

Last week one could hear Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu defending the old, established party position. According to the minister, the EU is still of crucial importance for Turkey and for that reason, the final goal of the AKP's European policy is full EU membership. No doubt about that.

 

Davutoğlu was asked the question about the AKP and the EU after he took the initiative to establish a sort of Middle Eastern variant of the early European bloc, strengthening economic ties and the free flow of people and goods between Turkey, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Of course, this move toward reinforcing cooperation with its eastern neighbors led some to question, once again, the AKP's commitment to the EU accession process.

 

The architect behind Turkey's much-debated activist foreign policy repeated what he has said on many previous occasions: Better relations with Iraq, Syria and other countries in the region go hand in hand with an ongoing engagement with the EU. This is first because a confident Turkey that has solved the problems with its neighbors is a far more attractive EU candidate than a Turkey solely focused on keeping its Western ties, turning its back on the countries to its east with which the EU wants to develop better relations.

 

Secondly, Turkey has been successful lately in the Middle East because it is negotiating with the EU about full membership. If Turkey, for whatever reason, stopped pursuing that goal, its appeal in the region would go down substantially. In my opinion the minister is right in making these points. There is no change in axis. This Turkish government is implementing a policy that was already conceptualized by the late İsmail Cem, the foreign minister in the last Bülent Ecevit government. What the AKP has added to Cem's original ideas is a strong commercial push for companies close to the party and some ideological fervor based on its religious background. The policy is popular in Turkey and most European observers agree that it makes perfect sense. So far, so good.

 

But what to think of some other voices from the same party? During a panel at a conference on Turkey's foreign policy and its impact on transatlantic relations, organized last week by the Istanbul Policy Center and the German Marshall Fund, Suat Kınıklıoğlu, a leading AKP member of Parliament, gave a remarkable answer to a question posed to him on the importance of the EU for the AKP. According to the influential foreign-affairs expert, Turkey does not really need the EU anymore. Its economy is strong enough to do without a union that is struggling with its own financial problems and the reforms will continue because there are strong domestic forces behind them.

 

The same day, at a Turkish-Arab forum, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lashed out at the EU for having double standards and for lacking a real conviction on Turkey's future inside the bloc. The barely concealed message, it seems, was this: Why bother any longer with these Europeans, always nagging; let's put all our money on better relations with our Arab brothers, always accommodating.

What to make of these confusing statements? They come from the same party. It looks like leading members of that party disagree strongly on the importance of the EU for Turkey and for the AKP and they do not mind expressing these differences openly. Maybe it is time that the party leader makes it clear, once and for all, what his party's position is. Critical on the EU when necessary, but convinced that Turkey's future is with the union? Or fed up with negotiations that seem to go nowhere and confident enough to try and become a global player without the EU anchor? What will it be, prime minister?

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HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

EDITORIAL

WE'VE BEEN UNMASKED!

BURAK BEKDİL

 

Since Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has unmasked all of us, there is no need to hide the connections we had successfully hidden to this day. We may have been revealed, but that should not stop us from writing more articles to please our crypto-boss, the State of Israel.

 

For my part, I feel obliged to provide the service for which I have been paid in advance. I may have been sold to the Israeli agents but at least I am honest enough to fulfill my commitments.

 

According to Mr. Erdoğan, all journalists who did not shout and yell and curse the Jewish state as he and his jihadist fellows did in the aftermath of the flotilla raid are "sub-contractors of the Israeli-controlled international media." Sadly I fall into that category.

 

Since no one in the Turkish press praised Israel for killing activists aboard the Mavi Marmara, in Mr. Erdoğan's mental calculus, anyone who deviates by an inch from his line of Israel-bashing is apparently part of a wicked, clandestine and global Zionist network. You may have condemned the raid. Not enough. You should have done as his "yellow journalists" did: Curse Israel more loudly and preferably in Mr. Erdoğan's selection of wording, augmented typically with tags such as "barbaric," "piracy" and "state terror."

 

When you are, like me, caught red-handed, especially by a powerful prime minister such as Mr. Erdoğan you naturally face dangerous consequences. Unless, however, you have equally powerful conspirators in your clandestine network... and I don't mean the Israelis.

 

Luckily, one man within our network happens to be as powerful as the prime minister. His name is Fethullah Gülen. I have never met him. I did not know he was part of the people "sub-contracted to the Israeli-controlled international media" grouping. But I easily spotted him after Mr. Erdoğan's remarks.

 

When the Turkish journalists now being accused by the prime minister of "having been sub-contracted" condemned the flotilla raid in a uniform chorus, Mr. Gülen spoke to an American newspaper that is most probably one of the "Israeli-backed" international media outlets Mr. Erdoğan mentioned, and said that "the [flotilla] organizers' failure to seek accord with Israel is a sign of defying authority" and that "this will not lead to fruitful matters."

 

It was bizarre that Mr. Gülen's words criticizing the aid organizers for the incident faced a blackout even in his own media outlets. Similarly, another leading Islamist "sheik," Cubbeli Ahmet Hoca, accused Mr. Gülen of "having lost his conscience."

 

The truth is that Mr. Erdoğan's conspiracy theories regarding the secret Israeli involvement in some Turkish news coverage of the flotilla raid reveal his understanding of pluralism and democracy. According to his thinking, anyone who does not make near-hate speeches is "sub-contracted" to an Israeli-controlled network.

 

This is similar to the monotonous views reflexively expressed in the "yellow press." If one is not a fierce supporter of Mr. Erdoğan and his ideological traits, he is automatically an "Ergenekoncu" (a supporter of the alleged Ergenekon gang). If one is skeptical about Mr. Erdoğan's democratic credentials and governance, he is automatically a fascist Kemalist. If a judge voices concern about a legal amendment championed by the government, he is a member of a shadowy network of juristocrats.

 

But let's go back to the "Israeli-sponsored" coverage of the incident. I checked and re-checked and re-checked the front pages of ALL Turkish newspapers in the aftermath of the Israeli attack. All headlines, sidebars, related stories and comments were full of anger toward Israel for the attack. This column's June 2 title was "Is Netanyahu a crypto-mullah?" For days and days the Turkish news coverage was monolithically "anti-Israeli." In those days, the only "dissident voice" was Mr. Gülen's.

 

What could have so angered Mr. Erdoğan that he confidently resorted to conspiracy theories? It was probably the news coverage and comments that came in later days, still criticizing Israel for its action, but probably not in Mr. Erdoğan's favorite wording, and probably also criticizing the jihadist rhetoric of the "aid activists."

 

Sadly, EU candidate Turkey in the year 2010 has a prime minister who has zero tolerance for any view other than his own. See why his "yellow journalists" must get in line like behaving pupils each time they sit at their keyboards

 

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HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

EDITORIAL

THIS IS WHAT A REAL SHIFT IN AXIS LOOKS LIKE

MEHMET ALİ BİRAND

 

Erdoğan took two steps and everybody got in an uproar.

 

We concluded that he turned his back on the West and started running toward the East.

 

Some of us got scared.

 

People are scared because what started with external politics today may continue with a shift of the secular system.

 

But we are missing out on something.

 

And that is we don't know for sure what a real shift in axis looks like. What we are experiencing now is nothing compared to a real shift in axis.

 

The reason for so much suspicion and worries is that we started encountering things we are not accustomed to. It's the fear of the unknown. And the prime minister's constantly increasing brisk language and dragging through the mud those who we used to carry on shoulders as our allies. And him announcing those buddies with Israel who criticize him for his attitude.

 

The most basic criticism is enough to be labeled a Mossad spy.

 

Well let's leave aside this aspect and focus on what a real shift in axis is. Let me write about a scenario in which some countries apply real shift in axis. Without getting into details even drawing main outlines.

 

You may panic when you recognize some of the signs. Or you may even get out on the streets and join NO-campaigns or migrate to other places if you have the necessary means.

 

Warning: Indications below may be scary

 

-  If we start saying the opposite of what the United States says then we may be adverse to each and every issue that Washington comes up with not only in issues like Israel and Iran…

 

-  Even if negotiations supposedly continue but if we ignore our duties, or push things into a one way street by getting exited about cancelling the customs union and just blaming Merkel and Sarkozy for spoiling relations and take serious the idea of entering a common market with Middle Eastern countries so to roll up the sleeves for an impossible project…

 

-  If we come to a point of supporting Hamas and Hezbollah not only spiritually but also financially, help them taking up arms, provide for their education, including El Kaide, and lodge others in the region that wave a political Islam flag…

 

-  If we raise the Taliban to the level of Afghan liberation fighters and directly or indirectly involve in supporting them politically…

 

-  If we are perceived by the Sunni and Shiite in Iraq as allies and get involved in their internal war…

 

-  If threats increase against foreigners in our country, especially against the Jews and if we ignore those threats, or if appeals for a boycott against American and European goods are not prevented or secretly winked at…

 

-  If in each city demonstrations increase, appeals in the sense of Jihad are made, suicide commando is encouraged or if we start living in an environment that teaches becoming martyr in the name of Islam means to guarantee a place in heaven…

 

Shifting Turkey will lose everything

 

Then you should really be scared.

 

Then you may conclude that a shift in axis started.

 

That is why I am telling you that what is happening now has nothing to do with a shift in axis.

 

Now don't go around saying, "Don't you see first signs are present. We should try and prevent it now."

 

Turkey's axis won't shift easily.

 

And rest assure, that those who really want to do this won't succeed. They'll get smashed by these projects.

 

Turkey won't arrive at any point if the flames of Western animosity are fanned.

 

Such a project can only be realized when this country becomes a religious state which nobody neither intents nor has the strength to realize.

 

Even among the most radical members of the Islam I can't see anyone who would want a Turkey in which the economy has collapsed or a Turkish-Kurdish civil war has lead to chaos.

 

The AKP would be the first to oppose such endeavor.

 

Let's not scare ourselves for nothing.

 

This country is not unclaimed

 

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HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

EDITORIAL

JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY

YUSUF KANLI

 

Before the so-called Ergenekon probe was launched Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was alleged to have been saying that the government was very much aware of the background of many developments in the country but he was having difficulty in finding some courageous prosecutors who would not give up but continue right to the end. As has become clear for everyone for the past almost three years, the prime minister has found those prosecutors who apparently are very much skilled in putting together relevant and irrelevant things and coming up with glossy volumes of thrillers that they call "indictment."

Naturally, faced with indictments as thick as two to seven thousand pages, and number of people accused under each of those indictments reaching several thousand, judges looking at those cases rightly complain that it might take 30 years to complete a case and come out with a verdict.

 

Of course no one can claim that all the people placed behind bars under those famous probes and indictments are innocent because there might be many people among those placed under bars who indeed might have been involved in some serious crimes. Yet – without making any distinction between the Ergenekon series of probes against hundreds Kemalist or nationalist critics of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and the so-called KCK, or the "Union of Kurdistan Communities, case against well over one thousand people, including many leading ethnic Kurdish politicians and active mayors and members of many local municipal assemblies alleged to have been involved in "urban organization" of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, terrorist gang – who is going to compensate for those acquitted after tens of years of trial for the lives lost behind bars or free but under serious and rather ugly blames?

 

Put aside overloading, inappropriate court rooms, insufficient archive opportunities, under staffing, absence of intermediary courts and such structural problems that compel Turkish courts to distribute justice with an incredibly slow pace, these "wholesome justice" practices demonstrate in all clarity the pressing need for a judicial reform in this country not only to speed up the functioning of the judiciary but more so in ordaining the justice system with the long sought independence from the political authority in conformity to the separation of powers fundamental pillar of democratic governance.

 

The constitutional amendment drive of the government which is being presented to the people as a "civilian constitution" that would replace the "coup constitution" will not at all provide a remedy to the existing problems of the Turkish judiciary, but would indeed make them worse. The articles of the package pertaining to the structure and functioning of the Judges and Prosecutors High Board, or HSYK, and the Constitutional Court, indeed places the top courts and the highest administrative body of the judiciary under the strong influence, if not direct control, of the government in clear violation of the separation of powers principle without which democracy cannot be maintained.

 

Already there are problems in this country as regards conformity to the separation of powers principle because of the crooked election and political party legislation that provides autocratic powers to the majority leader, or the prime minister in detriment of participative democracy in the country, as well as to the party leaders in detriment of intra-party democracy.

 

The power-worshipping ordinary Turk, frustrated with the decades of humiliation of the European Union and insulted with the Israeli attack on a Turkish ship and murder of nine Turkish citizens, is living on a high emotional tide of religious conservatism mixed with nationalism. Many intellectuals of the Turkish society are scared to stand against that tide and raise criticism against the government or just ask whether it was not the responsibility of a government to protect its citizens in the wake of an imminent serious threat as Israel was rather clear that it would use force to stop the humanitarian aid flotilla aimed at ending the Gaza blockade.

 

In the absence of justice, when justice becomes hostage of the political authority or when the principle of supremacy of justice or the "supremacy of national will" is being replaced with a majoritarian worship of "will of the absolute leader" what's at stake cannot be a "drift" in the axis of a country.

 

In the absence of an efficient and independent judiciary there cannot be democracy…

 

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TEHRAN TIMES

 EDITORIAL

ISRAEL CANNOT BE ITS OWN JUDGE AND JURY

BY LINDA S. HEARD

 

Once again, the White House has set aside right in favor of Israel's self-interest.

The United Nations and the majority of its member countries seek an international inquiry into the killing of eight Turkish activists and one American of Turkish origin who tried to break Israel's blockade on Gaza. Turkey is adamant that an independent, transparent process should take place and demands that the siege be lifted.

But Israel rejects calls to end its blockade and says it would not cooperate with any such investigation. Instead, it plans to investigate itself. Nothing surprising there! But it is certainly galling for those who care that justice is seen to be done that the United States has apparently blessed Israel's plan, which is akin to allowing an individual accused of murder to set up his own court of law and try himself. No other country on the planet would be given a similar green light.

Moreover, the White House has endorsed Israel's rejection of an international inquiry with a statement that reads, "Israel has a military justice system that meets international standards and is capable of conducting a serious and credible investigation." This is simply laughable. When has anyone in the Israeli Defense Forces been held accountable for anything apart from minor infractions during past decades? Even the few declared to have done wrong get away with a rap on the knuckles.

It's particularly telling that although Ariel Sharon was found by an Israeli commission to have been "indirectly" responsible for the massacre of Palestinians in Lebanon's Sabra and Shatilla camps, he was eventually rewarded with the post of prime minister. Since then, dozens of soldiers who would be declared war criminals by any other nation have been awarded medals.

A striking example of this is the drunken IDF bulldozer driver Moshe Nissim nicknamed "Kurdi Bear" who, in 2002, demolished homes in the Jenin refugee camp without caring whether anyone was inside them. "If I am sorry for anything, it is for not tearing the whole camp down," he said, before launching into how much he enjoyed his work. For that, he became a national hero and received a medal of honor from the Israeli Army. The UN actually set up a team to investigate Jenin while the evidence was still in place but as soon as Israel said, "we're not playing ball" they all went home.

Likewise, Israel has heaped honors on Jewish terrorists involved in what came to be known as the 1950s "the Lavon Affair"— people who placed bombs inside American and British installations within Egypt as part of a false-flag operation endorsed by the Israel's current President Shimon Peres. After decades of denying any connection with the terrorists, in 2005, Israel showered the surviving operatives with medals. The then U.S. President George W. Bush didn't care about the admission that Israel had authorized the bombing of American buildings in the same way that no U.S. leader has cared to punish Israel for its attack on America's research ship the USS Liberty in 1967.

President Barack Obama is either incredibly naïve and misinformed or is being willfully blind for fear of upsetting America's pro-Israel Congress and lobby. How on earth can he believe that Israel will conduct an honest and fair inquiry when it has torn up the Goldstone report on Israel's "Operation Cast Lead" in Gaza suggesting that Israelis may have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity?

Even more to the point in this particular instance is the fact that Israel's hard-line, right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his propaganda machine have been spewing lies since the flotilla incident took place. They've called the peace activists terrorists with links to Al-Qaeda and have suggested they were armed and ready to murder Israeli commandoes.

Yet Israel not only released those "terrorists" to their home countries, the only weapons on display from the Mavi Marmara were chair legs, slingshots, marbles and metal bars. Let's face it, could you honestly imagine that Al-Qaeda guys would board that ship with marbles to face off against the full might of the Israeli military? And, secondly, if it was their pre-planned intention to kill Israelis, why did they leave alive the three Israelis who were captured and deprived of their guns?

It's interesting that the U.S. Defense Minister Robert Gates blames the European Union's reluctance to embrace Turkey's membership for Ankara's drift away from the EU and Israel toward new partnerships in the Middle East. In this case, is he also prepared to blame President Obama for throwing Turkey to the wolves in an effort to appease Tel Aviv and its rah-rah crowd in Washington?

The signs are clear. Israel's murderous attack on the flotilla will be pushed under the carpet like every other nefarious thing it has perpetrated. And even though the blockade of Gaza has been deemed illegal by the UN it's not about to be lifted. The International Committee of the Red Cross has described it as "collective punishment" which violates the Geneva Conventions and is a "crime under international law" but who's listening? I suspect that Israel will ease the flow of goods into Gaza for a while to take some heat of itself and then everything will return to the status quo, which is an insult to those courageous Turks who sacrificed their lives.

Now, there's another storm brewing. Uri Brodsky, an Israeli wanted by Germany in connection with illegally obtaining the German passport that was used by an alleged Mossad agent to assassinate a Hamas commander in Dubai has been arrested in Poland.

Germany seeks his extradition but Israel insists he should be flown to Tel Aviv for investigation there. Here we go again! Israel admits that the accused is an Israeli citizen and is demanding his return so an Israeli probe can be launched. I know. Feel free to laugh out loud. All eyes are now on Warsaw to see which way this dedicated friend to Israel will jump.

In the meantime, Dubai is mulling whether or not to request extradition itself which will largely depend on whether Brodsky is directly linked to the assassination. Dubai's police chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim says Israel is not a country governed by laws but one that settles its scores "in a gang-like manner". At least there's one person in the world who says it like it is!

(Source: Arab News)

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 I. THE NEWS

EDITORIAL

THE GREAT UNSPENT

 

With the Kerry-Lugar billions waiting at the gate it is illustrative to note that for a poor country we seem to have remarkable difficulty in both spending the money we are given as aid, and making and taking loans that may never be honoured. WAPDA, which is the financial equivalent of a wheelchair-bound paraplegic, is likely to find itself another Rs3.2 billion down as it is about to lose a case in the International Court of Justice. It appears that WAPDA owes the money to Japan Power Generation Limited via a convoluted process of loans. We further learn, via the Public Accounts Committee, that foreign loans to our agencies and government bodies totalling billions of rupees remain unspent largely as a result of institutional apathy on the part of the recipients. It is particularly galling to note that half a billion rupees donated by the Asian Development Bank to improve access to justice for poor people is sitting doing nothing. Further, WAPDA failed to utilise a foreign loan of Rs6 billion and returned it to the Economic Affairs Division at the end of the financial year.

The comedy continues. The National Highways Authority reveals that it is unable to repay a loan of Rs24 billion – but at the same time was unable to utilise the foreign loans to the tune of Rs654 million it had received. There was yet more hilarity in store for the PAC when they learned that Rs389 million foreign loans were not properly utilised by the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Railways did the same with Rs521 million and OGRA followed suit with its Rs4.3 million. MNA Riaz Pirzada acidly observed that it was something of a shock that such large amounts remained unutilised; and what was one bankrupt organisation doing lending money to another bankrupt organisation? We at least have the consolation of these embarrassments making it into the public domain, when in the past they would have remained hidden forever. But like it or not, and mostly our offices of governance don't, there is a growing culture of accountability and an unwilling transparency evolving. If we are to survive we need to do things differently. It is unacceptable that public bodies such as WAPDA, Pakistan Railways, OGRA and the like play fast-and-loose with public money. Now that they are exposed we need to see those responsible hung out to dry.

 

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I. THE NEWS

EDITORIAL

WAGES OF HATE

 

During the current month alone, at least 15 people have died in Karachi as a result of what have been described as sectarian killings. The city is of course tragically prone to such murders. They have taken place in the past on the worst occasions assuming the form of mass deaths such as those that took place in the not-too-distant past during the month of Muharrum. The latest spree of killings has been condemned. Politicians and religious leaders have made their customary statements. But no matter how many words are uttered, how much shock expressed at what is happening, the hard fact is that preventing 'zealots' from killing in the name of religion, or under any other motive, will always demand more sincerity and purpose on the part of those that matter in the city.

Through the years scores, indeed hundreds, have lost their lives. They have included many qualified professionals. The question is how the evil that motivates such crimes is to be stopped. Accounts written by schoolchildren describe suffering inflicted by the hatred they have grown up with. Many of us have come to accept it as a virtually normal pattern of life. This acceptance is dangerous and in fact terribly destructive. We need a way to turn back the tide and to remember that, once upon a time, not so very long ago, we lived in a considerably more peaceful and much more tolerant society. We should pose for ourselves a challenge: how do we recreate this, almost magical place, where hatred of the kind we know today was a rarity? It is true the answers are not easy. Creating hatred and mistrust is often far harder than producing qualities that are virtuous. We need a collective effort to save our society and cities from the tensions they are so often plunged into. To move towards this, we need a well-designed campaign by the government using the still-powerful official media that beams into so many homes. We also need changes in school curriculums and an end to the spread of violent messages that have played so immense a part in bringing us where we stand today.

 

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I. THE NEWS

EDITORIAL

JUSTICE FOR ALL

 

One of the reasons for there still being significant backlogs of cases unheard or adjourned is what are described as 'abnormal delays' on the part of the government in the appointment of new High Court judges. Another reason for courts being under pressure is that about 100 PCO judges who were laid off as a result of the judgement of the Supreme Court in July 2009 have yet to be replaced. Both factors were noted at the recent meeting of the National Judicial Committee chaired by the chief justice and held in Quetta. It is now a year since the National Judicial Policy came into force, the major thrust of which was to be the disposal of pending cases in the superior and subordinate courts across the country. On the face of it the courts are doing well and credit has to be given to those in the legal system who have managed to decide a total of 3,093,658 cases between June '09 and May '10. But in the same period 2,643,182 new cases were filed and at the launch of the NJP there was already a backlog of 1,748,328 cases – which leaves a balance of 1,296,816 cases before the courts today.

Cases need judges to hear them, and if the backlog is ever to be caught up then judges need to be speedily appointed. It is unfair to blame the judiciary for a problem not of their making and equally unfair to the general public for them to be expected to endure interminable delay in the hearing of their cases. There can be little doubt that the delay in appointing judges stems from political considerations and machinations. Our courts are beginning to function well and restore their battered reputation; they would function even better if there were the requisite number of judges. And it is time for petty politicking to be separated from judicial process.

 

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I. THE NEWS

WHEN SHOCK-AND-AWE ISN'T TERROR

ASHRAF JEHANGIR QAZI

Terror is said to define our present era. Accordingly, it is ironic that there is no agreed definition of the concept. One reason is the vast amount of hypocrisy and double standards that surrounds the issue. The US Army Manual defines terrorism as "the calculated use of violence or threat of violence to attain goals that are political, religious or ideological in nature…through intimidation, coercion or instilling fear, typically targeting civilians." This seems reasonable. The problem is it refers only to the terrorism of enemies.

If the UN General Assembly were to adopt it, many "civilised states" and their celebrated war leaders would be designated terrorists. We all know about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Fewer know that in the 1920s Churchill pushed for the use of poisoned gas against Kurds and Pakhtuns. He insisted: "I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes...we will use every means that science permits us."

I was in India when 9/11 happened. The US ambassador told me that history for the US now began with 9/11, and no one should look for root causes. I told him the world, including Pakistan, shared America's outrage, but if we were determined to ensure against its repetition we should examine what caused it.

Three years before 9/11, Eqbal Ahmad said: "Osama bin Laden is a sign of things to come… The US has sowed in the Middle East and in South Asia very poisonous seeds. These seeds are growing now. Some have ripened and others are ripening. An examination of why they were sown, what has grown, and how they should be reaped is needed. Missiles won't solve the problem." The British expert on Al Qaeda, Jason Burke, noted that "every use of force is another small victory for bin Laden, helping him mobilise the constituency he hopes will see the West as Crusaders trying to destroy the Muslim world."

Unfortunately, the US response to 9/11 was anything but wise. The world was told: "You are either with us or against us," and the UN was given a choice: be relevant by being with us or become as irrelevant as the League of Nations. The Bush Doctrine justified illegal pre-emptive shock-and-awe aggression to defeat terror and bring democracy in the broader Middle East. International law was considered obsolete. The US Foreign Affairs magazine approvingly dubbed the doctrine as "the new imperial grand strategy."

During the 2006 Israeli destruction of Lebanon, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice observed that the birth pangs of a new democratic order entailed pain. In the region, millions are dead who should be alive today. Her predecessor, Madeline Albright, candidly said the death of half-a-million Iraqi children due to Western-imposed sanctions was worth it. And today, Israeli outrages are condoned and threats of "severe consequences" are in the air again. The current US administration rejected the Goldstone Report on crimes committed during the January 2009 Israeli assault on Gaza. Is this leadership in a war on terror?

The latest Obama security strategy claims to put the Bush Doctrine aside. This will need to be reflected in policies on the ground. When the Mujahideen were fighting the Russians in Afghanistan they were proclaimed by President Reagan to be "the moral equivalent of our Founding Fathers." A few years later they were on the receiving end of Clinton's cruise missiles. Similarly, Osama bin Laden was once an ally of the US and the CIA. Gulbadin Hekmatyar and Jalaluddin Haqqani were also once the rough diamonds of a jihad seen as freedom struggle, while today they are the villains of a jihad seen as terrorism. So who is a terrorist depends on whose team you are playing for at any particular time: ours or theirs.

Is a War On Terror a legal phenomenon? Or a media name for a policy? Like the War on Poverty or the War on Drugs? What is an "unlawful combatant"? It is neither known to international law nor mentioned in any of the Geneva Conventions. Can there be a category of human beings without any legal or human rights?

The Nuremberg Tribunal established the precedent that a war crime pertained only to acts exclusively committed by the defeated party, and not to acts that were committed by both the defeated and the victorious parties, and never to acts perpetrated only by the winning side. As a result, today, the US, the UK, Israel, etc., may commit errors, but never crimes. Only enemies do that. Also at Nuremburg aggression was defined as "the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole."

There is the correct view that the Iraq invasion of 2003 was not authorised by the UN Security Council and was, accordingly, aggression. There is also the mistaken view that the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 was authorised by the UN, and was therefore a just war. The truth is different. The UN Security Council condemned the 9/11 attacks and called on states to bring to justice the perpetrators, organisers and sponsors of terrorist acts. It also reiterated the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence. None of this constituted an authorisation of the use of force. It was also aggression.

Since 9/11 there has been an effort to conflate legitimate armed resistance to military occupation and repression, with terrorism. This is legally untenable. In December 1987, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution denouncing terrorism, adding: "Nothing in the present resolution could in any way prejudice the right to self-determination, freedom and independence" of a people forcibly deprived of that right. A liberation struggle for this right is not terrorism.

Armed resistance should not, however, be resorted to unless all peaceful options for a settlement have been exhausted, or is in response to repression. Even so, acts of terror can never be condoned. Equally, advocates of a War on Terror who ignore the root causes of conflict and human rights situations abet terror on two counts: one, through the violence and terror involved in the War on Terror itself and, two, through the inevitable terror it provokes in response. It is nonsense to suggest there can be a case for a good side to commit terrorist acts in the name of combating terror.

In Afghanistan, does the civilian population, particularly in targeted areas, believe counter-terror operations are carried out with their interests in mind? Or do they see them as adding to their misery and suffering? How do they react to drone attacks, killings, collateral damage, night raids, disappearances? They see all of this as the essence of terror itself. Is the new Obama Doctrine going to make a difference in their sufferings and perceptions? Kandahar will show.

If it does, there should be a positive spillover effect in Pakistan. If not, the US will keep asking Pakistan to do more in support of a policy that has no future–and the gap of mutual suspicion, resentment and recrimination will continue to widen. Any US "gains" will be measured in terms of horrific suffering for the peoples of the region. Pakistan has to make efficient choices in the interests of its own people, something its wretched rulers have never done and today look less inclined than ever to do. Pakistanis will have to ensure their criminally corrupt ruling elite do not continue to destroy their future. Among the many challenges they will face are the policies of the leaders of the War on Terror.

In conclusion, terrorism is of many kinds and the overwhelming preponderance of it is state-conducted and -supported terror. A War on Terror which ignores root causes is an exercise in double standards and hypocrisy, and causes terror. Accordingly, foreign military control and occupation must end if terrorism is to significantly decline. It does not assist good governance. Proper compensation to victims of the War on Terror must be promptly paid. Reconciliation and accountability procedures must be put in place. Good governance and massive reconstruction and rehabilitation programs must become major international and domestic priorities.

The writer is Pakistan's former envoy to the US and India. Email: ashrafjqazi@yahoo.com

 

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I. THE NEWS

EDITORIAL

ROGER COHEN OF NYT

M SHAHID ALAM

Roger Cohen is the rare columnist at New York Times who makes an occasional effort to bring some objectivity to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet, how far does his objectivity go?

Consider his piece of June 10, "Modern Folly and Ancient Wisdom."

I have selected a few excerpts for comment.

First excerpt: "Israel's bloody interception of the Mavi Marmara and its motley crew was crass -- another example of the counterproductive use of force -- but nothing about it could justify the Turkish prime minister's outrageous statement that the world now perceives "the swastika and the Star of David together (italics mine)."

Why does he speak of the "motley crew" on the Mavi Marmara? First, is 'crew' the appropriate word for the humanitarian activists on a ship bringing relief to people under blockade? 'Crew' has unpleasant connotations. Let us consult the Oxford English Dictionary. Originally, it meant "an augmentation or reinforcement of a military force." Now, by extension, it means "Any organised or associated force, band, or body of armed men."

In addition, why is this a 'motley' crew? Does he mean heterogeneous? In fact, most were Turkish. Why then are they "motley?" The word has a bad odour. The OED concurs. Consider two entries in the OED. Entry one: "Of a thing or collection of things: composed of elements of diverse or varied character, form, appearance, etc. Freq. with implication of poor design or organisation (italics added)." And entry two: Of a gathering or group of people: consisting of people of diverse or varied appearance, character, etc.; miscellaneous. Freq. depreciative (italics in the original).

