EDITORIAL 30.06.10

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Editorial

month june 30, edition 000554 , collected & managed by durgesh kumar mishra, published by – manish manjul

 

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

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THE PIONEER

1. ELUSIVE RAINS, PARCHED LAND
2. NEEDLESSLY AGGRESSIVE
3. REDEFINING STATE AND NATION - SUNANDA K DATTA-RAY
4. RENEW FOCUS ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT - S NARAYAN
5. MONSTER TURNS ON MASTER - SANKAR SEN
6. ISRAEL DEMONISED BY BIASED MEDIA
7. G20 SUMMIT DECIDES TO DEAL WITH DEBT - ANDREI FEDYASHIN

MAIL TODAY

1. NUCLEAR DEAL WITH CANADA SETS RIGHT AN ANOMALY
2. KASHMIR MESS LARGELY A FAILURE OF IMAGINATION - BY MANOJ JOSHI
3. ACTIVIST'S QUEST FOR A BETTER PUNJAB - VIKAS KAHOL
4. PASWAN IS BACK
5. BABUS ' GIFT' MOON WATER CREDIT TO US - BY SAVITA VERMA IN NEW DELHI & MAX MARTIN IN BANGALORE
6. MOVING FORWARD WITH PROMISES...
7. DR. MGR'S STUDENTS NOT ONLY HAVE SECURED DECENT POSITIONS IN INDIA, BUT ALSO

THE TIMES OF INDIA

1. BOOSTER SHOT
2. SAFEGUARDING PEACE
3. LOOKING BEYOND THE HYPE - SUMIT BHADUR
4. 'FOR THE FIRST TIME WE HAVE THE POWER TO ERADICATE A CANCER'
5. ENGLISH HATAO - JUG SURAIYA

HINDUSTAN TIMES

1. PUT A STOP TO REMOTE CONTROL
2. READ MY MIND
3. FOREVER LEFT HANGING - MURAD ALI BAIG
4. MAKE WAY FOR THE LADIES - GULU EZEKIEL
5. SHOOTING SELF-GOALS - PREETI SINGH
6. CONTROL YOUR THOUGHTS - HEMPRABHA CHAUHAN

THE INDIAN EXPRESS

1. COLLATERAL BENEFIT
2. THE PROFESSORIATE
3. IT TAKES A COUNTRY - SAUBHIK CHAKRABARTI
4. CROSSING THE GOAL LINE - SUDEEP PAUL
5. TRANSFORMING SANITATION SCENARIOS IN CITIES - ISHER JUDGE AHLUWALIA
6. SMEARING COLOURS IN SOUTH AFRICA
7. RESTRAINT IN KASHMIR
8. THE GREAT GAME FOLIO - C. RAJA MOHAN

THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

1. POVERTY ON TWO WHEELS
2. CHANGING ULIPS
3. SBI SETS THE NEW BENCHMARK - SHOBHANA SUBRAMANIAN
4. HOW ASIA CAN GET AHEAD - KALPANA KOCHHAR
5. GENDER BPOS - GOUTAM DAS

THE HINDU

1. BRINKMANSHIP POLITICS
2. AUSTRALIA'S CHANGE OF GUARD
3. MERCY PETITIONS: INHUMANE PROCRASTINATION - T.R. ANDHYARUJINA
4. MIGRATION IN PROGRESS: FROM PRINT TO THE WEB - PRANAY GUPTE
5. GIVE CASH TO THE POOR TO SOLVE WORLD POVERTY - ADITYA CHAKRABORTTY
6. TORY CUTS LEAVE BRITONS SEETHING - HASAN SUROOR
7. THREE FIRMS RANK HIGHEST ON ACCESS TO POOR - DONALD G. MCNEIL JR

THE ASIAN AGE

1. WHO'LL SAVE INDIA FROM THIS PLUNDER?
2. IN NOWHERE LAND - P.C. ALEXANDER

DNA

1. JAMMU & KASHMIR SIMMERS
2. TECH SOLUTION
3. ISI ON THE MOVE AGAIN
4. NEW AGE MEDIA IS NOT MAKING US STUPID - STEVEN PINKER

THE TRIBUNE

1. VALLEY AT BOILING POINT
2. DEAL ON DEFICITS
3. TIGHT AUSSIE NORMS
4. BP OIL SPILL AND BHOPAL - BY SHASTRI RAMACHANDARAN
5. HOME REMEDIES - BY S. RAGHUNATH
6. THE ABSENCE OF ANY SYSTEMATIC STUDY BY INDIAN OR FOREIGN SCIENTISTS HAS LEFT - PROF NARESH KOCHHAR
7. QUESTION MARKS OVER CLAIMS - SP SHARMA

MUMBAI MIRROR

1. FINDING OUR INNER NEMO

BUSINESS STANDARD

1. ENTERPRISE INDIA
2. AMBITION IN THE SKY
3. SENSE IN TAX CODE - SURJIT S BHALLA
4. NIPPING AN IDEA IN THE BUD - A K BHATTACHARYA
5. BENDING RULES OF BUSINESS - M J ANTONY
6. ARE INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS LIABLE?

 THE ECONOMIC TIMES

1. LAW AND ORDER IN KASHMIR
2. IRDA SHOULD SHUN POPULISM
3. ENGLAND LOSE WORLD WAR-III!
4. ILL-INFORMED DEBATE ON OIL DECONTROL  - ANKLESARIA AIYAR
5. IS PETRO-PRICE REFORM ADEQUATE? -
6. RIGHT MOVE IN OIL, FOR NOW - JAIDEEP MISHRA
7. THE NEW GOSPEL OF GIVING - VITHALC NADKARNI

DECCAN CHRONICAL

1. MANMOHAN SCORES A COUP AT G-20
2. IN NOWHERE LAND - BY P.C. ALEXANDER
3. THE BLACK AND THE WHITE OF SOUTH AFRICA - BY ROGER COHEN
4. 'AFSPA HAS PERCEPTION PROBLEMS'
5. STORY OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS -  BY DAVID BROOKS
6. REPENT FOR THE SAKE OF LOVE - BY SADIA DEHLVI

THE STATESMAN

1. VIOLENCE UPSURGE
2. LINGUISTIC PRIDE
3. DE-STALINISATION 
   BALLOONING EXPENDITURE - DHIRES BHATTACHARYYA
4. THE FORGOTTEN VILLAGES - DEBRAJ BHATTACHARYA
5. DRIVER, MY DRIVER! - ISHWAR PATI
6. THE BIGGEST DEFICIT IS DEMOCRATIC

THE TELEGRAPH

1. NOT YET FULL
2. LANGUAGE PRIDE
3. A LEGACY OF SIBLINGS - MRINAL PANDE
4. ARTIST WITH A FAITHFUL EYE  - NORMAN HUTCHINSON (1932-2010)

DECCAN HERALD

1. SHOW RESTRAINT
2. DOING IT RIGHT
3. THE WRONG CHOICE - U R RAO
4. US NEEDS AN AFGHAN STRATEGY, NOT AN ALIBI - HENRY A KISSINGER
5. NEVER A DULL MOMENT - MAYA JAYAPAL

THE JERUSALEM POST

1. HEALING JEWISH RIFTS IN THE 'THREE WEEKS'
2. LION'S DEN: JIHADI UNDERCUTS PRESIDENT - BY DANIEL PIPES
3. CENTER FIELD: LOOKING MONSTROUS, FEELING VIRTUOUS
4. YALLA PEACE: IS THIS WHAT ISRAEL HAS TO OFFER? - BY RAY HANANIA
5. WHY AID THE ENEMY? - BY EFRAIM INBAR
6. SILWAN – 'IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID' - BY MATI GILL

HAARETZ

1. A PERSONAL FAILURE, NOT A SYSTEMIC ONE
2. MAKEUP EXAM - BY ALUF BENN
3. BEHIND THE SHALITS' BACK - BY AVIRAMA GOLAN
4. WHY ISRAELI ACADEMIA WILL BE BOYCOTTED - BY MOSHE SHOKED
5. OFF THE LINGUISTIC MAP - BY AMAR DAHAMSHE

THE NEW YORK TIMES

1. WHO WILL FIGHT FOR THE UNEMPLOYED?
2. THE PRICE OF BROADBAND POLITICS
3. ANTIBIOTICS AND AGRICULTURE
4. THE WRONG WAY AND THE RIGHT WAY
5. A SPLIT-SCREEN TALE OF TWO GENERALS - BY MAUREEN DOWD
6. THE REAL PALESTINIAN REVOLUTION - BY THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
7. WHY WE TALK TO TERRORISTS - BY SCOTT ATRAN AND ROBERT AXELROD
8. THE SPY WHO CAME OUT TO THE SUBURBS - BY DAVID WISE

USA TODAY

1. OUR VIEW ON BANKING OVERHAUL: FINANCIAL REFORM MEASURE MAKES THE SYSTEM SAFER
2. OPPOSING VIEW ON BANKING OVERHAUL: BAILOUT NATION - BY JEB HENSARLING
3. ANOTHER TEA PARTY ENIGMA: FOREIGN POLICY - BY LIONEL BEEHNER
4. WHY CAN'T WE TEXT AND DRIVE? SCIENCE - BY ROBERT PETRANCOSTA
5. RUSSIAN SPY CASE IN A WORD: BIZARRE - BY LEON ARON AND KEVIN ROTHROCK

TIMES FREE PRESS

1. THE GUN-RIGHTS MESS
2. REP. WAMP'S NEW GOAL
3. PAINFUL AREA JOB LOSSES
4. 'THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS'
5. ODD ALLURE OF ILLEGAL COCKFIGHTS

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

1. FROM THE BOSPHORUS: STRAIGHT - SEN. ROBERT BYRD: MUCH MORE THAN A 'FRIEND'
2. WHEN ANKARA SAYS 'PEACE' TURN AROUND AND RUN AWAY! - BURAK BEKDIL
3. THE AKP'S HAMAS POLICY I: HOW TURKEY TURNED - SONER CAGAPTAY
4. TURKEY'S HEATHROW RESURRECTING ITSELF
5. TURKEY'S IRAN POLICY: MOVING AWAY FROM TRADITION? - İLTER TURAN
6. 'OBAMA DOES NOT NEGOTIATE WITH ERDOĞAN'
7. GOOD NEWS… - YUSUF KANLI

I.THE NEWS

1. UNACCOUNTABLE DEEDS
2. DEADLY GAS
3. UNDER THREAT
4. NEED FOR EVEN-HANDEDNESS - SHAMSHAD AHMAD
5. THE CONSULATES SNAG - BABAR AYAZ
6. FAKING IT - AMEER BHUTTO
7. WOLVES ON THE PROWL - RAOOF HASAN
8. THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL? - ANJUM NIAZ
9. MCCHRYSTAL'S EXIT 0 RIZWAN ASGHAR

PAKISTAN OBSERVER

1. GOVT'S APATHY CAUSES HUGE LOSSES
2. ANOTHER FEATHER IN INDIA'S CAP
3. EDUCATION CITIES FOR FATA
4. NOW GEN PETRAEUS TURN IN BARREL - ASIF HAROON RAJA
5. MYTH & REALITIES OF N PROLIFERATION - SYED MUHAMMAD ALI
6. DO TERRORISTS HAVE RELIGION? - AFSHAIN AFZAL
7. THE BLACK AND THE WHITE OF IT - ROGER COHEN
8. PLEDGING NO REVENGE - SAEED QURESHI

THE INDEPENDENT

1. WATERLOGGING
2. HELPLINE AWARENESS
3. ERROR, FOOTBALL AND TRUTH..!
4. OF FISH, FRUITS AND FORMALIN - M. SERAJUL ISLAM
5. BIG FINANCE ROLLS ON - WILLIAM BRITTAIN-CATLIN

THE AUSTRALIAN

1. BRACING FOR THE BROWN OUTS
2. BROADCASTER CAUGHT NAPPING BY OWN SCOOP
3. WHEN KEVIN WEDGED HIMSELF

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

1. GILLARD'S TAKE ON POPULATION
2. WORLD CUP BID MUST AVOID A PROFESSIONAL FOUL
3. BAKER'S ON TOAST, AND DESERVEDLY SO

THE GUARDIAN

1. POLICE: FORCE OF NUMBERS
2. IN PRAISE OF … WALES'S ANTIPODEAN ASCENDANCY
3. RUSSIAN ESPIONAGE: SPIES LIKE US

THE MOSCOW TIMES

1. AN IMITATION EMPIRE - BY YULIA LATYNINA
2. MOSCOW SHOULD NOT PLAY BY NATO'S RULES - BY ALEXEI PUSHKOV
3. BUSINESS IS DRIVING US TOWARD A NEW ERA  - BY KLAUS KLEINFELD AND WILLIAM COHEN

THE JAPAN TIMES

1. SHADOW OVER SUMO WORLD GROWS
2. MR. KAN MEETS MR. OBAMA
3. KOREAN PEACE STILL ELUSIVE, SIX DECADES ON - BY DENNY ROY
4. EUROZONE ISN'T DOOMED YET - BY HANS-WERNER SINN
5. CANBERRA'S BLOODLESS COUP - BY ALAN GOODALL

THE JAKARTA POST

1. FPI NO PROBLEM
2. THE BIRDS AND THE BEES ON BOARD NUH'S ARK - JULIA SURYAKUSUMA
3. THE PKS EXPERIMENT – SUNNY TANUWIDJAJA

CHINA DAILY

1. PROFOUND PACT
2. EXPANDING COFFERS
3. HUMAN HAND
4. THE POLITICS OF A NON-POLITICAL AGREEMENT - BY SHIH CHIH-YU
5. TWEAKING SINO-AUSTRALIAN TIES - BY GUO CHUNMEI (CHINA DAILY)
6. US PLAYS KOREAN CARD TO PERFECTION - BY LI QINGSI (CHINA DAILY)

THE HIMALAYAN

1. URGENCY SPEAKS
2. SUSTAIN IT
3. COMMUNITY, REDD AND LAW ENFORCEMENT ALL IN LINE - DR. INDRA PRASAD SAPKOTA
4. TOPICS: THROUGH THE MISTY EYES - NEELU SUBEDI

DAILY MIRROR

1. EU AND UN
2. UN SHOULD NOT HINDER DEVELOPMENT AND POLITICAL PROCESS - DEVANANDA
3. DOMESTIC DIMENSION OF SAFEGUARDING SOVEREIGNTY
4. A NEW WAR : SL BACKED KP VS INDIA BACKED TNA  

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THE PIONEER

EDITS

ELUSIVE RAINS, PARCHED LAND

DOES GOVERNMENT HAVE A CONTINGENCY PLAN?

After much hype and hoopla over the prediction of the south-western monsoon being on time and the promise of abundant rains made by the Indian Meteorological Department, despair, if not gloom, has begun to set in across large swaths of the country. This year's particularly harsh summer continues to torment both cities and villages in central and northern India, giving rise to a lurking fear: What if the monsoon fails again? The IMD had predicted normal rains last year too, only to be proven wrong; the resultant drought has adversely impacted one and all, its savagery most felt in galloping food prices and runaway inflation. True, there is time yet for the monsoon to set in, but with each passing day, as further delays are announced by the IMD, concern is beginning to turn into alarm, especially for farmers with parched land. We are now told that the monsoon, after progressing smoothly in its initial phase, has stalled and will miss its date with north and central India. As if that were not bad enough, we have also been told that so far there has been a 12 per cent deficit in rains. Though the dreaded El Nino has dissipated, this has not been able to provide any succour. La Nina, which usually promises good rains, continues to play truant. What is worrisome is that with a deficit of 12 per cent, if the monsoon does not quickly revive and gather momentum by next week, the situation could turn tricky — as much has been confirmed by the IMD. This, in turn, raises the spectre of drought and its attendant consequences. Is the Prime Minister, who has been waxing eloquent on how to manage the global economy and save the world, aware of the monsoon playing hide-and-seek? Are his Ministers preparing for the worst? Or, as in the past, they are blissfully ignorant and couldn't care a toss? Cynical as it may sound, we cannot rule out the possibility of some of them rubbing their hands in glee at the possibility of a failed monsoon leading to a food crisis which in turn shall necessitate emergency food imports at exorbitant prices that will help some individuals feather their nests while the masses are left to cope with further inflation. If the Government is prepared for a second successive year of drought, it should take the people into confidence and tell them how it proposes to deal with the situation and shore up its dreams of near double-digit GDP. Mere bunkum and bogus assurances won't do.

The June-September rains are the main source of irrigation in India. The monsoon is vital for the production of paddy, sugarcane, oilseeds and other important food crops. How much of the expected agricultural output has been affected by the delayed monsoon? What does it do to foodgrain supplies? These are questions that cannot but be bothering the people as they wait for the elusive monsoon clouds and the even more elusive rains. Ironically, rather than take pre-emptive measures to hold the price line and stave off a crisis similar to last year's, the Government is busy taking steps that will lead exactly to the opposite. The sudden hike in fuel prices, at a time when inflation is running riot, merely to showcase the Government's efforts at reducing fiscal deficit at the G-20 summit — nothing else explains the timing of the flawed decision — and so that Mr Manmohan Singh gets a pat on the back from world leaders who are least interested in the plight of India's masses, speaks volumes about the uncaring UPA regime we are saddled with.

 

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THE PIONEER

EDITS

NEEDLESSLY AGGRESSIVE

BHARDWAJ IS NOT NEW DELHI'S VICEROY

There are ominous signs of an incipient political confrontation between the Government and the Governor emanating from Karnataka which reflect poorly on the current occupant of the Raj Bhavan in Bangalore. Ever since Mr HR Bhardwaj, who was dropped by the Congress from the UPA2 Government at the Centre — as Union Law Minister in UPA1 he had served his party well and demonstrated his loyalty more than once by tweaking, if not twisting, the law, but there was little left for him to do — was packed off to Karnataka, he has chosen to play an active political role than spend his days in splendid retirement at the tax-payers' expense. He is not the first Governor who sees himself as New Delhi's Viceroy, nor shall he be the last. But what makes Mr Bhardwaj particularly undesirable as Governor is his penchant for backroom politics and natural urge to spite Opposition parties, more so the BJP. There is also the additional factor that while the Congress may have thought it fit to put him out to pasture, Mr Bhardwaj believes that he can still make a meaningful contribution to his party by making things difficult for the BJP and Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa. Since politics for most of our cynical politicians bereft of ethics and morality is the art of the possible, he may have convinced himself that by causing political instability in BJP-ruled Karnataka he will succeed in sufficiently impressing his party's supreme leader about his indispensability at the Centre. As the adage goes, hope springs eternal in the human heart; in Congress loyalists, it gushes, no matter how down and out they may be.

What should concern people, however, is the mischief potential of an active politician in Bangalore's Raj Bhavan. Mr Bhardwaj's several attempts to create problems for the State Government are known to all. So is his despicable effort to create a rift between the State Government and the Election Commission of India and thereby embarrass both the Chief Minister and his senior Ministers. This does not bode well. If there are specific complaints against Ministers, irrespective of their nature, they should be definitely looked into by the appropriate authority. But allegations, unless established as facts with the help of irrefutable evidence, cannot become the basis for sacking Ministers or initiating disciplinary action against individuals. In any event, Raj Bhavan does not have the power to arbitrate or the authority to sit in judgement, nor can its occupant arrogate to himself or herself the right to play ombudsman: A duly-elected Government which enjoys majority in the Assembly and popular support is answerable to the people, not the Governor. Mr Bhadwaj would do well to accept this fact. If that makes life too boring for him, we can only wish him tough luck. Of course, he has the liberty to dump it all and return to Delhi. That's entirely his choice.

 

 

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THE PIONEER

EDITS

REDEFINING STATE AND NATION

SUNANDA K DATTA-RAY

Kyrgyzstan's emergence as Central Asia's only parliamentary democracy should not distract attention from the parallel race riots that again pose a questionmark over the future of multi-ethnic states. India may have been a nation long before it became a state, as Mr Jaswant Singh claims, but some historians still do not discount the possibility of countries like India, Indonesia and Russia one day splitting at the ethnic seams. They predict that the future belongs to smaller mono-ethnic states where a common cultural heritage creates a sense of identity that inspires and sustains economic growth.

This seems a contrary destiny for what is trumpeted as a borderless world. But while immigrants to the US willingly reshape their identities to conform to the 'American Dream', people elsewhere are becoming more possessive about the culture, language and religion that set them apart. Since ethnic form also often masks political identity, this means rival communal claims to political power. It also points to a role for trans-national organisations that can ensure administrative uniformity without violating ethno-nationalistic sentiment.

Belgium illustrates the extent to which nationalism feeds on economic and political factors and can, therefore, be subsumed under the over-arching authority of an organisation like the European Union. The kingdom's current political deadlock was caused by the emergence of two evenly-matched parties, the New Flemish Alliance in Flanders in the north and the Socialist Party in the French-speaking south, in the recent election. Even the cause of the election reflected the inability of Flems and French to live harmoniously for Prime Minister Yves Leterme resigned in April following disputes over the areas surrounding Brussels, the capital, a French-speaking enclave in Flemish territory. The electoral outcome confirmed the division and refuelled the break-up fears.

No wonder General Charles de Gaulle remarked that the British invented Belgium to annoy the French. For ignoring ethnic logic, the 19th century British helped Dutch-speaking Flems (about 60 per cent) to secede from Holland and join French-speaking Walloons (31 per cent) to create a kingdom for Queen Victoria's beloved Uncle Leopold.

Demographic inconsistency also explains Kyrgyzstan's anti-Uzbek riots. One-sixth of the population was liquidated when the Kyrgyz revolted against Tsarist Russia in 1916. We do not know how many Kyrgyz perished under Stalin who is unlikely to have treated them more benevolently than he did the Cossacks, but Kyrgyzstan's borders are a relic of imperialism so that the Kyrgyz comprise only 65 per cent of the population. Moscow protects the 13 per cent Russians but Uzbeks (14 per cent) are at Kyrgyz mercy.

As events in East Pakistan, Timor Leste and Sri Lanka have confirmed, there are usually sound political or economic reasons for nationalistic fervour. Kyrgyz wrath exploded when Russia raised the price of energy and was vented on the Uzbeks for several reasons. They occupied fertile lands that Kyrgyz farmers coveted, they supported President Roza Otunbayeva in a region that backed the ousted President Kurmanbek Bakuyev, and Kyrgyzstan has an undemarcated 130-km border and territorial disputes with Uzbekistan.

Nor is Belgian tension only about language. Though in Flanders, Brussels enjoys bilingual status and is dominated by French-speakers, to the annoyance of the Flemish who, being richer, want more power in regional hands. They also complain of having to subsidise wasteful, leftist French-speaking southerners, knowing that Belgium's economic cohesion would be threatened if transfers of money from the north to the south stopped. The New Flemish Alliance tapped into this resentment.

A decisive outcome would have simplified Government-forming but the New Flemish Alliance is just one seat ahead of the Socialists in the Lower House of Parliament. That suggests that instead of separating, the two groups might settle for a loose federation. A similar formula might have spared Sri Lanka the agony of a bitter civil war if Sinhalese diehards had not been convinced that federation was the thin end of the wedge of secession. Jawaharlal Nehru thought a confederation would take care of the problems as then articulated of Jammu & Kashmir and East Pakistan, while creating a bridge for cooperation between India and Pakistan. Today, only a federal solution gives Iraq's Kurdish minority self-Government and preserves the fragile unity of a country that, too, the British created with no regard for ethnic homogeneity but to serve Britain's imperial purpose.

Iraq is not the only victim. The receding tide of Empire has left behind a number of states in Asia and Africa whose boundaries do not conform to national logic. These are not so much "imagined communities" in Benedict Anderson's sense as imperial provinces that decolonisation has forced into independence. Nigeria fought a bloody war to prevent Biafra separating. So did the Congo to hold on to Katanga. Mineral wealth rather than national loyalty accounted for both campaigns. But ethnic cleansing has already occurred on a vicious scale in several regions and border revision is bound to follow.

Europe is familiar with the process. Nationalism provoked two World Wars, led to the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires, and more recently of multi-ethnic Yugoslavia. Belgium and Switzerland are now the only two European states without a single overwhelmingly dominant nationality. Today's map of Europe testifies to the triumph of ethno-nationalism. Some might say that with Basque nationalists lurking in Spain and other small groups in the Balkans — and, of course, Russia's Chechens — the painfully drawn-out process of ethnic disaggregation is still not complete. But the EU and Nato can be relied on to ensure there are no major jolts.

The Indian Union performs a similar function. Leaving aside mystic claims of a sense of nationhood predating political unity, the real reason for India holding together despite a million mutinies is that good governance and parliamentary democracy (both relative) have invested the Indian label — originally an administrative device — with political and cultural content. Diverse races and religions have acquired something in common as a result. Even those who might still chafe at the common nationality cannot deny they have gained much from its system of markets, communications, public services and finance.

Trans-national groups like the Organisation of American States, Association of South-East Asian Nations, Gulf Coordinating Council, Organisation of African Unity and even our own moribund South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation might one day be able similarly to compensate for the weaknesses of small states driven by ethnic sentiment rather than hard logic.

-- sunandadr@yahoo.co.in

 

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THE PIONEER

EDITS

RENEW FOCUS ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT

S NARAYAN

As if the present rate of inflation at 17 per cent were not enough, the Government has set the fuel prices on fire. The common man's back is already breaking due to the high cost of food and essentials. Yam is selling at Rs 100 a kg, ash gourd at Rs 30, French beans at Rs 100, tomatoes at Rs 40, cluster beans at Rs 60, colocasia at Rs 50. The price of apples is over Rs 100, banana Rs 35, plums Rs 100. The price of cereals has also shot up to unimaginable heights. And now due to hike in fuel prices, all these prices will shoot up due to rise in transportation costs. The price of cement and other construction material will go up as also the cost of accommodation and other infrastructure projects. For senior citizens, it is simply unbearable as interest rates on bank deposits have been reduced simultaneously.

It is not clear if the Government is really concerned over the matter. It is said 90 per cent of our requirements of crude are imported. The prices and inflation depend on this factor. Yet the number of personal vehicles on the roads is increasing resulting in humongous fuel consumption and atmospheric pollution. Most of the personal vehicles do not carry passengers to their full capacity. Their owners drive around with the air conditioners on full blast. They constitute 80 per cent of the vehicles on the roads while buses for mass transportation constitute only 20 per cent.

While decontrolling fuel prices will bring down the deficit, the Government needs to formulate a policy for mass public transportation to reduce congestion, pollution and global warming instead of encouraging mass automobile manufacture. As an immediate measure to discourage private cars on the roads, it should subsidise fuel prices like diesel for mass transportation. The affluent should be made to pay for their transportation from their pockets.

Besides hike in parking charges, taxes on entry and exit of cars should be raised. Entry tax into the central business district of cities and other congested zones during peak hours should be introduced as in Singapore or the UK. This could take care of the problem to a great extent.

 

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THE PIONEER

OPED

MONSTER TURNS ON MASTER

ONCE NURTURED BY THE PAKISTANI STATE, ESPECIALLY THE ISI, JIHADIS ARE NOW INCREASINGLY ATTACKING PAKISTANIS. THE MASSACRE OF AHMEDIYAS, WHO ARE TREATED AS SECOND CLASS CITIZENS IN ISLAMIC PAKISTAN AND DENIED EQUAL RIGHTS AS MUSLIMS, HIGHLIGHTS THE GROWING CLOUT OF THE PUNJABI TALIBAN. UT ISLAMABAD IS NOT UNDULY BOTHERED

SANKAR SEN

On May 28, there was a massacre of over 100 worshippers at two mosques in Lahore by Pakistani militants. The worshippers belonged to the Ahmediya sect, one of the religious minorities in Pakistan that the Government machinery either discriminates against or declines to adequately protect. The Ahmediyas are regarded as heretics for believing that Mohammed is not the last prophet.

According to police sources, Punjabi Taliban groups were behind the massacre. Following the twin strikes, the militants also carried out an audacious attack on a hospital in order to free one of the captured terrorists receiving treatment. Though they did not succeed in freeing him, they killed four policemen and a patient before escaping. The victims in the mosque massacre include a retired Army Lieutenant-General and several former judges and civil servants.

In the past, Punjabi militants have been somewhat distinct from militants from tribal areas and the Pakistan armed forces retained a semblance of control over them. This is no longer true. The growing role of Punjabis marks a major escalation of extremist threats in Pakistan. Punjab is the heartland of Pakistan and home to its political and military elite. Many Punjabi Taliban leaders have received military training which makes them more lethal than rural Pashtoon fighters. Pakistan is now witnessing a coalescence of various militant jihadi groups. According to Bruce Riedl, a former top official in the White House National Security Council dealing with South Asia, the big danger is that these groups are fighting for recruits from the same Punjabi families and clans that the Pakistani Army recruits from for its Officer Corps.

Southern Punjab has become a hub for Punjabi militants who maintain close touch with the Taliban and travel to the tribal belt for both training and combat. The traffic is in fact two-way with Punjabi militants providing safe havens to Taliban fighters and commanders when needed. Indeed, the Taliban movement in Pakistan is now dominated by Punjabi militant groups once created and controlled by the ISI. Like Frankenstein's monster, these groups have now joined Al Qaeda and the Taliban to battle the Pakistani Government. Their goal is to spread the message of their rigid, intolerant interpretation of Islam to the heartland of Pakistan and beyond.

The extremists' goals have become increasingly maximalist. Many seek just not to liberate Kashmir but see eventual control of territory within India as the true prize of their struggle. Addressing a gathering at Kuba mosque in Islamabad on February 5, 2008, Nasar Javed, a Lashkar-e-Tayyeba functionary, said, "The Government of Pakistan may have abandoned jihad but we have not. We will continue to wage jihad till eternity."

According to political analyst Hasan Askari, the militants have polished their approach, expanded their arsenal and improved their tactics. They also seem to be targeting the Army as well as the police — their original targets. The federal Government says that Punjabi groups have been responsible for most of the daring strikes in the province, but authorities in Lahore continue to deny their existence. The provincial Law Minister insists that he did nothing wrong to canvass for votes in the company of some of these militant leaders. While the Uzbeks, Chechens, Arabs and other foreign fighters who have found refuge in Pakistan's tribal areas have no option but to fight the Pakistani Army, the Punjabis have the option to return to their own province and stage more attacks.

Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf outlawed two Punjabi extremist groups — the Sipah-e-Sahaba and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi following attacks on the Shia sect. Many Jhangvi fighters then moved to North-Western Frontier Province. They are now the operational arm of the Al Qaeda and the Tehreek-e-Taliban. Rohan Gunaratne, the author of Inside Al Qaeda, says that it is difficult to distinguish between the three groups.

Islamabad is trying hard to stop other militant groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad and LeT from joining the Taliban. Jaish-e-Mohammad, based in Bhawalpur, is ambivalent when it comes to fighting the Pakistani state. The 50,000-strong LeT, the largest Punjabi militant group, has so far not responded to the Taliban siren call. The LeT was responsible for perpetrating the massacre in Mumbai in November 2008 that pushed the two countries to the brink of war. Though sympathetic to other jihadi groups, the LeT has not been taking part in the current spate of attacks because it still has close links with the ISI.

Many suspect that Punjabi groups are still accorded some kind of protection by the ISI. Punjab Government official says the activities of Punjabi groups are not sectarian but directed mainly against India. Domestic terrorism is not on their agenda. The killings in Lahore have brought to the surface the rift between the Central Government and the administration in Punjab. Interior Minister Rehman Malik declared that an operation has to be launched to flush out these Punjabi groups. According to him, groups like Sipah-e-Sahaba and Jaish-e-Mohammad are part of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. The Punjab Government, however, does not agree with this assessment. There has been no disarmament or de-mobilisation programme for the Punjabi Taliban because every Pakistani Government has so far denied that they exist.

The Punjabi leadership has come to the forefront because of the American success in targeting the Pashtoon militants. In comparison to the rag-tag and bobtail Pashtoon, Punjabi Taliban are highly trained and motivated. Another new group calling itself the Amjad Farooqi Taliban comprising Punjabis claimed responsibility for attacks on Rawalpindi military headquarters and three security installations in Lahore as well as a suicide attack in the North-Western Frontier Province. Pakistan, therefore, can no longer afford to limit its fight against the terrorists to the north-west. Terrorist groups are now striking roots in Punjab and the distinction between those that the state is willing to tolerate and those it wants to curb is rapidly fading.

The growing nexus between the jihadis based in FATA and extremists outside the region is one of the most troubling recent developments. According to Ms Ayesha Siddiqa, a security analyst, "If the Taliban spreads its tentacles across the province this would change the battlefield completely." Although the number of jihadis operating on the Pakistan and Afghanistan border is not very large, their growing ideological appeal represents the biggest threat to Pakistan and other countries targeted by the jihadis, including the US.

There is, however, one heartening trend. Some civil society groups in Pakistan have been increasingly vocal in demanding action against terrorist groups for the horrendous bloodletting since the mosque massacre. They have also been rooting for a crackdown on Jamaat-ud-Dawa'h. Their protests offer a glimmer of hope.

-- The writer is former Director, National Police Academy, and former Director-General, National Human Rights Commission.

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THE PIONEER

OPED

ISRAEL DEMONISED BY BIASED MEDIA

STORY AFTER STORY APPEARS IN NEWSPAPERS CRITICISING ISRAEL FOR DEEDS THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN COMMITTED OR ARE MANUFACTURED AS PART OF THE ARAB PROPAGANDA TO DEFAME THE JEWISH STATE. IT'S A THROWBACK TO MEDIEVAL TIMES WHEN ANTI-SEMITISM WAS FASHIONABLE

BARRY RUBIN

Israel is subject daily to scores of false claims and slanders that receive a remarkable amount of credibility in Western media (as also elsewhere), academic, and intellectual circles even when no proof is offered.

Palestinian groups (including the Gaza and Palestinian Authority regimes), associated local and allied foreign non-government organisations, radical and anti-Israel groups, and politically committed journalists are eager to act as propaganda agents making up false stories or transmitting them without serious thought or checking.

Others have simply defined the Palestinians as the 'victims' and 'underdogs' while Israel is the 'villain' and 'oppressor'. Yet truth remains truth; academic and journalist standards are supposed to apply.

While regular journalists may ask for an official Israeli reaction to such stories the undermanned Government agencies are deluged by hundreds of these stories, and committed to checking out seriously each one. Thus, the Israeli Government cannot keep up with the flow of lies.

So the key question is to understand the deliberateness of this anti-Israel propaganda and evaluating the credibility of the sources.

An important aspect of this is to understand that Israel is a decent, democratic country with a free media that is energetic about exploring any alleged wrong-doing and a fair court system that does the same. To demonise Israel into a monstrous, murderous state — which is often done —makes people believe any negative story.

Some of these are big false stories — the alleged killing of Muhammad al-Dura and the supposed Jenin massacre — others are tiny. Some — like the claim Israel was murdering Palestinians to steal their organs — get into the main Western newspapers while others only make it into smaller and non-English ones.

Taken together, this campaign of falsification is creating a big wave not only of anti-Israel sentiment but of anti-Semitism on a Medieval scale, simply the modern equivalent of claims that the Jews poisoned wells, spread Bubonic Plague, or murdered children to use their blood for Passover matzohs.

Come to think of it even those claims are still in circulation. Indeed, on June 8, the Syrian representative at the UN Human Rights Council (oh, the irony!) claimed in a speech that Israeli children are taught to extol blood-drinking. No Western delegate attacked the statement.

Here are three actual examples of well-educated Westerners believing such modern legends reported to me recently by colleagues:

n A former classmate, one told me, claimed that the Palestinians are living in death camps, being starved, etc. Asked to provide facts and provided with evidence to the contrary, he could provide no real examples. Finally, he remarked, "The truth is always somewhere in the middle."

n Hundreds of American college professors signed a petition claiming that Israel was supposedly about to throw hundreds of thousands of Palestinians out of the West Bank though there was zero evidence of any such intention and, of course, nothing ever happened.

n A British writer of some fame claimed, on the basis of an alleged single conversation with a questionable source, that Israel was preparing gas chambers for the mass murder of Palestinians. When asked if she was really claiming this would happen, she stated that it wasn't going to happen but only because people like her had sounded the alarm to prevent it.

And what of the accusations of genocide contained in an article by sensationalist Israeli reporter Uzi Mahnaimi (even though his stories almost always prove to be wrong The Sunday Times never learns) and the respected Marie Colvin's November 1998 in The Sunday Times reporting Israel was attempting to build an "ethno-bomb" containing a biological agent that could specifically target genetic traits present amongst Arab populations? Or the Guardian's more recent distortion of documentation to claim that Israel was selling nuclear weapons to South Africa?

There is no limit. When stories are proven wrong, the damage remains, apologies are non-existent or muted, and no lesson is learned because the same process is soon repeated. (In The Guardian, it is repeated not only on a daily basis but sometimes several times a day!) But perhaps readers could learn to disregard what they have repeatedly seen has been untrue?

Note, as in so many of these stories, the Israeli goal is said to be murder pure and simple. The message conveyed is: What kind of people would behave this way? The Israelis (or Jews in general) not only don't deserve to have a state, they don't even deserve to live. Wiping them off the planet would be doing the world a favour. Hmm, where have we heard this before?

Having seen so many such stories disproved over the years — as Israel's credibility, while not perfect, has compared favourably with that of any Western democratic state — one might think a lesson would be learned. But as the great American journalist Eric Severeid remarked many years ago, nothing can protect someone when the media sets out deliberately to misunderstand and report falsely about them.

The writer is director of the GLORIA Center, Tel Aviv, and editor of the MERIA Journal.

 

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THE PIONEER

OPED

G20 SUMMIT DECIDES TO DEAL WITH DEBT

RETRIBUTION FOR UNBRIDLED CONSUMERISM? THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO REPENT FOR GOVERNMENTS: SPEND LESS

ANDREI FEDYASHIN

Of all the challenges discussed at the G20 summit in Toronto, the largest and most pressing was Government debt and related issues — unsustainable budget deficits and the need for tax increases and cuts in social programmes, pensions and wages.

The leaders of the world's 20 largest economies were forced to acknowledge that the world needs to start sobering up after a 25-year debt-fueled bender. The G20 comprises the 20 largest economies in the world, with the European Union counting as one member. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and the European Central Bank also participate in G20 summits. The group accounts for 85 per cent of the global GDP.

Serious economists have long compared debt and alcohol. The cheap loans of the 1990s and the early 2000s were certainly no less intoxicating than wine, whisky or vodka. Many borrowers simply could not resist taking out more and more easy loans. They lost control, much like alcoholics who cannot stop after the first shot. The inevitable hangover came in the form of the global financial crisis, and it has lasted for over a year already.

Others go even further, calling the debt trap divine retribution for extravagant spending and the arrogance of unbridled consumerism. As proof, they point out that the words 'debt' and 'sin' are synonyms in Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus and his disciples.

How simple it would be if debtors and sinners could find salvations in indulgences, like the final statements of G20 summits. But life is more complicated than that. Governments will have to reform their own spending and work together to reform the entire global financial system. They will have to learn to live within their means and borrow only when absolutely necessary. The debtors and sinners must repent. And there is only one way to repent in the global economy: To spend less.

But can they do it? The severity of the sins (and the hangover) varies from country to country. Russia has been more fortunate than most thanks to its stabilisation funds, which were financed by high oil and gas prices. It has the least debt (including sovereign, business and consumer debt) of the 20 leading economies.

Russia's debt-to-GDP ratio is currently 71 per cent, according to the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI). The world's biggest debtors are Japan (471 per cent), Britain (466 per cent), Spain (366 per cent), France (322 per cent) and Germany (286 per cent). The foreign debt of the United States is 296 per cent of GDP, China's is 158 per cent and India's is 129 per cent. This translates into hundreds of billions of dollars.

When a country's debt exceeds GDP several times over, this means it is borrowing much more than it takes in. The figures cited by the McKinsey Global Institute are stunning but by no means record-setting; they are still manageable. The countries in serious trouble are Iceland (1,200 per cent) and Ireland (700 per cent).

Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark are the exceptions. Norway's GDP actually exceeds its foreign debt by 156 per cent, Finland's by 57 per cent and Sweden's by nearly 20 per cent, even though they have tons of social programmes and a generous safety net that Americans can only dream of. In these countries, the Government spending actually benefits the economy. This is a testament to Scandinavian socialism.

There comes a time, even in large economies like the United States, when a country's ability to absorb debt reaches a limit — when each borrowed dollar yields less and less return. According to US statistics, each borrowed dollar yielded nearly 90 cents of profit in the 1960s compared to just 10 cents in 2010. The debt super-cycle has petered out; the time has come to start repaying our debts, as the G20 leaders affirmed in Toronto.

They have agreed that there should be common principles, but methods should be differentiated for and tailored to national circumstances.

The problem is that the United States, Japan, and especially Europe are overly optimistic about the prospects for economic recovery. The world's wealthiest countries are facing major demographic changes, and the generation of the 2030s will be forced to pay the debts incurred in the 2000s.

The population in Japan, Britain, France, and Germany is aging so fast (and their senior citizens are living much longer and better) that in a few years a single working citizen in these countries will have to pay for the pension of one or two retirees. Rapid economic growth is simply not possible in the face of a declining workforce, which means that debts will not be repaid quickly.

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MAIL TODAY

COMMENT

NUCLEAR DEAL WITH CANADA SETS RIGHT AN ANOMALY

 

THE circle has turned full in India- Canada relations. Just two weeks ago, Canada accepted full responsibility for the bombing of an Air India Boeing 747 " Kanishka" by Khalistani terrorists. On Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper signed a civil nuclear agreement over a quarter of a century after Ottawa reneged on a previous deal.

 

In 1974, protesting India's first nuclear test at Pokhran, Canada had terminated all nuclear cooperation with India and dealt the fledgling Indian civil nuclear programme a near- mortal blow. The reason for the Canadian action was that India may have used nuclear materials supplied by it for the Cirus ( Canada India Research US) reactor for making the explosive device.

 

This agreement pre- dated the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty or the Nuclear Suppliers Group, and the only commitment India made was that the US- supplied heavy water that was used to start up the reactor would be used only for peaceful purposes.

 

The worst impact fell on India's nuclear power programme which was based on the CANDU ( Canada Deuterium Uranium) reactor.

 

It would be safe to say that almost all of India's nuclear power programme is even today based on CANDU derived technology which India had to learn from scratch.

 

India has now upgraded the old 200 MW CANDU design to 640 MW. Meanwhile, Canada has developed more advanced designs of 700- 800 MW and even a 1000 MW reactor.

 

Canada, of course, holds some 20 per cent of the world's reserves of natural uranium.

 

The combination of advanced technology and nuclear materials makes Canada a good partner for India's civil nuclear programme.

 

Hopefully, the two countries will be able to work out an effective implementation plan and make up for the lost time.

 

ANOTHER CUSTODIAL DEATH

IF evidence was really needed about how brutal policemen can be in their ways, it is to be had from the death of a Government Railway Police constable in police lock- up in Kaushambi district of Uttar Pradesh.

 

That the Saini police could fatally injure Ansar Ahmad, who was in uniform when he was detained, is also an indicator of the treatment cops must be meting out to civilians, especially those from the poorer sections.

 

The incident should once again highlight the continuing problem India has with custodial deaths and torture. Figures collated by the Asian Centre for Human Rights say nearly 1,500 custodial deaths take place in India every year. The atmosphere of impunity under which our agencies function can be gauged from the fact that few convictions have been recorded for custodial deaths.

 

While the Centre is to be commended for introducing the Prevention of Torture Bill 2010 in Parliament, greater transparency is needed on its provisions. Simply acting on the Law Commission's recommendation of placing the burden of proof on law- enforcing agencies in the case of a custodial death, will greatly redress the situation.

 

LET THE JARAWAS DECIDE

IN not many places do you see a battle between the desire to save an ancient culture and the temptation to bring it into the socalled mainstream. The Jarawa tribal culture in the Andaman Islands is one such.

 

The Unesco wants the 300 remaining Jarawa tribals left in the island's jungles to retain their identity by closing the Andaman Trunk Road, while the local MP wants them to integrate with the mainstream. This is a debate whose answers are not easy to find, and they are certainly not to be found with politicians whose motives are always suspect.

 

Integrating them with the mainstream would mean introducing them to modern, urban amenities, but also its numerous ills.

 

For one, once the integration takes place, the Jarawas would run the risk of exposing their complex, yet fragile ecosystem to the settlers. Second, the Jarawas could end up being discriminated against in a completely modernised world, which could subvert their identity once and for all.

 

The Jarawas must not be forced to walk this tightrope and must get all the space they need to take these decisions by themselves.

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MAIL TODAY

KASHMIR MESS LARGELY A FAILURE OF IMAGINATION

BY MANOJ JOSHI

 

THERE should be no doubts in anyone's mind that what is unfolding in the Kashmir Valley is not part of the separatist game plan. While alienation and angst may be the cause for young men to come out and take on the police, their motivators are hardened militants who operate in the shadowy world of subversion, insurgency and espionage.

 

But let us be equally clear that the big failure has been New Delhi's. The present mood in the Valley has been set by large public agitations such as those related to the Amarnath Yatra in 2008, followed last year by the Shopian rape case protests.

 

The failures can be divided into three— that of imagination, anticipation and that of management. There is little use blaming Omar Abdullah for the problem. The responsibility must be shared between the state and Union governments and the answers that are needed can come only from the effective team- work of the two.

 

All this is to state the obvious.

 

The failure of imagination lies in the inability of Manmohan Singh's government to build upon the solid foundations of the 2003- 2007 period when the ceasefire on the Line of Control came into effect and Pakistani infiltration markedly declined, as did the violence in the Valley. One indicator of this is that the number of security personnel killed went from a high of nearly 300 in 2004 to 80 or so in 2009.

 

Instruments

 

In all fairness, the Prime Minister did a lot in terms of resolving the issue with Pakistan. It were his personal efforts that led to the breakthroughs in opening up the LoC to trade and to advancing the back- channel discussions till they narrowed the Indian and Pakistani positions dramatically. But, where he could have done more, he failed. This was in negotiating with Kashmiri parties to draw down the separatist agitation.

 

True, this was a more complex task since there were so many more variables at play— the various Kashmiri political parties, the different groups of militants and Kashmiri civil society elements and so on. But it is difficult to avoid the feeling that this was due to a shortfall in the effort, rather than the degree of difficulty that was confronted.

 

The issue of anticipation and management must rest with the intelligence and security establishment in Srinagar and New Delhi. Anticipation can only help you if you have the managerial abilities to deal with the situation and, important in the current context, the effective instrumentalities to do so.

 

It has been 70 years since the Central Reserve Police Force was founded to take on the resurgent national movement in 1939. It's been sixty plus years since India became free, and two decades and more since the force was first deployed in Jammu & Kashmir, yet there has been no change in its organisation, principles and ethos. It was— and it remains— essentially a crowd control force which relies on the sequence of tear gas, lathi and bullet. Across the world, even in authoritarian states like China and Iran, managing violent demonstrators and crowds has become a fine art, but in India, it remains a uniquely brutal colonial- era industry.

 

North Block refuses to see the Kashmir problem in any but a transient mode.

 

The assumption is that the Kashmiris can be defeated through attrition brought on by applying overwhelming force. What it is doing to the security forces has been amply manifested in the instances of suicides of personnel posted in operational areas. What it is doing to the civilians has been clear to us in the past few days.

 

Because the Ministry of Home Affairs has worked with the assumption that status quo ante will soon be achieved, they have yet to train the kind of police forces that are needed to cope with the demands of the long haul.

 

Tactics

 

The ad hoc approach is manifest in the fact that the CRPF is being used as a crowd control force in most of India, an urban counter- insurgency and anti- riot force in the Kashmir Valley and a rural counter- insurgency force in the jungles of Dantewada— and it is not being adequately trained and equipped for any of these tasks.

 

In Kashmir, for instance, though the challenge has morphed from the early days of the insurgency to a sophisticated political struggle, the CRPF has not changed in terms of equipment, organisation and doctrine. The CRPF needs a new set of crowd control equipment, training and orientation.

 

There is a two- track struggle going on in the Valley. The first is a military conflict involving Pakistan- trained and armed militants who are adopting the clever tactic of mostly lying low and allowing the overground elements to stoke anti- Indian fires. The second is a civil protest movement which is a mélange of separatism, Islamism and alienation against misrule and lack of avenues for productive employment. It is important to understand the difference between the two and to acknowledge that to counter them require two different sets of tactics.

 

The military challenge is easy to handle and it has been handled competently by essentially containing the Pakistandirected insurgency. The civil challenge is more complex and is not being handled well at all. Instead of using a mix of political, police and psychological tactics, we are witnessing a military response, or, to be precise, a paramilitary one.

 

RAF

 

The same Union government decided in the early 1990s that a special force was needed to handle communal violence and so the Rapid Action Force was created as a sub- unit of the CRPF. But it took three decades of communal violence and its increased virulence for the Home Ministry to finally act. In fact the RAF's model of independently mobile units with specially selected personnel who are trained and equipped for their specific task is a good one for Kashmir. To this end personnel need to be educated on the sociology and pathology of street violence, and the units asked to familiarise themselves with the sensitive areas.

 

All that is lacking is imagination in North Block, and some bureaucratic energy, to create such a special force for the Kashmir Valley.

These days it is difficult to avoid a sense of déjà vu on Kashmir. As in 1990, the heart of the separatist struggle has shifted to Baramulla and Sopur, which are strongholds of the Jamaat- e- Islami. Then, as now, the CRPF is playing a stellar role, or to be accurate, the role of a dark star that sucks up every possible effort to normalise the situation.

If things continue the way they are doing, you can be sure that we are far from resolving the Kashmir problem, even after discounting the Pakistan factor.

manoj.joshi@mailtoday.in

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MAIL TODAY

PATIALA PEG

ACTIVIST'S QUEST FOR A BETTER PUNJAB

VIKAS KAHOL

 

BRIJ BEDI— an industrialist turned social activist— has started a crusade to educate underprivileged slum children and improve the lives of people in Amritsar. Known to be eccentric, Bedi would also prick the consciousness of common people and confront the authorities for solutions to some common public problems. In 1999, the plight of the dwellers of Maqboolpura— a slum which became notorious as the "Place of Widows" — moved Bedi.

 

Drug addiction had claimed many lives in the locality leaving their traumatised spouses and small children to fend for themselves. Almost every household in the area had witnessed at least one death due to drug abuse. Bedi decided to set up a school to rehabilitate the children of Maqboolpura.

 

He met a teacher couple in the locality— Ajeet Singh and Satpal Kaur— who promptly agreed to let Bedi convert their doublestorey house into a school for the children of drug addicts. The family of five moved to their master bedroom.

 

The school began with about 25 students and has now gone up to a strength of about 550 students— majority of them being underprivileged girls.

 

Bedi's wife, the first woman IPS officer Kiran Bedi, also visited the school in 2003 and started bearing the educational expenses of the students. Springdale School— a leading educational institution in Amritsar came forward for training the teachers of the school.

 

The Harmony Movement awarded the school for its selfless efforts and Bedi received the award from the Dalai Lama in 2003. He purchased a plot with the award money. A three storey building was built on it after a London-based NRI contributed Rs one lakh.

 

Once the school took off, various Indian organisations and individuals settled in countries like UK, USA and Canada pitched in for funding the education of the children.

 

Bedi also been raising his voice on road safety. As Chief Traffic Warden he constantly attempted to educate people and help the police improve traffic management in the city. He was shocked to learn that most of the bus and auto- rickshaw drivers did not have driving licenses. He is outraged that the politicians and bureaucrats themselves violate the norms in Punjab. He opines that people lack road sense and pose a danger to commuters.

 

A few years ago, when Bedi discovered that the Baba Atal Sahib Gurdwara in Amritsar was set to replace the centuriesold paintings and murals with ceramic tiles, he cried foul.

 

He picked up his camera and photographed the paintings and murals. He raised the issue with the authorities and highlighted the importance of preserving this rich heritage. The curators responded and the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee ( SGPC) acknowledged the worth of this treasure. The paintings and murals are being preserved now.

 

T HE root cause of the problems in Punjab's cities and other parts of the country, according to Bedi, is the way bureaucrats function.

They are indifferent to social and public issues and do not guard the citizens' rights to freedom and education. Moreover, they do not address the issues of public interest when they are in conflict with political motives.

 

" Public servants stoop so low that they become politicians' servants. The problem lies in the faulty system of recruitment and training. Leaders should resolve against wasteful ceremonies and spend the money on improving the quality of education. Policies should be in the larger public interest. The people should stand up for restoring order in their own neighbourhood, then the scenario in the whole country will change," says Bedi.

 

MERCHANTS OF SUFFERING

PEOPLE suffering from various diseases " owing to" the high concentration of Uranium and other dangerous heavy metals in the water in Punjab's Malwa region are upset due to the " gimmicks" of some NGOs to gain popularity.

 

Recently, while the people suffered, some volunteers affiliated to these NGOs tracked media persons to mark their presence on the TV screens and newspaper columns. They told the media about the problem of toxins in the water but they failed miserably to locate the affected villages during one of their visits to the border area.

 

One such NGO representative intimidated some local social activists by demanding that the activists arrange for " accommodation in a better hotel" for their stay during their second visit.

 

The residents have been upset that these selfappointed guardians have been concentrating on publicity instead of trying to provide health care to the affected children and old people. " What will people gain by making it to the newspapers if the authorities and NGOs do not care to ensure their treatment," said a resident.

 

The recent studies have revealed that hair samples taken from 80 per cent of the neurologically disabled children, and their drinking water contained high levels of uranium, a radioactive element. The claim was however countered by some government authorities.

 

POLITICS OF WATER- SHARING IS ON THE BOIL

FORMER Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh has again stoked the politics of interstate water sharing. Singh — under whom the Punjab Legislative Assembly passed a law in 2004, which annuled the water sharing agreements with its neighbouring states— told Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal to safeguard the interest of Punjab since the matter was coming up for hearing in the Supreme Court on July 4. The President had referred the Punjab Termination of Water Agreements Act 2004 to the SC. Singh said " Badal's past history has been of doing anything to safeguard his own interests, even to the extent of supporting Haryana." Singh seems to sparked off a chain reaction, with Badal saying that the river water flowing through Punjab into Haryana was Punjab's property and the former should pay royalty for the water. This incensed Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda. He retorted that Punjab had failed to honour the water sharing agreements and should compensate Haryana for using its share.

 

Meanwhile, Himachal CM PK Dhumal also remarked that the rivers flowing through Punjab start from Himachal therefore both Punjab and Haryana need to pay Himachal.

 

Pritam Singh Kumedan, an expert on river water issues also jumped into the fray. He claimed that the non- riparian states— Haryana and Rajasthan — were not entitled to any share in Ravi, Beas and Sutlej water since there was no " surplus" water. Kumedan claims that Punjab owns the river waters. This has been contradicted by former Haryana finance minister Sampat Singh.

Vikas.kahol@mailtoday.in

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MAIL TODAY

RAISINA TATTLE

PASWAN IS BACK

 

LOK Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan understands the virtue of patience.

 

For over a year now his sprawling bungalow in the Capital had nearly turned into a deserted mansion. But now it is bristling with activity. For, the LJP leader is back in the Capital as a Member of Parliament through the Rajya Sabha route.

 

The house, next door to Congress president Sonia Gandhi's bungalow, was kept on for a whole year by Paswan despite losing the Lok Sabha elections. But now that he is back in Parliament, his occupation of the house has become legal again.

 

NO LUCK FOR MEIRA

MONSOON rains have ditched Delhi and it seems the weather gods have also not been kind to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who has been travelling away from the Capital a lot in the break between the budget and monsoon sessions of Parliament.

 

During most of her travels abroad away from the sweltering heat of Delhi, she was promised the prospect of delightfully cold weather. The Speaker duly packed her woollens and headed for the various destinations such as Luxembourg, Hungary and Swaziland. Sadly, sunny days prevailed wherever she went and the extra bags ferrying woollens were never opened. She still seemed determined to try her luck in Mongolia where again cool weather conditions had been forecast before her departure.

 

Last heard, the Speaker was still waiting to use the additional baggage.

 

VISIONARY KALAM

WHEN in office, former President APJ Abdul Kalam was known as one of the most " active" presidents, one who never shied away from speaking his mind.

 

Even after vacating office Kalam continues to have an active public life. Addressing a convocation ceremony of pharmacy students at a university in Mysore he made an impassioned plea for weeding out spurious drugs.

 

He exhorted the pharmacy students to equip themselves with the knowledge and ability to prevent entry of unauthorised drugs into circulation.

 

He placed before the postgraduate students a vision for the pharma industry for 2020 and said this industry in India should set a target of increasing its turnover from the present $ 17 billion of generic drugs for domestic and export markets to $ 100 billion.

 

PAWAR'S SNUB

SHARAD Pawar has again made it clear that he is not ready to play second fiddle by merging his Nationalist Congress Party with his former party, the Congress.

 

The NCP dismissed with contempt a suggestion of a close associate that the party should merge with Congress to save the country from communal forces.

 

" Some individuals speak out of their personal frustration. I don't think it merits any political response," party general secretary D. P. Tripathi said.

 

He was reacting to the suggestion of Ratnakar Mahajan, founder member of the party that the NCP should merge with Congress.

 

Mahajan had written a letter to Pawar saying, " Even you ( Pawar) have, on several occasions, said NCP has decided to support Congress to save the country from communal forces and there was no reason to justify existence of a separate party." Evidently, Pawar does not agree.

 

BABUS ' GIFT' MOON WATER CREDIT TO US

BY SAVITA VERMA IN NEW DELHI & MAX MARTIN IN BANGALORE

INDIA had an irreplaceable opportunity to go down in history as the nation which discovered water on the moon.

 

But bungling Indian officials ensured that " the credit was taken by the US" instead, a leading scientist has alleged.

 

Rajesh Kochhar, a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research ( CSIR) Emeritus scientist at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali, said water was first discovered by an Indian payload onboard Chandrayaan- 1.

 

But a " wrong decision" by the Indian Space Research Organisation ( ISRO) to publish the discovery in an international journal delayed the announcement, which was instead made by the US team, that had also made a similar discovery later.

 

A similar discovery made later by American payloads was published much before the Indian paper.

 

" India had the opportunity to be the first past the post, but it chose to be an alsoran," Kochhar has written in a letter published in scientific journal Current Science . " ISRO could have published a paper on the discovery immediately in any of the Indian journals or put it on their website or come out with a press release. Then, anybody working on the same subject would have had to take note of ISRO's finding. Instead, the find ended up being a me- too paper," he said.

 

But ISRO scientists dismissed Kochhar's claims as insignificant. " We wanted to publish the finding first in an international journal, with a rigorous review," said Prof J. N. Goswami, the principal scientist for the Chandrayaan mission.

 

" It is not a discovery that holds importance only for India. It is something which is significant for the whole world," he added.

 

Goswami said true to scientific traditions, he decided not to go to the media before publishing the finding in a peer- reviewed publication.

 

" We wanted to prove it beyond reasonable doubt — no one should question our discovery," he said. ISRO research teams would soon be announcing more findings, he added.

 

R. Sridharan, former director of the Space Physics Laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram and the lead author of the ISRO paper in Planetary and Space Science , also dismissed the " notion of competition" with his western counterparts.

 

" People are trying to overplay things," he had commented in an earlier interview.

 

" We don't care about who published the paper first." " Our finding stands on its own merit. There has been no direct evidence for water vapour on the moon ( before the ISRO finding)," Sridharan added.

 

BJP MLA jailed for his role in Orissa riots

 

PTI

 

BJP MLA Manoj Kumar Pradhan was sentenced on Tuesday to seven years in prison by a fast track court for his role in a murder during communal riots in Orissa's Kandhamal district in 2008.

 

The 36- year- old Pradhan was taken to jail within hours of judge S. K. Das convicting him and pronouncing the quantum of punishment.

 

Along with him, another convict Prafulla Mallick was ordered to pay a fine of Rs 6,000 each. He was also awarded a jail term of seven years.

 

Pradhan was accused of being involved in the killing of Parikhita Digal, a Christian from Budedi village on August 27, 2008. The police had registered a case against Pradhan under various sections of the Indian Penal Code ( IPC) including 302 ( murder).

 

However, Pradhan's lawyer Ramesh Mohanty said the court found Pradhan guilty under Section 326 ( voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 147 ( rioting) and 149 ( unlawful assembly) of the IPC. Pradhan's other lawyer Ajit Kumar Patnaik said the MLA's name did not figure in the original FIR filed by the victim's wife, Kanaka Rekha Naik, at Raikia police station. His name was added during the hearing of the case.

 

" I have the highest regard for the judiciary.

 

We will appeal against the verdict in a higher court," he said.

 

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MAIL TODAY

MOVING FORWARD WITH PROMISES...

DR. MGR'S STUDENTS NOT ONLY HAVE SECURED DECENT POSITIONS IN INDIA, BUT ALSO HAVE SECURED ADMISSIONS IN UNIVERSITIES ABROAD

 

The Dr. M. G. R. Engineering College has successfully completed through two decades, being originally started in the year 1988 and the Thai Moogambigai Dental College in 1991. The Dr.

 

M. G. R. Educational and Research Institute, a deemed university, came into existence in 2003. All the courses conducted by Dr. M. G. R. Engineering College are accredited by NBA of AICTE. All the Courses conducted by Thai Moogabamigai Dental College are recognised by the Dental Council of India.

 

Dr. M. G. R. Educational and Research Institute University through its Dr. M. G. R. Centre for International Studies has signed many MoUs with foreign universities such as University of Sunderland ( UK), University of South Australia, Perth College ( Scotland) and University of Farleigh Dickenson ( USA).

 

The University is also poised to enter into an agreement with Government of Malaysia and Government of UAE for establishing off- shore campus centres at Malaysia and Dubai respectively.

 

A 500- bedded ACS Hospital is functioning for the past two years at their medical campus at Velappanchavadi. It has six fully equipped operation theatres with all other required equipments and surgical instruments required for the MBBS Degree programme. The Medical College has commenced classes from the Academic Year 2008- 2009. Apart from this the deemed university also offers B. Sc. - ( Nursing), B. P. T., M. P. T. and B. Sc. ( HMCT). The University conducts B. Tech. and M. Tech. part time programmes in engineering disciplines for the benefit of those working in industries.

 

On the placement front, 75 per cent of their eligible candidates have been well placed. Several of their students have secured admissions in universities abroad, and some have secured very decent positions in India.

 

ONE OF ITS KIND FIRM

ShadWell'S is empowering education service providers and institutions with effectiveness to manifest

 

ShadWell'S is an education management company registered under the Indian Companies Act, 1956. It imparts education of international standard through holistic approach and producing exorbitant quality output to cater the current professional demand.

 

ShadWell'S extends complete education solution setting it apart as the forefront education management company in the international scenario and first of its kind in India. The portfolio of services capitalises in new generation programmes catering the Education and Employment Habitat.

 

The service umbrella extends to ShadWell'S Media Services, Event Management; Training Modules, Publishing, Human Resource Management, Entrepreneurship Development Forums and a wide range of Knowledge dissemination Platforms. Its core competency is sharpening the student's output, also empowering education service providers and Institutions with effectiveness to Manifest.

 

ShadWell'S bridges the gap between the Knowledge starving and the resources with optimal delivery with effective innovations on a perennial basis and its making a difference.

 

Growing trends in the market was capitalised and an effective platform was created by ShadWell'S for the training of the international finance and accounting courses in this part of the country. The warm acceptance in the market itself showed the potential of the programme and the mileage of the efficient delivery by ShadWell'S. It has been delivering highly competitive ACCA Programme marking exuberant success for the programme initiations in the campus.

 

SAVEETHA OFFERS A BIG SCHOLARSHIP

One of the premier universities in India, Saveetha University is pleased to announce MM Scholarship for the academic year 2010- 11. Since its inception, Saveetha Group of Institutions has been extending scholarships for meritorious students. Dr. N. M. Veeraiyan, Chancellor, Saveetha University, has announced the management's consent to offer a scholarship of more than Rs. 7 crores for the students enrolling in the academic year 2010- 11.

 

On celebrating the 11th rank offered by Anna University among all the affiliated colleges, the management of Saveetha University believes that this scholarship would encourage students to pursue their career without any barricade.

 

For all the institutions in Saveetha University, all class toppers will be given 100 per cent fee waiver. For all the PG Courses, 100 per cent and 50 per cent fee waiver will be extended depending on the score in national level/ state level entrance exam.

 

Saveetha University also helps the students to avail government scholarships under various categories. In the

academic year 2009- 10, Saveetha Engineering College helped the students to avail scholarships worth Rs. 50 lakhs from various central and state government bodies.

 

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

 EDIT PAGE

BOOSTER SHOT

 

As a potential source of cheap and environment-friendly natural gas, shale gas can revolutionise the global energy sector. More and more players outside North America - a pioneer in the business - seem to think so and want to be early birds to catch the worm. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) sealed a far-sighted $1.35 billion deal on a US shale field, its second big-ticket investment in such assets in America. State-owned ONGC has a pilot project to drill wells in the Damodar basin. Neighbouring China too has woken up. Its largest state oil firm has engaged a Canadian company on possible joint stakeholding in exploitation of British Columbia's reserves. That two of the world's most energy-starved emerging economies have jumped on to the shale gas bandwagon is good news for global clean energy development.

Thanks to shale gas, the US has a gas surplus. Having drastically cut prices even while pushing green energy use, it's a ready example to emulate. Both Asian giants need to prune dependence on fossil fuels and contribute to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. In India's case, imports service nearly 25 per cent of its gas demand, estimated to grow rapidly in the coming years. And, as the planet's fifth largest consumer of energy, it's burdened with a mammoth import bill for 70 per cent of oil needs. With sizeable estimated shale deposits in the Gangetic plain, Assam, Gujarat, Rajasthan and coastal regions, it can turn to shale gas in a big way since new drilling technologies have made extraction viable.

In this context, China has fashioned a memorandum of cooperation on shale gas with the US. This is expected to lead to transfer of know-how and technology to help it capitalise on huge domestic reserves. Unfortunately, despite talks on the subject, India hasn't pursued a similar partnership. Without the requisite technological expertise, the authorities will find it difficult to implement any national production blueprint. One major reason RIL has tied up with US companies is reportedly to acquire skills in the trade.

Also, India has no business-friendly policy on harnessing non-conventional energy sources. Firms can produce conventional oil and gas. But they have to keep their hands off, say, coalbed methane or shale gas even if they discover coal seams or shale deposits in their exploration blocks. This is patently absurd. India gets periodically trapped in politically fractious debates on fuel price rise or decontrol. Why not instead deal seriously with the structural challenges of energy hunger? Since gas can be a cheaper, cleaner alternative to oil, a promising resource like shale gas shouldn't lie untapped. The faster policy change enables seismic surveys to locate deposits and allows extraction as well as facilitates building of a gas distribution network throughout the country, the better for India's energy future.

 

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

 EDIT PAGE

SAFEGUARDING PEACE

 

The violence over the last fortnight in certain parts of Jammu & Kashmir stands out in stark contrast to the gains in peace and development in the state. Though militancy in the Valley is at an all-time low, forces are at play to keep the overall atmosphere volatile. There is a pattern to the series of protests that has seen protesters clash with security personnel, prompting the latter to retaliate. This in turn provides fuel for more violent demonstrations. The only people who stand to benefit from such cascading violence are hardline separatists. In recent months, the latter have found themselves being steadily marginalised. It is very important that the mainstream political parties in the state see through the separatists' ploy and deny any political space to the hardliners.

In order to achieve this, they must first stop the blame game amongst themselves and work together for the interest of the state. Second, they must divide the separatist ranks by engaging and weaning away the moderates. And, third, they must work towards making the state administration more efficient. There is a strong case for enhancing the quality of the state police force. It is absolutely imperative that the Jammu & Kashmir police adopt the primary role for maintaining law and order. In this regard, the force needs to be better trained and equipped to handle all kinds of incidents, not relying on the central paramilitary forces alone. It is a mix of good administration on the ground and prudent politics that Jammu & Kashmir needs.

 

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

EDIT PAGE

LOOKING BEYOND THE HYPE

SUMIT BHADUR

 

Is big-bang innovation about to arrive in India or is it struggling due to judicial intervention and inadequate protection of patent rights? Several recent newspaper reports indicate that while talking about 'innovation' may be the flavour of the month, what it takes to make it happen is either not understood or willingly glossed over. It must not be forgotten that the primary driving force behind innovation is that of making profits, what the celebrated economist Joseph Schumpeter termed entrepreneurial "raw instinct". An Austrian who also taught at Harvard, Schumpeter was probably the first economist to elaborate on the incredible power of technological innovation in the growth of a capitalist economy and coined the phrase "creative destruction", something that is brought about by new technologies replacing the old ones.

The game of innovation in the 21st century reflects the spin and hype of our time but the most discernible changes are those brought about by globalisation. Low-cost labour in the developing world and uniformity in patent rights in more than 100 nations are the two factors that have had maximum impact on the innovation process. An educated workforce with specialised knowledge and abundant spending on research are critically necessary for any innovation. However, for a commercially viable technological innovation there are many other factors such as intellectual property law, tax codes, patent procedures, export controls, credit policies etc that come into play. The apparently conflicting signals from the innovation scene in India are to be understood against this backdrop.

A plan for an investment of Rs 10,000 crore for an innovation park spread over 5,000 acres in Mumbai metropolitan region that would employ 25,000 scientists of 100 nations initially, and on completion will generate almost a million jobs in allied sectors, is apparently under scrutiny. The proposed areas of technical activities read like a laundry list - no fashionable area of science is left behind. Why is it difficult to take this grand road map for innovation seriously?

There are many causes, but the track record of the Indian corporate houses over the last several decades and the nearly dead scientific competency in India are reasons enough for being sceptical. Setting up research laboratories, spending money and bearing the risk of long-term projects that may or may not lead to winning technologies are certainly not the hallmarks of Indian industry. With very few exceptions what passes in the name of research and development by industry is nothing more than glorified quality control and technical service.

This is evident from a cursory examination of the number of granted patents to Indian corporate houses in the US patent database. As the patent examination procedure in the US, though far from ideal, is a lot more rigorous than in India, it is that much more difficult to get away with false claims of novelty. Buying turnkey technologies from the West by paying hefty licence fees has been the only visible technology strategy for almost all large Indian corporate houses. Is there any reason to think that the setting up of an innovation park would either propel them towards serious R&D or tempt them to change their technology buying habits?

The proposed innovation park is supposed to focus on several areas, many of which are biology related. Indian pharmaceutical companies will presumably be among the potential customers for new technologies. In the pharmaceutical sector, Indian players have so far enjoyed a specific advantage for the so-called generics drugs, i.e. pharmaceuticals for which the patents are no longer valid. Teaching and research in organic chemistry in India have traditionally been better than that in the many other areas of science. In developing cheaper manufacturing processes for a known organic molecule, it is this knowledge and competence that come into play. The recent adverse court rulings in India on litigations brought about by global giants such as Novartis AG, Bayer etc have less to do with country-specific judicial perspective and more with lack of genuine innovation. A patent application with negligible technical novelty that delays the onset of competition by taking advantage of a legal loophole is a well-known tactic of large pharmaceutical companies the world over. It is to the credit of the Indian judiciary that it has interpreted the law keeping the interest of the huge majority of the Indian population in mind.

Discovering a new drug is a different ball game. It is a very expensive and lengthy process that requires integration of several scientific disciplines and associated skills and, like most major discoveries, a considerable amount of luck. All over the world, large pharmaceutical companies are trying to cope with the increased cost of R&D and reduced numbers of new drugs. There may be an opportunity for innovation there but it is difficult to see how issues related to risk, ownership and cost are going to be resolved in an innovation park set up with scientists from 100 nations.

Innovation with an Indian face can only happen when corporate houses walk the talk by aligning their Schumpeterian "raw instinct" with the PM's oft-quoted words about 'technology-led accelerated inclusive growth'.

The writer is a visiting professor at Northwestern University, US.

 

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

EDIT PAGE

'FOR THE FIRST TIME WE HAVE THE POWER TO ERADICATE A CANCER'

 

Every fourth woman with cervical cancer is Indian. Some 130,000 are diagnosed and 74,000 die of it every year. This despite it having a known primary cause, the human papilloma virus, HPV, and being preventable. Qiagen NV, makers of the 'gold standard' Digene HPV test, joined hands with Kolkata's Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute to launch the first, large-scale cervical cancer-screening programme in April 2009. Peer Schatz, Qiagen's 40-something CEO, spoke to Bachi Karkaria at the path-setting Women Deliver conference in ashington, DC:

What makes the Digene HPV the 'gold standard'?

The technology plus the validation. The test is robust yet clinically sensitive in identifying the true disease. The HPV is a complex virus, there are 100 different types, of which over 13 are known to lead to cancer. The others result merely in 'the flu of the cervix'. Our test filters out the not-wanted information and zeroes in on the target. In screening, you want to identify the most number of those most at risk. Validation is equally important. Ours is the only HPV test so fully endorsed by dozens of big clinical studies.

What is the careHPV test?

It is a simple, digital, objective test we developed in collaboration with PATH, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It can be operated by a healthcare worker with minimal lab training; performed where there is no running water or mains electricity; samples can also be self-collected which is critical in the context of cultural barriers; and results are available within two-and-a-half hours, so pre-cancerous lesions can be treated during the same visit. In 2009, a landmark study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that in low-resource settings, a single round of HPV testing significantly reduced the number of advanced cervical cancers and deaths compared with Pap testing (cytology) or the common visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA).

The HPV test is prognostic, showing the likelihood of the disease developing, so it is highly effective in a risk management strategy. The Pap test is diagnostic, and needs very skilled technicians to 'read' the cell structure and decide if it is cancerous. But, just as wi-fi leapfrogged over the limitations of landline, HPV testing can bypass the shortcomings of conventional tests. Where the Pap system is established, it is difficult; but where it's not so entrenched, you can jump in afresh. From the public health perspective, you could get better cervical cancer care in rural India than in Frankfurt, Germany.

So what happens after the screening?

High specificity allows a woman to go home assured that she doesn't have cervical cancer. She can have a single test at a certain age, and repeat it at intervals of 18 months to three years because HPV is a slowly integrating virus. Early detection of it having advanced to the cancerous stage means, after a confirmatory coloscopy, you can treat it with cryotherapy, chemo, or radical hysterectomy depending on its advance. With the combined onslaught of a vaccine and screening, for the first time we have the opportunity to eliminate a cancer.

What are the lessons from your experience?

You need ongoing commitment - from politicians, health and research departments and the local clinical community. Two, it's not true that women 'can't handle' information about this sexually transmitted virus. They do, provided there's the right education and sensitising. Then, it creates a network of awareness.

 

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

EDIT PAGE

ENGLISH HATAO

JUG SURAIYA

 

On October 25, 2010, a temple is to be inaugurated in UP. This in itself would not be news but for the fact that the temple is to be dedicated to an unusual deity: the English language. The date of the inauguration coincides with the 210th birth anniversary of Thomas Babington Macaulay, whose famous - or infamous, depending on your point of view - Minute on Education institutionalised the teaching of English to Indian 'natives' and, in the process, turned them into brown-skinned Englishmen. The idea was to create a body of English-literate scribes and clerks who would handle the bureaucratic affairs of British India at a fraction of the cost of importing Britons to do the same job. Macaulay's innovation could be said to have been a pioneer version of a cost-cutting BPO.

 

Like other, later, BPOs English in India has been the source of cultural, social and economic controversy. 'Angrezi hatao' advocates, like Mulayam Singh Yadav, have indicted English for severing Indians from their cultural and linguistic roots, and turning them into puppets of post-colonial manipulation. A valid argument, but one which is compromised in that the most vehement of the anti-English brigade tend to send their own sons and daughters to study in English-language institutions, both in India and abroad.

 

Proponents of English - among whom Mayawati is prominent, following Ambedkar's precept of social emancipation through western-style education - point out that knowledge of the commercial language of the world has given India a huge headstart in the global market, a headstart that countries like China are desperately trying to narrow by giving top priority to teaching English to their own populations. Seen in this light, Macaulay's motivated gift to us is not a bane but a boon. And, like all boons, deserving of a shrine in its honour.

 

By all means let's have a temple to English, and that too in the so-called Hindi heartland. But why inaugurate it on Macaulay's birthday, thus underlining the fact that English was an alien and exploitative imposition on us by our foreign rulers? Why not instead inaugurate the temple on the birthday of independent India, on August 15?

 

The real problem with English is that we continue to see it as a foreign language, as a gift, or a burden, bestowed on us by the British. We need to free ourselves from this idea. In much the same way that IPL has transformed and indigenised the once-English game of cricket, we have Indianised English through everyday conversation, advertisements, popular entertainment and serious literature. Indeed, we are not the only ex-colony to have done so. American English - with its distinctive spelling and vocabulary - has long enjoyed autonomy from its colonial parent. Similarly, there is Australian English (or Strine, as it calls itself with its characteristic nasal twang), New Zealand English, and Jamaican English, to name only a few variants of the E-word.The fact is that the E-word - English - has long become obsolete. The recognised language of international communication ought not to be parochialised by nominal association with a small, rainy island of diminishing consequence in the realm of global affairs. Like the brand name of cricket has become IPL, English needs a new brand name which reflects both its international reach and the many contributions made to it by India; which today possibly has more 'English'-speaking people than any other country in the world.

 

The British didn't give India independence; India won its independence. Similarly, over the years we have won over English - the state language of Nagaland, incidentally - and made it our own. So by all means let's chuck out English as she is called and introduce by its appropriate name a language which is both international and Indian at the same time. How about Interboli?

 

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HINDUSTAN TIMES

OURTAKE

PUT A STOP TO REMOTE CONTROL

To be in Kashmir Valley at any point of time is to be in a room filled with inflammable helium. Despite all the 'invisible' signs of normalcy that breaks out — which in this state can, at best of times, mean the absence of 'abnormalcy' — all it takes to start a fire here is a spark. Such a spark was struck on Sunday when a youth was killed, allegedly by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) opening fire against a procession in north Kashmir. Less than 24 hours later, two other Kashmiris died under similar circumstances, with some 60 people injured in the clash between protestors and the police. One key facet of Kashmir's bushfires is how quickly politics becomes a fuel in the furnace. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has already asked New Delhi to 'control' the CRPF, a rather strange request considering that the force's operational duties fall under the state's purview. The CRPF, on its part, has denied that its personnel had fired live rounds of ammunition at the mobs who had attacked J&K policemen and paramilitary posts. The fact that Mr Abdullah is seeking out an easy scapegoat in the CRPF fails to hide his administration's increasingly pellmell and unsuccessful approach to tackling what could very well be a resurgence in separatist activities. As a result, the only certainties we are left with are that three people, including a 10-year-old schoolboy, have died after being struck by bullets, and that the situation, instead of being brought under control, has further escalated.

