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Leading News

War on monga : CA
Cultivate diversified food

UNB, Gangachhara, Rangpur

Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed on Sunday announced an action plan for removing ‘Monga’ from the country’s northern region forever through well-coordinated programmes of the government, NGOs and private sector, as the lean-season dearth of food and work put people in misery.
"The government is keeping strict and intense attention about Monga. It is a temporary problem temporary unemployment problem," he told an exchange-of- opinion meeting in the morning on the second day of his stay in this backwater northern district.
The head of caretaker government was exchanging views with people of different professions and officials of Gangachhara upazila at the meet organized by the local administration at the upazila parishad ground.
Commander of Muktijoddha Sangsad of the upazila M Azizul Islam, president of the Gangachhara imam association AKM Nurunnabi Ansari, Nure Alam Sarker of BRAC, president of Gangachhara press club Sazu Ahmed Lal, principal of Gangachhara Degree College Anisur Rahman, union parishad chairman Anwarul Islam, president of Rangpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mostafa Azad Chowdhury and UNO of Gangachhara Mukesh Chandra Biswas, among others, spoke at the meeting presided over by Rangpur deputy commissioner Khandokar M Atiar Rahman.
Gangachhara is a Monga-prone area of the greater Rangpur district. The seasonal crisis of unemployment and food usually occurs during October-November period in the agrarian northern region, lacking in industries and other income-generating modern vocations.
Focusing on ways of eradicating Monga, he said a committee headed by the Commerce Adviser was formed at Saturday’s Advisory Council meeting in Rangpur to coordinate all ongoing projects regarding Monga-and poverty-alleviation programes of the government and NGOs and other organizations aiming to formulate a multidimensional plan of action to permanently end this endemic penury.
The Chief Adviser suggested cultivation of diversified food and other crops, undertaking income-generation projects and massive export of manpower to foreign countries from the northern region through imparting training to them at various training centres and institutes in the country. He said he has instructed the authorities concerned for full-fledged run of Technical Training Centres and Institutes existing in many districts, which virtually remained inoperative, for their best utilization in developing skilled manpower in demanding fields.
As part of the new thinking about resolving the nagging problem, the head of interim government suggested that the people of the northern region could migrate for employment to other parts of the country.
Mentioning some of the synergized steps taken for resolving the problem last year, he expressed happiness over the outcome and told his audience that early preparation of steps and programmes in the current year would be much wider and coordinated in fighting Monga.

 Patients helpless in DMCH
Firoz Mamun

As the country’s pioneering government hospital, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, has earned fame but patients who along with their relatives visit it everyday, face serious difficulties due to harassment by the cheats, touts and a section of employees.
As soon as a patient specially the poor and the middle class reach the DMCH gate, they fall prey to the cheats. In the name of better treatment these organised groups start convincing the patients’ relatives in a bid to transfer them to the private clinics. If these thugs fail to convince relatives of the patients, they issue threats.
The helpless people with their injured or sick patients suffering from different complicated diseases, have clearly nothing to do but flop down on the premises of the DMCH and lament.
A patient’s relative told The Bangladesh Today, "There is no more good treatment in the DMCH. When I have just reached the hospital gate with my patient and yet to enter into hospital building, these people are issuing threat and alluring saying they provide better treatment to my patient. They also dragged me into a room and asked me to go with them to a private clinic."
The officials of the DMCH said in the face of massive raid by the joint forces these organised cheats, touts and criminals went into hiding. But within a short time they returned to the DMCH and became active.
Meanwhile, mother of a school girl patient released yesterday from the DMCH told this correspondent, "Without giving bribe allocation seat and guarantee of proper treatment are not possible. A fourth class employee demanded of me Tk 200 extra for a seat. As I failed to meet his demand, he threw my daughter on the floor and did not allocate the seat. However, the seat was lying vacant for the whole night. I had to pass the night along with my daughter on the floor."
The patients and relatives also alleged that the hospital staffs who are employed to take care of the patients, extort extra money from the patients in the name of providing medicine and other medical materials. On the other hand, a stink always hovers in and around the DMCH due to indiscriminate dumping of medical wastes which cause disease and illness to humans through direct contact or indirect contamination to soil, ground water, surface water and air.
Within the hospital wards, wastes from patients are collected in small bowls and plastic bins. The wastes are then thrown indiscriminately in and around the DMCH under the very nose of the authority.
There are 48 wards and 1700 beds with the capacity to treat 1700 patients in the DMCH. But 2000 patients exceeding capacity of the hospital are being treated everyday. There are 251 government doctors except some professors of the Dhaka Medical College and interns in the hospital as against 2000 patients. Specially, the wards for causality and poison treatment are overcrowded.

  Service sector corruption
Staff Correspondent

The country’s state-owned organisations in the service sector suffered a loss of Taka 4228.20 crore during the fiscal year 2006-07 because of widespread corruption and irregularities. During the last fiscal year, the amount of financial loss increased by Taka 279.65 crore compared to the previous fiscal 2005-06. In the fiscal year 2005-06, the organisations incurred a loss of Taka 3848.55 crore.
Sources said, corrupt practices are going on in full swing in the offices of public service sector as the corrupt officials and employees are yet to be picked up and brought to justice as part of on-going anti-corruption drive throughout the country. A section of unscrupulous officials, employees and trade union leaders in government offices are mainly responsible for causing a huge sum of financial loss to the country since independence.
In the public service sector, the most corruption-plagued offices are Rajdhani Unnayan Katripakkha (Rajuk), Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), Dhaka Wasa, Power Development Board, DESA, Bangladesh Telephone and Telegraph Board, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited, it is alleged.
Sources said, the authorities are preparing the list of the corrupts in the government offices in order to take stern action against them to rid the country of
corruption.
According to DESA sources, the amount of unrealised revenue from the consumers of of the organisation was around Taka 809.89 crore in June in 2006. On the other hand, the office was owing a total of Taka 3086.47 crore to other public and private organizations during the same period.

  Frustration chases job seekers
Sahidul Islam Rana

Income generation across the country is now at a stand still especially in the private sector as the investment has not increased satisfactorily in the last one year.
On the other hand, the prices of the essentials have already gone beyond capacity of common people. In the changed circumstances, scopes of employment or opportunities for job did not increase; rather reduced by a big margin intensifying the uncertainty of jobseekers, specially for the outgoing university students.
This was due to lack of proper work-monitoring system in the concerned institutions and want of confidence among the investors and less Annual Development Programme (ADP)’s implementation.
Talking to The Bangladesh Today, leaders of chambers of commerce industries expressed their almost same opinion saying, "As part of overcoming the prevailing situation, restoration of democracy is a must."
The outgoing president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Mir Nasir Uddin said, "The investment must increase to rejuvinate the job market with a view to facing the unemployment problems across the country." He also proposed to reduce the tax in the investment sector. Nasir Uddin underscored the need for strengthening the monitoring the overall activities of related agencies adding the concerned ministries of the government can play a very significant role in this regard.
President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce Industries (DCCI) emphasised on growing confidence among the investors, who were apparently demoralized at the fag end of the erstwhile BNP-Jamaat coalition government and immediately after the promulgation of the state of emergency since very beginning of the last year.