Now consider this: Israel's behaviour was merely "crass – another example of the counterproductive use of force." So Cohen disapproves of Israel's behaviour because it is "crass" (stupid) and "counterproductive" to Israel. Nothing worse. On the other hand, the Turkish prime minister's statement is "outrageous." Criticism aimed at Israel is "outrageous" but Israel's massacre of humanitarian activists is merely "crass."

There is myopia too behind Cohen's anger at the Turkish prime minister's statement. He claims, "There is nothing about it [the illegal Israeli massacre of civilians]" that can justify Erdogan's statement. Is Erdogan's outrage a response only to the attack on the Flotilla – or is the world's perception of Israel slowly catching up to its long history of settler colonialism, ethnic cleansings, illegal wars, countless massacres of civilians, and wars daily threatened against Lebanon, Syria and Iran? Such myopia is inexcusable in one who should be better schooled in the Middle East.

Second excerpt: "Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the bristling leader who has given Kemal Ataturk's secular Turkey an Islamic tinge and an eastward-looking inclination, should know better than to invoke the Nazis when speaking of a state that emerged from the ashes of European Jewry (italics mine)."

Israel as "a state that emerged from the ashes of European Jewry" - that's a page out of Israeli hasbara. Using the Holocaust to justify the creation of Israel and the 'right' of Israel to immunity from international law. The Zionist movement was launched when Adolf Hitler was barely eight years old. Inside the supportive shell of the British occupation of Palestine, the Zionists in Palestine had already created the infrastructure of a Jewish society and state by the early 1930s, again long before the Holocaust. I am sure Roger Cohen knows all this; but does not matter to the way he thinks about Israel?

Third excerpt: "But it is still a liberal democracy, home to a level of debate and openness unknown elsewhere in the Middle East (italics added)."

Is Israel "still a liberal democracy?" Consensus on that claim is fast disappearing, even in partisan western societies. Then follows something inexcusably lame: he compares Israel to the despotisms supported by and allied to the USA and Israel. Look, Israel is still a liberal democracy: just compare it to the despotic monarchy of Saudi Arabia.

Fourth excerpt: "Its tactical lurches, often violent, do not add up to a strategy; they have resulted in a shocking erosion of Israel's stature."

Given what Israel is – an apartheid society, a garrison state founded on ethnic cleansing, a state that still practices ethnic cleansing, a nuclear-armed state threatening warfare against its neighbours – why should the erosion of Israel's "stature" be "shocking"? Shouldn't persons of liberal and humane values welcome this erosion? No so Roger Cohen of the New York Times.

Enough said: if this is what comes from the pen of a self-consciously liberal and humane Zionist, what can we expect from the rest of the "motley crew?"

The writer is professor of economics at Northeastern University, Boston. He is author of Israeli Exceptionalism (Palgrave, 2009) and Challenging the New Orientalism (IPI, 2006). Email: alqalam02760@ yahoo.com

 

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I. THE NEWS

EDITORIAL

THE CONSUMMATE CIRCUS

RAOOF HASAN

Seeing the circus that is being enacted before the Supreme Court by the cronies of the presidency makes further mockery of the moral and political fabric of the incumbent leadership. From one day to the next, this bunch of self-serving sycophants is busy in weaving webs of deception and deceit to put off what appears patently vivid and imminent to every one else by now. The strategy seems to be a Machiavellian mix of creating a false impression of confrontation with the apex court to put it under pressure and then employing petty delaying tactics to win further time.

The court, for now, does not appear to be in any inordinate haste. Instead, it is quite willing and agreeable to giving the defence team the time that it asks for, and then some more, to enable it to exhaust its stock of lies and false projections knowing fully well that all this would not help it escape the need of coming up with credible legal arguments regarding the principal question of the government's reluctance to open the Swiss cases. Not having done that so far, each day that passes takes the defence team further away from the prospect of convincing the apex bench regarding the validity or veracity of its arguments. What, then, is the circus all about and what are the real intentions of this protracted presentation that unfurls itself with a different act each day of the hearing?

There are no two arguments that the government does not have a case and its team knows it, too. Consequently, it is fabricating an escape in an effort by politicising the allegations of corruption and raising the ante to a frenzied pitch to create confusion and an utterly false impression of it being wronged by the judiciary and the media. Having stretched it this far, it has even deprived its principal argument of the veneer and the naked truth can no longer be hidden even from those who, so far, may have harboured a soft corner for the occupant of the house on the hill.

The court's judgement regarding the retrospective opening of the cases closed earlier under the criminal National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) has administered the knockout punch. In the light of this adjudication, technically, there were outstanding cases of corruption (even conviction!) against Mr Zardari on the day he became a candidate to be the president of Pakistan. Consequently, serious legal reservations have to be addressed with regard to his candidature to occupy the most elevated office of the state. Any one with even a modicum of moral fabric would have quit the office and defended the cases to come back to fight another day after having his name cleared.

That may still have been though the chances were only nominal. But, the problem does not rest with Mr Zardari alone. It also concerns his core team of advisers that includes his principal legal experts. If they allow Mr Zardari to take the legal course as he should, they are afraid of going down quickly as they are guilty of having committed multiple transgressions ranging from the criminal to graft to gross misuse of authority. That's why their only chance of survival lies in using all vestiges of authority resting in the office of the presidency, be that his supposed immunity from prosecution or his powers to write off sentences of people convicted by the courts. The patent lack of morality of these actions does not seem to sway the perpetrators to hold their breath and gauge the damaging impact of such actions on the writ of the state, nay the very prospect of continuing with the system with its present shape and manifestations. Maybe, that is the real intent of the bunch of cronies: malign the system to an extent that it crumbles and use the void thus created to escape the grip of law and punishment. The alacrity with which the presidential powers of pardon were used in the cases of the president's crony Mr Riaz and Interior Minister Rehman Malik amply reflect the real intentions of the members of the ruling hierarchy: they would stoop to any low to save their skins for now and for as long as they can keep the circus going.

As we race to the end game, the time that is being allowed to this bunch of cronies may be creating a false impression with regard to the earnestness of the judiciary to use its constitutional powers to punish those who have committed transgressions irrespective of their elevated offices. It is a known fact that the judiciary does not owe its present position to the incumbent government, least of all the leadership of the PPP. Yet, it has shown patience in the face of delaying tactics and resilience in the face of barbs. That creates the right foundation for the forthcoming judgement. Whenever it comes, it is hoped that the incumbent leadership would have the good sense to heed it in its entirety as any thing short of that would expedite the unleashing of vultures that are out to devour the remnants of a putrid legacy.

 

The writer is a political analyst based in Lahore. Email: raoofhasan@hotmail.com

 

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I. THE NEWS

EDITORIAL

LOOKING FOR LITHIUM

ANJUM NIAZ

The writer is a freelance journalist with over twenty years of experience in national and international reporting

Heard the latest? The Pentagon has discovered huge minefields of lithium in Afghanistan which once unearthed will make the country "Saudi Arabia of lithium." The Afghans will be richer by one trillion dollars. Wow! Unbelievable. The metal is used for battery cells. In the last decade 'Lithium' was also billed a miracle drug that cured mental patients suffering from bi-polar disease and severe psychosis. The symptoms betrayed by such sufferers were manic depression, hyperactivity, rushed speech, poor judgment and aggression.

Zardari should swiftly stand in the queue to be the first to sign a pact with Karzai for the import of lithium. He should then contract a pharmaceutical company to convert the raw material into tablets and personally supervise the mass administration of the drug (just as Benazir popped polio drops into kids' mouths) among all his cabinet ministers, cronies, members of parliament, presidential hangers-on and riff-raff. He must set the example by first ingesting the tablet himself each day (if he's not on it already – remember he was diagnosed with the above symptoms as recently as three years ago in New York) and later getting his prime minister to swallow it followed by Babar Awan, Latif Khosa, Zulfiqar Mirza and Rehman Malik. He'll have to make sure they don't dodge the pill, considering they're habitual dodgers.

This is one way Pakistan can be saved.

The second involves some soul-searching. I watched Bhutto, the film produced by Benazir's long-time friend and Pakistan's heftily-paid Washington lobbyist Mark Siegel. Screened in Rawalpindi's cinema just yards away from the spot where Z A Bhutto was hanged and another mile or two away from his tormenter Zia's Army House, and another few miles away from the road where Benazir slumped into a lifeless heap, there was hardly a dry eye as the movie ended. Our tears welled up watching her two daughters and her husband talk of her death. Asif Zardari cried when he heard his wife had passed away. And I cried with him as he sobbed softly on the screen before me.

Don't let Benazir Bhutto's sacrifice go down the drain, Mr President. Lugging her portrait around and surrounding yourself with her photos is not enough. You've surrounded yourself with greedy, cruel, obstinate, unscrupulous barbarians who are determined to drag you and the PPP down. In the name of God, stop! How can you allow your law minister, who according to PPP activist Israr Shah, distributed sweetmeats when Z A Bhutto was hanged, to challenge the Supreme Court and cause you shame and ignominy every day?

The prime minister says he's working for you. He's working for himself and his biradari. Go around Multan and ask anyone on the street what MBBS stands for. "Mian, biwi, bachay sub" is the answer you will get. Who knows Gilani too may quietly be collecting material against his president and patron to be used as testimony against Zardari one day, not too far in the future.

That's why I think it's critical for Zardari to watch Bhutto along with his henchmen so that they realise the triumph of tragedy being allowed to play at their own hands – unknowingly or knowingly. It's the same old story. The destiny of the Bhuttos and Pakistan is like the congenital twins joined at the hip. Neither can do without the other. And yet each twin is a parasite sucking life out of the other to survive. Their lives are spawned by death – not once but four times in the house of Bhuttos; fierce wars with India cutting asunder the house of Pakistan; the treachery by America, not once but many times over ending in Z A Bhutto's, Zia's and even Benazir's elimination; tales of corruption, not once but four times dragging the house of democracy to dust; and yet the saga continues…

If you still don't get the picture I sketch before you, then go and see Bhutto, the film!

Today the triumph of tragedy is writ large on the face of Pakistan. The actors' faces have changed but the game in town is the same. Instead of Gen Musharraf, we have Gen Kayani; instead of Representative Charlie Wilson's millions for the mujhaideen, we have the Kerry-Lugar Bill; instead of freedom-fighters, we have the Taliban; instead of Nawaz Sharif's louts attacking the Supreme Court, we have Babar Awan and Latif Khosa committing contempt of court, but the story line is the same. I've seen history take shape before my eyes since the days of 'Field Marshal' Ayub Khan. I've witnessed his 'Decade of Development' and thereafter his ignominious downfall. I've seen ZAB ascend the throne and take charge of our destinies with us clinging to his each word. I've seen him waste away slowly in his death cell with us praying to God to save his life. I've seen people come out on the streets and rejoice at the news of Zia's plane crash. I've seen the transformation of the Sharifs from Gowalmandi to Model Town and on to Raiwind Palace and later to Park Lane in London. I've seen the change in fortunes of Bambino cinema owner Asif Zardari to 70 Clifton and then to Bilawal House and then to the PM House twice and on to Trump Towers in Manhattan and now ending up in the Presidency today! In between he's been in jail for eleven years on corruption charges which have earned him the universal title of 'Mr 10 per cent."

Why then is Asif Zardari allowing a replay of his past mistakes on a daily basis? Why then is he tempting the gods to destroy him and the party that his wife sacrificed her life for? Why is he allowing his cronies to enjoy the fruits of Benazir Bhutto's martyrdom? These scumbags don't deserve it.

Let's start with Riaz Laljee (RL). In a popular television show this week, the host openly named Riaz Laljee as the man causing Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) a loss of 20 billion rupees in just two years. "He is a friend of Asif Zardari", accused the anchor. As owner of Abbas Steel Group, RL literally ran the show by grabbing all the production rights and funnelling the produce to his empire. Chairman Mueen Aftab, now in jail, danced to his tune, even stopping all kinds of production to only make a special item ordered by RL and sold to him at 35 per cent discount. "Rasool Bakhsh Phulpoto, who already had a criminal FIR lodged against him on charges of serious financial irregularities, was made the managing director because he belonged to the same village as Zardari's." The fourth crook to bring ruin and disaster to PSM is Dr Kamran Akmal. He's the chap whose job was to divert the containers carrying raw material for PSM to Abbas Steel. He's absconded to Houston and set up business worth millions of dollars. The fifth is Rashid Abro, a relative of the president who procured a five billion worth of coal contract for RL, all for free.

Najam Sethi, another political TV commentator, has predicted that Zardari's government faces danger in the months of July and August. "It is not the Supreme Court but the MQM that will play a definitive role." Sethi's smirks and smiles – innocently charming but cunning – covered his face as he spoke. He's been very circuitous in his comments in the past, but now he's talking clearly and firmly. Is there something that he knows more than us all?

Is the federal government going?

Email: anjumniaz@rocketmail.com

 

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I. THE NEWS

EDITORIAL

PALESTINE AND OUR RIGHT

FAROOQ SULEHRIA

The PPP government has been grilled by fiery anchorpersons and their bearded guests for not sufficiently condemning Israel for attacking the Freedom Flotilla and murdering several human-rights activists onboard.

Away from the echelons of power and recording studios, a handful of either leftwing activists or madressah students chanted slogans against Israel across the width and breadth of the country, especially in the big cities. Since the rightists outweigh the leftists in the country now, the former have come to claim a monopoly on the Palestinian cause in Pakistan.

However, to put the record straight, a jogging of our collective memory would be an interesting exercise. Palestine is yet another cause only lately discovered by the forces on the extreme right of the political divide.

It is said that Egypt's King Farouk, ridiculing the vociferous championing of the cause of Islam by the rulers of the newly-formed Pakistan, once quipped: ''It seems Islam revealed itself in 1947, and not 1,400 years ago." Gamal Abdul Nasser must have been baffled during the 1956 Suez War against Israel-France-England when the pro-US Pakistani government supported the triple-alliance while that of "Hindu" India backed Egypt. In the 1950s, the Palestinian resistance was in its formative stage and the Palestinian cause was championed by Cairo.

Of course, it is another matter that, led by the progressives, a vast majority of people in East and West Pakistan protested against the Israeli-Anglo-French aggression.

When the Palestine Liberation Organisation came of age and began flexing its muscles after securing a base in Jordan, Israel raised alarm. The United States responded quickly. On Washington's bidding, Pakistani troops were dispatched to Jordan where the PLO and the Palestinian guerrillas were pretty close to overthrowing King Hussein. Under the able command of Brigadier Muhammad Ziaul Haq, Palestinians were as brutally killed as the activists aboard the Freedom Flotilla. On a grander scale, however.

Our Palestinian brethren remember that pogrom of September 1970 as Black September.

The PLO found a friendly government in Pakistan for the first time when Bhutto came to power, hard on the heels of a popular movement spearheaded by PLO-supporting leftwing student bodies, trade unions and professional organisations. Meantime, the survivors of Black September escaped to Lebanon.

Soon, Lebanon became a PLO stronghold. Israel attacked Lebanon and a reign of terror was unleashed there. Did the 'religious' right act? Not really. Their inaction regarding Lebanon, the homeland of Khalil Gibran, moved Habib Jalib to write the following lines:

Jahan khatray main hay Islam us maidan main jao,

Hamari jan kay darpai ho kyon, Labnan main jao;

Kiye hain ghasiboon nay zulm vo ahl-e-falasteen per,

Qayamat ka saman hay, khana-e-Jibran main jao.

The most revered jihadi ideologue of the time, however, was sick those days. So, instead of heading to Lebanon, he went to the USA for medical treatment. However, a Pakistani poet in the habit of composing poems to celebrate peace, did go to Beirut. On the invitation of Yasser Arafat, this elderly poet took the responsibility to edit the magazine Lotus published from Beirut.

As Israeli helicopter-gunships were pounding the PLO's strongholds in Beirut, this elderly poet was composing the poem "Falastini bachchay kay liye lori" (Lullaby for the Palestinian child). The poet was Faiz Ahmad Faiz, all his life subjected to smear campaigns by the right-wingers.

Back home, a disciple of Maulana Maudoodi and one of the architects of Black September--self-elevated to the rank of chief martial law administrator by that time--was telling the media: ''Pakistan is, like Israel, an ideological state. Take out Judaism from Israel and it will collapse like a house of cards. Take Islam out of Pakistan and make it a secular state, (and) it would collapse. For the past four years we have been trying to bring Islamic values to this country."

The writer is a freelance contributor. Email: mfsulehria@hotmail.com

 

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PAKISTAN OBSERVER

EDITORIAL

ENHANCEMENT OF ROLE OF UNGA

 

PAKISTAN has raised a very pertinent issue with regard to the ongoing efforts to reform the UN Security Council. Its Acting Ambassador at UN Amjad Hussain Sial told a closed-door session of the 192-member General Assembly that the UNGA being the most representative organ of the world body should have a strengthened role and authority in shaping the Security Council.

As talks continue on ways to reform the 15-member body, the point raised by Pakistan is quite relevant and deserves to be given full consideration by members of the UN General Assembly. The Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation. The proposition of Pakistan indicates some forces are seeking recourse to other means than consensus in the General Assembly for reforms in the Security Council. As the Council is mandated to take vital decisions pertaining to peace and security of the globe that affect each and every country, it is quite logical that the issues pertaining to reforms must be thrashed out at the UN General Assembly level and decisions taken that reflect the will of the international community. Pakistani proposal is strictly related to reforms in the Security Council but we believe that the UN General Assembly and not the Security Council, which is made up of five permanent members who mostly deny resolutions of the Council their representative character and instead try to mould them according to their vested interests, should have a greater say even in issues of peace and security. In 2005, the then Secretary General, Kofi Annan had recommended streamlining the General Assembly's agenda, committee structure, and procedures; strengthening the role and authority of its president; enhancing the role of civil society; and establishing a mechanism to review the decisions of its committees, in order to minimise unfunded mandates and micro-management of the UN Secretariat. Annan reminded UN members of their responsibility to implement reforms, if they expect to realise improvements in the UN effectiveness. However, instead of reforming the UNGA, the focus has been on reforming and strengthening the UN Security Council and that too on increasing the number of permanent seats to accommodate rising powers. The United Nations is losing credibility and effectiveness because of concentration of powers and authority in veto-exercising countries and the UN is frequently referred to as synonym of the US. Under these circumstances, it is high time that the member States of the UN should focus on empowering the General Assembly and not the Security Council.

 

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PAKISTAN OBSERVER

EDITORIAL

BURNING OF GOVT OFFICES IN BALOCHISTAN

 

THE continuation of violence in Balochistan clearly means that neither the Government's counter insurgency strategy nor the political initiatives have so far borne any fruit. On Saturday, several government offices were attacked and some of them set on fire in Khuzdar and Turbat during a strike against the killing of two activists of Baloch Students Organisation-Azad.

The previous Government pursued a two-pronged policy to deal with the problem of Balochistan – developmental activities and use of force against miscreants, which was changed by the present Government with focus on political initiatives and development. Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan package was billed as the genuine beginning of the process of reconciliation in the process but unfortunately the announcement could not be followed by practical steps as a result of which a highly laudable initiative is becoming irrelevant. There is also wide communication gap and the enemy and vested interests are fully exploiting it to their advantage by propagating against the State and its intentions. The leadership too seems to be not much bothered about what is happening in the Province as high level visits are few and far between and no one takes serious notice of provocative incidents like target killings and burning of government offices. The law and order problem is badly affecting the economy of the Province, developmental projects and infrastructure. Insecurity also remains the main contributing factor to a halt in oil and gas exploration activities and decline in tourism. Tourism industry has virtually collapsed as apart from foreign tourists, local tourists are also a rare sight in tourist attraction of Quetta and Ziarat. The Government should, therefore, differentiate between real political forces of the Province and those working to advance foreign agenda and initiate process of dialogue with just minded politicians. At the same time, Pakistan should also forcefully raise the issue of Indian interference in Balochistan, as normalcy would only return when foreign funding and training of anti-State forces would end.

 

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PAKISTAN OBSERVER

EDITORIAL

LAWYERS TAKE THE LAW INTO THEIR OWN HANDS

 

AN ugly incident took place on Saturday when some enraged lawyers of Islamabad courts stormed the offices of Police, damaged record and thrashed the officials present in retaliation for the demolition of their illegally constructed chambers. According to details, some lawyers constructed their chambers illegally on a private land and the owners had lodged complaints with the police and the CDA requesting them to get their land vacated.

If the lawyers constructed their chambers on a private property, it was an illegal act by those who claim to be the protectors of the law. After the removal of the structures by the CDA and the police, the lawyers could have moved the authorities concerned or the court for the redressal of their grievances instead of taking the law into their own hands. There was no justification at all to use force against police or other officials who performed their duties on the orders of their superiors. The SHO Margalla Police Station was mercilessly beaten up and he started bleeding from the mouth when he approached the lawyers and asked the reasons for blocking the road. The trouble did not end there and holding sticks and batons, the lawyers crossed the security cordons and entered the premises of main offices of the district administration. From their act, the group of agitating lawyers proved that they had least regard for the law of the land as some senior officers were taken hostage while others were roughed up. However credit goes to the police officers who did not react despite having all the force at their command in order to avoid further trouble. There had been similar incidents in the past few months in other cities as well including Lahore and Faisalabad where some lawyers thrashed media persons and threatened judges of the lower judiciary. Those incidents drew strong reaction from the civil judges as well as the media. What we want to emphasize is that the leadership of the Bars must take cognizance of this situation and take appropriate action against those who are bringing a bad name to the noble profession.

 

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PAKISTAN OBSERVER

EDITORIAL

UN SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN

M ASHRAF MIRZA

 

The UN Security Council resolution imposing 'toughest ever' sanctions against Iran for pursuing its nuclear programme represents Washington's determined bid to ensure Israel's nuclear supremacy in the region on the one hand and to deny a Muslim country of its right to acquire nuclear technology like other nations on the other. The US move is obviously motivated to weaken Muslim resistance against the Jewish state's perpetual aggressive and expansionist designs, which is amply evident from Russia's reported decision to freeze a contract to deliver S-300 air defence missiles to Tehran. Iran has, however, angrily rejected the US sponsored Security Council resolution. Iranian President Ahmedinejad has termed it as a 'used hanky which should be thrown in the dust bin'. Tehran has also threatened to downgrade its ties with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Irrespective of the Iranian bragging, the latest sanctions are bound to make serious adverse impact on its security outfit.

The resolution will target 40 new Iranian companies including 15 linked to the Revolutionary Guards. Javed Rahiqi, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran's Esfahan Nuclear Technology Centre, has been added to the previous list of 40 Iranians subjected to an asset and travel freeze. It requires the UN members to conduct cargo inspections on Iranian vessels under certain conditions, besides imposing new restrictions on Iranian imports of conventional weapons. It also provides green signal for more sanctions. Turkey and Brazil opposed the resolution while Lebanon abstained from the voting. Turkish and Brazilian representatives at the UN pleaded prior to the vote that adoption of the resolution will negatively affect the momentum created by the Tehran declaration and the overall diplomatic process to resolve the crisis. At the same time, they called upon Iran to show 'full transparency' and cooperate with IAEA to restore 'confidence' viz-a-viz its nuclear programme, about which the West is not ready to accept Iran's claim that it's not nuclear oriented. US Ambassador Susan E. Rice termed the resolution as 'tough, strong and comprehensive sanctions that will be the most significant of all the resolutions that imposed sanctions on Iran'. Tehran is obviously dismayed at the Russian and Chinese Ambassadors' positive vote for the resolution.

Amidst the mounting tension, however, Pakistan's call for a negotiated settlement of the issue surrounding Iran's nuclear programme is certainly a wise move to avoid the possible escalation of the crisis into a armed conflict. It has, in fact, offered to mediate on the issue. Irrespective of President Obama's observation that he has not closed the door to negotiations, there is hardly any doubt left now that the US and its allies are hell bent to strangulate Iran economically and militarily as Israel is bracing to blast its nuclear facilities with their moral, political and military support. The fact of the matter is that the US and Israel are pursuing the policy of 'might is right' to the detriment of peace, security and stability of the region. It seems that the US has not learnt lesson from its unwarranted invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. It has already paid a heavy price for these misadventures. It has to opt for withdrawal from Iraq with humiliation while defeat is staring in its face in Afghanistan. Prudence, therefore, demands that it should not resort to any more misadventure. But Capitol Hill is proverbially the 'Israeli occupied territory', where Jewish lawmakers and officials seldom let the US administration deviate from supporting Israeli interests and plans, howsoever illogical and immoral those might be.

By pursuing its nuclear programme, Iran is certainly not doing anything unwarranted or detrimental to the world peace. Iran is signatory to the CTBT and is, therefore, entitled to pursue peaceful nuclear programme. It has repeatedly declared that its plans to acquire nuclear technology are designed to promote its socio-economic development of its people through cheap nuclear energy. The US and Israel are, in fact, pushing Iran to go for the weapon grade uranium enrichment for its security due to their persistent intimidation and threats of war. Iran is not alone in the world that is trying to acquire nuclear technology. There are over a dozen countries that have already acquired nuclear technology through clandestinely.

Pakistan's call for negotiated resolution of the crisis, therefore, deserves serious consideration for the sake of world peace. Middle East is already in a state of turmoil due to Israel's brazen intransigence over non-establishment of the Palestinian state as per UN Security Council resolutions. Isn't it a paradox that while other UN Security Council resolutions including those pertaining to establishment of Palestinian state and restitution of Kashmiri's right to self determination are thrown into the cold storage, the one about Iran's nuclear programme is being vigorously sought to be implemented. Palestinians, who were thrown out of their hearths and homes for the establishment of the Jewish state, are forced to live in refugee camps on their own soil. They are being brutalized through military operations every now and then. And the tragedy is that the US and other Western countries are silently watching this moving spectacle of death and destruction against the Palestinians. If Washington uses its influence over Israel for the establishment of the Palestinian state with one tenth of seriousness of what it's acting against Iran, the Middle East would emerge out of the blood, trial and tribulation and there will hardly be any need for Tehran to go for the weapon grade nuclear technology.

Like its predecessor, Obama administration is also exerting undue pressure on Tehran to abandon its nuclear programme. The pressure has hitherto proven counter productive because the demand is injudicious. Iran has as much right to acquire nuclear technology as other countries of the world. Ground is apparently being prepared to justify Israel's attack on Iran's nuclear facilities through such tactics. Its blind and immoral pro-Israel conduct is also reflective from its contrived silence over criminal Jewish blockade of Gaza as well as from its failure to restrain Israel from launching commando attack on the aid flotilla carrying relief goods for the hapless Palestinians. The irony is that it has even failed to condemn Israel's brutal act in which at least a dozen peaceful activists were killed, while the whole world is outraged at the attack.

 

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PAKISTAN OBSERVER

EDITORIAL

THE BOGUS WAR ON TERRORISM

MAHBOOB A KHAWAJA

 

The Global governance is in shackle - a complete failure, from the working of the UN to the global adventurous organizations such as NATO, the UN Security Council, the EU and other security establishments. They exist to protect the self interest of the minority ruling elite as has been the case throughout the human history. E.H Carr foresaw the teaching-learning role of the history but the modern so called superpowers appear devoid of making good out of the living history. NATO's priorities were chartered in the collective defense of the member states against the hypothesis of communist led war in Europe, not the adventurous notion of collective security defying its own charter to fight in Afghanistan and possibly Iraq and Pakistan. This clearly is a self-expanded dictum of the NATO war mongers. After the WW2, the UN was the embodiment of collective security for the war torn apart world by the European adventures of national pride and ethnic identity. Like the failure of the League of the Nations, history tells how the UN has come to be a failed enterprise in global affairs. It affirms the principle of self-interest, that is the wars of European nationalism and superiority over others nations in areas irrelevant to the European-American foremost national interests. The European war mongers and the US Empire lost sense of intellect and strategic direction by invading Iraq and Afghanistan under the guise of "war on terrorism."

They is no rational purpose for the US and Britain to be fighting against the innocent people of Iraq and Afghanistan. Wars are the outcome of naïve, egoistic and corrupt mindset representing minority ruling elite, irresponsible to consequences on human society and are planned, financed and fought by governments, not by groups or ordinary people. Wars are based on political agendas and they long for complete control over resources, people and territory. Most wars would have multiple reasons, domestic, foreign and global outreach. The American led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are fought to maintain the US domination worldwide, to occupy the untapped natural resources of the Middle East in particular the oil and gas, and to protect the value of American dollar as a stable international reserve currency. In September 2000, the proactive policy paper written by the neoconservative intellectuals to envision "the Project for the New American Century (PNAC): sets out the milestone seeking American domination over the rest of the world powers and to meet its energies needs plans to occupy by force all the oil resources in the Arab Middle East. The blueprint supports military occupation of the oil exporting Arab countries and regime change where it is necessary to fulfill the policy aims of the New American Century of global domination. Centuries ago, German historian Carl Von Clausewitz wrote On War: "War is not merely a political act but also a real political instrument, a continuation of political commerce, a carrying out of the same by other means."

The small ruling elite who plans and wages war are often afraid of citizenry reaction and refusal to accept the so called antidote for the rationality of a war. Throughout the history European nationalism institutionalized the doctrine of war as a necessity to promote national interest and racial superiority over other by using war as a means to that end. Most proponents of wars have used "fear" as one of the major instruments of propaganda and manipulation to perpetuate allegiance from the ordinary folks to the elite warmongers in a crisis situation. Sheldon Richman ("War is Government Program" ICS, 05/2007), notes that "war is more dangerous than other government programs and not just for the obvious reason – mass murder….war is useful in keeping the population in a state of fear and therefore trustful of their rulers."

Ordinary citizens do not have passion for war as it disturbs the safe and secure, and destroys the living habitats. The ruling elite, the actual warmongers force people to think in their extreme terms of hatred and rejection of others so that people would be forced to align with the rulers to support and finance the war efforts. Sheldon Richman describes how Herman Goering, Hitler's chief of the staff, understood the discourse of war making: Of course the people don't want war….but after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether, it's a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a parliament or a Communist dictatorship." Paul Craig Roberts ("The Collapse of America Power": ICS, 03/2008), attempts to explain how the British Empire had collapsed once its financial assets were depleted because of the 2nd World War debts. Correlli Barnett (The Collapse of British Power, 1972) states that at the beginning of the WW2, Britain had limited gold and foreign exchange to meet the pressing demands of the war. The British Government asked America to help finance their sustainability to continue the war. Thus, 'this dependency signaled the end of British power.' For its draconian wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, America is heavily dependent on China, Japan and Saudi Arabia. It is well known that American treasury owes trillion of dollars to its foreign debtors and therefore, its financial dependency is increasingly becoming an obvious indicator of the end of American global hegemony and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now the US financial system have broken down and some of the leading banking institutions have gone into declaring the bankruptcy the roller coaster repercussion could be seen across the American economic, social and political spectrum of life. Under the Bush administration, America has shrinked its capability and vitality of role and in fact appears dismantled as a superpower status in global affairs. It is no wonder that other nations of world do not seem to take America and its traditional influential stratum in any serious context. Paul Craig Roberts (The Collapse of American Power") refers to Noam Chomsky stating that under the neoconservative Bush Presidency, "America thinks that it owns the world." But the fact of the matter is, explains Roberts, "that the US owes the world. The US "superpower" cannot even finance its own domestic operations, much less its gratuitous wars except via the kindness of foreigners to lend it money that cannot be repaid." It is undeniable that the US is "bankrupt" because of the on-going wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. David M. Walker Comptroller General of the US and Head of the Government Accountability Office (December 2007). reports that "In everyday language, the US Government cannot pass an audit."