One of the major crises afflicting the 'management' of riots in India is that it isn't 'managed'. The usual reaction has been that the hands of the security forces were forced and a 'last resort' option to contain mobs had to be taken. The photograph of a Kashmiri policeman lying on the ground and being thrashed by protestors may provide grist to this mill, but the fact remains: mob violence is countered by an asymmetrical counter-violence by government forces. This is not confined to Kashmir; we have seen this being played out time and again in other parts of the country as well. But to put it plainly: such an approach doesn't work especially in Kashmir. If it did put a cap on the domino effect of mob violence followed by police-CRPF counter-violence followed by mob counter-counter-violence, it would still have been a firefighting strategy. Instead, what's unleashed is the clichèd 'spiral of violence'.

It's bad enough to keep passing the buck from Srinagar to Delhi. But it's far worse for people entrusted with the job of dousing a fire to actually fuel it. Proper riot-control skills must be imparted to our security forces. And the response can no longer be the standard ones: that we already have such skills in place and that 'our men didn't do it'. The bottomline is containment, even if it means not shooting people dead.

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HINDUSTAN TIMES

THE PUNDIT

READ MY MIND

Face it, India and Pakistan will have to think of new and inventive ways to broker a lasting peace. To our chagrin, Pakistan is, on the face of it, one or two steps ahead of us. In what could be a new chapter of in-your-face diplomacy, the Pakistanis have used the good offices of a renowned face reader, who is also the director-general of South Asia, to get a look at what Indian officials were thinking as talks began again last week. He nipped across to study the fetching visage of Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and was also in Delhi earlier this year with an official delegation.

How can we respond to this? We could send along Sri Sri Ravi Shankar who will be able to look beyond the face and into their respiratory systems. Or we could send across the hugging sanyasin, Ma Amritanandmayi. Nothing like a feel of diplomacy at close quarters. But what is puzzling us is why this face-reading officer has not been used to greater good in reading say, the bushy-bearded visage of Osama bin Laden. Could his burning eyes give away his location or his attack plans? Could the face reader not have told Pakistan's ally Uncle Sam that General Stanley McChrystal was really thinking the lads in Washington were a bunch of wusses? Of is his expertise race-specific, i.e. those of subcontinental origin?

Now that we know that we can't take Pakistan at face value, should we countenance this rather unorthodox element in the talks? Perhaps. We may not always see eye-to-eye but we will don't mind moving into a phase were we don't have to have a face-off. At the moment, all we seem to have are several faces on both sides, most of whom have launched a thousand slips.

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HINDUSTAN TIMES

COLUMN

FOREVER LEFT HANGING

MURAD ALI BAIG,

 

It's no surprise that the likes of Mamata Banerjee, the Marxists, most Indian politicians and the general public will be protesting against any price rise. They are all now predictably reacting to the recent price hikes of petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). All price rises are inflationary, but these are not nearly as damaging as many seem to think them to be. Very few people realise that the Rs 2 — roughly 5.7 per cent — increase in diesel prices will only affect freight transport costs by a minuscule 0.12 per cent — equivalent to 12 paise on every Rs 100  that you spend on the products that you buy. India's four million trucks have to also pay for finance costs, depreciation, staff salaries, tyres, repairs, taxes, bribes, etc.

Elementary arithmetic makes this easy to understand. The total cost of transport averages just 5 per cent of the cost of most goods and the cost of diesel is about 35 per cent of the cost of transport. Thus the cost of fuel is just 1.75 per cent of the cost of goods. A 5.7 per cent increase on this 1.75 per cent will, therefore, have an impact of just 0.1 per cent. Transporters, bus and taxi companies will, however, routinely demand huge fare increases to exploit the situation and these must be resisted by showing the real economics. Six per cent of India's diesel is also consumed by the railways that transport most of the food grains, sugar, petroleum products, steel, coal, cement and bulk goods, so subsidised diesel for the railways will ensure that the impact on inflation can be further moderated.

As for the politically important farmer community, diesel consumption for tractors and irrigation pumps is estimated at about 20 per cent of total use in India but the cost of diesel is less than 2 per cent of the cost of agricultural products. So a 5.7 per cent price increase in fuel should again have a very marginal direct impact on food prices. Very few of the tractors and pump sets are incidentally owned by poor farmers so there are no weaker farm sectors for the government to protect.

The Rs 3.50 increase in the price of petrol is, however, very unjust. Petrol not only fuels some 14 million cars but also some 80 million motorcycles and scooters that transport millions of middle income commuters who do not  deserve to be punished for an obsolete old socialist shibboleth that cars are the luxury toys of the elite. Petrol consumption is also just a quarter of diesel consumption, so hiking the cost of petrol will not have a big impact on containing the fallout of the rising crude prices.

But the impact of diesel costs will more seriously affect passenger fares of taxis and buses, where fuel also accounts for about 35 per cent of transport costs and a 5.7 per cent price hike on this 35 per cent should result in a small 2 per cent increase in passenger transport costs. Road transportation is today estimated to account for over 55 per cent of India's total diesel consumption.

There is, however, an affluent segment that does not deserve any diesel subsidy. It is roughly estimated that 20 per cent of India's diesel is consumed by industry and private gensets. Most factories, offices, malls, cinemas and condominiums need captive power but they can easily be made to pay a fair market price. Dedicated tankers for bulk supply to them can easily be made to charge the full commercial price.

The cost of petrol and diesel is nearly the same at the refineries, as is clear from the fuel costs in almost all countries. But the Indian government rigs these by a series of costs and taxes to make them over 40 per cent more costly. So the users of petrol vehicles that ferry roughly 200 million people every day, on about 80 million petrol-engined two-wheelers and 14 million cars, are being unjustly victimised. The Rs 3.50 increase in petrol prices will hit their pockets directly. If they feel that the government is being unjust, they could become a sizeable political constituency.

India's diesel consumption is four times that of petrol. So, from the revenue standpoint, every Re 1 increase in the cost of diesel is equivalent to a Rs 4 increase in the price of petrol. The main beneficiary of the continuing subsidy on diesel (and kerosene) in relation to petrol are not the weak sections but rich fuel adulterators. The government must transparently reveal the real costs of all fuels and also show the real impact of fuel cost increases to prevent vested interests from exploiting the confusion.

(Murad Ali Baig is a Delhi-based automobiles analyst The views expressed by the author are personal)

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HINDUSTAN TIMES

VIEWS

MAKE WAY FOR THE LADIES

GULU EZEKIEL

Saina Nehwal's rise to the top of the world badminton rankings is yet another landmark in the history of women in Indian sports and comes on the 40th anniversary of their first significant international achievement.

It was at the 1970 Asian Games in Bangkok that Kanwaljit Sandhu won the first international gold medal for an Indian sportswoman in the 400 metres. This was followed by the PT Usha era of the 1980s while this decade saw the emergence of Sania Mirza and world amateur boxing champion MC Mary Kom.

It was an uphill struggle for sportswomen from the time of Independence till the 60s, with just a handful of sports like tennis, badminton, table tennis, athletics and hockey open to them.

The tiny Parsi and Anglo-Indian communities led the way in those early years and it was in the matter of clothing that sportswomen in India saw their progress stifled. A girl seen in public in shorts or skirts was considered scandalous and it was a common sight to see them competing in salwar-kameez and even saris.

Among the early stars were Roshan Mistry (a Parsi), 100m silver medalist in the first Asian Games in Delhi in 1951; and Stephie D'Souza, the first woman to receive the Arjuna Award in 1963. D'Souza was part of the relay team that won gold in the 4x100m at the 1954 Asian Games and also represented India in hockey. Geeta Zutshi also struck gold in the 800m  in the 1978 Asian Games. But by now the Kerala era in women's athletics was beginning to unfold. This was thanks to the sports hostel concept in the state, under which the government funded the education and training of promising young athletes.

When the Asian Games returned to New Delhi in 1982, M.D. Valsamma was one of the stars with her gold in the 400m hurdles. The Indian women's hockey team also made up for the ignominy suffered by the men who were trounced 7-1 in the final by Pakistan. Angel Mary Joseph, Valsamma, Usha and Shiny Abraham were at the forefront of the Kerala surge while Karnataka produced the first glamour girls of Indian sport in Ashwini Nachappa, Reeth Abraham and Vandana Rao. This trio could not match the medal-winning feats of their Kerala counterparts but captured the media glare with their good looks and daring outfits.

Usha won silver in the 100m and 200m in 1982. For the rest of the decade there was no one to challenge her supremacy in Asia. But Usha's greatest,   and saddest, moment came at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics when she became the first Indian woman to reach an Olympics track and field final in the 400m hurdles, but was edged into fourth place.

Since then only Anju Bobby George has matched Usha's feat when she reached the final of the women's long jump in the 2004 Olympics, having won silver in the world championship at Paris the previous year. That remains the lone medal won by an Indian athlete — male or female — at the world event.

By 1986 Usha was unstoppable. The Seoul Asian Games were an all-time low for Indian sport as they brought India just five gold medals. Four were Usha's, and the fifth was won in kabaddi.

The rapid strides taken by women on the sports field saw them shift their focus, from the 1990s onwards, to the traditionally masculine preserves of weightlifting, boxing and wrestling. Karnam Malleswari and Kunjarani Devi bagged international weightlifting medals galore and when Malleswari won the bronze in the 69kg division at the Sydney Olympics, she set yet another landmark — the first Olympic medal for an Indian woman.

Sania Mirza burst onto the scene spectacularly in 2005 by rising in the world tennis rankings while at the same time turning heads and raising eyebrows. She broke down barriers of gender and religion and had the world media turning its attention to India. Her glam appeal meant that endorsement deals for the Hyderabadi heartthrob were now rivaling those of India's top cricketers.

But the shift from the sports pages to front page news, and then to the glamour of Page 3 — combined with injuries and various controversies — saw Mirza lose focus, rankings and popularity. Today she has been reduced to an also-ran on the world tennis circuit. Her comet-like career has sent warning signs to Saina who, no doubt, has learnt some important life lessons from her fellow-Hyderabadi's sudden rise and equally rapid fall.

In sports as varied as archery, shooting, chess — Koneru Humpy is ranked world number two — to boxing, where M.C. Mary Kom is the four-time amateur world champion in the 46 kg category, women have made impressive strides since Kanwaljit Sandhu's breakthrough feat four decades ago.

Today, thanks to the courageous pioneers who defied the oppressive constraints of a patriarchal society, the sky is the limit for women's sports in India. The forthcoming Commonwealth Games in New Delhi and the 2012 Olympics in London should see this movement reach its pinnacle and bring more glory to Indian sports.

(Gulu Ezekiel is a Delhi-based sports writer The views expressed by the author are personal)

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HINDUSTAN TIMES

VIEWS

SHOOTING SELF-GOALS

PREETI SINGH

Mandira Bedi, she of the spaghetti strap fame, has done much harm to women sports fans. Till she unwittingly came along and adulterated that heady mix of testosterone and contained IQs with her low necklines and high estrogen quotient, we were doing just fine without dazzling the world with our passion for various sports or their secretly-acquired trivia. We generally ignored the pre- and post-game shows, ogled the hunks in their sweaty team jerseys and enjoyed the game without offering sage opinions on the state of the pitch or painfully dissecting a missed penalty shot.

Well, there had been women commentators before, and here tennis pro Andrea Leand comes to mind, ably volleying with Vijay Amritraj during many Wimbledons of yore. But the rest of us had been able to stay under the radar.

We could happily slip up with our practised ignorance about a sport's finer points or unassumingly slip in a googly from a decades-long familiarity with it, much to the indulgent admiration of the boys. There was no pressure to perform under the cynical gaze of male sports aficionados. To understand the offside rule was a bonus and, alternatively, to have nary a clue about why 22 men would tire themselves silly over a round object was par for the course.

Then someone decided they needed to even the playing field, unleashing an epidemic of female sports jockeys. Suddenly, apathy was no longer an option. We were damned, no matter how well we held our own against those for whom women on a sports field had to be restricted to either wearing short skirts and hopping about on the sidelines, or as screaming bearers of "Ronaldo, will you marry me?" placards in the stands.

With women beating their pants off them in every sphere imaginable, men had long held on to a semblance of control in that last bastion of male hegemony — the commentary box. Especially for 'hardcore' sports like cricket and soccer. And for years, we had successfully let them labour under a valiant compulsion to throw a spotlight on the game and impress us.

No more. The delicate peace has been disturbed for good. Now, even the most innocuous comment is seen as 'doing a Bedi' in the midst of a serious discussion among those who know best. So, even if we open our mouths to ask for that bowl of chips, we're likely to be beaten back by a reminder of various war wounds acquired while actually playing the game on a real sports field. As a result, every time the Fifa World Cup games go into half time I slink off to a corner before they bring on the 'experts'. It matters little whether 'that girl on ESPN' these days knows a thing or two about football or not.

As for me, I haven't a clue about the strategy, or lack of it, that edged the Azzurri out of the contest, but I sure can tell you they fill out their blue jerseys well. And that's been enough to buy my loyalty for the last 20 years, ever since Roberto Baggio made it cool to cry over a silly penalty shot.

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HINDUSTAN TIMES

VIEWS

CONTROL YOUR THOUGHTS

HEMPRABHA CHAUHAN

 

Modern biology describes man not only as an inter-breeding species, the only such species in nature, but also as an inter-thinking species. 

Man thinks and thinks together and, through such interpenetration of minds, achieves great heights of culture and civilisation.

Our ancient culture is a product of such profound thinking and inter-thinking.

But the rote in our civilisation today is due to the disintegration and misinterpretation of our thought processes.

With change in time, the thinking processes (without a check) have changed the whole scenario of mankind.

Earlier, thought processes were controlled, well judged and a process of discarding un-wanted and irrelevant thoughts were practiced in such a way that mankind's every action was rated according to a prescribed thought and were named within the two-fold realm of dharma or religion.

Dharma or religion was understood as Vedanta.

Vedanta is an integrated philosophy of a two-fold dharma, namely, pravrtti or outward directed action and nivrtti or inward-directed meditation.

Together they form the means for the maintenance of the world on even keel; for they are, verily, the means of the abhyudaya, social welfare, and nihsreyasa, spiritual growth and fulfillment of all beings.

But, with the passage of time we have gradually deprived ourselves of the great discipline of thought and its great energy resources.

We became complacent. With complacency, neglect of dedication and growth of lack of vision took place, which resulted in degradation of humanity and human values.

Today, a man engrossed in sense-objects, knows neither himself nor the Supreme Self.

He vainly leads a vegetative life and ultimately vanishes.

He remains ignorant throughout his life and as ignorant as he was when he first entered this world.

It is only knowledge and control of thought processes that show us the true path and true meaning of life. One therefore must strive hard to shun ignorance and light the lamp of knowledge.

 

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HINDUSTAN TIMES

FOREVER LEFT HANGING

MURAD ALI BAIG

It's no surprise that the likes of Mamata Banerjee, the Marxists, most Indian politicians and the general public will be protesting against any price rise. They are all now predictably reacting to the recent price hikes of petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). All price rises are inflationary, but these are not nearly as damaging as many seem to think them to be. Very few people realise that the Rs 2 — roughly 5.7 per cent — increase in diesel prices will only affect freight transport costs by a minuscule 0.12 per cent — equivalent to 12 paise on every Rs 100  that you spend on the products that you buy. India's four million trucks have to also pay for finance costs, depreciation, staff salaries, tyres, repairs, taxes, bribes, etc.

Elementary arithmetic makes this easy to understand. The total cost of transport averages just 5 per cent of the cost of most goods and the cost of diesel is about 35 per cent of the cost of transport. Thus the cost of fuel is just 1.75 per cent of the cost of goods. A 5.7 per cent increase on this 1.75 per cent will, therefore, have an impact of just 0.1 per cent. Transporters, bus and taxi companies will, however, routinely demand huge fare increases to exploit the situation and these must be resisted by showing the real economics. Six per cent of India's diesel is also consumed by the railways that transport most of the food grains, sugar, petroleum products, steel, coal, cement and bulk goods, so subsidised diesel for the railways will ensure that the impact on inflation can be further moderated.

As for the politically important farmer community, diesel consumption for tractors and irrigation pumps is estimated at about 20 per cent of total use in India but the cost of diesel is less than 2 per cent of the cost of agricultural products. So a 5.7 per cent price increase in fuel should again have a very marginal direct impact on food prices. Very few of the tractors and pump sets are incidentally owned by poor farmers so there are no weaker farm sectors for the government to protect.

The Rs 3.50 increase in the price of petrol is, however, very unjust. Petrol not only fuels some 14 million cars but also some 80 million motorcycles and scooters that transport millions of middle income commuters who do not  deserve to be punished for an obsolete old socialist shibboleth that cars are the luxury toys of the elite. Petrol consumption is also just a quarter of diesel consumption, so hiking the cost of petrol will not have a big impact on containing the fallout of the rising crude prices.

But the impact of diesel costs will more seriously affect passenger fares of taxis and buses, where fuel also accounts for about 35 per cent of transport costs and a 5.7 per cent price hike on this 35 per cent should result in a small 2 per cent increase in passenger transport costs. Road transportation is today estimated to account for over 55 per cent of India's total diesel consumption.

There is, however, an affluent segment that does not deserve any diesel subsidy. It is roughly estimated that 20 per cent of India's diesel is consumed by industry and private gensets. Most factories, offices, malls, cinemas and condominiums need captive power but they can easily be made to pay a fair market price. Dedicated tankers for bulk supply to them can easily be made to charge the full commercial price.

The cost of petrol and diesel is nearly the same at the refineries, as is clear from the fuel costs in almost all countries. But the Indian government rigs these by a series of costs and taxes to make them over 40 per cent more costly. So the users of petrol vehicles that ferry roughly 200 million people every day, on about 80 million petrol-engined two-wheelers and 14 million cars, are being unjustly victimised. The Rs 3.50 increase in petrol prices will hit their pockets directly. If they feel that the government is being unjust, they could become a sizeable political constituency.

India's diesel consumption is four times that of petrol. So, from the revenue standpoint, every Re 1 increase in the cost of diesel is equivalent to a Rs 4 increase in the price of petrol. The main beneficiary of the continuing subsidy on diesel (and kerosene) in relation to petrol are not the weak sections but rich fuel adulterators. The government must transparently reveal the real costs of all fuels and also show the real impact of fuel cost increases to prevent vested interests from exploiting the confusion.

(Murad Ali Baig is a Delhi-based automobiles analyst The views expressed by the author are personal)

 

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

COLLATERAL BENEFIT

 

The resignation of Justice N. Santosh Hegde as Karnataka Lokayukta has spotlighted irregularities in the mining sector. He quit last week, saying the state government was not cooperating in the pursuit of cases of corruption. A case he cited then is the transport of eight lakh tonnes of illegally mined iron ore at Bellikeri port, more than half of which subsequently "disappeared". He referred to attempts by the state government to suspend the Karwar deputy conservator of forests who was supervising investigations in the case. The investigation has now been given to the CID, and a forest officer investigating the case transferred.

 

Ironically, these developments substantiate Hegde's argument that the office of the Lokayukta needs to be empowered and engaged imaginatively if it is to substantively fulfil its charter as an anti-corruption ombudsman. The office was introduced following the first Administrative Reforms Commission. The federal equivalent, the Lokpal, has been much debated but is yet to be established. But the experience of Lokayuktas in states too has been chequered. Orissa, for instance, was the first state to pass an enabling legislation (1970), and then the first to abolish it (1993). Many states have not had a Lokayukta. Even within states with the office, experience is varied; and the Hegde controversy shows how dependent its relevance is on the incumbent. Hegde pushed the envelope by enlarging the scope and powers of the office. It is perhaps not incidental that Karnataka did away with the Vigilance Commission in the '80s, and the Lokayukta consequently was sought to fill that vacuum.

 

The second Administrative Reforms Commission has recommended giving the Lokayukta more powers to investigate corruption. Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily, who headed the second ARC, told The Indian Express that the Central government is considering key amendments to make it mandatory for each state to have a Lokayukta. A group of ministers is studying various suggestions, but among Moily's recommendations is that the Lokayukta should be relieved of investigations against junior function-aries, so it can concentrate on

 

corruption at the higher levels. It is perhaps collateral benefit that Hegde's resignation has underscored the need for his office. Amending the law could help, in time. But the office's relevance must immediately be honoured through follow-up in the cases that brought around this controversy.

 

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INDIAN EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

THE PROFESSORIATE

 

According to the new regulations notified by the University Grants Commission, university faculty will now be tested for their teaching chops as well as the quantity and quality of their published work, which will now determine how they ascend in their careers. Academic performance indicators will score them on teaching duties as well as co-curricular or departmental contribution, and fulfilling these will let them offer themselves for promotion — so they can clamber up the ladder on their own terms instead of being mechanically moved upwards. On the surface, this is an unobjectionable, even important advance, given the need to create a clear, performance-centred ethos in our colleges.

 

First, the larger question — are matters of academic judgment and merit reducible to metrics? Second, why should all university work be judged by the same template? Even an attempt to evolve objective and verifiable criteria drawn up by a screening/ selection committee entails similar difficulties. Subjectivity creeps in at every stage — for instance, the proposed system is heavy on "research and academic contribution" — papers published in refereed journals wins 15 points per publication, and 10 in case of a non-refereed journal. While that will certainly goad faculty to publish prodigiously and boost the journal business, it is debatable how that indicates improvement for all kinds of schools. Also, how is a university equipped to assess previous institutional performance when a faculty member moves schools?

 

This system also mandates specifics — a minimum 40 hours of teaching load a week for 30 working weeks, six hours for research, and the capacity to hire 10 per cent teaching staff on contract. While it is patently important to ensure minimum standards, there needs to be adequate scope for flexibility. A single paradigm cannot apply to all kinds of knowledge production, and while the regulation acknowledges the differing requirements of humanities and science, for instance, the current notification should be a starting point towards a more supple approach. Some institutions might have to rely more on adjunct faculty than on a committed core of research-driven professors. Instead of letting institutions put stress on different areas and place their own individual demands on faculty depending on that self-conception, this regulation appears to fit them all into one supposedly high-yield formula.

 

But comforting as it may be to go quant, it is no substitute for a real test of achievement. Simply mechanising the input process does not produce better output.

 

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

COLUMN

IT TAKES A COUNTRY

SAUBHIK CHAKRABARTI

 

Two and a half months away from the second anniversary of Lehman Brothers meltdown, four G-20 summits since those frightening days, but we still don't have a convincing plan and a firm deadline on global financial action. What's G-20 doing? It's doing very well.

 

The Toronto G-20 meeting produced yawn-inducing quasi-commitment that new banking rules will be (make that, may be) produced by 2012. And when will they be implemented? Frankly, no one knows. But no one should care to know. The idea that a world body can produce a detailed roadmap for world finance comes up against the reality that world finance is a collection of national finance models that don't add up.

 

India is the obvious example for us. Heavily regulated banks, a large number of them government owned, a terribly underbanked population — this is a world away from banking reforms of the kind that G-20 talks about. But there are Western examples. The host country for this G-20 summit, Canada, has a banking sector dominated by a few large institutions that are heavily regulated and where banks were largely untouched by the financial crisis. Canadian bank consumers pay a higher price for services but, as Canadian authorities like to point out, they and the banks are safer. Canada will not have much use for a detailed new global bank rule book either. That's why it staunchly opposed the idea of a global bank tax. India should have no time for this either.

 

The argument against a G-20 finance formula however doesn't depend only on examples like India and Canada. America and major European countries were the epicentres of the crisis, where banks took similar kinds of risks under broadly similar kind of regulatory assumptions — even here the simplest of new bank rules won't have much meaning in terms of implementation.

 

Everyone agrees that big American and European global banks that were savaged by the crisis and only survived because of public bailouts need big infusions of private capital. The International Institute of Finance estimates that at the very minimum crisis-hit banks will need around $700 billion (yes, billion) of new equity financing. How to get this money to the banks? How soon? These involve complex questions of national political economy.

 

Crisis-hit banks are right now still wary of lending to businesses, they would rather make quick money by financial trading, which is what they are doing. Also, they are unwelcome in capital markets. Also, they haven't crimped on paying out bonuses and dividends. The ideal alternative scenario is that they are given new standards on how much capital they need to keep with themselves, which forces them to, first, pay out less by way of dividends and bonuses, which also makes them go to capital markets for fresh equity, and thus energised they start lending to businesses and become safer.

 

There's no way, repeat, no way, this can happen as a supra-national effort. What should be the timeframe allowed for banks before they are asked to raise new capital? That's a national political question. The quicker the deadline, the more the chances of a short-term but sharp fall in business lending as banks rush to meet new capital rules. That impacts economic growth. Ergo, that's national politics. European business in general relies more on bank lending than American business. That's one big difference. One deadline for all countries with crisis-hit banks won't work.

 

How fast should banks wind down on paying out bonuses and dividends and start keeping that money for shoring up capital? That's an especially sharp national political question because political classes across countries and within countries have many, many views on that. But without some across-countries consensus on this a G-20 imposed deadline won't have much meaning.

 

Should banks beyond redemption — those so hit by the crisis that even post-bailout they may not be ready for tougher rules — be identified and, if they are, what should be done with them? Again, a sharp national political question. And again, it's being so shows up the futility of trying to fashion a widely applicable roadmap.

 

So if G-20 restricts itself to giving heft to some good general ideas on safety, like strengthening bank capital, and ends up far short of producing a how-to guide, it would do very well. The same holds for the even bigger thing many want G-20 to produce: finance reform. Should banks be stopped from becoming too big so that they can be allowed to fail? Just this one question has complex national political implications, and it is unresolvable at the G-20 level. Or take the apparently simple issue of mortgages, which were at the core of the crisis.

 

In Canada, any home purchase that has 75 per cent or more bank financing is required to be accompanied by a purchase of insurance — a conservative, a priori safety measure. Housing finance in America has been and will be revisited. And after the Goldman Sachs fraud allegations, the political momentum for big reform increased. But can American finance approach Canadian conservatism? That's only for America to find out, not for G-20 to try and figure out.

 

Is G-20 another talking shop, then? No. It can usefully occupy itself as a prestigious forum that makes countries more serious about issues from currency reform to energy policy. As Arvind Subramanian pointed out recently, China's moves on the yuan and India's commitment on oil price deregulation were both aimed at going to the Toronto G-20 meeting with something to show. Remember, also, that post-crisis, G-20 was instrumental in a coordinated effort to ease trade finance; capital for global goods trade had dried up in the wake of the Big Fear. G-20 can and should play a key role in rewriting the agendas of the World Bank and IMF.

 

But the one thing G-20 must not try is to rework finance at a supra-national level. True, this is what G-20 thought it would do as it met after the crisis. True, that was the big idea that gave it prestige. But just because an idea is big doesn't mean it can't be loopy.

 

Remember that other big idea on global finance? Twenty or so big US, European banks were showing the way to the world's financial nirvana. Twenty big governments taking us to new financial nirvana is just as loopy an idea.

 

saubhik.chakrabarti@expressindia.com

 

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

COLUMN

CROSSING THE GOAL LINE

SUDEEP PAUL

 

Can we conceive of a historical sequence without causality or consequentiality? If an incident is dropped or altered at any point of the sequence, does the order of incidents or events that follows change? And do the events also change qualitatively, to the point of not occurring at all? Well, ceteris paribus, they do. Frank Lampard and England must be the object of our sympathy (without any of us being particularly fond of the English soccer team or grieving their exit from a World Cup) in being denied Lampard's 20-yard goal against Germany on Sunday. As should Mexico, after the unpardonable decision to let the goal by a Carlos Tevez offside by yards to stand.

 

Lampard and company went too far in claiming that being denied that goal cost them the match — they were clearly outplayed by an immensely superior German side that pumped in two more goals post-Lampard, sporting a flair and flamboyance so uncharacteristic of German football. However, the English and Mexicans were not guilty of a post hoc error in categorically arguing that after the error, things changed, because of that error. That is true, although no one would hazard a guess about alternative outcomes. These were horrendous decisions, and football had to change after this WC, on a scale larger than the back-pass and three points for a win post-Italia '90.

 

So on Tuesday, Fifa and its President Sepp Blatter had to apologise to England and Mexico and announce a re-look at goal-line technology. Nevertheless, Fifa's instant reaction of banning replays of controversial match action on the giant stadium screens was more in character — shooting the messenger, burying its head in the sand of its blindness and arrogance. If anything was more outrageous, it was the press conference after Sunday's errors to which Fifa made it a point to not send a single official overseeing referees. Rather than blame the replays, Fifa should have precluded the real cause for trouble. But to do that it would first need to shed its dinosaur tag.

 

For one, arguments about football's native incompatibility with technology have been made ad nauseum. The game has been cleaned up to the point of a referee asking a goalkeeper to remove negligible confetti from the pitch — and stopping the game for doing so — to say nothing of the protection given to strikers and attacking midfielders (which makes Pele and Maradona rue they were born 40 or 20 years too soon), or the impossibility any longer of an Argentina needing to beat Peru by 4 goals to keep out a Brazil almost already in the final and then cakewalking through that encounter 6-0 (still the worst allegation of match-fixing and bribery in the WC, post-1934 ), or a referee blowing his whistle after the ball is shot and before it entered the net (Brazil vs Sweden, 1978).

 

Yet, errors as witnessed in the 1966 England-West Germany final recur, even if as history's revenge, or Luis Fabiano's double handball goes unpunished — because Fifa keeps insisting that errors are as much a part of the game as goals and fouls. They are, and will be; but not at, literally, gamechanging junctures. Admittedly, referees long ceased enjoying a wide latitude to sway outcomes; and, undeniably, their or their assistants' human eyes and ears will err. But to not come to their aid when help is close at hand, and in the process wound nations and ruin a referee's reputation, is stubbornly callous.

 

Prominently on Fifa's opposing side of the technology divide are the English Premier League and Fifpro, the international players' union and... the entire football-loving world. When Fifa dropped the debate last March, Blatter had argued that video technology was "too expensive" for global application, that it would destroy the game's "flow" and that its evidence was not conclusive. Football is indeed a free-flowing sport, very different from cricket or tennis, which have successfully applied technology but whose success is attributed to their stop-and-start character, deprived of the rhythm intrinsic to football. But then, hockey — football's close rhythmic and rules cousin — uses technology for tight calls.

 

Referees and assistants can make or break a team in a split-second decision. Advocates of goal-line technology argue that the answer in close calls can be provided in half a second. Regardless of the debate between Hawk Eye (used in tennis for line calls, and cricket for lbw decisions by commentators but not umpires) or a micro-chip in the ball, the (Johan) Cruyff line is likely to see ready endorsements after Fifa's latest humiliation — it's all right, in fact necessary, to use cameras for goal-line; however, it's best not to tie that to offside decisions which could further complicate what's already so.

 

Football can never be fully cleaned up. But if it can be made 95 per cent error-free, that's a lot. History's weight is now decisively against Fifa's refusal to evolve. The bottomline will have to be minimum, but indispensable, technology; referring only extraordinary calls; and strictly limiting appeals. If an overwhelming majority desire this change, they can't all be wrong. A little investment in the right place, instead of additional assistants behind goals, and rhythmic interruptions can still stay well below the unwatchable and unplayable mark.

 

sudeep.paul@expressindia.com

 

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

OPED

TRANSFORMING SANITATION SCENARIOS IN CITIES

ISHER JUDGE AHLUWALIA

 

Until 10 years ago, Alandur, a residential suburb of Chennai in the Kanchipuram district, famous for its ancient temples, had no underground sewerage. As in 80 per cent of the metropolitan area outside the city of Chennai, most households depended on septic tanks with soak pits.

 

The urban landscape of Alandur has been transformed with an infrastructure project which has provided comprehensive underground sewerage network and a sewage treatment plant. Provision has also been made for community toilets on municipal land. This has been accomplished over a period of five years from 2000 to 2005 by empowering the residents of Alandur to take responsibility for finding a solution within the framework of a public-private partnership and become stakeholders in the success of the partnership.

 

The dynamic leadership of a directly elected mayor of Alandur in the late 1990s and the supportive role played by the municipal commissioner enthused the people of the town so much that they were willing to put their own deposits with the municipality to ensure that the project is adequately funded and effectively implemented. The government of Tamil Nadu provided an enabling environment in which the promises could be kept. For example, the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act 1998 facilitated the process of financing and cost recovery.

 

The result of these efforts was visible to us as we drove through the streets of Alandur. Covering an area of a little over 4800 acres, the town today has a population of 1.5 lakh which has basic sanitation facilities expected of a middle class town. With its proximity to the airport, and progress on the metro rail linking the town to Chennai, Alandur is clearly on the move. Not surprisingly, land value has escalated beyond imagination. Price of one ground (2400 sq. ft.) of land which was Rs 3-4 lakh in 1996, increased to Rs 50-60 lakh in 2003, and is now close to Rs 1 crore.

 

Providing water and sanitation to the metropolitan region of Chennai had all along been the responsibility of the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board. The municipality of Alandur decided to take charge in the late 1990s. It all began with a perceived urgent need for sanitation by the then mayor of Alandur, R.S. Bharathi. A major campaign was launched to create awareness on the importance of sanitation and mobilise public support for the project. From distribution of leaflets in English and Tamil and using newspapers and local cable networks on TV to meetings with NGOs and election-style campaigning by councilors and officials, no stone was left unturned to get the message across.

 

The transparency of the process was crucial in inspiring confidence among the residents. Resident Welfare Associations organised the collection drive for deposits (varying from Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 depending on ability to pay) from the public. The separate bank account was monitored by a special committee with the municipal commissioner as chairman and representatives from the three registered local resident welfare associations as members, and its status made public every month. People without bank accounts could deposit cash with the treasury. A special installment scheme was arranged for those who could not pay at one go. A large number of slum dwellers opted to pay for connection to the sewerage network.

 

The original target of raising Rs 3.4 crore was far exceeded to yield a collection of Rs 12.4 crore. Another Rs 2.5 crore was earned through interest on depositing the funds with the Tamil Nadu Power Finance Corporation thanks to an exemption by a flexible state government from placing the funds with a public sector bank where the interest rate was much lower (differential of 5 per cent).

 

A willingness to pay survey of the residents of Alandur was conducted in 1997 by TNUIFSL, a private finance company, which was designated the nodal agency and was responsible for structuring the project, arranging feasibility studies, formulating the contract and arranging the finances. The survey covered a representative sample of households in Alandur whose average monthly income ranged between Rs 1000 and Rs 5000.

 

The tariff regime was designed taking account of the survey findings. It had an element of cross-subsidy built into it. Most residents fall within the category of property area between 500 and 1500 sq. ft. and pay Rs 80 per month. No user charges were collected in the first year. In 2009-10, the collection amounted to Rs. 3.4 crore and the municipality generated a surplus.

 

The project was expected to cost Rs. 34 crore and the financing was arranged such that half the amount would come from the Government of India's Megacity program (a precursor to the JNNRUM) as a loan at an interest rate of 5 per cent and Rs 1 crore as grant. A significant part of the rest, i.e. Rs. 13.6 crore was to come from the World Bank intermediated through TNUIFSL at an interest rate of 16 percent, and a small part (Rs. 3.4 crore) was to be funded by residents' deposits. In the event, the residents contributed Rs. 11.85 crore and only Rs. 3 crore was drawn from the World Bank/TNUIFSL.

 

Consulting Engineering Services (India) were appointed the project management consultants. The project involved the construction of a sewer line covering the entire road length of 137 km, a pump house, 5650 manholes and 23,700 house service connections. The network construction contract was awarded to IVRCL, a private infrastructure company now listed on the NSE and BSE. The company made a 15 per cent return on the construction of the sewerage network.

 

A global tender for a sewage treatment plant of 12 mld capacity on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis with a 14 year concession period was also won by IVRCL. The cost of the sewerage treatment plant (Rs. 7 crore) was borne by the private party. The municipality provided 0.5 hectares of land for the plant and the pumping station. The payment stipulated that the higher the quantity of sewage received at the treatment plant the lower the unit rate. The private company shall also construct another 12 mld sewage treatment plant to meet the town's growing requirements till 2030 by when the population is expected to double. As risk mitigation, a state government guarantee was provided through TNUIFSL to the contractor. The private company is free to add to its revenue by sale of treated water to industry, composting etc.

 

Alandur is an excellent example of the politics of empowerment. It is a welcome and refreshing change from the all pervasive politics of entitlement. Bharathi, the dynamic mayor who was the father of the project proclaimed proudly to us, 'where people are involved, politicians cannot harm the project'. The Alandur project was initiated in the DMK political regime and was commissioned by the chief minister, Tamil Nadu in the AIADMK regime. The project won a National Urban Water Award in 2008.

 

Today, 54 of the 148 municipalities in Tamil Nadu are trying to emulate this model.

 

Alandur has shown how we can and why we must respond to the atrocious state of sanitation across the cities of India.

 

Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia is the Chairperson of ICRIER and Chair of the High Powered Expert Committee on

Urban Infrastructure. Ranesh Nair is a Consultant to the Committee. Views are personal.

 

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

OPED

SMEARING COLOURS IN SOUTH AFRICA

 

South Africa is a country where race is not the subtext of existence. It's the text. I was at dinner the other night with my cousins, white South Africans divided as to whether they still have prospects here. The elder men said things like, "I now feel like a visitor," or "The future is for the blacks." They see race relations worsening, corruption spreading and inefficiency rampant.

 

Not the youngest among them, a law student in his mid-20s, proud African, brimming with indignation at his elders' perceived conceits: "Is it race or is it class?" he asked. "What is freedom to them?" he demanded, voice rising. "They want houses, schools, sewage. They want justice."

 

Conversation turned to this tidbit: Under apartheid, blacks could not be bricklayers because the job was classified as whites-only skilled labour. The student's mother expressed anger, prompting a furious rebuke from him: "Why are you angry now when you weren't 30 years ago? Your anger's useless now. Drop it. When it would have been useful you didn't have it. Now it's payback time for them."

 

"They" are the eternal other, of course, the blacks in this white conversation, the whites in mirror-image black conversations.

 

There are plenty of iterations of "they" in a land where the 1950 Population Registration Act (evil legislation is always innocuously named) ran a fine comb through types of inferior being, among them Indians and mixed-race "coloureds." Almost a generation from apartheid's end, South Africa is struggling to compose these differences into something foreign to nature: a sustainable rainbow.

 

The world has much at stake in this quest. South Africa — 79 per cent black, 9.5 per cent white and 11.5 per

cent Asian or mixed race — is the ground zero chosen by history and geography for the dilemma of otherness, the violent puzzle of race with its reflexive suspicions and repetitive eruptions.

 

At moments, as during this first African World Cup, the rainbow shimmers. This was supposed to be the competition of smash-and-grab and of machete attacks. Many stayed away.

 

The fear merchants, always hard at work, have been proved wrong. German grandmas do not lie savaged on the road to Rustenburg. Unity has unfurled, calm broken out. Smiles crease black and white faces alike. To the point that the most asked question here is: Will this moving honeymoon last beyond the World Cup?

 

It's a good question. South Africa, in the run-up, smouldered, crime eating at its heart like a surrogate for the post-apartheid bloodletting that never was.

 

There was the murder in April of the white supremacist Eugène Terre'Blanche, hacked to death after the leader of the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League, Julius Malema, revived the "kill the Boer" line of black struggle. There were Malema's endorsements of Zimbabwe's disaster merchant, Robert Mugabe. There was the unhappy sight of the ANC, torn between its liberation mythology and the mundanity of governance, gripped by paralysis as unemployment climbed over 25 per cent and its "tenderpreneurs" prospered.

 

A tenderpreneur is an insider pocketing millions from rigged government tenders for everything from air-conditioners to locomotives. The word denotes failure, that of black economic empowerment, which has come to mean much for the few and little for the many. If the powerful steal with front companies, why should the weak not steal with guns?

 

Yes, as my young cousin said, blacks want justice, from other blacks as well. If President Jacob Zuma does not use the lessons of this World Cup — that colour lines can blur, that things can get done — to build momentum for reform, he will have failed. He must put the tenderpreneurs out of business. He must reverse the crumbling of education. Jobs do not lie in digging more stuff out the ground. The knowledge economy is where opportunity resides.

 

Is it class or race? South Africa is not going to rainbow race away, but it can bring blacks out of their miserable shacks and educate them — if its leaders are prepared to lead by example. I say it's more class than race.

 

I was driving the other day with my colleague, Jere Longman, who mentioned that growing up in a small town in Lousiana in the early 1960s, he would see a "whites only" sign outside the launderette and imagine that meant white clothes alone. Almost a century separated the end of slavery from the end of Jim Crow segregation in the United States. Sixteen years have passed since the first free elections here.

 

There are no quick fixes. But I take heart from the African patriotism of my young cousin. I take heart from another 20-something white South African, a young woman who told me: "I am so happy for Ghana and so proud to be an African."

 

That was after Ghana, lone African World Cup survivor, booted the United States out, a victory dedicated by its players to Africa, Nelson Mandela's "proud continent." We all know what Ghana long shipped to America: slaves.

 

It's a pity President Obama couldn't find time to be here in the land where race is text and the way it gets written will affect everyone's future.

 

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

OPED

RESTRAINT IN KASHMIR

 

In the light of the turmoil in Kashmir, the CPM says that the alienation of the people is expressing itself through mass protests and strikes when there are atrocities committed by the security forces. Given hardline separatist tactics of inciting the youth to confront the police, it calls for maximum restraint and says stone-throwing youth must be tackled without resorting to firing.

 

The lead editorial in CPM weekly mouthpiece People's Democracy says "what stands out in the J&K situation currently is the complete lack of any political initiative by the Central government" and points out that it was time the UPA gets down to the "serious business of providing the political framework for the process of dialogue and the crystallisation of a political settlement within the state of J&K." "The prime minister's visit to Srinagar in the first week of June was remarkable for the lack of any worthwhile political initiative to tackle the basic problems. The round-table talks have gone nowhere. The UPA government seems oblivious of the need to revive the political process whereby issues such as provision of maximum autonomy for the state and regional autonomy for the three regions can be discussed and concretised alongwith the dialogue with Pakistan which is just beginning to resume".

 

Righting the Left

 

As the Left Front government completed 33 years in office, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee made yet another desperate bid to win back the confidence of the people. He gave an interview to party daily Ganashakti confessing that his government had made mistakes and is trying to make amends.

 

After the setback in Lok Sabha election, he says the Left Front has identified areas in the government's planning and action where mistakes have been made. Bhattacharjee identifies land acquisition as one such area. "We have now become more careful. The policies for acquisition of land for industries and rehabilitation must be made more realistic, so that the peasantry and the people in general accept that and participate voluntarily," he says.

 

"We will protect the fertile lands while non fertile lands would be used for industrialisation. In this case too, we have to be much more sincere on compensation and rehabilitation. If the poor people feel ignored in any area of government and panchayat activities, we have to correct those mistakes. We have to be more sincere about the development of minorities," he says. Besides, he says "there have been instances of undesirable activities which have dented the party's image and "we have decided to rectify quickly."

 

Covering tracks

 

The CPI feels the Group of Ministers on the Bhopal tragedy has made an attempt to hoodwink the people. It says the motive behind the swiftness with which the GoM came out with its recommendations was to "cover up certain serious crimes committed by the Congress regime of the early 1980s and the follies of the rulers in the succeeding years."

 

The editorial in CPI mouthpiece New Age says the "GoM did not feel it necessary (either) to remove the apprehensions in the minds of the people that the judicial process, even at the highest level was manipulated to help the American multinational." "By all accounts, it is obvious that Rajiv Gandhi government had deliberated allowed the American culprit to run away from the country. It could not be the decision of either a state chief minister (Arjun Singh) or the then Union home minister (P.V. Narasimha Rao) alone. The then prime minister was very much responsible for the episode," it says criticising the GoM's silence on this aspect. The compensation package announced has also come under criticism since it has not covered all the victims till date, it says noting that the culprits — Union Carbide and its present owner Dow Chemicals — have not been touched at all.

 

Compiled by Manoj C.G

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

OPED

 

THE GREAT GAME FOLIO

C. RAJA MOHAN

 

Doing the deal US President Barack Obama is neither endorsing nor rejecting the Pakistan Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani's shuttle diplomacy to Kabul. Asked on the margins of the G-20 summit in Toronto over the weekend about Kayani's efforts to impose Pashtun militant groups on Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Obama was careful in the construction of his response.

 

"I think it's too early to tell. I think we have to view these efforts with scepticism but also with openness". The president added that "conversations between the Afghan government and the Pakistani government, building trust between those two governments, are a useful step."

 

The director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Leon Panetta, was a little more sceptical on whether it was possible to cut a deal with any of the militant groups — the Afghan Taliban or the Haqqani network. "We have seen no evidence that they are truly interested in reconciliation... would surrender their arms... denounce al Qaeda... would really try to become part of that society," Panetta said.

 

Unless the militants are "convinced that the United States is going to win and that they're going to be defeated, I think it's very difficult to proceed with a reconciliation that's going to be meaningful," Panetta insisted. The remarks of the US president and his intelligence chief bring us to the central questions of the current American strategy towards Afghanistan. One is that Obama wants to find a "political" solution to what has become the longest military intervention in American history.

 

Two, it is not a question whether Washington wants to negotiate with the Taliban and other militant groups; the issues are about when and how. What is at stake, then, is not high principle, but the timing and terms.

 

The realists in the administration argue that without gaining the military upper hand over the Taliban, Washington can't persuade them to negotiate reasonably. No one is betting right now that the Americans are in sight of a victory in Afghanistan.

 

The other set of issues are about the terms of reconciliation. As Panetta summarised them, the US wants the Taliban to lay down arms, dissociate from al Qaeda, and accept the current Afghan constitution.

 

The Taliban has its own pre-condition. The international forces must withdraw before any serious talks. For the moment, clearly there is no room for a serious negotiation. What then is Kayani upto? To tease Kabul and/or Washington to scale down their demands for reconciliation.

 

July 2011

 

The negotiation of a political deal will be significantly influenced by how other important political actors in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the region and the United States choose to respond. Of all these actors, the US Congress is one of the most important, for it holds the purse-strings for the conduct of the American war in Afghanistan.

 

At the confirmation hearings of Gen David Petraeus as the new military commander of US and international forces in Afghanistan, the full range of Congressional views — from demands for an early withdrawal of American troops to the removal of an artificial deadline for the beginning of US disengagement — will be heard this week.

 

Obama's opponents from the left and the right would want to shred the deliberate ambiguity that the president has constructed around the date of July 2011 that he set for the "beginning" of a political transition in Afghanistan.

 

The last time he was in front of Congressional panels a few days ago, Gen Petraeus had to carefully skirt probing questions on where exactly he stood on the question of July 2011. The general, whose political skills are widely acknowledged, chose to underline the importance of the ground conditions that obtain in the summer of next year. He would want to make sure there is no light between himself and the commander-in-chief on July 2011.

 

Kayani's ambition

 

Since the partition of the subcontinent, the Pakistan army has been consistent in its quest to establish a government in Kabul that is deferential to Rawalpindi. Success has been elusive, except for a brief period during 1997-2001.

 

Sceptics would argue that for all his recent bold moves towards Kabul, Kayani can't control Afghanistan. They would say the Pakistan army and ISI are good at "deconstruction" but not the "construction" of any thing, let alone a stable regime in Kabul.

 

Cynics would simply add that a Pakistani "triumph" in Kabul will be short-lived and will mark the beginning of yet another cycle of conflict where all internal and external actors regroup. Delhi's worriers would want to know the consequences of a Pakistani hegemony in Afghanistan, even if it were short lived. It is this debate Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will have to address in defining the Indian response to Kayani's shuttle diplomacy.

 

raja.mohan@expressindia.com

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THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

POVERTY ON TWO WHEELS

 

As reported yesterday, an exclusive study done for FE by NCAER-CMCR provides really interesting shades to the 400-million strong mass that has been classified as BPL—a Planning Commission estimate of 37.2% of India's total population. This estimate was made for the purposes of the proposed Food Security Act and in accordance with the methodology recommended by the Suresh Tendulkar committee. The study finds that around a fourth of urban BPL households own a two-wheeler, a third own a colour TV and almost two-thirds a pressure cooker. Findings from rural India also throw stereotypes into the waste basket, with every one in ten BPL persons having a two-wheeler, every fifth BPL village kitchen having a pressure cooker and around 6% owning a colour TV. There is also interesting and upbeat news on the education and employment front. Almost one in five urban BPL households has at least one well-educated—graduate or above!—member and over 13% of them are led by a salaried chief wage earner (CWE). Only under a tenth of rural BPL households have an illiterate CWE. While these findings throw established formulas into a spin, others are along expected lines. For instance, BIMARU states account for around 60% of India's BPL population. The bottom-line takeaway from the huge diversity in disparity thrown up by the NCAER-CMCR study is that the government cannot deliver on its development mandate without more nuancing. The upcoming BPL Census 2011 will have to take careful note of such nuances. As for the endgame, the study provides increased impetus for more carefully targeted BPL support, whether it is via food or kerosene or the like.

 

As the Food Security Bill gathers momentum while winding its way through the NAC and the government, these columns have consistently and repeatedly made the case for improving the mechanisms intended for extending entitlements to vulnerable groups. There is no question that an emerging global power has to show substantive commitment for compensating its poor. It is equally imperative that such a commitment should not endanger India's fiscal stability. This means efficiencies are essential. The NCAER-CMCR study gives us food for thought; it demands that we reconsider all the BPL numbers floating around. Without properly nuanced statistics, there cannot be proper targeting. And in the absence of the latter, we will be looking at more wastage, more fake claims and more inappropriate dole-outs. Nobody could be unhappy that a fourth of urban BPL households possess a two-wheeler, but everybody has the right to wonder how much subsidised grains or kerosene these households are getting. India can redefine its BPL standards to include two-wheelers, but then let's at least be upfront about doing this.

 

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THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

CHANGING ULIPS

 

Insurance regulator Irda's sweeping changes in the structure of Ulips will pave the way for long-term investments in the product. The extension of lock-in period from three to five years, the minimum guarantee of 4.5% returns on pension plans and a 10-times increase in the minimum risk cover will bode well for those retail investors who are looking at an investment avenue with an insurance component linked to it. Buyers will pay lower charges for the same premium they paid earlier and any top up on insurance premiums will be treated as a single premium, which means that every top-up that one makes will have an additional insurance cover backing it as well. For insurance companies, the new regulations will enable them to get more long-term funds, which will be helpful for the stock markets and funding infrastructure projects. Undoubtedly Ulips, which accounted over 40% of the total life insurance policies sold, were marketed very aggressively by distributors because of the high commission they got. More than Rs 2 lakh crore is mobilised annually as premium from Ulips and the tax exemption has been a major driver behind the success of the product. Now, distributors may not find it lucrative enough to sell the product and, going forward, insurance companies will have to spend more money on consumer awareness and make their products pull-driven rather than push-driven, which has been the case so far. Distributors will see some reduction in volume as is the case with any long-term financial products and they will have to come out transparent on what they promise to investors. As we have argued in the past, the recent spat between the Sebi and Irda has brought the entire issue of mis-selling to the forefront and made the latter come out with a notification addressed to companies to spell out to customers the commissions they pay to agents for selling Ulips and the benefits to a policy holder upon maturity.

 

After a spate of changes in regulations, Irda will now have to ensure that they are implemented in the right earnest and protection of consumers' interest must be the overarching goal. Insurance companies must draw up plans to make Ulips a disciplined investment product and commit investors to pay the premium regularly. As the viability of an insurance company depends heavily on the persistence of products, they will have to ensure that the products do not get surrendered or lapse. Insurance companies and Irda will now have to work in tandem to regain investors' confidence and make Ulips a long-term investment product.

 

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THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

COLUMN

SBI SETS THE NEW BENCHMARK

SHOBHANA SUBRAMANIAN

 

The shift from a benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) to a base rate regime has been kicked off with State Bank of India (SBI) saying its base rate will be 7.5%. Clearly, India's largest lender doesn't want to outprice itself, although it's possible that a couple of the newer private sector banks may price themselves a tad more competitively. They can afford to do that because they're more efficient and are allowed to be so. But SBI doesn't need to worry about them; no big borrower would want to end up in its bad books. And there are ways of compensating big corporates who may feel they're being charged too much. The other public sector banks will almost certainly follow the leader; it's unlikely any one of them will have a rate that's meaningfully lower than that of SBI's, if at all they do decide to undercut the market leader. SBI hasn't really spelt out how it arrived at 7.5% but the number doesn't really seem out of sync with the cost of money today. AAA companies today are able to borrow at around 6.5% or thereabouts. In a rising interest rate scenario, this could go up to about 7% or slightly higher. On the other hand, a one-year term deposit today costs banks barely 6%, although they may be forced to increase this by at least 50 basis points or more if the demand for credit picks up. Already, the pace at which deposits have been growing has slowed over the past few months.

 

To be sure, the base rate may be just an indicative reference rate because obviously banks will add a spread, depending on the quality of the customer, to arrive at the final lending rate. However, it is an important rate because no bank can lend below the base rate, except to some small-ticket borrowers, bank employees and those who borrow against deposits. It's a floor that cannot be breached and therefore, has some sanctity.

 

For sure, more creditworthy companies aren't about to see their interest costs shooting up; they will shop for credit and it's possible that a couple of private sector banks will be more than willing to lend to them at less than 7.5%. Else, they will pick up some part of their requirement through short-term instruments like commercial paper, as the base rate does not apply to that mode of lending. Indeed, short-term bonds could proliferate. Why shouldn't banks lend to large companies at fine rates? After all, they aren't just focusing on plain vanilla credit when they deal with big companies; they're also pencilling in fees from other services they could offer. As for small companies, if it's true that they were being overcharged without being given an explanation, they will at least know on what basis they are being charged a certain rate. At the end of the day, it would be unjustified for SMEs to expect that they can borrow at anything less than what their risk profile commands.

 

Will the new system ensure that interest rates are transmitted more efficiently across the system, or in other words, will banks quickly heed the signals sent out by the central bank? In the past, the central bank hasn't always been able to get banks to change rates in line with the levels signalled by them. It's hard to tell how things will work this time around but the new system may be more effective since there is a floor in place. In a competitive environment, however, it's only natural that banks would tweak their rates, either for loans or deposits, depending on their individual business economics and strategies. Ultimately, they will look out for their bottom lines of course, making sure that they don't damage their balance sheets.

 

It's true that the BPLR method didn't work and that banks were lending below it. But in all fairness, even after the downturn in the Indian economy, which started in late 2008, the level of non-performing assets in the system didn't really endanger any bank, though it is a fact that a large amount of loans have been restructured. If at all, it was the huge quantum of retail lending, without proper assessment of the credit risks involved, that resulted in huge non-performing assets for a couple of banks. The rate at which the loans were given had less to do with the defaults. Banks may believe that the base rate leaves them with less flexibility, although they have a window of six months to adjust, but since the central bank itself has suggested that the base rate be reviewed at least once in a quarter, it would imply that it wants banks to make changes if necessary. In a competitive market, banks will be compelled to keep costs in check and get cracking on their processes so that customers get their money fast. Otherwise they won't be left with too many good ones.

 

—shobhana.subramanian@expressindia.com

 

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THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

COLUMN

HOW ASIA CAN GET AHEAD

KALPANA KOCHHAR

 

Much has been written about the continuing shift in the balance of global economic power towards Asia. The focus has been on the spectacular rise of China and India, and how and when they will overtake the US as the largest global economic powers. But the implications of the ascent of Asia for global economic policy making have been relatively unexplored. Asia's growth story is impressive and is expected to remain so. Asia now accounts for about 27% of world GDP at market exchange rates. In terms of contributions to global growth, the record is even more impressive—Asia contributes close to 50% towards global growth compared to 25% just a decade ago. China has surpassed the level of output achieved by Japan, Korea and the Asean countries when they were at a similar stage in their growth takeoffs. China's population and urbanisation is likely to sustain rapid growth. In India's case, the potential for growth to continue is significant, with the favourable demographic trends (expected to result in labour force growth for at least two decades), urbanisation and investment prospects.

 

Fast forward to 20 years from now and the numbers are truly staggering. By 2030, Asian economies will account for more than 40% of global GDP. They will be larger than the US and EU combined, and larger even than all the G-7 economies put together. Asian economies will be about half the size of the entire G-20.

 

Mirroring their growing economic muscle is Asia's growing heft in global financial markets. From around 30% today, Asian equity markets could reach almost half of world's total market capitalisation by 2030. The global corporate landscape already includes more and more Asian companies, and this will only continue in the future.

 

The sources of future Asian growth, however, will need to be different from the past. Thus far, Asia's growth has been heavily based on exports, primarily to advanced economies in the West. But with those countries likely to continue to see sluggish growth as they recover from the effects of the global economic and financial crisis, exports will not be the engine of growth. Domestic demand in Asia will have to play a stronger role in sustaining growth and therefore the priority is to resolutely implement policies to generate growth from domestic sources. Even as Asia's reliance on domestic demand grows, the region will continue to be increasingly integrated in the global economy. The emerging shift in economic power will involve a continuation of the process of real and financial integration—indeed, in the multipolar world, more linkages will develop across the world, not fewer.

 

The key implication for policy making is that a multilateral approach to policy will remain essential. What does this mean? It means that we will need to do more of three things: 1) analyse shocks and spillovers coming from different economic centres, 2) internalise the consequences that a country's policies will have on other countries and 3) devise mechanisms to cope with global and regional shocks and their spillover effects. All this requires abandoning country silos and embracing a multilateral perspective, a challenge for policymakers and international institutions alike.

 

The IMF and other international institutions and fora will have to play a key role in helping countries analyse, internalise and devise coping mechanisms in a highly integrated world. At the IMF, we are adapting to these new challenges. We are placing greater emphasis on multilateral surveillance, looking at cross-border linkages and spillover effects, especially in our publications. Vulnerability assessments, which help identify the sources and impacts of tail events, have been expanded to include advanced countries and financial surveillance enriched by new tools. The importance of internalising implications of policies has pushed countries during the recent crisis to coordinate their policies more closely—the fiscal stimulus is an example. The G-20 MAP exercise is another avenue to encourage countries to internalise the implications of their policies for others. These initiatives are all work in progress, but will be important contributors to the success of the global economy going forward. Even with better analysis of spillovers and better policy coordination, countries will still suffer periods of difficulty. Hence, the need to devise mechanisms that can help countries cope with these situations. The IMF's new Flexible Credit Line is an example of a mechanism that can help countries limit the spreads of contagion.

 

Asia's ascent is inexorable and so is its integration among economies in this new multipolar world. The world needs Asian leadership to sustain growth and to develop mechanisms to analyse, internalise and devise ways of coping with the inevitable difficulties the global economy will encounter in the future.

 

—The author is the deputy director of the Asia and Pacific Department of the IMF. This article is coauthoured with Laura Papi, division chief in the same department. Views are personal

 

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THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

COLUMN

GENDER BPOS

GOUTAM DAS

 

Give a rural, uneducated man Rs 5,000 and chances are that he'll spend it on alcohol and tobacco. A woman, on the other hand, is more likely to use the same money for her family's nutrition and education. At least that's what the current generation of 'social entrepreneurs' who are setting up BPOs in remote parts of India seem to think. Rural BPOs, as they are called, are hiring women in large numbers and that could have a big say in the social upliftment of rural areas as a whole. Still in their early trial and error days, rural BPOs have the potential to work for everybody—the client, who gets substantial reduction in price; the BPO firm, which has to deal with much less attrition and lower cost of operations; and the employee, who is paid a decent salary that allows higher savings compared to peers in cities as a consequence of spending less on travel and lodging.

 

However, it is surprising that rural BPOs have been able to hire so many women—working if you are unmarried is a social taboo in rural areas. Still, some enterprises ensure they hire only women, in others women account for more than a quarter of employees.

 

Thus, rural BPOs have successfully created a positive working environment. The number of women employees indicates that families see value in such centres. A healthy dose of supplementary income and a steep learning curve are attractive incentives. Most first-time employees who come to rural BPOs are not computer literate and are provided free training. Early results from these centres suggest that after training, the women are able to execute work like data entry, handle health care and insurance processing, as well as other non-voice processes such as scanning and indexing.

 

Working in such set-ups adds to a woman's sense of pride. CEOs believe that working in a new economy industry will help women become role models.

 

—goutam.das@expressindia.com

 

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THE HINDU

EDITORIAL

BRINKMANSHIP POLITICS

 

Over the past fortnight, the Janata Dal(United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party have practised a form of brinkmanship politics that is not unusual when partners have to go to elections with separate agendas. The latest in the long-winding saga is a possible rapprochement between the sniping allies. Though ideologically incompatible, the JD(U) and the BJP have proved to be a great political fit, with the JD(U)'s OBC base perfectly complementing the BJP's forward caste core vote. Yet politics is not business where tremendous care is taken to preserve a successful model. Like so many of the BJP's other past and present partners, the JD(U) has the self-image of a secular-liberal party practising an inclusive agenda. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is ambitious, image-conscious, and would like nothing more than to be able to win the upcoming Assembly election on his own terms. Naveen Patnaik in Orissa went through the same tensions with the BJP until, on the eve of the 2009 general election, he boldly threw off the Hindutva albatross, striking pay dirt with the gamble. Mr. Patnaik's was a swift, surgical operation that carried conviction with the voters. Unfortunately, Mr. Kumar has played the on-again, off-again game far too long for the electorate not to spot the opportunism in it. There was much talk of a JD(U)-BJP split around the time of the Biju Janata Dal-BJP break-up. Mr. Kumar volleyed and thundered but, as always, withdrew from the brink, going on to pose with none other than Narendra Modi at an election rally in Ludhiana.

 

It is no small irony that today the same photograph — used as advertisement by the BJP — has caused a fresh rift between the partners. Mr. Kumar is justified in taking the BJP to task for the advertisement, which the party appears to have released without the Chief Minister's express consent. Yet even he cannot deny that in 2009 he shared a political platform with Mr. Modi, and seemed none too concerned when the photograph in question appeared in print. Further, Mr. Kumar was a Cabinet Minister at the Centre at the time of the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat. If the Bihar Chief Minister is serious about his secular credentials, he ought to go beyond grandstanding. Gestures such as returning the Gujarat government's Rs.5 crore flood relief assistance can backfire, more so should the JD(U) and the BJP jointly fight the election. For its part, the BJP ought to reflect seriously on its inability to retain allies, the latest instance of this being the unedifying drama played out in Jharkhand. Insider Jawant Singh might have beenfloored by Nitin Gadkari's charm offensive, but external allies willwant verifiable proof that the party has disinvested from its divisive agenda.

 

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THE HINDU

EDITORIAL

AUSTRALIA'S CHANGE OF GUARD

 

Politics has seen some fast moves but the one that unfolded in Australia last week had to be among the fastest. In less than 24 hours, Kevin Rudd, the hero of Labour party's comeback in the 2007 election and once the most popular Australian Prime Minister, saw the premiership slip from his hands into that of his deputy, Julia Gillard. The revolt within Labour was triggered by the rapidly falling popularity of Mr. Rudd and his government in opinion polls conducted in May. This happened after he deferred a vote on an important scheme to tackle climate change that was promised by Labour during the election campaign. The Emissions Trading Scheme was an initiative to reduce Australia's carbon emissions. But without adequate support for it in the powerful Senate, where Labour does not enjoy a majority, Mr. Rudd had to announce that the government would take a decision on how to proceed on it after a couple of years. It was amid the discontent over this issue that the government slapped a new tax on mining profits. In the face of a high-voltage campaign against the tax by the big mining companies and their shareholders, a beleaguered Mr. Rudd could not convincingly defend the idea that profits from a national resource must be shared nationally. With the government's ratings crashing in every opinion poll, and national elections due next year, a nervous Labour decided swiftly to jettison its leader in favour of Ms Gillard. In the end, Mr. Rudd's two big achievements — ratifying the Kyoto protocol, and a formal apology to the aboriginal people of Australia — were of little help in a high-stakes political battle.

 

The new Prime Minister, the first woman to make it to that office in Australia, faces the task of correcting the course of "a good government [that] was losing its way" and recouping lost ground for Labour. Ms Gillard, who entered parliament first in 1998, is known to be a pragmatic politician. One of her first actions in office was to reach out to the mining companies for negotiations to arrive at a compromise on the tax. She has also promised a review of the government's stand on carbon-trading. With immigration a major issue of concern to Australian voters, Ms Gillard has signalled a break from the Rudd vision of a "big Australia" and her preference instead for a "sustainable Australia." It could end up giving Labour a Right-ish look but her party is unlikely to complain if it can win them the next election.

 

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THE HINDU

LEADER PAGE ARTICLE

MERCY PETITIONS: INHUMANE PROCRASTINATION

THE COURTS OF CIVILISED STATES HAVE RECOGNISED AND ACKNOWLEDGED THAT A PROLONGED DELAY IN EXECUTING A SENTENCE OF DEATH CAN MAKE THE PUNISHMENT WHEN IT COMES INHUMAN AND DEGRADING.

T.R. ANDHYARUJINA

 

Afzal Guru, convicted for his role in the 2001 terrorist attack on Parliament, has been on death row for nearly five years, after his appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court on August 5, 2005. His execution, due on October 20, 2006, was stayed by the government because a clemency petition was filed by his family to the President. A decision on the clemency petition has not been taken till today. In the meantime, Afzal Guru suffers in solitary isolation, not knowing whether he will be executed or not. The agony of his family must not be any less.

 

On September 30, 2009 Home Minister P. Chidambaram said 28 mercy petitions, including that of Afzal Guru, were pending with the President and with the Government of India. He said he would have a fresh look at them and each case would, on average, take three to four weeks. The first case would be the one from Tamil Nadu, which has been pending with the President for 11 years — since April 1988. On this schedule, it was estimated that the government would take two years to decide on Afzal Guru's petition. But suddenly after Ajmal Kasab — the lone surviving terrorist in the Mumbai 26/11 attack — was sentenced to death in May this year, Afzal Guru's case has been taken up out of turn for immediate action. We are now informed that the Home Ministry has forwarded his petition to the President.

 

The courts of civilised states have recognised and acknowledged that a prolonged delay in executing a death sentence can make the punishment, when it comes, inhuman and degrading. The trauma and physical stress coupled with solitary confinement of a convict known as the "death-row phenomenon" is itself a cruel punishment. The prolonged anguish of alternating between hope and despair, the agony of uncertainty, the consequences of such suffering on the mental, emotional and physical integrity and health of not only the convict but also his family should not be allowed in civilised societies.

 

It is a misnomer to describe the petitions made to the President and Governors under Articles 72 and 161 of the Constitution by convicted persons as mercy petitions. The Constitution confers a right on such convicts and a duty on the Presidents and Governors (in reality the respective government) to duly consider the petitions and take action on them expeditiously. Properly exercised, this power of clemency has in several cases in the U.K. set aside miscarriage of justice even by the highest court. But this power has never been exercised properly in a timely and humane manner in India.

 

Keeping such petitions pending for an inordinately long period, the government seems to be totally ignorant of its obligations in law and of the human aspect of the suffering of persons on death row. It treats them as if they are standing in a queue for rations.

 

Of all the cases awaiting execution, Afzal Guru's is the most poignant one as he has been made a political pawn, with the BJP unseemingly demanding his immediate execution and making it an issue in the last general election, while the government thinks it is equally expedient to delay it for political considerations but giving unconvincing grounds such as saying his file was not returned by the Delhi government for four years. It is now revealed by the Delhi Chief Minister that the previous Home Minister deliberately instructed the government not to act promptly on Afzal Guru's file.

 

Afzal's mental agony can be seen from his pathetic statement made in June last year. He said: "I really wish L.K. Advani becomes the next Prime Minister as he is the only one who can take a decision and hang me. At least my pain and daily suffering will ease then." On the UPA government's ambivalent attitude, he said: "I don't think the UPA government can reach a decision. The Congress party has two mouths and is playing a double game." Whatever his crime, surely Afzal does not deserve this predicament.

 

In 1993, in a case of delay in the execution of two convicts in Jamaica and Trinidad, the Privy Council said, "There is an instinctive revulsion against the prospect of hanging a man after he had been under sentence of death for many years. What gives rise to this revulsion? The answer can only be our humanity. We regard it as inhuman to keep a man facing the agony of execution for a long extended period of time. To execute these men now after holding them in custody in agony of suspense for so many years would be inhuman punishment."

 

In 1983, the Supreme Court observed in the Sher Singh case: "We must take this opportunity to impress upon the Government of India and the State governments that petitions filed under Articles 72 and 161 of the Constitution or under Sections 432 and 433 of the Criminal Procedure Code must be disposed of expeditiously. A self-imposed rule should be followed by the executive authorities rigorously, that every such petition shall be disposed of within a period of three months from the date on which it is received." The government has ignored this advice as is evident from the number of prisoners on death row.

 

In its latest pronouncement on September 18, 2009 in the case of Jagdish vs. State of Madhya Pradesh, the court in a strongly expressed judgment noted the cruelty and torture of a prisoner on death row caused by the inordinate delay in deciding his petition. The court cited a U.S. Supreme Court decision which observed "The cruelty of capital punishment lies not only in the execution itself and the pain incident thereto, but also in the dehumanising effects of the lengthy imprisonment prior to execution. The prospect of pending execution exacts a frightful toll during the inevitable long wait between the imposition of the sentence and the actual infliction of death."

 

The Supreme Court's observations require to be stated at length to remind the Government of India of its failure in clemency petitions.

 

The court stated:

 

"We, as Judges, remain largely unaware as to the reasons that ultimately bear with the Government in taking a decision either in favour of the prisoner or against him but whatever the decision, it should be on sound legal principles related to the facts of the case. We must, however, say with the greatest emphasis that human beings are not chattels and should not be used as pawns in furthering some larger political or government policy."

 

It further observed: "Equally, consider the plight of the family of such a prisoner, his parents, wife and children, brothers and sisters, who too remain static and in a state of limbo and are unable to get on with life on account of the uncertain fate of a loved one. What may be asked is the fault of these hapless individuals and should they be treated in such a shabby manner."

 

Continuing, the court stated: "The observations reproduced above become extremely relevant as of today on account of the pendency of twenty-six mercy petitions before the President of India, in some case, where the courts had awarded the death sentences more than a decade ago. We, too, take this opportunity to remind the Governments concerned of their obligations under the aforementioned statutory and constitutional provisions."

 

After the powerful indictment by the Supreme Court of the inhumane practice of the Government of India in keeping mercy petitions pending for inordinate lengths of time, the President and the Government of India are obliged to commute the death sentences imposed on prisoners. This is particularly so in the case of Afzal Guru, who has been made a political pawn. To do this is not only to act legally but to act humanely which is surely expected of the President and the Government of India.

 

(The writer is a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court and former Solicitor-General of India.)

 

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THE HINDU

NEWS ANALYSIS

MIGRATION IN PROGRESS: FROM PRINT TO THE WEB

THE ONLINE AD BUSINESS, EXCLUDING MOBILE ADS, IS SET TO EXPAND TO $34.4 BILLION IN 2014 FROM $24.2 BILLION IN 2009. NEWSPAPERS CONTINUE TO SUFFER FROM A DECLINE IN ADVERTISING REVENUE.

PRANAY GUPTE

 

1. A prominent example of a print paper opting to transform itself entirely into a Web publication is the venerable Christian Science Monitor
2. With the galloping fortunes of high-technology driven portable gadgets, media organisations see the advantage of pushing content through telephony

 

I was dining with John Seeley in the Grill Room of The Four Seasons Restaurant, the one place in New York where the city's elite habitually congregate for their "power lunch" five days a week. Mr. Seeley, like others in the wood-panelled, Philip Johnson-designed room, is a player — which is to say that, as founding editor of The Wall Street Journal's new "Greater New York" daily supplement, he's someone whose presence is immediately noticed and whose attention is sought, even by other influential figures in a power obsessed metropolis like New York.

 

Mr. Seeley, a trim, bespectacled man in his early 40's, wears his power lightly; he's an old friend, and one of the finest editors I've worked with. He takes his work very seriously, not the least because his new section is competing head-on with The New York Times' formidable local report, both in print and on the Web.

 

One of the topics we discussed was the decline of print publications and the question of whether major newspapers should put up a "pay wall" for the content they offered on the Web. The proprietor of Mr. Seeley's paper, Rupert Murdoch, is an enthusiast of the pay-for-content concept; The New York Times has announced that it will start charging visitors to its popular Web site for much of its content.

 

This topic may not have dominated conversation at every table of The Four Seasons Restaurant. But it would be safe to assume that it was lodged in the minds of the media tycoons there. On this day, the restaurant's other diners included a variety of top media figures, including Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, and host of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS; he was lunching with Henry Kissinger, the former U.S. Secretary of State, who privately advises media companies. ( Newsweek has put itself up for sale, and the prospects of a financially viable future seem grim.)

 

Mortimer Zuckerman, publisher of The New York Daily News was there, too; his paper's print circulation has been steadily declining, as is that of its Murdoch-owned tabloid rival, The New York Post. In another corner, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin was eating with Vernon Jordan, arguably the closest friend of former President Bill Clinton, and a former member of the board of Dow Jones, which publishes The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Rubin is co-chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, a prestigious think tank whose Web publications have been winning awards as well as more and more visitors. Still another diner was a top executive of Condé Nast, which recently shut down the bible of the food industry, the monthly magazine Gourmet, and is reviving it as a Web offering.

 

Upturned in the U.S.

 

"Print versus Web" is a topic that has upturned the media industry in the United States, and in many other countries, resulting in significant job losses for print journalists. In 2007, there were 6,580 daily newspaper around the world, including nearly 1,500 in the U.S.; by mid 2010, the overall figure is down by 500, while newspaper revenues have declined by a fifth on account of an advertising fall precipitated by the global recession, as well as a migration of many advertisers to the Web.

 

A prominent example of a print paper opting to transform itself entirely into a Web publication is the venerable Christian Science Monitor, the Boston-based newspaper that was founded in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy. It shut down its daily print edition on March 27, 2009, citing losses of $18.9 million per year versus $12.5 million in annual revenue. It now offers content online on its Web site and via e-mail. John Yemma, the paper's editor, says that the move to go digital was made because the management recognised that the Christian Science Monitor's reach would be greater online than in print. He says that in the next five years the Monitor will aim to increase its online readership to 25 million page-views, from the current figure of five million.

 

In the United Arab Emirates, the daily business daily, Emirates 24/7 — which is owned by the Dubai Government company, DMI — announced a few days ago that it, too, would terminate its print edition. Like the Christian Science Monitor, Emirates 24/7 will be published daily solely as a Web newspaper.

 

While newspapers generally are suffering from a decline in advertising and subscription revenues, rising newsprint costs simultaneously besets them. U.S. East Coast prices — the barometer of global rates for newsprint — rose to nearly $600 a tonne in January 2010, compared to $464 in August 2009. Moreover, new contracts concluded after March 2010 include an additional $50 a tonne. (Indian publishers for whom newsprint constitutes the single largest cost element — accounting for 40 to 60 per cent of total cost, are bracing themselves for this rise, even though newsprint is current exempt from customs duty; publishers import 50 per cent of the 1.8 million tonnes of newsprint used annually.)

 

Here's another set of statistics that should be sobering for the print industry: The online ad business, excluding mobile ads, is set to expand to $34.4 billion in 2014 from $24.2 billion in 2009, according to a report released last week by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The same report says that newspapers continue to suffer from a decline in advertising revenue. According to the Newspaper Association of America, print advertising revenue dropped 28.6 per cent in 2009 to $24.82 billion. The PricewaterhouseCoopers report estimates that print advertising in newspapers will drop to $22.3 billion by 2014. It also estimates that mobile advertising in North America will quadruple from $414 million in 2009 to $1.6 billion in 2014.

 

With the galloping fortunes of high-technology driven portable gadgets such as Apple's iPad and the new iPhone4, media organisations clearly see the advantage of pushing content through telephony. This doesn't augur well for the print industry, although, of course, its decline may not suggest imminent demise.

 

Still, as The Wall Street Journal's John Seeley told me, smart media organisations are revving up their digital technology. "You need to be where the readers are," he said. The Journal is in the comfortable position of having a daily print circulation of 2.09 million, compared to 952,000 for The New York Times. Neither paper is taking its relatively high print circulation for granted — both are spending fresh sums of money on boosting print circulation through ads and provocative marketing. But both are also accelerating their Web operations.

 

(Pranay Gupte is a veteran international journalist and author. His next book is on India and the Middle East.)

 

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THE HINDU

NEWS ANALYSIS

GIVE CASH TO THE POOR TO SOLVE WORLD POVERTY

THERE'S A REVOLUTION IN AID AFOOT: IT'S ALL ABOUT GIVING MONEY STRAIGHT TO THE POOR, AND IT STARTED WITH BRUCE LEE.

ADITYA CHAKRABORTTY

 

The most exciting new idea for tackling poverty and feeding billions around the world has got nothing to do with hydroelectric dams or back-slapping summitry. Instead, this one begins with a story about kung-fu movies.

 

In the mid-90s, Claire Melamed was working in a village in the far north of Mozambique. Nacuca had no electricity, nor running water, and precious few distractions. As the development economist recalls: "Villagers would ask, 'We have to live here, but how come you've chosen to stay?'" Then one day visitors came, bearing entertainment.

 

They were former soldiers from Mozambique's long civil war and, like the other 90,000 or so demobbed men, they were getting $15 a month from donors, along with some funding to start businesses. This lot had pooled the hand—outs to buy a TV, a video recorder and a generator.

 

Oh, and a few old Bruce Lee tapes.

 

The former soldiers toured villages across Mozambique showing copies of Enter the Dragon and Fist of Fury for cash or, failing that, maize and cassava. And they went down a storm in the remote rural yawn of Nacuca, staying for days and playing the same films over and over.

 

New idea in aid

 

What Melamed saw in Mozambique was one of the first major exercises in what is now among the most talked—about new ideas in aid, called cash transfers — or, as a new book title puts it, "Just give money to the poor", as those donors did to the former soldiers. The authors, Joseph Hanlon, Armando Barrientos and David Hulme, count 45 countries that hand cash to more than 110 million families. In Brazil, poor families can collect money from lottery shops. Pickup trucks drive across Namibia, bearing safes with cash machines welded on the front, used by old ladies to take out their monthly pensions.

 

It sounds forehead-smackingly obvious: isn't giving cash to the poor what we do every time we shovel change into an envelope, or pledge a donation to a fundraising telethon? But when that money — whether from individuals or governments or big international institutions like the World Bank — gets to Africa or Asia, it's typically turned into new roads, schools, even community radio stations. The idea is to give poor people the infrastructure and training they need to lift themselves out of destitution.