Politics

AL

Lifting of emergency demanded
Staff Correspondent
Awami League (AL) leaders at a discussion meeting on Sunday demanded of the caretaker government to lift the state of emergency and to announce the date of general election as early as possible.
"AL is always ready to hold dialogue without preconditions with the caretaker government to resolve all socio-political and economic problems," they said urging the authorities to finalise the agenda for the ensuing dialogue within the shortest possible time. They urged the government to bring the real killers and perpetrators of all political killings, including Kibria murder and 21 August grenade attack, to book after fair investigations. They also demanded immediate release of the detained AL leaders including party chief Shiekh Hasina.
Senior party leaders were addressing a discussion meeting marking the 3rd death anniversary of the former AL finance minister Shah AMS Kibria at AL central office at Bangabandhu Avenue yesterday morning.
Bangladesh AL organized the discussion with its presidium member Begum Sajeda Chowdhury in the chair.
Sajeda Chowdhury urged the caretaker government to allow indoor politics across the country so that the party leaders and activists can exchange views with the people. She demanded early general election to restore democracy in the country.
AL presidium member Amir Hossain Amu said, "There is no split in AL. It’s always united and working as per the decision of the party presidium meeting."
Without mentioning anybody’s name, Amu said, "If any leader says anything contradicts the party presidium decision, he/she will be treated as a conspirator with the aim to create confusion among the rank and file of AL."

AL to continue anti-graft drive if elected: Zillur
Dhaka, bdnews24
Acting Awami League president Zillur Rahman said on Sunday his party would press on with anti-graft drive and reform programmes of the interim administration if it was elected to office in the next elections.
Zillur made the comment to reporters after meeting detained party chief Sheikh Hasina on the Jatiya Sangsad premises, after a special court judge allowed the former prime minister to meet with him.
The judge allowed Zillur, lawyers and relatives to speak to Hasina for an hour, after the court deferred to Feb 7 indictment proceedings in a corruption case filed by the ACC.
Hasina has been suffering from various complications including high blood pressure, Zillur said, adding that she needed "proper treatment".
He demanded the government free the AL president first and then announce the election schedules.
He promised to curb the prices of daily commodities by at least half if his party was voted to power.


BNP

Delwar doubts Khaleda's call for unity
Staff Correspondent
BNP secretary general Khondoker Delwar Hossain on Sunday expressed doubt whether Begum Khaleda Zia has really called for reuniting the two factions of BNP.
Meanwhile, lawyer Mahbub Uddin Khokon, who brought the message of unity from Khaleda Zia on Friday, reiterated that Begum Zia had called for unity in the party and there is no reason for anybody to question the authenticity of Khaleda’s call for unity.
In a crowded press briefing on Sunday at his Nam flat, Delwar said, "a growing doubt is simmering among the party workers whether Begum Zia has called for so-called unity and party leaders and workers are questioning as to why the message from Khaleda was disclosed to the media before informing the party secretary general."
"Moreover, it was reported that Mahbubuddin Khokon talked to M Saifur Rahman for one and a half hours before meeting Khaleda Zia in jail," Delwar said and hastaend to pose a question, "Why Begum Zia did not give this message on the day when she came out of sub-jail on parole. Besides, many women ex-MPs and workers met her, but she did not talk for unity. What has happened in just 10 to 12 days that she called for reuniting the party."
He, however, said, "I am personally in favour of unity. I am appointed by Begum Khaleda Zia. I will follow whatever the party chairperson wants."

In reply to a question, he said, "the unity in BNP is not being forged due to quick shifting of reformists’ stand. We came to know through the media that Saifur and Hafiz are ready to relinquish their posts, but now they are giving conditions. If they abide by the leadership of Khaleda Zia, then what’s wrong to follow her instructions?"
The BNP secretary general urged the government to take necessary steps for better treatment of Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman. He also demanded of the government to set free Khaleda Zia aiming at creating a congenial atmosphere for holding the stalled ninth parliamentary election.
Following Delwar’s denial, Mahbub Uddin Khokon called an impromptu press briefing at his Dhanmondi chamber where he claimed that "whatever he said before the media on Friday was true. "If anyone has any doubt about it, they can check with Begum Zia through lawyers," he added.
Asked whether he contacted M Saifur Rahman regarding unity, he said, "I contacted him over phone."

Back Page

Gas crisis hits capital
Repair work continues, food price hikes up

Staff Correspondent

City dwellers mainly living in the south-eastern parts of the capital have started facing severe gas crisis due to suspension of its supply for at least 48 hours from Sunday midnight due to a major repair on the main gas-transmission line at Daudkandi in Comilla.
Besides, the city dwellers are also experiencing a severe load shedding from Sunday night as power generation of some gas-based power plants including Meghnaghat, Haripur NEPC and Haripur have already been suspended due to disruption in gas supply.
But taking the opportunity, a section of unscrupulous businessmen are selling different items of dry foods and stoves at high rates. Besides, the price of Kerosine has also gone up as yesterday (Sunday) it was selling between Tk. 80 and Tk.90 per litre. Even the price of candles has gone up yesterday and in some places there were shortage of candles in the markets.In some areas, there is scarcity of Kerosine and the food price of at many restaurants also has increased to a large extent.
On Sunday, hundreds of panic-gripped city dwellers and other people thronged to the different dry food sales centres and hardware shops to buy stoves. But they had to pay extra money for getting these items as a result of artificial crisis of the wares.
Many CNG-run vehicles were seen waiting in long queues for taking gas. But due to low pressure of gas, some CNG stations were compelled to shut down their establishments.
The most affected areas include Postagola, Jurain, Jatrabari, Dhalpur, Bibirbagicha, Gopibagh, Kamalapur, Khilgaon, Basabo, Shahjahanpur, Badda, Rampura, Ulan, Tejgaon Industrial area, Mohakhali, Gulshan, Nayatola, Madhubagh, Shantinagar, Siddheswari, Motijheel, Wari, Gendaria, Nawabpur, Sadarghat, Sutrapur, Banglabazar, Bakshibazar, Islampur, Hazaribagh and Azimpur.
Many people were seen cooking extra foods to preserve it in the refrigerators and even some people also stored up water in different pots, apprehending acute water supply in the city in case of any severe load shedding.
Talking to this correspondent, Sultana Razia, a housewife said, " we have cooked enough foods on Sunday night for the next two days and we have also stored up enough water if water supply is disrupted because of power failure later on."
Talking to The Bangladesh Today, an official Bakhrabad Gas Transmission Company Limited (GTCL) said, " the repair work is going on in full swing and the authorities would be able to resume the gas supply soon."
Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company and Bakhrabad Gas Company are jointly conducting the repair work on the gas transmission line.