If one is a financial investor, the obvious question asks Paul C. Roberts, "would you want to hold debt in a currency that has such a poor record against the currency of a small island country that was nuked and defeated in WW II, or against a small landlocked European country that clings to its independence and is not a member of the EU?" Consequently, the American dollar is being replaced by Euro and other currencies and soon is going to be abandoned as a reserve currency in global financial system.

Chris Floyd (Darkness Renewed: Terror as Tool of Empire"), elaborates the warmongering mentality of the US policy makers: You goad and provoke violent extremist groups into retaliating against your attacks, your civilian-slaughtering invasions and incursions in

 

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PAKISTAN OBSERVER

EDITORIAL

COOLING OFF IMPERATIVE

NEWS & VIEWS

MOHAMMAD JAMIL

 

We are a strange people. Whenever a military dictator overthrew an elected government either due to the chaotic conditions and anarchy as result of movement by alliance of political parties, we welcomed him. Majority of the politicians licked dictators' boots and aided and abetted the military dictator, and were rewarded with position and power. Judiciary through its judgments provided him legitimacy by 'inventing' legal terms and points to justify the take-over. When armed forces do a good job during a natural calamity like earthquake or flood; or when the armed forces perform their duties according to the Constitution and deal with threats to internal and external security of Pakistan, some elements use derogatory remarks against them. Today, when our economy is in a shambles; factories and businesses suffer because of energy crisis; hunger and want are stalking all over the land; and there are pressures from the foreigners, members of the ruling elite continue plundering the nation. They give overriding consideration to their personal interest over national interest, and some are calling names to the military institution and its agencies. In the past, judiciary also had been instrumental in aiding, abetting and strengthening the military governments.

After Sikandar Mirza promulgated Martial Law in 1958, then chief justice Mohammad Munir had declared in Maulvi Tamizuddin Case that "a victorious revolution or a successful coup d'etat is an internally recognized legal method of changing a constitution". After late General Zia-ul-Haq overthrew Bhutto government in 1977, the Supreme Court unanimously validated the imposition of martial law on November 10, 1977 under the doctrine of necessity. In its judgment dismissing Begum Nusrat Bhutto's petition challenging detention under Martial Law of former prime minister ZA Bhutto and 10 others, the nine-member court headed by Chief Justice Anwarul Haq had observed that "after massive rigging of elections followed by complete breakdown of law and order situation bringing the country on the brink of disaster, the imposition of martial law had become inevitable". Only on 26, January 2000, thirteen judges of the superior judiciary, including Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, ceased to hold office after they refused to take fresh oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO). However, there were others who provided legitimacy to General Musharraf after he overthrew Nawaz government.

At this point in time when armed forces are performing their duties, and more than three thousand army personnel have laid down their lives to protect the compatriots from the terrorists and militants, any criticism and insinuation is uncalled for, and must be condemned in strongest possible terms. It is unfortunate that a few politicians, intellectuals, analysts and leading lawyers, sometimes openly and at others in a subtle manner, criticize establishment, which they mean army and its agencies. In a TV talk show, Naeem Bukhari, Justice (r) Tariq Mehmood and Ahmed Raza Qasoori took exception to the remarks of Qazi Anwar who reportedly passed derogatory remarks against 'establishment'. When the anchorperson asked Qazi Anwar what did he mean by the establishment, he said "everybody knows about it"? Naeeem Bukhari however explained that in Pakistan the term establishment is used for the institution military. However, in common parlance, establishment means ruling elite, which comprises the ruling parties, civil and military bureaucracy and judiciary. In this backdrop, if somebody abuses establishment, he is abusing all the organs of the state including the judiciary.

While addressing a lawyers' convention organized by District Bar Association Sanghar, Sindh, the President of Supreme Court Bar Association Qazi Anwar strongly criticized the appointment of a junior lawyer as acting law secretary while addressing a lawyers' convention organized by District Bar Association on Saturday in Sanghar, Sindh. Qazi Anwar also "warned the establishment and the executive branches of the government to shun its aggressive attitude towards the judiciary, particularly the apex court of the country". He stressed that Pakistan's lawyers would fully resist any such attitude on the part of the government. He asked the government to implement Supreme Court's decision about the NRO, followed and write a letter to the Swiss authorities for reopening of the cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. Lawyers are often reminding the people that they should not comment on matters that are in the court, but perhaps they consider themselves above the law. Could the supreme court ask him not to discuss the matters that are sub judice? The apex court should take a suo motu of the statements by lawyers' leaders because they are causing embarrassment to the judges of the apex court by conveying an impression that judiciary is weak and needs support of the lawyers.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif has said that holding of fake degrees by legislators are condemnable but those who disintegrated the country and raised the issue of Kargil had committed more serious crimes. This is yet another way of defending the fake degree holders and diverting the attention to the aberrations of the 'establishment' vis-à-vis Kargil. The CM stated this while addressing the concluding ceremony of the first Punjab Youth Conference at Alhamra Hall in Lahore on Saturday. He said a major portion of the development funds was plundered with the connivance of officers and departments concerned and contractors. But he should remember that PML-N government does not have a commendable record of governance in the past, and even now fingers of accusation are now raised towards sasti roti scheme. Many of its members have fake degrees and do not have a moral high ground to preach to others. PPP leaders have indeed made many mistakes, and suffered because of flawed decisions. President Zardari has done one good thing by ceding powers to the Prime Minister through 18th amendment. However, the civil society, media and judiciary must keep a vigil that nobody squanders the national wealth, and there should be no compromise so far as corruption is considered.

The problem is that political parties of Pakistan are being run as dynasties or family enterprises. They consider their parties as their fiefdoms and have never cared for establishing democratic traditions. More often than not, different party officials are nominated by the party heads. The self-styled custodians of democracy are in fact authoritarian leaders, who dictate party policies, and wish to be elected unopposed as lifetime chairman or rahnuma of the parties. Anyhow, Bhutto-Zardaris, Sharifs and Chaudhrys' scions would be the next crop of leaders, and merit would have no place in the party hierarchy. Even today, the members of the ruling elite control all the resources of the country, and are considered above the law. This is one of the reasons that the people are disillusioned and are indifferent to the national affairs. Unless this vast majority of disgruntled and disappointed citizens are inspired to take interest in national affairs and help reform the society, no change can be brought about in either state of society or in the contours of the national uplift. Meanwhile, the political parties - ruling and opposition - should abandon the politics of confrontation, and al

 

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PAKISTAN OBSERVER

EDITORIAL

KASHMIR — WAITING FOR JUSTICE

ALI SUKHANVER

 

India can chain my limbs but she cannot shackle my heart; India can break my bones but she cannot crush my will and determination, Jalil Andrabi, the Ex-Chairman, Kashmir Commission of Jurists uttered these words in Geneva, addressing the UN Sub Commission on Kashmir, on August 17, 1995. He is no more in this world but his words are still resounding in the blood-dripping valley of Kashmir providing an everlasting, never ending warmth and courage to the freedom-fighters in the Indian Held Kashmir. A few months after his address, he was picked up by notorious Indian Rashtria Rifles, tortured and finally killed in custody.

But his brutal murder could not suppress the blazing passion of the helpless Kashmiris and today after so many years, we can see the freedom movement still going on in a more zestful manner. In the Occupied Kashmir the Indian security forces are doing their best to curb and crush the freedom movement but the freedom fighters are more determined. Fake encounters, rapes, kidnapping and so many other ruthless weapons seem ineffective in front of their determination. The Kashmiris are determined to prove that they are not slaves; they are the masters of their own destiny.

Killing of innocent Kashmiris under the shield of 'fake encounters' has become a routine matter, says The Hindu on 15th of May ,2010.According to the details, a few Army men killed five civilians in a fake encounter in Jammu and Kashmir. They entered into a conspiracy to pick up a few innocent civilians and stage-managed an encounter to create the impression that militants responsible for the killing of 36 Sikhs on March 20, 2000 were neutralized. Their purpose behind this fake encounter was to get out of turn promotion and win cash awards. In another incident of the same nature earlier in Siachen, a few Indian army officers had constructed bunkers, and had them demolished by firing a rocket. They ordered soldiers to act to be video-graphed as dead soldiers. They made them swear before God that they would not reveal the fake killing.

All time increasing atrocities against the innocent people have made the social religious, economic and political life of Kashmiris very agonizing and painful. The Kashmiris are of the opinion that there could be no peace in the region unless the valley is in the cruel clutches of the Indian security Agencies. The government of India has provided a legal shelter to these atrocities through the inhuman law called Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). In fact this act was designed for the North Eastern Indian States in 1958 for a year but it is still very successfully being used in the Indian Held Kashmir.

The Indian army has been given a free hand to use AFSPA in the name of insurgency and militancy. International Commission on Human Rights has recently issued a report which points out the missing of more than ten thousand people in the last twenty years in the Indian Occupied territory of Kashmir. It is feared that most of these missing people have been killed in fake encounters. The commission has pointed out towards another very pathetic situation; the people killed in fake encounters and in police custody are usually buried in mass graves near Army and Police camps which are usually out of the access of media or the common public.

The Kashmir issue is a continuous bone of contention between the two nuclear countries Pakistan and India. The two countries are always in a state of war heading towards the brink of nuclear catastrophe just because of the Kashmir dispute. The confrontation on this issue is destroying peace of the whole of South-Asian region. The government of Pakistan has always been eager to settle the issue through negotiations and table talk. So many confidence building measures have been suggested to the Indian authorities but India never showed any positive gesture in this regard. Whenever there is a peace process going on between the two countries, India tries to disrupt it. The basic purpose behind this disruption is to keep Pakistan away from the demand of peace and prosperity of the Kashmiri people.

Unluckily the international community has been ignoring the human rights violation in the Occupied Kashmir for the last 63 years. During all this period the people of Kashmir have suffered senseless oppression at the hands of the occupying power. Thousands have been incarcerated; an untold number tortured or maimed. The families of over 10,000 people disappeared within the past twenty years, are still waiting for the return of their loved ones without knowing whether they are dead or alive. This entire tragic situation is simply because of the denial of the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir. The people of Kashmir need justice. They are silently looking towards all those forces which claim to be the care-takers of universal peace and harmony. Such forces must keep in their mind a time-tested principle, 'Justice delayed, justice denied'.

—The writer is a Pakistan based analyst on defense and strategic affairs.

 

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PAKISTAN OBSERVER

EDITORIAL

LET'S TALK SOME STRATEGY

GAUTAM ADHIKARI

 

Now that the US-India strategic dialogue has had its inaugural meeting, how does the state of the relationship between the world's largest two democracies look? Not different from the uncertain shape it was before the dialogue, say sceptics. Not bad at all; the dialogue yielded results, say optimists. Given the reality of today's geo-politics, the optimists are probably right. To start with, the atmospherics were great. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton made special efforts to make the Indians feel good. Not only did she and her colleagues make the right noises at the dialogue, she threw a spanking good party at the state department on June 3.

When she strode into the hall at 5 o'clock with the president of the United States in tow, the crowd looked impressed. She spoke warmly and wrote an oped the next day in this newspaper. President Barack Obama, looking surprisingly relaxed given the pummelling his administration is receiving on several fronts, spoke glowingly of the relationship and ribbed Clinton on her fondness for Indian food. When he announced he would visit India in November, the Indians present clapped loudly.

Clearly, the Americans had surmised correctly that we Indians like pomp and flattery. But the fact that they went out of their way to make us feel good must mean that they wanted to dispel the disquiet many Indians have been voicing lately about an apparent downgrading of India's status in America's geo-strategic eyes. They wanted to tell the Indians, "Don't feel hurt. You are still very important to us." The next morning many Indians had a cold shower. Almost nothing about the strategic dialogue or the glittering state department reception appeared in the US media. The Washington Post had a tiny item on an inside page about Obama's planned India visit; TV channels and other major newspapers carried zilch. Now, contrast that with the coverage another strategic dialogue got a couple of weeks ago, the one with China in Beijing: frequent bulletins, TV discussions, news analyses, grave punditry, the works. One pill we Indians need to swallow about today's world pecking order is this: China is sexy; India is not. It is, well, interesting, shows promise, but isn't quite there yet. China has an economy that is nearly four times ours in size. It has an astounding $2.5 trillion in foreign exchange reserves. It holds nearly a trillion dollars worth of US paper. It makes it a point to punch at its weight in global affairs, both as a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council and as the world's pre-eminent emerging powerhouse.

By force of circumstances, India is still a regional player. New Delhi does not yet have a long strategic vision, one in which it sees itself exerting serious global influence in, say, 10 or 15 years. Even its Asia policy has to be necessarily Janus-faced, with one eye on China and the other on Pakistan. Perhaps that is how it will stay for the time being, given India's domestic developmental needs, internal and regional security challenges and a consequent unwillingness to stake out positions on global issues.

Therefore, when we pitch ourselves for a permanent, veto-empowered membership of the Security Council, we should be fully conscious of what we are asking for. As it is, a coming rotational membership of the council for two years can place us between a rock and a hard place. For instance, some diplomats are already worrying sotto voce about what position we would take if matters came to a crunch on Iran. With a permanent membership will come great responsibility, not for just two years but on a permanent basis. We would have to take stands on global affairs, size up our alliance preferences and cut the coat of our tactical positions according to the cloth of our strategic worldview.

There can be no harm in putting a few wise heads together to prepare a paper outlining India's view of the world a decade from now. Meanwhile, to keep the US on our side, we might like to focus on just three areas: Close co-operation on global counter-terrorism; staying in the loop on the endgame in Afghanistan; and rapidly intensifying the economic and technological side of the partnership. On all three fronts, the recent dialogue was fruitful. Counter-terrorism is high on the agenda of both sides. It figures prominently in the joint statement after the dialogue. —Times of India

 

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THE INDEPENDENT

EDITORIAL

SINO-BANGLA TIES

 

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, during his current visit to Bangladesh, has come up with a number of concrete proposals aimed at augmenting the economic and socio-cultural ties between the two friendly nations. Building a deep seaport for us near Chittagong and installing our first space satellite obviously feature at the top of the list. The Chinese vice president also showed his government's willingness to disburse fund on a priority basis for Pagla Water Treatment Plant and Shahjalal Fertiliser Factory.

According to our foreign minister, the two sides also shed light on a wide range of areas of cooperation but Bangladesh was more interested in Chinese investment in the country in a big way. On the same token, it also expressed its eagerness to find ways and means to reduce trade imbalance between the two countries. This is important because the trade gap rose alarmingly with Bangladesh importing goods worth US$ 2,534 million against its export of a paltry US$ 93 million in 2008. Although the trend changed a little for the better in the last fiscal year, it still was staggeringly yawning with Bangladesh's share in import amounting to US$4,442 million as against export of US$141 million. So it is quite natural that the Bangladesh side asked for allowance of duty-free access of its products to Chinese market.

When so much is at stake in maintaining relations with the only economic superpower unscathed by the global recession, the geographic positions of Bangladesh in general and Chittagong seaport in particular, count in our favour. Techno-savvy Chinese assistance is surely welcome but then, aspiring as we are to become a middle-income country, we must have access to large markets like that of China. We, therefore, need to extol the virtues of manufacturing a wide variety of products at low cost as exemplified by China. Both Chinese investment and technical assistance can make a difference in our quest for a type of 'clustered industrialization.' Let mutually beneficial cooperation be the basis of the Sino-Bangla relations.

 

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THE INDEPENDENT

EDITORIAL

 

DESCO DECISION

 

The Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO) has asked 5,000 factories around the city to switch off electricity for five hours during live telecast of the World Cup (WC) football matches in the evening. No doubt, the order issued for suspension of factory operation will please football-crazy fans but its economic impact cannot be ignored either. But why go for five-hour suspension of work in factories when two matches held then take a little over three hours? If the fans get power supply during the matches, they may not have any complaint. Timing matters. The DESCO has already reduced its one hour load-shedding to 30 minutes and power saved from suspension of supply to factories will further improve the situation.

Admittedly, production of power can neither be increased overnight nor can it be stored for future use. The peak time shortage is about 2,000 megawatts by expert calculation and evening by any reckoning is a peak time. So the authorities had no other option but to pacify the emotionally charged football fans. Then economical use of power at the peak hours can also add to the power available at the subscribers' level. Since most people watch WC matches on TV, lights and fans in rooms other than where the TV set is, can be switched off. That will help the cause to a great extent.

Scarce resources like electricity need to be used rationally. The DESCO decision should make soccer lovers happy but is there any guarantee of smooth power supply despite this drastic measure? The month-long football extravaganza has presented for people here an opportunity to go global in terms of passion, emotion and entertainment. With power sub-stations, DESCO staff and even the police vans coming under attacks, the authorities were compelled to make such an arrangement that in its turn might ensure such agencies' security. 

 

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THE INDEPENDENT

BOB'S BANTER

UP INFLATION UP..!

 

"Madam!" screamed the Finance Minister as inflation inched up, "Madam look at Inflation climbing up!"

"Down Inflation, down!" shouted Madam, jumping up and down and trying to push Inflation down. "We have to do something, inflation is not coming down!" she shouted looking round at all her other ministers, "You will have to bring down the prices, or we will lose the next elections!"

"Bring down the prices madam?"

"Let us look at sugar!" shouted Madam.
"Sugar prices are down!" said the Finance minister, "Because we allowed sugar to be imported from Brazil, after we lifted the import duty!"

"Put the import duty back!" screamed the Minister of Agriculture.

"But then inflation will go up!" said Madam.

"Hang inflation! My friends and I own the sugar mills and we want to impose duty again, so there will be less

imports, then the prices will go up and we will be able to make more money! All my friends want to buy a new fleet of Mercedes Benz cars this year!"

"But then inflation will go up!" whispered Madam and her finance minister again.

"Hang inflation!" shouted all the ministers together in refrain.

"We can't!" whispered Madam.

"You have to!" said her ministers.

"Why?"

"Because we politicians own most of the agricultural land, and when we sell our produce high we make money! So create scarcity so prices remain high!"

"We don't want imports!"

"So hike the import duty!"

"Make it difficult for outside products to come into India!"

 

"Because we want to make money!"

"But if the prices don't come down we will lose the next elections!" said Madam and her Finance Minister together again.

"So lose!"

"What?" asked Madam and her Finance Minister together.

"Madam," said all her ministers, one by one, "We came to power to make money, to safeguard our agricultural and other interests, that is all that matters!"

"You are not bothered about controlling inflation?" asked Madam as her finance minister sighed.

"Inflation!" laughed all the politicians throughout the country, "Means our bank balances are going up! Up Inflation Up..!"

And the nation watches with dismay as inflation inches up and potbellies of politicians put on inches too.
—bobsbanter@gmail.com

 

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THE INDEPENDENT

EDITORIAL

 

IRAN SANCTIONS: OLD DILEMMA FOR THE WEST

SYED MUAZZEM ALI

 

After months of intense behind-the-scene diplomatic negotiations and haggling, the UN Security Council last week finally adopted the Washington-sponsored sanction resolution against Iran with 12 in favour, 2 against (Turkey and Brazil) and one abstention (Lebanon). The Obama Administration has claimed that the resolution adopted by the Council was the toughest against any country's financial and military interests, and that it marks the emergence of a global consensus against Tehran's bid to develop nuclear weapons.

The Administration's claim is partly true as the resolution bans the country from investing in uranium mining, pursuing ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, or purchasing eight other broad categories of heavy weapons from abroad.

It also imposes sanctions such as an asset freeze on 40 Iranian companies, organizing and shipping lines, and calls on countries to cooperate in cargo inspections when presented with reasonable grounds to suspect materials for the Iranian nuclear weapon programme.

However, these are not the "crippling sanctions" that the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had promised a year ago. While the Administration is underscoring the importance of Russian and Chinese support for the sanctions, their votes have come at the cost of watering down the resolution. Many of the provisions in the Security Council resolution are essentially optional and not binding.

The main thrust of the American initiative was to sharply curtail foreign financial services available to the Islamic Revolutionary Regime and its state and private enterprises. Yet, what was adopted last week calls on, rather than requires, countries to block financial transactions that could contribute to Iranian nuclear programme, and the outcome of such provision would be, at best, uneven.

More importantly, it does not, in any way, limit Tehran's ability to produce and export oil abroad which accounts for nearly three fourths of the country's revenues; nor does it impede normal trade that might affect Iran's or its main trading allies' economic interests.

The sanction bans the sale of many heavy and lethal weapons to Iran; nevertheless countries would be still free to sell deadly weapons outside those broad categories. As some analysts have pointed out, Russia would still be free to export sophisticated S-300 antiaircraft missiles which have been a source of concern to Washington. Not surprisingly, former President Bush's foreign policy aides have dismissed the resolution saying that the "United States is not going to get anything approaching universal compliance with these optional sanctions".

The resentment against the Islamic revolutionary regime runs so deep and wide in the US that even the Congress has been pressing for a more stringent resolution against the regime in Tehran, including the provision to penalize foreign companies for doing business with Iran especially in the petroleum and military fields. 
The Obama administration knows well that such unilateral and national sanction would alienate Russia, China and the allies, and make the resolution even more ineffective.

Incidentally, China and Russia have already signaled their opposition to imposition of any further bilateral sanctions affecting Iran's economy and trade. The Russian Foreign Minister last week reminded last week their opposition to any national level sanctions to punish foreign companies.

The Obama Administration would, therefore, like to give more flexibility to the US Treasury Department before taking any punitive action against any foreign company.
The adoption of the Security Council resolution largely signals cancellation of the nuclear swap deal which was brokered by Brazil-Turkey a few weeks ago.

Expectedly, Brazil and Turkey voted against the resolution and Washington will have to clear the "misunderstanding" with these two close allies. After the adoption of the sanction resolution, the five Permanent Council Members, however, have indicated that they would be "keeping the door open"

for further negotiations with Iran.

Iran has been facing various forms of military and economic sanctions since the Islamic Revolutionary regime took over three decades ago. This time they tried to stave off adoption of any new sanctions through frantic diplomatic initiatives and the Brazil-Turkey effort was a great relief to them.

However, Washington struck back and now that the Council has adopted the sanction resolution,
the regime in Tehran will once again be on the defensive.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, expectedly, rejected the sanction as "worthless".  The western political circle is closely watching how these new sanctions play out in Iran at this time of political discontent.
It is noteworthy that, in the past, the fiercely nationalist Iranians have tended to put aside their differences, and support the Government on national issues.

The dilemma before the US and the major western powers is how to resume dialogue with belligerent Iran. Surely it will be very difficult under the present tense circumstances, but the alternatives are even grimmer.
On the one hand, military strikes against Iran are untenable, and on the other, emergence of a nuclear Iran will further destabilize the region.

Thus, once the dust settles down, engagement with Iran has to be resumed, and attempts made to persuade them to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and comply with safeguards as provided under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) with a view to demonstrating that they are limiting their nuclear program to peaceful purposes only.

This is a tall order, and only time will tell how far the western powers can succeed. 

(The writer is a former Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, who served as Ambassador to Iran in 1995-98)

 

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THE INDEPENDENT

EDITORIAL

 

MANAGEMENT OF CITY INFRASTRUCTURE

NILRATAN HALDER

 

On June 5, this nation stood in silence to mourn the mass death of as many as 117 people in the country's worst fire that had defied firemen for hours together two days ago. Incidentally, it was the World Environment Day dedicated each year on June 5 to raise awareness of environment and encourage political action. When all hell breaks loose like it did on that day, it points to the need for reorganising our social and economic resources to the cause of keeping our environment as sound as possible. The magnitude of the tragedy that befell the inhabitants of six apartment buildings with shops, including inflammable chemical, at basements at Neemtoli of old Dhaka makes it an environmental case history all the same. This city has been experiencing devastating fires almost on a regular basis. But the Thursday's was by far the worst both in terms of its spread and casualties -the highest recorded in a single fire incident.

Apart from the dead which now cross the 120 mark, 150 more others also received burn and other injuries while trying to escape. Of them 39 were going through agonizing pains in hospital beds. According to the physician in charge of the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, 10 of them stood little chance of survival.
Definitely this greatest fire tragedy is marked for a number of 'firsts' on different fronts. So long it was mostly the garments factories and a couple of high-rise buildings which had to go through such nightmarish experiences. Only once did a building in a residential complex catch fire in which seven people lost their lives.
This time, though, a cluster of buildings - one of them just then busy celebrating a pre-nuptial ceremony - were on rolling fires which were perhaps spirited by chemicals kept stored in a shoe factory.

It is exactly this nature of coexistence of residential accommodation and shops of all kinds including those of inflammable substances poses similar risks to the entire area of old Dhaka. There is no alternative to reshaping the world's most congested urban area with the highest concentration of population estimated about two lakhs in a square kilometer.

Dealing with such an almost intractable problem is no easy job but at least we can take a cue from other nations who have successfully overcome the same. Singapore in particular, as experts would confirm, removed the inhabitants of the old parts block by block to reconstruct those in a planned manner and then was brought back on completion of the housing.

A similar project can be taken up under the public-private partnership (PPP). Considering the value of land in old Dhaka, real estate companies are expected to show their interest in building apartments. The owners of land there will get apartments at no cost.  

Now given the jumble of wires left suspended from electric poles, it is rather surprising that the city managed to avoid similar tragedies in the past. Thursday's fire, thought to have originated from a transformer burst, raced to the nearby house only to spread to other houses following a ripple effect.

It is a departure from the usual pattern of fires having had their origin within the building either from short-circuit or other lapses. To think transformers relaying fires to residences is really frightening. City people will now be haunted by dreadful possibilities like this. After all transformers burst and burst too often. Under no circumstances can we accept the fact that part of any utility infrastructure send us death summons like this. If the probe committee's inquiry confirms what the eye-witnesses have told, the authorities have a lot of works on their hands.

They must ensure that transformers, when they explode, will not cause fire to nearby houses. Then some concrete measures have to be taken allowing fire fighting units to enter every city blocks in an emergency. In the worst case scenario of a devastating earthquake, anything less will not be able to avoid its cataclysmic devastation. The collapse of buildings and accidental fires like that of June 3 only point to the need for better management of city infrastructure and services. Security of city environment is best guaranteed if infrastructure and utility services use space rationally and also honour the coexistence of man-made mega structures and natural resources without infringement.

 

(The writer is an Assistant Editor, The Independent)

 

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THE INDEPENDENT

EDITORIAL

EU'S HOPE FOR THE FUTURE IS TURKEY

PETER PRESTON

 

John Humphrys chose to launch his grand tour of the union from Frankfurt for BBC Radio 4's Today programme the other day, with a homily about the euro, integration and "momentum". But if he started east and headed west, he would have come across some quite different challenges.

There he would have found Iran, causing collywobbles wherever summits convene; Iraq, a profoundly unsettled state; and Nato's Afghanistan, a disaster without end. Here are Israel, Gaza and problems that defy any rational conclusion. The east, in short, is a mess, a source of menacing instability just at the point where we deem our cultural boundary to run out.

If the EU is as much about peace and war as it is about prosperity, then the other great starting point for a tour is a country that is a Nato member, borders Iran and Iraq, and doesn't like dealing with Israel any longer. Turkey has always been important. Now it's critical.

Turkish deaths on the Gaza flotilla aren't why Ankara and Jerusalem have drifted apart, but are merely a symptom of growing antipathy. Turkey's refusal to join the sanction rush against Tehran tells the same story. And if the Greek Cypriots keep refusing to accept UN negotiation timetables, you can wave hopes of a Cyprus accord goodbye. Turkey will settle for a permanent base for its burgeoning regional power.
In all three cases, a common theme: the failure of the west, and especially Europe, to fit Turkey into the scheme of things, exert influence over Israel, try other approaches to Iran, even lose patience with Nicosia's delaying tactics.

There is, palpably, no place for Ankara inside Europe. Merkel, Sarkozy and recession have seen to that. Therefore, Ankara must construct a place of its own, and already we see what that means: a big military power breaking loose, a de facto nation of Islam by choice, seeking to lead those around it. An old empire stirring
again.

As John Humphrys might say: "What, no momentum?" Once the queue to slip inside Europe's redefined borders dwindles, just see what trouble awaits. Ankara: semi-detached and forming its own alliances (with Iran and Syria for starters).

Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia? Welcome to the old Balkans cauldron, where European membership is the recipe for a future that no longer seems possible. Welcome to Greece, the best and worst advertisement for Europe in that region.

Once you lose the Big Mo that held 27 capitals in thrall, you start to lose your bearings. Of course, it's easy enough to chirrup away on Today about the euro's problems, pretending that, at this end of Europe, it's only a question of "In or out?" (The BBC has never really got much beyond 'In or out?' as EU debate.)
But see what happens in moments of flux. Is Obama being horrid to us over BP? If we're not his special friend, then who are we?

A mere fumbler on some faraway goal line. London needs Washington to give it a role. Knock that casually away, though, and look across the Channel to see why there's no role left.

A union stumbling and dividing doesn't spell stability for countries where brushfire intercommunal fighting is clear and dangerously present. A stalled economic future means more than a crumpled drachma back in your pocket. It means old Europe rising again.

The archduke won't be staying in Sarajevo any time soon. However, the spread of wacky sub-nationalist parties and wackier merchants of hatred is a boom political industry already. The perils for embattled democratic politicians trying to make sense of this murky world grow ever more intense.

In or out? We're in come what may, as there's no chance of sitting this one out. The real question goes beyond the smirks of economists: without momentum, what on Earth comes next?