 

Or perhaps I should say that was the idea. Looking back over the last few years, we see in retrospect a brief golden period for aid. It was marked in Britain by turning Clare Short into the new secretary of state for international development, and defined internationally by the 2005 pledge at Gleneagles of the G8 richest countries to give more money to Africa. And it appears to be drawing to a close. Academics and writers such as Bill Easterly and Dambisa Moyo now gain plaudits for books with titles such as Dead Aid. Recession—hit politicians at events such as last weekend's G20 summit in Toronto avoid even mentioning the Gleneagles promises. And when official money is handed over, it often ends up on the most useless projects. In 2008, Berlin spent half a million dollars on what it called a "basic nutrition project" but which turned out to be a scheme to reduce unpleasant smells from food—processing factories in China and (naturally enough) Germany. That would be called a joke, if it was only remotely funny.

 

Against all that, the idea of just handing over a hefty chunk of the world's $100bn aid money directly to the 1.4 billion people living on less than $1.25 a day is pretty attractive. Less funny business from donors, and far less waste. And what makes this most remarkable of all is that while the rich countries squabble over how much money to give and in what form, this initiative has sprung largely from the poor nations — usually under pressure from some of their poorest people.

 

This is the world of aid turned upside down. A couple of years ago, Oxfam tried the idea out in a few villages in Vietnam. Charity workers gave the equivalent of three years' wages in one go to more than 400 families. When they returned they found that poverty had dropped through the floor, with most of the money spent sensibly on food or fertilisers, seeds and cows. But older people had put some cash towards coffins, explaining that funerals were a major expense. And one group had built a communal house, to practise yoga.

 

It takes a village to raise a child, Hillary Clinton once wrote; on this showing, it takes just a few million Vietnamese dong to raise a village into a bijou Notting Hill.

 

Findings such as these have led the author Joe Hanlon to call for most of the Gleneagles millions to be shovelled into poor people's pockets. That's going too far: individual donations cannot replace schools or hospitals. It may be that giving cash works best when there are amenities and opportunities — and people who can use both.

 

As Richard Dowden at the Royal African Society points out: "Village communities are often tightly controlled by elders, chiefs and kings. Just handing over dollars to a rural community — even to the supposedly poorest people — risks reinforcing that hierarchy." But, qualifications aside, the concept is only going to get more popular. Indeed, New York recently tried the idea with its poor citizens, handing over money if they successfully sent their kids to school.

 

Cash transfers may first have been made in a poor country, but the idea travels well. A bit like those Bruce Lee films. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2010

 

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THE HINDU

TORY CUTS LEAVE BRITONS SEETHING

SLASH-AND-BURN INSTINCTS TO THE FORE.

HASAN SUROOR

 

Nothing riles the so-called Tory "modernisers " — that is, Prime Minister David Cameron and his Notting Hill set — more than the taunt that behind the shining new mask they are the "same old Tories." But the more they protest the more their actions suggest that they are protesting too much. It is barely six weeks since they came to power and, already, their old Tory instincts are on the rampage?

 

The swingeing Thatcher-style cuts to public spending proposed in their first interim budget (the biggest package of cuts and taxes in a generation) was pure old Tory stuff reflecting their deep-seated ideological aversion to the welfare state.

 

The £60-billion cuts which, according to independent experts, will hit the poorest the hardest and could tip the economy back into recession came wrapped up in the flimsiest of fig leaves — namely the claim that they were "unavoidable'' in order to bring down the "crippling" budget deficit which, if allowed to balloon, would wreck the economy.

 

Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz rubbished the claim pointing out that, on the contrary, nothing could be worse than cutting back on spending just when the economy is starting to recover. The reasons for the cutbacks, he suggested, were purely ideological.

 

Indeed, the Tories fought the election campaign on an anti-state platform vowing to dismantle it by handing over more and more functions to the private and voluntary sectors in the name of promoting individual enterprise or what they grandly called the Big Society to replace the Big State created by their Labour predecessors. And they got down to it within days of moving into Downing Street.

 

The Liberal Democrats, their junior partners in the ruling coalition, are clearly embarrassed at having to back the Tory agenda that they had so fiercely opposed during the election campaign. Not surprisingly they are being accused of ``selling out'' to the Tories in exchange for a few plum jobs in the cabinet and deputy prime ministership for their leader Nick Clegg.

 

Many Lib Dems are seething with anger and the party is said to be losing support on the ground with some 48 per cent of those who voted for it at the last election saying they may not vote for it again. Nor are its Tory partners being exactly helpful. Apparently, Lib Dems have become a favourite target of jokes in Tory circles with some openly (and gleefully) saying how the Lib Dems are being used to give legitimacy to a Thatcherite agenda. One senior Tory is reported as saying that they are "like prisoners of war being made to read out our agenda."

 

But forget Lib Dems and their unease over Tory policies. There are fears of a public backlash as the deep spending cuts start to bite. A summer of discontent is said to be looming with trade unions flexing their muscles over threatened job losses and wage freeze reviving memories of the mayhem caused by Margaret Thatcher's slash-and-burn policies in 1980s. What we are seeing is a replay of the same old Tory tactics under a new — and more slick — management.

 

Similarities don't end here. For, it seems, Mr. Cameron's Tories are as blasé about the impact of their policies as were their Thatcher predecessors. In 1981 (sorry to keep harping on the 1980s but that was the period of Tory high noon), as unemployment rose Norman Tebbit , the Tory grandee who became famous for prescribing the cricket loyalty test for Asian migrants, memorably advised the unemployed to stop being lazy and to "get on your bike" to look for work.

 

Thirty years on, another senior Tory has the same advice for millions of people facing unemployment: get a move on, stupid. If there are no jobs in your area, get out and try and find work somewhere else even if it means moving hundreds of miles away.

 

The Work and Pensions Secretary Ian Duncan Smtih, who represents the same constituency that Mr. Tebbit once did, says that people should not sit around and moan if they don't find jobs locally. Instead, they should be willing to uproot their families and move to areas where they might find jobs. Or as Mr Tebbit barked: "Get on your bike mate."

 

The same old Tories? No?

 

And, here's another echo from the Thatcherite 1980s. Remember Enoch Powell, another claw-and-tooth Tory with a visceral dislike of immigrants? He warned that if the influx of foreigners was not checked it could cause "rivers of blood" to flow across Britain.

 

Well, his ghost is still stalking the Tory HQ judging from the party's continuing obsession with immigration. Clamping down on immigration was the Tories' headline campaign plank and, despite resistance from Lib Dems, one of Mr. Cameron's first acts has been to make good on that promise by announcing an annual cap on the number of people coming into Britain from outside the European Union.

 

Indeed, the Tories were in such a hurry to push it through that they have effectively brought forward the original time-line according to which a cap would have come into force only next April. Instead, they have gone ahead and imposed a temporary cap that would care of the nine-months until then. The argument is that it is intended to prevent a last-minute rush ahead of the April deadline but, in truth, it is the Enoch Powell strain of Toryism in operation.

 

Ah, the same old Tories.

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THE HINDU

THREE FIRMS RANK HIGHEST ON ACCESS TO POOR

DONALD G. MCNEIL JR

 

GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and Novartis have taken the top three spots again on the Access to Medicine Index, which ranks pharmaceutical companies on how readily they make their products available to the world's poor. It was the second time the rankings, which were created in 2008, have been issued. This time, 95 per cent of the brand-name companies approached by the Dutch foundation that started the index agreed to provide information; two years ago, only about half did.

 

European companies slightly edged U.S. companies in the rankings, while the four Japanese companies ranked were at or near the bottom.

 

The companies are graded on many factors, including whether they offer lower prices or donate drugs in poor countries, whether they license generic versions of their products or fight to prevent them, whether they donate expertise or money to struggling health systems and whether they do research on neglected diseases.

 

Gilead Sciences and Pfizer rose several ranks from 2008.

 

Those falling in rank were Novo Nordisk, Bayer, Bristol-Meyers Squibb and Merck KGaA (a German company no longer connected to the Merck based in New Jersey).

 

The index, which is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Dutch and British governments, Oxfam and other donors, also issued detailed "report cards" on 20 companies.

 

For the first time, generic drugmakers were ranked separately. Three Indian companies, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Cipla and Dr. Reddy's, took the top three spots. — New York Times News Service

 

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THE ASIAN AGE

EDITORIAL

WHO'LL SAVE INDIA FROM THIS PLUNDER?

 

Karnataka's BJP-led B.S. Yeddyurappa government, under siege following the resignation of Lokayukta Santosh Hegde, has transferred yet another forest official, Ankola's assistant conservator Narendra Hittalamakki, who was investigating the disappearance of five lakh tonnes of iron ore worth $50 million from Belekeri port in Karnataka, impounded en route from Bellary, the state's mining belt. The state government had earlier sought to suspend deputy conservator of forests R. Gokul, who was supervising investigations into the disappearance of the illegal iron ore from Belekeri port.

The speed with which key officials tasked with the investigation are being transferred could be the handiwork of powerful elements within the Karnataka government seeking to shield a powerful mining lobby plundering a key resource that belongs to the state and the nation. This is particularly shameful given the Supreme Court's recent ruling on the matter. While Justice Hegde had trained his guns on the Bellary-based Reddy brothers, ministers in the Yeddyurappa government who enjoy the patronage of senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, there is, as yet, no proof of their involvement. Indeed, the mine barons of Bellary are drawn from every political persuasion. But of this there can be no question — nowhere in the world is a country's natural resource given away as freely as in India.

The issue of illegal iron ore mining in Karnataka has been simmering for nearly a year. Justice Hegde had submitted a 2,000-page report last year detailing the extent of the illegal mining, and the matter is being pursued by a host of Central agencies, including the CBI, DRI, Survey of India, Bureau of Mines, the customs department and the environment and forests ministry. All eyes are now on the Election Commission, which has asked the Karnataka government why it dropped charges against the Reddy brothers and to examine if they should be disqualified as ministers as their involvement in the mining business is a case of conflict of interest. That deal was reached when the Yeddyurappa government agreed to look the other way in a bid to buy peace when the Reddys mounted their November putsch.

With this increased public scrutiny, can the state continue to look the other way? Illegal mining is a hugely lucrative business. The global price of iron ore has gone up from $18 a tonne to around $100-130 a tonne. One can imagine the size of the loot of five lakh tonnes of iron ore that is smuggled out. This is where the clout of the mining lobby comes from. Karnataka is the biggest exporter of iron ore in India — 35 million tonnes a year, which goes primarily to China and Japan. Goa comes second: ironically, in that state, where the BJP is in Opposition, its leader is accusing the Congress of benefiting from the 100 new licences given for mining manganese and iron ore, in addition to the 110 mining leases already in existence. It has been alleged that a particular state minister has cornered six of these licences.

Several politicians and public figures across the country, including Union home minister P. Chidambaram, have called on Justice Hegde to withdraw his resignation and continue his campaign for good governance in Karnataka. While the Yeddyurappa government would like the issue to simply fade away, that is now easier said than done. The state government shifting an investigating officer even after the furore over Justice Hegde's resignation does not augur well for the state or the country. It is a pointer to the triumph of corruption and the plunder of national resources.

 

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THE ASIAN AGE

OPINION

IN NOWHERE LAND

P.C. ALEXANDER

 

When the Congress Party lost its position as the dominant national party in the 1989 elections, many people believed that this role would be inherited by the Janata Dal coalition under the leadership of V.P. Singh. However, it proved to be much more unstable than the government under Morarji Desai and very soon the country witnessed the rise of a number of regional (state) parties sporting the name "Janata Dal". The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), under the leadership of Atal Behari Vajyapee, emerged as an alternative to the Congress but it was able to retain its position only for six years and had to revert to its role as the main Opposition after the 2004 general elections.

Even though many Congress supporters take the victory in the 2009 general elections as confirming the return of the Congress as the party of governance at the Centre, the trend of voting in some of the large states in India and the number of seats it had won from 1989 does not give much room for such hopes. The Congress' strength in the Lok Sabha rose to 405 seats in 1984, but fell to 197 in 1989. It made a partial recovery to 232 in 1991 but the number of seats fell to 140 in 1996, 141 in 1998 and to 145 in 2004. The 206 seats tally in 2009 is no doubt a significant achievement, but not enough to warrant much optimism. The main weaknesses that plagued the Congress from the mid-60s, such as lack of inner-party democracy, poor leadership in states et cetera, continue even now. In fact, the main advantage that the Congress has at the Centre is that its rivals are in a worse position on the criteria of inner-party democracy and state-level organisational strength.

As far as the BJP is concerned, its unity and coherence as an all-India party has been badly shattered by the electoral reverses of 2009. A great blow to the morale of the rank and file of the BJP has been the open display of divisions and rifts among its national level leaders after the 2009 reverses.

More disappointing to those who were entertaining hopes for the emergence of a viable third alternative has been the trend of decline that has set in most of the small parties. Anti-Congressism and anti-Hindutva had provided an ideological platform for the various remnants of the old Janata Dal and a number of Left parties under the leadership of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), but the CPI(M), today, is in much greater disarray and state of decline than the Congress or the BJP had been at any time in the recent past. The question now is whether the CPI(M) will get enough seats on its own to prop itself as the leader of the Left group in any future third front.

The trend of decline in the small parties carrying the label of "Janata Dal" is more conspicuous than that in the CPI(M)-led Left Front. In the early years after its founding, the Janata Party could attract not only the followers of certain castes, in some states, but also a good number of followers committed to the socialistic ideologies of Jayaprakash Narayan. They claimed to be equally opposed to the policies of the Congress and the BJP, but now people don't know where senior leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav stand. They seem to have opted for a very flexible ideology for their parties, guided more by their personal interests than any principles or socialist philosophy. Their sudden shift from anti-Congressism to the position of supporters of the Congress has landed their parties in a "nowhere land" and stifled the idea of a third front even before it was born. Public would find it difficult to accept their leadership for a third front when they are seen to be guided more by convenience than by their commitment to the ideologies claimed by them till now.
The senior functionaries in Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav's party are members of his own family and he retains a tight control over the affairs of the party without involving the other senior members in the process of decision-making, even on important issues. In Bihar, people will not easily forget the past when Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav could not consider anybody else except his wife to hold the office of chief minister when he had to face certain serious criminal charges. The masses in these states are getting more and more educated and politically enlightened and are no longer convinced about the logic of their top leaders advocating democracy for those outside the party, but practising "one leader dictatorship" within their parties.

Many people who have been watching the record of Nitish Kumar as chief minister of Bihar had developed great admiration and respect for him as a good and clean administrator. In fact, many think that the third front will have a worthy leader in Mr Kumar if Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav are unable to retain leadership in the Opposition front that comprises of small parties. However, the manner in which he has treated Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has now created serious doubts about his potential to develop into an all-India leader.

One can understand his dislike of the poster of his shaking hands with Mr Modi on the latter's visit to Bihar recently but this is not an adequate reason for denying Mr Modi the basic courtesies due to a visiting chief minister. Worse still was the decision of Mr Kumar to return the Rs 5 crores donation that the government of Gujarat had generously given to for the flood-affected people of Bihar. There may be many in the country who do not agree with the way Mr Modi handled the Godhra riots, but one doubts whether they would endorse the methods chosen by Mr Kumar to display his dislike to a visiting dignitary.

Many admirers of Mr Kumar would be disappointed by these developments and one can only hope that a person who tries hard to provide good governance to his state will also become an example for politeness and courtesy in pubic relations, particularly to visitors from outside, however great may be the dislike for the alleged wrong-doings of the visitor in controlling communal riots in his state.

 

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

 

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DNA

EDITORIAL

JAMMU & KASHMIR SIMMERS

 

It is summer simmer in Jammu and Kashmir again. In 2008, there were protests on the Amarnath shrine land issue. In 2009, it was the rape and death of Shopian sisters.

 

Now, the killing of seven youth by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) when it opened fire at protesters pelting stones in Srinagar, Sopore and Baramulla. The angry protesters, led mainly by the separatist Hurriyat Conference of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, are once again raising slogans of freedom.

 

The other political parties, including the ruling National Conference, blame it all on the CRPF and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. The state government finds itself in a tight spot. It is quite clear that Mehbooba Mufti's People's Democratic Party (PDP) wants to use this to nail chief minister Omar Abdullah's inept government, while Hurriyat wants to fan the dying embers of separatism. The situation is both prickly and tricky.

 

One of the ways of proving that the state is back to normalcy is to let the political opposition vent its fury through protests as long as they are peaceful. It seems that the presence of Central security forces like the CRPF is a provocation in itself and the protesters run amok. Some would argue that the better way of dealing with the situation is to withdraw the forces to barracks as far as it is possible.

 

It makes sense but it seems that the state police is not yet confident of dealing with the situation on its own. Secondly, both the Opposition and the separatists — there are enough lines to demarcate the two — may not be willing to accept the protocols of peaceful protests. The situation is not special to J&K. Political opposition everywhere in the country has a tendency to push the government to the brink. When it happens in J&K, it rings alarm bells.

 

The other argument that not enough development is happening does not carry much weight but the fact that general protests in the state have a way of turning into a crisis is a matter of concern. In this context, home secretary GK Pillai's statement that the protesters were not innocent civilians but determined provocateurs who violate curfew and attack security posts and use innocents as scapegoats may be true but it is not the kind of statement that will help restore order or soothe frayed nerves.

 

This is not the time for rationalisation of any kind. What is needed is deft handling of the situation, where anticipatory measures would preempt violent protests.

 

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DNA

EDITORIAL

TECH SOLUTION

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON THINKS THEY SHOULD DO IT, TENNIS SUPERSTAR ROGER FEDERER AGREES AND SO INDEED DOES MOST OF THE REST OF THE WORLD.

 

But the governing body of football, FIFA, is unwilling to introduce the electronic review to the refereeing system in the game.

 

This World Cup in South Africa has been full of referee errors and two bloopers in quick succession on Sunday — in the matches between England and Germany and Argentina and Mexico — provoked the world to sit up and take note.

 

Electronic refereeing is now an integral part of several sports — cricket, tennis, hockey, ice hockey and basketball for instance all use it to assist human judges.

 

All the arguments used by FIFA to block the use of technology during football matches have been answered and dealt with by them. The number of times it can be used is restricted depending on the sport and its particular nature, the procedure is fast so it does not hold up play unreasonably and the cost is offset by the benefits.

 

TV and live audiences in fact have been in complete support of electronic reviews.

 

The fact is that wrong calls or wrong decisions caused by human error can be corrected by technology. If sport is about fair play, then patently erroneous decisions — which can be clearly detected by a television audience — are actually detrimental to the idea of justice.

 

Within a match, the player or players have a limited number of opportunities to score points and if human error steals that chance, then play has not been fair. There is an argument that human error applies to all players so they even out in the end.

 

However, this is not an argument that England,who were denied a legitimate goal because the referee did not see it, or Mexico, who had to concede an offside goal by Argentina for the same reason, are likely to accept.

 

For them this World Cup is over and the fallibility of human error and official obstinacy have been ruthlessly brought home to them.

 

Technology — whatever its problems — has changed the way we live our lives. For each of the things that technology helps us with today, there have been older and more "human" ways to do them.

 

The fact that we have changed and for the most part for the better is because as humans adaptability is our biggest strength. As applies to life, so it applies to sport. It is possible surely to use technology for our benefit and electronic assistance to referees is unlikely to kill football.

 

However, the same cannot be said of the antiquated argument put forward by FIFA.

 

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DNA

COMMENT

ISI ON THE MOVE AGAIN

 

A few days prior to home minister P Chidambaram's arrival in Islamabad, the amir of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT),  Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, addressed a large public meeting in Lahore, ostensibly to express solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

 

The meeting was attended by senior functionaries of Islamic parties like the Jamaat-e-Islami. The dignitaries were seated with their feet planted firmly on the national flags of India, the US and Israel.

 

There was much raving and ranting about "Hindu-Jewish conspiracies" against Muslim nations, with Saeed proclaiming: "Mossad instructors are training Indian troops to crush the liberation movement in Kashmir".

 

It was also revealed that Shahbaz Sharif, chief minister of Pakistan's Punjab province and brother of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, had provided Rs83 million to Hafiz Saeed's Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which was declared a terrorist organisation by the UN Security Council after 26/11.

 

Throughout his visit to Islamabad, India's normally candid home minister chose not to publicly accuse Pakistan's government or security agencies of complicity in the Mumbai terrorist attack.

 

There was measured restraint in everything Chidambaram said in public. His refrain was: "Nobody is questioning anybody's intentions. It is the outcome that will decide whether we are on the right track or not. We should allow the outcome to become visible.

 

We have agreed that there are certain outcomes we are looking forward to".

 

It is evident that Indian investigators have picked up a substantial amount of new information during the interrogation of David Coleman Headley in Chicago, which was carried out in the presence of FBI officials. Confronted with full facts of official involvement by Pakistani state agencies and Saeed, Chidambaram's counterpart  Rehman Malik had no option but to promise to look into them.

 

His colleague, foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureishi, however, put on an air of injured innocence, describing Chidambaram's comments implying that Pakistan had not done enough as "unfair" and "presumptuous".

 

While Pakistan has now been forced to accept that material provided by India is not mere 'literature', as its foreign secretary claimed in New Delhi a few months ago, it would be naive to presume that it will act against the real perpetrators of 26/11.

 

Malik may enjoy the confidence of president Zardari, who is known to be against ISI support for jehadi groups like the LeT and the Taliban. But Zardari was unable to persuade Pakistani military establishment to cooperate during a UN investigation into the assassination of his wife Benazir Bhutto.

 

The UN commission investigating the assassination noted: "Ms Bhutto faced threats from a number of sources; these included the al-Qaeda, the Taliban, local jehadi groups and, potentially, from elements in the Pakistan establishment (a euphemism for the military establishment).

 

The investigators have been hampered by intelligence agencies and other government officials." The report also noted: "The Sunni groups are largely based in Punjab. Members of these groups aided the Taliban in Afghanistan at the behest of the ISI, later cultivated ties with the al-Qaeda and Pakistani Taliban groups.

 

The Pakistani military and the ISI also supported some of these groups in the Kashmir insurgency after 1989. The bulk of the anti-Indian activity remains the work of groups like the LeT, which has close ties with the ISI".

 

If there has not been any major terrorist attack after the Mumbai carnage in 2008, it's partly because the Pakistani military establishment is focusing primarily on developments in Afghanistan.

 

The ISI has rendered massive support to Taliban military commander Sirajuddin Haqqani, while the Taliban political leadership led by Mullah Omar enjoys safe haven in Pakistan.

 

Army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani and ISI chief Lt Gen Shuja Pasha are trying to do a deal with president Karzai involving "reconciliation" with the Taliban which, will, in effect, give Haqqani control over southern Afghanistan.

 

It is now known that LeT cadres have joined Haqqani with the aim of targeting Indians in Afghanistan. Given the key role of the LeT and its leadership in the Pakistani military's strategic calculations in India and Afghanistan, New Delhi should be prepared for constant stalling, obfuscation and prevarication by Pakistan in taking any meaningful action against the real perpetrators of 26/11.

 

Chidambaram would be well advised to use the Pakistan army's current preoccupation with developments in Afghanistan to build on the substantial improvements he has effected in India's internal security. India and the rest of the world need, in the meantime, to think over how Afghanistan can be saved from a second Taliban takeover, which will have far-reaching implications.

 

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DNA

COMMENT

NEW AGE MEDIA IS NOT MAKING US STUPID

STEVEN PINKER

 

New forms of media have always caused moral panics: newspapers, paperbacks and television were all once denounced as threats to their consumers' brainpower and moral fibre. So too with electronic technologies. PowerPoint, we're told, is reducing discourse to bullet points. Search engines lower our intelligence, encouraging us to skim on the surface of knowledge rather than dive to its depths. Twitter is shrinking our attention spans.

But such panics often fail basic reality checks. When comic books were accused of turning juveniles into delinquents in the 50s, crime was falling to record lows. The decades of television, radios and rock videos were also decades in which IQ scores rose continuously.

For a reality check today, take the state of science, which demands high levels of brainwork and is measured by benchmarks of discovery. These days scientists are never far from their email, rarely touch paper and can't lecture without PowerPoint. If electronic media were hazardous to intelligence, the quality of science would be plummeting. Yet discoveries are multiplying like fruit flies. Other activities in the life of the mind, like philosophy, history and cultural criticism, are likewise flourishing.

Critics sometimes use science itself to press their case, citing research that shows how "experience can change the brain". But cognitive neuroscientists roll their eyes at such talk. Yes, every time we learn a fact or skill the wiring of the brain changes, but the existence of neural plasticity doesn't mean the brain is a blob of clay pounded into shape by experience.

Experience does not revamp the basic information-processing capacities of the brain. Speed-reading programs have long claimed to do just that, but the verdict was rendered by Woody Allen after he read War and Peace in one sitting: "It was about Russia." Genuine multitasking, too, has been exposed as a myth.
Moreover, as the psychologists Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons show in their new book The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us, the effects of experience are highly specific to the experiences themselves. If you train people to do one thing (recognise shapes, solve math puzzles), they get better at doing that thing, but almost nothing else. Accomplished people don't bulk up their brains with intellectual calisthenics; they immerse themselves in their fields. Novelists read lots of novels, scientists read lots of science.

The effects of consuming electronic media are also likely to be far more limited than the panic implies. Media critics write as if the brain takes on the qualities of whatever it consumes. As with primitive peoples who believe that eating fierce animals will make them fierce, they assume that reading bullet points and Twitter postings turns your thoughts into bullet points and Twitter postings.

The constant arrival of information packets can be distracting or addictive, but it is not a new phenomenon. The solution is to develop strategies of self-control. Turn off email or Twitter when you work, put away your Blackberry at dinner time.

And to encourage intellectual depth, don't rail at PowerPoint or Google. It's not as if habits of deep reflection came naturally to people. They must be acquired in special institutions, which we call universities, and maintained with constant upkeep. They are not granted by propping a heavy encyclopedia on your lap, nor are they taken away by efficient access to information on the Internet.

The new media have caught on for a reason. Knowledge is increasing exponentially; human brainpower and waking hours are not. Fortunately, the Internet and information technologies are helping us manage our collective intellectual output at different scales. Far from making us stupid, these technologies are the only things that will keep us smart. —NYT

 

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THE TRIBUNE

EDITORIAL

VALLEY AT BOILING POINT

SECURITY FORCES NEED TO MAINTAIN RESTRAINT

 

Jammu and Kashmir is faced with a new crisis today. This can be easily understood by those who might have seen the picture of a jawan of the paramilitary forces, carried in sections of the media, being beaten up by young protesters, near Srinagar, on Monday. Eight young men have lost their lives since Friday in clashes between CRPF men and protesters in the valley. It all started with two suspected terrorists being killed in an encounter with CRPF jawans in the Sopore area on Friday morning. While the security forces claimed that both were terrorists, most local people refused to believe it, saying that one of the persons done to death in the Sopore encounter was an innocent young man. The situation provided an excellent opportunity to separatists to incite youngsters to protest against the "highhandedness" of the security forces. The situation took a turn for the worse with the Mirwaiz Umar Farooq-led Hurriyat Conference organising a protest march from Srinagar to Sopore.

 

The CRPF, the most visible force fighting militancy in the state, is under attack from the state government as well as the ordinary people. The state government has described it as having gone "out of control". Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed concern to Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram over the recent killings of civilians. What steps are taken after Mr Chidambaram's scheduled visit to Srinagar on Thursday remains to be seen, but two state ministers, Mr Ali Mohammed Sagar and Mr Taj Mohideen, have declared that the government has "devised a mechanism" to ensure that there will be "no casualty from tomorrow". Such assurances have no meaning when there is a strong anti-CRPF sentiment all over Kashmir.

 

CRPF men cannot avoid opening fire in self-defence when they fear threat to their lives from emotionally charged protesters. The problem, however, is that every civilian death in a CRPF firing is used by separatists and their supporters to vitiate the atmosphere in the valley. The security forces are faced with a tricky situation. They have to learn to maintain restraint even in most provocative circumstances so that there are no human rights violations. The erring personnel should be punished to ensure that anything that has the potential to derail the drive against militancy in the state is prevented. 

 

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THE TRIBUNE

EDITORIAL

DEAL ON DEFICITS

G20 ADDRESSES EUROPE'S CONCERNS

 

The Group of 20 ended its summit in Toronto on Sunday by somehow reconciling two divergent viewpoints on how to handle the shaky economic recovery. One school of thought, articulated by President Barack Obama, contended that time was not ripe for a stimulus exit or slowing government spending as this would stunt growth and spur unemployment. Deflation, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was a greater threat than inflation. Dr Manmohan Singh, however, also accommodated the European concerns when he advocated a calibrated approach to the 2008 stimulus phase-out, depending on each country's conditions. This found a wider acceptance and justified President Obama's compliment that "when the Prime Minister (Dr Manmohan Singh) speaks, people listen".

 

On the other side of the table were nervous European countries that had piled up heavy debts and run up unmanageable fiscal deficits while trying to boost growth. They pleaded for cutting deficits and undertaking austerity measures. The European Union did manage to influence the final communiqué to stress on fiscal tightening. As a result, G20 pledged to halve the budget deficits by 2013. Though Europe also secured a push for stronger banking regulation and financial reform, its proposal for a tax on banks to fund future bailouts was dropped after strong opposition from India, Canada and other countries unaffected by the banking crisis.

 

Since Brazilian President Lula da Silva did not turn up at the summit, the other BRIC members – Russia, India and China – called off their scheduled meeting and did not put up a united front on financial challenges. China was appreciated for its currency exchange flexibility but Beijing got the laudatory references removed from the final communiqué. Despite its clout, the US did not achieve much at Toronto. Obama said: "Our fiscal health tomorrow will rest in no small measure on our ability to create jobs and growth today". The G20 communique did not pay much heed to President Obama's otherwise pragmatic advice. 

 

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THE TRIBUNE

EDITORIAL

TIGHT AUSSIE NORMS

INDIAN STUDENTS IN TROUBLE

 

Indian students in Australia are feeling the heat of changes in rules for visas and permanent residency that come into effect there from July 1. So far, there were 400 occupations in the Skilled Occupations List (SOL) which got a person permanent resident status and student visas. Australia has now reduced it to just 181. That means that those international students who pursued courses like cooking, hairdressing or hotel management will no longer be able to apply for permanent migration. That has put the future of around 15,000 Indian students in Australia in jeopardy. Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi visited Australia recently and requested the government to exempt existing students from the new list.

 

Many Indian students had made a beeline for Australia during the past 10 years because certain courses were touted as guaranteed to deliver a visa. Many of them went there on student visas without vocational or language skills. Out of the 41,000 visas issued last year in the skilled category, 12 per cent went to cooks and hairdressers. Nearly three-fourths of those visas went to those — mostly Indians — who had studied in Australia. It is such students who are now in big trouble.

 

The situation is ticklish. While the Indian delegation reasoned with the Australian authorities that since these students were issued student visas despite prior knowledge that they lacked vocational and language skills, they cannot be forced to leave. The Australian argument is equally strong that they were only given student visas and they cannot be given permanent resident status under the new occupations list. Not only that, all 1,300 private colleges have been told to apply for re-accreditation. This will make it hard for them to offer entry into Australia in the guise of providing education. The turnaround should be a warning to all those who are ever eager to try their luck abroad.

 

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THE TRIBUNE

ARTICLE

BP OIL SPILL AND BHOPAL

LESSON TO LEARN FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

BY SHASTRI RAMACHANDARAN

 

There is little in common between BP's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the December 1984 Union Carbide gas leak in Bhopal that killed over 20,000 and left over a million affected with toxins. Except that, the United States is involved in both. In the BP case, as a victim; and, in the other, as the defensive fortress of the man and the multinational charged with criminal and constructive responsibility for gas leak in the Indian city.

 

The world, including developing countries, are well informed of every aspect of the BP spill — its cause, consequences, and, of course, the costs. The oil spill and how US President Barack Obama made BP cough up $ 20 billion in compensation is all too well known. The US and Britain, both nuclear powers separated by the Atlantic and English language, quickly came to terms on what needs to be done in the aftermath of the spill. There was little acrimony and very minor disagreements considering the scale of the disaster and the huge amount.

 

In stark contrast, Bhopal is not on the world's radar. President Obama has no reason to be affected by Bhopal. Even Warren Anderson, Union Carbide's Chief Executive when the disaster struck Bhopal 26 years ago, roams free and, despite an arrest warrant and extradition request out for him, is at no risk of being brought to account. As much as Anderson, Dow Chemicals, which owns Carbide, has rejected liability and stonewalled attempts to make it clean up or pay for cleaning up the toxins that remain at the Bhopal site.

 

It is shocking that Indian corporate houses, as also eminent jurists, should have been rooting for Union Carbide and Dow rather than for their own countrymen, particularly the victims of the gas leak. What is it about Indian capital that makes it betray national interests, or certainly, make common cause with international capital against the Indian people.

 

Like Seveso, Minamata, Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, Bhopal in central India is synonymous with one of the worst industrial disasters of the 20th century, the aftermath of which still haunts its long-neglected victims. In fact, Bhopal ranks at the top with Chernobyl. There is no agreement on the number of dead and affected. But there is no disagreement that Bhopal's greater misfortune is that it belongs to the developing world. I had reached Bhopal soon after the gas leak. The place was awash with rumours and speculation. One "rumour" was that Union Carbide had knowledge of an antidote for treating the victims of the gas leak, but it had refused to share particulars about the antidote.

 

Subsequently, there have been other reports of the company being in possession of an antidote. Regardless of

the truth of the matter, the fact that the rumour persists shows the contempt of Western multinationals for lives in developing countries. Neither the Indian government nor its institutions such as the CSIR and the ICMR thought it fit to investigate the technological disaster for its medical consequences.

 

The international community of scientists and bodies such as the World Health Organisation are equally guilty of wilful neglect of their responsibility in the matter. Instead of the culprits being brought to book and delivering justice to the victims, conveniently confusing questions of the company's responsibility and the compensation case's jurisdiction were raised to obfuscate the real issues. And, the issues are legion, including the role of the state, the government, the judiciary, the efficacy of (extradition) pacts between nations and the corporate class in both India and the US.

The cruelest irony was the recent Bhopal court verdict: two years in prison for seven Indian executives of Carbide at the time of the gas leak while the American interests involved continue to go untouched. This raises a number of new issues, not all of which can be dealt with in this space.

 

The most important question today, unlike in 1984, when every issue gets easily internationalised, is: Why is the rest of the world, especially the developing world, silent on Bhopal?

 

When it comes to climate change, the environment, human rights and other such issues, be it in India or China, the West is the first to raise a hue and cry about so-called violations which may not even affect their interests. They perceive this as part of their global leadership role, of a responsibility they owe to the people in the developing countries. But this great injustice, this wilful denial of justice to the victims of Union Carbide in Bhopal has not stirred the messianic zeal of the West, not stricken its conscience nor moved it to act with a modicum of concern for its fellow humanity in the developing world.

 

There is a lesson in this for India as much as for China, both rising powers and aspiring to be superpowers. Their economic clout may grow by leaps and bounds; they may have nuclear deterrence; and their respective governments may be backed by the resolve of over a billion people. But unless they learn to confront and negotiate the prevalent global power structure in defence of their people and secure their national interests, striving to become superpowers is pointless.

 

Just as the developing countries joined hands at the climate change convention, it is essential that they come together, define the issues that is their common lot, and arising from that, set the agenda to determine international equations.

 

China and India should learn from the way the US struck terror in BP and the British government, and silenced everybody else in its single-minded pursuit of making the culprit pay for the damage done to the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Unless the developing countries that matter on the world stage learn to exercise power on issues critical to their people, achievements such as nuclear superiority and GDP growth are pointless.n

 

The writer, who had covered the Bhopal gas leak in 1984 and subsequent developments, is an editor/writer with the Global Times in Beijing.

 

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THE  TRIBUNE

MIDDLE

HOME REMEDIES

BY S. RAGHUNATH

 

Last Sunday I almost made it to the Guinness Book of Records by hiccuping non-stop for three hours, 58 minutes and 49.7 seconds and Good Samaritans preferring outlandish (and landish) suggestions for relieving me of my distressing affliction were many and rest assured, when my eagerly awaited. 1001 Household Remedies for Hiccups is published, their contribution will be handsomely acknowledged on the fly page.

 

The first to weigh in was the family retainer — a toothless old thing on the wrong side of 90 who should have been pensioned off and sent home packing around the turn of the century.

 

"I know just the right cure for you, sir, "she said trying to look bright (but falling flat on her gnarled face); "I'll take a pinch of methi and sock it in turmeric water and I'll grind it into a fine paste and add a little asafoetida and wrap it in a betelleaf. You stand on one leg facing nor' nor'west and swallow the stuff whole while I chant a mantra in chaste Sanskrit. That's what we do in my ancestral village in Northern Karnataka and not once has it failed!"

 

"Oh yeah, "I snarled between bouts of hiccups," while at it, how about mixing your 'stuff' with a quart of moonshine whisky?"

 

The chap who had looked in to strike a lucrative multilateral barter deal — a plastic shaving mug for a priceless Benares silk saree, said: "I know just what's to be done, sir. You strip to your waist and lie flat on your back, your arms spreadeagled and legs doubled up at the knees, I'll squat on the nape of your neck and pummel you with all the brute strength I've got between your solar plexus and the 12th vertebral rib cage. That'll force the air out of your lungs and with it the hiccups. That's what we do on the North-west Frontier!"

 

"You lay so much as a grubby little finger on me and I won't be answerable for the consequences," I vowed grimly.

 

My next-door neighbour who had looked in to borrow my BPL ration card and misappropriate for herself my monthly quota of sooji and maida said" "what you should do is mix some sour curds and clarified buffalo ghee and swallow it whole!"

 

She didn't get my ration card.

 

The old retainer wasn't thru' yet. "I know an even better cure," she said, "I'll take a little....."

 

I held up a restraining hand.

 

I can appreciate your eagerness to know if any of the above suggestions were of any help in getting rid of my hiccups. Oh yes, very definitely yes. HIC!

 

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THE TRIBUNE

OPED

THE ABSENCE OF ANY SYSTEMATIC STUDY BY INDIAN OR FOREIGN SCIENTISTS HAS LEFT SUFFICIENT ROOM FOR WIDE AND WILD SPECULATION ON THE PROBABLE CAUSES OF HIGH INCIDENCE OF CANCER IN PARTS OF PUNJAB

THE SCOURGE OF MALWA

PROF NARESH KOCHHAR

 

It is well known in Punjab that the Malwa region shows a very high incidence of cancer, stunted growth and other neurological disorders. High level of uranium concentration has been found in the hair samples of children of Centre for Special Children, Faridkot by Dr Caren Smith, visiting toxicologist from South Africa. Blood samples were analysed in a German Lab. Besides uranium, lead, cadmium, strontium, barium were also found in the samples.

 

A study carried out by PGIMER Chandigarh doctors is not tenable because they compared the chemical quality of ground water in and around Talwandi Sabo (Bathinda) with that of Chamkaur Sahib, even though the two regions have different geology.

 

The absence of any systematic study carried out by Indian or foreign scientists has left sufficient room for wide and wild speculation on probable causes for this tragic phenomenon.

 

The high values of uranium have been attributed to Kota nuclear power plant; Khushab heavy water plant in Pakistan; and uranium-carrying winds from Afghanistan, without any scientific basis.

 

Though Malwa is a part of Punjab, geologically it is more akin to Haryana and Rajasthan.

 

There are no rocks exposed on the surface in the SW Punjab. However, the rocks of Aravalli-Delhi ridge and

Malani granites and rhyolites are exposed at Tusham, district Bhiwani, just south of the region.

 

These rocks take a northwest turn from Tusham and become submerged under the Punjab Plains, only to get resurfaced at Kirana Hills, Pakistan. The gravity data have delineated 6 km wide and 240 km long pear shaped body under the Punjab plains covering the SW Punjab.

 

The Tusham granites are high heat producing granites, that is, they are enriched in uranium, thorium and calcium. The uranium concentration in the granites is 8 to 11.5 parts per million (ppm) as compared to the normal value of 4.5 in granites in general. The average crustal value is 2.7 ppm.

 

The main source of uranium appears to be Tusham granites of Malani suite. There is a indiscriminate quarrying of granites being done at Khanak and adjoining areas of Tusham causing a lot of dust due to crushers.

 

Besides, there is a thick evaporites (salt) sequence with a total thickness of 130 m occurring at a depth of 305-350 m, below alluvium in Faridkot and Ferozepur districts. Evaporites also occur near Sirsa in Haryana. The evaporites have limestone, shale, gypsum, halite, sulphate etc. Limestone has 2.2 ppm and shale has 3.2 ppm of uranium.

 

Another natural source of uranium is the thick sediments under alluvium brought down by the Satluj and Beas rivers. In addition, the Satluj flows through Shivalik rocks which have dispersed uranium in them. Apart from these another source could be flyash coming out of the Bathinda thermal plant. Uranium gets concentrated after burning of coal. One kg of coal ash produced 2000 Bq of radioactivity whereas one kg of granite produced 1000 Bq of radioactivity in the environment.

 

A collaborative study undertaken by me and other scientists revealed that most water samples tested for uranium had higher concentration than the WHO-prescribed tolerable limit of 0.015mg/l, with some showing a value 20 times higher, that is 0.316 mg/l.

 

Interestingly, in spite of high concentration of uranium in water, the radon activity is within permissible limits ( less than 400Bq/l) , because the gas escapes into the atmosphere.

 

Detailed study of chemical quality of groundwater in Jajjal, Malkana, Talwandi Sabo, Gyana and adjoining areas has shown that the groundwater in these areas contains more than the permissible limits of fluorine, sulphate, uranium, lead, chromium, and nickel, etc.

 

The high concentration of these elements can be attributed to the subsurface geology i.e. the presence of granitic rocks, evaporites sequence and limestone and dolomites. It may be mentioned that the chemical quality of ground water is influenced by the interaction of rainwater with bed rock, residency time of groundwater and the type of flow and the mineralogy of aquifers.

 

Permissible limit of sulphates in drinking water is 400 mg/l .However some of the samples we analysed , showed a value as high as 880 mg/l. It may be noted that excessive sulphate presence can cause diarrhea.

 

In small doses fluoride inhibits dental caries, while in higher doses it causes dental and skeletal fluorosis. Concentration levels of fluoride reported from groundwater in the study area vary from 0.30 to 3.82 mg/l. Here also, the upper value is way above the WHO limit of 1.5 mg/l

 

Lead is a poison and accumulates in the skeletal structure of human beings and animals. It has adverse effect on the central nervous system, kidney and may cause cancer and brain damage. While the prescribed maximum permissible limit for lead in drinking water is 0.05 mg/l, the six samples showed a range of values from nil to as high as 0.18 mg/l.

 

As is well known, there is indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals in the region as the area lies in the cotton belt of Punjab. The pesticides, phosphates and nitrogen fertilisers also contribute heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic to soil and water.

 

To sum up , the high concentration of hazardous elements in the region can be attributed to the reactions of groundwater with the rocks of buried Aravalli - Delhi ridge and uranium-rich granites of Tusham area along with the evaporites, including sulphur-rich limestone and dolomite which could contribute sulfate, carbonate and salinity to the groundwater.

 

It is unfortunate that we neither have authentic data on human misery nor a systematic scientific study of the causes thereof. There is urgent need for credible research carried out by an interdisciplinary team comprising geologists, medical doctors, nuclear scientists, biologists, anthropologists, agricultural scientists and others.

 

(The writer is from the Geology Department, Panjab University, Chandigarh)

 

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THE TRIBUNE

OPED

QUESTION MARKS OVER CLAIMS

SP SHARMA

 

Tribune News Service

FARIDKOT: Armed with the report of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) declaring the gamma radiation and radioactivity levels in the soil samples within the permissible levels here, the medical fraternity has put a question mark on the claim of a local NGO that high concentration of uranium and heavy metals in drinking water was making the Punjab kids mentally retarded.

 

The report of a German laboratory confirming high content of uranium and other heavy metals in the water that was recently released by Pritpal Singh, president of the NGO, Baba Farid Centre for Special Children (BFCSC), has created panic, particularly in the Malwa belt.

 

A similar report released by the centre almost a year ago had also created ripples following which a team of BARC collected samples of water, soil and hair of the mentally challenged children. The civil surgeon of Faridkot had also constituted a team of five doctors to look into the issue. He constituted a similar committee last week to probe into the functioning of the BFCSC and also look into the treatment they were providing to the affected children.

 

Civil surgeon, Dr Harjit Bharti, said the purpose was to verify the authenticity of the report and also ascertain whether the Baba Farid Centre for Special Children was being run by qualified staff or not.

 

He said that an enquiry into the functioning of the centre was also initiated by the then civil surgeon last year but the process got bogged down due to a number of enquiries that were ordered by various governmental and autonomous organisations on the complaints of the NGO. Bharti said that the report of BARC had pointed out that of the nine water samples collected from various areas of Faridkot and Amritsar, only three from the borewells of the Narayangarh Gurdwara and railway crossing at Kotkapura and also Taina village were found to be containing uranium beyond the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) limit of 60 micro grams.

 

However, Pritpal Singh contested the report of BARC and claimed that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has fixed the limit of 15 micro grams of uranium content for safe drinking water. He said that the centre was set up six years ago and had started treating the mentally challenged children four years ago during which

 

Dr Manjit Bhalla, a child specialist in the civil hospital, who was also a member of the team that was constituted last year to enquire into the issue of uranium content in water and functioning of the centre, said at least six children undergoing treatment in the centre of the NGO had suffered retardation due to complications at the time of delivery and not due to uranium. Their mothers had confirmed this during the visit of the team to the centre, he claimed.

 

This fact also came to light when a woman from Hoshiarpur I met at the centre she confirmed that one of her twins who suffered oxygen problem at the time of birth was mentally challenged while the other one was a normal child and studying in a school.

 

Pritpal Singh claimed that the committee that had collected the entire record of the NGO  last year did not detect even a single fault in the centre's functioning.

 

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MUMBAI MIRROR

VIEWS

FINDING OUR INNER NEMO

CONSIDERING OUR DISTASTE FOR MESSAGE-MOVIES, IT'S RATHER ODD THAT ANIMATED FILMS ARE BEING WELL ACCEPTED BY THE ADULT AUDIENCE

 

Afew days ago while sobbing through Toy Story 3 – easily the best big-screen movie experience 2010 has had to offer thus far – I wondered just how Pixar does it. No, I'm not even going to try and crack their shamanistic formulae; they are clearly a cabal of highly efficient wizards, giving us all one masterpiece after another. By now we're used to them routinely albeit miraculously topping their previous efforts with each release, but while they are clearly the world's most consistent movie studio in terms of sheer quality, my ruminations this week are about how solid and unwavering their moral compass seems to be – and how gladly we let their films preach to us.

 

For sermonise they do, despite the gobs of shiny, colourful entertainment on offer. Pixar's films are always built around strong, basic moral cores: Ratatouille is about ambition, The Incredibles is about responsibility, Cars is about pride, Up is about love and commitment, the new Toy Story is about roots and belonging, and Wall-E, while a masterful love story for the ages, warns us against sloth and stupidity. And while unquestionably clever and very well-written, none of these films give their message any elbow-room.

 

Our unanimously lapping up these movies, therefore, is odd, considering our jaded, cynical distaste for the message-movie in any incarnation. We have learnt that mainstream cinema works best when they go for broke with the entertainment – toss us cars and bombs and legs and ha-ha jokes – and while the good guys invariably win, the only message most summer blockbusters aim to provide is that there will be a sequel. Attempts at unsubtle moralising are invariably met with jeers and rolled eyes.

 

Why, then, do we take it from a bunch of vividly conjured-up cartoons? Why is it okay for them to tell us what to do, what's right? Perhaps it is the cloak of children's cinema these films wear for camouflage, a cloak that urges us overgrown-ups to leave the snark aside and try and dial ourselves back down to our younger, more naive selves. If this is the case, then Pixar – and, indeed, any phenomenal children's cinema like Where The Wild Things Are, a passionate celebration of imagination, and the overwhelmingly whimsical The Fantastic Mister Fox – has truly struck gold. Clearly, we want to be talked down to, but aren't comfortable with actors telling us what to do; talking fish, on the other hand, work just fine.

 

 Looking back at the Panchatantra, the brothers Grimm, Aesop and Roald Dahl, this doesn't seem as much of a revelation anymore. Fables, folktales and the best of our children's fiction have always managed to use allegory – and, indeed, animal costumes – to sell us morality more effectively, masked as instructive tales to tell our children what is right and wrong. Pixar and Co are now riding this wave further, using that teach-the-kids pretext to pack in some seriously grown-up thematic heat, and weaving it all together into a story so marvellously amusing and visually spectacular that we applaud louder than the young ones.

 

This isn't just children's cinema anymore. Each film offers moments of severely adult pleasures, the kind we can't quite explain to the kids next to us. Translating them would be futile, and they're best left discovered on their own as these tykes grow into our shoes. For now, let's surreptitiously push fingers behind 3-D glasses and wipe, take big gulps of cola to hide the lump in the throat, and hope nobody sees us cry – even though being driven to such a fantastically undisciplined outpouring of emotion provides the most satisfying motion picture experience most of us have had in ages.

 

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******************************************************************************************BUSINESS STANDARD

EDITORIAL

ENTERPRISE INDIA

21ST CENTURY'S FIRST DECADE GROWTH DRIVEN BY PRIVATE SECTOR

 

Some called it the "mixed economy", some called it the "mixed-up economy", some others termed it state capitalism and some even dubbed it a "bureaucratic socialist" economy. For the first 50 years after Independence, the Indian economy has been described by many epithets. The bottom line was, of course, the fact that a large part of India's modern industrial and services economy was in the public, or state, sector. While the agricultural economy was largely characterised by private ownership, manufacturing was predominantly in the public sector till the 1980s, and following the nationalisation of banks, the financial sector too was dominated by state-owned institutions. All that began to change in the 1980s. The 1990s witnessed dramatic changes in policy and the unleashing of Indian enterprise. However, it is only since 2000 that private Indian enterprise has come into its own. As a recent report in this newspaper (BS, June 26, 2010) showed, in the decade 2000-2010, the private corporate sector overtook the public sector both in terms of net sales and net profits. The private sector's share in the net sales of manufacturing and services sector output increased from 48.83 per cent in 2000-01 to 68.55 per cent in 2009-10, with the public sector's share consequently falling from 51.17 per cent to 31.45 per cent. Similarly, the private sector's share of net profit in the non-agricultural economy increased from 39.17 per cent to 63.86 per cent for the same period, with a decline in public sector share from 60.83 per cent to 36.14 per cent. (A detailed analysis of these numbers is available at www.business-standard.com). In short, the past decade has seen India's "mixed economy" become an essentially private enterprise economy. Thousands of entrepreneurs, led by some inspiring leaders who have acquired a global footprint, are driving the growth process in India.

 

Several factors, both positive and negative, explain this phenomenon. On the positive side is the rise of Indian enterprise, especially in the energy, telecommunications, civil aviation, manufacturing, finance and banking and information technology sectors. The sharp increase in foreign direct investment during this decade has also contributed to the increase in the share of the private sector in national income, sales and profits. On the negative side, the inability of the public sector to generate internal resources for growth and the fiscal constraints on government that have contributed to a decline in public investment have contributed to a decline in the share of the public sector. While the dynamism and the growth of private enterprise are cause for celebration, the sluggishness of public investment is a matter of concern. India needs more public investment, especially in social and economic infrastructure, to sustain upwards of 9 per cent national income growth and also to fuel private sector dynamism. Most developed market economies also have a substantial public sector, especially in infrastructure, public services and defence. As a developing economy striving to industrialise and generate employment, India needs a balanced growth of both the private and public sectors.

 

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BUSINESS STANDARD

EDITORIAL

AMBITION IN THE SKY

COMPANIES CAN BE MISSING LINK IN AERONAUTICS

India has everything it takes to become a respected name in aerospace — scientific, engineering and software expertise. But while it has forged ahead in space, it has till now failed to make a mark one level below in aviation. It has successfully launched others' satellites but there is no globally commercially successful aircraft that it can call its own. The disconnect has become more glaring in the last decade as India has forged ahead as both a source for engineering services and a location for R&D facilities for the aeronautical industry. While leaders like TCS and HCL Technologies offer engineering design services to global aeronautical leaders, international names like Airbus, GE and Honeywell have set up in India research laboratories to cater to their aeronautical businesses. This hiatus — having the bricks but not owning the building — is, in fact, a reflection of what prevails in the software space where high-end service capability to develop products is not matched by the ability or willingness to own them.

To own products and become an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), you need not just capabilities but an appetite for risk-taking, deep pockets to back it up and both the desire and the resources needed to build and own brands. It is the latter which have been missing in aeronautics and it is here that the worm seems to be turning. Mahindra & Mahindra has announced not just its desire but also an impatience to successively manufacture aircraft components, assemble general transport planes and design an 18-seater aircraft in two years. Towards this end, it has acquired an Australian company which makes 6-20 seater turboprops and teamed up with National Aerospace Laboratories to develop a five-seater. M&M has spent Rs 175 crore on the acquisition and earmarked Rs 250 crore for the manufacturing programme. The Tatas are treading a similar path. They have tied up with several international aerospace companies to go into full-scale assembly and production for both the civilian and defence markets. Most recently, group company Tata Advanced Systems has signed up with Sikorsky Aircraft to manufacture helicopters.

 The importance of this entrepreneurial push can be gauged by comparing the aeronautical history of India and Brazil. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and the iconic Brazilian firm Embraer both began life in the public sector. The Brazilian firm kept moving forward by absorbing technology which it licensed and getting orders through the offset route. HAL has also done the same and is among the top-50 global aeronautical firms, but it is not known as an independent aircraft-maker. Embraer, on the other hand, is now the world's third-largest commercial aircraft manufacturer and has a dominant position in regional jets. India buys VIP jets from Embraer, not the other way around. Significantly, after falling into a severe financial crisis following the failure of an aircraft it designed, Embraer was privatised in 1994. HAL has not been blessed or cursed (depending on your viewpoint) by overvaulting ambition, crisis and privatisation. Currently, there is a massive offset opportunity of $30 billion before India which all Indian players in the field are banking on for their bread and butter needs. But offset by itself will not get you far. You need to have a dream. Anand Mahindra says he wants M&M to be India's Embraer and that it is his role model

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BUSINESS STANDARD

COLUMN

SENSE IN TAX CODE

THE DIRECT TAXES CODE, SUBMITTED FOR DISCUSSION, IS VERY PROGRESSIVE IN ITS CONSTRUCTION OF POLICIES FOR PERSONAL INCOME TAXES

SURJIT S BHALLA

The new Direct Taxes Code (DTC) has been put in the public domain and will most likely be up for debate in the monsoon session of Parliament. There are three major components to the code — personal income taxes, treatment of capital gains, and corporate taxes. This and the next article will talk about the first two.

 But first, some deep congratulations to all those, and especially the UPA government, for daring to change the landscape. The credit largely goes to the present Home Minister, P Chidambaram, who, in his previous avatar, introduced wide-ranging tax reforms in early 1997. Then, starting in May 2004, he started his campaign again, and while there were some missteps (e.g. the fringe benefit tax, banking transaction tax), the overall thrust of tax reforms under his leadership has been immense.

And now the credit goes to the man for all seasons (and all policies) — Pranab Mukherjee. We have been witness to a flurry of activity since his arrival on the scene in 2009. First, the successful fire-fighting with the Great Recession, then the introduction of long overdue rational pricing of fuels, and, of course, the presentation and championing of the DTC. A noteworthy feature of this new policy is the transparency and humility with which it has been handled. It has been up for debate, and the government is listening. Whether it continues to listen, especially on its rather non-economic, non-logic and ideologically inconsistent recommendations on capital gains tax, remains to be seen.

But there are many, including some senior economists/journalists, who question the DTC on its recommendation of personal taxes. Their belief is that the DTC is a giveaway, i.e. it has reduced the effective tax rate for all individuals by too much. If these learned people were younger, they would be chanting "down with imperialism, down with fascism, down with capitalism" and "the government recommendations will only make the rich richer and the poor poorer". Further, according to the learned, this is a particularly bad time for giveaways because India has a major debt and deficits problem. And finally, the critics add, only 30 million or 3 per cent of the people in India pay taxes (this news is received with much applause by those who believe in rank populism). The 3 per cent figure is broadly correct. But not much more should be expected!

The reasoning is straightforward. First, the universe is not the total population but the worker population, and this is 40 per cent of the total. Second, only non-farmers pay income taxes, and farmers are about 10 percent; so the relevant population universe is 300 million, not a billion. Given that not everybody who has income is eligible to pay taxes (there is a minimum exemption which, for the fiscal year 2009-10, is Rs 1.6 lakh per earner), the number of people in the taxable bracket goes down still further.

In 2007-08, the last year for which returns data are available, about 74 million workers were eligible to file tax returns, and 33 million did (see table). This means that only 7.4 per cent of the population should be filing taxes, and the fact that 33 million did is bad, but 45 per cent compliance rate (ratio of 33 and 74) is much, much better than "only" 3 per cent (the compliance rate is expected to have averaged 39/69 or 56 per cent in 2009/10).

The critics have a second arrow; they come armed with the following (and only!) fact in their favour, i.e. there has been stagnation in personal income tax (PIT) revenues. In 2007-08, PIT collections were Rs 118,000 crore, and in 2009-10, Rs 125,000 crore. Worse, the critics argue, the budgeted tax collections with the new 2010-11 code is only 121,000 crore.

While the bare facts are correct, the critics miss the whole picture. First, that there has been a phenomenal over-the-top increase in PIT since tax cuts were first introduced in the 1997-98 Budget. The effective tax rate (defined as the tax rate applicable to the tax-paying population) in 1996-97 was 16.8 per cent. The next year, the effective tax rate was reduced by more than 6 percentage points to 10.2 per cent, and in 1998-99, a recession year, the tax rate went up to 11.6 per cent. What happened to PIT revenues? They went up from Rs 18,000 crore to 21,000 crore, a 17 per cent increase (the 1997-98 tax collections are "tainted" by collections due to the tax amnesty VDIS).

How did tax revenues go up when tax rates were going down? Because of the Laffer effect, or the compliance effect. As tax rates are raised, more and more people cheat, and cheating takes two forms — under-declaring your income, or not filing tax returns. As tax rates decrease, the reverse gear operates — less people cheat, and tax revenues increase. Which brings us to the stagnation of tax revenues in the last few years. Note the steady increase in tax rates since 2002-03 — in 2007-08, the effective rate was 15.7 per cent, almost identical to the peak tax rate of 16.8 per cent in 1996-97! Any wonder then that the government made the sensible decision of reducing the effective tax rate by 6 percentage points in 2008-09 and by a further 2.6 percentage points in 2010-11? And taxpayers are rewarding the good sense prevailing: Mumbai TDS returns for April 1 to June 9 are up 18 per cent over last year; and this, based on the reduced tax code!

There is logic and substance behind the government's new tax code. As the Indian landscape has changed, so has the tax code. Let us applaud the change, especially since this is a rare instance of the government being a few steps ahead of the so-called civil society intelligentsia.

The author is chairman of Oxus Investments, an emerging market advisory and fund management firm. Please visit www.oxusinvestments.com  for an archive of articles etc.; comments welcome at: surjit.bhalla@oxusinvestments.com  

 

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BUSINESS STANDARD

COLUMN

NIPPING AN IDEA IN THE BUD

THE GOVT MUST GIVE THE IDEA OF SEZS A FAIR TRIAL, ENSURING TAX BENEFITS EVEN UNDER THE NEW DTC AND GST REGIMES

A K BHATTACHARYA

The complex in Chandigarh that has the largest number of rooms with all boarding and lodging facilities is not a five-star hotel. It belongs to Infosys Technologies. The information technology giant's special economic zone (SEZ) in Chandigarh, built on an area of 30 acres, has about 200 rooms, which offer facilities that will be the envy of any five-star hotel. The only difference is that Infosys Technologies has built these facilities for the benefit of its employees, associates, visitors and business guests. Not just the number of rooms, its food court has a seating capacity of over 1,200 and no restaurant in the city can even dream of coming close to that number.

 Infosys has, of course, been criticised for building its office complexes in large tracts of land, offering facilities that few offices or commercial complexes provide to people who work with them. Ask any official at Infosys if acquisition of such facilities is a sign of its greed or an attempt at grabbing land at concessional prices, she is likely to give a long explanation in defence of what the IT giant is trying to achieve. The idea, she will argue, is to provide an office with a kind of infrastructure and working environment that should enhance the performance and efficiency level of Infosys employees.

Thus, there is a swimming pool in Infosys' Chandigarh SEZ (it has a seating capacity of 5,000 people and is now only two-thirds full), a full-fledged gymnasium, mobile phone vendors, laundry machines, vegetable shops and several other such facilities. "We want our employees to come to our office and only worry about work. The support facilities are created in the special economic zone so that our employees can work late, if they want to, and pick up vegetables or do their banking on the campus without losing sleep over such issues," an Infosys official said.

Now, Infosys may be an unusual employer as its past record in offering a satisfying workplace environment is exemplary even when it is not operating out of an SEZ. However, the advantages of an SEZ become obvious when one sees what Infosys has managed to achieve in its Chandigarh complex. Since the policy for SEZs allows certain benefits to a company to help create world-class facilities for employees and all its stakeholders, SEZs as an idea cannot be dismissed easily. For the same reason, the proposal to give it a quiet burial because of land-related controversies deserves a review.

Undoubtedly, the biggest problem SEZs encountered pertained to land acquisition. As the policy allowed companies to acquire huge tracts of land, some of which was fertile, at a concessional price and because many farmers and villagers lost land as a result, the groundswell of protests against SEZs soon became strong enough to create hurdles for the idea to take shape. Worse, opportunistic politicians took full advantage of the situation in a bid to garner a few more votes in their kitty.

On the other hand, the latest export figures for 2009-10 show the crucial role SEZs played in boosting India's foreign exchange earnings from exports of goods and services. Exports from SEZs stood at $49 billion, compared to total exports of $138 billion. In 2008-09, the share of SEZ exports was lower at $22 billion out of total exports of $169 billion. With more SEZs coming up, their share in total exports will become even more significant. Latest numbers have also dispelled the earlier fear that SEZs would result in diversion of existing exports. Only about 5 per cent of the exports from the zones have actually shifted from domestic tariff areas to the zones. Policy-makers, therefore, must examine how SEZs can overcome their main problems over land acquisition.

The Madhya Pradesh government has made a positive beginning in this direction. It has begun allotting land for SEZs, with the proviso that land-losers will get land from the SEZ developers just outside the proposed zone. This has now become a win-win proposition for the land-losers. Yes, they lose land, but they also get similar-sized land just outside the SEZ, which appreciate in value and marketability because of the construction of the zone. Instead of becoming land-losers (or project-losers like the farmers in Singur), they emerge as stakeholders and gainers in the prosperity that the proposed zone brings about in that area.

With this scheme clicking with land-losers in a few of the SEZs in Madhya Pradesh, there is naturally a revival of interest in such zones. The Union government too recognises the growing importance of the zones from the exports point of view. The idea of discontinuing the tax benefits for SEZs under the proposed direct taxes code (DTC), therefore, appears to be a counterproductive move. Even the proposed goods and services tax (GST) regime must make specific provisions for tax incidence on units in SEZs. In short, the government must give the idea of SEZs a fair trial, ensuring its special tax benefits even under the new DTC and the new GST regimes. It is not fair to kill an idea that was born just five years ago and, as it appears, whose time has come!

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BUSINESS STANDARD

COLUMN

BENDING RULES OF BUSINESS

THE DECISION OF AN INDIVIDUAL MINISTER OR OFFICIAL IS NOT VALID UNLESS REGULATIONS ARE FOLLOWED STRICTLY

M J ANTONY

Ministers who speak and act out of turn have been a blight on coalition governments and a delight for the mass media in recent times. There is another brand of loose cannons that passes orders sitting in ministers' chambers without following the rules of business. The first sort causes embarrassment; the second type goes further and invites charges of corruption.

The founding fathers had foreseen such a possibility. Therefore, they introduced sufficient safeguards in Article 166 of the Constitution. According to it, all executive action of the government shall be taken in the name of the governor who shall make rules for convenient transaction of business of the government.

 

 A question arose recently in the Supreme Court: Should the rules of business be followed mandatorily or were they mere guidelines for administration? Arrayed on one side were a large number of industries in Goa which were beneficiaries of a huge rebate in electricity charges. When it was withdrawn, they challenged the state action in the Bombay High Court and failed. The high court held that the rules of business were not followed when the rebate was granted.

When the industries moved the Supreme Court (Goa Glass Fibre Ltd vs State of Goa), their main contention was that the power minister had granted the concession and it was binding on the government. According to them, the legal flaw that the decision was not approved by the chief minister or the Council of Ministers did not matter as the rules of business were not mandatory. The court rejected the contention, thus restricting the scope of individual ministers taking important decisions on their own, affecting the revenues of the state.

This interpretation of Article 166 covers not only ministers who act as knight errants but also bureaucrats whose administrative orders could encroach upon the territory of government policy. The court stated with emphasis that "the Rules of Business are mandatory and must be strictly adhered to. Any decision of the government in breach of these rules will be nullity in the eye of the law".

The consequences of not following the rules would be "disastrous" for democracy, the judgment said. "In a democratic set-up, the decision of the state government must reflect the collective wisdom of the Council of Ministers or at least the chief minister who heads the council. The fact that the decisions taken by the minister alone were acted upon by issuance of notification will not render them decisions of the government even if the government chose to remain silent and the secretary did not take any action."

If an individual minister breaks the regulations, it would lead to a "chaotic" situation. "The chief minister would remain a mere figurehead and every minister will be free to act on his own by keeping the business rules at bay," the court explained. Further, this would make it impossible to discharge the constitutional responsibility of the chief minister of advising the governor.

In the Gulabrao Keshavrao Patil vs State of Gujarat (1996) case, the court underlined that the decision of a minister was not final unless the rules of business were followed. It explained that the rules were made for the convenient transaction of business at various levels through designated officers. The decision of one minister will have financial and other implications on other ministries. Therefore, the chief minister can call for the files and engage other ministries in the decision.

It is not just individual ministers who may flout the rules. In the K K Bhalla vs State of Madhya Pradesh (2006) case, the government allotted land under the Jabalpur Development Authority to a person at concessional rates to set up a printing press, though the land was earmarked for commercial use. In this case, the Supreme Court stated that the decision was not taken by the appropriate ministry or authority. "Such a decision could not have been issued at the instance of the chief minister or any officer alone unless it is shown that they had such authority in terms of the rules of business." Another chief minister's decision was held to be violation of the rules of business in the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation vs PNFC Karamchari Sangh (2006) case.

An officer cannot arrogate to himself the power to issue directions where even an individual minister cannot. In the State of UP vs Neeraj Avasthi (2006) case, the judgment said: "In the instant case, the directions were purported to have been issued by an officer of the state. Such directions were not shown to have been issued pursuant to any decision taken by the competent authority in terms of the Rules of Executive Business framed under Article 166 of the Constitution."

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BUSINESS STANDARD

COLUMN

ARE INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS LIABLE?

 

Dilution of the core principle of accountability will mean double standards, but punishing those who are not directly responsible will deprive companies of valuable talent.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Member of Parliament & Chairman, Jupiter Capital

The move will prove counterproductive as it will encourage independent directors to remain unaware and ignorant in their dealings with management

The year 1984 is marked by many unfortunate incidents in India's contemporary history. The first assassination of a prime minister of the country, the resulting anti-Sikh riots that claimed many innocent lives and the Bhopal tragedy that took an estimated 15,000- 20,000 lives.

There is a common theme to these "incidents" as these significant acts are often described in bureaucratise. In both cases where massive loss of life was involved, no person of stature has been held responsible and punished, while thousands of our countrymen and women have suffered the loss of their loved ones. It is against this background that we need to ensure that Bhopal isn't another case of sweeping corporate crime under the carpet. The thousands of shattered families in Bhopal deserve to get justice and closure even if the guilty are the rich and powerful.

In our country, public policy is significantly influenced by corporate lobbying and by the so-called icons of industry with hardly any challenge being posed to them. So, it's not surprising that efforts are under way to soft peddle the concept of corporate negligence by trying to amend the Companies Bill, 1956. The argument being advanced by some chambers of commerce and industry that prosecution of directors of a company will somehow impact the "availability of independent directors" is laughable if it wasn't so pathetic.

The whole idea of the institution of independent directors is simple. It is up to each company and management to establish trust and credibility to attract independent directors who have the confidence to be on its board. They are expected to be independent from the management and act as trustees of shareholders, which means that they are obliged to be more "aware" and to question the company on issues that are relevant. In other words, independent directors have obligations which they must fulfil. A board of directors is not a cozy club, much as how some promoters would like it to be.

The lobbying by some organisations like the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to protect non-executive directors from criminal liability and moves to amend laws to provide them immunity from the laws of the land are not tenable. It suggests that independent directors do not have any obligation or responsibility for the civil/criminal misconduct/negligence of company. This is an unacceptable proposition. They cannot escape this obligation by claiming to be ignorant of what management was doing. This is a universal law and should be so in India as well. The issue of the personal liability of the directors can be addressed separately by seeking indemnification and protection from the company/management/promoters. They can also seek directors insurance to protect themselves as individuals.

But the core principle of accountability cannot and should not be diluted at the behest of a few worried companies. This will prove counterproductive as it will, in a way, encourage independent directors to remain "unaware" and "ignorant" in their dealings with the management. It also reeks of double standards by allowing a privileged group to remain above the laws that govern the ordinary citizens of country.

I was expecting a spin to start in support of this proposition, so I wasn't surprised by the statement by Deepak Parekh who is quoted as saying, "I agree Bhopal is our worst tragedy. But we can't get emotional about it. Just by putting a chairman and CEO in jail is not going to solve the problem!" This is an amazing statement and shows just how compromised and lopsided our system is. The hypothesis that is being advanced by Parekh is that we should forget that there was someone culpable and responsible for this negligence simply because he was a chairman or CEO of a powerful company. He is wrong. Why is holding a chairman or CEO responsible for negligence any more special than holding an ordinary citizen accountable? If anyone violates the law of the country and is found to be negligent, he ought to face the consequences.

We cannot allow this double standard anymore. It might have worked for 26 years but not any more. This is the only way to send a message to other lawbreakers. Break the law and you will held accountable. Dilution of the current law will dilute the core principle of accountability and all arguments advanced should be rejected for what they are — a plea for double standards and dilution of accountability.

rajeev.c@nic.in

S Mahalingam

CFO & Executive Director, TCS

Fixing differential liability for independent directors will enable them to function as an effective oversight body, thereby reducing accidents

There is increasing clamour today for meting out punishment to directors, including non-executive and independent ones. While responsibility for any omission or commission needs to rest with the perpetrators, who should society look to punish in a situation where the responsibility for a tragedy rests with a corporation? In ascribing the fault to a non-executive chairman who is an independent director, are we not punishing those who are not in direct line of responsibility? This attitude is already resulting in not getting valuable talent into the board at a time when the country needs to have a large number of companies, actively traded in the stock exchanges.

This debate brings us back to the basic question: What are the responsibilities of the board of directors and, in particular, what is the role that can be played by independent directors? Non-executive directors should contribute to and constructively challenge the development of company strategy. They must scrutinise management performance; make sure that financial information is accurate and ensure that robust risk management systems are in place. It is important for them to meet collectively once a year without the chairman or executive directors.

The key to being a truly effective independent director is time management. A non-executive director should be able to devote enough time to the affairs of the company. The importance of a non-executive director has been underscored by America's Securities Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Leavitt who said: "I don't care how talented you are, you can't be a good watchdog if you're only on patrol three times a year."

Independent directors these days are worried about the issue of potential liability as they are not involved in the day-to-day operations of the company for which they bear responsibility. This fear of the unknown also arises from the fact that they could be held liable for offences related to fraud, safety-related issues and environmental issues. Independent directors are also concerned about the amount of time and money that is lost due to such litigations and more so the risk to their integrity.

However, the excuse that they were ignorant about a fraud brewing in the company should not be reason enough for letting independent directors go free. Indeed, we need to fix their liability as distinguished from that of other directors and executive directors. This would naturally limit the liability of the independent directors.

Various expert committees over the years have clearly delineated the roles and responsibilities of independent or non-executive director. The Naresh Chandra Committee Report on Corporate Audit and Governance in 2002 said that non-executive and independent directors should be freed from criminal and civil liabilities and should also be indemnified against costs of litigation. The Narayana Murthy Committee Report in 2003 also supported the notion of limited liability and further argued that independent directors should periodically review legal compliance reports prepared by the company as well as steps taken by the company to cure any taint.

Further, no criminal liability should be attached to independent directors unless it is proved that he/she has personally committed a wilful crime. They should be held liable only if they were either in charge of the matter or had knowledge of the offence and failed in their responsibility to ensure compliance.

This differentiation in liability can be achieved if independent directors ask the right questions at the right time. Raising appropriate red flags at the opportune moment would help avoid occurrence of such untoward situations to a great extent. Asking questions assumes utmost significance. One of the most important tools that independent directors possess is the right to insist on a particular agenda and have an in-depth discussion of such items at board meetings. Independent directors should also make sure that the agenda put before them is informative and, at the same time, provides the "big picture" without burdening them with too many details.

If independent directors are able to function as an effective oversight body and monitor the performance of the management, the occurrence of mishaps and crimes would reduce. In such a scenario, independent directors should be seen as part of the solution, and not that of the problem.

For example, when a mishap occurs, independent directors can prove that steps were taken to make sure that a framework was in place and that the reasons for the occurrence of such an event was unsuccessful implementation of such a framework.

Views are personal

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

EDITORIAL

LAW AND ORDER IN KASHMIR

ESTABLISH IT, DON'T RULE BY IT

 

 KASHMIR being on the boil is a situation that now occurs with depressing, and dangerous, regularity. It is a lurch from one crisis to the next, the sickening cycle of a protest against a killing leading to more youngsters being shot dead. This, in turn, leads to yet another protest and street battle. Underlying this is a wider crisis covering the lack of firm political will at the top, seething resentment against the security forces and latent separatism. The state government, apparently witless about how to bring the situation under control, might inject more security forces into the troubled areas, try to enforce a curfew and attempt to bring the situation under control. But that will, in all likelihood, again prove to be a momentary calm. What is sorely needed is the political will to change the status quo on the ground. And given that the security forces, the local administration, the local political class and the separatists — all those part of the power matrix in the state — have little incentive to change an equation that gives them unaccounted money and power, it is New Delhi that must display that political will for a change. What is required is nothing short of a different vision of Kashmir.

 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his recent visit to the Valley, expressed a willingness to explore those new equations, including zero tolerance for human rights abuses. What is required is the will to make the whole administration deliver on such promises. The question isn't merely of ensuring the paramilitary forces or police follow certain standard operating procedures. Rather, the Centre must cease viewing Kashmir as solely a law and order problem, and seek to end the existing culture where the very close and constant presence of military and paramilitary forces creates a conflict-prone atmosphere. When separatism is such a strong force, the normal security clampdown on demonstrations will not yield the results it does elsewhere. Immunity laws like the AFSPA, are part of the problem, but so is separatism. Even after two decades of the primacy of the law-and-order paradigm, Kashmir remains a tinder box. A new political solution — which engages Pakistan too — could end this stalemate.

 

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

EDITORIAL

IRDA SHOULD SHUN POPULISM

SCRAP ASSURED RETURNS ON EQUITY PLANS

THE insurance regulator Irda's new rule mandating life insurers to offer a minimum guaranteed return of 4.5% on unit-linked pension and annuity plans is unsound and defies free-market principles. Equity is risk. So, risk-averse investors should not buy unit-linked insurance plans. Irda should have sent out this message to policyholders instead of being populist and forcing life insurers to offer guaranteed returns on unit-linked pension plans. In 2002, the government was forced to bail out UTI to honour its obligations to unit holders, after a massive erosion in the portfolio of US-64 and other assured-return schemes. Irda should have drawn lessons from UTI. Sure, insurers have to earmark enough capital to cover guaranteed payouts. But pressures to bail out policyholders cannot be ruled out if a company goes bust. Irda should reverse its decision. This will help policyholders earn higher returns and improve profitability of the insurers. Equity investments will yield investors a 10-12% compounded return over a 20-year span. The yield will be lower on guaranteed returns as insurers will have to invest policyholders' premium in fixed-income plans. Life insurers also have to set aside more capital for guaranteed products and a strain on capital will dent their profitability.

 

Life insurers in Japan, for instance, had a disastrous experience with guaranteed products. Many of them turned unviable when interest rates on government bonds crashed. In the UK too, Equitable Life was almost ruined in 2000 after it failed to earmark enough capital to cover guaranteed payouts on some of its pension plans. Irda has retained the right to review the guaranteed rate of 4.5% based on macroeconomic developments. However, forcing insurers to guarantee a return, and that too on equity-linked pension plans, is flawed. There are other ways for Irda to achieve its goal of encouraging long-term savings and helping policyholders build a nest egg. A longer lock-in period of five years instead of three years is one way. Lower commissions will also contribute to better returns. So, guaranteed returns on equity investment should be shunned.

 

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

EDITORIAL

ENGLAND LOSE WORLD WAR-III!

AND FOOTBALL FANS TAKE TO TENNIS

 

" THE Ball no question makes of Ayes and Noes / But Right or Left as strikes the Player goes," wrote Omar Khayyam in his Rubaiyat some 900 years ago. Whether the Jabulani — the football specially manufactured by Adidas for the ongoing World Cup in South Africa which has been roundly criticised by strikers and defenders for being difficult to control — has failed to live up to its Zulu name of 'to celebrate' is now an academic question insofar as English fans are concerned, with their team back home after being unceremoniously knocked out by Germany in a battle that the British tabloids had headlined as World War Three! However, all is not lost insofar as British fans are concerned. The English cricket team has just beaten world champs Australia 3-0 in a five-match ODI series. And where striker Rooney singularly failed to score in the football World Cup, Britain's Andy Murray has stormed into the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships, the only player this year, or so the BBC informs us, to reach that stage without dropping a set.

 If Murray continues to show the same form, he could even go on to win the Wimbledon men's singles title and become the first British player in 74 years to do so. His performance has already lifted the drooping spirits of patriotic British fans, going by a placard held up by a female supporter at Wimbledon and carrying the 'punny' wedding proposal of "Andy, will you Murray me!" It's a bit like Indian sports fans not being unduly disappointed by Sania Mirza's first-round exit at Wimbledon and finding plenty to cheer about in Saina Nehwal's being ranked women's world No. 3 in badminton. If Murray wins Wimbledon this year, the British tabloids could even celebrate with banner headlines screaming P-Andy-Monium! Which is a trifle involved but still chirpier than the latest post-World Cup one in The Independent, "England wakes up to a new national sport: the blame game"!