Contractors fear of arrest
Slow pace in implementation of ADP

Dhaka, bdnews24

The fear of arrest among the country's contractors is contributing to the slow implementation of the current fiscal's Annual Development Programme, according to a government report.
The review of the progress in ADP implementation to December 2007 was presented at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) Wednesday, chaired by chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed.
The report prepared by the Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) identified a total of 30 causes for slow implementation of ADP in ten major ministries.
Increase in the price of construction materials, 2007's floods and Cyclone Sidr, and delay in preparation of schedules for tender, evaluation, approval and work order have been cited as the causes of slow pace in implementation of the ADP.
The report said of the education ministry: "The work of infrastructure development is being hampered as the contractors at the field level have gone underground due to the overall situation in the country."
The report also said overall ADP implementation was low as projects regarding roads and embankments were hindered in the affected areas due to two floods in September-October and the devastating cyclone Sidr on Nov 15 of 2007.
According to the report's figures, there are 931 projects under the current fiscal's ADP, with a total allocation of Tk 26,500 crore.
During the first six months (July-December) of the current fiscal only 21 per cent of the government's ADP was implemented, the report said.
This rate is the lowest of the past four years. During the July-December of the previous fiscal (2006-07) the rate of ADP implementation was 25 per cent. In 2005-06 and 2004-05 the rates were 27 and 29 per cent respectively. The post and telecommunication ministry's performance is worst among the ten major ministries and divisions regarding implementation of the ADP. The ministry has implemented only seven per cent of the total allocation during July-December. In the last fiscal the rate of ADP implementation in the post and telecommunication ministry was 11 per cent.
Other reasons for overall slow implementation are: complexities in selection of projects, acquiring land, delay in release of money pending different conditions-including for aid-dependent projects-frequent transfer of senior ministry officials and lack of monitoring by the ministry/division/organisation during implementation of a project.

  Legal action against defiant BD workers
UNB, Dhaka

The Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry on Sunday said adverse impact may be cast on Bangladesh's labour market in Malaysia due to unpleasant behavior by few Bangladeshi workers there.
"Working freestyle at other place after taking back passport from employers is not consistent with labour laws of Malaysia. Illegal demands raised by these few workers are not acceptable considering interest of all Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia as well as overall national interest," an official release said. The release said a significant amount of remittance was sent to Bangladesh in 2007 from Malaysia, a biggest labour market for the country. So far 2,36,601 Bangladeshi workers went to Malaysia last year.

IFC shows interest in Bangladesh
UNB, Dhaka

International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, are interested to finance Bangladesh's infrastructure and agriculture sector projects.
IFC executive vice-president Lars Thunell, who is leading an 8-member delegation, expressed the interest at a meeting with Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed at the Bangladesh Bank on Sunday. Senior Bangladesh Bank executives were present.
IFC provides loans, equity, structured finance and risk management products, and advisory services to build the private sector in developing countries.
It showed interest in infrastructure sector like oil and gas, power and communications sectors as a priority, and the agriculture sector, meeting sources said.
They stressed the need for quick disposal of the potential investment proposals by the relevant government agencies, including Board of Investment (BOI). Dr Salehuddin told reporters after the meeting that the Bangladesh Bank would discuss with government agencies so that they dispose the investment proposals as soon as possible to get the IFC loans quickly.
"We've also requested them to keep the interest rate on loans as low as possible," he said.
The IFC program in Bangladesh has increased substantially since the IFC office was opened in Dakha in 1995. There are 11 projects in the IFC's current portfolio with US$149 million in loans, $12.3 million in equity and $28.5 million in outstanding B-loans.
IFC investments in Bangladesh have spanned a range of sectors including power, telecommunication, cement, gas, and the financial markets sector (leasing, development financial institutions, and housing finance).
In FY02, IFC and other donors established a regional small business development facility The SouthAsia Enterprise Development Facility (SEDF) - based in Dhaka, to promote small business by providing technical assistance in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and North East India.

Crime Watch

Kabirhat thana inaugurated
A Correspondent, Noakhali
A newly constructed police station at Kabirhat under Companiganj in the district started operating on Saturday.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) AKM Shadul Haque formally inaugurated the opening as chief guest, while Deputy Commissioner (DC), Habibul Kabir Chowdhury was in the chair. Police Super of Noakhali, M. Musfiqur Rahman and Noakhali Army unit commander Lt. Col. Ajij Hakim Arif were present as special guests. Among others, M. Allha Box Titu, chairman of Kabirhat pourasabha, government high officials attended the programme.
SP Musfiqur Rahman said, the station is equipped with five sub inspectors, twenty police personnel. Including this thana a total of nine are in the district.
It can be added that Kabirhat consists of seven unions with one pourasabha while one lakh eighty five thousand nine hundred forty eight people are living in the area.
Father kills daughter
UNB, Sylhet
A cruel father allegedly hacked his six-year-old daughter to death at Hamdarchat village in Biswanath upazila here Saturday.
The dead was identified as Tahmina Begum (6), daughter of Sohaor Ali.
Local people said Sohaor Stabbed Tahmina indiscriminately with a sharp dao, leaving her dead on the spot. On information police rushed to the spot and sent the body to hospital morgue for autopsy. They also arrested the cruel father. But the reason behind the murder could not be known immediately.
Tahminas's uncle Abdul Hamid filed a murder case with the local police station.
Men held with drugs
UNB, Naogaon
Members of elite force RAB arrested three people including an upazila election officer while selling one kilogram of cocaine at Banshbari in Porsha upazila Friday night.
Acting on a tip off, the RAB troops conducted a drive in the area and caught red handed the Porsha Upazila Election Officer SM Nasir Uddin, 44, and drug peddlers Kutub Uddin and M Mahbub of the upazila when they were selling the drug.
In another drive the RAB personnel also arrested another drug peddler Enamul Haq along with two-kg hemp at Kalupara village in Sadar upazila on the same night.
Separate cases were filed with the police.
UP member arrested
BSS, Nilphamari
Joint forces arrested a union parishad member for distribution of VGF card illegally at
sadar upazila of the district on Thursday.
The arrested person was identified as Belal Hossain, union parishad (UP) member of Itakhola union under sadar upazila. He collecting money illegal inn the name of VGF card from the poor people.
Eyes of two snatchers gouged out
UNB, Mymensingh
Angry mob gouged out eyes of two snatchers at Amirabari in Trishal upazila Thursday night.
Police said four miscreants picked up two people in their taxicab and snatched their mobile phone sets and other belongings.
When they tried to flee away leaving them at Kanhor in the upazila local people caught two of the snatchers - Jasim and Sumon. They gave them a good beating and gouged out their eyes.
The two other snatchers managed to flee leaving their taxicab behind, police said.
The injured snatchers were admitted to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital in critical condition.
Trader held
UNB, Bagerhat
A rice trader was arrested while selling Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) rice at Kuliabazar in Mollahat upazila on Friday.
Acting on secret information police raided the bazar at noon and arrested the rice trader Mursalin (25), while he was selling the rice at his shop. They also seized 100kg VGF rice from the shop.
According to police, Kulia Union Parishad member of Ward no 8 Abu Sayed misappropriated the VGF rice instead of distributing among poor people, and sold it to the rice trader.
Police could not arrest the UP member. A case was filed.
Woman beaten to death
UNB, Sirajganj
A woman was killed by terrorists at Lauta village in Tarash upazila on Thursday midnight.
The dead was identified as Rashida (28), wife of Jafar Ali.
Local people said terrorists stormed into the house of Jafar Ali in his absence and beat his wife Rashida to death.
On information, police recovered the body and sent it to Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy.
Reason behind the killing could not be known immediately. A case was filed.
3 thieves nabbed
BSS, Chapainawabganj
Three thieves of electric wires were caught red handed at Rohnpur under Gomostapur upazila in the district on Friday night.
The arrested were identified as Zahidul Islam (27), of Hatat Para village, Jasim(15, and Rubel (15), of Nungola village under the same upazila.
Police said that they arrested them while the thieves were stealing electric wires of Power Development Board (PDB).
Suicide
BSS, Rajbari
A young man committed suicide by hanging himself here yesterday.
Police said, the deceased was identified as Arif Mollah (15) son of Zakir Hossain of village Pershail in Rajbari sadar upazila of Rajbari district. Family fuel was the major cause of committing suicide of Arif Mollah, it is learnt. Police recovered the dead body and sent it for autopsy to the Rajbari Sadar Hospital.
Clash leaves 2 killed, 10 injured
UNB, Sylhet
Two people were killed and 10 others injured in a bloody clash between two groups of people at Iqarchhari village in Jagannathpur upazila of Sunamganj district on Saturday.
The deceased were identified as Ripon Mia (25), son of Hasmat Ali and Suruj Mia (50), of the village.
Local people said there was a longstanding dispute between Mostafa Mia and his neighbour Matiur Rahman over a piece of land.
They said an altercation ensued between the supporters of Matiur Rahman and Mostafa over the issue at about 10:00 am.
At one stage, both the groups equipped with sharp weapons attacked each other, leaving the two people dead on the spot and injuring 10 others from both sides.
On information, police rushed in and brought the situation under control. The injured were admitted to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital. A case was filed.
24 injured in clash
UNB, Magura
Twenty-four people were injured in a clash between two rival groups at Ichhapur village in Sripur upazila Sunday morning over land dispute.
Local people said there had been a longstanding dispute between one Moshiur Rahman and his co-villager Hasmat Ali over a piece of land.
They said the clash ensued in the morning when Hasmat and his supporters tried to prevent Mashiur from spraying pesticide on the disputed cropland, leaving 24 people from the both sides injured.
The belligerent people also ransacked 34 houses and looted valuables from the houses during the clash.
Later police, RAB members and army personnel rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.