 

—Guardian News & Media 2010

 

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THE INDEPENDENT

EDITORIAL

NECESSITY OF A PEOPLE'S BIODIVERSITY REGISTER

ENAYETULLAH KHAN

 

Keith A Wheeler, Chair of the Commission on Education and Communication of IUCN highlights: "Today's challenges are moving towards more sustainable financial and energy systems, food security and international security - all these challenges ultimately depend on the services nature offers". These services are mainly offered by biodiversity, although this is a critical period for biodiversity in this year (2010) of biodiversity.
Biodiversity is considered as the most important wealth for mankind. Countries like Bangladesh should derive economic benefits from the country's rich biodiversity resource base. Unfortunately there is no proper inventory and monitoring of country's biodiversity. Documentation, monitoring and conservation of local biodiversity and indigenous knowledge should be considered as the thrust area of activities since the said tasks remain significantly incomplete in the country. This needs extensive countrywide activities. Bangladesh is a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which is in force since 1993, is the most significant of the pertinent international agreements. However, there is hardly any action-oriented follow up since Bangladesh has become a party to CBD. We have yet to register country's biological diversity what India already started in the name of People's Biodiversity Register.

A Biodiversity Register is a document that a. could be claimed as the proof of existence of naturally occurring flora and fauna, variety of crops, breeds of domesticated animals, and traditional knowledge within the limit of the village;

b. could be the information base to design and implement any conservation or sustainable management action plan for the local environment and society;

c. could be the source of information for scientific, socioeconomic research and centralised planning and even for entrepreneurships based on the exploitation locally available species, varieties, cultivars, breeds and/or traditional knowledge. 

India is also one of the 180 nations that are a party to the CBD. As a follow-up to this Convention, India has enacted the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, which received the assent of the President in 2003. The rules promulgated under this Act, in 2004, include the following provisions:

22. Constitution of Biodiversity Management Committees

(1) Every local body (i.e. panchayat, municipality, etc.) shall constitute a Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) within its area of jurisdiction.

(6) The main function of the BMC is to prepare People's Biodiversity Register in consultation with local people.

The Register shall contain comprehensive information on availability and knowledge of local biological resources, their medicinal or any other use or any other traditional knowledge associated with them.
(7) The other functions of the BMC are to advise on any matter referred to it by the State Biodiversity Board or Authority for approval.

(8) The National Biodiversity Authority shall take steps to specify the form of the People's Biodiversity Registers, and the particulars it shall contain and the format for electronic database.

(9) The Authority and the State Biodiversity Boards shall provide guidance and technical support to the Biodiversity Management Committees for preparing People's Biodiversity Registers.

(10) The People's Biodiversity Registers shall be maintained and validated by the Biodiversity Management Committees. The Committee shall also maintain a Register giving information about the details of the access to biological resources and traditional knowledge granted, details of the collection fee imposed and details of the benefits derived and the mode of their sharing.

Thus, all local bodies in the country, Gram, Taluk, and Zila Panchayats, Municipalities and Municipal Corporations would have the responsibility of documenting:

First, comprehensive information on availability and knowledge of local biological resources, their medicinal or any other use or any other traditional knowledge associated with them; second, data about the local vaids and practitioners using the biological resources; and third, details of the access to biological resources and traditional knowledge granted, details of the collection fee imposed and details of the benefits derived and the mode of their sharing.

Under the leadership of Professor Madhav Gadgil, the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES) at the Indian Institute of Science, a Centre of Excellence of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, got involved in the formulation of this programme. CES has attempted to formulate an appropriate methodology and design a database, and produced a manual outlines this material. It provides guidance and technical support to the Biodiversity Management Committees for preparing People's Biodiversity Registers.

Professor Gadgil opines that preparation of People's Biodiversity Registers (PBR) throughout the country would be an unusual scientific pursuit, an activity that calls for vigorous involvement, along with local community members, of the entirestudent/teacher/scout/girlsguide body in the countries, supported by the concerned government functionaries as well as technical experts. Without a doubt it will be an activity that is entirely appropriate to our biodiversity rich country, and very much timely in the current era of rapid technological developments.

Biodiversity registration is a doable thing. In 2003 a group of Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh (WTB) researchers visited Professor Madhav Gadgil who sent them to the field to understand how to register biodiversity. They then registered the biodiversity of Charkishoreganj of Munshiganj district, which was the first and only such pilot study in the country. The activities were guided by Dr Md. Anwarul Islam, professor, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, who is also the chief executive of WTB. During the study 160 species of flora, and 158 species of fauna were recorded. Domestic fauna and cultivated crops were also recorded. Records were also kept on medicinal plants, and crafts and gears used for fishing. An inventory of knowledgeable persons was also prepared.

Madhav Gadgil's academic, conservation and charity works are an inspiration to many of us who care for this earth and each of the foot steps. Therefore I would like to introduce this great man to our countrymen. Professor Gadgil was a close associate of India's another great man, Dr Salim Ali.

Madhav Gadgil, a zoologist, a Padma Shri as well as a Padma Bhushan, who is the first biology student at Harvard University to receive a Ph.D. degree for a thesis based on mathematical modeling; which won him an IBM Fellowship of the Harvard Computing Center and became a Citation Classic. Madhav Gadgil has been a Lecturer on Biology at Harvard, a Distinguished Indo-American Lecturer at UC Berkeley and a Visiting Professor at Stanford. From 1973 to 2004 he was on the Faculty of Indian Institute of Science, where he founded the Centre for Ecological Sciences.

Madhav Gadgil's research interests include population biology, conservation biology, human ecology and ecological history and he has published over 215 research papers and 6 books.

He was a member of the Science Advisory Council to Prime Minister of India from 1986-90, and Chaired the Science & Technology Advisory Panel of Global Environment Facility, a UN granting agency from 1998-2002. He chaired NCERT's panel on Environmental Education and is currently a member of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Madhav Gadgil has been elected to all the Science Academies of India, the Third World Academy of Sciences and the U.S. National Academy of Science. He is an Honorary Member of the British and American Ecological Societies.

He is a recipient of Shantiswarup Bhatnagar and Vikram Sarabhai and Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar Awards, Volvo Environment Prize and Harvard University's GSAS Centennial Medal, Karnataka's Rajyotsava Award and Padma Shri as well as Padma Buhushan, India's highest civilian awards.
In 2003 Volvo Environment Prize was awarded to two pioneers putting people and their experience in focus. Professor Madhav Gadgil from India and Professor Mohammad Yunus of Grameen Bank from Bangladesh has each in his respective field created new models for understanding and transforming the relationships between poverty, development and the environment.

The Volvo Environment Prize cites: Professor Madhav Gadgil is one of the world's leading ecologists and conservationists, a scientist who has done pioneering work in integrating research on biodiversity with the needs of communities and poor people. He has worked to break down the separation between the interests of human communities and the requirements of conservation, and he was the main contributor to the establishment of India's first biosphere reserve in the Western Ghats. He is guided by firm belief that traditional knowledge of communities is of central importance to scientific research as well as ecological and land use planning.
I hope the present government will honour its election pledge by conserving the biodiversity of the country. This is for the first time in the history of Bangladesh that a political government has given a pledge to protect country's natural heritage including biodiversity. The government has initiated the revision of Wildlife Act, 1974. Let there be a space for People's Biodiversity Registers (PBR) in the Act. I believe preparation of the PBR would be a novel activity that will involve people at the grassroots in a scientific enterprise.

 

(Enayetullah Khan, Chairman, Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh, and Chief Editor, United News of Bangladesh)

 

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THE INDEPENDENT

EDITORIAL

LIFE MADE TO ORDER

PETER SINGER

 

In the sixteenth century, the alchemist Paracelsus offered a recipe for creating a living being that began with putting sperm into putrefying 'venter equinus'. This is usually translated as 'horse manure', but the Latin 'venter' means abdomen or uterus.

So occultists now will no doubt have a fine time with the fact that Craig Venter was the driving force behind the team of scientists that last month announced that they had created a synthetic form of life: a bacterium with a genome designed and created from chemicals in a laboratory.

The new bacterium, nicknamed Synthia, replicates and produces proteins. By any reasonable definition, it is alive. Although it is very similar to a natural bacterium from which it was largely copied, the creators put distinctive strings of DNA into its genome to prove that it is not a natural object. These strings spell out, in code, a Web site address, the names of the researchers, and apt quotations, such as Richard Feynman's 'What I
cannot build, I cannot understand.' For some years now, synthetic biology has been looming as the next big issue in bioethics. The scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute expected to be told that they were 'playing God', and they were not disappointed. Yes, if one believes that life was created by God, then this comes as close to 'playing God' as humans have come, so far.

Well-known University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Art Caplan says that the achievement ranks as a discovery of historic significance, because it would seem to extinguish the argument that life requires a special force or power to exist. Asked about the significance of what the team had done, Venter described it as bringing about 'a giant philosophical change in how we view life.'

Others have pointed out that, although the team produced a synthetic genome, they put it into a cell from another bacterium, replacing that cell's DNA. We have yet to build a living organism entirely from bottles of chemicals, so anyone who believes in a 'life force' that only a divine being could imbue into inert matter will no doubt continue to believe in it.

At a more practical level, Venter said, the team's work has produced - a very powerful set of tools - for redesigning life. He has been criticized for the fact that the research was funded by Synthetic Genomics, a company that he cofounded, which will hold the intellectual property rights resulting from the research - and has already filed for 13 patents related to it. But the work has taken 20 scientists a decade to complete, at an estimated cost of $40 million, and commercial investors are an obvious source for such funds.
Others object that living things should not be patented. That battle was lost in 1980, when the United States Supreme Court decided that a genetically modified micro-organism designed to clean up oil spills could be patented. (Obviously, given the damage caused by the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, there is still some work to be done on that particular organism.)

Patenting life was taken a step further in 1984, when Harvard University successfully applied for a patent on its oncomouse, a laboratory mouse specifically designed to get cancer easily, so that it would be more useful as a research tool. There are good grounds for objecting to turning a sentient being into a patented laboratory tool, but it is not so easy to see why patent law should not cover newly designed bacteria or algae, which can feel nothing and may be as useful as any other invention.

Indeed, Synthia's very existence challenges the distinction between living and artificial that underlies much of the opposition to 'patenting life', though pointing this out is not to approve the granting of sweeping patents that prevent other scientists from making their own discoveries in this important new field.

As for the likely usefulness of synthetic bacteria, the fact that Synthia's birth had to compete for headlines with news of the world's worst-ever oil spill made the point more effectively than any public-relations effort could have done. One day, we may be able to design bacteria that can quickly, safely, and effectively clean up oil spills. And, according to Venter, if his team's new technology had been available last year, it would have been possible to produce a vaccine to protect ourselves against H1N1 influenza in 24 hours, rather than several weeks.

The most exciting prospect held out by Venter, however, is a form of algae that can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use it to create diesel fuel or gasoline. Synthetic Genomics has a $600 million agreement with ExxonMobil to obtain fuel from algae. Obviously, the release of any synthetic organism must be carefully regulated, just like the release of any genetically modified organism. But any risk must be weighed against other grave threats that we face. For example, international climate-change negotiations appear to have reached an impasse, and public skepticism about global warming is rising, even as the scientific evidence continues to show that it is real and will endanger the lives of billions of people.

In such circumstances, the admittedly very real risks of synthetic biology seem decisively outweighed by the hope that it may enable us to avert a looming environmental catastrophe.

 

(The writer  is Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the University of Melbourne)

 

—Project Syndicate 2010

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THE INDEPENDENT

EDITORIAL

CAN USA AFFORD TO CONTINUE DOMINANCE IN MIDEAST?

ENGR. MIRZA FERDOUS ALAM

 

It may sound excruciating, but some citizens of the most powerful nation in the world are and have been living in poverty. At least 50 million Americans are ill-fed -- up from 37 million just a year ago -- including 17 million children. 30% of the nation's 50 million homeowners own a home whose value is below its mortgage balance, and this number could rise to an almost unbelievable 50% by year-end 2011. It would cost about $745 billion, more than the size of the original 2008 bank bailout, to restore these borrowers to the point where they were breaking even, which there is no obvious political will to find right now.

The American national debt is to the tune of 13 trillion Dollars. Statistical figures suggest the standard of living of average Americans are not even nearly equivalent to as it used to be in the good old days. Without properly addressing the poverty and sufferings of the working class Americans, the US grab the opportunity of regime change of a country of its disliking whenever and wherever available and spread democracy in a selective way in so called 'rogue countries', not to mention about her friends the "Moderate Arab Countries" ruled by Kings and life long Presidents. Still the US is the most dominant country in the world with the largest economy and the strongest armed forces.

US think it to be her moral obligation and responsibility to look after the world affair with big brotherly stance.

As such she wants to have a say, wishes to dominate and have influence in every geopolitical matter in the face of the earth either alone or in association with its allies in Europe and elsewhere.

For the last couple of years perception of developing countries about the US and her allies has transformed into mistrust and they have become more aware about the present day reality than before. Nowadays many countries of the world are not ready to provide unconditional support to what the US dictates and with an understanding they may not have to pay a price for not obeying American directives like before.
The US appears to have lost the edge of hegemonic weight; not winning wars decisively in recent time, to some extent putting itself into quagmire in two wars waged by them, not achieving success in important world affairs despite repeated rhetoric of success by its diplomats and not managing well its domestic economy, which is flooded with toxic assets arouse due to credit crunch of housing bubble. According to some commentators "Washington has lost the fundamental tools for global leadership, especially in the modern middle east".
America has been bogged down in two wars in Afghanistan and in Iraq, where benefit cost analysis after many years of military campaign will not reveal encouraging numbers for the war pundits who inspired and influenced Mr Bush to get into the mess. The prevailing and ever deteriorating war situation appears to curtail America's ability to launch more major wars in the region, although appetite for waging war seems very much present in the mindset of the neocon hawks within the US Government. That massive show of flexing muscle over brain burst a global perception bubble about its intentions, capabilities and reason
Since long America has been functioning against the principles formulated by its founding fathers by maintaining a distinctive double standard vis-à-vis its middle east policy. Its credibility as an honest broker has been shattered with its illogical support of Israel's brutal attack and merciless killing of innocent civilians of Lebanon and Gaza in 2006 and 2008/2009 respectively. And, by the double standards employed over Israel's violations of international law and its illegal nuclear weapons stockpile - particularly when viewed against the backdrop of America's staggering rhetoric over Iran's nuclear program.

Two recent developments in Middle East underscore American inability vividly:
1. Today the US is feeble to push Israel and Palestine to start the direct peace talk leading to a negotiated solution - which the US has been trying to resolve for the last 19 years.

2. The US's inability to achieve a resolution with Iran over its nuclear program. The only breakthrough in this long-winded effort to docile Iran's nuclear aspirations was struck by Turkey and Brazil recently.
It seems the US is incapable of solving a trivial dispute in the Middle East. Small Gulf State of Qatar stepped into broker a deal between Hezbollah and the Lebanese government in 2008 and is working hard in negotiating a solution to the conflict in Darfur. Syria negotiated the release of prisoners in Iran and Gaza. And now Turkey and Brazil have convinced Iran into accepting an agreement that the US, France, England, Germany, Russia and China failed to do. Although the Turkish Brazilian smart but effective diplomatic endeavour did not receive proper admiration from the US and its allies and a forth round of sanction on Iran has been approved by US dominated UNSC not giving a chance to the joint Turkish Brazilian brokered and much appreciated Nuclear swap deal. The US has been pushing hard Iran for the Nuclear swap deal since October 2009. Now it takes a complete de tour from the path of same confidence building measures it advocated for and accuses Iran of bad intentions and negotiations trickery.

The US has openly put down the courageous effort of Turkey and Brazil, the two major developing economies and important Security Council Members. These two countries made a break through on behalf of the world community in Iranian Nuclear swap deal. This valiant trouble shooting effort went in vain the very next day when the US absurdly chose to undermine this important breakthrough by announcing an agreement on UN Security Council draft sanctions against Iran.

No nation other than UK, France, Germany and Israel want the US to win the war against Iran and in this regard the numbers of like minded countries in the neighbourhood is increasing. Some pundits and analysts have started talking about living with a nuclear Iran, although the Islamic Republic claims to have Nuclear Power meant for only peaceful purpose.

Indian External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna said in Tehran two days after the nuclear swap deal was struck: "India praises Iran for fighting for its interests... We are both developing nations and we should make use of each other's capabilities and experiences in order to make progress."

Brazil, Turkey, India, South Africa often called "Middle States" by the west are actually regional economic powers and political hegemons with collective influence - most probably more so than diminishing authority of America's European Partners busy with managing potential Euro zone economic crisis and unimaginative geopolitical philosophy very much same as America's own."All options are on the table" is the benchmark rhetoric of the US and its allies in resolving conflict especially on the subject of Iran and other countries not so friendly. Options often carry veiled military threats with bullying of possible crippling sanction in the event of non conformity of a country with the only exception of Israel. The US did not threat Israel of Military action for its arrogant reaction to America's demand to freeze settlement extension in the West Bank recently! That too in the face of American Vice President who was visiting Israel then!

Who needs the US when all it seem to bring to the table is bluster, threats and our dubious "hard power?" The "regional hegemons" have demonstrated that the cleverly-wielded soft power of diplomacy goes a lot further in easing tensions globally and creating vibrant trade and economic conditions across border. Many of the Middle Eastern and not so US friendly countries have started realizing that there may not be a price to pay for ignoring America. This is a very significant change of perception in the region. Their perception got its root from US Iran conflict. Iran is under UN Security council sanction sponsored by the US since 1979. The recent one is said to be the fourth round in a row. Neighbouring countries are observing the so called "damage done" due to imposed sanctions so far. Possibly nothing, instead Iran has learned to live with it. It has become more self reliant and America's unrelenting harassment has earned it a permanent global platform from which it has rallied impressive developing nation alliances from countries that admire its struggle and resolve. Iranian economy has grown many folds since the first sanction was imposed upon and its technological and scientific advancement during this period has been colossal. Iran enjoys excellent trading ties with the countries as far away in South America and in the neighbourhood.

Once sceptical Arab World in the neighbourhood is transforming its visualization about Iran into reality. They are coming close to Iran with open arms of fellowship and developing ideas of a new regional world view. This new friendly tie among the neighbours rejects an aggressive American role and embraces homegrown narratives that more honestly addresses their problems. Consequently the rising influence of the Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas mindset - bolstered by their good relations with rising regional stars like Turkey and Qatar, and the widespread support of the Arab and Muslim Street.

It is a matter of immense significance that traditional US allies like Saudi Arabia and Lebanon are slowly but gradually shifting strategies. These two countries have sought rapprochement with Syria and conciliation of Iran in some form in recent time. Lebanon has defended

Hezbollah's right to maintain its weapons so long as an aggressive Israel exists down south. A crisis free and acceptable to all election in Lebanon was only possible due to joint endeavour of Saudi Arabia and Syria last June which helped broker the formation of a government in its aftermath - with Iran giving its blessings along the way. The six pro US Arab Nations in the Gulf are increasingly puzzled whether Iran at all posses a threat to their existence and for the region as a whole, which is normally and repeatedly hinted in US Israel friendly western media.

The economy of western countries are shrinking and so their ability to wage new war. The countries who resist American policies in Middles East can flex their influence with reasonable confidence that at the moment the US and her allies may not be able to retaliate effectively.

Middle East is rapidly changing and clash with Iran is cooking up troubles for the US and underlining America's own diminishing significance on the world stage. The Iranian Nuclear swap deal brokered by Turkey and Brazil and subsequent American sponsored UN sanction has demonstrated conclusively that the US is not necessary for brokering deals, and may in fact even be an obstruction to conflict resolution.
Author and Middle East Analyst David Aaron Miller write in a recent edition of Foreign Policy Magazine that 'the Mideast climate has changed and therefore the US should examine its participation in regional affairs, specifically the peace processes. Miller also warns:

"The broader Middle East is littered with the remains of great powers that wrongly believed they could impose their will on small tribes. Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran - need I continue? Small tribes will always be meaner, tougher, and longer-winded than U.S. diplomats because it's their neighborhood and their survival; they will always have a greater stake in the outcome of their struggle than the great power thousands of miles away with many other things to do."

Will America listen to it?

(The writer is a freelancer)

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THE AUSTRALIAN

EDITORIAL

NOT ABOUT POLICE PURITY, IT'S ABOUT FACTS

VICTORIA'S CHIEF COMMISSIONER MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE

SIMON Overland's passing-on of secret intelligence from the Operation Briars phone tap must be investigated. At issue is the rule of law and whether the conduct of the Victoria Police Chief Commissioner has been subject to sufficiently rigorous examination by the state's Office of Police Integrity. Several legal experts, including Melbourne QC Peter Faris, former National Crime Authority member Mark Le Grand, the president of the Australian Council of Civil Liberties, Terry O'Gorman, and Liberty Victoria president Michael Pearce, consider there has been a prima facie breach of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act or at least that it must be investigated further. What must be established is whether the OPI treated Mr Overland more leniently than it did former assistant commissioner Noel Ashby, former Police Association boss Paul Mullett and former police media manager Stephen Linnell. Having the OPI's director, Michael Strong, clearing Mr Overland of any wrongdoing is a little like asking the police chief's wife to decide the case, so compromised is the OPI by its close association with Victoria Police. The case against Mr Overland - that by passing on the material from phone taps from a murder investigation, he inadvertently started a chain of events that ended with the collapse of the case - is serious. It cannot be airbrushed out by portraying this as a media stoush rather than a matter of legal substance.

In 2007, Mr Overland spoke candidly under oath of his efforts to "cultivate relationships" with key journalists and of "trying to have them run stories that we were comfortable to have them running". He must be feeling very comfortable about the stories some journalists are producing about his 2007 decision to pass on the intelligence in an effort to head off a story about a $120,000 trip he had been offered to attend a course in France. Journalists from The Age and the ABC have a lot invested in a view of Mr Overland as the avenging angel in the fight against police corruption. Three years ago, Four Corners and The Age presented a view of Operation Briars and Victoria Police that now appears to be hindering their ability to focus on the core issue of Mr Overland's behaviour. On Monday night's Media Watch , Jonathan Holmes said that "The Australian has chosen to take sides in a factional war, but few of those who've reported on police corruption in Victoria believe it has chosen the side of the angels." Perhaps it is easy for Holmes to separate the heroes from the villains from his desk in Sydney's Ultimo. We are not so sure the world can be divided into a cartoon caricature of "white hats" and "black hats", good cops and bad cops - or, for that matter, good journos and bad journos. The Age is also finding it hard to accommodate the facts discovered by The Australian's Hedley Thomas who, for the first time, established the link between Mr Overland's release of the intelligence and the collapse of Operation Briars. Contrary to claims this is old news, Melissa Fyfe's report in The Age on September 13 last year did not mention that the release of information started with the police chief. Fyfe's weekend piece in her own newspaper acknowledges this is where Thomas has advanced her story. The Age appears wedded to a story by Nick McKenzie, published on September 14, 2007, which positioned Victoria Police, Mr Overland and the OPI as the good guys. The subsequent collapse of OPI actions against Mr Ashby and Mr Mullett and the questions about Mr Overland's passing-on of material do not sit easily with that original story. It is disappointing The Age finds it hard to see beyond what was in effect the first draft of history. It is easier, too, for ABC radio host Jon Faine to dismiss this story because of an unrelated dispute between The Australian and the OPI.

In truth, the substance of the case against Mr Overland does not rest on the purity of other police. Neither Mr Ashby nor Mr Mullett has been found guilty of any misdemeanour but even if they had been, it would be irrelevant to the question of whether Mr Overland has breached the law. Similarly, it matters not at all whether this newspaper is in dispute with the OPI. Operation Briars predates by three years our involvement with the OPI. That media commentators like Margaret Simons can so blur the two issues in her attacks on this newspaper suggests that Victoria's police spinmeisters are good at their game. That The Age and the ABC are more concerned with shooting the messenger than acknowledging the need for an inquiry suggests they need to go back to first principles and examine the facts rather than clinging to an image of Victoria Police built on police patronage and selective leaks.

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THE AUSTRALIAN

EDITORIAL

LNP DEADWOOD HINDERS ABBOTT

THE COALITION NEEDS A MARGINAL SEAT STRATEGY IN QUEENSLAND

IF Tony Abbott wants to be prime minister, he has to win in Queensland, where marginal seats delivered power to John Howard in 1996 and Kevin Rudd 11 years later. But the one thing that could stand in his way is his own party, or at least that hybrid mix of Nationals and Liberals who have hijacked the local franchise. The federal Opposition Leader has three major problems in the state. One is the forest of deadwood MPs and senators left over from, and in some cases predating, the Howard years. The second problem is a batch of dud candidates in winnable Labor seats who were endorsed at local level when the party had little hope of victory. Some of them could be the best thing Kevin Rudd has going for him. The third problem is the LNP itself, a problematic mix of prickle farmers on the far Right, sophisticated small "l" liberals on the Left and those in between. So far, it has failed to rebuild the credibility of non-Labor politics.

Unfortunately for Mr Abbott, the grandfathering provision enacted when the merger took place in 2008 has saddled him with a team of time-servers who did not make the grade in the Howard years. Such MPs as Bruce Scott, Alex Somlyay and Peter Slipper should make way for new talent. The LNP also has a problem in the nominally Labor seat of Dickson on Brisbane's outskirts, where former assistant treasurer Peter Dutton will be targeted by Labor for trying to abandon his constituents to seek preselection for a safe Gold Coast seat, where he was rejected. And in Longman, north of Brisbane, where Labor's margin is 1.7 per cent, the LNP has preselected 20-year-old student Wyatt Roy, whose lack of life and workplace experience are major impediments, despite Nationals leader Warren Truss's crystal ball suggesting he is a future prime minister.

On the positive side, the party is well rid of Michael Johnson in the once-blue-ribbon seat of Ryan. A competent replacement, Brisbane City Councillor Jane Prentice, has been endorsed. Mr Abbott will also take a keen interest in who will be endorsed in the safe Gold Coast hinterland seat of Wright after glamour girl Hajnal Ban was dumped amid allegations she mismanaged the funds of her invalid mentor. Some are also questioning whether Bert van Manen is the best the party can do in the winnable Labor seat of Forde.

It is in the Coalition's short- and long-term interests for Mr Abbott to assert his authority in the amateurish, insular world of LNP politics, which needs unity and fresh resolve. It must leave behind decades of bitter in-fighting between Liberals aligned to former federal minister Santo Santoro and a rival small "l" liberal western suburbs faction that left the party almost moribund. The LNP must also emulate Labor's marginal seat strategy, devised by Bruce Hawker. Most recently, high-calibre candidates in marginal seats helped Labor hold office in South Australia, despite losing the popular vote. There can be no regression in Queensland to endorsing powerbrokers' personal favourites. The only test that should be applied in selecting candidates is the quality test.

Mr Abbott's task in Queensland is all the harder because geography and the absence of manufacturing put the Liberals at a disadvantage. For most of the 20th century, Queensland politics was dominated by uncannily similar conservative Labor and agrarian socialist National Party governments, despite the efforts of competent Liberal leaders such as Llew Edwards and Terry White in standing up to the excesses of the Bjelke-Petersen regime.

At the 1998 state election, fast-growing, middle class urban electorates in the southeast should have helped the Liberals, but the party was gutted when the poll became a de facto referendum about the Coalition's decision to preference One Nation, which won 23 per cent of the vote and 11 seats. That ill-conceived preference move cost the Liberals six seats. And in 2001, when then-Coalition leader Rob Borbidge was defied by many in his own party who refused to preference One Nation last, the Liberals were reduced to only three seats.

Against this background and in light of the Rudd government's unpopularity, Mr Abbott is right to push the LNP to take every opportunity to endorse fresh, quality candidates.

 

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THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

EDITORIAL

POLITICS SHOULD LEAVE PLANNING

THE ramifications of the state government's disastrous foray into land swap deals with developers continue to spread. Swapping land in one place (to become a conservation area or national park) in return for development approval on land somewhere else always sounded risky. When the process is complicated by donations from developers to the ALP, as it has been in the past, it is deeply compromised. When the Land and Environment Court disallowed a project at Catherine Hill Bay last year it rendered null and void a series of similar transactions between developers and the government. Now Duncan Hardie, one of the developers involved and a substantial donor to the ALP in the past, is contemplating legal action over the collapse of planning approval for one project. He wants nearly a billion dollars in damages.

If his claim was upheld it would add enormously to the price of incompetence that NSW taxpayers are paying. Compensation claims for the cancelled CBD metro are about to cost hundreds of millions of dollars; this failure of the planning process would take the total amount wasted on blunders to more than $1 billion - more if other developers follow suit.

The court decision is clear-cut. Yet the new Planning Minister, Tony Kelly, appears to be giving himself some room for manoeuvre - in particular by moving to strip Cessnock Council, the relevant local authority, of planning powers. Is this a prelude to declaring any new application for the Hardie project one of state significance under part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, so the minister will be able to decide its fate?

What this episode shows is the need for an open and transparent planning system that is both efficient and involves the community. It can be a difficult balance to achieve. Some councils, it is true, are agonisingly slow at approving developments. Political interference often makes them so: councillors override the decisions of planning staff in order to reward or acquire support. To speed up this dysfunctional process, the government has superimposed a larger version of the same thing: councils can now be overridden by the Planning Minister - but there remains the suspicion that somehow influence is being peddled and rules bent for those with influence.

It is not a healthy or transparent system, as the results - and the demands for compensation - show. Responsible developers hate it; so do the public. Other states can manage to plan and approve developments locally, according to set rules. Why not NSW?

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THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

EDITORIAL

BUSINESS ABROAD: WHATEVER IT TAKES?

AUSTRALIAN businessmen are on a learning curve about bribery and corruption, but not a particularly steep one. A survey of midlevel managers in firms operating in Australia, Malaysia and transnationally has found widespread ambivalence, particularly about paying bribes to secure a deal.

Most were personally against giving or taking bribes, but nearly 90 per cent agreed that while ''undesirable [it] is necessary in many situations''. They were evenly split on whether bribery was a ''normal part'' of doing business in the country where they operated. Nearly 80 per cent were aware of unethical practices in their own firms. Generally, they were unclear about where to turn when confronted with corrupt approaches or activity.

The authors of the survey, Michael Segon and Chris Booth, of RMIT University, Melbourne, suggest that Australian companies are still not giving enough thought to policies that guide their staff, and are still rather blind to the many ways that corruption and unethical practices can insinuate their ways into corporate cultures.

This is after some recent scandals have reminded Australians they are no more immune to corruption in international business than in domestic affairs. The AWB scandals around wheat sales to Iraq and India showed us willing to do ''whatever it takes'' to secure contracts. The Howard government was ready to deny extradition of two Australians whom Hong Kong prosecutors wanted to face trial over a construction scandal. The Stern Hu case showed that bribery can cut two ways, and that Rio Tinto's internal audit systems only worked one way.