 

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

ILL-INFORMED DEBATE ON OIL DECONTROL

THE POLITICISATION OF PETROLEUM PRODUCT PRICES HAS DRIVEN POLITICIANS INTO EXAGGERATIONS, HALF-TRUTHS AND PLAIN FALSEHOODS, SAYS SWAMINATHAN S ANKLESARIA AIYAR

 

THE government has finally hiked the prices of diesel, kerosene and LPG, though by less than recommended by the Kirit Parikh Committee. It has decontrolled petrol, and hopes to decontrol diesel in due course. But its timidity suggests that price controls will return if global oil prices shoot up again.

Financial TV channels had discussions clearly favouring decontrol. But politicians on news channels were overwhelmingly against any price rise. Their objections included exaggerations, halftruths and plain falsehoods.

They said this was a political issue affecting the common man, and could not be treated just as an economic matter. Yet, dozens of countries across the globe have no price controls. The common man in Japan, the Philippines or the US treats changes in petrol and diesel prices as no more political than changes in the price of bananas or eggs. Only when governments impose price control do prices become political, and that's the best reason for avoiding controls. India had no oil price controls till 1973, and price changes were not seen as political then.

 Indian politicians claim that the common man will be pushed into poverty and privation by the price hike, while farmers and agriculture will be ruined. That's plain wrong, and such claims have no basis either in other country experiences nor India's own past. The common man faces price changes up and down in any market system. In a non-market communist system, all prices can indeed be controlled forever, but the collapse of the Soviet Union showed how myopic and bankrupt such an approach really was. Price controls can provide shortterm relief to consumers, but act as longer-term disincentives to production and efficiency, the cumulative impact of which toppled communism.

 

 Deng Xiaoping in China moved towards the market fast enough to escape a Soviet-type collapse. Countries without price controls have far outperformed those with controls, in terms of poverty removal no less than GDP growth. Yet, Indian politicians on TV talk as though Soviet-style price controls are the only rational and humane way to manage economies.

 

Indian politicians claim that price decontrols will spur inflation. But despite price controls, India has 10% wholesale price inflation and 14% consumer price inflation. By contrast, inflation is just 2-3% in the US, Europe, Japan, the Philippines and other countries without price controls, where consumers are paying in full for the doubling of crude price from $40 to $80 a barrel over the last year. Inflation is caused by faulty fiscal, monetary and trade policies, not by price decontrol.

 

Diesel and petrol have gone up around 5%, which is hardly sensational. Yet Indian politicians say the back of the common man will be broken.

 

Really? Between 1970 and 1973, crude went up from $1.20 a barrel to $3.65 a barrel, and this tripling was passed on in full to the Indian consumer. Then Opec became an effective oil cartel in 1973-74, and oil shot up to $10 a barrel. Once again, the Indira Gandhi government passed on the rise to the consumer. Obviously it hurt. But the economy adjusted, and agriculturists did not commit suicide.

 

NEXT came the second oil shock of 1980. Crude tripled from $10 a barrel to $30 a barrel. Again, Indira Gandhi passed on almost all the burden to the consumer. Once again, the consumer adjusted, with no economic collapse or impoverishment. Indeed, poverty started falling for the first time after Independence. Leftists claimed that farmers would be decimated. In fact, the green revolution spread fast after the first oil shock of 1973-74, and again after the second oil shock of 1980. Higher petrol and diesel prices went hand in hand with falling poverty and rising farm production.

 

Communists are the biggest critics of higher prices, claiming that these are an artificial creation of speculation by 'international financial capital'. This is eerily Hitlerian. Hitler too claimed that the global economy was controlled and distorted by financiers, who were mainly Jews, and so resorted to mass murder of Jews. Communists perpetrated mass murder of another sort, based on class rather religion, but with as little moral or factual basis.

 

To be fair, communists are not alone in blaming financial speculation for artificially driving up oil prices. The trading volume of oil futures and derivatives has skyrocketed in the last decade, when prices too skyrocketed before nosediving. Academic studies have investigated the possibility that financial speculation made oil prices especially high and volatile.

 

But these studies failed to establish a link. Other commodities like iron ore, coal, uranium and cobalt are traded for physical delivery only in the spot market, and have no derivative markets. Yet, the prices of iron ore and coal proved if anything more volatile than that of oil. Iron ore shot up from $40 to over $200 a tonne in the boom.

Why so? Well, 2004-08 witnessed the mother of all booms, with world GDP growing at a record rate. Environmental and safety clearances made the opening of new mines a lengthy process. Hence, commodity supplies could not keep up with demand, and enormous price spikes were the result. The oil price spike was not exceptional. For every financial seller there was necessarily a buyer too, so speculation did not create one-way trends.

 

Why has trading in oil futures and derivatives skyrocketed? Some of it is pure speculation. But much trading is now related to risk management, both by suppliers and consumers, who hedge against adverse developments by locking in future prices. This constitutes a rational form of insurance. Communists who condemn this blindly as 'international financial capital speculation' are simply exposing their ignorance.

 

These comrades need bogeymen to justify their life-long defence of communist murder and torture in pursuit of a bankrupt economic ideology. Rather than learn from the collapse of the Soviet Union, they would rather use old, hollow slogans to justify the unjustifiable. When exposed by newspapers like this one, they have no factual reply, but repeat empty slogans about the pink press being the voice of international financial capital. How pathetic!

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

FAC E - O F F

 

IS PETRO-PRICE REFORM ADEQUATE?

RAM NAIK

Former Petroleum Minister

Petro-price hike is war on people

 

WITH an unprecedented petro-price hike and that too at a wrong time, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has literally waged a war against people.

 

While commenting on the recent petroleum price hike, a section of media reported that the UPA government should be given credit for taking a bold decision that may have political repercussions. Nothing can be further from truth.

 

 In reality, petrol and diesel were deregulated in April 2002 when I was the petroleum minister in the Vajpayee government. During my tenure, we increased the prices eight times and also reduced them on seven occasions.

However, when Manmohan Singh became the prime minister and Mani Shankar Aiyar petroleum minister in 2004, they reversed the decision and prices have been regulated over the last six years. What has been done now is ad hocism, with the UPA government deregulating the prices of petrol, but not diesel in its second tenure.

The timing of fully removing price controls on petrol and raising the prices of kerosene and LPG is wrong. Such decisions should be taken when the economy is stable. The aam aadmi is faced with the unprecedented inflation. So, the current heavy price increase is the last straw on the camel's back.

 

What should the government have done is the most obvious question. Had we been running the government, we would have reduced the excise duty and import duty to bring it to a revenueneutral level and passed on the benefit to oil companies and the consumer. We would have also issued oil bonds to oil marketing companies to compensate them for under-recoveries. That would have improved the health of oil marketing companies.
   The price increase will certainly stoke inflationary pressures and the vicious circle of price increase will further accelerate and result in untold miseries to the aam aadmi. The road ahead is dangerously slippery. Only a full rollback can save the situation.

 

SUNJOY JOSHI

Distinguished Fellow, ORF*

No, half-baked measures don't help

 

THE immediate reaction to raising of petro product prices has, as expected, been anguish over the inflationary impact of the move. However, with almost 80% of crude oil being imported, concern with inflation, beyond the immediate spillover effect, is grossly exaggerated. If crude oil prices shoot up, the economic burden cannot be wished away: costs cannot be escaped and must be absorbed within the overall system. Irrespective of the level of prices at the pump, these costs haunt the economy through misallocation of investment and resources; inefficiencies of sourcing, production and misuse down the supply chain; and end in inflationary pressures fuelled by rising deficits —precisely what is sought to be avoided here.

 

 Today, petrol prices have been freed, but diesel continues to fall prey to half-measures. With not even the pretence of a roadmap for freeing diesel prices, a mere statement of intent about eventually making them market-determined rings hollow: more so when in the same breath it is said that government would intervene if crude prices were to spike again. So far, this has been limited to walking the tightrope on precarious fiscal rebalancing rather than a tailored systemic response. Such 'intervention' amounts to little more than ostrich-like burying our heads in sand, and wishing the problem away.

 

 Protecting vulnerable consumers is not just a sovereign prerogative but a duty. However, a price control mechanism instead of reducing the price burden on vulnerable consumers only creates opportunities for capturing premiums by diverting fuel away from them. It makes vital daily energy unavailable to those most in need and makes them the least-serviced market segment. Instead of competition for market share, consumers have to be content with sibling rivalry between PSUs for the fish and loaves of subsidies doled out by a paternal government.

 There is no incentive to invest in improving operations to make them more cost-effective. Price reforms will be adequate when they restore to the consumer the ultimate power of choice — which can happen only if 'intervention' is direct and targeted at the last consumer.

 *Observer Research Foundation

 

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

CITINGS

WINNING IN EMERGING MARKETS

TARUN KHANNA

 

THE frameworks and examples in this book point to several key action items for companies operating in and out of emerging markets... Foreign as well as domestic companies have found success in emerging markets by positioning themselves as partners in progress — building businesses that also advance market development. Initiatives along these lines can take a number of forms — from advancing traditional corporate social responsibility to filling institutional voids — in service of businesses or as stand-alone projects.

 

Microsoft's investments in the development of China's software industry facilitated the development of its own business in the country. The job creation and tax revenue produced by Zain's business in African countries facilitated its government relations and operations. Similarly, the employment Tata Consultancy Services brought to Uruguay enabled the company to receive fast-tracked visas for employees travelling from India. At home, Tata Group filled voids in social services for employees in Tata Steel's company town Jamshedpur. Metro Cash &Carry's primary business filled voids in the food supply chains in emerging markets, reducing waste and bringing more transactions into the tax net, although this argument could not overcome entrenched opposition in Bangalore. Nonetheless, working to be — and to be seen as — a partner in progress can help companies in emerging markets, particularly multinationals coming in from more developed markets.

 

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

NOW&TH EN

RIGHT MOVE IN OIL, FOR NOW

JAIDEEP MISHRA

 

 LAST week's broad sectoral change in the pricing of the main petroleum products, petrol and diesel, so as to have 'market-determined' prices both at the refinery gate and the retail level, marks a landmark in public-policy terms. It's certainly a move in the right direction of reforms. After all, extensive price controls and subsidies on high volume petro-products do have a panoply of distortionary effects economywide, including huge and wholly questionable demands on scarce budgetary resources. But in tandem, what's surely required is rationalisation of the taxes levied on petrogoods, so as to have less-distorting retail prices. In parallel, market design in the oil sector needs policy attention as well.

 

 Now, it is welcome that the Centre has deregulated petrol prices, both ex-refinery and retail, in the backdrop of hardening prices of crude oil in the global market. The price revision is in the range of Rs 3.50 to Rs 4 per litre. As for diesel, by far the most used petroproduct, prices have, in principle, been decontrolled, although the upward revision, for now, would be Rs 2 per litre in Delhi, and slightly different in other places, depending on taxes and local levies. As for household fuels, cooking gas and kerosene, the subsidy levels have been tweaked downwards, in an attempt to better reflect scarcity value.

 

Anyway, open-ended consumption subsidies just make no sense. The plain fact is that non-revised retail prices of petro-goods, in the face of rising costs of imported crude, is fiscally reckless and not sustainable. It would mean mounting under-recoveries, the difference between cost price and realised prices, for the public sector oil marketing companies. In the past, the usual practice of the Centre has been to court populism, keep retail oil prices unrevised, and instead endeavour to finance the under-recoveries by issuing governmental IOUs read oil bonds. But since the bonds do need to be redeemed with budgetary funds, it necessarily implies economising on other heads, such as social expenditure, which is clearly retrograde.

 

 Besides, keeping domestic oil prices artificially low does send entirely wrong price signals, and would hardly encourage fuel conservation, or rev up energy efficiency and instead perversely jack up the price of promising alternative fuels. There would be still other ill-effects of non-revision, such as huge unscheduled borrowings by oil companies, and given the volumes involved, would verily shore up the cost of funds quite across the board. And yet we have followed warped policy, for years.

 

 Note that domestic oil prices were very much market-determined, well into the early 1970s. In fact, after the first oil crisis and following the price spike brought about by Opec, the oil cartel, retail prices pan-India were massively revised upwards — and overnight — albeit from a low base. In today's prices, the increase then was small change. But what's important was that there was no pricing of oil by fiat, complete with a host of attendant negative effects and implications. However, the fortuitous discovery of as large an oilfield as Bombay High must have encouraged policymakers to contemplate autarky, elaborate administered pricing, together with high taxes and duties on oil products. The policy outcome was suboptimal.

 

The regime of cost-plus returns did not really encourage productivity gains and proactive investment along the entire oil and gas value chain. The structure of indirect taxes on oil products hugely increased effective tariff protection for refining. And, every time global oil prices flared up in the late seventies and through the eighties, India had a balance of payments crisis thanks to structural economic weaknesses and vexed administered pricing. There was much recourse to oil bonds in the cavalier 1990s.

 

Be that as it may, in the late nineties, the weak United Front government at the Centre did decide to dismantle the administered pricing mechanism in 2002, no doubt quite certain that it would not be around to implement its policy decision. The dismantling did happen nevertheless, complete with a gazette notification which is notable in that there was no mention of deregulation and decontrol of pricing. There was some semblance of regular revision of retail prices, for a few months. But with dearer crude prices, price controls were back in place for petrol, diesel, etc, although it must be said that for industrial petro-products, prices have been market-determined in this decade. So doing away with formal controls did have some beneficial effects. There have been three expert-committee recommendations, for instance, calling for reform of the policy on oil pricing. Fast-forward to the here and now, and while the deregulation is noteworthy, taxes on petrol, diesel, especially state levies remain distortingly high, cascade as they do across the value chain. We don't have valueadded taxes in oil, unlike most other hightax regimes. Also, there's effective ring-fencing of oil sales here, with no real scope for independent oil retailing. The bottom line is the pressing need for proactive reforms, for truly competitive, efficiency prices in oil.

 

The Ramsey tax rule, used to justify high oil taxation, needs to be reconsidered, given overall tax reforms in the pipeline

In the mature markets, generally, independent oil retailers account for 50% or more of the offtake
We do need market-determined prices in petrol, diesel, etc, as was normal in the pre-control days of the 1970s

 

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

CO S M I C U P LI N K

THE NEW GOSPEL OF GIVING

VITHALC NADKARNI

 

ANEW spin's just been added to the old debate about who is the better Mogul of them all: Microsoft's Bill Gates or Steve Jobs of Apple? In the last 10 years, Gates Foundation is reported to have given over $1.14 billion, far more than the $569 million that the US government gave to the WHO's international vaccine initiative. Will that transfer some of the glow from St Steve's shining pate to the cloud glowering over Bill Gates' hirsute head? The latter has often been caricatured as a vengeful nerd or a cutthroat capitalist more interested in maximising his monopoly rather than perfecting technology.

 

In contrast, until recently St Steve was widely venerated as an artist-savant who happened to be a visionary entrepreneur almost by default.

 

Of late, however both these stereotypic images have begun to change. Gates has been giving away his fortune with the same gusto that he displayed in acquiring it while Jobs has started coming across as curmudgeonly control freak who's more interested in protecting his private fantasy than in advancing broader needs of society. Of course even this image could be wrong if it emerges that Jobs has been giving away his wealth to charity anonymously. For a person who seems so obsessed with privacy such a prospect could be quite likely. But less explicable is his public silence on vexatious social and political issues (excepting banning of porn from Apple applications which is not the same thing as blocking 'lazy' Flash drives from the iPad).

 

 Meanwhile, Gates continues to up the ante: At an event described as the 'First Supper', the Messianic billionaire with friend Warren Buffett and select fellow billionaire apostles in attendance, has launched a campaign to persuade the super-rich in the US to give away half their fortunes to charity. This could change the face of philanthropy beyond recognition. If everybody on the Forbes-400 list complied, the collection would add up to $600 billion.

 

 The New Gospel of Giving was further spelt out in a dozen riveting stories which also spoke about things like fears of alienating near and dear ones while leaping from making small to large donations. Subsequent suppers showed that like lesser mortals, many super rich too did not want to plan for their death or even to think about it. It's the one equaliser which is still the world's greatest wonder, says the Mahabharata.

 

 

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                                                                                                               DECCAN CHRONICAL

EDITORIAL

MANMOHAN SCORES A COUP AT G-20

If there are still sceptics out there who have doubts about India's emerging role in the international stage, they just need to take a second look at the media reports on the G-20 summit. It was Dr Manmohan Singh all the way. He went, he saw and he conquered. This is not some kind of parochial patriotic chest-thumping. The US President, Mr Barack Obama, had a point when he said that the world listens when this economist-turned-politician speaks. Of course, it does have much to with his erudition in the subject at hand — the economic slowdown. It also has much to do with the way India has edged forward to the centre-stage of the world in the last two decades. So it is no wonder that Dr Singh, who successfully steered India from the economic slowdown, was able to give food for thought to the world's super economic powers at the G-20 meeting in Toronto. He warned the leaders (especially those who spoke in highly optimistic tones) that the world economic recovery was 'still fragile' and time had not come for the bugles to be brought out. It was too early for governments to step back since demand was still weak, he added. The only qualified economist among the G-20 leaders did not miss a beat while telling the superpowers that the world economy would be in trouble if all of them pulled in different directions. In the climate of uncertainty it would be best if the stimulus packages were continued, he added in his determined voice and the world listened. Perhaps this G-20 summit would come to be known as the one in which India came to the forefront and did not remain in the sidelines, courtesy Dr Singh. Not only does he have a deep knowledge of economic issues, but has an economic vision too. And it is this economic vision that helped India to negotiate through the tricky swamp of recession, which sucked in many other countries. Dr Singh has also emerged as a leader committed to global peace and prosperity. As Mr John Kirton, director of G-20 Research Group of the Toronto University, pointed out, Dr Singh's understanding of complex economic issues coupled with the country's thriving democracy that has given India an edge at international economic summits these days. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Prime Minister has also played a key role in transforming G20 into a premier forum for international economic cooperation rather than a club of super powers in which other countries played the role of glorified cheerleaders. He was instrumental in G20 taking certain decisive actions to help the world deal effectively with the ongoing economic crisis. He also scored a diplomatic victory by persuading his Canadian counterpart, Mr Stephen Harper, to sign a civil nuclear deal with India, ending 36 years of sanctions. India will also receive uranium supplies from the country. So as Dr Singh flies back home to grapple with a host of domestic troubles, he can do so with the confidence of having left the stamp of his country in the G-20 summit.

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DECCAN CHRONICAL

EDITORIAL

IN NOWHERE LAND

BY P.C. ALEXANDER

When the Congress Party lost its position as the dominant national party in the 1989 elections, many people believed that this role would be inherited by the Janata Dal coalition under the leadership of V.P. Singh. However, it proved to be much more unstable than the government under Morarji Desai and very soon the country witnessed the rise of a number of regional (state) parties sporting the name "Janata Dal". The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), under the leadership of Atal Behari Vajyapee, emerged as an alternative to the Congress but it was able to retain its position only for six years and had to revert to its role as the main Opposition after the 2004 general elections.

Even though many Congress supporters take the victory in the 2009 general elections as confirming the return of the Congress as the party of governance at the Centre, the trend of voting in some of the large states in India and the number of seats it had won from 1989 does not give much room for such hopes. The Congress' strength in the Lok Sabha rose to 405 seats in 1984, but fell to 197 in 1989. It made a partial recovery to 232 in 1991 but the number of seats fell to 140 in 1996, 141 in 1998 and to 145 in 2004. The 206 seats tally in 2009 is no doubt a significant achievement, but not enough to warrant much optimism. The main weaknesses that plagued the Congress from the mid-60s, such as lack of inner-party democracy, poor leadership in states et cetera, continue even now. In fact, the main advantage that the Congress has at the Centre is that its rivals are in a worse position on the criteria of inner-party democracy and state-level organisational strength.

As far as the BJP is concerned, its unity and coherence as an all-India party has been badly shattered by the electoral reverses of 2009. A great blow to the morale of the rank and file of the BJP has been the open display of divisions and rifts among its national level leaders after the 2009 reverses.

More disappointing to those who were entertaining hopes for the emergence of a viable third alternative has been the trend of decline that has set in most of the small parties. Anti-Congressism and anti-Hindutva had provided an ideological platform for the various remnants of the old Janata Dal and a number of Left parties under the leadership of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), but the CPI(M), today, is in much greater disarray and state of decline than the Congress or the BJP had been at any time in the recent past. The question now is whether the CPI(M) will get enough seats on its own to prop itself as the leader of the Left group in any future third front.

The trend of decline in the small parties carrying the label of "Janata Dal" is more conspicuous than that in the CPI(M)-led Left Front. In the early years after its founding, the Janata Party could attract not only the followers of certain castes, in some states, but also a good number of followers committed to the socialistic ideologies of Jayaprakash Narayan. They claimed to be equally opposed to the policies of the Congress and the BJP, but now people don't know where senior leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav stand. They seem to have opted for a very flexible ideology for their parties, guided more by their personal interests than any principles or socialist philosophy. Their sudden shift from anti-Congressism to the position of supporters of the Congress has landed their parties in a "nowhere land" and stifled the idea of a third front even before it was born. Public would find it difficult to accept their leadership for a third front when they are seen to be guided more by convenience than by their commitment to the ideologies claimed by them till now.

The senior functionaries in Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav's party are members of his own family and he retains a tight control over the affairs of the party without involving the other senior members in the process of decision-making, even on important issues. In Bihar, people will not easily forget the past when Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav could not consider anybody else except his wife to hold the office of chief minister when he had to face certain serious criminal charges. The masses in these states are getting more and more educated and politically enlightened and are no longer convinced about the logic of their top leaders advocating democracy for those outside the party, but practising "one leader dictatorship" within their parties.

Many people who have been watching the record of Nitish Kumar as chief minister of Bihar had developed great admiration and respect for him as a good and clean administrator. In fact, many think that the third front will have a worthy leader in Mr Kumar if Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav are unable to retain leadership in the Opposition front that comprises of small parties. However, the manner in which he has treated Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has now created serious doubts about his potential to develop into an all-India leader.

One can understand his dislike of the poster of his shaking hands with Mr Modi on the latter's visit to Bihar recently but this is not an adequate reason for denying Mr Modi the basic courtesies due to a visiting chief minister. Worse still was the decision of Mr Kumar to return the Rs 5 crores donation that the government of Gujarat had generously given to for the flood-affected people of Bihar. There may be many in the country who do not agree with the way Mr Modi handled the Godhra riots, but one doubts whether they would endorse the methods chosen by Mr Kumar to display his dislike to a visiting dignitary.

Many admirers of Mr Kumar would be disappointed by these developments and one can only hope that a person who tries hard to provide good governance to his state will also become an example for politeness and courtesy in pubic relations, particularly to visitors from outside, however great may be the dislike for the alleged wrong-doings of the visitor in controlling communal riots in his state.

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

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DECCAN CHRONICAL

EDITORIAL

THE BLACK AND THE WHITE OF SOUTH AFRICA

BY ROGER COHEN

JOHANNESBURG

South Africa is a country where race is not the subtext of existence. It's the text.

I was at dinner the other night with my cousins, white South Africans divided as to whether they still have prospects here. The elder men said things like, "I now feel like a visitor", or "The future is for the blacks". They see race relations worsening, corruption spreading and inefficiency rampant.

Not the youngest among them, a law student in his mid-20s, proud African, brimming with indignation at his elders' perceived conceits: "Is it race or is it class?" he asked. "What is freedom to them?" he demanded, voice rising. "They want houses, schools, sewage. They want justice".

Conversation turned to this tidbit: Under apartheid, blacks could not be bricklayers because the job was classified as whites-only skilled labour. The student's mother expressed anger, prompting a furious rebuke from him: "Why are you angry now when you weren't 30 years ago? Your anger's useless now. Drop it. When it would have been useful you didn't have it. Now it's payback time for them".

"They" are the eternal other, of course, the blacks in this white conversation, the whites in mirror-image black conversations.

There are plenty of iterations of "they" in a land where the 1950 Population Registration Act (evil legislation is always innocuously named) ran a fine comb through types of inferior being, among them Indians and mixed-race "coloureds". Almost a generation from apartheid's end, South Africa is struggling to compose these differences into something foreign to nature: a sustainable rainbow.

The world has much at stake in this quest. South Africa — 79 per cent black, 9.5 per cent white and 11.5 per cent Asian or mixed race — is the ground zero chosen by history and geography for the dilemma of otherness, the violent puzzle of race with its reflexive suspicions and repetitive eruptions.

At moments, as during this first African World Cup, the rainbow shimmers. This was supposed to be the competition of smash-and-grab and of machete attacks. Many stayed away.

The fear merchants, always hard at work, have been proved wrong. German grandmas do not lie savaged on the road to Rustenburg.

Unity has unfurled, calm broken out. Smiles crease black and white faces alike. To the point that the most asked question here is: Will this moving honeymoon last beyond the World Cup?

It's a good question. South Africa, in the run-up, smouldered, crime eating at its heart like a surrogate for the post-apartheid bloodletting that never was.

There was the murder in April of the white supremacist Eugène Terre'Blanche, hacked to death after the leader of the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League, Julius Malema, revived the "kill the Boer" line of black struggle. There were Malema's endorsements of Zimbabwe's disaster merchant, Robert Mugabe. There was the unhappy sight of the ANC, torn between its liberation mythology and the mundanity of governance, gripped by paralysis as unemployment climbed over 25 per cent and its "tenderpreneurs" prospered.

A tenderpreneur is an insider pocketing millions from rigged government tenders for everything from air-conditioners to locomotives. The word denotes failure, that of black economic empowerment, which has come to mean much for the few and little for the many. If the powerful steal with front companies, why should the weak not steal with guns?

Yes, as my young cousin said, blacks want justice, from other blacks as well. If President Jacob Zuma does not use the lessons of this World Cup — that colour lines can blur, that things can get done — to build momentum for reform, he will have failed. He must put the tenderpreneurs out of business. He must reverse the crumbling of education. Jobs do not lie in digging more stuff out the ground. The knowledge economy is where opportunity resides.

Is it class or race? South Africa is not going to rainbow race away, but it can bring blacks out of their miserable shacks and educate them — if its leaders are prepared to lead by example. I say it's more class than race.

I was driving the other day with my colleague, Jere Longman, who mentioned that growing up in a small town in Lousiana in the early 1960s, he would see a "whites only" sign outside the launderette and imagine that meant white clothes alone.

Almost a century separated the end of slavery from the end of Jim Crow segregation in the United States. Sixteen years have passed since the first free elections here.

There are no quick fixes. But I take heart from the African patriotism of my young cousin. I take heart from another 20-something white South African, a young woman who told me: "I am so happy for Ghana and so proud to be an African".

That was after Ghana, lone African World Cup survivor, booted the United States out, a victory dedicated by its players to Africa, Nelson Mandela's "proud continent". We all know what Ghana long shipped to America: slaves.

It's a pity US President Barack Obama couldn't find time to be here in the land where race is text and the way it gets written will affect everyone's future.

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DECCAN CHRONICAL

OPED

'AFSPA HAS PERCEPTION PROBLEMS'

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah speaks to Yusuf Jameel about the need to amend the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in part two of an interview given recently. He also thinks hanging Afzal Guru will create more problems than it will solve.

Q. There seems to be a race between some political parties with regard to the hanging of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru, who is from J&K. Don't you think this can exacerbate the situation in the state?
A. I'm not sure whether the people of India are as foolish as some politicians. I don't think hanging Afzal Guru is going to win a single Parliament seat for any party, let alone a majority in Parliament. As an individual, I'm against death penalty. Hanging Billa and Ranga, child killers in Delhi when I was a boy, didn't change anything for crime. Hanging Maqbool Butt, in fact, created more problems than it solved. I, therefore, say that hanging Afzal Guru will probably create more problems that it will solve. Recently I read in some newspapers that I've to sign the black warrant before he can be hung. My understanding is that perhaps that is not true as the crime has not been committed in J&K. The cases are all in Delhi. But I'll ask the advocate general to ascertain.

Q. Has the Centre consulted you on the possible fallout of Guru's hanging on the law and order situation in J&K?
A. We've not been consulted as such. I'm sure should the situation reach the point where they need to hang him, they will have to take the state government into confidence, for the biggest fallout of hanging him will be in Kashmir. But I think we are still very far from that point. Let us not forget that even if all the appeals were to get exhausted, there are still more than 25 people who are already on the death row, whose executions have to be carried out. So, I think the hanging is being conducted more in the media than in actuality.

Q. The PM's Srinagar visit seems to have failed to create any impact as far as the people are concerned. Too many restrictions were imposed on movement and the shutdown sponsored by separatists pushed people indoors. Did this disappoint you?
A. I thought in the circumstances it was a good visit, given the inputs generated about security threats. It was even suggested at one point that the PM should just fly into the Army cantonment to attend the University (convocation) function and fly out. I agree that perhaps greater than necessary precautions had to be taken. The wider inconvenience to the people, was, however, set off by the separatists. They have to answer for this. They have made it a habit to call for strikes. We seem to want to hold the government responsible for everything. I find it difficult to find a justification for what they do.

Q. The PM was somewhat indistinct on the human rights issue. He didn't reiterate his zero-tolerance commitment this time, and some say he tried to justify the violations at the hands of the troops when he said aberrations are bound to occur while dealing with violence and terrorism.
A. I think zero-tolerance is more important in terms of how you implement it, rather than how many times you repeat it. The evidence of zero-tolerance to human rights violations is visible in the response of the Government of India (GoI) to the Macheal fake encounter. It is visible in the response of the GoI to the killing of the youth by the BSF at Brein, Srinagar.

Q. You have accused the separatists and other political elements of pitting the Valley's youth against the security forces to serve their own ends. But some people say "vested interest" in the security agencies, and even sections of the bureaucracy, are equally responsible. Do you agree?
A. No. Any "vested interest" in the government that may wish to create problems for the government will do it with regard to the implementation of the policies of the government vis-à-vis development. I don't believe it is possible that "vested interests" within the government will create law and order disturbances, stone-pelting and the like.
Q. Your predecessors would opt for the "carrot and stick" mantra to deal with law and order situations. By picking up the stick and discarding the carrot, you seem to be of the view that the problem is not political. Was the crackdown on separatists and activists unavoidable?
A. We're working to handle it politically, particularly with those who believe there is scope for talking. Unfortunately, there are those who believe in taking an extreme position, and putting people into difficulty. I've no political problems with the separatist leaders. If I wasn't chief minister, I wouldn't worry about the political line they take.
But I'm acutely aware of my responsibility to the people of this state. If some elements are going to continuously try to disrupt the education of children, or the earnings of small businessmen and traders, if they are going to disrupt the activities of the government through calls to close government offices, then I'm afraid I'm not left with very many options other than to get tough with them from time to time. But I'm willing to provide all the space they require to project their views to people within the separatist camp, even to Geelani Sahib. Until recently when he decided that he wanted to damage the secular fabric of the state by waging a front against the Amarnath yatra, I had no problem with his going out and propounding his views wherever he chose to in the Valley.

Q. An Army general has described the AFSPA as a "holy book" which can't be annulled. Are the people in khaki trying to overrule the political leadership?
A. Fortunately for us, unlike with most if not all our neighbours, we have never had a problem with the uniform trying to overrule the political establishment, whether at the state level or at the national level. And I'm sure that not only the officer you are referring to but his colleagues too will go along with the political leadership when the political decision is taken to amend the AFSPA. That has always been the strength of our armed forces. Even our Constitution is open to amendments. The AFSPA is not a document handed down to us from God almighty. It is a creation of man through legislation, and it can be amended exactly like other laws.

Q. You have said that AFSPA has been a problem in the way of the government's endeavour to ensure that perpetrators of innocent killings such as those in Macheal in north Kashmir are brought to justice. Why haven't you arrested Major Upinder so far when you were quick to make arrests in the case of the earlier Brein shootout in Srinagar?
A. We knew exactly what had happened at Brein. It was a plain case of unprovoked firing which claimed the life of a boy. In the Macheal case, the inquiry is on. Punishment will follow. There has been a difference in the response of the Central paramilitary forces and the military. That perhaps is one of the reasons why there is a need to amend such a requirement for the amendment in the AFSPA, so that not only is justice done but also seen to be done. That is what we are working on.

Q. So, you agree the AFSPA is an impediment in delivering justice?
A. AFSPA has huge problems of perception on both sides — the perception of the average resident of J&K that it is abused, and the sense that it is indispensable for the security forces. The need is to address both views. I don't think we should constantly look at the AFSPA only from the prism of J&K. Long before this law was seen as a problem in J&K, it was a big problem in the Northeast. The move to amend it started there.
Concluded

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DECCAN CHRONICAL

OPED

STORY OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

 BY DAVID BROOKS

On December 14, 1934, a failed stockbroker named0 Bill Wilson was struggling with alcoholism at a New York City detox centre. It was his fourth stay at the centre and nothing had worked. This time, he tried a remedy called the belladonna cure — infusions of a hallucinogenic drug made from a poisonous plant — and he consulted a friend named Ebby Thacher, who told him to give up drinking and give his life over to the service of God.

Wilson was not a believer, but, later that night, at the end of his rope, he called out in his hospital room: "If there is a God, let Him show Himself! I am ready to do anything. Anything!"

As Wilson described it, a white light suffused his room and the presence of God appeared. "It seemed to me, in the mind's eye, that I was on a mountain and that a wind not of air but of spirit was blowing", he testified later. "And then it burst upon me that I was a free man."

Wilson never touched alcohol again. He went on to help found Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), which, 75 years later, has 11,000 professional treatment centres, 55,000 meeting groups and some 1.2 million members.

The movement is the subject of a smart and comprehensive essay by Brendan I. Koerner in the July 2010 issue of Wired magazine. The article is noteworthy not only because of the light it sheds on what we've learned about addiction, but for what it says about changing behaviour more generally. Much of what we do in public policy is to try to get people to behave in their own long-term interests — to finish school, get married, avoid gangs, lose weight, save money. Because the soul is so complicated, much of what we do fails.

The first implication of Koerner's essay is that we should get used to the idea that we will fail most of the time. Alcoholics Anonymous has stood the test of time. There are millions of people who fervently believed that its 12-step process saved their lives. Yet the majority, even a vast majority, of the people who enrol in the programme do not succeed in it. People are idiosyncratic. There is no single programme that successfully transforms most people most of the time.

The second implication is that we should get over the notion that we will someday crack the behaviour code — that we will someday find a scientific method that will allow us to predict behaviour and design reliable social programmes. As Koerner notes, A.A. has been the subject of thousands of studies. Yet "no one has yet satisfactorily explained why some succeed in A.A. while others don't, or even what percentage of alcoholics who try the steps will eventually become sober as a result".

Each member of an A.A. group is distinct. Each group is distinct. Each moment is distinct. There is simply no way for social scientists to reduce this kind of complexity into equations and formula that can be replicated one place after another.

Nonetheless, we don't have to be fatalistic about things. It is possible to design programmes that will help some people some of the time. A.A. embodies some shrewd insights into human psychology.

In a culture that generally celebrates empowerment and self-esteem, A.A. begins with disempowerment. The goal is to get people to gain control over their lives, but it all begins with an act of surrender and an admission of weakness.

In a culture that thinks of itself as individualistic, A.A. relies on fellowship. The general idea is that people aren't really captains of their own ship. Successful members become deeply intertwined with one another — learning, sharing, suffering and mentoring one another. Individual repair is a social effort.

In a world in which gurus try to carefully design and impose their ideas, Wilson surrendered control. He wrote down the famous steps and foundations, but A.A. allows each local group to form, adapt and innovate. There is less quality control. Some groups and leaders are great; some are terrible. But it also means that A.A. is decentralised, innovative and dynamic.

Alcoholics have a specific problem: they drink too much. But instead of addressing that problem with the psychic equivalent of a precision-guidance missile, Wilson set out to change people's whole identities. He studied William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience. He sought to arouse people's spiritual aspirations rather than just appealing to rational cost-benefit analysis. His group would help people achieve broad spiritual awakenings, and abstinence from alcohol would be a byproduct of that larger salvation.

In the business of changing lives, the straight path is rarely the best one. A.A. illustrates that even in an age of scientific advance, it is still ancient insights into human nature that work best. Wilson built a remarkable organisation on a nighttime spiritual epiphany.

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DECCAN CHRONICAL

OPED

REPENT FOR THE SAKE OF LOVE

BY SADIA DEHLVI

The Sufi path consists of different spiritual stations including taubah (repentance); zuhd (piety); tawakkul (trust) in God; faqr (poverty); dhikr (remembrance of God); sabr (patience); shukr (thankfulness); rida (contentment); mohabbah (love); and marifah (Divine knowledge). These stages are travelled through mujahidah (self-mortification).

Taubah, repentance is the first station in the Sufi path signifying an awakening of the soul. It involves turning away from sin with the intention of remaining steadfast on the right path. Compassion and mercy are among the foremost attributes of Allah who accepts forgiveness from those who truly seek it. The Sufis believe that loving Allah's friends effectively cleanse one's sins. Bayazid of Bistam said, "Love those beloved of Allah and make yourself lovable to them so that they love you, because Allah looks into the hearts of those he loves 70 times a day. Perhaps he will find your name in the heart of the one He loves. He will love you too and forgive your wrongdoings. This is the quickest way to reach Him".

Allah waits for his servants to ask forgiveness, assuring in the Quran that He is Most Forgiving and Most Merciful "Why turn they not to God, And seek His forgiveness? For God is oft-forgiving, Most Merciful" (5. 74).

Forgiveness and mercy are the dominant themes that run through the Holy Quran. Prophet Mohammad said that all of us err to some degree, but the best are those who reflect and then ask Allah for forgiveness for their wrong actions.

Sufis have a treasure of stories relating to methods used in replacing unworthy attributes by praiseworthy qualities. One day the bazaars of Baghdad caught fire and Sari Saqti, the ninth century mystic was informed that his shop had burnt down. He later learnt that somehow his shop did not get destroyed in the fire whereas most of the other shops in the street had been destroyed completely. Saqti said he gleefully thanked God, but soon realised his selfishness in not feeling immense pain for fellow shopowners. He admitted to repenting that one sin for over 40 years. Eventually, Saqti gave away the shop and everything he owned to the poor embraced the Sufi path.

A true repentance is an awakening of the heart in making a connection with God. The Sufi philosophy outlines three kinds of taubah, which vary in rank because of the intent with which it is made. The first taubah is of the people who leave sin for the fear of Hell, the second kind is rooted in the desire for Heaven. The third taubah is not made out of fear or desire, but simply for the love of Allah. This is the true taubah of the lovers, where they get to a point that they have no complaints, remaining content with whatever comes from God, be it tribulation or joy.

Abu Said Ibn Abi Khair, Sufi poet of the 11th century explains, "Sufism is glory in wretchedness; richness in poverty and lordship in servitude; satiety in hunger and clothedness in nakedness; freedom in slavery and life in death and sweetness in bitterness".

Islam accords a high rank to those who forgive while in a position to retaliate. Abu Said Ibn Abi Khair writes:

"He who is not my friend — may God be his friend

And he who bears ill will against me, may his joys increase

He who puts thorns in my way on account of enmity

May every flower that blossoms in the garden of his life be without thorns."

Sufi Masters remind followers that the door of repentance remains open till doomsday. Rumi's mausoleum in Konya has his famous verse inscribed on it, "Come back, come back, even if you have broken your repentance a thousand times".

— Sadia Dehlvi is a Delhi-based writer and author of Sufism: The Heart of Islam. She can be contacted at sadiafeedback@gmail.com [1]

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THE STATESMAN

EDITS

VIOLENCE UPSURGE

THE PRICE OF LOSING J&K FOCUS 

 

POLITICAL lethargy rather than CRPF action underlies the current upsurge of anger and acrimony across the Kashmir Valley. The mass protests triggering a circle of violence that threatens to negate all the hard-fought gains in countering militancy cannot be oversimplified. Indeed they are a flashback to the late 1980s/early 1990s, for the cry for azadi is being raised as forcefully as the condemnation of the Central forces. Had Omar Abdullah provided the requisite quality of governance there would have been little public resentment for the separatist elements to exploit ~ attacking the CRPF is essentially symptomatic, the malaise runs deeper. It is so easy for the state government to point the accusing finger, had its own machinery sufficed there would have been no requirement for the CRPF to be deployed on virtually every law-and-order maintenance exercise. There can be little justification for the force's over-reacting, yet on almost every occasion it has been required to first defend itself ~ if it went overboard it could be the result of having been under the sustained pressure that the political leadership opts to ignore. Sure it is tragic that young people should die, one said to be just 10 years of age: but who roused youthful emotions, misled them into thinking it was heroic to "take on" the paramilitary? Sharing some part of the blame is the main Opposition party in the state; Mehbooba Mufti's politics are anything but constructive or responsible. 

When the Valley is "ablaze" New Delhi is guilty too, for putting J&K on the backburner. The Prime Minister's promises have yielded nothing, what happened to the expert groups or their recommendations? It is significant that the violent expressions of frustration have followed Dr Manmohan Singh's essentially ceremonial trip to Srinagar. As in the past, the Centre pays attention to insurgency-affected areas only when blood flows. For the better part, if violence is contained the problems of those regions are shelved. It would be improper to pre-judge the impact of the home minister's proposed trip to the Valley. Hopefully some flames will be doused, but until core issues are addressed ~ autonomy is a critical one ~ the tensions will simmer. And with dangerous regularity will erupt against the manifestations of "India": earlier it was the Army and BSF, now the CRPF. Instead of advocating CRPF restraint, the Congress party spokesman should energise his government.

 

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THE STATESMAN

EDITS

LINGUISTIC PRIDE

DIVIDING LINES STILL NEED TO BE REMOVED 

 

Given the passions that go into the promotion of linguistic identities, there is no reason why an event as elaborate as a World Classical Tamil Conference ought not to be mounted with the objective of not only looking back but also looking ahead to see how the language can grow. At a time when northern India presents various dialects of Hindi and regional languages have suffered on account of neglect or the pressures of establishing new links in a global environment, the commitment with which the Tamil Nadu chief minister has helped stage an expression of "Tamil pride'' in the presence of Indologists and international scholars ought logically to be seen as an example of how a language whose roots go back to the Indus Valley civilisation can unite people. The question survives as to whether the President who spoke of the vibrancy and richness of Tamil helping to make India "a proud multi-lingual society'' and Mr Karunanidhi who claimed that Tamil is older than Sanskrit and "the mother of all languages'' were on the same wavelength. Mrs Pratibha Patil was referring to the manner in which a linguistic heritage embracing literature, religion and the arts is an integral part of Indian society. The chief minister, on the other hand, may have been concerned about how the heritage can be "protected'' with the excessive display of regional fervour which, in this case, has drawn thousands and has cost the organisers more than Rs 300 crore. 

That political rivalries have crept in is evident from the AIADMK's absence. With the DMK in power both in Tamil Nadu and at the Centre, this is the best time to make a grand display of political power. But linguistic chauvinism is also liable to take unexpected, often unhealthy, turns as when leaders of the Tamil film industry, citing outrage at discrimination against Tamils in Sri Lanka, threatened to boycott Bollywood stars who participated in an awards ceremony in Colombo. Nor is Jayalalitha likely to observe a sudden burst of Tamil pride at the behest of her staunchest rival without an agenda of her own. This means there are dividing lines that need to be removed. While a conference of this nature has more political than academic value, there is room still for reconciling strident expressions of regional sentiment with the possibilities of communication and fruitful exchanges in a federal structure.

 

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THE STATESMAN

EDITS

DE-STALINISATION 
IN HIS NATIVE GEORGIA 

 

Last weekend's de-Stalinisation in Georgia comes 19 years after the statues of another era were craned off the pedestals in Moscow. The pro-Western government of the former Soviet republic has snapped the last link with its Communist past, and done so with despatch. The statues of Stalin in his hometown of Gori and another at Tkibuli have been dismantled in a span of 48 hours. No less astonishing is that it was a secret removal operation, effected at midnight on Friday and Monday. The timing was clearly intended to forestall reactions, perhaps even outrage as a section of the local populace had opposed the removal since the collapse of the Soviet era. Unmistakable is the popular sentiment that hasn't waned since the end of Communism in the Soviet Union and East Europe (1989-91). Indeed, a generation has grown up since that historic phase. The statue at Gori had been a mute witness to momentous changes in Soviet history ever since it was installed in 1952, a year before Stalin's death. It had even survived the denunciation of the Stalin cult by Nikita Krushchev and not least the purge of statues in Moscow. More recently in August 2008, it had even weathered the Russian bombardment and occupation of Gori during the war with Georgia over South Osetia. Ergo, the removal of the landmark in Gori and Tkibuli may itself turn out to be a watershed in the history of the former Soviet republics.  
The perceived liberal intelligentsia, under the influence of the West, have had their way in the tussle with Gori's old-time residents who wanted to keep the statue where it was. The decision to erect a monument in honour of those who died in the war with Russia in 2008 testifies to the overriding anxiety to update history. Symbolically, the break with the Soviet past is complete in Georgia with the unannounced toppling of the last remaining statues of Stalin anywhere in the world.

 

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THE STATESMAN

SPECIAL ARTICLE

BALLOONING EXPENDITURE

THE CRISIS DEFIES AN EASY PANACEA

DHIRES BHATTACHARYYA

 

Economists are trained to distinguish between two major types of inflation. One is called demand-pull inflation, brought about by a growing expansion of monetary demand while supply is constant or nearly so. In this case, a rise in prices is the only possible outcome since supply has reached its limit. Of course, the rising prices will further strengthen the demand-pull pressures and inflation will become a cumulative process.  Where the forces behind this cumulative process originate on the demand side, stopping the process will call for resolute action to check demand growth.

The other type of inflation, which is usually described as cost-push (or supply side) inflation, also tends to turn into a cumulative process. The basic reason is, however, either a wage-push or a push arising from monopolist or quasi-monopolist traders and industrialists. Either labour or capital may, by exercising its organisational powers, hold society to ransom. Once the price level departs from its stance of equilibrium, the upward spiral becomes too rapid to be halted by the agencies which try to restore the earlier balance.

Quantity theory

Classical economists spoke of the Quantity Theory of Money when trying to explain and control inflation. The theory is an over-simplication of a very complex problem. To accept the Quantity Theory in toto, you must postulate that the real determinants of the economic process have nothing to do with money, that money is nothing but a "veil" while the real governing forces lie outside the monetary sphere. This position has been virtually abandoned by post-Keynesian economic theorists.

The demand-pull type of inflation calls for demand management. This can be brought about both by reducing money in circulation and by weapons of fiscal contraction. Either instrument seeks to bring down the demand level, but generally fails when inflation has been allowed to reign for some time and inflationary expectations have started building up. The greater the duration of the inflationary process, the harder it becomes to bring under control the demand-pull forces arising out of the cost-push factors that generated the cumulative process.
In economic theory supply responds to price movements as surely as demand moves. Of course, it is recognised that both changes are subject to their respective elasticities.  But rarely do we take into account that in certain situations demand changes can occur much more easily than changes in supply. For example, in the housing market demand can be deferred, but even in a rising market supply cannot be augmented (or depleted) in the near future. Alfred Marshall pointed his finger towards the importance of "time" in economics, but seems not to have applied his mind to situations where supply elasticity is zero in the short run, while rising demand, derived from the continuous rise in prices plays havoc.

When inflation starts from a zero supply elasticity situation ~ for example after the season's principal crop has been harvested or a one-sided decision has already been taken regarding the amount of crude petroleum to be lifted from the oil-wells ~ supply elasticity ceases to work. Classical equilibrium analysis fails in such situations. The period of money circulation, which naturally increases as prices continue their upward movement, has to be brought in for a meaningful (though yet aggregative) dis-equilibrium analysis.

In this situation, monetary contraction has a part to play, but can hardly provide a radical solution. The inflation will continue till the next agricultural season unless cheap imports can be arranged for and substantial loss of monetary reserves is bearable. In the interesting case of a "fabricated" inflation (eg in crude petroleum) the demand cuts which inflation causes are frequently not enough in industrialised or industrialising societies. The  search for cheap, alternative fuels, if successful, can alone close the gap which the OPEC participants are keen to maintain.

 In India the availability of food may not go up when drought conditions continue to prevail over a number of years. Food prices will in that case spiral upwards until a bumper crop exerts downward pressure on prices. Accordingly, anti-inflationary measures will be only partially effective in such situations.

 

Monopolists' game

MONETARY measures will have to be supplemented by measures which remove the kink that brings about total inelasticity in supplies. This often remains beyond policy control unless the next agricultural season generates a bumper harvest. Monetary authorities will have to keep the public quiet by uttering inanities, for example the coming rabi season will make good the kharif losses, when they know that the rabi crops cannot fill in the void left by the earlier lean kharif season. In the case of crude petroleum or other artificially regulated natural products monetary measures can only scrape the surface of the price problem. The inflation continues until the monopolists' game yields a lower pay-off than an alternative game. We must recognise, though, that costlier petroleum today enables us to leave at least some of this precious resource for the people who will hopefully inhabit this planet after we are no more.

Inflation is obviously a curse, except for those who can foresee its course ~ those who can buy and sell well in time. Of course such persons will prevent higher prices from constricting demand. When prices fail to work on both demand and supply, no theory of steady or systematically changing prices can be formulated and one does not know what type of measures will have to be adopted for stopping the random price movements that characterise an inflationary situation.

 

After being caught in an uncomfortable situation like this it is idle to think of an easy panacea. We have already indicated why traditional monetary and fiscal policies cannot rescue the economy from the mire which Nature and greedy men have constructed. Now we have only some emergency measures to rely on, such as arranging imports of essentials and providing relief for the very distressed.

(The writer is a noted economist)

 

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THE STATESMAN

PERSPECTIVE

 

THE FORGOTTEN VILLAGES

SIX YEARS HAVE GONE BY SINCE THE LIST OF BACKWARD VILLAGES WAS DRAWN UP AND IT IS LEGITIMATE TO ASK FOR SETTING UP OF AN INDEPENDENT TASK FORCE TO REVIEW THE PROGRESS MADE THERE, SAYS DEBRAJ BHATTACHARYA

 

Readers will perhaps recall that in 2004 an incident of starvation death in the village of Amlashol sparked a series of media reports and a public outcry. How could people starve in the cherished land of land reforms and Panchayati Raj? The government was forced into a defensive mode and had to accept that tribals have died although the official cause of death was malnutrition.

What is less known is that in the same year, the Department of Panchayats and Rural Development carried out an innovative computerised exercise to locate 4,612 villages across the state (roughly 11 per cent of the total number of villages) and they officially came to be known as the "backward villages" of West Bengal. Once again the official explanation had nothing to do with Amlashol. It was described as the result of the government's continuous effort to identify poverty in the state. Whatever the explanation, the official acceptance of these villages was an important step towards addressing the problems of poverty in villages like Amlashol. The identification was followed by a sanction of funds for their development and many district magistrates even visited some of the villages and filed reports regarding their condition and what needs to be done.

Soon, however, the news became stale, and the excitement produced by Amlashol was lost. Matters became routine and the backward villages were forgotten. In 2006-07 the department, as part of the research activities of the Strengthening Rural Decentralisation programme, set up a research team to look into the situation of the backward villages. I was part of the team and coordinator of the research activities. The research looked into a sample of 92 backward villages in seven districts of the state.

The result was horrifying to say the least. Illiteracy was at 55.01 per cent and female illiteracy was 75.49 per cent. Nearly 32 per cent of the 3,815 respondents did not have any land. There was hardly any cottage industry and also hardly any presence of NGOs to compensate for the failure of the state's welfare mechanism. Irrigation facilities were was poor and the villagers even had to buy water from private sources. The presence of the money lender was strong and less than 20 per cent received credit from formal sources such as banks or credit cooperatives. Only about five per cent of the villagers lived under concrete roofs. The people suffered from malaria and fever, pointing towards lack of sanitation and expenditure on health was a drain on limited income of the households. Not surprisingly, the research team found a very high concentration of backward villages in the tribal areas of Purulia, Bankura and Purba Medinipur which are now Maoist strongholds.
The report made several recommendations to the government. It called for a task force to be set up under the chief secretary. It called for all vacant posts in the panchayats to be filled and raising the awareness levels of people of the villages regarding various poverty alleviation schemes. NREGS needed to be implemented on an urgent basis, the report said. The recommendations were not followed although the report was accepted. It is yet to be published.

Over the last three years, government of West Bengal has continued with some budgetary support for poverty alleviation programmes in these villages and some development has taken place in a routine manner like forming SHGs, building schools or improving drinking water. In the latest annual report of panchayats and rural development (2008-09), the backward villages occupy a tiny part of the voluminous report. It says that out of Rs 20 crores allocated for backward villages by the state government, Rs 14.47 crores were released by the department and only Rs 1.60 crores spent upto 31 March 2009. The delay in spending is given the usual administrative explanation ~ "utilisation of the amount got hampered due to panchayat election".

It is, of course, true that the impact of all schemes such as NREGS or SGSY would also be felt in backward villages and, therefore, it is possible that, thanks to other schemes, their condition has improved since the evaluation in 2007. However, it is important to remember that the scheme on  backward villages is state-sponsored and, therefore, it shows how keen the Left Front government is to remove poverty on its own. How well the state government is implementing its own schemes reflects its political will.

Six years have gone by since the list of backward villages was drawn up. It is, therefore, legitimate to ask for setting up of an independent task force to review the progress made in these villages. If this had been a project funded by the World Bank or DFID, then they would have conducted independent reviews by now. The state government, on the other hand, is quite casual about reviewing its own schemes, which is why the district administration also does not bother to worry about the performance of state-sponsored schemes.
The media and the civil society also have an important role. It is only when the media focuses on certain issues and civil society raises its voice that Writers' Building wakes up. It is also important to review the situation in backward villages because the ones in Purulia, Bankura and Paschim Medinipur are situated in the areas where Maoists have a stronghold. In order to counter the Maoist forces, it is important to track how far these villages have developed. Let us all hope that Amlashol never gets repeated.

The writer is associated with the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi

 

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THE STATESMAN

PERSPECTIVE

O DRIVER, MY DRIVER!

ISHWAR PATI

 

"Do you want to buy a papaya, Sir?" my driver's question on our way home from office startles me out of my abstraction. How on earth did he divine that papaya was the very thing my heart, nay my palette, craved whenever I saw a cartload of them by the roadside? I had not mentioned papayas, or any fruit for that matter, to him. But that was Pradhan, chauffeur extraordinaire. He had been with me for hardly a couple of months, and yet in that short time he had catalogued all my likes and dislikes ~ and my wife's as well. There was no magic wand involved; he had simply made it his business to observe and store these details, making it appear as if he had read my thoughts. Like my seeking Lord Hanuman's blessings on Saturdays. After the first time I asked him to take me to a Hanuman temple, I didn't have to remind him every Saturday. In fact, out of the four Hanuman temples I frequented, he would invariably select the one I wanted to visit that day, so statistically he had worked out and mapped my previous outings!

There had been many drivers before him, all of them drivers, merely drivers. They ferried me mechanically wherever I wanted them to go ~ not necessarily where it was my real wish to go. My mandatory darshan of Hanuman would be aborted on a Saturday if for some reason, preoccupied with things urgent, I failed to specifically ask the driver to take me to the temple. It was not that all of them who had been in my employ before Pradhan came along were rogues. Many of them had been quite decent, carrying out their assigned duty of transporting me or my wife from Point A to Point B (and then to Point C, Point D and so on as ordered), but they were always in a tearing hurry. Their sole motto was to beat the traffic in general and the car in front in particular. I had to shout at them to take it easy and drive only the car, not my blood pressure up. I was in no hurry; so what was the reason for their hurry? But my harangue mostly fell on deaf ears.
Their mind seemed to have been sealed by a glass ceiling, beyond which they could not thinik. Far from drawing my attention to the cartload of papayas, these drivers would simply drive past; so solely intent they were on vanquishing the car in front. Even after shouting at them to stop, their mental faculty would take something like a full minute to register my command and apply the brake. By that time, of course, the cart with the papayas would have been left far behind.

Pradhan was a Jeeves among drivers, the rarest of a rare species. God (or whosoever makes drivers) doesn't supply them any more. So I have decided to "in-source" this vital role and drive my own car, as I used to do in my early, "proletariat" days. That way I can stop whenever and wherever I like. My blood pressure too would not be driven up the wall, as I can drive at a gentle speed that I am comfortable with.

But I seemed to have jumped from the frying pan into the fire. How can I prevent my blood pressure from shooting up when I see these huge buses swarming all over the road and rushing down to crush my small vehicle to pulp?

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THE STATESMAN

PERSPECTIVE

THE BIGGEST DEFICIT IS DEMOCRATIC

CAMERON IS DOING WHAT BLAIR OR BROWN DIDN'T DARE IMAGINE... BREAKING PRE-ELECTION PROMISES RIGHT AFTER TAKING THE OATH OF OFFICE, SAYS STEVE RICHARDS

                                                     
Imagine if Tony Blair and Gordon Brown had announced after the 1997 election that public services were even more decrepit than they had feared and were going to raise taxes immediately in order to improve them. Their extreme timidity in Opposition meant Blair and Brown had no mandate to make such a move and would have been slaughtered in the media if they had broken their pre-election promises. They did not dare to do so.
In contrast the coalition, or at least its Conservative wing, is hailed in much of the media for its plans to cut spending in most departments by more than a quarter and put up VAT even though no such revolutionary programme was highlighted in advance of the election. With a lack of logic the coalitionis leaders claim their novel arrangement gives them a mandate to act, as if two parties combining legitimises policies never outlined by either. Before the election the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats were adamant that they had no need to raise VAT. You will search in vain for any pre-election statement from Messrs Cameron, Osborne and Clegg arguing for large swathes of the state to be cut by more than 25 per cent.

Indeed the pre-election sequence was altogether different. When Cameron gave clearer voice to his anti-state instincts in his party conference speech last October, support for his party declined in the polls. Never knowingly inflexible in the face of obstacles to power, Cameron changed tack and gave several speeches in which he was tonally more sympathetic to the state. By the time of the election the Conservatives' focus was on a cut here and there, but absolutely nothing that would impact on frontline services.

Clegg gave an interview at the start of his conference last year speaking of the need for savage cuts, but by the end of that sunny week in Bournemouth he had qualified his comments. Although the Lib Dems were braver than their new Conservative allies in specifying cuts in their manifesto they did not get anywhere near the quarter of public spending about to be slashed.

Almost certainly the coalition wonit succeed in implementing such a reduction, in spite of the current crusading zeal within No. 10 and the Treasury, one that is genuine and well intentioned. Energetic zeal tends to be a dominant characteristic at the start of a crusade rather than at the end, or even in the middle. In opposition Cameron and Osborne changed their economic policies several times and I anticipate several more changes of direction as they head off on their self- proclaimed unavoidable journey. But the intention is clear. They plan to cut on a scale and at a pace that makes the 1980s seem like a decade of recklessly big government.
The wisdom of replacing government spending with a private sector-led recovery at a point when the rest of Europe is contracting will continue to be the subject of much debate. I note that in an attempt to win the debate Osborne cites the cuts being planned elsewhere in the EU. The contraction of other European economies might allow the Chancellor to claim vindication but is unlikely to help an export led recovery in the UK. Presumably in the coming months a local police station or Sure Start centre will close to be replaced by a bright new business that will struggle to trade in a declining European market. This is seen as good news for the British Chancellor because countries are following his Thatcherite instincts.

There are odd contortions wherever we turn. Cuts in Germany and France are good news for Osborne. When it was revealed last week that Britain was borrowing less than forecast this was seen as bad news for the Chancellor as he wanted more evidence of crisis in order to justify his revolution. Bad news becomes good. Good news becomes bad.

A coalition embarking on its topsy-turvy revolution does not have a mandate to do so. This is more than a theoretical issue. Sweeping cuts and additional tax increases imposed without a degree of electoral legitimacy are likely to lead to higher levels of unrest. Adding together the support of the Conservatives and the Lib Dems from the last election is not enough. Nor is it adequate for the coalition to offer a consultation with the public now, a move the largely supportive Lord Lawson rightly describes as cosmetic.

I have some sympathy with politicians in relation to calls for pre-election candour. If they are too candid they will lose elections. It is a matter of degree. Probably there was some space in 1997 for Blair and Brown to put the case for immediate increases in public spending given the dire state of hospitals, schools and transport. If they dared to occupy such thorny pre-election terrain they would have had the chance to increase spending more evenly and in less fraught circumstances than those that marked their second term. Similarly if Cameron, Osborne and Clegg want to implement their small state vision so quickly they should have said more in advance, not as much as they are declaring now the election is safely over, but not as little as they did up until 2 May. The voters did not give them the authority to act in this way.

The support of some newspapers should not be mistaken for a mandate. A few of them always oppose public spending in general and then scream with anger about the impact of specific cuts. The same applies to opinion polls showing support for icutsi. If voters were asked whether they supported better equipped schools or cheaper train fares they would also say iyesi by a big majority.  I cannot recall an equivalent gap between pre-election statements and post election implementation. In 1979 Margaret Thatcher was wise enough not to spell out in detail the 1981 Budget, the shrine for monetarists in the current coalition, but she argued openly for a shift from direct to indirect taxation and made clear she would take on the trade unions. Voters knew where they stood when she arrived at No 10. In 1992 John Major was not exactly candid when he promised no new tax rises, but he had some excuse for an imposed change of course after Britain fell out of the ERM. Cameron, Osborne, and Clegg pretend the economic situation is worse than they realised; yet nothing of significance has changed since the election. Perhaps the coalition needs unexpected igoodi news such as an economic humiliation on the scale of the ERM withdrawal. Until then Lib Dem MPs have every right to vote against elements of the Budget. None were elected to vote for them.

;The Independent

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THE TELEGRAPH

EDITORIAL

NOT YET FULL

 

Half-done is rarely well done. The government's decision to hike petroleum product prices on Saturday was half-done; petrol prices were fully deregulated, and diesel partially, but in those of the supposedly more politically sensitive kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas, or cooking gas, there were only price hikes — by 33 per cent in the former, and 11 per cent in the latter. Losses for the oil companies — that will have to be financed at least partly by the government — will come down from about Rs 81,000 crore to about Rs 54,000 crore: Rs 21,000 crore from LPG, Rs 17,000 crore from kerosene and Rs 15,000 crore from diesel. The government's fiscal balance will look better, and many expect its fiscal deficit for this year to come down to 4.4 per cent of GDP from the estimated 5.5 per cent (this revision includes the better-than-expected revenues from the auction of telecom spectrum that just concluded a few weeks ago). But the government will also worry about the impact on inflation: some analysts estimate that the wholesale price index could be higher by almost a percentage point year on year this June because of higher fuel prices, unless food prices moderate; it was already higher than expected at just over 10 per cent in May.

 

But the rationale for the political sensitivity of kerosene prices — which is used mainly in rural India — is suspect. Kerosene is used mostly for lighting, and accounts for just two per cent of the monthly expenditure of rural households. The kerosene supply is also quite adulterated, and a lot of it is smuggled to neighbouring countries where prices are three to four times higher. An even bigger worry for those who look to the government for serious reform in the administered pricing mechanism of petroleum products is the protests from the Congress party's coalition partners would actually roll back the hike in kerosene prices; a one rupee rollback would amount to Rs 1,300 crore. Granted, the concerns over inflation are warranted. The hitherto weak monsoon — cumulative rainfall has been 11 per cent below normal thus far — is a bother. In the north-west region, however — the crop-critical area — the shortfall is just seven per cent below the long-run average. Industry is also justifiably worried that taken together with the fuel price hike, this raises the probability of a policy interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India sooner rather than later. The government cannot take too long to get the other half done.

 

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THE TELEGRAPH

EDITORIAL

LANGUAGE PRIDE

 

So far, there has been no Tamil conference that has 'failed' in Tamil Nadu, although it may have had varying results — for the language, for its speakers, or for its political patrons. Hence, it should be no great surprise that the recently concluded World Classical Tamil Conference in Coimbatore has been declared a thundering success. It has led to the creation of a Rs 100 crore corpus fund for the research and development of the language and given a major boost to Tamil computing, besides tickling public memory in the right places in an effort to rekindle the fierce language pride that had once changed the face of politics in independent India. However, it is unlikely that the conference would have as easily lent claim to success had it not achieved the targets of its organizer — the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government. Much like its predecessors, the Coimbatore conference has been the perfect showcase for the might of the ruling government, particularly of the leadership of the DMK patriarch, M. Karunanidhi. But it is also from the conference's single-minded focus on the promotion of the larger-than-life image of Mr Karunanidhi that problems arise. The chief minister has seized for himself the role of the ultimate benefactor of the Tamil language and the leader of the Tamil people. It is now the responsibility of his government to hold language conferences every five years and uphold the antiquity of the Tamil language by pushing for its inclusion as an official language of India. Mr Karunanidhi's selfless promotion of classical Tamil does not stop at that. He wants Tamil to be the language in the law courts and to reserve government jobs for Tamil speakers.

 

Mr Karunanidhi's push for Tamil as an official language is grounded in his belief that Tamil, as "the first mother tongue in the world", is superior to both English and Hindi. The argument necessarily relegates other languages to a more inferior status. This is linguistic chauvinism in its most dangerous matrix. It may revert back to the Dravidar Kazhagam's earlier cry of Tamil Nadu for Tamils. The imposition of the Tamil syllabi and the job reservation plan are indications of that. The rehashing of the old formula may do the DMK good, but it is unlikely to be healthy for either Tamil or its speakers in the state.

 

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THE TELEGRAPH

OPINION

A LEGACY OF SIBLINGS

HONOUR KILLINGS ARE CONDONED IN AREAS WHERE WOMEN ARE SCARCE

MRINAL PANDE

 

There was this girl from a Brahmin clan long ago, ran family lore, whose father failed to find her a suitably young and prosperous husband from a different gotra. Finally she was married to a very old and very poor Brahmin beggar from an acceptable gotra. A year later, the father decided to pay his daughter a visit. He was appalled to see her in rags, roasting a fistful of coarse grain over a twig fire in a hut. "What are you roasting child?" the father asked gently. "My caste and your gotra, Babuji," the girl replied.

 

Fastforward to story number two. The year was 1991. A batch of young Indian administrative service probationers visiting eastern India as part of their mandatory Bharat darshan were taken to an ancient temple, considered an archeological treasure. On their way out, they decided to leave behind a donation. The priest-cum-accountant, as he filled out the form, asked the young lady handing him the donation, "What gotra shall I write here?"

 

"All India Services 1991 batch," replied the lady without batting an eye.

 

Caste, gotra and women have obviously come a long way since a young wife in Uttarakhand sat roasting them over twigs. But that transition is actually the real source of the recent spate of caste-gotra related lynchings and murders in the north, especially in Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. The khap panchayats that have aided and abetted the lynching mobs have of late been delivering harsh judgments over various issues that range from marriage to education (separate school-timings for area boys and girls) to sharing the state's waters with Delhi. And their being controllers of vital caste vote banks in the area gives them a covert political protection from the police and the law and order machinery.

 

In television debates, their semi-literate supporters are quoting everyone from Manu to the geneticists on how a same gotra marriage means mixing up genes among siblings — which is both incestuous and will mean risking genetic defects among the progeny. If this were so, how come Brahmins in the south are allowed to marry their daughters to boys of their wife's natal family, or into the married sister's husband's family, by the same tradition? How about the treatises on the Dharmashastras that say that a Kshatriya or a Vaishya (perhaps they travelled so much, or perhaps because they gave good dakshina), if he cannot recall his gotra, can avail of his guru's or family priest's gotra as his own? And last, but not the least: if caste identity is so sacrosanct to the Jats , how come they are now threatening to cut off water supplies to Delhi unless they are listed not as upper castes but as other backward classes?

 

Unlike the Vedic and post-Vedic era, when all the deemed founders of the four major gotras bore their mothers' names, Manu's law is father-centric. According to it, each legitimate caste male is born into a specific gotra, and lives and dies as a member of the same, but women join the paternal gotra of their husbands when they are married. The gotra of the khaps accepts the patriarchal system, but then goes on to redefine siblinghood and kinship for Jats. It dates back to the 14th century — the time of Timur's massive assault on western India — which may have suddenly exposed the vulnerability of disunited landowning clans in the region. Each khap, when it was created, was said to be based on a cluster of 84 villages united by caste and geography. All young boys and girls of such a khap area were declared siblings, who must not intermarry. You can see how vast one gotra pool now becomes. Add to it the fact of an increasingly female deficient society (the male-female ratio in Haryana now stands at less than 800 females to 1,000 males) and you begin to understand (though not condone) the desperation of the khaps to protect the marriageable girls for their own and prevent same-gotra or intercaste love marriages by supporting the killing of rebels. There are not many takers for the recent assertion of the chief minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, that khap panchayats never order honour killing; the affected families kill their young on their own.

 

The khaps' efforts at preserving the gene pool are being threatened also by the new urbanized India, which now has new markers for assessing the worth of available grooms for their daughters. The flaunting of caste, gotra, family land and gold is no longer enough. Affirmative action, amendments in the laws restrictive of women's, Dalits' and OBC's democratic freedoms, and the spread of education have all but destroyed the age-old backwardness of marginalized groups and their access to good jobs. The matrimonial ads reveal a new type of suitable bridegroom from the erstwhile backward groups: young, confident, holding a lucrative job in the private sector or the government or working abroad. In states like Punjab and Haryana, where massive female foeticide has created a gravely skewed gender ratio, there are fewer marriageable daughters in caste families. Not only young girls but also many families, disenchanted with uneducated and uncouth young men from landed families who may be the right gotra but gamble or drink all day, feel that their much-pampered daughters deserve better. Such families will support their daughters' demand for overlooking the gotra of a suitable groom. The rich and the powerful still get away even after they have bent the rules — with a rap on the knuckles, as it were. They are asked to pay a small fine and give a feast to all and ask for forgiveness. That's all. But it is only the economically weaker (a poor fatherless Dalit or OBC boy marrying a Jat or Gujjar girl, or a Jat girl eloping with a Bihari Yadav lad) who literally get it in the neck even after they have moved to a city and asked for police protection. Actually, the logic that runs like sap through all caste based panchayats shows you the rule when you show them the man.

 

Area politicians of all ages and from various parties, even those who have studied abroad, have by now made it clear that when it comes to community laws, they would not intervene on the side of the law, but justify the caste panchayats' stance on gotra and arranged marriages. This is where one begins to look to, and expect, both the civil society and the government at the Centre to assert themselves immediately and see that what prevails ultimately is the law of the land, not the law of the landed.

 

Gotras only meant clansmen who shared the same cowshed during the pre-Vedic ages when the term was coined. The Vedas linked it to four rishis (all of them known by their matronymics) and increased the footprint. Manu linked it to the caste system much later and made the whole issue patriarchy-centric.

 

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THE TELEGRAPH

OBITUARY

OBITUARY

ARTIST WITH A FAITHFUL EYE

NORMAN HUTCHINSON (1932-2010)

 

Norman Douglas Hutchinson, who died in Marrakech, Morocco, last week, had a life that was lifted out of a fairy tale. Norman was an Anglo-Indian who did not know his parents till he became an adult. He was abandoned and taken into that unique institution, Graham's Homes, Kalimpong, when he was an infant. He grew up in the Homes and it was there that he discovered his talents as a painter. He shot into prominence with his portrait of Lady Mountbatten, then the vicereine of India. Norman was only 18 then. He never looked back and never forgot his roots.

 

Norman decided to make a career as a painter of portraits. The early days were not without hardship. He bore them with humour and the support of his wife, Gloria, whom he married when he was a young man. His talents were too good to go unrecognized; soon, commissions started coming in. He painted Jawaharlal Nehru, Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and many other luminaries. There hang in quite a few Calcutta drawing rooms paintings by Norman that show his special gifts of eye and craft.

 

Norman painted with "a sincere hand and a faithful eye". His portraits were life-like and displayed his outstanding craftsmanship. Degas once said, "We were created to look at one another, weren't we?'' Norman's portraits were reminders of this insight from one of his favourite artists. The person Norman loved to look at and paint again and again was his wife. Gloria was Norman's muse.

 

The Hutchinsons moved from Calcutta to London in 1959 and then to France and finally to Morocco. But in many ways, Calcutta and Kalimpong were Norman's homes. He came back every year during the winter and always stayed in Fairlawn Hotel on Sudder Street. He had an unalloyed loyalty towards Graham's Homes to which he made many endowments.

 

He made the effort to find his parents. He discovered that his father was of the lineage of the earl of Queensberry (hence the middle name Douglas) and his mother an ordinary Anglo-Indian girl who, when Norman discovered her, was living in penury. Norman supported her till her death. Norman himself had risen from poverty to affluence. This made him extraordinarily generous.

 

Norman was an unforgettable man. This will be borne out by all who met him in Calcutta and elsewhere. He had a wicked sense of humour, and laughter was constant when he was around. There was, however, a very serious side to him. He was very conscious of his dignity as an artist. And perhaps because he drew portraits, he could size up an individual's character and persona almost always correctly and that too at the first meeting. He was also immensely knowledgeable about Western art. I recall sitting with him in a noisy dinner party when he waved everyone away and spoke to me about Degas's drawings. I came away enriched.

 

It was apposite that Norman died peacefully before the pain of cancer destroyed his mind and body. Gloria kept from him for one year the news that he had the dreaded disease. He told her that she, their three daughters and all his friends should mourn for him. One can mourn the fact that Norman's brush will never touch canvas again, one can mourn that his inner eye will never capture the individual he painted, but Norman the man is difficult to mourn because he had so much talent and because he was so much fun. One can only raise a toast to him and expect him to join us from the vaulted sky above where he now resides with the painters.

Rudrangshu Mukherjee

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******************************************************************************************DECCAN HERALD

FIRST EDIT

SHOW RESTRAINT

''ISI IS POSSIBLY STOKING VIOLENCE IN KASHMIR.''

 

The situation in the Kashmir Valley has assumed worrying proportions. Eight teenagers have been killed in CRPF firing in Srinagar, Sopore and Anantnag over the past five days; three of them on Tuesday. With mob violence spreading like wildfire, curfew has been clamped in parts of Baramulla, Anantnag and Srinagar. Public anger with the CRPF's trigger-happy behaviour is escalating. This is understandable to some extent. The CRPF could have acted with more restraint, using tear gas to disperse mobs rather than resorting to gunfire. Firing on a mob, however unruly it might be, is not the best way to prevent a situation from escalating.

A part of the problem lies in the CRPF's style of functioning. It is not a disciplined force. Its personnel are poorly trained and overworked. This has contributed to making the CRPF part of the problem in areas where it is being deployed, rather than a force that will facilitate a solution. In Kashmir, the CRPF is in a particularly tricky situation. Over the last couple of years, it has been confronted by stone-throwing mobs. These stone-pelters have been described by the separatists as 'non-violent' protestors. They are not. Stone-pelting has killed people, including a 10-month-old baby, and grievously injured dozens. It has put the CRPF in a quandary. Those they are confronting on the streets of Srinagar and Sopore are not wielding guns. But they are using stones to deadly effect. And this requires the police to respond sternly.

What is more, it has become increasingly evident that several of those protesting on the streets of Kashmir today are not 'innocent civilians' ventilating their anger against the state. Neither are the protests spontaneous. Rather, these appear to be part of deliberate strategy to provoke the CRPF and several protestors are militants in civilian clothing. With the armed militancy becoming unpopular among the Kashmiri people and under international scrutiny, it is likely that Pakistan's ISI is seeking to trigger unrest in the Valley again by provoking the CRPF to crackdown on the public. There are striking similarities between the situation in the Valley in 1987-89 and that which exists today. Public disaffection with the Indian state is rising and this could escalate into insurgency again. The CRPF must not allow itself to get provoked by the protestors. Firing at protestors must be avoided.

 

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DECCAN HERALD

SECOND EDIT

DOING IT RIGHT

''REFEREES SHOULD HAVE TECHNOLOGY TO ASSIST THEM.''

 

FIFA president Sepp Blatter's belated assurance to take another look at technological means to reduce refereeing errors in football has not come a day too soon. Twice in one night at football's biggest carnival, the sport's top officials were found wanting when it came to making the right calls. Sunday's games at the World Cup — England versus Germany and Argentina against Mexico — were expected to showcase high octane action. While the fare on view did not disappoint the fans, the refereeing certainly did, with television easily picking out their mistakes, triggering demands that technology be used to help them in their jobs. For decades, FIFA has resisted calls to use technology, saying it would rob the game of its 'human face.' In March this year, the International Football Association Board, the sport's rule-making body, rejected a proposal to use technology. What the stand has actually done is to show the referees in poor light, even reducing them to a laughing stock in the eyes of millions of viewers across the world.

Decisions on offside and whether the ball has actually crossed the goal-line generate maximum debates in a football game and at least on the latter issue, FIFA had the opportunity to cut out the errors, with two options in front of them — the ball developed by Adidas with an electronic chip embedded in it and the Hawkeye technology which is a familiar sight in cricket as well as in tennis. The eight-member IFAB said no to both, rejecting by a 6-2 majority any use of technology to assist the referees. With the World Cup nearing the final phase, it has become evident how wrong the authorities were. A string of poor decisions has infuriated the teams and at least in a couple of cases, might have influenced the course of the games. After the latest poor decisions, Blatter finally stepping in with an apology to the concerned teams.

There might be some merit in FIFA's argument about use of technology disrupting the flow of the game but the overriding concern here has to be the interests of the teams and the game itself. The World Cup is an assemblage of top talent and they deserve nothing less than the best. Sadly, it has not been the case at least in this edition but with Blatter reopening the case, there is hope yet on the officiating front in future tournaments.

 

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DECCAN HERALD

MAIN ARTICLE

THE WRONG CHOICE

U R RAO

There are many alternatives, so the choice of the power plant has to be based on the cost, affordability and impact on environment.

 

 

The race for establishing extremely expensive solar photovoltaic power stations (SPPS) in India, which even rich countries cannot afford, started with the setting up of a 2 mw solar photovoltaic grid-based power station in West Bengal at an exorbitant cost of Rs 39 crore or about Rs 20 crore per mw. This was followed by the construction of a 1 mw SPPS at the Asiad village in Delhi at a cost of Rs 23 crore.

Now to top these, Karnataka is setting up a 3 mw grid-based solar photovoltaic plant near Kolar, with two more similar projects nearing completion in Belgaum and Raichur. These are to be followed by many more such plants going up to 10 mw, which are under planning.

The cost of 3 mw plant is Rs 58 crore which also works out to almost Rs 20 crore per mw in spite of being grid operated. It is about 4 times that of a stand alone coal-based power project or 2.2 times that of a nuclear energy installation. Even the estimated cost of running a SPPS is expected to be over Rs 15 for kilo watt hour (kwh) as against just about Rs 2 for a coal or gas based system and Rs 3 for a nuclear station.