Editorial

HC Verdict on Hasina's Writ
 
The Law Adviser, on Thursday last, 31 January 2008, has opined that the fate of corruption cases under EPR hinges on the High Court's verdict on Sheikh Hasina's writ challenging the legality of prosecuting her under the EPR in regard to an extortion case filed against her. A panel of amici curiae also contend that crimes committed before the promulgation of Emergency could not be prosecuted under EPR and if they are so prosecuted, "it would be a clear violation of the constitution".
The Law Adviser is of course right but every mindful citizen is also aware and alive to the consequences of HC's verdict on the landmark case of Sheikh Hasina. It is of course pointless and also "subjudice" to speculate on what the HC would say but one thing is sure, the HC is in a bind; if the judgement goes for Sheikh Hasina it would "crash and trash" the entire anti-corruption drive of the Emergency Government and the expectations of the common people in seeing powerful crooks being brought to justice, on the other hand if the judgement goes against Sheikh Hasina that would terribly upset the political parties who are all now waiting with bated breath to see many of their leaders get out of jails on some legal backing or pretext. Well, we all have to wait and see what happens.
We have been contending in these columns for quite sometime now that at present there are two systems of law and justice running side by side in Bangladesh - one is that of the EPR and other that of the Law of the Land and the Constitution. We have also contended that at one apex point, that is at the High Court and the Supreme Court, these systems will invariably come into conflict at some point of time because the Laws of the Land and the Constitution are products of historical experiences ad evolution reflecting social, political ad economic conditions over long periods of time whereas EPRs are contingencies to deal with a particular, defined "time-situation" context. Ultimately the Law of the Land and the Constitution must prevail, otherwise the entire system and structure of Law and Justice will collapse. The polity called variously "the State" or the "Nation-state" can never allow such a thing or a consequence to come to pass, not until and unless a revolutionary situation is prevailing such as in 1971, 1975 and 1991.
Therefore, what the Emergency Government ought to have done, can still do and indeed must do while there is still time on its hands, is to prosecute all cases of corruption, which have spill-over effects on politics and constitutional law, by the usual laws of the land and prepare those cases and pursue them in such a way that a judgement in favour of the prosecution is obtained even at the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court - the process may take time but that is the only sure and guaranteed way to ensuring Justice. In other cases prosecution under EPR must ensure that there are no clashes with the laws of the land and the Constitution and that the letter and spirit of justice is followed scrupulously. Only then can EPRs be effective and uphold the cannons of Law and Justice.

Fertilisers Again!

Somehow the fertiliser crisis keeps on snowballing particularly when farmers need it most. Right when the Chief of Army Staff has been contending that there are no shortages of fertilisers, there is a crisis looming in the background. Indenters and importers have stopped the process of imports of fertilisers because of a 200 percent increase in prices of the stuff in the international markets since the importers and indenters bid for government tenders and contracts.
Requirement of fertilisers for the months of February and March amount to 4 lakh and 3.5 lakh metric tons respectively out of which about 1.5 lakh metric tons are available from local fertilizer factories; the shortfall has to be imported. It is this import of a shortfall of 2 lakh metric tons which has run into trouble due to sudden rise in prices in international markets. There is now but one way to solve this problem quickly before shortages are felt and effect rice production and that is for the Government to underwrite imports at these high prices and subsidize sales to farmers directly.
Like in many other things, in this too the Emergency Government has shown a terrible lack of foresight and acumen. The process of importing fertilizers ought to have been taken in hand right after the floods because it was a foregone conclusion that as soon as the rehabilitation program starts, farmers would start cultivation and planting of rice and demands for fertilizers would rise. But no, our Emergency Government and its Financial Adviser were then claiming that agriculture has negligible impact on the economy of Bangladesh. On 19 November 2007, the Finance Adviser said : "the agriculture - GDP ratio of the country is not more than 22 percent and in that percentage there are so many things like livestock and fisheries". It is exactly this sort of shortsightedness that is pushing us daily to live out our lives from one crisis to another. Now, of course our Government will spend our hard-earned foreign currency to import fertilisers at exorbitantly high prices, sell them to farmers at high prices and perpetuate this whole cycle of inflation and high prices of our basic needs. The Chief of Army Staff has now to back up his words with actions and results; we daresay, he will find it hard, if not impossible, to do so because economics always speaks louder and last.

Analysis

Conservation of Bengali Heritage
 
The conservation of heritage sites and its public awareness should keep pace together. They are twin and complementary in importance.