The AWB case alone was enough to drag Australia down from its ranking a decade ago as the cleanest country on the Transparency International global corruption index. Last year the slide in perception was halted and we climbed back from ninth to eighth place. Segon and Booth wonder whether we deserve even this relatively high ranking. Aside from the hazy attitudes shown in the RMIT survey, Transparency International lists Australia among the 21 out of 36 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that had ''little or no enforcement'' of anti-corruption laws.

Australian businesses need to tackle corruption more consciously, if only to avoid being caught up at corporate or individual level by tougher anti-corruption laws elsewhere. In April, for example, Britain passed a new law that broadens the offence beyond bribery of ''public officials'' and makes corporations potentially liable for bribery by their associates. The Hu case must have many executives nervous. It was a warning that should not be forgotten.

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THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

EDITORIAL

ALL OF VICTORIA MUST DEAL WITH GROWING PAINS

A FAST-GROWING population is evidence of prosperity and drives economic growth, but accommodating all those extra people creates problems, as any Melburnian could tell you. Both Labor and the Coalition parties have plans to promote regional development with two goals in mind: to improve the prospects of Victorians living there and to preserve Melbourne's liveability. The Coalition recently made its election-year pitch in the form of a $1 billion, 8-year regional growth fund. Yesterday, the government moved to trump the opposition - not for the first time - with a $631 million package over five years.

In the five months to the election, voters will no doubt assess the benefits for themselves of the rival plans for regional cities and towns. Launching the government's ''blueprint'', Premier John Brumby pointed to a decade of achievements in regional development. An extra $631 million pays for a host of electoral goodies: $203.9 million for water, energy, housing, transport and communications infrastructure; $158.4 million for programs to promote community, cultural and sporting activity; $110.1 million for regional education and training; $99.4 million to create jobs and industries; and $58.9 million for the planning that growth demands. The Coalition's $1 billion plan works out to a similar level of annual funding. It proposes that local communities would decide 40 per cent of funding priorities and 60 per cent would go to strategic infrastructure, with five regional development committees to advise ministers. Regional and Rural Development Minister Jacinta Allan has said this would cut across bodies set up by Regional Development Australia. Yesterday, Mr Brumby announced a Council of Victorian Governments, including regional city mayors and the state's 38 rural councils, to manage the $58.9 million regional population strategy.

The Age has been a strong critic of urban sprawl and supports decentralisation - to ease the strains on Melbourne and to improve regional Victorians' prospects. A decade ago, the Bracks government set up a $611 million Regional Infrastructure Development Fund, which has helped Labor retain many seats that it first won in 1999, creating an electoral buffer. Its hold on these regional seats is not assured, however, and should the Coalition win these it would be more than halfway to forming government.

A worry for Labor is that regional voters already feel the impact of growing pains. Last year's accelerating growth rates around Geelong (2.1 per cent), Ballarat (2.1 per cent), Gippsland (2 per cent) and Bendigo were not far behind Melbourne's 2.4 per cent. (The Surf Coast area grew at 3.9 per cent, which underscores the need to protect coastal areas.) Mr Brumby has nominated growth of about 1.7 per cent a year as ''a good, long-term sustainable rate'', but regional centres are already exceeding that.

Federal parliamentary secretary for regional development Maxine McKew recently noted forecasts that regional Victoria's growth would accelerate over the next 15 years, with half occurring in Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat. One should not overestimate how much that growth can ease the pressures on Melbourne. In 2008-09, its population grew by about 1800 people a week. If growth in the eight largest regional cities doubled in a year, this would accommodate an extra 12,500 or so people - only seven weeks' growth in Melbourne.

Regional Victoria's growth is the fastest in three decades. As a result, these centres are feeling the strain: hospitals overwhelmed; water restrictions harsher than in Melbourne; V/Line patronage up 10 per cent last year, with chronically overcrowded trains to Ballarat, Geelong, Bendigo and Traralgon; and median house prices following Melbourne's lead (a 16 per cent rise in the year to March was the highest non-metropolitan rate in Australia). The challenges of growth must be better anticipated and managed around the state, otherwise the political backlash will be the same in regional centres as in Melbourne.

Source: The Age

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THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

EDITORIAL

RESPECT VERSUS COMMONSENSE

CONSIDERING the description - ''This … depicts the lower half of a woman with her legs wide apart. There is an image of [a] rocket shooting upwards between her legs'' - it is little wonder the Advertising Standards Bureau upheld complaints about a moving-billboard's advertising of a sex-industry product. The ASB found the advertisement insensitive, and that it was displayed in full view of an audience of all ages. The advertisers withdrew the billboard.

The object lesson, apart from the flagrant misuse of limbs and scientific projectiles, is that advertising can, and does, go too far in sexual exploitation and discrimination, and that adverse public reaction is growing. In 2009, sexually related advertising accounted for 40 per cent of complaints to the ASB - an increase of 15 per cent on the previous year. The bureau's report on community perceptions of such advertising is due to be released next week.

It is not just the advertising regulator that has problems with sexism in the industry. As The Age reported yesterday, the Brumby government is planning an election strategy to introduce regulations ''to ensure positive representation of women in the media and advertising as well as to remove exploitative and discriminatory representations''. Under Victorian Labor's ''pro-women'' policy, this would mean advertisers would be banned from portraying women in negative, belittling ways. This is part of a draft so-called ''respect agenda'', expected to be endorsed at this weekend's state Labor conference, the last before the November 27 state election.

There are manifold difficulties in implementing such legislation, not the least of which is that most advertising is predicated on national rather than state perspectives, and is therefore unwieldy to control and awkward to ban. While it is encouraging, and perhaps exemplary, that Victoria is leading the way to improve standards in advertising, it can, in reality, be only the beginning of what must become a national, co-ordinated approach. At the same time, although there is no place for blatantly offensive advertising, discretion must be taken to ensure respect does not turn into censorship: commonsense must distinguish the truly creative and innovative from the downright insensitive and appalling. It is also worth remembering that men have as much right to complain about advertising as women. ASB figures for 2009 show the complaints ratio as roughly 40 per cent male to 60 per cent female. Respect is not always gender specific.

Source: The Age

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THE GUARDIAN

EDITORIAL

BSKYB: GOING GLOBAL

BSkyB has an attribute that News Corporation lacks: it is a massive and well-run tollbooth on the media highway

 

 

Set aside the personalities and the politics for a moment, and the idea of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation buying all of BSkyB makes pure commercial sense. After all, Sky does television and News Corp does papers – and the boundaries between the two are getting increasingly blurred in the digital age. Type news.sky.com into your internet browser and you get an impressive news website that would make any newspaper proud. But BSkyB has an even more important attribute that News Corporation lacks: it is a massive and well-run tollbooth on the media highway.

 

Sky pipes television (and broadband and plain vanilla telephone services) directly into customers' homes and collects the money to boot. Newspapers rely on middlemen for most of their distribution and the financial problems of the industry are unlikely to go away even when the economy gets out of recession. The first day of the launch of a big corporate bid is never going to yield much information on what one party plans to do with another – but it would not come as too much of a surprise if Mr Murdoch were to harness Sky's distribution and revenue collection for the rest of News Corp. He could easily bump up the price of a Sky subscription and chuck in complimentary access to the Times or Sun online – and hardly any of the nearly 10 million Sky subscribers would notice the extra cost (direct debits have that strange power of semi-invisibility, after all). The business logic of this deal is partly why, one presumes, share markets are putting a high likelihood on the takeover coming off – provided News Corp raises its offer for the 61% of Sky it does not own already.

 

But there is obviously more to this deal than commercial logic alone. There is the wider interest of the public in having a diverse and varied supply of media. Full ownership of Sky would leave Mr Murdoch in control of the company's big cash pile – giving him a great competitive advantage. More to the point, the deal would leave control of large swaths of the media in the hands of one company. In the past fortnight, Sky has bought Virgin's TV channels – now there is the prospect of James Murdoch becoming the most powerful man in the British and European media industry. That is a thought which will give even loyal Times subscribers and Sky+ users pause.

 

For those reasons, this merger would normally face an amber or even red light from regulators. Yet media watchdog Ofcom faces de-fanging by David Cameron and its head Ed Richards has been told to concentrate on technicalities rather than policy. It now falls on politicians to raise the necessary questions about this concentration of power.

 

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THE GUARDIAN

EDITORIAL

BLOODY SUNDAY REPORT: DERRY'S MOMENT OF TRUTH

 

The Saville inquiry certainly took too long and cost too much. But its conclusions simply cannot be ducked

During the last decade it has gradually become the default position of many in Britain that the Saville inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday had become an absurdity. However important the events of 30 January 1972 may have been, ran the argument (and at 38 years' stretching distance, even that point was not always conceded), they could not justify the 12-year-long, £195m inquiry under Lord Saville which finally reported yesterday in 10 volumes. The inquiry, it was implied, was a trophy concession that Tony Blair granted too recklessly to nationalist Ireland in 1998. Far from laying Bloody Sunday finally to rest, it would give it fresh life, sowing new discord just as Northern Ireland is finally moving on. As late as yesterday morning, the Daily Mail lamented the "brave British soldiers about to be branded as criminals".

 

The Saville inquiry certainly took too long and cost too much. But the report is devastating. Its conclusions simply cannot be ducked. Nor, to his great credit, did David Cameron attempt to duck them yesterday. They were absolutely clear, the prime minister confirmed, and not open to doubt. Bloody Sunday was not a premeditated state conspiracy, Saville finds. But the main actors were not brave British soldiers but, too often, trigger-happy paratroopers. The parachute regiment went into Derry's Bogside in response to an order that should not have been given. They fired the first shots at civilians who had been taking part in a civil rights march. The people at whom they fired were unarmed and in some cases fleeing. A few victims were shot on the ground. None of the dead or wounded was doing anything that justified their being shot. The soldiers gave no warnings. They lost their self-control. Then some of them lied about it afterwards. For all of which, Mr Cameron said, the British government and people were deeply sorry.

 

These were powerful, moving and fully justified words by the prime minister. Across the water in Derry people had been waiting long years to hear them, not least because the perfunctory 1972 Widgery tribunal had added to the original affront of Bloody Sunday itself. Yesterday, in the sunshine outside the Derry Guildhall, a crowd finally heard the words they deserved, with Mr Cameron's speech relayed on a big screen and applause greeting several of the prime minister's clear statements. A few minutes later, relatives of the victims emerged to trumpet the innocence of their loved ones. Inevitably there was some political grandstanding – both the SDLP and Sinn Féin have worked hard in their own ways for this moment. But the most striking impression from Derry was not of implacable triumphalism but of long-suffering people finally awarded the vindication and justice which they should have had years ago. The potent and emotionally charged scenes in both Westminster and Derry put most of the objections to the inquiry into proper perspective.

 

They also underscored why Bloody Sunday matters so much. In the two centuries since the Peterloo massacre, this was the worst example of unprovoked and unjustified killing of civilians by the military in this country. Though British governments have long acknowledged that the victims were innocent, yesterday was a climactic moment of truth. With goodwill, it can now be a cathartic one too, enabling Derry and, more widely, the people of these islands to resume the work of political reconciliation of which Saville has, after all, proved to be such an important part. Yet in the end the state must always uphold the law, not break it. If it kills its citizens, the state and its servants must answer for their actions. Saville's findings are part of that process. But the cases must also be properly examined by the prosecution authorities. If the evidence permits, which at this distance it may not, those who killed the innocent in Derry in 1972 should be prosecuted. No amount of political convenience should be permitted to stand in the way of justice.

 

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THE GUARDIAN

EDITORIAL

IN PRAISE OF … GENERIC CONNECTABLE PLASTIC BRICKS

 

19-year-old Fabian Moritz from Laatzen in Niedersachsen is an internet sensation, re-enacting football matches in Lego

 

Binned the vuvuzela already? Are those lips cracking trying to get those low Fs? You could always plunder your children's Lego box for instant World Cup relief instead. It is never too late to start, as 19-year-old Fabian Moritz from Laatzen in Niedersachsen, Germany, discovered. A fan of Hannover 96 football team, he constructed an entire stadium out of those generic connectable plastic brick links. He started with the pitch and the goals around the 1998 World Cup in France, and assembled the rest from friends and family over the next 10 years. He began with local matches first, filming re-enactments in stop motion animation. The fan movements were the worst. Making between 100 and 200 figures jump out of their seats when a goal is scored takes time, and the hours just fly past in his storeroom studio doing action-replay goals from three angles. Discovered first by Bild.de, and latterly by this newspaper, an international career beckons. The animated recreation of the classic 1966 World Cup final between England and West Germany, shot in scratchy black and white, stirred old passions. Those doubts about Geoff Hurst's "ghost" goal resurfaced: was the entire ball pictured over the goal line or just part of it? Rob Green's less convincing goal-line scramble in the latest England-USA match was cruelly captured by his plastic figure sprawling helplessly as the ball dribbles into the net. A case of schadenfreude? Never mind, the video has been watched by almost 2 million people. It's an internet sensation.

 

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THE GAZETTE

A CLOSER EYE ON THE RCMP

THE RCMP HAVE BEEN IN A LOT OF HOT WATER IN RECENT YEARS: THE MAHER ARAR CASE, THE DEATH OF POLISH IMMIGRANT ROBERT DZIEKANSKI AT VANCOUVER AIRPORT, THE SHOOTING DEATH OF IAN BUSH IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, AN INTERNAL PENSION SCANDAL, AND MORE.

 

But to the fury of its critics, the federal police force seemed to be able to just walk away from its self-inflicted injuries, free to not testify at inquiries and even freer to spurn the recommendations of such probes.

 

But this week, the Conservative government announced a new watchdog agency that will take away at least one of the RCMP's defensive weapons. Under the new oversight structure, the RCMP can no longer refuse to co-operate with an inquiry. Where the current Commission of Public Complaints Against the RCMP has no power of subpoena over either RCMP officers or documents, the new body will.

 

The new agency, whose budget is to double from $5 million to $10 million by fiscal 2011-12, will have independent powers to audit RCMP activities. Not only will it have the power to compel testimony, it will be able to initiate inquiries -a key power, given the work the RCMP do.

 

Under the current system, investigations are largely confined to public complaints, as in the cases of Dziekanski and Bush. But a broader brush is needed. The public doesn't know when or how the RCMP exercise their powers in cases involving national security or organized crime.

 

The case of Arar, the Canadian "rendered" to his native Syria by the United States based on incorrect information supplied by the RCMP, is proof enough that a more vigilant approach is necessary.

 

The new agency represents a major step forward in accountability by the RCMP. Nothing less than enforced transparency is required if the RCMP are to regain the trust of the Canadian people.

 

The Conservatives propose solving the second problem -the RCMP's freedom to adopt, or not, recommendations -by dealing with individual cases or policy matters at the cabinet level. It will take time to see if this will work. Still, this new proposal moves in the right direction.

 

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

 

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THE MOSCOW TIMES

EDITORIAL

BESLAN'S MAIN TERRORIST FINALLY CAUGHT

BY YULIA LATYNINA

 

Ali Taziyev, a successor to slain Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, was taken alive in the Ingush town of Malgobek. Taziyev — also known as Magas and as Magomed Yevloyev — was the second-most important figure of the so-called Caucasus Emirate after Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov. Credit for Taziyev's arrest goes primarily to Ingush President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov and, to a large extent, to Vladimir Gurba, regional head of the Federal Security Service. His arrest is the latest in a series of high-profile successes that include the capture of Rustamat Makhauri, whose people killed Russians living in Ingushetia, and the killing of rebel ideologist Said Buryat.

 

Taziyev's arrest also shows that in the Caucasus, everything depends on who is in charge. When Ingush

President Murad Zyazikov was in power, riot policemen were shot in the streets and the authorities passed the incidents off as suicide. The FSB presence in the region was limited to stray detachments of gunmen who sat in concrete bunkers, occasionally venturing into Ingushetia as a hunter looks for wild animals in the woods, and later labeling anyone they happened to kill as a terrorist.

 

Once Yevkurov became president, the situation changed markedly for the better. Now, the authorities kill only those who need to be eliminated. They are ruthless in their methods, but fair.

 

The capture of Taziyev has produced a huge bonus in the form of information that security forces are dragging out of him. But it is also a problem of sorts because Taziyev led the terrorist attack in Beslan in 2004.

 

In fact, I believe that Taziyev — who shortly before that Sept. 1 assault had been named by Basayev as the commander of the Ingush sector of the Caucasus Front — personally commanded the Beslan siege and left the scene on the evening of Sept. 2, the day before federal forces stormed the school. He left to save himself for future battles. What's more, I believe that the main goal of the "investigation" subsequently dedicated to the Beslan attack was to conceal Taziyev's involvement. Investigators have consistently claimed that 32 militants arrived at the school in a GAZ truck. But no more than 25 people can fit in such trucks, and all the evidence indicates that there were two groups — one led by Ruslan Khuchbarov, and the other by none other than Taziyev.

 

A question: If there were two groups, and one was led by Khuchbarov and the other by Taziyev, who was in charge? For a long time after Beslan, neither hide nor hair was seen of Taziyev. Federal authorities announced that he had been killed in the assault on the school and were in no hurry to admit their mistake in letting him escape. Basayev was careful not to make mention of Taziyev either, so as to forestall a manhunt against him. But in the end, it was the Ingush Interior Ministry that spoiled everything when it announced that Taziyev was behind the killing of Deputy Interior Minister Dzhabrail Kostoyev, a local version of Ivan the Terrible's notorious Malyuta Skuratov.  

 

The story of Taziyev marks a low point in the declining professionalism of Russian intelligence agencies. The success in apprehending him is all the more outstanding for showing that, even in today's government, there are intelligence operatives capable of fulfilling their duty to their country by carrying out what appears to be a doomed battle against the advance of Islamic fundamentalism in the Caucasus. Yet, there is a chilling aspect to all of this. Not one of the militants who has been captured or killed recently — neither Said Buryat nor Anzor Astemirov — was Chechen. Not one of them was fighting for an independent Chechnya. They were all fighting for the Caucasus Emirate.

 

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THE MOSCOW TIMES

EDITORIAL

MOVING BEYOND PETERSBURG AND VEKSELBURG

BY VLADIMIR RYZHKOV

 

Russians hold no illusions about the ability or the willingness of the authorities to "modernize" — the government's latest catchword — and view such proclamations in the opposite light of that intended. President Dmitry Medvedev and his administration view modernization as the exclusively technological renewal of the country. The president identified five areas in which new technologies should be developed. New legislation is being drafted to stimulate development of the technologies. The decision has been made to build an innovation city in Skolkovo in the Moscow region that will enjoy legal and tax incentives, and the project has already earned the nickname of Vekselburg, in honor of its director, billionaire Viktor Vekselberg.

 

At the same time, the Kremlin categorically rejects every initiative aimed at systematically modernizing the country as a whole. These include not only initiatives aimed at creating and acquiring new technologies but, even more important, reforms to political and state institutions to ensure the rule of law and property rights, and policies to promote greater social justice, a new balance between Moscow and the regions and create a favorable business climate. The Kremlin consistently responds with a "no" to every proposal made to implement systemic modernization — as compared with narrow technological advances — put forward by the democratic opposition, numerous specialists, the Institute for Contemporary Development and, most recently, by the European Commission in its partnership for modernization initiative.

 

But the Russian people want a systemic form of modernization, one that emphasizes societal reforms and the creation of a new social contract between the state and society. This puts them in agreement with researchers at the Institute for Contemporary Development, Russia's liberal community and even — though they do not realize it — the European Commission.

 

This has been shown by a survey titled "Is Russian Society Ready for Modernization?" that was recently published by Mikhail Gorshkov from the Russian Academy of Sciences and Reinhardt Krumm from Germany's Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The representative national survey was conducted in April and May. First, 73 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that Russia has "a problem, is in a crisis," and another 11 percent considered conditions to be "catastrophic."

 

Second, the demand for change in society is very strong now, with three-fourths of all Russians responding favorably to Medvedev's call for modernization — understanding that term to mean a program of far-reaching reforms that would help the country emerge from the terrible position into which it has fallen.  Third, it turns out that the government's model for modernization, with its focus on purely technical achievements and innovation, stands in only fourth place among the modernization models Russians prefer, with only 24 percent of respondents supporting it.

 

Leading the list was a completely different model. That model, with support from 41 percent of respondents, turned out to be the very version of modernization that independent think tanks and European institutions have been pushing for: "The equality of all people before the law and the upholding of constitutionally guaranteed human rights." That type of modernization requires deep and urgent reforms, including political reforms.

 

The second most popular model focused on "a tough fight against corruption," with 38 percent of respondents supporting it. (Respondents could vote for more than one model.)

 

Russians are clearly dissatisfied with the way that Russian authorities merely pay lip service to the government's largely symbolic struggle against bribery, kickbacks and embezzlement of budgetary funds. But no real fight against corruption is possible without political and institutional reforms — the return of political competition, freedom of the press, public access to information concerning the activities of the government, and independent judiciary and investigative agencies. According to the survey, the hatred for corruption and corrupt individuals is especially strong among residents of large and medium-sized cities and among those who are highly educated. These are the very people who should modernize the country.

 

The third preferred model was "providing social justice," with 31 percent of respondents backing it. The people are more than a little irked by the fact that both the number of dollar billionaires in Russia and the number of unemployed have doubled during the crisis. Russians are feeling growing frustration and even abhorrence over the expanding gap in personal incomes and consumption, the glamorous lifestyles of rich individuals and government officials, the privileges enjoyed by officials on Russia's roads, and the appearance of closed housing communities with their own elite neighborhoods, schools and hospitals.  

 

The firm and clear demand of the Russian people is not for a narrowly defined technical modernization like the Skolkovo project and the high-speed Sapsan commuter trains purchased from Germany that travel between Moscow and St. Petersburg, but for a systemic modernization that includes a government subject to the rule of law and accountable to the people, a policy for equalizing incomes, and the elimination of the rampant state and political corruption. Russians are not at all opposed to technological progress, but they clearly understand that no innovative high-tech projects can be carried out in the existing bureaucratic, nontransparent and corrupt environment. People understand the very thing that the Kremlin does not want to understand or acknowledge — that the greatest problem facing Russia today is the appalling quality of the state itself and the poor quality of its government. For this country to survive, it must, first and foremost, modernize the state itself.

 

Some senior officials and specialists with close ties to the leadership indirectly acknowledge this. The Center for Strategic Development, which gave then-President Vladimir Putin the Strategy 2010 reform program, found in summing up the results of that program that only 35 percent to 40 percent of its goals had been achieved. Even against the 2000s backdrop of strong macroeconomic growth, the authorities failed to create modern public and state institutions, strengthen municipal governments, establish the rule of law, change the backward structure of the economy and improve the overall competitiveness of the economy.

 

Only an unwillingness on the part of the Kremlin to compromise its commercial interests and its hold on power can explain its persistent refusal to begin a dialogue on a meaningful, systemic modernization of the country. The need for this reform has been acknowledged by the greater part of Russian society, analysts and the political community, from the die-hard opposition to government loyalists

 

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THE MOSCOW TIMES

EDITORIAL

RUSSIA'S ZONE OF RESPONSIBILITY

BY FYODOR LUKYANOV

 

Until only recently, the territory of the former Soviet Union appeared to be a vast geopolitical battlefield on which major world powers fought it out for the choicest "trophies." Today, everything has changed. Almost every major power has run up against its own dire economic and political problems. This has made them too preoccupied with resolving their own problems to pay much attention to what is happening on former Soviet soil. That, in turn, has opened up an opportunity for Russia to demonstrate its leadership potential. But is Russia capable of taking advantage of these newfound opportunities?

 

It is as if the situation has reverted to what it was in the early 1990s. Then, amid the chaos and confusion of the Soviet breakup, there were few world powers desirous of getting involved in the murky politics of the newly independent states. The major powers only began taking a real interest in the region — and, consequently, began competing with one another — toward the end of the 1990s, when the situation gained some clarity and a degree of stability had spread throughout the region. During the initial and riskiest phase of the early 1990s, Moscow was the only power compelled to participate in events in its neighborhood. This was partly due to inertia from having just functioned as the region's center, and partly because Moscow was unable to isolate itself from the turbulent events occurring in its former outlying territories.

 

Russian policy during those years was far from ideal. At the same time, Russia undeniably contributed to the emergence of new states and, in some cases, played a key role as a stabilizing force. Only later did the world's major players — the United States, the European Union and China — begin to develop plans of their own regarding the former Soviet republics.

 

That stage appears to have ended now. The United States has reassessed its priorities, focusing more on South and East Asia and the Pacific Rim than on the former Soviet republics. Washington's days-long silence over the unrest in southern Kyrgyzstan speaks volumes. After all, Central Asia is directly linked to the situation in Afghanistan and the surrounding area. As for the EU, in its current configuration, it does not qualify as a world player. Even EU regional projects such as its Eastern Partnership, which seemed so promising only 18 months ago, have been largely forgotten. China looks to its neighbors as a means for achieving its own economic goals, and Beijing has expressed no interest in taking responsibility for the region.

 

Now Turkey has shown itself to be a new and ambitious factor in the equation. But Ankara will need time to develop an independent strategy.

 

New opportunities have opened before Russia, which has long sought recognition for what it calls its zone of "privileged interest" in the region. For example, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's dramatic rapprochement with Russia can be explained not by any deep-seated love for Moscow but because he has nowhere else to turn. After paying his first official visit abroad to Brussels, Yanukovych understood that he could expect nothing substantial from the EU and was left with no alternative but to cut a deal with the Kremlin.

 

But an even greater lack of alternatives was seen last week in Kyrgyzstan. Just as in the 1990s, there was no world power except Russia that could assume the responsibility for putting out the international fire that had broken out there.

 

But how prepared is Moscow to take action?

Despite the presence of military bases belonging to Russia and the United States, Central Asia lacks any security institutions. Over the course of many years, the Collective Security Treaty Organization has remained little more than a "club of Russia's friends" that functioned merely as a symbolic counterweight to NATO. Now, however, there is an urgent need for the CSTO to play a role as a capable military and political alliance. In 2009, Moscow started to undertake measures to transform the organization, but it was too late. Member states Belarus and Armenia have no interest in taking part in events that do not directly concern them. What's more, the CSTO lacks any clear rules or scenarios to govern its actions, and even more important, there is a high level of mistrust between the member states. Most of those states understand the need to stop the chaos in Kyrgyzstan, but they are terribly afraid to set a precedent of interfering in the internal affairs of a partner state. This is especially true considering that in Bishkek itself, the interim authorities do not have legitimacy, and to respond to their call for bringing in peacekeepers would mean supporting one side of the sectarian conflict.

 

Russia could act independently, following the example set by France in Africa, especially in the 1960s and 1980s. But it lacks a legal basis for doing so. Paris had concluded bilateral agreements with African countries that stipulated — either officially or secretly — the conditions and forms of French intervention if required. Moscow has no such treaties. For Russia to send peacekeepers to Kyrgyzstan, it would need if not a formal mandate then at the very least the consent of its main neighbors in the region, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Without that, Russian troops could be drawn into not only a civil war but an interstate war.

 

It is also worth asking whether Russia even has professionally trained units that could play a peacekeeping role in such a delicate and dangerous situation. That role would have to be completely different than the "peace enforcement" role Russian troops carried out in Georgia in 2008.

 

The post-Soviet world is entering a dangerous new phase. The former Soviet republics have been left to cope with their problems by themselves. The regional efforts that various world powers tried to launch for various reasons in the 2000s did not work. Now it even sounds odd to speak of Russia having a zone of "privileged interests." If anything, Russia has a "zone of responsibility." The former Soviet republics have been left to cope with their problems by themselves. If Moscow does not find a way to respond to challenges such as Kyrgyzstan, any later claims it might make to a special role in the region will be unconvincing. It is also unlikely that any other world powers will express a desire to assume the heavy burden of responsibility for the region.

 

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THE KOREA TIMES

EDITORIAL

GLOOMY ANNIVERSARY

Koreas must return to spirits of summit declaration

``Ten years of time can change even rivers and mountains," an old Korean saying goes. The native land of the Korean Peninsula seems to have changed little over the past decade; what's has been turned upside down is the inter-Korean relationship ― from cooperation to confrontation.

On June 15, 2000, top leaders of the two Koreas shook hands warmly and embraced each other, and the United Nations unanimously welcomed the start of peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. Exactly a decade later, words of war are flying across the border, and the U.N. has to call for both Koreas to exercise self-restraint not to raise tension any further.

As a candidate two and a half years ago, President Lee Myung-bak vowed to seek a win-win, co-prospering relationship with North Korea and respect the agreements from the two summits. Upon taking office, however, Lee stuck to his precondition ― the North's abandonment of nuclear programs ― as if he had forgotten to do so while campaigning. He then made it clear that a reunified Korea should be a free, democratic state, during a summit with U.S. President Barack Obama.

These were sound, justifiable demands ― in theory ― but were extremely unfeasible in reality, forcing most experts to wonder whether the Lee administration has any genuine intention ― or even a solid sense of reality ― to move inter-Korean relations forward.

To paraphrase Lee's calls from the standpoint of North Korea, it was like demanding the North give up its biggest ― or only ― military and diplomatic leverage and be absorbed by the South. The rest is already history with the estranged Koreas falling into escalating hostility and a game of chicken.

No one can defend North Korea's nuclear ambition or its suicidal threat to ``turn Seoul into sea of fire." Nor has Pyongyang abandoned its goal to communize the South by force ― albeit as a political propaganda.

Assuming there are many ways of interpreting the Kim Jong-il regime, however, one of them is to regard it as a thug who holds its people ― and even the safety of South Koreans ― as hostage. The biggest victims of inter-Korean confrontation is not the leadership in Pyongyang but North Korean residents, as Seoul has severed even humanitarian aid.

If another calamitous famine hits the reclusive country, the Lee administration will hardly be able to avoid at least moral responsibility, as the former Kim Young-sam government looked away while millions of North Korean starved to death in the mid-1990s.

Also, conservatives may be free to think the inter-Korean reconciliation in the first eight years of the 2000s as just Pyongyang's extortion of cash from Seoul to make atomic bombs targeted at its benefactors. But the longer the Lee administration delays the resumption of the six-party talks pending the solution of the Cheonan incident, the more nuclear bombs will be made in the North ― without South Korean money.

The June 15, 2000 joint declaration came neither from a na?ve, nationalist fantasy nor from some politicians' personal ambitions; its biggest significance was for Koreans to begin to throw off the historical yoke put on them by world powers.