How can India, a poor developing country with a low per capita income and a very large population of about 1.1 billion, afford the use of silicon based photovoltaic systems for energy production till such systems become economically viable? Basic amenities like public health, sanitation, environmental degradation, both rural and urban infrastructure, including energy starvation are seriously limiting the growth rate of the country.
Even though the country has witnessed an 8 per cent growth rate per year, during the last five years, sustenance of high growth rate and providing basic food security to people critically depends on the rapid improvement of infrastructure, particularly in the power and transportation sectors.

In order to achieve a sustainable 8-10 per cent growth rate, it is absolutely necessary to at least double our installed electricity capacity by 2020 by adding 2,00,000 mw of electricity generation. Even at the cost of Rs 5 crore per mw, equivalent to that required for a coal-based power plant, the total cost for providing this basic infrastructure would exceed an astronomical figure of Rs 10,000 billion. While there are various alternatives for generating electricity ranging from hydroelectric and coal-based plants to nuclear and solar energy, the choice of the power plant has necessarily to be based on the cost, affordability and its effect on environment.

Fossil fuel based energy systems have no doubt significantly contributed to the global warming phenomena through emission of carbon-di-oxide into the atmosphere, which has resulted in the increase of global temperature by about 0.8 C over the last 150 years. It is also well known that global warming is the result of the extravagant profligate habits of the highly developed countries, which carry just about 1 billion people, less than a fifth of the global population, even though they contribute over 50 per cent of global CO2 emission. The Indian citizen contributes just about 1.2 tonnes/capita of CO2.

Commitment vs cost

Sadly the Copenhagen Summit of last year failed to produce any tangible result primarily due to the unwillingness of developing countries to agree to significantly reduce their CO2 emission. While all of us have indeed to work towards decreasing the global warming trend, developing countries like India, with extremely low per capita electricity generation, have also to ensure that their growing energy requirement has to be met using affordable energy generation mechanisms in order to achieve a sustainable growth rate.

We recognise that it is important to reduce CO2 emission by using clean energy sources as much as possible. However, except for wind energy which contributes just about 7,000 mw out of a total of 1,60,000 mw installed power capacity in India, the rest of the solar energy power systems including photovoltaic systems have made no significant impact primarily because of the excessive cost.

In spite of the worldwide intensive research efforts aimed at the development of high efficiency solar photovoltaic systems being carried out for over 60 years, the cost of silicon based solar photovoltaic power generation systems have not significantly come down because of their poor efficiency for conversion of solar energy.

There is no doubt that all over the world we need to continue to do research to substantially improve the efficiency of solar systems to make them affordable. Recent research findings indicate that it may be possible to enhance the efficiency of solar cells by at least a factor of 4 using non-silicon based multi-layered systems and nano-technology. However, till such a time high efficiency photovoltaic systems with a conversion efficiency of at least over 60 per cent are discovered to bring down the cost of power generation to Rs 6 to 7 crore per mw, their use for large scale power generation by any nation and particularly a poor country like India is not feasible.

Yet the attempt to build grid-based large scale SPPS is a tremendous waste of our resources, which we can ill-afford. It is not even clear whether the decision making in these cases involved knowledgeable and competent scientists who have worked on photovoltaic systems.

Our claim that we are the first to carry out such ventures is not only hollow but also an indicator to confirm that where angels fear to tread we jump in, even if the cost involved is exorbitant.

(The writer is former chairman, ISRO and former secretary, Department of Space)

 

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DECCAN HERALD

IN PERSPECTIVE

US NEEDS AN AFGHAN STRATEGY, NOT AN ALIBI

HENRY A KISSINGER

The US' interests coincide substantially with those of many of the regional powers.

 

I supported President Obama's decision to double American forces in Afghanistan and continue to support his objectives. The issue is whether the execution of the policy is based on premises that do not reflect Afghan realities, at least within the deadline that has been set.

The central premise is that, at some early point, the US will be able to turn over security responsibilities to an Afghan government and national army whose writ runs across the entire country. This turnover is to begin next summer. Neither the premise nor the deadline is realistic.

Afghanistan has never been pacified by foreign forces. At the same time, the difficulty of its territory combined with the fierce sense of autonomy of its population have historically thwarted efforts to achieve a transparent central government.

The argument that a deadline is necessary to oblige President Hamid Karzai to create a modern government challenges experience. What weakens the argument is not so much Karzai's intentions, ambiguous as they may be, but the structure of his society, run for centuries on the basis of personal relationships. Demands by an ally publicly weighing imminent withdrawal to overthrow established patterns in a matter of months may prove beyond any leader's capacities.

Public mood

Every instinct I have rebels against this conclusion. But it is essential to avoid the debilitating domestic cycle that blighted especially the Vietnam and Iraq wars, in which the public mood shifted abruptly from widespread support to assaults on the adequacy of allies to calls for an exit strategy with the emphasis on exit, not strategy.

Afghanistan is a nation, not a state in the conventional sense. The writ of the Afghan government is likely to run in Kabul and its environs, not uniformly in the rest of the country. The attainable outcome is likely to be a confederation of semi-autonomous, regions configured largely on the basis of ethnicity, dealing with each other by tacit or explicit understandings.

We are needed to bring about the space in which non-jihadist authorities can be established. But if we go beyond this into designing these political authorities, we commit ourselves to a process so prolonged and obtrusive as to risk turning even non-Taliban Afghans against us.

The facile way out is to blame the dilemma on Karzai's inadequacies or to advocate a simple end of the conflict by withdrawing from it.

Yet America needs a strategy, not an alibi. We have a basic national interest to prevent jihadist Islam from gaining additional momentum. A precipitate withdrawal would weaken governments in many countries with significant Islamic minorities. It would be seen in India as an abdication of the US role in stabilising West Asia and South Asia and spur radical drift in Pakistan.

It would, almost everywhere, raise questions about America's ability to define or execute its proclaimed goals. A militant Iran building its nuclear capacity would assess its new opportunities as the US withdraws from both Iraq and Afghanistan and is unable to break the diplomatic stalemate over Iran's nuclear programme.

Afghan strategy needs to be modified in four ways. The military effort should be conducted substantially on a provincial basis rather than in pursuit of a western-style government. The time scale for a political effort exceeds by a wide margin that available for military operations. We need a regional diplomatic framework for the next stage of Afghan strategy, whatever the military outcome. Artificial deadlines should be abandoned.

A regional diplomacy is desirable because our interests coincide substantially with those of many of the regional powers. All of them, from a strategic perspective, are more threatened than is the US by an Afghanistan hospitable to terrorism. China in Sinkiang, Russia in its southern regions, India with respect to its Muslim minority of 160 million, Pakistan as to its political structure, and the smaller states in the region would face a major threat from an Afghanistan encouraging, or even tolerating, centres of terrorism. Regional diplomacy becomes all the more necessary to forestall a neocolonial struggle if reports about the prevalence of natural resources in Afghanistan prove accurate.

A regional diplomacy should seek to establish a framework to insulate Afghanistan from the storms raging around it rather than allow the country to serve as their epicentre. It would also try to build Afghanistan into a regional development plan, perhaps encouraged by the Afghan economy's reported growth rate of 15 per cent last year.

Military operations could be sustained and legitimised by such diplomacy. In evaluating our options, we must remember that every course will be difficult and that whatever strategy we pursue should be a nonpartisan undertaking. Above all, we need to do justice to all those who have sacrificed in the region, particularly the long-suffering Afghan people.

 

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DECCAN HERALD

RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE

NEVER A DULL MOMENT

MAYA JAYAPAL

Stray dogs lie curled up like centipedes early in the morning.

 

I have just returned after staying with my daughters in an American leafy suburbia for a month where the only noises were those of rain on rustling leaves, an occasional car swishing by or the ice cream van tinkle. The contrast with the street where I live in Bangalore is quite amazing.

The street is a leafy cul-de-sac leading from a very confused and confusing main road which is still deciding whether it is one-way or two-way. It has its own special brand of animals and birds. There are the stray dogs which are mostly harmless and lie curled up like centipedes early in the morning when I go for walks. The birds frequent two tall trees. They arrive in droves — especially the mynahs and the crows — around twilight and then leave early in the morning in a cacophony of noises. By midmorning the kites circle round, skimming closer and closer until one of them alights, proud and disdainful, on the rooftop of the apartment block opposite.

There is a lot of activity on the street. Mostly it is residential — apartment blocks and houses, plus a playschool. So early mornings come the schoolchildren, some with bright morning faces, some with petulant sleep clogging their eyes, led by parents or caregivers. The older ones who stand on the road waiting for the bus are smartly uniformed, their shoulders weighted down with their back packs.

The cars begin to be washed. The milkman comes on his bicycle announcing his arrival with the typical wailing honk. Then the domestics arrive. They jocularly call out to each other and congregate near the chaiwalla, leaving behind their debris of plastic cups until the rubbish woman comes along and gathers them, grumbling. Cars begin reversing and  honking. The used paper man sounds his 'Paapeeah' call and on rare days, you hear the twang of the cotton man and the cry of the knife grinder.

The construction people next door start cutting their stones. The vegetable women arrive with their carts and quite surreptitiously, a couple meet under the tree at the corner — he on a cycle looking casual and she, twisting her duppatta in her hands.

Towards evening the children come out to play — with wickets in the middle of the street. My neighbour's son pedals his new cycle, showing off with a 'hello auntie.'

Now the sun has gone down. The cars come back, the birds begin to roost. I hear the azan from the nearby mosque, a bhajan from a home next door. The day is ending; the street is ready to welcome the quiet and the dark.

 

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THE JERUSALEM POST

EDITORIAL

HEALING JEWISH RIFTS IN THE 'THREE WEEKS'

THE GULF BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE DIASPORA IS WIDENING.

 

The Jewish tradition of fasting and adopting certain mourning rites during the three weeks that stretch between the 17th of Tammuz and Tisha Be'Av is meant to spark introspection and reflection. It was the Jewish people's divisiveness and infighting that precipitated the end of Jewish sovereignty and the beginning of exile – events commemorated during this period. Sadly, some of the same internecine tensions exist today, including in conflicts between Ashkenazim and Sephardim, haredim and other streams of the Jewish community, Left and Right.

As though Jewish dissent within Israel were not enough, there are also widening gulfs between Israel and the Diaspora, and notably American Jews, the largest Diaspora community. A 2007 study by sociologists Steven M. Cohen and Ari Y. Kelman, for instance, noted a marked decline, at all ages, in the level of American Jewish identification with Israel and a rise in discomfort with the idea of a Jewish state. A 2008 study by sociologists Leonard Saxe and Theodore Sasson documented that younger, non-Orthodox, American Jews were less identified with Israel, a fact that has been true for some time.

The worrying rise in intermarriage in the Diaspora is one cause. Intermarried Jews and their children tend to have looser ties to Judaism and Israel. Wider public opinions for or against Israel also have a major impact on Jewish opinion.

In a controversial essay that appeared in the New York Review of Books in May, writer Peter Beinart argued that the widening divide between Israel and America's young, non-Orthodox Jewry was a direct result of Israeli policies, which Beinart harshly criticized.

Beinart's explanation was not new. In fact, over three years ago, Cohen and Kelman rejected "widely held beliefs" that American Jews' left-liberal political identity was responsible for a fall in support for Israel. A more likely explanation is that American Jewry is simply increasingly indifferent to Israel – which would be worse. Better to grapple with engaged criticism like Beinart's than face disconnected apathy.

Though Beinart was right to point out that Israeli and American Jews hold sharply different political sensibilities, he was wrong to imply that these discrepancies point to American Jewry's moral superiority. They are, rather, a result of deep historical and cultural differences as well as the unique challenges faced by Israel.

American Jews enjoyed unprecedented economic prosperity, successful cultural integration and readily internalized liberal democratic ideals granted them by America's founding fathers. Israelis, in contrast, are refugees or their descendants, many of whom came from countries lacking a democratic tradition, and who opted, out of either choice or circumstance, to embrace Zionism's nation-state solution to "the Jewish question." Israel's fledgling democracy has developed under the existential threat posed by a violently militant Palestinian nationalist movement, while integrating a significant Arab minority that unsurprisingly identifies more with the surrounding Arab majority than with Zionism – as well as over a million immigrants from the Former Soviet Union and Ethiopia, devoid of a liberal democratic culture. Remarkably, throughout all this, Israel has managed to maintain an irreverent, muckraking press, a highly activist judiciary and a parliament that provides Arab Israelis with equal political representation.

STILL, THE gulf between Israeli and American Jews remains. Thankfully, steps are being taken to bridge it.

Just last week the Jewish Agency's Board of Governors, meeting in Jerusalem, unanimously approved a new, broader mission that will focus on strengthening Diaspora Jewry's ties with Israel.

Interestingly, one of the most effective ways of achieving this goal is by facilitating a visit to Israel, like the ones provided by Taglit-Birthright or MASA.

By simply meeting with Israelis and seeing up close their unique challenges, American Jews gain a better understanding and return home with closer ties to Israel, whether or not they agree with the policies of the government of the day.

During the "three weeks," when history teaches of the terrible price paid for a lack of Jewish solidarity, one could not wish for a better outcome.

 

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THE JERUSALEM POST

COLUMN

 

LION'S DEN: JIHADI UNDERCUTS PRESIDENT

BY DANIEL PIPES

The Times Square bomber flies in the face of Obama administration efforts not to name Islamism as the enemy.

Talkbacks (2)

The jaw-dropping court testimony by Faisal Shahzad, the would-be Times Square bomber, singlehandedly undermines Obama administration efforts to ignore the dangers of Islamism.

Shahzad's statements stand out because jihadis, when facing legal charges, typically save their skin by pleading not guilty or plea bargaining.

Consider a few examples:

• Naveed Haq, who assaulted the Jewish federation building in Seattle, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

• Lee Malvo, one of the Beltway Snipers, explained that "one reason for the shootings was that white people had tried to harm Louis Farrakhan." His partner John Allen Muhammad claimed his innocence to the death chamber.

• Hasan Akbar killed two fellow American soldiers as they slept in a military compound, then told the court: "I want to apologize for the attack that occurred. I felt that my life was in jeopardy, and I had no other options. I also want to ask you for forgiveness."

• Mohammed Taheri-azar, who tried to kill students on the University of North Carolina by running over them in a car, and issued a series of jihadi rants against the US, later experienced a change of heart, announced he was "very sorry" for the crimes and asked for release so he could "reestablish myself as a good, caring and productive member of society" in California.

THESE EFFORTS fit a broader pattern of Islamist mendacity; rarely does a jihadi stand on principle.

Zacarias Moussaoui, 9/11's would-be 20th hijacker, came close: His court proceedings began with his refusing to enter a plea (which the presiding judge translated into "not guilty") and then pleading guilty to all charges.

Shahzad, 30, acted in an exceptional manner during his appearance in a New York City federal court on June 21. His answers to Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum's many questions ("And where was the bomb?" "What did you do with the gun?") offered a dizzying mix of deference and contempt.

On the one hand, he politely, calmly, patiently, fully and informatively described his actions. On the other, he in the same voice justified his attempt at cold-blooded mass murder.

The judge asked Shahzad after he announced an intent to plead guilty to all 10 counts of his indictment: "Why do you want to plead guilty?" A reasonable question given the near certainty that guilty pleas will keep him in jail for long years. He replied forthrightly: I want to plead guilty and I'm going to plead guilty 100 times forward because – until the hour the US pulls it forces from Iraq and Afghanistan and stops the drone strikes in Somalia and Yemen and in Pakistan and stops the occupation of Muslim lands and stops killing Muslims and stops reporting the Muslims to its government – we will be attacking [the] US, and I plead guilty to that."

Shahzad insisted on portraying himself as replying to American actions: "I am part of the answer to the US terrorizing [of] the Muslim nations and the Muslim people, and on behalf of that, I'm avenging the attacks," adding that "we Muslims are one community."

Nor was that all; he flatly asserted that his goal had been to damage buildings and "injure people or kill people" because "one has to understand where I'm coming from, because... I consider myself a mujahid, a Muslim soldier."

WHEN CEDARBAUM pointed out that pedestrians in Times Square during the early evening of May 1 were not attacking Muslims, Shahzad replied: "Well, the [American] people select the government. We consider them all the same."

His comment reflects not just that American citizens are responsible for their democratically elected government, but also the Islamist view that, by definition, infidels cannot be innocent.

However abhorrent, this tirade does have the virtue of truthfulness. Shahzad's willingness to express his Islamic purposes and spend long years in jail for them flies in the face of Obama administration efforts not to name Islamism as the enemy, preferring such lame formulations as "overseas contingency operations" and "man-caused disasters."

Americans – as well as Westerners generally, all non- Muslims and anti-Islamist Muslims – should listen to the bald declaration by Faisal Shahzad and accept the painful fact that Islamist anger and aspirations truly do motivate their terrorist enemies.

The writer (www.DanielPipes.org) is director of the Middle East Forum and Taube distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University.

 

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THE JERUSALEM POST

COLUMN

CENTER FIELD: LOOKING MONSTROUS, FEELING VIRTUOUS

BY GIL TROY

ISRAEL NEEDS TO IMPROVE ITS IMAGE ABROAD, AS WELL AS GOVERNMENTAL RENEWAL TO MAKE THAT IMAGE CHANGE SIGNIFICANT.

 

Last week I was bicycling through Jerusalem's picturesque German Colony. Suddenly, at one of those blind intersections where the picturesque building looms dangerously close to the picturesque curb, an SUV cut me off. The next thing I knew my face was bonded with the pavement on picturesque Rehov Hatzfira.

I was lucky. My helmet did its work. I stood up immediately. I had no headache, no neck pain, no breaks, no internal injuries and am happy to be alive. But I ended up with stitches on my now-very-fat lip, a swollen nose, a huge multicolored raspberry across my left cheek, a black eye and stitches over my eyebrow. I look monstrous. All this while facing a week with two bar mitzvas, four speaking engagements and five end-of-year class parties or performances, including my younger son's Tae Kwon Do competition just hours after the accident.

My wife wisely insisted I skip the competition to avoid "freaking out" everyone. Otherwise, although my children suggested I hibernate, I attended every event.

WALKING AROUND with a gruesome face, however temporary (I hope), has stirred up "stuff," as we non-touchy-feely guys call "feelings." I gird myself for each interaction, from going to the bank to greeting friends, planning what to say, seeking just the right tone of bravado. I recall my teenage years in the 1970s. Back when Woody Allen was king of New York, we Jewish-intellectual wannabes built our defense mechanisms around his. As kids from Queens, my friends and I constructed personae compensating for our lack of good looks and wealth by mocking vanity and materialism.

Steeped in a culture worshiping blond-haired, blue-eyed, moneyed jocks – on screen and even at university – we were happily counter-cultural. Unkempt hair, flannel shirts and T-shirts, ripped jeans and construction boots were our uniform, our psychic armor. Rather than competing with the mythical WASPs in realms we never could master, we changed the channel, valuing winning quiz bowls not college bowls or beauty pageants.

Even so, it's no fun unsettling passersby, and wounded pride kicks in on many levels.

Expressions of sympathy often come with bike-safety lectures, as if I had failed. I constantly relive the moments before the accident, wondering why I had not fixed my shrieking brakes, should I have been going slower? Seeking to reassert control over my life, I made sure, before Shabbat, to order new glasses, fix my watch, buy a new bike – and helmet.

Simultaneously, as I wander about looking gruesome my new-found insecurities are blunted by feelings of self-righteousness. I know I'm the same me who never before received double-takes on the street. My fleeting disability provides a quick taste of how tough life is for those born impaired or permanently scarred by some moment in life they relive constantly but can never undo. Looking monstrous, feeling virtuous reminds me of my graduate school poverty. Working as an historian never felt as pure as when I was accumulating debts rather than earning a salary.

POLITICALLY, MY horrid new look has me wondering about the distortions in Israeli political culture that come from appearing so monstrous to most of the world. Our enemies' enmities – like people's prejudices – clarify yet distort. Underlying the latest surge in attempts to de-legitimize us is a systematic campaign to single us out for special opprobrium.

No country has endured such a decades-long campaign against its very right to exist, fueled by petro-dollars, ramped up by Islamist fanaticism, ingrained into Arab political culture, integrated into parts of Western political culture. No other country has been kept on probation for 62 years, with its legitimacy subject to good behavior, with its leaders, founding ideology and people condemned so harshly, so disproportionately.

And yet, as I do with my accident, Israel should take some responsibility for its own predicament. If just because you are paranoid does not mean you don't have enemies, just because you are demonized does not mean you don't make mistakes. Dismissing any criticisms because they amplify the vicious condemnations is as destructive as not taking responsibility for how criticisms de-legitimize.

Israel must learn from legitimate criticism and make necessary policy changes while fighting off illegitimate criticism and defending its right to self-defense.

That is why the current moment is so dangerous.

Too many honest, patriotic critics are not doing enough to fight de-legitimization, while too many ardent patriotic defenders are not doing enough to help the country reform where necessary. Those deemed to be on the Left must marshal more forces to fight de-legitimization, distancing themselves from the ugly cesspools of Arab anti-Semitism and Palestinian rejectionism feeding it. The Zionist Left must do a better job of criticizing Israeli failures in the territories and elsewhere, without using false analogies about Nazism and apartheid, without repudiating Zionism's essence, while acknowledging the poisoned atmosphere in which Israel operates.

The Zionist Right must stop using our adversaries' fanaticism as excuses for failed leadership. Just days after US President Barack Obama fired his top commander in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's inability to fire any number of incompetent ministers because of coalition politics and this lockdown mentality becomes even more glaring.

As the New Israel Fund meets this week, the Left and the Right must rally together, fighting de-legitimization while acknowledging differences on other issues. The stakes are too high to accept the denial on the Left which minimizes the harmful nature of the vicious attacks, or to accept the laziness on the Right which hunkers down rather than moving forward.

As my own recent experiences reminded me, appearances count, like it or not. Israel needs some of its critical patriots to help improve its image abroad. Israel also needs some policy changes and governmental renewal to make that image change significant.

Better to feel virtuous because you are, rather than because others misperceive you.

The writer is professor of history at McGill University in Montreal and a Shalom Hartman Research Fellow in Jerusalem. He is the author of Why I Am A Zionist: Israel, Jewish identity and the Challenges of Today and The Reagan Revolution: A Very Short Introduction.

gtroy@videotron.ca

 

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THE JERUSALEM POST

EDITORIAL

YALLA PEACE: IS THIS WHAT ISRAEL HAS TO OFFER?

BY RAY HANANIA

 

Lieberman's ideas fall right into the hands of Palestinian extremists.

It seems the controversies and pain in Palestinian- Israeli relations never end. It's enough to make people even more despondent about the possibility of peace and turn toward extremism, not as a solution but rather as a means of either defending one's sense of being right or to justify the unjustifiable.

Israel is in that position today in part because it allows the conflict to worsen. There's no real progress.

Little by little, though, Israel is becoming isolated in the world. And worse, more and more Americans are starting to recognize that it is as much a part of the problem as the Palestinians.

So what can Israelis do? Well, they can turn to people like Avigdor Lieberman, a politician often shrugged off as representing far right-wing extremism. But he's not just any politician. He is the foreign minister, though far from the stature of a man like Abba Eban, the former South African-born statesman who became Israel's most eloquent spokesperson. And Lieberman is also deputy prime minister under Binyamin Netanyahu. As wild as they are, his ideas cannot just be brushed aside.

Last week, Lieberman, unveiled his blueprint for peace in an op-ed in The Jerusalem Post. He chose this Englishlanguage publication as a clear sign he is trying to speak to the American public – and a clearer sign that he realizes that attitudes toward Israel are changing fast, with which I agree.

The failure of the peace process is falling on Israel's shoulders. Netanyahu won't fully freeze settlement expansion, continues to insist that Jerusalem cannot be shared, and uses disturbing policies meant to restrict non-Jewish life there.

In the face of these policies, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has been left with little choice but to reject negotiations, including the ridiculous process of negotiations at a distance called proximity talks. Lieberman, with the backing of some of the Israeli public, represents a frightening future for those who believe two states and compromise are possible.

In the Lieberman blueprint, instead of swapping land for peace, Israel would draw new borders, kind of trying to redo the 1947 UN partition plan which divided Mandatory Palestine into two criss-crossing states whose borders were based mainly on where most of the Jewish population was located. Lieberman's idea is basically a repeat of the idea that some suggest caused the problem in the first place.

Lieberman also says he wants most if not all of Israel's Arab citizens to be drawn out of Israel so that the "Jewish state" can really be all Jewish. Israelis fear that the non-Jewish population might one day exceed the Jewish population and while the fear is exaggerated, Lieberman's idea falls right into the hands of the Palestinian extremists who are calling for the creation of one state in which Jews, Christians and Muslims – well, basically Israelis and Palestinians, since there are so few Christian Palestinians left – would simply come together and live in peace.

THINGS MUST really be bad for Lieberman to take his ideas into the English forum. Yet this will only serve to push more and more Americans to recognize that the conflict is not being resolved and Israelis and the Palestinians are headed toward an even more cataclysmic future, one that Americans will probably have to pay for.

 

There is a choice, though. Israelis could push their government to do the right thing. Instead of Lieberman's blueprint, Israelis could rethink the proposals Ehud Barak supposedly offered during the failed non-face-toface peace talks with Yasser Arafat. The "best offer" was far from great and all it lacked was just a little more creative compassion to work. Share Jerusalem. More importantly, Israelis could overcome the obstacle that made Barak's offer impossible for Arafat to accept by recognizing and addressing fairly the rights of the Palestinian refugees.

But that option is missing one ingredient. A leader with courage. Someone like, well, the late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat. In 1977, Sadat did something so dramatic that he singlehandedly changed the dynamics of the Middle East conflict.

Is there a Sadat in Israel today? Or are leaders like Netanyahu and Lieberman all Israel has to offer? A courageous leader must surface, someone who can do the unthinkable to preserve Israel and make peace a reality.

A new era of cooperation could eliminate all of the conflict and one day we all may look back at today and wonder how this insanity all came to be.

The writer is an award- winning columnist and Chicago radio talk show host. www.YallaPeace.com

 

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THE JERUSALEM POST

OPED

WHY AID THE ENEMY?

BY EFRAIM INBAR

 

Israel has every right to close its border to a belligerent neighbor intent on eradicating it.

Bowing to misguided international pressure, particularly from the West, the government lifted nearly three years of restrictions on civilian goods allowed into the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The restrictions had been imposed in reaction to the repeated launching of missiles into the Negev. This decision hardly makes any strategic sense because it helps Hamas, an ally of revolutionary Islamist Iran. Both are anti-Western forces focused on destroying the Jewish state.

The easing of the blockade reflects the success of a Hamas propaganda campaign to depict the situation in Gaza as a humanitarian disaster.

While Gaza is not prospering, the standard of living there is generally higher than in Egypt – a little-noticed fact. The ability of this Goebbels-type propaganda to entrench a tremendous lie in the consciousness of the international community testifies to the continued vulnerability of naive Westerners to sophisticated psychological warfare, and to the complicity of much of the Western press in this enterprise.

The step taken by the government also significantly helps Hamas strengthen its grip on Gazans, as it controls the distribution of any goods entering its territory. Moreover, even if Hamas allows for a general improvement in the daily lives of all Gazans, this reduces the incentive for regime change, which should be part of the Western goal. Strengthening this radical theological regime in the eastern Mediterranean defies Western rational thinking.

The entrenchment of Hamas rule in Gaza amplifies the schism in Palestinian society and strengthens Hamas's influence in the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority. It is also a slap in the face of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who demanded the blockade's continuation. Hamas's achievement here further undermines whatever ability – albeit a very limited one – the Palestinian national movement had to move toward compromise with the Jewish state.

THE INTERNATIONAL pressure that led to the decision also indicates a gross misunderstanding of Israel's predicament and its legitimate right of self-defense. Israel totally disengaged from Gaza in 2005, hoping that the Gazans would focus their energy on state-building and achieving prosperity.

 

Gazans could have decided to try to become a Hong Kong or a Singapore.

Yet Hamas turned Gaza into a political entity engaged in waging war on the Jewish state by launching thousands of missiles with the specific intention of harming civilians.

 

Ironically, Hamas demands that Israel allow a supply of goods into the Strip.

It is legally and morally outrageous to claim Israel is responsible for the Gazans, who are no longer under occupation and who have supported the rule of Hamas in great numbers.

After the 2005 withdrawal, Israel's responsibilities – stemming from previously being an occupying power – ended.

Since Gaza is an enemy country, it does not deserve any special treatment from Israel beyond its legitimate steps taken in pursuit of selfdefense.

Israel, like any other sovereign state, has every right to close its border with a belligerent neighbor.

Moreover, it has no obligation to provide water, electricity, fuel or access to food and/or medical supplies to its enemies. Why on earth should it aid those that want to eradicate it? The bewildering and hypocritical international response to Israel's attempts to prevent war material from reaching Gaza, as manifested in the criticism surrounding the Gaza flotilla incident, should be of great concern to Jerusalem. Again, we see the successful application of propaganda whose objective is to deny Israel its legitimate right of selfdefense.

This campaign is part of a larger plan designed to neutralize the superior capacity of the West, and Israel in particular.

Instead of easing the blockade, the government should have announced its intention to exercise its sovereign right to close the border with Gaza and halt the transfer of any goods to its enemy within several months.

 

Israel must make clear to the world that it refuses to accept responsibility for the welfare of Gazan residents, particularly since they are employing violence against the Jewish state.

The period leading up to the actual border closure should be used to establish alternative routes of supply via Egypt, which also borders Gaza.

Egypt is unlikely to welcome such a development because it prefers to keep the Gaza hot potato in Israel's lap. However, the Egyptians are much more adept at dealing with the Gazans, whom they ruled in the past.

The Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere are not only Israel's problem, but constitute a regional headache.

The writer is professor of political studies at Bar-Ilan University and director of the Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies. This article first appeared on www.bitterlemons.org and is reprinted with permission.

 

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THE JERUSALEM POST

OPED

SILWAN – 'IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID'

BY MATI GILL

Nir Barkat's plan aims to create jobs.

A lot has been said about Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat's plan to destroy houses in Silwan in order to build a new tourism center in the east Jerusalem neighborhood. Many opinions have been voiced, from those in favor to the fiercely against. This is typical of any issue involving Jerusalem, especially in these times.

However, one thing needs to be clarified; this is not a "whim," and it is not an attempt by Barkat to derail a potential peace process, and it should also not be seen as a cynical effort to grab international headlines.

The plan to build a park with a commercial and tourist center is something the mayor truly believes is in – it is in the interest of the future of Jerusalem and the improvement of its local economy through the expansion of tourism. It's not about Barack Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu or Mahmoud Abbas, but rather, along the lines of the famous Bill Clinton campaign slogan: "It's the economy, stupid."

FOR YEARS, anyone who met with the mayor or followed his public statements and policies has heard him speak time and again about the fact that the biggest concern for the future of the city is the job market.

I grew up in Jerusalem and have seen most of my friends migrate elsewhere. I know this is true. Young residents don't leave Jerusalem just because of the nightlife in Tel Aviv, or due to the lack of housing (anyone who has lived in Tel Aviv can tell you that the housing's no picnic there either). They also don't leave due to the secular/religious tension. They leave, first and foremost, because more often than not, Tel Aviv and its surrounding areas are where the jobs are; where they can work and prosper. That's where opportunity lies these days.

Barkat is right to try to boost the local economy by further capitalizing on Jerusalem's best economic asset – tourism. The re-zoning of the area known as the "King's Gardens" into a vibrant park (which it has been zoned as for years) complete with a commercial and tourism center, will draw large numbers of tourists, which will benefit both Jewish and non-Jewish residents. This is municipal planning aimed at serving east Jerusalem while enforcing the rule of law.

It makes sense to focus on revitalizing the King's Gardens area, which for years has been "zoned" as "green" but has been built on illegally. The historical and religious significance of these gardens is well known; they are where King Solomon sat and wrote the Song of Songs, and where in the times of the Temples the herbs were prepared for the ritual incense. So it would seem like a smart move to use this asset to Jerusalem's advantage.

Yes, the Silwan project includes the always-tough demolition of homes.

However those homes were built illegally.

Barkat's Silwan project is not a "Holyland" type project born in (alleged) sin, but rather in accordance with the law. The best evidence is that it will most probably be challenged in the courts by both the Left, angry at the demolitions, and by the Right, angry by the move to retroactively legalize illegally built homes in the area (at three times the number of those that will be demolished), not to mention the inclusion of a municipally funded community center.

BARKAT HAS a vision for Jerusalem.

This includes creating places of employment, first and foremost by drawing millions of tourists a year to the city. He campaigned on it, was elected on it, and is now taking another step to implement it. Yes, he sees Jerusalem as indivisible, but even those that disagree with his geopolitical views need to acknowledge that he is showing willingness to serve all his constituents, whether Jewish or Arab. The Silwan saga should not be taken either as a lesson in political cynicism or as an international provocation. This is called good governance, plain and simple.

In the face of tremendous criticism both at home and abroad, Barkat should be applauded for his political courage and not ambushed by coalition partners like Meretz, which signed off on these plans when it joined his local government.

This is especially true in a country lacking politicians capable of developing a long-term strategy for serving the public, and where most would rather seek immediate results. Barkat's consistent approach should be appreciated.

Let's hope this project is approved, and that it will be only one of many initiated to ensure a better future for our capital.

The writer was bureau chief for the former minister of public security Avi Dichter.

 

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HAARETZ

OPINION

A PERSONAL FAILURE, NOT A SYSTEMIC ONE

 

The agencies concerned are now faced with the question of what conclusions to draw with regard to those responsible for the grave mishaps that occurred in the Ramon case.

 

State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss' report on the sensitive issue of the use of wiretaps in criminal investigations is a very valuable and significant document. Wiretaps are vitally important in Israel's war on crime, yet their permissibility gives law enforcement agencies great power, which "requires restraint," as the comptroller stressed.

 

Discretion is necessary - by the police and other investigative agencies, with regard to if and when to request a wiretapping permit; by the prosecution, both in its handling of material produced by wiretaps and in overseeing sensitive investigations; and by district court presidents, in deciding whether to grant wiretapping permits. The comptroller found flaws in the process and suggested ways to correct them: involving legal officials from outside the police force in preparing requests for wiretapping permits; setting clear rules to ensure the proper use of material obtained through wiretaps; and examining the efficacy, and the use made, of procedures for giving wiretapped material to the defense.

 

The report aroused particular public interest because of the flaws it discovered in the transfer of wiretapped material from the police to the prosecution, and thence to the defense, in the trial of former minister Haim Ramon. Against this background, some have purported to find statements in the report that are not actually there.

 

The comptroller's finding of "genuine negligence by those involved in the work" - police investigators Brig. Gen. (ret. ) Miri Golan and Chief Superintendent Eran Kamin, Tel Aviv District Attorney Ruth David and prosecutor Ariela Segal-Antler - is grave. Nevertheless, this was a "personal failure" on the part of those involved, not a "systemic or organizational failure." It would be wrong to slide from an appropriate critique of the prosecution's work into a sweeping onslaught on the agency responsible for enforcing the law.

 

The report does not revisit Ramon's criminal conviction or have any impact on it. His conviction, in a final verdict that cannot be appealed, remains in force. Ramon has the right to request a criminal investigation or even a retrial, but it would be a shame to drag the entire law enforcement system into additional proceedings after the comptroller has already exposed the flaws in the handling of wiretapped material in his case.

 

The agencies concerned are now faced with the question of what conclusions to draw with regard to those responsible for the grave mishaps that occurred in the Ramon case. But no less important, they must implement the report's systemic recommendations, which come on top of both previous comptroller's reports and the recommendations of a parliamentary commission of inquiry.

 

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HAARETZ

OPINION

MAKEUP EXAM

INSTEAD OF CITING HOSTILE STATEMENTS FROM THE ARCHIVES OF THE PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION, NETANYAHU NEEDS TO PRESENT OBAMA WITH A PRACTICAL PROPOSAL THAT CAN BE NEATLY PACKAGED AND MARKETED.

BY ALUF BENN

 

The Netanyahu government is operating like a ship stalled at sea after running out of fuel. While it is still not in danger of sinking, it is unable to propel forward. Nor does it know where to propel to. Without a destination or clear direction, the prime minister is digging his heels into a policy of sitting tight. His political standing is robust; nobody from either his party or the opposition is threatening his grip on power. Every so often he is burdened with a crisis, like the flotilla raid, but overall life is good. A settlement freeze here, some settlement construction there, fight and then make nice with U.S. President Barack Obama - and all the while time passes without him having to concede an inch of the West Bank.

 

Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman are preoccupied with argumentative discourse aimed at justifying Israel's continued hold on the territories. Their statements are reminiscent of the official Israeli line during the days of Golda Meir and Abba Eban: Settlements are not the cause of the conflict, the Palestinians are inciting and supporting terrorism, and Israel is combating "a campaign of delegitimization" that aims to dismantle the state and send its Jews back to Poland and Morocco.

 

Last week Lieberman showed journalists a copy of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' doctoral dissertation, which he wrote as a student at Moscow's Lumumba University, and in which he sought to minimize the scope of the Holocaust. Lieberman hurled the book on the table, saying Abbas' work compared Zionism to Nazism. Such a person, Lieberman said, cannot be a partner to peace talks.

 

In his last speech before the Knesset, Netanyahu chronicled the recent string of attempts to delegitimize Israel, which he said is being led by Iran, the European left and radical professors in Israel. According to the prime minister, this campaign began at the Durban conference against racism in 2001 and has continued apace. In other words, Netanyahu's policy is not the reason for the wave of hostility toward Israel. His predecessors - Ariel Sharon (whom in retrospect is pegged by Netanyahu as a leftist ) and Ehud Olmert, who either conceded territory or offered to concede territory - were hit with arrest warrants for war crimes as well as hostile resolutions from international institutions. Netanyahu's conclusion is simple: No diplomatic process will help Israel in its struggle against the enemies who are conspiring to destroy it; rather, it should focus on internal unity and a determined stance.

 

It's a shame Netanyahu is preoccupied with the past, to the point where he has no time to deal with the future. What is his vision? What kind of state will Israel be? Where will its borders lie? What place will it hold among the nations? Or perhaps he simply does not care as long as he remains in power and the settlements remain in place. This is indeed a mystery.

 

Statesmanship does not only entail an exchange of accusations with the Palestinian Authority. A statesman is supposed to lead, to shepherd, set out a path - not just warn of the dangers and slander an adversary, as the prime minister is doing.

 

Now Netanyahu has a chance to correct his error, a sort of makeup exam on the subject of leadership. On Tuesday he is due to visit the White House, where Obama will ask him where he is headed. If Netanyahu goes to Washington and tells the Americans there is no one to talk to and they don't know what to talk about, that Abbas is a Holocaust denier and leftist professors are the enemy, he might as well stay home and continue his futile governance until the next crisis hits.

 

But if he actually intends on making a move, he has an extraordinary opportunity to do so. The U.S. administration has no idea how to push the diplomatic process forward and prevent the eruption of another war in the region. Wise leaders like David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin and Sharon knew how to take advantage of such situations to set the agenda and dictate how events would unfold, as opposed to being led and subjected to pressure.

 

Instead of citing hostile statements from the archives of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Netanyahu needs to present Obama with a practical proposal that can be neatly packaged and marketed. His current formula - "a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside a Jewish state" - is yawn-inducing. Such a tedious and cumbersome message would receive a failing grade in any marketing course. Compare that with phrases like "the ingathering of the exiles," "peace," "an end to the conflict," and "disengagement," as enunciated by his predecessors. These messages electrified the public and tilted world governments toward Israel.

 

The prime minister is at the height of his power and capable of choosing from a variety of options: A Palestinian state with provisional borders, final-status negotiations and peace with Syria. If only he would make a decision and not recant immediately afterward, Obama would stand beside him. But in the meantime, Netanyahu is showing no signs of change. On the contrary, he is moving backward, to the days of Yitzhak Shamir and his efforts to buy time. It would behoove him to come to his senses and take advantage of the rare opportunity before him, because there's a chance he will not have another chance at a do-over.

 

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HAARETZ

OPINION

BEHIND THE SHALITS' BACK

THE PROTEST HIDING BEHIND THE NARROW BACKS OF AVIVA AND NOAM SHALIT WANTS POLITICS, BUT A DIFFERENT POLITICS - SIMPLY POLITICS THAT WILL RESTORE THEM THEIR LOST STATUS AND WEAKEN THE OTHER SECTORS THAT ARE DISTURBING THEIR REST.

BY AVIRAMA GOLAN

 

I accompanied Noam and Aviva Shalit's trek from their home to Jerusalem for only two days, and since then I haven't been able to stop thinking about them with bitter sadness, wishing these two proud, reserved people will have their son returned to them soon.

 

However, behind their backs stretches a march. There are also many good people on it, but it is problematic: With lots of funding along with backing from slick advisors who've worked with top politicians - it expresses a different grievance, which has to be understood.

 

"We want the march to become our flotilla," said the organizers. It turns out, then, that they have put their finger on the weak point of the government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, which instead of formulating a policy and implementing it, reacts to damage to its image - and they hope this will work to their benefit. This is what opposition leader Kadima MK Tzipi Livni has vaguely understood since the day the government was established.

 

Livni dreamed the government would topple itself and sank into a deep beauty sleep, which is melting away the 28 Knesset seats the public gave her. On one occasion her voice was heard, for a brief moment, in the matter of Immanuel. But the ultra-Orthodox have, after all, always served as an excellent card vis-a-vis the consensus. It's a fact: Television personality Yair Lapid, who meanwhile is running the country from Channel 2 and in emotional letters to his son Yoav, is successfully following in his father's footsteps in this area.

 

Livni and Lapid are accurate embodiments of the wishes of the group marching behind the Shalit family's back. This is the new Israeli bourgeoisie: A public from a defined socioeconomic sector, which in recent years has felt robbed of its political influence and reacted by opening a lion's mouth and emitting a pampered meow of people with connections; they feel that it is better to launder a political stance in emotional soap powder and always place the personal versus the public in the center; that nothing of the ills of this government - the discrimination and racism, the refusal to make peace and the clinging to dangerous bullying, the introversion from the world, the McCarthyism in education and academia, and more - will bring them out into the streets. Only "every Israeli's child" can.

 

These are the same people who a decade ago shouted they were fed up with corruption, scorned politics and gazed longingly at the meteors of the day in a vague political "center," wept in the square after Yitzhak Rabin's assassination and scurried off to study Judaism with the settlers because "we are one people." They cried out to Barak "anything but Shas," and they weren't referring to Eli Yishai, who is now the Interior Minister, but rather to his voters, and they fled from the Labor Party to Kadima so as not to get caught, heaven forbid, supporting MK Amir Peretz.

 

The person who is pinpointing the mood of the new bourgeoisie is, naturally, Benjamin Netanyahu. It isn't the Shalit family that is worrying him, but rather the pseudo-protest behind them. It is stealing the spin, mixing emotionalism with patriotism and interests with vague messages, showing public opinion polls of its own that contradict his polls and pushing him out of his home playing field, the image playing field.

 

This march is a struggle for image, indeed, because it is the only force field the new bourgeoisie still control. What other public is able to recruit donations, public relations people, consultants, producers of placards and balloons, and put together such an impressive production, creating an atmosphere of media publicity - and all this with conscious blurring of political stances? What other public could have adopted an apolitical visage, as though working from within some vague Israeliness, while advancing a protest against the government the only aim of which is "do as we say"?

 

Because like Livni and her party, which is spending time at Club Med without paying any price, and like the Labor Party, which day after day is backing the worst and most harmful government Israel has ever had - the protest hiding behind the narrow backs of Aviva and Noam Shalit wants politics, but a different politics. Not left and not right. Not one iota different from the policy or economics of Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Simply politics that will restore them their lost status and weaken the other sectors that are disturbing their rest.

 

But how ironic - who is joining them but none other than Eli Yishai? And MK Miri Regev from the Likud, and mayors from the right? All of them have realized that the new bourgeoisie's hollow and publicized populism will promote their image as well. And this is also proof that Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu and the Likud have understood that the new bourgeoisie, just like themselves, is nothing but another sector looking after its own interests.

 

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HAARETZ

OPINION

WHY ISRAELI ACADEMIA WILL BE BOYCOTTED

THE DESPAIR THAT A VITAL SECTOR OF ISRAELI SOCIETY, INCLUDING ACADEMIA, FINDS ITSELF IN NEEDS TO GET THE EDUCATION MINISTER TO CONSIDER A RENEWED WAY OF THINKING THAT DOES NOT RELY ON A MOB LIKE THAT REPRESENTED BY RIGHT-WING ZIONIST MOVEMENT IM TIRTZU.

BY MOSHE SHOKED

 

In the past two years I have been invited to take part in many conferences hosted by the American Anthropological Association. The topic of discussion at these forums has been the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I agreed to take on a thankless task not as a spokesman for Israel's education ministers or as a mouthpiece of the right or left. I appeared before an academic audience not noted for its sympathetic views on Israeli policy. This group is more inclined to support the Palestinians, albeit with the belief that neither side holds a monopoly on truth and justice.

 

I tried to place this awful conflict in the context of two truths, with two claims that contradict each other in terms of historical facts and painful memories, between two national movements that have lost all sense of proportion while striving for a settlement that does not provide either side with complete justice.

 

Alas, I have no plans to accept similar invitations in the future. In the past year, I have lost the conviction that I can truthfully speak for the current Israeli government's suicidal behavior. The recent statements by Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar, who vowed to deal with university lecturers and professors who condemn Israel and support a boycott of Israeli universities, reflect the deep abyss the current government has led us down.

 

I tend to believe that it is only a matter of time before this country's academic institutions are boycotted, regardless of the wishes of the education minister and other champions of Israeli patriotism. They will be boycotted not because of the handful of Israeli professors who have unabashedly supported such a step, but because Israel is under a global microscope that perhaps unfairly discriminates against it compared with other countries that act unjustly, even violently, toward their minorities and neighbors.

 

For better or worse, Israel does not enjoy the same luxury as countries like Russia and China, which do not rely on the support of Europe and the United States. Indeed, a look through this microscope reveals the foolishness of Israel's weak-kneed leadership.

 

The education minister's remarks are a sign of the Israeli government's increasing self-seclusion inside a bunker of delusions, as it distances itself from considerations guided by historical, political and social wisdom. His statements befit benighted regimes that have lost connection to the world, like Iran and other totalitarian states. Israeli academia is losing its international standing on its own account. The brightest students, the hopes of a young generation in academia, prefer to stay abroad.

 

As early as the 1980s, when I researched yordim - Israeli emigrants - in the United States, I concluded that the overwhelming majority of them will not return. The book in which I included my findings was not translated into Hebrew because at the time it contradicted the dominant ideology. Sa'ar and the rest of this bizarre government of ours would prefer to hunker down and cling to the belief that the entire world is against us and we are in the right.

 

We have become numb to these eye-popping facts: Operation Cast Lead did not bring back Gilad Shalit, nor did it topple the Hamas government. Instead, it sowed destruction in Gaza and undercut our global standing. Our pathetic cries against the Goldstone report did not help, either. The takeover of the pathetic flotilla once again lined up the world against us. Ultimately we opened the Gaza border crossings.

 

More than anything, Sa'ar's recent initiatives will help worsen the brain drain and the university boycott that awaits us. The despair that a vital sector of Israeli society, including academia, finds itself in needs to get the education minister to consider a renewed way of thinking that does not rely on a mob like that represented by right-wing Zionist movement Im Tirtzu. This brings to mind the moving call by late Labor MK Yizhak Ben-Aharon, who urged for "courage to make gains before calamity strikes." There is no need to silence "treacherous" professors, for the calamity has already struck.

 

 The writer is a professor emeritus of anthropology at Tel Aviv University.

 

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HAARETZ

OPINION

OFF THE LINGUISTIC MAP

ALL THE NAMES USED BY ARABS FOR PLACES WHERE PEOPLE LIVE IN THIS COUNTRY HAVE THEIR SOURCE IN THE ARABIC LANGUAGE.

BY AMAR DAHAMSHE

 

In an interview with Amalia Rosenblum, Avshalom Kor claimed that the Arabs inherited "place names as they heard them from Jews" (Haaretz Hebrew Edition, April 19 ). His statement implies that the Arabs did not put their stamp on place names in Israel. To prove this, Kor makes unwarranted generalizations and ignores the traditions that have drawn this land's historical map.

 

I contend that all the names used by Arabs for places where people live in this country have their source in the Arabic language. In my research I have found that some of the place names in Arabic also indicate a combination with Hebrew elements; sometimes names that seem to have no meaning in Arabic are explained by a Hebrew origin.

 

However, those cases of adoption from Hebrew do not come close to Kor's wide-ranging claims. Had he abided by the rules of scientific discourse, he would have explained that Arabic's imprint is also obvious in place names. His claims make it clear that he aims not to investigate scientific truth but to use his knowledge as a lever for ideological claims. By denying Arab ethnolinguistic markers he is trying to prove that this country's past is exclusively Jewish.

 

The Bible and other historical sources contradict this position. According to the Book of Joshua (3:10 ), for example, before Joshua's conquest, seven peoples were living in this land. Is it possible to prove today that all the names in the Bible are Hebrew, and not the continuation of linguistic traditions of the peoples who lived in this land before it was conquered?

 

This country's past is rich in ethnolinguistic and religious traditions. It is possible to identify influences of the Canaanites, Hebrews, Byzantines, Arabs and others. Place names have superimposed themselves in differing versions in accordance with the period of settlement at a site, just as levels accumulate in a tel - the hill covering the remains of an ancient settlement.

 

The human mosaic this country has known has made its mark on the landscape of its names; this landscape provides textual testimony to the waves of peoples that came through its gates and its multifaceted identity. Is it possible the Muslims who marched here to make war and the Arab inhabitants of the land who have been living here for hundreds of years did not give names to its places?

 

One could fill a book with examples of names the Arabs gave to human settlements and natural sites. I will confine myself to a few: The name of the village Kawkab al-Hija perpetuates the memory of Abu al-Hija, the commander of Saladin's army. Al A'asem is named for the members of the tribe who live there; Hudj al-Arus ("the bride's canopy" ) is the name of the place where processions from Reina and Saffuriya (now Tzippori ) would exchange brides. It is impossible to claim that these names are Hebrew, and it is impossible to make the existence of the society that created them disappear with the stroke of a false scientific claim.

 

As if this were not enough, Kor has submitted a plan to the Jerusalem municipality for giving names to the stations of the light railway, which is nothing but the uprooting of Arabic names and supplying Hebrew names in their place.

 

Kor's ideological greed seeks to erase from consciousness the place's Arab past and thereby prove to the entire world that it is under Jewish ownership, and that the Arabs of Jerusalem have no linguistic and spatial identity connecting them to "terrestrial Jerusalem" and the city where they have been living for generations. Kor would have done well to propose to the municipality a plan for preserving the Arabic names. In that way he would have shown that there remains language coexistence in the torn city and the country as a whole.

 

The writer researches the link between place names in this country and the identity of places in stories, autobiographical materials and historical memoirs.

 

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******************************************************************************************THE NEW YORK TIMES

EDITORIAL

WHO WILL FIGHT FOR THE UNEMPLOYED?

 

Without doubt, the two biggest threats to the economy are unemployment and the dire financial condition of the states, yet lawmakers have failed to deal intelligently with either one.

 

Federal unemployment benefits began to expire nearly a month ago. Since then, 1.2 million jobless workers have been cut off. The House passed a six-month extension as part of a broader spending bill in May, but the Senate, despite three attempts, has not been able to pass a similar bill. The majority leader, Harry Reid, said he was ready to give up after the third try last week when all of the Senate's Republicans and a lone Democrat, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, blocked the bill.

 

Meanwhile, the states face a collective budget hole of some $112 billion, but neither the House nor the Senate has a plan to help. The House stripped a provision for $24 billion in state fiscal aid from its earlier spending bill. The Senate included state aid in its ill-fated bill to extend unemployment benefits; when that bill failed, the promise of aid vanished as well.

 

As a result, 30 states that had counted on the money to help balance their budgets will be forced to raise taxes even higher and to cut spending even deeper in the budget year that begins on July 1. That will only worsen unemployment, both among government workers and the states' private contractors. Worsening unemployment means slower growth, or worse, renewed recession.

 

So if lawmakers are wondering why consumer confidence and the stock market are tanking (the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index hit a new low for the year on Tuesday), they need look no further than a mirror.

 

The situation cries out for policies to support economic growth — specifically jobless benefits and fiscal aid to states. But instead of delivering, Congressional Republicans and many Democrats have been asserting that the nation must act instead to cut the deficit. The debate has little to do with economic reality and everything to do with political posturing. A lot of lawmakers have concluded that the best way to keep their jobs is to pander to the nation's new populist mood and play off the fears of the very Americans whose economic well-being Congress is threatening.

 

Deficits matter, but not more than economic recovery, and not more urgently than the economic survival of millions of Americans. A sane approach would couple near-term federal spending with a credible plan for deficit reduction — a mix of tax increases and spending cuts — as the economic recovery takes hold.

 

But today's deficit hawks — many of whom eagerly participated in digging the deficit ever deeper during the George W. Bush years — are not interested in the sane approach. In the Senate, even as they blocked the extension of unemployment benefits, they succeeded in preserving a tax loophole that benefits wealthy money managers at private equity firms and other investment partnerships. They also derailed an effort to end widespread tax avoidance by owners of small businesses organized as S-corporations. If they are really so worried about the deficit, why balk at these evidently sensible ways to close tax loopholes and end tax avoidance?

 

House lawmakers made an effort on Tuesday to extend jobless benefits but failed to get the necessary votes, and it remains uncertain if an extension can pass both the House and Senate before Congress leaves town on Friday for a weeklong break. What's needed, and what's lacking, is leadership, both in Congress and from the White House, to set the terms of the debate — jobs before deficit reduction — and to fight for those terms, with failure not an option.

 

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THE NEW YORK TIMES

EDITORIAL

THE PRICE OF BROADBAND POLITICS

 

One good measure of the intensity with which phone and cable companies dislike the Federal Communications Commission's plan to extend its regulatory oversight over access to broadband Internet is the amount of money they are spending on political contributions.

 

Last month, 74 House Democrats sent a letter to the F.C.C.'s chairman, Julius Genachowski, warning him "not to move forward with a proposal that undermines critically important investment in broadband and the jobs that come with it." Rather than extend its authority over telecommunications networks to broadband under the 1996 Telecommunications Act, they demanded that the F.C.C. wait for Congress to pass specific legislation.

 

The message parroted views held by AT&T, Comcast and Verizon — the biggest broadband service providers in the country. (Comcast warned that the F.C.C.'s efforts could "chill investment and innovation.") Their executives and political action committees have been among the top 20 campaign contributors to 58 of the 74 lawmakers in the past two election cycles.

 

As the F.C.C. proceeds with its plan to regulate broadband access, it seems likely we can expect more of this resistance from members of Congress.

 

Political contributions from AT&T in the current election cycle reached $2.6 million by May 16, on the way to exceeding the total in each of the last three elections. The company has contributed to the campaigns of every Republican and all but three Democrats on the subcommittee that deals with the Internet in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. It has given money to more than half the members of the equivalent Senate panel.

 

Comcast has spent more than $2 million on campaign donations; Verizon has given $1.2 million. The National

Cable and Telecommunications Association — the industry's collective lobbying group — has spent about $1 million more. And just in case that isn't persuasive enough of the ills of government regulation, telephone and cable companies spent $20.6 million lobbying the government in the first quarter of the year.

 

The Sunlight Foundation, which tracks industry lobbying, reported that cable and phone companies had 276 former government officials lobbying for them in the first quarter, including 18 former members of Congress and 48 former staffers of current members of Congress on committees with jurisdiction over the Internet. The list includes former staffers of at least six of the House Democrats who signed the letter to the F.C.C.

 

To us, it seems obvious that the Federal Communications Commission should extend its oversight to broadband, the most important telecommunications network of our time, to guarantee open, nondiscriminatory and competitive access and to protect consumers' rights.

 

But reason is not always a match for money in Washington. The F.C.C. has a rough road ahead.

 

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THE NEW YORK TIMES

EDITORIAL

ANTIBIOTICS AND AGRICULTURE

 

The Food and Drug Administration is taking some long overdue but still too timid steps to rein in excessive use of antibiotics in American agriculture. For years now industrial and many smaller-scale farmers have routinely fed antibiotics to their cattle, pigs and chickens to protect them from infectious diseases but also to spur growth and weight gain while using less feed. That may be good for agricultural production, but it is almost surely bad for the public's health.

 

An alarming number of human pathogens have become resistant to one or more medicines, undermining the ability of doctors to treat patients effectively. Experts believe the primary cause is overprescribing in human patients, often for conditions like colds, where antibiotics are ineffective. But overuse of antibiotics in farm animals is also thought to be stimulating the emergence of resistant bacterial strains that can infect humans or pass their resistance to other germs that infect humans.

 

On Monday, the F.D.A. issued a "draft guidance" on the "judicious use" of medically important antimicrobial drugs in food-producing animals. The document suggested that the use of such drugs should be limited to treating or controlling infectious disease in animals or to prevent infections before an outbreak occurs. And in all of those cases, the drugs should be administered in consultation with a veterinarian whose oversight would likely restrain excessive use.

 

The draft guidance is a statement of principles that is open for comment and could ultimately lead to regulatory action. Past efforts to restrict agricultural antibiotics have had only limited success; the powerful agricultural lobbies usually prevail over public health advocates. We can only hope that the F.D.A. will be more successful this time.

 

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THE NEW YORK TIMES

EDITORIAL

THE WRONG WAY AND THE RIGHT WAY

 

The turmoil in Albany over New York State's $136 billion budget stands in stark contrast to the way New York City has quietly outlined its own $63 billion in planned spending. Like the state, the city's revenues have not fully recovered, forcing tough decisions about painful spending cuts. Yet Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council leaders have managed to agree on a four-year budget outline.

 

Due on Wednesday, the city's budget was ready ahead of time. The state budget was due on April 1, and they are still haggling in Albany.

 

The city budget tackles the hard issues directly, facing a $5 billion gap by cutting most services. It will eliminate 2,000 jobs, about half through attrition. Teachers' raises are on hold, a better choice than the mayor's other option: forcing out 4,400 teachers.

 

After negotiations that were considerably milder than in Albany, City Council members managed to restore a few public services. Most important on that list was the children's services agency, which will save caseworkers who help prevent child abuse, among other things. Fire companies, swimming pools and libraries will be kept going. As the mayor put it, "pain, yes, serious damage, no."

 

In part, the city budget process runs more smoothly because the state imposed fiscal discipline more than 25 years ago in dire times. Now the city tries to maintain a surplus. This year, Mayor Bloomberg managed a respectable $3.6 billion extra to start the fiscal year. In today's economic climate, that was quite a feat.

 

The city system is not perfect, of course. City officials still hand out pork, known as member items, money that needs to be watched carefully. These city leaders got the Legislature to grant an exception to city budgeting rules to borrow about $150 million for removing environmental hazards. Borrowing for operating expenses is what got the city in trouble in the first place.

 

Still, it was the height of fiscal responsibility compared with Albany, where budgeting should long ago have mirrored the city's process. That would have averted the need for this year's patchwork budget, which will almost certainly need redoing in a few months.

 

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THE NEW YORK TIMES

A SPLIT-SCREEN TALE OF TWO GENERALS

BY MAUREEN DOWD

 

WASHINGTON

As one general tried to reassure Congress that she respects the military, the other general tried to reassure Congress that the military respects civilians.

 

The split-screen Obama nominees for huge, daunting jobs were accompanied by family. The solicitor general and the solicitous general, politically shrewd navigators adept at climbing the career ladder, are regarded as shoo-ins for an administration where little else is going smoothly.

 

Over and over Tuesday, David Petraeus had to assure Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee that he supported the president's timeline for starting to get out of Afghanistan.

 

"Do you agree with the president's policy?" Senator Carl Levin asked Petraeus.

 

"I do," the general replied.

 

Levin pressed on, needing to hear more soothing subordination subsequent to the bonfire-of-the-vanities flameout of Gen. Stanley McChrystal's Team America.

 

"Do you agree," the senator asked, "that the setting of that July 2011 date to begin reductions signals urgency to Afghan leaders that they must more and more take responsibility for their country's security, which is important for success of the mission in Afghanistan?"

 

"I do," the general repeated respectfully.

 

Like a child with a favorite bedtime story, Senator Jack Reed wanted to hear it again. "You're fully supportive of the president's policy, including beginning a transition based upon the conditions on the ground in July of 2011?" Reed queried.

 

"Let me be very clear if I could, senator," Petraeus tried again. "And not only did I say that I supported it, I said that I agreed with it."

 

Signaling that NATO allies would be treated with more respect than they were by McChrystal in the Rolling Stone article, Petraeus pledged an "unshakeable commitment to teamwork" with the allies. The Michael Hastings profile began with the open-to-a-fault four-star general in a four-star suite in Paris, there to sell his new war strategy to the NATO allies and, as the writer astutely observed, "to keep up the fiction, in essence, that we actually have allies."

 

Preening with Spartan street cred, disdaining anything too "Gucci," like restaurants with candles, McChrystal groused about having to go to some fancy dinner with a French minister — an occasion profanely mocked as "gay" by one of the aides in his insolent retinue.

 

Petraeus began his testimony with an encomium to his retiring protégé. But besides the display of caustic disrespect for the president, his civilian advisers and the allies, the McChrystal profile exploded because it crystallized some wrenching questions: Does President Obama lay back too much at critical junctures, bending too much to Congress, corporations and generals? He looked good firing McChrystal, but those crisp moments need to come more often and more swiftly. With rising violence in Afghanistan, and rising doubts even among the brass and troops on the ground, is it time to drastically revise the strategy in Afghanistan? At what point does America lose moral authority by propping up a corrupt regime? As the allies pour billions in, some in Hamid Karzai's inner circle, including his brother, may be transferring as much as a billion a year out to Dubai and elsewhere.

 

Obama aides were happily aware that sending the ambitious Petraeus back to work on its Gordian knot would eliminate him from consideration for the 2012 presidential race. But choosing Petraeus means reupping with a fatally flawed policy, not revamping it.

 

"This is a contest of wills," Petraeus observed about the U.S.-Taliban nine-year standoff, freely admitting that we are stuck there "for quite some time."

 

He conceded that "we cannot kill or capture our way out of an industrial-strength insurgency like that in Afghanistan."

 

But killing and courting an enemy at the same time seems more like a contradiction than a counterinsurgency.

 

Across the TV screen and over at the Senate Judiciary Committee, Elena Kagan — who is supposed to be addressed as "General Kagan" — was waging her own battle to prove that she is not a radical, antimilitary pinko.

 

"You know, I respect — indeed, I revere — the military; my father was a veteran," said Kagan, after Senator Jeff Sessions, a Republican of Alabama, grilled her about denying military recruiters equal access to the Harvard Law School's office of career services because she considered the "don't ask, don't tell" policy abhorrent and discriminatory.

 

When Sessions quizzed the Supreme Court nominee and former Harvard Law School dean about her treatment of "those men and women who we send in harm's way to serve our nation," she asserted that "the military at all times during my deanship had full and good access."

 

Sessions rebutted that her remarks were "unconnected to reality," while over at the Armed Services Committee, Petraeus did his best to make the case that our goals in Afghanistan are not unconnected to reality.

 

"Somebody," said a disgusted Senator Lindsey Graham, "needs to get it straight, without a doubt, what the hell we're going to do come July."

 

If Kagan was headed toward the land of First Mondays, Petraeus was headed toward the land of "Who's on first

 

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THE NEW YORK TIMES

OPED

THE REAL PALESTINIAN REVOLUTION

BY THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

 

pssssst. i've got a stock tip. ready? the al-quds index.

 

what's that? it's the p.s.e., or palestine securities exchange. based in nablus, in the west bank, the al-quds index has actually been having a solid year — and therein lies a tale.

 

"it has outperformed the stock exchanges of most arab countries," said samir hulileh, the c.e.o. of palestine development and investment, which owns the exchange. the p.s.e. was established in 1996 with 19 companies and now has 41 — and 8 more will join this year. the companies listed there include the commercial bank of palestine, nablus surgical center, palestine electric company and arab palestinian shopping centers. "most are underpriced because of the political risk component," said hulileh. so if you don't mind a little volatility, there is a lot of potential upside here. indeed, there will soon be an e.t.f. — an exchange-traded fund — that tracks the al-quds index so you can sit in america and go long or short peace in palestine.

 

the expansion of the al-quds index is part of a broader set of changes initiated in the west bank in the last few years under the leadership of prime minister salam fayyad, the former world bank economist who has unleashed a real palestinian "revolution." it is a revolution based on building palestinian capacity and institutions not just resisting israeli occupation, on the theory that if the palestinians can build a real economy, a professional security force and an effective, transparent government bureaucracy it will eventually become impossible for israel to deny the palestinians a state in the west bank and arab neighborhoods of east jerusalem.

 

"i have to admit, we, the private sector, have changed," said hulileh. "the mood used to be all the time to complain and say there is nothing we can do. and then the politicians were trying to create this atmosphere of resistance — resistance meant no development under occupation."

 

fayyad and his boss, president mahmoud abbas, changed that. now the mood, said hulileh, is that improving the palestinian economy "is what will enable you to resist and be steadfast. fayyad said to us: 'you, the business community, are not responsible for ending occupation. you are responsible for employing people and getting ready for the state. and that means you have to be part of the global world, to export and import, so when the state will come you will not have a garbage yard. you will be ready.' "

 

meeting in his ramallah office two weeks ago, i found fayyad upbeat. the economist-turned-politician seems more comfortable mixing with his constituents in the west bank, where he has quietly built his popularity by delivering water wells, new schools — so there are no more double shifts — and a waste-water treatment facility. the most senior israeli military people told me the new security force that fayyad has built is the real deal — real enough that israel has taken down most of the checkpoints inside the west bank. so internal commerce and investment are starting to flow, and even some gazans are moving there. "we may not be too far from a point of inflection," fayyad said to me.

 

the abbas-fayyad state-building effort is still fragile, and it rests on a small team of technocrats, palestinian business elites and a new professional security force. the stronger this team grows, the more it challenges and will be challenged by some of the old-line fatah palestinian cadres in the west bank, not to mention hamas in gaza. it is the only hope left, though, for a two-state solution, so it needs to be quietly supported.

 

the most important thing president obama can do when he meets israel's prime minister, bibi netanyahu, on july 6 is to nudge him to begin gradually ceding control of major west bank palestinian cities to the palestinian authority so that fayyad can show his people, as he puts it, that what he is building is an independent state "not an exercise in adapting to the permanence of occupation" — and so that israel can test if the new palestinian security forces really can keep the peace without israel making nighttime raids. nothing would strengthen fayyadism more than that.

 

i am struck, though, at how much fayyadism makes some arabs and israelis uncomfortable. for those arabs who have fallen in love with the idea of palestinians as permanent victims, forever engaged in a heroic "armed struggle" to recover palestine and arab dignity, fayyad's methodical state-building is inauthentic. some arabs — shamefully — dump on it, and only the united arab emirates has offered real financial help.

 

and for israelis on the right, particularly west bank settlers, who love the notion that there are no responsible palestinians to talk to so the status quo will never change, fayyadism is a real threat. akiva eldar, a columnist for the israeli daily haaretz, described this group perfectly the other day when he wrote how they "won't relinquish the arabs' 'no's. or, as the poet constantine cavafy wrote in 'waiting for the barbarians' ... : 'and now, what's going to happen to us without barbarians? / they were, those people, a kind of solution.' "

 

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THE NEW YORK TIMES

OPED

WHY WE TALK TO TERRORISTS

BY SCOTT ATRAN AND ROBERT AXELROD

 

NOT all groups that the United States government classifies as terrorist organizations are equally bad or dangerous, and not all information conveyed to them that is based on political, academic or scientific expertise risks harming our national security. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court, which last week upheld a law banning the provision of "material support" to foreign terrorist groups, doesn't seem to consider those facts relevant.

 

Many groups that were once widely considered terrorist organizations, including some that were on the State Department's official list, have become our partners in pursuing peace and furthering democracy.

 

The African National Congress is now the democratically elected ruling party in South Africa, and of course Nelson Mandela is widely considered a great man of peace. The Provisional Irish Republican Army now preaches nonviolence and its longtime leader, Martin McGuinness, is Northern Ireland's first deputy minister. Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestine Liberation Organization have become central players in Middle East peace negotiations.

 

In the case of each of these groups, there were American private citizens — clergymen, academics, scientists and others — who worked behind the scenes to end the violence.

 

The two of us are social scientists who study and interact with violent groups in order to find ways out of intractable conflicts. In the course of this work and in our discussions with decision makers in the Middle East and elsewhere we have seen how informal meetings and exchanges of knowledge have borne fruit. It's not that religious, academic or scientific credentials automatically convey trust, but when combined with a personal commitment to peace, they often carry weight beyond mere opinion or desire.

 

So we find it disappointing that the Supreme Court, in Holder vs. Humanitarian Law Project, ruled that any "material support" of a foreign terrorist group, including talking to terrorists or the communication of expert knowledge and scientific information, helps lend "legitimacy" to the organization. Sometimes, undoubtedly, that is the case. But American law has to find a way to make a clear distinction between illegal material support and legal actions that involve talking with terrorists privately in the hopes of reducing global terrorism and promoting national security.

 

There are groups, like Al Qaeda, that will probably have to be fought to the end. The majority opinion of the Supreme Court reasonably conjectures that any help given such enemies, even in seemingly benign ways like instruction about how to enhance their human rights profile, could free up time and effort in pursuit of extremist violence.

 

Yet war and group violence are ever-present and their prevention requires America's constant effort and innovation. Sometimes this means listening to and talking with our enemies and probing gray areas for ways forward to figure out who is truly a mortal foe and who just might become a friend.

 

It is important to realize that in a political struggle, leaders often wish they could communicate with the other side without their own supporters knowing. Thus the idea that all negotiation should be conducted in the open is simply not very practical. When there are no suitable "official" intermediaries, private citizens can fill the gap.

 

Conditions, of course, should be stringent — there must be trust on all sides that information is being conveyed accurately, and that it will be kept in confidence as long as needed. Accuracy requires both skill in listening and exploring, some degree of cultural understanding and, wherever possible, the intellectual distance that scientific data and research afford.

 

In our own work on groups categorized as terrorist organizations, we have detected significant differences in their attitudes and actions. For example, in our recent interactions with the leader of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad Ramadan Shallah (which we immediately reported to the State Department, as he is on the F.B.I.'s "most wanted" list), we were faced with an adamant refusal to ever recognize Israel or move toward a two-state solution.

 

Yet when we talked to Khaled Meshal, the leader of Hamas (considered a terrorist group by the State Department), he said that his movement could imagine a two-state "peace" (he used the term "salaam," not just the usual "hudna," which signifies only an armistice).

 

In our time with Mr. Meshal's group, we were also able to confirm something that Saudi and Israeli intelligence officers had told us: Hamas has fought to keep Al Qaeda out of its field of influence, and has no demonstrated interest in global jihad. Whether or not the differences among Al Qaeda, Islamic Jihad, Hamas and other violent groups are fundamental, rather than temporary or tactical, is something only further exploration will reveal. But to assume that it is invariably wrong to engage any of these groups is a grave mistake.

 

In our fieldwork with jihadist leaders, foot soldiers and their associates across Eurasia and North Africa, we have found huge variation in the political aspirations, desired ends and commitment to violence. And as one of us (Scott Atran) testified in March to the emerging-threats subgroup of the Senate Armed Services Committee, these differences can be used as leverage to win the cooperation of the next generation of militants, who otherwise will surely become our enemies.

 

It's an uncomfortable truth, but direct interaction with terrorist groups is sometimes indispensable. And even if it turns out that negotiation gets us nowhere with a particular group, talking and listening can help us to better understand why the group wants to fight us, so that we may better fight it. Congress should clarify its counterterrorism laws with an understanding that hindering all informed interaction with terrorist groups will harm both our national security and the prospects for peace in the world's seemingly intractable conflicts.

 

Scott Atran, an anthropologist at France's National Center for Scientific Research, the University of Michigan and John Jay College, is the author of the forthcoming "Talking to the Enemy." Robert Axelrod is a professor of political science and public policy at the University of Michigan, and the author of "The Evolution of Cooperation."

 

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THE NEW YORK TIMES

OPED

THE SPY WHO CAME OUT TO THE SUBURBS

BY DAVID WISE

 

Washington

 

A ring of Russian agents who look and sound like ordinary Americans! Suburban spies with orders to infiltrate United States "policy-making circles" and report to Moscow! So, the cold war is back?

 

No, not really. For the intelligence agencies on both sides — the F.B.I. and the K.G.B.'s successor, the S.V.R. — it never ended.

 

The Russians love to dispatch "illegals" — spies who usually adopt the identities of real (or dead) Americans — as opposed to the traditional cold war custom of posing as diplomats. Since the illegals act like the family next door, complete with backyard barbecues and unruly teenagers, they can be impossible to detect. Unless, as some of the 11 spies arrested this week did, they communicate with Russian intelligence officers at the United Nations mission or the consulate in Manhattan. Then the F.B.I.'s counterintelligence agents, always keeping an eye on Russian officials, may sniff them out.

 

What is new about the network of illegals rolled up by the F.B.I. this week is the hi-tech methods they used to communicate with Yasenevo, the supersecret S.V.R. headquarters on the Moscow ring road. Old-fashioned dead drops — leaving documents in a drainpipe or under footbridges, as the American spies Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen did for their Soviet paymasters — are passé. These illegals used laptops and set up private wireless networks to communicate with Russian officials parked in a van near a coffee shop on Eighth Avenue, a bookstore in Tribeca, a restaurant in Washington.

 

They also used steganography, the technique of using highly secret software to insert coded messages into images on ordinary Web sites. The messages could be read only by S.V.R. experts in Moscow using the same software. As it turns out, today's spies, like everybody else, use the Internet.

 

All of this was an expensive business for the Russians, who had to train and support their operatives here, and for the F.B.I., which spent years trailing them. To what avail? None of the illegals was charged with espionage, which means that none was caught accepting documents from government officials. Instead they were charged with failing to register as foreign agents — take that, James Bond — and money laundering.

 

And how many secrets from the White House, the Pentagon or the C.I.A. could a Russian spy living in Yonkers or Montclair, N.J., acquire? Unless some future bombshells are disclosed, it sounds as though the S.V.R. did not get much for its investment.

 

Conspiracy theorists are already asking, why did the arrests come just days after President Obama's friendly cheeseburger summit with Russian President Dimitri A. Medvedev? Was the White House sending a message, or the F.B.I. trying to sandbag détente?

 

Most likely neither. The criminal complaint reveals that on Saturday, a Russian-speaking F.B.I. undercover agent met with Anna Chapman, one of the illegals, and instructed her to hand a fake passport to another supposed illegal the next day, using this password exchange: "Excuse me, but haven't we met in California last summer?"; "No, I think it was the Hamptons." (The Hamptons!)

 

But Anna Chapman, it seems, smelled a rat. She bought a cell phone that could not be traced to her and may have called Moscow to find out what was going on. She never showed up for her meeting on Sunday. The F.B.I., fearing the game was up, moved in and arrested her and nine others. The bureau, like the S.V.R., ends up with little to show for its decade of hard work. But its agents can take heart: cold wars come and go, but Russian spies are here forever.

 

David Wise is writing a book on Chinese espionage against the United States.

 

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USA TODAY

EDITORIAL

OUR VIEW ON BANKING OVERHAUL: FINANCIAL REFORM MEASURE MAKES THE SYSTEM SAFER

 

In politics, nothing is easier than maintaining the status quo. That's because any special-interest group at risk of losing benefits can mobilize its membership and lobbying clout, while those who benefit from change — often the public — tend not to be organized.

 

By that measure, the f inancial overhaul that emerged last week from a House-Senate conference committee, and is awaiting final votes in the two chambers, is exceptional. On several fronts it would deprive big banks of money streams that they have usurped and come to see as theirs by right.

 

The measure would greatly limit banks' ability to: force retailers (and, by extension, their customers) to pay outrageous fees for routine debit card transactions; maintain highly leveraged balance sheets to beef up profits and bonuses while putting taxpayers on the hook; and operate as casinos by betting on risky financial instruments known as derivatives.

 

By successfully challenging banks in so many ways, the legislation would have to be called a success. This is not to say that it would prevent another financial bubble and bust like the one the nation just experienced. Human folly can't be outlawed. But the measure is a clear step in the direction of making the financial system safer.

 

The legislation attempts to limit the risk-taking by banks, particularly huge ones that can bring down whole economies if they fail. It does this by, among other things, requiring them to maintain larger cash reserves to buffer them in times of financial crisis. In place of the awkward and unpopular bailouts of 2008, it would set up a rapid resolution process for failing institutions that resembles what the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. does with smaller banks.

 

For consumers, the bill would create a new bureau to write and enforce lending rules. And, in the wake of "liar loans" that contributed to the subprime mortgage fiasco, it would require lenders to verify borrowers' income and assets. Imagine that.

 

If the measure passes — the conference committee was reconvened late Tuesday as Senate Democrats scrambled to round up enough votes — it also would be a win for the legislative process as it is supposed to work. The conference was open and captured by C-SPAN cameras. That's a far cry from health care reform, much of which was negotiated in private by Democrats. And, unlike health care, some Republican lawmakers played constructive roles.

 

Even so, the bankers staved off much of what they feared most. Congress stopped short of more radical steps such as breaking up the biggest banks or reimposing the wall between investment banking and commercial banking that was built after the Depression and torn down in 1999. Lawmakers punted on what to do about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the housing finance concerns that continue to accumulate foreclosed properties and hemorrhage money. They left many of the specific rules to regulators, giving financial lobbyists another shot at influencing the outcome when the public isn't watching as closely.

 

The legislation is also not lacking in special deals for well-connected interests. Perhaps the most disappointing is that car dealers — notorious for steering customers into disadvantageous loans — would be exempt from the consumer protection provisions.

 

But all in all, in a city where it's always easier to block progress than to enact change, the move to fix a broken banking system while pushing back against entrenched interests is impressive. It's just too bad it took a financial calamity to make it happen.

 

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USA TODAY

EDITORIAL

OPPOSING VIEW ON BANKING OVERHAUL: BAILOUT NATION

BY JEB HENSARLING

 

Far from reform, the Democrats' Wall Street bailout bill embodies everything that is wrong with Washington in the Obama-Pelosi-Reid era. Instead of adopting common-sense reforms to protect taxpayers and ensure fairness, this 2,000-page bill enshrines us as a bailout nation through its permanent TARP-like bailout mechanism for big financial institutions.