Mohammad Shahidul Islam

Bangladesh is lucky enough to have inherited a colorful cultural legacy. It is a country rich in archaeological wealth, especially of the medieval period both during the Muslim and pre-Muslim rules. Its heritage reveals the ancient legacies of the Buddhist, Hindus and Muslims. The early history of Bangladesh reveals that Buddhism received royal patronage from some important ruling Hindu dynasties like the great Pal rulers, the Chandras and the Deva Kings.
Under their patronage numerous well-organized monasteries sprang up all over the country. The combination of Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Mongol /Mughal, Arab, Persian, Turkish, and West European cultures have also enriched our heritage. Here, kings, sultans and conquerors competed with each other to build beautiful palaces, mosques and temples.
But we have failed to preserve many of these ancient structures because of our collective carelessness. It is high time to start heritage tourism with proper conservation of our heritage sites. We cannot negate here the exigency of business in this plan but the glorified past of Bangladesh would come out to the world and shall bring name and fame for us.
Tourism is yet become established in Bangladesh as is the case with heritage tourism. We are talking of its prospects in presenting the image of Bangladesh to the world and fashioning public awareness. People should know the rich background of Bangladeshi culture and heritage. The concept of heritage tourism is old. The phrase heritage tourism implies that the visitor was actively seeking out verification of the country's cultural and historical past. Generally heritage tourism means traveling to experience the places and activities that genuinely stand for the chronicles and people of the past and present. These authentic experiences include extremely rare historic resources.
There is also some argument over the meaning and scope of the word heritage itself. According to the Ninth Edition of the Concise Oxford Dictionary: "A nation's historical buildings, monuments, countryside, etc., esp. when regarded as worthy of preservation". And according to Chambers 21st Century Dictionary: "A nation's mark of history, such as stately buildings, countryside, cultural traditions, etc seen as the nation's wealth to be inherited by future generations". That additional phrase "cultural traditions" brings the definition much closer to the one that most people engaged in heritage-based tourism would employ. Accordingly, what stands out is that without heritage a country cannot be finely illustrated or tested in the world map.
Our heritage, shaped by nature and history, is a legacy passed from one generation to the next. Our heritage helps us understand and tell stories about this land and its people. Still we have enough time to protect heritage places for at least:
l reviving our past identity
l conferring them on future generations
l upholding social, spiritual, ethical and legal obligation
Heritage places are often described as either natural or cultural heritage. In reality they often have a blend of natural, historic and aboriginal heritage significance. For example, the vast landscape of Paharpur, the largest monastery south of Himalayas contains important terracotta plaques, images of different gods and goddesses, potteries, coins, inscriptions, ornamental bricks, minor clay objects, ecosystems, wonderful native paintings and engravings, sites of great spiritual significance and interesting historic features. Understanding this multifaceted heritage place means distinguishing all the different elements of significance.
All should work for the awareness of heritage from different standpoints. The role of Ministry of Cultural Affairs for preservation and awareness of historical and archeological monuments and sites would come first, and then the close coordination among various ministries, departments and agencies should be highly active from the core of national importance and Bangladesh image. Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation [BPC]-National Tourism Organization [NTO] has also virtual responsibilities to generate public awareness of heritage. Already BPC does many activities through its pamphlet, posters, films and website and its National Hotel and Tourism Training Institute [NHTTI] puts Bangladeshi Culture and Heritage as a compulsory subject in its all courses. But the scene is very dark in the context of Bangladesh education. Bangladeshi students are awfully unaware of their rich Culture and Heritage: what does it mean? Why is it important? Why should we conserve it? etc. They know only "Bangladesh is a land of birds /rivers" but they do not know really "Bangladesh is also a land of tourism".
Bhutan can be the right example of Bangladesh in the regard of reviving culture and heritage. They let their children know culture and heritage from primary level. Consequently they learn to apprehend heritage with ethics and morality. They love it religiously. The following steps can be thought for Heritage awareness:
l From primary to higher-secondary level beside Bengali and English, Heritage ought to be taught.
l Newspapers, television, radio and other media need to produce shows and weekly supplementary on culture and heritage.
l There would be traveling exhibitions to highlight unknown aspects of heritage.
l Every year heritage festival in every district should be observed.
l The government may designate religious experts from Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Buddhism in the national awareness committee to nourish and trace the fervor of religion in heritage.
l Writers and experts on heritage have to be patronized to raise awareness.
The conservation of heritage sites and its public awareness should keep pace together. They are twin and complementary in importance. A national committee for cultural relic's protection should be set up soon to promote healthy development of cultural relics. We have to be careful that in the name of conservation, we can never change the message of heritage. Improper or excessive development of heritage sites may threaten the country's cultural relics. The government is expected to formulate a series of rules and standards to manage and protect cultural relics and create national standards for both conservation and awareness.

(The writer is a Faculty of National Hotel and Tourism Training Institute, Email: mohd-s-islam@myway.com)

Davos and the Response of Bangladesh

Our Chief Adviser drew the attention of the participants at Davos highlighting the two major concerns Bangladesh constantly fights with namely the effects of climate change and lack of duty-free access to the EU and American markets.

Md. Masum Billah

Davos closed the annual meeting of the World's Economic Forum with some hopes, aspirations, promises and warnings. This year's event has drawn nearly 30 heads of state or governments, more than 110 cabinet ministers and several hundred corporate titans. More than 75 of the world's leading corporations easily eclipsed the 25 heads of states and governments present. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, British Prime Minster Gordon Brown, Ex-prime minister Tony Blair, US Ex -secretary of state Henry Kissinger, Ban Ki Moon. Rock star activist Bono, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates and UN Chief steered the conversation away from the global economy and geopolitics towards issues such as malaria eradication, poverty alleviation and climate change. Changing climate stands as a major concern across the globe jeopardizing the world economy.
Our Chief Adviser drew the attention of the participants at Davos highlighting the two major concerns Bangladesh constantly fights with namely the effects of climate change and lack of duty-free access to the EU and American markets. Tony Blair, cochairman of the forum, voiced strong support to Bangladesh in these two aspects as Bangladesh has to pay a heavy loss almost every year due to nature's wrath. The very recent devastating cyclone brought untold miseries to the people of coastal region and putting a huge undue pressure to the government. The rising RMG sector has started experiencing serious blow due to labor unrest. It also faces threat and challenge as it has to vie with other ready made garments exporting countries. It further faces problems due to the lack of duty-free access to European Union countries and the markets of USA. Our CA has rightly pointed out the problems which gave food for thought to the participants who this year put emphasis on poverty alleviation and hunger extending opportunities to resource starved countries like Bangladesh.
Asian Development Bank president H Kuroda said to Dr. Fakruddin Ahmed, "I'm greatly impressed with your government's performance, particularly the reforms brought about in governance and economic sectors". And he assured the Bank's continued support for infrastructure and power and energy sector development in Bangladesh. Dr. Fakruddin urged foreign entrepreneurs to work as investment ambassadors of Bangladesh; representatives of foreign companies who have already made investment in the country called for implementing reform in the financial sector to attract more overseas investment. Foreign Corporation want to see the actual implementation of reforms so far undertaken by the government in financial sector. This fact was disclosed by Bangladesh's Permanent representative to UN Office in Geneva Ambassador Dr. Debaprya Bhattacharya who accompanied the Chief Adviser to Davos. Fakruddin and the CEO of seven leading companies made interactions during a dinner at a hotel in the snow covered hilly resort town of Davos. He apprised them of the political and economic background before the incumbent caretaker government took over as well as administrative and economic reforms undertaken by his government in the past one year.
The business representatives appreciated the government's reformer agenda particularly the steps taken against corruption and said power generation is one of the fundamental elements to attract foreign investments and wanted to know if coal and gas in Bangladesh are adequately being exploited. Here lies our weakness. Still we have failed to ensure the proper exploitation of our natural resource like coal and gas. Definitely Bangladesh could have established itself as a flourishing industrialized country if her natural resource had been used properly. It can be attributed to political unrest and the non-commitment of the politicians. However, Dr. Fakruddin assured them that caretaker government is trying hard to create an enabling atmosphere for foreign investment, that Bangladesh has lot of potential for investment.
CEOs observed Bangladesh's image is better than many other countries of the world but they apprehend vulnerability of the country's economy. They wondered whether credible political leadership would be in place through reforms after the elections. They suggested time-bound decision on investment and equal treatment for foreign companies like national companies. The government must give a serious thought to this issue. If the foreign investors don't get confidence, surely the flow of foreign investment will be reduced.
The Davos event has long prided itself on showing the caring side of capitalism although participants have criticized for trumpeting big ideas on big issues in public while actually expanding most of their energy on corridor schmoozing and backroom deals. From the same Davos podium, the world's richest man Bill Gates announced a grant of $19.9 million over three years to initially help place improved rice varieties and related technology into the hands of 400,000 small farmers in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Rice is staple food for 2.4 billion people and provides more than 20% of their daily calories intake and up to 70% for the poorest of the poor. Gates said, "If we are serous about ending extreme hunger and poverty around the world, we must be serious about transforming agriculture for small farmers most of whom are women." The cash injection is to fund projects to improve soil quality, milk production, irrigation and seed development in a host of poor African and Asian countries. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation would enable the International Rice Research Institute to acquire new funding to harness some of the biggest unresolved problems in agriculture. The grant to Irri is part of a package totaling $306 million that nearly doubles Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's investment s in agriculture development initiatives in 2006
The session on 'Dividing the World Again' moderated by Dominique Rossi, stood out as really interesting. Ambassador Wu Jianmin, President of China's Foreign Affairs University maintained that the agenda revealed the western psyche of following a policy of 'divide and rule' to dominate the world. Asian values believe in uniting the world by strengthening commonweal and working out compromise on contentious issues. Corporate responsibility rather than profit took centre stage in Davos on January 25 as the annual get-together of business chiefs turned its attention to issues of health, aid and development the coordination of politics should not be entirely confined to the world's advanced countries but also be inclusive of developing country's stand point. This was another important message of the meet despite the dividing rule policy surfaced in the meet. United Nations Chief Ban Ki Moon challenged the delegates to renew a commitment to the UN Millennium Goals aimed at halving the extreme poverty, boosting health and education and further improving women across the developing world by 2015." Bill Gates said, "The challenge here is to design a system project and recognition to do more for the poor". He finally called for a new form of 'creative capitalism'. And this new form of 'creative capitalism' can be achieved through the concerted efforts of both resourceful and resource starved countries of the globe.