Ten years later, we Koreans are standing at square one.

 

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THE KOREA TIMES

EDITORIAL

CAPITAL CONTROL

FINANCE SHOULD NOT DISRUPT MANUFACTURING

Seoul has taken preemptive steps to control cross-border capital flow. It reduced capital inflow by setting a quota on forward contracts and foreign currency borrowing. This is the first time since the currency crisis in 1998 that the country has controlled capital.

The new rule is necessary to stabilize cross-border money movement. However, the quota may inhibit even commercial deals that are necessary for exporters and importers to manage currency exposure risks. It will also reduce the business of foreign banks.

Regulations do not always work as policymakers intend. To bypass the rule, banks may be tempted to book deals overseas. They may fabricate forward-deal documents to prove that they are for real-demand business. Exporters and importers may pay more to sign contracts.

A few foreign banks exploited forward contracts for speculative gains. One company sustained astronomical losses over a speculative deal by predicting the won-dollar rate movement in the opposite way.

The nation should not underestimate the role of foreign banks, however. They are patted for bringing foreign currencies into Korea in times of capital shortage and vice versa.

In the 1970s and 1980s when Korea badly needed hard currency, Seoul gave incentives to institutes to bring in foreign currency. Their loan enabled the country to build major manufacturing plants.

It is dangerous to classify all foreign banks here and portfolio investors as bad players disrupting the market. Naturally, they shuffle foreign currencies in and out of the country in line with the market demand. The trouble occurs when every player seems to be going in the same direction.

It is ideal for foreign banks to take the same amount of cash into the country as the amount of money foreign stock investors take out of the country or vice versa. This is only possible in textbooks, not in the real world.

Policymakers should acknowledge that international banks are doing business here to earn money, not to become good Samaritans. Speculators exist where there are rewards and risks. Blaming speculators, not seeking to eliminate the sources for speculation, is the wrong prescription.

Policymakers should be blamed for their inability to smooth out cross-border capital flow. In the 1997 currency crisis, hedge funds and hot money were responsible for the chaos in the financial market. Money becomes hot because the economy is hot and vice versa. When the economy is in solid shape, there is little room for hedge funds and hot money to arbitrage the differences of returns both at home and abroad. They are in constant search of returns on investments.

Before the Wall Street crisis in late 2008, Korea had to risk global criticism if she had sought to control capital movement. Now even the IMF backs the idea. Discussions have been under way among the G-20 countries on setting global standards for capital control. The bottom line is the money economy should not disrupt the real economy. Financial liberalization should be made without harming manufacturing.

 

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THE KOREA TIMES

EDITORIAL

NPT 2010: A STEP FORWARD

BY CHANDRA MUZAFFAR

The International Movement for a Just World (JUST) welcomes the consensus achieved at the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference held at the U.N. Headquarters in New York from May 3 to 28.

That a consensus was achieved and a final document adopted is a victory of sorts for the nonnuclear weapons states that constitute the overwhelming majority of the 189 member nations of the NPT. The last NPT Review Conference in 2005 failed to achieve a consensus or to produce a final document.

The two most significant proposals to emerge from the 2010 NPT are its appeal to the five recognized nuclear weapons states ― Russia, the United States, Britain, France and China ― to work toward total disarmament and report back to a preparatory committee in 2014, after which the 2015 NPT Review Conference will take stock, and its request to the U.N. secretary general to convene a conference in 2012 to seek ``the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction ( WMDs)."

By asking the "Big Five" to report to a preparatory committee of the NPT and by asserting the right of the next NPT Review Conference to evaluate the progress made by them, the NPT nations are in fact exercising a degree of moral authority over the powerful.

This is important in itself. It is a reflection of the growing desire of hitherto marginalized states to play their rightful role in determining the fate of the human family. These states in the Global South and the Global North are no longer prepared to allow a handful of dominating actors to ride roughshod over their interests.

Similarly, by pushing for a Middle East that is free of all weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, the NPT is signaling to the only state in the region that possesses nuclear weapons to come clean. It is asking Israel to get rid of its stock of about 400 nuclear warheads.

The NPT knows that Israel's nuclear arsenal will only encourage other states in the region to also acquire weapons, thereby intensifying tensions and conflicts in the world's most volatile region. Israel, which is not a signatory to the NPT, has already rejected the NPT's demand for the elimination of WMDs. It has made it clear that it will not allow the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect its nuclear facilities.

It is partly because of Israel's intransigence and arrogance that the NPT nations should go beyond the final document that they adopted on May 20.

The Non-Aligned bloc within the NPT, comprising 118 states, should launch a massive campaign through the media, especially the alternative media, to ban all weapons of mass destruction everywhere. In this campaign, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) should work closely with NGOs and religious bodies. JUST would like to propose that NAM initiate a meeting for this purpose.

There is no need to emphasize that in order to create the momentum to persuade the Big Powers and Israel to act positively; we have to mobilize global public opinion immediately. Popular sentiment is undoubtedly in favor of the total elimination of all weapons of mass destruction.

To enhance the credibility of NAM in this endeavor, its leaders should first coax the only two countries within NAM who possess nuclear weapons ― namely India and Pakistan ― to get rid of their arsenals.

Dr. Chandra Muzaffar is president of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST) in Malaysia. He can be reached at muza@just-international.org. The views expressed in the above article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial policy of The Korea Times

 

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THE KOREA TIMES

EDITORIAL

END BAN ON TRAVEL, EXPORTS TO CUBA

BY DALE MCFEATTERS

Scripps Howard News Service

After 48 years, the U.S. trade and travel embargo on Cuba has failed at everything except as an excuse for the Castro government's failed economic policies.

Periodically, there are attempts to lighten the embargo, at least to the extent of allowing Americans to travel there without interference from their own government, but they have always fallen short.

Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., earlier this year introduced a bill that would prohibit the administration from banning or interfering with travel to Cuba and would also allow direct transfers between U.S. and Cuban banks.

Peterson has received support from an unlikely source: 74 members of Cuba's political opposition ― bloggers, human-rights activists, a support group for jailed members of the opposition ― have written an open letter to Congress in support of the bill.

"We share the opinion that the isolation of the people of Cuba benefits the most inflexible interests of its government, while any opening serves to inform and empower the Cuban people and helps to further strengthen our civil society," they wrote.

The experience in easing the U.S. embargo as far as farm goods is a good indicator of what might happen if the travel ban were lifted. In 2000, the U.S. allowed the sale of agricultural goods and products to Cuba. Last year, that trade totaled $729 million, and that was a down year because of the recession's impact on Cuba.

That trade would be even greater except the U.S. government demands that it be conducted at arm's length and in cash upfront, hence the importance of allowing direct bank transfers.

Georgia is one of 29 states that sell to Cuba, and its governor, Republican Sonny Perdue, was just there on a trade mission. He said Georgia was poised to sell Cuba even more poultry, pork, soybeans and sausage "if and when our government and the Cuban government decide on relaxed trade ..."

Perdue told the Associated Press that he did not want to publicly disclose his views on the embargo, but on the question of travel he said, ``Anecdotally, I talked to a lot of Georgians who I think would love to come to this beautiful island and explore."

Let them. Freedom of movement is a basic American right.

Dale McFeatters is an editorial writer of Scripps Howard News Service (www.scrippsnews.com).

 

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THE KOREA TIMES

EDITORIAL

PUBLIC UNIONS, THE ENEMY TO WATCH OUT FOR

BY JAY AMBROSE

 

Scripps Howard News Service

The enemy within. That's what Robert F. Kennedy called the then corrupt Teamsters union in the title of a 1960 book. Just maybe it's time to use that phrase again, referring not to one union especially, but to a whole bunch of them, and employing the words in political speeches, debate and commentary as a rallying cry.

The bunch is those representing public employees. They constitute an extraordinarily powerful special interest that could all but bankrupt any number of local and state governments and vastly increase federal spending.

Why? So members can live much better on average than those of us in the private sector.

To get a better idea of how this works, meet Hugo Tassone, a Yonkers police officer who retired three years ago at age 44 earning a salary of $74,000 a year. Now receiving an annual pension of $101,333, he raised the amount to that sum by working scads of overtime in his last year on the job, it's reported.

That's legal, and he defends himself in a front-page New York Times story by saying that a cop's work is difficult, that he took on those duties knowing he could retire after 20 years and that inflation will eat into the large amount as he gets older.

Fair enough from his perspective, but hardly fair to taxpayers in a state that now boasts 3,700 retired public employees with annual pensions paying in excess of $100,000, according to the Times. Wait a minute, though. The left coast beats that.

A Wall Street Journal opinion piece of some months back notes that in California, where public pension costs have increased by an amazing 2,000 percent over the past decade, there are some 15,000 retired public employees taking in more than $100,000.

Other interesting information relayed in the article by Steven Greenhut of the Pacific Research Institute: Some categories of workers can retire at 50 with 90 percent of the final year's pay on a pension that is inflation-adjusted. And the state's unfunded pension liability was put at $63.5 billion in a 2008 report.

We've talked about the right and left coasts. The middle is not in such good shape, either. According to an investigation by newspapers in Ohio referred to by a Boston Globe columnist, governments in that state are forking out $4.1 billion a year in pensions that have been increasing by $700 million a year. Total unfunded pension liabilities in the country are in the trillions and governments have no way of paying for them without exorbitant tax increases. It's largely the work of the enemy within.

Last year, it was widely noted, public sector unions pulled off a stunner, gathering in more union members than the total in the much larger private sector. More than a third of all public employees are now union members, compared to the private percentage of 7.2.

Abetted of course by irresponsible office holders often eager for their political support, these public sector unions have done far more to indulge their members than helping to concoct pensions of a kind hard to locate in private employment

Read assessments of what's going on, and you discover that the wages and benefits of federal employees in eight out of 10 occupations examined by USA Today are considerably higher than for the same occupations in the private sector. That public sector jobs were increasing during the worst of the recession while the losses in the private sector still added up to millions.

That benefits and compensation for already pampered public employees have been scooting well past private increments even as productivity growth in the federal government has been lagging.

 

The cost of all this is enormous and unaffordable. Among the intriguing answers suggested by some observers are to freeze federal salaries and even have President Obama revoke a JFK executive order allowing the existence of federal unions. He is himself a union cheerleader and won't do it, of course, but it sounds good to me.

Jay Ambrose, formerly Washington director of editorial policy for Scripps Howard newspapers and the editor of dailies in El Paso, Texas, and Denver, is a columnist living in Colorado. He can be reached at SpeaktoJay@aol.com).

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THE KOREA TIMES

EDITORIAL

SKIN COLOR NEVER A SMALL ISSUE

BY JOSE DE LA ISLA

Hispanic Link News Service

A news item came across my desk that gave me a moment's pause. It has to do with your looks.

Evidently, Prescott, Arizona City Councilman Steve Blair used his radio talk show to complain about some of the kid's skin color.

A downtown mural going up used Miller Valley Elementary School kids of various ethnicities as models. The ``Go on Green" campaign, designed to promote environmentally friendly transportation, had a Hispanic boy as the dominant figure.

Project director R.E. Wall reported that for two months he ``had people shouting racial slander from their cars."

 

The children painting with the artists heard ``yells of (a racial epithet for blacks) and (epithet for Hispanics)."

Then, school principal Jeff Lane insisted the skin color of the kids depicted in the mural get lightened.

Finally, Blair was fired for his aggressive on-air talk. Joe Gandelman, commenting in TheModerateVoice.com, said Blair ``made comments that some interpreted as being racist."

This is one of those public incidents that can go, like sidewinder fireworks, in every direction. The moral about what we should get out of it should not be confusing.

The matter can get obfuscated in lots of ways. But, in the end, the old 1950s and 60s notion that ``race," as depicted by skin color and not DNA, is what was intended. In that tortured social interpretation, skin color represents the social hierarchy about who is entitled and isn't.

All that got tumbled away long ago with Mendez v. Westminster (1947), the Hernandez v. Texas (1954) and then the 1964 civil rights legislation which chipped away at how people think about race and human differentiation.

And how people of color think about themselves has changed, too.

Times change, but how people talk doesn't change as fast, if at all. Even how new values are expressed can take glacial time and is forever a lagging indicator of what most people mean.

In the 1950s and 60s, dark skin was both a basis for discrimination and prejudice and the benchmark for self-deprecation. In its most extreme, it became self-hate.

But that was then and this is now. Designer looks are in. A person becomes what he wishes.

For example, one interpretation about why homogenous-seeming youth in Japan choose to paint their hair day-glo colors, apply cosmetics to look like make-believe characters (like Raggedy Ann dolls, other costuming and adding accoutrements) do so simply from wanting to distinguish and differentiate themselves. Some commentators say this is the age of designer identity.

If you don't believe it, take in one episode of the Tyra Banks cable TV show on Bravo, ``America's Top Model," to see the transformation from how people are to what they wanna be.

On the more, noire side of life, ever since the appearance of the best-selling book, ``Black Like Me," the 1961 diary of white journalist John Howard Griffin, who artificially darkened his skin to pass as a black man in the segregated South, the public understands that people are treated by how they are perceived.

That understanding about public prejudice came as news to some people.

By 2009, when baseball player Sammy Sosa brought a gasp to some of the audience of the Spanish-language Univision program ``Primer Impacto" when he revealed using a bleaching cream. It's no longer reasonable to presume to know what that means. Some took it into their 1950s template. But that's not necessarily the case anymore.

He might have been making a metrosexual comment and not one about race relations.

Still, those statements involving kids in Arizona ― that's different. The intention and its effect was a micro-aggression to demean, chastise, subordinate and was mostly off-message for the good-natured ``go green" campaign.

Anachronistic, knuckle-headed, spoiler thoughts and expressions only serve to poison the well from which children drink ― the kids we have cultivated to believe they can be anything they want.

Jose de la Isla writes a weekly commentary for Hispanic Link News Service. E-mail him at joseisla3@yahoo.com. The article was distributed by Scripps Howard News Service (www.scrippsnews.com).

 

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THE JAPAN TIMES

EDITORIAL

A FOURTH TRY TO CONVINCE IRAN

 

For the fourth time, the United Nations Security Council has voted to impose sanctions against Iran to get that country to share more details about its nuclear program. Tehran's determination to shield those efforts from international scrutiny only compounds doubt about its intentions. The new sanctions will not compel Iranian compliance, but they signal increased concern about Iranian obstinacy and consolidate the international consensus that is essential to resolve this standoff.

 

Iran enjoys the right to possess peaceful nuclear technology — all signatories to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) do. But access to that technology depends on forswearing development of nuclear weapons — a promise that Tehran insists it has kept, although its actions suggest otherwise. Iran has had clandestine nuclear facilities, has close links between its nuclear program and the military, and has been repeatedly caught being less than truthful about its nuclear efforts. When challenged, Tehran has preferred defiance to demonstrations of its intent.

 

As international suspicions mounted in tandem with Iran's determination to enrich uranium — a critical step in building a bomb — Iran has been adept at fending off diplomatic adversaries. It has exploited close relations with key nations, Russia and China in particular, to deflect international efforts to open its nuclear program.

 

Moscow and Beijing have been reluctant to credit Western claims that Iran is not telling the truth. Moreover, those two governments see advantage, both commercial and political, in maintaining good relations with Tehran. If the United States is frustrated in the meantime, tied down and shown to be less influential, that is to their benefit as well. Finally, those two countries have been on the receiving end of sanctions too and oppose their imposition as a general principle.

 

It is indicative of the mounting suspicions surrounding the Iranian program that even those two friends supported the most recent UNSC vote to tighten sanctions. Evidence of Tehran's duplicity has been mounting and concerns about the impact of Iranian proliferation have swayed China and Russia. Months of painstaking negotiations yielded a resolution that passed the Security Council last week by a 12-2 vote; Turkey and Brazil opposed the measure while Lebanon abstained.

 

The resolution targets the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which controls the nuclear program and is asserting greater control over the economy and the country. It tightens measures already taken against 40 individuals, putting them under a travel ban and asset freeze, and adds one name to that list. It restricts the operations of Iranian banks, adds more companies to a blacklist and requires the inspection of ships or planes headed to or from Iran if suspected cargo is aboard. The resolution bars all countries from allowing Iran to invest in their nuclear enrichment plants, uranium mines and other nuclear-related technology. Iran is also banned from purchasing certain types of heavy weapons; some sales of Russian missiles will go ahead however.

 

Look closely and the measure does not seem so tough. While countries are required to inspect ships if they suspect them of carrying contraband, Iran has been good at disguising ownership of ships and cargoes. Nor is there authorization to board ships at sea by force. Western countries had hoped to lengthen the list of companies and individuals on the blacklist but China and Russia resisted. Both insisted that sanctions not affect ordinary Iranians — and by extension, their economic ties with Iran. For China, those ties included more than $36 billion in two-way trade. For Moscow, the volume of bilateral trade is considerably smaller, but there are several deals that are important to sectors of the Russian economy.

 

Tehran's leaders ignored the vote and vowed continued defiance of the U.N. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the sanctions as "annoying flies, like a used tissue." The country's U.N. envoy said it would "never bow" to the Security Council. And a parliamentarian said the legislature would try to reduce ties with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

 

Those responses were expected — and those promises likely to be realized. Watered-down sanctions are the price of Russian and Chinese cooperation on the U.N. vote. And, truth be told, there is little chance that sanctions alone would compel Tehran to return to serious negotiations. But this vote provides legitimacy for tougher action by the U.S. and the European Union. It also creates the precedent for more tightening and for action against other states if they should try to emulate Iran and its intransigence.

 

Iranian defiance is having an impression — but not the one that the country's leaders are seeking. Other nations are increasingly concerned about Iranian behavior and the potential consequences of Iranian proliferation. The success of the NPT Review Conference last month was attributable in part to the renewed credibility of threats to the global nonproliferation order — a threat made real by countries like Iran and North Korea. Their intransigence is helping forge a genuine consensus on behalf of demanding compliance with nuclear obligations. This latest resolution will not resolve this situation, but it makes a positive resolution more likely.

 

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THE JAPAN TIMES

EDITORIAL

CHINA UPS THE ANTE IN ASIA

BY MICHAEL RICHARDSON

 

In the opening session last month of the China-U.S. strategic and economic dialogue, Chinese President Hu Jintao said it was natural for the two countries to disagree on some issues. What was important, he added, was to "respect and accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns, appropriately handle the sensitive issues and strengthen the foundation of mutual trust."

 

China has been making its core interests — and its readiness to defend them, by force if necessary — increasingly clear. Taiwan is a prime focus of Beijing's drive to achieve national unity.

 

But senior U.S. officials were reportedly told by Chinese counterparts in preparatory talks for the ministerial-level dialogue that Beijing would not tolerate any interference in the South China Sea, which was now part of China's core national sovereignty interests on a par with the rebel province of Taiwan, and restive Tibet and Xinjiang.

 

As if to underscore this increasingly assertive policy, China subsequently sent an impressive naval flotilla to exercise in waters around the Spratly Islands (disputed with Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia) in the southern sector of the South China Sea. It also enforced a fishing ban in the northern sector around the Paracel Islands (contested with Vietnam). This followed earlier pressure from China on U.S. energy company ExxonMobil to cease exploratory work off Vietnam in the South China Sea.

 

The United States is not geographically part of Asia. But it has territory in Hawaii in the central Pacific and Guam to the west, five Asia-Pacific alliances (with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand and Australia), and extensive trade and investment ties with Asia.

 

Since Beijing's South China Sea claims may encompass as much as 80 percent of waters stretching from Singapore to the Taiwan Strait and affect free passage through one of the world's most important international sea lanes, the U.S. must have felt that the time had come for it to state publicly at a high level what American "core" interests were in the western Pacific.

 

Defense Secretary Robert Gates did so June 5 at the Asian Security Summit in Singapore. He stated that a peaceful and non-coerced resolution to the Taiwan issue was "an abiding national interest," adding that such an outcome was also vital for the overall security of Asia.

 

He also said that the South China Sea was an area of growing concern for the U.S. because it could affect regional stability. "We do not take sides on any competing sovereignty claims, but we oppose the use of force and actions that hinder freedom of navigation," Gates said.

 

Will China respect these U.S. interests, which are supported by Japan and many other Asian nations apprehensive at what China's rise might mean, especially without an effective counterbalance that only America can provide? China will not abandon its quest for national unity with Taiwan. But in the past two years, there has been a significant easing of tensions between the mainland and Taiwan, enabling productive negotiations between the two sides to proceed. This has taken place despite Beijing's objections to the sale of defensive U.S. weapons to Taiwan, and U.S. objections to the build-up of Chinese missiles aimed at Taiwan.

 

With Taiwan, Beijing probably feels that time and the balance of power and influence are on its side. So China can afford to be patient, avoiding the costs of conflict while eventually getting what it wants.

 

In the case of the South China Sea, the situation is more complicated and less in Beijing's favor. Since Chinese forces seized the Paracel Islands from Vietnam in 1974, China has consolidated its hold on the archipelago. But in the much larger Spratly chain to the south, China is in a relatively weak position in terms of the territory it actually holds.

 

Taiwan has the biggest island, Itu Aba. Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia hold all the atolls that are large enough for an airstrip. Many of them are now garrisoned with troops.

 

Vietnam occupies 29 of the Spratlys claimed by China, the Philippines eight, and Malaysia three. China holds about nine tiny bits of real estate, none of them with space for more than helicopter landing pads and cramped refueling docks for ships.

 

Although Chinese long-range military power is reaching the point where it could probably be used to evict some rival Spratly claimants by force, this would come at a high cost to China in damaged relations with the U.S. and many other Asia-Pacific states.

 

Somehow, ways must be found to prevent emotive nationalism and militarism from upsetting the uneasy status quo in the South China Sea. This calls for restraint from all claimants, but particularly from China and Vietnam. Both have been reinforcing their positions in the Spratlys in defiance of the spirit, if not the letter, of the voluntary Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea signed between ASEAN and China in 2002.

 

Perhaps the new forum for defense ministers from ASEAN, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the U.S. that will meet for the first time in Hanoi in October will help.

 

A real freeze on military reinforcement in the Spratlys is needed for a diplomatic thaw to take hold.

 

Michael Richardson is a visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

 

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THE JAPAN TIMES

EDITORIAL

SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY'S PROMISE OUTWEIGHS ITS RISKS

BY PETER SINGER

 

MELBOURNE — In the 16th century, the alchemist Paracelsus offered a recipe for creating a living being that began with putting sperm into putrefying "venter equinus." This is usually translated as "horse manure," but the Latin "venter" means abdomen or uterus.

 

So occultists now will no doubt have a fine time with the fact that Craig Venter was the driving force behind the team of scientists that last month announced that they had created a synthetic form of life: a bacterium with a genome designed and created from chemicals in a laboratory.

 

The new bacterium, nicknamed "Synthia," replicates and produces proteins. By any reasonable definition, it is alive. Although it is very similar to a natural bacterium from which it was largely copied, the creators put distinctive strings of DNA into its genome to prove that it is not a natural object. These strings spell out, in code, a Web site address, the names of the researchers, and apt quotations, such as Richard Feynman's "What I cannot build, I cannot understand."

 

For some years now, synthetic biology has been looming as the next big issue in bioethics. The scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute expected to be told that they were "playing God," and they were not disappointed. Yes, if one believes that life was created by God, then this comes as close to "playing God" as humans have come, so far.

 

Well-known University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Art Caplan says that the achievement ranks as a discovery of historic significance, because it "would seem to extinguish the argument that life requires a special force or power to exist." Asked about the significance of what the team had done, Venter described it as bringing about "a giant philosophical change in how we view life."

 

Others have pointed out that, although the team produced a synthetic genome, they put it into a cell from another bacterium, replacing that cell's DNA. We have yet to build a living organism entirely from bottles of chemicals, so anyone who believes in a "life force" that only a divine being could imbue into inert matter will no doubt continue to believe in it.

 

At a more practical level, Venter said, the team's work has produced "a very powerful set of tools" for redesigning life. He has been criticized for the fact that the research was funded by Synthetic Genomics, a company that he cofounded, which will hold the intellectual property rights resulting from the research — and has already filed for 13 patents related to it. But the work has taken 20 scientists a decade to complete, at an estimated cost of $40 million, and commercial investors are an obvious source for such funds.

 

Others object that living things should not be patented. That battle was lost in 1980, when the United States Supreme Court decided that a genetically modified micro organism designed to clean up oil spills could be patented. (Obviously, given the damage caused by the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, there is still some work to be done on that particular organism.)

 

Patenting life was taken a step further in 1984, when Harvard University successfully applied for a patent on its "oncomouse," a laboratory mouse specifically designed to get cancer easily, so that it would be more useful as a research tool. There are good grounds for objecting to turning a sentient being into a patented laboratory tool, but it is not so easy to see why patent law should not cover newly designed bacteria or algae, which can feel nothing and may be as useful as any other invention.

 

Indeed, Synthia's very existence challenges the distinction between living and artificial that underlies much of the opposition to "patenting life" — though pointing this out is not to approve the granting of sweeping patents that prevent other scientists from making their own discoveries in this important new field.

 

As for the likely usefulness of synthetic bacteria, the fact that Synthia's birth had to compete for headlines with news of the world's worst-ever oil spill made the point more effectively than any public-relations effort could have done.

 

One day, we may be able to design bacteria that can quickly, safely, and effectively clean up oil spills. According to Venter, if his team's new technology had been available last year, it would have been possible to produce a vaccine to protect ourselves against H1N1 influenza in 24 hours, rather than several weeks.

 

The most exciting prospect held out by Venter, however, is a form of algae that can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use it to create diesel fuel or gasoline. Synthetic Genomics has a $600 million agreement with ExxonMobil to obtain fuel from algae.

 

Obviously, the release of any synthetic organism must be carefully regulated, just like the release of any genetically modified organism. But any risk must be weighed against other grave threats that we face. For example, international climate-change negotiations appear to have reached an impasse, and public skepticism about global warming is rising, even as the scientific evidence continues to show that it is real and will endanger the lives of billions of people.

 

In such circumstances, the admittedly very real risks of synthetic biology seem decisively outweighed by the hope that it may enable us to avert a looming environmental catastrophe.

 

Peter Singer is a professor of bioethics at Princeton University and laureate professor at the University of Melbourne. © 2010 Project Syndicate

 

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THE JAKARTA POST

EDITORIAL

REGULATING BUT NOT CONTROLLING

 

Bank Indonesia confirmed last week it was considering several measures to prevent wild gyrations in foreign exchange (forex) flows that could destabilize the financial market, notably the rupiah rate, and upset monetary management.  But the central bank has yet to decide on which instruments it will use.

 

South Korea last week joined the increasing group of countries such as Brazil and Taiwan, which have acted to regulate capital flows by slapping limits on currency forwards, cross-currency swaps as well as non-deliverable currency forwards.

 

Bank Indonesia also should act soon. Introducing policy instruments on capital flows, when the financial market is stable and the perception of the macroeconomic economic outlook remains positive, would prevent unnecessary rumors and overreaction.     

 

However, it needs to be reiterated at the outset that what we talk about is not direct control but only regulatory or managerial instruments to minimize wild volatility in capital flow. Forex inflow should be welcomed, but excessive short-term capital flow could disturb sound economic management and incur high sterilization costs.

 

Short-term flow not only could wreak havoc with domestic macroeconomic management, but also aggravate adverse exchange-rate movements.

 

We are strongly against direct forex control not only because it could set off panic. It is also rather impossible to implement it without leaks, especially in a country as Indonesia, notoriously known as one of the most corrupt in the world, and in view of the advancement in information technology.

 

Bank Indonesia's acting governor Darmin Nasution also reaffirmed Tuesday Indonesia will continue to hold to its open-capital account principle.

 

 Some forms of regulatory framework would permit monetary and fiscal policy to be directed to the stabilization of economic activity without having to worry about a collapse of the currency in case of a reverse in the flows.    

 

Even the International Monetary Fund, the vanguard of capital liberalization, has since early 2009 formally allowed taxes and other restrictions on capital inflows to be used as part of policymakers' tool kits.

 

Foreign portfolio investors have been greatly interested in parking their money in Indonesian government bonds and the short-term Bank Indonesia debt papers (SBI), which offer a 6.5 percent interest a year, or more than 350 basis points higher than London Inter-bank offered rate (LIBOR).

 

The estimated US$2 billion in capital outflows during the height of the Greek debt crisis last April were derived mostly from the unloading of SBIs by investors who were burnt in Europe.

 

Bank Indonesia has put in place several instruments to curb forex speculation, including a regulation in mid-July, 2005 which limits forex derivative transactions with foreign counterparts against the rupiah at a maximum $1 million, down from a previous $3 million and caps dollar purchases in outright forward transactions and swaps at $1 million.

 

The same regulation also imposes a three-month minimum investment hedging period (forwards, swaps call and put options) on forex transactions, meaning that investors with underlying investment in Indonesia must keep their funds in the country for at least three months.

 

But given the fact that many foreign funds still bought SBIs using the non-deliverable forward market to swap dollars into rupiah, the minimum investment hedging period apparently needs to be extended to one year and limits be imposed on foreign ownership of SBIs.

 

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THE JAKARTA POST

EDITORIAL

THE 'NORWEGIAN WOOD' BLUES

JULIA SURYAKUSUMA

 

Remember the 1965 Beatles song Norwegian Wood? It's about a girl whose house was decorated with cheap pine from Norway. Calling the song Cheap Pine wouldn't have been very romantic, but Norwegian Wood has an expensive and, well, "woody" feel to it. She leads her suitor on, only to say, "no, no, no", making him sleep in the bath. When he wakes up, the "bird had flown". He's pissed off, so he burns her house down!

 

Now, it seems that  Norway has money to burn. Indonesia, in turn, has forests to burn, so the two have, to quote another Beatles song, Come Together. Yep, Norway has promised Indonesia US$1 billion as part of their REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) program to stop us issuing new timber concessions. It's one of the biggest pledges any country has ever made to Indonesia.

 

Sure, it's a neighborly thing for Norway to do (what's 11,000 kilometers these days?), but it's also not a bad way to assuage environmental guilt. After all, that US$1 billion comes mainly from carbon dioxide emissions produced by burning Norwegian North Sea oil.

 

Ah well, we mustn't be picky. Norway's intentions are good, and it's a reminder that Indonesia has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world, and is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, producing 80 percent of it from deforestation. Something obviously has to be done before Indonesia becomes a smoking, tree-free wasteland.

 

The REDD plan looks just jim-dandy in theory: rich nations give money to developing countries that reduce CO2 emissions from deforestation. Simple huh?