 

This mechanism replaces the orderly process of bankruptcy for failed institutions and lets government bureaucrats arbitrarily pick winners and losers among creditors. By elevating special interests over the rule of law, this bill represents crony capitalism at its worst.

 

The bill also has the wrong focus, attacking gift cards and payday lenders while refusing to consider any reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two failed mortgage giants have already cost the American people $147 billion, yet Democrats disappointingly claim they are "too complicated" to address here.

 

Additionally, at a time when unemployment is hovering near 10%, this bill does nothing to create the jobs our economy desperately needs. Instead, it makes credit — especially small-business credit — less available and more expensive by creating a new federal loan czar with the power to ban and ration consumer credit products.

 

Overall, Democrats have claimed their bailout bill won't cost taxpayers anything. Of course, that's what they said about the bailout of Fannie and Freddie, which are losing an average of $7 billion each month.

 

Even if they aren't directly charged for these bailouts, taxpayers will ultimately end up paying for them in the form of higher fees and restricted access to credit. That impact will be devastating, especially on small businesses. As one small-business owner from my district lamented, "Without easy reliable access to that credit, I am out of business."

 

The answer to criminal greed on Wall Street is not more taxpayer bailouts, it is bankruptcy and more vigorous enforcement of our existing fraud and consumer protection laws. The fundamental truth is that the best way to prevent future taxpayer bailouts is to end taxpayer bailouts. Republicans proposed, and Democrats rejected, these and other reforms that would have ended "too big to fail" once and for all.

 

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USA TODAY

EDITORIAL

ANOTHER TEA PARTY ENIGMA: FOREIGN POLICY

BY LIONEL BEEHNER

 

It's hard to find any coherent foreign policy emerging from the political slogans shouted at "Tea Party" rallies. Sure, its members support a strong national defense, with some faint echoes of the libertarian call that the primary purpose of the government is to keep Americans secure. And like all good conservatives, they are suspicious of foreign alliances and institutions such as the United Nations.

 

Yet what's most remarkable is that even though, according to a March 2010 Gallup Poll, 28% of American adults identify themselves with the Tea Party, more questions on national security and foreign policy are not being asked of the movement's supporters, much less its candidates, who could wield significant leverage on U.S. policies abroad if they're elected in November.

 

The reason? There is no consensus. Tea Partiers are a ragtag bunch, for sure, united more by hot-button domestic issues such as lower taxes and states' rights than by any deeply held conviction about the U.S. projection of power in the world. When they wade into global affairs, it mostly concerns protecting the borders against illegal immigration or enforcing free trade. There are realists and internationalists, non-interventionists and neo-conservatives, hawks and doves within its disparate ranks — but the biggest bloc appears to be undecideds. "Foreign policy is just not a big issue for us," says Gayle Ruzicka, president of the Utah chapter of the Eagle Forum, a conservative group with close ties to the Tea Party.

 

An anti-war tone

 

That may explain the isolationist strand running through the Tea Party's DNA. America, the thinking goes, cannot afford to be fighting two costly wars overseas or building military bases all over the Middle East. Nor should American troops be the world's policemen. But that raises conundrums and inconsistencies, says James Lindsay of the Council on Foreign Relations. If the primary role of government is to keep the country secure, does that "require going abroad and whacking bad guys?" If so, he says, then that "feeds the growth of a large state and may curtail civil liberties." That may be why there is an anti-war tone to the Tea Party's rhetoric. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas famously found himself in a lonely position during a 2008 Republican primary debate when he called for ending the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

 

After his son, Rand, won the Kentucky Republican primary in May, Daniel Larison of The Week wrote that "this is the first time in memory that a Republican champion of a non-interventionist, Jeffersonian approach to international alliances and foreign wars has won a significant victory." But it also opened up the candidate to criticism from harder-core elements within conservative ranks that he was soft, inexperienced and naive on national security.

 

True, it is not unusual for foreign policy to take a back seat during the run-up to midterm elections, not to mention that most other candidates are probably unfamiliar with the writings of Reinhold Niebuhr or George Kennan. Still, it does seem strange that no worldview has emerged among a movement generating so much press.

 

One hint of what a Tea Partyist's foreign policy might resemble is that of John Dennis, a "pro-liberty Republican" running to unseat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He takes a narrow constitutional view of the powers of the president to declare war. Yet he also waxes Jeffersonian, if not Obama-esque, at points: "We should welcome trade with all countries, resolve our outstanding disputes with countries considered unfriendly and have diplomatic relations with all." And he stamps out the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war.

 

But then there are those such as Arizonan senatorial candidate J.D. Hayworth, whose platform could have been written by Karl Rove: He supports "enhanced interrogation techniques," wants to keep Guantanamo open indefinitely, and even accuses his opponent, a decorated war veteran named Sen. John McCain, of being soft on national security.

 

Pulling back into our shell

 

Whatever their leanings, if more Tea Party loyalists enter Congress, expect U.S. foreign policy to change in subtle ways. In his new national security strategy, President Obama genuflects to globalism and multilateralism, both of which are anathema to most Tea Partiers.

 

"The only thing worse (for them) than a big federal government," says Walter Russell Mead of Bard College, "is a big world government." Going forward, he adds, expect it to become even more difficult for Congress to ratify international conventions (on, say, global warming).

 

Put more broadly, because of the influence of Tea Party upstarts such as Dennis and Paul who rail against ballooning deficits — to say nothing of the battle fatigue setting in, what with Afghanistan now the longest war in our history — expect Congress to lean more non-interventionist in the near future. The powers of the executive branch could be reined in. And congressional support for the wars may wane.

 

To date, foreign policy has been largely absent from the Tea Party's agenda, but that will change as the movement gains steam. It's not enough to say you're patriotic and in favor of a strong military.

 

The Tea Party would be wise to lay out a foreign policy platform beyond the conservative Heritage Foundation's talking points, particularly one that does not run counter to the notion of shrinking government, balancing the budget and lowering taxes.

 

Lionel Beehner is a 2010 fellow with the Truman National Security Project and a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors.

 

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USA TODAY

COLUMNISTS' VOICES

WHY CAN'T WE TEXT AND DRIVE? SCIENCE

BY ROBERT PETRANCOSTA

 

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt is the fastest human being on Earth. Olympic gold medals. World records in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. In fact, his speedy accomplishments may well have inspired a commercial last year featuring a sprinter darting past the competition, texting the whole time. In the end, he wins the race without once setting foot outside his lane.

 

If only it were that easy — and safe — to text while driving.

 

As a country, we seem to be getting this message. Individual states have been steadily enacting laws to ban the use of cellphones and to restrict texting while driving. In fact, we're halfway there. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, text messaging has been banned for all drivers in 28 states and the District of Columbia. Safety advocates are coming out of their seats to reiterate what many studies have revealed — that the combination of texting and driving is profoundly dangerous.

 

But in order to get the rest of the country to come along — and to save countless lives in the process — we'll need to do more than just tell people "no." People should understand that this isn't a matter of a nanny state gone mad. It's a matter of science.

 

Focus, people

 

There are three basic types of distractions: visual, manual and cognitive. While all driving distractions carry some risk, texting is the most dangerous because it involves all three types. As the National Safety Council has argued, the human brain cannot multitask. Sure the human brain can juggle tasks very rapidly, but it can only perform one task at a time. A person who is texting while driving is overloading his brain, requiring divided attention.

 

Just a year ago, a study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute using long-haul truck drivers concluded that when motorists texted while driving, their collision risk was 23 times greater.

 

The researchers also found that actively texting drivers take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds. At 55 mph, these drivers will travel the length of a football field, including the end zones, without looking at the road. With more than 280 million cellphone subscribers — and climbing — in the USA, the risk is growing exponentially.

 

Only birds can fly

 

A bird in flight might be able to get away with not paying attention during a cross-country trip. After all, millions of years of evolution have given birds the sharp visual acuity to recognize and react to objects at high speed. But man was not meant to fly. Physiologically, man was designed to travel on two legs. Even Bolt, when setting the world speed record, was clocked at a mere 27 mph — hardly the requisite speed for flight.

 

Clearly, few of us can run anywhere nearly as fast as Bolt. In fact, the average top running speed for most of us is about 15 mph. When we get behind the wheel of a car, we experience some of the same sensations of flying, such as speed and centrifugal force. But as we begin to move at speeds greater than what we are designed to handle, we have difficulty reacting.

 

The faster motorists drive above this 15 mph threshold, the harder it is to escape the physiological limitations that separate us — and, yes, even Bolt — from our high-flying friends. Throw in texting while driving at such speeds, and you have a deadly mix for the driver and those unfortunate enough to share the road with him.

 

Robert Petrancosta, a 41-year trucking industry veteran, is vice president of safety for Con-way Freight, a less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier.

 

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USA TODAY

COLUMNISTS' VOICES

RUSSIAN SPY CASE IN A WORD: BIZARRE

BY LEON ARON AND KEVIN ROTHROCK

 

Monday, the U.S. Justice Department accused 11 people of spying for the Russian Federation. The formal charge is "conspiracy to act as unregistered agents of a foreign government," and nine of the defendants are also charged with "conspiracy to commit money laundering." (You can read the legal paperwork here and here.) These arrests follow a multi-year investigation by the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the Justice Department's National Security Division.

 

Having spent so much time following these 11 people, bugging their houses and secretly scanning their home electronics, U.S. authorities have at last brought down the hammer — hours after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev left North American airspace and days after a warmly received visit to California and Washington, D.C. This international scandal comes during a period of "reset" dizziness — as the United States commits to Russian entry into the World Trade Organization, Russia agrees to renew U.S. poultry imports, and both nations come nearer to ratifying the New START treaty on arms reductions.

 

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have responded cautiously so far, though the Kremlin's patience for espionage accusations — true or false — is notoriously thin.

 

The feds now have 11 people in custody who might be guilty of receiving money and passing it between each other illegally. The "unregistered foreign agents" charge carries a maximum penalty of only five years in prison. The details of the money laundering are almost comical. We have people burying bags of cash in roadside ditches, marked by dirty beer bottles. There are bag-exchanges in public parks, and dollar-filled fanny packs. The secrecy with which these individuals operated has the appearance of a (bad) spy novel, but the results of this conspiracy are closer to Naked Gun than James Bond. Indeed, one of the top-secret communiqués intercepted includes complaints about the low quality of their reporting. "They tell me that my information is of no value because I didn't provide any source," one suspect tells another. "Put down any politician!" she answers.

 

These "sleeper agents" or "moles," as they used to be called during the Cold War, residents of the U.S. for years — some of whom have even had children here, apparently to improve their "cover" — are hardly the super spies either of fiction or the past. From what we know thus far, it appears that this was a "softer" wide-net operation of what they used to call "sleeper" agents. Its design was not to ferret out the "hard" secrets (à la notorious spies Aldrich Ames or Robert Hanssen), but to see how policy is made — how the government interacts with Congress and think tanks. This is not about silent engines for nuclear subs, anti-submarine warfare plans, or torpedo designs, but about how the U.S. manages to revolutionalize its technology — a keen interest underscored by Medvedev's visit to Silicon Valley last week. In other words, both in the political and technological sides of the operation, Russians here appear to be not after the sausage, but sausage-making. And speaking of sausages (all right, hamburgers), one wonders if chatting with President Obama in an Arlington joint was Medvedev's contribution to the operation.

 

In a sense, this is more sophisticated "research" than we have been used to from Moscow. Still, the entire thing is a bit bizarre. What are their diplomats for? And why didn't they just read The New York Times or The Washington Post, or simply ride the D.C. conference circuit.

 

The impact on U.S.-Russian relations is likely to be minimal. If Ames or Hanssen (who were paid millions) did not cause upheavals, this graduate-school type of operation is very unlikely to. Countries, even friendly ones, engage in this sort of thing all the time, we are likely to be told. True enough, except for a typical Soviet-like overkill with the thickness of the "cover." The only — minor — intrigue is why the arrests so shortly after Medvedev's visit? Are we going to hear from Moscow about the "reactionary forces" again at work trying to undermine the fragile détente of the "reset"? Stay tuned.

 

Leon Aron is resident scholar and director of Russian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Kevin Rothrock is Research Associate in Russian Studies.

 

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TIMES FREE PRESS

OPINION

THE GUN-RIGHTS MESS

 

Acting again on a narrow and harshly divided 5-4 opinion, the conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the federal Second Amendment gun rights it asserted two years ago must be protected under state and local laws, as well. Under this interpretation, the majority ruled that Chicago's 1983 ban on handguns is unconstitutional.

 

The ruling will cheer those who keep pressing to gratuitously intrude guns into the public sphere. But it is thoughtlessly and maddeningly reckless, again, in its lack of precision and definition of citizens' rights to bear arms.

 

In upending Chicago's handgun ban, for example, the court declared again -- as it did in the related Heller gun case two years ago -- that states and local governments still possess the right to enact reasonable regulation on the use and carrying of guns in public places. Indeed, the five justices in the majority on Monday mainly just extended the same Second Amendment right, and caveats, that they noted in 2008 in the Heller case, which struck down a similar ban on possession of handguns in Washington, D.C., a uniquely federal jurisdiction.

 

Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, reiterated those caveats in the case at hand. As in Heller, he wrote that the court did not intend to undermine state and local laws that prohibited gun rights, for example, to felons and the mentally ill; or that forbid possession of guns in sensitive public places like schools and government buildings; or to forbid laws regulating commercial sales of firearms. All of these areas would be subject to state and local regulation, as well as federal regulation, the majority ruled.

 

The court, however, offered no guidelines in any of these areas. That leaves the nation subject to waves of future lawsuits from advocates or critics of local and state gun laws, while gun violence plays out.

 

There is ample reason now for the court to fix such ground rules. States and cities that contend with rampant gun-related crime and violence still want and need to regulate where, how and by whom guns may be sold and carried in public places.

 

Yet the court's majority has oddly declined to delineate what constitutes reasonable regulation. In the void, state legislatures, including Tennessee's, have pushed a National Rifle Association agenda of allowing gun-carry for permit holders in bars and restaurants, schools and churches, state and parks and employer-provider parking places, and in favor of an expanding array of firearms subject to ready purchase by citizens.

 

In the meantime, gun violence nationally continues to mount. More than 60,000 people are killed or injured by firearms in America every year, dissenting justices noted in Monday's ruling. Police officers, moreover, are growing more afraid of encountering heavy-duty firearms and related equipment that once were available only to the nation's military: i.e., assault rifles, machine guns, semi-automatic (and easily modified to automatic) handguns and rifles, as well as bullet-proof vestments, armor-piercing shells and night-vision goggles.

 

It is hard to imagine that the Second Amendment could be interpreted to authorize Americans access to such high-technology guns, munitions and permutation of force. Certainly the founding fathers who wrote the Bill of Rights hardly could have conceived the evolution of weapons and firearms equipment that rabid gun-rights groups now embrace.

 

Regardless, the current Supreme Court majority has facilitated this leap by overturning long-settled precedents which posited Second Amendment rights as a group right in accordance with the first phrase of the amendment, which states: "A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

 

Now that they've twice decided the second half of the amendment is paramount, that Second Amendment guns rights are personal individual rights unrelated to state militias, the court's activist radicals should say precisely how well-regulated our potential militia should be to achieve the security of a free state. The longer the court is mute on this issue, the more lawsuits we will see on these issues, and the longer blood will flow from easy access to more powerful guns.

 

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TIMES FREE PRESS

OPINION

REP. WAMP'S NEW GOAL

 

Chattanooga's excellent U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, after many beneficial terms of outstanding conservative service in the U.S. House of Representatives, has chosen a "change of direction." He's running for governor of Tennessee.

 

Always extremely energetic, he is citing his extensive experience in public service for Tennessee and the nation, emphasizing education, health, the economy and reducing crime as his key objectives.

 

He is seeking the Republican nomination in competition with some other fine candidates in the August primary election, to face a Democrat nominee in the November general election. Able Democrat Gov. Phil Bredesen will be leaving office after his legal maximum of two terms.

 

Rep. Wamp believes education is the key to the success of every young person. He wants every ninth-grader to be on an education track for vocational or other professional success. He notes that Tennessee's HOPE scholarships help finance "regular" college semesters, but he wants the tuition aid program to apply also to summer school courses. That would help students graduate from college earlier, and get into work activities qualified to earn and enjoy a good income.

 

He emphatically says, "We will not enact a state income tax."

 

He has pointed to his efforts to bring Volkswagen and its jobs to Chattanooga, and his successful efforts on behalf of other new industries in our state, emphasizing Tennessee's "Technology Corridor." His goal is to make Tennessee's economy "the most dynamic in America."

 

Rep. Wamp promotes the "right to work," high-quality jobs, and variety to improve our economy. He has emphasized cooperation between political parties, and having the federal government and state government cooperating constitutionally, without dictation from Washington.

 

Rep. Wamp has an encouraging view for progress for all Tennesseans.

 

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TIMES FREE PRESS

OPINION

PAINFUL AREA JOB LOSSES

 

While Chattanoogans rightly celebrate the new, high-paying jobs coming to our area with the construction of the big Volkswagen plant and the expansion of Alstom Power's local facilities, we are sadly reminded that this region, too, continues to suffer from the ongoing economic crisis.

 

Just recently, it was announced that the Blue Bird bus-manufacturing facility in nearby LaFayette, Ga., will close in August, at a cost of 350 jobs. Blue Bird is a big employer in Walker County, so the loss will be felt not only by the workers directly affected but also by the wider community as those workers have less income to spend at businesses in the area.

 

Blue Bird officials said that in response to the economic crisis, the company is centralizing its operations, staff and services at its headquarters in central Georgia, near Macon.

 

Those of us who are fortunate enough to have jobs should reach out to help those who would like to have jobs but cannot find them. The 350 soon-to-be-unemployed workers in LaFayette as well as others throughout our area who have been idled the past few years are in a difficult position. But strong support by the rest of us can ease their circumstances while we await the return of more prosperous days -- and hope that our federal government will help bring back better times by reversing its current course of trying to spend the nation our of economic troubles.

Academy alum raises the bar at Carson-Newman***************************************

TIMES FREE PRESS

OPINION

'THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS'

 

If the early American colonists of 1776 had not exercised their "right to bear arms," it is very unlikely there would have been a successful American Revolution, which led to American independence and our freedom in the United States of America.

 

That's why the authors of the Constitution of the United States wrote the Second Amendment in the Constitution's Bill of Rights, reading, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."

 

Early Americans' ownership of guns was vital not only in winning independence but in taming a wilderness inhabited by hostile Indians and wild animals.

 

But the Second Amendment obviously was never intended to permit American gun owners to engage in aggression against other Americans. That's why we have many laws on federal, state and local levels prohibiting the wrongful and illegal use of guns.

 

But some people who would like to disarm Americans have argued that the right to bear arms does not apply to "individuals," since the first words of the Second Amendment refer to a "well regulated Militia."

 

Questions about legal gun ownership have been repeated in many lawsuits. The latest ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States came this week.

 

The justices ruled 5-4 that Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense.

 

The majority included Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr., Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy and Clarence Thomas.

 

Dissenting were Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer and the newest justice, Sonia Sotomayor.

 

Justice Alito, who wrote the majority ruling, said, "It is clear that the Framers ... counted the right to keep and bear arms among those fundamental rights necessary to our system of ordered liberty."

 

He is right, of course. But this ruling surely is not the "last word" on gun rights. There certainly will be future gun-rights cases in which various aspects and circumstances will be debated and ruled upon. There will be questions about some state and local gun laws, and about guns and convicted criminals and the mentally ill, guns in "sensitive places" such as schools and government buildings, etc.

 

Obviously, there is no desire to invite unlimited "gunslingers" in the streets, as in the old "Wild West." But the Supreme Court majority recognized that the Constitution does provide for gun possession for self-defense, and does not require a disarmed American populace.

 

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TIMES FREE PRESS

OPINION

ODD ALLURE OF ILLEGAL COCKFIGHTS

 

It is obviously desirable in our society to avoid the infliction of painful mistreatment of animals. We have reasonable laws on the subject. But amazingly, there still arise cases from time to time about illegal cockfighting.

 

Some people seem to be thrilled to see roosters equipped with sharp steel spurs fight to the death -- while viewers gamble on which will win.

 

The subject is in the news now because of a raid at a cockfight near Ducktown, Tenn., that led to many citations.

 

Being involved in cockfighting is just a misdemeanor. In the past, it was a felony in Tennessee. While cockfighting is not an "everyday" offense, it is regrettable that such things sometimes occur. But because they do, some are inspired to call for tougher laws against such abuse of animals.

 

"Blood sports" have no proper place in a civilized society.

 

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HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

OPINION

FROM THE BOSPHORUS: STRAIGHT - SEN. ROBERT BYRD: MUCH MORE THAN A 'FRIEND'

 

Sen. Robert Byrd, the Democrat from West Virginia, died this week at 92. Sen. Byrd has long been admired in Turkey as a "friend" and loyal ally who came to Turkey's side in many a political fight in Washington. Behind the scenes, many have asked the same question for decades: why?

 

In the ethnic group interests vs. commercial interests lobbying cauldron that sadly defines much of American foreign policy-making, Byrd was an outsider. His state of West Virginia is home to neither the defense contracting nor the energy interests that serve as incentives to be a "friend" of Turkey. Largely rural and poor, West Virginia is also not home to any of the ethnic constituencies that would have translated into a voter base in exchange for challenging Turkey on a host of issues. In short, Byrd operated outside the script with which we have become all too familiar when it comes to calculating power in Washington.

 

But one explanation we have heard several versions of over the years rings true. A perhaps apocryphal tale, it comes to us second hand, originating with a translator who served Byrd on a visit to Turkey in the 1980s. By this account, Byrd had taken on visiting several cities near the Black Sea. Among them was Zonguldak, the center of Turkey's gritty coal mining industry.

 

Byrd met with the miners and talked to them of their trials and tribulations. After the conversation, he returned to a waiting car with his translator. Seated inside, he turned to the translator, and with tears in his eyes declared, "These are my people."

 

We can't vouch for the story's accuracy. But those who met and knew Byrd always understood it was the "little guy" who provided the source for his political passion. Yes, Byrd was a lawyer and was regarded as the most knowledgeable member of Congress on constitutional law. Yes, Byrd was a classical scholar who would evoke the battles of Carthage or the conquests of the Roman Legions when debating with military appropriations.

 

But he was also raised in poverty in hardscrabble coal country by an aunt after the death of his mother. He was descended from coal miners and his high school sweetheart, whom he married at 19, his companion until her death two years ago, was the daughter of coal miners as well. Before finishing school and entering politics in 1946, Byrd worked as a gas station attendant, a welder and a butcher.

 

That this background made him a champion of workers' rights, health care reform and anti-poverty initiatives is a fact that has been commented on by many. That this same background helps explain his love for Turkey, his affection for the sides of this country that most Americans never see, makes sense to us.

 

America has lost a great statesman. But Turkey has lost more than a "friend." We have lost an international

leader who once drank tea in Zonguldak. We have lost an American lawmaker who truly understood our soul

 

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HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

OPINION

WHEN ANKARA SAYS 'PEACE' TURN AROUND AND RUN AWAY!

BURAK BEKDIL

 

As Ankara faces different perspectives on various of its foreign policy initiatives, competing ambitions are becoming apparent making it difficult for a coherent Turkish foreign policy to be enacted

 

When my door bell rang I was sitting at my desk and lazily listening to government bigwigs on the radio telling a willing audience that the government had nothing (repeat, nothing) to do with the help Gaza flotilla organizers, that it was not involved in the adventure in any way. A cargo delivery boy asked for my signature. I signed, took envelope and opened it.

 

I understood from the masthead on the envelope that the sender was the Prime Ministry's Press and Information General Directorate. I was on the list of recipients for being a member of the foreign media (as I also regularly write for foreign publications).

 

The envelope did not contain a letter, or an explanatory note. Instead, its only content was a DVD whose cover showed the photo(shop) of an Israeli soldier pointing a rifle to a vessel (probably the Mavi Marmara). The vessel was encircled in David's Star. The DVD cover read: "Moments of Horror." And the line below read: "Interviews with the injured aboard the aid for Gaza ship / with English subtitles." The radio was still quoting very important persons as saying that the flotilla was an entirely nongovernmental initiative.

 

Now Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was speaking. The moment he talked about (official) Turkish initiatives for peace and stability in the region and Turkey's dedication to mediation in the world's conflict areas I turned off the radio in horror. My thoughts went back to 2008.

 

Just when Mr. Erdoğan spoke of Turkish ambitions to create sustainable peace and stability in the Caucasus, the Russian-Georgian war broke out. There is no longer war there, probably because there are no longer Turkish efforts for peace-making. The Georgians should enjoy relative calm and hope that Ankara is too busy bringing peace to other parts of the world.

 

It is needless to remind anyone how Turkey's vigorous efforts to mediate between Israel and Syria have ended up first with the Israeli Defense Forces attacking Gaza and killing over a thousand people, including civilians, and later with Turkey and Israel coming to the brink of war.

 

But how Turkey and the United States have traveled from the realm of 'model partnership' to a rattled partnership relationship – despite Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's early 2009 optimism that "Turkish and U.S. interests have never this much converged" – should have a lot to do with Turkey's peace and mediation efforts.

 

The usual Turkish confidence that "they need us more than we need them" has turned the model partnership into something perhaps best explained by Philip Gordon, the Obama administration's top diplomat for European affairs: "We think Turkey remains committed to NATO, Europe and the U.S., but that needs to be demonstrated."

Ironically, Turkey's model partner's major adversary, Iran, happens to be Turkey's great friend and ally. So the idea was that Turkey finds a peaceful way between its model partner and friend which were at odds over the latter's nuclear program. Turkey tried hard for peace between Iran and the West. As a result, the U.N. Security Council imposed the most powerful ever sanctions on Tehran. And Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, vowed to "punish the West."

 

It may have gone largely unnoticed, but Mr. Gordon also made an explicit warning to Ankara that "(all that)… makes it harder for the U.S. to support some of the things that Turkey would like to see us support." What those things could be? How harder will it be for the Americans to support them? Not too difficult to guess. It's just that the official American line does not perfectly fit into partner language.

 

The Turks, upon his election as president of the U.S., gave Mr. Obama a heartfelt welcome. He was the first U.S. president whose election victory was celebrated in big feasts in remote Turkish (and Kurdish) villages. Last week, Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project told us that the Turkish confidence in Mr. Obama fell to 23 percent from 33 percent last year.

 

Another major peace effort was the Armenian initiative which we all supported. Messrs Erdoğan and Davutoğlu had just missed one tiny detail though. While trying to make peace with one neighbor they forgot the other which is technically at war with the one they wanted to make peace. Now that the Armenian protocols are in deep freeze with an unknown fate, Ankara is buying the Azeri natural gas at a more expensive price than it used to.

 

Blessed are the peacemakers, but peace may come at an expensive price. Only nine months after Mr. Davutoğlu was sporting big smiles in anticipation of a historic peace with Yerevan, four ethnic Armenian troops and one Azeri soldier were killed in an exchange of fire near Nagorno-Karabakh.

 

But probably the most important 'Turkish peace project' was peace with the (separatist-minded) Kurds. Since

Mr. Erdoğan spoke of 'peace' almost daily and inaugurated his "national unity and peace project," hundreds of Turks and Kurds have been killed in clashes, bombings, air raids and mine explosions.

 

At times like this I cannot help but worry about Cyprus. And I pray everyday that Messrs. Erdoğan and Davutoğlu do not roll up their sleeves and launch an all too ambitious "this-time-there-is-going-to-be-peace-on-Cyprus" project.

 

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HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

OPINION

THE AKP'S HAMAS POLICY I: HOW TURKEY TURNED

SONER CAGAPTAY

 

Turkey has not traditionally boasted strong popular support for Hamas, or any other groups with a violent Islamist agenda. Turks generally have had an attitude of benign indifference towards their country's ties with Israel. Lately though, this is changing. Whereas anti-Israeli demonstrations would have typically attracted only a few thousand people in the past, today pro-Hamas and anti-Israeli demonstrations attract hundreds of thousands of people in Turkey, and the country is witnessing drastic changes in popular attitudes toward Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian issue.

 

These changes are rooted in the transformation of Turkish views of the world and the accompanying transformation of Turkish foreign policy: the Turks' view of the world is changing, with the Turks taking a negative view of the West: today, few in Turkey care for the West, most people oppose EU accession, many Turks hate America, and almost no one likes Israel. At the same time, Turkey's foreign policy toward the West is also changing, with Turkey becoming friendlier with Hamas, Sudan and Iran.

 

Why are the Turks turning anti-Western? Why are Turks viewing themselves in contrast to the West – meaning the United States across the world – Israel in the Middle East and Europe within Turkey's immediate neighborhood? Examining the development of Turkish policies towards Israel and Hamas over the past seven years since the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, came to power in 2002 can provide many lessons.

 

In the 1960s and afterwards, various Arab regimes initiated policies that turned the Israeli-Palestinian dispute into a domestic issue. In this regard, the Arab regimes invited radical Palestinian groups to visit their capitals, and provided them publicity and the ability to build networks, allowing the radical Palestinian rhetoric and agenda to penetrate the minds of common Arabs, where it stays. Now, Turkey is going through a similar process under the leadership of the AKP government, except this radical Islamist rhetoric is penetrating the minds of Turks. Since the AKP took office in November 2002, the party's pro-Hamas rhetoric and conduct—including successive visits to Turkey by Hamas officials, as well as government-sponsored Hamas fundraisers and gatherings – have for the first time brought Hamas' rhetoric to Turkey.

 

Consequently, pro-Hamas websites are proliferating in Turkey, traditional Turkish sympathy for the Palestinians is turning into sympathy for Hamas. Additionally Turkish attitudes toward Israel are heating up significantly; according to a BBC World Service poll, only 2 percent of Turks today have a favorable view of Israel while 23 percent view Israel as a threat.

 

For a long time, the primary goal of the attacks of Sept. 11 appeared to be that al-Qaeda wanted to hurt America. Now, this does not necessarily seem to be the case. The attacks took aim at America, but perhaps, that was not their primary goal. Rather, the primary goal of the attacks seems to have been to rally Muslims around the world to unite under the concept of a "Muslim world" in a perpetual conflict with the West – meaning Israel in the Middle East and the United States elsewhere in the world.

 

The attacks, of course, did not create the idea of Muslims; nor did they create the "Muslim world." There is a pre-existing cultural view among the world's Muslims, as in all religions, that believers are unified. The attacks have not created this view; rather they have introduced a Manichean political layer to it, calling on all Muslims to join the new and politically-charged "Muslim world" that al-Qaeda defines having a violent confrontation with the West. This appears to be the primary goal of the Sept. 11 attacks. By creating and sustaining this view, al-Qaeda can hope to attack and hurt America and West many times over.

 

Enter the AKP in Turkey in 2002. As al-Qaeda was calling on all Muslims everywhere to unite around this new and politically-charged "Muslim world" to oppose the West and attack it whenever possible. The AKP, a party with an Islamist pedigree came to power in Turkey, promoting its vision of a political "Muslim world" and suggesting that Turkey and the Turks belong to this singular religio-political world. It is the power of this Manichean trajectory which explains the Turks' changing foreign policy and their new relationship with Israel and Hamas.

 

Indeed, on Oct. 11, Turkey cancelled Israeli participation in the Anatolian Eagle air force drill, a military exercise that has been going on for 15 years. The AKP asked the Israelis not to participate in the exercise citing Israeli behavior toward Hamas-controlled Gaza. This was a shock because the exercise is symbolic of close military cooperation between Turkey and Israel. The AKP's cancellation of military exercises with Israel is the beginning of the end of Turkish-Israeli ties. What is more, the AKP's cancellation of Israeli participation in the Anatolian Eagle exercise because of its evaluation of Israel's behavior toward Hamas demonstrates that the AKP sees Turkey as responsible for defending Hamas' agenda as opposed to Israelis.

 

After chiding Israel for months for "committing atrocities and genocide," Turkish Prime Minister and AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan defended Sudanese leader Omar Hassan al-Bashir. United Nations reports documenting al-Bashir's atrocities notwithstanding, Erdoğan even said al-Bashir "could not have committed genocide in Darfur, because he is a Muslim and Muslims do not commit genocide."

 

Turkey and Israel have a long history based on mutual respect and cooperation within the region and have viewed the relationship through the prism of Turks and Israelis; the AKP's behavior towards Israel and Sudan shows that the party views Israel through a new, Islamist prism: Muslims (who are always right even when they kill their own kind) vs. non-Muslims (who are always wrong when they confront Muslims even when acting in self-defense).

 

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HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

OPINION

TURKEY'S HEATHROW RESURRECTING ITSELF

 

London's Heathrow Airport is the top transfer center in the world, connecting the far west and the far east. Unfortunately, the passengers are still doomed to pass through chaos.

 

On the contrary, the Istanbul Atatürk Airport has both connected itself to the east and the west like an immediate neighbor, through the comfort and the variety – besides rapidly growing Turkish Airlines – it offers. Fortunately it is also about to open a new runway.

 

Atatürk Airport is now the biggest transfer center in our region. Passengers come and go from the Balkans, the Middle East, and the far end of Kazakhstan and even inland China. They use Atatürk Airport. Some of them take a day off their trip and sight see through Istanbul. Some others come from Almaty and have a couple of hours in the luxurious halls of the airport, eating; or resting at the airport hotel. Then they fly away to Cape Town or Sao Paolo.

 

Targeting 50 million passengers per year, the Atatürk Airport will become a giant when the current military zone is added to its premises. The renovated runway of the airport, which can easily host the biggest airplanes in the world, is also about to open.

 

There are also planning studies for another runway in addition to the new runway which reduces braking and has a special coating. Easy to access, compatible with the city's fabric, having many transfer opportunities and unlimited connections, Atatürk Airport remains one of the most easy-to-use airport as it continues growing.

 

Passengers can use a horizontal door in a vertical manner and easily pass through passport checks. The airport is also fun thanks to its duty free shops and restaurants – Atatürk Airport makes foreign passengers happy.

 

If investments are not halted and the General Directorate of State Airports Authority, or DHMİ, continues with the planned development procedure, Atatürk Airport will be indispensable in the future.

 

The new name of the runway will now be 05/23. As a result of an evaluation based on the calculation of the deviation between actual north and magnetic north, the 06/24 runway is being renamed 05/23 while the 18/36 right and left runways have been renamed as 17/35 right and left.

 

The runway has a total length of 2,600 meters. The sag in the middle is taken care of. Almost a seven-meter elevation difference has been corrected through a special filling on the ground. A total of 6.5 million tons of filling material has been transported to the area by trucks that made 300,000 trips.

 

The asphalt increases the braking coefficient, which makes it possible for airplanes to stop in shorter distances. The new asphalt facilitates "aquaplaning," a technique to avoid crashes in rainy weather by use of cutting airplane wheels' contact with the runway surface. The fast taxi way added to the new runway makes it possible for a given airplane to have fast exit from the 06/24 runway.

 

Thanks to the Instrument Landing System, or ILS, the runway has acquired the CAT3 standard.

 

The new system will be effective as of the first week of July and will make safe landing possible even in harsh weather conditions that reduce landing limits.

 

ucebeci@hurriyet.com.tr

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HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

OPINION

TURKEY'S IRAN POLICY: MOVING AWAY FROM TRADITION?

İLTER TURAN

 

As Turkey is continually refining foreign policy, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu speaks about a natural inclination to develop mutually beneficial relationships with countries in the region, while addressing regional problems is viewed as both natural and desirable by those with whom Turkey shares a common history and culture.

 

Addressing a large audience of businessmen, members of the press and academics at the Istanbul Forum in May, Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu outlined several goals for his country's foreign policy. Global problems, he said, had to be addressed within frameworks that all stakeholders had taken part in forming. If countries were asked to comply with rules and institutional arrangements that had been developed without their consent, it would prove difficult for them to accept them as legitimate. Davutoğlu also made references to the growth of the Turkish economy and Turkey's natural inclination to develop mutually beneficial relationships with countries in its region. He emphasized that Turkey's contribution to addressing regional problems were viewed as both natural and desirable by those with whom Turkey shared a common history and culture. Finally, he reminded the audience that Turkey was pursuing a policy of zero problems with neighbors.

 

The guidelines of Turkish foreign policy as elaborated by Davutoğlu had in fact evolved from two major developments during the last two decades of the 20th century. First in 1980 came the decision to liberalize the foreign currency regime, quickly leading to a reorientation of the Turkish economy from import substitution to export-led growth. Next came the end of the Cold War and the demise of the Soviet Union, developments that redefined the global security environment and consequently Turkey's security needs. Economic considerations began to constitute a much greater factor in Turkey's foreign policy. In terms of security, various regional and global relationships were forged while maintaining Turkey's continued involvement in the Atlantic Alliance as a pillar of its defense.

 

This adjustment in Turkish foreign policy was initiated by the late Ismail Cem during his tenure as foreign minister from 1997 to 2002. Turkey assumed a new interest in the regions surrounding it and, in particular, tried to reach out to the countries of the Middle East with whom relations had been neglected during the years of the Cold War. At the same time, these new developments in Turkey's foreign policy did not aim to alter its basic pro-western orientation. Turkey still pursued its goal of joining the European Union and its security continued to rest upon NATO. As its economy continued to grow in leaps and bounds to become the 16th largest economy in the world, and as its share in world trade increased, it was invited to become a member of G-20 group of countries. These developments, taken together, did not point to a policy aimed at bringing about a change in the world order. Rather, it was an attempt to become a more active and influential player in the existing system.

 

The policy Turkey has been following regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions, combined with the philosophy that is manifest in Davutoğlu's remarks, suggest that the basis of Turkish foreign policy is being transformed. Based on the traditional framework of Turkish foreign policy, one would have expected it to encourage Iran to comply with the requirements of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT, and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, while trying to persuade the United States and other members of the UN Security Council that diplomatic means should be given continued priority. But in the final analysis, as a natural outcome of its traditionally pro-Western foreign policy orientation, Turkey would not have led the effort to oppose the measures that were adopted by the Security Council. The fact that Turkey has chosen to cooperate with another emerging power — Brazil — to challenge the way the international nuclear order operates, appears to signal a fundamental shift in the way policy is formulated.

 

Turkey's arguments regarding its position on Iran's nuclear ambitions have focused not so much on the potential risks involved in Iran's development of nuclear weapons and its implications for Turkey's security, but on the fact that there are other countries in the region — notably Israel — that already possess nuclear weapons. Therefore, efforts should be directed toward the establishment of a nuclear-free region, within which Iran would also abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

 

Though not spelled out in such specific terms, the logic of the Turkish position on Iranian weapons flows somewhat as follows: The current non-proliferation regime gives inherent advantages to the several countries that possessed atomic weapons when the regime was initially established in 1968 with the advent of the NPT. Those that were in possession of nuclear weapons from the beginning have not abided by their commitment to disarm completely. New countries, on the other hand, were added to the list of states possessing nuclear weapons after the treaty went into effect.

 

Some newcomers to the nuclear club have also been able to develop nuclear weapons by staying out of the NPT system. All newcomers have enjoyed, at one time or another, the discreet cooperation and support of some of those already possessing weapons. On many occasions, major powers have turned a blind eye to those who have violated the system. Consequently, the non-proliferation system has failed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. It has instead allowed the major world powers to sometimes permit and at other times fail to deter countries from developing their own arsenals. The regime gives a monopoly of nuclear weapons to those that already have them, placing them at a permanent advantage without a meaningful program of total nuclear disarmament. It is therefore not justified to expect countries to observe a set of rules that were developed without their participation or give their consent to an arrangement that accords undue privileges to a select group of countries. This is all the more important since the possession of nuclear weapons provides a country with a shield that protects it against conventional attacks by other powers.

 

This approach naturally means that deep differences remain between the United States and Turkey regarding UN Security Council Resolution 1929, which imposes sanctions on Iran in order to compel it to cooperate with the IAEA, and the American government's refusal to accept as sufficient the agreement that Brazil and Turkey were able to broker with the Iranian government. Turkey notes that Iran promised to exchange 1,200 kilograms of its low grade uranium for 120 kilograms of enriched uranium that is to be used for medical purposes, and that Turkey would serve as the depository of the fuel until the exchange is completed, adding that this is precisely what the United States had asked for. The United States meanwhile argues that other conditions that it had asked for were not fully met and that the amount of uranium Iran possesses has actually increased, leaving in its hands enough fuel to make a bomb. Furthermore, Iran has not abandoned its efforts to enrich the uranium in its possession.

 

Turkey's gentler approach may be explained by several factors. Turkish leaders enjoy recounting that Turkey and Iran (and their predecessor states) have been at peace since 1639 and that they are unwilling to commit significantly hostile acts toward Iran that might compromise that relationship.

 

Turkey's trade with Iran is robust and growing. Turkey aspires to serve as an energy corridor to Western markets for Iranian gas and oil. And finally, political leaders call attention to the fact that the negative effects of an embargo are not felt equally. During the oil embargo against Saddam Hussein's Iraq, a disproportionate burden was placed upon Turkey without adequate compensation from the international community. Clearly, these are sufficient reasons to account for Turkey's reluctance to support an embargo against Iran. But the desire for a new international order that is in greater harmony with the emerging distribution of global power also appears to constitute a more comprehensive framework that better explains Turkish foreign policy actions in general, not just with regard to Iran.

 

Where do things stand now? Turkey has announced that it will abide by the UN security council decision, despite voting against it. The United States, for its part, has encouraged Turkey to continue its efforts to extract an agreement from Iran that fully satisfies American concerns. As much as Turkey might want to change the world, and the United States maintain the status quo, both countries, it appears, have too many interests in common to risk a rupture in their relations.

 

* İlter Turan is currently a professor of political science at Istanbul's Bilgi University. This piece was originally released by the German Marshall Fund of the United States

 

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HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

EDITORIAL

'OBAMA DOES NOT NEGOTIATE WITH ERDOĞAN'

YOU MAY RECALL MY COLUMN FROM YESTERDAY.

 

I told you about smelling something fishy.

 

It wasn't based on anything concrete. I asked, "Might there be negotiations between Washington and Ankara?" For example, I was wondering if Turkey would change its behavior toward Iran and Israel in exchange for the United States to take on a brisker attitude toward the PKK. 

 

I received a call from a person whom I trust and who stands close to the Obama administration knowing the course of things in the White House.

 

He read my article and said, "Mehmet Ali, Washington won't engage in such negotiations."

 

He stressed that people in favor of such negotiations would engage, but for the Obama administration there is no link between Iran and the PKK.

 

"Iran and the PKK are completely different issues. There is no link whatsoever."

 

So what's been done regarding the struggle with the PKK?

 

Intelligence exchange continues as usual. No problem there. Turkey wants to act in unison with the United States and Barzani against the PKK. This is very difficult because of the natural structure of the region and political as well as social reasons. Turkey wants to buy systems like motion detectors that can fire upon anything that moves. But this sale requires permission from the U.S. Congress. At the moment it is risky to obtain such permission due to Israeli politics. Opponents of Turkey don't want it to take such steps.

 

In short, no matter how different these subjects seem from each other, there is a hidden link. It is not openly discussed but influenced by the general course of things.

 

What's expected of Barzani?

 

The same information source also stated that negotiations between Turkey, the United States and northern Iraq have come to a certain stage and Barzani is expected to take certain steps.

 

You know that Barzani often asks, "You have about 1 million soldiers and are not able to manage them. What are we to do?" And he continued with this attitude in recent negotiations with Ankara.

 

So what is expected of Barzani?

 

Better to say, can he meet these expectations?

 

I'll tell you about it tomorrow.

 

We are sick of fighting, we want an agreement regarding terror

 

The PKK terror is one of our most important issues.

 

Terror blocks Turkey in its development, pulls the country into pieces and makes it spend all of its money on gunpowder that is used in killing people.

 

What's even worse is that the PKK terror is increasing and spreading its seeds for a civil war.

 

For years I've been monitoring the Kurdish issue and the PKK terror closely. Maybe in the beginning there was no link between the two issues, but let's not fool ourselves anymore. These two issues are one within the other. Now there is no meaning in saying, "Let's first take care of terror and then focus on the Kurdish issue."

 

If we want to rid ourselves of this trouble, then we must struggle with terror and solve the issue.

 

Danger of civil war progressively increases

 

Again based on my observations over the years, I'd have to say that our country will encounter even more tragedy if the course doesn't change and action is not taken to revive the initiative.

 

Within this frame, I see that the PKK is rapidly forcing this country into a quarrel and even a fight. The view that "Turks don't want to share Turkey with us. Under these circumstances we'll just fight and take our sovereignty" is spreading quickly.

 

This is a dangerous escalation.

 

This course is not to be stopped with weapons only, or beating up the Kurds or taking democratic steps.

 

We need security, brave steps, cooperation with foreign countries and consensus.

 

Achieving such a balance is only possible with the application of fine politics.

 

The administration can't handle this on its own

 

I believe that it's not just the AKP administration that can't solve this dilemma on its own, but also any other administration would fail, too.

 

Together we experienced the latest case.

 

The AKP took extremely brave steps that no administration dared to before. But because it did not receive any support, it had to give up halfway, at the same time becoming a victim of its own unpreparedness.

 

If we want to save our country from the Kurdish issue-PKK helix, then we need to take common action that includes the administration and the opposition.

 

Kılıçdaroğlu has changed his party's attitude. Contrary to Baykal he put forth that he wants consensus and negotiation. Thus he has been receiving applause.

 

And Erdoğan did the right thing increasing our hopes. He too received applause.

 

Cut out the fight, seek consensus

 

We are not fighting anymore.

 

We are sick and tired of Erdoğan berating the opposition and objecting to AKP's every initiative.

 

Enough now…

 

If we really love this country more than ourselves and our political ambitions, then let's find a consensus. Let's give each other a hand and establish a mutual strategy in this very subject. Take your fighting elsewhere.

 

If you can't manage finding a consensus, then we'll be on your back. You better be informed.

 

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HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

OPINION

GOOD NEWS…

YUSUF KANLI

 

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan diplomacy techniques were on display for the entire world in Toronto. Hopefully we will recognize that the status quo which he seeks at both international and domestic levels will only be achieved with the kind of diallogical approach which does not currently feature in the government's diplomatic vocabulary

 

If someone was of the idea that the ever-peaceful, never-yelling, perennially democratic and always benevolent Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will not accept a summit meeting to devise a national anti-terrorism policy offer from the main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, that person was of course prejudiced and totally unaware of the high qualities of the prime minister and his commitment to seek consensus on all issues.

 

With the dust of Toronto, where he attended the G-20 summit and lectured American President Barrack Obama what to do in order not to lose key strategic ally and partner Turkey, still on his shoes the prime minister heralded good news one after the other.

 

First of all, the ever-serious prime minister stressed that the trilateral cooperation mechanism between Turkey, United States and Iraq – and of course the northern Iraq of Kak (elder brother) Masoud – has been transformed into a new phase beyond intelligence sharing. As our dear prime minister has been always serious and a man of his word, no one should of course have any doubts or uncertainties regarding that new phase which will be beyond intelligence sharing.

 

Yet, there might be some out of line people who, because of some sort of mental disorder they might have been suffering, dare to ask what have we seen with the intelligence sharing with the United States and Iraq that we should feel relieved now that the trilateral cooperation will be carried to a phase further than intelligence sharing? Did the intelligence provided to Turkey by the Americans, or if they ever did the Iraqis or northern Iraqi Kurdish administration, help Turkey capture any of the chieftains of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, freely moving in northern Iraq? Did the intelligence provided to Turkey helped to stage more accurate attacks on the terrorist hideouts on the Qandil mountains in northern Iraq?

 

Anyhow, our most serious prime minister is not someone to get annoyed with such "provocative" comments. He heralded the good news that "Therefore, exceeding undertaking whatever further determined steps required exceeding intelligence sharing" came to the agendas of his meeting with Obama "And I have seen with pleasure that he comprehended this and shared (our demand) as such…."

 

Now, some critics will of course ask whether the prime minister was saying that he raised the issue of "carrying our anti-terrorism cooperation to a phase further than intelligence sharing" and Obama "comprehended" and "shared" Turkey's demands, or was the prime minister saying that there was such a joint understanding between the two countries and in the near future we would start seeing the American soldiers finally starting to take action against separatist hideouts in northern Iraq which in effect like the rest of Iraq have been under American occupation and direct control?

 

Anyhow, our most intelligent prime minister was "happy" with whatever he saw in Obama.

 

The second good news that our most consensus-seeking prime minister heralded was his acceptance to come together with Kılıçdaroğlu, and, if there was a need, as well as with Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, leader Devlet Bahçeli and other opposition leaders as he had no prejudices and fighting terrorism is a national issue.

 

Yet, to have such meetings, the most-good tempered prime minister said, "I believe through that way we can stage a better fight against terrorism, get results in a shorter time in the fight against terrorism. If required we may make an invitation, or may visit (Kılıçdaroğlu) as well. It is not a must that invitation should come from the opposite side. In the past we received negative responses to our calls (for such meetings), let's hope that something has changed with Kılıçdaroğlu becoming CHP leader."

 

Well, who can say Erdoğan is wrong? Former CHP leader Deniz Baykal was wrong of course in his adamant and often provocative attitudes towards Erdoğan and the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP. But was not Erdoğan equally provocative and indeed rejectionist by insisting the opposition surrendering to AKP's perceptions and accepting to establish a "consensus" over what the AKP suggested? Hopefully Erdoğan has learned that consensus can be produced only with a give-and-take approach, not through surrender of one or more parties to the majority view

 

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 I. THE NEWS

EDITORIAL

UNACCOUNTABLE DEEDS

 

The National Accountability Bureau appears to have altered the clauses that define its role. Rather than bringing to account those accused of corruption, as was the stated purpose behind its establishment in 2000, the organisation appears to have decided to focus its intentions on ensuring that those close to the government and the president escape scot-free. It has failed to abide by Supreme Court directives to reopen a series of cases filed under the NRO in which well-connected individuals were acquitted by courts because of 'friendly' prosecution from NAB. It has stated that a case against the interior minister stemming from his alleged part in an FIA raid on a house in which valuables were taken away had no basis. Also, NAB has withdrawn from an accountability court a reference against the president in the Cotecna case involving allegations of commissions.

The case had previously been pulled out from a Swiss court. It is impossible to believe that these events are not linked by a common chain. NAB officials have quite evidently received orders to do everything possible to save those connected to the present setup from being made to pay for wrongs committed in the past.

It is also clear that directions to this effect come from the government, more specifically the law ministry, which has shown great consistency in ignoring court orders. The resignation of former NAB chairman Nawid Ahsan, who had made his differences with the government known, especially in the Cotecna case, has facilitated this task. The failure of accountability bodies set up in the past to perform their jobs fairly and with impartiality has been a key factor in thriving corruption in our country. Transparency International recently recorded an increase in the levels of corruption in the country compared to the situation under former president Musharraf. Such corruption eats away at the structures of state, further weakening them and encouraging the process of rot we see before our eyes. NAB was intended to stop just this. Its latest decisions have reduced the body to nothing more than a farce. There is quite obviously no will to check wrongdoing or to bring culprits to book. The theatre of the absurd we are seeing now cannot be allowed to continue. People are not fools and have already seen through the events taking place. They demand an end to the measures aimed at protecting the corrupt, and they demand adherence to directions from the courts as far as the NRO goes.

 

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I. THE NEWS

EDITORIAL

DEADLY GAS

 

The explosion of a tanker carrying pressurised gas that ripped through a truck depot near Hala Naka on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Monday killed at least 18 and injured over 50. Initial fears that it was an act of terrorism were quickly dispelled and it was revealed as yet another fatal failure of health and safety procedures. Accidents in the workplace are a daily occurrence, we have never grown a safety culture and such legislation as there is, is rarely applied. Hazardous materials are handled carelessly and with little thought for the life or safety of others in the proximity. There was even confusion about what the substance was that exploded, with the bomb disposal squad wrongly identifying it as Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) whereas it was carbon dioxide, CO2. Fingers were quickly pointed, and the accident is said to be caused by the negligence of the firm transporting the gas. This may or may not be so and we are unlikely ever to hear the truth of the matter. The mess will be cleared up, the dead buried and all will be quickly forgotten – until the next time.

Hazardous materials should never be loaded in the middle of busy markets or urban areas. Gases in particular should be loaded at specially designated and equipped depots that have staff that are properly trained in safe handling procedures. Town and city administrations have a responsibility to regulate the handling of hazardous materials but in practice rarely do, leaving it to traders and hauliers to make their own ad-hoc arrangements. With this incident as with just about every other the site was quickly crowded with onlookers who got in the way of fire and rescue services. Television reports in the immediate aftermath showed that the police and paramilitary personnel made little effort to clear people from the area – exposing them to the risk of a second explosion. The entire incident was an object lesson in how not to manage.

 

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I. THE NEWS

OPINION

UNDER THREAT

 

An anti-terrorism judge hearing cases against the head of the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e Shariah-e-Mohamadi, Sufi Muhammad Khan, has received threats from the Taliban that he will be 'sorted out'. Members of the organisation, according to a report in this newspaper, visited the home of his family in Peshawar to make the threats. The incident is said to be the first since the military operation in Malakand Division in which a judge has been coerced in this fashion. Such threats had been made regularly during the Taliban reign in Swat.

There are two important messages here. One is that the Taliban in Swat remain a force to be reckoned with and have not, as yet, been completely defeated. They also quite evidently remain determined to do all they can to prevent key figures from being brought to justice. The authorities must do more to ensure they do not succeed. We must after all question why persons such as Muslim Khan, who announced 'executions' on a daily basis over the radio station run by the Taliban, have not yet been produced before courts. But the Taliban are not alone in making threats to judges. These have come before from extremist organisations and even criminal groups. Judges hearing cases of blasphemy or other similar crimes have remained especially vulnerable. Means must be found to ensure protection for judges, especially those who serve in lower courts. Verdicts must be given out on the basis of the law and the demands of justice, and not on the basis of fear.

 

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I. THE NEWS

OPINION

NEED FOR EVEN-HANDEDNESS

SHAMSHAD AHMAD

South Asia has acquired a worrisome global dimension following the nuclearisation of India and Pakistan, and because of the region's crucial role in the post-9/11 scenario. The international community has an obligation to promote an even-handed, comprehensive and non-discriminatory approach to reduce nuclear disparities in the region. India's triad-based nuclear doctrine, its aggressive "Cold Start" strategy and its introduction of an anti-ballistic missile system constitute a danger to the region's stability.

Policymakers in the world's major capitals, especially Washington, should have been working to promote a sense of security and justice in this region by eschewing discriminatory policies in their dealings with the India-Pakistan nuclear equation, the only one in the world that grew up in history totally unrelated to the Cold War.

It is an offshoot of India-Pakistan disputes and the two countries' perennial mode of confrontation. Durable peace in this region will remain elusive as long as the underlying causes of instability and conflict remain unaddressed. Meanwhile, given their continuing tensions, the two countries are facing a nuclear precipice with their future remaining hostage to a single accident or one strategic miscalculation. The only sure way to avert Armageddon is for India and Pakistan to revert to dialogue.

A nuclearised region cannot afford any adventurism, not even a limited conventional war. Both sides need to look at doctrines that are defensive rather than offensive in intent and nature. They need an environment of peace and security, bilaterally, regionally and globally, for them to be able to divert their resources to the economic wellbeing of their peoples. This requires them to maintain the lowest level of armament.

It is in this context that a group of retired senior diplomats, military officers and academics from India and Pakistan recently met in Copenhagen in a Track Two event called the Ottawa Dialogue. The event was sponsored jointly by the Near East and South Asia Centre (NESA), the Hewlett Foundation, the US Institute of Peace and the Danish foreign ministry. The two countries were urged to resume their stalled dialogue for discussions on issues of peace and security, a key item on the agenda of the Composite Dialogue. Speakers stressed the importance of keeping their dialogue process insulated from the political climate.

The members of the Ottawa Dialogue also adopted a statement on actions their governments could take to help stabilise the two countries' nuclear relationship. These included the establishment of Nuclear Risk Reduction Centres (NRRCs) and a jointly acceptable lexicon of "nuclear terms" applicable to the two countries, maintenance of the lowest-possible alert level for nuclear weapons during peacetime, initiation of discussion on the implications for South Asia of the introduction of new technologies--for example, an ABM system, and inclusion of cruise missiles in the existing pre-notification agreement on missiles established in the Lahore Memorandum of Understanding."

It was noted that some of these and various other points have already been the subject of discussion between the two sides as part of the Composite Dialogue and many useful ideas were contained in the Lahore Declaration and the MoU of Feb 21, 1999. The group recommended that these frameworks should be revived and the ideas presented in the session be included in them.

Pakistani participants, in particular, stressed that as part of the Composite Dialogue the two countries had already agreed on a number of nuclear and conventional CBMs, including risk-reduction measures. The process must continue so that work already done could be build upon, and for the two countries to move from risk-reduction CBMs to CBMs on avoidance of conflict and arms race and conflict-resolution.

In this connection, Pakistan's proposal for a strategic restraint regime involving nuclear and missile restraint, conventional balance and conflict resolution will go a long way in promoting nuclear and conventional restraint and mutual stabilisation. Likewise, non-induction of ABMs and other destabilising systems could also serve as an arms limitation measure. Arms reduction could follow in due course as the two sides build up trust and confidence.

India remains averse to all these proposals, citing its extra-regional concerns, although its force potential continues to be Pakistan-specific. Though Pakistan's actions in the nuclear and missile fields at each stage are in response to India's escalatory steps, its policies have always been marked by restraint and responsibility. An evaluation of the doctrinaire approach of the two countries makes one thing becomes abundantly clear: India's nuclear doctrine is status-driven whereas that of Pakistan is security-motivated.

Pakistan's nuclear doctrine, though not declared, is based on credible minimum deterrence and strategic restraint and responsibility. Unlike India, Pakistan does not subscribe to a No First Use policy because of its conventional asymmetry with India. In any case, India's NFU policy carries no credence and is merely a political ploy linked to its global ambitions. India itself paid no heed to China's NFU and opted for nuclear weapons regardless of Chinese guarantees of no first use and no-use against non-nuclear states.

In keeping with its history of arms control and disarmament diplomacy, Pakistan has been urging for non-discriminatory and criteria-based arrangements as a way to ensure its equal treatment with India. The US-India nuclear deal and the subsequent carte blanche that India received from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for access to nuclear technology in violation of equitably applicable criteria undermine the international non-proliferation regime and detract from its credibility and legitimacy.

 

It was indeed ironic that the NSG, which was set up in response to the first act of nuclear proliferation in South Asia in 1974, and works on the basis of consensus to prevent further proliferation, decided unanimously to reward the perpetrator of such proliferation. Given the consensus rule anyone of these 46 nations could have blocked this decision. But none of them did so, owing to expediencies and profit motives, or they simply lacked the courage of their convictions.

At its last week's meeting in New Zealand's capital, Wellington, the NSG had an opportunity to rectify its earlier short-sighted decision and allow an equitable treatment to Pakistan at par with India. It should have realised that only criteria-based approaches on the basis of equality and non-discrimination between the two nuclear-weapons states would be sustainable. No wonder there is growing demand for these monopolistic groups to be replaced by new cooperative arrangements at the regional level, supplementing the UN system and following the principles enshrined in the UN Charter.

The international community, on its part, should be taking steps that encourage India-Pakistan rapprochement and conflict-resolution, and help promote nuclear restraint and stabilisation in the region. Durable peace between India and Pakistan would not only be a factor of regional and global stability but would also enable the two countries to divert their resources to improving the lives of their peoples and eradicating poverty from the region.

And durable peace between the two countries will come only through mutual dialogue and cooperation, not through conflict and confrontation. The upcoming meeting of the two foreign ministers must revive the stalled peace process. Ironically, India is now allergic to the nomenclature "Composite Dialogue" that it had itself insisted to give to the "comprehensive, sustained and meaningful" dialogue process agreed between the two countries in June 1997.

Surely, nomenclature is not important but the multidimensional framework and agenda that the existing process provides to the two countries for sustainable engagement, not only on normalisation of mutual relations but also on crucial issues of peace and security involving nuclear restraint and stabilisation is irreplaceable. They must revert to this process, no matter what they call it.

 

The writer is a former foreign secretary. Email: shamshad1941@yahoo.com

 

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I. THE NEWS

OPINION

THE CONSULATES SNAG

BABAR AYAZ

One big snag in the process of normalisation of relations between Pakistan and India is the delay in the reopening of the deputy high commissions in Karachi and in Mumbai, the commercial hubs of the two countries. Until Pakistan is allotted land or a suitable building in Mumbai to open a consulate there, it is not ready to grant permission to India to reopen its consulate in Karachi.

The former Indian deputy high commission in Karachi – the huge building on Fatima Jinnah Road – is prime property at a central location. There is also the unused sprawling residence of the deputy high commissioner and a large apartment building for the mission's staff. Closed since the 1965 war, the Indian deputy high commission was reopened in 1978 on the understanding that Pakistan would soon be able to open its consulate in what was then Bombay.

For its mission there, Pakistan sought Jinnah House, which Mr Mohammad Ali Jinnah had built for himself in 1939. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had himself said in a speech that Pakistan could open its consulate in that building in Malabar Hills. But Jinnah House served as the British deputy high commissioner's residence until 1981, when it was vacated by the British at Pakistan's request, after Islamabad announced its intention to open its consulate there. According to Foreign Office sources, the announcement had come after the Indian external affairs minister at that time expressed India's readiness for this.

In August 1983 Pakistan appointed a deputy high commissioner for Bombay in anticipation of its mission opening in Jinnah House. The diplomat was recalled less than three months later as it became clear that this was not going to happen.

In migrating from one country to the other at the time of Partition, refugees lost claims to properties they had left behind. Such properties, including Jinnah House, were declared evacuee properties.

And now Mr Jinnah's grandson, Nusli Wadia, has laid claim to the residence. The matter is before a court, which may take years to decide the case.

In 1992, in another bid to open a consulate in Bombay, Pakistan appointed a deputy high commissioner who stayed at a hotel, from where he conducted consular operations while the search for alternative accommodation continued. Pakistan recalled him in March 1994 when a suitable site could not be found for the building. "After all, we can't operate flying a Pakistan flag out of a window in some crowded residential lane," as a Pakistani diplomat commented.

In November 1994, Pakistan asked India to close its deputy high commission in Karachi, accusing it of involvement in the bloody political violence then taking place in the city.

In 2008, Pakistan made another bid, but rejected as unsuitable the land India offered for the building of a deputy high commission in Mumbai.

Pakistan also tried to rent a building for the consulate. But, reportedly under pressure from the Shiv Sena and rightwing Hindu politician Bal Thackeray, the owner withdrew her offer within days of the finalisation of the arrangements.

Since the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November 2008, it has become even more difficult for Pakistan to get a building. The project can clearly not succeed without the Indian government's wholehearted involvement and assistance.

People most affected by this situation are those with family members and relatives living across the border. Pakistanis in Sindh who have relatives in the Indian states of, say, Gujarat and Rajasthan and other parts of that country. Also affected are Pakistan's Dawoodi Bohra and Parsi communities, mostly living in Karachi or Hyderabad, who have their respective religious centres in and around Mumbai.

Given the importance of the two cities, passenger traffic on the Karachi-Mumbai sector would increase manifold if visa facilities were made available. At present only 4,500 visa applications originate from Mumbai. In many cases, applicants are called for interviews in New Delhi, where the applications have to be sent, as in the case of applicants from Sindh having to travel to Islamabad to obtain visas for India.

This additional expense is compounded when an applicant has to make more than one trip to across the border, since multiple visas between the two countries are almost non-existent. Any new trip to the other country first requires a visit to the respective capital for visa.

India is ready to open its consulate in Karachi, and has refurbished its buildings in anticipation of the necessary permission. This is unlikely to be forthcoming as long as Pakistan does not get suitable property for its consulate and for the housing of its staff. This is even more difficult now because of pressure from extremist groups operating in Mumbai.

Pakistan could be magnanimous and allow the Indian consulate to reopen in Karachi even if it is unable to open a consulate in Mumbai. Or agree upon another city, say, Pune or Ahmedabad, for its deputy high commission. However, given the kind of bureaucratic tit-for-tat both governments engage in, this is also unlikely. Islamabad will continue to insist on reciprocity, while New Delhi will not make the serious intervention that is needed to allow Pakistan to open a consulate in Mumbai.

And so, the asha (hope) for the reopening of consulates in Karachi and Mumbai will remain unfilled.

The writer is a freelance journalist. Email: ayazbabar@gmail.com

 

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I. THE NEWS

OPINION

FAKING IT

AMEER BHUTTO

The scandal revolving around the fake university degrees of parliamentarians has begun to assume shocking proportions. It now appears that it is not a case of just a few isolated rotten apples in the barrel, or even a few whole barrels of rotten apples. At first it was reported that the degrees presented by approximately 140 members of the National Assembly, Senate and the four Provincial Assemblies to the Election Commission for the February 2008 general election warranted further investigation and verification. But more recent reports have claimed that up to 1100 members' degrees will be subjected to closer scrutiny. Keeping in mind that all the elected representatives at the national and provincial level amount to 1163, it appears that, in fact, almost the entire apple orchard is possibly under infestation. That is not to say that all of them do indeed have fake degrees, but if it was deemed necessary to widen the scope of the investigation so extensively, it speaks volumes about the integrity of those whom the nation chose to trust with the destiny of the nation.

There is no question that the minimum education requirement should never have been imposed on elected representatives. Musharraf introduced it in an effort to exclude some politicians from the electoral process. Such restrictions have no place in genuine democracy. The people are the political sovereign and cannot be stopped from electing anyone they want, regardless of their academic qualifications or lack thereof. Indeed, I have met many uneducated people in this country who are more worthy by far to shoulder the responsibilities of legislation and governance than the current lot by virtue of not just superior intellects but also honesty and sincere love of this land.

If a woodcutter can lift America out of the ravages of civil war and gain fame as one of the greatest presidents in American history and if a dockyard worker can lead a revolution and become the most popular president in the history of Poland, then who is to say that an illiterate hari or a laborer might not fare better than our current leaders? Far from facilitating the rise to the top of better qualified and sound people and making parliament more efficient and less corrupt, the minimum education requirement has succeeded only in unleashing the barefaced fraud and deception of parliamentarians that has embarrassed the nation yet again.

But the issue at hand is not whether this was a good law or a bad one, but whether or not it was a constitutionally valid law at the time of the February 2008 general elections. It clearly was, since it was enacted in accordance with the rules and was upheld by the Supreme Court in July 2002. One cannot be allowed a free rein to be selective in the obedience or application of laws. However, if a law is perceived to be repugnant and intolerable on moral, political or any other grounds on a wide enough scale, then there are two options available; a political or legally remedy must be sought by which it may be struck down either by parliament or the courts or, failing that, the mobilization of public opinion to reject the offensive law. Neither of these options were fully explored or exhausted in the runup to the 2008 general elections. At the very least, the political parties that are now condemning this law should have, as a last resort, refused to contest elections under this law if it rubbed their democratic and ethical sensibilities the wrong way, and should have demanded its withdrawal. But at that time such considerations took a back seat to the acquisition of power. It has only now occurred to them that this was a bad law when their parliamentary members' fraud has been exposed. Contesting elections under this law implied their acquiescence in it. The maxim of law is 'silence betokens consent.' Having derived the benefit of acquiring power under it, they are in no position to now denounce it. This is what they did with the NRO as well, though their slipperiness on that count has landed them in thick soup.

Apart from unearthing the dishonesty of the elected representatives, this scandal has also revealed a full blown institutional collapse on the part of the Election Commission (EC) and the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Ansar Abbasi's investigative report published in this newspaper on 24 June 2010 has revealed that there are either no degrees on HEC records for some current parliamentarians, or that there are irrelevant certificates on record, in lieu of the requisite BA degrees, that are inadequate to meet the legal requirement that prevailed back then.

How is this possible? Along with the nomination form, each electoral candidate is required to submit to the returning officer a long list of accompanying documents that in 2002 and 2008 included the BA degree and a certificate of its authenticity from the HEC. If any required document is missing, the candidate is given a few days to produce it, failing which his nomination paper is rejected and he is barred from contesting elections. How did these members manage to get their nomination papers approved without producing the required degree? And if it was provided at that time, why is it not present on HEC records now? This is a very serious issue that needs to be closely probed in to. Furthermore, the HEC was, evidently, extremely negligent in the verification of the degrees that were produced, since if it had been more thorough and diligent in its verification process, this whole mess might have been avoided.

The BA degree requirement was finally struck down by the Supreme Court in April 2008 and future aspiring parliamentarians need not lose sleep anymore about the procurement of fake degrees. Nevertheless, the deception practiced by some to get into the corridors of power lingers on like an ugly stain that defies removal or concealment despite all attempts at rinsing and camouflage. As if this was not enough, an effort is now reportedly afoot to enact a new law, with retrospective effect, to pardon all fake degree bearing parliamentarians. Is there no end to this rampage over all norms of ethical conduct? Practically everyone is terrified of the consequences that might be unleashed by invoking Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution, leading perhaps to an empty Parliament. But there can be no disagreement on the principle that without a modicum of honesty and sincerity in the forums of power, the process of putting the country on the right track cannot even begin. Now that the scandal has hit the fan, stories are emerging about some responsible officials and even the head of the Parliamentary Committee on Education receiving threats from people in high positions of authority not to pursue the matter further. Such are the ways of Pakistani 'democracy'.

We have no right to be shocked or disgusted by this state of affairs since we ourselves are guilty of playing a part in producing and sustaining it. Any talk of change and reform draws a panicked response from the beneficiaries of the status quo and the dutiful drones chime in along with them for good measure. How is it possible to make a fine omelet from rotten eggs? How can Pakistan flourish in this mess without positive change to set right the wrongs? C S Lewis said it best in his book, The Abolition of Man: "In a sort of ghastly simplicity, we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and we are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the gelding be fruitful."

The writer is vice-chairman of Sindh National Front and has degrees from the University of Buckingham and Cambridge University.

 

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I. THE NEWS

OPINION

WOLVES ON THE PROWL

RAOOF HASAN

There is so much that one feels one should write about, yet when one actually comes to doing so, a strange lethargy and disinterest takes over and a voice moans from within: "what use"?

Maybe, this is exactly how the evil magic weavers of the incumbent administration would like all of us to feel: detached from the strange goings-on around us and resigned to the inevitability of what one sees as brewing at this moment. The fact that this band seems to be getting away with brandishing a wand of corruption and blatant defiance in the face of various institutions of the state makes one wonder as to the effectiveness of such practices and how much have they penetrated the psyche of the system. One Machiavellian move after the other is also symptomatic of the inexhaustible energy that the rulers have accumulated to vent their venom on anyone who dares defy their onslaught. Only the flute of olden times has been cleverly replaced by large grants being doled out from specially chartered planes as the rulers remain busy in their nefarious act to add fuel to the fire that has begun to consume the remnants of all state institutions. Can this go on? Should this be allowed to go on?

An overwhelming and immediate response would be: no. That is not the solution. It is only the beginning of a realisation that there has to be a solution, but its form and contours are yet to be defined. That is where the real challenge is: to get down to ascertaining the nature of the malaise, diagnosing a prescription and formulating a mechanism to administer it.

There was a time when the inherent corruption in the system was dubbed as the principal ailment and there were theories thrown around as to its possible solutions. Unfortunately, that has since long been replaced by a symptom that is far more damaging than the imagined original sin: the blatant defiance in the face of having committed corruption and the utter shamelessness in the face of unfurling new techniques to offer a portion of the same to others. The national character and the state exchequer are the twin victims in the process: the former is being pounded mercilessly to stop protesting and the latter for being too small in riches to cater to the inexhaustible excesses of the perpetrators. Are the edifices of our creation and the remaining vestiges of our character strong enough to withstand the continual pounding to partake of our share of the pound of flesh, or will they wilt and succumb to the temptation of the offerings?

Look at it in another way. More than the character of the whole nation, it is the character of one institution that is under the microscope. Having won its independence at the helm of an unprecedented struggle spearheaded jointly by the lawyer fraternity, the civil society and some political leaders, it is the judiciary that has become the epicentre of the agonised national call to salvation. The unique blend of unity, courage and sacrifice displayed by various segments of the society were the principal ingredients that forced the successors to the dictator to issue the executive order for restoring the judiciary that they were most unwilling to do then and that they are threatening to withdraw in the wake of the brewing unrest now. Can the spirit of that historic era be replicated just one more time to ensure that the fruits of the original struggle are not lost to the wolves on the prowl? Another critical aspect that haunts the mind is that, in the face of the massive deprivation that a bulk of the society suffers from, what shape and form this struggle would take once it is unleashed? Will the predictions of bloodshed come true, or will the struggle remain dominantly peaceful as it did the last time?

Co-existence among people remains possible as long as the threshold to mutually acceptable norms and interests is not crossed. Our history, unfortunately, is replete with instances when the barrier was bludgeoned by the marauding elements and the country was made to reap the undesirable dividends. Bangladesh is a classis example of the malevolent effort by one section of the society to dominate the rest. The murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti comes as close to the concept of crossing the threshold as any which has provided fodder to certain forces within the conglomerate to promote their agenda to the detriment of the concept of unity and co-existence. There are other examples, too, that would illustrate the anguish of a nation in its effort to stay on course to a consensual resolution of problems, but how long?

With the parliament having been consigned to the bin of irrelevance and an executive that is grossly corrupt and playing gleefully to the tune of its masters, it is the judiciary that remains the only vehicle to carry the message of hope forward. Will it come good on the struggle that it owes its current existence to, or will it wilt under the pressure of dole-outs being showered from the skies? We don't have long to wait.

The writer is a political analyst based in Lahore. Email: raoofhasan@hotmail.com

 

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I. THE NEWS

OPINION

THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL?

ANJUM NIAZ

The writer is a freelance journalist with over twenty years of experience in national and international reporting

Nothing short of an epochal event will do. The Supreme Court, many believe, is involved in a self-immolation act. Some wonder why the apex court judges are slavishly seized with the alleged corruption and Swiss cases of Numero Uno. Why are our lordships doggedly "destroying democracy" so courageously being led by Asif Zardari and his band of brigands? Even the intelligentsia is bored and restless. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, who until last year was the unchallenged victor and saviour of 170 million, is once more fighting the same forces of evil determined to silence the guns of the Supreme Court forever.

Will Babar Awan carry the day? Will Zardari's tainted millions never get washed ashore on the sands of Karachi to end up in the State Bank of Pakistan? Will godfathers and their mafias be allowed free access to wealth belonging to the state? Will heinous crimes go uninvestigated?

Yes, if the Supreme Court is rendered a puppet "Dogar Court." Yes, if the government shuts up the inflammatory voices by buying every man and woman in the media; lawyers in bar associations, starting with the Supreme Court Bar Association; retired judges; leaders of the opposition parties; leading members of civil society; independent observers in the print and electronic media; bureaucracy bigwigs; and respected academics. And, finally, the freewheeling thugs who for a few pennies are known to sell their souls.

But strange are the ways of God. He may, if He thinks this miserable nation deserves another chance, raise an army of angels (Thank you, I'm not on drugs) to give a clarion call for all to come out on the streets and fight for the rule of law when the occasion demands. This is exactly what happened in the past. The poor of the country came out, stood under a burning sun for hours to shower rose petals on the chief justice. The movement morphed into a tidal wave of humanity sinking Musharraf's, and later Zardari's, unholy designs against the chief justice.

It can still happen. But if it doesn't, then we are a cursed nation where the triumph of evil will be complete.

The term "judicial dictatorship" is Zulfiqar Mirza's copyright. The Sindh interior minister is the inventor. It has already been patented and is ready for mass marketing among the gullible of this country, whose numbers, by the way, are swelling. The minister, facing corruption charges since the demise of the NRO, imploded in his characteristic style that is evidenced from time to time when he's really worked up about an issue. The PPP government, after defeating military dictatorship, will now defeat judicial dictatorship, he roared. Meanwhile, the law supremo at the centre wants to now reportedly buy a plane to whizz around the countryside where he has allegedly been giving sackfuls of money to black coats willing to shun the apex court. The Mall in Lahore carried screaming banners by lawyers swearing allegiance to Babar Awan. On the electric poles hung banners with Awan's photo, glorifying the "Dr" with a fake degree as a messiah.

Notice the timing of Vice President Joe Biden's telephone call to our president assuring him of US support in the survival of his government. Don't forget that the despicable NRO was Washington's and London's brainchild. Envoys Anne Patterson and Mark Lyall Grant ably executed their respective countries' agendas in Islamabad and were responsible for installing the widower of Benazir Bhutto as president. It is common knowledge that the American CIA and British secret service MI6 maintain files of the former first couple's corruption which also form a part of the US congressional record. Would the US and the UK then have cheered the Dec 16 verdict of our Supreme Court killing their brainchild, the NRO? You've got to be kidding!

Different strokes for different folks, as they say. While these two champions of democracy have zero tolerance for corruption in their own lands and persecute the corrupt, making an example of them, it suits the US and the UK to foist corrupt people as leaders in the Third World countries so that they wield total control over them. Remember they have the dope and can blackmail anyone who doesn't toe their line.

The "A" team that stood as a fortress against Musharraf during the judges' restoration, namely Aitzaz Ahsan, Munir Malik, Ali Ahmad Kurd, Athar Minallah and Justice Tariq Mahmood, now appear to speak a different language. Darn, they have to make a living.

Aitzaz Ahsan, our hero of yesterday

(I had even pitched for him as president), declared after the chief justice's restoration that he would never appear before the bench if it's headed by the CJ. He stands true to his word, but he needs money. So will the chief justice oblige by recusing himself from hearing the notorious Bank of Punjab case so that Barristar Aitzaz Ahsan can defend the accused Hamesh Khan? Apparently not. The other top guns in law face the same dilemma: all the crooks of the land who have raped Pakistan's resources have scrambled to these "celebrities" and opened their money bags in the hope that they will defend them before the same judicial bench whom these "celebrities" put back on the pedestal.

Nothing doing! is the silent message from the august halls of the Supreme Court.

On hindsight, many believe, Musharraf's handling of the judiciary was that of "a bumbling idiot." He was crude, unsophisticated. Overnight he became the most despised man in Pakistan. Things are different today.

The president is far too sly and his law minister far too street smart to allow a walkover by the Supreme Court. AZ has set into motion his machinery of machination to completely isolate the superior judiciary. Now with the election of Asma Jehangir as president of the Supreme Court Bar Association later this year, the final nail in the apex court's coffin will be hammered in. Asma was decorated by President Asif Zardari on March 23 this year with the highest civilian award. Of course it was well deserved. She's bold and brave. But with her no-holds-barred statements against the Supreme Court's judicial activism, especially against Zardari's NRO case, one has a fairly good sense which way the wind blows.