(The writer works as a specialist in Brac Education Programme, PACE and regularly writes on various national and international issues. He can be reached at mmbillah@dhaka.net Phone: 9355253, 01715-401267)

 

Opinion

 Cost of Interdependence

It is not yet clear what caused the damage Wednesday to two submarine fiber optic cables off Egypt's Mediterranean coast but the impact appears to have been considerable. Web access throughout the Middle East and India has been widely disrupted and international telephone calls were also affected as phone companies worked to find spare capacity on other networks.
First estimates are that it may take at least a week to find and repair the damaged cables. The impact of millions of businesses and home users of the Internet and phone system is likely to be considerable, both in inconvenience and economic cost. One conspicuous casualty has been India's call-center industry, which having lost around half of its bandwidth is struggling to service clients in the UK and United States.
In the past three days, the corporate world has grappled with the commercial implications of this disruption while domestic users have been fuming at their inability to quickly update their Facebook profiles or download pirated movies and software. From a policy perspective, it must be hoped that governments and communications experts are taking note of the lessons that need to be learned from this event. The most obvious is that the physical undersea cable networks that carry massive flows of data every minute have to be designed and built with additional lines. As it is, much of the world is interconnected with numerous alternate routes, especially across the Atlantic between Europe and the United States and East Asia. But, as Wednesday's cut of two key cables showed, other parts of the world are less connected to the World Wide Web. How connected a region is to the Internet can clearly be used as a benchmark of the region's development. For example, setting aside the North African Region - which borders and benefits from a key information superhighway in the Mediterranean Sea - much of Africa is barely plugged into this large and wholly invisible undersea network, and the backup routes are few and far between.
The speed and power of the modern Internet, with hundreds of thousands of servers and routers in a complex but breathtakingly efficient network, have effectively abolished distance. What you read in your newspaper every morning is also available to billions of other people around the world. Nevertheless, although it is often said that information flies into computers out of the "ether", the reality is the Internet still relies on physical connections. Even wireless connections at some point in the system must connect to wires.
The technological fixes - the creation of more backup trunk cables - will be expensive. But the players in this market, such as FLAG Telecom, which is currently investing in a $1.5-billion upgrade, called the Next Generation Network, will also reap great rewards from boosting reliability and capacity.
But in light of this week's Internet disruption, perhaps it's worth noting that the business world managed to function before the Internet and is pretty good at adapting to change.

Source: www.arabnews.com

Viewpoints

China's Yin, India's Yang

Yet even when they compete for resources abroad, experts say China and India have much to gain through cooperation.

Lee Hudson Teslik

Much has been made of the rivalry between China and India, Asia's emerging economic powers. For the most part, analysts frame discussion of the two countries in competitive terms-we did just this at CFR.org in June 2007, when Manjeet N. Kripalani and Adam Segal debated whether India is likely to eclipse China. There is no denying the competition between Beijing and New Delhi, particularly when national pride comes into play. But on a practical level, recent economic relations stand out more for cooperation than
competitiveness. This new cordiality was on display January 14, when India's economist-turned-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced plans to work toward a $60 billion trade pact by 2010 (Times of India).
News of the possible trade deal stands out as the latest in a series of developments tightening bonds between Beijing and New Delhi. In 2006, China's President Hu Jintao became the first Chinese leader in a decade to visit India. The countries recently began holding regular joint military exercises (AFP), and China supports India's bid (Hindu) to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. These political advances come amid marked economic gains. Bilateral trade between India and China has skyrocketed, increasing over tenfold since 2002 (NDTV). Total bilateral trade between the countries, which amounts to roughly $34 billion, remains slightly smaller than total trade between India and the United States (a little over $38 billion), and substantially smaller than total U.S.-China trade (over $354 billion). But the trade targets agreed to by Singh and Wen seem likely to substantially broaden China-India bilateral relations-even if the countries don't meet their $60 billion target.
China and India both hope to become major global trade powers. In this way, they more directly compete with one another, as outlined in a recent World Bank report about efforts in Beijing and New Delhi to win contracts in Latin America and the Caribbean. Yet even when they compete for resources abroad, experts say China and India have much to gain through cooperation. Writing in the December 2007 Harvard Business Review, one expert points out that the very different paths the countries have taken toward economic liberalization-with intensive government oversight in China's case, versus a more bottom-up approach in India's-have left India and China with complementary economies. The article argues that businesses gain from cross-border cooperation when they leverage China's superior manufacturing plants and cheap labor, and then make good on India's advantages in product design and development, sales, and services.
Despite the gains to be had, several obstacles stand in the way of more fluid economic relations between the countries. A recent article in the Washington Quarterly, while lauding improved China-India relations, notes several lingering challenges (PDF). First and most basically, the countries still dispute the contours of their Himalayan border, a relic of a 1962 war (GlobalSecurity.org). In 2005, Singh and Wen signed an agreement aimed at resolving the dispute (China Daily), but the specifics have yet to be hammered out, and regionally the issue remains prickly. More generally, the Washington Quarterly article adds that each government remains suspicious of the other's intentions, particularly when it comes to regional power dynamics. Still, the economic stakes are high enough that businesses find a way to blast through cultural suspicions. As the Harvard Business Review article puts it: "They have too much to lose by not working together."