 

Now add on REDD+, which has extras including conservation, sustainable forest management, addressing rural poverty and conserving — even enhancing — biodiversity.

 

It's all good stuff, but how to make it work? We don't want the Norwegian wood plan to become yet another case of the road to development assistance hell being paved with good intentions and lots of top-down planning.

 

Norway's strength is money. Its weakness is its inability to interfere in Indonesian domestic affairs, even if it wanted to (which it doesn't). You see, Indonesia's become pretty good at receiving handouts, despite the fact that aid hasn't helped much with poverty alleviation, or corruption alleviation for that matter. In fact, under Suharto, aid helped to prop up a corrupt regime.

 

This is because Indonesia's weakness is our power elite. They will take the money and still defend their logging, business, timber processing and land conversion interests to the death. Yes, REDD+ will rock the boat a bit, but the scent of Norway's money will be like a whiff of blood to our vampire elite.

 

REDD+ also requires President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) to "forge alliances with new partners to fight established forest interests". One can only assume that no one in Oslo looked at SBY's track record in forging alliances when they put that bit in. After all, he's the man who sacrificed Sri Mulyani, the star performer in his Cabinet, and embraced the party that was preparing to impeach him!

 

Did no one tell the Norwegians that money talks in Indonesia? In fact, it gives speeches. It can buy you a political party, and a position so close to the President that anything you whisper in his ear will come out of his mouth soon afterward.

 

And what about the Forestry Ministry, which is a bit like a mafia already? Let's be charitable, and assume that money and power can be effectively reallocated from Jakarta to local governments in Kalimantan, Papua and other deforested places. Then what? How can anyone be sure what will happen when the money hits the local level? In many instances, decentralization simply means decentralization of corruption.

 

Even if that is avoided, it is unlikely the money will be used effectively, because it probably won't reach the people who really know how to help save our forests: the people who live in them.

 

Research shows that customary laws are more effective than government policies in protecting the environment. This is why Avatar, the James Cameron film with the "blue monkeys" should be compulsory viewing for REDD+ officials. In Avatar, the Na'vi, an alien tribe on the distant planet Pandora, respect the environment because it is integral to their spiritual beliefs.

 

In Indonesia, we have our own "Na'vi":  the Baduy in Banten, Kampun Kuta in Ciamis and the Dayak in Kalimantan, among others. These tribes aren't blue, but they too have traditional laws and spiritual beliefs about protecting the environment, and for centuries they successfully preserved our forests.

 

But now, the best our government can do seems to be the song SBY sang in Oslo. No, not, "Money (that's What I Want)", but "Unite the world for our Earth, let's do it, let us hold hands to look after it. Lift your hands and pray to God for the safety of our children and grandchildren". Well, you lift your hands and pray all you want, mister, but that ain't gonna cut it!

 

The fact is that hope and money don't solve everything. Sukarno said, "to hell with your aid", but Ivan Illich said "to hell with your good intentions". What we need is real, practical support for the people who live in the forests and know the most about them, our own local Na'vi.

 

And if that doesn't happen then let's just hope that REDD+ doesn't end up going up in smoke, because what's left of Indonesia's forests probably will!,

The writer (www.juliasuryakusuma.com) is the author of Julia's Jihad.

 

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THE JAKARTA POST

EDITORIAL

A GIANT STEP FOR MANKIND

JESSE KUIJPER

 

Since its announcement of the two-year moratorium on the conversion of natural forests in the recent forest and climate summit in Oslo, the eyes of the world are on Indonesia.

 

Also from the Netherlands, we follow with great interest the recent developments regarding sustainable forest management in Indonesia. Not just for nature conservation interests, but certainly for business reasons as well.

 

 Even though the effects may be hard for certain people and certain companies in the short-term, these measures will lay the foundation for a sustainable business sector in Indonesia.

 

It will ensure that the most precious forests of the world are not lost to mankind but, instead, will be restored to their full productive capacity thus adding to the welfare of future generations of Indonesians.

 

The series of directives and measures by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over the past two years aimed at reducing deforestation in Indonesia have come to a new milestone with the announcement of a 2-year moratorium on the conversion of natural forests.

 

The President can be commended for his consistent directives. He has decided his actions already in the Bali climate summit a few years ago and has since then followed a straight course towards reducing deforestation in climate change.

 

Now the actions are becoming really tangible — and far beyond international expectation.

 

Deforestation in Indonesia in the past years reached an average of 2 million hectares annually, being roughly a third of the deforestation of tropical forests worldwide.

 

Especially Indonesia and Brazil hold a key role in controlling deforestation, 50 percent of the world's rain forests have been cleared already while Indonesia and Brazil hold around two-thirds of the remaining tropical rain forests in the world. Deforestation is accountable for more than 20 percent of the total carbon output worldwide. It seems therefore fair to assume that the Indonesian moratorium potentially affects 7 percent of world carbon emissions.

 

This significant and bold decision puts Indonesia in the forefront of leading nations in the battle against global warming. The step is impressive given the area involved and the economic interests at stake.

 

This call to action needs to be answered by those who benefit from it and not just with funding — the US$1 billion support pledged by the Norwegian government as a compensation for the moratorium is substantial but the rest of the world holds a large responsibility as well for collateral measures.

 

It should not be underestimated how much influence international demand can exert on the adherence of Indonesian producers of paper or wood products to sustainability criteria. Illegal logging and controversial forest conversion schemes loose their economical base when the products from these methods are refused in the international markets.

 

Most technical or industrial methods for the reduction of carbon emissions take years and sometimes decades to prepare, let alone to implement. In contrast, the moratorium is not only one of the most effective ways to curb carbon emissions, but also one of the best fast-track options with immediate results.

 

Furthermore, the moratorium should be seen in combination with other significant steps Indonesia is taking to enhance the sustainability of the forest industry, including the up-coming introduction of timber legality verification system   (SVLK).All these measures boost the sustainability of the forest sector in all respects i.e. ecologically, socially and business-wise. This creates an advantage for Indonesian firms in the world market. The forest industry must focus now on different markets and clients that value products that are produced more sustainably for which they are willing to pay even though the cost price may be more elevated.

 

For example, very promising is the fast increase of larger international companies that require FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification as a minimum requirement. These FSC guidelines need a local interpretation though — the recently renewed cooperation between LEI (Indonesia Eco labeling Institute) and FSC offers good hope that mutual alignment of these sustainability certificates is in the making.

 

With our organization, The Borneo Initiative, we support said market development in Europe, while at the same time we offer grant funding to Indonesian forest concessionaires who decide to adopt the guidelines for responsible logging as promoted by FSC.

 

This year only we have started our program in Indonesia with concessions exceeding 1.5 million hectares and herewith operate the largest tropical forest certification program in the world.

 

For Indonesian companies and their trading partners, the moment has come to promote this new face of Indonesia that is looking towards a sustainable future. Indonesia has the opportunity to assume a globally recognized leading position on reducing carbon emissions.

 

 Of course still a lot of work has to be done, but these directives call for respect of the world and now need to be answered, not only via financial compensations, but also by ensuring a demand in the world market for sustainably produced, certified wood products or paper.

The author is executive board member of The Borneo Initiative, an international platform that supports LEI-FSC certification initiatives in Indonesia.

 

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THE JAKARTA POST

EDITORIAL

LESSONS FROM THE JEWS AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION

JENNIE S. BEV

 

The historical backdrop of the Israel-Palestine conflict can be traced back 5,000 years to 3000 BC.

 

The story of struggling Jews is part legend, part scriptural, part psychological, and entirely political.

 

Religions happens to be in the picture because the Middle East is the birthplace of three monotheisms —  Judaism, Christianity and Islam — thus making it "the cradle of civilization".

 

This "cradle" status ensures the region is continuously in the limelight. Religions are involved, yet they are not the main concern. Instead, this conflict is a humanitarian issue of massive proportion. Like the Mindanao conflict, the Israel-Palestine conflict also centers on a piece of land.

 

The notion that Jews are highly regarded because of the notion of the "the chosen" people is not a valid argument, to begin with. A religious belief, after all, is simply a belief.

 

Many things can be learned from the Jewish Diaspora, which started 3,700 years ago. Contrary to popular belief, such Diaspora was not induced by the Romans in 70 CE.

 

The story of this people is more of betrayals and preservation of culture, something we all should
acknowledge and be aware of.

 

The politics of the Jewish Diaspora, however, has resulted in a tremendous amount of casualties over the centuries, including Jews and Arabs. Thus, it would not be fair to point fingers, as both might feel that they have been unfairly treated.

 

Muslims and Jews were close brothers until the incident in Medina when Jewish influences were eliminated for not accepting Islam. It is distinguishable that a religion is both a spiritual vehicle and a political instrument. When it is used as a political instrument, the scripture is likely to show such an inclination.

 

Now fast forward. The birth of Zionism, which was a movement of renewal for Jews by Theodore Herzl is meant to be the antithesis of antisemitism, which started a whole new ball game that continues to this very day. With the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which the United Kingdom officially recognized the Jewish people's right to a homeland in Israel, and Woodrow Wilson's notion of self-determination, the dream of unity provoked the Pan-Arabism movement, which created more antisemitism.

 

During that period, the Turks, then the Ottoman Empire, loosened up immigration regulations, which resulted in waves of Jewish migration to Palestine. Such influxes brought some level of prosperity to Palestinian Arabs who sold their lands to the highest bidders, and eventually better healthcare and longer life expectancy. Yet some Palestinian Arabs saw the Jews as a threat to their sovereignty due to UK and US influences. Since then, widespread riots have been used as instruments of revolt.

 

The UK and US have been involved in the region in rounds of talks. Harry Truman supported Zionists due to the promise of the Balfour Declaration and belief in humanity to compensate holocaust survivors.

 

In 1947, the UN General Assembly declared the division of Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state.

Minority Jews the Irgun and the Lehi did not accept the partition. Soon after, both Jews and Arabs evacuated due to ensuing wars. Then there was war over Suez, the capture of Gaza, and Eisenhower's opposition against Britain's, France's and Israel's resistance against Egypt.

 

In 1964, the Palestine Covenant was drafted. It redefined who "Palestinians" were and declared Zionism a political movement bred for imperialism and fascist in nature. It also nullified the partitioning of Palestine in 1947. Next, UN Security Council Resolution No. 242 was rejected by PLO for failing to mention that "all" would withdraw from occupied territories. Attacks and wars followed with the US and the Soviet Union on one side and Egypt-Syria-Lybia-Sudan-Algeria-Moro-cco on the other side. An oil embargo to the US ensued.

 

A subsequent breakthrough attributed to Jimmy Carter was a catalyst resulting in the Camp David Accords on Sept. 17, 1978. Still, rounds of peace, war, and ceasefires occurred with the rise of the terrorist armies of Palestine, until now.

 

The recent raid on the "Freedom Flotilla", resulting in nine deaths, diffused hopes for peace and severed Israel's relationship with Turkey. Israeli said they were protecting themselves against terrorism including in open waters. San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea Clause 67 was used in the argument. This argument was not valid, as Hamas is not a state and the vessel's flag was Turkish. With international laws now more normative than "actual" laws, new rounds of creative conflict resolution are expected.

 

Johan Galtung, a mathematician and a sociologist, and the father of peace and conflict studies, proposed a six-state solution using Transcend's "creative formula", in which he focused on equal rights of the parties in conflict. The six equal states he proposed are: Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria as full members.

 

At last, remember to use a "peace" approach, in every conflict situation, not merely a "security" approach. The former focuses on resolving and transforming conflicts, while the latter focuses on punishment.


The writer (www.jenniesbev.com)  is an author and columnist based in Northern California.

 

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CHINA DAILY

EDITORIAL

CURRENCY CONFLICT

 

Fresh pressure from US politicians to expedite the yuan's revaluation only exposes their misplaced belief that an increase in the Chinese currency's exchange rate is the panacea for all their domestic economic ills.

 

If these people look at hard trade figures, they will realize that they have been shooting themselves in the foot by politicizing the yuan revaluation issue.

 

On one hand, long-term trade figures compellingly prove that the exchange rate is not the decisive factor behind a country's trade growth. Since July 2005, the Chinese currency has risen by about 20 percent against the US dollar. But this rise in the yuan's value has neither improved the US trade deficit with China much nor stopped China from becoming the world's biggest exporter last year.

n the other hand, some short-term trade figures indicate that the exchange rate cannot explain recent changes in China's trade with other countries. For instance, with almost no change in the yuan's value against the dollar, US exports to China in the first quarter of this year increased by about 50 percent year-on-year.

In the teeth of a recent 20 percent rise of the yuan against the euro, China's exports to Europe in May jumped 34.4 percent over the same month last year.

 

For those who are quick to say that the European debt crisis may hurt Chinese exporters in coming months, the rise of the yuan against the dollar five years ago could be a useful guide.

 

Some US politicians may try to placate angry voters by playing up the myth of a revaluated yuan solving all their major economic problems, but hard trade figures have a different story to tell.

 

The US has to export more to cut its trade deficits and restore balanced growth. Blaming China's exchange rate policy will not help raise US exporters' competitiveness, instead it will poison the environment for them to export to one of their largest and fastest growing markets.

 

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CHINA DAILY

EDITORIAL

DEMOLITION DILEMMA

 

If a house needs to be demolished for public interest and the compensation paid is in accordance with the State policy and relevant rules, any person resisting it by force would be violating the law.

 

A man in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, brandished a homemade gun to stop demolishers from tearing down his house forcibly. The incident took place just a few weeks after the State Council issued a document, asking local governments to demolish structures only through lawful means and after paying reasonable compensation to displaced people and arranging for their rehabilitation.

 

The villager, who insisted he was using fireworks, said he took the extreme step after he had read relevant laws and policies and was convinced that he deserved a lot more than the amount offered to him as compensation by the developer.

 

Once he lost his land he would not be able to eke out a living, he said. He was sure that he had not asked for more than he deserved, and said that he would defend his house until he got justice.

 

This is a sad story both for the villager and the sanctity of the country's legal system, as well as the reputation of the local government.

 

If a house needs to be demolished for public interest and the compensation paid is in accordance with the State policy and relevant rules, any person resisting it by force would be violating the law. Otherwise, it would signify that local authorities do not pay heed to the central government's directives, and will create a dangerous situation.

 

On one hand, it will prompt more people to use arms to stop forcible demolitions if they are sure that the local authorities are not honoring the central government's directives.

 

On the other, if local officials who have been ignoring the State Council document and going ahead with their demolition plans are not punished they would become even more unscrupulous.

 

So an investigation is needed to find the truth in this case and punish the guilty.

 

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CHINA DAILY

DITORIAL

INVISIBLE CHILDREN

 

They are the undocumented children of the country. In other words, they were born and raised in secrecy, that is, without being registered with the government.

 

But when the sixth census starts later this year, these children, born outside China's one-child family planning policy, will become eligible for household registration cards. This will enable policymakers to get the real picture of China's population, too. And based on true figures, they can then work out plans for the country's development.

 

The second child usually has had a rough ride since the government implemented the one-child policy. In urban areas, they don't even have a birth certificate, let alone household registration. As a result, they have met with obstruction at almost every step of their lives. They could not get admission to public schools, or find government jobs after they grew up.

 

Though the restrictions have become much relaxed in recent years, they were still "undocumented". But now the government has begun looking at these children differently and granting them official status. These "invisible" children are on way to becoming "visible" and getting their rights.

 

The government implemented the one-child family planning policy in the late 1970s to control the country's burgeoning population. The policy allows urban couples to have just one child. Rural families, however, can have a second child if the first is a girl.

 

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CHINA DAILY

EDITORIAL

FORCIBLE DEMOLITION VS. HARMONY

BY WANG CAILIANG (CHINA DAILY)

 

The onus to stop developers in their ugly design rests upon local governments and the judiciary

 

Demolitions have become a common phenomenon as urbanization intensifies across the world. But this phenomenon is different in China, where forced demolitions are becoming more like public power violating basic civil rights. Such acts have been widely criticized by the public and the media, though.

 

In his report to the National People's Congress (NPC) on Aug 24, 2007, the then minister of construction said the Urban Housing Demolition Management Regulation was contrary to the newly passed Property Rights Law and, hence, should be repealed. Four days later, the NPC Standing Committee accepted that the then existing demolition regulations were contrary to law and even the Constitution. That in a way marked the beginning of the post-demolition era in China.

 

In the three years since the Property Rights Law was promulgated, four distinct characteristics have emerged.

 

First, the debate on whether forcible demolitions violate the law and the Constitution has reached a conclusion. Today, all conscientious people agree that forced demolition is contrary to law, for it abuses public power and violates civil rights, and is thus against the principles of building a harmonious society.

 

Second, forced demolition has not stopped. In fact, just the opposite has happened: more forcible demolitions have been seen across the country. Economic development is only an excuse for such acts. Local officials are prompted to order or help forcible demolitions because they get them money.

 

Third, some local governments have actually taken active part in demolitions. The media have reported the enthusiasm with which some local officials have led demolitions.

 

And last but not least, the end of forcible demolition is still not within sight, and society's conscience is being challenged by too many tragedies, including deaths.

 

True, many high-rises have come up in the past few years. But they have been built at the cost of growing discontent among people. If the authorities want to see the political ideal of a harmonious society fructify then they have to stop forcible demolitions immediately.

 

Ending forcible demolitions should not be a tough task if the authorities want to protect people's interests with firmness and find the correct balance between government power and civil rights.

 

The most important step in this regard would be to eliminate the negative aspects of the 1991 and 2001 regulations on demolitions. But no new regulation has been drafted even two and half years after the NPC authorized the State Council, the country's Cabinet, to do so. This reflects the difficulty of striking the right balance among different interests.

 

Revising or repealing the demolition regulations only would be far from enough, because the tragedies of the past two years are related with the collective-ownership of land. The real estate sector and related governing regimes, too, should be reformed to achieve harmony between power and rights at the legislative level, for which three measures should be taken immediately.

 

First, the existing urban demolition and management regulations should be repealed and a new law enacted. Related laws and regulations, such as those regulating the use of rural land and construction planning, too should be revised.

Second, political reform has to be intensified. There will be a lot fewer forcible demolitions if people are granted more power in nominating and supervising government officials.

 

 

Third, financial reform has to be deepened and the knot binding local governments' interests with land business has to be untied. Many officials support demolitions because they bring material benefit to their local governments.

 

Of course, good laws also need good executive measures to be effective. To build a harmonious society, people should respect the laws as the behavioral norms of the entire society. But on many occasions the judicial system has lost its stature as the last channel through which people seek social justice.

 

When policemen appear at a demolition site, not as protectors of civil rights but to help demolishers, they trample upon social justice. How can we ask ordinary citizens to respect the law, while law enforcers violate their rights?

 

As Xinhua News Agency has reported, one leader of the Supreme People's Council came up with some creative proposals on administrative proceedings. We welcome his new ideas, and hope proper measures would be taken soon accordingly.

 

Besides, some local officials need a lesson in moral discipline. Over the past few years, some officials have shamed themselves with their comments, which showed their indifference toward human life and dignity. It is extremely important and urgent to teach them the difference between good and evil.

 

The common thread that binds all religious, moral and social codes is being tolerant of and good to others. This holds especially true in demolition cases. Law enforcers have to be good to people and avoid setting obstacles for them.

 

Being good has always been an essential virtue of civilizations. This essential virtue is needed to build a harmonious society, too. Once law enforcers become essentially good, disputes and violence over demolitions would become things of the past. After all, a harmonious society has to be a society without forcible demolitions.

 

The author is a Beijing-based lawyer who specializes in land acquisition and demolition dispute cases.

China Forum

 

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CHINA DAILY

EDITORIAL

KEEP IT SIMPLE, SPEAKER

BY COLIN SPEAKMAN (CHINA DAILY)

 

Encouraging tolerance and operating in a less prescriptive environment plays big role in making up fluent speeches

 

Vice-President Xi Jinping told the CPC Central Committee Party School that there is much room for

improvement in many Chinese officials' speeches, for they contain too many "jargons" and "empty words".

 

In the West, politicians know that a speech and its representation by the media can make or break them. What is said, how it is said and even how the presenter appears while saying it has long been a benchmark for success. Arguably, the most famous example is Richard Nixon. In 1960, he appeared on the first televised US presidential debates with a 5 o'clock shaving shadow against his rival John F Kennedy. This is believed to have cost him the election, even though he was the vice-president and more experienced candidate for the job.

 

Western leaders don't have to be experts. But they have to be good communicators. This is illustrated by the election of Ronald Reagan as president of the United States in the 1980s. Reagan, a former actor, was not an expert on policy issues but a great communicator and presenter of ideas. In fact, Reagan didn't have to be an expert on policies because like all leaders he had many others behind the scenes to work on them.

 

Extended length, however, does not make a great speech. One of the most famous speeches ever delivered was Abraham Lincoln's address at Gettysburg in 1863. It lasted just 2 minutes.

 

In modern Western political life, speech writers are essential to elucidate an official's ideas. All leading politicians have them. Again, these writers are not experts in all subjects - there are a host of researchers to help them with that. But they know how to communicate a message, understand the importance of "sound bites" and the limitations of an audience's "attention span".

 

The convention is that the writer/speaker assumes that the audience consists of intelligent laypersons who are not experts but can understand a policy from its key elements, and would appreciate references to further information sources but do not need reams of information because it risks missing the wood for the trees. Of course some speeches are delivered to an audience of experts where there is even less need to show just how much the presenter knows the subject.

 

Although a Western official has to show respect to his/her party's policies, there is room for him/her to show individual qualities. Speeches are usually not written centrally for use by several politicians. Many may be made to carefully selected audiences in popular (town-hall-type) meetings because it allows interaction with the public. But the ability to answer well to questions from the audience is seen as a strength of a good politician. US President Barack Obama is one of the best contemporary examples of a leader who can respond well even when moving away from pre-prepared topics and has the important quality of being able to inspire and motivate an audience.

 

In comparison, Chinese officials' speeches are underpinned by tradition. Much of a Western politician's speech-making skills is honed in the arena of debates, where there is need to win over audiences for a policy of a party against that of another. Since Chinese officials' speeches largely present the consensus of the CPC it limits the scope of their speeches.

 

Encouraging tolerance and operating in a less prescriptive environment plays a big role in the making up of fluent speeches, which are seen to reflect the speaker's ideas rather than only his party's or organization's. Some use of unscripted speeches and opportunities to answer audiences' questions with substance rather than rhetoric are important factors too.

 

If speeches on traditional policies with few new ideas are made largely to a presumably supportive audience, the speaker doesn't face the challenge of making a case out of his presentation. Because the audience is supportive, the speaker, to a large extent, may assume that his/her speech need not have much substance. And if it is only the concept that matters, then a speech is more likely than not to contain a lot of jargons.

 

Chinese speakers, as a matter of tradition, have to show great depth of knowledge without necessarily questioning the information in hand, which reflects the knowledge versus creativity approach that is seen in the country's education system today. But this is changing, slowly though, as Chinese officials play increasingly important roles in international affairs.

 

The media today need to know what part of a speech to report. This determines the length of an important speech. Many presentations are not only very long, but also fail to identify key issues.

 

The old communications adage of "Tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them what you have told them" and as concisely as possible is important in modern-day communication. A famous British aristocrat once said: "If you cannot say what you have to say in 20 minutes, you should go away and write a book about it." This might be a useful benchmark for a new crop of Chinese speakers.

 

The author is an economist and director of China Programs at the American Institute for Foreign Study, a US-based organization that cooperates with Nanjing University and Beijing Language and Culture University.

 

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CHINA DAILY

EDITORIAL

SATING RESOURCE APPETITE

BY HONGYI LAI (CHINA DAILY)

 

Securing stable, long-term oil supply is paramount and will drive China's foreign policy over the coming decades

 

An appetite for resources has long been a key determinant of Chinese foreign policy and recent figures detailing China's crude imports have posed further daunting geopolitical challenges over how China can ensure its oil supply.

 

China's crude oil imports leapt 31 percent in April, compared with the previous year, to hit a record 5.15 million barrels per day, reinforcing the likelihood of China surpassing Japan as the world's second largest net oil importer in 2010.

 

The rising trend is here to stay. The head of Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner, said the nation's oil imports and fuel demand will continue on an upward curve this year despite government pledges to reduce energy consumption and guard against a bubble in the property market.

 

An important milestone - both statistically and psychologically - was passed last year when China's dependence on imported oil to meet domestic demand broke through the 50-percent mark. The figure reached a new high of 54.5 percent in the first quarter of this year.

 

China's leaders view oil as one of the two components - the other is finance - of national economic security. Securing a stable and long-term oil supply is therefore paramount and will govern China's global diplomacy strategy in the coming decades.

 

An effective strategy deployed by China in the aftermath of the financial crisis was to secure a series of loan-for-oil deals at rock bottom prices, using a slice of its colossal foreign reserves.

 

A report last month by Chinese financial magazine Caixin said China was exploring further loan-for-oil agreements to add to the $60 billion in deals agreed since 2009.

 

This decision is likely to have been impacted by China's recent experiences in the iron ore market when the country's steel producers took a hit from a sharp rise in the global iron ore price. China is loath to leave itself vulnerable to similar spikes in the international oil market.

 

The sources of China's imported oil will shape its foreign policy. The latest figures, which go back to 2007, show that 45 percent of China's crude oil imports came from the Middle East, while 32.5 percent came from Africa.

 

The striking statistic though is that the share of China's oil imports from the Middle East declined from 51.3 percent in 2003. Meanwhile, Africa's share increased from 24.4 percent in 2003. This shift is likely to continue as we head towards a scenario in which Africa is the chief source of China's oil imports.

 

Angola is currently China's largest oil provider, followed by Sudan and Congo. But China has moved to broaden its African oil arrangements, signing a deal with Nigeria in May to build oil refineries.

 

Previous attempts by China to construct refineries in Nigeria have failed, so this represents a crucial step forward in China's oil ambitions.

 

Imports from the Middle East, however, will not increase markedly in the long term even given China's rising demand. Global competition is far stiffer in the Middle East than it is in Africa, where Western countries are less inclined to do business. And then of course there is the thorny issue of Iran.

 

China has agreed to a new list of sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran for its nuclear program although the US was forced to dilute some of the toughest sanctions in response to Chinese demands.

 

As long as it remains reliant on Iranian oil, China, along with Russia, will always come under intense international pressure to cooperate on Iran. It is not within China's interest to look toward Iran as a solution to satisfying its greater oil needs. China cannot afford to cut ties, but nor can it expect to increase supply.

 

Russia and central Asian countries like Kazakhstan will be major sources of oil to accommodate the increase in Chinese demand. China and Russia are relatively close. They are in agreement over strategic issues such as sanctions on Iran; they share reservations over US foreign policy; China has supported Russia's bid to be a WTO member.

 

Their dual reliance on strong energy ties in the region will ensure their continued cooperation as they bid, through organizations like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, to prevent the US from expanding its influence in the Central Asian peripheries.

 

Increasingly important are the burgeoning ties between China and Latin America, long viewed as the US' backyard. Sinopec has announced it will be increasing its oil imports from Brazil under a multi-billion-dollar loans-for-oil deal, which would take its Brazilian imports to 200,000 barrels a day.

 

The challenge for China not only lies in identifying stable sources of oil. It is also intent on establishing new ways to ship its oil imports into the country.

 

Currently, 70 percent of China's oil imports pass through the Strait of Malacca, the main shipping channel between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and the shortest route for China's Middle Eastern and African imports.

 

It is a reliance that China would like to reduce. The Strait of Malacca is plagued by piracy but the real issue is the danger of foreign intervention. If there is a major conflict in the area, a potential blockade could be imposed, stopping Chinese cargo ships from passing through.

 

China is considering the construction of new pipelines through Myanmar and Pakistan to diversify its import routes. Both require delicate handling. Pakistan's domestic situation is notoriously unstable and China has come under pressure for its strong ties with Myanmar from both Western countries and Asian neighbors.

 

Alternative routes lie in the South China Sea. Less preoccupied with Taiwan as cross-Straits ties warm, China has looked to increase its naval presence in the South China Sea but it will need to tread carefully. If China is too bold, there will be ramifications for its foreign relations in Asia.

 

It must also develop alternative energy sources, but these also carry pitfalls. China announced in 2006 that it would aim for 40 Gw of nuclear power capacity by 2020. Yet the China Nuclear Industry Association said China has only managed to develop a third of the uranium required to meet this target.

 

The race for oil could also become a scramble for uranium reserves in countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Australia and Namibia, and China may need to employ its diplomatic charm offensive on a second front. China's active quest for oil necessitates a wide range of new international initiatives. China will need to manage the external consequences very carefully.

 

The writer is associate professor with the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham, and author of The Domestic Sources of China's Foreign Policy.

 

China Forum

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CHINA DAILY

EDITORIAL

IN AND OUT OF SMILE IN EXPO CITY

BY XU XIAOMIN (CHINA DAILY)

 

As a Shanghai Expo reporter, I have a press card that allows me go to the Expo Garden every day. One question that I am frequently asked is which pavilion I like the best.

 

To be honest, I really don't know the answer, for most of the pavilions have long queues that take hours to enter. The longest queue is at the Saudi Arabia Pavilion, with an average 8-hour wait. I am not the type of patient visitor who likes to wait. My very first feelings of the Expo were not from the pavilions but from all the smiling faces.

 

As one who has lived in Shanghai for more than 30 years, I think the Expo Garden has the highest concentration of smiling faces in the city. The pavilion's staff, security guards, volunteers in different uniforms all flash big smiles even when you ask a question, even if it is "Where is the nearest toilet?"

 

The smile and politeness has rubbed off on policemen, too, it seems. The other day, I asked a policeman in the Expo Garden where the shuttle bus was and was pleasantly surprised when he accompanied me to the bus station, chatting all the time we walked. Of course, he too asked me which pavilion I liked the most.

 

I felt that Uncle Lei Feng, the cultural icon symbolizing selflessness, willingness to help and dedication, was back! During the dozens of trips I've made to the Expo Garden, I've been greeted with lots of smiling and warm-hearted helpers.

 

With a smile on my face and warmth in my heart, I stepped out of the Expo Garden only to be jolted by reality.

 

I went to a nearby, inexpensive restaurant and the waitress threw the plates on the table as if I was not going to pay. I visited a food market where shopkeepers seemed ready for battle with invisible swords in hand. I wondered how people who shop there were still alive. I went to a new flagship store of a famous brand. The shrewd but beautiful shop assistants looked as cold as the mannequins in the window. It made feel I didn't look like a real shopper.

 

Perhaps, my most awkward experience was when I met a neighbor in the elevator. Do you smile at someone beside you who looks familiar? The answer, in most cases, is no.