But, to be fair to the Zardari camp, the Supreme Court has not touched the corruption cases against the Sharifs or the defence forces as demanded by the government. Corruption is not only the PPP forte but is evenly spread across the board. If the Supreme Court's campaign against corruption is to become credible, then it must extend its dragnet across other political parties, especially the ANP and the MQM. To suggest that other than the PPP every political party is kosher is naive.

For fear of being caught and nailed, perhaps the political parties consider it wise to side with the PPP against the Supreme Court. If that be true, then the judges are now left on their own, after first being isolated and then castigated for targeting just one man – the president.

"It is not easy to defeat us. We have introduced such a political formula that even if we lose, we will be the winners, and if we win, so we will be the winners," said Zardari in Naudero recently. The president and his chum Zulfiqar Mirza have a charming way with words. There's magic in their speech. It may or may not set their "enemies" on fire, only their Creator knows.

Email: anjumniaz@rocketmail.com

 

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I. THE NEWS

EDITORIAL

MCCHRYSTAL'S EXIT

RIZWAN ASGHAR

General McChrystal's indiscreet comments have cost him his job. They were deemed by the White House as a violation of the norms of civilian-military relations. Last year, while speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Gen McChrystal made some comments about his civilian bosses' decision-making power after which he was politely asked to keep mum. McChrystal had assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in June 2009 after General McKiernan, who also had to go because of policy differences with civilian leadership.

McChrystal's removal from the scene at this critical time has led to various speculations by political pundits. One view is that he deliberately committed this gaffe because he wanted to leave due to the fear of the US' impending defeat in Afghanistan. His counterinsurgency campaign underway in southern Afghanistan was not working as he had anticipated while the Taliban insurgency was gaining momentum by the day. The Marjah offensive had already failed and the Kandahar offensive has been postponed till September. So, fleeing the battlefield might have looked like a better option to General McChrystal.

Another prevailing view is that this unexpected change of command signals towards complete incoherence of the Afghan policy. Moreover, the efforts to stabilise Afghanistan have been hamstrung by differences between civilian officials and military commanders of the United States. Joe Biden, the vice president, while giving an interview to Newsweek's Jonathan Alter said, "In July of 2011, you are going to see a whole of (troops) moving out." But Defence Secretary Robert M.Gates stated in a television interview that the time of withdrawal had not been decided.

McChrystal's disdain towards the decisions of civilian leadership also shows the gradual erosion of civilian leadership's control over military and in turn the militarisation of the US' foreign policy over the last decade because of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen had also warned about this trend last year. The outcome is that the Pentagon and military establishment have got upper hand in determining what the American security strategy will be, completely bypassing the White House and State Department.

Democrats are traditionally seen as weak on defence matters and too deferential to the military but President Obama has taken a very admirable step in shattering that notion and challenging the hegemony of military-industrial complex in the arena of American foreign policy. Obama's decision to remove General McChrystal has made it clear that the primacy of civilian authorities will be maintained under all circumstances. President Obama's deft handling of the McChrystal affair will also go a long way in silencing his distracters and political rivals.

However, no change is expected in the US' strategy for Afghanistan after McChrystal's disappearance from the scene. According to President Obama, this is a "change in personnel, but it is not a change in policy". Moreover, McChrystal and Petraeus were always on the same page on the issue of the surge of troops to Afghanistan. General Petraeus may be too careful with his words but both generals were never in favour of Obama's plan to start withdrawing the troops from Afghanistan from July 2011.

However, one thing is for sure; that the McChrystal episode was just the tip of an iceberg. President Obama will have to take more steps of this kind in the days to come to assert his power and rebalance the relations between the various foreign policy institutions to rein in the unbridled power of the military-industrial complex in the arena of foreign policy which has dealt a serious blow to America's soft power in the world during the Bush era.

The writer is a freelance contributor. Email: rizwanasghar7 @yahoo.com

 

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PAKISTAN OBSERVER

EDITORIAL

GOVT'S APATHY CAUSES HUGE LOSSES

 

AS the country is facing serious financial crunch forcing rulers to go from pillar to post to beg for money to bridge budgetary deficit, a report published in this newspaper reveals that the poor country is being made to pay over three times high cost of a hydroelectric project only because of the apathy of the authorities concerned. Jabban hydroelectric revival project, estimated to cost 1.03 billion rupees, was approved in 2007 but no allocations were made and as a result its cost has risen to whooping Rs 3.734 billion.

This is not a solitary instance as project history tells us that cost of hundreds of projects in different sectors increased manifolds for avoidable reasons. In the first place, what is the justification for announcing and launching a project if Govt doesn't have the necessary finances? Secondly, financing is the fundamental component of a project and if arrangements are worked out beforehand then why not follow them strictly. Cost of big projects in the public sector invariably escalates distorting their feasibility and reducing the rate of return on the investment. Many projects are delayed because of abrupt political changes, precarious security situation, critical shortages of funds and lack of accountability resulting in huge escalation of costs. Former Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen had admitted that the cost to the public exchequer of State-owned projects doubles and for a Rs 300 billion project, the Government ends up spending Rs 600 billion. It affects the viability of the project that becomes sick from the day it is commissioned. There are only few instances when the projects were completed within the stipulated time and within the originally estimated cost and these included the prized Gwadar Port project, started and completed during tenure of the previous Government. Often a project is initiated by one government but it is de-prioritised by its successor and is taken up again when its sponsoring Government regains power but the cost jumps up considerably in the intervening period. We have several tier project approval mechanism and if we stick to it then the projects would not get politicised and would be owned even by the succeeding Government. There is also need to ensure timely release of the allocated funds and strict supervision to ensure that there is no cost overrun.

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PAKISTAN OBSERVER

EDITORIAL

ANOTHER FEATHER IN INDIA'S CAP

 

WHILE Pakistan has been sucked in war on terror by the United States and India too very cleverly and shrewdly put it on the defensive under the pretext of Mumbai terror attacks, all our energies are focussed on giving explanations that the country itself is a victim of terrorism. There is no doubt that Pakistan suffered the most in terms of human lives and material and financial losses in war against terrorism, yet one should not hesitate that it is Indian diplomatic victory that has put us on the defensive.

The Government in New Delhi led by economist, soft spoken and humble nature Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is all intent to make India a mini super power through farsighted policies. India has become the fast growing economy and Dr Manmohan Singh realising the vital need of energy for the economy has entered deals first with the United States while on Sunday last with Canada for civil nuclear cooperation. The deal is a major breakthrough and another feather in Indian cap in view of Canada's strong attitude in the past when it slapped sanctions against New Delhi after 1974 and 1998 nuclear tests. On the contrary Canada continues its ban on supply of fuel and equipment for Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUP), though Pakistani engineers and scientists had been successful to run it on indigenously developed fuel. At this point of time when the country is facing acute energy crisis and the world is turning to alternative, cheap and clean fuel, Pakistan must redouble its efforts to acquire nuclear technology to meet the power shortages. Pakistan is grateful to the friendly country China which is going all the way to help establish nuclear power plants at Chashma, yet we need more plants with capacity to generate 1000 MW of electricity. We need to impress upon the West that while they are getting full cooperation from Pakistan in the war on terror, they must reciprocate and provide us this technology without discrimination. There would be hurdles and diplomatic pressures from our neighbour to deny Pakistan this technology, yet we need to build a strong case that the nuclear power plants would be under IAEA safeguards and there would be no chances of nuclear proliferation.

 

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PAKISTAN OBSERVER

EDITORIAL

EDUCATION CITIES FOR FATA

 

IN an exclusive interview to a panel of senior newsmen of this newspaper, Vice Chancellor of Kohat University of Science and Technology Prof Dr Lutfullah Kakakhel, who was released a few days back by Taliban after keeping him in captivity for several months, has narrated how he was kidnapped and where and in what conditions kept by Taliban but this is not the subject of this column. The enlightened Vice Chancellor of KUST has advanced an idea of 'Education Cities in FATA' as part of the programme to bring about a positive change in the volatile region.

There is an acknowledgement in the Governmental circles as well that the strife which keeps FATA simmering has various dimensions but its roots lie in the Government's hands-off policy towards the tribal areas. It is pointed out that traditionally, the interest of decision makers has been limited to maintaining the status quo in the tribal agencies. In the absence of integrated development for FATA, the opportunity-vacuum has left tribesmen vulnerable to exploitation at the hands of criminal and extremist elements from within and outside. Education is a basic human right and a sure investment for social and economic change but regrettably the successive Governments indulged in criminal negligence as far as promotion of education in FATA is concerned despite the fact that under Article 37 of the Constitution it is the responsibility of the State to 'remove illiteracy and provide free and compulsory secondary education' to all citizens. In the absence of education, tribals have no avenues but to indulge in gunrunning, smuggling and fall prey to anti-state elements. We believe that the proposal of Dr Lutfullah for establishment of education cities in FATA has the potential to resolve the conflict there on a long term basis and both the Governm

 

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PAKISTAN OBSERVER

ARTICLE

NOW GEN PETRAEUS TURN IN BARREL

ASIF HAROON RAJA

 

With so many wise heads cobbled together in Kabul devising strategy how to finish the endgame in Afghanistan on a winning note, none has been able to come out with a workable and viable plan. George Bush led team intoxicated with power relied entirely on force and itched to crush any opposition coming their way. By the time they were unseated from power, they had inflicted incalculable harm to US prestige, image and credibility. The new team led by Obama promising a big change made no change in the overall war strategy. The only change Obama made was to shift centre of gravity from Iraq to Afghanistan and to crush Taliban-Al-Qaeda nexus through troop surge led by new military commanders Gen David Petraeus and Gen Stanley McChrystal who had supposedly done well on Iraq front. They were chosen to reverse the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. Policy makers did not learn any lesson when the troop surge failed to deliver in 2009. Rather, Helmand operation turned into a disaster resulting in large scale casualties of coalition troops.

Instead of making amends they are reinforcing failure through another troop surge of 30000 getting completed in August. Kandahar operation is being undertaken in September despite failure in Marjah. Vice President Joe Biden and many among Democrats were not in favor of sending additional forces as asked by Gen McChrystal. They suggested reducing number of troops and focusing on Taliban and al-Qaeda in Pakistan . They preferred greater use of missile strikes and Special Forces operations in Pakistan , seen as the main base of al-Qaeda. Having flipped-flopped between self-defeating mix of surge and exit, US leaders are again treading simultaneously on the twin path of use of force and reconciliation. It speaks of utter confusion and uncertainty prevailing in Washington how to convert defeat into victory. They want to sail in two boats and hope to cross the stream by bleeding the Afghans with stick and trying to recon ciliate with them through carrot. After nine years of constant use of force the American leadership has now grudgingly agreed to Karzai's proposal of reconciliation with Taliban, but arrogance comes their way. They want to first sufficiently hemorrhage the Taliban and then negotiate with them from position of strength. Karzai has been mandated to win over second and third tier leadership of Taliban including some members of Taliban Shura and ordinary fighters to be able to isolate hardliners led by Mullah Omar, Haqqani and Hikmatyar.

The success of new plan hinges on successful Kandahar operation, winning over sizeable number of Taliban leaders, killing irreconcilable Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders based in Afghanistan and FATA, expanding and training ANA and police, and making them operationally worthy to be able to assume charge by mid 2011. This plan has run into snags at the very outset due to several reasons. Kandahar operation has been postponed for the third time since Marjah operation was a fiasco and Helmand province as a whole is still restive. Civil administration has been unable to take over the administrative control of the province because of apathetic condition of ANA, Afghan police and other departments. Police serving in Helmand are addicted to opium and cannabis. The police being thoroughly corrupt are most hated by Afghans. As per Pentagon's assessment prepared in April 2010, of 121 districts in Afghanistan , regarded as critical in struggle against Taliban, none support the government, 29 were sympathetic, and 48 districts either empathized with insurgency or backed it. Karzai regime has shown no improvement in curbing corruption or improving governance.

Worst of all for USA is the rebellious streaks emerging in Karzai who has started doubting the ability of coalition forces to defeat Taliban movement. NATO countries are keen to pull out because of rising casualty rate and economic constraints. In 2010, up to 23 June 75 fatalities of NATO have taken place which makes it the worst month since 2001. In August 2009, 77 foreign soldiers lost their lives which had forced McChrystal to abandon forward posts and concentrate in main cities. So far 295 casualties have occurred this year. Dutch and Canada have already announced their decision to withdraw. Strains have appeared between US senior military leadership and US Administration because of disagreements on conduct of war. As if these woes were not enough for Obama, an interview of Gen McChrystal and his aides using derisive language against top US civil leadership published by Rolling Stone Magazine created a storm in Washington . US top officials including Obama, Joe Biden, Ambassador Eikenberry, Holbrooke and James Jones were contemptuously criticized. McChrystal's main crib was that Obama was uninterested and rather uncomfortable in discussing Afghan war during a meeting at Oval Office. James Jones was called a clown and Holbrooke a wounded animal. Fuming Obama summoned McChrystal in Washington . Ignoring his apology he gave him his piece of mind and told to resign. His resignation from his current post of commander US and NATO forces in Afghanistan has been accepted and CENTCOM Commander Gen Petraeus asked to takeover his duties as well. Robert Gates has now ruled out major pullout in July 2011.

This is not an ordinary event since it is for the first time after Gen Mac Arthur's defiance where a top US military officer has openly disparaged US leadership and that too at a time when situation in Afghanistan is critical. McChrystal's cynicism could be a tit for tat response to civil US officials who have been questioning his professional abilities. Some had even passed derogatory remarks. Many veterans in USA do not hold good opinion about him and rate him very poorly. His demand for 40000 additional troops was not well received in Washington . Joe Biden, James Jones and Eikenberry were among the opponents of troop surge. Even Obama remained in two minds for good about three months and had to finally give in reluctantly.

Unit commanders in Afghanistan had serious reservations about Gen McChrystal's restraining order to trigger happy troops to avoid collateral damage to civilians. They wanted complete freedom of action to ask for air and gunship helicopter support against suspected targets. The Indians were also disturbed over his remarks that presence of Indians in Afghanistan was contributing towards destabilization in the region. McChrystal's failure in Marjah and his timidity to start operation in Kandahar were not to the liking of the hawks. They are hungry for success which the General had not given. His closeness with Gen Kayani and his generous praises to Pak Army discomfited them as well as Indians. They were honing the axe for sometime and have finally got the opportunity to axe him. His sacking will not bring any material change in the overall policies nor would help in upturning the fortunes of US military in Afghan war.

While McChrystal must be thanking his stars for having got out of the hellhole without losing his face and job, it is now Gen Petraeus's turn in the barrel. The whole load has suddenly come on his shoulders at a time when the US has run out of options and overall situation is murky. Coming months will prove how he acquits himself under most challenging times. He should remain wary of Israeli intrigues since Tel Aviv has not forgiven him for his anti-Israel briefing to Admiral Mike Mullen in JCSC on 16 January.

—The writer is a retired Brig, security & defence analyst & former Dean of Corps of Military Attaches in Cairo

 

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PAKISTAN OBSERVER

ARTICLE

MYTH & REALITIES OF N PROLIFERATION

SYED MUHAMMAD ALI

 

After the 1974 Indian nuclear test, according to his famous autobiography 'My Country: My Life', Indian BJP leader L K Advani equated the significance of this event with that of the Indian Army entering triumphantly into the streets of Dhaka in December 1971. The euphoria was not limited to the right-wing leaders in India only but the Director of Nuclear Policy at the prestigious Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC, George Perkovich quotes the suave left-leaning Indian former Prime Minister I K Gujral, in his award-winning book 'India's Nuclear Bomb', that the entry within the UN Security Council is possible only for those with either economic wealth or nuclear weapons. Hence, for India, building and detonating nuclear weapon was a short cut to great power status.

 

In response to the Indian nuclear test in 1974, ironically called 'Smiling Buddha' by the Indian government, Pakistan proposed to declare South Asia as a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone and in 1979 suggested simultaneous adherence to NPT by both India and Pakistan, but was curtly shrugged off by India on both occasions. The docile response of the international community and the sobering experiences of naively entrusting external powers with the provision of security against a huge neighbor during both 1965 and 1971 wars, almost forced Islamabad's hand to follow suit. On the international, legal and diplomatic fronts, from the very outset, the nuclear disarmament commitment of the five states, recognized as the only nuclear weapon states under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, was questionable at best. The common intention of the permanent members of the UN Security Council was to confine the scope of NPT to limiting horizontal proliferation of nuclear weapons and its related technology. In plain words, no other states should build nuclear weapons in future. However, their acceptance of indefinite vertical proliferation obligations and nuclear dis-armament, was a reluctant arrangement and the 1995 NPT review conference almost gave up on its cause of nuclear disarmament by the nuclear weapon states, by indefinitely extending NPT. This drastically eroded whatever leverage the Non-nuclear weapon states might have had over the Nuclear weapon states to progress towards general and comprehensive nuclear disarmament.

According to the International Court of Justice's unanimous opinion issued in 1996, the Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) goes beyond the mere obligation of conducting the negotiations in good faith but also to conclude the negotiations. In fact, initially Germany, Italy, Japan and Switzerland insisted that the nuclear weapons states should disarm before rendering their own non-nuclear weapon status, but in the end they also gave up their insistence. Most probably, the US presence of extended nuclear deterrence over Western Europe and Japan might have something to do with it. In terms of the elimination of nuclear weapons by nuclear weapon states, the NPT has completely failed as all the five nuclear weapon states have continued to develop and improve their nuclear weapons. One must rest assured that the recent bilateral New START Treaty between the US and Russia is not motivated by a sudden inspiration by Article VI of the NPT and a mysterious desire has not overtaken either side to eliminate their nuclear weapons.

This bilateral arrangement, which is yet to be ratified by the US Congress, primarily aims at more effective and efficient management of their ever evolving nuclear arsenals rather than their complete elimination. This discriminatory approach has not only weakened the international nuclear non-proliferation efforts but has also encouraged states aspiring to acquire nuclear weapon, considering it as the ultimate tool to achieve big power status. Three years after the eventful 1995 NPT Review Conference, in order to rectify the gaping strategic imbalance within South Asia and to pacify BJP leadership's belligerent threats to retake Azad Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan, the second series of Indian 1998 nuclear tests, left Pakistan with no option but to respond in kind. The initial international reaction to the Indian and Pakistan nuclear tests was that of shock but was coupled with a nascent hope that the 'overt nuclear dimension' will lead to restrain in conventional arms race, conflict resolution and eventually peace. After the end of the World War II, similar hopes were expressed but the Berlin crisis and Korean War proved that the acquisition of destructive capability does not necessarily lead to an increased sense of responsibility.

The Kargil War made Kashmir into a 'nuclear flashpoint' and the tense military stand off in 2001-2002 led Islamabad to once again use the nuclear threat to deter India from carrying out 'hot pursuit' against Pakistan. Moreover, thanks to a sustained global arms 'shopping spree', today the Indian conventional superiority over Pakistan has reached such unprecedented levels that despite 'operationalization' of nuclear weapons and deployment of various ballistic and cruise missiles by both countries, the Indian military leadership seems hell bent to test the 'credibility of the Pakistani nuclear deterrent' by planning for another conventional war against Pakistan, in the form of its Pakistan-specific 'Cold Start' doctrine. In this context, the Pakistani Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Gen. Tariq chose the recent National Defence University Convocation in Islamabad as the appropriate time and place to tell both friends and foes that 'the retention of nuclear capability was a compulsion not a choice for Pakistan, which has to be mindful of the military preponderance in its eastern neighbourhood. Although supportive of non-discriminatory non-proliferation efforts, Islamabad will not accept Pakistan-specific treaties such as Fissile Material Treaty (FMT) and the world needs to be sensitive to its security concerns, including those in Afghanistan.'

Micael Krepon, who is the founder of the Henry L. Stimson Center, Washington D.C., and has authored 13 books and more than 350 articles on international nuclear and strategic issues, told me last week that since the dominant motive behind the Indian quest for nuclear weapons was big power status, New Delhi will not settle for merely a 'nuclear weapon capability' but despite its obvious political, diplomatic and economic costs and inevitable international condemnation, will not stop short of acquiring 'the thermo-nuclear weapon', which thanks to its hundreds of times more destructive power than a nuclear weapon dropped on Hiroshima by the US in 1945, is the ultimate international status symbol, and is possessed and tested by all five big powers. Despite these sobering setbacks in the context of nuclear non-proliferation goals, it seems that the Western powers have resigned to the inevitability of the Indian rise as a major power to such an extent that even when a Canadian supplied reactor and US supplied nuclear material destined solely for peaceful purposes was utilized by New Delhi for its nuclear test in 1974, and under the 123 Agreement, New Delhi has been allowed by the US and Nuclear Supplier Group to keep its current and future reprocessing plants and Fast-breeder reactors outside international safeguards, the world sees little or no harm in it. However, Pakistan, a state which despite not signing NPT, voluntarily keeps its KANUPP, Chashma I and Chashma II reactors, under IAEA safeguards, has had its nuclear fuel denied by Canada and Reprocessing plant declined by France, under overt and sustained US pressure. These unfortunate historical ironies point to the fact that despite the lofty personal standards and noble ideals of poets, philosophers and prophets, given to humanity over the past few millennia in various societies, the world continues to remain an unfair and anarchic place, whose diverse dangers force small and insecure states to pursue security through various means. Of these, over time none has proven to be more effective at preventing war than instilling the element of fear of destruction in the minds of adversaries, epitomized in 21st century by the capability to make and the will to use nuclear weapons, when threatened. The strategic stability resulting from this credible threat of unacceptable and unimaginable destruction is a fragile but effective tool rather than an end in itself, toward preserving the state structure in an anarchical world and to enable societies the opportunity to pursue the higher goals of economic, social and environmental security, under the shadow of nuclear weapons, as the Western European and North American democracies did during the cold war. The historical paradox is that fear is the key to security.

 

The writer is associated with the strategic & nuclear studies department of the NDU, Islamabad.

 

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PAKISTAN OBSERVER

ARTICLE

DO TERRORISTS HAVE RELIGION?

AFSHAIN AFZAL

 

The breakthrough by the Pakistani Police in arresting a terrorist from the Pakistani valley of Chitral is an eye opener for the rest of the world. Gary Brooks Faulkner who was living in Bumburate since June 3 2010 and was often accompanied by a group of his illegal private guards was arrested on June 13, 2010. From his appearance he appeared to be an Afghan national with shoulder-length hair with beard, posing himself as a Muslim. Police recovered arms and ammunition including a pistol, a Japanese sword, a dagger, sophisticated night-vision equipment, narcotics, material on Christianity and other doubtful stuff from his possession. It was reported by a local Police officer that at the time of the arrest Faulkner was not allowing coming near him and threatened that he will open fire. It is feared that Gary Faulkner may be member of a terrorist groups which has roots in US and west. According to the details, Gary Faulkner, who is in his early 50ies, was lodging in a hotel in Chitral and was looking for Muslim targets to be eliminated. It appears that the said terrorist may also have links with the Mossad network that martyred Hamas leader in Dubai in the recent past.

Pakistani authorities have officially intimated US Embassy in Islamabad about the arrest of US national. US officials have met Gary Faulkner in Peshawar and confirmed his identity. Interestingly, US is more interested in Faulkner's kidney problem than the crime he has committed and due to the same reason has been handed over to them. Ironically, individuals like David Coleman Headley and Faisal Shahzad are payroll of foreign intelligence agencies but when anything goes wrong, they are referred back to the country of origin but if he happens to be an American different rules apply on him. Gary Faulkner, who has also learnt local languages, visited Pakistan at least seven times in which he made trip to Chitral three times. He has visited a number of other countries in the world but from where the finances were coming is a matter of great concern. One wonders how a low level construction worker, who had been working in California and Colorado, can plan seven trips to Pakistan and over dozens to other countries. His past record reflected that he was arrested and sent to Colorado prisons (like David Coleman Headley) where he served a total of about seven years in five separate punishments for burglary, larceny and parole violations. US Intelligence agencies picked spotted him in the prison to be used against Muslims, especially in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. Christian religious material, recovered from the luggage of Faulkner at the hotel, indicates that he was involved in proselytizing. It is interesting to note that few weeks back the government of President Hamid Karzai banned at least two foreign NGOs and put over two dozens under scanner in connection with proselytizing. Last year, a lot of Christian's preaching material including Bibles and its short courses, translated into Pushto, Persian and other languages spoken in Afghanistan, were recovered from the possession of US soldiers deployed in Afghanistan. His suspicious activities were noted by certain local who found him meeting suspicious persons including foreigners and Afghan nationals. Police officer Mumtaz Ahmad Khan disclosed that he was apprehended from nearby forest area. Faulkner claimed he was trying to cross into Afghanistan through Nuristan. It is interesting to note that despite restriction on foreigners in Border Defence areas, many foreigners are found violating Pakistani law by collecting sensitive information about Pakistani positions in sensitive areas. In the last few months US Intelligence had been claiming that Al-Qaida hierarchy is hiding in the forests in Chitral. Ironically, earlier US claimed that top leadership of Al Qaida is hiding in Swat and pressurized Islamabad to carryout operation in Swat, Bajour and adjoining area, Family members of Gary Faulkner claim that took retained vivid memories of the September 11, 2001 attacks on Pentagon and World Trade Centre and has not forgotten it. Brother of Brooks namely Scott Faulkner claimed that his brother was on a rational mission. He disclosed "As a Christian, he felt, when Osama mocked this country after 9/11, and it didn't feel like the military was doing enough, it became his passion, his mission, to track down Osama, and kill him, or bring him back alive." It is an open secret that Nuristan province is a known Taliban stronghold and arrest of a foreigner from the Pak-Afghan border near Nuristan invites doubt the Washington has links with some Taliban. One wonders, how come the brother of Gary Brooks Faulkner know details of his secret mission in Pakistan. It appears that foreign intelligence tentacles are everywhere in Pakistan and in most of the suicide missions agents like Faulkner are engaged but because of their mental state they do not remember what they did. It is strange that the allied forces, holed up in fortified castles, instead of fighting themselves are using drug addicts to accomplish their mission.

It is too early to conclude about Gary Brooks Faulkner's but his links with locals including some Christians as well as Taliban may create embarrassment for many. Christians living in Pakistan have full liberty to practice their religion and they are as loyal as any other Pakistani. Christians and other minorities have a lot of contribution for the development and security of Pakistan but those who wittingly or unwittingly join hands with elements who are rouge create problems. Pakistan's policy is very clear that they would not tolerate terrorists but no one can be allowed to form sort of private army at his own, without the government's permission. It is a time that we should not trust strangers and act like a shield against all such persons who are challenging the writ of the government of Pakistan. Whatever may be the motive of Gary Faulkner, Washington must keep its nationals out of Pakistan to achieve national missions without the permission of Pakistan. If we start allowing such individuals to operate in other countries, there will be thousands of Afghans, Pakistani, Iraqi, Palestinians and other nationals, who would be eager to take revenge from those who killed their love ones. It is not the first case when foreign intelligence agent was arrested by Pakistani officials. The frequency of the cases demands that Islamabad should have strict scanner on all the foreigners, especially who have adopted the cover of tourists and social workers.

 

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PAKISTAN OBSERVER

ARTICLE

THE BLACK AND THE WHITE OF IT

ROGER COHEN

 

South Africa is a country where race is not the subtext of existence. It's the text. I was at dinner the other night with my cousins, white South Africans divided as to whether they still have prospects here. The elder men said things like, "I now feel like a visitor," or "The future is for the blacks." They see race relations worsening, corruption spreading and inefficiency rampant. Not the youngest among them, a law student in his mid-20s, proud African, brimming with indignation at his elders' perceived conceits: "Is it race or is it class?" he asked. "What is freedom to them?" he demanded, voice rising. "They want houses, schools, sewage. They want justice."

Conversation turned to this titbit: Under apartheid, blacks could not be bricklayers because the job was classified as whites-only skilled labour. The student's mother expressed anger, prompting a furious rebuke from him: "Why are you angry now when you weren't 30 years ago? Your anger's useless now. Drop it. When it would have been useful you didn't have it. Now it's payback time for them." "They" are the eternal other, of course, the blacks in this white conversation, the whites in mirror-image black conversations. There are plenty of iterations of "they" in a land where the 1950 Population Registration Act (evil legislation is always innocuously named) ran a fine comb through types of inferior being, among them Indians and mixed-race "coloureds." Almost a generation from apartheid's end, South Africa is struggling to compose these differences into something foreign to nature: a sustainable rainbow. The world has much at stake in this quest. South Africa — 79 percent black, 9.5 percent white and 11.5 percent Asian or mixed race — is the ground zero chosen by history and geography for the dilemma of otherness, the violent puzzle of race with its reflexive suspicions and repetitive eruptions.

At moments, as during this first African World Cup, the rainbow shimmers. This was supposed to be the competition of smash-and-grab and of machete attacks. Many stayed away. The fear merchants, always hard at work, have been proved wrong. German grandmas do not lie savaged on the road to Rustenburg. Unity has unfurled, calm broken out. Smiles crease black and white faces alike. To the point that the most asked question here is: Will this moving honeymoon last beyond the World Cup?

It's a good question. South Africa, in the run-up, smouldered, crime eating at its heart like a surrogate for the post-apartheid bloodletting that never was. There was the murder in April of the white supremacist Eugène Terre'Blanche, hacked to death after the leader of the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League, Julius Malema, revived the "kill the Boer" line of black struggle. There were Malema's endorsements of Zimbabwe's disaster merchant, Robert Mugabe. There was the unhappy sight of the ANC, torn between its liberation mythology and the mundanity of governance, gripped by paralysis as unemployment climbed over 25 percent and its "tenderpreneurs" prospered.

A tenderpreneur is an insider pocketing millions from rigged government tenders for everything from air-conditioners to locomotives. The word denotes failure, that of black economic empowerment, which has come to mean much for the few and little for the many. If the powerful steal with front companies, why should the weak not steal with guns? Yes, as my young cousin said, blacks want justice, from other blacks as well. If President Jacob Zuma does not use the lessons of this World Cup — that colour lines can blur, that things can get done — to build momentum for reform, he will have failed. He must put the tenderpreneurs out of business. He must reverse the crumbling of education. Jobs do not lie in digging more stuff out the ground. The knowledge economy is where opportunity resides. Is it class or race? South Africa is not going to rainbow race away, but it can bring blacks out of their miserable shacks and educate them — if its leaders are prepared to lead by example. I say it's more class than race. I was driving the other day with my colleague, Jere Longman, who mentioned that growing up in a small town in Lousiana in the early 1960s, he would see a "whites only" sign outside the launderette and imagine that meant white clothes alone. Almost a century separated the end of slavery from the end of Jim Crow segregation in the United States. Sixteen years have passed since the first free elections here.

There are no quick fixes. But I take heart from the African patriotism of my young cousin. I take heart from another 20-something white South African, a young woman who told me: "I am so happy for Ghana and so proud to be an African." That was after Ghana, lone African World Cup survivor, booted the United States out, a victory dedicated by its players to Africa, Nelson Mandela's "proud continent." We all know what Ghana long shipped to America: slaves. It's a pity President Obama couldn't find time to be here in the land where race is text and the way it gets written will affect everyone's future. — The New York Times

 

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PAKISTAN OBSERVER

ARTICLE

PLEDGING NO REVENGE

COLUMN FROM DALLAS

SAEED QURESHI

 

President Zardari in his speech made on Benazir's Bhutto 57th Birthday declared that he is not going to take revenge of his wife and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairperson's assassination. It is a strange logic propounded by him. He thinks that the advent of a democratic order in Pakistan is the only revenge that was pertinent and befitting to the murder of a towering political leader of Pakistan. He churned out the same logic last year on the second death anniversary of Benazir in that he too equaled his spouse's murder probe with the compensation of a democratic dispensation in Pakistan. By the way, the re-establishment of democracy in Pakistan was the outcome of the legal activism and lawyers uproarious marches and stormy street agitations than any contribution by the PPP's political leadership.

In the meantime, the government had assigned the task of probing the ghastly murder to the United Nations at a fabulous cost of 5 million dollars albeit with a limited mandate. Zardari and other PPP leaders have thus far welcomed the United Nations 65 pages report. However, all of a sudden the government has starting branding it as a flawed report. In this connection, the PPP government has handed over a memorandum to the United Nations general secretary highlighting the inadequacies of the report. The two stances of the PPP government stand in contradiction with each other. One is flabbergasted to figure out why the government in the first instance bothered the United Nations to probe this case and why it welcomed it initially.

Even the investigation that was conducted indigenously confirms the names of the suspects who were arrested immediately after the murder. If they were the assassins then there was no need to invoke the United Nations to come into play and distract the focus from the domestic investigation, which was more relevant and credible than that of any international organization. Still there no reason for Mr. Zardari to declare time and again that he knew the real culprits but would reveal their names at an appropriate time.

 

The mandate given to the United Nations' investigation team was narrowly limited in it scope and, therefore, was limited to broad conjectures, hazy hints and fuzzy corollaries that were not helpful in fulfilling the main task of reaching the heinous culprits. The government of Pakistan, has of late, objected to the United Nations' report, which was of perfunctory nature. The objections of the report might have been due to a late realization by the PPP government that it might have contained some hints to expose the real culprits in the longer run.

The security lapse and lacunas pointed by the UN report must be to the chagrin of certain powerful actors who might have awakened to the murky possibility of being nabbed or identified as responsible for faulty and insufficient security arrangements for the fallen leader. One can only scantly surmise that the later volte- face might have been due to the possibility that the president of Pakistan or some heavyweights of the party or other powerful invisible characters might be part of the conspiracy to kill Benazir Bhutto. Nevertheless, the minds of the people in Pakistan are not still clear of the doubts that her spouse who is clamoring no blood for the blood of Benazir was somehow trying to push the whole high profile murder under the rug to save him and other stalwarts in or out of the Pakistan People's Party.

It is a pity that the party whose top leader was killed has not hotly and assiduously chased the assassins and was rather painfully and staggeringly slow in conducting the inquiry. There have been more vociferous demands from other parties for the hot pursuit of the assassins than her own party. Woefully, an ace leader was brutally murdered without visibly any remorse from her heirs or the party top brass.

The latest call from Zardari also means that, "do not ask questions about the poor insecurity, the fleeing away of Rehman Malik and Babar Awan from the murder scene and finally no post-martem for the deceased leader." In a nutshell it means forget about the murder.

 

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THE INDEPENDENT

EDITORIAL

WATERLOGGING

 

The authorities admit they have no ready solution for the capital's waterlogging. This is quite understandable that a problem that has been allowed to stagger over the years has no easy and immediate solution. But then people would like to know how long it will take to effectively address this issue. An announcement of a timeframe based on a realistic appraisal of the situation is overdue. This will spare the capital's inhabitants of the uncertainties and worries involved and thus make them better prepared to bear with the authorities.
The hard truth is that different governments have allowed the situation to aggravate over the years. Now waterlogging has become far more complex than before because developments in a number of areas have made the task ever more challenging. The disappearance of canals, ponds and wetlands that once acted as receptacles for excess rainwater in and around the city has certainly made the condition worse. This government has successfully recovered a canal from illegal occupation and also re-excavated it. But certainly more needs to be done. Of the 43 canals that once served as natural drains for disposal of excess rainwater, 25 have disappeared completely. The rest 18 needs to be revived and linked to the storm sewerage, rivers or wetlands. There is hardly any alternative to this.

Much will however depend on the implementation of the Detailed Area Plan (DAP) for the capital as endorsed with all the recommendations in a gazette notification. The urban mess that Dhaka has turned into now certainly runs the risk of being abandoned unless something drastic is done to improve its physical infrastructure and utility services. Canals or similar other drainage facilities have to be integrated with the DAP which aims at striking a balance between the urban space and the size of the population living there. Similarly, there should be a uniform code for leaving some designated space vacant. Whichever agency is in charge of maintaining the sewerage system, it should be given the authority to reshape the system or revive the canals for linking them in a functional network. 

 

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THE INDEPENDENT

EDITORIAL

 

HELPLINE AWARENESS

 

Women and children enjoy special protection in all societies. In countries like Bangladesh its need is even greater. Member countries observe under the UN aegis the World Women's Day, Children's Day etc. to raise the level of awareness among the peoples. With the establishment of the ministry of women and children's affairs in this country in 1978, the official recognition was given to this important issue. It has certainly brought to bear on society some influence, but more needs to be done in this regard. The 68,660 cases  of repression on women from October 2001 to March 2006 stress the need for putting together the efforts of various agencies engaged in this field. Even the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act 2000 and the special court could hardly improve the situation. Rape, abduction, eve-teasing, child trafficking, illegal and unapproved child labour are on the rise in the country.

 It is rather surprising that a help line set up by the women and children's affairs ministry to extend support to distressed women and children round the clock has no publicity. Even the media are hardly aware of it. It is a pity that a service of such importance should remain practically unknown.

The parliamentary committee on the women and children's affairs ministry has rightly felt the urgent need of letting people know about it and asked the authorities to disseminate information regarding the service so that people become aware and can benefit from it. The committee also asked the ministry to establish a children's affairs directorate like that of the women's affairs directorate. Along with this, security centres should be established in Dhaka and other urban centres of the country. The ministry must not sit idle on the issue.

 

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THE INDEPENDENT

BOB'S BANTER

ERROR, FOOTBALL AND TRUTH..!

 

"…Errors should be part of the game says Football Body…"

Ha, ha, ha, how convenient! It's the same as saying that lies are part of life! And maybe to this bunch of governing members of FIFA this is the truth, that truth itself is flexible.
 "Sir that was a goal!"

 "No it was not!"

 "I saw it sir, I was sitting near the goal post!"

 "What did the referee say? What he says is the truth!"

Well that was accepted many years ago, when every action wasn't caught by television, when close ups, rewind and replay were never known and someone had to be the judge, but today technology is there to serve.
 "I can tell you the truth!" says the camera.
 "Sssshhhh!" say the FIFA guys.

 "You don't want the truth?"

 "No!" say the FIFA guys.

I wonder why? I mean how does the referee feel when he realizes the whole world knows he made a wrong decision.

 "There's the man who made us lose! Boo!"

So I go up to him, "How do you feel referee?"

 "Good!"

 "Why?"

 "Because I have the power to turn a truth into a lie!"

Is that what it's all about? So I march to the head of FIFA and ask, "Why are you wearing glasses sir?"

 "To see better!"

 "But you're using technology sir! Why shouldn't you just be happy with what your dimming eyes perceive?"

 "And fall and hurt myself?"

 "But you wouldn't mind the great game of football falling do you?"

And the coaches, members of the governing body and the footballers go home and a wife shouts, "I saw you with another woman!"

 "No!"
 "Yes I did! Look I took a picture, here it is have a look!"

 "No!"
 "What do you mean no?"

 "No photos! We don't believe in technology!"

I think when I see the beautiful WAGS (Wives And Girlfriends) who follow these moneyed guys around, and the affairs they have with each other's girl, that we shout from the stadium top, "Lies (errors) are a part of the game..!"
Isn't it sir?

—bobsbanter@gmail.com    

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THE INDEPENDENT

POST EDITORIAL

OF FISH, FRUITS AND FORMALIN

M. SERAJUL ISLAM

 

In a dinner party recently, a doctor gave us some spine chilling information on how the traders of fruit and fish are poisoning us day in and day out. The discussion that led to the doctor to talk on the subject came up when someone referred to a picture in an English daily that showed a mango farmer spraying chemicals on mangoes that were already ripe so that they do not rot. He said sarcastically that soon there would not be any necessity of sending a dead body to the morgue to keep it fresh for a few days pending burial because the formalin we are being forced to take with fruits and fish would keep the dead bodies from rotting.

Others who joined the discussion came up with other unbelievable stories of their own. One of the guests said that these days, a favourite roadside fruit in Motijheel and Bangabandhu Avenue is the papaya. These papayas are very sweet but such sweetness is hardly the credit of nature. The papayas are soaked in a chemical solution for a few minutes to give it the taste that has made it such a favourite of the public only that those who are eating it do not know that the sweetness is poison. The story of the papaya has another twist. These sellers poisoning their buyers with their papayas can be seen carefully keeping the papaya seeds stored in a corner. They do not retain these seeds because they can be cooked and eaten as some seeds are eaten; these are retained to be sold to unscrupulous traders who mix it with black pepper as papaya seeds and black pepper have a great deal of similarity!

On banana, that is such a favourite fruit for all of us, one of the guests said that when bananas ripen, they do so from the top layer and gradually go down to the other layers. In other words, naturally all rows of bananas in a bunch do not ripen simultaneously. Not so anymore in Bangladesh where unscrupulous traders using chemicals manage to ripen all the rows of bananas in a bunch simultaneously.  Fruits like apples can be kept as long as one wants without any worry of rotting. Mangoes, the king of fruits, that we thought was free from the poisonous hands of the traders are no longer safe and have also come into the ambit of these unscrupulous people as in their greed to make money out of the last mango fruit in their possession, they now use chemicals so that they do not lose even a single mango to nature. The use of formalin to keep fish from rotting was also mentioned by quite a few guests. Buyers of fish became aware that they were being poisoned when they started noticing something eerie about the fish markets. Somehow the flies had abandoned the fish markets! In the days before these criminals entered the trade, buying fish in a fish market was perhaps one of the most unpopular things one was forced to do because the fish markets were a haven for the flies. The formalin literally drove the flies away to seek dirtier pastures. Today, buyers look for flies in a fish market to be assured that they are buying fish not treated with formalin!

The presence of unscrupulous traders and businessmen in developing societies is not a matter of great surprise. However, what is happening in Bangladesh in the fish and fruits trade is exceptional. These traders cannot be called unscrupulous and left at that. They are criminals not of the ordinary types that indulge in thefts but hardened criminals who have no value for human lives. There have been efforts during the Caretaker Government when these criminal acts came to public focus because of the good work of the private TV channels and the media. We have seen magistrates visit fish and fruits markets and taking action against traders found using chemicals to keep their products fresh. In recent times, we have also seen truckloads of mangoes being destroyed because these were treated with chemicals for malafide reasons. It does not seem like that such actions against these criminals masquerading as traders has had the desired effect. One of the guests at the dinner table said that she does not eat banana anymore, regretting that the fruit has been her favourite since as long as she can remember. The guests were also unanimous about denying themselves of one of the pleasures in Bangladesh in summer, namely indulging in mangoes unless they are assured that these are safe which means they do not buy mangoes from the market anymore.

It is not that all the fish and fruits in the market are treated chemically to keep them fresh that is poison for those who eat these items. Nevertheless, the problem is widespread. The government's action to send a magistrate once in a while to the market and destroy a truckload of mangoes will not even scrape the problem, let alone resolve it. The laws are also extremely inadequate to deal with a problem that is far bigger than the government cares to acknowledge. The time to take action to nip this problem in the bud is fast slipping away with consequences that could be devastating in not too distant in the future. We all know what has happened to Dhaka where small encroachments by land grabbers were overlooked and in some cases, encouraged by the regulators leading to a situation today where it is impossible to correct it anymore. In case of the slow poisoning to which we are being subjected everyday by the fish and the fruits that we are being forced to eat without any help from the government may very soon create the same situation the land grabbers have done with Dhaka city; only in the case of the fish and the fruits, we will have to pay with our lives. These criminals poisoning us know too well that it is just a small financial loss with which they can be punished today because the law does not provide for anything more. It is up to our authorities and our law makers to correct a very dangerous situation where people are getting away with murder in daylight for practically no punishment at all.
On another level, there is a very serious issue here. For a small financial gain, why do these traders play with human lives? Ours is a country of 160 million people that is a huge market for traders and businessmen to make money by honest means. True, there are problems in infrastructure that sometimes cause these traders to lose some of their products to the natural process. To choose murder to overcome such loss is incredible. In no other society would traders choose to do what our fish and fruits traders are doing because the laws would ensure that they do not dare to do so. More importantly, that such an action for financial gain would be incomprehensible in any other society. Our thinkers who study our people and society would do the nation a lot of good if they would study the behaviour of the fish and fruits traders of Bangladesh to find out the reasons for their love for formalin and other poisonous chemicals. Is it that they do so because they know the law is too soft or is it that they are psychopaths?

(The writer is a former Ambassador to Japan)

 

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THE INDEPENDENT

POST EDITORIAL

BIG FINANCE ROLLS ON

WILLIAM BRITTAIN-CATLIN

 

One by one, they come before the committees to confess, wring hands, sometimes stonewall but always promise to do better. The banks, hedge funds, auditors and regulators have all been there. As the latest arrival confesses, so those that did earlier have already moved on, got the rearguard action going, chipping away at concessions made to reform. Business as usual is what counts; witness the British hedge funds who just the other day won the support of the G20 to halt European restrictions on their activities.

Now it is the turn of the credit rating agencies to explain their role in the financial downfall. What they did was simple: to do the bidding of their banker paymasters, the CRAs dressed up the banks' sub-prime mortgages and gave them the highest market rating possible - triple A. The CRAs were supposed to do due diligence on these collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), but they didn't. If they had, they would have discovered worthless lies; the lure of easy money meant honesty was sacrificed.

It is instructive to hear what individuals caught up in this business say when they are thrust in front of committees. One credit rater said his agency's banker clients knew the agency "could not walk away from a deal ... and took advantage of that." A few weeks ago, a banker whose job it was to package CDOs admitted he didn't feel right about what he was doing, but as it wasn't against the law he reluctantly carried on.
The powerful message contained in these lone voices - the moral paralysis of playing the conflict-of-interest game - is soon steamrollered by the juggernaut of big finance. That is why solutions to these problems, when first put on the table by governments, are always the most trenchant - they stand up to the juggernaut with their own radicalism. The French and Germans usually hit the table first and hardest; in the case of the CRAs their recommendation is to have them replaced by a public rating authority, for the incumbents cannot be trusted any more to tell the truth.

See in the weeks ahead how the radical solution is watered down. CRA lobbyists will get to work, as will new private firms who want in on the ratings game, the latter expressing outrage at the slackness of incumbents but licking their lips in anticipation of juicy fees. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to give others a go; even so, serious scepticism of the financial sector and the firms that service it must remain.

At heart here is the old profit motive within the context of offshore capitalism - that detached, socially remote financial capitalism that dominated until the crash of 2008. In offshore capitalism, the pursuit of profit involved ever grander schemes of deception, spurred on by the way truth could be hidden away within the complex labyrinth of global finance. Presentation and surface became all, depth and truth were embarrassments.
Now the values of offshore capitalism have outgrown their institutions and are fully absorbed into wider society. Much, though not all, of social life is dominated by individuals who behave and act like businesses, assessing themselves and others on the basis of performance targets, lowering in a public context their barriers to social exchange, metaphorically living life on their own offshore islands. It is a depthless life; an endless, empty striving towards the out-of-town shopping centre.

Within a cultural mainstream underpinned by these values, practical politics makes little headway and political discourse becomes corrupted. Take the idea of the Big Society - laudable in theory as a way of counteracting atomistic values but fatuous, if not dishonest, if those values are propped up by coalition government economics. It is wrong that the sacrifices we have to make in the cuts ahead are to keep it as business as usual, not so business can fundamentally change.  There has been sensible talk of putting grit in the wheels of finance to slow it down and regulate its activities in line with public interest. We should also grit the wheels of our remote offshore society in order to live more onshore, attached lives, where depth is acquired by living at a slower, simpler, smaller and, dare the words be said, more honest pace.

The onshore world - of putting business, finance and banking in touch with society, and society back in touch with itself - cannot accept the gross distortions of truth found in offshore capitalism. To do so is to accept that progress is not possible. It is.

 

[The writer is a corporate investigator and the author of Offshore: The Dark Side of the Global Economy (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)]

 

 — Guardian News & Media 2010

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THE AUSTRALIAN

EDITORIAL

BRACING FOR THE BROWN OUTS

THE GREENS ARE UNPREPARED FOR REAL-WORLD POLITICS

GREENS leader Bob Brown has once again relegated his party to the status of a protest movement, instead of aspiring to join the main political game where real policy change happens. Perhaps he has misread Julia Gillard, because it is plain the new Prime Minister could never entertain adopting the Greens's new five-point plan on climate change and a legislated carbon price designed to end coal-fired power.

Coal provides more than 80 per cent of Australia's electricity. In the absence of a large-scale nuclear power industry, which the Greens also oppose, that reality will not change in the foreseeable future. Coal also provides more than 40 per cent of the world's electricity and is the backbone of the cement and steel industries that are boosting the living standards of some of the world's poorest people.

Were Australia to commit economic hari-kiri and wind back our largest export industry, the consequences for jobs would be dire. It would be worse, not better, for the planet as Australia's coal customers - Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, India and Europe - turned to other producers. Generally, the anti-pollution standards of coal mines in Indonesia, Russia, South Africa, Colombia and Kazakhstan fall short of those in Australia. The Greens' cave economics have no place in mainstream debate.

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THE AUSTRALIAN

EDITORIAL

BROADCASTER CAUGHT NAPPING BY OWN SCOOP

IS THE NATIONAL BROADCASTER READY FOR 24-HOUR NEWS?

GOOD work should be acknowledged by bosses, but we can only think that ABC managing director Mark Scott was being ironic when told staff their coverage of Labor's leadership coup showcased "the very best of the ABC in action - on radio, television and online". It shows how badly the corporation has lost its way and why it should put its existing news services in order before spreading resources more thinly with a 24-hour news channel.

This is not to detract from Chris Uhlmann and Mark Simkin's brilliant scoop by breaking the news on the 7pm television bulletin that Kevin Rudd's leadership was under siege. The Australian's Dennis Shanahan had warned a week earlier that Mr Rudd's leadership was under threat, and told ABC's Lateline the previous Friday there was a 50-50 chance of a spill. But when it happened on Wednesday, the ABC was first on air.

That, however, just compounds the fundamental mistake the ABC made by not suspending scheduled programs and staying with the story. They can hardly claim they didn't know about it. Nor did they even insist that The 7.30 Report and Lateline devote their full programs to the issue. Sky News, in contrast, began following the story just after 7pm and continued until 11pm.

The 7.30 Report's lead story, an interview with Defence Minister John Faulkner about Afghanistan, had been overtaken by events. It was pre-recorded as ABC News was going to air and Senator Faulkner threw no light on Mr Rudd's imploding leadership, claiming to Kerry O'Brien "it's all news to me". Lateline took the story further, interviewing Australian Workers Union national secretary Paul Howes about why he was backing Julia Gillard. But why waste 11 minutes of satellite time crossing to Environment Minister Peter Garrett at the International Whaling Commission in Morocco, who by his own admission knew nothing about his colleagues' manoeuvrings in Canberra? ABC viewers were left frustrated and baffled as to why events unprecedented in the nation's history, the move against a prime minister in his first term, received such scant attention. ABC radio, a medium ideally suited to covering breaking stories, was no better as Media Watch presenter Jonathan Holmes acknowledged. ABC Adelaide radio's Peter Goers managed to get it wrong, claiming on Wednesday night that Mr Rudd had stood down.

The ABC's flat-footedness on the biggest news night of the year provides little confidence that it is ready to use its forthcoming 24-hour news channel to break news. What the public does not need are more programs in which ABC journalists interview other ABC journalists or recycle stories from good programs such as Foreign Correspondent. Even Aunty's flagship current affairs radio program AM began yesterday by regurgitating the comments of politicians Bill Shorten, Barnaby Joyce and actress Magda Szubanski from Q and A 12 hours earlier. Nor do Australians need any more spurious analysis such as that of Barrie Cassidy and Fran Kelly on Insiders in February, claiming erroneously that Dennis Shanahan's interpretation of Newspoll results was unfair to Mr Rudd. It begs the question why the ABC should be allowed to take on another taxpayer-funded channel when the corporation plainly cannot manage the ones it already has.

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THE AUSTRALIAN

EDITORIAL

WHEN KEVIN WEDGED HIMSELF

OUR FORMER PRIME MINISTER WAS MASTER OF HIS OWN DEMISE

BAD policy is bad politics, and using the latter to sell the former is disastrous, as Kevin Rudd has now discovered. There is an idea abroad that the former prime minister was brought down by a conspiracy led by factional heavyweights, union bosses and even this newspaper. No he wasn't. Our 26th prime minister was destroyed by his own hand, masking poor policy decisions with spin, which drove him into a death spiral. The politician, who talked of the "mythical" centre of politics in his first speech to parliament in 1998, managed to wedge himself so badly that he lost support as voters peeled off from both ends of the political spectrum. Mr Rudd suffered from the amateur politician's belief that spin will convince voters to support your policies without you actually having to deliver them. He demonstrated little instinct for politics and a surprising lack of discipline in policy development and good process. On his watch, talking via Twitter became more important than talking to his own cabinet colleagues.

In several policy areas, Mr Rudd wedged Labor without any help from Tony Abbott. Before the 2007 election, he promised to "turn back the boats", but in government his policies encouraged more asylum-seekers to risk their lives on rotten boats. He ducked and weaved over the Oceanic Viking crisis last year, his tin ear preventing him from hearing the sound of voters marching away from Labor. As the fallout on boats continued, he compounded the problem by supporting a Big Australia. Mr Rudd called climate change the greatest moral challenge of our generation, and tied his political fortunes to passing an emissions trading scheme before the Copenhagen summit last December. When it fell apart, Mr Rudd found himself committed to promises to an inner-urban constituency which he could not deliver. He so oversold his personal investment in the ETS that when he dumped it, voters on the Left, including many of the GetUp! crowd who had supported him in 2007, deserted him for the Greens. Even rusted-on Labor voters worried about a leader capable of such a backdown. By then, Mr Rudd had managed to wedge himself on health, up against the premiers over his promise to take over hospitals. For weeks, the prime minister ran in and out of wards up and down the east coast, trailing confusion in his wake. The end result was a victory for the states and a policy mired in spin.

Things got worse as Mr Rudd backed himself into a corner over the mining tax, alienating voters across the spectrum with his faux class warfare. Spin was no substitute for a lack of understanding of how the nation had changed over 30 years of economic reform. When swinging voters, such as tradies, contractors and other workers worried about the impact of the tax on the economy, began to desert the man they had backed in 2007, it was clear to the grown-ups in the party they were being led by the apprentice.

It may be tempting to see in Mr Rudd's downfall the swords of conspirators determined to destroy him. But the former leader speared himself with his unprofessional handling of politics. His dismissive approach to the "mythical" centre back in 1998 would prove fatal. There is a centre and successful prime ministers find where it is and govern from there. Unsure where his votes lay, and with little understanding of how to secure them anyway, Mr Rudd failed this key test of Australian political life.

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THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

EDITORIAL

GILLARD'S TAKE ON POPULATION

Julia Gillard's foray into population policy has a touch of John Howard about it. The former prime minister was adept at subtly using the public's fears of uncontrolled immigration - talking and acting tough about a small number of boat people while simultaneously arranging a large immigration intake. It was an effective tactic to sidestep the xenophobia among sections of his supporters, although many will demur at its cynicism. Gillard, by implying criticism of the Rudd government's supposedly arbitrary population targets of up to 40 million people, and adding the word ''sustainable'' to the title of Tony Burke's population portfolio, is playing a similar game. Let us hope a game is all it amounts to.

The Rudd government did not endorse Treasury forecasts of a population of 36 million by mid-century when they were released, although Kevin Rudd did say he liked the idea of a big Australia. Large-scale immigration makes many Australians nervous; even recent immigrants can be heard expressing hostility to asylum-seeking boat people. Not all of this is xenophobia: environmentalists mount a valid argument about the dangers a large population, addicted to Western habits and levels of consumption, poses to the fragile Australian environment. It is also true that those who decide how many immigrants to allow in do not, as a rule, live in the parts of Australia where most immigrants settle; they do not feel at first hand the pressures on transport, hospitals, police and schools which a rapidly growing population brings.

Australia has never managed particularly well the disconnection between levels of government involved here: Canberra decides about immigration quotas while leaving the states to provide services for the newcomers. Gillard's remark about the residents of western Sydney wondering where all the new people will fit suggests that she at least understands the problem, even if so far she offers no solution.

Yet Gillard, who was four when she arrived in Australia with her family, also knows immigration's benefits. Study after study has shown immigrants contribute significantly to growth (with the caveat that conventional economics pays too little attention to environmental costs). For a country where the fertility rate is low, it helps slow or reverse the ageing of the population.

Immigration has been good for Australia and, well planned and properly managed, should continue to be so. Canada's experience of growing from 20 million in 1970 to 35 million now shows it can be done. If basic infrastructure is lacking - and it is - then let us build it. The increased activity will be yet another way in which Australia benefits.

 

SIGNIFICANT OTHER AT THE PM'S LODGE

Australians seem to have accepted the fact of a ''first bloke'' as the unmarried consort of their Prime Minister without blinking. It helps, of course, that the Prime Minister in question is female. A gay partnership probably would still frighten the horses, to use Queen Victoria's expression, but we should prepare ourselves mentally for that eventuality. On Monday the Prime Minister of Iceland, Johanna Sigurdardottir, set the precedent by marrying her long-term partner, making her the world's first national leader with a same-sex spouse.

But the question raised yesterday in the Herald by the sex therapist and writer Bettina Arndt was not so much about gender as about marriage. Should Julia Gillard make an ''honest man'' of Tim Mathieson, to set an example to the nation? By not marrying, is our leader sending a signal that shacking up is OK, even a more dignified status for a modern woman?

Arndt thinks this could encourage more women into big mistakes: a series of live-in relationships with men still clinging to notions of independence, until they are left on their own and childless at the age when fertility needs a technical assist. The alternative of having children without a partner or husband in the house doesn't appeal to Arndt. She agrees with John Howard that children have a right to a father, that a husband is more likely to stick around than a partner.

The evidence supports the latter point, but increasingly Australians, while agreeing fathers are important, would not want to deny a single woman the chance to have children if no man is volunteering to be the father-figure for the upbringing.

The distinction between marriage and partnerships is meanwhile narrowing. Marriage, regrettably or not, is no longer the lifetime commitment it once was. The obligations of the de facto in such things as paternity and property are becoming more formalised in law and social mores. It is by no means clear that the trend towards gradual commitment will leave us with more shallow, shorter-lived partnerships.

The empirical result, anyway, is a recent reversal in our long-term fertility decline, if 2008's magnificent crop of 296,600 babies is the pattern. Whether it's Mr Darcy or Mr Dag in the front bedroom (or an IVF donor at the clinic), Australian women are not holding back like they used to. Women in their late 30s account for a lot of the increase, as well as women in their 20s. Even so, our birthrate still lags a bit behind that of Iceland.

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THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

EDITORIAL

WORLD CUP BID MUST AVOID A PROFESSIONAL FOUL

SOCCER'S World Cup is rivalled only by the Olympic Games as an international sporting spectacle. And, as the 2010 World Cup under way in South Africa has abundantly shown, winning the right to host the cup carries benefits that go beyond promotion of the game itself. The World Cup, like the Olympics, focuses global attention on the host nation, which is why competition to become a host is so keen. As The Age reports today, however, Australia's bid to host the 2022 cup raises disturbing questions.

The Football Federation of Australia, soccer's governing body in this country, has hired two European consultants, Peter Hargitay and Fedor Radmann to manage Australia's bid strategy. According to FFA documents they will be paid almost $5 million in fees and, if the bid is successful, up to $6.5 million in bonuses. These payments amount to almost a quarter of the Australian government's $45.6 million grant to the cup-bid fund.

Yet each man has attracted attention in the past for reasons unconnected with his negotiating skills. In 2003 a memo published in German news media suggested that Mr Radmann had helped to arrange an unconventional business deal that enriched trust funds linked to senior officials of FIFA, soccer's global governing body. The officials' support was needed in Germany's ultimately successful bid for the 2006 World Cup. In the 1990s, Mr Hargitay was charged in Jamaica and the United States with importing cocaine, but acquitted. The US court documents noted that Hungary had sought his extradition for securities fraud.

The two men appear to have been hired because of their connections with members of FIFA's executive committee, including FIFA president Sepp Blatter, scandal-plagued Caribbean football boss Jack Warner, German soccer hero Franz Beckenbauer and Asian Football Confederation president Mohammad bin Hamman. Mr Radmann worked with Mr Beckenbauer on the German 2006 cup bid, and Mr Hargitay has boasted of his friendships with Mr Blatter, Mr Warner and Mr Hamman.

Many Australians will consider the payments the FFA has agreed to make to Mr Hargitay and Mr Radmann exorbitant, even if their connections do bring closer the prospect of an Australian World Cup, though that is hardly assured. After all, they also worked on Australia's bid for the 2018 World Cup, which was abandoned when Mr Hamman announced that his confederation favoured a European nation to host the cup in that year.

What is cause for profound concern, however, is the secrecy in which the FFA has shrouded disbursements from its cup-bid fund to the two consultants, and to foreign soccer organisations.

FFA documents obtained by the Age's investigations unit include two balance sheets for the cup bid, one for the FFA and another, less detailed one, for the Australian government. Did the government know about the payments to the two consultants? Or about payments totalling $6 million to football associations in Africa, Asia and Oceania, whose support Australia will need to win the 2022 cup?

If the FFA has withheld information from the government, it needs to explain why. The money comes from Australia's taxpayers, who are entitled to know how it is being spent. And if there is nothing ethically or legally dubious about the payments, why should the FFA want to conceal the details?

If, however, the FFA did keep the government fully informed, then it is the government that owes the taxpayers an explanation. As a sports-loving nation Australian would be proud to host the 2022 World Cup; they would feel shamed, however, if a successful bid was built on financial inducements to individuals or organisations rather than on the merits of Australia's case. The FFA and its president, Frank Lowy, have gained great respect for their efforts to promote the world game in this country. They should not risk squandering the goodwill they have worked so hard to earn.

Source: The Age

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THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

EDITORIAL

BAKER'S ON TOAST, AND DESERVEDLY SO

OF ALL the questions raised over last Friday's unilateral part-substitution of Queensberry rules for Australian rules at the MCG, one stands out: where were the umpires? As St Kilda's Steven Baker niggled Geelong's Steve Johnson, and as Geelong's Cameron Mooney jabbed St Kilda's Jason Blake on the jaw, why didn't any official on the ground notice what was going on and do something about it? Such clashes may be momentary, but there must be discipline, not disregard, and enough umpires to be able to supervise all aspects of play.

Fortunately, Friday's incidents were captured on footage by Channel Seven, which broadcast the match. As a result, the AFL's match review panel imposed a 12-week suspension for Baker - the biggest for a player extending from any single match in 20 years. Baker pleaded guilty to three striking charges when he faced the AFL tribunal last night and unsuccessfully contested a misconduct charge. Johnson, who gave Baker a black eye with his elbow, has pleaded guilty and had his three-match ban discounted by a week.

Steven Baker's ultimate punishment of nine weeks was thoroughly deserved. Three striking charges in the first half of a match is bad enough, but Baker also hit Johnson on his injured hand, earning himself the fourth charge of making ''unreasonable and unnecessary contact with an injured player''. It was behaviour described by AFL lawyer Andrew Tinney, SC, as unsportsmanlike, unmanly and lacking bravery. In addition - and what cannot be ignored - is Baker's bad record, which added a 50 per cent loading to his sentence.

Some regard Baker's punishment as too harsh - most surprisingly, Richmond's Ben Cousins, who has experienced Baker's tagging tactics, but did not send the right messages when he said yesterday that if it happened at a pub, ''… you'd just smash a glass over his head''. The punishment is, however, appropriate for two reasons: Baker had it coming; and its imposition sets a benchmark for similar cases, as well as a warning. As coach David Parkin said yesterday: ''It will make others think twice about doing it.''

Enough inconsistencies remain from this affair, though, to warrant a review of how the game is conducted and, in particular, the deployment of tagging. There are enough examples from earlier in the season of players using niggling tactics getting off scot-free; certainly enough to cause some disquiet about Baker's treatment. Is a fourth field umpire the answer? That is for an inquiry to determine.

Source: The Age

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THE GUARDIAN

EDITORIAL

POLICE: FORCE OF NUMBERS

 

British policing is crying out for a strategic rethink that balances neighbourhood and local needs alongside national ones

 

Say what you like about coalition spending cuts more generally. But in one policy area the age of austerity is already bringing a long-overdue and bracing dose of realism to what was once a politically taboo subject.

 

Policing is a labour-intensive, comparatively very well-paid public service with occasionally nebulous goals and, partly as a result, an uncertain record of efficiency. Officer numbers, which account for around 80% of the policing budget, now stand at record levels. Yet, recruited in many cases during the Labour years of falling crime, it is by no means clear that they all have enough to do to justify all that money.

 

Every extra pound spent on the NHS contributes to some degree to better healthcare. Every pound on schools ditto to better education. For every extra pound on policing, however, you just get more police officers. The case for a cut in numbers – and for a much larger reorganisation and rethinking of policing along the lines recently proposed by Sir Ian Blair – was already strong before the current phase of budget cuts. Today it is even more irresistible.

 

To their credit, among the first people who recognise this are the police themselves. Yesterday, the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, Sir Hugh Orde, told his members that current numbers were no longer sustainable and said it would be "misleading in the extreme" to pretend otherwise. Such comments were refreshing. They were also a rebuke to the Labour party, which as recently as its 2010 election manifesto pledged to maintain police numbers at their existing level for the next three years – a hostage to fortune which the more responsible (on this issue) Conservatives and Liberal Democrats refused to echo. But the policy of maintaining current numbers was not just misleading, as Sir Hugh puts it. It was a politically reckless pledge on financial and social policy counts too. There need be no threat to the public from an intelligently planned and well-conducted reduction of police numbers. It would be a further disgrace if Labour were to cry wolf if that happens.

 

With the Home Office budget in line for a cut of around 25% under coalition plans, Sir Hugh is also right to warn against a salami-slicing approach. There needs to be a strategy. There may indeed be a powerful case for more mergers, not just between specialist squads but in some cases between forces themselves. Such changes must not be made piecemeal, however. British policing is crying out for a strategic rethink that balances neighbourhood and local needs alongside national ones. The White House chief of staff's injunction not to let a crisis go to waste could hardly apply with greater force than it does here.

 

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THE GUARDIAN

EDITORIAL

IN PRAISE OF … WALES'S ANTIPODEAN ASCENDANCY

 

It may be pedantic to class Julia Gillard as Welsh but it is splendid to witness one of Wales's political daughters reaching the top

 

Odd that it should take the Australians to install a Welsh-born prime minister, as they did last week, when the British have never done so. Lloyd George, identified in some quarters (including, regrettably, this one) as a native of Wales, was in fact born in Manchester. The standard reference sources fail to trace the roots of some PMs, but it seems that while Bedford Row, London and Wotton in Buckinghamshire can claim two apiece, and two were born in Ireland, and a fine succession from the Earl of Bute to Blair and Brown first saw the light in Scotland, Wales has given us none. It has produced many near misses – some unmistakably Welsh, like Labour's deputy leader Aneurin Bevan and its twice-defeated Neil Kinnock; others less so. Roy Jenkins was born near Pontypool, while the Tory might-have-been Michael Howard is recognisably Welsh in vowel sounds if not in demeanour. Geoffrey Howe and Michael Heseltine are both also Welsh natives; meanwhile Kenneth Baker was born in Monmouthshire, which wasn't strictly Wales at the time, but is today. John Prescott, always classed as a pugnacious Yorkshire deputy, was born in Prestatyn. It may be pedantic to class Julia Gillard in Canberra as Welsh while recasting Lloyd George's Welsh wizardry as Mancunian magic instead. But after so many near misses by Wales's home-born sons, it is splendid to witness one of its political daughters reaching the top, even if she is an awfully long way from the land of her fathers.

 

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THE GUARDIAN

EDITORIAL

RUSSIAN ESPIONAGE: SPIES LIKE US

 

The atmosphere has warmed and it is in neither Obama's nor Medvedev's interests for it to freeze up again

 

Three days after sharing a cheeseburger with Barack Obama, and an iPhone 4 with Steve Jobs (an hour before the model went on sale in US stores), it is back to business as usual for Dmitry Medvedev, the man who presents himself as Russia's moderniser but struggles to convince. Moscow's reaction to a 55-page indictment facing 11 alleged Russian spies, who are said to have been working under deep cover, was to accuse America of resorting to the tactics of the cold war. But the indictment could not have made comfortable reading for anyone in Moscow who prides themselves on guarding the secrets of the nation. In it, Russia's external intelligence service, the SVR, appears to show a professional ineptitude worthy of Inspector Clouseau. Peter Sellers could not have done better.

 

The computers through which intelligence whizzed from one agent to the van waiting outside did not work. The advice given to one agent to "build up, little by little, relations" with a New York financier with powerful political connections is laughable. Their intelligence, computer passwords, emails, encrypted codes, mobile phone calls and even their embarrassing doubts over houses and expenses – all became an open book to the FBI. The accused have not been charged with espionage, but with conspiracy to act as unregistered agents of a foreign government. What could be more humiliating than spies who spill the beans before they could even get going?

 

The British secret service should be the last to crow. It has been caught with its fingers in the till in 1994,1996 and 2006 – the last occasion when one of its agents was filmed ducking into the bushes to touch a rock containing a transmitter. British recruitment drives for Russian agents have had devastating consequences for their targets, not least when a junior diplomat with mental health problems was used to spy on his father. Every country is at it. The larger question is whether these attempts to penetrate political and military secrets are not, in the long run, self-defeating. Typically spies make hay while the sun shines. The Soviet Union placed some of its highest-level spies in the British establishment in the 1930s when it was awash with sympathy with communism. We did it to Russia in the 1990s when anything that was not screwed down in Russia could be bought and towed away to the west.

 

The ease with which western intelligence operated in Russia in the 1990s was one of the reasons, although not the only one, for Vladimir Putin's decision to reconstitute the FSB as an instrument of control at home and to increase spying activity abroad. The tragedy is that neither the liberalism and then collapse of Boris Yeltsin's corrupt regime nor its polar opposite, the "managed democracy" under Putin, answers the underlying question that the nation faces: how to modernise without losing control? Is it doomed by fate, history and weather to be authoritarian? Can any institution be allowed to work independently of a self-perpetuating clique in the Kremlin? For a moderniser like Medvedev, who talks about corruption and lawlessness but fails to do anything about either, the spy affair is especially troubling.

Not because it might affect bilateral relations with Washington. It will not: the reset button has produced tangible benefits for both sides. It started with missile defence, a new Start treaty and a tougher Russian attitude to Iran. But it is continuing in all sorts of ways, from the US backing Russia's application to join the WTO to the idea that American companies, like Cisco, should spearhead Medvedev's pet project of setting up a Silicon Valley outside Moscow. The atmosphere has warmed and it is in neither Obama's nor Medvedev's interests for it to freeze up again in a state of "cold peace". No, the spy affair reminds all sides just how far there is to go before relations between Russia and the west become normal.

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THE MOSCOW TIMES

EDITORIAL

AN IMITATION EMPIRE

BY YULIA LATYNINA

 

At the height of the slaughter in Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan, Federal Drug Control Service chief Viktor Ivanov's only comment was that a Russian military base may be established in the city to add to the one already in Kant, just outside Bishkek. Ivanov's suggestion underscores what journalist Alexander Golts calls Russia's "imitation empire."  

 

The Kyrgyz are slaughtering Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan. If Russia is an empire — with the white man's burden and all that jazz — it must send troops. If it is not an empire, then the poor Kyrgyz and Uzbeks can sort out their own problems.

 

To make matters worse, Osh is a hotbed of fundamentalism. Many of the radical Islamic fundamentalists who Uzbek President Islam Karimov kicked out of Uzbekistan now live in Osh. This is why Uzbekistan is in no hurry to get involved and even remains reluctant to accept refugees, fearing that the fundamentalists will sneak in along with the refugees.

 

What could Ivanov's military base possibly accomplish in Osh? Help traffic heroin? Rent military armored personnel carriers to violent gangs to help them carry out pogroms?

 

When Askar Akayev was deposed as Kyrgyz president in 2005, Kurmanbek Bakiyev ran to Moscow. The Kremlin bet on Bakiyev since he was the weaker figure in Kyrgyz politics at the time. They could have instead supported Bakiyev's stronger contender, Felix Kulov, but the Kremlin got scared and chose the weaker guy. What Russia and Kyrgyzstan got in the end was a drug dealer and a con artist.

 

The problem is that Kyrgyzstan is only the tip of the iceberg. Ever since the Russians abandoned Kyrgyzstan, all of Central Asia is deteriorating into something akin to what equatorial Africa turned into after the British left.

 

Kyrgyzstan is the first to go down the drain because it was created as a phantom state by Stalin. It was a land of valleys and mountains and was divided into clans and families along geographical barriers. The Ferghana Valley in the south — the best piece of real estate in the country — was divided between Uzbeks, Tajiks and the Kyrgyz in a way that made the current conflict inevitable.

 

Kyrgyzstan is already a failed state, but other Central Asian nations are catching up. There is Turkmenistan, which was home to Saparmurat Niyazov — or Turkmenbashi ("the leader of all Turkmen") — the first post-Soviet president who built himself a gold statue that used to revolve 360 degrees every 24 hours so that it always faced the sun. It seems that Niyazov's personal physician, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, and the country's chief of security conspired to unseat Turkmenbashi, but Niyazov conveniently died. The physician proceeded to become the new leader and sent the chief of security to prison.

 

In addition, there is Uzbekistan, a mix of stiff Communist has-beens and holdovers from Central Asian feudalism. The Turkmen scenario can easily be repeated in Uzbekistan — and Uzbekistan is soaked in Islamic fundamentalism like a rag in gasoline.

 

If Uzbekistan does flare up, we will see real chaos in the region. Fundamentalism will spread like wildfire along Central Asia's underbelly. Once this happens, what will Russia do? Of course, it could tell everyone about how badly the Americans screwed up in Iraq. But before Russia does this, perhaps it should remember how far Iraq is located from the United States and how close Central Asia is to Russia.

 

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THE MOSCOW TIMES

OPINION

MOSCOW SHOULD NOT PLAY BY NATO'S RULES

BY ALEXEI PUSHKOV

 

Today, relations between Russia and the West focus mainly on the "reset," as well as cooperation on modernization and Western investments in Russia. This is a welcome change from the Cold War rhetoric of the past years under the administration of President George W. Bush. But unfortunately, we are not seeing real, substantive changes in the West's approach to Russia. The glossy images of Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev smiling, eating hamburgers together and slapping each other on the back are good photo ops, but they remain superficial.

 

Many in the West see the reset as just another way to secure Russia's support on issues critical to the West without seriously reconsidering strategy toward Russia. For these "pragmatists," the reset is mostly a one-way street. The NATO Parliamentary Assembly meeting in late May in Riga was a vivid example of the West's pragmatic approach to Russia.

 

"Let's keep our powder dry!" exclaimed Bruce George, the head of the British delegation, as the meeting concluded.

 

Some thought that it was a joke, but as the Russian saying goes, every joke is half true. The truth is that 13 years after the founding act between Russia and NATO was signed in Paris, there is much more suspicion than trust between the two sides. True, some progress has been made, but it seems to be limited to joint programs of tactical importance — for example, Russia-NATO operations to save sailors in the event of a crisis on the seas. But when it comes to strategic goals, the two sides are worlds apart.

 

I was the Russian side's chief speaker at the Riga meeting, and it was clear to me that Russia and NATO are still very much speaking different languages.

 

The first difference is the attitude toward NATO's eastward expansion. The 2010 Russian military doctrine, approved by Medvedev in February, states that NATO enlargement constitutes Russia's main external military danger. This opinion is shared by most Russians, who were galvanized by NATO's efforts to offer membership to Ukraine and Georgia.

 

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen dismisses Russia's concerns as "old thinking," but he should pay more attention to the valid reasons why NATO expansion is still considered a threat to Russia if he is serious about promoting partnership between Brussels and Moscow.

 

NATO expansion created the political divide between Russia and the West that we are facing today. It buried the hopes of the early 1990s that the European continent would no longer be divided by walls, physical or political. Thus, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's romantic idea of a "common European house" failed to come true.

 

To be sure, the Obama administration has put NATO's eastward expansion on the back burner. But this is only because he does not want to spoil the prospects of further cooperation with Russia on pressing U.S. foreign policy issues, such as Russian support for sanctions on Iran and transportation corridors to Afghanistan through Russian territory. Obama's seemingly softer stance on NATO expansion, however, does not mean that the problem has disappeared. In fact, at the Riga meeting, Rasmussen repeated once again NATO's commitment to an "open-door" policy for new members.

 

NATO often speaks of itself as an "alliance of values" — one that promotes freedom and democracy. But if NATO wants to present itself this way, it should ask the citizens of Ukraine whether they want to join the alliance or not. The answer is well-known and has been confirmed in many polls: The majority of Ukrainians do not want membership.

 

The second problem is the propensity of Western leaders to point to Russia's "old thinking" in every possible situation. If, for example, Russia claims that NATO is not just a political alliance but a military one as well, NATO calls this "a Cold War mentality" on Russia's part, despite the fact that the alliance has started two military campaigns in the past 12 years — in Kosovo and Afghanistan. What's more, NATO's military capacity in Europe is four times greater than Russia's. The military budget of the leading NATO member — the United States — is 10 times greater than Russia's.

 

In answer to these concerns, Rasmussen always says, "NATO will never attack Russia." But Rasmussen is missing the point. The potential danger that stated in the Russian military doctrine is not NATO militarily attacking Russia. The potential danger for Russia is the creation of a strategic framework in Europe that undermines Russia's security and national interests because it brings NATO military infrastructure closer to Russian borders, and it creates a NATO-centric system of collective security without Russia's participation.

 

Arrogance is not a good foundation for establishing a new relationship. When NATO accuses its Russian partner of "old thinking," it presumes that its own thinking is completely modern. But is it? While Obama refrains from these statements, quite a few Western leaders, such as Rasmussen, all too often speak of Russia's "Cold War mentality."

 

Or recall former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who loved to accuse Russia of "not playing by the rules." Whose rules did he have in mind? And who exactly established those rules? Was Blair playing by the rules when he, together with Bush, initiated a military campaign against United Nations member without cause and in violation of the UN Charter. Ironically, Blair's "rules" have not been accepted by its own nation. He was ousted from Downing Street and will be most remembered for how he deceived his own citizens.

 

When asked in Riga about the purpose and motives of placing roughly 100 U.S. Patriot missiles in Morag, Poland, which is located 80 kilometers from the Russian border, Rasmussen said, "I would urge Russia to forget old Cold War rhetoric." What he really meant, of course, was: "Stop asking questions, accept whatever NATO does and unconditionally support the alliance on key issues such as Iran and Afghanistan."

 

In the face of very difficult global challenges, both sides should move toward a new thinking. A good place to start would be to develop a joint missile defense system in Europe based on shared information and technology and grounded in the concept of a truly pan-European collective security structure that will protect against common threats. Some U.S. officials promise that this joint missile defense system will be a "game-changer" in NATO-

 

Russian relations. But will it remain just a promise?