(Lee Hudson Teslik is an Assistant Editor of Council on Foreign Relations. Source: www.cfr.org)

Global Warming Objections

In short, the sunspot theory is not a credible or plausible explanation for global warming.

Chuck Hall

Research from climate scientists all over the world increasingly demonstrates that human activities are playing a part in global warming. Still, there are those who object to the idea that human activities are responsible. These critics of climate change science must answer the question: "If carbon dioxide isn't responsible for the increase in global average temperature, what is?"
Those who wish to deny the prevailing scientific opinion have attempted to come up with alternative solutions to the question of climate change. Two alternate explanations for global warming seem to be gaining popularity.
The first explanation is that water vapor is a greenhouse gas, and that increases in water vapor across the globe are responsible for global warming. No proponent of this particular theory has yet been able to explain where the sudden increase in water vapor came from, nor why it began in the first place. The second explanation is that sunspots are causing it. In other words, 'hot spots' on the surface of the sun produce more heat, and as this heat travels to Earth, it causes increases in global temperature.
Note also that neither of these theories explains why the increase in carbon dioxide emissions in our atmosphere is positively correlated with the increase in global temperature. In other words, both the sunspot theory and the water vapor theory ignore carbon dioxide altogether, even though it is a demonstrable fact that carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has been steadily increasing.
On the sunspot theory, solar astronomer Peter Foukal says, "There has been an intuitive perception that the sun's variable degree of brightness, the coming and going of sunspots for instance, might have an impact on climate."Foukal says that most climate models (including ones used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) already incorporate the effects of the sun's waxing and waning power on Earth's weather.
According to a study by Foukal (Nature Magazine, September 2006), the difference in temperature caused by sunspot activity is simply far too small to contribute significantly to global warming. Foukal and his team of researchers gathered sunspot activity data from as far back as 1874 and attempted to correlate these records with temperature records gleaned from ice core samples. They found that the data simply did not match up.
The bottom line is that there is an only 0.1% temperature variance in sunspot activity. According to Foukal, this variance is far too small to have any major impact on the overall global average temperature of the Earth. It also doesn't explain the correlation between increased carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and increased global average temperature. In short, the sunspot theory is not a credible or plausible explanation for global warming.


(Chuck Hall's latest book, Green Circles: A Sustainable Journey from the Cradle to the Grave is now available at the Culture Artist Web site at www.cultureartist.org. You may contact Chuck by email at: chuck@cultureartist.org.)

Kidneys for sale

The donor's consent is typically secured through coercion or under exploitative, unequal conditions.

Praful Bidwai

THE ghoulish kidney transplantation racket unearthed near Delhi, with ramifications across nations, has shocked the global public. Amit Kumar alias Santosh Raut's operation involved three hospitals, five diagnostic centres and 10 laboratories, and more than 50 accomplices, including doctors and nurses, "spotters" and touts who would lure potential donors with the promise of jobs, and thugs who would force them to part with their kidneys.
The 600-odd recipients included nationals of half-a-dozen countries.
The racket couldn't have been conducted for years without collusion on part of the police. Raut was a known offender with a history of repeated arrests since 1993. Raut escaped because he was tipped off. Two Greeks involved in his set-up were also let off.
What demarcates Raut's racket from the kidney trade which flourishes in many South Asian cities is muscle power. Typically, extreme economic distress compels poor people to sell their body parts. But Raut's goons would abduct their victims and beat them into agreeing to kidney excision.
This further highlights police failure in enforcing India's Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA) 1994, which illegalises the sale of human organs and allows transplants from brain-dead people. It allows organ donations by close relatives without government clearance. All other relatives must be cleared by an Authorisation Committee.
THOA however has a big loophole: no Committee approval is needed if the donor feels "affection" or "attachment towards the recipient". This is licence for abuse.
The Raut racket follows a familiar pattern. Rich people suffering from end-stage renal disease are contacted by an international organ trade network run by unscrupulous doctors who prey upon the very poor. The victims are misled into believing they'll get jobs and induced into selling a kidney for as little as Rs 40,000 to Rs 1 lakh. The global kidney bazaar is highly evolved, with a hierarchy of preferences and prices. Kidneys from India or Pakistan sell for $1,000 to $2,000; a Romanian kidney for $3,000-plus. A kidney from Turkey costs $10,000. Mexico, Brazil and South Africa fall in between.
The donor's consent is typically secured through coercion or under exploitative, unequal conditions. It's not remotely free or informed. Donors are quickly discharged without being warned of risks. There's no follow-up treatment or monitoring for possible kidney malfunction. Many end up ill and destitute. Many poor countries have no laws to regulate organ trading. In India, the law came years after transplantation had already become established. In Pakistan, the law came only last year.
Common everywhere is failure of enforcement. The reason, apart from bribes, is the belief that the victims got a modicum of "justice" because they were "compensated" with money; they can, after all, survive with one kidney.
The only "injustice", many law-enforcers believe, is that of disproportion: racketeering doctors, middlemen and brokers make much larger sums, Rs 15-20 lakhs, than donors. This belief, shared by a section of the subcontinental elite - which also justifies child labour - betrays utter contempt for the principle of inviolability of the human body, which is foundational to any civilised society. It justifies the robbery of vital organs. Organs like kidneys don't regenerate. Donating them is different from donating blood.
This belief places an abysmally low value on the bodies of the poor. This should be repugnant to anyone with elementary faith in human solidarity or an essential compact among people, regardless of their social rank. The idea that you can cannibalise the bodies of the underprivileged is totally unacceptable.
The injustice of disproportion is secondary. Even if all middlemen were eliminated, it would still be unconscionable for medical science to be used to transfer organs from the poor to the rich. Ethically, treating human organs like commodities remains extremely troubling, especially when there's huge disproportion of power. Advocates of "market-based solutions" to the kidney failure problem violate this criterion.
In India, there's a big gap between those affected by end-stage renal disease, about 1.5 lakh, and the number of kidneys transplanted (under 4,000). Another 6,000 get dialysis. But that gap can't be filled by sacrificing the poor. Rather, we need more and cheaper dialysis facilities, cadaver-based transplants (from the brain dead), and donations by patients' relatives.
Unfortunately, subcontinental governments are coming under pressure to "ease" transplant norms through "incentives" and "organ-swapping". This is open to abuse.
Meanwhile, the problem of preventing Raut-style rackets cannot be ducked. The inhuman practice of violating the bodies of ultra-vulnerable people must be put down and severely punished. This must provoke serious critical reflection on the neoliberal economic policies we are pursuing, under which growth aggravates destitution. It must also trigger police reform.
Equally important, we need to re-educate doctors on medical ethics and social responsibility. Our medical profession has been complicit in all kinds of malpractices. The phenomenon of India's "27 million missing women" caused by female foeticide wouldn't have occurred without its active involvement in sex determination and abortion.
It's a shame that the state too is indulgent towards the perpetrators of this ghastly and shameful gender violence. So a laughable 66 cases have been registered against doctors for sex selection in all these years.
Yet, there's a smart way of zeroing in on clandestine organ transplants. Their recipients are given immuno-suppressant drugs to prevent rejection, such as cyclosporin, tacrolimus and mycophenolate. These are only made by a handful of companies like Novartis and Roche, which know exactly which hospitals/clinics order them. They must be made to part with the information.
But will our governments muster the will to do this?