 

What's wrong with people in Shanghai? Is smiling that hard an exercise?

 

Actually, Chinese people do smile. But, according to my observation, a smile is reserved only for family members, friends and colleagues, especially bosses.

 

My mother always goes to a nearby food market to buy fruits. One day, the shopkeeper greeted her with a broad smile with apples from the boxes under a table. She said: "He told me that because I was a regular he wanted to give me fresh apples instead of the ones on the table." My mother ended her happy tale with the advice: "It's important to make friends in Shanghai, otherwise you will never get the best." Obviously, the not-so-good apples and cold faces are for infrequent buyers like me.

 

Smiles and kindliness are only for people one knows, strangers can go to . Is this part of the unwritten constitution of civic life?

 

Some may criticize me for chong yang mei wai (worshipping and having blind faith in foreign things). But I miss the smiling faces I saw when I was in London, which for me is a real metropolis.

 

The first dinner I had there was in a hamburger restaurant. The food, to be honest, was as hard to swallow as the cold faces in Shanghai. But the waitress looked happy while serving the food. When we finished, she asked me if the food was good. Seeing her big smile, I couldn't help but say, "Very nice". And I felt bad about leaving half of the burger on the table.

 

If half of the country thinks our big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have already caught up with New York or London with many luxury skyscrapers, Michelin-listed restaurants, shopping malls and theaters, then I am part of the other half who doesn't agree. Just look at the cold faces everywhere. I refuse to believe we live in developed cities - not until we treat strangers as nicely as the Expo Garden staff do.

 

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THE HIMALAYAN

EDITORIAL

GIVE THE NOD

 

P rime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal's meeting with the fringe parties has seen the agreement to the budget session from June 24. It may be crucial backing for the budget session of the Legislature Parliament to begin in earnest. Formed by the support of the majority in the House, the government can go ahead with the plan to summon the budget session. However, the political deadlock is continuing with the UCPN (M) almost out of contact, that is it is not sitting down for talks with the Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN (UML) to remove the irritants. In what has been as a cold shoulder to the whole democratic exercise of talks and consensus, the Maoists now must come to the forefront and explain what they had wanted to achieve through the three-point agreement of May 28. The pact has not amounted to anything more than merely extending the tenure of the Constituent Assembly (CA) by another year. Despite all the three major parties agreeing to move ahead, no forward movement has been noticed in over a fortnight when the camaraderie had been seen for the pact. It is more than unusual that the top leaders of the three parties have not sat down with the agenda of urgently ending the deadlock which has not only made the constitution writing task grind to a halt despite the CA term extension, but also played rookie with an important task that is the presentation of the plans and policies for the fiscal year 2010/2011 and the budget speech.

 

It might be argued that the coalition formed by the majority in the House could call the shots from summoning the budget session all the way to the budget speech. However, it is easier said than done because the Maoists, like last year, can do their bit to create the expected obstacles to the smooth functioning of the House unless they are taken into confidence by the ruling parties. It is a crucial juncture, and the Maoists know the clout that they have and without their cooperation the House will not be able to function as desired. Time then becomes more crucial but the UCPN (M) does not seem to heed the call to really sort out the issues that have belied solution. Moreover, it is very noticeable nowadays that it has lowered its voice as regards the resignation of the prime minister in recent days possibly sensing that even that demand fulfilled may not get the PM's seat for them. Meanwhile, the talk of struggle just flies tangentially from the minds of the people who want peace, relief and the constitution.

 

There remains only a few days to get the budget session summoned, and it requires firm stance from the government together with persuading the Maoists to take a softer stance to allow the House to run its business in the normal fashion. The Maoists may have their own grudges against the present prime minister, but they have to realize that an alternative in the form of national unity government can only come around if the modalities are readied. The resignation alone, without what is to follow next cannot be meaningful, and the Maoists know the ground reality. The budget session must be summoned urgently, and the opposition must behave in a pragmatic manner in the people's interest.

 

 

 

ALL IS NOT WELL

Although untouchability has been banned since long in the decades long Civil Code and also the interim constitution, in practice, we find this form of inhumane discrimination still continues. Reports of such malpractices manage to grab the headlines

 

time and again and assertions are made that the perpetrators of such evil will be brought to book, but they still continue. According to a news report, children from the Mijar community in a VDC of Siraha district have stopped going to school for fear of being beaten up. A Dalit girl was beaten up at the hand of a local and warned of dire consequences if she touched the well. The Mijars are now thinking about moving somewhere else because the well is their only source of water.

 

Despite mediation efforts, the residents of the VDC cannot be talked into reconciliation. So now they are mooting another well specifically for the Mijars. That untouchability is still practiced to this day is a scar on human civilization. Certainly all humans are equal and the practice of untouchability should receive stiff resistance and also be uprooted by treating it as a serious crime.

 

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THE HIMALAYAN

EDITORIAL

INFORMATION OVERLOAD

MRIJESH SHRESTHA

 

Do you read newspapers? Magazines? I do. They contain way too much glossy information. Sometimes, I just don't know what to make of the articles which give health and beauty tips. I mean, there are so many of them out there that give advice on how to stay healthy; what to eat; how to dress etc. And more often than not, they claim that their research has been verified by scientists of repute, from distinguished universities.The thing that confuses me the most are the contradicting articles.

 

I remember reading an article about how drinking red wine can be a health benefit, and a couple of months later another article in the same newspaper raised doubts on the actual benefit provided by red wine in general. Another article that I read said eating chocolate can sharpen and stimulate the mind, according to some researchers. Well, it can also make you fat and slow. Are you confused yet? I am.

 

Have you reached a point where you are being overloaded with information that has virtually no importance at all? Yes, I have. So, what should we do with the many articles out there? My suggestion to you is to be careful and not take advice given in these articles for granted. Most of these articles only provide general outlines, and since the human body differs from one individual to the next, there is really no telling what kind of an effect it could have on one specific person. The thing is that you do not want to end up suffering needlessly. These articles should merely be viewed as guidelines which might help steer you in the correct direction, and on no account should an individual follow them blindly. You might not end up liking the end result.

 

Nowadays, everybody is doing research on just about everything. So much research is being done that the general public has no clue of what to do with the data generated. The world in short has already reached a saturation point. It is like having too many TV channels and not knowing which one to watch. I guess too much information can suffocate an individual's curiosity for knowledge. The proliferation of the internet has also greatly added to this problem. With just one click of the mouse, an individual has access to gigantic volumes of reliable and unreliable data. What should you believe in? My advice to you is, just don't lose your mind along the way.

 

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THE HIMALAYAN

EDITORIAL

RADIATION SAFETY IN NEPAL STRONG MEASURES CALLED FOR

KANCHAN P. ADHIKARI

 

A news report that caught my attention was that the radioactive Cobalt-60 that was found at Mayapuri, New Delhi was traced to Delhi University's chemistry department where it had been lying unused for the last quarter of a century. "Gamma Irradiator" that contained the Cobalt-60 had been bought in 1968 from Canada and was not in use since 1985. It was acquired by scrap dealers in Mayapuri through a public auction. For dumping an irradiation machine containing radioactive cobalt-60 that led to the subsequent death of a thirty-five-year old worker and hospitalization of seven others, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) of India has presently launched an investigatory probe into the Delhi University claim according to which the aforementioned radioactive material had been buried twenty years earlier on the campus premises.

 

Now, Cobalt-60 is a radioactive isotope of cobalt. It is a radiation source for medical radiotherapy, sterilizer of medical equipment, used as a tracer for cobalt in chemical reactions and various other applications.The science of Radiological Protection aims to provide an appropriate standard to preserve the health of the people from the harmful biological effects of ionizing radiation without having to unduly compromise with its beneficial bonanza. Radiotherapy along with Medical Imaging, its latest avatar, has evolved steadily over the last hundred years or so interspersed with several significant technological breakthroughs humankind has wrought.

 

Radiological Services in Nepal date back to 1923. Radiotherapy was first introduced in 1976 by the use of a radium needle in the Maternity Hospital. CT scan and Nuclear Medicine as the first such technology of its kind was introduced in 1988 at the Bir Hospital. In 1991, Bir hospital also introduced the first Radiotherapy unit with a Tele Cobalt-60 machine. Right now, latest radiological equipment have been acquired by various hospitals that has had a positive impact on general health service. But the quality of service being delivered can by no means be overlooked, especially since it entails very serious radiation hazards.

 

At present, there are four Tele-Cobalt machines, three Linear Accelerators, three Simulators, two High Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy, one Orthovoltage therapy machine, one Gamma Camera in five cancer hospitals in the country. As of today, thirty-five qualified professionals are at work in the field of radiotherapy.

 

Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine have made substantial progress in Nepal. As ionizing radiation can also be very harmful, radiation should be used most carefully. Radiation has both beneficial and harmful effects. The use of ionizing radiation in medical application for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes has profound benefit. Keeping the scientific effects of radiation in mind, International Commission of Radiological Protection (ICRP) has issued strict guidelines on radiation protection. Other countries and their regulatory boards follow these recommendations and guidelines down to the minute details.

 

Though the history of radiation practice is long, we still don't have any Radiation Act, nor any legal standards of radiation protection for radiological activities. There are no official records on radiological facilities in operation. The number and types of units, radiation workers and their qualifications, safety measures and conditions of workplace remain virtually unknown. No governmental or private organization has the statistics. A few years ago, the Ministry of Science & Technology (MoST) provided an opportunity to a few professionals including myself to determine the current status of radioactive materials in Nepal and the output that resulted remains just about the only asset in the MoST on the status of radioactive materials in use.

 

Nepal is a member state of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), nuclear watchdog of the United Nations. And the Minister of Science & Technology is the line agency responsible for official contact with the IAEA. Now is the time for

 

the establishment of a

 

radiation regulatory agency/board/commission for developing and monitoring of essential Nuclear Safety and Radiation Control Infrastructure in the country.

 

The most immediately essential introduction of Radiation Safety and Radiation Control Act is long overdue, not to mention its subsequent enforcement for providing license, establishment of other concomitant radiation rules and regulations, code of radiological practice, supervision of quality assurance and radiation protection program, training of manpower and conducting required research to sustain and maintain quality assurance and radiation protection, establishment of national personnel radiation monitoring system along with proper management and disposal of radioactive waste.

 

What has happened in India can also happen in Nepal. May the necessary infrastructure not be lacking when the need arises.

 

Adhikari is Medical Physicist/Radiation Safety Officer. NAMS, Bir Hospital kanchanadhikari@gmail.com

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DAILY MIRROR

EDITORIAL

JVP STRIKES GOLD

 

Irrespective of the utter lack of accountability that the JVP displayed in its handling of  gold and other jewellery the movement amassed during the insurgency, its move to look into the grievances of the Northern civilians who had their money and jewellery  in the banks comes as a welcome change.

 

The drubbing the JVP led alliance received at the elections surely would have made the ex-Marxists to realize the need to expand their base beyond the southern borders. Still as a movement which has a knack for handling the grassroot issues the JVP certainly can be a catalyst in the process of transforming the Northern electorates if it genuinely helps the people rather than making it a mere political drama.

 

It goes without saying that there's much more to be done in the region than anybody could imagine. The physical development of the area – infrastructure, housing and others form only one area. After 27 years of warfare many may find it an ordeal to retrace lost documents. Schooling for children remains a challenge as many would have gone without any education for years. The fate of the jewellery and accounts in banks, the things that used to give them a sense of financial security in a very uncertain future are certainly equally big issues for many, just like housing and roads.

 

The system that they banked on by choice or due to force, is no more. However those jewellery and money, at least most of it must be with someone now.

 

It would be a gross crime if the government turns a blind eye and refuses to help the real owners to retrace their lost valuables and money. With no livelihood and a foundation to restart their lives the peace dividends are very unlikely to trickle to these hapless, war-battered people if their lifetime savings are not returned. Of course some may have got destroyed in the war or the LTTE may have used those for their expenses. Still the reports that were received from the war front during the last phase and immediately after the war indicated that an  enormous amount of gold and money had been recovered.

 

Tracing the owners may not be easy but that is not an excuse to delay the process

 

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DAILY MIRROR

EDITORIAL

 

 

 

 

I WON'T REPEAT MY FATHER'S MISTAKES – SAJITH

UNP MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT SAJITH PREMADASA SPEAKS TO DAILY MIRROR ONLINE IN A LIVE AUDIO INTERVIEW REGARDING  PARTY ISSUES

BY SUMAIYA RIZWI

 

Q:Do you think the opposition leader Ranil Wickremsinghe has failed as a leader?

Well, I think during his tenure we have had as a political party our successes and we have had our failures but I have to say that all of us are ollectively   responsible for various achievements and for the various setbacks. So having said that  every time we are defeated at an electoral contest we have to consider ourselves as having   failed. But I think as a party if we garner and re- mobilize ourselves we can once again become victorious. If you take the overall picture one can argue with the number of electoral defeats that we have collectively failed on successive occasions but then again I think if we re- garner and re- mobilize our resources and our support base the United National Party has a good future.

 

Q:Even after he lost so many consecutive polls?

 

Well, he has taken a decision that he has a role to play both within the UNP and in Sri Lankan politics. We all respect that, so its his discretion whether he is going to continue to play  a major role in the political arena.

 

Q:What is the current consensus within the UNP on its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and the party reforms?

 

I must say there is a plethora of opinions, a variety of suggestions and proposals. So there isn't a consensus as such. As of now, because I believe that a party which respects giving due consideration to the opinions and suggestions of all, we have formulated various proposals through a committee that has been appointed by the working committee. And we hope to make sure that some sort of a consensus is achieved at some time in the future very soon.

 

Q:Doesn't the party leader have exceeding powers and the decision making centralized with the party leader?

 

There are a lot of criticism as far as the concentration of power within the hands of the party hierarchy, and we as a party, will look into all aspects of the party constitution and the way our party operates. We intend to carry forward the requisite and necessary reforms to give new cognoscente to the variety of proposals that are emanating from all sectors of society. We shall ensure that our party is modernized and well equipped to handle future electoral contests.

 

Q:If you can detail as to what you spoke on the party reforms?

 

I have proposed a variety of measures that would promote a further democratization of the party structure, the decision making process, how we react to various political contingencies. So in addition to the democratization process we have to have a sound infrastructure both at central and grassroot level and ensure that the views of the silent majority is better reflected in the various policies that we formulate . There are various measures that we have to go about as a party. It cannot be described in a few minutes. As a party I'm very optimistic that we shall move, and move forward.

 

Q:Caller: Gamini Perera Nugegoda: You often say that you are following President Ranasinghe Premadasa's policies, certain good has been done by your father. He has also had some bad policies For example he never trusted qualified people to be given top places in the government. He left out Lalith Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake and made D.B. Wijethunga the Prime Minister. Are you also going to follow the same policies and leave parliamentarians like Dayasiri Jayasekara out?

 

Certainly, I have always proposed that I will implement the various policies that my father implemented in the development arena which are assets to our country and our party. As you quite rightly said, I have also asserted that the various shortcomings that he has had in the policies he implemented, will certainly be eradicated. If we look at the Gamini and Lalith episode in  the UNP political history , it is a sad period because all of them were responsible for the internal conflicts that took place and my father also has to take part of the blame. As a graduate of the London School of Economics and political science I respect and give credence for those who have academic achievements. I would also respect those who can transform and translate deeds into policies and practical action.

 

Q:Caller Shihara Shuaib, Wellawatte: Are you ready to take up the leadership and will you take up the leadership?

 

As far as leadership succession is concerned there isn't a vacancy for the position of  a leader. The Party has a leader and other positions are also filled.  As far as responsibility and leadership is concerned you don't necessarily have to have positions. I had to compete fiercely using the  democratic processes within the Hambantota District against the Rajapaksa administration. With the greatest difficulty we managed to hold our own. We managed to retain the same number of MP's as  in 2004 ,that of the two seats. Being the position of a leader is not an essential to achieving progression within the UNP and achieving peace and harmony within the country.  I will do my utmost to see that our party is well equipped to face future political challenges. If I achieve any position I would rather be elected than be selected to it.

 

Q:How close are you to holding elections to elect the new leaders of the UNP?

 

There is a report that is being compiled by a six member committee appointed by Ranil Wickremasinghe and the working committee. That subcommittee will look at proposals for discussion and those proposals will be put forward to the working committee and to the parliamentary group which will ultimately decide on the issue.

 

Q:Caller Aruna: We are still not sure whether the leadership will be elected or nominated since Tissa Attanayake, Premadasa, Earl Gunasekara and Dayasiri Jayasekara all UNP MP's differ in their opinion of this?

 

If you listen to the various proposals put forward by myself, Dayasiri Jayasekara and Earl Gunasekara we are on the same wave length that the process should be elections and not selections. The procedure of filling in the party leadership and other positions is yet to be decided. It has to be discussed within the pressure groups, grass roots, parliamentarians, working committee, provincial councillors and local authority members. A wide spectrum of opinion that needs to be taken into account. It's not a monolithic decision making process that  our party has. What we have is a process of wide consultation and respect of the opinions of others when it comes to the party decision making.

 

Q:What is the  present way of appointments prevailing in your party? Most of appointments that are mae   are based on the  the names proposed by the party leader.Generally most of the names proposed are out objected to. As I see it a more democratic procedure will be more suited for our party in this modern day and age.

 

Q:Caller Rakesh Wellawatte: According to the UNP constitution can Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe be in power any longer?

 

According to the party constitution there is no procedure as such for a continuous election process as far as the party leadership is concerned. This is why this particular committee is looking into all aspects of the constitution where it has to be reformed, modernized and changes have to take place. Its an on going process and I hope democracy will prevail.

 

Q:Can you expand on the kind of modernization (reform) on the party leader's role you expect?

 

Not only for  the party leadership, we have deputy leaders, assistant leaders, the national organizer, the general secretary and assistant secretaries. There are responsibilities attached to these offices by the party constitution. So this modernization has to be an open, transparent and democratic process. It can't be a process where a single voice or opinion dominates the whole agenda. This is why we are in a process of consultation within the party.

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DAILY MIRROR

EDITORIAL

FROM BULLETS TO THE MELODY OF WEDDING BELLS

BY LAKNA PARANAMANNA

 

July 13, 2010 marked the dawn of a new chapter of life for a group of individuals in whose lives once, such a moment would have nothing but an implausible dream. Achieving the improbable, the Rehabilitation Commission (RC) in collaboration with several organizations including the Hindu Congress and the National Council for Unity, organized a mass-wedding ceremony where 53 rehabilitated ex-combatant couples were wedded at Pompeimadu, Vavuniya.

 

Being part of the atrocities of the war, which ravaged the country for more than three decades, these young lives knew nothing of a world beyond war and weapons. The cruel attempts of the LTTE had brainwashed these youth, robbing them of the normalcy in their lives where they deserved the right to love and to be loved. "During the initiation of the rehabilitation process there were over 12,000 IDPs that had crossed over to government controlled areas. We profiled and categorized them into three groups; the civilians, individuals that had certain affiliations with the LTTE and individuals that were with the LTTE and linked to major crimes," said former RC Commissioner Major General Daya Ratnayake.  In the process they had learnt that there were many couples among the rehabilitants. The RC had also received many requests from the rehabilitants to allow them to reunite with their fiancés, or fiancées. The rehabilitants many requests were finally answered when the RC decided to hold this mass-wedding. 

 

The Pompeimadu campus hostel ground was a buzz of activity when we arrived at the location. In the centre of the circular  ground was the mandap in which the marriage rituals for the couples were conducted. The priests were preparing the necessities, sprinkling turmeric water, heaps of garlands were mounted on one side and vibrant kolam drawings surrounded the holy fire and the mandap.

 

The about-to-weds were seated near the mandap, the brides dressed in red and white worked saris, adorned in gold jewellery, their hair decked with jasmine flowers while the grooms were dressed in white kafnis and dhotis.

 

A dream comes true

 

Victor Simson (24) and Radhi Devi (22) were among the lucky 53 couples that awaited their special moment. Their tale of love had been one of great peril. "I joined the LTTE in 2006. It was a choice between life and death; refuse and the death warrant was sealed," he said.

 

He had met Radhi at Kilinochchi while serving the LTTE - they had both been LTTE cadres. "Life was difficult  with no hope . Love and relationships were forbidden words. We were told that such things cloud our drive and aim at the  target," he says adding that it was with great difficulty that he got the chance to communicate with Radhi Devi.

 

He had served the LTTE for nearly one year. "The situation got worse each day and I decided to escape. It was a frightful battle for life, but I decided to take Radhi with me," he said.

 

Finally when they arrived in the Government controlled areas, they had been separated. "I didn't see her for nearly one year and six months. But it was a relieving to know that we were at least alive so I never gave up hope," he added. Now, their love story  is on the verge of a new beginning. Their marriage has been given consent by the parents of both parties. "Our families were invited for the ceremony but we have not seen them yet," he said. "We have not been told whether we would be released. Therefore there are no specific plans for the future. But I wish to do a job and live a good life," he added with certainty.

 

Our only request is to be released

 

The story of Mangaleshwaran (28) and Diana (22) is different. They had met at the Manik Farm IDP camp. They had been recruited to the LTTE by force. "We were leading normal lives until one day it all came to an end. What choice had we when our families were threatened with weapons and we were taken by force?" questioned Mangaleshwaran.  "I don't think we would have ever started this relationship if we had not escaped. We were forced to live a life of isolation, so relationships were forbidden," he added. They both expressed their happiness over having the chance to be married with the consent of their families.

 

"We hope for only one thing – to be released. We both have our own houses and we want to lead a normal life and begin our family on a positive note. ," Mangaleshwaran added confidently.

 

The 53 couples included 41 Hindus  11 Christian and one Catholic couple. Hindu and Catholic wedding rituals were performed by 15 Hindu priests and one Catholic priest. Each couple exchanged garlands and placed a pottu on each other's foreheads as the Hindu rituals were conducted. Finally the couples walked around the holy fire for seven times and the brides placed their feet on the grindstone placed near the holy fire symbolizing the hope in their hearts; for their union to be firm forever.

 

Each couple was gifted  Rs. 10,000 while the entire event had cost over Rs.2 million. Some of the marriage registrations were signed by special guests who attended the occasion including UPFA MP Namal Rajapaksa, Bollywood film star Vivek Oberoi, Rehabilitation and Prisons Welfare Minister D.E.W Gunasekara and several other ministers.

 

Two dances were also performed by a group of rehabilitants who  were trained by the Abhina Academy of Performing Arts. Mr. Oberoi also participated in a dance along with them.

 

"This is a very special, historic moment which brings hope to the lives of these people like the dawning of the sun. It is indeed very promising to see these two groups that were once in a war, now living in unity. These couples are eagerly waiting to start a new life, a family and it is certainly a positive beginning," said Mr. Oberoi while adding that this is an affirmative start that would eventually lead to bridging gaps that the 30 year old conflict created.

 

A moment to treasure
Each couple was permitted to bring 10 relatives for the occasion. Sugandhini was one who had come from Jaffna to witness her brother's wedding. 

 

 "Our lives were full of misery and for most of our lives we have seen nothing but the atrocities of war. This is a moment that we would treasure forever because we have witnessed only a handful of moments such as this," she said.

 

She did not forget to thank all the officials and President Mahinda Rajapaksa for making this dream a reality. "They have certainly given hope and a new life for those that knew nothing beyond the terrors of war," she added.

 

Rani's daughter was also getting married and she was anxiously peeping through the sea of heads in front of her, to get glimpse of her daughter clad in bridal attire. "I have prayed for this moment for a very long time. Countless are the times that I visited the Nallur kovil to pray for my children and my family. I always knew that we would find that right path someday," she said as tears filled her eyes. Rani said that she is allowed to visit her daughter every month.

 

Peace Village

 

The only wish that almost all these couples had was to be released from the camps so that they can start living a normal life. What are the plans of the government for these newly-wedded couples? "For the moment they would be provided temporary houses and relocated at the Peace Village in Pompeimadu where they would undergo the rest of the rehabilitation process," said RC Commissioner Brigadier S. Ranasinghe.

 

He pointed out that since they have not completed the rehabilitation programme,they cannot be integrated into the community yet. "But once they finish the programme and are ready we will release them. Also the government has focused on providing them assistance in vocational training while providing necessary equipment and financial assistance which they require," he added. Speaking further he said that once they are released the RC would be monitoring their progress for at least another three more years.

 

Once the marriage ceremony was over, relatives flocked over to the tent where the newly-weds were and it was truly an emotional sight as the couples embraced their loved ones,  Other rehabilitants fom the camp had also gathered near the barbed wire that separated the event grounds from the camp and wished their newly-wedded friends. As their hands reached out over the wire to the other side, there is no doubt that they too wished for the same moment in their lives to arrive soon.

 

"We are aware that there are more couples in the IDP camps. We will be having a second session for those couples where they would also be wedded in the same manner," said Brigadier Ranasinghe.

 

Pics by Pradeep Pathirana  

 

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DAILY MIRROR

EDITORIAL

INDIA'S GROSS BETRAYAL OF THE TAMIL PEOPLE

 

 A few days after President Mahinda Rajapaksa returned to  Sri Lanka following  his Indian tour,  a  bomb explosion occurred on a railway track  in Tamil Nadu. This marked  a red alert and signified a grave portent to  New Delhi. This  signal  apparently appeared to be a reminder that Congress government. and the Sri Lankan  government. together would  not be allowed to share the peace dividends over the graveyard of the Tamil Tigers.

 

Since the eruption of the  Sri Lanka's ethnic war, the main topic of discussion between the  Sri Lankan government. leaders who toured Delhi  and the Prime Minister of India has been the Sri Lankan   Tamil people's issue. Since the time of the late Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayewardene, and until 2008 when Mahinda Rajapaksa toured India, the theme of the discussions in the relationship between India and Sri Lanka  had been the Sri Lankan Tamil people and their issues. Indeed that had also been the crucial factor that has been determining the relationship between the two countries. Despite it, when President Rajapaksa undertook the maiden  tour of India following the end of the Sri Lankan  ethnic war, the Tamil people's issue continued to languish without receiving much attention.

 

Based on an announcement made by the Indian Prime Minister , the issue of the Sri Lankan Tamils is to be resolved via the 13th Amendment of the Sri Lanka  Constitution as promulgated by the joint Indo Lanka  communiqué. It has not been made mention however that the Sri Lanka President has endorsed this . The Sri Lankan  President has instead stated that a solution acceptable to all parties shall be formulated. It becomes obvious to all who read the contents of this communiqué that the leaders of the two countries at their meeting  have discussed the Sri Lankan  Tamils' issue only because they cannot escape from it, and therefore incorporated it in the communiqué. It is learnt that , in fact, in Manmohan Singh's discussions , the Sri Lankan  Tamil people's issue has not even received the attention  or importance what the Sampur power project had received.

 

According to sources linked to the Sri Lank Foreign Ministry, the Indian PM did not even as much as press on the President on the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution or the devolution of powers. Rather, he has taken great pains to ensure the completion of the 'Shopping list' sent by Delhi's South Block ahead of Mahinda's Indian tour, to Basil Rajapaksa who handles the task of coordinating with  India under Mahinda's government. Opening of the Indian High Commission offices in Jaffna and Hambantota  figured prominently  in that list. Next in importance  in that list is the finalization of the  Indian Sampur power project  which the Sri Lankan  government first agreed, but subsequently were   reluctant. The other, in the list was the Railway project. But, above all what claimed precedence over all these projects and was  most paramount for India was Sri Lanka's confirmation that it will support India to secure a seat in the UN Security Council.

 

In other words apparently  India's eagerness to fulfil its 'shopping list' desires has outrun its essential concerns, thereby bartering away the interests of the Tamil people and  apparently committing   a gross betrayal of them.

 

India is  aware that President Rajapaksa is not inclined to resolve the Sri Lankan  Tamils' issue to suit India's aims and objectives. But, India is also certain that if it brings pressure to bear on him, he would succumb, and it could accomplish its aims. Nevertheless, what India is seeking is by overtly pretending that the Tamil people's problems would be solved, it  is covertly trying to implement its own economic programs within Sri Lanka using Mahinda.

 

President Rajapaksa, on the other hand who entertains the  fear that he would incur the displeasure of the Sinhala people if he goes ahead with the devolution of powers to solve the Tamil people's issue is seeking refuge in procrastination while yielding to the economic programmes requested by India. The latter too, being aware of this situation  fully,  and by unrelentingly harping on the 13th Amendment is getting all its work done browbeating Mahinda.

 

It is in this backdrop, India is exploiting the innocent Tamil people to lever itself into a position whereby it could mould Sri Lanka to conform to its aims and agendas. Earlier too, when India feared that the  J.R. Jayewardene government was going to allow the Trincomalee Harbour and the oil Installation to be under the control of the US,India by   training  the Tamil youths in Sri Lanka in weaponry, converted the ethnic issue into a brutal war.

 

India finally dispelled its  fears by  getting Sri Lanka to sign the Indo-Lanka Accord in 1987. Later , under the government of Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2002 , India took the Trincomalee Harbour on lease by pointing to the growing strength of the Tamil Tigers around the Trinco Harbour and  claiming that this was posing a grave ominous   threat not only to Sri Lanka , but also to India. Thereafter, during the period of the Mahinda's regime, India extended support to the Sri Lankan government to destroy the LTTE while making agreements to take over  the Sri Lankan North East development projects.

 

In the 1980's when the Sri Lanka n war erupted, India was without a weapon to exert pressure on Sri Lanka. India manufactured a weapon for this . That weapon is the Tamil people of Sri Lanka. These innocent Tamil people were  made  weapons for India out of their own blood and sweat. Today, India is using that very weapon made out of the blood and sweat of the innocent Sri Lankan  Tamil people to achieve its own economic  aims and agendas at those people's expense.

 

The Tamil Nadu railway line bomb explosion clearly illustrates that the Tamils are no longer ready to brook India's ulterior motives nor continue to be patient .

 

It should be noted that the writer of this article, in an earlier article, published a week after the war was concluded, warned that the revival, if any, of the Tamil Tigers, will be from within Tamil Nadu, and not Sri Lanka. The cause for the uprising of the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka in 1980 was the Sri Lankan  government trying to suppress  the Tamil people's issues. Today, if the Tamil Tigers are seeking to rear their heads again in Tamil Nadu, it is because India is assisting the Sri Lankan government to suppress the problems of the Tamil people.  If India does not desist from playing this  dangerous game of using the Tamil population to accomplish its own ulterior motives –its  political and economic goals, it would become  impossible to avert an imminent  blood bath in Tamil Nadu.

 

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