 

There is no such thing as universal truth — at least not in politics — and nobody can lay claim to possess it. The ghosts of the past are to be found not just in the Russian psyche. The West also needs to bury the past if we are to achieve a real, substantive "reset" and not a fake one. As for NATO's call to "keep NATO's powder dry," this is definitely not a good example of the alliance's "new thinking."

 

Alexei Pushkov, who was a speechwriter for Mikhail Gorbachev from 1988 to 1991,  is anchor of "Postscript," a political show on TV Center, professor of diplomacy at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations and director of the Institute of Contemporary International Problems at the Diplomatic Academy of the Foreign Ministry.

 

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THE MOSCOW TIMES

OPINION

BUSINESS IS DRIVING US TOWARD A NEW ERA

BY KLAUS KLEINFELD AND WILLIAM COHEN

 

Looking back at the meeting in Washington last week between Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, it is rather dizzying to consider how far the U.S.-Russian relationship has progressed in just over a year.

 

In the summer of 2008, the Russia-Georgia conflict plunged U.S.-Russian relations to their lowest point since the Cold War. Once in office, the Obama administration initiated a "reset" of U.S.-Russian relations. While this generated understandable skepticism from some concerned about objectionable Russian behavior, it nonetheless was the right policy in our view. Every president for the past century has found it necessary and beneficial to U.S. interests to work closely with the Kremlin despite problems or tensions in U.S.-Russian relations. After some early missteps, this reset has borne fruit with progress in the security, trade and commercial spheres.   

 

Last Thursday in Washington, a group of 30 CEOs from prominent U.S. and Russian corporations met with Obama and Medvedev with a mandate to use their collective experiences to promote new paradigms for mutually beneficial trade and investment.  This corporate dialogue is the type of constructive private sector cooperation Washington and Moscow need to make sure the reset moves forward.

 

Strong economic ties breed strong political relationships, and expanded trade and investment will be the foundation upon which security cooperation can be sustained. With the support of both presidents, business has taken the lead in driving the two countries toward a new era of economic cooperation and mutual prosperity.  

 

Thus far, the improvement in security cooperation has been significant — both substantively and symbolically. First, the United States and Russia have signed the New START agreement now being reviewed in the U.S. Senate. Second, both sides agreed to dispose of vast quantities of plutonium, enough to make 17,000 nuclear warheads. Third, they reached consensus on a new United Nations Security Council resolution to tighten sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program. Lastly, they arranged for greater transit through Russia of U.S. military cargo headed to Afghanistan.

 

On the economic front, the opportunities to enhance cooperation are significant, and the stage has been set for action. Moscow has decided to enter the World Trade Organization on its own, reversing its plan to do so as a customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan. A few days ago, Obama said the United States remains committed to Russia's accession and that he hopes to meet his counterpart next summer as a WTO member.

 

For its part, the U.S. Congress has held recent hearings on repealing the Jackson-Vanik amendment. The Obama administration should now provide leadership to repeal this anachronistic impediment to mutually beneficial trade and to overcome special interests in both countries that prefer the status quo.

 

Both countries share an interest in more efficient energy and basic materials production in Russia, as well as enhanced energy conservation in Russian industry, offices and homes. Both share an interest in improved health care in Russia, where life expectancy is still below what it was 20 years ago, despite recent progress and substantial increases in health care spending. Such progress can be achieved through enhanced U.S. investment in and export of innovative products to Russia, but this needs to be promoted by Russian actions to enhance the security of investments and intellectual property.

 

Medvedev's focus on innovation and modernizing the economy is a welcome development and one that has already contributed to real progress in improving the investment climate. During the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum several weeks ago, Medvedev announced that he would cut capital gains taxes, strengthen the rule of law, privatize state enterprises and cut the red tape that causes delays in processing visas.

 

More robust bilateral economic ties will benefit U.S. workers and consumers with increased access to Russia's vibrant economy and abundant resources, while Russia will benefit from U.S. innovation and investment to help diversify its economy. A more diversified Russian economy will be a more stable trading partner to the benefit of U.S. exporters.

 

While mindful of the serious differences that remain between the United States and Russia, we are more optimistic than ever that the positive momentum developed over the last year can continue to produce beneficial, concrete results in both the economic and security spheres that will endure for years. 

 

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THE JAPAN TIMES

EDITORIAL

SHADOW OVER SUMO WORLD GROWS

 

The Japan Sumo Association has accepted recommendations made by a third-party special oversight panel investigating some JSA members' illegal gambling on professional baseball games. Acting on the recommendations, JSA is expected to expel ozeki Kotomitsuki and stablemaster Otake and to take strong disciplinary measures against stablemaster Tokitsukaze.

 

JSA will also ban seven makuuchi wrestlers, five juryo wrestlers and two maksushita wrestlers from the July Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament. Eleven stablemasters also face suspension — including JSA chairman Musashigawa.

 

The association has barely managed to hold the Nagoya event after accepting conditions laid down by the oversight panel. JSA must realize that the gambling scandal has blotted the history of this traditional sport. Holding the Nagoya event, however, carries the danger of the panel's investigation ending incomplete.

 

Kotomitsuki tried to collect ¥5 million in winnings — on Otake's behalf — through an intermediary and allegedly paid ¥3.5 million in hush money to a sumo wrestler's older brother with suspected mob ties. According to sources, Otake said the ¥5 million was money he won from gambling on baseball. It is also reported that Otake, who accumulated debts from illegal gambling, had borrowed ¥20 million to ¥30 million from Kotomitsuki. This episode alone shows how serious the gambling problem in JSA is.

 

The Nagoya event, scheduled to start July 11, will be different from other tournaments — and not just because 14 wrestlers have been banned. Some large sponsors have pulled out of the event, causing financial damage to JSA. In view of JSA's situation, NHK, the only broadcaster to televise sumo, has expressed concern that it may not be able to broadcast the Nagoya tournament. A decision by NHK not to broadcast would cause devastating damage to JSA.

 

JSA must feel ashamed of its inability to initiate action against JSA members involved in the gambling scandal. Stablemasters, especially, must realize the great responsibility they now have in restoring discipline in the sumo world.

 

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THE JAPAN TIMES

EDITORIAL

MR. KAN MEETS MR. OBAMA

 

At their Sunday meeting on the fringe of the G20 summit in Toronto, Canada, Prime Minister Naoto Kan and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed that the Japan-U.S. alliance is a cornerstone of peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. Their first meeting took place after bilateral ties had become somewhat awkward under the administration of Mr. Kan's predecessor, Mr. Yukio Hatoyama, over the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa.

 

Mr. Kan told Mr. Obama that he will make serious efforts to implement a May 28 bilateral accord, which stipulates that Futenma's heliport function will be moved from the crowded urban area in Ginowan to the less densely populated Henoko coastal area in Nago, farther north on Okinawa Island.

 

Both agreed to try to lessen the burden on Okinawa Prefecture. Mr. Obama said he understands that the Futenma relocation won't be easy, adding that he will make efforts to help U.S. forces gain more acceptance in the region. The two also took up the March 26 sinking of a South Korean corvette and Iran's nuclear program.

 

As Mr. Obama indicated, resolving the Futenma issue won't be easy, although both leaders' express determination to lessen the burden on Okinawa is welcome. Japan and the United States are to decide on the specific location of the Futenma replacement facility, its configuration and the construction method by the end of August. Okinawan people's opposition to the Henoko plan is so strong that both governments must realize that without getting the people on their side, the Futenma relocation will not materialize. Opponents of the plan could win in the Nago assembly election in September and in the Okinawa gubernatorial election in November.

 

Mr. Kan must persevere in reaching the Okinawan side. To push the relocation plan without doing so could lead to an uncontrollable situation. Some Japanese question the roles of U.S. Marines stationed in Okinawa, in the security situation surrounding Japan. Tokyo and Washington have the task of convincingly explaining American military roles to people. More importantly, neither should rule out the possibility of rethinking the May 28 accord.

 

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THE JAPAN TIMES

OPINION

KOREAN PEACE STILL ELUSIVE, SIX DECADES ON

BY DENNY ROY

 

HONOLULU, EAST-WEST WIRE — The tragic Korean War, which began 60 years ago, resulted from the post-World War II division of Korea by the United States and the Soviet Union — intended to be temporary — and from the political struggle that developed between Seoul and Pyongyang. After the division, the South Korean government under Syngman Rhee and the North Korean government under Kim Il Sung each wanted to rule all of Korea and to extinguish its peninsular rival.

 

Better armed than his southern opponent, Kim tried to do this in late June 1950 after much lobbying to secure backing from China and Russia.

 

Kim gambled that he could overrun the southern half of Korea before sufficient numbers of U.S. and allied forces could arrive to turn back the tide, and he nearly succeeded. U.S. and other forces under a United Nations mandate intervened, the Chinese counter-intervened, and the battle lines shifted dramatically for a year before settling down for another two years of stalemate before the war ended in an armistice that restored the original division between North and South Korea.

 

Perhaps 3 million Koreans died in a war that did not resolve the North-South rivalry, but rather intensified it. This is why the prospect of "another Korean War" is so terrifying, especially to newly-prosperous South Korea.

 

To any fair-minded observer, the question of which Korea has the superior system is no longer an issue. South Korea's economy and living standards dwarf those of the North. South Koreans enjoy vibrant democracy and have access to a rich cultural and intellectual life. Ordinary North Koreans, by contrast, lead a grim existence in a state that tolerates no dissent, deifies leader Kim Jong Il (Kim Il Sung's son), and eschews economic development out of fear that it might undermine the regime's control over society.

 

The Kim dynasty has amply and irretrievably failed, yet it refuses to die because the small group of elites at the top are political survivalists who command the police, the military and the media. South Korea has joined and thrived within the modern world politically and economically. North Korea's government remains a holdout, a traditional monarchy wrapped in an extreme form of Maoist totalitarianism that China never achieved and has long since turned away from.

 

Economically weak, North Korea has increasingly relied on a policy of provocation. Its demonstrations of bravado are an effort to compensate for its lack of capabilities. They are also part of a strategy of extortion: intimidating other countries in the region to pay protection money in the form of handouts and concessions.

 

Previous South Korean governments were willing to seek rapprochement with Pyongyang by addressing the North Koreans' demands for status, economic assistance and security guarantees. Presently, however, inter-Korean relations have hit a double-layered wall. South Korea's ruling Lee Myung Bak administration quickly demonstrated a resolve to cease rewarding North Korea for provocative behavior and to require a more peaceful posture by Pyongyang as a precondition for future benefits.

 

Pyongyang has responded by unwisely overplaying its accustomed strategy, plunging relations with Seoul into an abyss. North Korea carried out its most egregious post-armistice act of war to date, the sinking of a South Korean warship on patrol near disputed waters, and followed up with a threat to unleash "all-out war" if the South Koreans seek U.N. Security Council sanctions against North Korea in response.

 

Clearly in poor health, 68-year-old Kim Jong Il now appears to be preparing his woefully unaccomplished son Kim Jong Un to succeed him. Kim Jong Il's death might create an opportunity for a rapprochement-minded faction to take power, but the more likely short-term result would be a conservative retrenchment and continued outward prickliness.

 

It is bitter and tragic indeed that the 60-year anniversary of the catastrophic Korean War finds the two Koreas not only still separated, but also moving from a stalemate of indefinite duration to another spike in the military tensions between them.

 

Denny Roy is a senior fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu and author of "The Pacific War and Its Political Legacies." He can be reached at royd@eastwestcenter.org. This commentary originally appeared in The Honolulu Star-Advertiser on June 24.

 

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THE JAPAN TIMES

OPINION

EUROZONE ISN'T DOOMED YET

BY HANS-WERNER SINN

 

MUNICH — Despite huge rescue packages, interest-rate spreads in Europe refuse to budge. Markets have not yet found their equilibrium, and the governments on Europe's southwestern rim are nervously watching how events unfold. What is going on?

 

The rescue packages were put together on the weekend of May 8-9 in Brussels. In addition to the 80 billion euro program already agreed for Greece, the European Union countries agreed on a 500 billion euro credit line for other distressed countries. The International Monetary Fund added a further 280 billion euro.

 

The driving force behind all this was French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who colluded with the heads of Europe's southern countries. French banks, which were overly exposed to southern European government bonds, were key beneficiaries of the rescue packages.

 

Since rescue measures beyond the pre-arranged Greek package had not been on the agenda for the Brussels meeting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel thought she could safely go to Moscow to commemorate the end of World War II — unlike Sarkozy, who declined Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's invitation. Worse, the leader of the German delegation to the EU meeting fell ill and was taken to hospital upon arrival in Brussels. This left the German delegation headless.

 

Proclaiming a systemic crisis of the euro, Sarkozy seized the opportunity and took Germany by surprise. He asked for huge sums of money and, as Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero reported, threatened to pull France out of the euro and break up the Franco-German axis unless Germany opened its purse. After just two days of negotiations, the Maastricht Treaty's no-bailout clause, which Germany once had made a condition for giving up the deutsche mark, was defunct. The "Club Med," as Germans call the southern countries, had taken over Europe.

 

Even the European Central Bank chipped in, buying government bonds of over-indebted countries, using a loophole in the Maastricht Treaty and overruling the bank's German representatives. The European house creaked mightily. Germany's president stepped down soon after the decisions — some say because of them. Germany's political elite are in an uproar, and serious voices advocate splitting the eurozone into northern and southern tiers, with France relegated to the latter.

 

I do not share this view. The euro has successfully protected Europe against exchange-rate risks, and it is a useful step toward further European integration. Moreover, the stability provided by the Franco-German axis is indispensable for Europe.

 

Nevertheless, the tensions created by Sarkozy's recklessness threaten Europe's political stability, heightening market uncertainty relative to what a more prudent, coordinated rescue program would have implied. The programs that have been agreed will not suffice to reassure creditors, and Germany will most likely be unwilling to bow once again to Sarkozy in the coming negotiations to prolong the rescue measures — at least as they are constructed now — beyond the initially stipulated three years.

 

The arguments used to justify the coup are dubious. In order to overcome the no-bailout clause, Sarkozy and other European leaders dramatized the decline of southern European governments' bonds and the corresponding increase in interest-rate spreads. By formally proclaiming a systemic euro crisis — when in fact there was only nervous market reaction concerning a few European countries' government bonds — they could invoke Article 122 of the Union Treaty, which was intended to help member countries in the event of natural disasters beyond their control.

 

If anything, the proclamation of a systemic crisis poured fuel on the fire. Investors took Europe's leaders at their word, because politicians usually downplay rather than overstate a crisis.

 

The average interest-rate spread relative to Germany of the countries protected by the new rescue package was 1.08 percentage points May 7, when the world was claimed to be going under. Then it seemed that the rescue packages were pushing the spreads to much lower values, but optimism faded as European leaders' interpretation of the crisis sunk in with more and more market participants. In the week ending June 18, the average spread had climbed to 1.1 points.

 

Obviously, the market is now as nervous as it was before that May weekend. But that is a far cry from spelling doom for the euro. In 1995, shortly before the euro was announced, the corresponding interest-rate spread was 2.6 percentage points, more than twice today's level. The euro was simply in no danger when European leaders decided to rescue it, and it is not in danger now. Markets are just moving toward a new equilibrium with higher interest-rate spreads, which reflect the higher default risk of some European countries — a bit like in pre-euro times, though much less extreme.

 

There is nothing wrong with this. The market adjustment will end when appropriate spreads are found. Any political attempt to stop this process any sooner is bound to fail. There is no reason for panic, and every reason to stay calm and wait for the new equilibrium to emerge.

 

Interest-rate spreads between safe and risky assets are natural to functioning credit markets. They signal potential risks and enforce debt discipline on borrowers. This is exactly what Europe needs. The Stability and Growth Pact, aimed at punishing countries that breach the 3 percent-of-GDP deficit limit, was a joke: not a single wayward country was ever punished. Fortunately, capital markets finally stepped in to impose the necessary hard budget constraints on governments.

 

This discipline will stem the gigantic capital imports by the countries at Europe's periphery and end the overheating ushered in by the interest-rate convergence that the euro brought about. These countries will go through a slump that will reduce their inflation (perhaps bringing them close to deflation) improve their competitiveness, and reduce their current-account deficits.

 

Conversely, Germany, which has suffered from relative deflation and a long slump under the euro, will experience an inflationary boom that will reduce its competitiveness and current-account surplus. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, who often complained about trade imbalances in Europe, should applaud these market reactions, which were unintentionally strengthened by her president.

 

Hans-Werner Sinn is a professor of economics and public finance at the University of Munich, and president of the Ifo Institute. © 2010 Project Syndicate

 

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THE JAPAN TIMES

OPINION

CANBERRA'S BLOODLESS COUP

BY ALAN GOODALL

 

Special to The Japan Times

 

SYDNEY — Women rule. Or so it seems in Australia where the first female prime minister has ousted a male colleague, where a woman is the governor general, still another runs the main state, New South Wales, and another presides over that state's capital city, Sydney. Topping all, an Australian woman has just been elected to head the Brussels-based International Trade Union Confederation.

 

Lest anyone still doubts that the person who rules the home may also rule the world, let him study the microcosm called Canberra. There in the bush wilderness of Australia's capital a woman has suddenly toppled the head of federal government. And she looks like staying there a long time. All this in a country noted for calm, gradual change and a macho preference for sport over politics. Or haven't we noticed Australia is indeed a new place?

 

But let's not forget the ruling Labor Party has a history of chopping off its leaders once public opinion polls nose dive. Or that the latest head of the conservatives' Liberal Party, Tony Abbott, ousted their elected leader, Malcolm Turnbull, in a bloodless coup.

 

Still, the televised swearing-in of Julia Gillard as prime minister by Governor General Quentin Bryce, both appearing in eye-catching colors, as Gillard's partner, Tim Mathieson looked on, did suddenly bring voters up to date with contemporary Australian politics.

 

What voters of all ages now want to know is: How soon can they have their say on the tumult in Canberra? By the look of emerging public opinion polls, that chance will come soon as the new leader capitalizes on an early swing back to Labor, possibly as soon as August.

 

Even as Gillard was receiving the customary congratulatory call from Washington and she was assuring President Barack Obama that Australia will hold its fighting unit in Afghanistan, she was thinking of whom to appoint to her incoming Cabinet.

 

Already her deputy prime minister, Treasurer Wayne Swan, was making Australia's voice heard at the Group of 20 conference in Toronto, Canada. His message to Australia's allies and trading partners was business-as-usual from Canberra.

 

For the hometown audience, however, the message needs to be more specific. That's where Gillard is in the driving seat. As a skilled professional politician, she will not be showing weakness to the union bosses who helped her get the job, nor to business magnates seeking redress from excesses of the ousted Rudd regime.

 

Gillard is a more consultative leader than Rudd. Unlike the break-through-alone Rudd, she will get her way with Labor power brokers and union backers by listening and negotiating. Whether that works with the mining magnates who helped bring down Rudd is to be seen.

 

Few of his followers really knew Rudd. As a former Labor apparatchik, he knew how to push to the top. But his impatience to reform social issues — education, Aborigines, industrial relations — got him isolated. Lacking Gillard's power base in trade unions, he tried to do too much too soon with the aid of three Cabinet colleagues, known as the Canberra kitchen Cabinet.

 

Oddly, Julia Gillard was a member of that kitchen group. Much as she shrugs off claims she was a party to a string of disastrous decisions — an emissions trading scheme, wasteful school buildings and house insulation, and topping all, a big minerals tax — her fingerprints are all over the failures.

 

She is too skilled a communicator, however, to carry the can as one of the Rudd collaborators and assassins. Her instinct is to put a plausible case for electoral support across to the media and online. What is more, it is working.

 

She will use the current political honeymoon to rally the parliamentary Labor Party behind a benign message of social advances. That should keep her government riding high on public ratings through to an early election, possibly in August or October.

 

One stumbling block is the resources super tax. That Rudd shocker was meant to raise big revenue to keep his promise to return to a budget surplus by 2013. That promise is crucial to maintaining global investor confidence in Australia's mainstream exports: coal, iron ore, oil and natural gas.

 

The threat to these exports, notably to China and Japan, from a steep tax rise was the straw that broke Rudd's back. Even state governments in the main mining states, Western Australia and Queensland, howled against Canberra. Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto whipped up public fear through an advertising campaign. Gillard's first move as prime minister was to pull the government's counter-campaign costing $38 million. Though her insistence miners must pay "a fair share" in taxes shows that battle is far from over.

 

Red-haired Julia Gillard is a cartoonist's delight. She may not conform to Hollywood looks, but her bright, clear-thinking personality wins her friends among voters. Canberra observer Niki Savva writes: "Tough, charismatic, articulate, ruthless, razor sharp in tongue and mind, and to top it off, an immaculate hairdo. Red Maggie."

 

The Maggie Thatcher comparison will be tossed at this Welsh-born Victorian for years to come. It could hardly be more wrong. The British prime minister was philosophically on the hard Right. Gillard used to be extreme Left.

 

Born in Barry, Wales, in 1961 and emigrating to South Australia aged five, she was a determined child. A student activist before she graduated in law to fight for maritime unions in industrial courts, she followed many similar paths in Labor politics to tone down the rhetoric and get a realistic grip on tough but fair Australian-style politics.

 

In Canberra she gained a sharp sense of humor and even a twinkle in the eye to win over burly union bosses and later, in Canberra, macho men of all political stripes. "Manipulative but subtle" is how one Labor parliamentarian describes her.

 

Even Tony Abbott, leader of the opposing Liberal-Nationals coalition, is not averse to acknowledging her charms. And they don't come more macho in Canberra than the surfing, marathon-running Abbott.

 

Sydney-based Abbott is still an unknown quantity in the coming vote tussle. Since rolling Malcolm Turnbull for Liberal Party leadership, he is yet to show he can do the same against a consolidating Labor. He could well have whipped a quite different Rudd, but any of his athletic outbursts against Red Maggie will serve him ill.

 

A worse threat to the Gillard regime may well come not from the now-shocked Liberal-Nationals but from her own party. Labor has a history of leader toppling. Former Labor leader Mark Latham has attacked the left-right factions of his party and warned Gillard she could be "the next one for the knife."

 

The astute Gillard has noted, addressing a Labor national executive meeting, that while the past week has been bruising, the party must come together immediately to fight an election. She warned that a conservative government would roll back industrial relations reforms and slash health and education funding.

 

Calling for peace, she has so far given little away about her plans for a resolution to the vexed question of a super mining tax. She is pointedly leaving it up to Resources Minister Martin Ferguson to reopen talks with mining billionaires to set a more acceptable tax rate.

 

Both sides know energy and minerals exports are too important for Australia's continuing progress and for key Asian customers to allow the sore to fester.

 

Besides, the lesson of how a Labor government can get itself stuck on the verge of self-destruction through ideological warfare is still too real for a pragmatist like Gillard.

 

Alan Goodall is former Tokyo bureau chief for The Australian.

 

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THE JAKARTA POST

EDITORIAL

FPI NO PROBLEM

 

Most urban swells seem prone to it — gang violence, mob culture and a general abandonment of the law and order. Some excuse it as street justice, others couch it as a poverty related phenomenon.

 

\But the main difference ultimately is whether authorities, in this case the police and the city administration, actually do something about it.

 

Cities such as Jakarta are not on the brink of anarchy. But it has descended into a chaotic temperament of might is right and an understanding that if no one does anything about it, bedlam is permissible irrespective of rights of others.

 

Mobs have a long history in Indonesian politics. Most of the major socio-political organizations in this country have some form of "youth wing" in their ranks. How they choose to use them depends on the nature of the organization, circumstance and the level of political desperation on the day. These multipurpose garrisons are employed for a diverse range of activities, from social and political ones to being an intimidating deterrent.

 

One thing is clear, they are meant to be a tour de force of political prowess.

 

In some cases, "youth wings" can be an asset primarily because their parent organization is legitimate entities that engage in the formal socio-political sector.

 

But when a mob culture seeps the masses, potentially productive elements become a threat. In a liberal political setting, without the patronage of a genuine organization, these groups become roving mobs that act like criminal gangs.

 

In brief, the culture of thuggery.

 

We applaud that the practice of thuggery, which has become so prominent in this metropolis, is finally being rightly vilified at the highest levels.

 

A multi-party coalition of legislators at the House of Representatives has condemned the actions of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), demanding that the organization should be forbidden.

 

A 1985 law raises the possibility of banning groups disruptive to security and public order, along with those which spread teachings in opposition to state ideology Pancasila and the Constitution.

 

But banning the FPI, as a matter of fact, is unimportant. Perhaps even unnecessary, especially using laws that are rather draconian and originally designed to mitigate freedom of political association.

 

To invoke the law now could actually open the flood gates of proscription for political motives toward legitimate groups who may be critics of the status quo.

 

What's in a name? Banning the FPI would only disperse membership into smaller, and even more radical gangs.

 

The trouble with the FPI may not even be the FPI itself.

 

It is the omission by the police to effectively encourage lawless activities through a "do nothing" attitude when such incidents arise. In fact, it seems almost a standard procedure to let incidents occur first, then take action once property and people's heads have been bashed away.

 

The police realize their duty to fight crime, but they certainly neglect a more important obligation to prevent crime.

 

Some have even accused people close to police sources of actually being backers of groups of street thugs as part of a wider underworld racket that includes protection money and debt collection, among others.

 

This habit of omission rewards anarchic behavior, empowering groups such as the FPI and a half dozen others in the capital with a sense of impunity.

 

Actually, we cannot blame serial thugs for their behavior. There is no point expecting the higher rules of moral civility to groups of men (and some women) who are cowards and hypocrites by preying on pacifist civilians in the name of God.

 

What we should condemn even more is the police and authorities who have not, and still are not, doing anything against these groups. Ultimately, they become the real brutes who decline communities and create public insecurity.

 

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THE JAKARTA POST

OPINION

THE BIRDS AND THE BEES ON BOARD NUH'S ARK

JULIA SURYAKUSUMA

 

My late father used to joke a lot. He was Sundanese, the ethnic group of West Java famous for being raunchy, so he loved dirty jokes. I remember one of his favorites: What's the difference between a Western and an Indonesian woman caught naked?

 

A Western woman reacts by instinctively covering her breasts and groin with her hands, but an Indonesian woman hides her face with both hands in shame — leaving everything else exposed.

 

I never agreed with my dad that anyone would be that foolish. Most would cover up on reflex, whatever their nationality. My dad's story does, however, reflect the "ostrich" attitude that some Indonesians adopt when it comes to sexuality. Their heads are so firmly embedded in the sands of moral panic that they can't see the real problem.

 

One Indonesian name that springs to mind when it comes to ostriches is Tifatul Sembiring. I think our (Mis) Communications and (Mis) Information Technology minister needs no introduction, he's already notorious for his  "twit" (sic!) statements. The most original — and offensive — of these was, of course, the one comparing the unclear identities of the performers in the "Peterporn" sex videos to that of Jesus Christ on the cross.

 

This sort of  awe-inspiring "creativity" puts Tifatifu (as he is called, a play on tipa—tipu, meaning "to deceive") on a par with the Islami Defenders Front (FPI). These are, of course, the thugs who have objected to the statue in Bekasi of "Tiga Mojang" (Three Ladies, wearing traditional Sundanese costume), on the grounds it secretly represents the Christian Trinity. There's no such thing as being too careful I suppose – after all, anything in threes might be covert Christianizing "creeping trinity", like the Hindu Trisula perhaps, or perhaps even the Three Stooges!

 

This is all loony attention-getting stuff, but the most worrying statement that Tifatul has made is one he shared with Muhammad Nuh, the National Education (sic!) minister: Both agree that sex education is "not necessary".  Nuh, of course, is Arabic for Noah – yes, of "Ark" fame. He ensured the earth was repopulated after the flood, thanks to the randy birds and bees and other beasties stowed on board. So come on folks, get on board Nuh's Ark, where sex is natural and doesn't need to be taught!

 

Only, it's not that simple, is it? I mean, birds and the bees don't have to deal with sexual abuse, exploitation, teenage sex, abortion or sexually-transmitted infections (STIs), let alone HIV-AIDS, the current scourge of humankind.

 

And birds and bees also don't need to be taught about their genitalia and sexual hygiene, or how to develop sexual identities and form attitudes about sex. Nor do they need to learn how to develop relationships and intimacy, or make informed choices about their behavior – and then feel confident and competent about acting on them. Birds and bees have instincts, and that's enough for them.

 

Unfortunately, the sex lives of us humans are a bit more complex than that, and we need help to get them right.

 

Sadly, the fuss about sex education isn't new in Indonesia. In 1989, for example, there was controversy over the publication of a sex education comic book called Adik Baru (New Sibling), an Indonesian version of a Swedish book entitled How to Explain Sex to Children, already translated into 16 other languages.  It was banned because Sukarton Marmosudjono, the then attorney general, decided that it would "corrupt the morals of children".  

 

But that doesn't mean sex education hasn't existed in Indonesia. It fact, it has been part of our education system for many years, from elementary school onward, and is spread over a range of different subjects. Some is obviously taught in biology, but it is also covered in sports, citizenship classes and in religion.

 

Additionally, in Islamic boarding schools, sex education has been taught since the 16th century. This is because it has always been seen as closely related to the observance of religious practices, and so issues of purity and cleanliness are discussed in great detail. Take menstruation for example. The color, smell and quantity of blood is explained to determine whether it is, in fact, menstrual, or whether the woman can pray.

 

In fact, intercourse is often discussed in great detail in many boarding school classrooms: What is permitted, what is not permitted, the necessity of foreplay, the need to focus on the pleasure of your partner, and more and more, in some cases, even alternative sexualities are covered.

 

I also recently discovered a kindergarten here in Jakarta, where standard teaching aids include male and female stuffed-toy dolls with penises, vaginas, pubic hair and breasts, even babies coming out of the female doll's vagina. Here the children are also taught what parts of the body they should not let others touch, and how to protect themselves from sexual molestation. Wild stuff you might think, but guess what? The female teachers all wear jilbabs (headscarves).

 

So, honorable ministers Tifatul and Nuh, with the prevalence of teenage sex, STIs, and pornography, this is hardly the time to cover your face, and expose yourself to real dangers that come from ignorance about sex. Instead, how about doing something to protect our "private parts". Sex education might be a good place to start, huh?

 

The writer (www.juliasuryakusuma.com) is the author of Julia's Jihad.

 

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THE JAKARTA POST

OPINION

THE PKS EXPERIMENT

SUNNY TANUWIDJAJA

 

In its recent congress, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) made a bold move by declaring itself as an open party. The PKS no longer wants to be perceived as an Islamic party, but instead like the Democratic Party, Golkar Party or the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P); the PKS wants to be perceived as both "religious" and "nationalist".

 

The PKS' change of strategy is a clear attempt to gain more votes in the 2014 legislative and presidential elections. The PKS openly targets to be in the "Big Three" in the next elections.

 

Only time will tell whether its shift from a dominantly religious to a nationalist-religious party will help PKS realize its ambition. And this is an interesting experiment to watch because no political party in Indonesia that has significant votes has ever attempted to make this "jump", at least not as openly as the PKS.

 

 There are, however, causes for concern.

 

First is the rationale behind this strategic decision. The PKS and most other parties in Indonesia
believe that, within a broad spectrum of nationalist and religious ideology, the bulk of Indonesian
voters is at the center of the spectrum. To become a major political party, the PKS needs to move to the center.

 

Then, there are two questions that still have no clear answers. One is if the bulk of the Indonesian voters are at the center, how big is the size of the median voters group?

 

Nobody really knows the answer. The next question is whether there is going to be changes regarding the distribution of voters in the next five years.

 

These two questions are of crucial importance and related to the second cause for concern. The fact is there are already three highly competitive parties, the Democratic, Golkar and the PDI-P, vying for the centrist voters, not to mention other medium-sized parties such as the National Mandate Party (PAN), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the Greater Indonesia Party (Gerindra) and the Peoples Conscience Party (Hanura).

 

However, only the United Development Party (PPP) and other small parties are competing for the rightist voters, and it is difficult to disagree that the PKS is superior to these parties.

 

Although almost all of these parties are attempting to penetrate the religious voters by positioning themselves at the middle, the PKS still has the upper hand because of its Islamic credentials.

 

As a latecomer in the market of centrist voters, the PKS has to provide something new and something better in order to compete successfully.

 

The PKS was successful in improving its vote from the 1999 to the 2004 election from 1.36 percent to 7.34 percent not by changing its Islamic identity into a centrist one, but by changing its campaign issues.

 

Meanwhile, the stagnation from the 2004 to the 2009 election should not be used as a basis for strategic changes because of the political "tsunami" called the "SBY [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] phenomena".

 

 Using this logic, changing its religious to a nationalist-religious identity as a party might not be necessary to improve the PKS' votes in 2014.

 

The third cause for concern is a set of potentially difficult challenges that will emerge. There are four challenges PKS has to manage.

 

First is minimizing the contradictions in the party's rhetoric and behavior in order to secure trust and to establish the party's brand among the centrist voters.

 

Second is minimizing defections of party loyalists by showing that the PKS continues to be proactive in promoting their religious aspirations.

 

Third is accommodating and finding a middle ground with PKS leaders who are against this shift in order to maintain internal solidity.

 

Fourth is minimizing penetration of opportunistic politicians who have the potential to taint PKS' image as one of the cleanest parties in Indonesia.

 

Aside from these factors, three important factors might help the PKS' strategic change succeed.

 

First is the declining level of party identification and attachment among the Indonesian voters, which provides a pool of voters who are willing to change loyalty when something new, better, and worth trying is available.

 

Second and related to the first, is the low level of trust of voters toward parties that encourage them to vote for new alternatives.

 

Third, it is unlikely that Indonesia will have a figure as dominant as SBY in 2014, which provides an advantage for PKS, which is more of an organization-based rather that a figure-based political party.

 

In the end, the success of PKS' strategic shift to the "center" is going to depend less on how the PKS implement its new strategy but more on whether the current three big parties can get organized and maintain their support base when the 2014 election comes around.


The writer is a researcher in the Department of Politics and International Relations at CSIS, Jakarta. He is a PhD. candidate at Northern Illinois University, USA.

 

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CHINA DAILY

EDITORIAL

PROFOUND PACT

 

The widely awaited trade agreement that representatives from the mainland and Taiwan inked Tuesday is a historic accord, which promises to deeply impact cross-Straits ties in the foreseeable future.

 

The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) has also laid a solid foundation for cross-Straits relations to develop peacefully. It is another way to cement the relationship based on mutual benefit.

 

The deal, as a mechanism that embraces all-round economic exchanges, is the latest indication that the mainland-Taiwan economic linkage has been normalized. It has effectively brought the two economies closer, and will ensure mutually beneficial results for both sides.

The ECFA will also help Taiwan revive its economy, which has been facing a tough time over the past decade.

 

Removal of obstacles in economic cooperation from across the Straits not only helps regain confidence but opens opportunities.

 

The free-trade deal will provide Taiwan firms tariff advantages in some 530 categories of goods bound for the mainland. Mainland companies, in turn, will benefit from lower tariffs on some 260 categories of goods heading to Taiwan.

 

To protect agriculture and small businesses in Taiwan, farm produce from the mainland has been excluded from the list of tariff-exempted goods. Laborers from the mainland, who often work for much less than counterparts elsewhere, too have been kept out of the Taiwan market.

 

With the pact, an integrated free trade market for all the major economies in Southeast Asia has also become a reality.

 

The ECFA offers a fair opportunity for Taiwan to compete with member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the vast mainland market.

 

Ever since the free trade pact between the mainland and ASEAN took effect in January, Taiwan has been concerned about being marginalized in trade matters. ECFA will make it easier for Taiwan to transform into a regional trade hub.

 

However, the pact is not a "one-size fits all" deal that can settle all problems between the two sides; that can be

addressed only by follow-up consultations from time to time.

 

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CHINA DAILY

EDITORIAL

EXPANDING COFFERS

 

Even as many global leaders get busy trimming national debt for fiscal sustainability, Chinese policymakers have yet to reallocate to the public a larger share of its soaring fiscal revenues.

 

In the first five months of this year, the government's fiscal revenues jumped by 30.8 percent year on year to 3.55 trillion yuan, dwarfing the country's 11.9-percent growth in gross domestic product (GDP) during the first quarter.

 

Admittedly, deeper pockets offer a thicker cushion during times of national crisis. But fiscal responsibility is not all about stashing away tax revenues to peg down budget deficits. For a fast-growing developing country like China, it is far more important to funnel a large proportion of government expenditure into public welfare programs.

 

For instance, while China's tax revenue growth has beaten even optimistic official forecasts for years, the government has lagged considerably in spending at least 4 percent of the national GDP on education. In 2008, the spending on education to GDP ratio stood at merely 3.48 percent, compared with the average international level of 4.5 percent.

 

Now, with the country's fiscal revenues being projected to touch 8 trillion yuan this year policymakers must mull ways to make the best use of the surplus funds.

 

The country has just approved an educational reform plan that requires government expenditure on education to touch 4 percent of GDP by 2012.

 

Why not make it happen as early as next year?

 

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CHINA DAILY

EDITORIAL

HUMAN HAND

 

As floods damage dykes, sweeping towns and villages in its path, there is increasing suspicion that human factors are also to blame for the ostensible natural phenomenon.

 

Some have pointed to a dam breach in Jiangxi province, blaming it on inadequate maintenance of aging facilities. Others say property development on a crucial waterway may have caused the inundation of homes in Malong, Yunnan province.

 

The tides may ebb after the rain clouds disperse, but coping with the next crest and containing its damage will keep many regional governments busy throughout this summer.

 

The question is, should this be the case forever?

 

If the same situation repeats year after year, something is clearly wrong with flood prevention measures. It is time to reflect on the efficiency of flood-prevention efforts and find ways to improve its efficacy.

 

Each year, central and local governments invest heavily in flood prevention and relief. Even so, the list of damaged homes and harvests, loss of lives and emergency relocations, continues to grow. Disasters always inspire calls for more flood control endeavors, and such a pressing calamity, rightly, justifies generous budgetary support.

 

Even while guaranteeing the necessary funds, efforts must be made to choke this yearly expenditure binge.

 

If the annual investments for flood relief are focused upon projects intended for the short-term, then there is little chance of breaking that vicious cycle. In addition to refined planning, there must also be stricter auditing so as to ensure that its disaster potential is not utilized as a cash cow by corrupt officials.

 

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CHINA DAILY

OPED

THE POLITICS OF A NON-POLITICAL AGREEMENT

BY SHIH CHIH-YU

 

The signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with the Chinese mainland has led to two debates in Taiwan - whether or not the enhanced economic integration with the mainland will hurt Taiwan's interest, and whether or not it will facilitate subsequent political integration. Both debates are spurious to the extent that they mainly reflect the pro-independence propensity hidden in their upsurge. But none of these debates can shape either the direct answers to these questions or the influence of pro-independence stance in the future because the ECFA is bound to generate contradictory implications.

 

The first debate is a familiar one between competition and protection elsewhere too. The argument against the ECFA holds that a more open market will lead to the dumping of goods from the mainland, which are of lower quality but inexpensive. The ruling Kuomintang counters that only an open market can effectively enhance the competitive edge of the goods made in Taiwan in the long run and the mainland market provides the scale of economy for Taiwan producers to achieve just that.

 

But the real debate is not about protectionism.

 

The opposition's sheer purpose is to use the dumping argument to consolidate the image of threat from the other side of the Straits. The authorities are well aware of that. That's why the Kuomintang has decided, with Beijing's tacit consent, to restrict as many goods as possible in which mainland producers have the competitive advantage. For example, the cheaper mainland labor is not allowed in Taiwan, mainland agricultural products are excluded from the list of tariff-exempted goods, and the other sectors that the mainland enjoys a competitive advantage are disqualified for compromise.

 

More importantly, the white-collar professionals whom analysts in Taiwan traditionally consider less prepared for internationalization are specifically banned.

 

When all these restrictions apply, the Kuomintang's alleged rationale of using the ECFA to enhance Taiwan's competitive capacity is immediately nullified. In other words, the Kuomintang does not really think about competitiveness. Its major concern is how to avoid the impression that Taipei is making concessions to, or rapprochement with, Beijing. Implicitly in its protectionist adjustment is the awareness that the opposition argues what it argues only to harass the Kuomintang by painting it to be a "capitulationist" party.

 

The second debate on the potential of political integration engineered by the mainland seems real not only to the pro-independence forces in Taiwan, but a good number of international observers. The opposition specifically charges that the ECFA is actually the Kuomintang's political agenda. In fact, the opposition urges a referendum to approve the ECFA, hoping the referendum could politicize the ECFA into a choice between independence and unification. The fact that the vote would be cast only by Taiwan voters should be enough to demonstrate the island's "independence" despite the result of the vote.

 

It is not clear, though, if the shift toward the economic aspect would succeed or even reflect the true intention of the Kuomintang. First of all, if the Kuomintang did not de-politicize the ECFA issue to its extreme, the ECFA would have had no chance at all from the beginning.

 

The Kuomintang consistently enlists a materialist discourse to address its cross-Straits policy, which basically treats the mainland disrespectfully as no more than a market or a supplier of resources.

 

This materialist discourse is intended not only to offset the political implications of the ECFA but also to pre-empt any nationalist arousal that pro-unification advocates might experience and enact.

 

Ironically, given the expanding scope of interaction across the Straits that the ECFA will surely bring about, the political parties will lose monopoly over what will come out of the ECFA. Political implications can go several ways. The ECFA-led broader and deeper interaction could, for example, render the political settlement a decreasingly relevant issue among the rank and file to the disillusionment of the pro-unification advocates as well as the alienation of the pro-independence forces.

 

It could, on the contrary, generate an atmosphere wherein political integration is no longer a so sensible issue that resistance to it could lose momentum.

 

It is politically useful for the opposition in Taiwan to politicize the ECFA issue only in the short run since the Kuomintang strictly adheres to the economic aspect. The Kuomintang's materialist approach is actually a response to the opposition's politicization strategy.

 

This materialist approach leaves the political implications of the ECFA unanswered. They cannot be answered indeed as the ECFA could result in alienation from politics on the one hand, and less resistance toward unification on the other.

 

The author is professor of political science, National Taiwan University.

 

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CHINA DAILY

OPED

TWEAKING SINO-AUSTRALIAN TIES

BY GUO CHUNMEI (CHINA DAILY)

 

Kevin Rudd's efforts to move his country closer to China may serve as template for Gillard's policy stance

 

Strategists in China and Australia are analyzing the direction of Sino-Australian ties in the wake of Julia Gillard replacing Kevin Rudd as the country's first woman leader.

 

Basically, the Gillard administration is unlikely to deviate from Rudd's policy regarding Sino-Australian relations, and will likely push for more stable ties between both nations.

 

Rudd's legacy in improving the bilateral partnership is likely to dominate Gillard's approach to China.

 

First and foremost, Rudd pushed forward closer ties after acknowledging that China had contributed greatly to regional as well as global development.

 

Ever since he came to power in 2007, "integration into Asia" was one of the three pillars of Rudd's foreign policy. Rudd maintained that Australia was "the bridge between the East and the West".

 

In fact, Rudd chose China as the sole destination of his first Asia tour, during which he sincerely urged Chinese leaders for closer cooperation on issues ranging from a bilateral free trade agreement, which had been languishing for years, and climate change.

 

Regarding the international financial crisis, Rudd emphasized that Sino-Australian relations were essential to maintaining Australia's economic growth, and encouraged China to play an important role in the reform of the international financial system.

 

He maintained, for instance, that countries holding mammoth foreign exchange reserves, such as China, should be given more say in global financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund.

 

He also sought a greater role for China in the G20, trade talks and regional security architecture.

 

Second, Rudd insisted that his country's relationship with China should remain as "zhengyou", a concept borrowed from Chinese, which Rudd proposed during his first trip to Beijing in 2008. The term indicates true friendship with forthright admonition, and he emphasized dialogue to solve differences according to each nation's principles.

 

Rudd also sought to find a way out of persistent differences between the two nations.

 

In 2009, due to domestic compulsions, especially from opposition parties in Australia, difficulties emerged in Sino-Australian relations.

 

On some sensitive topics, such as investment by Chinese companies in resources rich Australia, the Rio Tinto case, and the Dalai Lama and Rebiya Kadeer issues, Australia took a divergent view, which harmed bilateral ties.

 

But, leaders on both sides tried to patch up the frayed relationship.

After Vice-Premier Li Keqiang visited Australia in November 2009, there was growing consensus that the relationship between China and Australia had normalized.

 

Rudd, once again referred to "zhengyou" in a speech at the Australian National University in April this year.

 

Rudd said the country would respect China's core interests, especially its territorial integrity, and expressed a strong desire to improve bilateral relations.

 

Vice-President Xi Jinping, during his visit to Australia recently, also pointed out that all-out partnership between China and Australia had set an example for countries with different political systems, cultural backgrounds and different development stages to seek harmonious co-existence and joint development.

 

Following Xi's comments, the international media said that he had "described the relationship exactly", which reiterated closer partnership between China and Australia.

 

Third, Rudd established the Australian Centre on China in the World to improve bilateral academic exchanges, foster Australian specialists familiar with China, and induce a better perception of China.

 

Rudd maintained that the world was interested in China's role in global affairs, and that it needed more knowledge and understanding of modern China.

 

In this regard, the center was established with an initial investment of A$53 million.

 

The center will have eminent specialists on China, and will serve as a platform for academics from Australia, China and other countries to interact with each other.

 

Hoping that the center would play an important role to foster mutual understanding, Xi spared some time off from his busy schedule during his visit to donate books to the center.

 

The center is expected to nurture Australian specialists who will actively pursue a different approach to China.

 

As a veteran statesman, Julia Gillard is expected to take a pragmatic view regarding Sino-Australian ties, and endeavor to make sure that the relationship is on the right track.

 

Though Gillard is not a China hand like Kevin Rudd, she can certainly learn something from his elucidation of "zhengyou".

 

China and Australia have of late set up many mechanisms to solve bilateral issues. Both nations have also deepened mutual understanding and built consensus on many pressing problems.

 

Julia Gillard's China policy will certainly benefit from Rudd's sustained efforts to foster better ties.

 

The author is a researcher at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

 

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CHINA DAILY

OPED

US PLAYS KOREAN CARD TO PERFECTION

BY LI QINGSI (CHINA DAILY)

 

US President Barack Obama urged China on Sunday to exert more pressure on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to resolve the Cheonan issue. The Cheonan was a corvette of the Republic of Korea (ROK) that sank on March 26, 2010.

 

This ploy of the US is not new. Actually, some US scholars had been repeatedly saying that China was the key factor in dealing with the DPRK. In their articles, using the Cheonan incident as an example, William H. Tobey, senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, and Will Marshall, president of the Progressive Policy Institute, have argued that China has "coddled and appeased the DPRK" and it is crucial to handling the Korean Peninsula issue.

 

The fact remains that no conclusive evidence has been found to implicate the DPRK in the Cheonan incident. An explosion near the Cheonan caused it to break in half and sink. After the remains of the ship were hauled up, an international investigation team was formed to determine the cause of the sinking. On May 20, the multinational panel concluded that the cause was a "non-contact underwater explosion triggered by a torpedo that was fired by a midget submarine of the DPRK".

 

But the torpedo fragments and the traces discovered by the ROK are not conclusive evidence. How could a torpedo that blasted a warship survive with its screw shaft and engine intact?

 

The Cheonan incident, at best, is the continuation of the dispute over territorial waters between the DPRK and the ROK. Because of the heavy casualties and furious public sentiment, the ROK is facing unprecedented pressure to do something. Targeting the DPRK - and making China a key factor in the political game - is the ROK's most realistic choice for diverting public attention.

 

Washington's stance over the incident has changed from initially downplaying suggestions of Pyongyang's involvement to later categorically accusing it of sinking the ship.

 

Let's look at the timing of the Cheonan incident. It took place when the Greek debt crisis had spiraled out of control and the euro had dropped sharply. The DPRK-ROK crisis shifted the focus from China-EU cooperation, too.

 

Since the joint investigation into the Cheonan incident coincided with the second China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue, it became a bargaining chip for Washington to check Beijing. By doing so, Washington could "kill two birds with one stone". On one hand, it could urge China to put political and economic pressure on the DPRK, weaken Beijing-Pyongyang ties and get a chance to play a greater role in the peninsula's nuclear issue. On the other, it could consolidate its alliance with Seoul and Tokyo, and thwart the process of East Asian integration, especially the formation of a China-Japan-ROK free trade area. An added bonus would be the chance to present the Obama administration's so-called tough image to voters in the run-up to the 2010 mid-term election.

 

In order to complete the DPRK's isolation from the rest of the world, the US is trying to present it as a "troublemaker" and drive a wedge between Beijing and Pyongyang, and finally force the DPRK into total submission.

 

The blows dealt by the global economic crisis have made Japan and the ROK more economically dependent on China, which has been maintaining its fast growth. China, Japan and the ROK have already held a few high-level meetings aimed at promoting East Asian integration. This scenario doesn't suit America's economic, political or strategic purpose, but it cannot prevent it openly. So it is using the Cheonan incident to woo the ROK and Japan, and distance them from China - which would thwart East Asian integration. The resignation of Yukio Hatoyama as prime minister of Japan a couple of weeks after the Cheonan investigation results were announced was one outcome of the US maneuvers.

 

Obama faces a tough mid-term election because of a drop in his administration's approval rating, rightwing forces' tirade against his policy toward China, and the Republicans' opposition to his health reform. To regain its popularity rating and diplomatic initiative, the White House needs to show its toughness. And how better to do it than to stand firm behind the ROK over the Cheonan issue, hint at sending the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, George Washington, to the Yellow Sea for military drills, and insist (through the US defense secretary) on selling arms to Taiwan.

 

The instability on the Korean Peninsula is detrimental both to China and the ROK but is advantageous to he US. By imposing new sanctions against the DPRK and selling arms to Taiwan, the US could ease the domestic economic crisis and unemployment pressures, and expand consumption and boost its military industry.

 

Though the finding of the international investigation team in the Cheonan incident is suspicious, Washington and Seoul are pressuring China to make the DPRK accept it. Public focus in the ROK has turned to China, with the US again playing the morality card. If the United Nations Security Council endorses the finding, coalition forces, led by the US, could launch attacks against the DPRK and try to draw China into the game.

 

China has to act like a responsible power for the world, not only for the US. The ultimate victims of the Korean Peninsula crisis are the people living there. Actually, Washington is full aware that even if it could temporally shift Americans' attention from their domestic problems by starting wars and stirring up conflicts in Northeast Asia, they won't be in the region's or its own interest in the long run.

 

The author is a professor at the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China.

 

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THE HIMALAYAN

EDITORIAL

URGENCY SPEAKS

President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, on the recommendation of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, has summoned the "budget session" of the Legislature Parliament for July 5. The decision to convene the parliament has been taken despite it being mooted to be held earlier. The present date has come around after the government could not persuade the UCPN (M), the main opposition, to take a more reasonable stand as to its isolation from any kind of building the much-needed consensus. While on this, it may be fitting to take stock of the May 28 three-point pact which has not done anything to break the political deadlock barring the extension of the Constituent Assembly tenure by another year. Now, even as the date for the House session has been announced, there is still confusion as to the date on which the policies and programmes of the government would be announced followed by the vote of thanks which requires it to be passed by the majority. With the Maoists taking a rigid stance on the PM's resignation first, it does not present a favourable picture of the UCPN (M) which had been the cause for last year's delay in the approval of the budget for the fiscal year 2009/2010. The same situation is likely to repeat as per the vocal rendering of the Maoist party.

The urgency of the presentation of the budgetary estimates for 2010/2011 can be seen with only around two weeks remaining for the current fiscal year to end. If this is not done it would be a mockery of the democratic set up that the country has been adhering to. In fact, this nasty situation is imminent because the UCPN (M) is not respecting the need of the time, but only pursuing its own partisan interests which focuses particularly on the prime minister quitting to be replaced by a consensus government under its leadership. In this context, it may be worthwhile reiterating that Prime Minister Nepal is not averse to resigning if the UCPN (M) fulfills the demand for the roadmap to the formation of a consensual government. This is where the roadblock has been hit, that is the road ahead is not clear at this crucial juncture. The mere resignation of the prime minister is not going to resolve all the outstanding problems, especially those relating to the statute writing and the peace process. But, the Maoists insist on their own format of the action plan that is clearly the reflection of its desire to be on the seat of power rather than attend to the immediate needs of people and the country .

In such a situation, when the UCPN (M) talks of obstructing the budget session , PM Nepal must be aware of the consequences if the budget approval gets obstructed despite the coalition commanding a simple majority. That is to say, if the Maoists do not relent in the next few days, it could create a situation wherein the government would have to move it through an ordinance which would have its own implications. However, discussion among the major stakeholders has to continue to break the deadlock, but seeing the Maoist posture the likelihood of an amicable solution remains remote. It is high time that the interests of the people in general are given priority rather than the scramble for power in the present crisis-prone situation.

 

SUSTAIN IT

Rampant felling of trees is causing rapid deforestation. If this is allowed to continue, very soon the little forests that are remaining will be devoid of any trees. Thus, that the Federation of Community Forest Users, Nepal (FECOFUN) has launched a year-long campaign to carry out plantation throughout the country comes as welcome news. This programme is going to be in a massive scale and will be participated in by 14,000 forest user groups. Let us hope that this campaign is sustained and does not fizzle out as one for publicity's sake only. Merely planting saplings is not enough. They need to be nurtured and protected which the forest user groups are capable of doing if we are to go by their past performance which has been remarkable.

Meanwhile, at the same time, there is a need to stop the illegal deforestation that is taking place so that the forest cover is not threatened. As it is known that there is a nexus between the timber smugglers and some people in powerful positions there is a need to do away with the impunity that seemingly exists for them.

 

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THE HIMALAYAN

COMMUNITY, REDD AND LAW ENFORCEMENT ALL IN LINE

DR. INDRA PRASAD SAPKOTA

Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Land Degradation (REDD) is a new approach of saving tropical forests by urging the forest users not to cut down the trees. It poses the local users that upon saving the trees, the State will get a certain amount of money from the first world. Or, it is a mechanism of managing the forest and carbon, which stops the users from going to the forests, and provides a certain amount of money to them at the cost of their acts in preventing deforestation. The goal of the REDD is to keep the local users, who are largely based on forests for sustaining their livelihoods, away from the forests and provide the Western monetary supports to them. However, there are a number of technical and administrative conditions, which the State should meet in order to receive the money from the West. The foremost condition is that the State needs to increase the forest cover, and also it needs to show the third party verifiers that it has sequestered a large amount of atmospheric carbon in the boles of trees, or in the roots of trees.

Now, the big question that often comes in the policy arena is whether the State can really save the trees and increase the forest cover. In order to sequester certain amount of carbon in the roots and/or boles of trees, the State needs to increase the adult individuals of trees by number, but not only the greenery by saving saplings and seedlings as what we are heading to achieve these days. No matter where the trees are standing now—in community forests, or in government managed forests, or in collaborative forests, or in private forests— the condition is that they need to be standing alive.

Community forests, which have recently been projected as the major source for carbon credit under the REDD scheme, are under many questions, since there is confusion on how to control the carbon leakage due to multiple functions of forests, as well as on how to create the baseline in order to assess the rate of change of carbon sequestration in the community forests. The community forestry programme was obviously designed to fulfill the basic forest products needs (fodder, timber, fuel-wood, leaf litter, non-wood etc.) of local and/or indigenous people. Therefore, the State should still assure justice to the local and/ endogenous community; and, hence, it does not deserve a moral ground to tell them to deviate from the need and right based objectives- from fuel-wood and fodder collection to carbon collection. It may rather suggest the community to collect carbon, only after they have collected enough fodder and fuel-wood for their daily use. Therefore, it can be postulated that the State may not earn the carbon credit at the rate as what it has been expected from community forests.

State has a large number of trees on the government managed forests, where communities have not yet been involved for their management under the same legal framework of community forests. And they immediately need strong legal measures against deforestation as its rate in these forests exceeds 1.3% per anum. Practices such as encroachment, illegal felling, infrastructure development and shifting cultivation etc. are major and current driving factors of deforestation there, which need to be controlled as soon as possible. The political confidence against the illegal use of forests and forest lands, controlling the migrating flow of people from the hilly areas, and ruling out the availability of these forest areas for other purposes need to be achieved in order to assure more trees in these forests. It is also imperative to forge the people's consensus to form 'carbon users group' and to make this carbon a community property as well as the forest trees with no harvesting.

By doing so, State will exert the power to enforce the laws very strongly resulting in security of the forests with the help of the local community. Law enforcement will then be the choice of the local community too as the safe forests will enhance the carbon fund to be used for community development. Therefore, the concept of carbon user's group with devolution of reasonable amount of State's power to them will give more sense in modifying the modality of their stakes in the forests, where several communities are currently keen to make them community forests. The State should be hopeful that the community will abolish impunity at least in relation to deforestation; and the community will make the 'community and professional foresters' more responsible towards the REDD.

We may hope that REDD will survive here if the State enforces the laws to protect it, but if we again make the judiciary measures loose in protecting the forests, REDD will certainly heads towards the fate of the Rhinos.

Therefore, let me advocate strong law enforcement against deforestation in Nepal aids REDD development in Nepal. However, what makes the quick money—timber or carbon— is a major question that needs to be formulated, and its answer is prerequisite.

Dr. Sapkota is a forest officer at the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation.

isapkota@gmail.com

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THE HIMALAYAN

TOPICS: THROUGH THE MISTY EYES

NEELU SUBEDI

 

It was almost 9:30 in the morning. I hurriedly got ready for my office. Took care to get well dressed, took my scooter out and was on my way to my destination. I usually reach my workplace at 10:00. Despite it being a Sunday, I had made up my mind to reach the office premises on the dot. While turning to the right from Baneshwor, I saw a girl sitting in the middle of the road. She was sitting with her knees bent and her face completely hidden by her uncombed hair. I stopped for a while, looked at her and then on the spur of the moment decided to park my scooter and talk to her for a while.

I went to her and looked at her face which had not been washed for many days, and asked her name. She was named "Jasmine", the flower that gives the essence of purity and clarity. She was in a dirty frock. She was maybe 12 or 13 years old, and she seemed tired and hungry. I asked her if she wanted to have something. She gave a shy nod. I led her to a nearby sweet shop and asked for the morning breakfast. Her face glowed and she smiled. The girl revealed she had not eaten anything for the past two days.

A simple conversation followed. I asked her why she was there on the middle of the road and what was wrong with her. She was reluctant to tell me anything and moved her head towards the other direction, I ordered a glass of milk, I asked what had happened to her. Her eyes were wet and full of tears that slowly scrolled down down her cheeks. She started telling me something.

She was in the middle of the road from 3 in the morning. She came from a very poor family and had run away from her home. She was here in search of work and had heard that Kathmandu was full of opportunities. She wanted to do something for her family.

She almost began to cry. I was spellbound. I made up my mind to help her, and took her to our group

"Hridaya help from the heart". Now, we have placed her in an orphanage where she is being taken care of by the Sisters and she is happy for what we have done. She still has the strong determination to do something to help somebody like her. This gives one much satisfaction and exhibits an inner feeling for the street child when a girl like Jasmine is saved from sexual abuse and exploitation of the harshest degree.

 

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DAILY MIRROR

EDITORIAL

EU AND UN

 

One may jump into many conclusions when Bernard Savage, EU head for Sri Lanka and the Maldives says that it is up to Sri Lanka to decide whether it conforms to EU conditions or do without the GSP plus concession.

 

Notwithstanding that one may still say that it would have been more diplomatic if Sri Lanka kept its mouth shut rather than screaming like a scorned lover, if it has the confidence that it can do without the tax concession. After all it is not something one can demand. All these days what one witnessed was a long line of Sri Lankan delegates heading to Brussels to plead with the EU officials.

 

It would have been much better if President Mahinda Rajapaksa's comments to Times of India came a little earlier. "I am not bothered. These concessions were offered soon after the tsunami. Now the tsunami rehabilitation is over, it helped us at that time. Now we must find new markets" he was quoted as saying.

 

Either we play hard to play or give in. Blowing hot and cold only goes to make the country the laughing stock of the international community.

 

The EU conditions spell coercion. There are no two words about it. It is too much of a coincidence that the opposition too had been making the same demands though one may well say they look fair when they come from the key opposition. However when a far away regional union plays the opposition that does not look right.

 

Still that is not an excuse for Sri Lanka to resort to puerile behaviour.

 

However, the case with the UN is a totally different ball game altogether.

 

Sri Lanka has been singled out unfairly and the opposition too is at its patriotic best hammering the UN for the move. Some unity after all.

 

The clout of the panel is going to be determined a lot by the strength of the protests by the powerful friendly nations. The louder they become the smaller the panel would look. Already there are some strong protests by influential quarters. It is up to Sri Lanka to translate their words into meaningful pulls and pushes.

 

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DAILY MIRROR

OPINION

 

UN SHOULD NOT HINDER DEVELOPMENT AND POLITICAL PROCESS- DEVANANDA

 

EPDP leader Minister Douglas Devananda speaks to Daily Mirror about his views on a political solution to the national question and the appointment of UN experts' panel to look into the alleged human rights violations during the last phase of war. Minister Devananda stood against the LTTE right throughout. He narrowly escaped from death on several occasions in the LTTE suicide attacks.   He contested the April 8 General Election in Jaffna got elected to Parliament. His party currently has three members in Parliament.

 

By Kelum Bandara

 

Q:You have supported the SLFP-governments for a long time. You stood against the LTTE right throughout, and were with the government in the fight against terrorism. Now it appears that you have not been given an important Ministerial portfolio. What are your views?

 

As you said, we have to work with whoever in power to get rid of the LTTE and solve the problem politically. Here, the SLFP is a party with progressive policies. So, we can agree with them policy wise. I am satisfied with the ministerial portfolio given to me.

 

Q:What did you expect from the government after the end of war?

 

I expected the government to recognize the political rights of Tamil people and address their day today issues. They have problems. Unlike people in the South, they were directly affected by war.  Southern people were also affected indirectly.

 

Q:Are you satisfied with the progress in efforts by the government to work out a political solution in the post war period?

 

Yes, but there is more to be done 

 

Q:Earlier, there were requests for you to join the SLFP. Are you yet to respond to this request?

 

We can consider it once the political solution is worked out.  The political problem is still there no. Our common view is that it should be addressed.  Then, we will take a decision.

 

Q:What kind of a political solution do you expect?

 

We have to start with the implementation of the 13th Amendment. Indian leaders also requested us to work out a political solution. Along with the President, I too participated in those negotiations with Indian leaders. When they asked for the implementaton of the 13th Amendment, I said that we would give even more than that. We have to solve this problem and bring about national reconciliation between the Sinhala and Tamil people as well.

 

Q:What kind of a role do you want India to play in this case?

 

India is a regional power. I think India should take part in this process. They have played a historical role in this case. I think they act in the proper way. They are always helping us, politically and economically.

 

Q:As a Tamil politician, what are your views on the UN panel of experts to look into the allegedly human rights violation in Sri Lanka?

 

The UN should not do anything that will hinder the ongoing process in Sri Lanka. There is a political and development process. It should not be hindered at any cost.

 

Q:There were serious allegations against your party with regard to the transfer of judges in Chavakachcheri and Vavuniya. Also, there are allegations your party on the crime wave in Jaffna. These were mainly made by the TNA. How do you counter these allegations?

 

All the allegations against the EPDP are politically motivated. Judges were transferred by the Judicial Services Commission. If anyone talks about our involvement, it is an insult on this commission. Judges were transferred everywhere, not in Jaffna alone.

 

If I comment on crimes, I can say it is a social problem. In every society, we find criminal cases. We hear cases of murder, rape and robberies in the south. Anyway, in the North, there is a special situation. It was an area plagued with militarization. There are ex-LTTE cadres and others. Earlier, there were local media reports about the missing of an 11-year-old child. The mother of this child had kept her in hiding at a relatives place. She had had a dispute with her husband. Police were looking for this child and later she was found on information from neighbours. The latter part of this episode was not reported in the media.

 

Once a journalist from a Canadian broadcasting service phoned and asked me about the allegation against my party that it is involved in a racket to kidnap children for their body parts such as kidneys.  The allegation is that our party does it under the shade of a Palmyra grove and send them to Colombo in flasks. I told them I would not be surprised if such a question was posed at me by someone living in a remote village here. I said I was surprised to hear it from someone living in Canada which is a scientifically advanced country.   I asked them how such a thing can be done under Palmyra trees. Then, this journalist became silent.

 

Q:Will you be the Chief Ministerial Candidate for the Northern Provincial Council?

 

Yes

 

Q:When will the election be held?

 

It will take time because a lot of work has to be done.

 

Q:Are you satisfied with the progress in the resettlement work?

 

Again yes, but more has to be done.

 

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DAILY MIRROR

OPINION

DOMESTIC DIMENSION OF SAFEGUARDING SOVEREIGNTY

 

Sri Lanka's once shattered and broken territory – the boundary of the state -- has been fused, but the nation remains fissured. How is it to be unified? This is all the more urgent because the visible absence of an ongoing post-war political process of ethnic reconciliation is either partial motivation or excuse for much of the current external intrusion. A manifestation of this new intrusiveness is the UNSG's appointment of an advisory troika on Sri Lanka. One of them, Prof Steven R. Ratner, who commenced his career attached to the US State Dept, has written critically of the 'talisman of sovereignty', the G 77 which he describes as states which "attach great -- almost exaggerated -- importance to the concept of sovereignty"  and of China. Significantly he is an authority on 'Ethnic Conflict and Territorial Claims' and 'New Borders' and his work has featured in anthologies and colloquia on international law as pertains to ethnic conflict, self determination, the breakup of states and the emergence of new ones.

 

 The international community which tilted against Tamil separatist terrorism during the war is now showing signs of tilting against the Sri Lankan state in a seeming bid to forestall Sinhala domination over the Tamil people/ areas. The recent international moves appear to be, at least in part, a bid to contain 'triumphalist Sinhala hegemonism' micromanaging the post-war order. These moves will escalate, proliferate and ramify. Thus it would be strategically prudent for the Sri Lankan state to nationally fast-track a mechanism and process for post-conflict political reconciliation of the ethnic communities. 

 

It is a truism that a house divided against itself cannot stand, but how to unify a divided house—by coercion, or consensus based on conciliation, concession and cooptation? National unity cannot be created by shrill propaganda and internal suppression, but only by reaching out, convincing, and broadening the state's support base by making all communities stakeholders.

 

 In this regard, to the fashionable formula of 'home grown' which is taken as a panacea, I would add two others, that of 'form and content' and 'best practices'. In the science of politics as in any other science, the form must be local, but the content must be that which is universally valid and proved to be so through experiment and verification. As Thomas Hobbes wrote "The skill of making and maintaining Commonwealths...consisteth in certain rules, as doth Arithmetique and Geometry". It would be useful to seek out these 'certain rules' and best practices from all over the world, regarding the problems that we face in Sri Lanka – those of nation building, post conflict reconciliation and ethnic/majority-minority relations. These best practices should of course be creatively adopted and adapted in accordance with the country's history, geography, culture and society.   

 

 When the borders of a state correspond to that of an ethnic or linguistic group, it is unproblematic to call it a nation-state. When the borders of a state do not correspond to the ethnic or linguistic distribution of the social formation, it is a 'nation state' de jure, but not de facto. That problem can be solved in three ways. One  model is that the diverse ethnic communities combine into or consider themselves a single nation, almost always on the basis of equality or – a very rare variant—on the acceptance of inequality. The second solution is that of a trade-off in which the majority pretty much controls the state and the minority nationalities are accorded political space in their ancestral areas or 'areas of historic habitation'. The third and worst solution is that two or more ethnically or ethno linguistically or ethno religiously homogenous nation states grow out of one, with each community splitting off to join their counterparts in a nearby country (irredentism) or simply seceding to form their independent nation states. 

 

Now why doesn't everybody exercise the first option? This is because it isn't that easy, though it has been done with great success in many places, such as the world's sole superpower, the USA. This solution requires equality of citizenship. It requires that no marker of any of the constituent communities be given Constitutional privilege over any other. It requires that the state be a neutral umpire as between the beliefs of communities. 

 

It is not that Sri Lanka never got close to this model. It did under the Soulbury Constitution, though a closer fit to the model would have required incorporating a cardinal demand of the Left at the time: equality of status for Sinhala and Tamil languages. It is arguably the kind of policy of a meritocratic, multicultural Sri Lanka that would have issued from Ceylon National Congress, with a correctives pushed by the Left on citizenship and language, had DS Senanayake not broken away.  

 

Indeed it would have been the kind of Sri Lanka that would have resulted from an SWRD Bandaranaike administration supported by the Left instead of the MEP, BJB, EPB etc (the Sinhala equivalent of the Hindu fundamentalist 'Sangh parivar'). It might have been the Ceylon that resulted if in 1957, the Left had supported the Banda –Chelva pact and entered the government at that point.   

 

 This model of nation building failed in Sri Lanka because an influential section – perhaps a majority – of the Sinhala Buddhists had such a perception of threat as a minority in relation to the Tamils of South India and felt so disadvantaged by the colonial experience, that equality (or 'parity' as it was called in the 1950s) seemed unfair. They demanded and got a preferential status for the distinctive cultural markers that conferred on them uniqueness as a community: Sinhala language and Buddhism. While the Sinhala majority perceived this as affirmative action, it was perceived or experienced by the Tamil minority as discrimination. Then as now the Tamils, with their five thousand year old language (just defined as 'classical' by the Government of India) and large numbers of co-ethnics -- many with high levels of achievement and elite integration overseas – were unwilling to accept assimilation or integration into a single Sri Lankan nation on the basis of surrender or subordination to the Sinhalese (manifested at the time in the official language policy of Sinhala Only, reinforced with mandatory 'proficiency examinations'). 

 

Tamil separatism as a politico-ideological project did not start out as a result of the policies of successive Sri Lankan administrations, but its acceptance by the Tamil people was. As AJ Wilson's biography of his father in law, SJV Chelvanayakam, the father of Tamil Nationalism, proudly reveals, the latter had raised the idea of an independent country for the Tamils as far back as 1948, and a Tamil university in 1950, long before anyone had asked for a Sinhala university. As Prof Nira Wickremasingha points out in her book on modern Sri Lankan history and contested identities, this confirms that Tamil nationalism was not purely reactive or defensive but pre-emptive and strategic.  I would venture to inquire as to whether Sinhala nationalism was, to some extent, a reaction to this precocious and premature Tamil nationalism. It is no less pertinent however, that the Tamil voters dismissed the platform of separatism as late as 1970 and embraced it only in 1977 and that Chelvanayakam himself had set it aside in favour of federalism, and something lesser, as contained in the Bandaranaike- Chelvanayagam Pact of 1957.

 

 Armed Tamil separatism was utterly defeated in the last war and any kind of Tamil separatism is bound to be resisted by the state. If someday, it is propelled and sought to be imposed from without, there will be a protracted popular resistance which make its sustainability untenable and unattractive. 

 

 With the options of integration on the basis of equality, assimilation on the basis of inequality, and separation, all ruled out as undesirable or unfeasible or both, what is the state left with but a model in which the minority has political space at the periphery? Here again, there are two broad variants, federal and non-federal. The federal model subdivides yet again between one in which certain regional units contain an ethnic majority belonging to the countrywide minority (ethno-federalism) and  one in which the units are not constituted so as to provide an ethnic or linguistic majority.  Federalism could vary still further as between a full or classically liberal federalism (Canada) and a quasi federalism with a strong centre (India). 

 

 First World societies generally find federalism more comfortable than do Third World societies. However, even in the former, there are many (the UK being paradigmatic) which steadfastly refuse to convert to federalism.  In Sri Lanka, the proximity of Tamil Nadu fuels apprehensions that an ethnic federal unit would graduate to a separate Tamil country or federate with the larger South Indian landmass. This collective and abiding apprehension has reduced support for a federal option to such an insignificant level that it will not enter any serious political deliberation.

 

 This leaves non-federal options of power-sharing or autonomy. There are two variants, the first being systems that are silent or agnostic on the definition, such as South Africa's Constitution which makes for considerable regional autonomy but refuses to commit itself explicitly to federalism. The second variant is the explicitly unitary model which also has power sharing, which some societies term 'the devolution of power' and others 'regional autonomy/provincial autonomy'.  In these, the strength of the centre acts as a prophylactic on the possibility of internal administrative boundaries hardening into outer ones or internal units breaking free to form independent ones.  These are, in actual fact, models of semi-autonomy.  The Sri Lankan Constitution as it currently stands provides precisely for such an arrangement.

 

 Sovereignty is fundamental, foundational and non-negotiable. The trite legalese that pits "citizens' sovereignty" against "state sovereignty" forgets that the very category of a "citizen" exists precisely because of the state; he/she is a citizen of a state. The external encroachment on Sri Lanka's sovereignty can ultimately be withstood and defeated only by internal solidity and solidarity. Sovereignty cannot be successfully defended by a state acting as a mono-ethnic straitjacket on the country's stubbornly diverse, irreducible and colliding collective identities. It is best defended by a Sri Lankan state which represents all its peoples, acts as neutral umpire providing and guaranteeing adequate space for all ethnicities on the island. Sovereignty is secured by a Sri Lankan identity which accommodates all the country's communities, paving the way for a broadly shared sense of a multiethnic yet single Sri Lankan nationhood.

 

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DAILY MIRROR

OPINION

A NEW WAR : SL BACKED KP VS INDIA BACKED TNA

 

In India too , there are speculations that the Sri Lankan  Government . is to appoint KP as its  candidate for the post of Chief Minister at the Provincial Council (PC) elections in the North . Though it is beyond comprehension that KP will enter politics , yet the Sri Lankan  Government  must be seeking to use him and win the North Provincial Council  elections. It is reported that KP is a very popular figure among the Tamil Tigers in the camps. By meeting them he is making efforts to banish their despair and change their mindset. Hence, the government  is thinking of winning over the pro Tamil Tiger sympathizers  at the North  elections  by employing him. It is perceptible that India with a view to implementing the 13th amendment of the constitution in Sri Lanka , wishes that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) captures power at the North  Provincial Council elections. India and TNA are closely working together towards this objective. The Sri Lankan government. may be aiming at using  him in its campaign and defeat the TNA , even if KP does not contest the elections. What measures and strategies the TNA is going to adopt to meet the situation is yet obscure.

 

Though some are waiting in expectation for the release of  KP alias Kumar Pathmanathan, it was a long time  since he had been  released. The fact that he was freed came to light officially when he recently toured the North East along with the leaders of the Tamil Diaspora. This tour was wholly organized by KP. He made the entire arrangement as the unofficial Chairman of the of the Tamil Rehabilitation Centre. Although he was not officially appointed as the Chairman, yet, he did act unofficially as the Chairman of the TRC.  To eradicate a tree in the forest, it is another tree in the thick of the jungle that must be used, is an old adage. Like how Prabhakaran's armed wing leader Karuna was used by the government to annihilate the armed might of  Prabhakaran, the government. is now using KP who built up Prabhakaran's International network, to destroy that same international chain – a splendid effort indeed by the government!

 

KP has been the official leader of the Tamil Tiger Organization after the death of Prabhakaran. Although there was a divergence  in  opinion among the Tamil Diaspora over his becoming  leader, following his appointment no one challenged his leadership. Likewise , after KP was arrested, no one was elected as leader. It is therefore discernible that the Sri Lankan government projecting and propelling KP as the current Tamil Tiger leader is utilizing him to destroy the Tamil Tiger  Diaspora .

 

It is learnt  that the first move of KP after his release was the invitation extended  to the Chief of the Tamil Tiger transnational Govt.  leader Rudrakumaran too to participate in the tour of the North and East organized for the Tamil Tiger Diaspora leaders. But, Rudrakumaran had rejected this invitation stemming from his conviction that the Sri Lankan government is trying to use KP to destroy the Tamil Tiger Diaspora, despite the fact that there exists close and cordial relations between KP and Rudrakumaran. Initially,  the Sri Lankan  government  exploiting the ties between KP and Rudrakumaran sought to sow the seeds of dissension between Rudrakumaran and the Tamil Tiger Diaspora hardliners. KP  urged the Sri Lankan  government on several occasions earlier  to discuss with Rudrakumaran , with this objective in view. But, because the Sri Lankan  government did not evince much interest in this direction, it did not materialize. However, after America intensified its pressure on the government to initiate discussions with Rudrakumaran, the government became apprehensive, and became reluctant to  give him an official welcome.

 

KP while helping the government to destroy the Tamil Tiger Diaspora is trying to portray himself as an independent individual. But, the government is aware that if he is to be used, he must be released and such release must be vindicated. It is on this account, the government  is making the announcement that KP is going to be a future witness for the government in the Courts against the Tamil Tigers. By this, what the government is trying to demonstrate is that during the final phase of the war , the truth about the 'white flag' episode among the surviving leaders of the Tamil Tigers is  known only to KP. He can therefore be made use of as a witness to lead evidence in support of the government. Some sources say, KP may come before the Truth Commission appointed by the government and lead evidence in its favour. Nevertheless, there are reports that KP is averse to engaging  in such an action, for it will trigger resentment among the Tamil Diaspora, and may provoke them to cry foul that he betrayed them. Consequently, he would not be able to do whatever service he wishes to do for the Sri Lankan  government he had pointed out.

 

In India too, there are speculations that the Sri Lankan government is to appoint KP as its  candidate for the post of Chief Minister at the Provincial Council (PC) elections in the North . Though it is beyond comprehension that KP will enter politics, yet the Sri Lankan government  must be seeking to use him and win the North PC elections. It is reported that KP is a very popular figure among the Tamil Tigers in the camps. By meeting them he is making efforts to banish their despair and change their mindset. Hence, the government is thinking of winning over the pro Tamil Tiger sympathizers  at the North  elections  by employing him.

 

It is perceptible that India with a view to implementing the 13th Amendment of the constitution in Sri Lanka  wishes that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) captures power at the North  Provincial Council elections. India and TNA are closely working together towards this objective. The Sri Lankan  government may be aiming at using  him in its campaign and defeat the TNA, even if KP does not contest the elections. What measures and strategies the TNA is going to adopt to meet the situation is yet obscure.

 

In case KP takes the initiative to defeat  the TNA, that will constitute more a defeat to India than the TNA. India with a view to establishing  democracy in the North and East has chosen the TNA to secure a political solution  for the Tamil population, because the TNA which is not linked to the Tamil Tiger armed campaign however are sympathizers of  the Tamil Tigers.

 

The Sri Lankan  government has on the other hand chosen to defeat the TNA by using the Tamil Tiger militant leaders of the Tamil Tiger armed campaign, Karuna, KP and former Tamil militant leader Devananda.

 

Who will win in this competition is unpredictable.

 

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