Source:www.khaleejtimes.com

International

Al-Qaeda claims attack on Israel’s embassy in Mauritania: Al Jazeera

AFP, Dubai

The Al-Qaeda terror group has claimed an attack on the Israeli embassy in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, Al Jazeera television reported Sunday.
"Al-Qaeda claims the attack against the Israeli embassy buildings in Nouakchott," the Qatar-based satellite channel announced on its screen without giving further details.
Three unidentified gunmen opened fire on the embassy Friday shortly after 2:00 am (0200 GMT), before fleeing as Mauritanian embassy guards immediately returned fire. No embassy staff were hurt but three French citizens were hit by stray bullets outside a nightclub a few metres (yards) from the embassy.
Together with Egypt and Jordan, Mauritania is only one of three Arab League nations with which Israel has full diplomatic relations.
Political pressure has however been increasing within the Islamic republic straddling the Maghreb and black sub-Saharan Africa, to sever the ties it established with the Jewish state in 1999.
Malaysian PM says Indians will vote against ruling party
AFP,Kuala Lumpur
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the number of votes from Indians for the ruling party will likely drop in the coming polls, a report said Sunday, amid increasing ethnic strife in Malaysia.
Ethnic Indians protested against alleged discrimination in Muslim-majority Malaysia in a mass rally in November that led to the indefinite detention of five leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).
When asked if the issues raised by Hindraf, which has made national headlines, would influence how Indians would vote in upcoming polls, Abdullah told the Sunday Star newspaper: "Yes, I think votes will be affected somewhat."
Analysts say general elections could be held in March.
Ethnic Indians, who complain of a lack of job and educational opportunities, have been strong supporters of Abdullah's National Front coalition since the country gained independence from Britain in 1957.
Abdullah, who is also the finance minister, said he would address Indian grievances, which include the destruction of Hindu temples. "I have given instruction that whatever grouses they have should be attended to," he said.
 

Sri Lanka marks freedom anniversary amid bombs and fighting

AFP, Colombo

Sri Lanka marks its 60th independence day Monday amid bomb attacks against civilians, ferocious fighting with Tamil rebels and growing international concern over the island's human rights record.
Freedom Day events in heavily-guarded Colombo will be held despite mourning for 20 passengers killed by a bus bomb Saturday in north-central Sri Lanka and six people injured Sunday in a hand grenade attack at Sri Lanka's main zoo near the capital, authorities said.
"Cultural and sporting events will also be held in addition to the main event in Colombo," Karu Jayasuriya, the chief organiser of the celebrations, told AFP.
President Mahinda Rajapakse blamed separatist Tamil Tiger rebels for the bus attack and called for calm as security forces kept up an offensive against Tamil guerrillas in the north.
Rajapakse's government is preparing to put its military might on display at a seafront promenade in Colombo including tanks and multi-barrel rocket launchers-the most effective weapon against the Tigers-and aircraft.
Monday's celebrations are the first major national event since Colombo formally ended the Norwegian-arranged 2002 truce and vowed to crush the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) militarily.
Fighting between troops and the LTTE around the rebel-held Wanni region in the north and the rest of the island left nearly 1,000 people killed last month alone, according to defence ministry figures.
Police spokesman N.K. Illangakoon defended holding the celebrations despite fears of more rebel attacks in Colombo, a city of 650,000 people.
"We can't allow terrorists to disrupt our Independence Day celebrations," Illangakoon said. "We are providing maximum security."
The military will deploy 4,100 troops for a ceremonial parade in addition to drawing thousands of commandos and paramilitary police forces from the provinces to beef up security, he said.
Sri Lanka's government believes it has the upper hand against the Tamil rebels and has ruled out any negotiations until winning a militarily victory by re-capturing northern territories controlled by the LTTE.
"We will hit if we are hit," Rajapakse told reporters at his last press conference two weeks ago. "Terrorism must be defeated. There are no good terrorists and bad terrorists."
Sri Lanka had made similar vows to defeat the LTTE in the course of the three decade long conflict, but widening unrest has led key donors to Sri Lanka to cut or review aid.
Sri Lanka's former colonial ruler Britain suspended its marginal debt relief to Colombo last year citing human rights concerns and a ballooning defence budget while the US also stopped about 110 million dollars in aid.
However, the biggest scare came from Japan, the island's largest single donor, which warned of an aid review if the violence escalated further in the Indian Ocean island republic.

Taliban, Al-Qaeda in the shadows in eastern Afghanistan
AFP, Sharan, Afghanistan

Using tactics from executions to threatening late-night visits, the Taliban and their Al-Qaeda allies may work largely in hiding but there is no doubting their distinctive message.
They exert "strong pressure" on locals to cooperate with them rather than with Afghan authorities and their international partners, says Nawab Waziri, head of the provincial council of Paktika on the border with Pakistan.
Most crudely, "they chop off heads or hands," Waziri told AFP. Scores have been killed by the insurgents like that, sometimes on allegations of "spying" for the government or foreign military forces.
But they also operate more clandestinely. "They come secretly to people in the middle of the night, masked, to tell them what to do," he said.
"There are men who are Taliban in secret in the villages... They cover their faces and talk to people in other villages."
Sometimes there are "night letters"-written threats thrown into schools or near homes under the cover of darkness.
Relatives of these secret operators never talk about them; even if one is killed, they keep quiet, said Waziri. "The Taliban who die are not identified by their families." Waziri, in his 40s, joined some 700 other influential men from Paktika at a shura, or traditional council, in the provincial capital Sharan last week to debate the insurgent threat.
"I ask you all to not support Al-Qaeda and to help the government," national communications minister Amirzai Sangin told the impressive gathering of tribal chiefs, clerics and others.
Paktika and another border province, Khost, are "gateways" into Afghanistan for "Al-Qaeda and of terrorism because their camps are just on the other side of the border," said the official, who had come from Kabul.
After being driven from government in late 2001 by a US-led international coalition, some Taliban and Al-Qaeda took refuge in Pakistan's tribal zones.
There they regrouped in extremist sanctuaries and training camps from which US and Afghan officials say they launch attacks into Afghanistan.
A leading Al-Qaeda commander who led the terror network in Afghanistan was believed to have been killed just across from Paktika last week when a missile fired by a US drone hit his hideout in Pakistan's North Waziristan area.

Iraqi PM warns of imminent battle against Qaeda
AFP, Baghdad